VEKN Official Clan Tremere Newsletter November 2000Volume 2, Issue 2 November 6, 2000 Please direct all correspondence and commentary to Xian. [Legal stuff to the tune of: I wrote all this, so give credit where it's due, etc.] Well, by now, most everyone has heard about and been disappointed by (or not) the exclusion of the Tremere antitribu from the Sabbat War expansion. Not much to cheer about, all in all. However, Sabbat War does have a few new cards that are excellent for the Tremere, most especially Telepathic Tracking, but others include Eternal Vigilance and reissues of Revelations (one of the best "come and get me cards"), Mind Rape, and Thanks for the Donation. Also included in this newsletter is an intercept deck that took 3 of 5 VPs, and (I think) nearly swept the table. Further testing (and tweaking) will be necessary, but it's not bad for starters. Focus on a CardThis month, it will of course be the newest, brightest hope for the Tremere...Telepthic Tracking. If you don't have any of these, do your best to get your hands on at least a couple. Extremely useful is the first thing I have to say about them. Telepathic Tracking Wow. Let's start with the inferior level. Press to continue...that's all good. But wait, there's more! If a second round occurs, you get a maneuver as well! Perfect for second round combat...maneuver to long and Walk of Flame. Alternatively, be relatively assured that you're going to be able to maintain close range for the Blood to Water. Now, the superior level does what you think it does. When the opposing minion tries to Strike: combat ends, you play the superior, and continue on to the next round. Where you proceed to roast them. Superior Telepathic Tracking most definitely screws S:CE. Sure, they could play another S:CE, but the chances of this are not that great...and if you're intercepting, you can wait and see what happens. This card is what the Tremere have needed to step up their effectiveness in combat. Now you can use IR Goggles or Spirit's Touch or Flak/Leather Jacket in the first round to stay safe, then use Telepathic Tracking to get to second and keep yourself (relatively) safe. This card, along with Thoughts Betrayed should doing amazing things for Tremere decks. Strategy CornerI played my first intercept deck in a long time last night, and did rather well with it (3 of 5 VPs). I would like to think that I could have swept the table, but I had to make the choice between letting my prey (with one minion) take out his prey (3 minions), and then been able to bleed my newly-strengthened prey out over the next two turns, and risked him being able to oust my new grand-prey (who was down to 3 pool and 2 tapped minions). My predator was also quite weak at this stage in the game, having been stopped by my Tremere (though not without cost), and having Miller, the Art of Pain Monkey burnt with Protect Thine Own. So, in my arrogance, I hoped that my grand-prey would be stopped by a Wake and Deflection or something...but even if not, I decided that this was the better choice than letting my prey build up again. To make a long story short, my prey transferred out once I blocked him, my new prey ousted his, I was unable to take him out on the next turn, and he then ousted my predator, even after I blocked one or two of his bleeds. I did end up ousting my (original) grand-prey and taking the table, but it was a very tight game, which could have gone better with a few tweaks to this entirely new deck.
In short, I suppose the message here is to take what VPs you are sure you can get, even if you do end up helping your grand-prey or someone else a little more than you perhaps should have. Use your own judgement about who is the greatest threat at the table and, though you may not need to hinder them directly, do what you can to slow them down. Sample DeckI would like to be able to tell James that this is his "intercept deck that wins," but it is not quite that yet. It did well, and held up against some medium-strength combat decks, but it is certainly not tried and true yet. Title: The Intercept Deck that Might Win Author: Xian (xian@waste.org) Crypt Library (90) Masters (15) Action (13) Reaction (23) Equipment (6) Combat (33) I was definitely expecting to get more use out of Blood to Water than I actually received. The first thing I am going to do with this deck is take out 3 or 4 Blood to Water, 2 Revelations, and maybe both of the Atonements. The Atonements will likely be replaced with more Rutor's Hands, and I think that the Enhanced Senses are going to go, replaced by more Spirit's Touch. The Blood to Water and Revelations are going to be replaced by combat cards, specifically Thoughts Betrayed and maybe bring Theft of Vitae and Apportation up to 8 each. More Eagle's Sight would be great, but unlikely, and the deck needs more dominate punch to bleed...a few more Governs wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure what to remove. The Graverobbing could be, as it isn't necessary, but it seems so useful. Again, this deck is not in its final form, but on its first trial run, it performed quite well, and will hopefully do so again. Xian |