The Equalizers

contributed by Chance (XCDChance@aol.com).

Would you pay 3 blood to have a small vampire gain 2 hand damage? How much would blood would you pay to give any vampire the ability to strike with ‘Walk of Flame’, guaranteed, every round of combat without playing any cards? This is exactly what weapons allow you to do. But, are there any ‘bargain’ weapons out there that save pool with extra effort? This is some of what this article will discuss, but first, a look at the "equalizers" of the Jyhad.

Most weapons fall into one of two categories: melee and ranged.

Melee Weapons

Most melee weapons do their damage based on the base hand damage of the minion. A bastard sword does ‘+1 Hand Damage’, thus a minion that does 1 hand damage when equipped with the Bastard Sword would do 2 damage each strike. This additional damage is in addition to other hand damage cards played that increase, or decrease, the minions base hand damage. Playing a Torn Signpost increases the base hand damage to 3, allowing a bastard sword equipped minion to do 4 damage.

Unfortunately, the damage done by melee weapons is NOT hand damage, it is weapon damage. This makes the strikes vulnerable to immortal grapple, which excludes any strikes other than hand damage. Another strategy that is offset by melee weapons is changing the hand damage to aggravated. Similarly, although Wolf Claws says that "this vampire's hand damage is aggravated", the damage that the minion is inflicting is melee damage when using a weapon and is therefore unaffected by Wolf Claws. For those vampires that perform aggravated damage normally, such as Basilia and Thetmes, the weapon’s damage is aggravated only if it adds to the base hand damage of the vampire.

A few other weapons simply do a base amount of damage: Kali’s Fang is a melee weapon, but it does 2 aggravated regardless of minions base hand damage. Being a melee weapon, it can still have its damage modified by Undead Strength or Twisting the Knife, which specifically states ‘melee weapon’, on the card. Chainsaws are a similar card, doing 3 damage as a strike, but they are not a melee weapons and so their damage cannot be affected by combat cards.

Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons actually have two sub-categories: Guns and non-guns. Normally the damage of ranged weapons is a specific amount that cannot be modified by any vampire attributes. Guns, however, have ammo cards that can increase the damage by 1 or 2 per strike. Most guns also come with an optional maneuver. The other ranged weapons, those that do not come with the optional maneuvers, do either increased damage for their cost, or else the damage is aggravated.

Special Weapons

There are, of course, a few weapons that have special rules and fit under neither the ranged nor the melee category. These include chainsaw, bomb, zip gun, the stakes, and Talbot’s Chainsaw. Chainsaws, including Talbot’s Chainsaw, are not considered melee weapons, but do damage only at close range. Talbot’s Chainsaw also prevents damage, provides a press, and allows you to attack other minions with stealth. It also prohibits you from taking other actions and does damage to a minion each round. Bombs do massive amounts of damage for very small pool, unfortunately, the damage does not discriminate between friends and enemies. In addition, bombs allow for the destruction of locations. Zip Guns are actually guns that come into play as combat cards, allowing for the play of ammo cards, while doing 1 damage once per combat to the wielder. Stakes, if the damage can be increased, allow you to severely hinder an opponent’s strategy, particularly if used early on against a deck loaded with large vampire crypts.

Using Weapons

Having briefly reviewed the different weapons, how should the be viewed in Jyhad/VTES? Most players tend to look at weapons as an expense that they could spend elsewhere, most notably in vampires. Two 2 capacity weapons equals one 4 capacity vampire that could have been brought into play. This is a limited view of weapons that tends to trivialize their importance.

Instead, weapons could be viewed as an extension of an vampire’s abilities. If there is a vampire whose combat ability you feel would add to the decks flavor or usefulness, you would add that vampire to the deck. If you could create a similar vampire through the play of cards, would you do so? And how much would you spend?

For example, lets say you want to create a potence/presence deck. A staple vampire for this deck is Bianca. She has the prerequisite skills, and 2 hand damage for a cost of 6. This, you deem, is affordable. However, if you could get a similar vampire with the same ability for even less you would most likely add her to the crypt.

Black Cat has a similar skill set (CEL, pot, pre), but with the ability to equip for 1 less pool. By equipping with a bastard sword you are able to get the equivalent of Bianca’s ability for a cost of 5 pool. Other "Biancas" for this deck can be created using the following vampires and the total pool expended:

We now have 9 vampires each with the prerequisite skills and 2 hand damage. In addition, some of these seem to be even better "buys" than Bianca. Yuri costs 1 less pool, Hugo costs less and has superior Potence, as does Hector. Rigby costs the same, but you have superior Presence.

