VEKN Brujah Newsletter May 2001 Introduction: Welcome to the May issue of the Brujah newsletter, a little bit more on time than the previous ones. In this issue the strategy section offers advice for all types of decks, while the Deck Of The Month is, as promised and at last, a little on the bizarre side. Still it shows some of the points I want to make in the strategy section, and its main angle is something not common, but still not unusual in tournaments. So read it, try it or at least take away some useful information. Four newsletters have passed already, still I'm sorry that I can't give you too much feedback on the decks I introduced so far. At the end of the day I will never muster Xian's determination and just play Brujah decks (although I should, as my latest non-Brujah creations all sucked apart from a decent Ravnos thingy I made to get ready for Final Nights - first time ever I played this clan), which basically means that the March rush affair has not been played since I published it. Last month's frisbee deck I took apart just the other day as a pre-emptive measure against the anticipated shift in the meta game. For what it's worth it still stands (almost) undefeated, sweeping all but one table so far. The local meta game looks favorable for pure rush now, so probably next month I can give you some live experience from the March ranting at last. I played February's Euro-Brujah in a slightly modified form lately, and it fared reasonably well (one defeat due to the most horrible crypt and library draw ever, one sweep on a four player table). Also please check the SydCon Winning Deck by Chris Arthur which is similar to the one I posted. Good job, Chris! Fiction: "Awful weather, this. What with global warning, err? May approaching and still snow. 'Tis crap, I say." "Sure thing, lad. Shit hole this, as well, end-of-the-world type of stuff. Nothing to wet the throat as well." "Aye, just ice, no booze. What does the big-shot spaghetti want here anyway?" "Meet with the bums. Well, bird over there on the boat looks cute though..." I shoot them a warning glance, and they fall silent. Jimmy 'Fingers' Macintosh and Aaron 'Ace' Aswell, who is apparently so dumb that he needs to repeat his name in every second sentence. Two tall bikers from the Cold Dawn, Inverness-shire branch, shuffling their booted feet uncomfortably on the bleak pier. Too much water everywhere for my taste, the woolen suit the Don made me wear is soaked and uncomfortable. I rest my back against the black Rover I drove up here from Glasgow, every single mile longing for some honest punk rock. I mean, Joey Ramone just died, and man: That calls for some respect. The Don wouldn't have any of it, of course, instead we were listening to Verdi for hours: crooning bitches, strings Burt Bacharach would drown in, pompous Ben Hur-type orchestral affair. So much for my promotion after the Munich "success". I light a Gauloise and look over to the rusty fisher boat. The Pride Of Uig, I presume... The guys are right, this place is remote. The Isle Of Skye lies behind us, ahead the black and cold Atlantic ocean. The bearded guy the Don came over to meet must be one of The Wylde Ones, and an Olde One. Crazy tongue he speaks, could hardly understand anything he grumbled when the Don, exquisitely dressed as always, greeted him with exaggerated friendliness. Well, there is someone here I would understand, but we never exchanged as much as a nod of the head. Kallista and a moronic native american fellow named Bear Paw form Olde One's escort. She looks worn out, thick make-up on a pale face, the familiar pret-a-porter dress hanging loosely around her haggard frame. No rest for the wicked, I presume. With a sad smile a squash the cigarette but under my heel. I'm whistling 'Kids In America' for no apparent reason while scanning the deserted waterfront of Uig for suspicious movements when Fingers catches my attention with a polite cough. Mr. Winthrop, who looks like Caine's school buddy but is actually mortal, about 100 years old and the Don's factotum, feebly waves in my general direction. I suspect that my humble presence is required inside the venerable hulk and make my way to the plank. "Guess you kids are now in charge. You take care that nobody creeps around. If you fail, you will be dead AS WELL", I command with a wry grin to Ace before I slowly descend the slippery gangway. "Yes, Captain", comes the satisfying reply. A quick glance into the cabin shows me that everything inside seems to be fine: the Don and the Olde One smiling, tumblers in hand. A venerable looking bottle of Scotch dominates the table between them. The Olde One's lustrous eyes rest on Kallista, who desperately tries to become invisible as I enter the cabin. The Don clears his throat. "Mind