Official V:EKN Salubri Antitribu Newsletter Vol.3 No.2 (September 2007) Of interest to Scholars and Slanderers Editor: Joel Tate In this issue: 1. Introduction 2. Miscellanea et Demonica - strategy 3. The Dwindling Few - featured vampire(s) 4. The Powers of the Righteous - featured card(s) 5. The Hosts of Heaven - featured deck(s) 6. Conclusion - summary & theme for next issue --------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------- Hello everyone and welcome to the second of the Salubri Antitribu newsletters for 2007. This newsletter follows on from last issue's beginners' guide, focusing on intercept-combat as one of the primary strategies behind a successful Salubri Antitribu deck. This month's featured Salubri Antitribu is Thomas Steed, for his handy fetch ability, and the featured card of the month is Gift of Bellona. The deck of the month is an example of a Salubri Antitribu intercept- combat deck, modified from last issues Auspex-Valeren deck. --------------------------------------- 2. MISCELLANEA ET DEMONICA --------------------------------------- Intercept-combat is probably the most common, and attractive, of the Salubri Antitribu strategies, given that all 3 clan disciplines support this approach. Adding big weapons into the mix and you can feel safe in the knowledge that the damage you'll be dishing out will surpass what you'll receive. I'm not going to go through is the card ratios for an intercept-combat deck, for this I refer you to the VTES Players guide (p.123). The benefit of playing an intercept-combat deck is that played well enough will mean you won't be ousted. As a result you'll be there for the end game to pick up the last couple of vp's to win the game; if you can oust your prey, then victory shall be ensured (assuming no 6+ tables). A Salubri Antitribu deck which is pursuing an intercept-combat approach will likely include a mix of intercept cards, usually Eagle's Sight (to block prey minion actions), Enhanced Senses (for the 2 intercept - card saving) and a few Telepathic Misdirection (bounce purposes). Permanent intercept cards will also be used, locations (WMRH, KRCG et al.), Bowl of Convergence and Mr Winthrop can all be employed by Salubri Anti to save on card slots. The combat edge on the other hand tends to focus on Valeren, Fortitude and melee weapon cards to inflict the maximum amount of (aggravated) damage possible. Concealed Weapon almost nearly makes into all Salubri Anti decks, in order to bring out the melee weapons, ditto Sword of the Righteous for agg damage. Armor of Caine provides an interesting prevent option, especially when combined with Trap (and Undead Persistence if they do manage to torpor you)! Generally Crimson Sentinel (for its ability to grow), Poker (cheap), Meat Hook (cheap, press) and Meat Cleavers tend to make up the weapon element. The problem with most intercept-combat decks is that they lack a significant forward ousting threat, other than blocking your prey's minions. For the Salubri Antitribu, this issue is doubly manifest, in that all three of the clan disciplines are not the best know for bleed / vote threat. A further drawback, which ties into the first, is that the likelihood of sweeping a table is quite low (stealth-bleed/vote etc... being far superior in this respect). There are a couple of combat foils to Salubri Anti intercept-combat, S:CE, which we still have to either Telepathic Track or Rotschreck to circumvent. Immortal Grapple, Drawing out the Beast and the other cards which prevent use of melee weapons are also potential problems. Disengage counters Immortal Grapple (however I can't believe we'd put it in the deck as a hoser card), Armor of Caine gets round the frenzies and gives us prevent too! A Salubri Antitribu intercept-combat deck can also be quite slow in setup, ie first equip with weapon, then get out permanent intercept all the while trying to block your prey & predator's actions. The last problem is that hand jams can occur frequently, and stuck with a handful of combat cards, your opponents using casual stealth will be sufficient to keep you in the predicament. Likewise, a handful of intercept and untap, isn't all that threatening when in combat! Having identified some of the main problems to this type of Salubri Anti deck we can now look for ways to mitigate and/or remove for a more successful deck. In order to raise the forward ousting threat, there are a number of options open to the Salubri Anti, Pulse of the Canaille being one of the more frequently used options simply because at least two of the vampires you'll be using should have superior Auspex. Bleed retainers, Pentex(TM) Loves You!, Laptop Computers and the like can also be included to boast the forward oust threat. When playing an intercept-combat deck, we will always look for cards that combine complementary effects for the strategy. Salubri Antitribu do not have easy access to slot saving untap/intercept cards like Second Tradition or Read the Winds (Atonement being one of the few), however we can save on damage dealing cards because of the permanent weaponry. There are a number of ways you can facilitate better card flow and deck speed. Master cards like Elder Library, Dreams of the Sphinx or The Barrens will either increase hand size or discarding cards. Playing with combos that require fewer cards, ie Rotschreck with either Sword of the Righteous and Weighted Walking Stick or Eye of Unforgiving Heaven, will also maximize efficiencies. Dreams should be given special mention for its transfer ability that will speed up bring out your minions. Overall, intercept-combat capitalizes on the synergies each of the Salubri Antitribu disciplines and is a good starting point for a player new to playing the clan. In the next full issue of the newsletter we shall revisit bleed/bruise as a viable strategy, retaining the format set above. Appendix: Dreams of the Sphinx Type: Master