Official VEKN Tremere Antitribu Newsletter – January/February 2007
Halcyan 2
Volume 3, Issue 1
By Halcyan 2
Halc...@aol.com
[Legal stuff to the tune of: I wrote all this, so please give credit
where it’s due, etc.]
--------------------------
Contents –
1.1 – Editor’s Note
1.2 – Third Edition
1.3 – New Vampires
1.4 – !Tremere Vampire Analysis
1.5 – Old Tricks and New Strategies
1.6 – Hall of Fame
1.7 – Vampire of the Month
1.8 – Card of the Month
1.9 – Deck of the Month
--------------------------
[1.1 – Editor’s Note]
Third Edition for Vampire: the Eternal Struggle was released on
September 4, 2006 and it has been a watershed event for the Tremere
Antitribu. The clan has received a significant boost which may make
them moderately competitive for the first time ever! The Tremere
Antitribu will be the underdogs of the Sabbat for no longer – it is
well past time for them to claim their rightful place within the
Sabbat hierarchy!
In order to inaugurate this milestone, I have decided to once again
take up the mantle as writer of the Official VEKN Tremere Antitribu
Newsletter. To be frank, there is simply no way I am going to be able
to make this a monthly newsletter. While each newsletter is certainly
a labor of love, they also happen to require a Herculean effort and an
inordinate amount of time. My target is going to be a bimonthly
newsletter instead. I figure that one newsletter every two months is a
much more realistic goal. But enough idle talk! Let’s see what’s new
for the Tremere Antitribu....
--------------------------
[1.2 – Third Edition]
So what’s so special about Third Edition? Surely it can’t be that big
of a deal, right? Well for the Tremere Antitribu, it definitely is!
For years, the !Tremere have lagged behind their Sabbat compatriots.
Their exclusion from Sabbat War in 2000 was a significant blow. While
Final Nights and Gehenna provided some minor amelioration, they have
been at a significant disadvantage for years. Now, with Third Edition,
they have just about caught up! So let’s take a look at the pros and
cons of Third Edition:
+ An awesome crypt. The new Group 4 vampires are simply amazing! They
easily outclass most of their Group 2 counterparts from the original
Sabbat set, and open up all sorts of new strategies that will be
explored in upcoming newsletters. I am definitely looking forward to
building decks around these new vampires.
+ 15 new vampires for Group 4. Due to their exclusion in Sabbat War,
the numbers for the !Tremere have always been a bit off. While most
Sabbat clans have 15 unique Group 2 vampires and 8 unique Group 3
vampires, the !Tremere have only 13 Group 2 vampires which is
partially offset by 10 Group 3 vampires. Looking at the Group 3
Independents, I was worried that the !Tremere might end up with an
abnormally low number of Group 4 vampires (because of their slightly
higher Group 3 numbers). Fortunately that is not the case! With 16
vampires currently in Group 4, the !Tremere have been realigned with
their Sabbat sectmates.
+ Reprints of Nephandus, Succubus, and Infernal Pact. Third Edition
includes reprints of some key !Tremere cards. While Succubus and
Infernal Pact were available in the Black Hand starter, that was way
back in 2003. Similarly, Nephandi have always been difficult to
obtain, despite being fixed in the 10th Anniversary Tin (Set A).
Increasing the accessibility of these cards is helpful for both
newbies who want to try the clan, and veterans who want to build
multiple decks.
+ A new clan card. Because the !Tremere weren’t in Sabbat War, they’ve
been down a clan card ever since. Now the situation has been rectified
with the printing of Hexaped. While the Hexaped certainly isn’t as
useful as a Nephandus, the little critter does have potential. We’ll
see in the months ahead.
+ Mirror Walk. Mirror Walk is the card that the !Tremere have been
NEEDING for years! See the Card of the Month section to learn why
Mirror Walk is so revolutionary.
= Reprint of Spirit Summoning Chamber. The reprint of the SSC is a
good thing, since previously it was a Sabbat-only card and could be
difficult to get. On the other hand, the card is a tad bit overcosted,
and it would have been nice if it had gotten a small improvement (much
like how many of the Dark Sovereigns and Ancient Hearts cards were
tweaked for Camarilla Edition).
= Art. Eh...mixed feelings on the art. Some of it is really good. Some
of it is pretty bad.
– No reprint of Gargoyle Slave. Unlike the Summoning Chamber, the
Gargoyle Slave was not reprinted and remains a Sabbat-only card. Of
course it really sucks so it’s no big loss. Maybe if the Gargoyle
Slave is ever reprinted, it could get a slight boost to make it
actually usable!
– Poor card stock. Many brand new cards appear to be have frayed or
worn edges. The quality is a far cry from the good ole days of Carta
Mundi.
– Card backs. If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard
about it by now, the current printing for Third Edition has upside-
down card backs. The problem is partly mitigated if you play with card
sleeves, but even then it can still be rather annoying.
Another great thing is that the Tremere Antitribu managed to get a new
starter deck in Third Edition. Since there was room for only four new
starters, competition was fierce. In the end, it looks like a pretty
good distribution (2 clans who had starters in Sabbat War and 2 clans
who had starters in Black Hand). A new starter means that more newbies
will get to experience how cool the Tremere Antitribu are. Speaking of
the new starter, let’s take a quick look at the pluses and minuses:
+ Golconda. Golconda has traditionally been difficult to get in large
quantities. Being fixed in the !Tremere starter is certainly nice.
Plus, it can be extremely helpful in Limited tournaments as a much
needed source of pool gain.
+ Ladislas Toth. As one of the two reprinted Group 3 vampires in the
starter, Ladislas is a great choice. All in-clan superiors plus an
Archbishop title for a reasonable price makes him a keystone for many !
Tremere decks.
+ Uta Kovacs & Paul Cordwood. Uta and Paul are wonderful vampires.
Duplicate copies in each starter are very much appreciated because
they’re going to see a lot of play!
+ Helicopter. While the Helicopter isn’t all that useful for the !
Tremere, as one of the new cards in Third Edition, it’s helpful to see
it fixed in the starter.
+ On the Qui Vive. A new alterative to Wake with Evening’s Freshness
and Forced Awakening. These are difficult to get – even in the
boosters! So it comes as quite a relief that there are 2 in each !
Tremere deck.
– Alejandro Aguirre. While Ladislas was a good choice to include in
the deck, Alejandro is just the opposite. Alejandro is a pretty
horrible vampire and it’s a shame they didn’t include someone more
useful instead.
– Esoara. Esoara lacks the key discipline of Thaumaturgy. As such, he
probably would have been better suited to go in the boosters rather
than being fixed in the starter. To further rub salt into the wound,
he is duplicated. It would have been much more useful if Frondator or
Janine had been duplicated instead.
– Infernal Pact. It’s a great card, but considering how it was fixed
in the Black Hand starter and is available in the Third Edition
boosters, you really don’t need that many copies of this Unique card.
I would have preferred a Nephandus or Succubus in the starter instead.
– Talaq the Immortal. Ugh. Already reprinted in 10th Anniversary (Set
B). A bit too fragile. Once again, a Nephandus or Succubus would have
been imminently more qualified for the deck.
– Robert Carter. Another crappy “rare.” Besides Golconda, there isn’t
anything really valuable in the !Tremere deck.
– No Mirror Walk. Mirror Walk is such an important card that one or
two copies really should have been in the starter. Especially since
they can be difficult to obtain in the boosters (despite being
common)!
--------------------------
[1.3 – New Vampires]
Third Edition brings us fifteen new additions to the clan. That’s a
lot of ground to cover so I’m going to just give an overview of our
new clanmates. I’ll assess them using a five-star system (one-star is
atrocious, two-stars is average, three-stars is good, four-stars is
excellent, and five-stars is crem de la crem) and include brief
comments. Future newsletters will examine them in more depth.
Antonio d’Erlette
*****
Aside from Jacob, Antonio is the smallest !Tremere in Group 3/4 with
superior Thaumaturgy, the key discipline for most !Tremere decks.
While his lack of Auspex can be inconvenient at times, his out-of-clan
disciplines of Fortitude and Potence mean that he has the flexibility
to fit into a good many of the new deck archetypes available to the
Tremere Antitribu in Group 3/4. It is Antonio’s special ability
however that truly makes him stand out from his peers. Being able to
unblockably recruit a mage ally (most likely a Nephandus) from your
library is an amazing ability – it can drastically speed up your game,
significantly improve the consistency of your strategies, and can
easily become the central theme of an entire deck!
Eric Kressida
***
Eric Kressida is a solid vampire but unless you are taking advantage
of his Celerity or Protean, there is little reason to include him when
there are significantly better choices instead. For example, if you’re
only playing with the !Tremere clan disciplines, then Ladislas Toth is
a much better option. Like Eric, Ladislas has all of the in-clans at
superior but Ladislas also had an additional vote and is one pool
cheaper. Even if you compare Eric to other 8-caps, you come to a
similar conclusion. Paul Cordwood has each of the in-clan disciplines
and also possesses a Bishop title, but Paul’s special ability is
significantly more useful than Eric’s corner-case one. Uta Kovacs’
special abilities easily compensate for Eric’s one vote. So while Eric
fits well in a Celerity deck (w/ Lucubratio, Terrell, and Mosfair) and
is likely to be the central star of a Protean-based deck (w/ Lernean
as support), Eric Kressida is not an especially good fit for the
majority of !Tremere decks.
