Peter D Bakija#
The Renegade Nosferatu Newsletter for June 2001.
Yes, that's right. A new Nosferatu Newsletter by me, the guy who used to
diligently write Nosferatu Newsletters every month for about two years, and
then I got lame and stopped. Time passed, and then a bunch of new cards came
out, and so here I am. I think someone else currently is the official Nosferatu
Newsletter guy, but I wanted to get these vampire rating done for completeness
sake, and was feeling verbose anyways. For those interested, I have a whole
bunch of old Nosferatu Newsletters archived on my (very un-updated) web site
at:
http://www.geocities.com/bakija6/vtes
So anyways, my prime inspiration for this fit of madness is to rate all the
cool new minions available to aid the Nosferatu in their wicked schemes. And
here they are:
-Shannon Price, the Whisperer: (3) ani, obf: Shannon is a very standard 3 point
vampire with 2 in clan disciplines, just like Duck and Tommy. Being small, she
is useful in many decks (as everyone can use a 3 point vampire with the
appropriate skills), and will certainly fit in any of the mono Animalism decks
that seems to be growing in popularity. That, and she has a really cool
picture, which is always a plus (Ya hear that, Regilio, Seeker of Akhnaten?)
***
-Cicatriz: (5) ani, obf, pot, Bishop. If Cicatriz is ready during your discard
phase, you may discard one additional card: Cicatriz is acceptable, and you
certainly get 5 points of vampire for the 5 point investment, but for a 5, I'd
really like to get at least one superior discipline. His special ability is
strong, and any youngish vampire with a title is worth using, but still, I'd
really be much happier with Cicatriz if he was a 6 and had at least one
superior discipline--at least that way, there would be a few decks where he was
a complete no brainer inclusion, but as it is, you are using him pretty much
for his special abilities (well, or his cool portrait--I just love those
teeth!), rather than his disciplines. **
-Ox, Viceroy of the Hollows: (6) POT, ANI, OBF: Ox is one of those vampires
that every clan needs, but isn't really exiting. He can go in every Nosferatu
deck you build, and probably should, as he is pure point efficiency, but
without a special ability or title, he lacks charm. I suspect if I liked his
picture better, I'd feel better about using him, but I'm not going to hold it
against him. ****
-Christanius Lionel, The Mad Chronicler: (6) ANI, OBF, pot. While Christianus
is ready, your hand size is increased by 1: Christianus is pretty solid for a
6, having 2 in clan superiors and a very useful special ability (he comes with
a free Elder Library!), and certainly will see lots of use in Animalism decks.
Sadly, the Nosferatu decks that *really* need to benefit from his special
ability are the Rush decks, and without POT, he just isn't going to be hanging
out with that crew, but he is still very solid. ****
-Calebros, The Martyr: (5) ANI, pot, obf. Camarilla Prince of New York. If
Calebros is the Prince of New York, any older Camarilla vampire controlled by
another Methuselah can steal the title from him as a (D) action which Calebros
cannot block: For the first new Camarilla Nosferatu in, what, five years, I'm
glad we got Calebros. A 5 point vampire with ANI is always welcome to the mix,
he has a (usually short lived) title, and a really cool portrait (I really like
Van Fleet's work. Yeah, they are recycled book covers, but I didn't read those
books, so they are all new to me! As a complete aside, I am rather amazed by
all the folks out there who seem completely incapable of separating the concept
of "realistic" from "well done", as they are totally non-connected. This sort
of weird reaction has always dogged talented card artists like Drew Tucker, and
now folks are ragging on Van Fleet because his work is stylized and not
particularly "realistic". Weird.), and is an all around cool guy. Yeah, his
Princehood will probably get horked fairly quickly in most games, but at the
very least, he'll usually be (or at least should be) hanging around in an
Animalism deck that is good at intercepting stuff. Use him as bait for some
sort of Carrion Crows/Aid from Bats deck, and watch the suckers come a-calling.
****
-Ramona: (4) for, pro. During your untap phase, you may move 1 blood from any
ready Gangrel you control to Ramona: Yeah, yeah, Ramona is a Gangrel. So? I
just love Ramona. She is my favorite new vampire from the set, and comes close
to beating KoKo (But no one beats KoKo. He is strong.) as my favorite vampire
ever. As I promised elsewhere, I begin my constant defense of Ramona here. The
line is drawn. Yeah, she only has 2 inferior disciplines, which is one short
for a 4, but she does get a cool special ability, which is surprisingly useful.
She makes a great blood doll (Uuuummm. Ramona the Blood Doll...) and can save
you actions in a pinch (by borrowing a blood rather than hunting). Any Gangrel
deck that uses Protean and/or Fortitude could benefit by her inclusion. Yeah,
for one more point, you can get Cammille/Raven, ok, but if you want to avoid
doubling up (or you already have), Ramona is the way to go. Plus, she is so
durned hot. *****
So over all, with the last couple expansions, the Nosferatu got a good bunch of
vampires--no one incredibly spectacular, sure, but most of them are perfectly
solid and will see a lot of use in a multitude of decks. Thankfully, none of
our new minions were huge, so even poor Cicatriz will see use (which may not
have been the case if had been, say, a 9 point vampire), and as a whole, these
new vampires are a welcome addition to our forces. That, and we get Ramona on
our side (Hey! She hangs out with Daliyah, at least where I come from, so we'll
count her as an honorary member).
Peter D Bakija
PD...@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/bakija6
"She's a hero you see.
She's not like us."
-Giles