Learning Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (VTES)

[@Nortic111]

I clicked on this at 'stupid o'clock' in the morning, drowsily thinking "Learning vampire? I didn't know they had their own language."

[@kalacs32]

You actually can't learn their language. Trying is kind of an eternal struggle.

[@cognitiveresonance339]

With release of 5th edition, I would love to see you guys play this game as a group on occasion.

[@ChrisW226]

5th Edition V:tES is about to drop soon I hope you guys get to pick it up.

[@suka044]

Wait what I thought the game was dead?

[@miserebear2113]

@@suka044 nope Black chantry productions brought the game back in april 2018

[@xDIABOx]

@@suka044 I got my copy yesterday. All sleeved up and ready to play! :)

[@Palocles]

@@suka044 just like Vampires, this game is hard to put down.

[@joonatuominen7844]

@@Palocles as long as the community who love playing it love it it aint dying.

[@dmen89]

Seeing how -Andrew- (edit: I of course mean Richard) Garfield designed this, I see a lot of Stack machanics from MtG around: every moment during the turn is a stack of sorts: when you take the bleed action, you first stack and resolve Stealth Vs Intercept, next you stack and resolve ranges, then you stack and resolve strikes, next you stack and resolve damage (bleed, strength, etc.). Dame for Political actions: first you stack blocks, next you stack Stealth/Intercepts, etc. It's like it's designed to be The Stack tcg, with Vampire flavour.

[@GokulSisir]

Don't you mean Richard Garfield...?

[@dmen89]

@@GokulSisir ah yes, my bad. Point still stands though...

[@GokulSisir]

​@@dmen89Indeed.

[@johnkim6445]

I'm so impressed how much you guys really grasped this game, having never played it before. So, on the subject of tapping, as far as I know, VtES can legally use the term "tapping" and it is the only currently produced game not published by Wizards of the Coast that can use that term and use the tap symbol when the trademark was enforced. You'll notice that it's still labeled a Deckmaster game. And as you stated, it was designed by Richard Garfield. When its license transferred to White Wolf, they retained the right to use tapping and the tap symbol. I am guessing that Black Chantry, according to what you said, does not have to worry about the tapping trademark. But regardless, tapping as a term has always been and officially or not, will always be associated with this game as much as it is with Magic the Gathering. What I really love about this game is how well it captures the World of Darkness, but it never puts that setting above its core game mechanics. I understand Garfield pretty much sequestered himself, immersing himself in anything Vampire the Masquerade to really absorb the feeling of VtM. But in wanting to capture that WoD atmosphere, Garfield kept the gameplay first and foremost. You feel the World of Darkness around you, but it's not integral to the actual mechanics, which are abstracted essences of that world rendered down into functional game actions. Also, Magic was already completed when VtES (then Jyhad) was being developed. Garfield has stated in interviews that he had two regrets about Magic: land and hand size, that he wanted to correct in VtES. He felt that having a card (land) that was required to play other cards turned out to be a bad idea in practice, because it led to a potential where bad luck on draw would restrict a player's ability to act. Same for hand size: a player with a depleted hand can't do anything. Both get in the way of enjoyment and fun. He wanted to remove any impediment to a player ever being able to act.

[@Deslaure]

4-5 player is best. BUT, 2 players is great when you want to learn/teach the mechanics of the game (stealth/intercept, Combat, voting, etc.)

[@memorarenz]

4-5 players is amazing but long. That's your game for the evening sort of long

[@Valkeryu]

@@memorarenz unfortunately the game just doesn't work in 2 or even 3 player scenarios usually. It's really made for large groups. I think the new Vampire Rivals ECG fixed most of the issues to allow for smaller groups/faster games.

[@Artaud1957]

I wish there was a solitaire option. How many people know 2-5 other people who would want to play this game? I don't. My wife is not a gamer. All the people who go to the nearby game store are teenagers. I'm a 60+ year old man. The idea of sitting cross-legged on the floor with a group of teenagers does not appeal to me.

[@jdgual]

Awesome content! And shout out to your chat for keeping on top of the little rule details of your game! Looking forward to more!

