Card idea: Pin the Fly

I love the idea of helping melee weapon combat, it's currently pretty weak. Still, the cost is pretty high and this card can't be played too often. I would actually make a completely different inferior level that don't burn weapon and a superior level that do, maybe ?

Also, it's a pentex subvertion like effect : the vampire don't act until another minion rescue him. This mean also that the card is much more precious against big cap than against small cap.

As a variation on the idea, I would replace the superior level with 'burn the vampire at its controller minion phase' : the idea is that the vampire is pined to the sun and will burn if not rescued. May need another clause to avoid it being too overpowered (or be another card, more difficult to play)

My first thought is that I would try to abuse it with small-cap potence vampires, permaintercept & walking sticks to lock down opponents.

I think it would do this better compared to disarm since it takes a lot of actions away with both the untap and the action required to burn.

Maybe replacing the "no untap" part by "can't block and can't do action other than unpinning itself" ? Since it's not a wooden stake, the vampire *should* be somewhat able to unpin itself I believe.

Also, unlike the current formulation it would not allow Guard dog or wake with evening freshness that seem a bit silly. "I am pined to the ground with a 3-meter pillar, but if my dog tell me I can totally intercept peoples".

Ankha wrote:

Role playing arguments are out of consideration. See Memory of Mortality on a Great Beast, a Sensory Deprived vampire that can wake etc.

I can understand that gameplay prime, but I believe strongly that mecanism that make sense are way better.

In gameplay terms, the difference between the two formulation (can't untap vs can't block or act except removing) is that the second one handicap the vampire a lot more but allow the vampire to unpin himself. Meaning that star decks and big cap deck are less hosed.