Official VEKN Tremere Antitribu Newsletter - July/August 2007 Volume 3, Issue 2 By Halcyan 2 Halcyan2@aol.com [Legal stuff to the tune of: I wrote all this, so please give credit where it's due, etc.] -------------------------- Contents - 1.1 - Editor's Note 1.2 - Third Edition: New Non-Clan Vampires 1.3 - Third Edition: New Library Cards 1.4 - Hall of Fame 1.5 - A Golden Age of Politics 1.6 - Vampire of the Month 1.7 - Card of the Month 1.8 - Deck of the Month -------------------------- [1.1 - Editor's Note] Welcome to the latest edition of the Tremere Antitribu newsletter! Now that we've had some time to thoroughly experiment with all of the new goodies from Third Edition, let's wrap up the analysis and see why even veteran old-timers should give Third Edition, and especially Group 4, a try. And since the last storyline tournament, the Millennium Cultist, was heavily focused around the Machiavellian world of politics, it is only fitting that we highlight politics as this month's central theme. -------------------------- [1.2 - Third Edition: New Non-Clan Vampires] In our last issue, we analyzed the new !Tremere vampires in Third Edition. Now let's take a look at some of our Sabbat sectmates and see which ones may be potentially useful for our cause. Several of the new vampires possess Thaumaturgy, and many others have a good mix of Auspex and Dominate. Note that these evaluations are based solely on how useful the vampires are for !Tremere decks and not necessarily how useful they are in other situations. Father Juan Carlos * With only inferior Auspex and Thaumaturgy, Father Juan Carlos is a poor investment of 6 pool even if you're trying to use Celerity, Potence, or Presence. In the case of Presence, you're probably better off going with Alfred Benezri instead. Aksinya Daclau * Aksinya has an amazing special ability, but with only inferior Thaumaturgy and neither Auspex or Dominate, she is far too expensive for !Tremere decks. While she has some moderate synergy with Eric Kressida, you can probably find better (and cheaper) alternatives. Frere Marc ** Limited usefulness for most !Tremere decks with just inferior Auspex and superior Thaumaturgy, but his superior Protean could make him a good support vampire in a deck centered on Eric Kressida. Lord Vauxhall ** If you're willing to forego Auspex, Lord Vauxhall fits well in a !Tremere Potence deck. The OBT would have been nice in Group 2/3 but does not have nearly as much support among the !Tremere in Group 3/4 or 4/5. Luca Italicus * Luca has a decent title and special, but in !Tremere decks you can't really afford to spend 10 pool on a vampire with only inferior Thaumaturgy and no Auspex. Raphael Catarari ** Sure, Raphael only has inferior Auspex and Thaumaturgy, but for 5 pool he's a bargain for cheap OBF or PRE. His disadvantage can be worked around, and his +1 bleed is just gravy. Schuyler *** Cheap weenie support. His ability can be a liability at the wrong time but it can also provide valuable opportunities to make deals with your prey. Radu Bistri *** No Thaumaturgy, but Radu works surprisingly well with Malgorzata and Nickolai since they all share Presence and Vicissitude. For 8 pool you can probably find better vampires if you just need the AUS and DOM so what you're really paying for is a Cardinal you can bring out on the second turn. Sha-Ennu * The Sabbat equivalent of an Inner Circle member. While Sha-Ennu is a formidable vampire, she is not quite as good for the !Tremere with no Dominate and inferior Thaumaturgy. I've heard rumors of a Malgorzata + Sha-Ennu tag team, but I remain skeptical for the time being. Jefferson Foster **** An excellent vampire for the clan. AUS DOM tha would be a reasonable discipline spread for even a !Tremere 5 or 6-cap. The Fortitude meshes well with many of the Group 4 !Tremere while also providing protection from Kiss of Ra. The Bishop title is icing on the cake, making him an ideal addition for !Tremere decks. Konrad Fleischer *** Konrad is a bit expensive for 9 pool and most of the time, you'd probably be better off using Jefferson Foster instead since they both have only inferior Thaumaturgy. The ANI is not all that helpful in !Tremere Group 3/4 or 4/5, though you may get some mileage out of the superior FOR. The main reason to play Konrad in a !Tremere deck is to take advantage of his specials, both of which are great for Thaumaturgy combat. His agg conversion is ideal with Burst of Sunlight and his press is helpful if you want to try second round combat (which is albeit still subpar). Neighbor John ***** No Thaumaturgy but who cares? For a 5 pool investment you get a superb blocker with permanent intercept, superior AUS, inferior Dominate, and who can't be torpored with Kiss of Ra. An excellent bargain by any means. Polly Kay Fisher ***** Polly Kay is an honorary !Tremere with all the !Tremere in-clan superiors and a sweet Archbishop title. She makes a better !Tremere than a !Ventrue, which is a fair swap since it's the exact opposite with Esoara. She is an especially good fit since both Fortitude and Potence are out-of-clan disciplines that show up on quite a few Group 4 !Tremere. -------------------------- [1.3 - Third Edition: New Library Cards] In addition to new vampires and lots of useful reprints, Third Edition also has a fair amount of new library cards as well. Let's take a look at which ones will most improve !Tremere decks. Note that I'm already filtering out the least useful new cards (i.e. those which would warrant only a single star) and some of the general use cards (i.e. King's Rising, Wash) so that we can focus on the more noteworthy additions. Abbot **** Superb in intercept wall decks but also great in more casual decks for permanent intercept. Untapping immediately is a nice perk as well. Getting the +1 stealth action through may be tough since it's an action your predator and prey will both likely want to block, but Mirror Walk can help. Auto-da-fe ** PTO-Lite for the Sabbat. It's an interesting card that has potential, but Regent and Sabbat Inquisitor are a tad bit unreliable, so you essentially need to use a Cardinal. The only inherent !Tremere Cardinals are all 10-caps and though you can use Cardinal Benediction, it's just an additional hurdle you need to overcome before you can even play Auto-da-fe. Black Forest Base *** A great card for consistent pool gain. The burn clause is so corner-case to be almost negligible. Black Forest Base would rank much higher if the !Tremere had stronger and more reliable political options. A dedicated !Tremere vote deck can definitely take advantage of it, but more casual or toolboxy decks can't rely on it. Blade of Enoch ** Decent for an equipment based deck. The main advantage is that it supplements Sire's Index Finger by providing another means with which to counter Frenzy cards. Good if you're using lots of equipment or are worried about Rotschreck. Codex of the Damned *** There's a lot of inferior Thaumaturgy among the !Tremere, so the Codex has its uses for the clan. The secondary ability also has some potential especially since it triggers when diablerizing any vampire - including younger ones. Might be interesting to play with March Halcyon and diablerize her for free blood and skill cards. Danse Macabre ** For those without Fortitude and Freak Drive, Danse Macabre is an option for superstar vampires centered around high-cap fatties. It's only okay for the !Tremere however. Danse Macabre is only effective if you can get the first action through and !Tremere traditionally have had rather limited stealth options. Frontal Assault ** Frontal Assault is great for many combat decks, especially when using swarms of minions. But the !Tremere tend towards intercept combat or bruise bleed rather than a more direct mob rush and THA combat is not very reliable at torporizing the opposing minion. So while the card certainly has its uses, it is not as helpful for the !Tremere as for some other clans. Glancing Blow **** An excellent form of combat defense, especially from agro-poke. Without any innate access to S:CE or damage prevention, the !Tremere have traditionally been highly susceptible to aggravated damage. Kinda sucks when your 10-cap gets torped by Sadie or Horatio. Even mid-cap intercept decks often have trouble with agg. Thus Glancing Blow will definitely see use in all sorts of !Tremere decks. Grooming the Protégé *** A decent way to quickly bring out more minions. Govern the Unaligned and Scouting Mission are much less blood intensive, but Grooming the Protégé cannot be blocked. Of course you can always combine Grooming with Govern for even more tempo. It also works well with Malgorzata, since her special doesn't use any of her blood. Gurchon Hall ** A hunting ground that provides two blood a turn is certainly nice. But Gurchon Hall is expensive, requires a Cardinal, and heavily restricts the recipients of the blood. Harvest Rites ** Good for bloat, though !Tremere tend to have better options than hunting. Has potential in Cryptic Mission decks, along with Perfectionist and Blood of the Sabbat. You may want to include Creepshow Casino or Sunset Strip for the extra stealth though. Heart of Nizchetus ***** A superb card that many argue borders on being broken. Personally I do think it's the strongest card in the entire set. The Heart has no peer when it comes to cycling through your deck. It is especially ideal for the !Tremere since you can use Magic of the Smith to quickly fetch it. Helicopter ** The same problems that plague Danse Macabre also apply to Helicopter. A lack of stealth makes its untap effect