Card "starvation" bleed defence

@Juggernaut

"for the remainder of the action" makes the cards wallpaper. Should be until the end of the current minion phase.

Yeah, maybe instead make it "Does not replace cards for the rest of the action" or "Do not replace action modifiers played by the acting minion until the end of the minion phase".

The second one seems quite harsh. The first one does turn up on a Gehenna card (Blood Weakens?)

@juggernaut

First of all, consistency is important. The concept of "card starvation" is already present in Meddling of Semsith. If you want to add similar effects, make them all the same so that it is less confusing.

Second of all, yes, this kind of card denial is harsh. But your card ideas cost blood and (often overlooked) space in a deck with a lower opportunity cost. If it's only for the current action it's not worth the space in the deck, nevermind the blood cost.

There are two effects out there...

Meddling of the Semsith
www.secretlibrary.info/index.php?lib=1095
Choose another Methuselah. If this referendum is successful, put this card in play. Your hand size is one card smaller. The chosen Methuselah doesn't draw to replace cards during any Methuselah's minion phase. After each minion phase, he or she draws back up to his or her hand size. Any vampire may call a referendum to burn this card as a +1 stealth political action.

Blood Weakens
www.secretlibrary.info/index.php?lib=1287
Gehenna. Do not replace until a vampire commits diablerie.
Cards minions play in an action that require any Disciplines are not replaced until the end of the current action or until any Methuselah's hand is empty (whichever comes first). Any vampire who commits diablerie is immune to this effect until the next Gehenna card is played.


Meddling of the Semsith has a number of hurdles: getting it into play, playing your own hand with 6 cards being the first two. It also has a burn-clause. For those you get probably one of the harshest hand-interfering effects in the game.

Blood Weakens is generally irritating enough an effect. Getting it into play isn't difficult, but everyone pays the penalty while not huge. Oh and from playing a no-Discipline deck using Blood Weakens, it jerks around with people's game pretty hard without stopping people from using non-Discipline cards.


So, going for a Semsith-type card denial I think is too harsh. I'd sit much more comfortably with variations of Blood Weakens than Semsith. Blood costs are changable, that sort of stuff comes out in the play-testing wash...

I agree, Semsith and Blood Weakens are both fairly easy to get into play, Semsith having a major drawback.

That said, a reaction card played by a minion to "card starve" a player is only effective for a single action, whereas both Semsith and Blood Weakens are effects that stay in play, and are difficult to remove.

A reaction card, with a small opportunity to play with a blood cost and an effect limited to a single action... should be strong.

A player facing such a card will either:
A) play the cards they have because they didn't plan on bleeding with all their minions
or
B) don't play any more cards because they have other minions to use up cards in hand

"do not replace cards until end of minion phase" for a single action is not nearly as powerful as "Meddling of Semsith" or "Blood Weakens."

So,
The first two cards I drafted go into play with X counters (should add a burn clause, didn't). But the downside is they are only used on bleeds.

The Anarch card, to give it a bit of grunt, is usable on any action but doesn't go into play.
Hadn't thought too far about what to give it for discipline flavours...