OFFICIAL VEKN CLAN VENTRUE NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER 2007 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Ventrue Clan Disciplines, Part 1 INTRODUCTION Shorter newsletter this month; between finals, the holidays, and vacation I don't have a lot of time to work on one. So no deck of the month or vampire of the month. I'll have a full-length newsletter ready to go for January. VENTRUE CLAN DISCIPLINES PART 1: PRESENCE Presence is one of the best disciplines in the game, on par with Dominate, which many people think is the best discipline in the game. It's easy to see why Presence is so good; it has lots of bleeding capability, vote support, and combat defense. In fact it's pretty much the de facto discipline for voting; If you're making a deck that votes and doesn't have a lot of titled vampires you're most certainly using it. As one of the original ten disciplines, there are certainly a lot of Presence cards to choose from when constructing your deck. Which ones are better than others? For the most part it's pretty obvious but like I did with Obfuscate last month I've rated Presence cards below, using the same 1 to 5 star scale from last month's newsletter. Since Presence is a clan discipline, I've taken the time to rate every single Presence card ever printed. Again these ratings reflect a card's usefulness to the |Ventrue| in particular, not the card's usefulness overall. I've broken down the ratings into card type: Actions: Bloodlust * This card gives your other minions a free rush for the current turn. Since Ventrue aren't known for being very combat-y, you probably aren't going to see this card in many Ventrue decks. Charming Lobby *** Interesting card. Pass your vote and the next vote called by any Methuselah passes automatically. I find this card best for weenie presence vote decks; get the original vote to pass then use the automatic pass on the next vote to get a title, since those are almost always voted down. Another thing to keep in mind is as a presence card if the vampire playing it has a Marijava Ghoul it gains an additional stealth, which is always welcome. Condemnation: Languid ** Only an outferior level, but being able to tap a vampire isn't often useful to the Ventrue, I find. It's similar to Propaganda and Mind Numb; it has inherent stealth and is free but doesn't stop a vampire from untapping like Mind Numb nor is a bleed like Propaganda. Distant Friend **** A dual discipline card, presence and dominate, but I'm including it in this list because dominate is one of the other clan disciplines. This is a great card for voting decks, since it both helps your votes pass and stops other Methuselahs' votes from passing. Note that at superior you can actually force a vampire to cast votes, which is unique among the vote changing/canceling cards. It also untaps your vampire at the end of the turn, which is always handy. Dream World ** At minor it's just another bleed action, while at superior it gives every other minion you control +1 bleed until the end of the turn or one of your minions is blocked. That last part is key for the Ventrue, who aren't very sneaky. You're probably better off using something different unless you're also using Obfuscate. Enchant Kindred *** The presence version of Scouting Mission, bleed or bloat - whatever you need at the time. Whether you use this or Scouting Mission will probably depend on what the discipline spread on your vampires is. Enrage * Another one of the presence cards that gives another minion a rush, though at superior it's interesting blood denial. Neither ability is too useful in terms of typical Ventrue strategies. Entrancement **** When you have a War Ghouls or Shambling Hordes next to you, this card is a lifesaver. Not only have you taken a weapon away from your enemies, you can then use that weapon against them. And unlike Far Mastery, if there are no allies on the table (at least none worth stealing) you can always use it to bleed. Gear Up ** If you're turning your Ventrue into anarchs, this is a good card. Note this card gives you +1 stealth for the remainder of the turn, which is good for multiacting. Heart of the City ***** +2 standing bleed for 2 blood is an outstanding deal. The cost is marginal for Ventrue since they're good at blood management and if you're playing a vote heavy deck with few bleed modifiers this definitely a must-include card. Intimidation ** As Ventrue are good at getting blood on themselves this card is of lesser use; most of the time you'd be better off with a Legal Manipulations instead. Legal Manipulations *** With presence and dominate, the Ventrue have more bleed actions than anyone else in the game, and this is one of the standard ones. It's usually competing for a card slot against Social Charm and Public Trust, so use whichever one makes most sense for your deck concept. Media Influence *** Another bleed action at the minor level, but a more interesting effect at superior. Giving all your untapped minions a blood is nice, but at zero stealth this is an action which is begging to be blocked. If you plan on getting out lots of minions this card may be quite useful, otherwise you're probably better off with something different. Mind Numb ** Generally I don't find tapping a minion too useful to the Ventrue. Most of the time they have better things to do. Propaganda ** This card combines bleeding with a minion tapping effect and has block restrictions, but at the cost of 2 blood, which is a steep price for just +1 bleed. There are better options for bleeding and tapping, in my opinion. Public Trust *** This card is nearly identical to Legal Manipulations, and can pretty much be used