Lost Harbingers of Skull: Card preview analysis

Hello!

Today we will take look at the Harbingers of Skull cards spoiled for Lost Kindred:

www.vekn.net/2-uncategorised/400-lost-kindred-harbingers-of-skulls

Traditionally Harbingers have not had such an established play style that Samedi have. This is why these cards will not be as easy to evaluate, but let's give it a go! Please feel free to discuss below!

Name: Angelique
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Group: 6
Capacity: 9
Discipline: AUS FOR NEC SER THA
Sabbat: While Angelique is ready, cards requiring Necromancy [nec] cost Harbingers of Skulls you control 1 less blood.
Artist: Noora Hirvonen

G5-6 is a group for big, old Harbingers, and Angelique is no exception. Sharing the group with goliaths like Byzar and Capuchin, her ability of reducing Necromancy cards for your other Harbingers seems like a risky addition - you'll have to bring out her big friends, and that is a hefty pool investment. Her is unique to her, as are unique to Byzar, but at least she shares her levels of with Capuchin. Her other Harbinger friends share no off clan disciplines with her, but Mordechai's inherent intercept leans a deck built around her towards a reactive angle. Sadly she does not reduce the Necromacy costs of other than Harbingers, otherwise she could have served as a Path of Bones on a stick or enabled some Necromacy Setite shenanigans. If you're trying to find the simplest way to use her ability, you might find G4 Harbingers overthrown as the kings of Shambling Horde hoarders.

Name: Hecate
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Group: 5
Capacity: 6
Discipline: AUS FOR NEC
Sabbat: After Hecate bleeds successfully, you can burn the top card of the target Methuselah's library.
Artist: Carmen Cornet

Hecate is what Mister Schwartz is for G6 Samedi: a 6-cap all-around filler to fill in for any Harbinger strategy. There is little else to be said for her, other than that she complements both groups 4 and 6, as a competent jack-of-all-trades should. Her power will be levelled with the power of Harbinger strategies, as the Harbinger set of clan dsiciplines is still nothing to write home about on their own. [Krausedit\\ Note that she shares adjacent groups with Zygodat, as well as a similar ability. I misread Egothha previously.]

Name: Khurshid
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Group: 6
Capacity: 8
Discipline: AUS FOR NEC POT
Sabbat: +2 strength.
Artist: Carmen Cornet

Khursid further differentiates the G5-6 discipline pool and abilities with a whopping as an off-clan, as well as +2 Strength in combat. Those levels of inherent combat abilities have been usually reserved to huge vampires like Enkidu, Dracon, Lazverinus and Matasuntha, only ever seen before on a 8-cap before in Mateusz. In a one-on-one comparison Khursid defeats Mateusz, as can arguably perform better in combat than . These kinds of comparisons are rarely fruitful however, since both can wreck any vampire, given the opportunity. It's the opportunity these vampires keep a look out for, and a G5-6 Harbinger crypt seems to lean towards more block than not; that is definitely one way to get into combat to bash some heads. Khursid still struggles to find friends to support this strategy in G5-6 Harbingers however.

As we have established already, the elder crypt of G5-6 hosts large vampires with very different discipline and ability sets. This leans us to question if the Harbingers of G5-6 are best played together, or possibly in cross-clan crypts to best find their partners in crime.

This set of new crypt cards showcase additions to two new groups. Above we discussed our most recent groups, and below two new vampires to bolster either groups of 2 or 4 are presented.

Name: Erebus
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Group: 3
Capacity: 7
Discipline: dem AUS FOR NEC
Independent: Wraiths (allies and retainers) cost Erebus 1 less blood or pool.
Artist: Ginés Quiñonero

According to White Wolf Wikia, Erebus is the hellscape for the garou. Perhaps the Erebus Mask is not after all Erebus' mask, but a mask made out of erebus trees. Whatever the lore might be, we are thrilled to see who this Garou equivalent of a Satan is.

Erebus' abilities are clean and straight forward. Fitting a mid-cap of 7, the discipline spread is a robust set of in-clans, and wraiths cost her less to employ or recruit. Given that the most recent wraith additions have been Giovanni exclusive, we will have to settle with the new wraiths printed in this set, discussed further below. Neverthless, less blood spent for your strategy is always less blood spent, and as an affordable filler to your crypts Erebus should perform nicely. As an added gimmick, if you ever wish to implement some necromacy or fortitude into your Malkavian decks, Erebus makes for a decent Call target.

