True Brujah March Newsletter 2006

True Brujah March Newsletter 2006
Mark Merlin Petersen, editor
hallofhadescourt DeleteThis @sbcglobal.net

"If consequences dictate,
My course of action and it
Doesn't matter what's right-
It's only wrong if you get caught-
I should play god and just
Shoot you myself."
- Tool, "Jerk Off"

So you wanna be a tough guy?

Let's take a look at the combat aspect of the Trujah. I'm talking
(typing, really, but ya get the point) in particular about multi-rush,
because if an investment of 7-9 pool is made for a vampire and the deck
is combat-oriented, getting into combat more than once per turn will
accelerate the deck's success. Older minions need to act more often
to pay for their cost. Weenies don't need to multi-act because they
are more numerous. True Brujah combat decks need to capitalize on the
vampire's ability to take multiple actions in a turn.

The three common ways to deplete the prey's pool are: Bleeding,
voting away pool, and beating the blood off of their vampires (this
would be "indirect pool damage"). The final is my favorite method
as it usually stops the opponent from seeking retribution because they
have no minions left to perform vengeful actions. The first two are
strictly governed by the "No Repeat Action rules", quoted herein
directly from the online rulebook:

6.1.1. Bleed
Bleeding is one of the most fundamental actions of the game. It is the
basic means of removing your prey's pool. By default, your minion's
bleed actions can be directed only at your prey. Some cards or effects
may allow or force you to bleed a Methuselah other than your prey. You
can never bleed yourself, however. A minion cannot perform more than
one bleed action each turn, even if he untaps.
....
6.1.6. Action Card (or Card in Play)
A minion cannot perform an action with the same action card or via the
same card in play (including from the minion's own card text) more than
once each turn, even if he untaps.
....
6.1.7. Political Action (+1 stealth)
A political action card is an action card that is used to call a
referendum. As indicated on the cards, these actions have a default +1
stealth and can only be played by vampires (allies cannot call
referendums). A political action is always undirected, because all
Methuselahs can vote in the referendum (see Who May Attempt to Block,
sec. 6.2.2.1). A minion cannot perform more than one political action
each turn.
....


Make the NRA work for you: Multi-Rush

Clearly when a minion is able to take multiple actions in the same
turn, it is only worth the Freak Drives if the minion has multiple
useful actions to take. The best options for clans with access to
multi-action disciplines such as Fortitude and Temporis are to:

A. Multi-Rush, using the extra actions to take down multiple enemy
minions in a single turn. The Assamites, Samedi (I'm thinking J.D.),
Gangrel, and True Brujah are adept at this.
B. Diversify the actions taken by the minions. Use two or more of the
above ousting strategies (e.g. bleed, vote, combat) in addition to
useful support actions. The Ventrue do this particularly well because
of the utility of Dominate bleed actions such as Govern the Unaligned
and the proliferation of titles and Presence in the clan. Thus they can
bleed and vote in the same turn using Freak Drive or Majesty.
C. Create a Restoration-based (or hunt-based, or whatever) bloat engine
that supports the ousting strategies that the deck uses. Gangrel can
use this between Dominate bleeds with Stanislava or Illiana, and weenie
Gangrel hordes often use this to bloat to pay for Renegade Garou.

Option A is the leanest choice from the above points because it has a
focused approach instead of a diversified approach. All actions lead to
combat instead of bleed and vote or bleed and bloat (though
Govern/Scouting makes that pretty efficient, too). The end result
should always be a fight, and since the deck is unburdened by other
ousting strategies, there should be no shortage of combat cards and
permanents to use on opposing minions. The only thing left to do is win
the fight and keep the multi-rushing vampire kicking ass.

Permanents/Equipment

Having a permanent way to deal extra damage is important for a
multi-rush deck. Enkidu and Lazverinus do well in combat because of
their natural +2 strength. This will be enough to crush most foes
without using many cards. The Trujah do not have any minions with extra
strength or combat-specials and usually need to compensate with
equipment cards.

There are two pieces of unique equipment that grant rush-actions to the
bearer, the Eye of Hazimel and Talbot's Chainsaw. This is a good
start for multi-rush decks. These options require a few cards to get
moving and some flush-cards to get rid of the extras afterward, but
aside from that they are gravy. Magic of the Smith, Jack of Both Sides,
Disguised Weapon, and Vast Wealth are excellent ways to find these
items quickly in a game, though the Eye is not a weapon and cannot be
disguised. If using Disguised Weapon or Jack of Both Sides, using other
weapons or equipment will help to make the remainder of the cards in
the deck useful instead of dead in the hand.

