Assamite Newsletter June 2005
Jarkko Suvela
Author: Jarkko Suvela
-----------------------------
Table of Contents
-----------------------------
Passing The Torch, Assamites and Me
Ingredients For Bruising
New Faces and Old Tech
Deck of the Month
Passing the Torch:
-----------------------------
The previous Assamite newsletter writer, Otto Koskinen, has passed
the title
to me.
This came as a surprise, honestly. But I reckon that anyone seeing my
number of posts at www.thepathofblood.com can tell that I am a
fanatic
Assamite and V:tES player. So I am honored to carry the torch for
him.
My fascination with the Assamites is based on their status as
"supreme
killers."
I have always enjoyed playing V:tES the most when playing
combat-based decks. I'm not keen to play stealth and bleed or
politics; they don't grant that much in the way of tactical options
Also I'm fond of the Assamite discipline spread, their
in-clan disciplines (OBF CEL QUI). Obfuscate grants you the ability
to hit the
"right" target for your actions, and also helps you to equip deadlier
weapons
in combat. Celerity counters strike:combat ends and "speeds up" the
combat.
Quietus makes the combat really variable; for example: you can do
ranged
aggravated damage, decrease your opponent's hand damage or do
unpreventable
damage to him/her.
Ingredients for bruising:
-----------------------------
Since I am seeing fewer and fewer combat decks in play, I want to
bring these
old cards to light. Maybe folks can learn to see combat as a viable
method of
ousting in the game, not just as survival or as a way to get other
actions
through without being blocked. Sometimes you just need casual
intercept and a
Fame to make the game a bit more spicy.
Fame
Master, unique
"Put this card on a ready vampire. If this vampire goes into torpor,
his or her controller burns 3 pool. Each Methuselah burns 1 pool
during his or her untap phase if this vampire is in torpor."
When I started playing the game, this was the only enhancer for
combat-oriented decks. It wasn't impossible to oust your opponents
with just this card, but you needed many actions and stealth to
do so. I'm speaking of the "Fame-dunk," AKA "Fame-lift"; play Fame
on a vampire controlled by your prey and send him/her to torpor.
Rescue him from torpor and send him back again. This requires 3 of
your minion
actions and maybe some extra stealth to get those actions through,
but if
successful your prey loses 7 pool by the time of his/her untap phase.
Tension in the Ranks
Master, unique
"Put this card in play. Whenever a ready minion is burned or sent to
torpor, the controller of the minion burns a pool. Any Methuselah can
burn this card by discarding 2 master cards as a master phase
action."
You have to be careful with this one. Be sure that your own minions
won't burn or be sent to torpor, because this affects you as well. So
your crypt should be well thought-out when using this. It's very
effective,
but it may also help your opponents (at least if they are also
playing combat
decks).
Dragonbound
Gehenna Event, unique
"Do not replace as long as this card is in play. During each
Methuselah's discard phase,
he or she burns X pool, where X is the number of vampires in torpor
he or she controls."
The drawback seems a bit heavy at first sight, but you can get around
it with,
for example, Elder Library if you need to maintain a handsize of
seven.
What's there to say, really, except that this card changed the course
of
"meat-wall" techniques; that is, defending larger minions with a
shield of
smaller, more expendable ones
If you have Dragonbound in play, your blocker might not block with a
low-capacity vampire but rather block the action with a vampire
he/she thinks
can defend himself/herself. This shouldn't be a problem, since you
are the
bruiser and not him. Like Tension in the Ranks, you should be careful
about
which vampires you put in play, as there's always a slight chance
that you will
suffer from the effects of Dragonbound too.
Leadership Vacuum
Master Out-of-Turn, unique
"Only usable when a ready titled vampire controlled by another
Methuselah is burned or sent to torpor. Usable during your turn. Put
this card in play and put X counters on this card where X is the
number of votes that vampire has. That Methuselah burns X pool
during each of his or her untap phases. During his or her untap
phases, if he or she controls a vampire with a capacity above 7 or
with a title, burn this card."
This card is pretty marginal, because it requires that one of your
opponents be
playing with a titled vampire.
Also, if the controller of that titled vampire has another vampire of
capacity
eight or higher or any titled vampire during his untap, this card is
pretty
much useless.
The great thing about this card is that you can play it even if it's
not your turn, regardless of whether or not it is your minion who
burns or
sends the titled vampire to torpor. It just might be your lucky day
if your
grandprey plays a combat deck. Very effective in some cases, but use
only if
you're sure that the Methuselah you're using it against won't get
another
titled and/or seven+ capacity vampire into his/her ready region
before his next
untap phase.
