V:EKN Official Tremere Newsletter, July 2004 I. Introduction II. Strategy Discussion - Rush Combat A. Tools of the Trade B. Deckbuilding Basics for Tremere C. Combat Tactics: Short-chain Combat III. Crypt Focus - Muhsin Samir IV. Library Focus - Serenading the Kami V. Deck Focus - Furiously Serenading the Kami VI. Conclusion I. Introduction Welcome back, fellow warlock. This month I shall focus on the tactics used in Tremere combat, and discuss a strategy rarely used by members of the clan: rush-combat. The strategy has been bolstered by a new card in the set, Serenading the Kami, which will be featured prominently in this month's deck. II. Strategy Discussion - Rush Combat A. Tools of the Trade Rush-Combat is a strategy that has been explored by more combat-ready clans like Brujah and Gangrel since the beginning of the game. For novice players, the strategy is conceptually simple but difficult to implement: torporize your predator's vampires for defense and torporize your prey's vampires to cause pool damage (through Fame) or pave the way for bleeds. Recently rush-combat has been given many more tools to cause pool damage and inches closer to being a powerful deck strategy. Here are the best examples: Fame - this is the classic card to cause pool damage through combat - when the target goes to torpor, the controller of the vampire burns 3 pool. A typical Fame-rush deck will include multiple copies for successive preys and to ensure that a copy gets drawn early enough. Experienced methuselahs often hold this card (perhaps leaving it in a Storage Annex) until the right time. Tension in the Ranks - an extra bit of pool damage to your prey. It is handy because it can weaken people around the table and make your predator more cautious about taking actions. Since the Tremere are somewhat vulnerable in combat, I would avoid this card unless I had a way to keep my vampires from going to torpor. Fortitude, perhaps... Path of Lillith - more pool damage, but it only works for non-Camarilla vampires, so it does not suit our purposes. Leadership Vacuum - not something to rely on, but surely a strong combat deck could fit one in. Dragonbound - Deal with the loss of hand size, because this card is worth it. B. Deckbuilding Basics for Tremere So with those tools, all you need is a deck full of combat cards and rush-actions, right? Make no mistake, a well-built rush deck isn't just a stack of red cards. Also, executing the strategy is a daunting task even for experts at the game. Here are my thoughts on what would make a good Tremere- or Thaumaturgy-based rush deck. As I will demonstrate, our powers allow us to focus a combat deck as effective as ousting as it is at combat. One of the greatest challenges when building such a deck is the need to provide room for many combat cards. If Thaumaturgy does most of the work in combat, Auspex and Dominate become excellent support disciplines that save a great deal of space. Splashing in a few Deflections and Govern the Unaligned add a great deal of defense for just a few cards (usually 10 or less). Auspex can add intercept - in a deck trying to save space, I recommend the dual-usage cards Telepathic Misdirection and My Enemy's Enemy. Master card selection for a rush deck is far different than for other typical decks. The three main components to build up should be: Ousting Power, Pool Gain, and Card Flow. Ousting Power can be represented by a few copies of Fame and perhaps some of the other Tools described above. Pool Gain is typically done through Blood Dolls, which is ideal for the blood-stealing Tremere. Card Flow makes sure that your vampires are always ready for a fight. The Barrens and Dreams of the Sphinx are the best, followed up by Fragment of the Book of Nod and Visit from the Capuchin. Here's the hard part: put together a package of 15 cards or less because a combat deck that rapidly cycles cards cannot afford to get clogged by masters! If you've been careful about your card selection, you now have a great deal of room for rush actions and combat cards. Combat cards alone will probably be from 30-40 cards. Now we will try to put together a robust combat package based on Thaumaturgy. C. Combat Tactics: Short-Chain Combat When the primary ousting mechanism for a deck is to torporize vampires, it is important to be able to do so regularly and reliably. Doing that requires careful consideration and selection of combat cards - not just a pile of Theft of Vitae and maneuvers. Short-Chain Combat (SCC, credits to David Cherryholmes for the concept) refers to a method of combat which ensures that each combat is efficient, consistent, and deadly. Each combat should expend only 0-2 cards in order to deal sufficient damage (typically at least 3 regular or 1 aggravated damage) and stop at least one of the following combat defensive measures: a) Damage Prevention b) Hitback c) Strike: Dodge d) Strike: Combat Ends Thaumaturgy strikes are well-known for neutralizing damage prevention. Strike: Dodge and strike: Combat Ends can be circumvented with Thoughts Betrayed and Telepathic Tracking. The exceptional Perfect Clarity will even hose Presence-based strikes and Obedience! Sadly, hitback can be a problem for most Tremere, who typically pack as many maneuvers as possible to avoid damage. With those points in mind, here are a few solid SCC combinations that the Tremere are capable of. Blood Fury With just superior Thaumaturgy