Esoara
*
Unfortunately, Esoara (and Keith Moody) continue the trend of Tremere
Antitribu slackers who are just too lazy to learn the signature
discipline of the clan (first started by Saiz and Ember Wright).
Thaumaturgy is the key asset of the clan and provides valuable combat
offense and defense. I mean, if you’re not going to play with
Thaumaturgy, you might as well play with the !Ventrue or Nagaraja
instead! In fact, ironically enough, Esoara makes a much better !
Ventrue than a !Tremere. During the two pre-releases I played in, out
of all of my minions, Esoara was blocked the most often because other
players didn’t have to worry about second-round strikes and they knew
that Esoara was more or less defenseless. I suppose Esoara is a more
reliable Deflecter than Keith and might be okay in a Tupdog deck where
he doesn’t spend much time in combat. Esoara’s lack of Thaumaturgy is
a significant liability and as a result, it’s difficult to fit him
into most !Tremere decks. Even when you’re employing out-of-clan
Fortitude or Potence, Esoara is likely to be the weakest link in such
decks.
Frondator
*****
Frondator is an extraordinary vampire and can serve as auxiliary
support in a variety of ways. She has a reasonable array of
disciplines for a 5-cap. With superior Auspex and inferior Dominate
and Thaumaturgy, she’s great on defense – especially since she can
bounce with either Telepathic Misdirection or Deflection. As the
smallest !Tremere in Group 3/4 with superior AUS, Frondator has superb
synergy with all of the Group 3 !Tremere who favor Auspex over
Dominate. Her special is also extremely useful on a mid-cap since you
can more readily afford spending an action on rescuing. Frondator
helps you conserve blood and is an ideal candidate for embarking on
cross-table rescues as well. A Bishop title is an additional perk on
top of everything else and Frondator provides an early vote that can
be leveraged as a bargaining chip. All in all, Frondator is a flexible
vampire that is sure to be a staple in most !Tremere decks.
Janine
**
Janine is the reincarnation of Group 2’s Thelonius, albeit with a sex
change and a prettier picture. As a vanilla 4-cap with all the in-clan
disciplines at inferior, there’s nothing especially great nor
especially bad that can be said about Janine. She’s simply average – a
plain jane if there ever was one. In the past, I’d occasionally throw
Thelonius into a deck as a cheap weenie and chump blocker, and Janine
is likely to fulfill a similar role in Group 3/4. Enough said here.
Keith Moody
**
Eh. I have mixed feelings about Keith Moody. There was initially quite
a bit of buzz about Keith as the smallest vampire with superior DOM
(previously that title had been jointly held by Chas Giovanni Tello,
Gloria Giovanni, and Ingrid Russo) and I suppose I would hold Keith in
higher esteem if he had been a Lasombra, Ventrue Antitribu, or even
Giovanni. But as with Saiz and Ember before him, Keith’s lack of
Thaumaturgy is a major impediment for building !Tremere decks. With
three 3-caps and one 5-cap without Thaumaturgy, Group 3/4 is lacking
in crucial weenie support. And while Keith’s special is negligible in
the early game, it can be painful near the end game. When the game
gets down to just two players, your prey can consistently get the Edge
by bleeding you, which means that Keith will be hemorrhaging blood
left and right.
Lectora
**
Lectora is an adequate vampire. No more, no less. There hasn’t been a
3-cap vampire with inferior Auspex and inferior Thaumaturgy since Dr.
John Casey, back in the original Jyhad set. Lectora provides a
distinctly different flavor to Group 3/4 than Brooke did for Group
2/3. She fits reasonably well with the AUS/THA focused vampires in
Group 3 and gets the job done reasonably well. But as a simple vanilla
vampire with only inferiors, Lectora just can’t compete with prodigies
such as Blythe Candeleria and Martin Franckel.
Lernean
****
While I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Group 2,
Lernean is a major improvement over Ayelea the Manipulator. Compared
to Ayelea, Lernean has an additional inferior discipline and a far
more usable special. With superior Celerity, she is likely to fulfill
a key role in !Tremere Celerity decks and can also collaborate well
with Lucas Halton and Cesewayo. Lernean’s special helps you save on
card slots in such decks, and she can also serve as a good blocker by
combining Enhanced Senses with Quicken Sight (and unlike Lucas and
Cesewayo, Lernean is safe from being Kissed by Ra). While expensive,
Lernean can also fit reasonably well with the other !Tremere who
possess Fortitude or Protean. The only thing that keeps Lernean from
getting five-stars is her large capacity, though modern 10-caps are
far more usable than the ones that were designed in days past. Even
without taking advantage of Lernean’s out-of-clan disciplines, she
provides a solid three votes and a great special that is well-suited
for Thaumaturgy combat.
Lucubratio
****
Like Lernean, Lucubratio is a surprisingly usable 10-cap. With
superior Potence and Presence, Lucubratio can easily lead the way in !
Tremere decks utilizing these out-of-clan disciplines, not to mention
that he can play Iron Glare at superior as well. Like his Camarilla
counterpart Lucas Halton, Lucubratio has a city title worth two votes
and a special ability that lets him block multiple times. Lucubratio’s
ability does not cost blood and can potentially help you cycle your
hand, but Lucas’ is more reliable and you won’t end up screwed if
you’re out of cards or are experiencing handjam. Lucubratio does have
a slight edge over Lucas though, due to an additional discipline
point. Lucubratio helps facilitate several of the new deck options for
Group 3/4 !Tremere and is ideal for intercept decks. While 10 pool is
still a significant cost, Lucubratio is a pretty damn good investment!
Malgorzata
*****
Malgorzata is easily my favorite new vampire in the entire Third
Edition set. She has a wonderful discipline spread and a solid Priscus
title. She’ll fit well into political decks, has excellent synergy
with all of the other !Tremere with Presence, and is the star vampire
for Group 3/4 THA/VIC decks. Malgorzata also has an amazingly sweet
picture (even better than Kij Dansky and Selena, if I dare say)! All
of that is already great and I haven’t even gotten around to her mind-
blowing special ability! Malgorzata’s special revolutionizes many
aspects of deck-building and she can easily be slotted into many,
many !Tremere decks. I would say more, but I don’t want to spoil the
surprise for the Vampire of the Month section which focuses on her
exclusively. For now, let’s just say that Malgorzata is truly worthy
of being the heir of Goratrix.
Mosfair
****
Hmmm...weenie !Tremere with the Black Hand trait and Celerity? I can
definitely find some interesting uses for Mosfair. While Mosfair isn’t
the kind of vampire you build a deck around, he does serve as valuable
support and makes several deck archetypes significantly more viable.
Mosfair can provide logistical support to Selena and Yasmin in a !
Tremere Black Hand deck. While he does not possess any Auspex, being
able to include a third !Tremere who is innately Black Hand goes a
long way towards providing reliability. Mosfair is also a natural
choice for !Tremere decks seeking to take advantage of all the
Celerity found on the new Group 4 vamps. And even if you do not intend
on actively utilizing his out-of-clan discipline, Mosfair’s Celerity
may still be useful in more traditional decks because it protects him
from Stunt Cycle and Waxen Poetica, and limits what your opponents can
do with The Mole, Rooftop Shadow, and the Speed of Thought.
Nickolai, The Survivor
****
As a 6-cap with six inferior disciplines, Nickolai may not be all that
impressive at first glance. Sure, his Presence and Vicissitude
partners him up nicely with Malgorzata, and his Potence means he
dovetails decently with Lucubratio, Antonio, and Esoara. But the
severe lack of superior disciplines can be a real downer. I mean, when
was the last time you saw someone play with Thomas Thorne? And at
least Thomas has a single superior. No, what truly makes Nickolai a
worthwhile vampire is his special ability. Sure, Nickolai only has
inferiors, but give him a little time and he’ll have whatever
superiors you need in no time. Nickolai is the proverbial Build-Your-
Own-Vampire, though some assembly is required. While he is not as
usable right out of the box as Ian Forestal, Nickolai has greater
potential since he has an easier time getting superior levels. As a
result, Nickolai can fit pretty well in most decks that utilize out-of-
clan disciplines and really shines when you want to play with the
rarer, Bloodlines disciplines. And don’t forget that Nickolai’s
diverse discipline spread and versatile special also make him the
quintessential Anarch.
