Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad (More info?)
V:EKN Official Tremere Newsletter, March 2005
I. Introduction
II. Strategy Discussion - Bruise and Bleed
III. Crypt Focus - Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
IV. Library Focus - The Name Forgotten
V. Deck Focus - Dark Thaumaturgy
VI. Conclusion
I. Introduction
Many apologies for the long wait for this Newsletter! Since November
we have seen the Tenth Anniversary Set reprint all the Group 1 Tremere
as well as a handful of excellent new cards, including Bowl of
Convergence, a powerful equipment and seemingly tailored to a Tremere
intercept-combat deck. Now we have Kindred Most Wanted, a set mostly
based around the Independent clans, Baali, and Gangrel antitribu.
There is something for everybody, though, since there are many new
vampires with Thaumaturgy, a new Tremere crypt card and an action
requiring Thaumaturgy! Along with a few rules changes to Anarch Revolt
and Infernalism we get a brand-new Red List trait, so this promises to
be an exciting set even though my clan is not in the spotlight.
This month we will discuss some strategy that has been debated quite a
bit recently, then go over the new cards available to us in Kindred
Most Wanted.
II. Strategy Discussion - Bruise and Bleed
Bruise-and-bleed (B&B) is considered a classic Tremere strategy. The
idea is to mix offensive combat with heavy bleeds to wear done your
prey's pool and vampires. When you bleed, you create a no-win
situation for your prey - either he will burn 3 pool or lose a minion.
This article will not discuss whether B&B is a viable strategy or not;
we will simply explore how to implement it with the Tremere. For our
purposes, the bleed discipline is Dominate and the primary combat
discipline is Thaumaturgy.
In order to keep pressure on your prey you need to be capable of doing
two things: bleed for significant amounts, and rough up any blocking
minions. This often requires a careful choice and balance of library
cards. Bleed is the easy part; often 10 copies of Conditioning in a
90-card deck will work. You may be tempted to include lots of Govern
the Unaligned but it is not as useful to your offense because it lacks
the surprise value that helps B&B work (in other words if you bleed
without Govern the Unaligned your prey does not know for sure if you
have Conditioning or not).
Combat is much harder to balance because you need to be able to
regularly survive combat, deal some damage, and hopefully torporize a
vampire when you need to. On the other hand you do not want to have so
much combat in the deck that you often find your hand jammed. I
recommend around 30 cards, built around Theft of Vitae. Stealing 2
blood at range stops damage prevention, feeds Blood Dolls, and can
recover blood lost to ranged attacks (like guns). If you see a lot of
Strike: Combat Ends you may want to mix in an appropriate number of
trumps like Thoughts Betrayed, Telepathic Tracking, or Perfect Clarity.
Note that if you add such cards you may have to rework your crypt
slightly to accomodate discipline requirements. Here are some
suggested combat packages for a Tremere B&B deck in 30 cards or less:
Play-It-Safe - great vs. other press-combat and when you don't care
about torporizing vampires.
12x Movement of the Mind
12x Theft of Vitae
DOM/THA burn - maneuver + Theft combat which can occasionally burn a
vampire.
12x Apportation
10x Theft of Vitae
4x Thoughts Betrayed
4x Walk of Flame
AUS/THA burn - Use Telepathic Tracking at inferior when possible to
protect your Tremere.
8x Apportation
6x Telepathic Tracking
10x Theft of Vitae
6x Walk of Flame
And if all else fails, simply use Magic of the Smith to equip your big,
nasty weapon of choice.
Now you have bleed, a combat package, and probably some reactions to
take advantage of our Auspex and Dominate. But when you play you still
run into problems with hand-jam: maybe no one blocks and you have a
hand full of red when you need bleed, or you have a hand full of bleed
when you are in combat. Naturally this is a problem for all kinds of
decks but some are able to cycle cards better. In that case you need
to include the ability to move cards out of hand quickly, and there are
two good ways to do that. The first is to include some enter-combat
actions so that when you need to torporize a minion you can choose your
target and play cards without waiting for someone to block. Many
sophisticated B&B decks try to run 2-6 rush actions. The second method
is to simply include flush tech such as The Barrens or Fragment of the
Book of Nod.
