Which Clan needs the most Lovin'?
I'm sure most people can think of a clan or two that they would consider "needing some lovin'". Of course, I'm not trying to twist the arms of the Design Team here, but some more informal opinion about where players find clans to be weak...
So:
- Which Clans do you not see brought out at your local tournaments?
- Which Clans do you see people talk about their new deck excitedly, but invariably they die in the ass?
- Which Clans do you personally wish had a bit more X, Y or Z?
I didn't want to put this on the forum, because I want it to be more of a list of opinions and less of a back-and-forth deabte. Think of the Comments on this as your 'suggestion box'. I'm sure plenty of the "Powers That Be" may drop past or get referred to this post at some time... so add your opinion to the bottom.
Gangrel antitribu -- defacto two clans, and especially the city Gangrel are somewhat weak given they only have three support disciplines, but no payload discipline. So they need some decent clan cards.
ReplyDeleteNosferatu antitribu -- missing some decent clan cards (Nosferatu Kingdom is superb, but's that's about it). They need some decent clan cards.
Harbingers -- iI don't know what it is .. they should perform better in tournament play, but they always fall short. In theory they should be great (having Auspex & Fortitude, and Necromancy isn't too shabby either), but they always seem to miss that last bit .. maybe some decent clan cards would do good.
Samedi -- defacto four clan disciplines, and therefore very weak crypt selection. They need some decent crypt additions which fill in the blanks.
It's true that the gangrel antitribu truly need a bit of love. Even if all the sabbat could use a bit of help ... (except the blodline like the kyaside, blood brother or Arhimane)
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's one answer. Just isolating down to who needs the most help being competitive, how much do you factor in that the clans shouldn't be balanced? Then, I can see giving clans more options that don't need help competing. I find the Camarilla clans, in general, dull. They should really have more allies and more clan specific things to do that don't just lead to more Camarilla wins.
ReplyDeleteThe clear losers in the game are the Nagaraja and Abominations. Caitiff aren't a clan, but both Caitiff and Pander have fallen on hard times, likely due to the newer ones not being as good as the older and Scourge. The worst antitribu, ignoring !Salubri, is Nosferatu antitribu. Lots of bloodlines suck. Osebo are the least successful Laibon clan, likely due to having no real identity with their awful discipline mix. One time high flyer - !Toreador - have become largely forgotten, further suggesting that Scourge or some other antiweenie play is in effect. Ravnos have fallen off, though their strength in the past was annoying due to the reliance on clown car or The Eldest Are Kholo decks. Assamites got a lot of stuff for a while but have been slowed. Gangrel are in the same boat as !Toreador - one time monsters reduced to losers, only Gangrel have fallen even further.
But, if you want my opinion for who I would like to see get some real attention, it would be Tzimisce first and, to a lesser extent, Lasombra. Lasombra certainly don't need competitive help, and neither has dropped off the face of the Earth like Gangrel and !Toreador did. But, both came into existence as highly interesting clans, both should have an edge on other Sabbat clans due to not being antitribu, and both suffer from having unique disciplines and staid crypt options. In particular, both should get an extra dose of Laibon vampires to play with. Then, Gangrel really need some love as they are iconic thematically and have been surpassed by even the !Gangrel in competitiveness.
As usual ICL, deep thinking. Feels nice to see people analysing the game in other ways.
DeleteI've noticed that most of my Gangrel decks are old-gangrel (and not the more obvious GtU+ Form of Mist variety either). I'm running a FOR-PRO Part Wall, Part PRO-bleeder at the moment. Its not indestructible and has lost more tables than its won, but it can do well.
My own relatively successful New Ravnos deck was a Paul Forrest Anarch Deck that uses perma-tech to get +bleed, the library for the Perma-Tech, Stealth and so on. It's catches are it can spend pool and blood like a drunken sailor and unless you get your prey, you're probably going to get taken out. Get your prey and you're likely to get 2 more VPs.
I've been sort of disappointed with new Tzims, so I feel your 'pain' there. I'm happy with my more recent Las w/ Guard Dogs bleed deck, but it's just OBT-DOM S&B with Guard Dogs so I can flick endlessly rather than play 1 Wake per Flick.
New !Tor seem to be suffering. My playgroups only consistent !Tor deck is a Vote'n'Bloat on G2-3.