Nystulc#
I like the look of the Nagaraja clan symbol. I can't help wondering what, if
anything, they will come up with for many of the other bloodlines, some of whom
do not seem to have a symbol of their own by White Wolf as yet.
The Nagaraja, and presumably other bloodlines, are definitely considred a
"clan" in game terms (despite the statement in the earlier publicity
announcement that they are "not clans unto themselves", which was apparently
just a way of saying that they are not desiged to be played in all-one-clan
crypts).
The quality of "scarce" seems, on its face, to be a significant disadvantage.
It will probably be used as a cost offset for vampires that are otherwise
extra-powerful. Such cost can, however, to some small extent be vitiated by
having, say, a Nagaraja vampire play "clan impersonation" before bringing the
next Nagaraja vampire into play. This seems very thematically fitting for
certain of the bloodlines, who must hide their identity to survive. It also
suggests that, thematically, "scarce" does not refer to absolute numbers, but
might be more indicative of the reluctance of members to reveal themselves.
In game terms, the quality of "scarce" is apparently applicable to vampires
rather than clans. Thematically, however, the concept seems designed to work
with all vampires of a designated clan being labelled as "scarce", or otherwise
none so labelled. Printing a single Nosferatu with the "scarce" designation
would probably not be a good idea.
Will all the new bloodlines groups be labelled as "scarce"? That is certainly
not clear. Take the Harbingers, for example. They are not numerous, but their
numbers are presumably growing. It also seems reasonable to expect from them
tight cooperation in a common cause. Also, unlike, say, the True Brujah or the
Baali, they have little motivation to disguise their clan - their current
identity *is* a disguise (they're actually the Cappodocians). Having a penalty
for bringing multiples into play does not therefore seem quite as appropriate
for them as it would for the Nagaraja.
I wonder how the concept of scarcity will work with the Blood Brothers
(assuming they are so designated). The nature of their special powers is such
as would seem to require cooperation. But perhaps the simplest solution is to
have a single vampire card represent a band of multiple blood brothers. It is,
after all, hard to imagine a band of Blood Brothers acting as anything but a
single unit.
I'm a bit iffy about the prospects for use of "Stranger among Us" in
competitive play. It seems well balanced compared to "Recruitment", but that
is not saying too much. If you have a single vampire in your crypt that you
really want to bring into play, then having only one of these in your library
will by no means guarantee that you get him, and having multiples takes up
library space with a lot of cards, only one of which you will be able to use.
Thus, in an attempt to avoid "clogging" your crypt, you end up clogging your
library instead. With "Recruitment" extra copies can be used as expensive
versions of Effective Management after your initial play gets you the vampire
you truly want (paying a pool and a master phase to save 4 transfers), but this
cannot be done with "Stranger" unless you have multiple "scarce" vampires. I
guess a lot will depend on how "overpowered" these scarce vampires are, and how
desperate you truly are to bring them into play. Likewise, there may be other
support cards that deal with the scarcity concept.
So far, no new disciplines or new-discipline symbols in evidence. But that
corresponds to the (updated) WoD background material in the case of the
Nagaraja, so they are not much of a test case.
I suppose we might be seeing vampires who are both scarce AND non-unique (?)
So. What happens when a second unique scarce vampire comes into play? Which
effect kicks in first -- the contesting, or the cost paid for the scarce
vampire. If the contesting resulted first, then the other copy would no longer
be "in play", and the three pool cost would thereby be avoided. But I suspect
the pool cost should come first.
In the latter case, scarcity is evidently an advantage as well as a
disadvantage, for it serves as a protection against contestation.
Anyway. I guess the preview is serving its purpose. I'm certainly intrigued.
-- John Whelan