Can You Play Grooming the Protege WithAn Empty Crypt

Grooming the Protégé
Master

Move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire you control to a younger vampire of the same clan in your uncontrolled region.

I feel a lot of VTES cards have lazy syntax. If this card read move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire to TARGET younger vampire in your uncontrolled region then it would be clear to me that you have to make choices as part of playing the card. But the way the card is written, it seems to give me an ability as a player that I can simply choose not to use if my crypt is empty.

"Move from X to Y" means you have to have X and Y be able to be chosen.

prestonp wrote:

If this card read move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire to TARGET younger vampire in your uncontrolled region then it would be clear to me that you have to make choices as part of playing the card.

Why? The rulebook is quite clear that the word "target" is not required:

Rulebook, wrote:

Targets. If a card is played on another card, or selects or chooses or otherwise targets another card, the target card must be in play (i.e., controlled). Vampires in the torpor region are eligible targets by default, but vampires in the uncontrolled region and contested cards are not.

prestonp wrote:

But the way the card is written, it seems to give me an ability as a player that I can simply choose not to use if my crypt is empty.

Grooming the Protege cares not one iota about your crypt. V:TES's syntax is not sufficiently lazy that you can swap "uncontrolled region" and "crypt"!

prestonp wrote:

Grooming the Protégé
Master

Move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire you control to a younger vampire of the same clan in your uncontrolled region.

I feel a lot of VTES cards have lazy syntax. If this card read move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire to TARGET younger vampire in your uncontrolled region then it would be clear to me that you have to make choices as part of playing the card. But the way the card is written, it seems to give me an ability as a player that I can simply choose not to use if my crypt is empty.

You can't play Grooming the Protégé if you uncontrolled region is empty.
You can play it if you control a vampire and there is a younger vampire in your uncontrolled region, and if your crypt is empty.
You can play it if you control a vampire and there is a younger vampire in your uncontrolled region, and if your crypt is not empty.

Pascal wrote:

prestonp wrote:

Grooming the Protégé
Master

Move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire you control to a younger vampire of the same clan in your uncontrolled region.

I feel a lot of VTES cards have lazy syntax. If this card read move up to 3 blood from a ready vampire to TARGET younger vampire in your uncontrolled region then it would be clear to me that you have to make choices as part of playing the card. But the way the card is written, it seems to give me an ability as a player that I can simply choose not to use if my crypt is empty.

You can't play Grooming the Protégé if you uncontrolled region is empty.
You can play it if you control a vampire and there is a younger vampire in your uncontrolled region, and if your crypt is empty.
You can play it if you control a vampire and there is a younger vampire in your uncontrolled region, and if your crypt is not empty.

*of the same clan*