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Honorable Assamite
Lately I've been experimenting with a vampire who, despite affiliations, is clearly an Assamite at heart. I can only be talking about, of course:
Massassi
Clan: Osebo (group 4)
Capacity: 9
Disciplines: AUS CEL POT QUI obf
Laibon: Massassi can enter combat with a ready vampire as a (D) action. If that action is successful, she gets an optional maneuver in the first round of the resulting combat.
CEL QUI obf gives her a strong showing of in-clan disciplines (the 'clan' being Assamite), though her AUS POT is somewhat wasted. When looking at our group three and four crypt options to try to match her spread, we only find Antara (CEL FOR QUI aus obf pre). At capacity eight, he would represent a significant Pool investment to get into play along with our focus (Massassi). I went a different route - though no Assamites in group three or four have potence out of the crypt, there is one that can come out of your library:
Web of Knives Recruit
Type: Action
Requires: Assamite
Cost: 1 pool
+1 stealth action.
Put this card in play in your uncontrolled region with 3 training counters. During your untap phase, burn a training counter from this card. You may burn counters from no more than two recruits each untap phase. When the last training counter is burned, move this card to your ready region; it becomes a 3-capacity, non-unique Assamite with Celerity [cel], Obfuscate [obf], Potence [pot], Quietus [qui] and 3 blood who is Blood Cursed.
Of the create-a-vampire action cards, WoKR is probably the strongest. Offsetting this fact is the three-turn wait to get it into play. Combined with "no other potence in the crypt", this fact means it is imperative to get one into play early if one intends to utilize this combination.
What is to gain from said combination? Fortunately, there are a number of small capacity Assamites to be added to the crypt to attempt to achieve a minion advantage, and adding multiple WoKRs to the ready region can create a swarm, though it will take longer than traditional weenie-crypt swarming. However, a little potence spread around can go a long way in dissuading blocks, or at the very least winning the war of attrition.
In order to get a good sampling of what works and doesn't, I spread the deck out a little, making it a bit of a tool-boxed "Star vamp +" with swarm/weenie bleed potential. I also recruited a friend of the clan, Mr. John Eno, to play a similar build in his meta. If you are interested in trying something similar, take the following under advisement:
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 9 average: 6.25
4x Massassi 9 AUS CEL POT QUI obf Osebo:4 3x Olugbenga 7 OBF QUI ani cel magaji Assamite:4 1x Janni 5 cel for obf qui Assamite:4 1x Michael diCarlo 5 CEL obf qui Assamite:4 1x Kamau Jafari 4 QUI obf Assamite:4 1x Ali Kar 3 obf qui Assamite:3 1x Basir 1 qui Assamite:4
As I insist that Massassi be the star, I am using four copies. The distribution in Legacies left me with three after a box of boosters, so it might mean you have to go with two or three copies until you can dupe some poor sot into parting with a couple. Mr. Eno included 1x Ubende in his crypt, utilizing her Laibon status to facilitate a few library cards. He also ran with 2x Olugbenga and an extra Kamau Jafari (no Michael DiCarlo). In one of the game reports he was kind enough to e-mail me, he had this to say about the crypt:
"...what I found most interesting was this: I didn't ever see Massassi. What's really, really interesting about that is that I think the deck did better for it. Really, even though I had to discard all the Auspex stuff and a lot of the Potence, the deck was totally solid. I'd actually suggest ditching Massassi and the Auspex and Potence stuff, going up to 3x Olugbenga and 2x Ubende, putting more Celerity weapons in and some Baal's, and going nuts."
Quite the glowing review of the deck concept, eh? Hey - I never said it was a good idea! I actually find this revelation an affirmation, though. It means the swarmish aspect of the deck works, even if the big gun goes down. In my test games (casual play), Massassi has provided excellent support to the swarm. Her built in rush and superior disciplines make her a potent force, and can even distract other players from the fact that you aren't playing a bruiser. In one game, my predator was dead set on torporizing all of my vampires with Lucita-and-Assualt Rifle. My minion advantage allowed me to yo-yo her in and out of torpor, leaving her ready to block with Quicken Sights. As John discovered, the deck functions without her, and the trade-off was what I needed to win the attrition war. For a look at an Olugbenga-Ubende concept, try the March, 2006 clan newsletter.
