Cards that I'd Change and How

Hey all...
A number of you have probably noticed that when it comes to "What Cards Need Fixing?" debates on the Google Group, I tend not to fall into the same camps as everyone else.  Part of that I'd put down to the Playgroup I'm in, part of that I'd put down to just the way I think.  I thought I'd spend some time on this Blog to talk about some of the cards I'd fix, why they need fixing, where I think they need fixing and how I'd fix them.

First Cab off the Rank is...

Voter Captivation

Why fix Voter Captivation?

A few reasons pop into mind.  Voting is usually a primary ousting technique.  Few cards in the game reward a vampire acting towards the primary ousting technique and give both blood and pool.  Most that give blood, give 1 or 2 (Capitalist, Forgery, etc) or give 1 pool (Social Charm, Legal Manipulation, Kindred Spirits, etc).

The "Fill them Up" cards I can identify quickly (other than Voter Cap) are: Giant's Blood (1 per game), Festivo della Estino (1 per game) and Renewed Vigor (blockable action for a Bloodline Discipline).

So, assuming that the Vote Deck will gain Vote Lock by a comfortable margin, each Voter Cap is effectively 2 Ascendances + 1 Giant's Blood per action. That's significantly more powerful than the three other 'fill them up' options above.

The standard defences against voting are usually: intercept or rush-combat. 

One of the long-standing vote deck types that rarely seems far out of fashion is a TGB.  A single action modifier (the Voter Cap) and completely reverse the effects of a non-torporising combat (wasting probably 3-5 combat cards and possibly as much blood).

Voter Captivation is the only card that has the regular potential to provide 2 pool and at least 2+ blood to the acting minion.

This is separate to its now standard usage with: Minion Tap and Villein.  The Tap & Cap w/ Golconda decks, Large Cap Ventrue w/ Obf and Large Cap Toreadors (AAA Decks in particular), would now be much more limited in their ongoing bloat.  Minion Tap for almost all cannot be done again without the minion taking a number of actions and passing at least 2 political actions by 4 votes or more.

Where it needs fixing?

Voter Cap needs... a cap. 

As it stands, I can't see a reason why a primary-ousting vote deck that has Presence would NOT include Voter Cap.  Its Methuselah Survival (+2 pool reliably), Vampire Defence (refill with blood) and ability to waste significant efforts of Pred/Prey, especially combat, is far beyond most other cards.

How would I fix Voter Captivation?

Voter Captivation

Action Modifier

Requires: Presence

Only usable after a successful referendum.

[pre] The acting vampire gains X blood where X is the number of votes by which the referendum passed or 4, whichever is the least.

[PRE] As per above, except that you may move up to 2 of the blood that vampire would gain to your pool.

This not only puts a cap on the power of the card (at most 2 blood + 2 pool, or 4 blood) but also drags it back into a place where Final Loosening can effectively reduce the card to a 1 blood OR pool scenario. **Sidenote: I do think that Final Loosening should affect Voter Captivation, unlike the current Rulings.

My Conclusion

Minion Tap was never the card that needed nerfing.  Minion Tap is powerful, but it leaves the target low on blood which does make them vulnerable. Sure any vampire worth Minion Tap-ing for 6+ has a big list of disciplines on the side, but most vampires with 3 or less blood are in a potentially dangerous place.  Fix Voter Captivation and many of the Minion Tap decks that frustrated players for years will be curtailed.  Will fixing Voter Cap stop the Minion Slap + Golconda tricks? Nope.  That's what S&B, Cairo International Airport, Undue Influence @ [chi] and a long list of other "target the uncontrolled area" cards are for.