if I take some", I ask, but nobody reacts. So I help myself to a good shot of the amber liquid and concentrate on the screen. Funny that the Don always carries his fancy Getaway laptop but doesn't have a clue about how to use it... He hands me a floppy with a phletoria of "undisclosed recipients", then I unleash a storm of spam. "DONATE BLOOD AND WIN 100K!!!" - a clever move, I think, involuntarily envying the Don. Who of Caine's children would donate blood? But then again who would resist a Hunting Ground like this? No hassle, tons of Vitae. "Click here for more information", and pronto, you have Black Cruezade (tm) installed on your machine. The rest is handled by our server farm back down in NYC. It will open a non-traceable connection to every infected computer and communicate an "irresistible offer" - which apparently will not involve graphic demonstrations of power incorporating huge amounts of heavy iron. I feel like the pawn I am in this big game and wonder when someone is going to spend this much of, well, anything to make me happy. Strategy: The Master Question: How many I should have? After the recent discussions on the newsgroup the question about the appropriate number of Master Cards in any deck is still unresolved, it seems. And rightly so, I would like to add, as I think it really depends on what you want to achieve. Still, many decks I see err on the excessive side of Masters. To me Master Cards roughly fall into three categories: Deck management: Cards hat help you to manage your pool, blood on minions, library size and card flow (for example Fragment, Dreams, Elder Library, ToR3, Info Highway, Minion Tap, Ascendance) Strategy enhancers: Cards that give you stuff like extra bleed, stealth,rush, intercept or votes (Rumor Mill, Haven Uncovered, Ventrue Headquarter, The Labyrinth etc.) Active strategies: Cards that form the backbone of a distinct strategy (stuff like Hostile Takeover, ToGP, Betrayer, Madness Network in case of OOT combat) Only the first category I implement in every deck, but then the whole discussion about how many Masters is moot - you never need close to 20 percent in your library of these. I do not expect to play a Master Card every turn, nor to hand jam on them any time. Actually the last effect is something I try to avoid altogether, for obvious reason. If your main strategy doesn't rely on Master Cards, you should be fine with about 12 in a 90 card deck. I normally take some Blood Dolls, a Dreams Of The Sphinx, maybe Minion Tap if I use huge minions, and than a little extra from the second category. It would be stupid not to use Masters to enhance your strategic options, be it casual intercept (News Radio), extra rush (Haven Uncovered), more votes (Legendary Vampire) etc. But when thinking about these cards, keep in mind that you can only play one Master per turn (normally that is) and the average game rarely goes beyond 12 turns. Which is to say: If you really need intercept, take transient cards or retainers/Sport Bikes, if you really need rush, use Bum's Rush/Ambush, if you really need votes, use Bewitching Oration... Of course the third category is different. There are strategies that need Master Cards as a core element. Anarch Revolt decks are maybe the best-known and most-feared type - if you want to construct one of those, you want to play an Anarch Revolt every turn. So you include many, plus the means to go around master card hand jam: The Parthenon, but also Fragment or The Barrens. So there is no definite answer to the question "How many should I use?" . As the whole process of deck building it boils down to deciding what strategy you want to follow. I'd say: Not more than you need. And never think along the lines of: "I have a master phase, I have to use it." Nobody ever lost a game because he refused to play a master card, but many have lost after the card they really needed for their winning move didn't show up because that second Hunting Ground they put in "just to make sure it comes out" actually came instead. The Big Vampire HOWTO (or a few ideas towards something like this) A similar point as in the above Master Card discussion has to be made about minions. A lot of huge capacity guys and gals look dead cool, but coolness doesn't win games. Your minions of choice should be bigger than they need to be to get the job done. This doesn't rule out big vampires, but say in a rush deck that simply needs Potence and maybe a hint of Celerity, everyone above 5 capacity is a waste of pool (with obvious exceptions, Beast being a classic in rush decks because of her inherent rush ability - these are general guidelines, not the Ten Commandments...). On the other hand there are deck concepts that need huge minions, be it bloat, politics relying on inherent votes or