Orlando Oriundus
****
Compared to Lernean, Lucubratio, and Malgorzata, Orlando Oriundus
doesn’t have much in terms of disciplines. Besides the !Tremere clan
disciplines at superior, all Orlando has is inferior Obfuscate (which
fits reasonably well with Paul Cordwood and Terrell Harding). Instead
of spending his points on disciplines, Orlando has instead focused
heavily on his special abilities. +1 bleed is always a handy special
to have, as Bryan van Duesen, Marino Reymundo Vasquez, and Goratrix
can all attest to. But it’s Orlando’s vote-doubling special that is
truly awe-inspiring. This impressive ability can easily become the
basis of an entirely new strategy for !Tremere political decks.
Orlando is initially a Bishop, but that is worth 2 votes with his
special. Call a Cardinal Benediction vote and with an outferior Hall
of Hades’ Court, that’s already 7 votes in favor of a referendum where
Camarilla vampires can’t vote. Once that passes, Orlando’s sitting on
6 standing votes! It also makes sense to combine Orlando with some of
the cheaper titled vampires. 5-cap Frondator’s Bishop title also
becomes worth 2 votes and Ladislas Toth garners you 4 additional
votes. The possibilities are mind-boggling! Screw the Inner Circle –
with Orlando Oriundus and a few Cardinal Benedictions, you can easily
seize political dominance!
Paul Cordwood
***
In a Limited environment where intercept and stealth are at a premium,
Paul Cordwood really shines due to his special ability. He is not
nearly as great in a Constructed environment however, though he
remains moderately useful. For 8 pool, you get a vampire with all of
the in-clan disciplines at superior, inferior Obfuscate and Presence,
and a one-vote title. Paul’s Obfuscate and Bishop title pair him well
with Orlando in creating a stealthy vote deck. Alternatively, combine
his title with Presence for a different style of politics. If you’re
just sticking with the in-clan disciplines, you might be better off
sticking with Selena, Ladislas, and Uta however. While Paul’s special
can be helpful at times, it’s only moderately good in Constructed
since it has a limited number of uses. Transient intercept should be
readily accessible with superior AUS and you can quickly Magic of the
Smith out permanent intercept like the Bowl of Convergence or a Sport
Bike. Thus using Paul’s ability for intercept can be a bit wasteful
and is far less helpful than the unconditional intercept that Carna
the Princess Witch and Neighbor John possess. Paul’s ability is
slightly better for getting extra stealth but he already has Obfuscate
and can play the new Thaumaturgy card Mirror Walk. Overall Paul is a
decent vampire and his special may be helpful for key actions, but it
has limited mileage and shouldn’t be counted on in the long term.
Uta Kovacs
*****
Uta Kovacs is most certainly an impressive vampire. Uta is an 8-cap
vampire with superior Auspex, Dominate, and Thaumaturgy (that’s sort
of getting standard by now!). She has inferior Serpentis, which may
not have many immediate uses but could be helpful in the right decks.
And then you have Uta’s superb specials. Uta is the first Tremere/!
Tremere to have a built-in rush. Although it is at zero-stealth, the
ability to enter combat at the right time can be immensely valuable,
regardless of whether you’re playing bruise-bleed or intercept combat.
Thaumaturgy is not as blood intensive as Chimerstry or Vicissitude and
many of its best cards are already free. But Uta’s reduction for
Thaumaturgy cards can pay dividends when it comes to Magic of the
Smith or Perfect Clarity. Plus, you can be an absolute monster in
combat – taking full advantage of discounted Shotgun Rituals, Blood
Furies, and Blood to Waters. With a good discipline spread and some
jaw-dropping specials, Uta definitely deserves a prominent place in
many !Tremere decks.
--------------------------
[1.4 – !Tremere Vampire Analysis]
{{IN-CLAN DISCIPLINES}}
{Group 2}
AUS DOM THA Ayelea, Goratrix, Ian, Kij
AUS dom THA Hannigan
aus DOM THA Bryan, Ethan
aus DOM tha Kurt
DOM THA Reverend
aus dom tha Thelonius
AUS tha Richard
dom tha Brooke
tha Heinrick
{Group 3}
AUS DOM THA Marino, Ladislas, Selena
AUS dom THA Elena, Terrell, Yasmin
aus dom tha Alejandro
THA Jacob
aus dom Ember, Saiz
{Group 4}
AUS DOM THA Lernean, Lucubratio, Malgorzata, Orlando, Eric, Paul, Uta,
Valerius
AUS dom tha Frondator
dom THA Antonio d’Erlette
aus dom tha Nickolai, Janine
aus DOM Esoara
aus tha Lectora
dom tha Mosfair
DOM Keith Moody
The Group 2 !Tremere originally designed by Wizards of the Coast were
heavily geared towards DOM/THA for bruise-bleed strategies, as
evidenced by Ethan, Bryan, Reverend Blackwood, Kurt, and Brooke.
Hannigan was one of the first !Tremere printed by White Wolf and
started a trend in favor of AUS/THA which continued its trajectory
throughout Group 3 with Elena, Terrell, and Yasmin. Group 3 also
introduced the two smallest clan members with all in-clan disciplines
at superior (Selena and Ladislas) and a pair of weenies with only
Auspex and Dominate but no Thaumaturgy (Saiz and Ember).
Overall the spread of in-clan disciplines in Group 4 seems to be
fairly balanced. All of the vampires of capacity 8+ have all of the in-
clans at superior. Frondator and Lectora complement the AUS/THA
vampires in Group 3, while Antonio and Mosfair plant the seeds for
reviving DOM/THA. There is a surprising amount of superior DOM with
Esoara and Keith, neither of whom knows any Thaumaturgy. As a result,
they seem to fit well with the AUS/DOM archetype started by Saiz and
Ember.
{{OUT-OF-CLAN DISCIPLINES}}
{Group 2}
Animalism ANI Goratrix
Celerity cel Ethan
Obfuscate obf Reverend
Obtenebration OBT obt Ayelea, Kij
Potence pot Ethan
Presence pre, pre Ayelea, Bryan
Vicissitude vic Goratrix
[ALL] Ian
{Group 3}
Animalism ani ani Alejandro, Marino
Celerity cel Terrell
Fortitude for Ladislas
Necromancy NEC Marino
Obfuscate obf Terrell
Obtenebration obt Elena
Presence pre Yasmin
{Group 4}
Celerity CEL cel cel Lernean, Eric, Mosfair
Daimoinon DAI Valerius
Fortitude for for for Lernean, Antonio, Esoara
Necromancy nec Valerius
Obfuscate obf obf Orlando, Paul
Potence POT pot pot pot Lucubratio, Nickolai, Antonio, Esoara
Presence PRE pre pre pre pre Lucubratio, Malgorzata, Paul, Valerius,
Nickolai
Protean PRO pro Eric, Lernean
Serpentis ser Uta
Vicissitude VIC vic Malgorzata, Nickolai
Group 2/3 and 3/4 each offer different options for employing out-of-
clan disciplines. Group 2 had a lot of vampires designed under the
wacky Sabbat-era costing system and are generally weaker and have
fewer disciplines than their contemporary Group 4 counterparts. Then
again, Group 2 had Ian Forestal, a Swiss army knife that could easily
fit into decks using irregular disciplines. In Group 4 we have
Nickolai who is harder to use right out of the box, but does have
greater potential for gaining superior disciplines and for teaching
his clanmates via Sanguine Instruction.
Group 2/3 provides the greatest potential if you want to use Animalism
or Obtenebration. Goratrix and Ayelea are key vampires for such decks
since they have the respective discipline at superior. Group 2/3 is
also the path of least resistance if you want to try tacking on a
bloodlines discipline. Ian can use any of the inferiors right off the
bat and you can supplement with Infernal Pact and Spontaneous Power.
While Group 2 does look a bit sparse when compared to Group 4,
remember that they were designed under different costing schemes and
there are 23% more vampires in Group 4.
Group 3/4 opens up so many doors full of exciting possibilities.
Presence is now the most prevalent out-of-clan discipline among the !
Tremere. I have designed and played Presence-based !Tremere vote decks
in the past (old school Group 2/3), and so I am definitely looking
forward to redesigning it with Lucubratio, Malgorzata, and Paul. There
is also an excellent array of !Tremere with Potence in Group 4. You
can either play this for its own merits, or combine it with some
cuddly Tupdogs. Group 3/4 is also the way to go if you want to play
with Celerity or Fortitude. Third Edition provides Lernean, Eric, and
Mosfair, who match up reasonably well with Terrell. And Group 3/4
gives you better access to superior CEL with Lucas and Cesewayo.
Although none of the !Tremere have superior FOR, there are four clan
members in Group 3/4 with inferior Fortitude, not to mention several
potential allies among the Group 4 Ventrue Antitribu. Finally, Protean
and Vicissitude are distinct possibilities in Group 3/4, especially
since Eric and Malgorzata have superiors of the respective
disciplines. Between skill cards and Nickolai (who already has
inferior Vicissitidue) you can quickly graft on those disciplines to
the rest of your !Tremere. While Nickolai is a lot more fragile than
Ian and requires a significant setup, the payoff may well be worth it.
