Well, in HttB pretty much all the Bloodlines had got new toys and new tricks, so we can say that almost all of them are stronger. But which clan in your opinion has become not just much stronger, but given new feasible ways to play them? The Daughters had their new stealth style and now can sing or harmonize you to death, the True Brujahs have a new kinky card and still more of those gazillion untaps (they got a Black Hand one for goodness sake), and the !Salubri is even more dangerous in combat. Also, the Harbingers and Samedi got all those magnificent...well, never mind.
I personally felt that the Gargoyles had a great boost in their feasibility, as well as given more options in deck building. Before HttB you probably see Gargoyles as combat decks, and maybe some Intercept decks, and the ever so deadly Rockcat deck. The Slave issue is defunct, and the Gargoyles never really get too far with their existing toys. HttB, IMHO, totally changed that, and make the Gargoyles a lot more deadly than before.
Let's look at the several cards that complement Gargoyles in the HttB expansion.
Wider View is of course an all purpose card feasible for many different kinds of decks, but it is almost essential to a Gargoyle deck, especially in a Slave deck. The Wider View allows you to quickly get the Master Clan out in the uncontrolled region and remove unnecessary vampires. It also helps the Gargoyles to bloat, albeit just a little bit (every bit helps for these Gargoyle blood suckers). This is definitely a key card in almost every Gargoyle deck from now on, and I actually dare say that the conception of this card was probably for the Gargoyle.
Flight got a boost in this expansion, most notably the As the Crow. This card allows the Gargoyle to untap after an action without the cost of blood, and every Gargoyle can use it, even the Hatchlings eventually. This increased the speed and multiple function of a Gargoyle, and therefore allows the Gargoyle to set up their defense or offense package effectively. In the past the Gargoyles have to use Freak Drives to do this, and most younger Gargoyles can't really get it done efficiently. Today, even a lowly Hatchling can hunt and As the Crow to immediately start Dive Bombing your prey's vampires. Dive Bomb is a superior attack card, since it gives a +1 Stealth to the action, and the downside is not really a big deal for the Gargoyles, given their disciplines. With these 2 cards alone, the Gargoyle clan has gained a lot of utility, both in and out of combat.
The new set range card for the Gargoyle Brick By Brick is another excellent combat card. With Roll, the Gargoyles normally has the maneuver to handle light movement decks, but with Brick By Brick, this issue is further enhanced and remove the threats of set range cards such as Selective Silence or even just Terror Frenzy. It also gives the younger vampires an optional maneuver and 2R damage if you want to use it in another way.
The Jar of Skineaters and Potio Martyrium is a deadly combo. It puts the opponent in a die-die scenario. If you block the master clan vampire that is Jarring you, the little slave Gargoyle with the Potio (most probably from a Create Gargoyle) will then enter combat with you and try their very best to die. Either way that vampire takes unpreventable aggravated damage, most likely going into torpor. The Slaves then have the interesting Raw Recruit card, which doesn't involve diablerie, to take those torpored vampire and recycle them into new Slaves for new Potio.
Think of this speed. Round 1 Wider View influence out a !Tremere. Round 2 get a Tupdog while the !Tremere get a Jar on him. Round 3 TupDog enter combat, Raking Talon somebody, Stonestrength the damage and keep alive, As the Crow to untap and put a blood on the Jar. Influence another TupDog. Next round TupDog enter combat, As the Crow to untap, !Tremere Jar somebody, if blocked, TupDog taps to enter combat again. This can rinse and repeat again and again with Raking Talons, As the Crow and probably a copy or 2 of Roll and some Immortal Grapple (or just Brick By Brick since it cost TupDog nothing)
The Path of Service is good to have for all those Slave decks, and the little ones to the big ones can really just stealth through and fight with Flow Within the Mountains like nobody's business - giving them good stealth and bypassing ability. Using the master clans' DOM, their bleed can get quite alright especially if you can slap a few Camera Phones on these flying Paparazzi.
Voices of the castle gives the Gargoyles a more efficient reduce bleed card, and a stackable Intercept to their Master clan. This is definitely going to replace most of the Patrol cards in my Gargoyle deck.
Chaundice is an excellent slave vampire, even more so than Ublo-Satha. (and Ublo is hard to kill on an average day) Slap an Armor of Terra on Chaundice and he is almost unkillable. With the exception of Grosteque everyone has superior VIS, giving the Gargoyles a great crypt selection for the Group 4s.
The location-based tech probably needs more time to work out, since it doesn't really add to the overall effectiveness of the Gargoyles, but you never know~
Last but not least, the VIS cards this time, specifically the combat cards, all give THA a optional use, making these cards a lot more efficient in the deck when working together with the Blood Wizards. Combine this with Wider View and you have card economy. This wasn't really there before HttB.
Therefore I dare say that the Gargoyles have definitely gained a lot more than most other clans (You sorry group of Harbingers~ Hah!) in this expansion. They may not have gained power cards such as Summon History or Harmony that really make a certain clan a lot deadlier, but the overall utility that they have gained made them a much more unique and effective clan that they were before.
Tuning Gargoyle deck in process.
This time I'll make sure it works.
Go go AirRock!
(o.o)
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