OFFICIAL VEKN GANGREL-ANTITRIBU NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7 NUMBER 9 SEPTEMBER 2004 ******************* In this my-tan-is-better-than-yours issue ...... FICTION: Granite Island DECK: Julian Gatt's Omaya Wall [a tourney-winning deck from Down Under] ******************* FICTION: Granite Island He did not come down from the mountains much, in those days, preferring the cool rustling pine forest to the hot valleys where the People lived. But they knew he was there, by the sound of the pipe floating on the wind, and food would be left for him, as was fitting. And he would always eat some of the food, to show that he acknowledged the gift. That summer there was trouble on the water, black ships rowed by fierce men from the south island. Up and down the coasts they went, to the north and the east. Against their straight sharp swords and daggers our stone weapons broke, and they terrified us with their hooped leather armour and horned helmets. They burned our huts, looted our crops and abducted our women. So we went to ask the Man for help. You did not approach the Man, but rather you placed yourself in his vicinity and hoped that he would acknowledge you. For many days we followed him, always keeping a respectful distance except for that one time when Darzu accidentally came upon him defecating. The Man beat him severely for that. Eventually a woman made him some honey cakes and waited beside them. The cakes and the woman must have pleased him, because that night he came and sat by our fire. There was silence, while the woman plucked the lice from his hair. "They will come up the river to the stone-mine. That is where they will be drawn in. A night and a night from now, we will meet there and sing the song of awakening." We came at the appointed time to the stone-mine. The night was hot and chirring with cicadas. A fire was lit amongst the stones, which stood or lay rough and uncarved amongst the trees, and the Man began to sing. One after another, we joined in, and then the dance began; in and out of the stones, leaping over them, lashing ourselves the while with thorny branches so that the blood flowed. In the moonlight, the stones seemed to shift, to stretch, to sniff. Then the Man gave a signal; the song stopped, and quickly and quietly as mice the People padded back through the woods. The moon was dipping behind the hills when the Sea-men came, many hands strong, their bronze swords glittering. "The singing came from here. Look! The marks of many feet, and signs of a fire." The Sea-men entered amongst the stones, talking quietly. Several hands of heartbeats passed. Then there came a muffled grunt and some groans, a war-cry and the clash of bronze against granite. The stones seemed to bend inwards, and then the screaming began. Later, it stopped. On our island the dawn tinges everything with a pale pink glow. We went down to the stones once the sun had risen over the hills. The Sea-men were gone, and now the formerly-featureless stones had faces, swords and horned helmets. The Man went back to the mountain, taking the woman with him. The stones are still there. [Inspired by the carved Megaliths at Filitosa, in Corsica]. ******************* DECK: Julian Gatt's Omaya Wall [a tourney-winning deck from Down Under] Here's a deck that's been in my in-tray for nearly two months, and that definitely needs celebration in the !Gangrel NL: ANOTHER tourney-winning deck largely based upon our clan, in this case the Country Cousins. i give the deck in its author's own words: "Well, through some fluke I managed not only to qualify for the nationals at my first constructed tournie [editor's note; a Qualifier in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, July 2004], but I managed to win the event (21 players) as well. Here's my deck that I took, a couple things that came up in the event was the fact that Elysium: Sforzesco Castle absolutely rocks. The late inclusion of the Archon Investigation was well worth it (archoning Gillespi Giovanni in Game 3 and William Biltmore in the Final). I also found that having no ability to kill master phase actions hurt quite a bit. Especially in game 2 after Arika came out, tried to PTO Omaya, was intercepted, Rotschrecked and then later diablerised by Isable de Leon. My prey then brought out Marcus Vitel and Katarina Kornfeld and proceded to Minion tap both of them... :-( Final result of my games Game 1 (5 player): Mick 1VP, Roger 1VP, Me 3VP 1TW Game 2 (4 player): Justin 1VP, Brendon 3VP 1TW Game 3 (4 player): James 1VP, Me 3VP 1TW Final (5 player): Roger 1VP, Craig 1VP, Me 3VP 1TW And here's the deck, if anyone can see some changes that could easily be made, whilst retaining the integrity of the deck, I'd be more than interested... Deck Name: Omaya Wall Created By: Julian Gatt Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 12, Max: 28, Avg: 5.25) ---------------------------------------------- 4 Omaya ANI AUS FOR pro 7, Gangrel Antitribu:2 1 Horrock vic ANI PRO 6, Gangrel:3 2 Caitlin ANI aus dom PRO 6, Gangrel Antitribu:2, Bishop 1 Dr. Allan Woodstock PRO ani aus for 5, Gangrel:3 1 Bobby Lemon ANI pro 4, Gangrel:3 1 Isabel de Leon AUS 3, Toreador:2 1 Chandler Hungerford PRO 3, Gangrel:2 1 Sadie pro 2, Gangrel Antitribu:2 Library: (84 cards) ------------------- Master (16 cards) 1 Archon Investigation 2 Auspex 1 Barrens, The 4 Blood Doll 1 Campground Hunting Ground 1 Elysium: Sforzesco Castle 1 KRCG News Radio 1 Protean 4 Rotschreck Action (3 cards) 2 Pulse of the Canaille 1 Tier of Souls Action Modifier (3 cards) 3 Earth Control Reaction (34 cards) 4 Cats' Guidance 4 Eagle's Sight 4 Enhanced Senses 4 Forced Awakening 2 Guard Dogs 2 Precognition 2 Read the Winds 2 Spirit's Touch 2 Telepathic Counter 5 Telepathic Misdirection 3 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (18 cards) 5 Bone Spur 2 Claws of the Dead 6 Flesh of Marble 4 Form of Mist 1 Wolf Claws Retainer (5 cards) 1 Homunculus 1 Mr. Winthrop 1 Owl Companion 2 Raven Spy Equipment (3 cards) 2 Ivory Bow 1 Laptop Computer Combo (2 cards) 2 Rapid Change" Well done Julian! ****************** And that's it for September! Now, back to learning how to play the Call of Cthulhu card game. Can it REALLY be the case that Helpless, Hopeless and Doomed destroys *ALL* attachments, on *EVERYTHING*? Cos that's what the card says. See you all in October!