too unreliable. It is also expensive and vulnerable to equipment destruction and theft. The one advantage is that you can grab it with Magic of the Smith, but most of the time you're probably better off with Rutor's Hand. Hexaped *** An interesting new ally for the !Tremere. Not as cool as Nephandus but eminently more usable than Gargoyle Slave. With 3 life at the cost of a single pool, the Hexaped makes a decent chump blocker. Its link ability is limited since it is restricted to a particular !Tremere and a specific Methuselah. But it does provide a bleed bonus and more importantly, additional stealth. Hexaped certainly offers a new archetype for !Tremere bleed decks. And while its efficacy still needs to be evaluated, at least it's a form of *responsible* stealth bleed. Inconnu Tutelage *** Inconnu Tutelage has decent synergy with the !Tremere since you may already be playing with abnormal crypt sizes because of Malgorzata, Paul Cordwood, or Tupdog. While other players will also be able to use it, with proper planning during deck construction you can ensure that you're in the best position to take full advantage of it Martinelli's Ring ** A decent counter to Derange and more importantly Temptation. Cornercase, but it's hard to get rid of either of those cards once they're in play. Decent meta, but use sparingly. Don't forget that you can pass it to each of your minions in turn to get rid of all of the Temptations! Minor Irritation *** Good for intercept decks - it's especially nice if you want to stay untapped to play superior Deflection. Minor Irritation works extremely well if you want to block with Valerius Maior (Advanced) without paying for the subsequent Infernal cost, or if you want additional mileage out of Lucubratio during your prey's turn. Mirror Walk ***** WOW. All I can say is WOW. Mirror Walk is revolutionary for the !Tremere and I would rank it as the best Thaumaturgy card - ever! This card is going to be a staple in just about all !Tremere decks. See last issue's Card of the Month for a more in-depth analysis. NRA PAC *** Good for equipment-based wall decks. Equip during your minion phase (preferably with Magic of the Smith) and then untap so you can block your predator or prey. On the Qui Vive ***** A new complement to Wake with Evening's Freshness and Forced Awakening. On the Qui Vive is replaced immediately (unlike Wake), doesn't cost you blood if you fail to block (compare to Forced), and lets you get additional mileage out of your allies. Every deck with Wake or Forced should replace at least one copy with On the Qui Vive. On the downside, a given minion can play only one On the Qui Vive between untap phases, making it not as ideal for intercept decks centered around a particular minion such as Valerius Maior (Advanced) or Lucubratio. Yawp Court ** Yawp Court is a great card that serves as valuable political defense for many decks. But since !Tremere combat is unreliable and you can't consistently torporize the opposing minion, Yawp Court's functionality may be rather limited for the clan. Young Bloods **** A strong new ally to join the ranks of Succubus and Gregory Winter. Half the cost of a Succubus and much more resilient than Gregory. Young Bloods is good for blood denial and to lock down your opponent's vampires into a hunting loop. With the right timing, you can make the most of a Society of Leopold, or empty a vampire so that you can block the mandatory hunt. -------------------------- [1.4 - Hall of Fame] The conclusion of the Millennium Cultist storyline brings four new inductees to the !Tremere Hall of Fame. Interestingly enough, three of the four winning Millennium Cultist decks focused heavily on Orlando Oriundus, which is fitting since he is the featured Vampire of the Month. This is the best showing for the clan so far in a storyline tournament, so keep up the great work and let's win the next one! STORYLINE DATE LOCATION WINNING PLAYER DECK NAME OR DESCRIPTION The Eye of Hazimel 11/09/2002 Santa Clara, CA Ian Lee Long Into the Abyss [Obtenebration stealth bleed] The Eye of Hazimel 11/16/2002 Chicago, IL Boris Zaretsky !Tremere with Pugfar [Intercept wall with Eagle's Sight + Collapse the Arches] The Eye of Hazimel 11/30/2002 St. Louis, MO Eric Chiang The !Tremere Make Their Presence Known [Presence vote] Lambach's Legion 09/06/2003 Helsinki, Finland Tuomas Vuokko !Tremere OBT (The Real Tremere) [Obtenebration bruise bleed] Lambach's Legion 09/21/2003 San Diego, CA Jeff Poole [Goratrix + Celerity] The Infernal Plague 11/06/2004 Evanston, IL Eric Chiang Survival of the Fittest [Intercept wall with Alejandro Aguirre + True Faith] The Infernal Plague 11/14/2004 Bloomington, IN Rick Irvine The Seven Sisters of Sin [Succubus allies] The Infernal Plague 12/11/2004 Rockville, MD Greg Williams Loco Rutor [Obfuscate toolbox] The Return of Nergal 10/16/2005 Ste-Foy, Quebec Marc-André Tremblay [Valerius Deck] The Return of Nergal 12/04/2005 New York City, NY Eric Chiang The Magick Emporium [Equipment-based wall] Millennium Cultist 12/17/2006 Longmont, CO Darby Keeney Orlando Is Connected [Obfuscate vote with Orlando Oriundus + Mob Rule] Millennium Cultist 12/24/2006 Tokyo, Japan J. Silence Rotschreck I [Burst of Sunlight + Rotschreck] Millennium Cultist 01/07/2007 Cresthill, IL Eric Chiang The Heirs of Goratrix [Presence vote with Malgorzata + Orlando Oriundus] Millennium Cultist 01/20/2007 Rockville, MD Joshua Duffin Cloud City [Obfuscate vote with Orlando Oriundus] -------------------------- [1.5 - A Golden Age of Politics] While Infamous Warlock was an inauspicious start, the Tremere Antitribu have come a long way since then. Several cards in the past few sets have significantly improved the viability of !Tremere political decks. And now, Third Edition has ushered in a Golden Age for !Tremere politics. So let's take a moment to examine what tools !Tremere politicos have at their disposal and how to make the most of these assets. The first step to successful politics is getting the action through without being blocked. While political actions are inherently at +1 stealth, that's usually not enough to cut it nowadays. Mirror Walk, which was thoroughly analyzed last issue, is the best option for stealth since it is Thaumaturgy-based and also preempts combat if you do get blocked. If you want something a little bit more permanent, then you should look into Creepshow Casino, which can also be used for other undirected actions. Finally, if you need additional stealth on top of this (or have a fairly limited collection), you can always try Stealth Ritus, though it's a bit expensive. Getting to the referendum is only half the story - now you have to muster the political influence to get your referendum passed! Powerbase: Madrid is the most reliable option since it stays in play and can generate between one and four additional votes, though you do need a titled Sabbat vampire to use it. For transient vote push, depending on your metagame you can either go for vote cancellation via Telepathic Vote Counting or additional votes with outferior Hall of Hades' Court. If political decks are popular in your playgroup and you're still having trouble getting enough votes, you can also resort to Powerbase: Rome and the blood-intensive Lyndhurst Estate, New York. Membership in the Sabbat offers some additional perks for the Tremere Antitribu. Cardinal Benediction is perhaps the keystone for establishing political dominance. Unlike Justicar titles, Cardinals are not unique so it's more useful to pack multiple copies. Benedictions are also easier to pass since they inherently prohibit Camarilla vampires from voting in the referendum. For smaller Sabbat minions you can call Crusades and for the !Tremere, Crusade: Barcelona is the most useful because you untap at the end of the turn. One final trick to keep up your sleeve is Día de los Muertos. Sure, it's limited to once per game, but it's a way to pass a vote in a hostile political environment even if you don't have any table votes at all! Compared to their Camarilla cousins, the Tremere Antitribu have an edge when it comes to political decks. Sure, the Camarilla has access to some of the strongest cards in the game such as Second Tradition, Parity Shift, Alastor, Archon, Anathema, and the dreaded Protect Thine Own. But the Camarilla Tremere are not especially well positioned to make the most of such assets. Etrius is on the weaker spectrum of the Inner Circle members. With the exception of Anastasz di Zagreb, all of the other Tremere Princes and Justicars are expensive and most of them are lacking when it comes to discipline levels. And to make things worse, almost all of your plans are scuttled if Astrid Thomas ever shows up. In contrast, more of the Tremere Antitribu benefit from the more generous, contemporary costing scheme. Stealth Ritus offers a little extra stealth, Powerbase: Madrid makes a big difference over time, and Día de los Muertos is a nice get-out-of-jail card, but I would say that it is Cardinal Benediction that definitely seals the deal. When building your crypt for a !Tremere political deck, you can either go with the traditional Group 2/3 or try your hand with the newer Group 3/4. Each offers intriguing possibilities: Group 2/3 offers a nice array of titled vampires. You have Ayelea the Manipulator the 10-cap Cardinal, Kij Dansky the 8-cap Priscus, and Reverend Blackwood the 6-cap Bishop. There are also three available Archbishops - both Ethan Locke and Marino Reymundo Vasquez are 9-caps, while Ladislas Toth the Torch is the epitome of efficiency at a capacity of 7. Ladislas and the