If you bring out a Bloodlines vampire with the corresponding
Bloodlines discipline at superior, you can eventually have Nickolai
gain the superior of that discipline. Infernal Pact effectively gives
another of your vampires the superior level, and then judiciously
combine with Spontaneous Power and Sanguine Instruction. Daimoinon
deserves special mention since Valerius Maior has superior DAI,
Nickolai can use his special to learn it himself, and another of your
minions can Magic of the Smith out the Textbook Damnation.
For the remaining disciplines, it’s a tougher call to determine
whether Group 2/3 or Group 3/4 better suits your needs. In regards to
Obfuscate, you have to choose between Ian, Reverend Blackwood, and
Terrell in Group 2/3, or Orlando, Paul, and Terrell in Group 3/4. If
you’re going the political route, then Group 3/4 definitely stands out
since both Orlando and Paul are both Bishops, large enough to be
anointed as Cardinals, and Orlando’s special will really pay
dividends. For most other Obfuscate decks, Group 2/3 is probably
better since you’re working with smaller vampires which will help
speed up your deck. Necromancy also presents a difficult choice
between Ian and Marino in Group 2/3 and Valerius and Marino in Group
3/4. Ian is a more reliable vampire than Valerius since Infernal and
Red List can be significant liabilities and Group 2 allows you to
recruit Ambrogino Giovanni and Marianna. Then again, Group 3/4
provides access to the absolutely amazing Phagian and possibly Hector
Trelane, though he is rather fragile. It’s a tough call and heavily
dependent on what direction you want to steer your deck. Finally,
while Serpentis does not really appear that often among the !Tremere,
it does have some interesting applications (and my old !Tremere
Serpentis decks has always been one of my more popular decks according
to other players). In this case you have to choose between using Ian
Forestal or Uta Kovacs. Ian has the advantage of excellent weenie and
mid-cap support with the likes of Magdelena, Blythe, Aisling, and
Hannigan. If you’re not using any out-of-clan disciplines besides
Serpentis, Uta is a better choice since both of her specials can be
handy to have. In addition, Group 4 has a better selection of
Serpentis vampires: Sahira provides weenie support while Seren,
Cybele, and Neferu all possess SER/THA.
{{CAPACITY}}
{Group 2}
10 Ayelea, Goratrix
9 Ethan
8 Ian, Kij
7 Bryan
6 Reverend
5 Hannigan, Kurt
4 Richard, Thelonius
3 Brooke
2 Heinrick
{Group 3}
9 Marino
7 Ladislas, Terrell
6 Elena, Selena, Yasmin
5 Alejandro
3 Ember, Saiz
2 Jacob
{Group 4}
10 Lernean, Lucubratio
9 Malgorzata, Orlando
8 Eric, Paul, Uta
7 Valerius
6 Nickolai
5 Antonio, Esoara, Frondator
4 Janine, Mosfair
3 Keith, Lectora
Group 2 had a fairly balanced distribution of vampires based on
capacity while Group 3 seems to be heavily oriented towards mid-caps
and weenies. Group 4 does a pretty reasonable job of complementing
Group 3. Compared to Group 2, Group 4 has a heavy concentration of
large-capacity vampires. There aren’t many mid-caps per capita (mainly
due to their prevalence in Group 3), and even the weenies in Group 4
are larger on average than those in Group 2. And of course do not
forget how the differing numbers per group may affect the assessment
(13 vampires in Group 2, 10 vampires in Group 3, and 16 vampires in
Group 4).
{{TITLES}}
{Group 2}
Cardinal Ayelea
Archbishop Ethan
Priscus Kij
Bishop Reverend
{Group 3}
Archbishop Ladislas, Marino
{Group 4}
Cardinal Lernean
Archbishop Lucubratio
Priscus Malgorzata
Bishop Orlando, Eric, Paul, Frondator
Group 2 had a reasonable spread of titles, with one !Tremere occupying
each type of Sabbat title at the time. Group 3 came a little bit at a
time but ultimately yielded two solid Archbishops. Marino was a
dramatic improvement over Ethan, and Ladislas was a standout since
every other !Tremere Archbishop (and Tremere Prince for that matter)
is either a 9 or 10-cap. And now we have Group 4. Like Group 2, there
is a single Cardinal, Archbishop, and Priscus. Though the Group 4
members are slightly larger than their Group 2 counterparts, the newer
additions do benefit from a more generous costing system and are
definitely far more usable as a result. There are also a surprising
number of Bishops in Group 4. Frondator takes Reverend Blackwood’s
place as the mid-cap Bishop. And though Orlando, Eric, and Paul are
all relatively large vampires, even a single vote can be helpful at
times (and serves as a useful precursor to a Cardinal Benediction).
All in all, I would say that Group 3/4 offers better political
opportunities for the !Tremere. Besides Frondator, all of the titled !
Tremere have all in-clan disciplines at superior and Orlando’s special
certainly offers exciting new possibilities. Hall of Hades’ Court and
Telepathic Vote Counting are the best ways to push votes through.
Group 2/3 does offer the potential of using Obtenebration to help get
the action to referendum. Group 3/4 on the other hand, has a solid
spread of Presence, and some moderate overlap in Celerity, Obfuscate,
and Protean.
{{OTHER TRAITS}}
{Group 3}
Black Hand Selena, Yasmin
{Group 4}
Black Hand Mosfair
Red List Valerius
Since the Black Hand (2003) and Red List (2005) traits are relatively
recent additions to the game, it makes sense that older Group 2
vampires will not have access to them. The Black Hand expansion
included Selena and Yasmin, two vampires who would be keystones for !
Tremere decks even without the Black Hand trait. Since Group 2
provides excellent AUS/THA support in the form of Hannigan, Aisling,
and Blythe, creating a Group 2/3 intercept deck with the !Tremere
Black Hand members remains an attractive option. But with Third
Edition introducing a new !Tremere with the Black Hand trait, the
scales are now tipped in favor of Group 3/4. Even though Mosfair does
not share Auspex with his packmates, he is small enough to still
provide good logistical support for Selena and Yasmin. In regards to
Red List, there is currently only a single card in the entire game
that benefits Red List vampires, and Rebirth isn’t really all that
impressive anyway. But if you’re dead set on making a Red List theme
deck, Group 3/4 is almost certainly the best choice since you get
access to Valerius Maior. Advanced Ambrogino and Advanced Keminitiri
may have some potential overlap with the !Tremere, but there are at
least twice as many Red List vampires in Group 4 as in Group 2, and
Petaniqua makes a decent playmate for Valerius.
--------------------------
[1.5 – Old Tricks and New Strategies]
As I have noted several times before, Group 2/3 and Group 3/4 offer
different strategies for the enterprising !Tremere player. This
section is designed to brainstorm a plethora of deck ideas you may
want to try. Future editions of the !Tremere Newsletter will explore
some of these options in more depth but for now I’ll just be sketching
out a brief conceptual outline. Feel free to get your creative juices
flowing and try your hand at these decks!
Group 2/3 is certainly not obsolete as there are several old tricks
that it still does better than Group 3/4:
!Tremere w/ OBT: Use Ayelea, Ian, Kij, and Elena to play
Obtenebration for stealth and combat defense. Or go aggressive and use
THA combat support to take full advantage of Black Metamorphosis and
Ahriman’s Demesne.
!Tremere w/ ANI: Goratrix, Marino, Ian, and Alejandro use their
Animalism for intercept combat. Read the Winds and Animalism retainers
help them defend while Carrion Crows work well with Theft of Vitae.
Sascha Vykos is a potential guest star.
Ian Forestal All Star: A deck featuring Ian Forestal as your primary
vampire and includes the best cards of every discipline in order to
maximize the use of Ian’s special.
Bloodlines Disciplines: Choose a fun Bloodlines discipline like
Obeah or Temporis. Use Ian, Infernal Pact, and Spontaneous Power in
conjunction with a few Bloodlines vampires.
DOM/THA bruise/bleed: A perennial favorite taking advantage of the
heavy concentration of DOM in Group 2. Don’t forget to include some
Perfect Clarities. New cards such as Mirror Walk and Hexaped may offer
some minor stealth capabilities.
AUS/THA intercept combat: Group 2 contains several gems such as
Hannigan, Aisling, and Blythe. They can easily form the basis for a
solid intercept deck.
Weenie THA: Group 2 still has better Thaumaturgy weenies than Group
4, so Group 2/3 is preferable for decks such as weenie Cryptic
Mission. If you play Burst of Sunlight and try to get out of torpor
with Recure of the Homeland, Mirror Walk can serve as a valuable form
of stealth.
Group 3/4, however, offers a stunning array of new strategies to
experiment with:
!Tremere w/ PRE: Lucubratio, Malgorzata, Paul, Nickolai, and Yasmin
form the backbone of this deck using Presence to Awe votes through,
Voter Cap for pool gain, and Majesty out of combat. You can include
some !Tremere without Presence if they have useful titles. Alfred
Benezri (Basic and/or Advanced) is also a must-include.
