Ector#
Official VEKN Malkavian Antitribu NEWSLETTER, June 2005
VOLUME IV, Issue IX
1. INTRODUCTION
This newsletter continues the review of using Malkavians antitribu in
the "non-Malkavian" decks. What are "the Malkavian decks"? I'm sure
that it doesn't matter for all my readers, but it would be strange if I
would post a deck without any anti-Malks in the anti-Malk newsletter :)
After some thoughts I decided that a deck should be called "Malkavian"
only if the majority of its library cards are meant to be played by
Malks/!Malks. Thus, a Lazverinus deck from the previous wasn't a
"Malkavian" deck despite the fact that 75% of its vampires were Malks
or !Malks. Laz is a superstar!
2. HERE WE ARE
Malkavians antitribu make very good "support" for the different
"non-Malkavian" decks that need such support. Our vampires can perform
several important tasks, including:
* Playing Sibyl's Tongue to fetch needed cards, which enables many
interesting "combo-strategies".
* Providing AUS to play Telepathic Misdirections. The deck gets ability
to bounce bleeds and block important +1 stealth actions such as equips
or political actions.
* Providing AUS/aus to play Anima Gathering that was probably fetched
with Sibyl's Tongue :)
* Providing AUS/aus to play Revelations that may be needed in a S&B
deck to bleed responsibly.
* Providing OBF to get +1 stealth on crucial actions with Cloak the
Gathering, which is the most useful for the decks relying on +1 stealth
actions like voting or equipping.
* Providing OBF to protect you against PTOs and Alastors with Confusion
of the Eye. This is especially useful if you have a large vampire with
inferior Obfuscate, which can cycle CotE to reduce bleeds.
As you might notice, none of these tasks require Dementation.
Unfortunately, our "hallmark" Discipline cannot offer really good
support cards that could justify adding some !Malks into a
non-Malkavian deck. The fact that Dementation is also very "expensive"
(superior starts from 5-caps) is a last nail into the coffin.
Determining what !Malks can become good support vampires is simple:
just dismiss all DEM-vampires that you were hunting for a Kindred
Spirits deck and choose the vampires without Dementation that you
previously considered worthless :)
Obviously, the best support !Malk vampire is Quira, which have BOTH
superior Auspex and superior Obfuscate plus increased bleed - all for 6
pool. But sometimes you can't afford her, or need only AUS, or need
something else, or just cannot put her into a 3-4 group deck. Then you
can look at the alternatives:
* Roger Farnsworth is the cheapest vamp with OBF, and he's Black Hand.
He also has inferior Auspex that can be used to play Anima Gathering
and Revelations.
* Idalia is the cheapest !Malk with AUS, but without Obfuscate.Her
special isn't very good unless you play a lot of Jacks of Both Sides,
since without additional stealth her equip actions can be blocked. But
if you don't need Obf and just want a cheap anti-Malk with AUS, it's
your choice.
* The Colonel offers AUS/obf, and he's also Black Hand (I'm going to
review Black Hand !Malks in the next newsletter). He also has inferior
Celerity, which may be crucial.
* General Perfidio Dios... wait a minute, he is a Vampire of The Month!
Just keep reading to read more about him.
3. CARD OF THE MONTH
Name: Red List [KMW:C]
Cardtype: Action
Requires a ready, titled, non-Red List vampire. (D) Choose a ready ally
or a ready younger vampire. The chosen minion becomes Red List. That
minion may not attempt to block this action.
You can make somebody a pariah. Any vampire would be able to rush him,
and you can even demonstrate some Trophies as a reward for burning the
bastard. You'd prefer to collect the Trophies yourself (some of them
are very good), but tempting someone else to make your life easier by
burning your prey's minion is also good enough. This may easily result
in a long-term partnership.
This card is usually played by the "Trophy hunter" decks that are going
to burn opposing vampires and collect the Trophies. Malkavians
antitribu would almost never play a primary role in such decks, as we
have no combat Disciplines (though I can easily imagine Louhi rushing
for Trophies!), but we can provide invaluable support for such decks,
including playing Red List.
To play Red List, your vampire should have a title. Sometimes your
primary rusher has it (i.e. Xaviar or Wynn), sometimes not. Moreover,
Red List doesn't have inbuilt +1 stealth, so you should add some
stealth if you can. Obviously, Marie Faucigny and General Perfidio Dios
are good "red-listers", since they have Obfuscate. They also have
superior Auspex to bounce/reduce bleeds, and they aren't too expensive
for their abilities.