For example, in the Al-Muntaquim deck in this month's newsletter,
"Chainsaw the Kids!" I'm using 5 Jack of Both Sides and 2
Disguised Weapons to get Talbot's Chainsaw to Al-Muntaquim. On a
suggestion from David Cherryholmes on thepathofblood.com I swapped the
DW and JoBS ratios (from 5 DW & 2 JoBS to the other way 'round) in
this version and traded transient prevention cards for some Flak
Jackets. This way the extra JoBS can be used to get Flak Jackets and
aren't useless after The Avenger acquires his magic chainsaw. I'm
also using one Ivory Bow to make Disguised Weapon more playable
post-chainsaw manifestation.

The Eye of Hazimel requires some careful planning as well. Vast Wealth
is a favorite way to get one's hands upon it, and pool management
cards such as Blood Doll will be necessary for longevity due to the
cost of the Eye. Extra flush cards in the form of Hourglass of the
Mind, Learjet, and Master cards such as The Barrens and Dreams of the
Sphinx can help get rid of extra Vast Wealth or Eyes when they are
clogging the hand. Hourglass can also be used to overcome the reduction
in hand-size that Dragonbound causes.

Expensive non-unique equipment is also a hallmark of the True Brujah,
since they can pay half-cost (rounded down) for such with the Kiss of
Lachesis. Using Kiss of Lachesis, an Assault Rifle or Flamethrower can
be purchased for the paltry sum of two pool. Using these implements of
destruction, the Trujah can cut a swath of terror in foe's ranks with
ease. These strategies will require some extra rush cards or some other
way to get into fights, since there is no inherent rush gained with
these weapons.

If using equipment that gives a rush-ability, rush actions in a
multi-rush combat deck can be halved. So while I would normally run
12-14 rush actions in a combat deck, I can run 6-7 if I am using
Talbot's or the Eye. Untap effects such as Freak Drive, Forced March,
and Domain of Evernight should get some attention as well. At least
eight ways to untap if they are transient, perhaps less for permanent
untap such as Clotho's Gift. Clotho's is another wonderful card for
this type of deck, as it doubles as bloat and gives the multi-rushing
vampire something to do while there are no rush cards in-hand or there
are no more targets to rush.

Nu, the Efficient Pillar

Nu's untap ability combines excellently with multi-rush strategies,
since he doesn't need nearly as many untap-cards to take several
actions per turn. If Nu gets (nougat?) the Eye or Talbot's, he's a
card-less combat-monster, and if he plays cards in combat he'll be
almost guaranteed to send all but the toughest opponents to the dirt.
For comparison, I've copied and pasted a Nu Eye of Hazimel deck by
antero from thepathofblood.com. He built his deck upon the back of a
deck posted on the same site by Puska.

Second Look: The Path of the Scorched Heart

Card Name: The Path of the Scorched Heart
Cardtype: Action
Set: LoB
Cost: 0 blood
Requires: True Brujah.
Cardtext: +1 stealth action. Path.
Put this card on the acting True Brujah and untap him or her. Frenzy
cards cannot be played on this True Brujah. While this True Brujah is
acting, minions cannot play reaction cards that require Presence.
Minions opposing this True Brujah in combat cannot play cards that
require Presence. A vampire can only have one path.

If using equipment, this card is necessary for the anti-frenzy ability.
Many decks depend on Drawing out the Beast or Rötschreck to give them
combat superiority. This card is a one-stop solution to all of the
frenzy problems and it trumps one of the more common defenses as well:
Majesty/Presence SCE.

The Lunge

A good idea with multi-rush decks is to lull one's prey into a false
sense of security before sending all of his minions to torpor and
ousting him. If their first minion is vaporized before the fourth turn
they may decide not to influence at all and try to slow their demise by
not bringing up minions. This needs to be addressed by most combat
decks. One of the better ways to address it is to let them play their
game for a few turns (provided that they can't oust/cripple you in
the process; Inner Circle members can't be allowed to stay ready
unless there is adequate PTO defense in-hand) and then "lunge" when
all of the pieces are in place. Sure, drop a Fame card on their
weakest, most defenseless vampire, but bleed instead of rushing the
first turn or two, or rush backwards to take pressure off.

