Submission: Holly, Black Spiral Buddy

Hakuron wrote:

I guess this is why this phrase appears in the card text:
»When Holly is succesfully recruited, move him to the Ready region.«

So the idea is that Holly can be used (to rush) in the turn it is recruited, right? I like this feature.

Correct.

The ability is to give an additional boost to its effectiveness, on par with a rush action per se.

Compared to a rush, for 2 pool you get:

A rush card
Claws of the Dead (1 blood)
Additional Strike (0/1 blood)
+1 strength

So card compression, vulnerability to blocks from your left (recruit being undirected), and any other drawbacks you might imagine. A rush comes as, well, a rush effect, as does the ally.

I'd argue him being a more interactive, card-compressed aggro-damage rush card for a clan lacking defensive capability (outside country gangrel and their animalism). Marked Territory and Under Siege definitely help, and of course Abbot, but most of that's available for all Sabbat as is.

It could be argued that City Gangrel gain most support from Holly, but it could be useful in basic Celerity Guns (if splashed with CEL !Gangrel), and has a powerful effect all over.