Article - Take the good road

[TTC_master]

Hop voici un petit article que j'ai écrit. Je suis preneur des commentaires (autre que: ton style est à chier, merci) pour l'améliorer ^^ Bon ça parle de base mais la base c'est important. Bisoux


Author: TTC
Level: Basics of V:tes
Part: Playing the game


When playing V:tes, you are playing one of the most difficult Trading Card Games in terms of decisions to take because every decision in V:tes can be

-countered by any player using a master out-of-turn card
-nullifyed by the acting player most of the time (spying mission, approximation of loyalty)
-nullifyed by the reacting player most of the time (delaying tactics, deflection)
-nullifyed by another player next action
-disastrous in the long run

I insist: when playing a classical TCG such as Magic the gathering, you have most of the time easy decisions to take. They are determined by your hand, your deck, your field and the same for your sole opponent + some external parameters such as time remaining in the game. Sometimes, more difficult decisions might happen involving maths, probability... but you will never have more than those parameters to take into account, which is already a lot, but almost nothing compared to the variety of parameters V:tes offers.

In this article, I will try to determine which points are relevant when taking a decision and share with you on my experiment on decision taking process when going for the Game Win

YOUR OPPONENTS

The human factor is vital when playing V:tes. You are not in a 1-1 match versus another player where you have to play the best way possible to win. You are here to win by playing the best way possible according to other players . When taking any action, or determining general strategy, you have to think about several information:

-what are my opponents characteristics?
-what is the current goal of my opponent?
-Is my current action/strategy favourable to my opponent? according to 2
-Can my opponent do anything to prevent me from using it? according to 1
=> What will my action bring as consequences in the near future, on the long run and concerning the final result?

This is very obvious, isn't it? Yet, it is infinitely complex. Only the right combination of a fair logic [by putting yourself in your opponent shoes for example] and
experience of The SITUATION/ THE OPPONENT/ THE CARDS can help you finding the correct solution.

Example 1: Here are some games you play with your neighbor Eddie who happens to play his Carna [you know, +1 cept princess bitch] deck every time. You happen to be playing your Eurobrujah deck against him every time also. [Lucky you]

A)This is the first time you play with Eddie and he is your predator. He has pulled Carna outand you are really willing to make this Govern the Unaligned down on Theo Bell using Donal O'connor:
Since you don't know anything about Eddie so you cannot use any information about him and you will have to determine the correct decision using the cards only [we will see this in the next section]

B)This is the fifth time you play with Eddie and you have seen that every time he plays with you, both preying on you or being your prey, he tries to block govern the unaligned down when he can:
Since you have information on Eddie Characteristics, use it -> if you want him to block, govern down. If not, don't. This is as simple as this.

C)You have been playing with Eddie for two years now and you have regularly torporized his vampire when he has tried to boldly block you early in the game. Now, there is kind of a routine between you: every time you had good combat cards in your hand, you had gone for the govern down:
Since you have information on Eddie Characteristics+ a good reading on Eddie's goal [avoid being torporized], use it -> you can go for the govern down even without combat in your hand, but be careful because if Eddie has a good hand, he might be blocking you and you're good for 10 years of Carna blocking all your governs.


YOUR CARDS

There are obviously no such important thing as the information you have about the cards
- cards in your hand
- cards on the field
- cards in the ash heaps
- any other information you might have (especially if you have any on your opponent's hands)

When playing against your opponent defines if the road you take is safe, your cards determine how fast you can go on it. Analysing your potential of offense/defense but also the one of each of your opponents is vital in any situation. Obviously, you cannot afford to bleed an !malkavian bleed/stealth and leave him at 1 pool, except if you have really good reasons. You need to appreciate whether the opposition between your deck and your opponent's deck should be solved in your favor by a quick stab or a long battle.

Example 2: Here are some games you play with your girldfriend Pamela. While Pamela does not understand everything about the game, her play is very solid and you cannot easily kill her.

A) You're preying on Pamela with your dominate/fortitude bleeding deck featuring Edward Vignes and she is playing a Giovanni sudario refraction deck with sudario in her hand, sudario, deflection and delaying tactics in her ash heap... so.... you cannot take her lightly. If you bleed her strong, you probably will kill her prey rather than her:
Your read of the opponent's deck but also of the possibility offered to your deck indicates you how to play against Pamela at the moment

B) In the same game, you just drew a direct intervention. Now, you start to have better possibilities. Is Direct intervention enough? That is the information you need to think about, by considering how many sudario refractions can Pamela play and how many she has already played, in order to determine if she might have more than one in her hand:
Your previous decision gave you information about the road to take, the direct intervention just gave you a possibility to speed on a little bit

C) On the very same turn you drew your direct intervention, Pamela is tapping out to kill her prey with a last conditionning. Now, should you play your direct intervention to save your grand-prey?