For those that cost more than Bianca, you are gaining some additional attribute that she does not possess while maintaining her standard format. With Anvil you gain votes. With Adrianne you now have a vampire with 2 hand damage and can bleed for 2, a formidable combination indeed.

This same example can be used to recreate other vampire skill/ability sets. In particular, Lazarus who costs 9, can do 1R at range. Giving a large number of smaller/cheaper vampires a Saturday night special simulates Lazarus with the ability to optionally maneuver to long range without playing any cards.

Another way to represent weapons is to view a weapon as a trade for a card that you do not have the skills for or you want to trim the deck size down. Equipping minions with Bang Nakh can give an auspex/dominate deck superior potence strikes (either Fists of Death or Undead Strength), both give +2 Hand damage. Trade in the four Walk of Flames in your Thaumaturgy deck for a Flamethrower and you have the same equivalent damage useable the first round. Torn Signposts yields Combat Shotguns. Ivory Bow replaces Burst of Sunlight, without your minion taking damage.

A final way of viewing weapons is to look at them as forcing your opponent to dilute his deck. A standard Brujah or Gangrel "rush" deck relies on massive hand damage to leave an opponent helpless and then bleed them at will. The introduction of weapons, notably guns, forces the opposing player to include extra cards to counteract the maneuvers inherent with their use. Deer Rifles, which only do 1 damage to an opponent, are an excellent choice for this as they force an opposing player to include two cards to counter just one Deer Rifle. Although the addition of two cards seems a simple hurdle for a combat deck to overcome, every card helps to dilute the decks true purpose of dealing massive damage, leaving the deck just marginally weaker.

Having covered the basics of weapons and their uses, where are the savings? Are there any "bargain cards" out there that, for their cost, make them more attractive? And are there any specific combinations of vampires/clans/cards that can be used effectively.

Using simple pool cost to damage as the analysis criteria, no weapon beats grenades. They do 3 damage at range for no pool. There is the possibility of doing 1 damage to the bearer if used at close range, however. Similarly, RPG’s do 3 damage, but are useable only at range and only on the second round of combat. Zip guns cost no pool, but do 1 damage to the bearer each combat but with the advantage that they come into combat at the beginning of a round without an equip action.

Despite these special cases, where their penalties may outweigh their advantage, the "cheapest" weapons are bastard swords, chainsaws and Bang Nakh. Bastards swords will do 2 damage on average, for a pool cost of 1. Shotguns, do 3 damage for 2 pool, tying with Bang Nakhs which do the same. Of course, the shotguns are useable at range, but they can only be used once each round, whereas Bang Nakhs can have increased damage in a number of ways. Chainsaws also do 3 damage for 2 pool, but they lack the ability to strike at range like shotguns and their damage cannot be increased with combat cards, making them a completely inferior card in every respect.

As for the clans and cards that work best with weapons, these can differ depending on the aim of the deck. Toreador benefit greatly from having guns, the object being to maneuver to long range and then strike multiple times a round. The Nosferatu also benefit greatly from weapons. Not only are they able to use the damage increasing potence cards, but they are able to reveal the weapon, using Disguised Weapon, at the last minute, tipping the scales in favor of the Nosferatu at the last minute when it counts. Similarly, the Ravnos "Horrid Reality Deck" is a terrifying menace to any deck facing them, allowing them to strike with large caliber, aggravated damage for no cost in pool and only 1 card burned. Minions with Fortitude should feel impervious toting 5 point damaging Bombs around, using inferior Skin of Steel to prevent the damage to themselves from their own strike.

Weapons are an integral part of Jyhad. They allow the Methuselah’s to "create" younger vampires with abilities that the elder Kindred possess. Strategically, they force players to modify their decks, thereby diluting them from their original intention, or suffer the consequences. Weapons can be used to burn a player’s deck down in size by forcing them to play cards to counter their effects. Lastly, there is a "psychological" edge that comes with having to choose between blocking a vampire with a Submachine Gun which will send one of your vampires to torpor, or simply losing a pool due to a bleed. All of these, added to together, make weapons a great equalizer in the ongoing war of the Jyhad.

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