Hah! I bet you thought I'd given up! Well, you were wrong. My semester is over and once more I have completed the newsletter. With any luck I'll have one for December too, there's just so much !Ventru-y goodness to talk about.... +-----------------------+ Once and Future Kings Ventrue Antitribu Newsletter (November 03) 1 Introduction 2 Feature The Rank and File of the Hand 3 Stratagems #3 "Kill with a borrowed knife" 4 Vampire of the Month Owain Evens, The Wanderer 5 You're not cleared to see this 6 Deckstravaganza !Vote 7 Final Words 1 Introduction Well, we're hear once more, and since last we spoke the ranks of the Sabbat have swelled significantly. The Black Hand is a veritable gold mine for the !Ventrue, and though many clans benefit, I am probably not alone in saying that the !Ventrue have received the biggest boost as a result of the set. So everyone have a seat around the hearth, steep yourself a pot of Earl Grey and join me for our latest (and really late) issue of Once and Future Kings. 2 Feature The Rank and File of the Hand The Black Hand are the elite of the Sabbat, the coldest of killers. They are also the newest Jyhad set to hit the block, and boy does it weigh in heavy. It offers quality vampires and library cards that while introducing new possibilities do not unduly raise the power curve. By Clan: The Brujah Antitribu receive 7 new vampires. Of particular note are Wah Chun-Yuen, who will complement the Euro-Brujah with his POT cel and dom at 5 capacity, Henry Taylor, who can recycle combat cards and Miguel Santo Domingo, who's ability to grant bleed bonuses to minions is likely to cause decks based around him. Their new library card is Vendetta, a marvellous card that allows !Brujah to rush vampires who have bled their Methuselah (for more than 2) with +1 strength. Bleed decks beware! The !Gangrel gain members of their city and urban bloodline. Jalan is impressive, being Karsh's slightly younger and almost as dangerous brother. Their card, Talons of the Dead, is effective, but costly, and by default makes it more difficult to do the kinds of things that !Gangrel want to do. The ability to burn it is nice, but for the 2 pool invested it doesn't seem worth it. The Lasombra have 3 Black Hand vampires in their ranks, including a 5 capacity Seraph with DOM. In addition, Nahir's special ability stands to make that vampire an interesting centrepiece for deck construction. San Nicolas is a wonderful new card that makes rushing Lasombra quite the invest at 1 pool per attempt. Obtenebration also receives Tenebrous Form, a relatively mundane stealth card. The !Malkavians do alright. Midget is a machine for evil stealth bleeders. Even if he is Infernal he seems quite worth the cost considering how quickly he can do massive pool loss. Sibyl's tongue seems to carry with it great potential, and in combination with necromancy could keep the cost of playing it exceptionally low. The !Nosferatu also receive more quality vampires. Mateusz joins Laz in the +2 strength club, with his disciplines at SUP for 8 capacity. Teresita the Godmother is a well costed Seraph with all 3 at SUP and for. Yong Sung (A) might be a vampire to make a deck around, and I consider him to be the best (as of yet) printed Merged version. The info network gives them permacept for cheap, which really instills the flavour of the Nosferatu clan. The Pander get a small offering, with Alfred (A) and Olga. The !Toreador get one amazing vampire. Yitzak fits my celeriturgy deck like an old comfy glove. Combine that with his built in Mind Numb and he is a wonderful machine. Patronage gives the !Toreador the ability to untap more, but at the cost of one pool is quite expensive. The !Tremere make a comeback with Ian in the Starter. Selena is also a solid addition to the !Tremere family, though Goratrix (A) is a one man clan destroying beast. Recure the homeland is an effective card, though when compared to Rapid Healing and Chantry seems a little lacking. Regardless, it's a way to get out of torpor cheaply, and thus will be of some value. As for the !Ventrue, well I'll be taking a look at them over time. Suffice to say that their vampires are a major improvement, and Loyalist is a wonderful anti-vote card. 3 Stratagems #3 "Kill with a borrowed knife" Killing with a borrowed knife can be taken from two distinct vantage points: Firstly, it involves the acquisition of your opponents resources (ala Hostile Takeover, Kine Dominance, Spirit Marionette, et al). I will not dig too deeply into this strategic element, only because the advantages are so obvious. By acquiring other people's resources you increase your resources while simultaneously decreasing theirs. Even if the stolen goods are of no use to you they eliminate the possibility of your foe using them. Secondly, there exists a social factor in this game who's tangible effect is difficult to quantify - though everyone has seen its effects in action. In this case knives are metaphorically the tools (cards) that you have at your disposal to undermine your prey and predator. A borrowed knife is one that is not normally yours, but through persuasion or negotiation on your part are being put to use for your behalf. What becomes key in many games is not the resources that you personally have available, but what resources others choose to use or not use to hinder. Let us now specifically focus on the notion of "Table Balance" (TB). TB is a meta-word that describes the act of creating an ideal situation where all Methuselahs in the game have an equal opportunity at winning. Whenever one Methuselah begins to get an edge (not The Edge) in a game, the call for TB is uttered, to restore "balance" to the