Submission: Ghosts in a Shell

Hm.

The comparison to Art of Memory is super valid. I hadn't thought of that.

To be fair though, Art of Memory can, if you ask me, keep it's place as an excellent all-arounder and not copy it as such. I'd rather have something a bit more unique, and not so straight forward. Your suggestion here is just a better Art of Memory, and clearly trumps Spiritual Guidance as well (a card only recently published, even if not exactly super strong).

There are, as you said, two ways to approach this: either shuffling the cards back to the deck (see recursion proper, or Ashur Tablets) to make more (the amount of) meaningful combats within the game (1), or make more (the impact) meaningful combats within the game (2).

In (1), you build your deck with combat combos (Torn Signpost + Immortal Grapple for example) in order to make 7 meaningful combats. That is, Torn and Grapple, plus any other utility cards you get to play. With this approach you might make those 7 into 9 with two Shells, if your card flow is just right.

In (2), you trade your other cards for an immediate effective combat (as you'd discard down to hand size after recurring the cards). In this case you trade cards from your deck and convert them into combat.

I really don't know which would be more EFFECTIVE (I'd wager it'd be (2) but I'd rather not state that as more than a guess), but we'd have to be clear while designing on which to emulate.

I'd be fine with the suggestion in op as a baseline for addressing (1). For (2) I'd rather go with something like this:

Name: Ghosts in a Shell
Cardtype: Combat
Discipline: Necromancy
Play before range is determined on the first round of combat. Put this card in play on this vampire. Do not replace while this card is in play.
[nec] Instead of burning the combat cards played by this vampire in this combat, put them on this card. In any other combat than this, this vampire may burn 1 blood to burn this card, remove it from the game and move all cards on it to your hand before range is determined on the first round. Discard down to your handsize.
[NEC] As above, but you can decide which combat cards to put on this card as you play them.

In essence you'll get to replicate another combat, but you'll have to sacrifice other cards for it.

But, to be fair, it feels like it's just replicating Art of Memory and Spiritual Guidance instead of doing something different.

You have a very good point though, I'm not saying otherwise. The question of what really will help combat, and what kind of recursion they should get and what kinds of drawbacks, is not an easy one.

Krausedit\\ I know what I wrote might seem like stating the obvious here, and I'm not trying to belittle anyone's experience with the game here. It's just a practice I have, writing things out more for my own musings than as lectures for anyone else.

I found myself thinking that this would be better as an action card, in order to avoid needing a longer chain of cards to pull it off. And I think the hand reduction is painful, when Necromancers aren't all that awesome at combat anyhow. So something like:

The exact specifics aren't that important, but it was the sort of idea I was thinking of.

Points about the above, though:
- Because it's an action effect, it doesn't work if the action is blocked. But...

- You could maybe make the superior do that even if blocked, if you wanted (might be too horrid). Or you could make the superior move move cards. Or you could make the superior give a combat bonus, like a maneuver or whatever. Or perhaps the inferior is locked minions, but the superior is any minion. Or you could make it a totally unrelated effect, for versatility. Or whatever - go nuts.

- Because it moves cards from the ash heap, it doesn't move cards played on the opposing minion, like Disarm or Pulled Fangs.

I understand the value of this card, but as written I would never play this card. It just isn't good enough. If you really want to make a difference it needs to be a more persistent effect. In addition if the goal is to help Potence combat specifically, making a Necromancy card to increase the card efficiency is probably not the way.

@jamesatzephyr: I actually shied away from it being an action card on purpose. Necromancy already has many action based recursion effects, and most of them aren't used.

Your suggestion is tailored to answer the game need of my proposed (1). It's pretty interesting, compressing a rush and some combat into a single action (as long as you have stealth to back it up), but only works if you deplete your deck (or play these with Heart of Cheating to bring them closer to the top of your deck).

It's an interesting proposition, but requires you to tailor your deck and strategy to utilise it. As written, it might be powerful in a niche (and when built around), but doesn't help all around toolboxes or combat decks.

@jblacey: are you talking about the submission in op, or jamesatzephyr's card?

My goal wasn't to help potence specifically. Fortitude, Thanatosis and Necromancy combats are all sprinkled around Samedi, Harbingers and Giovanni, all of which make for okay combat modules (some complementing potence, some rivaling it). Dead Hand + Target Vitals and Fortitude for presses is a thing.

What's the main problem in the suggestion in the op if you're referring to it? The drawback or that you can't manage when you redraw those combat cards?

I think both are too weak. You need an effect that sticks around to make it really efficient, but you don't want to make the cards free.

So here are the problems:

1) Instead of recursion, why don't I just add more copies of Card X.
2) I am limited on card slots for combat, why devote my precious slots to a card that immediate has no effect on the current game state (requiring cards to be redrawn).
3) Redrawing combat cards increases my risk that I will be hand jammed on combat cards and will be unable to enter combat via a rush action or block if intercept is required.

Here is a suggestion, excuse me if this design is rough...

Lessons of the Past
Action
[nec] +1 stealth action. Attach to this vampire. While attached this vampire may play combat cards from their ash pile. Combat cards played from the ash pile are removed from the game after played.
[NEC] As above, if action is successful unlock this vampire.

Does that meet the needs? Not sure if this card requires a draw back, but putting a blood cost on it would be the easiest way.