interchangeably. Public Trust is a slight bit superior, since the blood to an uncontrolled minion also helps getting up minions faster. Skullduggery * Another anarch card. It's a good card if your anarchs have one of the other disciplines that can use this card along with presence, but not too many Ventrue fit in that category. Social Charm *** A lesser version of Legal Manipulations, one less bleed for one less blood cost. Best in decks that can't afford to pay blood costs on bleeding all the time. The Summoning * The Ventrue aren't known for having lots of retainers or allies, so this card is of marginal value. Undue Influence ** A good card for Ventrue anarchs, since it's a bleed action with inherent stealth plus some bloat for good measure, which is actually quite a lot for an inferior discipline effect. Action Modifiers: Aire of Elation ** A great card in general, but mediocre for Ventrue because they have dominate, since Conditioning gives more bleed for the same cost and Threats has the same effect but is free. Only really useful if you're playing Ventrue and focus exclusively on presence. Approximation of Loyalty ** The inferior level of this card is completely outclassed by Seduction, but the superior level is interesting. It requires a big vampire to play and can only be used on mid-cap vampires or lower, but the ability to cancel bleed bounce can be devastating if used at the right moment. If you do a lot of heavy bleeding with your Ventrue, one, maybe two copies might be useful in your deck. Awe *** This is a great vote pushing card; with enough blood you can almost guarantee your vote passes, then recoup the spent blood with a Voter Captivation. Small cap vampires can't really make the most of it though. Bewitching Oration **** The standard vote pushing card. Any deck that votes can make use of this card; absolutely no reason not to play it. Business Pressure ** Probably more useful to the Toreador since they can play Telepathic Vote Counting to take the vote back in case they don't like the outcome after playing this card. Read the October 2000 newsletter for more thoughts on this card. Disarming Presence ** Not a very useful card, at most it's an annoyance. I'd rather put in another Awe or Bewitching Oration. Echo of Harmonies * An inferior Bewitching Oration that costs a blood and requires you to sacrifice the Edge. Useless. Psychomachia * A Change of Target that only works against younger vampires and allies and costs a blood. Useless. Recurring Contemplation * Works like Seduction, only on allies instead of vampires. Since there's only an inferior level with Presence, it's too cornercase to be worthwhile. Repulsion * It's a way to get a maneuver, but with lots of restrictions and only when the vampire is acting. Ventrue don't usually care about maneuvering, so it's quite limited in usefulness. Voter Captivation **** An awesome card all around, especially since the Ventrue have lots of big capacity titled vampires. This is another card you'll use in every voting deck with Presence. Combat Armor of Caine's Fury * Presence damage prevention. You're paying a blood for that single point of damage prevention, but if that single point is aggravated damage, you'll always pay that blood. Of course, the Ventrue have Fortitude, so this card is pretty much wallpaper for them. Catatonic Fear ** One of the six Presence end combat cards. It's one of the few ways Ventrue can do damage, especially when used with Target: Vitals, but generally Ventrue aren't that interested in damaging minions. Majesty ** Still the gold standard of combat ends. The only reason you wouldn't play it is if you had lots of Freak Drives and preferred the effects from one of the different combat ends cards. Mask Empathy *** It's a mostly cornercase card, but it IS a way to get rid of those pesky ravens and nosy Mr. Winthrop. Although if you were really worried about retainers you could always steal them with Far Mastery instead... Putrifaction * No point in using this when you have Majesty, Catatonic Fear, etc... Rigor Mortis * A rather unique effect, but how often do Ventrue really care about preventing additional strikes when they're ending combat or preventing all the damage anyway? Staredown ** Probably the 2nd best presence combat ends card since it doesn't cost blood, although you need to have Presence at superior. Also handy for those rare times when you can dodge but can't end combat. Toreador's Bane * Utterly worthless. Unholy Penance *** Although I don't actually think it's better than the other combat ends cards overall, with the Ventrue you can sometimes Freak Drive and take advantage of the +1 bleed right away if you were originally blocked doing something other than bleeding. Reaction Dread Gaze **** You don't often see this card played, but the Ventrue can combo it with Elder Kindred Network for some extra pain. Internal Recursion ** This is an interesting card. You have your standard end combat strike for the cost of a blood if you block, and you get to untap if you blocked a younger vampire or ally. The Ventrue don't really block much, however, so it's of more limited use to them. Peacemaker * Another strange effect from the outferior level of a card. I can't see much use for this card for the Ventrue. Rewind time * The Ventrue don't have another effect that reduces a bleed, but since they have Dominate this card is pretty much wallpaper. Treachery **** Another card you rarely see played, but like Dread Gaze the Ventrue can at least combo it with Elder Kindred Network for a guaranteed pool loss, barring a cancelled referendum. Madrigal *** Works exactly the same as Dread Gaze. -Luciano Mariucci, Prince of Minneapolis maclitron@yahoo.com