Submission: Melee weapon enhancers

AaronC: Balestra is a combat card, not an equipment card. I think "+2 damage and a maneuver to close" is a perfectly fair card.

Some thoughts on melee weapons in no particular order.

Equipping with them hasn't been a problem since concealed weapon was fixed. There are successful decks leveraging concealed guns, so where are the melee weapon decks?

All melee weapons cost too much by 1 pool.

Guns come with built-in damage prevention via maneuver. This creates a situation where the minion is invincible unless the maneuver is countered. This is good! Melee weapons don't have that benefit, and they are vulnerable to steal/destroy effects, which are almost all close range.

I think the key to making melee weapons viable is to identify an advantage they could have, a niche if you will. Something that makes the choice between a sword and a .44 Magnum an interesting one. Then give it to all melee weapons.

jamesatzephyr wrote:

Maestro
Master: archetype. Trifle.
Put this card on a ready vampire you control. This vampire has +1 strength when striking with a melee weapon. In combat, if this vampire chooses a melee weapon strike and the opponent ends combat as a strike, you may tap this card (after combat ends) to deal two unpreventable damage to the opponent. A vampire may have only one archetype.

The hope was to give some anti-S:CE tech, without it being totally cookie cutter.

As melee-based CEL and AUS already have an answer to S:CE, how about something along these lines for POT:

Machismo
Combat
Requires: Potence
Cost: 1 blood

Only usable at close range before strikes are chosen.
[pot]: The opposing minion may not Strike: Dodge or Strike: Combat ends this round.
[POT]: As above, and this minion may cancel the effects of a grapple card played by the opposing minion this round (no cost is paid).

Well, at it stands this is probably too good. It would enable Theft of Vitae and Entombment fun, and Rowan Ring would beat pretty much everything...

Here's one I've been thinking of and floated to a few people.

Armed and Dangerous
[Combat] Combat
Only usable before range is determined.
This minion equips with a non-unique melee weapon card from your hand (requirements and cost apply as normal). The minion may pay part or all of the associated pool cost with his or her blood.

Traditional Combatant
Action
1 blood
+1 stealth
Put this card on the acting vampire. You may also put a non-unique melee weapon on that vampire from your hand, library or ash-heap. As a action which costs 1 blood this vampire may enter combat with an older or titled vampire.

Chivalry
Action
1 blood
+1 stealth. Archetype.
Put this card on the acting vampire. During a combat with a vampire, while this vampire has a melee weapon, they may burn 1 blood to cancel a Strike: Dodge or Strike: Combat Ends as that strike is chosen. This card is turned face down and out of play until your next untap phase is this vampire uses a ranged weapon.

Bravado
Combat
Presence
Only playable before range in the first round of a combat. Frenzy.
The minion playing this card cannot Strike: Combat Ends during this combat.

 The opposing minion must burn 1 blood when they maneuver to long range.

 The opposing minion must burn 1 blood before declaring any Strike: Combat Ends.

Artwork: One vampire goading the other into attacking them and the other lunging.

Finesse

1
Requires a vampire with a melee weapon. Only playable before range is determined.
This round, only hand strikes or melee weapon strikes may be used if range is close, Grapple cards cost an additional blood, and hand strikes inflict one less damage.
As , but for the duration of this combat.
As , and maneuvers to long range cost an additional blood this round.

AaronC wrote:

Melee weapons still need an answer to S:CE. Potence is the natural adjunct to melee weapons, but Potence's answer to S:CE is Immortal Grapple, which doesn't go with melee weapons. Therefore you either need a melee weapon master or generic minion card that deals with S:CE like James's or you need a Potence card that allows a vampire to get past S:CE and strike with a melee weapon.

just spitballin' here but what about this:

Taunt ()

Only useable before range is determined. Requires a minion with a Melee weapon.

The opposing minion may not Strike: combat ends this round. this minion may burn one blood to extend the duration of this effect until the end of combat. a minion can only play one taunt per combat.

it's rough, don't get me wrong.... but it's an idea.