After a few games with the above crypt, I might try to work in Homa (6 cap Osebo, AUS CEL POT) for an Olugbenga. This is a trade-off, as Olugbenga is a good defensive choice and represents the only opportunity for superior Obfuscate. Michael DiCarlo is the other consideration to drop, though this raises the crypt's average capacity. Homa's AUS and POT would enable a handful of library cards that are otherwise only usable by Massassi (see below).
Master [15] 2x Archon Investigation 1x Ancestor Spirit 1x Khabar: Community, The 4x Minion Tap 2x Storage Annex 2x Tribute to the Master 1x Underworld Hunting Ground 1x Yoruba Shrine 1x Blood Doll
This section is wide open to personalization. My selection is in response to a slight shift in the meta recently toward bigger bleed. I noticed a few decks that were hitting for four or six at a pop, so thought I'd try to remind the players why they shouldn't do that. It paid off in spades when the aforementioned Lucita came knocking for five while I held an AI. The Storage Annexes have proved useful, as well. I am a little stuck on Yoruba Shrine. There is always a D rusher on the table among my regular opponents, and Famous Basir is a liability, for sure. The Tributes have proven more useful than the Minion Taps, due to the fact that there is little blood recursion in the library. I've been relying on a few Taste of Vitaes, which might be better as Sideslips, providing some defense for the non-potence vampires and prevent for Massassi. The Minion Taps could then become three slots to 'salt to taste' your Master selection. I'd think about Jake Washington, a media location, and Dreams of the Sphinx/The Barrens. Sudden Reversal always deserves consideration in a swarm bleeder to cancel that big pool-gainer. John, for example, tested with three intercept locations, both viable Hunting grounds, and 5 Blood Dolls, accenting with Anarch Troublemaker, Mbare Market, and Ancestor Spirit (perhaps the coolest card to come from LoB). Khabar: Community has come too late to be of use every time, so far. I'm considering swapping it for Heartblood of the Clan.
I have been mulling over Master: Skill cards as an option. Adding pot or aus to a support vampire could prove helpful. I've also considered going whole-hog with Devikki x3 and eight skills, but am still undecided as to the benefit vs. cost ratio. My instincts say it's not worth it, but they have been proven wrong more times than I care to recall...
Action [18] 5x Computer Hacking 1x Enforcer 2x Khabar: Glory 2x Truth of Blood 8x Web of Knives Recruit
This is where the lion's share of the deck's success will fall. Getting a WoKR early is important. Because of this, it is advisable to bring a little Assamite into play first, especially if you have a Recruit in your opening hand. If you don't, ditch cards at every opportunity until you do. There is no multi-acting happening in this build, so you will need extra minions for more actions. Do not underestimate Ancestor Spirit + Truth of Blood! It's a nice surprise.
Action Modifier [9] 2x Cloak the Gathering 2x Faceless Night 2x Lost in Crowds 3x Mask of a Thousand Faces
This is a pretty standard obf package for sneaking past casual intercept. The Mask of 1k Faces at least gives the opportunity to be a responsible bleeder, just not very often. They have a dual benefit - chump blockers stepping in front of Ali Kar can recoil in horror at the realization that Massassi is about to fold them in half, or disappoint your salivating prey who pulled off a Second Tradition with Donal O'Connor and thinks he's going to bounce a handful of Sewer Lids off of Olugbenga's skull by playing it the other way (Due to illess, the part of Olugbenga in this combat will played by the clan's newest recruit, Chuck). Ok, that's really three benefits: anti-bounce, combat opportunity, and minion preservation. Why only three of them? Because "+1 stealth" is more often than not the preferred play.