Path of Lilith
Master, unique
"Put this card in play. When a non-Camarilla vampire you control
sends an opposing vampire to torpor in combat, you may tap this
card to put a torture counter on the opposing vampire. During your
untap phase, each Methuselah who controls any vampires with
torture counters burns 1 pool. Any minion may burn this card as a
(D) action. Burn all torture counters when this card leaves play."
I've used this card once. It requires lots of blocking and doesn't
do much of damage, but I guess it has its place in a serious
combat deck which can intercept and/or block a lot of actions.
New faces; Old tech: (in honor of Otto's resignment)
---------------------------------
Amaravati
Capacity: 8
DOM OBF QUI ani chi
Independent
Group: 4
Ability: During a political action, Amaravati may burn 2 blood to
give each ready Assamite you control an additional vote. Blood
Cursed.
DOM and OBF? On top of that nasty special he has, coupled with KMW
bringing
us Web of Knives Recruit? You can make a really offensive Alamut vote
&bleed
deck now, with BOUNCE!
I played a deck featuring Amaravati, Yazid and the other G3-4
Assamites, swept 4 tables with it and saw that you can make really
strong deck around this vampire.
Joe "Boot" Hill
Capacity: 7
CEL QUI obf for
Sabbat
Group: 4
Ability: Black Hand: Joe can enter combat with a werewolf ally
controlled by another Methuselah as a +1 stealth (D) action. Joe
gets an optional maneuver in that combat. +1 strength. (The Blood
Curse does not affect Joe.)
I'm looking at the vampire that some people have said is a reprint of
Parnassus, but he isn't, really. Both have awesome discipline spreads
and that
sweet +1 strength. However, their disciplines separate these two from
each
other, and Joe also has the Black Hand attribute. A real killer, this
vampire
has access to multiaction, intercept and combat prowess. What else do
you need
from a good Assamite?
Tariq, Advanced
Capacity: 7
AUS FOR OBF QUI cel
Sabbat
Group: 2
Ability: Black Hand. Red List: Tariq's capacity is reduced by 4
while he is controlled. He may steal 1 blood as a ranged strike. The
Blood Curse does not affect Tariq.
[MERGED] Independent: Tariq's capacity is not reduced by his card
text.
This vampire generated lots of discussion even before the actual card
was
printed. Many have been disappointed by him, but others saw him as a
real
treat. Theft for 1R is nice, but I don't have much experience with
him, so I can't comment about him just yet. I'm sure to
test him out soon.
Vardar Vardarian
Capacity: 6
OBF QUI cel pre
Independent
Group: 4
Ability: Followers of Set get -1 strength in combat with Vardar.
Blood Cursed.
I'm a bit disappointed in this vampire; he is like a crappy version
of
Melek. But if we leave my personal preferences out, this vampire is a
solid vampire of capacity 6. OBF QUI let's you do nasty things.
Michael diCarlo
Capacity: 5
CEL obf qui
Sabbat
Group: 4
Ability: If Michael successfully performs an action to enter combat
with
another minion, he may set the range in the first round of the
resulting combat
to long (skip the determine range step). (The Blood Curse does not
affect
Michael.)
Nice. He is big enough to use Clandestine Contracts and his
speciality is
awesome, since he is an Assamite. Not much to say about him really,
this guy
is lethal.
Janni
Capacity: 5
cel for obf qui
Independent
Group: 4
Ability: Janni inflicts an additional damage when striking with a
weapon. She may enter combat with a ready Follower of Set controlled
by another Methuselah as (D) action. Blood Cursed.
Oh mama! Even if she doesn't have any superior disciplines, her
speciality is
something that puts her in my list of the top five Assamites. She
turns a
Saturday Night Special into a .44 Magnum, a Sengir Dagger into Kali's
Fang
and an Ivory Bow into a Flamethrower. Also, fortitude is never a bad
thing,
as she can use it to prevent and multiact.
Basir
Capacity: 1
qui
Independent
Group: 4
Ability: Each time you use a master phase action to place a master:
Discipline card on Basir, he gains 1 blood fom the blood bank. Basir
cannot block or play reaction cards. Blood Cursed.
He cannot play Foul Blood? Oh no! Well, I think I can live with that.
Let's face it, a vampire with 1 inferior discipline and a drawback,
with
a clan as a backup, is just sweet. And with the new options to play
mono-quietus (mentioned in previous newsletter), Basir isn't just
another pretty face.
