OFFICIAL VEKN CLAN VENTRUE NEWSLETTER Vol.II No.3 Nov.2000 INTRODUCTION / WAR COUNCIL DECK CONSTRUCTION - Focus vs. Toolbox 'get it on' bareknuckle! BARNY BAKER'S EUROTOUR - Oh he hooh. I am in gay Parieee, sell me some onions blue and white cycling man. AGITATION NATION - More evil table control and manipulation .. DECK OF THE MONTH - William Lee's Suhailah deck ________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Greeting and salutations from the soundproofed records basement of the Ventrue Headquarters. I often come down here to relax amongst the pungent smell of bound books and candle wax. The 'appropriations' dept. have accumulated a superb collection of period C16th antiques and niceties. Interesting times for all as the Sabbat make their moves around the globe. As expected their driving force still seems to be the ambitious Lasombra and fiendish Tzimisce. Aggressive 'recruitment' has proven useful to the Sabbat as several potent individuals have surfaced strengthening bonds in other renegade clans. In particular, the Toreador Antitribu have embraced their love affair with artful destruction and degradation and will I predict, form an effective force with likeminded individuals. One of our allies has reported increases in powerful City Gangrel. Ellen Fence and the uncontrollable animal Beast have been seen in alliance, ripping through the ranks of fellow Sabbat members in a pre-war tussle of power. One of the age old English Methuselahs is believed to be pulling their strings. We must bolster our defences and crush the Sabbat uprising in it's infancy. ________________________________________________ DECK CONSTRUCTION (which sort of changed into an agitation article as I rambled on). ***In the red corner iiiiiiiiiit's Focus and in the blue corner iiiiiiiiit's Toolbox. Seconds out round three ! Ding Ding.*** Inspired by Ethan's article in his excellent !Toreador newsletter I thought I would carry on the discussion and pose a few more questions. There does exist a bazaar difference in deck construction with the Atlantic slap bang in the middle. Obviously there are exceptions but as a rule, a visiting dignitary from either camp will be more likely to encounter more of the opposite deck style than he/she is used to. I believe Legbiter encountered this phenomenon in the US of A when he played (and drank by all accounts) a lot of games with our US colleagues. I also hear reports of other huge regional differences within mainland Europe and Asia. In certain areas of France for instance you cannot (apparently!!) move for Sneak and Bleed and weenie dom/pre tapout ?? Don't know if there is any truth in this ? Care to comment Pierre ? If you are not sure (or care!) where, how, what or if you are playing with focussed / toolbox, cards like DI are an excellent litmus test. If having your Vote Directly Intervened causes you no problems as you have 11 more of the same in your deck, chances are you are playing a fairly focussed deck. If however the DI causes you to have a bit of a rethink but still be able to play something else useful instead you are looking at toolbox. Both have pros and cons. I think there is a lot of crossover between focussed/toolbox and weenie/non-weenie decks. In theory a focussed deck should be just that, but in reality focussed often blends into weenie. The speed of set up, card cycling capacity, sheer intimidation and quick first kill rate are IMO just too tempting for the focus player. At the most basic level a focus player is gambling in a game of stone / paper / scissors. If your prey is playing one of deck type 'A or B' you will slaughter them, if type 'C' kiss your ass goodbye. Luck, the right choices, seating, opponents will mean a VERY quick kill. Again, generalisations but a lot of the time the above does apply. I can't decide whether or not either type lends itself toward agitation more than the other ? Toolbox keeps people guessing and if it gets a foothold can provide great agitation opportunities and unpredictability but certain types of focussed (quantity vote and weenie rush) can agitate on a horrible level. Hmmmm not sure. Don't get me wrong, I also think that all of the above apply to toolbox decks but just not in such totality. Toolbox works in shades of grey with the occasional lean toward the extreme, focus works in black and white. I personally think that the true 'power decks' in our great game lie somewhere between the two. They utilise the best aspects of both camps whilst attempting to minimise the disadvantages of each. A bastard hybrid if you like. __________________________________________________ BARNY BAKER'S EUROTOUR - Leg 1 : Paris As most of you know, on the weekend 18th November the European Championships were held. Barn went, had a great time, drunk a lot of beer (sorry bier) and did pretty damn well. In the first guest slot this month I give you my buddy and highly