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LEGACIES OF
BLOOD TOP TEN LISTS (January 10th,
2006) |
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| TOP TEN CRYPT CARDS FROM LEGACIES OF BLOOD | ||||||
Hermana
Hambrienta Mayor |
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My Thoughts: Mayor’s increased capacity and Fortitude make her that much more desirable than her younger sibling, Hermana Hambrienta Menor. Her negative sucks, but she’s Sabbat so you can easily benefit from the Hungry Coyote to make up the lost blood. It’s hard to go wrong with Potence and Fortitude, she fits in well with group 3-4 clans Brujah (6 vamps), Gangrel (4 vamps), Giovanni (3 vamps), Nosferatu (6 vamps) and Ventrue (4 vamps). And lets not forget about being non-unique, got to love that. Oh, and she does have Sanguinus, in case you simply wanted to make a Blood Brothers deck. Fun! |
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DECK: |
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Aren,
Priest of Eshu |
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| My Thoughts: Here’s a solid vamp if ever there was one. He’s perfect for virtually any stealthy vote deck with his inferior Obfuscate and superior Presence, plus his innate +1 stealth on Political Actions. Unfortunately Aren doesn’t have a title, but this is an asset for anarch vote decks. I feel that his special abilities outweigh his lack of title. His discipline set (ani obf POT PRE) also fits in nicely with the Nosferatu Antitribu , Brujah, & Brujah Antitribu. He also complements very well with Sundown (obf pre POT ANI). Overall a great vampire for your vote decks. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Eurayle
Gelasia Mylonas |
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| My Thoughts: I’m a sucker for the Salubri. Then again I love Auspex and Fortitute far too much as it is. Eurayle is a great vamp since she’s perfect for slipping into any deck that relies on one main vampire. Put her in a deck with Mylan Horseed and untap that nasty vampire multiple times, such as Hazimel decks, Esau decks, Cyscek decks, etc. etc. Use her special to untap a vamp, Freakdrive and have her ready to bounce or reduce bleedswith her superior Auspex. That Fortitude and Auspex makes her a nice addition to decks using Ventrue Antitribu, Salubri Antitribu or Harbringer of Skulls. Her inferior presence makes her perfect for Ventrue, Toreador, or Group 3-4 Ravnos decks. Eurayle is not a main player but she makes a great secondary to a lot of decks. | ||||||
DECK: |
Alicia's Patients by Ilya Ginsberg (From !Malkavian Newsletter Dec 2005) |
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Muricia |
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| My Thoughts: In doesn’t get much better than a 7 capacity vampire with three superior disciplines and +1 Strength, but when you throw in the ability to give other vampires a discipline and change clans (without an action), then you talking a truly powered up vampire. Throw in a few Sanguine instructions and now your other vamps have superior Spritus, too. What else is there to say! | ||||||
DECK: |
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Massassi |
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| My Thoughts: If only he were an Assamite, but he’s close enough. Not only does he have built in ‘rush’, but he has the optional maneuver if successful, as well. Nice! | ||||||
DECK: |
Osebo Blocky Fighty by Pat Lusk (From Newsgroup) |
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Saulot,
The Wanderer |
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| My Thoughts: Did I mention that I love the Salubri? Well, Saulot is a just awesome, with both Valeren and Obeah, he can beused with fellow Salubri or Salubri Antitribu interchangeably. I think the fact that he can play Neutral Guard and effect pretty much everyone makes for some nasty bleed deck potential. An unblockable Spirit Marionette bleed for 3 with a Burning Touch to bump it to 4. Or play Spontaneous Power or use Magic of the Smith (did I mention he has superior Thaumaturgy, too) to get the Textbook Damnation for superior Daimoinon so you can play superior Sense the Sin for +2 Bleed. Or just use his innate Daimoinon to play Psychomachia. There is a lot of combat potential, too, with Valeren , Thamaturgy, Obeah and Fortitude. Play Serenading the Kami and ‘rush’ a vampire, play Vitae Block, and strike with your choice of Anesthetic Touch, Blood Fury, or Vengeance of Samiel using his +1 Strength. On top of this, Saulot has two great special abilities: Defense against Baali combat and a built in ability for two free transfers or lateral blood movement to another vamp. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Uchenna |