[@Montag451]

Watching this one is such a trip. I only played once or twice with half-decks hastily thrown together with my brother. It's no wonder there's still a player base and new editions. This really is what the Rage CCG was trying to do, but one game is designed by Richard Garfield, the other... isn't. This one has a solid foundation and tight mechanics. And it works at 2-player despite the emphasis on groups. It's also interesting to see the overlaps between this and Battletech. That's a game that also needs to come back! I hope at some point you guys have an opportunity to stream a group game of Vampire.

[@JakeCosplays]

Within the world of darkness universe, i hope they play " RAGE ". The werewolf the apocolypse TCG.

[@Anondod]

It's a lot of fun watching you guys exploring this old fascinating game. I've played it (well, not much in the past *mumble* years, but you know what I mean) since the Jyhad days and apart from some very minor tweaks it's almost identical to how it was back then. It's also hilarious to listen to you tripping over all the obscure terminology. They sure liked their fancy words when they wrote Vampire.

[@MrRaposaum]

1:55:30 Political cards are an action (+1 stealth) but the player playing it doesn't have to say right away how its terms will be. If the action is not intercepted and the referendum starts, then the player who started it must declare the terms of the referendum. It is then that votes are casts, starting with the acting player and then in player order. It is at this point, at bigger tables, where the acting player usually tries to negotiate between the rest of the table, because it isn't always that a political deck gets to dictate the referendums when you play at a big table (people might have titled vampires and the Edge, even if no one else have vote boosting cards).

[@MrRaposaum]

3:01:00 Recruited allies doesn't have innate +1 stealth. The recruiting action does, I think that's what your chat meant. Also allies don't have "natural bleed" like vampires, so they can't do bleed actions unless it says on the card a value on Bleed like "Bleed 1" or so. Allies also can't hunt or rescue other vampires from control. Most "attachments" will say "put on a vampire" so most of them can't take these too. They can do the equip action to carry gear though. Also allies are unique (like vampires) unless the card says otherwise. If that ally has a person's name, it probably is unique. It means you can't have two of these ready at the same time (both would get contested). That is if I remember this right, it's been so long XD

[@ChrisGlein]

I’m sure the game gets more interesting with larger groups, but honestly when I played this back in the 90s I only had 2 other friends who played, so 3 player was as big as it got. Often it was just one on one. Yet we were still really into the game. It’s still fun without the crowd. If you can add one more player to your quarantine it’d certainly open up a bit. It was great to see you play this on camera. I’d love to see more.

[@Apaal01]

Playing this tomorrow with 5 people for the very first time. I am excited. Thank you very much. This video was really helpful. ❤

[@teamcovenant]

Have fun!

[@cerealkiller195]

Can't wait to see a multiplayer game and awaiting thoughts in podcast. Also the fun of a political deck is that you have options/leverage in the form of you can attack in any direction with your political cards. So not only can you effect your predator but you can also make cross table deals with whoever is their predator. The game itself isn't complex since you can just match the symbols and deck making while there are some clan specific decks the action cards are more based on what your characters have/utilize. I do agree that combat could be a bit cleaner maybe have ranged like they do in conquest something of a first strike?

[@xyceres]

Decided to check out this video as there's a Kickstarter from black chantry at the moment to professionally print some of the older sets that weren't previously printed.

[@MrRaposaum]

V:TES is fun, I played it for many years. It is optimal for 4-6 players though and better with 3 than 2. Certain decks like rushed bleed+stealth decks win the game easily in 1x1 games without many chances to be stopped by decks that aren't equally heavy in intercept. In 3 player games those get balanced because you'll make your prey weak and 100% defensive, so his prey (your predator) will build his game without any intervention form you two, so he'll probably beat you after you eliminate your prey and he will win the game (2 victory points against 1). In a 3+ player game, you can make deals, dedicate actions to destroy certain locations and other interactive stuff. Back in the day we used to ban certain decks from 1x1 play and we'd always try to get 4 players for the full experience. Both your decks seemed very functional tbh so that was fun to watch! =)

[@Palocles]

I think they were using pre constructed decks. What did you used to ban from one on one games?