table. This very notion of TB is a scam, a confidence game; If someone says they want TB what they are really saying is "I don't have the advantage right now but would like others to over-react to the current situation and in doing so give me the advantage." Though there may be genuine need to stop a player who has taken an obvious lead, each individual person is playing the game to get VPs. Everyone engaging in TB is doing so under the impression that in the long run, even if they rush across table (for instance), that they will benefit from it in the end. How then can we successfully employ TB to benefit us the most? The trick is to inflate the severity occurrences. Your primary targets for persuasion will almost always be your grand-prey and grand-predator, both who are close enough to directly intervene (aka block / bleed) against your two enemies. Your chief objective is to make them believe that you cannot deal with X (whatever X may happen to be) on your own and that X will either oust them or create an impenetrable wall to eliminate their chance of winning. Exaggeration: "That War Ghoul is going to chop your Ventrue to itty bits" Most experienced players recognise a threat when it hits the table. Because different deck archetypes perceive what is threatening to them differently it is essential to know the strengths and weaknesses of your Grand-prey and Grand-predator as quickly as possible. Armed with that foreknowledge it is easier to make word choices that will coerce your allies. Ideally call to have others remove the threat, making excuses such as "I would deal with the situation exact my Predator has been pressuring and I need my vampires untapped." Back Scratching: "If you vote down that PTO I'll vote for your next vote" Due to the attack left defend right mechanic in the game, it is not difficult to see who your potential allies can be. The dynamic present in the game is such that if you are too weak (or on the defensive) then your prey doesn't have to commit to defence and can instead apply much more forward pressure. This innately is bad news for your Grand-prey, who ought to do as much as possible to ensure that his Predator is in a bad spot so that he has more time to do exactly what his Predator is doing to her in this example. By opening the negotiation pathway you begin a little game within the game: You are endeavouring to weaken your prey to the point where you can oust her, while your Grand-pre is trying to weaken your prey to the point where she has to focus almost exclusively on defence in order to not be ousted. Your prime advantage here is persuading your Grand-prey that you are less offensively capable than you truly are. By the time they know your true capabilities your prey should already be dust. At times, it may be essential to follow your deals to the very letter "You said you wouldn't bleed me for three turns" "Yes, well it's been A, B, and C's turn, now it's mine." Appeal to Authority: "I've seen this deck before, If we let it do X it will sweep" Authority is an interesting subject in the V:tES community. There are members within the community that carry more weight, by virtue of their net presence or proven capacity at winning. In any city sized grouping there are players with more or less experience, commitment or varying level of credibility. These are the players that have authority, and as a result will carry more weight in table talk. In any given table talk the word of your Prey and Predator by default must be viewed on dubious grounds. Your Predator, in the very least, is trying to oust you, while you Prey only wants to see you strong enough to survive. Manipulating other players based on previous experience and omens of doom and gloom is an effective strategy. Am I saying that its ok to abuse your knowledge of the game? Yes, I am, insofar as your not manipulating on a mechanical level (misconstruing rules and whatnot). Deception is a factor in this game, and if imposing yourself on people that don't know any better gives you a leg up on people then by all means take it (keeping in mind previous statements regarding credibility). Fear Tactics: "Deal with that Anarch Revolt or I'll burn your Cardinal" Intimidation is a tool not to be used lightly on the table. It burns negotiating bridges that might otherwise have been fruitful. When necessary though, use of fear tactics can prove successful. All players have a reputation that develops for them, whether they are honest about deals made, or follow through on their threats pass on from game to game. People who are caught bluffing are proven to be bluffers and are treated differently than those that don't at all. If you use fear, make sure you can follow it up, otherwise your intimidations will never be respected by that playgroup (until they forget about it). Be as specific as possible without overly prewarning your target. Specifics lend credence to your argument, but revealing too much makes it possible to better defend against it. Bluff intimidation if, and only if, you have no way of dealing with something that is sure to oust you though no one else seems to believe you. Semantics: "How can you help me?" In table talk for TB what is said is important, but not nearly so much as how it is said. A salesman mentality is essential for the task. Don't ask "Will you help me?" ask "How can you help me?" The former allows for someone to say no more easily than the latter. Demand explanations - it is a singularly human quality to answer questions that are asked of them, especially if your timing is correct. Use this to your advantage. Put the focus on the person you're making the deal with, and not on yourself, people