Name: Erlik
Cardtype: Vampire
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Group: 3
Capacity: 10
Discipline: AUS CEL FOR NEC THN
Sabbat: As Erlik enters play, you can distribute up to 5 blood from him to any of your uncontrolled Harbingers of Skulls. +1 bleed. +1 hand size.
Artist: Ginés Quiñonero

Erlik ascends to complement the G2-4 group spread with an elder, with a tempo boost built in. Even if his artwork does not blend too well with art styles of Sam Araya and Christopher Shy, nor does his discipline spread offer much besides complementing Unre's , a welcome addition of +1 bleed and +1 hand size makes this 5-cap/10-cap worth recruiting. His will most likely not find any use in your Harbinger builds unless you go solo (and sprinkle in Drum of Xipe Totec), but G3 now boasts a host of non-samedi big caps worthy of high levels of . Whatever you'll decide to use from there is up to you, but remember that Erlik will need Unre's help (and Samedi additions) to implement it into your strategy fully. Take your old Harbinger groups, sprinkle in a few Erlik, and see how he complements your play style. He is, in effect, a 5-cap stat stick to help you realize your strategy.

Name: Acheron Vortex
Cardtype: Action Modifier
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Minions without Necromancy [nec] or Obtenebration [obt] get -1 intercept.
Artist: Ginés Quiñonero

Harbingers have not had the worst of time with getting their actions through. Erebus Mask and Necromacy have always been there for them, and Fortitude can always make for some very nasty surprise plays. Acheron Vortex adds a reasonable addition to their pseudo-stealth cavalcade, which can be seen as a one- or two-off in Harbinger decks. Due to it's situational nature you can't rely on it as an action delivery method, but it for sure helps. A nice, cool boost within the flavor of the clan if I ever saw one.

For record, Amaranth shows 133/1468 have and 111/1468 have in the whole game. Of course this is somewhat redundant, as Kiasyd and Lasombra are within the most played tournament clans, but some quick statistics can be fun.

Name: Disciple of Lazarus
Cardtype: Action
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
+1 stealth action.
Add 2 blood to a younger Harbinger of Skulls in your uncontrolled region, or search your crypt for a Harbinger of Skulls, reveal them, and move them to your uncontrolled region (shuffle afterward).
Artist: Carmen Cornet

Did you think Thing was good? Disciple of Lazarus should be good too, right? True to an extent, but less so at the same time. The best thing in Thing was that it was an addition to a hordeish clan of Gangrel, filled with weenies and a game plan to go with that. Harbingers are wholly on the opposite end of the spectrum, with a strong emphasis on mid- to big-caps. They do have access to multiact in Fortitude, and 2 pool for an action is always good. However, unlike Gangrel, they need those card slots for survival and damage output, as non-weenie strategies do. This is the reason why the added effect of a crypt tutor is crucial for Disciple of Lazarus, and might take it from wallpaper to a 3-6 include in Harbinger decks. If you'll use it for tutoring, remember to plan for a quick mid-game ramp with tools like Powerbase Montreal, Grooming the Protege or more Lazarus (as Harbingers lack for Govern the Unaligned and for Enchant Kindred). It is not a bad card at all, and you should definitely try it out and see how it works with your strategy, but it would be a mistake to immediately compare it to Thing. Harbingers might play a slower game, and as a mid game buffer Disciple of Lazarus be a worthy addition.

Name: Inevitability of the Void
Cardtype: Action Modifier
Discipline: Auspex/Necromancy
Only usable during a bleed action.
[aus][nec] +1 bleed (limited).
[AUS][NEC] +1 bleed for every 10 cards in the ash heap of the target Methuselah (limited).
Artist: Mark Kelly

BOOM! HEAP SHOT! A nonbo with Throchomancy, Inevitability of the Void calls the player to embrace that Slaugtherhouse strategy. It replaces Throchomancy, moving it from a Harbinger strategy to a Heap recursion hate card even more. Harbingers now have a constant pressure tool to capitalize on the end game where their excellent disciplines for survival and block lean them towards. Presence and Dominate, the powerbleed disciplines of old, can still threathen you for 5-7 bleed damage form turn one, so compared to this Void is very different from Conditioning. It will reach Conditioning levels of power depending on your prey's deck, and without Slaughterhouse support might take a dozen turns to reach its potential. Slam in some locations though, and you'll find yourself bleeding for 4-6 with a single card by the midgame. Harbingers finally got a tool to close out the game once they get where they want: the inevitable end.