[@MrRaposaum]

@@PaloclesI think I misused the word "ban", but we didn't liked when someone would bring a full stealth+bleed deck to a 1x1 game without disclosing that it's a stealth+bleed deck. This gives the opportunity to the other person could get deck that is more competitive against it, like a intercept deck or a "bum rush" deck (a combat deck with action cards that make your vampires enter in combat directly with your opponent's directly).

[@morkar90]

I just woke up (in Europe) and this is awesome! I've been waiting for you guys to do this game!

[@TheClassicalSauce]

Such a great game. My favorite CCG/LCG. Great comment at 59 minutes by Kaiwa - The game is so thematic you don't even care who is winning. Amen. So fun.

[@TheClassicalSauce]

All the different mechanics are what makes it interesting. If it were streamlined to only one resource, one type of card, etc., it all becomes less engaging. It has lots of moving parts that need to be managed but each describes a different concept. If you eliminate the mechanic then you eliminate the concept. It's complex, but it all works just fine and becomes easy to remember when you have a couple games under your belt. You two just started the game and by the 2nd game you could analyze decks just by looking at the cards. This game is a very tasteful merge between a card game and a TT roleplaying game. There are social elements, combat, etc. It's great.

[@omegalaw]

I only played this game once. My friend convinced me to grab a starter and play in a tournament where the worldwide results were averaged and had some effect on the RPG.

[@jamesburns6603]

That is correct back when White wolf still was running stuff, the tournaments would effect the RPG in some minor way as the meta plot story was advancing.

[@floatingskul]

As a time traveler, I can tell you that I have not heard about this "pandemic" but Zach asked me to comment here so I'm doing it. Also, there's so few resources for learning to play this game that this video was the third one that showed up.

[@JordanPeacock]

Played my first two games tonight; thanks for the crash course.

[@teamcovenant]

How did they go Jordan?

[@JordanPeacock]

@@teamcovenant I didn't win, but also didn't lose *first*. Really liked the precon Banu Haqim deck.

[@torlumnitor8230]

2:45:30 That game sounds like it would be a cool CCG, or LCG. hint hint.

[@BlommaBaumbart]

Came here trying to decide between Rivals and 5th edition of this game. Was a very nice format for getting to see the game.

[@michaeloffgrid]

I'm trying to decide between them, too. Which did you go with? It seems from what I've read that 5th edition is truer to the original game.

[@BlommaBaumbart]

​@@michaeloffgrid ​ We went with Eternal Struggle and we're very happy with it. It is indeed just a continuation of the original game, which was bought up by people from the active player base who partially play this since 1994. They're reprinting some runs of the original cards too. My group just bought new decks for 130€ last week. The decks available currently are precisely crafted, each suiting a specific playstyle and the character of the clan they represent. The game itself is transparently balanced too, so the deck building isn't as overwhelming as it was when there were 4000+ cards available. Since stuff sells out in the online stores, it can be slightly difficult to get the cards you want (especially since many cards are only available in a specific deck now), depending on where you live and what's your budget, but in general everything is available somewhere. Just be warned that the game only really comes to life with 4 or more players, and with only 2 players you're missing half of it (the political negotiations). That said, a tooth-and-claw duel between two players is still enjoyable. In the end, the drawbacks of VTES aren't really drawbacks because they're true for Rivals too. ps.: We also went with VTES because we grew up with the 4th edition of the RPG and VTES allows us to avoid the new fluff more. So I didn't look at Rivals after our decision and my comment is based purely on how I enjoy VTES, and is not a comparison with Rivals.

[@davidwhitfield6025]

Thanks for bringing back old memories. As one who played the RPG and LARP I preferred a more purest approach. I was there for the Lore not "gaming". Completely different experience when playing with fellow VTM players who would never think to mix Sabbat and Camarilla together while a gamer wouldn't blink twice in their pursuit to win. No rules against it but it sort of became just another MAGIC style game for me. But nice to see it revisited.

[@teamcovenant]

That makes so much sense. It seems like it'd be pretty easy to build 5-10 thematic and balanced decks and just give players the ability to choose at the beginning of the match. Keep it pure!