are more inclined to help themselves then help their potential opponent. To this effect, remind them of what the threat means to them: Permacept means haven't to have additional stealth to do some of the most common things like call votes. A Camarilla Exemplary means that they'll be burning blood to block once you are ousted. Focus on the long term if the short term has no weight to the person you're dealing with. Ultimately, the knives of your opponents may be just as sharp as yours, but why waste the investment if somebody else's knife is willing to do the trick for you? 4 Vampire of the Month Owain Evans, The Wanderer The problem with my Vampire of the Month segment is that I have to choose _a_ vampire of the month. Black Hand is an epiphany for the !Ventrue clan, with vampires of a calibre otherwise unseen in the Rightful Clan of Kings. My pick of the very beefy Black Hand litter however, is Owain Evans. Owain Evans, The Wanderer !Ventrue Group 3 Capacity 8 cel pre AUS DOM FOR Sabbat: During any Methuselah's untap phase, if Owain is ready, you may move a blood from the blood bank to a vampire that Methuselah controls. The good: Owain is almost everything you could want in a !Ventrue - all three clan disciplines at advanced and a remarkable special. Not only is Owain a built in hunting ground for yourself, it is also a hunting ground for all of your friends (or whomever you deem to be your friends). For the purpose of table-talk Owain has got to be the best negotiator next to the Succubus Club. Simply agree to give your grandprey blood for that all important vote in your favour. It also acts as a table balancer - if your predator is getting his teeth kicked in and looks like he won't be able to hang on without some intervention then Owain can come to the rescue. Also good - note that Owain can put blood on any vampire that methuselah controls, even if they are in torpor. In that respect it is better than a hunting ground. The bad: Well a bishop title in lieu of cel would have made me an even happier camper. He's an awfully large vampire that although costed well (his special is easily worth the 1 point he paid for it), the !Ventrue aren't nearly as strong as other voting clans on titles. You could argue that a few !Ventrue have cel and it combines well, but at this point I don't see !Ventrue doing cel combat, which is pretty much the primary purpose of celerity. In keeping with comparing him to a hunting ground, unfortunately hunting grounds don't go to torpor like Owain can. The ugly: Combination potentials hmm putting blood on other Methuselah's vampires so that you can diablerize them and get the blood back. Owain is just a well balanced, good table-talkin' addition to the !Ventrue clan. Shy does the artwork, and it's not one of his typical viewed from the front pictures that we've seen a thousand times before. I'm not disappointed with the image, except that perhaps the background could be a little less monochromatic. 5 Classified 6 Deckstravaganza In the past I've been very down on the !Ventrue and their capacity to vote. I said "show me a !Ventrue voter that works and then I'll maybe take it seriously." Well, after some IRC play, and talking with Mesh he convinced me to put one together. This deck is obviously based off of the tag teem of Quentin and Gustav, both of which have Obtenebration. One of my major beefs was with the poor stealth selection that the clan possessed. Obtenebration, in combination with some Stealth Ritus from the new Sabbat set combine to evade more than just light intercept. Zillah's Tears are an experiment; on the surface they seem like cards that are better than hunting, and offer a great deal of blocking/bouncing/reducing versatility. For now the jury is still out on them. Deck Name: !Vote Created By: Derek Rawlings Description: The !Ventrue might actually succeed at voting? Crypt: ---------------------------------------------- 4 Quentin AUS cel DOM FOR obt 9, Ventrue Antitribu, Bishop 3 Gustav Mallenhous AUS DOM for obt 8, Ventrue Antitribu, Priscus 1 Ingrid Russo DOM for 4, Ventrue Antitribu 1 Joseph O`Grady aus cel DOM FOR 7, Ventrue Antitribu 1 Owain Evans cel pre AUS DOM FOR 8, Ventrue antitribu 2 Gerard aus dom for obt 5, Ventrue Antitribu Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (11 cards) 3 Blood Doll 1 Corporate Hunting Ground 2 Demonstration 1 Creepshow Casino 4 Obtenebration Action (14 cards) 6 Govern the Unaligned 4 Revelations 4 Zillah`s Tears Action Modifier (25 cards) 2 Conditioning 6 Kindred Manipulation 6 Shroud of Absence 4 Shroud of Night 5 Telepathic Vote Counting 2 Stealth Ritus Political Action (13 cards) 2 Cardinal Benediction 3 Consanguineous Boon 8 Kine Resources Contested Reaction (17 cards) 4 Deflection 2 Eagle's Sight 3 Enhanced Senses 3 Loyalist 1 Obedience 1 Precognition 3 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (10 cards) 3 Resilience 5 Rolling with the Punches 2 Skin of Steel On smaller tables, if not blocked, it seems relatively easy to pass votes, by either changing the ones that oppose me, and Quentining and Demonstrating all others out of existence. I need to play it more, possibly adding some Lessons of Steel to deal with pesky intercept type cards. 7 Final Words Volume four of the !Ventrue newsletter is now complete. Please fasten your seatbelts and set your trays to the upright position. Stay tuned, more !Ventrue wackiness awaits next month. In the mean time feel free to do any of the following: ? Comment on this newsletter, scathing or otherwise ? Send me material, including decks ? Send me non-sequential bills (Those bills promised from the last newsletter must have been lost in the mail) :) Derek Rawlings