Then, when Tension in the Ranks and/or Dragonbound is also in-hand,
play them and send as many minions to the left into torpor as possible.
The pool damage may be enough to oust; if not it shouldn't take too
many extra turns without a lot of cross table help. This is one of the
best reasons to make a combat deck into a multi-rush deck: focusing the
oust-efforts into a 10-12 pool lunge. Fame + Tension with two dunks on
the Fame (beat up, rescue, beat up) does nine damage, three from each
Fame-trigger, one from each Tension trigger, and one during untap from
Fame again. With Dragonbound the damage can get even higher if all of a
foe's vampires (2-4, presumably) are in torpor.

Summary/Suggestions: Equipment-Based Multi-Rush

Talbot's Chainsaw Multi-Rush Package:
4-5 Talbot's
1-2 other weapons
2 Disguised Weapon (if using Obfuscate)
2-3 Vast Wealth or 4-5 Jack of Both Sides
7 Rush actions
8-10 Freak Drive/Domain of Evernight/Forced March/Mylan/Clotho's
Gift, etc.
5-6 "Flush-tech" cards, Dreams of the Sphinx, The Barrens, Fragment
of the Book of Nod, Hourglass of the Mind, Scrounging (If there are
actions to spare and no Temporis for Hourglass, maybe), Learjet, etc.
2 Path of the Scorched Heart or Sire's Index Finger for anti-frenzy

= ~35-40 cards, not including oust-module and a way to pay for the
self-destructive Chainsaw. Masochism is recommended for the latter, and
Fame/Tension/Dragonbound for the former. Supplemental combat should
include Lapse+Taste of Vitae.

Eye of Hazimel Multi-Rush Package:
4-5 Eye of Hazimel
2-3 Vast Wealth and/or 2-5 Jack of Both Sides
7 Rush actions
8-10 Freak Drive/Domain of Evernight/Forced March/Mylan/Clotho's
Gift, etc.
5-6 "Flush-tech" cards, Dreams of the Sphinx, The Barrens, Fragment
of the Book of Nod, Hourglass of the Mind, Scrounging (If there are
actions to spare and no Temporis for Hourglass, maybe), Learjet, etc.
2 Path of the Scorched Heart or Sire's Index Finger for anti-frenzy

= ~30-45 cards, not including oust-module and a way to pay for the
self-defeating Eye. Blood Dolls, Minion Taps, and other pool-gain are
practically necessary. Fame, Tension, and Dragonbound are again great
choices there. Supplemental combat should again include Lapse+Taste of
Vitae. Decapitate becomes much more playable with the Eye.

Kiss of Lachesis+Normally Expensive Weapons Multi-Rush Package
6-7 Weapon of Choice, Assault Rifle and Flamethrower are the biggest
markdowns
6-7 Kiss of Lachesis/Disguised Weapon if using Obfuscate
12-15 Rush actions
8-10 Freak Drive/Domain of Evernight/Forced March/Mylan/Clotho's
Gift, etc.
6-8 "Flush-tech" cards, Dreams of the Sphinx, The Barrens, Fragment
of the Book of Nod, Hourglass of the Mind, Learjet, etc.
2 Path of the Scorched Heart or Sire's Index Finger for anti-frenzy

= ~40-50 cards, not including oust-module. Fame, Tension, and
Dragonbound are again great choices there.
Lapse+Flamethrower+Decapitate will probably lose you some friends if
done regularly.

The Eye and Chainsaw deliver a tiny bit of efficiency card-wise in
these packages due to the inherent rush actions, but also bring an
extra card-slot cost because of their drawbacks. Nu can drop the
untap-card ratio in half (or altogether) and save quite a bit of
card-slots for other things, such as pool- and vote- defense. Also, if
multi-rush isn't the total plan Nu can rush with the Eye and then
untap and bleed for two, which saves some rush cards as well.

Deck Name: Chainsaw the kids! v2.1
Author: Mark Merlin Petersen
Description:
Al-Muntaquim gets Talbot's Chainsaw. That's really the whole deck.
There is very little pool recursion in this one, which may require some
back-ward movement that tends to unbalance a table. Getting a Blood
Doll on Al-Muntaquim early can make or break this deck's game.

Al-Muntaquim can get a huge bleed from burning spare Caitiff when the
deck is set up, and the Monocle is there to check for Archon
Investigation prior to bleeding for X, where X is the number of Caitiff
Al-Muntaquim has "eaten". Removal of minions with bounce capacity
by Chainsaw is also highly recommended. Hand of Conrad has been added
to increase the burn/+bleed pile of Caitiff at a reduced cost of
actions instead of pool (for finding new Caitiff).