Another consideration is Deflection. Arguably the strongest defense in
the game, and also the best way to deal with a B&B predator.
Thankfully you will be bleeding at 0 stealth, so a deflected bleed is
easily blocked. I recommend using Change of Target for just this
situation. In addition, many decks can afford to play Perfect Clarity
on bleeds, eliminating Deflection and Redirection.
So how do you play this B&B deck? Perhaps moreso than any other deck,
you need to keep your prey on a leash. I recommend bringing out a
small vampire like Jing Wei or Ehrich Weiss on your first turn, then
bleeding for at least 3. Your prey will have fewer pool with which to
influence vampires, and so his minions become more precious. That way
you can relax the leash, maybe tool up a bit with Govern the Unaligned
and other cards. Also try to make the first combat you are in count;
at least torporize the vampire if possible. This sends a message to
the table that you mean business and it will enable you to bleed more
often, even help with bluffing a strong combat hand. Bruise-and-bleed
is very psychological in nature, which makes it a very rewarding
strategy to play.
III. Crypt Focus - Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
Clan: Tremere
Capacity: 7
Group: 4
nec pre AUS DAI DOM THA
Camarilla. Red List: If Valerius strikes with a strike that requires
Thaumaturgy, he gains an optional additional strike, only useable to
strike with a strike that requires Thaumaturgy. Infernal.
Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
Clan: Tremere antitribu
Capacity: 7
Group:4
nec pre AUS DAI DOM THA
Advanced, Sabbat. Red List: If Valerius attempts to block, the acting
minion cannot play action modifier or combat cards that require
Chimerstry [chi] or Obfuscate [obf]. Infernal.
[MERGED] Independent: Valerius becomes non-infernal and non-Red List as
he merges. While merged, his capacity is reduced by 2.
It is sad that a member of the clan has fallen into infernalism - but
that will not stop us from influencing him! Valerius Maior is a
monster of a vampire with the disciplines and abilities of a 10-cap on
a mere 7-cap. He has many strengths and possibilities but two harsh
weaknesses: Infernalism and Red List.
When you incorporate the Camarilla Valerius into a bruise-and-bleed
deck he opens a new avenue of possibilities. His special ability
allows him to play multiple strike cards, which can be devastating in
combat. But more importantly, this can allow you to cycle more cards
in combat if you need to - thus reducing any hand-jam problems you may
have. His Daimoinon gives him access to Fear of the Void Below to
assist with maneuvers, Conflagration for easy aggravated damage, and
the new Ignoring the Searing Flames to handle aggravated damage.
Valerius Maior, Advanced is huge when playing intercept-combat. His
special stops popular stealth disciplines cold. You can still play
Rotschreck with Conflagration, or stick to Burst of Sunlight and use
Concordance and Ignoring the Searing Flames to survive your own damage.
Additionally, if you merge Valerius Maior, he is eligible to play
Atonement.
He could also use Psychomachia in conjunction with Seduction and
Crocodile's Tongue to get actions passed without worrying about combat
at all. Inferior Necromancy and Presence are not particularly
exciting, but can offer a few options if he were to Go Anarch, namely
Gear Up.
His weaknesses are harsh, so we must consider ways to mitigate the
penalties. Infernalism is not a new concept but it has changed a bit.
You can avoid paying the infernalism cost by keeping him untapped in an
intercept-combat deck using the Advanced version. In a
bruise-and-bleed deck you can use Blood Dolls consistently fed by Theft
of Vitae to cover paying the cost to untap him.
Red List can be harder to deal with since some of the control is in the
hands of other methuselahs. An obvious solution is to simply build a
combat deck. This is probably best for an intercept-combat deck or
bruise-and-bleed. You can also play Secure Haven on him, or maybe play
a few copies of Obedience.
Merging Valerius Maior is probably the best solution, but has a couple
of problems on its own. What you do about it depends on the deck. In
an intercept-combat deck I would favor the Advanced version but keep a
copy or two of the normal version. Then play Gift of Experience and
rely on untappers to keep him useful. In a bruise-and-bleed deck,
favor the original version and make up for the Gift of Experience with
Rutor's Hand. Of course you could just go with 2 or 3 of each vampire
and do a standard merge. Find whatever is best for you.