Reverend are the most reasonably priced while the others can be a tad bit expensive unless you are utilizing their specials or out-of-clan disciplines. Obtenebration has always been a good choice to add for a vote deck because it provides additional stealth as well as combat defense. Ayelea and Kij are a shoe-in, Ian Forestal is untitled but is a good candidate for Cardinal Benediction, and Elena Mendoza Vasquez serves as support. Presence can be a little more challenging but can be equally as fun. Ayelea is your only innately titled !Tremere with Presence, but Ian Forestal and Bryan van Duesen both make good candidates for Benediction with Yasmin the Black as added support. Alfred Benezri, an honorary !Tremere, is a must for such a deck since he provides superior PRE and a title for a very moderate cost. His basic version is useful if you want a cheaper minion who you can quickly bring out. His advanced is large enough to become a Cardinal and provides some extra combat defense. Or you can play both and merge him for even more votes. There are some exciting new options if you decide to go with Group 3/4. Lernean is an improvement over Ayelea since for the same price you get more disciplines and a far more useful special. Lucubratio and Malgorzata are a little bit larger than their Group 2 counterparts (Ethan Locke and Kij Dansky) but make up for it with superior out-of-clans and very useful abilities. Frondator is a cheap Bishop (even smaller than Reverend Blackwood) who can save you a lot of blood. Orlando Oriundus is such a force to be reckoned with that he gets a section all to himself. Plus you have Paul Cordwood and Eric Kressida, a pair of 8-cap Bishops. Holdovers from Group 3 include Marino and Ladislas. So overall you end up with an excellent spread of titled minions to choose from. Instead of the Obtenebration angle in Group 2/3, Group 3/4 is better suited for Obfuscate instead. Orlando, Paul, and Terrell can make a fearsome trio. Obfuscate gives you cheaper and more stealth than Obtenebration, but you miss out on the strike: combat ends. Presence becomes an even more amazing strategy in Group 3/4. From Group 3 you should still use Alfred Benezri and Yasmin the Black. But now you have Lucubratio, Malgorzata, and Paul as superb titled vampires with Presence. Like Yasmin, Nickolai provides additional support and if you can handle Infernal and Red List, you can even add Valerius Maior. One final trick that deserves mention is adding in a splash of Daimonion. Condemnation: Mute is a powerful, and permanent, solution to many a meddling interloper. Valerius Maior and guest star Barbaro Lucchese can play Mute to good effect. You can even have a third minion Magic of the Smith out the Textbook Damnation for extra mileage. Orlando Oriundus merits additional attention because he can easily form the backbone of an effective !Tremere vote deck. Orlando really shakes up the political scene with his vote doubling ability and the following section will more thoroughly explore just how to make the most of him. -------------------------- [1.6 - Vampire of the Month] Orlando Oriundus [Third:V] Cardtype: Vampire Clan: Tremere Antitribu Group: 4 Capacity: 9 Discipline: AUS DOM obf THA Sabbat bishop: During a referendum, if Orlando is ready, your vampires' votes are doubled when votes are tallied, and other multipliers may not be played on your vampires. +1 bleed. As a mortal, Orlando Oriundus was an elderly mage known for his outrageous claims. He once boasted of creating a time travel ritual which he used to serve as a factotum to Alexander the Great. While primarily a charlatan before the Embrace, Orlando's true potential was unlocked when Goratrix inducted him into the ranks of the Tremere Antitribu. Highly valued by Goratrix, Orlando served as his sire's closest advisor on mortal affairs during Goratrix's tenure at the Paris chantry. Orlando flourished in this role and especially excelled at acquiring useful information - one time he went undercover as a Burgundian monk to obtain a list of Salubri names. In VTES, Orlando's expertise in mortal affairs and information gathering are well reflected in both of his special abilities. His multiplier effect really stands out, however, and offers many valuable opportunities to dominate the political sphere. Compared to Amaravati and Tegyrius' (Advanced) specials, Orlando's ability is always on and does not require any blood expenditures. It works on all of your vampires and is usable in all referendums, including blood hunts (Amaravati's special is restricted to political actions). This seems fair since he is paying a full two points for the ability. Amaravati and Tegyrius provide additional votes, which is especially useful for weenie swarms. Orlando requires votes from other sources in order to be