[@davidwhitfield6025]

@@teamcovenant Thanks for the reply. This view point is not for everyone. But it did catch on in our gaming club after awhile because instead of trying to just build a super deck one was instead focusing on how to get the best out of a eg a pure Camarilla Ventrue themed deck. Skill and bluffing became much more important. Cheers and looking forward to Marvel Monday.

[@xDIABOx]

Hey there! You should revisit this game, the new Fifth Edition that comes with 5x pre-constructed decks ready to play against eachother. It would also be a great inclusion to the TC products as well. I already got mine! :)

[@chestbrah9931]

Hey guys I backed the 5th ed Kickstarter and after receiving my rewards, found this video to help me get started! Looking forward to learning from you

[@Estel2121]

Just found out that some of these starter decks are being sold in my country. Boy did I miss this game. Thanks for the great video!

[@Estel2121]

...two months later I have 8 tournament decks and a shoe box filled with cards. This video has reignited the passion for VTES deeply. Hope you guys get to play some more once you can get some extra buddies in the table!

[@jamesburns6603]

A few cards that in alot of the Decks are Sudden Reversal, Blood Dolls for they are generic and not attached to a clan.

[@teifan6674]

"Non-sterile vampire" might just be the most menacing thing I've ever seen printed on a card, because if there's one thing in the world I would never want to interact with my blood, would be something labelled *non sterile*

[@jeremywright4100]

Play rage ccg by white wolf. I would gloss over the voting. But yes watching y'all kinda tough your way through is amazing and it looks crazy fun!

[@suka044]

I wish FFG would reboot this game like they did with net runner, it was such a great game I remember playing a ton back in the day

[@BlommaBaumbart]

The game is in active development by the mentioned Black Chantry.

[@rhazoo2663]

Black Chantry is managing it much more efficiently and cost efficiently (from a player’s standpoint) than FFG ever would. Main reason is that they are a team of 5 passionate players who do this basically for free, just to develop the game. So far their job has really been top notch

[@michaeljoel8848]

what cards do I pick up to get started with this? I really like the look of the old cards vs the new prebuilt decks, but I don't really know where to begin with buying what I need

[@jeremykwan8794]

Love this game, there was also a TV show loosely base on the IP. It was call Kindred the embrace. unfortunately it only had 1 season 8 episodes . The lead actor unfortunately had pass away due a traffic accident and I believe they decided to stop production on the show.

[@teamcovenant]

Good to know. We're learning more and more how pervasive this IP has been just under the surface of our experience.

[@jamesburns6603]

The series was actually produced by Aaron Spelling. You know the same guy that made Beverly Hills 90201. The ratings of the show were not that great anyways.

[@michaeloffgrid]

When I was in the 9th grade, my friends and I used to call the show "Bloodsuckers 90210."

[@martinlopatka4409]

This game was designed for 5 players. Playing it in two makes it loose all balance, table politics and its just different game. 4 - 5 players is the best. Yes long but it was its original design, Vtes is a game designed to be long, political and far more about patience and masquerade. Its not magic the gathering. If you are looking for a game, where it ends in the most epic endings I mean its like a watching movie where it ends mostly with epic fight of two surivors. Great game

[@Anondod]

Oh, and I'd love to watch you play Middle-Earth: The Wizards CCG. That's another golden oldie.

[@hermangraa7248]

They already did.

[@Anondod]

@@hermangraa7248 Huh. I couldn't find it in the playlist. I guess I'll go look again.

[@teamcovenant]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpmckKKbbtZnrbs

[@Anondod]

@@teamcovenant Thanks! I'm watching it now; it's a real trip down memory lane.

[@Diabolik771]

1:25:00 If you pay blood off a Vampire to play a card, you don't take it off him and put it in your private pool. You put it in the "pot"

[@jdgual]

At that point the Tzimisce was up 2 pool already from this mistake. He did it a few turns earlier from Duality.

[@whitewolfccgs5205]

I wanted to start doing this too! This is awesome! do you have any Rage (white wolf game) videos or Arcadia (White Wolf game)? I want to learn Arcadia! if you have pointers for me let me know too!