decorated best man Barny Baker. >>>>>>>>>>>> So I like, woke up and everything was like, wrong. There was this weird smell and everything was in some kind of freaky code. Someone must have mugged me because my money was gone and my head hurt like hell. I opened a window to get some air and there were people in bizarre clothes talking gobbledegook. Oh yes that's right I was in Paris, well prepared for the forthcoming tournament. I arrived in Paris courtesy of the Eurostar, they gave me a free upgrade and the journey was very pleasant. A free meal and booze was grabbed with both hands, (along with the stewardess if my girlfriend wasn't there). We arrived late Friday night and had a couple of biers in a café; the bier was tasty but even pricier than London. Why am I writing this again.? Oh yes the tournament. I speak little French and thought this might be a problem so I played a deck that did not require any kind of agitation, my Gangrel royalty deck that had served me so well went out and I stumped for my Gencon Ventrue Antitribu unblockable bleed / bounce deck. I felt a bit dirty but little did I know then what the opposition had in store. So I got in, met Stephan, (the chap running the whole shebang) and was immediately befriended by a local French bloke called Lauren. What a nice bloke he was. He helped me translate the announcements into English, invited me for a friendly game before it all kicked off and introduced me to the local crowd. This was most welcome as there were 84 players and I was a little in awe (but not outwardly showing it because that would show weakness). The first draw was announced and it became apparent there were to be three zones, in each zone there were to be three rounds, the overall points leaders were to go to the final and have it out for the title of..winner. I was drawn with 3 Frenchies and a Portuguese chap called Manuel (who I have now had the pleasure of playing in London). Now this is where it got a bit frustrating. After a few turns I scouted around the place to suss out the opposition and I swear there were only 3 clans at 1st look. Malkavs, Ventrue and Ventrue antitribu. You couldn't move for deflections, stealth bleeds and presence votes. Not put out I got 4 VP's which I thought was dead on target for the final. Next round I was glad to see (sort of) that my prey was playing with Melek, the deadly Assamite, who turned out to be a presence stealth bleeder, all the other decks were carbon copies of before. OK not good but I got 2 VP's and still had a chance of making the final showdown. 3rd round and my prey was a weenie Presence deck and my predator a Ventrue Presence vote deck. I tried and failed to make an impression but the weenies steamrolled the table (I had the swine down to one pool twice as well). Ah well, I retired and went into Paris and got drunk. (pretty standard tourney for us then! Ed.) Now, don't get me wrong I played a dirty deck, but I could not believe the lack of invention around. If you've seen the winning deck you will understand. There were forms to fill in for each round to give prizes for the best beats deck on the table; it was blank every time. I'm bitter, yes, and was not a lot better ...but for Caines' sake. The day was organised brilliantly, there were loads of prizes and side games (and prizes) for those not in the final. I felt completely welcome and was quite touched that everybody went out their way to speak to me and assist me. I'll tell you what though, my bloody Gangrel Royalty will be getting an airing next time. NO ONE LIKES A SNEAK BLEEDER! __________________________________________________ AGITATATION NATION - My table and other animals. Table control is a huge topic so following on from my last article here is some more shi. I mean theory and example of agitation. I believe that a player can 'read' a game well with only minimal effort, this simple exercise can help you decide what card (if any) to throw or predict whether your important action will be blocked or not. Most importantly it is a key consideration for making / breaking deals and debasing your prey. Look at the table, remember what disciplines have access to intercept, S:CE, stealth etc. So many players keep hold of a truck load of stealth or intercept when their prey / pred are playing decks totally unable to intercept or stealth up actions. Also think what players have done in previous games, try and predict the flow of the game and anticipate any surprises - Kiss of Ra and Archon Investigation are the two big ones. In the same vein, try and remain unpredictable yourself, prioritise your actions and alter their deployment pattern. If you can afford the minion / actions, 'step' your turn to draw out any possible intercept and wakes and play the vital actions when you suspect no intervention. In my experience, including cards like Change of Target in your deck (obviously only applies to