effective, but the multiplier effect can have a much larger impact if played correctly. Generally there are three main reasons why you may want to play with Orlando. Either you want to employ his political acumen, you want to give Obfuscate a try, or you like the +1 bleed. If you are not taking advantage of any of these strengths, you can probably get a better deal by using a smaller vampire instead. There are several ways to take advantage of Orlando's vote doubling. You can rely on built-in titles by Governing out a chain of titled vampires. The !Tremere have several reasonably priced Bishops and Archbishops who can benefit from the multiplier effect - Frondator's two votes are a bargain for five pool while for seven you get Ladislas who is effectively a Regent. Another approach involves calling multiple Cardinal Benedictions to secure vote lock. With Orlando, your Cardinals can outvote even Inner Circle members. Orlando starts as a Bishop but with his special it means he has two votes right out of the box. It should be relatively easy to promote him to a Cardinal. Cardinal Benediction prevents Camarilla meddling and with Orlando's innate two votes, the vote from the political card, and if necessary, a few more from Powerbase: Madrid or Hall of Hades' Court, Orlando will be sitting on six permanent votes in no time. Powerbase: Madrid is a superb option since it stays in play, guarantees at least two additional votes during your turn but with the potential of providing up to eight more. And while the superior Temporis version of Hall of Hades' Court does not stack with Orlando's ability, the Dominate outferior now provides an additional 4 votes. Lyndhurst Estate essentially becomes a permanent superior Awe since you now get 2 votes for each blood you burn. While other players can burn blood for Mob Rule, you can definitely beat them in terms of efficiency. Your mid-caps get 2 votes for each burned blood while your larger vampires, such as Orlando, get an additional 4 votes for each blood that they spend. Blood Siege also offers a unique chance to flip the tables. Even though you can't play any action modifiers, you now get an additional vote for each blood you burn. Not only do you strip a Prince of his title, but your newly anointed Archbishop will have four table votes. The other major reason to play with Orlando is if you want to utilize his Obfuscate. Among the obfuscating !Tremere, Group 4 has both Orlando Oriundus and Paul Cordwood, Group 3 has Terrell Harding, while Group 2 has Reverend Blackwood and effectively Ian Forestal. When comparing Orlando and Paul to Ian and the Reverend, Group 2 has smaller vampires and is better suited for a stealth bleed strategy. When it comes to stealth vote however, Group 4 wins hands down. There's really no competition once you consider Orlando's special, but Orlando and Paul are both Bishops, and Orlando/Paul/Terrell make for a nice Govern chain plus all three are large enough to become Cardinals. Veil the Legions deserves special note because even with inferior Obfuscate, Orlando can pass additional stealth on to your other minions. Those who prefer a more direct approach may appreciate Orlando's +1 bleed. Combine it with Mirror Walk or his Obfuscate in order to put forward pressure on your prey. While the bleed bonus is thematically appropriate, I do sort of wish Orlando had a different ability instead because of the redundancy with Marino Reymundo Vasquez. Both are 9-caps with all of the in-clan disciplines at superior, 2 votes, and +1 bleed. Since Orlando has the potential to provide additional votes on top of that, I can see him replacing Marino in many !Tremere decks. In Group 3/4, Marino is only the better choice if you're playing with Animalism or Necromancy or if you really need the Archbishop title immediately. Then again, if you're not too picky you can double your pleasure by including both of them for twice the fun! Orlando's special is so great that despite his large capacity, I have seen him guest star in quite a handful of non-!Tremere decks. For example, he works pretty well in a !Toreador vote deck utilizing Obfuscate, since his special synergizes with Foundation Exhibit. But he shines the brightest when working with his own clan. With Orlando at the helm, perhaps the Tremere Antitribu can finally gain enough political influence to revolutionize the Sabbat - once and for all! -------------------------- [1.7 - Card of the Month] Hall of Hades' Court [LoB:R] Cardtype: Action Modifier / Reaction Cost: 1 blood Discipline: Temporis/Dominate Only usable during a referendum. [dom] [ACTION MODIFIER] Requires a vampire with capacity above 4. This vampire gains 2 votes. [tem] [ACTION MODIFIER] [REACTION] Cancel a reaction card as it is played by a younger vampire who does not have Temporis (no cost is paid). [TEM] [ACTION MODIFIER] [REACTION] Multiplier. Only usable by a ready untapped vampire other than the acting vampire. The acting vampire's votes are doubled when the votes are tallied. Only one multiplier can be played on a vampire each action. When Hall of Hades' Court was first printed in Legacies of Blood, it did not generate a great deal of fanfare. Hall is primarily a Temporis card - a rare discipline possessed by a mere six vampires who are relatively expensive even without factoring the Scarce penalty. In regards to the outferior, any prospect for abuse with weenie Dominate vote had been nipped in the bud due to the capacity restriction. Without Temporis, Hall is strictly inferior to Bewitching Oration because it costs a blood, has no superior effect, and cannot be used by smaller vampires. Despite all of these limitations, however, Hall of Hades' Court still has enormous potential for the Tremere Antitribu. Beggars can't be choosers and having limited vote push is better than none at all. In the past, the main options available to the !Tremere have been Bribes, Cryptic Rider, Mob Rule, and Telepathic Vote Counting. Bribes is usually unreliable when trying to pass a game winning vote. Cryptic Rider works the first few times but once the other players get a wind of it, they'll be voting down even innocuous votes because of the mere chance of an automatically passing referendum. Mob Rule tends to get rather blood intensive and can backfire if your opponents are willing to spend blood. And while Telepathic Vote Counting is great for shutting out Arika, it is still far too easy to get foiled by a single discarded political action. It's hard to pull off an early Crusade with Hannigan when any political deck can stop you by merely discarding a card. Enter Hades' Court. Nowadays, Hannigan's chances of success are far greater because he can generate an additional two votes on his own. If Arika hits the table, then you can pull out that TVC you've been saving for a rainy day. In fact, since the general trend has been towards superior Auspex and inferior Dominate (see Frondator, Hannigan, Elena, Yasmin, and Terrell) that means most of the !Tremere mid-caps can combine Hall with TVC. Hall is also better with Orlando Oriundus than TVC is because the additional votes get doubled. Outside of the True Brujah, no clan is better suited to take advantage of the Temporis options than the Tremere Antitribu. Infernal Pact and Ian Forestal are the easiest options to use, while the right deck can also employ Infernal Familiar and Spontaneous Power. If you get really bored, you can even combine Vial of Elder Vitae and Sanguine Instruction with Nickolai the Survivor. We'll ignore silly Cloak of Blood tricks for now unless you're really desperate for a laugh. So what to do with Hall of Hades' Court? The inferior Temporis is invaluable for countering a well-timed Delaying Tactics, Scalpel Tongue, or Confusion of the Eye and lacks many of the strings attached to Approximation of Loyalty. The superior version combines well with Powerbase: Madrid and the outferior Hall (remember that the two copies will be played by different vampires), providing an alternative to Orlando if you're playing Group 2/3 or if just don't feel like spending 9 pool. Sure, Hall of Hades' Court is no Awe, Madrigal, or Scalpel Tongue but it certainly still has its uses. -------------------------- [1.8 - Deck of the Month] The Heirs of Goratrix By Eric Chiang [CRYPT: 20 cards] 1 x Frondator (AUS dom tha, 5, !Tremere Bishop) 1 x Ladislas Toth, The Torch (AUS DOM for THA, 7, !Tremere Archbishop) 1 x Lucubratio (AUS DOM POT PRE THA, 10, !Tremere Archbishop) 5 x Malgorzata (AUS DOM pre THA VIC, 9, !Tremere Priscus) 1 x Nickolai, The Survivor (aus dom pot pre tha vic, 6, !Tremere) 4 x Orlando Oriundus (AUS DOM obf THA, 9, !Tremere Bishop) 1 x Paul Cordwood (AUS DOM obf pre THA, 8, !Tremere Bishop) 1 x Selena (AUS DOM THA, 6, !Tremere Black Hand) 1 x Yasmin the Black (AUS dom pre THA, 6, !Tremere Black Hand) 1 x Alfred Benezri (aus dom PRE THA, 6, Pander Bishop) 1 x Alfred Benezri (Advanced) (aus dom PRE THA, 7, Pander Bishop) 1 x Carna, The Princess Witch (AUS DOM THA, 7, Tremere Primogen) 1 x Cohn Rose (aus dom pre THA, 5. Tremere) Min: 22 Max: 37 Average: 7.700 [LIBRARY: 90 cards] [Master: 17 cards] 1 Black Forest Base 2 Blood Doll 1 Club Zombie 1 Creepshow Casino 1 Dia de los Muertos 2 Direct Intervention 1 Golconda: Inner Peace 2 Minion Tap 1 Pentex Subversion 1 Powerbase: Madrid 1 Powerbase: Rome 2 Presence 1 Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper, The [Action: 11 cards] 6 Govern the Unaligned 2 Mesmerize 3 Magic of the Smith [Action Modifier: 12 cards] 8 Mirror Walk 4 Voter Captivation [Combat: 9 cards] 6 Majesty 3 Weather Control [Equipment: 6 