Official V:EKN Tzimisce Newsletter, March 2004 I. Introduction II. Strategy - Bleeding Tzimisce's III. Crypt Focus - Corine Marcón IV. Library Focus - Weirding Stone - Capitalist - Meld with the Land V. Deck Focus - Play-Doh - Terror beneath Prague VI. Additional Comments I. Introduction. Finally the Tzimisce newsletter returns after almost 6 months downtime. With me Alex "_angst_" Ek as a fresh blood writer working with Cameron "meshenka" Roberts to bring you the latest in Tzimisce mayhem. This is the first newsletter since "The Black Hand" hit the tables and I will focus around some of the new cards brought to us by this expansion. I will also discuss Tzimisce bleeding which is the main focus in this newsletter. This is the first newsletter I have ever written so I hope that you'll enjoy it, m'kay :) II. Strategy, bleeding with the Tzimisce. We all know that the Tzimisce can block, we know they can fight and we know they can vote. But what about bleeding? In my days as a v:tes player I have seen very few players trying to bleed with the Tzimisce and their vicissitude. So does bleeding with the Tzimisce really suck? Of course the answer is no! As early as the Sabbat expansion Wizards of the Coast printed both Changeling and Plasmic form and thereby they gave the Tzimisce and Vicissitude a solid stealth-and-bleed foundation. Cards like Living Manse, Tasha Morgan and J.S Simmons could be added with Laptop Computer, Pulse of the Canille and Anarch Troublemaker to make horrible bleed decks. With some War Ghoul's the Tzimisce bleeders can beat the crap out of anything that moves. And this was possible as early as the Sabbat expansion. Since then the Tzimisce crypt and library has grown with many cards. So how should you bleed? The Tzimisce have access to limited stealth. No more than Changeling, Plasmic Form and Stealth Ritus so I would recommend you to use combat. A dead blocker is an ousted blocker and the Tzimisce's almost unlimited supply of cards that inflicts aggravated damage becomes very handy here. I would also advice you to take cards like Anarch troublemaker and Misdirection into consideration to get rid of some blockers and get that oust. Facts to consider… The vicissitude cards cost blood. Living manse costs blood. Untapping with Fiendish tongue costs blood. Playing Telepathic misdirection's costs blood, so don't forget to bloat. Use Hunting Ground, Life in the City, Hungry Coyote, Capitalist and The Coven to get back that precious blood you need so badly to get this killing machine running. One final advice is not to underestimate your opponent. It's good to add meld with the land to your deck, both for avoiding nasty combat, but also for untapping your grand prey's vampire if you get deflected there. So add up on permanent bleed modifiers like Laptop, Tasha and Living manse. Bleed with killers like Fiendish tongue and get it through with Plasmic Form, Changeling and Anarch Troublemaker. And if those suckers block, let them taste the full fury of the Tzimisce combat cards. Rip their heads of with Chiropteran Marauder" and Breath of the Dragon. And when they go rescue each other from torpor, kill them again with some well played wakes and intercept. Then bloat, bloat ‘til you are the only player still standing. Then be happy with yourself and proud to be a member of the clan of shapers. III. Crypt Focus, Corine Marcón. Name: Corine Marcón Clan: Tzimisce Group: 2 Capacity: 6 Disciplines: ani AUS VIC Cardtext: Sabbat: +1 strength. So where does Corine fit into our purposes. We want to bleed, right? Why not focus on Little Tailor or Stravinsky with their permanent +1 bleed? Corine is awesome for this purpose, that's why. She's a great mid-cap vampire with two in-clan superiors and one inferior. She also has a great bruising power with her +1 strength. With VIC she can play all the cards we need her to play. Plasmic, Changeling, Chiropteran, Breath, Horrid form and whatever nasties that you would like to add to your own Tzimisce bleeder. With AUS she can intercept, bounce and play evil combat cards like Telepathic tracking and Aura reading. Then she has ani which I find a bit unnecessary for bleeding purposes, but if you can find something good to add from ani. Then go ahead. + VIC to play all the bleed cards + AUS for intercept and bounce + +1 strength to bruise your poor enemy - ani which I don't consider that necessary for bleeding purposes IV. Library Focus, Weirding Stone, Capitalist, Meld with the land. Weirding Stone Cardtype: Equipment Clan: Tzimisce Cost: 1 blood Equipment. During any Methuselah's untap phase, you may look at the top card of that Methuselah's library. If that card is a master card, this vampire may burn 1 blood to burn that card. For 1 blood you get the ability to annoy every Methuselah on the table each of their turns by asking to take a look on their top library card. That's what I like in this card :) No, seriously. It's always good to get a hum on what card's your prey and predator will be drawing. And paying a blood to kill off a hunting ground, blood doll or minion tap is an awesome ability. I only see good things in this card. Especially if you want to bleed. Capitalist Cardtype: Master Master: archetype. Put this card on a Sabbat vampire you control. Once per turn, when this vampire successfully bleeds his or her prey, he or she gains 1 blood from the blood bank. A vampire can have only one archetype. Now this is an obvious card. As I mentioned earlier in this newsletter, to