Submission: Animal Companion

This my first submission, so please forgive any mistakes.

Name: Animal Companion
Cardtype: Retainer
Cost: None
Capacity: Not applicable
Discipline: Animalism or Spiritus
Clan: None
Animal 1 life
A minion may only have one Animal Companion. Ahrimane may recruit this retainer from any ash heap.
[ani] or [spi] A vampire with Animal Companion may burn a blood for +1 stealth or intercept.
[ANI] or [SPI] as above, this vampire may burn Animal Companion to either gain +1 bleed for the current action or you gain 2 pool.

Flavor text: "The answers we seek are in the Spiritworld." - Maria McKinnan-Fisher

Art Notes: A dark-skinned Australian cat-like woman, with muscle tone, and very little clothing holding a mouse in her hand. The background behind her should be fuzzy as she peers in to the Spiritworld.

World of Darkness reference: Concept came from Bloodline-Book: Ahrimanes page 13 (Under the Rite of the Third Birth), Basic level ability is based on page 27 (Under Speak with Spirits, Spiritus 1) and Superior ability is based on page 31 (Under Engling Fury Spiritus 4 discipline), Ahrimane with animals or spirits as familiars is listed on page 38. Maria McKinnan-Fischer is credited for learning how to use Engling is listed on page 40.

How does this card address a compelling game need?: Ahrimane have potent cards that allow them to reuse Animal retainers, but lack a reusable animal retainer that they can combo with these cards. The basic ability is flexible allowing it to be use offensively or defensively but pays for that ability with a blood cost or by burning the card. In comparison Raven Spy costs 1 blood but does require any additional expenditure for reuse.The superior ability is a means to provide a way to stabilize against pool lost (thematically from the Engling sacrifice) or an offense means to push for bleed (thematically from the knowledge gained in the Spiritworld). While any vampire with Animalism may use this card they will find more potent cards already exist such as Raven Spy and Tier of Souls (which are both permanent cards). It shines the most in a deck that replay retainers from it's graveyard such as from Spiritus or Necromancy. For a deck that uses Gangrel antitribu for additional vampires Animalism is a substitute for Spiritus. The current weakness of Ahrimane is that they lack the flexibility to be anything other than Intercept combat. In one card, this provides a pool gain mechanic without requiring intercept to protect and a way to turn that mechanic into an offensive tool.

Created by: Justin Lacey

Update: July 5th 2017
Here is text from the last update

Several changes since the original version. Dropped the clunky graveyard effects, while thematically appropriate they are unnecessary and distract from the goal of creating a versatile retainer for Spiritus. Burn effects were added for synergy purposes. Part of the challenge of this card was creating a retainer that wasn't overshadowed by existing retainers like J. S. Simmons, Esq or Tasha Morgan. Ultimately I had to use the unlock mechanic from Leather Jacket to make the card work.

Animal Companion

Animal 1 life
A minion may only have one Animal Companion. If the action to employ Animal Companion is successful unlock the acting minion at the end of the turn.
This vampire may burn Animal Companion for +2 damage to this vampire's strike.
as
as and this vampire may burn Animal Companion for +2 bleed to this vampire's action.

"The answers we seek are in the Spiritworld." - Maria McKinnan-Fisher

Here is a possible redesign option.

Name: Animal Companion
Cardtype: Retainer
Capacity: Not applicable
Discipline: Animalism or Spiritus
Clan: None
Animal 1 life
A minion may only have one Animal Companion.
A vampire with Animal Companion may burn a for +1 stealth or intercept.
as and this retainer may be recruited from any ash pile.
as and this vampire may burn Animal Companion for +1 bleed or gain 2 .
"The answers we seek are in the Spiritworld." - Maria McKinnan-Fisher

Better?

Last version was very lack luster, especially the Animalism text. Then I became concerned the recruit from ash pile mechanic on a card in the ash pile was a bad way to implement the effect. Then there was the other problem the pool gain mechanic on superior was not a very good mechanic for Ahrimane. All it did was promote a stall game and the +1 bleed for a burn effect was too weak. Overall, I also tried to make the card more symmetrical with burn effects at inferior and superior and boosted the power of both. Hopefully this is better.

Animal Companion

Animal 1 life
A minion may only have one Animal Companion.
This vampire may burn Animal Companion after strikes have been chosen to add 2 damage to a strike and unlock.
as and this vampire gains a spirit counter. This vampire may burn a spirit counter as +1 stealth action to recruit an animal retainer from their ash pile.
as and this vampire may burn Animal Companion for +2 bleed.