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Short Fiction
Card Review
Sample Deck
Bonus Deck
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VEKN Official Clan Tremere Newsletter Jan. 1999
Volume 1, Issue 3 January 1, 1999
Welcome, welcome, welcome. As usual, I came up with all of this, so, umm...don't
mess with forces you don't understand and all that jive. (I had a deck idea inspired in a
conversation with Legbiter, but I can't find my notes on it right now, so it will have to
wait until next month's issue, and due credit will be given...)
And what is in store for you? This month, there will the usual selection,
including some completely off the top of my head sucky short fiction (if you want me to axe
the short fiction, let me know...), a last-minute attempt to examine a card in-depth, and a
couple of deck ideas. This month there will be no review of notables in vampiric society,
however, stay tuned next month as we examine some of those who have received instruction at
our hands, and their usefulness to our cause.
Short Fiction
Leaning back in the oversized chair carved entirely from some ancient creature's
enormous fang, Ulugh Beg let his senses expand, and he focused in turn a number of his
master's pawns.
Merrill Molitor, deep in Africa, seeking out ancient rituals...Sarah Cobbler and
Muaziz studying in Vienna...Dr. John Casey providing a useful distraction for the enemy's
minions...Astrid Thomas, working her ways into the halls of power to confound the Ventrue...
all these and many others.
Ulugh Beg thought upon all this and smiled. He knew that this new year was
going to be very eventful indeed.
Focus on a Card
Seeds of Corruption
Thaumaturgy
Action
2 blood
+1 stealth action
Inferior: (D) Put this card on a vampire controlled by your prey. If the vampire
is a Follower of Set, he or she burns 2 additional blood for each action he or she performs;
otherwise, he or she burns 1 additional blood for each action he or she performs.
The vampire with this card cannot use his or her special abilities. Any vampire(s) may burn
this card with two +1 stealth actions.
Superior: As above, but the vampire burns 2 additional blood for each action;
Followers of Set burn 3 additional blood.
I believe that many people realize that Seeds is a good card, but it is hard to
use effectively. (Not to mention that I find it hard to get more than the couple of copies
I have...) In JOL73, there was a very effective Tremere antitribu deck that mainly used
Seeds, Cryptic Missions, and Succubi. I was very impressed. IIRC, it won the
game. Actually, I have to admit that I have little experience using Seeds myself, but I'll
take my best shot at it. It is quite powerful, although in some ways it's a shame that it
can only be used on vampires controlled by your prey. For quite a while, I missed the line
about the vampire not being able to use its special powers. Very nice. So, ideally, you
want to place this card on a vampire that is somewhat low on blood, enough so that it will
have trouble taking the two actions to remove the Seeds of Corruption. To do this, you
will likely have to get into combat with the vampire somehow. Intercept & Theft of Vitae
popular with anyone? I'm not a huge fan, but that's the method I took in the deck following.
Anyway, the card, especially used in multiples on as many vampires as possible can be quite
entertaining.
Sample Deck
Title: Seeds of Doom
Crypt
2x Violet Tremain
2x Anvil
2x Lydia Van Cuelen
2x Bryan Van Duesen
1x Rebekka, Chantry Elder of Munich
1x Spiridonas
1x Bindusara
1x Kemintiri
Average 7.2, worst 36, best 24
Library:
Masters (16)
2x Presence skill card
2x Thaumaturgy skill card
2x Auspex skill card
5x Blood Doll
3x Mob Connections
2x Arcane Library
Action (32)
18x Seeds of Corruption
6x Praxis Seizure: Various
6x Kindred Restructure
2x Clan Impersonation
Action Modifier (6)
6x Bewitching Oration
Reaction (20)
5x Spirit's Touch
7x Eagle's Sight
8x Forced Awakening
Combat (16)
10x Theft of Vitae
6x Walk of Flame
Notes:
Okay...so the idea is to get out a couple of Praxis Seizures, hit your prey with a
bunch of Seeds, and then sit your prey in your predator's spot, putting whoever you want in
front of you. This way, although your prior prey can still block & such, he's going to
have a hard time taking any actions against you. Hmm...not horribly exciting, but still
amusing. The combat is in there more for defense, and to deplete your prey's vampires of
blood. Clan Impersonations instead of that little "you are now Camarilla" equipment,
because though it costs blood, it isn't vulnerable to equipment destruction. So there you
have it...a semi-exciting Seeds deck. Beh. I'm not as impressed as I was at first, but I
keep liking the Kindred Restructure trick. And Pre/Tha/Aus is interesting.
Bonus Deck!!!
And, just for the heck of it, I'm going to post my recently re-tooled version of
the classic Tha/For deck. Mine is Dom/For/Tha...you really need to get them to block
somehow, and with Dom, if they don't block, a bleed from 3 to 6 is coming their way...the
question becomes whether or not it is more worthwhile to have a vampire in torpor, or suck
a significant bleed.
Title: "I Used to Think that the Day Would Never Come, that My Life Would
Depend on the Morning Sun" (as corrected by Chris...)
Crypt
2x Cardano
2x Muaziz, Archon of Ulugh Beg
2x Iliana
2x Marlene, The Infernalist
1x Ian Forestal
1x Ulugh Beg, The Watcher
1x Merrill Molitor
1x Bindusara, Historian of the Kindred
Average: 7.5, Worst: 37, Best: 24
Library (90)
Master (11)
4x Fortitude skill card
1x Thaumaturgy skill card
1x Dominate skill card
3x Blood Doll
1x Arcane Library
1x Academic Hunting Ground
Action (24)
2x Bum's Rush
6x Scouting Mission
5x Graverobbing
4x Restoration
1x Rutor's Hand
2x Arson
2x Govern the Unaligned
2x Slaughtering the Herd (recent afterthought...getting that 1 blood might be nice
for the deck...)
Action Modifier (19)
8x Dawn Operation
3x Freak Drive
8x Threats (to make them nervous about not blocking...)
Reaction (10)
10x Deflection
Combat (26)
9x Weather Control
8x Skin of Night
6x Skin of Steel
3x Soul Burn
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