Valerius Maior is a very strong vampire whose benefits will far
outweigh the maintenance required to deal with his penalties.
IV. Library Focus - The Name Forgotten
The Name Forgotten
Action
Thaumaturgy
[tha] (D) Put this card on a ready unique vampire. If the vampire with
this card is burned, he or she is removed from the game instead, and
all Methuselahs search their crypts, uncontrolled regions and ash heaps
for other vampires with the same name. These vampires are removed from
the game as well (shuffle all crypts afterward).
[THA] As above, but this action is at +1 stealth.
Here is a card for all the warlocks who have had enough with
Turbo-style decks and master-card decks featuring many Golconda. This
will stop either deck cold by removing the key vampire for the deck (be
it Anson, The Baron, or whomever) completely from the game. Of course,
burning the vampire is the hard part. This card is a good
consideration for combat decks which include some Thaumaturgy, or as a
threat in a bruise-and-bleed deck. To add insult to injury, put it in
a deck focused on Etrius and call Protect Thine Own!
Perhaps the most common use of this card should be in a Cryptic Mission
or Loose Cannon deck, or any deck that burns a lot of blood. Use The
Name Forgotten in conjunction with Society of Leopold to get the most
out of this card.
V. Deck Focus - Dark Thaumaturgy
Deck Name: Dark Thauamturgy
Author: Dorrinal Blackmantle
Description: This is a bruise and bleed deck starring Valerius Maior,
Hell's Fool. He will bleed, and if blocked, deliver multiple Theft of
Vitae or a Conflagration. Included are several ways for other vampires
to acquire Daimoinon.
Crypt (12 vampires, Min: 23, Max: 28, Average: 6.42)
----------------------------------------------------
3 Valerius Maior 7 nec pre AUS DIA DOM THA Tremere:4
3 Valerius Maior ADV 7 nec pre AUS DAI DOM THA !Tremere:4
1 Carna, the Princes 7 AUS DOM THA Tremere:3
1 Ladislas Toth, the 7 for AUS DOM THA !Tremere:3
1 Muhsin Samir 6 aus pot DOM THA Tremere:4
1 Selena 6 AUS DOM THA !Tremere:3
1 Yasmin, the Black 6 dom pre AUS THA !Tremere:3
1 Cohn Rose 5 aus dom pre THA Tremere:3
Library (90 cards)
------------------
Action (12)
2 Concordance
1 Contagion
4 Govern the Unaligned
2 Magic of the Smith
2 Rutor's Hand
1 The Name Forgotten
Action Modifier (18)
5 Change of Target
8 Conditioning
2 Crocodile's Tongue
1 Perfect Clarity
1 Psychomachia
1 Seduction
Combat (27)
5 Apportation
5 Conflagration
4 Fear of the Void Below
1 Ignore the Searing Flames
12 Theft of Vitae
Equipment (2)
1 Ivory Bow
1 The Textbook Damnation
Master (15)
1 The Barrens
4 Blood Doll
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
2 Effective Management
1 Fame
1 Gambit Accepted
1 Gift of Experience
2 Infernal Pact
1 Metro Underground
1 Secure Haven
Reaction (14)
3 Deflection
2 My Enemy's Enemy
1 Redirection
2 Telepathic Misdirection
6 Wake with Evening's Freshness
Retainer (2)
2 Infernal Familiar
VI. Conclusion
This wraps up another long Tremere Newsletter! I hope it was
informative both for Tremere players and those interested in using and
refining bruise-and-bleed techniques. We have only just begun the road
Valerius Maior has opened to us, so I hope to hear many more ideas on
the usual forums and the newsgroup. Next issue we will likely continue
looking at 0/1-stealth bleed, but without all that messy combat.
Please respond with any comments, questions, or disagreements! You can
reach me via email at dorrinal@hotmail.com.
