Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad (More info?)
So I just got back from a Pre-Release. And boy--are my arms tired.
So yeah, the pre-release was a great time (Luke Gabriel, Prince of
Binghamton, is the best Prince ever!). The starter decks are all pretty
functional and incredibly high value-y, as cool cards in a starter go. I was
playing the Alastor deck (mostly Rush combat but filled with Camarilla
Justicars--I got a 3 VP game win in a 4 player table in the first round,
totally tooled in the second, and didn't get to play the finals which I
might have gotten into as I sadly had to leave), which comes with, like, 1x
Disarm, 2x Psyche, 2x Torn Signpost, 3x 2nd Tradition and a bunch of other
crazy stuff. The Balli deck comes with Call of the Great Beast. I didn't get
to see what the other two decks came with up close, but all things being
equal, I suspect that they also contain a bunch of good cards.
The set looks totally entertaining with a lot of really cool new stuff.
There are mutiple cards that provide untapping when you act (Forced March
and some Sepentis card) and lots of cards that allow you to make small new
vampires (Followers get one that makes a 1 cap; Ravanos get one that makes a
2 cap; Assamites get one that does something crazy). There is a lot of good
disciplinless combat. There the really funny Supressing Fire, which is a
disciplinless card that gives an intercepting minion -1 intercept if the
acting minion has a gun. Lot of crazy new angles for a lot of disciplines.
The new vampires are all sorts of fun, with a lot of wacky vampires--Red
List minions generally are super powered (i.e. 2 or 3 extra points of
disciplines or something), but being Red List, they might get killed
accidentally. The Assamites get a 1 cap with qui. Sonja Blue is a fantastic
5 point Ventrue (with like 8 points of disciplines) who gives you 4 pool
when she enters play (so she only costs 1 pool, really), but your predator
can buy her from you for a pool. My favorite of the Abominations is a 4 with
POT, for, nec, +1 strength a free addtional strike, and a free press every
round. But she can't play reactions, get retainers, and any action she takes
that isn't hunting costs an extra pool. She's funny. Lots of stuff like
that, as well as good, solid, necessary vampires (like, say, a G4 3 point
Giovanni with pot, dom).
The art is overall very good--vampire protraits are strong and expressive.
Some noticably, shall we say, extra racy art compared to previous sets
(like, True Love's Face makes Gird Minions look like, well, something
prudish). The Forgotten Name (The Name Forgotten?) card has a really funny
picture if you look closely.
All in all a fantastic set with tons and tons of new stuff to explore. I
suspect that this is the set that is going to shake the game up more than
any other expansion for a real long time.
Peter D Bakija
pdb6@lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/pdb6
"How does this end?"
"In fire."
Emperor Turhan and Kosh
So I just got back from a Pre-Release. And boy--are my arms tired.
So yeah, the pre-release was a great time (Luke Gabriel, Prince of
Binghamton, is the best Prince ever!). The starter decks are all pretty
functional and incredibly high value-y, as cool cards in a starter go. I was
playing the Alastor deck (mostly Rush combat but filled with Camarilla
Justicars--I got a 3 VP game win in a 4 player table in the first round,
totally tooled in the second, and didn't get to play the finals which I
might have gotten into as I sadly had to leave), which comes with, like, 1x
Disarm, 2x Psyche, 2x Torn Signpost, 3x 2nd Tradition and a bunch of other
crazy stuff. The Balli deck comes with Call of the Great Beast. I didn't get
to see what the other two decks came with up close, but all things being
equal, I suspect that they also contain a bunch of good cards.
The set looks totally entertaining with a lot of really cool new stuff.
There are mutiple cards that provide untapping when you act (Forced March
and some Sepentis card) and lots of cards that allow you to make small new
vampires (Followers get one that makes a 1 cap; Ravanos get one that makes a
2 cap; Assamites get one that does something crazy). There is a lot of good
disciplinless combat. There the really funny Supressing Fire, which is a
disciplinless card that gives an intercepting minion -1 intercept if the
acting minion has a gun. Lot of crazy new angles for a lot of disciplines.
The new vampires are all sorts of fun, with a lot of wacky vampires--Red
List minions generally are super powered (i.e. 2 or 3 extra points of
disciplines or something), but being Red List, they might get killed
accidentally. The Assamites get a 1 cap with qui. Sonja Blue is a fantastic
5 point Ventrue (with like 8 points of disciplines) who gives you 4 pool
when she enters play (so she only costs 1 pool, really), but your predator
can buy her from you for a pool. My favorite of the Abominations is a 4 with
POT, for, nec, +1 strength a free addtional strike, and a free press every
round. But she can't play reactions, get retainers, and any action she takes
that isn't hunting costs an extra pool. She's funny. Lots of stuff like
that, as well as good, solid, necessary vampires (like, say, a G4 3 point
Giovanni with pot, dom).
The art is overall very good--vampire protraits are strong and expressive.
Some noticably, shall we say, extra racy art compared to previous sets
(like, True Love's Face makes Gird Minions look like, well, something
prudish). The Forgotten Name (The Name Forgotten?) card has a really funny
picture if you look closely.
All in all a fantastic set with tons and tons of new stuff to explore. I
suspect that this is the set that is going to shake the game up more than
any other expansion for a real long time.
Peter D Bakija
pdb6@lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/pdb6
"How does this end?"
"In fire."
Emperor Turhan and Kosh
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