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| My Thoughts: Uchenna may not have he most powerful of special abilities or the nastiest of disciplines, but pound for pound, he is one of the most cost efficient vamps in the game. He’s a 7 capacity vamp with three superior disciplines and a two-vote title, plus he has abuilt in Barrens-like ability. He ranks right up there with fellow 7 cap’s Meshenka, Egothha, Blackhorse Tanner, and Greta Kircher in my book. Uchenna should be on everyone’s top ten vamps from LoB. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Phagian |
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| My Thoughts: Here’s yet another vamp with Fortitude and Auspex (are you sensing a theme here?) Phagian has just a great set of disciplines, which allow him to play well with Ventrue Antitribu, Tremere, Tremere Antitribu and Nagaraja. And his special allows all your vamps access to Necromancy in a pinch. You could even make some interesting Giovanni Embrace decks with less, or no, Discipline cards and use Path of Bone to offset the cost of playing the increased 1 blood. | ||||||
DECK: |
(See deck "the Demon Awakens" below) |
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Demdemeh |
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| My Thoughts: The first thing that sprang to mind when I saw him was Swarm. Once I have an Event in play, use Demdemeh to put a Swarm on himself. If it’s blocked, then the Swarm goes on him anyway. Only a Direct Intervention or similar card could stop it. Then next turn, during your untap, move than retainer into play as an ally before the Swarm burns a life off of Demdemeh. *Giggles with delight*. Oh, and Demdemeh can play a Forced March after your Employ Retainer actions so that he is ready to block or play Telepathic Counters. Demdemeh’s one drawback is that he doesn’t have superior Auspex of even inferior Dominate to play bounce cards, however, a discipline card can take care of that and other vamps may be able to pick up the slack. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Eze,
The Demon Prince |
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| My Thoughts: “Oh, dear god, what is that thing”. Eze is a monster! He can untap once per turn and he has superior Thaumaturgy that gives him access to Rutor’s Hand and its additional untap. Plus Mylan Horseed and Majesty can untap him as well. Not to mention that Guruhi Are the Land untaps him after Equip actions. I’m just glad he doesn’t have Protean so that he can play Homoculus, too! Eze gets an additional vote and has superior Presence, so if you haven’t seen him in a vote deck yet… don’t worry you will. “Wow, Eze just played KRC, untapped with his innate ability; Equipped with a Leather Jacket, untapped with Guruhi Are the Land; Hunted and gained and extra blood with Guruhi Are the Land and untapped with Rutor’s Hand; Bleed for 2 with the +1 bleed from Guruhi Are the Land and Necromancy stealth, then untapped at the end of the round due to the Leather Jacket… and wait I didn’t even need Mylan Horseed!” | ||||||
DECK: |
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| Honorable Mentions: Omme Enberbenight Hermana Hambrienta Menor Aimee Laroux Tupdog Maskini |
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| TOP TEN LIBRARY CARDS FROM LEGACIES OF BLOOD | ||||||
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Kerrie
[LoB:C/PI2] |
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| My Thoughts: Close range melee decks now have the option to strike at long if the can’t keep the fight where they want it. Sure, it requires a Laibon vampire, however, that’s just to bring it into play. Any sect can use a Kerrie, including Independent Assamites, who can make use of Baal’s Bloody Talon’s. When a vampire uses Kerrie's alternate strike, the Kerrie is removed from play before Baal's Bloody Talons has the chance to burn it. Massassi is a great choice since he is a Laibon and has superior Quietus and built in rush. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Shaman
[LoB:R] |
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| My Thoughts: A card to go into every Laibon deck. How can you not love a card that gives you permanent +1 Intercept and +1 Stealth in a pinch? Plus it reshuffles back into your library when used for stealth. | ||||||
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Uncontrolled
Impulse [LoB:C/PI5] |
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| My Thoughts: When you have Clan Disciplines like the Ishtarri (CEL, FOR, PRE), any stealth you get is a welcome treat, and Uncontrolled Impulse delivers. Sure, it’s only usable once per round, but generally speaking; most players take only 1 to 2 actions per turn. And when you are a political deck, having +3 stealth on that action is hard for anyone to stop. And since it doesn’t require a discipline, any Ishtarri with 1 blood can play it. Uncontrolled Impulse also has the distinction of being the lone clan-only stealth card. | ||||||
DECK: |
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The
Guruhi Are the Land [LoB:C/PG4] |
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| My Thoughts: I can’t believe this card doesn’t cost a blood. Totally free and with so many options and no discipline requirement. A truly great card for the Guruhi. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Covincraft