special things as this month's deck. Which leads me to the points I want to discuss: How to get them going Okay, my first advice is a personal preference, it can be done either way. But if you don't need Don Cruez for the unlife of you first, and you don't have a crypt full of biggies, I think it's better to bring out a small minion first. You will play passively during the first few turns, but some defense is better than none. Plus an early minion means early actions or reactions, which means card cycling that should improve your hand. Of course there are the so-called speed toys, namely Tomb Of Rameses III (shouldn't that be "Ramses", LSJ? ;-) and Information Highway (honorable mention is due to the always handy and versatile Dreams Of The Sphinx). One of these played in the first round will give you (if you don't start with one transfer) your Don in two turns. But there is a drawback: All these cards take up master slots, and to guarantee one in your opening hand you have to include redundancy. How to survive Basically I want to repeat the advice from the last paragraph: You need massive minions? Fine. But also include some smaller vampires as they might give you the crucial extra generic actions (bleed, call a vote) or reactions (which might be a suicidal block). Apart from that there are some things to keep in mind: You will spend a lot of pool on minions, so get it back. Minion Tap is the card of choice in a big minion deck. Bloat is the perfection of this, basically you need Minion Tap and ways to refill (be it The 5th Tradition or stuff like Voter Captivation) to get a decent bloat deck. Yet another possibility, which comes back to my first advice and really depends on what your strategy is: If you simply need one big guy, let there be one and only one. A Lazverinus All Star deck needs Laz, period. While having a crypt of twelve Lazverinus copies is a little extreme, everybody else should be in a neglectable price range. One vampire decks are definitely exotic, but still fun to play - I will post a Brujah variant soon (well, as soon as everybody has recovered from this month's exoticness). Still the lesson to learn is simple: Never play big minions without reliable pool gain. How to be competitive with them Normally it's a very simple calculation: Two 5 capacity vampires can take twice as many actions or block twice the number of actions than a single 10 capacity monster. To offset this disadvantage you need to use special card effects. That doesn't come down to superior disciplines: Neither means superior as opposed to inferior twice the effectiveness, nor do you need double the capacity to get the necessary skills at superior. Other cards can make the difference though. The 2nd Tradition (or more generally all Traditions) is maybe the best example: Untap and block at +2 intercept for all Princes and Justicars, so your fat boy can take an action and still be able to block. Study all cards that offer advantages to certain vampires in terms of multiple actions/reactions and try to incorporate them into your strategy. Normal multiple action strategies are good for standard decks, for huge minion decks they become essential most of the time. Use Wakes and if possible Freak Drive to the utmost effect. To put the point more generally: Make use of the specials big vampires possess. Be it a title, a massive bonus to bleed or hand damage, inherent stealth or an inherent rush action - these make those big dudettes worthwhile, IF your strategy needs their special. Never rely on the multitude of different skills. Although there are examples of decks that rely on a strange discipline combo only found on a particular minion, three things speak against using a minion only for his disciplines. First: The more disciplines involved, the more complicated and thus unlikely the combo is going to be pulled off. Second: Skill cards can handle the problem without spending that much pool. Third: If the combo depends on having one minion out, it becomes very vulnerable. Not only to bad crypt draw, but also to decisive action against this weakest part of your game - be it combat or stuff like Banishment. Vampire of the month: Not surprisingly I give to you Don Cruez, The Idealist: 10, ani CEL dom pro POT PRE, Brujah, Justicar Brujah Justicar: Once each combat, Don Cruez may burn 1 blood to get one maneuver. As many huge minions the Don suffers from six discipline syndrome. A classic Jyhad vampire, he's the Justicar of our clan and as all of his colleagues (apart from Sheldon) the privilege to use him costs you 10 pool. For this big wad of cash you get all Brujah clan disciplines at superior, three votes, a sometimes useful, if somewhat expensive special and three extra disciplines. Two of these, Animalism and Protean, are extra