Official V:EKN Salubri Antitribu Newsletter Vol.3 No.2 September 2007
Psi
2007)
Of interest to Scholars and Slanderers
Editor: Joel Tate
In this issue:
1. Introduction
2. Miscellanea et Demonica - strategy
3. The Dwindling Few - featured vampire(s)
4. The Powers of the Righteous - featured card(s)
5. The Hosts of Heaven - featured deck(s)
6. Conclusion - summary & theme for next issue
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1. INTRODUCTION
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Hello everyone and welcome to the second of the Salubri Antitribu
newsletters for 2007. This newsletter follows on from last issue's
beginners' guide, focusing on intercept-combat as one of the primary
strategies behind a successful Salubri Antitribu deck.
This month's featured Salubri Antitribu is Thomas Steed, for his handy
fetch ability, and the featured card of the month is Gift of Bellona.
The deck of the month is an example of a Salubri Antitribu intercept-
combat deck, modified from last issues Auspex-Valeren deck.
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2. MISCELLANEA ET DEMONICA
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Intercept-combat is probably the most common, and attractive, of the
Salubri Antitribu strategies, given that all 3 clan disciplines
support this approach. Adding big weapons into the mix and you can
feel safe in the knowledge that the damage you'll be dishing out will
surpass what you'll receive. I'm not going to go through is the card
ratios for an intercept-combat deck, for this I refer you to the VTES
Players guide (p.123).
The benefit of playing an intercept-combat deck is that played well
enough will mean you won't be ousted. As a result you'll be there for
the end game to pick up the last couple of vp's to win the game; if
you can oust your prey, then victory shall be ensured (assuming no 6+
tables).
A Salubri Antitribu deck which is pursuing an intercept-combat
approach will likely include a mix of intercept cards, usually Eagle's
Sight (to block prey minion actions), Enhanced Senses (for the 2
intercept - card saving) and a few Telepathic Misdirection (bounce
purposes). Permanent intercept cards will also be used, locations
(WMRH, KRCG et al.), Bowl of Convergence and Mr Winthrop can all be
employed by Salubri Anti to save on card slots.
The combat edge on the other hand tends to focus on Valeren, Fortitude
and melee weapon cards to inflict the maximum amount of (aggravated)
damage possible. Concealed Weapon almost nearly makes into all Salubri
Anti decks, in order to bring out the melee weapons, ditto Sword of
the Righteous for agg damage. Armor of Caine provides an interesting
prevent option, especially when combined with Trap (and Undead
Persistence if they do manage to torpor you)! Generally Crimson
Sentinel (for its ability to grow), Poker (cheap), Meat Hook (cheap,
press) and Meat Cleavers tend to make up the weapon element.
The problem with most intercept-combat decks is that they lack a
significant forward ousting threat, other than blocking your prey's
minions. For the Salubri Antitribu, this issue is doubly manifest, in
that all three of the clan disciplines are not the best know for
bleed / vote threat.
A further drawback, which ties into the first, is that the likelihood
of sweeping a table is quite low (stealth-bleed/vote etc... being far
superior in this respect).
There are a couple of combat foils to Salubri Anti intercept-combat,
S:CE, which we still have to either Telepathic Track or Rotschreck to
circumvent. Immortal Grapple, Drawing out the Beast and the other
cards which prevent use of melee weapons are also potential problems.
Disengage counters Immortal Grapple (however I can't believe we'd put
it in the deck as a hoser card), Armor of Caine gets round the
frenzies and gives us prevent too!
A Salubri Antitribu intercept-combat deck can also be quite slow in
setup, ie first equip with weapon, then get out permanent intercept
all the while trying to block your prey & predator's actions.
The last problem is that hand jams can occur frequently, and stuck
with a handful of combat cards, your opponents using casual stealth
will be sufficient to keep you in the predicament. Likewise, a handful
of intercept and untap, isn't all that threatening when in combat!
Having identified some of the main problems to this type of Salubri
Anti deck we can now look for ways to mitigate and/or remove for a
more successful deck.
In order to raise the forward ousting threat, there are a number of
options open to the Salubri Anti, Pulse of the Canaille being one of
the more frequently used options simply because at least two of the
vampires you'll be using should have superior Auspex. Bleed retainers,
Pentex(TM) Loves You!, Laptop Computers and the like can also be
included to boast the forward oust threat.
When playing an intercept-combat deck, we will always look for cards
that combine complementary effects for the strategy. Salubri Antitribu
do not have easy access to slot saving untap/intercept cards like
Second Tradition or Read the Winds (Atonement being one of the few),
however we can save on damage dealing cards because of the permanent
weaponry.
There are a number of ways you can facilitate better card flow and
deck speed. Master cards like Elder Library, Dreams of the Sphinx or
The Barrens will either increase hand size or discarding cards.
Playing with combos that require fewer cards, ie Rotschreck with
either Sword of the Righteous and Weighted Walking Stick or Eye of
Unforgiving Heaven, will also maximize efficiencies. Dreams should be
given special mention for its transfer ability that will speed up
bring out your minions.
Overall, intercept-combat capitalizes on the synergies each of the
Salubri Antitribu disciplines and is a good starting point for a
player new to playing the clan. In the next full issue of the
newsletter we shall revisit bleed/bruise as a viable strategy,
retaining the format set above.