!Tremere w/ POT: Design a combat deck centered around Lucubratio,
Nickolai, Antonio, and Esoara. Thaumaturgy dovetails with Potence by
offering maneuvers, presses, and a workaround against Fortitude with
Blood Fury.
TUPDOG: Group 3/4 Tupdog takes advantage of the plentiful Potence
available on Group 4 !Tremere. Lucubratio is probably a bit big for
the deck, but Nickolai, Antonio, and Esoara are all the right size.
Nickolai has the added advantage of being able to learn Visceratika
from your Tupdogs. And Antonio can recruit Nephandi out of your deck
to “clean up” after the puppies.
!Tremere /w CEL: CEL/THA combat has always been popular, but now
the !Tremere have a crypt much better suited for it. Lernean, Eric,
Terrell, and Mosfair employ their talents to out-theft your opponents
of all their blood. Consider calling upon Lucas Halton, Anastasz di
Zagreb, Cesewayo and Yitzak for additional support.
!Tremere w/ VIC: While Vicissitude has traditionally been the
province of the Tzimisce, the !Tremere can now give it a try with
Malgorzata and Nickolai. Vicissitude provides some additional stealth,
lets you play around with Bloodform + Weather Control, and provides
some strong combat options. Starvation of Marena helps you get to the
second round of combat and Blood of Acid + Theft of Vitae (possibly
with Thoughts Betrayed) may be a creative way of burning the opposing
minion.
!Tremere w/ PRO: Most of you have probably seen how effective DOM/
PRO can be with Stanislava/Ingrid/Iliana-based decks. Eric Kressida
and Lernean add a new twist to the archetype. Pulse of the Canaille
provides permanent plus bleed, Revelations flushes out Archon
Investigations, and Perfect Clarity hoses Deflection. Alternatively,
Homonculus and Earth Meld are great for an intercept variant, Weather
Control + Flesh of Marble is always a fun combo, or go on the
offensive with aggravated hand damage that is unpreventable by
Fortitude.
!Tremere w/ NEC: Marino and Phagian are your primary vampires.
Phagian’s special lets your other !Tremere play Necromancy for added
stealth, while Infernal Pact and the Sargon Fragment serve as backup
sources. Valois Sang and Hector Trelane are welcome additions. You can
design an ally deck based on Shambling Hordes + Nephandus. Or perhaps
combine Ex Nihilo with Weather Control. You can even use Marino to
call Sabbat Inquisitor, burn your own crypt cards, and then use NEC to
get free vampires with Possession.
!Tremere w/ FOR: A good chunk of !Tremere vampires have Fortitude –
Lernean, Ladislas, Antonio, and Esoara. Mix in some support from the
new Group 4 !Ventrue like Polly Kay Fisher, Jefferson Foster, Konrad
Fleischer, and Neighbor John. Dawn Operation + Weather Control is no
longer as useful of an archetype due to the Imbued but you’ve still
got excellent discipline synergy and a solid number of titles.
!Tremere w/ DAI: Dabble in infernalism by combining Valerius Maior,
Nickolai, Infernal Pact, and the Textbook Damnation. Conflagration is
your primary combat offense and Condemnation: Doomed can be especially
useful if you go the intercept route.
Lucubratio + Lucas Halton: Both of these titled 10-caps have
specials that allow them to block multiple times per turn. Use their
specials once during your prey’s turn, again during your predator’s
turn, and then finally tap when blocking for your third time. Magic of
the Smith out key equipment like the Bowl of Convergence and the Ivory
Bow. Minor Irritation is also useful for blocking while staying
untapped for their specials.
Lernean + Valerius Maior: Why bother with Celerity when you can just
use the specials of Lernean and Valerius Maior (Basic)? Fill your deck
with Thaumaturgy strike cards and let the fun begin!
!Tremere Vote: Group 4 offers a superb selection of titled !Tremere.
Forego the Presence route and stick to just the clan disciplines.
Mirror Walk is crucial for stealth and to avoid combat. Hall of Hades’
Court, Telepathic Vote Counting, and Private Audience help you get
your votes passed. Polly Kay Fisher and Jefferson Foster may prove to
be useful additions.
Malgorzata + Paul Cordwood + TUPDOG: Malgorzata and Paul each have
specials that are only limited by your crypt size while Tupdog decks
require an abnormally large crypt. Combine all three of them and look
at the faces of your opponents when you walk in with a crypt that’s
larger than your library!
Uta Kovacs Combat: Use Uta’s specials to the fullest with a combat
deck built around her. Rush your prey’s vampires and you can Shotgun
Ritual a Drain Essence for only a single blood. Blood to Water is a
bargain at the cost of one blood, helping you burn vampires and
outright liquefying annoying War Ghouls and Imbued.
Bloodlines Disciplines: A new variation on an old theme. Influence
out a Bloodlines vampire with a superior Bloodlines discipline
(Euryale or Saulot for Obeah, Roderick Phillips March for Mytherceria,
Aredhel or Langa for Valeren, or Ibn Khaldun for Temporis). Take a few
actions with Nickolai to learn the discipline. Use Sanguine
Instruction, Infernal Pact, and Spontaneous Power to teach it to your
other !Tremere.
Antonio Mages: Build a mage ally deck centered around Antonio
d’Erlette’s special ability. Recruit an army of Nephandi from your
deck. Talaq the Immortal adds some variety, though I would only play
with Mehemet of the Ahl-i-Batin and the Order of Hermes Cabal for a
cheap laugh. For additional thematic points, include Erichtho to
recruit Thadius Zho and some Outcast Mages.
AUS/DOM intercept/bleed: Forsake your sorcerous heritage and just
rely on Auspex and Dominate. Start with Saiz, Ember, Keith, Esoara,
and consider adding Frondator, Selena, and Ladislas. Embrace diversity
by welcoming Alan Sovereign, Valois Sang, Carna the Princess Witch,
Sister Evelyn, Neighbor John, Charice Fontaigne, and Jefferson Foster.
AUS intercept: Carna the Princess Witch and Neighbor John each have
AUS and permanent intercept. Mix in some weenies like Martin Franckel
and Maldavis, and fill in the rest with !Tremere such as Lectora,
Frondator, Selena, Elena, and Yasmin. The new card Abbot is especially
nice for getting permanent intercept on your Sabbat minions.
Black Hand: Your basic building blocks consist of Selena, Yasmin,
and Mosfair. You can either recruit additional !Tremere to the cause
with the Blooding or rely on other inherent Black Hand members.
Banjoko and Ermenegildo the Rake provide cheap DOM while Sennadurek
(AUS dom), Blackhorse Tanner (AUS DOM), and Phillipe Rigaud (aus DOM)
are also good additions. Enhanced Senses + Ministry provide plenty of
intercept while Dominion and Remover help you get your bleeds in.
--------------------------
[1.6 – Hall of Fame]
Several years ago I came up with the idea of creating a !Tremere Hall
of Fame in order to commemorate those players who have fought the good
fight and successfully advanced the cause of the !Tremere in storyline
tournaments. While I have been faithfully archiving storyline wins for
the past few years and done my best to obtain deck lists, due to my on-
again / off-again newsletter writing, I do not believe the Hall of
Fame has actually been printed in its full glory before.
If anyone is aware of any other !Tremere storyline wins, please let me
know and I will investigate them at the earliest possible opportunity.
To the best of my knowledge, there have been 10 Tremere Antitribu
storyline wins thus far. Except for the Meddling of Semsith, the !
Tremere have performed consistently with two to three wins each
storyline. Behold those who have championed the cause and persevered
even when the odds were stacked against us!
Note that the “Millennium Cultist” storyline tournament (which ran
from November 2006 through January 2007) has only recently concluded.
Victorious !Tremere players will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in
the next issue, once all of the results have been finalized and
tabulated.
STORYLINE DATE LOCATION
WINNING PLAYER
DECK NAME OR DESCRIPTION
The Eye of Hazimel 11/09/2002 Santa Clara, CA
Ian Lee
Long Into the Abyss
The Eye of Hazimel 11/16/2002 Chicago, IL
Boris Zaretsky
!Tremere with Pugfar
The Eye of Hazimel 11/30/2002 St. Louis, MO
Eric Chiang
The !Tremere Make Their Presence Known
Lambach’s Legion 09/06/2003 Helsinki, Finland
Tuomas Vuokko
!Tremere OBT (The Real Tremere)
Lambach’s Legion 09/21/2003 San Diego, CA
Jeff Poole
(Goratrix + Celerity)
The Infernal Plague 11/06/2004 Evanston, IL
Eric Chiang
Survival of the Fittest
The Infernal Plague 11/14/2004 Bloomington, IN
Rick Irvine
The Seven Sisters of Sin
The Infernal Plague 12/11/2004 Rockville, MD
Greg Williams
Loco Rutor
The Return of Nergal 10/16/2005 Ste-Foy, Quebec
Marc-André Tremblay
(Valerius Deck)
The Return of Nergal 12/04/2005 New York City, NY
Eric Chiang
The Magick Emporium
--------------------------
[1.7 – Vampire of the Month]
Malgorzata [Third:V]
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Tremere Antitribu
Group: 4
Capacity: 9
Discipline: AUS DOM pre THA VIC
Sabbat priscus: Malgorzata may remove a vampire in your uncontrolled
region from the game to add 4 blood from the blood bank to another
vampire in your uncontrolled region as a +1 stealth action.