[LoB:C] |
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| My Thoughts: Man, the Kiasyd did not need this! They have access to Deflection, Telepathic Counter (three of group 2 have auspex) and Folderol for bleed reduction. Plus the card has the 4 votes for defense against Political decks. And did you notice that neither ability requires a discipline, just a Kiasyd vamp? This is such a good card for them. They have Obtenebration and Mytherceria, two of most well rounded disciplines in the game (stealth, intercept, combat, etc.) and now they are getting cards like this to enhance their already nasty bag of grandest tricks. | ||||||
DECK: |
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Quicksilver
Contemplation [LoB:C] |
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| My Thoughts: The hardest part about this card is that no vampire in the game has superior Auspex and Temporis. However, the Tremere Antitribu are only one Infernal Pact away. This card has nice flexability, use it for Intercept, Bleed Reduction, Vote Defense, and Bleed. Also, the superior Auspex and Temporis ability allows you to play further modifiers to the bleed. Yummy! | ||||||
DECK: |
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Kduva's
Mask [LoB:R] |
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| My Thoughts: I think +1 bleed and 2 additional votes should say it all, however, Kduva’s Mask has the audacity to go a step further and make Auspex reaction cards cost more while the vamp with this equipment is acting. Ha! This card rocks. You’ll see one in every Laibon deck. Why not? | ||||||
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Song
of Pan [LoB:C] |
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| My Thoughts: Because the Kiasyd were sorely lacking in bleed potential, right? Is this is the Kiasyd’s answer to Palla Grande. And lets not forget that Changling allies get the bonus bleed, as well. Mylan Horseed (Goblin) and Shadow Court Satyr (Changeling) gain the most from this benefit. I wonder if there is anybody out there crazy enough to make a Shadow Court Satyr deck that has a Kiasyd in it to play Song of Pans? | ||||||
DECK: |
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Akunanse
Kholo [LoB:PA] |
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| My Thoughts: The Kholo cards are just great. The only drawback being that you must play them on the oldest untitled member of your clan. This sucks if someone across that table has that vamp, but you may have bigger problems if they do. A title card that doesn’t need a successful action to call is powerfully useful. And it can be a real surprise to other vote decks when played for defensive reasons. “Oops, sorry, now I have 2 more votes than you thought!” I saw a game in casual play a few weeks after the release of LoB. On one vote, 3 Kholo’s were put out into play. The acting player was none to happy since the other two were his predator and prey. | ||||||
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The
Eldest Command Undeath [LoB:R] |
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| My Thoughts: Lookout PTO (Protect Thine Own), there’s another bad-ass in the house? tECU has its drawbacks, as it can’t be used to go cross table and costs a shit load of blood, but it does have the benefit of targeting any younger vampire, regardless of sect and doesn’t require a titled vamp. The fact that you can’t use Voter Captivation with it is seen as the biggest drawback, but there are so many other cards out there (Giant’s Blood, Jake Washington, Svadharma, Restoration, Renewed Vigor, etc.) to help you reclaim the blood. I think its a drawback that can be worked around, considering the benefit of ridding yourself of one of your prey’s vampires. You could always Voter Cap on you next Political Action, too. Also, tECU has the potential to target more vampires than PTO. An Inner Circle member calling PTO can only target 586 possible vampires (64% of the 913 total vamps as of LoB). However, if you have a 9 capacity Laibon, there are 742 vampires (81% of 913 total vamps) in the game that are 8 cap and lower which you can target, and a 11 cap Laibon could target 898 vamps (98%). A Justicar could only target 230 vamps (25%) with PTO. Also, if you could find some way to reduce the cost of playing tECU, you could burn vampires greater than the capcity of the acting vampire or more easily burn multiple vamps. Some ideas come to mind, such as Mashochism; Ravnos Carnival; or Ankara Citadel, Turkey. You could play Tremere with Ankara Citadel who have gone Laibon. All in all, tECU is probably best used on mid-capacity vampires rather big vamps or weenies. While cost prohibitive, it is still a nasty card and one I’m sure well see quite a bit of in tournaments. | ||||||
| Honorable
Mentions: Roll Blooding
by the Code |
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