Appendix:
Dreams of the Sphinx
Type: Master
Requires: None
Cost: 1 Pool
Unique master. Put this card in play. Put a counter on this card each
time you tap it. When the third counter is added, burn this card. Tap
this card to get +2 hand size until the end of the current turn. Tap
during your untap phase to gain an additional pool if you have the
Edge. Tap to move a blood from the blood bank to a vampire in your
uncontrolled region.
Bowl of Convergence
Type: Equipment
Requires: None
Cost: None
Unique equipment. If the bearer is a vampire who has Auspex [aus], the
bearer gets +1 intercept. If the bearer has superior Auspex [AUS], he
or she can burn 1 blood once during each action to get an additional
+1 intercept for the current action.
Eagle's Sight
Type: Reaction
Requires: Auspex
Cost: None
[aus] This reacting vampire gets +1 intercept.
[AUS] This reacting vampire attempts to block the current action,
ignoring the normal prey, predator or target restrictions for blocking
actions.
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3. THE DWINDLING FEW
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Thomas Steed, The Angry
Salubri Antitribu (Group 2)
Capacity 4
ani aus val
Sabbat: Thomas may search your library for a melee weapon and move it
to your hand as a +1 stealth action. Discard down to your hand size
and shuffle your library afterward.
For a clan synonymous with weapon combat, Thomas Steed is an essential
part of many Salubri Antitribu decks. The ability to search for "a
melee weapon", makes him great for pulling out the most appropriate
weapon for the situation your are in (most commonly Crimson Sentinel
for its ability to get bigger through use).
Thomas has two of the three in-clan disciplines, and while he can't
prevent a whole lot of damage, lacking Fortitude, he is a cheap
blocking minion. The other curiosity about Thomas is that he is only
vampire in the clan that possesses Animalism as an out of clan
discipline, this means he could be included in a cheap Animalism-
Auspex block deck, or alternatively in an Animalism Salubri Antitribu
deck (i.e. Jeremiah Moore's Wakes with Righteous Vengeance).
Overall, those who play a Group 2-3 Salubri deck will play Thomas for
his ability first and disciplines second.
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4. THE POWERS OF THE RIGHTEOUS
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Gift of Bellona Type: Action Modifier
Requires: Valeren/Auspex [aus] If this action is blocked, your hand
size is increased by 1 during the resulting combat.
[val] Only usable when an action to equip with a weapon is successful.
Untap this acting vampire.
[VAL] Only usable when an action to equip with a weapon from your hand
is blocked. Before combat begins, equip this vampire with the weapon
instead of placing it in your ash heap (pay cost as normal). During
the first round of this combat, that weapon cannot be used.
Gift of Bellona is a great card for the Salubri Antitribu. For a clan
who lack almost any stealth, the likelihood of having one's equip
action for a nasty weapon is quite high. At superior, Gift enables you
to get around this problem by still equipping with the weapon,
although you can't use it straight away; this even applies to unique
weapons!
At basic Valeren, when people are foolish enough to let you equip,
then you can untap your minion, ready to show your opponents the
weapon up close!
The basic Auspex offering is in effect a lesser version of Aura
Reading, aiding the resulting combat by increasing hand size for
potentially more combat options, and at worst case, a card cycle.
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5. THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN
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Below is a modified version of my first Salubri Antitribu deck, with
minimal Fortitude as before. Smiling Jack is now in for bait /
environmental damage and the essential Path of Retribution has been
included to reduce the cost of 20 one blood cost Valeren cards! Sense
Death replaces the Nose of the Hound, and blood gain is spread between
Procurers and The Rack. Combat module is relatively balanced, although
not yet fully tested.
Deck Name: The Cold Iron Curtain
Created By: Joel Tate
Description: A typical Salubri Antitribu wall deck using Adonai and
Thomas Steed, the core of group 2-3, Dela is there as additional
support and weenies make up the rest. If you can equip with the
Crimson Sentinel early, the minion carrying it should become a
monster. There is sufficient permanent intercept for a modest stealth
environment.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 12, Max: 30, Avg: 5.083)
----------------------------------------------
1 Doris McMillon val 2 Salubri
Antitribu
2 Kervos aus val 3 Salubri
Antitribu
1 Wolf Valentine for VAL 4 Salubri
Antitribu
3 Thomas Steed ani aus val 4 Salubri
Antitribu
3 Adonai for AUS VAL 7 Salubri
Antitribu
2 Dela Eden cel dom AUS FOR VAL 8 Salubri
Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
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Master (13 cards)
1 Channel 10
4 Blood Doll
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
1 KRCG News Radio
2 Path of Retribution, The
1 Rack, The
1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1 WMRH Talk Radio
Action (8 cards)
2 Blessing of the Name
2 Sanguine Instruction
4 Sense Death
Action Modifier (2 cards)
2 Gift of Bellona
Reaction (20 cards)
4 Eagle's Sight
6 Enhanced Senses
6 Forced Awakening
4 On the Qui Vive
Combat (35 cards)
7 Armor of Caine's Fury
3 Concealed Weapon
6 Fake Out
9 Sword of the Righteous
3 Telepathic Tracking
3 Trap
4 Vengeance of Samiel
Ally (2 cards)
2 Procurer
Equipment (10 cards)
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Crimson Sentinel, The
2 Gas-Powered Chainsaw
2 Meat Cleaver
2 Meat Hook
2 Poker
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6. CONCLUSION
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Well, that's it for this newsletter, next issue we shall be a special
edition dedicated to the Lords of Night release. If you have any
ideas, comments or additions please feel free to contact me.
Joel
Cambridge, UK