OFFICIAL VEKN GANGREL-ANTITRIBU NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7 NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER 2004
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IN THIS WORST-MONTH-OF-THE-YEAR ISSUE ......
FICTION: Tariq takes care of Business
TOURNAMENT IMPRESSIONS AND DECKS: The Fun Leach, UK Nationals finalist
deck by Matthew Green.
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FICTION: Tariq takes care of Business
A slim brown figure flits silently through the streets of Watford,
sidestepping the pools of vomit, blood and spilled lager that on one
level mark the route from Watford FC's football ground to the central
train station, and on another show the maddening influence of Smiling
Jack the Anarch. The early evening is chill and dank, and Tariq plucks
fastidiously at his ruff and doublet.
Tariq's first target for tonight is Omaya, minion to the shadowy power
called The Green Man who is behind Smiling Jack's depradations. He
corners her in a car-park behind the Flag pub, next to the station.
Hissing fiercely, she extends wolf-like claws from her fingers and
slashes at the deadly Assamite. Suddenly Tariq's mind is rent by
terrible fear of destruction, the hideous Rotshreck. He wants to run,
to scream, to hide - but some part of his mind remains conscious and
sane. This oasis of sanity is somehow aware that Legbiter's other
enemy The Hated Angseesing is behind the mental attack, and summoning
the powers of Psyche, Goddess of Reason, he overcomes it and rushes
again to the fray, snaring the Gangrel antitribu's arm with a hoop of
wild mountain-ash. She goes rigid, and Tariq bends to feed. Omaya
subsides into corruption, and then into nothingness. Tariq retrieves
the Rowan ring and a spanking-new Titanium powermac from the mess.
"Depart in Peace, Sister".
Tariq snaps open his cellphone.
"Is it done?"
"Yes."
"Now i want you to do the same to The Rose."
Privately Tariq thinks that the Evil Angseesing can be left to the
tender ministrations of Jack and that his remaining minions are of no
account, but summoning his powers of fortitude he overcomes his
lassitude and prepares to do Legbiter's bidding.
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TOURNAMENT IMPRESSIONS AND DECKS: The Fun Leach, UK Nationals finalist
deck by Matthew Green.
There was a terrific 24-person tournament in Watford on the 6th of
November for the UK cup. Congratulations to Hugh Angseesing who won it
with a spiffy Tzimisce deck, thereby breaking the South Coast
stranglehold on UK champ-dom; and thanks to Dave Hammond for
organisation and judging [you were right about DI and political
actions, Dave, and also Michael did NOT lose his deck after all, but
thanks for the ever-so-gentlemanly offer to replace ALL his cards]. i
ALMOST made the final with a version of Tariq Eats World [qv, this
newsgroup] but blew it because in the second game [a] i forgot to
collect a Magnum from amaranth-diablerising Sam Marsh's Donal O'Connor
and [b] i didn't know the new card text on the Rowan ring. Really
should read my own editorials, i suppose [eg last month's piece about
mistakes]. However, in the first game [a 4-player] i won by taking out
Hugh and another finalist, Matt Green [the other finalists were Rob
Treasure playing War Ghouls, Ant Coleman playing Lasombra Power
Structure vote and James Coupe playing stealth-bleed]. i append Matt's
deck cos it contains Gangrel antitribu.
For information, i played the Tariq deck because it seemed to raise a
certain frisson during my recent trip to the USA, and thanks to David
Zopf for alerting me to this [as well as for all his hospitality and
cooking], and to David Cherryholmes, Ben Peal, Scott Johnson, Prescott
Jenner and all the other Jyhad luminaries who made my stay so
immensely enjoyable.
The Fun Leach by Matthew Green [comments by creator, slightly edited]
4 Omaya
4 Maris Streck
4 Rachel Brandywine
4 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
3 Talons of the Dead
4 Dreams of the Sphinx
4 Rotschreck
5 Blood Doll
3 Direct Intervention
1 Powerbase: Baranquilla
2 The Rack
1 The Erciyes Fragments
2 Protean
1 Giant's Blood
12 Read the Winds
4 Enhanced Senses
8 Eagle's Sight
5 Telepathic Tracking
4 Cats Guidance
7 Bone Spur
6 Flesh of Marble
3 Adaptability
2 Enhanced Senses
3 Aura Reading
"The last 8 cards are new additions following the tournament. I took
out: 2 Fames, Millicent Smith, The Rumor Mill, KRCG, 2 Parthenons and an
Elysium: Sf...io Castle and I think the additions should help. It's no wonder I
got bunged up with masters in round 3 and the final table. Given that it
was untested before the tournament (except for a couple of 1 on 1 games)
it didn't do too badly.
It got me to the final table where I blocked a large number of War
Ghouls before making a big mistake in playing a Smiling Jack too early when there
were 3 players left. This led me to make more errors including blocking too
many of my predator's vampires and not saving any Eagle's Sights for my Prey's D
actions to oust him. I lost the game due to bad play and playing 38 masters in my
deck, so 4th was the right place to finish I suppose.
30 masters isn't so bad when you are planning on the game lasting for
a long time. There are 9 first turn drops and 3 discardable duplicates (not
including additional Jacks). You should be able to Dreams or Aura Read
your way out of trouble in a pinch. Talons on Omaya is difficult for a lot of
decks to handle and with the addition of Adaptability, hopefully more so. Hugh
Angseesing, the eventual winner, caused me problems with Breath of the
Dragon and Corrine Marcon's +1 strength on the day. The 'Fragments was the
star card of the final in that I could use Hugh's ash heap pretty well and
Streck's lack of protean wasn't too bad as she invariably was used as an intercept
battery for Omaya."
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And that's it for November! See you all next month for the Christmas
Special.