Fanchion Fever

There seems to be a lot of buzz in the Vtes newsgroup about Mistress Fanchion, the new Tremere Inner Circle. I just saw at least three or four decks already posted for comments. In terms of gameplay, Fanchion is a powerhouse. I think Extrala did a comparison study of Vtes vampires recently and Fanchion was at the top of the list in terms of sheer number of superior disciplines. So yeah, I can definitely see the interest in creating fun or wacky Mistress Fanchion decks.

Taking a look at her discipline spread also gives me some ideas for decks but for many players, her ability is also something to be considered. The ability to fish out a key card from your library is just awesome. Drawbacks? Limited untap. Which is important for an eleven cap vampire. Rutor’s hand is a must.

VIC, OBF, CEL, and the standard Tremere disciplines of THA, AUS, DOM makes her hard to beat in combat. She has access to aggravated unpreventable hand strikes, blood theft, ranged aggravated strikes, damage prevention from three disciplines, and several ways to stop/foil combat ends. Maneuvers and presses are also readily available.

I’d make a combat deck with Fanchion as the key vamp. Ready access to Magic of the Smith and Rutor’s Hand with four votes and three bleed with DOM is a frightening thought. I’m not comfortable making a combat deck without immortal grapple so I think the first step would be to grab a Hand of Conrad asap. TheLasombra had a nice idea to pair her up with Sha-Ennu since they share a lot of disciplines together. I think I can take advantage of that superior CHI by smithing up an Eye of Hazimel. In that way Fanchion can get both POT and CHI with a built in rush.

It’s fun to take advantage of non fortitude damage prevention since at least two people in the local metagame use Tremere decks. Rego Mortus and Horrid Form will be fun to use. I’d throw in some Apparitions once Fanchion gets the eye.

Offensive options include: the standard Tzimisce package of either long or shirt ranged aggravated damage. Chiropteran Marauder, Breath of the Dragon. It’s also possible to use Blood Fury backed up with Horrid Forms and Chiropteran Marauder for anti-fortitude combat. CEL adds support by additional strikes like Blur, Flash for maneuvers and presses and Psyche! for reactive anti-combat ends.

Mistress Fanchion definitely opens up a wide variety of options for putting the hurt on someone! I think it’s time to get started on making a deck!