Dorrinal Blackmantle
Chronicler of Clan Tremere
V:EKN Official Tremere Newsletter, March 2005
I. Introduction
II. Strategy Discussion - Bruise and Bleed
III. Crypt Focus - Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
IV. Library Focus - The Name Forgotten
V. Deck Focus - Dark Thaumaturgy
VI. Conclusion
I. Introduction
Many apologies for the long wait for this Newsletter! Since November
we have seen the Tenth Anniversary Set reprint all the Group 1 Tremere
as well as a handful of excellent new cards, including Bowl of
Convergence, a powerful equipment and seemingly tailored to a Tremere
intercept-combat deck. Now we have Kindred Most Wanted, a set mostly
based around the Independent clans, Baali, and Gangrel antitribu.
There is something for everybody, though, since there are many new
vampires with Thaumaturgy, a new Tremere crypt card and an action
requiring Thaumaturgy! Along with a few rules changes to Anarch Revolt
and Infernalism we get a brand-new Red List trait, so this promises to
be an exciting set even though my clan is not in the spotlight.
This month we will discuss some strategy that has been debated quite a
bit recently, then go over the new cards available to us in Kindred
Most Wanted.
II. Strategy Discussion - Bruise and Bleed
Bruise-and-bleed (B&B) is considered a classic Tremere strategy. The
idea is to mix offensive combat with heavy bleeds to wear done your
prey's pool and vampires. When you bleed, you create a no-win
situation for your prey - either he will burn 3 pool or lose a minion.
This article will not discuss whether B&B is a viable strategy or not;
we will simply explore how to implement it with the Tremere. For our
purposes, the bleed discipline is Dominate and the primary combat
discipline is Thaumaturgy.
In order to keep pressure on your prey you need to be capable of doing
two things: bleed for significant amounts, and rough up any blocking
minions. This often requires a careful choice and balance of library
cards. Bleed is the easy part; often 10 copies of Conditioning in a
90-card deck will work. You may be tempted to include lots of Govern
the Unaligned but it is not as useful to your offense because it lacks
the surprise value that helps B&B work (in other words if you bleed
without Govern the Unaligned your prey does not know for sure if you
have Conditioning or not).
Combat is much harder to balance because you need to be able to
regularly survive combat, deal some damage, and hopefully torporize a
vampire when you need to. On the other hand you do not want to have so
much combat in the deck that you often find your hand jammed. I
recommend around 30 cards, built around Theft of Vitae. Stealing 2
blood at range stops damage prevention, feeds Blood Dolls, and can
recover blood lost to ranged attacks (like guns). If you see a lot of
Strike: Combat Ends you may want to mix in an appropriate number of
trumps like Thoughts Betrayed, Telepathic Tracking, or Perfect Clarity.
Note that if you add such cards you may have to rework your crypt
slightly to accomodate discipline requirements. Here are some
suggested combat packages for a Tremere B&B deck in 30 cards or less:
Play-It-Safe - great vs. other press-combat and when you don't care
about torporizing vampires.
12x Movement of the Mind
12x Theft of Vitae
DOM/THA burn - maneuver + Theft combat which can occasionally burn a
vampire.
12x Apportation
10x Theft of Vitae
4x Thoughts Betrayed
4x Walk of Flame
AUS/THA burn - Use Telepathic Tracking at inferior when possible to
protect your Tremere.
8x Apportation
6x Telepathic Tracking
10x Theft of Vitae
6x Walk of Flame
And if all else fails, simply use Magic of the Smith to equip your big,
nasty weapon of choice.
Now you have bleed, a combat package, and probably some reactions to
take advantage of our Auspex and Dominate. But when you play you still
run into problems with hand-jam: maybe no one blocks and you have a
hand full of red when you need bleed, or you have a hand full of bleed
when you are in combat. Naturally this is a problem for all kinds of
decks but some are able to cycle cards better. In that case you need
to include the ability to move cards out of hand quickly, and there are
two good ways to do that. The first is to include some enter-combat
actions so that when you need to torporize a minion you can choose your
target and play cards without waiting for someone to block. Many
sophisticated B&B decks try to run 2-6 rush actions. The second method
is to simply include flush tech such as The Barrens or Fragment of the
Book of Nod.