Superior Mettle with a Trap and a Chainsaw tends to be pretty nasty.
The Lids and Unflinching Persistence are there for long-range decks. Of
course, Lapse can also be played to cancel maneuvers. Check through
your opponent's ash heap before playing Lapse. If they aren't playing
dodge or strike: combat ends but they are playing Aid From Bats or
something similar, use the inferior Temporis version of Lapse to seal
the deal instead.

There are 6 card-slots left, and i am considering adding a defensive
module so that i can interact with the game when it isn't my turn.
Otherwise the Chainsaw will be the answer to every problem.

Sport Bike+Winthrop+4 Wakes, maybe. Or Sport bike + 3 Wakes + 2 Rewind
Time.

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 8 average: 3.17
------------------------------------------------------------

3x Al-Muntaquim, The 8 FOR POT TEM obf pre True Bruj:4
2x Hanna Redmonds 2 obf tha Caitiff:3
2x Sandra White 1 Caitiff:3
1x Maldavis 4 AUS for pre Caitiff:3
1x Afifa, The Herald 1 dom Caitiff:4
1x Eddie Gaines 1 dem pot Caitiff:3
1x Lisa Noble 1 ani Caitiff:3
1x Nedal, The Careles 1 cel nec Caitiff:3


Library [84 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------

Action [18]
2x Ambush
2x Arson
2x Bum's Rush
2x Clotho's Gift
1x Harass
5x Jack of Both Sides
2x Masochism
2x Path of the Scorched Heart, The

Action Modifier [12]
6x Domain of Evernight
6x Freak Drive

Combat [30]
2x Disguised Weapon
7x Lapse
2x Rolling with the Punches
2x Skin of Steel
2x Superior Mettle
7x Taste of Vitae
3x Thrown Sewer Lid
3x Trap
2x Unflinching Persistence

Equipment [11]
3x Flak Jacket
1x Hand of Conrad
1x Ivory Bow
1x Monocle of Clarity
1x Palatial Estate
4x Talbot's Chainsaw

Master [13]
2x Blood Doll
2x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
2x Effective Management
2x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Perfectionist
1x Stranger Among Us, The
1x Tabriz Assembly


Crafted with : Anarch Revolt Deck Builder. [Wed Mar 08 19:09:03 2006]

Post by antero, used w/ antero's permission. Props to Puska for the
classic deck draft. This deck also illustrates the "European" use
of Tupdog to "round out a crypt." I haven't tried this yet, but
the Finns seem to love it online:

I'll be damned! I'm not gonna drop the Tupdogs. Why? Cos they can play
Hourglass of the Mind at outferior! Keeping that in mind, I have
rebuilt the Nu deck...no big modifications, but the nice thing IMO is,
that Hourglasses should enable me to add more Masters (the original had
only 12 I noticed as it had 4 dolls)+another Path, without increased
fear of handjam. Even 2nd Giant's Blood could go in...

Heck, the potential of Hourglass could even extend to Nu+dom/pot
weenies. Nu plays hourglass at inferior to clear the bounce on top of
library, proceeds to pulverize someone and leaving the defense to
Cameron&co. And if predator is not bleedy, the wee ones just cycle the
def(l)ections away with outferior HG...

Nu Has A New Eye, anteromod

4 Nu, The Pillar Tru 9 ani aus pro POT PRE TEM pay blood to untap
1 Hadrian Garrick FoS 4 obf pre +1 str.
1 Tabitha Fisk Las 4 obt pot pro
1 Tock !Nos 4 obf pot pre
1 Paul diCarlo, The Alpha Gio 2 pot
1 Sadie !Gangrel 2 pro
3 Tupdog Gar 1 POT VIS

Library (82)

Master (14)
4 Blood Doll
1 Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
2 Fame
1 Giant's Blood
2 Haven Uncovered (sumthin' to do for Nu's sidekicks, and more power
for famedunking....)
2 Perfectionist
1 Tabriz Assembly

Action (15)
2 Clotho's Gift
5 Enchant Kindred
3 Hourglass of the Mind
3 Nose of the Hound
2 Path of the Scorched Heart

Action Modifier (11)
6 Domain of Evernight
3 Recurring Contemplation
2 Tangle Atropos' Hand

Combat (35)
5 Claws of the Dead
2 Decapitate
2 Drawing out the Beast
3 Flesh of Marble
4 Immortal Grapple
6 Lapse
5 Taste of Vitae
4 Torn Signpost
4 Wolf Claws

Equipment (7)
5 Eye of Hazimel
1 Ivory Bow
1 Flak Jacket

> If using equipment that gives a rush-ability, rush actions in a
> multi-rush combat deck can be halved. So while I would normally run
> 12-14 rush actions in a combat deck, I can run 6-7 if I am using
> Talbot's or the Eye.

