I wish. Outlook's flakiness alone requires more knowledge than just HTML 4.
Sad but true. The problem is that there are no email standards to speak of. Each email client supports an incomplete set of either HTML and/or CSS making it nearly impossible to determine anything more than a baseline feature set.
Tell me about it. I work for a publishing company that's transitioning from Print to Digital that deals with firms that are even less far along in the transition than we are. So, at least once a month, I have to tell someone, _again_ that we can't use Flash banners in email. We will NEVER be able to use Flash banners in an email. STOP ASKING.