get the vicissitude bleed module to work properly you need blood. Capitalist gives you a blood if you succeed in bleeding. And you want to bleed with your bleed-deck. Is this obvious enough for you :P In short, this is another one of those cards from the Black Hand expansion which really powers up the Tzimisce bleeders. Meld with the Land Cardtype: Combat Discipline: Vicissitude [vic] Strike: combat ends and untap the opposing minion. [VIC] Strike: combat ends. Now this is a card that has raised some debate. Personally I find it awesome, especially in bleed decks. The VIC level is good to get out of fights you can't handle but I really find the vic version of the card more interesting. This is why: People play with bounce. They play with a lot of bounce. And when your Little Tailor with pulse, living manse and Tasha gets deflected you really don't want to hurt your grand prey. With meld with the land you can tell him to block, end the combat and untap his minion, leaving him without a scar. This is responsible bleeding for you :) V. Deck Focus, Play-doh, Terror beneath Prague. Here I have chosen to display two different versions of a Tzimisce bleed deck. The first one is composed by me and the latter one is composed by my friend Henrik "sg3kmb613sdf5gr". Hopefully these decks will fill you with inspiration for the Tzimisce clan. Deck Name: Play-doh Created By: _angst_ Description: This is a weenie version of a vicissitude based stealth/bruise/bleed deck. It relies on speed, powerful bleeding and nasty combat to oust. It also uses some permacept and a good amount of bloat to be more stable. It has some problems with powerful vote-decks but it mostly crushes everything in its way. The idea is to bleed every turn and then with the help of wakes and fiendish tongue stay up and block incoming attacks. Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 9, Max: 22, Avg: 4,00) --------------------------------------------- 1 Olga Triminov vic 1, Pander 1 Christine Boscacci dom vic 2, Pander 1 Horatio vic 2, Tzimisce 2 Lolita Houston aus VIC 4, Tzimisce 1 Ramiro dom obt vic 4, Lasombra 1 Terrence ani aus vic 4, Tzimisce 1 The Rose aus PRE VIC 5, Tzimisce 2 Ana Rita Montaña aus dom obf VIC 5, Tzimisce 1 Caliban ANI AUS VIC 6, Tzimisce 1 Corine Marcon ani AUS VIC 6, Tzimisce Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (24 cards) 1 Anarch Troublemaker 1 Archon Investigation 1 Barrens, The 5 Blood Doll 4 Capitalist 1 Coven, The 2 Dreams of the Sphinx 1 Library Hunting Ground 5 Life in the City 3 Vicissitude Action (8 cards) 8 Fiendish Tongue Action Modifier (10 cards) 10 Changeling Reaction (6 cards) 6 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (24 cards) 6 Breath of the Dragon 10 Chiropteran Marauder 8 Meld with the Land Ally (1 cards) 1 War Ghoul Retainer (6 cards) 1 J. S. Simmons, Esq. 1 Mr. Winthrop 3 Revenant 1 Tasha Morgan Equipment (3 cards) 2 Living Manse 1 Weirding Stone Combo (8 cards) 8 Plasmic Form Deck Name: Terror beneath Prague Created By: sg3kmb613sdf5gr Description: This deck is created by a friend of mine who's also a big fan of the Tzimisce clan. It's a more stable version of the Tzimisce bleed deck using bigger vampires. It bloats and bounces and uses lots of permanent bleed modifiers to bleed with power. This deck is more on the defensive in combat but it still has the Tzimisce ability to poke where it hurts if it gets agitated. A dangerous foe indeed. Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 9, Max: 29, Avg: 4,92) --------------------------------------------- 2 Little Tailor of Prague ANI AUS dem VIC 8, Tzimisce 1 Caliban ANI AUS VIC 6, Tzimisce 1 Corine Marcon ani AUS VIC 6, Tzimisce 1 Lolita Houston aus VIC 4, Tzimisce 1 Horatio vic 2, Tzimisce 1 Elizabeth Westcott ani cel vic AUS 5, Tzimisce 1 Christine Boscacci dom vic 2, Pander 1 Kazimir Savostin ani pot AUS VIC 7, Tzimisce 1 The Rose aus PRE VIC 5, Tzimisce 1 Olga Triminov vic 1, Pander 1 Ana Rita Montaña aus dom obf VIC 5, Tzimisce Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (19 cards) 7 Blood Doll 4 Capitalist 1 Coven, The 2 Hungry Coyote, The 1 Library Hunting Ground 3 Life in the City 1 Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper, The Action (12 cards) 10 Fiendish Tongue 2 Revelations Action Modifier (8 cards) 8 Changeling Reaction (14 cards) 8 Telepathic Misdirection 6 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (22 cards) 4 Aura Reading 3 Breath of the Dragon 9 Chiropteran Marauder 6 Meld with the Land Retainer (2 cards) 1 J. S. Simmons, Esq. 1 Tasha Morgan Equipment (7 cards) 1 Femur of Toomler 2 Leather Jacket 4 Living Manse Combo (6 cards) 6 Plasmic Form VI. Additional comments. This is the first of hopefully many Tzimisce newsletters a have written so I would like constructive criticism. I am also interested in adding fiction to the Tzimisce newsletters so if you have any fiction you want published in a newsletter. Please e-mail me. You can also e-mail me about topics you want me to discuss in following newsletters. The April issue will handle The Black hand and their role in the clan of shapers. The May issue will talk about the Tzimisce's cutest little pet, the War Ghoul. All I have left now is for me to give you my best wishes from the Swedish west-coast. Please send your comments, wishes, rants and fiction to vtes_trader at hotmail dot com. Peace! //Alex/_angst_ http://www.vekn.nu/ #vtes #vtes-game @ sorcerynet, IRC chat can also be found @ http://www.thelasombra.com/