[@cjdudley70]

As far as acquiring cards, ebay is my main resource. I've been able to buy huge lots of cards for less than a typical board game. That gives you enough cards for four or five people to make playable decks using different strategies and clans without competing for cards. And if you buy a few lots, you can probably sell some extra cards yourself.

[@hapticsvideodrome5785]

i would love you look you play guardians ccg. it was a great game with great illustrations.

[@Deslaure]

When will be your next game?

[@suprflcn]

Video begins @ 17:40

[@morkar90]

For some reason I seem to be seeing a different version of the video. The video I see is 2 hours long, and begins during the gameplay. Clearly I'm missing some footage. Not really sure why.

[@RoPinh]

@@morkar90 you re not alone in this misfortune xD :(

[@suprflcn]

chochky very strange

[@teamcovenant]

After the broadcast, we trim the intro off of the video. That signals a reprocessing from KZbin. After it's processed, the "starts at" timecodes are no longer accurate, and the processing can take multiple days!

[@geoffreythomas2022]

At 1:06:57 the blood cost shouldn’t have gone back into your pool.

[@EODChaosWo1f]

yea i stopped watching after that blunder and im surprised no one in the live chat picked up on it and said anything!

[@frankb3347]

This was the CCG that I invested into back in the day. There was so much more depth of play then in M:tG. Rather then just ramping up ever further it's a balancing act of not overextending yourself. Shame you can't experience a 5 player game. That's when all the social dynamics and politics really comes into play.

[@teamcovenant]

Definitely seems amazing in a social setting like that. Do you think the fact that it thrived at higher player counts along with the overall depth kept this game from being more successful than it ultimately was? Seems like both could be significant barriers to entry.

[@frankb3347]

@@teamcovenant To be sure. There so much going on. One thing I've realized watching this video is you almost have to be coming to the CCG through the RPG. When you already understand the concepts of the setting it's just a matter of learning the mechanics. If you don't already know about the different clans, powers, factions, etc it would be hard to know what's going on, why it's happening, and what it all means.

[@matthewedmans1960]

Where did you guys get your blood tokens ?

[@Korlash1990]

This looks like an amazing game for multi-player.

[@teamcovenant]

Yeah, built for it!

[@williamlyon7553]

Im wanting to get into this, Im a huge fan of VTM and GM sessions but never knew this even existed, could someone give advice on the best place to start it would be much appreciated!!

[@michaeloffgrid]

Did you ever figure out an approach? I need the same advice!

[@sutekh233]

@@michaeloffgrid Are you two still actually looking??

[@lystic9392]

I'm looking at this and Rivals. I know Black Chantry has released fifth edition which seems widely praised. Black Chantry also released a couple simplified starter decks for Eternal Struggle. On paper, it sounds like Rivals has made predator/prey more interesting, and has made player elimination less of a problem, and added a cool location based aspect and open up the game to 3 players. It looks, on, paper to improve Eternal Struggle in many ways. But players seem rather divided on whether it improved or destroyed the game.

[@Syklos]

This was originally called Jyhad wasnt it?

[@memorarenz]

Yup and then had a drastic rebrand

[@teamcovenant]

Indeed.

[@jamesburns6603]

It was changed due to the charged term Jyhad means within the Islamic community.

[@falainothiras6252]

@@jamesburns6603 Are you sure about this? VtM used Jyhad, also named the Eternal Struggle, as a main plot point of the lore of the game, I don't remember it being removed from the RPG throughout its run.

[@jamesburns6603]

@@falainothiras6252 It wasn't removed from the RPG just the card game. "In 1995 the game was renamed from Jyhad to Vampire: The Eternal Struggle to increase its appeal and distance itself from the Islamic term jihad." WIKI

[@morkar90]

I think the first two hours of this video were cut though? The video begins midway into a game?

[@teamcovenant]

It takes a long time to process these videos on KZbin, so the full one will be available once KZbin has spun all its gears appropriately.

[@morkar90]

@@teamcovenant Thanks for the reply! Yea, that makes sense. I can see the full video now.

