Toreador Clan Newsletter Vol 2, Issue 2 I. Introduction Let me begin by apologizing for my extended newsletter absence. I have no other excuse for not writing the newsletter other than I am lazy. This month the soapbox discusses the release of Sabbat War, the strategy corner looks at deck building and the deck of the month is an Anarch / Bloat deck. II. Soapbox I opened my box of Sabbat War boosters last weekend and all I can say is Joy, Joy, Joy. Nothing quite matches the smell of new cards and the excitement of seeing the new art. Painstakingly sorting cards. Considering all the interesting combinations. My first pack revealed a Gang Tactics and it was happiness after that. I would like to commend White Wolf for picking up the game and bringing more fun to V:TES. I was pleased and amused to open a pack with a Tomb of Rameses III with it’s very wordy but balanced card text (does it get the prize for longest explanation?). I was also pleased to finally get a Legacy of Pander, even with the new card text. However, I have two complaints to make. First, the packs are to small. At eleven cards a pack I managed too feast on a box in a few hours. I’d order more cards but... hopefully a second printing will be run soon. My other complaint is that two of my packs had Legacy of Caine clogging the rare location. I’ve never really found that card very useful (larger vamps usually don’t hunt and when in combat, they can usually fend for themselves). I’m sure many people will question why certain cards were reprinted and others weren’t but overall it looks like this set is not only a winner, but may indicate support from WW for even more expansions. As for me, anybody want to trade for some Legacy of Caine? III. Strategy Corner Many treatises have been written on the theory of deck designed. Not wanting to be a slacker or an anarchist, I have decided to add my own to the fray. First off, let me add my congratulations to Legbiter for his excellent "Happy Families" technique. The idea is that, to get a balanced deck that matches your crypt, you add up the different disciplines of the vampires in your crypt and then allocate the library accordingly. So if you have a crypt with 12 vampires who have potence, six with auspex and six with celerity, you would make 1/6 of the library auspex cards, 1/6 celerity cards, 2/6 potence cards and the remaining 2/6 would be non-discipline cards (to reflect the fact that all 12 minions can play the non-discpline cards). I use a modified version where I count skills of the vampires by whether they are inferior or superior (allocating one point for inferior and two for superior). This tends to give stronger deck (IMHO) because the cards are better focused along the disciplines of the vampires in the crypt. Also, I add a point for any discipline master cards, reflecting the fact that the discipline will be better represented as the game goes on. The best thing about the "HF" theory of deck design is that it focuses the Methuselah on the skills of the minions chosen and not on the cards that would be cool to play during a game. I have also recently adopted a strategy of trying to balance the minion cards chosen for the library. Although most of my playgroup uses 90 card decks, I’ve adopted using 80 card decks for reasons that should become clear. First, I split the library into 5 pieces and consider how I can allocate Masters, Actions, Action Modifiers Combat and Reaction cards into those different sections. The immediate goal is to allocate 16 cards to each section, using the happily families formula of balanced minion cards. Obviously some decks will benefit better than others from the equal distribution, but the point is to start thinking along the lines of the different types of minion cards that can be placed in the deck. I also find that with an 80-card library, I have a few extra wakes and blood dolls for another deck. I like to have as many "active" decks as possible so I can continue to improve them. Finally, with an 80-card deck, I can easily toss in additional cards as I find them or identify them. If a deck needs a little vote defense, I can toss in a few Dread Gaze or Delaying Tactics without having to struggle with removing cards to bring it back down to 90. In general, I like to begin with a basic 80 card Happy Families balanced deck and then tune it based on my play experience. IV. Deck of the Month Toreador Anarch Revolt / Pool Gain deck "Revolting" 1 Dorian Strack 1 Felicia Mostrom 1 Ramiel DuPre 1 Kallista, Master Sculptor 1 Tatiana Romanov 3 Anson 1 Klaus van der Veken 1 Francois Villon 1 Anneke 1 Alexandra 24 Master Cards 8 Anarch Revolt 8 Minion Tap 1 Society Hunting Ground 1 Art Museum 1 Tomb of Ramses III 1 Parthenon, The 1 Toreador Grand Ball 1 Legendary Vampire 1 Giant’s Blood 1 Golconda 14 Actions 1 Legal Manipulations 4 Fifth Tradition: Hospitality 4 Fourth Tradition: Accounting 2 Social Charm 1 Legal Manipulations 2 Enchant Kindred 6 Political Actions 4 Consanguineous Boon 1 Kindred Restructure 1 Anarchist Revolt 8 Action Modifiers 2 Scorn of Adonis 2 Bewitching Oration 2 Voter Captivation 2 Aire of Elation 22 Combat 4 Flash 4 Aura Reading 8 Majesty 2 Vampiric Speed 3 Rapid Thought 1 Fast Hands 16 Reaction 4 Telepathic Misdirection 6 Telepathic Counter 4 Second Tradition 2 Treachery This deck becomes an enemy of the table early and will remain that way until the end. People who play Anarch Revolt decks are, in general, considered a threat to the entire table. As a result, it is best to bloat first, and then bring out the anarchs (especially after you have established vote lock). Intercept can be a problem because most actions are only at +1 stealth, but if necessary you can stop taking actions and try to use the master cards alone to stay in the game. V. War Report This deck did much better than I expected for it’s first time out. I faced a Lasombra prey (preconstructed), a Venture Antitribu grand prey (modified pre-constructed) and a weenie, celerity gun toting predator who has a real hate for S:CE Toreadors. I was able to avoid my predator early with a good string of majesties to out maneuver his Psyches! I was also able to tap and Golconda Anson to keep the bloat flowing well, then bring out another Anson thanks to a good crypt. However, my First Tradition back-fired when my predator kept paying to bleed me and I was unable to block effectively. I finally Restructed the table (people really hate it when you do that) and by then the entire table was against me. The gun deck outsted my new Lasombra predator and I managed to oust the Ventrue Antitribu. From there, my pool gain outlasted my prey who finally succumbed to the five Anarchs on the table. 3 victory points and win was a very rewarding first outing. Please send all comments, questions and criticism to toreadors@hotmail.com Deck ideas and strategies are encouraged. Submitted by Chris Miller, November 10, 2000