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Official VEKN Malkavian Antitribu NEWSLETTER, September 2005
VOLUME IV, Issue XII
1. INTRODUCTION
I'm really glad to celebrate the twelfth issue of my newsletter! This
number is far from Piter D. Bakija's fifties (or sixties?), but it's a
milestone at least for me. After all, I'm playing V:tES only for a year
myself... guess how overconfident I was when I started writing these
newsletters?
This issue is dedicated to Malk/!Malk vampires with inbuilt intercept
abilities - Persia and Kite.
2. CARD OF THE MONTH
Name: The Sargon Fragment [FN:R2]
Cardtype: Equipment
Cost: 1 pool
Unique equipment.
The vampire with this equipment has superior Necromancy [NEC]. This
vampire can move a library card from your ash heap to your hand as an
action that costs 1 blood. Discard down to your hand size afterward.
A few days ago I won a local tournament with a "political" version of
Anson+Anneke deck. In the finals, nobody was alarmed when I played
Toreador Grand Ball and Third Tradition, but when my Anson retrieved
Consangineos Boon from my ash heap through his Sargon Fragment, my
predator attempted to turn the whole table
against me. The Sargon Fragment is extremely devastating, as you can
play the most needed card from your ash heap again and again. The more
cards you have in your ash heap, the more powerful The Sargon Fragment
becomes.
This card is especially useful in a deck relying on several key cards,
like Eternal Vigilance or Rutor's Hand. If your key cards got
blocked/DIed, The Sargon Fragment can return them back. This tech is
most advantageous in the relatively slow Wall decks that usually have
enough time to find their key cards and The Sargon Fragment. You may
also discard "killing" cards like Pulse of the Canaille to retrieve
them later, when you will be ready to begin ousting your prey.
Note that the action to retrieve a card DOESN'T have inherent +1
stealth, so it can be easily blocked by most minions of your predator
and your prey. Thus, you must be sure to have some good way to avoid
blockers - stealth, TGB, or just vicious combat abilities. When Xaviar
goes to retrieve Dog Pack that was blocked or Direct Interventioned,
blocking him is going to be quite dangerous.
Malkavians antitribu should consider The Sargon Fragment almost a "clan
card". Firstly, they have a lot of stealth to successfully use it.
Secondly, !Malks can retrieve their best clan card (Sibyl's Tongue)
with it, which forms a brilliant "combo engine": find one Sibyl's
Tongue and play it several times for free until you find all cards you
need! Finally, Marie Faucigny can equip The Sargon Fragment for free.
Hey, didn't we forget about superior Necromancy? Normally such
Equipment is played for the discipline it provides, not for the
additional ability (is anybody planning to return burned vampires from
his ash heap with Hand of Conrad?), but in this case the ability
justifies usage of the equipment even without any
Necromancy cards. Besides that, if you are using Necromancy cards, you
can play Carlotta Giovanni, who has superior Necromancy and the same
ability. But if you already play The Sargon Fragment in a deck without
vampires with Necromancy, nothing prevents you from using a couple of
good Necromancy cards like Ex Nihilo. When Louhi with Rutor's Hand will
get Ex Nihilo, she will become really devastating. And after you burn
Ex Nihilo, you may always return it with your Sargon Fragment!
3. VAMPIRES OF THE MONTH
Name: Persia, The Beautiful Statue [CE:V]
Clan: Malkavian
Group: 3
Capacity: 5
Discipline: aus obf DEM
Camarilla: Once each action, Persia can burn 1 blood to get +1
intercept.
Persia is one of the best vampires of Kindred Spirits decks - maybe,
even the best one. You cannot get superior Dementation and at least
inferior Obfuscate cheaper than for 5 pool (not counting the infernal
Midget), and the only two such vampires available are Persia and Uncle
George.
Persia's ability is similar to a "personal Rumor Mill", which is well
worth a master phase action, a card and 1 pool. Nobody would try to
built an intercept deck on Persia, but even a casual ability to block
+1 stealth actions may defend you and disrupt opponent's plans. As long
as no stealth-bleed deck can afford having a lot of intercept cards,
effective vampires with inbuilt intercept are precious.
Name: Kite [SW:C, BH
M]
Clan: Malkavian antitribu
Group: 2
Capacity: 7
Discipline: obf pre AUS DEM
Sabbat bishop: +1 intercept.
Kite is one of the best anti-Malkavian vampires. Superior Dementation
and inferior Obfuscate make him suitable for stealth-bleed decks,
though the same disciplines can be found on 5-cap Persia and Uncle
George. Dolphin Black, Korah and Artemis have superior Obfuscate, which
is important for a stealth-bleed deck, but +1 intercept makes Kite also
very popular in these decks; maybe, even more popular than Korah.