Malana was the 6th child born to Romanian nobles. When the Magyars
invaded Romania however, her parents were forced into serfdom because
they refused to abandon their Orthodox religion and adopt the Western
faith of the invaders. As a young girl, Malana was resentful that she
had been deprived of her rightful destiny. But things were to change
when a mysterious stranger came to visit. This stranger sensed the raw
magical potential in Malana and purchased her from her parents so that
she could serve as his apprentice. This stranger was named Goratrix.
Malana changed her name to Malgorzata, by combining her birth name
with that of her master and a Slavic goddess of dark magic. Malgorzata
was exceptionally powerful and had become a full fledged mage by the
time she was 13. Ever loyal to her master, Goratrix eventually blessed
her with the Embrace. Malgorzata worked with Goratrix, Virstania, and
Epistatia to help create the gargoyles. She protected Ceoris by
trapping several of the false towers with her fire magic. And when
Goratrix was exiled to Paris, Malgorzata served as his eyes and ears.
She was not only an emissary, but also the leader of the Conspirator
Faction, actively recruiting others to her master’s cause.
After Goratrix left the clan, Malgorzata continued to remain in
periodic contact with him. Malgorzata was captured by Tzimisce anarchs
in the 1570’s. Some claim that she was tortured by the Tzimisce, who
used Vicissitude to twist and deform her body. It is rumored that she
was put out of her misery by Anatole and Lucita in the 20th century.
Malgorzata was always a resilient survivor however. It seems far more
likely that she managed to discover the secrets of Vicissitude herself
and escape. What Anatole and Lucita encountered was probably a
fleshcrafted simulacrum instead. Considering how Malgorzata’s VTES
form possesses superior Vicissitude, it seems much more likely that
this latter theory lies closer to the truth. As the childe, protégé,
and right hand of Goratrix, Malgorzata is well positioned to lead the
Tremere Antitribu to victory!
The most exceptional thing about Malgorzata (other than the hot
picture) is her special ability. Several other vampires have similar
abilities to add blood to your uncontrolled vampires. Saulot and
Menele are the best, because they don’t require you to take an action
to do so. Ayo Igoli also doesn’t require an action, but you do need to
use discard phase actions which can be more burdensome than one might
initially think. The most appropriate comparisons would have to be
Zayyat the Sandstorm, Ugadja, and Casino Reeds. One of the key
differences is that for all of these other vampires, you move blood
from that vampire to the card in your uncontrolled region. This is not
the case for Malgorzata. She can use her special just as well after
she’s been Minion Tapped down to 1 blood. Another key distinction is
that with the exception of Saulot, all the other vampires can only use
their specials on younger vampires. Malgorzata can add blood to an
older vampire or one that is the same age. These perks do come with a
downside however, and in this case, Malgorzata’s ability is fueled by
your crypt cards instead of her own blood. In the other cases, hunting
grounds and the Rack can compensate for the blood costs, but with
Malgorzata, once you are out of crypt cards you’re SOL. To use her
special solely for consistent pool gain, you need to tie up your
influence phase by constantly draw new crypt cards (Information
Highway helps) or relying heavily on Effective Management. Also
remember that even though Malgorzata’s special adds 4 blood, since
each crypt card essentially costs a pool (and 4 transfers), you’re
really only getting a net gain of 3 pool per usage. But by using her
special and making another 4 transfers, you can surprise your
opponents by quickly popping out a new 8-cap vampire in a single turn.
In hindsight, Malgorzata’s special is actually quite fitting given her
backstory. Influencing uncontrolled vampires is appropriate given her
recruiting efforts for the Conspirator Faction and since she tended
towards a more heavy-handed approach, it makes sense that she would
use crypt cards rather than her own precious blood.
As I’ve previously noted, Malgorzata is interesting because she
completely revolutionizes crypt building. With the exception of trick
decks (usually involving the Soul Gem or Sabbat Inquisitor +
Possession), the vast majority of decks rely on a standard 12-card
crypt. Legacies of Blood started a new trend by introducing exploding
Tupdogs. With Third Edition, crypt manipulation seems to be a new
angle for the Tremere Antitribu since both Malgorzata and Paul
Cordwood have specials that are fueled by crypt cards, thus
encouraging players to utilize abnormally large crypts. It doesn’t
stop there though – there’s even more. Normally, one of the major
downsides to building your deck around a single vampire is that you
need to include multiple copies of your star vampire. Too few copies
and you won’t consistently draw him or her but too many copies and you
end up with lots of dead slots which essentially become useless once
you bring out the star vampire. You can partially delay this with
Kaymakli Nightmares or maybe it’ll be okay if your star vampire is
burned and you have to bring out another copy, but generally this is a
significant disadvantage. Malgorzata changes all of that. Since you
get to choose which uncontrolled vampire is removed from the game when
you use her special, the duplicate copies which are normally a wasted
deadweight now become a valuable resource. Malgorzata’s special
largely negates the disadvantage of including multiple copies of her.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see copies of Malgorzata turn up in decks
centered around other star vampires, if only to “utilize” any
duplicate copies. Sha-Ennu and especially Saulot are good examples
where you could use this strategy. Saulot and Malgorzata can each use
their specials to help influence out the other (so it doesn’t matter
which you bring out first), and any extra copies can simply be the
first to go when using Malgorzata’s ability.
In addition to her special ability, Malgorzata also possesses a
Priscus title. With a strong lineup of Group 3/4 voters, she is well
suited for a political deck. Mirror Walk goes a long way to improving
the viability of !Tremere vote decks. You can either go the more
traditional route (relying on Telepathic Vote Counting and outferior
Hall of Hades’ Court) or use Presence (for Awe, Bewitching Oration,
and Voter Captivation). Either way, Powerbase: Madrid and Día de los
Muertos are your friends, and you should sprinkle in a generous number
of Cardinal Benedictions. Since Malgorzata can use her special on
vampires who are older or the same age, she pairs up quite well with
Orlando, Lernean, or Lucubratio in such decks.
Playing with presence offers several intriguing options. Politics is
the more obvious route, since Awe and Voter Captivation are invaluable
cards and Malgorzata’s title complements this strategy. Presence is
also useful because it provides efficient combat defense with strike:
combat ends cards like Majesty and Catatonic Fear. Since the Tremere
Antitribu have so many ally clan cards, a less conventional route
could involve the use of The Summoning, though you might need some
skill cards to get more superior PRE. Heart of the City provides a
permanent bleed bonus, and outferior Armor of Caine’s Fury combos well
with Burst of Sunlight. With an excellent selection of Group 3/4
Tremere Antitribu with Presence, Malgorzata should have plenty of
playmates, and she can use her special to quickly influence them out.
A more challenging approach involves trying to take advantage of
Malgorzata’s superior Vicissitude. We first saw some real THA/VIC when
Sascha Vykos was first printed (a shame he/she is Group 2!). Now we
get to revisit the strategy with Malgorzata. Vicissitude offers some
mild stealth (Changeling and Plasmic Form) and works decently with an
allies strategy (Lobotomy and Corrupt Construction), but the greatest
gains come in the form of combat cards. S:CE (Meld with the Land),
damage prevention (Horrid Form), aggravated hand damage (Body Arsenal
and Chiroptean Marauder) works well with Blood Fury, Starvation of
Marena helps set you up for second round THA combat, Breath of the
Dragon offers a much better option than Burst, and Blood of Acid has
both offensive and defensive uses. And of course there’s also the
classic Trap + Bloodform + Weather Control combo. And unlike Vykos,
Malgorzata can throw a superior Thoughts Betrayed into the mix to
preempt S:CE and protect you from all manner of nasty strikes
(Entombment, Coma, Breath of the Dragon, Taste of Death). There is not
as much vampire support for THA/VIC, but both Nickolai and Virstania
serve as excellent companions for Malgorzata because in addition to
sharing all of the Tremere/!Tremere in-clan disciplines, they also all
possess both Presence and Vicissitude.
Malgorzata is one of the coolest vampires that has been printed in a
very long time. She definitely ranks among the top (if not at the top)
when it comes to the Tremere Antitribu. With a fascinating discipline
spread, a solid title, a wonderful picture, and a ground-breaking
special, things can’t get much better than Malgorzata!
--------------------------
[1.8 – Card of the Month]
Mirror Walk [Third:C]
Cardtype: Action Modifier
Discipline: Thaumaturgy
Do not replace until your discard phase.
[tha] +1 stealth.
[THA] As [tha] above, and if this action is blocked, the action ends
(with no combat).
