Three-Pronged Urban Assault

This sort of comes out of the ideas being knocked around in Card Idea: Deep-seeded Infiltration but it seemed sufficiently different that I should put it in its own thread.

First off, the vague idea:
Designer Intent Ruling: if a !Gangrel with Celerity plays Amaranth in combat, do I get blue and yellow? Yes.

Okay, so the intent should be fairly obvious, but:

1) I want to help the City Gangrel Antitribu out a bit.
2) I want to give them some offence, but not turn them into just a stealth-and-bleed clan
3) It would be nice if it was flavoursome...
4) ... but it would also be nice if it was relatively easy to use
5) ... and didn't die just because they sat next to a deck that was completely Teflon about combat.


I'm hoping that the above is different enough yet potentially decent enough that it might interest someone into building a deck that uses it.

It's a bit wordy, and I'm hoping to avoid Seven Line Syndrome. I think it's different enough, but hopefully not too different - I don't want cards that look like silly parlour games off to one side and make people care about things they never care about at all (except for this), but I think I'm inside the boundary on that one.

I did start drafting it as "a Gangrel Antitribu you control..." but felt I was running out of word-space and didn't care sufficiently.

I also don't really want a single card that takes them from zero to zOMG - because it makes it very hard to add cards in the future. Although on that score, I did consider adding a burn clause - either "Burn this card" or "Burn the counters on this card". Maybe with some damage to the burner - automatic, like burning a Path, or optional, like burning an Imbued? I decided against that because I was running out of words, but also because they're the City Gangrel.

So to play this card I need to buy three specific coloured counters? Whaaaa?
It seems like shedloads of additional book-keeping to get at most +3 bleed with a whole bunch of additional conditions. At this point, I think I'd just take out 5-8 Dominate Masters and play those instead to get my +2-3 bleed and pool defence.

Urban Assault
Unique Master

Put this card in play. After a combat, when a Gangrel Antitribu you control is ready and an opposing minion is not put a counter on this card. You may pay the cost of cards requiring Gangrel Antitribu with counters on this card. You may also use transfer points to move counters from this card to an uncontrolled Gangrel Antitribu you control.

jamesatzephyr wrote:

Okay, so the intent should be fairly obvious, but:

1) I want to help the City Gangrel Antitribu out a bit.
2) I want to give them some offence, but not turn them into just a stealth-and-bleed clan
3) It would be nice if it was flavoursome...
4) ... but it would also be nice if it was relatively easy to use
5) ... and didn't die just because they sat next to a deck that was completely Teflon about combat.

I think you fairly nail all three. Also, good thinking with the different coloured counters. They do seem cumbersome but I wonder if the alternatives might be worse. "The first time a !Gangrel with obfuscate you control bleeds your prey this card gets one counter" and so on being the obvious alternative.

jamesatzephyr wrote:

I'm hoping that the above is different enough yet potentially decent enough that it might interest someone into building a deck that uses it.

A permanent +1 bleed for !Gangrel with obf from a free master will always see play, in my modest view. The rest is just gravy.

jamesatzephyr wrote:

It's a bit wordy, and I'm hoping to avoid Seven Line Syndrome. I think it's different enough, but hopefully not too different - I don't want cards that look like silly parlour games off to one side and make people care about things they never care about at all (except for this), but I think I'm inside the boundary on that one.

The hassle for wording this in master cards comes from trying to single out OBF-CEL'ers. Hence my current thinking that discipline requiring cards might be the way to go for leveraging City Gangrel in particular.

Juggernaut1981 wrote:

At this point, I think I'd just take out 5-8 Dominate Masters and play those instead to get my +2-3 bleed and pool defence.

One must aknowledge that this statement will always be true pretty much no matter what card you invent to benefit the !Gangrel (and many other clans, for that matter).


Drain

I like the idea. Just need to add "you control" to many places of card b/c now it works with every in table (and it makes card more wall of text). Also I don't like rush version working any minion, it encourages to rush easy target from crosstable. Don't see so much point with requiring obf or cel vampire either.

I don't like the three different counters so much. That forces players to use three different counters. Vtes card design already allows very many cards designed with different ways if just sticking with previous cards. So I wouldn't want to see any new cards which works new ways and require errata (like how card works with goth band) b/c that is first card requiring different counters. With some thinking that card can be made to use only one kind of counters. I would like to make it more simple also. Like:

Urban Assault
Unique Master.
Put this card in play with 2 counters. If this card has 2 counters remove a counter when Gangrel Antitribu successfully bleeds your prey. If this card has 1 counter remove a counter when a ready Gangrel Antitribu finishes combat with the opponent controlled by your prey not ready. If this card has no counters you may tap it when a Gangrel Antitribu you control announces a bleed action to give him +2 bleed.

Now card might too weak thought. So maybe replace version: "If this card has no counters Gangrel Antitribu you control get +1 bleed." I feel that is better b/c it doesn't help just one strong minion like Enkidu.

Wouldn't mind see some short timed "Palla Grande" with also.

Urban Mastery
Unique master.
Put this card in play and put 1 counter on it. Gangrel antitribu get +1 bleed. You may add 1 counter to this card when a ready Gangrel Antitribu finishes combat with the opponent controlled by your prey predator not ready. You may add 2 counters to this card when a Gangrel Antitribu commits diablerie. Remove a counter from this card at the end of each of your turns. Burn this card if it has no counters.

I'd start that card with 2 counters and let them gain 1 counter for each minion they burn/torporise/diablerise and scratch the variations. "Burn a counter in your untap phase" would be my preferred clause.