New Blog - Gaming with BS

elotar wrote:

Lönkka wrote:

Being hacked to bits by combat monsters ain't no fun, but being ousted by focused voters/bleeder ain't any better either.

The whole point is that to be bled is actually better.

i conditionally agree. But i'd phrase it as being ousted is better than being hamstrung with no minions, and no options but to discard and maybe play a spiteful sudden reversal or DI.

I think we're all saying the same thing at this point.

Surely, the idea of a combat deck is to deny resources and THEN go in for the kill.

I do agree that combat decks need to build in tactics to deplete pool (army of rats, fame, tension in the ranks) to be effective in doing this. However if a combat deck immobilises a player, and in doing so hands the game to somebody else - this is poor deckbuilding &resource management on the part of the combat deck - which they will hopefully learn from and improve the ousting ability of their next deck.

If combat is causing a power void during a game, then maybe this should be addressed by other decks including more combat defence. Or introducing new card effects that interfere with combat such as:
Preventing minion damage by burning pool, discarding cards, or assets
Avoid a rush attack by redirecting the action as an unblocked bleed against yourself.
Using influence/tranfsers to heal or get torporised minions back into play if you have no ready minions in play.

The only problem with combat decks is that they are harder to play very well than other archetypes. When builded and played by good player they are as good as other decks or better. Between anarch revolts, fame, tension, dragonbound, codex or weenie swarm there is more than enough ousting power for combat decks. Not to mention discipline cards for decks that packs something more than only combat cards: deep songs, presence bleeds for brujah, dominate for lasombra, hell for leather, etc.

Hello! So with all the talk about the possibility of VTES 2.0, I decided to write an article about some of the problems I perceive with the game, as well as some potential solutions. But I promise that this will be a one-of article. Next week I'll get back to talking about the game will all know and love. Please feel free to disagree with me and voice your disagreement! I've just been enjoying the conversation, and I'd like it to continue. The forums just feel so alive these days! Excitement is good for our game. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy:

Vtes Problems and Potential Solutions

A good article highlighting the key problems very well.

When Trophy: Revered (www.secretlibrary.info/index.php?lib=1857) came out, I thought I could design a combat deck to make my prey's minions Red List (www.secretlibrary.info/index.php?lib=1456) and then gain larger bleeds through offing their minions and gaining substantial permanent bleeds (Votes required to protect my minions during the Blood Hunt), bridging one of the big problems of combat decks and avoiding pool burn if my minions go to torpor. Unfortunately you need stealth to get the Red List cards out so you're essentially left with Assamites over other combat decks using Toreador and Brujah.

Maybe one possibility is a 'Bleed at +X bleed as a D action, where X is the number of these cards' that can be added to vamps who have torpored/burnt other vamps for the first time, or would that unbalance the game further? (While useful for Brujah, perhaps overgenerous for Stealth/Bleed Lasombra decks with a few Arms of the Abyss and Entombments?).