Mirror Walk is a key card that fills a critical weakness that has
plagued the Tremere/!Tremere for years. In addition to providing
stealth, it also serves as a form of combat defense. This makes many 0-
stealth actions much more useful and makes many of the larger vampires
significantly more playable.
The lack of stealth has always been a major problem for the Tremere/!
Tremere, even more so with the proliferation of permanent intercept
the past several years. More vampires with built-in intercept, more
media outlets like Channel 10, WMRH, and Wall Street Night, and new
permanents like Bowl of Convergence and Abbot. Previously, the Tremere
Antitribu had access to Creepshow Casino and the expensive Stealth
Ritus, but both of these cards tend to be unreliable because of their
heavy restrictions and costs. Oftentimes players would resort to
grafting Obtenebration or Obfuscate just to get some much needed
stealth. Now we have Mirror Walk. Mirror Walk can be combined with
Bonding, Dominate Kine, and Hexaped to make some pseudo-stealthy bleed
decks – don’t forget to bleed responsibly with Perfect Clarity though!
Mirror Walk also is a major boon for political decks since Tremere/!
Tremere normally have difficulty getting to the referendum with just
the normal +1 stealth. Mirror Walk is invaluable in trying to get key
actions like Rutor’s Hand through, and many 0-stealth actions like
Graverobbing, superior Dominate Kine, and Mind Rape, now have a
reasonable chance of success. It also greatly complements Recure of
the Homeland. One of the major problems with Recure is that it is
easily blocked, and if that happens then the acting vampire quickly
becomes a tasty snack. Mirror Walk not only provides additional
stealth, but if you are blocked (at superior), the action ends before
the blocking vampire has a chance to diablerize. This certainly turns
Recure from wallpaper quality to something actually useable. Finally,
Mirror Walk can also supplement !Tremere ally or equipment decks by
providing an extra bit of stealth.
The second major problem for the Tremere/!Tremere is a severe lack of
combat defense. Traditionally, the !Tremere have not had access to
strike: combat ends or damage prevention (Glancing Blow is a new
development in this area) – at best they can try to dodge (with Wind
Dance or Bond with the Mountain). This makes them surprisingly fragile
in combat and extremely vulnerable to any form of aggravated damage.
Mirror Walk offers an interesting proactive way to avoid combat
altogether. In fact, an intriguing new strategy could completely
ignore combat cards by relying on Mirror Walk and Obedience. Of course
DI and Yawp Court can counter Mirror Walk, and Obedience ain’t all
that useful when Enkidu or a War Ghoul comes knocking on your door.
But Mirror Walk definitely helps protect your fragile !Tremere
vampires.
Because of these problems, playing with large Tremere/!Tremere has
been a significant liability. They are a major investment but are
easily blocked and easily torporized, especially by Tzimisce,
Ahrimanes, and Toreador gun decks that have a strong mix of intercept
and combat. With Mirror Walk, I expect that many of these larger
Tremere/!Tremere will actually see more use, because they are much
less vulnerable now. Since Mirror Walk helps address two of the
critical weaknesses of the !Tremere, it is definitely the best
Thaumaturgy card that has been printed since the Sabbat set and is
well on its way to becoming a staple for !Tremere decks.
--------------------------
[1.9 – Deck of the Month]
Third Edition is a great starting point for new players who want to
get into the game. So this month’s Deck of the Month is going to take
a slightly different approach than it has done in the past. In this
newbie-friendly installation, we’re going to feature a simple Tremere
Antitribu deck that you can create with just two Third Edition starter
decks.
First let’s begin by reviewing the contents of just one !Tremere
starter deck:
Tremere Antitribu Starter Deck (3rd Edition)
By L. Scott Johnson
[CRYPT: 12 cards]
1 x Alejandro Aguirre (ani aus dom tha, !Tremere, 5)
2 x Esoara (aus for pot DOM, !Tremere, 5)
1 x Frondator (dom tha AUS, !Tremere, 5, Bishop)
1 x Janine (aus dom tha, !Tremere, 4)
1 x Ladislas Toth (AUS DOM for THA, !Tremere, 7, Archbishop)
2 x Lucubratio (AUS DOM POT PRE THA, !Tremere, 10, Archbishop)
2 x Paul Cordwood (AUS DOM obf pre THA, !Tremere, 8, Bishop)
2 x Uta Kovacs (AUS DOM ser THA, !Tremere, 8)
Min: 19 Max: 36 Average: 6.917
[LIBRARY: 77 cards]
[Master: 9 cards]
2 Blood Doll
1 Dominate
1 Golconda: Inner Peace
1 Infernal Pact
1 Recruitment
1 Strained Vitae Supply
1 Thaumaturgy
1 University Hunting Ground
[Action: 15 cards]
1 Dominate Kine
1 Eternal Vigilance
5 Govern the Unaligned
1 Graverobbing
4 Harass
1 Purity of the Beast
1 Recure of the Homeland
1 Rutor`s Hand
[Action Modifier: 9 cards]
4 Bonding
1 Sleeping Mind, The
4 Threats
[Political Action: 4 cards]
1 Crusade: Philadelphia
1 Excommunication
1 Hand Intervention
1 Reins of Power
[Reaction: 14 cards]
3 Enhanced Senses
2 On the Qui Vive
4 Redirection
5 Spirit`s Touch
[Combat: 22 cards]
5 Apportation
3 Blood Rage
1 Drain Essence
6 Theft of Vitae
4 Walk of Flame
3 Weather Control
[Ally: 1 card]
1 Talaq, The Immortal
[Retainer: 1 card]
1 Robert Carter
[Equipment: 2 cards]
1 Concoction of Vitality
1 Helicopter
VTES is a game where you don’t have to spend a lot of money in order
to construct a reasonably decent deck and have a good time. For
players who are new to the game I am going to walk through the process
of deck building. I’ll be taking just the contents of a pair of !
Tremere starter decks and explain why you want to include some cards
but not others when creating a Constructed deck. I’ll also include
some comments on some additional cards (primarily non-rares) you may
consider adding if you acquire them in Third Edition boosters:
A Beginner’s Guide to the Tremere Antitribu
By Eric Chiang
[CRYPT: 12 cards]
1 x Alejandro Aguirre (ani aus dom tha, !Tremere, 5)
1 x Esoara (aus for pot DOM, !Tremere, 5)
2 x Frondator (dom tha AUS, !Tremere, 5, Bishop)
2 x Janine (aus dom tha, !Tremere, 4)
1 x Ladislas Toth (AUS DOM for THA, !Tremere, 7, Archbishop)
1 x Lucubratio (AUS DOM POT PRE THA, !Tremere, 10, Archbishop)
2 x Paul Cordwood (AUS DOM obf pre THA, !Tremere, 8, Bishop)
2 x Uta Kovacs (AUS DOM ser THA, !Tremere, 8)
Min: 18 Max: 34 Average: 6.417
You can see that we have made a few tweaks to the !Tremere crypt.
We’ve removed duplicates of Esoara and Lucubratio and doubled up on
Frondator and Janine instead. Esoara is a non-ideal vampire for this
deck because his lack of any Thaumaturgy is a significant liability.
Frondator on the other hand has an excellent spread of disciplines, a
very useful special, and a one-vote title to boot. In Limited play,
I’d be tempted to drop both copies of Lucubratio because he is simply
too large of a vampire and takes too long to influence out. With the
contents of two starters we have a better source of pool gain so we
can keep one copy of him. But with limited combat defense, it’s better
to keep your crypt size down and include an extra copy of Janine
instead. Janine is a cheap vampire to bring out early and as the
smallest vampire in your crypt, an extra copy of her increases the
likelihood that you can use Govern the Unaligned for pool gain.
If you buy a handful of boosters, there are several vampires that you
might want to consider adding to your crypt. I would suggest removing
the duplicate copies of Frondator and Janine and replacing them with
other weenie or mid-cap vampires in order to get greater crypt
variety. Possible replacements include Antonio d’Erlette, Keith Moody,
Lectora, Mosfair, and Nickolai the Survivor. Neighbor John and
Jefferson Foster are also good alternatives even if they are not
Tremere Antitribu. If you have a copy of Lernean, you may want to swap
her in for the single copy of Lucubratio. And one of the duplicates of
Paul Cordwood or Uta Kovacs can easily be turned into Polly Kay
Fisher. I would shy away from including Eric Kressida, Orlando
Oriundus, or Konrad Fleischer. All of them are rather big and are not
likely to be more useful than Paul or Uta in this kind of basic deck.
Schuyler, the 1-cap Pander, is a cheap disposable minion you can add
but he’ll likely find himself spending a lot of time in torpor.
Malgorzata is a vampire that you might receive in the boosters and is
an exceedingly valuable addition. Malgorzata has a special ability
that largely negates the downside to including multiples copies of a
vampire. In fact, if you have enough copies, I would replace the
duplicates of Paul and Uta, as well as the one copy of Lucubratio, all
in favor of Malgorzata. I’d even think about swapping the extra copies
of Frondator and Janine for additional Malgorzata’s as well. This
ensures that you get her out early on and then you can remove the
additional copies from the game in order to transfer out the rest of
your crypt.