certain decks) REALLY annoys your prey from time to time. Remember that whilst you are trying hard to get your actions through, your prey is trying to structure his/her blocking, deflecting etc. responses. Playing a card like Change of Target really throws your prey and hopefully fazes them. All weird tricks designed to force your prey to crumble and make mistakes. Dominate. Deck and play flexibility is in my opinion very important. The ability to adapt your deck and style to the game in hand is essential to continued success. Everyone does it differently, a player can have an average deck but win time and time again by playing it exceptionally well and convincing other players to help them or curl up and die. Presence. My secondary goal is almost always to establish covert control of the table. It is no great secret that around the table each player will be trying to sully the table reputation of their prey and undermine their position. Doing this as routine is one thing, doing it WELL is an entirely different thing. Find out what key players round the table value and use it for your own gains. If your preys' ability to make deals and more importantly carry them out is in question, you have won half of the battle. Sometimes this happens naturally during the course of the game making your job a lot easier. The best recent case in point I can think of was in the final of the last Portsmouth tournament. Legbiter was playing his excellent weenie ToGP deck and the whole table had the 'fear' before the game even started. I thought I was as dead as a very dead thing but my job once our positions had been swapped round (and to a certain extent before!!) was half done. ToGP is a de-stabilising influence and IMO too powerful a card. Both of the other players Pierre Rabstock and Gary Scarlett were already opposed to James' deck and were making choices that helped me without having to say anything. To further my needs (and Gary and Pierre's) I could get them to vote with me to secure a vote lock under the cloak of preventing James' ToGP's. I would have done exactly the same in any one of the other players positions and consider myself very lucky on the day but it showed how a powerful opposing card/deck can work for you 'slingshot style'. _____________________________________________ DECK OF THE MONTH In the second guest slot this month, courtesy of Mr William Lee of the Southampton playgroup, I give you - The Asian Persuasion. Created by: William Lee Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 17, Max: 36, Avg: 6.92] 1 Dedefra (Followers of Set, 5, ne ob SE) 1 Emerson Bridges (Ventrue, 8, DO FO po PR, Prin) 1 Murat (Nosferatu, 7, OB PO se, Prin) 1 Nakova (Ventrue, 6, FO po, Prim) 1 Nepata (Followers of Set, 4, se ob pr) 1 Nikolaus Vermeulen (Nosferatu, 7, an fo ob PO, Prince) 1 Rufina Soledad (Ventrue, 2, fo) 1 Selma yuk (Nosferatu, 8, an fo OB PO, Prince) 1 Sheldon, Clogmaster (Nosferatu, 9, AN AU fo OB PO, Jus) 3 Suhailah (Ventrue, 9, FO OB po se, Prince) Library: 90 cards (14 masters) 1 Archon 2 Cloak the Gathering 2 Disarm 1 Disputed Territory 5 Fifth Tradition: Hospitality, The 2 Forgotten Labyrinth 3 Form of Corruption 3 Fortitude 3 Freak Drive 1 Golconda: Inner Peace 2 Hidden Strength 3 Hostile Takeover 3 Immortal Grapple 2 Indomitability 4 Lost in Crowds 1 Masochism 5 Minion Tap 2 Parity Shift 1 Potence 4 Pushing the Limit 4 Regaining the Upper Hand 1 Resilience 9 Second Tradition: Domain 2 Skin of Rock 3 Skin of Steel 1 Superior Mettle 2 Swallowed by the Night 5 Temptation 2 Thrown Sewer Lid 3 Torn Signpost 2 Undead Strength 2 Unflinching Persistence 1 Ventrue Headquarters 1 Ventrue Justicar 2 Wake with Evening's Freshness I really like this deck, just seems to be one of those that works really well. High cap. crypt but can handle early losses with the powerful blood gain machine. I saw two or three versions played but I think this was the best. I like the secondary combo of Form of Corruption and Regaining the Upper Hand, filthy way to give someone the edge and force more counters on the Forms !! It's not unlike the September deck 'Corporate Power' that I posted but with Obfuscate and Serpentis. The deck mechanism is similar but this works a lot better IMO because of the inclusion of Obfuscate. It steals / tempts / hostiles a lot of vamps and causes mayhem around the table. Lends its player a lot of opportunities (see toolbox articles) but still remains fairly focussed on several key tasks. __________________________________________________ Right that is me for this month, as usual mail me with any interesting stuff and I'll bung it in. Rob.Treasure@btinternet.com In next months yuletide issue - "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to rend, to cut and maim and slay. Hey!" -Post release Sabbat War tourney report from sunny Portsmouth. -More decks. -More pain, torture and suffering tips in Agitation Nation.