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u War Chantry

Highlights

This is a toolbox deck built around the Tremere clan and their adt disciplines. d is used to bleed, bounce bleeds and accelerate the crypt with Govern the Unaligned and Scouting Mission. a is used for wakes, intercept and bounces. t is used for combat and a bit of stealth with Mirror Walk.

As the deck does not have much stealth, it uses powerbleed tools to lock the prey vampires and make sure they won't be able to block or bounce, with Misdirection, Anarch Troublemaker and Pentex™ Subversion.

Tips & Tricks

Theft of Vitae is an excellent combat card, as it usually produces a 4 blood differential for no cost. Against some modules though, it can be a bit weak. The use of Apportation and Blood Fury helps with that. It is great against weapons-oriented modules, and can be played when the opponent uses Immortal Grapple: it is a nasty surprise against fp combat modules.

Using Threats alongside Conditioning provides some liberty of action if an opponent plays a Direct Intervention: the cancelled modifier cannot be played again on the same action, but another bleed enhancer can. The most direct advantage though is that it is cheaper and keeps more blood on the vampires.

Creator Insights

Daniel Gargulák was kind enough to provide insights:

Rotation is quite important in the deck. The Barrens, Dreams of the Sphinx and Heart of Nizchetus help in this regard.

Misdirection, Anarch Troublemaker and Pentex™ Subversion should be kept in hand until it is time for the lunge.

Theft of Vitae is especially good because it handles Emerald Legionnaire and Nephandus easily. That's why there is only a single Far Mastery to handle the more rare werewolf allies.

Blood Fury is a nice surprise: it is good in many situations, be it against weapons or against a f wall, as both are common.

When going for a bleed, Scouting Mission and Threats make sure that even a vampire with only 1 blood left can still get a bleed modifier, thus keeping the prey on her toes.

Variants

The combat module can be adapted to the expected environment: aggravated damage with Flames of the Netherworld or Walk of Flame is a commmon variation. Magic of the Smith is often see, to fetch a Bowl of Convergence, Heart of Nizchetus or Ivory bow. Also, Ponticulus is often included for defence.

The Royalty variant uses Princes and Justicars, adding political actions and Second Tradition: Domain to the mix. Ricardo Molina Sobreira's deck from the 2018 SAC is a good example.

The Infernal variant uses Valerius instead of Carna. His ability is fearsome and its Infernal trait and Y give him access to good options like Flames of the Netherworld and Unleash Hell's Fury. Pau Vilar's deck from 2018 is a good example.

The V5 variant uses new Tremere u vampires from the V5 Tremere starter, as in Jose Luis Manuel's deck from 2021. It appears that the disciplines spread in groups 5 and 6 are good enough to replicate the archetype there.

Errata

Pentex™ Subversion has been modified by an errata in September 2019. It does not prevent a vampire to act anymore, so it is less powerful . Its ability to disable a strong blocker is still an important aspect so it can have its place here.