Plague Wind - Mortis/Harbingers of Skulls

So, over here , Snegiem was pondering the need for a steady card for the Harbingers of Skulls. I found myself looking at the Mortis page on the unofficial White Wolf wiki, and was drawn to Plague Wind. Thinking about the potential for Harbingers to be fairly blocky, but not having so much to do once they've blocked (like Toreador have Celeritous guns, EuroBrujah have Potence etc.) got me thinking...


Vague thoughts:
- [nec] vs [NEC][for] is intended, not a typo - though feel free to disagree!
- [NEC][for] makes it highly usable by Harbingers, without being totally exclusive to them: some Samedi, some Giovanni, which seems thematically appropriate.
- At inferior, it's not ranged, which is to try to make it not outright better than Theft of Vitae. It also makes the superior more distinct and more desirable.
- The "even if at close range" text is there because normally you have to be at range to hit retainers with a strike (rulebook 6.4.7). Also, a Dodge wouldn't protect the retainer (rulebook 6.4.5). Possibly limit it to hitting only one retainer?

With the inferior, I'm thinking that Giovanni generally would prefer Potence (IG, Disarm etc.), though maybe there'd be a space for some sort of weenie Necromancy deck coming out of it - which might not be a terrible thing anyhow, but might need thinking about.

...

Also, the topic of Plague Wind has come up before, in a very different way.

Level 8 - Plague Wind  The vampire can unlock the decay in everything around them and tap into the death that dwells in all living things from mortals to beasts to plants. Human and animals waste away in hours, plants wither and decay. The Plague Wind does not descriminate; everything within the area of effect, except the vampire himself/herself, is subject to its corrupting influence. Vampires are not immune to this although it effects them in different ways. If they can't resist the effect, they fall into torpor. Even if they do resist, they become plague-carriers for 3 days.
Costs 2 Willpower pts and the vampire touchs intended victim. The plague flows outward in a putrid wind from the target to others around him

When i read the power description, stealing life or blood is not really what comes to my mind... i would rather think it like a bleeding cards (lay waste and consequently make lose ressources to an ennemy) like:

Plague wind
Action/combat
1 bloods
for nec : bleed at +1. If you successfully bleed a methuselah, you may burn a life or blood of a non wraith non zombi minion this methuselah controls.
FOR NEC: combat card. Play this card before range is determined. Only one plague wind may be played per combat. This combat, this vampire s hand damages are aggravated. Before range is determined, the plague wind inflicts one damage to all other non zombi non wraith minions in combat.

Or
plague wind
action
2 bloods
For nec: choose a methuselah. This minion inflicts one unpreventable damage to all of that methuselah non wraith non zombi minions.
FOR NEC: +1 stealth action. Put this unique card in play. Burn this card if this acting minion leave the ready region. This acting minion hand damages are aggravated and he can burn a retainer or an ally as a ranged strike. During each methuselah untap, this methuselah choose a non wraith non zombi minion other than this acting vampire, the chosen minion takes one unpreventable damage. Any minion can enter fight with the acting vampire as a action.

or
plague wind
combat cards
nec for: play before range is determined. The plague wind inflicts 1R damage each round during strike resolution to opposing non zombi non wraith minion and to all of the non zombi non wraith retainers of the opposing minion.
NEC FOR: as above and the hand damages of the minion who played that card are aggravated this combat.

I don t say that stealing life is not proper... far from it as it would definetely be an asset to samedi and nagaraja and giovanni decks... it is more that i feel it not appropriate with the card thematic...

plague wind
+1 stealth action
3 bloods
Nec for: inflicts one damage unpreventable to all other non zombi non wraith minion in play. Attempts to block this action cost non zombi non wraith minions 1 additionnal blood.
Any methuselah's minion can attempt to block this action.
NEC FOR as above and if the action is successfully blocked, the acting vampire hand damages will be aggravated in resulting combat.