Action Modifier/Combat [2] 2x Swallowed by the Night Equipment [6] 1x Ivory Bow 3x Kerrie 1x Meat Hook 1x Kduva's Mask Ally [1] 1x Shaman
Nothing requiring a lot of qualification here. The non-Kerrie equipment is required to counter Anachronism (Apparently, the concept of beating enemies with sticks did not come about until after the Industrial Revolution). Kduva's Mask and Shaman will be more beneficial early, and emphasize the importance of additional Laibon vampires in the crypt like Olugbenga and Kamau Jafari.
Combat [21] 5x Disguised Weapon 4x Psyche! 5x Taste of Vitae 5x Undead Strength 2x Blur
This is fairly lean when compared to my usual tendencies. I chose Undead Strength over Pushing the Limit to benefit the Recruits, who appreciate the lack of a blood cost. Additionally, Torn Signpost is a wasted card in the event of S:CE or acting-minion-dodges. As I mentioned above, The Taste of Vitaes are usually only cycled for two-ish, but the fact that they are so cyclable, and gaining two is better than not gaining two, I'm on the fence about swapping them for the Sideslips. The one time every other game Massassi gains five adds to the dilemma. The Blurs could very well be Pursuits, providing a little maneuverability for the weenies. I've yet to be in critical need of a Psyche!, as well. Beating down minions is not required in this build, so S:CE isn't nearly as frustrating. John played a 28 card package that looked like this:
6x Disguised Weapon
4x Flash
4x Pursuit
4x Taste of Vitae
4x Torn Signpost
2x Undead Strength
4x Weighted Walking Stick
The basic concept is the same, though he gives himself more opportunity for extra damage with the Walking Sticks.
Reaction [18]
8x Black Sunrise 6x Quicken Sight 2x Telepathic Misdirection 2x Confusion of the Eye
This is obviously geared toward Massassi, the only minion with Asupex. Because she is probably also the Enforcer, the target of the Ancestor Spirit, the only minion who can bleed with Truth of Blood, and has inherent rush ability, she will be very busy indeed. Always having a Black Sunrise will allow you to take that valuable action, and still have a chance to block with her. Keeping her in the ready region significantly increases your defensive potential, obviously. I've had reasonable success with it, but the potential for disaster exists. In casual play, it has been enough, but tournament play might prove differently.
In Conclusion
Massassi is a quality vampire. I have explored her as the star in an Osebo deck that was very good at blocking and ousting my predator, and could pull off an occasional oust itself. Kerrie and Potence is wonderfully flexible, especially with Aye to cancel Frenzy cards. I am convinced that the current selection of group four Assamites falls a little short to make her a strong inclusion in an Assamite deck, however. The fact that the rest of her clan is hard-pressed to share a crypt with the assassins (only Tatu Sawosa shares a clan discipline with [OBF cel] at 8 capacity) makes even a split crypt a low percentage play. Web of Knives Recruits come into play too slowly to truly overwhelm - getting three in play by the end game is likely the most you will see. The Pool cost becomes harder to justify, especially when the game might not last another three turns.
In casual play, I have enjoyed this experiment, and actually managed to get a GW with it. I do not think the concept is strong enough for tournament play, though hyper-focusing the build one way or another might make for an all-or-nothing build. Unless the focus is on getting Assamites potence, though, why Massassi? Group two Assamites provide much better options with Thetmes and Jalal (and Akram) if you *really* want all that potence. I suspect that the diversity in the build I played is what allowed it to succeed, and by succeed I mean "not get ousted right away". Until another Assamite comes along with pot or aus in the mid-capacity range, you might try Massassi in a traditional CEL QUI obf bruiser. For that one, grab Joe Hill, Janni, and Micheal DiCarlo, a pile of weapons and Selective Silences, and go give 'em hell.
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Comments, Suggestions, and Submissions should be sent to: veknpont...@yahoo.com
Special thanks to John Eno, Official Assamite Newsletter Editor, for his comments and play testing.