Inbuilt intercept greatly increases your chances against political
decks, equipment-based decks and all decks relying on crucial +1
stealth actions. Though Kite lacks combat disciplines to block
dangerous vampires, even casual intercept provided by him and Persia
really increases your chances.
Kite is yet another vampire capable of playing both "Bloodlines cards"
(Madman's Quill and The Call) at superior. This can be used to a great
advantage, especially The Calls. When Kite is the single 7-cap vampire
in your crypt, all the rest are younger, and you even plan to increase
his capacity with a skill card, as my
Deck of the Month does, you will always find a target for The Call.
Thus, you may put a lot of The Calls that should provide you pool and
extra transfers.
If somebody would try to build Sabbat voting deck with Dementation,
Kite would have good chances to get into that deck. Though he cannot
use most Sabbat cards, which require at least Archbishop title, he
still can use votes from Powerbase:Madrid counters, and his intercept
even allows him to protect these counters. Besides that, Kite's
capacity makes him an ideal target for Cardinal Benediction. And he
even has Presence!
4. DECK OF THE MONTH
Deck Name: Kite is Calling
Created By: Ilya Ginsburg
Description: Kite's show: stealth-bleed with a bit of intercept.
Crypt: (11 cards, Min: 16, Max: 28, Avg: 5,54)
----------------------------------------------
4 Kite obf pre AUS DEM 7 !Malk
1 Yorik dem obf 3 !Malk
1 Claven aus dem obf 4 !Malk
1 Jeremy Talbot dem obf 4 Malk
1 Uncle George aus dom obf DEM 5 !Malk
1 Persia aus obf DEM 5 Malk
1 Dolphin Black AUS DEM OBF 6 !Malk
1 Artemis aus cel for DEM OBF 6 !Malk
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (18 cards)
1 Powerbase: Madrid
4 Blood Doll
1 Vast Wealth
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
2 Sudden Reversal
1 Fragment of the Book of Nod
1 Barrens, The
3 Rotschreck
2 Obfuscate
Action (25 cards)
5 Sibyl`s Tongue
6 Call, The
12 Kindred Spirits
2 Madman`s Quill
Action Modifier (24 cards)
6 Confusion
4 Lost in Crowds
4 Faceless Night
4 Spying Mission
4 Forgotten Labyrinth
2 Eyes of Chaos
Political Action (1 cards)
1 Cardinal Benediction
Reaction (12 cards)
6 Telepathic Misdirection
6 Wake with Evening`s Freshness
Ally (2 cards)
1 Mylan Horseed (Goblin)
1 Escaped Mental Patient
Equipment (4 cards)
1 Sargon Fragment, The
1 Ivory Bow
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Improvised Flamethrower
Combo (4 cards)
4 Swallowed by the Night
This is a "twisted" variant of the famous Kindred Spirits deck, focused
on Kite. He is going to bleed, intercept, and play The Calls/Madman's
Quills. As long as Kite is the only 7-cap vampire in this crypt, he can
Call any other vampire. When you play Obfuscate skill card on him, he
would be able to Call even another copy of himself AND Mylan Horseed
would be able to untap him. This "combo" is pleasant, but not very
urgent, so you may wait until you get one part and then play Sibyl's
Tongue for another.
Usual target #1 is Vast Wealth, which would allow you to fetch your
precious equipment. The Sargon Fragment would allow you to retrieve
your Sibyl's Tongue back. Ivory Bow and Improvised Flamethrower were
intended to be used with Rotschrecks, which can also be returned with
The Sargon Fragment, if needed. Bowl of Convergence would contest the
similar Bowl of your opponents, and without contest it would provide
enormous +2/+3 intercept for Kite. Transferring Fragment to another
vampire is recommended, as your Kite would be busy playing other
actions.
Since this deck is dedicated to Kite, it contains some cards especially
for him. The abovementioned combo of Obfuscate + Mylan Horseed is just
the most obvious example. With this combo deployed, your Kite would be
able to play superior Madman's Quill, untap via Mylan Horseed and take
part in the ousting. Since Kite offers some protection, you can protect
Powerbase: Madrid and Fragment of the Book of Nod. The Powerbase also
allows
Cardinal Benediction: having votes is always good.
As long as we are already using Rotshrecks, Escaped Mental Patient
cannot be bad. At least he may work even against Immortal Grapples or
Drawing Out the Beasts that would disable our weapons. You may add more
Patients if needed.
That's all for September.
As usual, I'd like to hear your comments, ideas and any other feedback.