Deck of the Month
-------------------------
Deck: "These boots are made for walking"
Author: Jarkko Suvela
Concept: Black Hand Assamites, bruise and intercept
Crypt:
3x Yazid Tamari CEL QUI obf dom ani, Black Hand Seraph, +1bleed
3x Joe "Boot" Hill CEL QUI obf for (introduction above)
2x Reza Fatir CEL QUI obf pro, Black Hand
2x Michael DiCarlo CEL qui obf, (introduction above)
2x Basir qui (introduction above)
Master: 16
Corporal Reservoir x5
Blood Doll x5
Watchtower, Four Ride Forth (burn option)
Market Square, the
Weeping Stone, the
Underworld Hunting Ground
Path of Blood, the x2
Action: 10
Khabar: Glory x3
Flurry of Action x2
Bum's Rush x5
Retainer: 2
J. S. Simmons Esq.
Tasha Morgan
Equipment: 2
Learjet x2
Reaction: 20
Black Sunrise x8
Ministry x8
Rooftop Shadow x4
Combat: 38
Dagon's Call x5
Flash x8
Taste of Death x3
Wave of Lethargy x3
Thin Blood x3
Sidestrike x6
Disease x3
Psyche! x4
Blood Sweat x3
Event: 2
Dragonbound x2
Combo: Wave of Lethargy +Thin Blood. Since Wave adds an extra cost
for any
strike cards your opponent wants to play, if your opponent is reduced
to zero blood
by the Thin Blood, it's almost certain that he cannot do much harm to
you.
Next Issue: "Tap'n'Taste" & Gun kata
-Signal off-
Daneel
wrote:
> Deck of the Month
> -------------------------
> Deck: "These boots are made for walking"
> Author: Jarkko Suvela
> Concept: Black Hand Assamites, bruise and intercept
I like this deck. I've been toying around with a similar concept lately.
There are some points I do not really see, though. I'd be grateful for any
feedback on them.
1. You have two blood gain locations. All your intercept cards and many
combat cards cost you blood. Granted, you have the Path, and you might as
well be able to protect it, but still, paying 2 blood to get 3 intercept
on a regular basis seems a bit expensive, especially with the odds being
you don't gain blood in combat. Corporal Reservoire adds some nice
flexibility to this (and basically doubles as a Black Hand Life in the
City), but still, the reactive part seems a bit fragile to me.
2. Learjet seems a bit of an odd choice. You don't really modify your
actions, meaning it'll basically be a permanent-when-acting Infernal
Pursuit on the minion. Those tend to deplete your deck quickly; and even
if you indeed decide to include such effects, the transient Infernal
Pursuit can be cycled as a press when not needed (whereas the Learjet
takes a precious action that could be used to get, for example, a
permanent Maneuver, Press or point of Intercept).
3. Basil with Dragonbound seems a bit risky. If you plan to rely on either,
dropping the other may seem like a good idea...
4. I really like the combat module. Using some close range strikes really
makes you that much better against S:CE, as you do not need to go to long
every time just to play your game. However, I'm not entirely sure Dagon's
Call is worth it, even if we consider the Path to be in play. It's a
Strength+1 strike for Hands that hopes to do an additional point of damage
each press step. Now you do have the presses to back this up (nice to see
the deck rely on both options of Flash), but still, I'm not sure it's
really worth it, especially with no Taste of Vitae's around. You basically
trade 1 damage you take for 2 damage you inflict, which means that after
downing two vamps, you are empty. Having a .44 would, in the vast majority
of cases, be superior than playing Dagon's Call.
--
Bye,
Daneel
Jeroen Rombouts
"Daneel" <dan...@eposta.hu> schreef in bericht
news:opsrscdh...@news.chello.hu...
>
> 2. Learjet seems a bit of an odd choice. You don't really modify your
> actions, meaning it'll basically be a permanent-when-acting Infernal
> Pursuit on the minion. Those tend to deplete your deck quickly; and even
> if you indeed decide to include such effects, the transient Infernal
> Pursuit can be cycled as a press when not needed (whereas the Learjet
> takes a precious action that could be used to get, for example, a
> permanent Maneuver, Press or point of Intercept).
>
well, you know: the advantage of learjet is that you don't HAVE to draw the
additional card. Only when you want to.
XZealot
> 3. Basil with Dragonbound seems a bit risky. If you plan to rely on
> either,
> dropping the other may seem like a good idea...
That's Basir not Basil. Two totally different 1 caps. One is a mono Quietus
evil and the other is a punching bag
--
Comments Welcome,
Norman S. Brown, Jr
XZealot
Archon of the Swamp
Daneel
<x_ze...@NoSpamcox-internet.com> wrote:
>
>> 3. Basil with Dragonbound seems a bit risky. If you plan to rely on
>> either,
>> dropping the other may seem like a good idea...
>
> That's Basir not Basil. Two totally different 1 caps. One is a mono
> Quietus evil and the other is a punching bag
Sorry, it was a typo. Still, with no Selective Silence, Basir (<-'R')
isn't that much of an assassin, he has little in the way of surviving
a punch for 2 (which isn't that uncommon).
