[card idea] Shiv

Just chiming in about the tutoring effects; searching just your library is pretty rough. For desired power level you'll want to search both library and hand, often even ash heap.

The idea's fine though. Delivery Truck's problem was that it was too slow, took multiple actions (too valuable), and, to an extent, it never did concealed weapon's job better.

Really, it's not that equipping with melee weapons isn't possible. They're just worse than .44. You're on the right track, though, I think, with giving those utility effects to anarch, and having another effects other than just doing stuff with equipments.

Gods, it would be awesome to have chainsaw or bastard swords or shotguns see more play... They're all 1 pool too expensive (yes, 1 for a the chainsaw effect is still too much), but that alone won't make them worth the while.

Good thing seeing people brainstorming the melee gear.

Kraus wrote:

Just chiming in about the tutoring effects; searching just your library is pretty rough. For desired power level you'll want to search both library and hand, often even ash heap.

My Abandoned Cottage suggestion seemed powerful enough (for an easy cycling trifle). It searches just the library, but the recursion effect (shuffling combat cards into the library) means that, if you're using Ararchs and >1 Cottage, you can chain their effects to fetch broken Sticks from your ash heap.

It seems thematically appropriate that Anarch vampires could weaponise broken or discarded stuff that they find in squatted houses

Kraus wrote:

Really, it's not that equipping with melee weapons isn't possible. They're just worse than .44.

Bingo. So in tourneys, you might see 44 and Sniper Rifle, but are lucky to see any other weapons.

I think new weapons (to actually see tourney use) need to be stronger than 44 (power creep = bad) or stronger, but only within some niche (variety = good).

Bundi + Forger's Hammer would be a great example of the latter, except it is too deck & action costly for most IG decks. Also, compared to 1990's V:TES, IG combat has been hosed badly by the changing meta (guns, Imbued, Carlton etc being pretty common now), making Bundi an overpriced toy for a largely dead strategy.

Kraus wrote:

You're on the right track, though, I think, with giving those utility effects to anarch, and having another effects other than just doing stuff with equipments.

I think multi-use is a good way to introduce cards that improve the game's balance.

Id love to see more multi-use cards like Dreams, but tweaked so that some of the uses are better for weak clans / groups / effects. Weeping Stone or Kaymakli Fragment would be good examples of this, - if they were a bit stronger, and actually saw play.

My Abandoned Cottage suggestion seemed powerful enough (for an easy cycling trifle). It searches just the library, but the recursion effect (shuffling combat cards into the library) means that, if you're using Ararchs and >1 Cottage, you can chain their effects to fetch broken Sticks from your ash heap.

If you replace those tutorable cards from the tutor, you can't fetch them from your hand. This is a slightly arbitrary hindrance, not usually looked for in these kinds of cards. This is why it's usually a good idea to add 'hand' to tutor places. Recursion is of course different.

This is a subtle balancing method for tutors that gives them a bit of leeway.

Magic of the Smith and Summon History are so strong they kind of deserve the odd cycling problem.

My thoughts:

A shiv weapon card is cool, but I don't like the anarch requirement. I get your reasons (mechanics and powerlevel), but what is the thematic / flavor reasoning behind such a decision? It seems weird to me that one would need to belong to a particular faction / ideology in order to make/use a shiv.

I like the idea of "before play begins: do a thing" but I don't think this is the best card or idea to introduce that. "Before play begins" seems like it would be reserved for a something cooler than a shiv, which is a hand-made, throw-away, weak weapon.

There is no reason to keyword "before play begins" if it's only going to be used on a few cards.

I also really dislike the research area, but using it for shivs of all things? That's a big flavor fail IMO.

If I were going to reword Shiv, I'd scrap the Anarch requirement and have it say:

Shiv
Equipment. Weapon. Melee.
Strike: Strength+1 damage. Burn this weapon after use.
Before play begins, you may move up to three Shivs from your library to an Anarch in your uncontrolled region, face up (shuffle afterwards).

But in regards to what Kraus said about melee weapons being worse that .44 Magnum, I still think the solution would be to provide cards that make melee weapons more versatile. For example:

Martial Poise.
Action Modifier.
Only useable when equipping a melee weapon.
If the action to equip the weapon is blocked, this minion equips the weapon.
Put this card on this acting vampire. This vampire can "Strike: Dodge, with an additional strike," as long as they are equipped with a melee weapon.

And I was thinking the other day, equipment is so slow that we really need something akin to the Trifle keyword but for equipment. Equipment with that keyword would make the acting vampire untap if the equip action is successful. Unfortunately, this would probably obsolete so much equipment that it can't be done.

The difference between, let's say, the Tiger Claws and a .44 Magnum is the freaking maneuver, which end ups meaning that yes, the Claws do 1 extra damage, but the magnum allows you to avoid damage. With 1 single magnum I could spam bleed of 1 (or block) with 1 vampire and never need to do anything (nor hunt nor play combat cards) unless my enemy does so, while the Tiger would end up torporing my vampire (because of receiving 1 damage).

The second problem is that melee weapons cannot be used against Immortal Grapple, as well as ranged weapons, yes, but then again the ranged weapon makes you, by default, harder to grapple. Now, if we keep this like it is, we gotta figure out what melee weapons should do to either overcome this problem (not ideal), or be so valuable that using melee weapons were a benefit on itself.

Melee weapons shouldn't be inmune to neither immortal, nor give you something to bypass maneuvers or range, nor should be by default "ignore 1 damage every combat" to catch up with ranged weapons (although they could add some defense).

IMO, melee weapons should do A LOT MORE damage than ranged weapons (in the example of the Tiger claws, +3S for 2 pools seems right to me); they should give "Enter combat" possibilities (like Talbot, which is the only melee weapon that seems viable right now IMO), they should give passive counter-measures to combatend (like, combat end cost extra blood, or enemies have to burn blood/receive damage at the end of the combat), they should give the possibility to kill retainers; to set the range to close; to unequip/stop an enemy from using an strike from a weapon; to not allow an enemy to untap in their next untap if they receive X damage/number of strikes...

For instance:
Bonecrusher
Equipment
2 Pool
Strike: Strenght+1, +3 if the bearer has . Any minion that suffers 3 or more damage from this weapon during the same action locks and doesn't unlock during their next unlock phase.

Spiked Chain
Equipment
1 Pool
Strike: Strength +2, or Strike: Cancel the opposing minion melee or ranged strike at close range with first strike, and deal Strength damage during the normal strike resolution.

Butterfly knife
Equipemnt
1 pool
You can pay 1 pool to equip this card from your hand during combat before range is determined (pay the cost of this equipment as well).
Strike: 2 damage. This minion can enters combat with any locked minion as a +1 Stealth action. This minion can only attack with this weapon during the first round of the resulting combat.

Talbot's Chainsaw isn't a melee weapon though:

Name: Talbot's Chainsaw
[Jyhad:R, VTES:R, CE:R, KoT:R]
Cardtype: Equipment
Cost: 3 pool
Unique weapon.
Strike: 3 damage. If bearer is ready during your unlock phase, a ready minion you control takes 3 unpreventable damage. Bearer cannot hunt. Bearer may enter combat with a minion controlled by another Methuselah as a +1 stealth action. Bearer gets a press, only usable to continue combat on the first round, and may prevent up to 1 damage each combat.
Artist: Jim Nelson; Tom Wänerstrand

Which, to be honest, is a damn shame, since there are some weird instances where it doesn't combo with melee weapon damage. If this was intentional as a balancing tool, I don't think it's really needed.

Another topic though.

But yes, I would love to see melee weapons do something else than just hit for Str+1 in slightly different ways.