Just what is this V:TES thing anyway?
An Overview
V:TES stands for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, and it is a trading card game from Wizards of the Coast, though the license has recently returned to White Wolf.
The basic idea of the game is taken from the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade published by White Wolf. In that game players take the role of young vampires who exist in a world run from behind the scenes by ancient vampires called Methuselahs.
In V:TES you take the role of one of the Methuselahs, fighting in an ancient war with other Methuselahs (players), using the younger vampires to do your bidding, direct attacks against other Methuselahs being very limited by the accepted rules of war, of the ancient Jyhad they are competing in.
So how can you attack then? Well every Methuselah has a pool of resources, representing how much influence they can throw about. Younger vampires can be swayed to your control, influential locations can be "purchased" for your own purposes, mortals can be subverted to your will and other immortal creatures out there can be manipulated to pursue your goals for you. Your aim is to wipe out the resources of a specific target, the Methuselah you hunt - your Prey. Hunting you is another Methuselah - your Predator. As Methuselahs fall, others take their place. Your goal is not to be the last Methuselah standing, but to remove each of your preys, as many times as possible.
You have to spend your own resources to fuel your army, equipment and plots against your Prey, whilst allowing you to defend yourself against your Predator.
Different tactics may be employed to aid you in your struggle. Do you take the option of directly attacking their resources (bleeding)? Fast and powerful, but vulnerable. Careful manipulation of vampire politicking affords you a great range of powerful options, but at the cost of allowing the intervention of the vampires controlled by other Methuselahs during the "democratic" process. Direct assaults upon other vampires will make it easier for you to oust your prey in the long run, but it can be a slow and risky road to take. Prevention of other Methuselahs' actions may not help you advance your own goals, but if you don't stop them, will you still be around long enough to advance them. Scrambling to gather more and more resources may help you to live for a very long time, and fuel a larger army of minions - but the dedication to keeping yourself alive may mean you lose your cutting edge, having to rely on brute force and ignorance to get through. Perhaps you might like to combine some of the above ideas. Flexibility can be a great asset. Perhaps you can find a new and inventive strategy to further your plans - surprise can be the most effective weapon at your disposal.
In a little more detail
The first major thing that you'll need to get a grip on is the fact that this is a card game, probably completely unlike those you are used to - Bridge, Poker, Cribbage, Pontoon et al. The game is played with cards which you buy either in starters (a box of cards with a rules book) and boosters (supplementary cards with no rules book). From the collection you buy (and some people buy thousands, though all you really need are the cards you want to play with) you create a deck to play the game with. You play the game, and win or lose. It's that simple!
Well, obviously it isn't. There are many choices to be made in deck construction. Some of these will be influenced by the cards you have, and others will be influenced by personal taste. In essence, you actually have to create two companion decks. One of these will contain vampire cards. These are characters who you can buy during the game, to perform your deeds for you. This is known as the crypt. The other deck will contain everything else - all your equipment, locations and so forth which you need to carry out your master plan. This is known as your library
So what choices do you have to make then? Well, normally, choices are not stand-alone. The choices you make in your library will influence your crypt, and vice-versa. But looking at your crypt first. First of all, you have over 300 vampires to choose from. Well, you specifically might not have all those vampires, but there are over 300 different vampires in all. You pick the vampires you think are best suited to carry out your plans for you. You have many balancing factors to consider here, including:
- cost
- abilities
- restrictions
- clan
- popularity
All of these things should enter into your decision, if you're an experienced player.
First of all, cost. Different vampires have different costs, ranging from 1 to 11. The cheaper the vampires you choose, the more quickly and cheaply you'll be able to afford them. The more expensive the vampire, the longer it will take. Why not just buy cheap vampires then? Well, that comes down to their abilities.
Vampires have lots of different abilities which could be at their disposal. The most common are disciplines. These are vampiric powers that allow that to perform super-human feats. They can have different disciplines, and at different levels of ability. This affects what they can do, and what you can get them to do to further your schemes. The next ability they could have is a title which affords them political power. Votes are an important part of the game, and vampires who have different titles can really help you have your say. Other popular abilities are +1 bleed and +1 hand damage. These mean that your vampire can bleed more effectively - destroy another Methuselah's influence - or fight more effectively, killing other vampires more quickly. Variations exist on these, with larger numbers or only activated under certain conditions. Finally, you have a lot of miscellaneous things that vampires can do. These depend on the vampire concerned, and can provide highly useful abilities. Some people choose to put them in their crypt thinking that they'll be useful if they turn up. Others put them in their crypt specifically to use that special ability.
Restrictions come into mind, too. Most vampires don't have any real restrictions, but some do. Young, weak vampires might have some detrimental "ability" which might make you consider not choosing them. These are normally a hinderance, but clever Methuselahs have worked out ways to exploit these to their advantage.
Clan is also an important factor. All vampires belong to one clan or another, or are left in the (very small) ranks of Caitiff - vampires without a clan. Their clan will affect what your vampires can do, because they each have a set of three disciplines common to most vampires, the elders normally knowing them all, and the younger vampires normally knowing one or two. Also, if you play heavily with one clan or another, you can put cards specifically dedicated to them in your library, knowing that you'll probably have a vampire or that clan to use them.
Popularity is a concern that you should pay attention to, if not let completely over-ride your feelings. Some vampires are very popular, and others are mostly scorned. If you put lots of very popular vampires in your crypt, so might other people, and you may find that you both try and control the same vampire - not a good idea, since it can cost you heavily. If you put lots of unpopular vampires in your crypt, you won't have this problem, but consider that a vampire might be unpopular for a reason. It's swings and roundabouts, but you should, at least, bear it in mind.
Your library is a different matter entirely. You can have many different types of cards in here - actions for your vampires to under-take, equipment for them to use, locations for you to plunder, and so forth. You have to make sure, though, that your vampires will be able to use the cards, and that they will help you. Some cards require disciplines on your vampires, so using one they don't have is a bad idea.
You should take into account the basic strategy you are deciding to undertake. Will you try and bleed all your opponent's influence away? Will you use political trickery to quickly ease him out of the game? Killing anyone that moves can help, as can stopping your prey from doing anything. You have to make up your mind, and then choose the cards that will help you.
Some require vampires. Will you have the right vampires out? If you go for a card with many requirements - a particular discipline, or clan - then you may not have them out, if you haven't stacked your crypt carefully.
Some cards require some of your influence. You have to pay with influence, known as pool to get guns, locations and other things for your own uses. Will you be able to afford them?
Will you be able to stand up to other people? Going for one strategy out-right might work, but mixing and matching covers more bases, in case your strategy is white-washed by an opponent. And don't forget that the more pool you spend on things, the less you have left for vampires.
Good luck in the Jyhad!