V:EKN Official Tremere Newsletter, May 2004 I. Introduction II. Strategy Discussion - Presence and the Pyramid III. Crypt Focus - Rebekka, Chantry Elder of Munich IV. Library Focus - Telepathic Vote Counting V. Deck Focus - Munich and Montreal VI. Conclusion I. Introduction Another month goes by and we find ourselves meeting again to discuss the strategies of Clan Tremere. For the second month in a row, this Newsletter shall delve into a common discipline that is not considered a "clan discipline": Presence. Later this month, we will be faced with Gehenna, a new expansion with brand new vampires and great new promise. With the addition of Event cards, playable during the Discard Phase, old players will be dusting off Ulugh Beg and performing a few new tricks. More will be reviewed in future Newsletters, after the official release of the set. Read on if you wish to glean greater insight into the Clan's powers... II. Strategy Discussion - Presence and the Pyramid Since Camarilla Edition, many Tremere have been printed who have Presence as well as the standard clan disciplines. In addition, there are several vampires from other, Presence-laden clans, who have Thaumaturgy. Let us examine what Presence can do for our overall strategy. Arguably, Presence has three main functions: bleeding, voting, and combat defense. Each of those three functions have very powerful staple cards including Enchant Kindred, Voter Captivation, and Majesty, respectively. Presence is also known for tapping minions and Majesty specifically untaps your own minions for extra actions while protecting your own vampire. As far as bleeding is concerned, the Tremere need no help from Presence. Dominate is still the strongest discipline in the game and it excels at bleeding. Combat defense is also not a worry for vampires with superior Thaumaturgy. Theft of Vitae and Movement of the Mind make for a simple defensive combat package, but the untap that Majesty provides at superior Presence is worth utilizing. Voting is a different story. In the Jyhad, the Tremere have not been known for their political prowess. The Clan has its fair share of titled vampires, but often that is not enough to pass a successful referendum. Now Presence shines, with classic staples like Bewitching Oration and Voter Captivation. Mixed with the potent Telepathic Vote Counting, a Tremere can push just about any vote through. Now let us look at it the other way around - what can the Tremere (or at least Thaumaturgy) do for a Presence-based deck? As far as clan-specific cards go, Arcane Library and Chantry are always powerful staples. In a Presence vote deck, Awe becomes unstoppable when combined with The Ankara Citadel, Turkey. Thaumaturgy as a discipline has very little to offer Presence, but what it does offer is significant. Combat is more robust, mixing the usual stack of Majesty-like cards with maneuvers, and the occasional Theft of Vitae to refill the vampire. Rutor's Hand is more than welcome in a deck capable of both bleed actions and political actions. Infernal Familiar and Inscription enable one to build a deck using vampires who have Thaumaturgy but not Presence and vice-versa. III. Crypt Focus - Rebekka, Chantry Elder of Munich Rebekka, Chantry Elder of Munich Clan: Tremere Capacity: 8 Group: 2 pot AUS PRE THA Camarilla: Rebekka gets +1 stealth on each of her actions. Rebekka gets +1 bleed when bleeding a Methuselah who controls a ready Malkavian. Rebekka is the obvious choice for this Newsletter for a few good reasons: she is the only Tremere with superior Presence; she is only one of only four vampires in the game with superior Presence and superior Thaumaturgy; and to top it all off she has +1 stealth on every action. Rebekka is a monster bleeder with Presence or a Pulse of the Canaille. Her combat capabilities are very strong with both superior Presence and Thaumaturgy, and her rarely-used Potence. In a political deck her +1 stealth will get past most casual intercept, which is often a necessity. Just about the only thing she's missing is a title - it's a good thing