Yours,
Ector (Ector@mail.ru)
Official VEKN Malkavian Antitribu NEWSLETTER, September 2005
VOLUME IV, Issue XII
1. INTRODUCTION
I'm really glad to celebrate the twelfth issue of my newsletter! This
number is far from Piter D. Bakija's fifties (or sixties?), but it's a
milestone at least for me. After all, I'm playing V:tES only for a year
myself... guess how overconfident I was when I started writing these
newsletters?
This issue is dedicated to Malk/!Malk vampires with inbuilt intercept
abilities - Persia and Kite.
2. CARD OF THE MONTH
Name: The Sargon Fragment [FN:R2]
Cardtype: Equipment
Cost: 1 pool
Unique equipment.
The vampire with this equipment has superior Necromancy [NEC]. This
vampire can move a library card from your ash heap to your hand as an
action that costs 1 blood. Discard down to your hand size afterward.
A few days ago I won a local tournament with a "political" version of
Anson+Anneke deck. In the finals, nobody was alarmed when I played
Toreador Grand Ball and Third Tradition, but when my Anson retrieved
Consangineos Boon from my ash heap through his Sargon Fragment, my
predator attempted to turn the whole table
against me. The Sargon Fragment is extremely devastating, as you can
play the most needed card from your ash heap again and again. The more
cards you have in your ash heap, the more powerful The Sargon Fragment
becomes.
This card is especially useful in a deck relying on several key cards,
like Eternal Vigilance or Rutor's Hand. If your key cards got
blocked/DIed, The Sargon Fragment can return them back. This tech is
most advantageous in the relatively slow Wall decks that usually have
enough time to find their key cards and The Sargon Fragment. You may
also discard "killing" cards like Pulse of the Canaille to retrieve
them later, when you will be ready to begin ousting your prey.
Note that the action to retrieve a card DOESN'T have inherent +1
stealth, so it can be easily blocked by most minions of your predator
and your prey. Thus, you must be sure to have some good way to avoid
blockers - stealth, TGB, or just vicious combat abilities. When Xaviar
goes to retrieve Dog Pack that was blocked or Direct Interventioned,
blocking him is going to be quite dangerous.
Malkavians antitribu should consider The Sargon Fragment almost a "clan
card". Firstly, they have a lot of stealth to successfully use it.
Secondly, !Malks can retrieve their best clan card (Sibyl's Tongue)
with it, which forms a brilliant "combo engine": find one Sibyl's
Tongue and play it several times for free until you find all cards you
need! Finally, Marie Faucigny can equip The Sargon Fragment for free.
Hey, didn't we forget about superior Necromancy? Normally such
Equipment is played for the discipline it provides, not for the
additional ability (is anybody planning to return burned vampires from
his ash heap with Hand of Conrad?), but in this case the ability
justifies usage of the equipment even without any
Necromancy cards. Besides that, if you are using Necromancy cards, you
can play Carlotta Giovanni, who has superior Necromancy and the same
ability. But if you already play The Sargon Fragment in a deck without
vampires with Necromancy, nothing prevents you from using a couple of
good Necromancy cards like Ex Nihilo. When Louhi with Rutor's Hand will
get Ex Nihilo, she will become really devastating. And after you burn
Ex Nihilo, you may always return it with your Sargon Fragment!
3. VAMPIRES OF THE MONTH
Name: Persia, The Beautiful Statue [CE:V]
Clan: Malkavian
Group: 3
Capacity: 5
Discipline: aus obf DEM
Camarilla: Once each action, Persia can burn 1 blood to get +1
intercept.
Persia is one of the best vampires of Kindred Spirits decks - maybe,
even the best one. You cannot get superior Dementation and at least
inferior Obfuscate cheaper than for 5 pool (not counting the infernal
Midget), and the only two such vampires available are Persia and Uncle
George.
Persia's ability is similar to a "personal Rumor Mill", which is well
worth a master phase action, a card and 1 pool. Nobody would try to
built an intercept deck on Persia, but even a casual ability to block
+1 stealth actions may defend you and disrupt opponent's plans. As long
as no stealth-bleed deck can afford having a lot of intercept cards,
effective vampires with inbuilt intercept are precious.
Name: Kite [SW:C, BH
M]Clan: Malkavian antitribu
Group: 2
Capacity: 7
Discipline: obf pre AUS DEM
Sabbat bishop: +1 intercept.
Kite is one of the best anti-Malkavian vampires. Superior Dementation
and inferior Obfuscate make him suitable for stealth-bleed decks,
though the same disciplines can be found on 5-cap Persia and Uncle
George. Dolphin Black, Korah and Artemis have superior Obfuscate, which
is important for a stealth-bleed deck, but +1 intercept makes Kite also
very popular in these decks; maybe, even more popular than Korah.
