Owl companion and open hands

Question about the retainer card Owl Companion.


OWL COMPANION
Card Type: Retainer
Discipline: Animalism
Card Text: Retainer with 1 life. When the vampire with this retainer is in combat, controller of opposing minion plays with an open hand. (S) As above, but Owl has 2 life.



So, does this mean that if I'm in combat with my Prey's minion, who's blocking minion has Owl Companion, that my Predator (who is totally uninvolved in this combat, mind you) also gets to see my hand?

Because I'm pretty sure that while an "open hand" typically means everybody can see what I have, it doesn't really make sense according to the flavour of the card that another Methuselah other than the controller of this retainer can see it.

grifone_coronato wrote:

Question about the retainer card Owl Companion.


OWL COMPANION
Card Type: Retainer
Discipline: Animalism
Card Text: Retainer with 1 life. When the vampire with this retainer is in combat, controller of opposing minion plays with an open hand. (S) As above, but Owl has 2 life.



So, does this mean that if I'm in combat with my Prey's minion, who's blocking minion has Owl Companion, that my Predator (who is totally uninvolved in this combat, mind you) also gets to see my hand?

Yes.

grifone_coronato wrote:

Because I'm pretty sure that while an "open hand" typically means everybody can see what I have, it doesn't really make sense according to the flavour of the card that another Methuselah other than the controller of this retainer can see it.

the thematic idea is that the owl gets really drunk and posts all the photos it takes on Facebook where any Methuselah can download for themselves.


it was likely designed that way to be more elegant mechanically. it lasts the whole combat, so every time a card is replaced it must be re-shown. secretly passing the hand back and forth every couple of seconds so both players can check and re-check what's in it would just be too time consuming and inefficient. so the card was made slightly weaker so that combats could run a little smoother.

Haze wrote:

so the card was made slightly weaker so that combats could run a little smoother.

I don't think it is weaker. Showing your prey's hand to your grandprey is the best help you can provide when you're playing a wall. Letting your grandpred count the number of wakes and bounces in your pred's hand helps him to bleed responsibly. The only time when it can backfire is when the Owl reveals that your pred is defenseless and you find yourself with a new predator sooner than expected.

If you look at a methuselah's hand privately, you can just tell the whole table what you see anyway. you may also lie, or say nothing at all. Owl Companion and Aura Reading force you into telling the truth and remove the other 2 options entirely. they are weaker.