Official VEKN Tremere Antitribu Newsletter - November 2004, Part II
Halcyan 2
True Faith [Bloodlines]
Cardtype: Master
Cost: 1 pool
Unique master.
Put this card on a non-infernal mortal ally you control or pay 2 pool to put
this card on any non-infernal minion you control. Actions requiring Dominate
[dom] or Presence [pre] cannot be directed at this minion. In combat, any
damage this minion inflicts on an infernal minion is aggravated. Infernal
minions cannot block or strike this minion. Burn this card if this minion
becomes infernal.
Ever since True Faith was printed in Bloodlines, it has been widely regarded as
a joke card, one hardly deserving of a slot in a competitive deck. With the
onslaught of the Infernal Plague however, this niche card may actually get some
time in the spotlight. In tournament play, the Baali aren't especially
competitive due to their lack of defense and their expensive infernal cost. As
a result, it is unlikely that an Infernal vampire will enter play, which
precludes many of the advantages of True Faith. The other effect, protection
against Dominate and Presence actions, may be helpful to protect an ally from
Far Mastery and Entrancement and can even prevent Mind Rape and Mind Numb being
played on that vampire. But the cost is exorbitant when compared to Lobotomy
and even then it doesn't protect against other ally-steal effects like Lure of
the Serpent and Restructure. True Faith may be a bit more reasonable if you're
playing with a lot of mortal allies but since the Tremere Antitribu don't
typically have access to any spectacular mortal allies, it's just not that
useful for the clan. The only amusing thing I've been able to do with it is
make a True Faith Succubus (ala Fall From Grace in Planescape: Torment).
For the Infernal Plague storyline however, the power of True Faith increases
tremendously. Since about half of the vampires in the tournament should be
infernal, a situation that was once corner-case now becomes almost certain. For
a 3 pool investment you can make one of your vampires unblockable by and
unstrikable against all infernal minions. This can easily hose an Infernal
intercept deck or Infernal combat deck that you might sit next to. And not only
that but you also do aggravated damage against half the vampires in the
tournament! This might be immensely helpful for a non-Infernal combat deck. A
Blood Fury now becomes 3 aggravated hand damage that can't be prevented by
Fortitude (and you don't have to go through all the trouble of grafting on
Protean or Vicissitude). With so many Infernal minions milling about, True
Faith will definitely provide many invaluable offensive and defensive options.
Some people have theorized that the Path of Evil Revelations will be the most
hotly contested card during the Infernal Plague. I think however that True
Faith will definitely give the Path a run for its money! In fact, I wouldn't be
surprised to see some Infernal decks packing a copy of True Faith just to place
on its allies. Not only can it then be used against other Infernal players, but
it can be contested if a non-Infernal player tries to abuse it.
Infernal Familiar [Sabbat, Camarilla]
Cardtype: Retainer
Cost: 2 blood
Discipline: Thaumaturgy
Demon with 2 life.
[tha] The vampire with this retainer can play a card that requires a Discipline
he or she does not have as if he or she had the basic level of that Discipline;
if he or she does so, place an investment counter on the Infernal Familiar. If
the number of investment counters on the Familiar is greater than this
vampire's capacity, burn this vampire.
The Infernal Familiar (a.k.a. "Hairy Spider" and "Flaming Salamander") can be
used to fill in some discipline gaps amongst the !Tremere vampires. For
example, Richard Tauber lacks Dominate, Brooke and Reverend Blackwood lack
Auspex, Heinrick Schlempt and Jacob the Glitch lack both Auspex and Dominate.
And if you can pass on a Familiar using Heidelberg Castle or a borrowed
Veneficorum, the Familiar can provide faux-Thaumaturgy for Saiz and Ember
Wright. Similarly, the Infernal Familiar can be another way to access
out-of-clan disciplines. Obtenebration, Animalism, and Presence rank as the
most common out-of-clan disciplines for the !Tremere. The Infernal Familiar can
provide access to these disciplines for your vampires who are not so blessed
naturally. Of course, in many cases you may very well be better off relying on
just discipline cards but the Infernal Familiar can provide a distinct degree
of flexibility.
It is rare to find a vampire that is able to play all three effects of an
Anarch discipline card. The Infernal Familiar can help in this regard by giving
you access to all three effects. Being able to pick and choose how you want to
play a Diversion or The Mole helps you handle whatever your opponents might
throw at you. And having extra options when playing Reformation or Principia
Discordia allows one to better take advantage of however the metagame will turn
out. The Flaming Salamander is also one of the few ways to access Bloodlines
disciplines (for which there are no Master discipline cards). Giving multiple
minions the ability to play Temporis, Obeah, or Melpominee opens a lot of doors
to one's strategy. Most players just don't expect to see Rewind Time, Vitae
Block, or Siren's Lure when one is not playing a Bloodlines clan. Though the
Hairy Spider is only limited to the inferior of such abilities, the surprise
factor more than makes up for it.