You may think that General Perfidio Dios is too young for Red List, but
he will usually find enough targets. If you are just hunting for
Trophies, you can play Red List on the smallest minions (or allies) to
dispatch them easily and don't seem too threatening for the entire
table. If you are planning to play Red List on Arika, you would have to
get a titled 12-cap in play, which isn't very easy... but if you reveal
your goal, the whole table should help you :)
4. TROPHIES OF THE MONTH :)
I guess that this newsletter won't be complete without a description of
the most valuable Trophies. After all, the Trophies were the primary
reason of building the "hunter" decks! Here they are, shining and
awaiting you...
Trophy: Domain [KMW:R]
Master. Trophy. The vampire with this card has +1 intercept. Once each
action, this vampire can burn 1 blood to untap and attempt to block.
It's truly wonderful. What combat-heavy deck would refuse to have
permanent +1 intercept FOR FREE that simply cannot be stolen, destroyed
or contested by any means? And the ability to untap to block any action
is even more important, especially if your vampire cannot play Eternal
Vigilance. If you manage to survive and grab Trophy: Domain, you'll get
a very good protection against voting decks and even S&B decks, and
you'll be able to intercept most undirect actions of your prey.
Trophy: Hunting Ground [KMW:R]
Master. Trophy. Hunting Ground. During your untap phase, the vampire
with this card gains 2 blood from the blood bank. A vampire can gain
blood from only one Hunting Ground card each turn.
"Normal" Hunting Grounds cost 2 pool and provide only 1 blood per turn,
but this Trophy costs nothing and provides 2 blood per turn, which can
be reclaimed through Blood Dolls. Unlike the "normal" HGs, this Trophy
works even in torpor, which may be crucial if you need these 2 blood to
resque your vampire. But the best advantage is the fact that Trophy:HG
cannot be stolen or destroyed.
Trophy: Retainers [KMW:R]
Master. Trophy. During your untap phase, if this card is on a vampire,
you may search your library (shuffle afterward) or hand for a retainer.
This vampire employs that retainer (he or she must meet the
requirements, if any). Pay the cost as normal. This is not an action.
This Trophy isn't as spectacular as the others, but it may be very
important if you need to get some retainers quickly and safely. This
Trophy should be appreciated by Gangrels, who really need a Dog Pack.
Most good retainers require Animalism, but there are also
bleed-enhancing retainers, Jackie Therman to get maneuver and
Mr.Winthrop to get +1 intercept.
5. VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH
Name: General Perfidio Dios [Anarchs:U2, BH:PM]
Clan: Malkavian antitribu, group 3
Capacity: 5
Discipline: dem obf AUS
Sabbat bishop: Perfidio may burn 1 blood to untap and attempt to block
a (D) action that targets a location you control.
If you are building a "Trophy-hunter" deck with Red Lists, Perfidio is
one of the best support vampires you can find - maybe, even the best
one. He is one of the cheapest titled vamps - all titles start from
5-cap vampires. While Volker has more votes and good combat
Disciplines, Cicatriz works like a free Barrens and Olivia offers OBF
and POT, General Perfidio Dios can add stealth to Red List AND bounce
bleeds, which is more important. Dr. Julius Sutphen can use
Obtenebration cards to get stealth (usually paying blood for it), he
can bounce bleeds with Deflections, and besides that, he has superior
Potence and a cool ability. If your deck is built around Potence, you
may prefer Julius, but in the other cases Perfidio is better.
Telepathic Misdirection is far more flexible than Deflection, Obfuscate
has better stealth than Obtenebration does (and it's much more popular,
so your primary vampires may also have it), and, the most importantly,
Perfidio can play Sibyl's Tongue!
What is the best debut for a Trophy-hunter deck with Perfidio? You get
him first, preferably with Information Highway (or Dreams of the
Sphinx), and he immediately plays Red List on the first predator's or
prey's minion. He wouldn't even need any stealth for this, as the
target minion cannot block Red List! And this scenario is pretty
realistic, since many decks are playing 3-4 caps (or even 1-2 caps),
and these decks usually influence at least one such weenie first, just
to guard the pool or to get a free bleed. After the successful Red List
all you need is waiting for a few turns until you get your primary
combatant, leaving Perfidio to guard YOUR pool, burn the hapless weenie
and grab your Trophy.
