One Clan to Rule them all : Kiasyd

After looking at MYT don't you just think that the Kiasyd's unique Bloodline discipline made them one of the most efficient stealth bleeders? In fact, I feel that they are so good that the only thing stopping them from taking over the bleeding scene is their relatively thin crypt choice - which is a problem shared by pretty much all of the Bloodlines. That said, the Kiasyd actually do have a reasonably good selection of top vampires to power their bleed strategies.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

The Kiasyds' disciplines are MYT, DOM and OBT, giving them an excellent blend of abilities to bleed, and to defend themselves when a combat deck targets them. They're probably amongst the top clans that can both stealth bleed and defend against most attacks efficiently - in the league of the Ravnos, Tremeres and the Lasombras. In this aspect I think that Kiasyds are superior to the other clans.

The Bleed engine for the Kiasyd is powered by both DOM and MYT, giving them options instead of simply relying on Governed the Unaligned. The mighty Song of Pan, at the cost of 1 pool and is actually a free action if successful, gives +1 Bleed to every Kiasyd. The down side of the card is actually not a big deal, since bleeding Kiasyds rarely have much issue failing a bleed - but do remember try not to influence out a Kiasyd during that turn (and definitely not Mylan - the little goblin will just die), it's pure unwarranted damage to those fellas. A single Song of Pan allows every Kiasyd to bleed for 3 at +1 Stealth with a single Gremlins card, probably the most efficient combo for bleeding in the whole game. (Undue Influence comes close, but instead of killing it simply help influencing or bloating, which IMHO, is inferior to Gremlins - killing should always be priority)

The Stealth delivery is extremely efficient with Gremlins plus MYT and OBT stealth, a little costly if most are OBT, but the combination of Gremlins and Stone Travel is already difficult to bypass, and there's no reason a Kiasyd deck should be lacking in Fae Contortion to add in that extra stealth for the older vampires. All in all, with MYT alone, a Kiasyd with basic MYT can get 2 stealth at bleeding, and at superior 4 stealth, all without spending a single blood. Add in OBT and only the most dedicated blockers have a chance at all.

But enough about the Kiasyds bleeding, everybody knows that their unlife is seriously threatened when a heavy stealth bleeder is working for the predator. What makes the Kiasyd doubly fearsome is their ability to withstand most countermeasures. 

First of all - combat decks tend to go straight for the stealth bleeders on table and pound them into oblivion. Ravnos fight with combat ends and sometimes even Apparition, which is very effective against combat decks, Lasombras have combat ends as well, combined with POT beat back and the fearsome Entombment. Tremeres have the incredible THA, but they lack in the stealth department. All of them, however, faced problems against the very common Immortal Grapple (Blood Fury is an exception). The Kiasyds have the Entombment option of the Lasombra, and can hit back quite well with Earth Swords if they want, making them dangerous both close and far. They also have access to OBT's combat ends and the Arm of the Abyss. The true power of the Kiasyds lie in Fae Contortion, which cancels Immortal Grapple, exposing the attacking vampire to Arms+Entombment, or simply combat ends. Also, Darkling Trickery disables most rapid gun decks and also provides maneuvers and/or presses for free. This range of combat options make a Kiasyd quite unpredictable in combat, and pretty safe against most beat decks.

The Chanjelin Ward protects the Kiasyds further - from Sensory Deprivation to Horseshoes or even simple Enter combat actions, the Ward cancels them all at the cost of a single blood, not to mention it costs the opponent's attacker another blood (a reasonably annoying problem for certain decks, like a Tremere Cryptic Deck, or even the Sensory Deprivation, which is already costly). Add in random damage prevention ability from their allies (which they don't actually need, but well, it's there in case the environment needs it) Though many Kiasyds are not too old, Faerie Wards do work for the older vampires in achieving the same results. Even the Goblinism can quickly pop a Secure Haven on your important vampire if that is necessary.

The other deadly ability of the Kiasyds is their ability to disable blockers. Riddle Phantastique, Redcap Wilder, The Grandest Trick can all achieve this function, with varying options and costs. Combine this with their already high stealth capability and you have a very difficult predator to handle.

The Kiasyds are not without defense against speed bleeders as well - DOM provides Deflection as usual, which is normally enough to handle most bleeding predators. Against high vote decks, Kiasyds have the random Covincraft to add 4 votes against whatever problem the vote is throwing at you, and the card kinda stand in for a -1 Bleed when no voters are on table. That said, offensive speed voters are possibly still the biggest threat that the Kiasyds will face since their defenses against votes are limited, and though they do have light Intercepts from MYT and OBT, most Kiasyd decks usually don't pack a lot of those.

The Kiasyd may not have the deep crypt of weenies that DOM vampires of other clans have access to, but the Great Symposium tried to make up for it. Granted, it can only be done once in a game, but when it does happen, the speed boost is simply incredible - it is 3 free transfer plus a Recruitment for no cost. (and the transfers can be freely distributed in anyway you like)

I'd also like to mention Scarlet Lore - which is a deadly though expensive card. Search tech in Vtes is severely limited, and the Scarlet Lore allows the Kiasyd to bring forward an important card for killing or defense anytime he wants against any situation - facing a potential combat monster next turn? Entombment. Need the extra boost to kill the prey? Conditioning. Need to face off a Parity Shift next turn? Delaying Tactics is yours during the discard phase. This kind of option is actually very useful, though it probably wouldn't happen too often.

The Kiasyd crypt had been greatly enhanced in the previous expansion HttB. The Group 4s (sigh for the Group 6s - not really useable in a pure Kiasyd environment, though you probably wouldn't be facing much contest if you use them) are pretty excellent now, even compared to the previously very cool Group 2s.

Quincy and Arcadian, the 2 linking vampires are all pretty good - one is a good weenie, and the other one is a powerful Elder. Depending on your likings, both of them are excellent addition to your Kiasyds. The Group 2s give you a straight 4 cap to 9 cap but lacks a coherent discipline spread for a bleed deck - too many of them without superior DOM (not that it matters very much now due to Gremlins, but Governed and Conditioning, especially Deflection are still important enough to warrant superior DOM). In this sense the group 4s are now superior in a bleed deck - not only do they have more superior DOM, many of their abilities are more synergistic in a bleed deck as compared to say, Bartholomew. Arcadian, especially, if you use Group 5s, is a deadly bleeder. Isanwayen, the little blue guy, is probably the best 6-cap in the whole wide world. Extra master phase is a good option, given that the Kiasyds can use it for Lilith's Blessing, Life in a City, Random Blind Spot, or even just Misdirection if you actually do remember that card.

The best defense against a Kiasyd bleed deck is still bounces. Since they do not have Spying Mission, this can work to their detriment if the prey bounces heavily. But hey, that's not very common.

To a certain degree, the Kiasyds do not enjoy the range of on-board assets that their companions the Lasombras have - and that the Lasombras have means to reduce blood cost on stealth cards that the Kiasyds also make use of. That is somewhat compensated with free stealth cards from MYT, and of course, Gremlins. This actually makes the Kiasyd quite a card-intensive clan, with too many options to choose from, which often confuses the deck-builder. I've seen quite a few not-so-efficient Kiasyds, and they do get card-jammed when the prey knows what to do. Of course, a dedicated Kiasyd DOM bleeder loses out on a lot of the Kiasyd's innate advantages in defensive options, but hey, killing fast enough is always a priority, right?

(o.o)v