For the Infernal Plague Storyline, the Infernal Familiar has a particularly
special use. Generally, access to Daimonion is not especially useful for
non-Infernal vampires, since the majority of DAI cards require an Infernal
minion. However, due to the special rules of the Infernal Plague, if you opt to
join the Infernal team then *all* of your crypt cards are considered to be
Infernal. This means that if they have the ability to use Daimonion (via the
Spider/Salamander for instance), then they have the whole spectrum of DAI cards
to choose from. Even at inferior, Concordance is a good precaution against
aggravated damage, Condemnation: Doomed can be a pleasant supplement for
intercept decks, and Condemnation: Languid can be helpful for combat decks. The
Flaming Salamander is also the perfect medium with which to play Contagion.
Slap down a Contagion for an Anarch Revolt that affects everyone but you. If
you want, you don't even need to ever pay the Infernal cost for that vampire
again and it will still be like he is bleeding your prey for one each turn. And
since Contagion is Unique, it is unlikely you will need to play multiple
copies, which is perfect since you won't become heavily Invested with the
Familiar.
The Infernal Familiar has only a limited number of uses (based on capacity) and
so you have to be careful that you don't use it so many times that the Familiar
blows up and burns your vampire. In some circumstances however this can
actually work in your favor. You can purposely burn a vampire who has become a
liability due to Fame or Anathema. And if you use Heidelberg Castle along with
either Mind Rape or Temptation, you can pass off a used Familiar to burn one of
your opponent's vampires.
--------------------------
[1.7 - Combo of the Year]
Alejandro Aguirre is generally considered to be a craptacular member of the
clan. The lack of any superiors, having only four disciplines, and a lackluster
special that often appears to be nothing more than a watered-down version of
Mariel - Lady Thunder's ability typically means that he's a poor investment for
your 5 pool. While he might be able to find a small niche in trick decks
revolving about Vitae Block or Dawn Op + Skin of Night, Alejandro tends to be
extremely limited in usefulness.
However for the Infernal Plague Storyline I have actually managed to find a
unique combo for Alejandro that is so amazing that it's guaranteed to knock
your socks off! Considering how bad Alejandro is normally, this combo is so
useful and amusing that it definitely deserves to be named the Combo of the
Year. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Alejandro
Aguirre + True Faith:
Alejandro Aguirre [Camarilla]
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Tremere Antitribu
Group: 3
Capacity: 5
Discipline: ani aus dom tha
Sabbat: If Alejandro is ready, he may tap before range is determined in any
combat that does not involve him to inflict 1 unpreventable damage on each
combatant.
True Faith [Bloodlines]
Cardtype: Master
Cost: 1 pool
Unique master.
Put this card on a non-infernal mortal ally you control or pay 2 pool to put
this card on any non-infernal minion you control. Actions requiring Dominate
[dom] or Presence [pre] cannot be directed at this minion. In combat, any
damage this minion inflicts on an infernal minion is aggravated. Infernal
minions cannot block or strike this minion. Burn this card if this minion
becomes infernal.
"If there's something infernal in your neighborhood. Who you gonna call?
Alejandro Aguirre!!!"
Due to the special rules of the Infernal Plague Storyline, half of the players
in a given storyline tournament will be playing for the Infernal side which
means all of their crypt cards will be Infernal. That means that if you decide
to play for the Non-Infernal side and slap on some True Faith on to Alejandro,
he'll be able to inflict 1 unpreventable aggravated damage to half of the
vampires in the tournament! Imagine the stories you'll be able to tell when you
deflect your predator's Infernal Arika to your prey who promptly blocks
Infernal Lambach. Before they know what hit them, Alejandro taps sending both
of the fatties straight to torpor (do not collect $200). Alejandro, the little
vampire that could, *finally* has a legitimate reason to go into my decks (at
least for a few months)!
Since the damage is non-strike damage, is unpreventable, and is inflicted
before range is determined, there are very few ways an Infernal vampire can
avoid being sent to torpor by this combo. Damage conversion combat cards like
Skin of Night and inferior Elemental Stoicism provide only temporary relief
while permanents like Heart of Darkness, Armor of Terra, and superior Elemental
Stoicism may allow for some longer-term protection. An acting player may be
able to end combat before range with Illusions of the Kindred, Alpha Glint,
Elysium: The Arboretum, or Purchase Pact but even then Alejandro will still be
untapped, waiting to inflict some PAIN on some unsuspecting Infernal fiends.
And I suppose technically a cross-table Minor Boon might preclude a dirt nap as
well. But since it's rare to see large quantities of most of these cards in a
conventional deck, this means that most Infernal decks will be defenseless
against the holy power of Alejandro!
Note that this combo will not currently work with Mariel, Lady Thunder. This is
because her damage is environmental (it does not come from her) and also
because the damage is inflicted outside of (after) combat. Ha! For once Mariel
doesn't completely outclass Alejandro!
Due to the obscene amounts of hilarity that will undoubtedly result if you
actually pull off this combo, Alejandro + True Faith wins Combo of the Year
hands down. So while the Infernal Plague continues to infest the World of
Darkness, why don't you give Alejandro some Faith and he'll be hunting down
Infernal minions like there's no tomorrow!