These numbers can change a bit if you find yourself in the high combat
environment. The beauty of your particular build is that even if you
were in such a situation, the flush tech can dump unneeded rush (I know
this concept will be alien to some, but it does crop up.)

I was recently using an Al-Muntaquim deck, and I started with 12 rush
cards (using neither the Eye nor Talbot's, because I'm a wuss about
'infernal' equipment) and found myself jamming on Rush cards during
combat. If this is the case, I've found Life in the City a helpful
switch, or with Al and Ibn, fortitude prevent (generally Unflinching
persistence or Rolling with the Punches). I only dropped the rush down
to 9, but it was very helpful.

..

> Second Look: The Path of the Scorched Heart
>
> Card Name: The Path of the Scorched Heart
> Cardtype: Action
> Set: LoB
> Cost: 0 blood
> Requires: True Brujah.
> Cardtext: +1 stealth action. Path.
> Put this card on the acting True Brujah and untap him or her. Frenzy
> cards cannot be played on this True Brujah. While this True Brujah is
> acting, minions cannot play reaction cards that require Presence.
> Minions opposing this True Brujah in combat cannot play cards that
> require Presence. A vampire can only have one path. This card is a one-stop solution >to all of the frenzy problems and it trumps one of the more common defenses as well:
> Majesty/Presence SCE.


It's true that this card strikes fear into the hearts of the Toreador.
Having a plan to successfully perform it is a good idea if you are
facing presence blockers (like Toreador). Perhaps leading with a scary
looking +1 stealth action to lure a blocker, and only performing the
Path action when you are positive the way is clear.

> Deck Name: Chainsaw the kids! v2.1
> Author: Mark Merlin Petersen


>
> Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 8 average: 3.17
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 3x Al-Muntaquim, The 8 FOR POT TEM obf pre True Bruj:4
> 2x Hanna Redmonds 2 obf tha Caitiff:3
> 2x Sandra White 1 Caitiff:3
> 1x Maldavis 4 AUS for pre Caitiff:3
> 1x Afifa, The Herald 1 dom Caitiff:4
> 1x Eddie Gaines 1 dem pot Caitiff:3
> 1x Lisa Noble 1 ani Caitiff:3
> 1x Nedal, The Careles 1 cel nec Caitiff:3
>

I played a deck with a similar crypt (and one copy of The stranger
among us) a few weeks ago, and have two comments:

Use four or five Al - Muntaquim. This is admittedly skewed by the fact
that my three copies of him were dead last in my crypt that game, and
it really hurt. I also didn't get stranger early. You will have the
pool to survive the turns to hunt for him, owing to the cheapness of
the crypt, but you won't be able to make up the lost time once other
people get set up.

Second, use more Eddie Gaines. This build isn't using a lot of
potence, but even so, Eddie is the best sidekick for Al. In this
build, I would dump either Maldavis or Hanna for one more Eddie, and if
you used any more potence, I would dump both and put in three copies.

Eddie Harassing with potence early is great. If Al is out, Eddie not
untapping isn't a big thing, because you can just eat him and bring out
a new Eddie.

> Library [84 cards]
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Action [18]
> 2x Ambush
> 2x Arson
> 2x Bum's Rush
> 2x Clotho's Gift
> 1x Harass
> 5x Jack of Both Sides
> 2x Masochism
> 2x Path of the Scorched Heart, The
>
> Action Modifier [12]
> 6x Domain of Evernight
> 6x Freak Drive
>
> Combat [30]
> 2x Disguised Weapon
> 7x Lapse

Lapse is great, but so pricey. If the Tastes are working perfectly,
then I guess 7 is fine. I would use fewer, and make up the difference
with Life in the City, Unflinching Persistence, and Rolling with
Punches.

> 2x Rolling with the Punches
> 2x Skin of Steel
> 2x Superior Mettle
> 7x Taste of Vitae
> 3x Thrown Sewer Lid
> 3x Trap
> 2x Unflinching Persistence
>
> Equipment [11]
> 3x Flak Jacket
> 1x Hand of Conrad
> 1x Ivory Bow
> 1x Monocle of Clarity
> 1x Palatial Estate
> 4x Talbot's Chainsaw
>
> Master [13]
> 2x Blood Doll
> 2x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
> 2x Effective Management
> 2x Fame
> 1x Giant's Blood
> 1x Information Highway
> 1x Perfectionist
> 1x Stranger Among Us, The
> 1x Tabriz Assembly
>


Thanks for the newsletter.

-Dave Clooney