[@jeremywright4100]

Bring the multiplayer vampire !

[@lenildoleite]

Guys, do you have the link for that quick guide?

[@teamcovenant]

Not handy, but it's on Board Game Geek! Go to the game page and look at the "files" section.

[@epochofox9680]

Can you play this online anywhere?

[@pitchafterdark]

As I watch this, I wonder if the game devs were thinking about how the process of learning the rules would feel for people when they decided on the name The Eternal Struggle. Joking / Not joking :)

[@frankb3347]

It really helped if you were coming to this from the tabletop RPG. Then at least you would already be familiar with the basic concepts if not the specific mechanics.

[@pitchafterdark]

@@frankb3347 Oh ok. Maybe older versions of the tabletop had different concepts that inspired some of the eternal struggle mechanics. Whenever I have watched people play tabletop vtm it has been v5.

[@frankb3347]

@@pitchafterdark Oh I just meant if you already know what the different clans, disciplines, factions, etc are you at least understand what they're about and how they exist in the setting. Without that I feel you'd have no idea what is happening or why.

[@pitchafterdark]

@@frankb3347 Oh I see. Yeah, I enjoyed watching LA by Night and playing Bloodlines. There are just some of the mechanics that seem a bit rigorous in eternal struggle though like that starting turns blood spending pattern and all the discipline symbols having to be memorized. Looks like they added text in card reprints to help with that though. Seems like people had to remember a lot back in the 90s.

[@frankb3347]

@@pitchafterdark haha yeah. We didn't all have externalized memory devices in our pockets back then. In part I still refuse to get a smart phone to keep more of my mind in my head so to speak. The symbols were pretty straight forward actually as they matched the themes. The paw is animal powers, the eye is supernatural perception, the mountain is toughness, etc.

[@jamesburns6603]

How did you like the game? Were there any problems you encountered that confused you that the Stream Chat could not answer?

[@teamcovenant]

Great system! Granular. The basic framework of when and how things happen when declaring actions, modifiers, and responses was the only real hiccup. And Aggravated Damage seeming way too good.

[@jamesburns6603]

@@teamcovenant The timing of when to play cards is no more like Magic, I declare attackers you declare blocks ,then I react with spells. In it is just in V:Tes the actions are part of your deck build. Aggravated Damage is good that is true ,but like all things there are ways around it. That is what I like about the game it is a bit like Rock-Paper-Scissors in a way. For example, I build a deck of high capacity vampires, you counter with a deck of small ones therefore by the time I get my one minion out you have 3. You build a Aggravated Damage deck, I might have one that avoids all combat or prevents the damage with cards. Yes, you can prevent damage even the agg type.

[@KentValentine]

@@teamcovenant cards like majesty (strike: combat ends) are a great counter to aggro (or any high) damage decks.

[@sutekh233]

@@KentValentine Someone needs an immortal grapple............

[@fredericbarbe]

You guys have a podcast? What’s the name I should look for?

[@teamcovenant]

teamcovenant.com/podcasts podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-covenant-cast/id1214440424

[@fredericbarbe]

Found it, thx!

[@aqurk]

It bothers me how manastones (the tokens they use as blood), always been in various sizes and slightly different shapes. Does anyone know of where to buy evenly sized manastones? Also, Steven multiple times put the blood he spent from one of his minions - back to his own life pool :) But cool to see a playthrough of this game. I've never tried it myself, but been curious about it because of the cult-status it has.

[@viktorkm]

Please guys, now when your more on the show cant you play a 3-4 players game of this? 3 Players game isent bad :)

[@piotrrynkiewicz]

is like you just go through game, guessing how to play?

[@teamcovenant]

We usually just throw the cards in the air and hope they land in a playable configuration.

[@Sven2andahalf]

Got into this game from watching this video so I read the whole rule book. Now I can't take the mistakes they are making. o.o

[@teamcovenant]

The perfect approach!

