Submission: Brick Breaker

Name: Brick Breaker
Cardtype: Combat
Cost: 1 blood
Capacity:
Discipline: potence
Clan:
Do not replace until the end of combat.
[pot] Strike: hand strike at +1 damage. If any damage is successfully inflicted on the opposing minion from this strike, the opposing minion locks and does not unlock as normal during their next unlock phase.
[POT] As above, but at +2 damage.

Flavor text: “I kinda just tried to see which would give in first, the wall or his head. Now I know.”

Art notes: A female vampire caving in a male vampire’s head in a brick wall. Feel free to add gore.

World of Darkness reference: none

How does this card address a compelling game need?:
Mathematically potence lacks in combat viability. It’s damage output is not much greater than other combat modules, and while it’s supposed to be the most offensive combat discipline it falls short on most areas.

Power creeping potence’s damage output should not be the way to deal with the issue however, and even though staples like Undead Strength have already fallen out of the space of viability, the should not be made completely redundant (see Undead Strength vs Brute Force). Rather than upping the damage output, additional utility effects should be added to potence.

Notes:

The restriction of not replacing aims to have the effect be the main aim of the combat instead of being followed by combat card chains. The blood cost could be implemented to the text for balancing: “If any damage is successfully inflicted on the opposing minion from this strike, this vampire may burn 1 blood to cause the opposing minion to lock and not unlock as normal during their next unlock phase.”

The effect of locking the opposing minion could be removed for balancing.

The fluff behind the card is that the opponent is hit so hard, that they’re ‘stunned’. The card name could just as well be Stunner or something similar if someone comes up with a better name, art and flavor (is there anything in any songs that could be used?).

Created by: Petrus Makkonen, Petteri Teerikangas

Name: Brick Breaker
Cardtype:
Cost: 1
Do not replace until the end of combat.
Strike: hand strike at +1 damage. If any damage is successfully inflicted on the opposing minion from this strike, the opposing minion locks and does not unlock as normal during their next unlock phase.
As above, but at +2 damage.

“I kinda just tried to see which would give in first, the wall or his head. Now I know.”

Kraus wrote:

[pot] Strike: hand strike at +1 damage. If any damage is successfully inflicted on the opposing minion from this strike, the opposing minion locks and does not unlock as normal during their next unlock phase.
[POT] As above, but at +2 damage.

It's interesting.

The bit I find most interesting is how it might interact with backrushing. One of the problems a combat deck faces is how to fend off its predator, without necessarily completely demolishing it - because then the grand-predator can come waltzing through, and has a much better chance of rolling the table due to having a mostly dead prey, so expends fewer resources. With this, you could potentially try to neuter your predator by stopping it acting against you, but it may be in a slightly better place to defend against its predator because it could still wake and block, wake and bounce etc. And if you have, say, a multi-acting Camarilla Prince predator, you might save yourself a bleed and a Parity Shift - for a turn.

Also, minion makes it annoying for Imbued too, which is fine.