--
Bye,
Daneel
Daneel
Good point. However, the deck plans to have more reactive combats; it has
5 rushes and 20 untap/intercept cards. It usually bleeds for 1-2. Equiping
with a Learjet has some sense in that 1) you can choose whether to use it,
and 2) you boost your formerly weaker combat angle (reactively you pick
the fights, while when bruising, your prey does). Still, I just don't see
how the permanent bonus bestowed by a Hawq, a Sport Bike, or an IR Googles
wouldn't be worth at least as much... Not to mention a .44 that gives a
huge boost during the endgame or against non-combative opponents.
I think I'll need to look more into Learjet. I thought that it was best for
a heavy bleeder, for example.
--
Bye,
Daneel
Jarkko Suvela
> There are some points I do not really see, though. I'd be grateful for any
> feedback on them.
Ofcourse.. my pleasure
> 1. You have two blood gain locations. All your intercept cards and many
> combat cards cost you blood. Granted, you have the Path, and you might as
> well be able to protect it, but still, paying 2 blood to get 3 intercept
> on a regular basis seems a bit expensive, especially with the odds being
> you don't gain blood in combat. Corporal Reservoire adds some nice
> flexibility to this (and basically doubles as a Black Hand Life in the
> City), but still, the reactive part seems a bit fragile to me.
Blood Gain locations are mainly just for transient bloat and just
to keep my vamps up&running. Note that you can utilize both bloodgain
loc's to a single vamp. I usually need only Ministry to intercept
anything and it is not so likely that I can get along with a stealthy
clan. Corporal Reserv's are in there for the same reason as the
Bloodgain loc's, also that prevent is *really* good thing with
Assamites.
> 2. Learjet seems a bit of an odd choice. You don't really modify your
> actions, meaning it'll basically be a permanent-when-acting Infernal
> Pursuit on the minion. Those tend to deplete your deck quickly; and even
> if you indeed decide to include such effects, the transient Infernal
> Pursuit can be cycled as a press when not needed (whereas the Learjet
> takes a precious action that could be used to get, for example, a
> permanent Maneuver, Press or point of Intercept).
As said before, you don't *have* to use the Learjet, that is
mainly working as a Barrens here.
> 3. Basil with Dragonbound seems a bit risky. If you plan to rely on either,
> dropping the other may seem like a good idea...
Yes I know, you just have to keep your cool and strategize, which
one is better option to use, DB or the weenie. If your Prey has any
combat prowess, then leave Basir downstairs and play Dragonbound, but
if your Prey is very vulnerable to bruising, the I'd choose Basir and
his bleed_for_one ;)
> 4. I really like the combat module. Using some close range strikes really
> makes you that much better against S:CE, as you do not need to go to long
> every time just to play your game. However, I'm not entirely sure Dagon's
> Call is worth it, even if we consider the Path to be in play. It's a
> Strength+1 strike for Hands that hopes to do an additional point of damage
> each press step. Now you do have the presses to back this up (nice to see
> the deck rely on both options of Flash), but still, I'm not sure it's
> really worth it, especially with no Taste of Vitae's around. You basically
> trade 1 damage you take for 2 damage you inflict, which means that after
> downing two vamps, you are empty. Having a .44 would, in the vast majority
> of cases, be superior than playing Dagon's Call.
.44 Mags are good, it seems that almost every player chooses .44
mags over any combat discipline ('xept fortitude and celerity) -I'm
presenting the variety of Quietus here, not that I wouldn't be using
4real, because I am. Dagon's Call is a bit see'n'saw thing, if your
opponent uses lots of prevent, you still might be able to torp him.
Thin Blood+D's Call -press &repeat He/she loses 4 blood and takes 2
unpreventable damage in 2 rounds.
It's effectiveness lays in the unpreventable portion, Teggy and Dawn
Op's is a "living" proof of this.
-Thanks for your intrest
Daneel
wrote:
>> I like this deck. I've been toying around with a similar concept lately.
>> There are some points I do not really see, though. I'd be grateful
>> for any
>> feedback on them.
>
> Ofcourse.. my pleasure
I tried the deck once and had moderate success with it. Playing it was
quite fun, but I couldn't score anything; might have to do with that
weenie Potence predator (or the wall prey...). ;) I didn't need the
Rooftop Shadows, had to discard the Leerjet (low on pool and action),
and never saw a Dagon's Call. The other combat cards were quite good,
though. Corporal Reservoire is indeed excellent; it's like a Life in
the City you can repurchase when you are stronger. I hope to get more
chances to play it, it's a cool deck (and quite better balanced than
my original rough draft).
--
Bye,
Daneel