Another consideration is Deflection. Arguably the strongest defense in
the game, and also the best way to deal with a B&B predator.
Thankfully you will be bleeding at 0 stealth, so a deflected bleed is
easily blocked. I recommend using Change of Target for just this
situation. In addition, many decks can afford to play Perfect Clarity
on bleeds, eliminating Deflection and Redirection.
So how do you play this B&B deck? Perhaps moreso than any other deck,
you need to keep your prey on a leash. I recommend bringing out a
small vampire like Jing Wei or Ehrich Weiss on your first turn, then
bleeding for at least 3. Your prey will have fewer pool with which to
influence vampires, and so his minions become more precious. That way
you can relax the leash, maybe tool up a bit with Govern the Unaligned
and other cards. Also try to make the first combat you are in count;
at least torporize the vampire if possible. This sends a message to
the table that you mean business and it will enable you to bleed more
often, even help with bluffing a strong combat hand. Bruise-and-bleed
is very psychological in nature, which makes it a very rewarding
strategy to play.
III. Crypt Focus - Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
Clan: Tremere
Capacity: 7
Group: 4
nec pre AUS DAI DOM THA
Camarilla. Red List: If Valerius strikes with a strike that requires
Thaumaturgy, he gains an optional additional strike, only useable to
strike with a strike that requires Thaumaturgy. Infernal.
Valerius Maior, Hell's Fool
Clan: Tremere antitribu
Capacity: 7
Group:4
nec pre AUS DAI DOM THA
Advanced, Sabbat. Red List: If Valerius attempts to block, the acting
minion cannot play action modifier or combat cards that require
Chimerstry [chi] or Obfuscate [obf]. Infernal.
[MERGED] Independent: Valerius becomes non-infernal and non-Red List as
he merges. While merged, his capacity is reduced by 2.
It is sad that a member of the clan has fallen into infernalism - but
that will not stop us from influencing him! Valerius Maior is a
monster of a vampire with the disciplines and abilities of a 10-cap on
a mere 7-cap. He has many strengths and possibilities but two harsh
weaknesses: Infernalism and Red List.
When you incorporate the Camarilla Valerius into a bruise-and-bleed
deck he opens a new avenue of possibilities. His special ability
allows him to play multiple strike cards, which can be devastating in
combat. But more importantly, this can allow you to cycle more cards
in combat if you need to - thus reducing any hand-jam problems you may
have. His Daimoinon gives him access to Fear of the Void Below to
assist with maneuvers, Conflagration for easy aggravated damage, and
the new Ignoring the Searing Flames to handle aggravated damage.
Valerius Maior, Advanced is huge when playing intercept-combat. His
special stops popular stealth disciplines cold. You can still play
Rotschreck with Conflagration, or stick to Burst of Sunlight and use
Concordance and Ignoring the Searing Flames to survive your own damage.
Additionally, if you merge Valerius Maior, he is eligible to play
Atonement.
He could also use Psychomachia in conjunction with Seduction and
Crocodile's Tongue to get actions passed without worrying about combat
at all. Inferior Necromancy and Presence are not particularly
exciting, but can offer a few options if he were to Go Anarch, namely
Gear Up.
His weaknesses are harsh, so we must consider ways to mitigate the
penalties. Infernalism is not a new concept but it has changed a bit.
You can avoid paying the infernalism cost by keeping him untapped in an
intercept-combat deck using the Advanced version. In a
bruise-and-bleed deck you can use Blood Dolls consistently fed by Theft
of Vitae to cover paying the cost to untap him.
Red List can be harder to deal with since some of the control is in the
hands of other methuselahs. An obvious solution is to simply build a
combat deck. This is probably best for an intercept-combat deck or
bruise-and-bleed. You can also play Secure Haven on him, or maybe play
a few copies of Obedience.
Merging Valerius Maior is probably the best solution, but has a couple
of problems on its own. What you do about it depends on the deck. In
an intercept-combat deck I would favor the Advanced version but keep a
copy or two of the normal version. Then play Gift of Experience and
rely on untappers to keep him useful. In a bruise-and-bleed deck,
favor the original version and make up for the Gift of Experience with
Rutor's Hand. Of course you could just go with 2 or 3 of each vampire
and do a standard merge. Find whatever is best for you.