a vampire can deliver 3 damage that cannot be prevented by Fortitude. It's simple yet effective, but watch out for the return strike! Thoughts Betrayed Theft of Vitae Thoughts Betrayed neutralizes most defenses and hitback. Theft of Vitae produces up to a 4-blood advantage (2 from him + 2 to you) that cannot be prevented by any means since it's not damage. It will not torporize anyone but it certainly is tough to defend against. Telepathic Tracking Walk of Flame Telepathic Tracking is inexpensive and very useful at inferior as well as a strike: Combat Ends hoser at superior. Walk of Flame sends the opposing vampire to torpor... fast. Mix in a few Theft of Vitae and/or maneuvers to handle all the hitback and you are in business. Once you have nailed down your offensive combat package, supplement it with as many cards as you have room left in the deck. I like a copy of the Ankara Citadel, Turkey as well as a healthy number of maneuvers. Soul Burn only does 2 damage at superior but it is a good backup strike against a maneuver-heavy gun deck. Now that we have a better idea of what a rush-combat deck is about, we will examine some of the new cards available to us and look at a decklist using at least one of the combat packages mentioned above. III. Crypt Focus - Muhsin Samir Muhsin Samir Clan: Tremere Group: 4 Capacity: 6 aus pot DOM THA Camarilla. Muhsin Samir may be group 4, but his disciplines are reminiscent of the Dominate-heavy Group 1. He is a monster in a bruise-and-bleed deck where he can use his Potence and superior Thaumaturgy to threaten opponents. His superior Dominate makes him a heavy bleeder as well as someone who can Govern down to the small-capacity vampires. When considering building a rush-combat deck, his Dominate and Potence make him a dangerous combatant. Access to both Thoughts Betrayed and Immortal Grapple ensure that his strikes land. Immortal Grapple with Blood Fury alone is enough to stop most combat defenses cold. Overall a very good Tremere even though he is not particularly spectacular. I believe he will become a staple in Group 3-4 Tremere/!Tremere crypts. IV. Library Focus - Serenading the Kami Serenading the Kami Action Modifier 1 blood Thaumaturgy Only usable when the action is announced. [tha] The acting vampire gets +1 strength for the duration of this action. [THA] As above, but with +2 strength. This card is a great boon to bleed and combat decks for the Tremere. It can be used as another block-deterrent in a bruise-and-bleed deck type that would give even a Potence deck pause. Since it does not require a block, it is also usable on a rush action. While +2 strength is powerful on its own, this card is even better in combination with Blood Rage or Blood Fury, delivering 3-5 damage that cannot be prevented by Fortitude. Assamite players will revel in the fact that it has great synergy with Psyche! - since the strength boost is in effect for an entire action, it is in effect for all new combats started by Psyche! A powerful new card which merits inclusion into many different deck types. V. Deck Focus - Furiously Serenading the Kami Deck Name: Furiously Serenading the Kami Created By: Dorrinal Description: Rush-combat using Thaumaturgy for combat and Telepathic Tracking as the primary Combat Defense Trump. Fame is the primary ousting mechanism, with a few Dominate bleeds for when your vampires have cleared the field. The light bleed defense means that you don't have to rush your predator as often as a typical combat deck. Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 13, Max: 26, Avg: 5.00) ---------------------------------------------- 2 Carna AUS DOM THA 7, Tremere:3, Primogen 2 Eugenio Estevez AUS dom THA 6, Tremere:3 1 Selena AUS DOM THA 6, Tremere Antitribu:2 2 Aisling Sturbridge AUS dom THA 5, Tremere:2 2 Hannigan AUS dom THA 5, Tremere Antitribu:2 1 Blythe Candeleria aus THA 3, Tremere:2 1 Masika St. John THA 3, Tremere:3 1 Magdalena Schaefer THA 2, Caitiff:2 Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Event (1 card) 1 Dragonbound Master (13 cards) 1 Academic Hunting Ground 1 Arcane Library 1 Barrens, The 3 Blood Doll 1 Chantry 1 Dreams of the Sphinx 3 Fame 1 Humanitas 1 Leadership Vacuum Action (16 cards) 7 Bum's Rush 4 Govern the Unaligned 4 Nose of the Hound 1 Rutor's Hand Action Modifier (12 cards) 4 Conditioning 8 Serenading the Kami Reaction (8 cards) 4 Telepathic Misdirection 4 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (38 cards) 7 Apportation 12 Blood Fury 2 Soul Burn 7 Telepathic Tracking 4 Theft of Vitae 6 Taste of Vitae Equipment (2 cards) 1 Ankara Citadel, Turkey 1 Sword of Nuln VI. Conclusion Rush-combat is certainly not our clan's forte but I have demonstrated how we can build a deck that does well with many of the problems faced by other rush-combat decks. And we have just scratched the surface! At least we can begin putting more thought into the kind of combat our decks will include. Future issues will certainly continue to focus on the combat capabilities of the Tremere. I have several ideas for the next issue, including more focusing on out-of-clan disciplines. Until then, I encourage everyone to discuss these topics on the newsgroup rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad and at the White Wolf Forums. Also please email me at dorrinal@hotmail.com with ideas, comments, or criticisms. Farewell! Dorrinal Blackmantle Chronicler of Clan Tremere