[LIBRARY: 90 cards]
[Master: 11 cards]
4 Blood Doll
1 Dominate
2 Golconda: Inner Peace
1 Infernal Pact
2 Thaumaturgy
1 University Hunting Ground
With two copies of the starters, we’ll definitely want to keep all of
the sources of pool gain, namely the Blood Dolls and Golcondas. Since
the deck relies so much on Thaumaturgy, we’ll include both skill
cards. Infernal Pact and University Hunting Ground are unique, so
we’ll keep it to just a single copy of each. And since there are only
three vampires who don’t have superior Dominate, we’ll stick to just
one Dominate skill card. This deck isn’t centered on a particular
vampire so Recruitment is just too expensive to play with. We are also
removing Strained Vitae Supply because it is less likely to be helpful
in a Constructed environment.
There are several Master cards available in the boosters that can be
included as well. Grooming the Protégé and Tribute to the Master
provide additional means of pool gain. Direct Intervention and Wash
have a great deal of flexibility in countering your opponent’s moves.
And there are many valuable permanents you can use such as Guardian
Angel, Information Highway, Mob Connections, Pentex™ Loves You!,
Pentex™ Subversion, The Rack, The Rumor Mill, and the Spirit Summoning
Chamber.
[Action: 20 cards]
2 Dominate Kine
10 Govern the Unaligned
2 Graverobbing
4 Harass
2 Rutor`s Hand
Govern the Unaligned is a key card since it provides not only bleed
offense and pool gain, but it can significantly speed up your game
plan as well. Thus we are including all of the copies that we have.
Dominate Kine, Graverobbing, and Rutor’s Hand are all rather useful so
we’ll include both copies of each as well. 4 copies of Harass sounds
just about right. We want to get into combat from time to time, but we
don’t want to handjam on an excessive number of copies either. We are
removing copies of Eternal Vigilance, Purity of the Beast, and Recure
of the Homeland. Lucubratio is the only vampire with the necessary
title to play Eternal Vigilance and Purity of the Beast is only usable
if your prey controls an ally. Finally, Recure of the Homeland is a
decent card, but your deck does not have the stealth to reliably get
the action through in a Constructed setting.
Depending on what you receive in the boosters, there are a few
different directions you can go. If you want a more defensive and
intercepty deck, then you should add copies of Abbot and Zillah's
Tears. If you want a more offensive deck on the other hand, then
consider increasing your bleed potential by including copies of Pulse
of the Canaille or Slaughtering the Herd. Revelations and Scouting
Mission are versatile cards that can easily fit into the deck either
way.
[Action Modifier: 6 cards]
6 Bonding
The Sleeping Mind is decent in Limited, but isn’t nearly as helpful in
Constructed so we cut it. We’ve decided to focus on Bonding over
Threats because the extra stealth provided by the superior version of
Bonding is much more useful for this deck. Overall, we don’t need as
many bleeding action modifiers because we’ve already included so many
Govern actions.
Mirror Walk is an auto-include if you get any from the boosters.
Stealth Ritus is a significantly more expensive form of stealth, but
you might consider using a few if you are having trouble getting your
actions through.
[Political Action: 0 cards]
In Limited play, most of the pre-constructed starters have a
reasonable chance of getting a few votes passed. In Constructed
however, this deck neither has the votes or the necessary cards to
really compete with dedicated vote decks. Plus, it’s not as if any of
the political actions are all that earth-shattering anyway. You are
best off completely dropping the political angle in order to free up
card slots for things you can do far better.
[Reaction: 22 cards]
5 Enhanced Senses
4 On the Qui Vive
8 Redirection
5 Spirit`s Touch
On the Qui Vive and Redirection are crucial defensive cards so we’re
definitely include all of our copies of these cards. Since a given
vampire can only play one copy of a reaction card each action, it’s
better to have a variety of intercept cards rather than lots of copies
of a single card. That is why we try to have a good balance between
Enhanced Senses and Spirit’s Touch.
Cards that let you block an additional time are very valuable because
they give you the freedom to take more actions with your minions
without leaving you too vulnerable. Additional copies of On the Qui
Vive should certainly be included if you get any. Special Report is
technically a Master card, but it fulfills a similar purpose and
should be included as well. You can also add some Minor Irritations,
though the card is more limited in use since it’s only helpful if
you’re already untapped and then you block. My Enemy’s Enemy and
Telepathic Misdirection are also great cards to add. You can replace
some of the extra copies of Enhanced Senses, Spirit’s Touch, and
Redirection with them. And if you have any copies of Precognition, I
would suggest diversifying your intercept options by replacing some
Enhanced Senses and/or Spirit’s Touch.
[Combat: 31 cards]
10 Apportation
12 Theft of Vitae
6 Walk of Flame
3 Weather Control
Apportations and Thefts, with a handful of Walks, make up a standard
combat package that has served many a !Tremere deck well. Include all
of your copies of Apportation and Theft of Vitae, and a reasonable
number of Walks. A handful of Weather Controls can be useful to weaken
vampires already low on blood or to get rid of pesky retainers. While
Blood Rages are good in Limited because you’re more likely to see
weapons in play, it’s better to rely on Thefts in Constructed.
Similarly, with the number of Thefts available in two decks, you don’t
need to include Drain Essence, which is more restrictive since you
can’t use it during the first round of combat.
If you want to include more combat defense, there are several cards in
the boosters that can help out. Glancing Blow and High Ground are
reasonable options and Soul Burn can be useful if you see a lot of gun
decks. Obedience is technically a reaction card, but it serves the
purpose of combat defense as well. By contrast, a more aggressive
approach would be to include copies of Trap and Telepathic Tracking,
and maybe even some Thoughts Betrayed. Weighted Walking Stick is a
strong card too and is generally easy to cycle, so you can also
consider adding one or two copies.
[Ally: 0 cards]
[Retainer: 0 cards]
[Equipment: 0 cards]
Talaq is good in Limited but is too fragile of an investment in a
Constructed environment. He is too easily killed by a dedicated combat
deck. Robert Carter and Concoction of Vitality can be useful in
Limited where there is minimal pool gain, less intercept, and fewer
bleed bounce cards (Deflection, Redirection, Telepathic Misdirection,
and My Enemy’s Enemy). But drop them when you’re transforming the deck
for Constructed play. If you want bleed potential it’s better to rely
on additional Governs than Robert Carter since Governs don’t have a
constant upkeep and have the flexibility to serve as pool gain. And
finally the Helicopter isn’t that great for the !Tremere due to
limited stealth capabilities – you only get to untap after a
*successful* action. The Helicopter is significantly worse than
Rutor’s Hand so you’re better off doubling up on the Rutor’s instead.
If you’re lucky enough to get them from the boosters, Hexaped and
Nephandus (Rare) are useful additions for most Tremere Antitribu
decks. The Succubus (Rare) is a bit on the expensive side, but her
aggravated hand damage and built-in ability to gain additional life
make her one of the more resilient allies. You might want to try
adding one or two copies of her to see how well she fits your
playstyle. IR Goggles, Leather Jacket, and Sport Bike are all cheap
but useful pieces of equipment you can include as well.
--------------------------
Things to Look Forward to: A new spin on !Tremere politics, using
Orlando Oriundus to secure vote lock, and a debrief on the Millennium
Cultist storyline.
Signing out,
Halcyan 2
Klai...@gmail.com
> Official VEKN Tremere Antitribu Newsletter – January/February 2007
> Volume 3, Issue 1
>
> By Halcyan 2
Very nice newsletter, even though I think you are valuing Esoara a bit
too low, as while he is not that awesome in a !tremere deck, he is
very nice to and dom/pot deck, or even the giovanni with fortitude
deck.
as...@hotmail.com
pallando
news:1172724340.4...@t69g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
Official VEKN Tremere Antitribu Newsletter - January/February 2007
Volume 3, Issue 1
snip content
That really was a great newsletter!
No wonder you claim that writing a NL is a Herculean effort. I believe this
was the longest NL I've read so war, with enough interesting content to fill
at least 2 or 3 issues.
Please keep up the great work!
--
regards
pallando
---------------------
pallando(at)gmx(dot)at
pallando
news:1172737087....@m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Very nice newsletter, even though I think you are valuing Esoara a bit
too low, as while he is not that awesome in a !tremere deck, he is
very nice to and dom/pot deck, or even the giovanni with fortitude
deck.
-------------------------
Hi Klaital,
No meaning to offend you, do you really have to copy the whole newsletter
and then add then add your own 3 lines at the very end? May I suggest you
snip the body of the NL the next time?
Or did I miss some comments in between?
librarian
Frere Marc
best -
chris
--
Super Fun Cards
http://myworld.ebay.com/superfuncards/
auct...@superfuncards.com
Klai...@gmail.com
> <Klaita...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Ah sorry, didn't notice that it quoted the whole newsletter.