Name: Vengeful Spirit
Cardtype: Retainer
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Cost: 1 blood
Wraith with 2 life.
The employer gets +1 bleed. Vengeful Spirit inflicts 1 damage on the opposing minion each round of combat during normal strike resolution at close range.
Artist: Ginés Quiñonero

If you want something to play with Erebus, Vengeful Spirit is an excellent choice alongside Masquer. While the latter gives you intercept for blocking, the former packs both bleed and damage. Static numbers on a vampire are never bad, and the Spirit can help make your actions and blocks that much more threathening. Harbingers, unlike Samedi, got no boosts to their combat output, which leaves them with weapons to dish out damage. Preventation from Fortitude and S:CE from Necromacy are a more likely route. Vengeful Spirit is nothing to laugh at however, and can be played in small numbers. It does stack however, and packing three or more Vengeful Spirits can make any vampire a beast to deal with. Just make sure to have unlocks to make other actions besides employing wraiths. Otherwise you'll just finish your game either ousted or to time before the Spirits will make an impact.

The Harbingers finally got a more refined and defined game plan and play style, something they woefully lacked before. Even though Capuchin did technically win the European Championships in 2017 (paired with Saulot), it was less due to his abilities as a Harbinger of Skull, and more thanks to his great synergies with another oldie-but-goldie, Saulot. They have always had their infuriating strats on Slaughterhouses, a strategy devoid of a finishing oust mechanism outside of Brinksmanship combos, and we've seen some surprisingly powerful Fortitude bleed builds, but neither of those have really made their vampries and strategies stand out. With plenty of additions to bolster their midgame and empower their endgame, they finally have a clear tempo plan to play with. It might work out for players, or it might succumb to more dedicated, more combat oriented walls - if it hits a brick wall, Harbingers will remain as fun off-clan additions to other strategies not focusing solely on Harbingers themselves to utilise powerful abilities their vampires possess.

Note that Emeral Legionnaire will be discussed in another post .

Let me know what you think about the previews, and where I obviously went horribly wrong!

Name: Emerald Legionnaire
Cardtype: Ally
Clan: Harbinger of Skulls
Cost: 1 pool
Wraith with 2 life. 2 strength, 1 bleed.
During your unlock phase, you can remove 7 cards in your ash heap from the game to move an Emerald Legionnaire from your ash heap to the ready region with 2 life.
Artist: Javier Santos

Emerald Legionnaire is the wraith to really support with with Shroud Mastery and Breath of Thanatos. Thanatos' aggro poke has previously been a nice include to Harbingers' combat module, but has lacked meaningful wraiths for the inferior effect. Shroud Mastery is a powerful tool as long as you have wraiths to use it with. The Legionnaires fill this role as a swarmish addition to both make good use of your ash heap (if you're not planning on recurring it with Ashur Tablets) and shield yourself from other Harbingers' Throchomancies and Inevitabilities of the Void. The stats on him are excellent, and help both protect the rather fragile Harbingers from superior combat and chip away bleeds. Their 2 Strength might help soften opponents up, so that Harbinger combat can have a reasonable effect in the endgame. You can go balls deep in Legionnaire strategy with Liquidation and recover the most important pieces of your deck with necromacy, or simply fuel these excellent support allies by aggressively playing your cards. A lighter approach might see you playing 3-5 (as they recur themselves), and a more ally heavy swarm style might go as far as 10. Whatever you do, prepare to make the most out of their 2 combat capabilities, not just their decent bleed.

I like these reviews. In order to raise awareness of VTES we definitely need reviews like this and people doing unboxings and previews of cards on YouTube and around the web, so kudos.

My favorite card here is definitely Inevitability of the Void. Bleeds with a condition attached to them are the way to go, especially if that condition encourages a particular strategy or synergies. You mentioned The Slaughter House and Zygodat - the cards Dirty Little Secrets and Feline Saboteur came to my mind. It would probably be janky, but I would love to see an unholy alliance of Harbingers and !Nos milling their prey for big bleeds.

There's always anarchy to get the Railroad and also play Border Skirmish. Not sure that's a *good* idea, btw.

LivesByProxy wrote:

You mentioned The Slaughter House and Zygodat - the cards Dirty Little Secrets and Feline Saboteur came to my mind. It would probably be janky, but I would love to see an unholy alliance of Harbingers and !Nos milling their prey for big bleeds.

If you want to go really exotic, combine with a Baali and Condemnation: Betrayed

PetriWessman wrote:

If you want to go really exotic, combine with a Baali and Condemnation: Betrayed

Hmm, I guess you Petri never saw my valerius major does fear of the void below trap deck.
Also I have actually done quite a few version of border skrimish + constant revolution decks.
!Nos couriers can also do quite respectable deck destruction and then there is of course the Karsh raptors + psyche route although that one I never managed to make work.