[@Palocles]

Good video but it was lucky you had your twitch viewers helping you out, though they missed a couple calls on the second game so maybe some had left by then? Regarding your post game discussion: I think you’ll find that the terms and rules are much more clear than you found them at this point once you have another game or two under your belts. I.e. Computer Hacking is an action, not an action modifier, so you should be saying “I’m going to computer hacking you to bleed for 2” not “I’m bleeding you (no one blocks), oh and it’s computer hacking so it’s at +1”. You two were often using your own terms for aspects of the game that are actually clearly defined and have specific names for them. I.e. Pool, Transfers, etc. That might have been because you were working of the quick rules and not realising what word were Key Words. You struggled a bit with combat, which is understandable with so little experience. Reading the quick rules saying “strike:combat ends go to section E” and then forgetting that 5 minutes later when Majesty was played… It was good that you were going through each subset of combat, I.e. before range is chosen, etc, because in the greater game those things are less common and can be skipped over, so it’s good form for when someone does have them, like the Whatever of Crows cards. Generally a blocked action and combat would be something like this: Computer Hacking to bleed you for 2. Ok, Wake (with Evenings Freshness) to block you, any stealth? No stealth. On to combat. No pre range. Ok, I’m not manoeuvring. Me neither. I use Majesty. -combat ends- (I won’t write more examples or this will get too long) You failed to realise the strength of aggravated damage until very late. Tcimisce vs anyone in 1 on 1 is a bad matchup and Tcimisce are likely to destroy their opponent. Steve had Tcimisce in the first match. I hope you can play a few more games, and that elusive five player game and get the full experience soon!

[@jeremywright4100]

Make a world war II card game!

[@Skankhunt-mt5dy]

I wish i could sit through and learn this game but im very low IQ

[@joelmonteiro1419]

It's not that hard to learn. The hard part is getting enough people together to play it.

[@rainmakerbear8223]

Thanks guys but you are the blind leading the blind lol tap

[@maxwellschultz4784]

Uhhh...why is everyone isolating? Most municipalities are allowing gatherings of ten people. I haven't missed a single game night since the sniffles started.n

[@cilliancrow8856]

This was frustrating to watch and didn't help me learn.

[@teamcovenant]

Perhaps it's the eternal struggle for a reason! But thank you for the comment. As in the title, we're learning the game, not necessarily teaching it. That could be more clear.

[@piimus9056]

I was gonna watch this but dont care for skeleton crews or isolation martyrs.

[@joesolo1836]

- DAMN, I wish I had seen this one live!! - This is, by far, my favorite game of all time; card, board, video, etc… The deck building is fantastic, the stealth/intercept interactions is one of my favorite mechanics in any games, it fits the theme of Vampire the Masquerade perfectly, just everything about the game is amazing!! I truly consider this the best game of all time. - Interesting thing about “tap” vs “lock”, WotC owned both Magic and VtES(originally called Jyhad), and when it transferred ownership, “tap” was part of the sale as it was part of the game. They were the only game allowed to use the term because of the purchase and when it died the 1st time, they lost the rights to be able use it, hence replacing it with the term “lock”. - Seems like this was not corrected in chat… 1 aggravated(agg) damage sends a vamp to torpor. Any agg damage after that, removes blood per normal rules. Any vampire damaged by agg damage w/no blood gets burned(discarded). - Sabbat is the Sect of Vampire Society the Toreador Antitribu belong to. Cardinal is a high rank in the Sabbat and gets 3 votes in every vote. - Master cards represent you, as the Methuselah, intervening and the power lvl of the Methuselah is so absurd that blocking it was would insurmountable. - This 1st match is a bad matchup for Zach. Steven’s Tzimisce deck is very straight forward wall deck(block/damage) where as your Toreador Antitribu deck is about good bleed, swarming, and politics and not great at preventing damage. - Small correction… all Priscus in play vote in a subvote amongst themselves and cast 3 votes as a group; no votes if they tie. With only 1 in play, it doesn’t matter. - Political actions in this game were GREAT!! 5 players, political action, so much table talk happening!! I have a Brujah deck that was great at hunting and killing other vampires. I used to get benefits from the political decks so I wouldn’t hunt them or because I had enough votes(based on the vamps I was using) to be able to disrupt their plans or because they wanted a particular vampire removed from the game.