CLAN NEWSLETTER TZIMISCE, SEPTEMBER 2003 Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Tech. 3. Vampire of the month. 4. Card of the month. 5. Deck of the month. 6. Art of the flesh. 7. Conclusion. Introduction. Well, the Storyline is here. Lambach is gaining power, and we as the Tzimisce shall be out in force. The only thing that is left for you to decide is whether you are going to support him or not. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the Tzimisce win for me in the storyline, and more importantly, how to deal with anti-tzimisce tactics. Tech. Firstly, what are we as the Tzimisce scared of in the Storyline? Well, I can think of 2 major things: Kiss of Ra and Vicissitude Poisoning. I shall be playing a Tzimisce deck that *gasp!* doesn't block to deal with Kiss of Ra, just bouncing any bleeds that are incoming from FOR vampires. Unless you are really intent on playing a Tzimisce Wall deck, then just stick to either using Telepathic Counter of Telepathic Misdirection, and that means you've rendered a portion of your predator's deck useless. And with regards to Vicissitude Poisoning, I think it's best to check the ratio of Vicissitude cards to minions you plan to bring out. If you try and keep it to about 20 Vicissitude cards per deck with a plan to bring out about 3 minions, then you shouldn't have to stop playing Vicissitude cards in fear of burning minions. I strongly suggest taking advantage of our clan's reputation as The Blockers. Your prey taps out and discards his wake thinking he's got lucky and caught you without Eagle's sight? Bleed him with everything you have! Fiendish Tongue, Changeling, PRE bleed, DOM bleed, whatever, just bleed him and make him regret ever tapping out! As to your predator, if you can taunt and bluff your way into him not taking actions in fear of being blocked and then Rotschrecked, then you have given yourself a big head start. Of course, it's even better if you can provide the illusion of that wall deck by packing a few intercept cards, providing you can deal with the resulting combat. Of course, this style of playing should be attempted wherever possibly, not just limited to Storyline tournaments. Vampire of the month. Violet Tremain 6 cap, Tzimisce Bishop dom pre vic tha If Violet successfully inflicts 2 hand damage on an opposing vampire in combat, reduce that vampire's capacity by 1 at the end of combat. (A vampire's capacity cannot be reduced below 1.) Well ok, at first glance, Violet is totally useless for most Tzimisce decks, as she only has 1 in-clan discapline, and that is at inferior. However, it's Violet's utility that makes her a worthwhile (barely mind you, having no superior discaplines for a 6 cap is pretty risky business). However, out of all the out-of-clan options for the Tzimisce, Violet possesses the right stuff. Presence and a bishop title? Into a vicissitude and presence vote deck she goes. Dominte and an amusing (if not annoying) special? She fits into into a vicissitude and dominte bleed deck. Vicissitude and Thaumaturgy? Pair her up with Sascha and a couple of other vamps, and you're doing non-preventable agg damage with Chiropteran Marauder and Blood Fury. The only really big downside to her is the inferior discaplines, so you're going to need pack master discipline cards, but that is balanced by the weird and wacky combos you can come up with. Card of the Month. Bloodform. Combat, Vicissitude [vic] Strike: Combat ends, only usable when in combat with an ally. [VIC] Play before range is chosen. This vampire is immune to non- aggravated damage for the current round. This vampire cannot strike this round. This vampire gets an optional press, only usable to continue combat. This card is probably the most overlooked card for the Tzimisce. For starters, it just allows one of your vampires with VIC to say "shoo fly, you bother me" in a round of combat when somebody plays Torn Signpost and Immortal Grapple, or Carrion Crows plus Aid from Bats. You can cancel the press from a Bats or Grapple as well, and you have only played 1 card. If you can trade for enough, it is also probably quite nicely coupled with Trap, Drawing out the Beast, Carrion Crows and Murder of Crows, although you wouldn't want to do that in a playgroup with lots of agg poke going around. Deck of the Month. Deck Name: War3 Created By: Cameron Roberts Description: Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 18, Max: 36, Avg: 6.50) ---------------------------------------------- 5 Velya for ANI AUS PRE VIC 9, Tzimisce, Cardinal 4 The Rose aus PRE VIC 5, Tzimisce 1 Lolita Houston aus VIC 4, Tzimisce 1 Hugo POT pre vic 4, Brujah Antitribu 1 Creamy Jade aus cel PRE vic 5, Toreador antitribu Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (16 cards) 2 Blood Doll 2 Charisma 1 Coven, The 1 Creepshow Casino 1 Dreams of the Sphinx 1 Dummy Corporation 1 Giant's Blood 3 Jake Washington (Hunter) 1 Library Hunting Ground 1 Presence 1 Sudden Reversal 1 Vicissitude Action (14 cards) 7 Social Charm 7 Summoning, The Action Modifier (8 cards) 8 Changeling Reaction (14 cards) 7 Telepathic Misdirection 7 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (22 cards) 6 Bloodform 5 Fake Out 6 Majesty 5 Trap Ally (4 cards) 4 War Ghoul Retainer (5 cards) 5 Marijava Ghoul Combo (7 cards) 7 Plasmic Form This deck takes advantage of the wonderful gift the Tzimisce got when they gained access to the use of The Summoning. With this card, you only need 4 war ghouls in the deck (far easier to trade for 4, than the usual 8 or 9 for a standard War Ghoul deck), as you can just add more copies of The Summoning to draw them earlier. It also steps into a PRE+VIC bleeding hat quite well, using the Marijava for innate stealth on Social Charm, which in turn helps pay for war ghouls. I considered adding Hungry Coyote, but with with so few Blood Dolls in the deck, it's hard to justify the cost of putting into play in the first place, even though it adds much needed blood-gain for the vamps in this deck. Imediate targets to send War Ghouls after are: Deflector's and Blocker's controlled by your prey; most useful vampire of you predator's and if need be, use them to intimdate somebody across the table into acting favourably towards you. Art of the Flesh. http://www.eftel.com/~meshenka/production2.jpg A Tzimisce standing in front of his work lab, enjoying a nice glass of vitae while taking a break. Edit out the "2" from the link to see the original pen sketch. Conclusion. As always, comments and critiscisms are welcome. Next newsletter we will take a look at our newly revamped (all puns intended) friend, Lambach v2.0. Until then, good luck with your Storyline endevours. Cameron Roberts. Metamorphosis is nigh.