Some more card ideas

One thing that is missing in Vtes is a card to retrieve retainers. You can equip from the next minion, you can use cards to get blood, disciplines or even locations but the only thing that you can use with retainers is Heilderberg (not usable with allies) or shephers for retainers that require animalism.

I suggest something like:

Something Something

Take control of any number of retainers in a minion, if you control that minion this action is at +1 Stealth.


Other ideas

Based on Zillah's Valley:

Road to Zillah's
Master - Trifle (cost 3 pool)
Move 2 blood from the blood bank to a minion with capacity above 5 in your uncontrolled region.


Improving investments

Solomon Fitch (or other name)
Master Unique Location (1 pool)

During your untap phase you can move one blood from the blood bank to every investment card that you own. If any other player has investment cards you can remove one blood from each, instead of retrieving the blood from the blood bank.


Wake up call

Reaction

Burn 1 blood or life to get +2 Intercept for this action. A minion can only play one wake up call each turn.
Do not replace until your next discard phase.

Moving retainers is supposed to be harder than moving equipment. The card text you wrote would allow you to steal retainers from a vampire not controlled by you, without any costs or restrictions.

Cards that let you steal a retainer"
"Far Mastery"
"Fleecing the Gaje"
"Lure of the Serpent"
"Putrescent Servitude"
"Shepherd's Innocence"
"Trainer"


Cards that let you move retainers:
"Heidelberg Castle, Germany"
"Putrescent Servitude"

Certainly you can make an argument for making another card that lets you transfer retainers between your own vampires. I see no problem with more cards that allow you to steal retainers, with the proper requirements.

"Ransom"

2
Rescue a vampire from torpor. Move up to two equipment and/or retainers, whose costs total no more than two blood and/or pool, from the rescued vampire to this acting vampire. If you control the vampire in torpor, this is a +1 stealth action.

"Covert Headhunt"

X
Steal a retainer with a cost of X controlled by another vampire and put this card on the retainer. That vampire may attempt an action to steal this retainer and burn this card.
As above, but do not place this card on the retainer.

Based on Zillah's Valley:

Road to Zillah's
Master - Trifle (cost 3 pool)
Move 2 blood from the blood bank to a minion with capacity above 5 in your uncontrolled region.

I am a fan of "Zillah's Valley" and I kinda like this card, but it is essentially paying 1 pool for two extra transfers for a single turn. Unfortunately you can't pay half a pool.... or can you?

What if the card read:

"Road to Zillah's"
Master, trifle.
3
Move 2 blood from the blood bank to a minion with capacity above 5 in your uncontrolled region. Your next Master card played this turn costs one less pool.

If it is your only master card, or your other master card does not have a cost, then there is no benefit. I am curious to see what other people think of this idea (which could be applied to other card types, such as equipment that gets less expensive the more that are in play, etc.)

direwolf wrote:

"Road to Zillah's"
Master, trifle.
3
Move 2 blood from the blood bank to a minion with capacity above 5 in your uncontrolled region. Your next Master card played this turn costs one less pool.

I don't like it, it's too powerful. You're basically paying one pool for 2 transfers AND you don't spend your MPA AND, should you have it, you're having discount on your next master...

example: turn one: Road, Hungry coyote for one pool. You now have 6-cap out. turn 2: Road, Vessel for 0 pool, you now have another 5 or 6-cap out. Basically, you've spent 15 pool for 2 6-caps and a 3 pool worth of masters and you've all played it in two turns.

EDIT: also, its trifle-ness makes it very recycable, something Zillah's Valley is not - when you're low on pool or don't have a suitable vampire in your uncontrolled region, Valley is a dead card (as it IMHO should be). With this card, even in midgame and even if you don't want to influence, you can recycle it for a net loss of 0 to max 1 pool: pay 3 to put 2 on a vamp (with a less severe restriction), perhaps play another master (with a reduced cost) and in your influence return those two blood in your pool with your 4 transfers. Basically, you drew the accelerator card when you don't need it and you lost nothing...

wesile wrote:

Solomon Fitch (or other name)
Master Unique Location (1 pool)

During your untap phase you can move one blood from the blood bank to every investment card that you own. If any other player has investment cards you can remove one blood from each, instead of retrieving the blood from the blood bank.

Don't really like.

a) It uses a master phase action in the first place, which conflicts with most investments.
b) Alan Sovereign-Advanced can do some craziness with this.
c) Being able to yank around other players' investments feels like something of a disincentive to play them, unless they also play this.

wesile wrote:

Wake up call
Reaction
Burn 1 blood or life to get +2 Intercept for this action. A minion can only play one wake up call each turn.
Do not replace until your next discard phase.

Even with the relatively harsh replace mechanism, you can then easily get up to +4 disciplineless, transient intercept on a bleed action. I'm really not at all sure the game wants yet more ways of slowing the game down.