Submission: Trench Upstart

Submission:

Name: Trench Upstart
Cardtype: Master
Cost: 2 pool
Attach this card to a Camarilla Nosferatu in your Uncontrolled region. At the end of your next Influence phase, move this vampire to the Ready region, with whatever counters he or she has, and this card. Burn this card and 2 pool if this vampire leaves the Ready region.

Art notes:
A nosferatu is emerging from a manhole, with the lid carefully slid aside. The vampire is menacing and powerful despite the ragged and filthy look.

World of Darkness reference:
-none-

How does this card address a compelling game need?:
This card allows for unique ways to ramp up big and powerful Nosferatu, which otherwise suffer from the lack of Govern and other crypt acceleration. They mostly lack superior offensive skills and disciplines, and this card is meant to give them better early game with faster tool up actions.

This card has visible anti synergy with Villein and other most commonly used survival options to enable big cap vampires.

The ‘camarilla’ clause was built in to deny the ramp of Baba Yaga. Harrod and Von Bauren both lack in power, and do not have skills (prince title or DOM or PRE) for ‘govern down’ effects, so they are not any more problematic with this card than other useful vampires of G3 like Cock Robin and Ellison Humbolt.

As Gangrel have a unique ramp effect in Gather and Thing, this would enable Nosferatu, a well-known lackluster clan, to gain momentum to build up an early game with high risks, and speed to actually end games.

Created by:
Petrus Makkonen, Petro Hirvonen, Petteri Teerikangas

 

Trench Upstart
2
Master
Attach this card to a Camarilla Nosferatu in your Uncontrolled region. At the end of your next Influence phase, move this vampire to the Ready region, with whatever counters he or she has, and this card. Burn this card and 2 pool if this vampire leaves the Ready region.

Edit\\ As per the initial intent, the Nosferatu requirement was removed.

I like the idea of allowing Nosferatu and Nosferatu Anti more acceleration options. I am not a fan of restricting it only to Camarilla Nosferatu. Thematically many of Camarilla Nosferatu have Sabbat Nosferatu as their contacts. After I get done with Crypt Submissions, I am thinking about doing Clan submissions. I had a card idea to specifically deal with this issue.

Tell me what you think about this:

Name: Information is Power
Cardtype: Master
Clan: Nosferatu or Nosferatu Antitribu
Cost: 1 pool
Unique. Your Nosferatu and Nosferatu Antitribu may move 2 blood from any uncontrolled vampire to another uncontrolled vampire as a action.

I am a little concerned it may be too strong. It punishes high capacity vampires pretty harshly.

Hey mate!

That card of yours is pretty interesting, but I think we should discuss that later on in a topic of its own. It caters for a fundamentally different kind of a niche, and has very little to do with the suggested card per se. Crypt acceleration and clan requirements set aside, of course.

My focus was definitely in the Camarilla Nosferatu only, partly for flavor and partly for balance. Focus as well though, since !Nosferatu do have some stuff going for them already (better vampires for starters), and I'd like to keep the design narrower for focus. Everything is easier to design with a narrower scope.

For my liking, the !Nosferatu could get something of their own.

Okay, I will talk about this card specifically. I don't think it is good enough. The card costs two pool and it has a disadvantage that could cost another 2 pool. It requires you to already have a vampire in play. Why not just play Zillah's Valley at that point? If you are lucky you basically end up with an empty vampire in play that you paid 2 pool for with the best case scenario being a following Giant's Blood. In theory you could Golconda I suppose but I am not thinking that is what you are intending.

jblacey wrote:

Okay, I will talk about this card specifically.

Bring out a teeny 2-3 cap Nosferatu so you can play this card on, say, Cock Robin with one transfer (so he doesn't need to hunt).

Bring out Cock Robin at one blood with Trench Upstart (you could also use Slum Hunting Ground or Life in the City etc to prevent mere hunting next turn).

When he can finally act Cock Robin brutalizes someone and plays Taste of Vitae and now has plenty of blood. His inferior fortitude is pretty handy here too, helping to avoid embarassing entries to torpor...

Nice to have discussion. I thought it would promote some. It's a controversial suggestion.

To be fair, the addition of Nosferatu as a requirement wasn't part of the original design. The idea was to enable turn one Cock Robins, Harrods, Ebenazer Roushes, have-what-you-may, if you included enough of them in the deck.

If it actually would require a weenie friend or not is up to play testing. The original concept didn't have that. Sorry, my fault, but it's good to discuss that from that point of view as well.

The whole point of it would be to offer an alternative to Zillah's Valley and Villein. But then again, I do agree with you that it just might not be powerful enough.

Would you deem it balanced and interesting enough to warrant play testing?

@Lönkka, that's just one of the best case scenarios that could enable this card. Others could include popping up early votes and filling up with Entrenching or Abactor. Still would be situational and not too strong. Nothing that couldn't be replicated with Villein. In comparison this would mainly give you speed (and card compression maybe, since you won't be needing Villein that much?).

The extra clause of pseudo-fame is meant to make it a high-risk-high-reward kind of a play, as well as add flavour.

All in all, it could be strong - it could bite you your ass off. It makes for big swings that alter the game state significantly.

I can't think of any vampires that would be broken with this card, even a turn one Harrod. And if someone makes a aggro deck with Harrod utilising this as turn one and filling up with Voter Captivation, I'm all for it. The poor chum never ever sees play, and for a good reason.