Confessions of a Camarilla traitor

So… confession time.

I preordered the Sabbat decks.

It started innocently enough. A few hours on the Black Chantry website, reading card spoilers, pretending to be objective. I even made a poll on the VTES Discord, asking which deck excited people the most. The winner? Path of Caine. The one I wasn't planning to buy. Naturally.

I, on the other hand, had been eyeing the Path of Power and the Inner Voice deck from the very beginning. So, like any reasonable adult, I bought two copies of it. And one of the Path of Caine deck too. You know. For research.

Now, here's the thing: I feel a little dirty. I've always been a proud Camarilla loyalist. The idea of buying a Sabbat deck felt like wearing your rival's colors in public. But the artwork… those cards look so good. Every time I saw one, my Camarilla devotion flickered like a faulty neon sign in a storm.

My brain, ever helpful, began rationalizing: "The Path of Power and the Inner Voice deck  (or POPATIV, because everything sounds cooler as an acronym) has Lasombra (now Camarilla), Brujah (used to be Camarilla, until they rage-quit the organization), and Ventrue (eternal Camarilla icons). So technically, this is a Camarilla deck… just with, you know, Sabbat branding".

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, I chose POPATIV for several reasons. First, it's a political deck, and I love table politics. The glorious art of convincing someone to do something catastrophically stupid for "the greater good". Second, I liked the crypt. Aaradhya caught my attention immediately, unlocking after political actions is just chef's kiss for a schemer like me.

Then there's Antonio, immortalized as Damian in the game, which is incredibly cool. Imagine working for the VTES community for years and then literally becoming a vampire in it. Honestly, that's better than any elder's boon or childe allowance. I am jealous. Üresség also looks interesting, and while my inner Ventrue/Tremere instinctively sneers at Brujah (we've had our disagreements throughout history), I can't deny that the card opens up delicious possibilities.

Last but not least, Concordia, the poster girl for the deck. There's something deeply intriguing about her. Maria Loren's artwork captures a mix of allure and danger that feels exactly right for the Sabbat. She looks like someone who could charm you into a deal and then make you regret signing it. I love it.

 

The library is equally fascinating. Dominant Personality, Día de los Muertos, and Relentless make political actions easier to pass, but my personal favorite is Unthinkable Humiliation. The name alone perfectly captures my entire experience playing Ventrue politicians so far.

I'm not diving into deckbuilding just yet. I'll wait and watch what the elders (and the actual good players) do first. Once I see how POPATIV performs, I'll start experimenting, probably fusing my two decks into something terrible and wonderful that will either dominate the table or crash spectacularly trying. Antonio already shared some deck ideas, I might build one of those.

Either way, I'll make sure to document it for posterity, or for the archives of Unthinkable Humiliation, whichever fits best.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave