New Player: Basic Game or Advanced Game and / or Variants

I heartily recommend trying out the full game with the excellent simple demo decks Kraus (& Aapo & Teemu) designed last year.

These decks avoid most of the more difficult concepts of the game as well as concentrate on cards that are relatively straightforward and simple. Also there are not that many different cards in each deck. This way it is easy to learn the gameplay basics and later on move on to more advanced concepts.


www.vekn.net/forum/news-and-announcements/75679-proxy-demo-decks-version-1-2-are-now-available-for-download-updated-jan-2018?start=18#85254

Or here is the direct link to download of all the decks.
drive.google.com/open?id=1lakfvGPt1nb4-7Of_nJMwCv80leOao_Z

Bloodartist wrote:

Kind of why I think malk 94 might not be the best option for the beginner deck... Yes its simple, but its lack of meaningful interaction doesn't really teach the player much, nor is it necessarily fun to play. Bleeding is a key component of VTES, but you don't necessarily need to make the deck exclusively about bleeding.

You JUST want them to learn mechanics, so Malk94 is almost one of the best options, as they don't have to worry about interactions with others, and can just focus on remembering phases, card play, and other mechanistic.

As well as paying attention to card layouts and such.
This is one of the reasons I dont like Amaranth for proxies, the card layout is not standard and will confuse the shit out of newbies once they start using real cards.

Newbie here:

Amaranth was a godsend when we started because the original cards are a gorram mess at times.
also means you get the most up to date versions of the card (instead of old majesty etc).

once we knew how cards work, the old style was easier to transition to.

SO MANY DECK RECOMMENDATIONS !
Thanks for the support guys/gals!

So my take away so far is:

Use the complete rules as shown in the latest edition of the rulebook with 4-5 players for the best experience

Use cards with simple effects / texts like Undead strength, Lost in the Crowds, Conditioning, etc.

Use the same layout/template to avoid confusing the players

However I have some follow-up questions:

Should I keep or throw away the Malkavian Stealth & Bleed deck? The concept is “simple”, but it can be unfun in certain circunstances-

I noticed that some demo decks use “combo” cards. Combo cards can be quite complex

Before making this thread all my decks have every card type in them no matter the archetype or “style”. Is this a bad practice considering the decks are meant for beginners?

The Toreador clan are meant for political strategies or more for blocking & fighting ? Previously, I made a Political Toreador deck, but it feels strange having vampires with celerity and auspex voting instead of fighting. II am so confused :/

BTW I forgot to mention one more variant from the rulebook for those curious:

Clan Enmity
During the combat phase, a vampire gets +1 hand damage if she is engaged in combat with a vampire from a rival clan. Although no minions will have an advantage against Gangrel, Gangrel don't receive enmity bonus when engaged in combat. The clan rivalry is as follows:

Brujah — Ventrue
Malkavian — Tremere
Nosferatu — Toreador
Caitiff — Primogen, Prince, and Justicar

Example: A Ventrue and a Brujah are engaged in combat. Since they belong to rival clans, each vampire adds one point of damage to hand attacks.

P.S. Why do the Malkavians hate Tremere?

>"Should I keep or throw away the Malkavian Stealth & Bleed deck? The concept is “simple”, but it can be unfun in certain circunstances-"

Id keep it around tbh.

Our playgroup started with a malk94, a brujah combat, a nos political, and a tremere toolbox.
having the malk94 helped people understand stealth and bleed, but more importantly helped people who werent playing it see why things like intercept or flick are important.