I've decided I should probably write down something on tutoring new players, how I would go about it and how I have changed my ideas over time. So here are some of my key ideas for new players starting with: "Prey is Left"
I used to always play unfocussed toolboxes. I had a Brujah Deck that was Bleed'n'Bash with Sports Bikes, Media Locations, WWEF out the wazoo, some rushes... and so on. It was overly toolbox because I didn't realise I shouldn't be trying to build a deck that was able to do everything. It didn't really oust, it just waited 2 hours to be killed by its prey often.
Prey Is Left
Prey is Left. This is the prime piece of advice with Deck Building and play style.
Concern #1: How do I oust?
This comes before "How do I survive combat?" or "How do I gain pool?" or any other question.
We have had a number of players who don't seem to want to work with this idea. One in particular continues to play very very cautiously. He will often refuse to go left because he perceives that something that has happened before, will happen every time there-after.
My Prey is a Golden God of Combat
Thought: "I have seen my prey do Bad Things to the last vampire in combat. I don't want to act where they might block..."
Why you should remember 'Prey is Left': A Golden God of Combat will likely require a handful of specific cards to play that blistering combat that left your 10-cap in torpor on zero blood... The Card Gods will punish them if you have enough faith to remember what Mick Jagger said 'You don't always get what you want".
My Prey is a Golden God of Flick
Thought: "I just saw my last 3 bleeds get flicked. If I do it again, I will get flicked."
Why you should remember 'Prey is Left': The Golden God of Flick needs to have those flicks in their hand and the untapped minions with blood. Just keep on bleeding for 1, you'll get through and if it happens once, you can do it again.
My Predator is a Bleed Machine
Thought: "If I don't have all my minions untapped and ready to defend, my predator will oust me."
Why you should remember 'Prey is Left': Yes, mess your predator up. Do Bad Things (tm) to as many of their minions as you can manage... but do not forget that every card used backwards is a card you can't use on your prey. So by all means, obliterate a vampire or two but remember 'Prey is LEFT'.
My Prey is Back-Ousting Me
Thought: "My prey is going to smash me out of the game."
Why you should remember 'Prey is Left': Your prey is scared of you. This is a good thing. Maybe you've done too much of a good thing, but in the end, its a good thing. If you can survive this attack (or 2 or 20) then you'll be ready to take out your prey.
So, the take home message is simple: encourage your new players, and your old players, to remember three easy words "Prey is Left" and they'll probably play better VTES.
You should make a t-shirt out of it!
ReplyDeleteGolden Rules of VtES:
#1: Prey is Left
I could never agree with this. For me it was always:
ReplyDeleteGolden Rules of v:tes:
#1: Stay in game (reduce pressure on you)
#2: oust your prey
What sense does it make to make 1 vp and then getting ousted yourself? If you want to win games you need to stay in game.
It is better to be dead with 1VP than be dead with 0VP. The game is won by getting VPs; staying alive to get VPs doesn't stop the fact that your first goal is to get VPs.
ReplyDeleteExtrala>
ReplyDeleteIf the VEKN ever start merchandising their own stuff... I'd be happy to sit down and design a series of "Golden Rule of VTES" Shirts.
#1: Prey Is Left
#2: Death Comes from the Right
#3: Combat Decks may not win, but it's fun to rip your head off...
Funny to see how different we think. Your rule #3: "combat decks may not win" is funny to me because I won 5 tournaments in 1,5 years with combat decks, while I never could win any of those finals where I played something non-combat.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the game is won by winning the game which requires you to be in the game ;)
I'll make my own shirt:
#1: don't die
#2: prey is left
#3: you can win with combat, it's just requires more thinking than a stealth-bleed does...
I like the T-shirt that says this:
ReplyDeleteTable Threat---> (pointing to your prey)
Fundamentally, if you are not trying to do anything to your prey all game, you would have been better off not playing.
While I may not be that prey-focused and think that winning games has a lot to do with survival, for a player new to the game, I understand the focus on ousting.
ReplyDeleteThe game works when players are trying to oust their prey. This is why seat-switching was such a disaster. Teaching players anything besides figuring out how to oust first is likely to make them overly cautious and cause games to become tedious or about things other than the stated goal (like winning combats).
@Ian- I would differentiate laying low and doing some probing bleeds from totally ignoring one's prey. If an aggression meter goes from zero(i.e. don't even bluff/table-talk against your prey) to ten(lunge so hard you hurt yourself significantly), then staying at either end of the spectrum is detrimental to the game. Keep your prey on some kind of leash(even if it is the surprise oust), but don't die doing it.
ReplyDeleteMeph> In the Sydney Scene... bringing Combat to a Qualifier is often as good as throwing away your entry cash. Partly because we tend to see "Consistent Bleeders" (3+ minions bleed every turn for =< 3 bleed, after the Great Archon Investigation in Sydney), Nutso Left-Field Trick Decks and the occassional Combat God. We've almost never had a combat deck win a Qualifier.
ReplyDeleteBrandon> That idea sounds like my "Be a valid, but non-threatening Predator" ideas.
I would love to play my Nana Buruku deck at your Qualifier!
ReplyDeleteMeph> I didn't say people don't have combat defence, I just said that they tend not to play Combat-based ousting decks. You won't see Cel-Pot Fame decks, you'll see bleed/vote decks with combat protection.
ReplyDelete