Valerius Maior is a very strong vampire whose benefits will far
outweigh the maintenance required to deal with his penalties.
IV. Library Focus - The Name Forgotten
The Name Forgotten
Action
Thaumaturgy
[tha] (D) Put this card on a ready unique vampire. If the vampire with
this card is burned, he or she is removed from the game instead, and
all Methuselahs search their crypts, uncontrolled regions and ash heaps
for other vampires with the same name. These vampires are removed from
the game as well (shuffle all crypts afterward).
[THA] As above, but this action is at +1 stealth.
Here is a card for all the warlocks who have had enough with
Turbo-style decks and master-card decks featuring many Golconda. This
will stop either deck cold by removing the key vampire for the deck (be
it Anson, The Baron, or whomever) completely from the game. Of course,
burning the vampire is the hard part. This card is a good
consideration for combat decks which include some Thaumaturgy, or as a
threat in a bruise-and-bleed deck. To add insult to injury, put it in
a deck focused on Etrius and call Protect Thine Own!
Perhaps the most common use of this card should be in a Cryptic Mission
or Loose Cannon deck, or any deck that burns a lot of blood. Use The
Name Forgotten in conjunction with Society of Leopold to get the most
out of this card.
V. Deck Focus - Dark Thaumaturgy
Deck Name: Dark Thauamturgy
Author: Dorrinal Blackmantle
Description: This is a bruise and bleed deck starring Valerius Maior,
Hell's Fool. He will bleed, and if blocked, deliver multiple Theft of
Vitae or a Conflagration. Included are several ways for other vampires
to acquire Daimoinon.
Crypt (12 vampires, Min: 23, Max: 28, Average: 6.42)
----------------------------------------------------
3 Valerius Maior 7 nec pre AUS DIA DOM THA Tremere:4
3 Valerius Maior ADV 7 nec pre AUS DAI DOM THA !Tremere:4
1 Carna, the Princes 7 AUS DOM THA Tremere:3
1 Ladislas Toth, the 7 for AUS DOM THA !Tremere:3
1 Muhsin Samir 6 aus pot DOM THA Tremere:4
1 Selena 6 AUS DOM THA !Tremere:3
1 Yasmin, the Black 6 dom pre AUS THA !Tremere:3
1 Cohn Rose 5 aus dom pre THA Tremere:3
Library (90 cards)
------------------
Action (12)
2 Concordance
1 Contagion
4 Govern the Unaligned
2 Magic of the Smith
2 Rutor's Hand
1 The Name Forgotten
Action Modifier (18)
5 Change of Target
8 Conditioning
2 Crocodile's Tongue
1 Perfect Clarity
1 Psychomachia
1 Seduction
Combat (27)
5 Apportation
5 Conflagration
4 Fear of the Void Below
1 Ignore the Searing Flames
12 Theft of Vitae
Equipment (2)
1 Ivory Bow
1 The Textbook Damnation
Master (15)
1 The Barrens
4 Blood Doll
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
2 Effective Management
1 Fame
1 Gambit Accepted
1 Gift of Experience
2 Infernal Pact
1 Metro Underground
1 Secure Haven
Reaction (14)
3 Deflection
2 My Enemy's Enemy
1 Redirection
2 Telepathic Misdirection
6 Wake with Evening's Freshness
Retainer (2)
2 Infernal Familiar
VI. Conclusion
This wraps up another long Tremere Newsletter! I hope it was
informative both for Tremere players and those interested in using and
refining bruise-and-bleed techniques. We have only just begun the road
Valerius Maior has opened to us, so I hope to hear many more ideas on
the usual forums and the newsgroup. Next issue we will likely continue
looking at 0/1-stealth bleed, but without all that messy combat.
Please respond with any comments, questions, or disagreements! You can
reach me via email at dorrinal@hotmail.com.
Dorrinal Blackmantle
Chronicler of Clan Tremere
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