Requires: None Cost: 1 Pool Unique master. Put this card in play. Put a counter on this card each time you tap it. When the third counter is added, burn this card. Tap this card to get +2 hand size until the end of the current turn. Tap during your untap phase to gain an additional pool if you have the Edge. Tap to move a blood from the blood bank to a vampire in your uncontrolled region. Bowl of Convergence Type: Equipment Requires: None Cost: None Unique equipment. If the bearer is a vampire who has Auspex [aus], the bearer gets +1 intercept. If the bearer has superior Auspex [AUS], he or she can burn 1 blood once during each action to get an additional +1 intercept for the current action. Eagle's Sight Type: Reaction Requires: Auspex Cost: None [aus] This reacting vampire gets +1 intercept. [AUS] This reacting vampire attempts to block the current action, ignoring the normal prey, predator or target restrictions for blocking actions. --------------------------------------- 3. THE DWINDLING FEW --------------------------------------- Thomas Steed, The Angry Salubri Antitribu (Group 2) Capacity 4 ani aus val Sabbat: Thomas may search your library for a melee weapon and move it to your hand as a +1 stealth action. Discard down to your hand size and shuffle your library afterward. For a clan synonymous with weapon combat, Thomas Steed is an essential part of many Salubri Antitribu decks. The ability to search for "a melee weapon", makes him great for pulling out the most appropriate weapon for the situation your are in (most commonly Crimson Sentinel for its ability to get bigger through use). Thomas has two of the three in-clan disciplines, and while he can't prevent a whole lot of damage, lacking Fortitude, he is a cheap blocking minion. The other curiosity about Thomas is that he is only vampire in the clan that possesses Animalism as an out of clan discipline, this means he could be included in a cheap Animalism- Auspex block deck, or alternatively in an Animalism Salubri Antitribu deck (i.e. Jeremiah Moore's Wakes with Righteous Vengeance). Overall, those who play a Group 2-3 Salubri deck will play Thomas for his ability first and disciplines second. --------------------------------------- 4. THE POWERS OF THE RIGHTEOUS --------------------------------------- Gift of Bellona Type: Action Modifier Requires: Valeren/Auspex [aus] If this action is blocked, your hand size is increased by 1 during the resulting combat. [val] Only usable when an action to equip with a weapon is successful. Untap this acting vampire. [VAL] Only usable when an action to equip with a weapon from your hand is blocked. Before combat begins, equip this vampire with the weapon instead of placing it in your ash heap (pay cost as normal). During the first round of this combat, that weapon cannot be used. Gift of Bellona is a great card for the Salubri Antitribu. For a clan who lack almost any stealth, the likelihood of having one's equip action for a nasty weapon is quite high. At superior, Gift enables you to get around this problem by still equipping with the weapon, although you can't use it straight away; this even applies to unique weapons! At basic Valeren, when people are foolish enough to let you equip, then you can untap your minion, ready to show your opponents the weapon up close! The basic Auspex offering is in effect a lesser version of Aura Reading, aiding the resulting combat by increasing hand size for potentially more combat options, and at worst case, a card cycle. --------------------------------------- 5. THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN --------------------------------------- Below is a modified version of my first Salubri Antitribu deck, with minimal Fortitude as before. Smiling Jack is now in for bait / environmental damage and the essential Path of Retribution has been included to reduce the cost of 20 one blood cost Valeren cards! Sense Death replaces the Nose of the Hound, and blood gain is spread between Procurers and The Rack. Combat module is relatively balanced, although not yet fully tested. Deck Name: The Cold Iron Curtain Created By: Joel Tate Description: A typical Salubri Antitribu wall deck using Adonai and Thomas Steed, the core of group 2-3, Dela is there as additional support and weenies make up the rest. If you can equip with the Crimson Sentinel early, the minion carrying it should become a monster. There is sufficient permanent intercept for a modest stealth environment. Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 12, Max: 30, Avg: 5.083) ---------------------------------------------- 1 Doris McMillon val 2 Salubri Antitribu 2 Kervos aus val 3 Salubri Antitribu 1 Wolf Valentine for VAL 4 Salubri Antitribu 3 Thomas Steed ani aus val 4 Salubri Antitribu 3 Adonai for AUS VAL 7 Salubri Antitribu 2 Dela Eden cel dom AUS FOR VAL 8 Salubri Antitribu Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (13 cards) 1 Channel 10 4 Blood Doll 2 Dreams of the Sphinx 1 KRCG News Radio 2 Path of Retribution, The 1 Rack, The 1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch 1 WMRH Talk Radio Action (8 cards) 2 Blessing of the Name 2 Sanguine Instruction 4 Sense Death Action Modifier (2 cards) 2 Gift of Bellona Reaction (20 cards) 4 Eagle's Sight 6 Enhanced Senses 6 Forced Awakening 4 On the Qui Vive Combat (35 cards) 7 Armor of Caine's Fury 3 Concealed Weapon 6 Fake Out 9 Sword of the Righteous 3 Telepathic Tracking 3 Trap 4 Vengeance of Samiel Ally (2 cards) 2 Procurer Equipment (10 cards) 1 Bowl of Convergence 1 Crimson Sentinel, The 2 Gas-Powered Chainsaw 2 Meat Cleaver 2 Meat Hook 2 Poker --------------------------------------- 6. CONCLUSION --------------------------------------- Well, that's it for this newsletter, next issue we shall be a special edition dedicated to the Lords of Night release. If you have any ideas, comments or additions please feel free to contact me. Joel Cambridge, UK