As always, visit http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/TorA040199.html for the web-savvy version with links and pretty layout. ________________ 4/1/99 Editors Corner - Ethan Burrow, Prince of Austin *Sigh*, are anyone reading our newsletters....?? I've noticed a few posts on the newsgroup recently complaining about a lack of discussion on deck composition, strategy, etc. While at the same time they don't seem to want to carry threads in response to the newsletters my fellow editors and I are releasing. Does anyone find my newsletter useful? Does anyone play with this clan? Am I full of hot air? Does anyone care? Bueller? Vampire of the Month - Carter What can I say about this vamp. Throw a Celerity Master on him and give him a gun. Otherwise he's asking to be put in torpor. With him in play, you can also take advantage of our Card of the Month, among other clan specific masters. Card of the Month - The Art of Love The ally version of Mind Rape. It doesn't cost anything except for a master phase, and allows you to steal a tapped ally (provided of course you don't play this right after the Methuselah recruits it. In that case you might get an untapped ally) or a very cheesy untapped ally. You only get it for one turn, so use that tapped ally wisely during your minion phase. The art is also quite provocative. I feel fortunate to have 8 of these rares, instead of some of the other possible rares such as Art of Pain and Palla Grande. Top 10 cards that can just "Blow Me" * 1.The 10 of one rare that Jeff plays with in his current deck that everyone at the table combined have less of in their whole collection. 2.Hostile Takeover - F*ck this card.... 3.Banishment 4.Muaziz - She can blow me, the broken vamp... 5.Rutor's Hand - See #4 6.Kiss of Ra when I'm not playing with fortitude - See #5 and #4 7.Seeds of Corruption - I hate this card, but #5 and #4 just make it bitter 8.Misdirection 9.Frenzy - Especially when it comes from across the f*ckin' table 10.Summon the Serpent ;-) * - This list is directly related to the Austin Meta-Game. You may very well have your own list of cards that can "Blow You". Deck Medic/Strategy Corner "Why you should never build a deck that is *too* good" Never bring overt attention to yourself. Your deck should be good at what it does, but never try to design a deck to sweep a table. Decks like these are only asking the whole table to ignore their predator/prey relationships, and form an uneasy alliance to put you down. If you always find that your prey seems to attack you more than his prey, or people across the table tend to want to screw with you...chances are you are building decks that are too good. Revisit your strategy, and try to make it seem less obvious, or at the very least, less of a threat to the other side of the table. There's no need to frighten players that are not yet your victim ;-) -- Ethan Burrow - Prince of Austin ethan@ddg.com http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/