Go Anarch or "How to make an Anarch"

With the release of the "Twilight Rebellion" expansion three new ways of making vampires Anarch (and Independent) have been introduced (five if you also count the draft effects). Time to review the different approaches in terms of effectiveness and playability.

• Cardless action -- although this a way to make an Anarch that doesn't require any card, it's definitely the worst one. It costs an action and two blood, if you do not control any ready Anarch (one blood, if you have at least one ready Anarch). Furthermore the action is only at +1 stealth and can therefore easily be blocked if not backed up with additional stealth. In short, it's costly, it's unreliable, so only if your others cards for making your vampires Anarch are showing up you should consider this option. The only good thing is that you can use "CrimethInc." to untap the vampire after the action if your vampires have "Protean" or "Quietus".


• "Go Anarch" -- "Anarch" common -- this one is on the middle ground. It's an action and it's only at +1 stealth, but at least it doesn't cost and untaps after the action. Still it has the problem that without additional stealth this can be easily blocked. So basing an entire Anarch deck on this card (as means of making vampires Anarch) is too often unreliable, especially against more experienced players who will try to block this action to prevent your deck from functioning.


• "Anarch Secession" -- "Kindred Most Wanted" rare -- while the above two actions can only be taken by non-titled vampires, this is the card for titled vampires to use. Although the newly converted anarch does not untap (as with "Go Anarch"), princes and archbishops have their titles converted into baron titles of the same city. Since this is the only way of making titled vampires Anarch (beside "Jack Drake"), it is the first choice if you want to base your Anarch deck on vampires with inherent votes (titles).


• "Galaric's Legacy" -- "Anarch" Common -- before "Twilight Rebellion" "Galaric's Legacy" was usually the first choice in an Anarch-based deck, since it wasn't action (that can be blocked), and this master card is a trifle. Packing 6 to 10 cards (in a 80-90 cards) deck is enough to have Anarchs vampires early on. One of the drawbacks of this card is that the master can be canceled (by "Wash" or "Sudden Reversal"), but this does not happen often, since it is regarded as not too important (better save the SR/Wash for the "Fame" or "Pentex Subversion". The real disadvantage is that you waste a lot of card slots for making your vampires Anarch. Card slots that should better be used to make actually use of your Anarch vampires and their abilities.


• "Seattle Committee" -- "Anarch" rare -- while clearly having a better effect than "Galaric's Legacy", since a single copy of "Seattle Committee" can be used multiple times to make a vampire an Anarch, the card has other drawbacks. First of all, it's not a good idea to include too many copies, since the card stays in play you only need one copy in play. On the other hand you want to draw the card earlier than later in the game, so this contradicts the fact that too many copies of the card are not good for the later card flow. Secondly, it's not a trifle and it's unique, so if there's another Anarch player at the table (which usually does not happen that often) there might be contest of the card.


• "Twilight Camp" -- "Twilight Rebellion" rare -- is an interesting alternative to "Seattle Comittee". It offers slighty different mechanism on making Anarchs, because you can only make vampires Anarch when they entered play from the uncontrolled region. This inferior to "Seattle Committee", on the upside you can spent a master phase action to move one (of up to four) counters as blood to an Anarch. If you have used one or more "Seattle Committee" in your Anarch decks you should consider replacing some of them with "Twilight Camp".


• "Anarch Convert" -- "Twilight Rebellion" uncommon -- this new mechanism was introduced with the "Twilight Rebellion" expansion. It allows you to make another vampire you control an Anarch by burning the "Anarch Convert" that has just entered the ready region.When using this effect, you can then decide which of the two optiosn you choose:
  1. get a pool; in this case you often used a crypt slot and a transfer point for the go-anarch effect.
  2. move a card from your crypt from your controlled region; in this case you have paid a pool and a transfer for the go-anarch effect.
  In the end you gain a versatile tool for making vampires Anarch, but at the same time you do not have to dilute your library with too many cards for achieving the same effect. Putting 4 "Anarch Converts" into your crypt, you have 83% chance of getting "Anarch Convert" in your starting crypt, thus giving you - with a slight delay (of one transfer point) - an Anarch very early in the game.


• "Jack Drake" -- his special is that he can make vampires Anarch when they move from the uncontrolled to the ready region (similar to those of "Twilight Camp") and they burn a blood. The obvious drawback is that Jack must be moved first to the ready, then the younger vampires. In addition Jack as a vampire with his disciplines must fit into your overall deck strategy. On the other hand Jack's special also also (similar to "Anarch Secession") to become titled vampires Anarchs, but in contrast to "Anarch Secession", they all lose their title.(1) As an alternative you can move the younger vampires to the ready region first, and after Jack has done this as well, the first vampire can save a blood when going anarch (cardless), since Jack is already an Anarch. So Jack is not a bad choice for going anarch, but he doesn't fit into every Anarch deck due his capacity and discipline selection.

Draft Effect Cards

• "Anarch Manifesto" -- "Twilight Rebellion" common -- is great way of becoming Anarch in draft, since not only you can become Anarch for free, any subsequent actions that require an Anarch, e.g. "Steely Tenacity" or "Keystone Kine" are at an additional +1 stealth. When combined with "Anonymous Freight" you can also increase the stealth on the equip action to +3 without having to think about any discipline or clan requirements.


• "Garibaldi-Meucci Museum" -- "Twilight Rebellion" rare -- another great choice in draft, since along with two other useful effects (retrieving Anarch-requiring cards from the ashheap & ending combat between Anarchs), you have the effect of "Seattle Committee" for free.

Summary
While in the past "Galaric's Legacy" combined with copy of "Seattle Committee" was most often the best choice when you tried to play an Anarch deck, the question for the right card is now more complex to answer. "Twilight Camp" can replace or combined with "Seattle Committee". The two go-anarch actions (cardless and "Go Anarch") are still not the first choice, but in deck with "CrimethInc" it's at least worth a thought. The card that excels in making Anarchs is (in my humble opinion) the "Anarch Convert", because he offers a reliable way of doing so, with a reasonable cost/drawback.

(1) Technically they don't loose their title, the title is just dormant until their sect affinity switches back to their original sect.