Inbuilt intercept greatly increases your chances against political
decks, equipment-based decks and all decks relying on crucial +1
stealth actions. Though Kite lacks combat disciplines to block
dangerous vampires, even casual intercept provided by him and Persia
really increases your chances.
Kite is yet another vampire capable of playing both "Bloodlines cards"
(Madman's Quill and The Call) at superior. This can be used to a great
advantage, especially The Calls. When Kite is the single 7-cap vampire
in your crypt, all the rest are younger, and you even plan to increase
his capacity with a skill card, as my
Deck of the Month does, you will always find a target for The Call.
Thus, you may put a lot of The Calls that should provide you pool and
extra transfers.
If somebody would try to build Sabbat voting deck with Dementation,
Kite would have good chances to get into that deck. Though he cannot
use most Sabbat cards, which require at least Archbishop title, he
still can use votes from Powerbase:Madrid counters, and his intercept
even allows him to protect these counters. Besides that, Kite's
capacity makes him an ideal target for Cardinal Benediction. And he
even has Presence!
4. DECK OF THE MONTH
Deck Name: Kite is Calling
Created By: Ilya Ginsburg
Description: Kite's show: stealth-bleed with a bit of intercept.
Crypt: (11 cards, Min: 16, Max: 28, Avg: 5,54)
----------------------------------------------
4 Kite obf pre AUS DEM 7 !Malk
1 Yorik dem obf 3 !Malk
1 Claven aus dem obf 4 !Malk
1 Jeremy Talbot dem obf 4 Malk
1 Uncle George aus dom obf DEM 5 !Malk
1 Persia aus obf DEM 5 Malk
1 Dolphin Black AUS DEM OBF 6 !Malk
1 Artemis aus cel for DEM OBF 6 !Malk
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (18 cards)
1 Powerbase: Madrid
4 Blood Doll
1 Vast Wealth
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
2 Sudden Reversal
1 Fragment of the Book of Nod
1 Barrens, The
3 Rotschreck
2 Obfuscate
Action (25 cards)
5 Sibyl`s Tongue
6 Call, The
12 Kindred Spirits
2 Madman`s Quill
Action Modifier (24 cards)
6 Confusion
4 Lost in Crowds
4 Faceless Night
4 Spying Mission
4 Forgotten Labyrinth
2 Eyes of Chaos
Political Action (1 cards)
1 Cardinal Benediction
Reaction (12 cards)
6 Telepathic Misdirection
6 Wake with Evening`s Freshness
Ally (2 cards)
1 Mylan Horseed (Goblin)
1 Escaped Mental Patient
Equipment (4 cards)
1 Sargon Fragment, The
1 Ivory Bow
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Improvised Flamethrower
Combo (4 cards)
4 Swallowed by the Night
This is a "twisted" variant of the famous Kindred Spirits deck, focused
on Kite. He is going to bleed, intercept, and play The Calls/Madman's
Quills. As long as Kite is the only 7-cap vampire in this crypt, he can
Call any other vampire. When you play Obfuscate skill card on him, he
would be able to Call even another copy of himself AND Mylan Horseed
would be able to untap him. This "combo" is pleasant, but not very
urgent, so you may wait until you get one part and then play Sibyl's
Tongue for another.
Usual target #1 is Vast Wealth, which would allow you to fetch your
precious equipment. The Sargon Fragment would allow you to retrieve
your Sibyl's Tongue back. Ivory Bow and Improvised Flamethrower were
intended to be used with Rotschrecks, which can also be returned with
The Sargon Fragment, if needed. Bowl of Convergence would contest the
similar Bowl of your opponents, and without contest it would provide
enormous +2/+3 intercept for Kite. Transferring Fragment to another
vampire is recommended, as your Kite would be busy playing other
actions.
Since this deck is dedicated to Kite, it contains some cards especially
for him. The abovementioned combo of Obfuscate + Mylan Horseed is just
the most obvious example. With this combo deployed, your Kite would be
able to play superior Madman's Quill, untap via Mylan Horseed and take
part in the ousting. Since Kite offers some protection, you can protect
Powerbase: Madrid and Fragment of the Book of Nod. The Powerbase also
allows
Cardinal Benediction: having votes is always good.
As long as we are already using Rotshrecks, Escaped Mental Patient
cannot be bad. At least he may work even against Immortal Grapples or
Drawing Out the Beasts that would disable our weapons. You may add more
Patients if needed.
That's all for September.
As usual, I'd like to hear your comments, ideas and any other feedback.
Yours,
Ector (Ector@mail.ru)
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