--------------------------
[1.8 - Deck of the Month]
For this issue's Deck of the Month we will be featuring an intriguing deck that
was recently posted on the newsgroup. I especially loved the thematic elements
of the deck - the Tremere Antitribu teaming up with the Salubri in order to
hunt down infernalists. And as a result I felt that it was a perfect fit for
the newsletter, considering this month's motif:
Demon Spawn Hunters
By Brad Kellogg
[CRYPT: 12 cards]
2 x Alejandro Aguirre (ani aus dom tha, !Tremere, 5)
1 x Ember Wright (aus dom, !Tremere, 3)
4 x Ian Forestal (AUS DOM [for] [obe] THA, !Tremere, 8)
1 x Ladislas Toth (AUS DOM for THA, !Tremere, 7, Archbishop)
1 x Selena (AUS DOM THA, !Tremere, 6, Black Hand)
1 x Blanche Hill (aus FOR OBE, Salubri, 6)
2 x Matthias (AUS FOR nec OBE, Salubri, 7)
Min: 19 Max: 32 Average: 6.500
[LIBRARY: 78 cards]
[Master: 13 cards]
3 Blood Doll
3 Infernal Pact
1 Sight Beyond Sight
3 Special Report
2 Thaumaturgy
1 University Hunting Ground
[Action: 10 cards]
4 Govern the Unaligned
3 Pulse of the Canaille
3 Renewed Vigor
[Action Modifier: 24 cards]
2 Change of Target
5 Crocodile's Tongue
1 Foreshadowing Destruction
6 Freak Drive
2 Kiss of Ra, The
2 Neutral Guard
4 Repulsion
2 Serenading the Kami
[Ally: 3 cards]
1 Gregory Winter
2 Nephandus (Mage)
[Combat: 15 cards]
4 Anesthetic Touch
6 Vitae Block
5 Weather Control
[Equipment: 1 card]
1 Cooler
[Reaction: 12 cards]
4 Deflection
3 Forced Awakening
3 Melange
2 Telepathic Misdirection
Comments from Brad:
"The idea of the deck is simple: send your prey's vampires to torpor and then
ideally burn them with the Nephandus or Gregory. The hope is that the vampire
never gets the blood back from the vitae block since he's obviously burned. In
a dream scenario it would go something like this…"
"Ian Forestal with an Infernal Pact (Obeah) or Mathias with a Thaum Skill Card
does something likely to be blocked (recruit, pulse, renewed vigor, etc) with
Serenading the Kami. Depending on the age of the blocker and fortitude,
Crocodile's Tongue and / or Kiss of Ra burns blood. Before range is
determined, Vitae Block, Weather Control and / or Alejandro. If necessary,
first strike with Anesthetic Touch (adding in the Serenading hand damage). All
total, it could send a full inner circle member to torpor and all before a
strike is even done."
"Originally I had a few Call of the Hungry Dead and Spectral Divinations in the
deck. As one of Ben Peal's old Salubri Newsletter mentions, the ability to only
generate a maximum of 2 stealth with Repulsion is a weakness. However, the deck
depends on actions being blocked so I removed these, instead hoping that after
the combo works once or twice that not only will there be less blockers, but
others will be more hesitant to block as well."
"Other challenges… with the exception of the Governs and the Renewed Vigor,
there isn't too much pool gain - which obviously poses a problem if your
infernal prey starts at 50. Ideally, the deck whittles down some demon spawn
and then has at least one minion bleed with Pulse and possibly a repulsion.
Other weaknesses include a low intercept and
practically no vote defense. Perhaps a few Nose of the Hounds, some more auspex
intercept or simply a few delaying tactics would help..."
- Brad Kellogg
UPDATE: Some additional additions that Brad has made to his deck since his
original posting include a Fortitude skill card and more copies of The Kiss of
Ra.
As for my personal suggestions I would definitely add more pool gain like
additional Blood Dolls. Including discipline equipment like the Veneficorum
Artum Sanguis and/or The Seal of Veddartha might also be worthwhile. And for
the Infernal Plague Storyline, definitely add one or two copies of True Faith
to capitalize on the presence of Alejandro. I'd highly suggest including
several copies of Graverobbing in case you haven't managed to draw an ally and
don't have the votes to survive a blood hunt. A few copies of Rutor's Hand and
Nose of the Hound may also be good. I'd personally choose Palatial Estate over
Cooler. And finally I'd consider taking a look at some of the Event cards -
Restricted Vitae synergizes especially well with the deck concept.
Thanks to Brad for sharing his creative deck idea and let's hope that he finds
success in hunting down some demon spawn!
--------------------------
Things to Look Forward to: Next issue we'll discuss the results of the Infernal
Plague Storyline and see how well the clan performed. In addition, we'll
analyze the contents of the 10th Anniversary Sets and see how some of the new
cards can be incorporated into Tremere Antitribu decks.
Signing out,
Halcyan 2