Unsurprisingly, you may encounter Perfidio even in the Kindred Spirits
decks. He costs only 1 pool more than Claven, but he has superior
Auspex and a title. His ability is almost never used, especially
considering absence of combat Disciplines, but he still can protect
your Powerbase:Montreal if the opponent has no stealth. This may cost
the opponent much more than a lost action if you have Status Perfectus
or Fast Reaction :)
6. DECK OF THE MONTH
Deck Name: Enkidu & !Malks
Created By: Ilya Ginsburg
Description: Anti-Malks provide votes, play Red List and fetch Fueled
by Heart's Blood/Regent for Enkidu
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 20, Max: 44, Avg: 8)
----------------------------------------------
5 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO 11 !Gangrel
2 Marie Faucigny dem tha AUS OBF 7 !Malk archbishop
2 Shawnda Dorrit obt pot pre CEL 6 !Brujah priscus
3 General Perfidio Dios dem obf AUS 5 !Malk bishop
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (15 cards)
1 Regent
5 Blood Doll
1 Trophy: Domain
1 Trophy: Hunting Ground
1 Trophy: Retainers
1 Rack, The
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
1 Information Highway
1 Talons of the Dead
1 Perfectionist
Action (12 cards)
8 Red List
4 Sibyl`s Tongue
Action Modifier (5 cards)
3 Forced March
2 Freak Drive
Reaction (9 cards)
3 Wake with Evening`s Freshness
6 Telepathic Misdirection
Combat (36 cards)
5 Blur
6 Sideslip
6 Taste of Vitae
4 Amaranth
4 Pursuit
6 Disarm
5 Stutter-Step
Retainer (7 cards)
3 Raven Spy
1 Jackie Therman
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Tasha Morgan
1 Owl Companion
Event (1 cards)
1 Fueled by Heart`s Blood
Combo (5 cards)
5 Swallowed by the Night
The idea of this deck was inspired by Norman S. Brown Jr, but his deck
doesn't use !Malks and has different combat cards. This deck definitely
isn't the most dangerous, or the most frightening variant of
Enkidu-based deck, but it wasn't meant to. You should make alliances to
survive as long as possible. Your have the following game plan:
1). Play Red List on some minions (at least one). If you suspect that
your Red List can be blocked, try to back-up it with Swallowed by the
Night. If most decks in your environment have intercept, you may add
some stealth against them - Forgotten Labyrinths or Spying Missions
that should help when you would bleed for 3 with your retainers.
2). Fetch Fueled by Heart's Blood with the first Sibyl's Tongue and
play it. Your Enkidu will be able to diablerize any vampire except for
Inner Circles and few other 11-caps. From this moment, you will be able
to play Amaranth safely. Alternatively, you can fetch Regent first. You
can play Amaranth even without FbHB if your faction has enough votes.
3). Burn the Red Listed minion and get Trophy: Domain. From this
moment, you should have decent protection, especially if you managed to
employ at least one Raven Spy.
4). Work on your prey until you manage to play the second Red List and
get the second Trophy. Get Hunting Ground if you are low on blood/pool
or Retainers otherwise.
5). Finish all vamps of your prey able to bounce bleeds, then oust your
prey. Repeat as necessary :)
This deck should have relatively high number of votes, especially if
you play Regent on Enkidu. Since Enkidu is already Red List, he doesn't
have to fear rushes, at least more than usual :) Thus, getting 4 votes
just for one pool is a brilliant deal. In the best situation you would
have Enkidu+Regent, Shawnda and Perfidio = 8 votes for 23 pool. Not bad
for a deck without ANY political actions! Sometimes you will even
maintain a "vote lock", especially if you manage to physically destroy
the opposing votes :) Also notice that Regent allows Enkidu to play Red
List himself, which is very good. Firstly, he may play Red List on
almost any vamp, and, secondly, your prey would think twice prior to
blocking Enkidu's attempt to make his worst minion Red List, as he may
lose a better minion instead.
Sometimes you cannot play Regent, especially if there are multi-rush
decks in your environment. Such deck would have two extra possibilities
of rushing Enkidu each turn, which can be lethal. In such cases, just
replace Regent with Cardinal Benediction. You have some Sabbat votes to
push it.
Blood Dolls are your primary source of pool gain, and you should put at
least two of them on Enkidu. The Rack or Trophy: Hunting Grounds would
provide him two blood per turn, and you would be able to convert them
to two pool per turn. You should play carefully and influence just
Enkidu + one !Malk until you'll be able to regain some pool for Shawnda
or get Dreams of the Sphinx.
Combat part of this deck is focused around Disarm and Amaranth. Primary
Disciplines used are Celerity and Potence. The goal is using combat
abilities of Shawnda Dorrit which can easily Disarm using additional
strike or Sideslip. Even if you have no Amaranth, Enkidu can just
diablerize a Disarmed vampire with the same result.
Talons of the Dead should be played if you feel yourself very good, and
your Enkidu can afford paying 1 blood for every action. This card can
let you overcome other combat-heavy decks: no deck can regularly
prevent 3 aggravated damage dealt in one strike, especially if you can
get additional strikes.
The rest of the deck is pretty clear. You should avoid playing
Perfectionist on Enkidu, as you're going to give him The Rack and/or
Trophy: HG, but if you need to refill him, go ahead. Normal sequence of
fetching retainers is Raven Spy (or two), Jackie Therman, then Owl
Companion and only then bleed-enhancing ones.
That's all for June.
As always, all comments and ideas are appreciated.
Yours,
Ector