she has access to Telepathic Vote Counting and Bewitching Oration. Chances are the only reason you are not using her in every deck is that she does not have Dominate. IV. Library Focus - Telepathic Vote Counting Telepathic Vote Counting Action Modifier Auspex Only usable during a referendum. [aus] Cancel the referendum. If you played a political card to call this referendum, take the card back into your hand (and discard back down to your hand size). Any votes cast are lost. [AUS] Force a vampire to abstain from voting. This can cancel that vampire's votes. Even though this Newsletter has focused on Presence, I chose to showcase this card because it requires an in-clan discipline. A Tremere political deck is a rare thing, but Telepathic Vote Counting makes it possible. Early in the game, this is usually all you need to pass a vote - especially if you are willing to distribute points from Kine Resources Contested, or an extra Master Phase Action. Combined with Presence vote modifiers, it is devastating. V. Deck Focus - Munich and Montreal Deck Name: Munich and Montreal Created By: Dorrinal Blackmantle Description: This deck combines Presence and Thaumaturgy, focusing on Rebekka and Alfred Benezri. The crypt is designed so Rebekka may enter play first (hopefully becoming Legendary) and Enchant down or tool up with her +1 stealth. Alfred Benezri has a good discipline set for this deck, and has considerable vote power when merged. When it cannot vote, this deck may utilize tap-and-bleed tactics with its Presence actions, Rutor's Hand, Majesty, and Change of Target. Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 19, Max: 32, Avg: 6.42) ---------------------------------------------- 3 Rebekka pot AUS PRE THA 8, Tremere:2 1 Ardan Lane dom obf pre AUS THA 8, Tremere:3, primogen 1 Virstania dom pre vic AUS THA 7, Tremere:3 1 Alfred Benezri (ADV) aus dom PRE THA 7, Pander:3, Bishop/Archbishop 2 Alfred Benezri aus dom PRE THA 6, Pander:3, Bishop 1 Yasmin the Black dom pre AUS THA 6, Tremere antitribu:3 1 Cohn Rose aus dom pre THA 5, Tremere:3 1 Pieter van Dorn dom pre tha 4, Tremere:3 1 Maldavis for pre AUS 4, Caitiff:3 Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (15 cards) 1 Auspex 1 Creepshow Casino 3 Effective Management 1 Gift of Experience 1 Legendary Vampire 4 Minion Tap 3 Presence 1 Secure Haven Action (9 cards) 5 Enchant Kindred 1 Pulse of the Canaille 2 Rutor's Hand 1 Seeds of Corruption Action Modifier (20 cards) 1 Awe 4 Bewitching Oration 4 Change of Target 4 Conditioning 2 Telepathic Vote Counting 5 Voter Captivation Political Action (14 cards) 1 Disputed Territory 1 Domain Challenge 1 Dramatic Upheaval 7 Kine Resources Contested 1 Meddling of Semsith, The 1 Praxis Seizure: Berlin 1 Praxis Seizure: Boston 1 Tremere Justicar Reaction (13 cards) 4 Deflection 4 Telepathic Misdirection 5 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (18 cards) 5 Majesty 8 Movement of the Mind 5 Theft of Vitae Equipment (1 cards) 1 Ankara Citadel, Turkey, The This deck is just one example of how one can mix Presence with the clan. Notice the focus on Auspex as a third discipline, with a touch of Dominate. There are other vampires who have Presence and Thaumaturgy, and a great deal of Dominate, which would change the focus of the deck entirely. VI. Conclusion Thank you for reading the Clan Tremere Newsletter! Through our discussion of Presence, I hope that a new avenue opens up for many players who are used to the various bleed- and intercept-based decks the Tremere are famous for. Whether you add Presence or stick to in-clan disciplines, a successful referendum is not out of your reach. By the next time we meet, I will delve into the new cards available in Gehenna. There should be enough material for the rest of the Summer with the new vampires and new library cards. Serenading the Kami, for instance, is a ritual found in the source RPG and should prove to be a boon to Clan Tremere. Please contact me with comments, suggestions, or criticisms at dorrinal@hotmail.com. Dorrinal Blackmantle Chronicler of Clan Tremere