cards] 1 Bowl of Convergence 1 Gran Madre di Dio, Italy 1 Heart of Nizchetus 1 Ivory Bow 1 Lyndhurst Estate, New York 1 Pier 13, Port of Baltimore [Political Actions: 9 cards] 2 Banishment 5 Cardinal Benediction 1 Political Stranglehold 1 Reins of Power [Reaction: 26 cards] 2 Delaying Tactics 4 Deflection 4 My Enemy's Enemy 6 Obedience 2 On the Qui Vive 4 Telepathic Misdirection 4 Wake with Evening's Freshness This deck is focused primarily around two key vampires - Malgorzata and Orlando Oriundus, the so-called Heirs of Goratrix. Ideally you should influence out Malgorzata first. Then use her special to quickly bring out Orlando. Combine some superior Governs with Malgorzata's ability to put the rest of your crypt into play. With multiple copies of both Malgorzata and Orlando you have a good chance of starting with both in your uncontrolled region and then the extra copies serve as fodder to fuel Malgorzata's special. Almost everyone in the deck is titled, so that's a good initial base for your political influence. Once you've brought out a few minions you should use some Cardinal Benedictions to secure vote lock. With Orlando, each Cardinal is worth 6 votes. Remember that Orlando's special does not work on Prisci votes, so you may want to promote Malgorzata to a Cardinal for effectively an additional 3 votes. Also, you may want to make your other vampires Cardinals before upgrading Orlando in order to spread out your votes. He's already a big target so making him a Cardinal only makes it more likely that your opponents will attack him. Mirror Walk provides decent stealth but its most important function is combat defense. During your turn you avoid combat with Mirror Walk. During other player's turns you rely on Obedience. A well-played DI can ruin your day so watch out. If all else fails, Majesty provides an additional layer of combat defense. Most of the vampires in the deck do have Presence though most notably, Orlando does not. There are a couple of Presence skill cards that can rectify that (the skill card is chosen over Infernal Pact because of the capacity increase, which also helps Obedience and superior Governs). For the Millennium Cultist storyline, the idea was to play defensively and maintain a low profile while you built up your resource base. The Mirror Walk / Obedience / Majesty triumvirate kept me out of trouble until I secured vote lock, and then I took control of the Reverend Adams and used the Cultist deck to win the table. The only main deck that posed a real threat was a CEL/FOR/PRE gun deck using titled Camarilla vampires in order to pass Alastors and Archons. The deck focused on Gwendolyn, Jaroslav Pascek, and Madame Guil, though I also recall seeing Tyler, Maxwell, and Tegyrius (who was Merged in one game). The combat was a potential problem for me, since most of the vampires were too large to Obedience and I couldn't even Mesmerize their guns away. The key to success was outvoting them. The deck relied on its innate votes and Scalpel Tongue in order to take control of the Reverend and to pass its Alastor votes. With Orlando, I was able to distribute the votes among my vampires so that Scalpel Tongue couldn't swing the balance. And there were several times when I let the predator of the Alastor deck take control of the Reverend, if only to put pressure on my main competition. My strategy worked in the end, allowing me to bring victory to the Tremere Antitribu! There are some tweaks you should consider if you try this deck in a normal play environment. Pier 13, Port of Baltimore and the 2 copies of Mesmerize are only there to take advantage of all the free weapons in the Millennium Cultist deck and to counter them if someone gets them first. The Gran Madre di Dio is in there to slow down Reverend Adams (though only when he comes into play from the center of the table) and to counter the hordes of Creation Rites and allies. None of these are particularly helpful in regular games and can be cut. Similarly, an average table won't have nearly as much political presence as the Millennium Cultist storyline did. You may find it worthwhile to drop the two Delaying Tactics and the Día de los Muertos, Powerbase: Rome, Lyndhurst Estate, and even some of the extra Cardinal Benedictions may result in overkill. Instead, these cards should be substituted with damaging votes such as Kine Resources Contested, Domain Challenge, and Anarchist Uprising. In the Millennium Cultist once you acquired vote lock, the Cultist deck provided an ample kill mechanism. When porting this deck to a standard environment, you will need more means of delivering forward ousting pressure. -------------------------- Things to Look Forward to: The Sword of Caine, revisiting the Black Hand mechanic, and Selena's hot little sister! Signing out, Halcyan 2