combat boosters, while Dominate can be seen (as mentioned in the February issue while discussing Euro-Brujah) as the fourth Brujah discipline - and a good one at that. While no deck will ever use all six of his skills, the more you focus a deck on the Don, the more you can toy with interesting combos. All in all a decent vampire, although normally I need very strong reasons to include a 10 cap. vampire - bloat decks being one good use for him, this month's deck... well, maybe also. Card of the month: Temptation of Greater Power: Master, Justicar, 3 pool Master. Requires ready Justicar. Choose a vampire. Any Methuselah may bid pool for control of the vampire. Highest bidder burns pool and takes control of the vampire. Methuselahs may be credited up to five pool on the bid: highest bidder pays 1 pool toward his or her debt at the end of each of his or her turns until debt is repaid. (That's the ToGP abbreviation I used throughout the whole newsletter.) The one original Jyhad card that took the V:tES community years to break, it is now considered borderline broken. Legbiter first introduced us to the power of this card, and his version of the ToGP deck centered around the Nosferatu Justicar Sheldon is possibly the best in terms of effectiveness and having a secondary strategy. What does this card offer? Played against your prey it means either the loss of a minion or the loss of pool when he has to "repay" her. Against a weenie horde arguably not a trump card because of its high cost, but in most cases it will bring the victim almost down on its knees. Its use has to be augmented by a good pool gain strategy, be it classic Minion Tap/5th Tradition or political power cards like Parity Shift. Deck: The Don's irresistible offer Strictly an alpha version, this month's deck features both Don Cruez and Angus, Justicars of Clan Brujah and Gangrel respectively. They share a good amount of disciplines, namely Animalism, Celerity, Potence and Protean - pretty close to the ultimate combat ability. Problem is: If you spend 10 pool for one of those characters, combat is not really the way to win. Which not surprisingly leads us to ToGP. So the basic idea is to use ToGP to put pressure on your prey and use the minions to intercept and kill anything in reach. As massive bloat and a smidgeon of politics is also recommendable to make a deck like this work, it approaches toolboxiness quickly. The other vampires are mainly auxiliary, I concentrated on Animalism because it is the most versatile of the skills present. An extra prince for playing the Traditions and some Presence are included as well. An unwieldy affair, probably, but at least 50 percent Brujah, and always remember: The real punch comes from the ToGP. So your first priority should be to get out the Don or The Olde One. Let their irresistible offers do the job for you... (And of course some vampires like Kallista are in there due to story reasons and might be exchanged for suitable, preferably weenie minions ;-) Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 11, Max: 40, Avg: 6,5] 1 Anastasia Grey (ani pro, Gangrel, 3) 2 Angus the Unruled (ANI cel for pot PRO, Gangrel, 10, Justicar) 1 Bear Paw (ANI for pre pro, Gangrel, 5) 3 Don Cruez (ani CEL dom pro POT PRE, Brujah, 10, Justicar) 1 Dre (cel pot, Brujah, 3) 1 Kallista (AUS CEL pre pro, Toreador, 6) 1 Rake (aus cel pot PRE, Brujah, 6, Prince) 1 Raziya Samater (ani pot, Brujah, 3) 1 Vliam Andor (ani, Gangrel, 2) Library: (80 cards) Master (18 cards) 2 Information Highway 1 Legendary Vampire 5 Minion Tap 1 Parthenon, The 1 Presence 2 Protean 5 Temptation of Greater Power 1 Tomb of Rameses III Minion (62 cards) 2 Army of Rats 2 Bewitching Oration 3 Blur 4 Bone Spur 3 Carrion Crows 3 Cats' Guidance 1 Distraction 4 Earth Control 5 Fifth Tradition: Hospitality, The 4 Flash 2 Flesh of Marble 3 Guard Dogs 1 Hand of Conrad 5 Immortal Grapple 4 Legal Manipulations 3 Parity Shift 1 Raven Spy 7 Second Tradition: Domain, The 1 Shadow of the Beast 4 Torn Signpost Final Note: That's it for this month. The next issue will write about the increasingly more popular toolbox approach applied to Brujah. I'd like to thank Hardy Range as I should have every month for his valuable assistance in writing this. Any comments, suggestions or praise please send to skaffen_amtiskaw@runbox.com Any abuse please direct to /dev/null Thanks for reading Skaffen Chantry Elder Of Munich 'I saw pale knights, and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; Who cry'd - "La belle dame sans merci Hath thee in thrall!" I saw their starv'd lips in the gloam With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke, and found me here On the cold hill side.' (Dre, Leader of the Cold Dawn, as remembered from John Keat's 'La belle Dame sans merci')