This is one of the common situations you encounter. While some players say:
- ALWAYS LET PEOPLE DIE
- ALWAYS PREVENT YOUR PREY FROM GETTING A VP

I say, consider everything. Here is a shortlist of what I would consider in the given situation

If I am more inclined, to play my Direct Intervention:
- since Pamela is all tapped, can I kill her in my next turn with my current hand?
- if yes, do I have fair confidence that she does not have the reaction to save her ass?
- if yes, do I want my next prey to survive?
- if yes, does this play grant me the GW?
- if yes, do I have time to achieve this?

If I am more inclined not to play my Direct Intervention:
- can I handle Pamela with 6 more pools?
- if yes, will I get an opportunity to kill her?
- if yes, is it easier to take the GW with Pamela's prey out?
- if yes, do I have time to achieve this?


There are several other mechanisms involved if you want to be a top player and I hope I will be able to introduce them in future articles. Here is a brief guideline of what to consider for those of who who want to go further:

- how to maximise my victory points
- can I deal/breakdeal/manipulate one player easily
- who is dangerous/not dangerous when forecasting the final round
- do I plan a second plan of action if the first one does not work
- what are the physical tells my opponent let slip?



I hope you have learnt something today, even if this article was at the basics level. Basics are important, like in a sport, you need to masterize them at 100% before anything else. If you have any comment or question, just post a comment, I would be glad to hear it.

Also, thanks to everybody for their support

Best regards
Orian

[XPMASTER]

si je comprends bien, cet article est censé être le premier d'une série, right ?

quelques questions à se poser :

* qui est ta cible ? à qui t'adresses tu ? (débutant zéro, joueur moyen, bon joueur, etc..)

* quel est le but ? donner des clefs pour s'améliorer ou le comment figurer dans le top 10 (par exemple).

il manque l'aspect essentiel du jeu celui qui fait la quintessence de v:tes : la relation proie / prédateur

[Erol]

Nice one

[Khan]

Bon article dans l'ensemble. Quelques erreurs d'anglais. Je dirais :
nullifyed > nullified.
Je mettrais en rapport le fait que les adversaires puissent être autres que prey & predator
-what are my opponents characteristics? > what are my opponent's strengths and weaknesses ?
Do I have other opponents than my prey and predator, and why? Is there any way to rally them/put a strategy to handle them at work?
*-Is my current action/strategy favourable to my opponent? according to 2 > the answer shoud be in relation to point 2
-Can my opponent do anything to prevent me from using it? according to 1 > the answer shoud be in relation to point 1

near future > short run

Since you have information on Eddie Characteristics, use it -> if you want him to block, govern down. If not, don't. This is as simple as this. > As you have intelligence about Eddie's characteristics, use what you have. / If you don't want to get block by him, don't. (la clarification me paraît importante)

early in the game > in the early game state/in the early game

There are obviously no such important thing as the information you have about the cards > There is nothing more important than the information you have on the cards.

Des ajouts qui me paraissent cruciaux :

Ash heap tactics. If a player played two direct interventions, you can easily predict he won't play other DIs. The same goes for Pentex subversion, etc. You have the right to inspect ash heaps, and that was designed for a reason. If your new partner bill seems to follow the archetypes, you can expect no major changes. Yet you can be surprised by some random Bill doesn't stick to the archetype or shows signs of cunning (like intelligent use of the cards), beware : you could be taken aback. The reverse is valid : if you have 3 DIs in your deck and you have played 2, most people won't expect you to have played one.
Think of known ash heap as a resource, but don't forget that your unrevealed remainind deck is even more important.
Don't waste your talent : don't say "oh shit this was my last DI" (or just lie.) Just manipulate people by setting a new parameter on the table : doubt.

[TTC_master]

merci pour les corrections d'anglais, je ne suis pas d'accord avec la majorité des informations sur le ash heap.

Jouer sur le ash heap adverse peut conduire à de grosses erreurs
Penser en permanence au ash heap adverse est encore pire.
Accessoirement c'est quelque chose qui ne marche que sur très peu de cartes.

quand on joue à vampire, il ne faut pas penser au nombre de cartes déjà jouées, il faut jouer en fonction du pire scénario possible et remonter jusqu'au plus simple si on a pas les moyens de faire face au plus compliqué.

je comprend rien à la fin, à partir de "the reverse is valid".

[mousnich]

Moi j'aurais abordé la question de la connaissance des disciplines et cartes de clans, pour évaluer la dangerosité d'un jeu.

ex: il a fortitude, il peut se détape, prévenir, etc
il joue animalism, il peut bleeder, rentrer en combat, intercepté, avoir des cartes de combat.

Je conseille vraiment de s'intéresser aux disciplines des vamps adverses et leur cardtext, pour ne pas avoir de mauvaises surprises. Après, on peut tomber à coté et mal comprendre un deck.

[Khan]

C'est parce qu'il y a des fautes que c'est incompréhensible. J'étais fatigué :p

The reverse is valid : if you have 3 DIs in your deck and you have played 2 already, most people won't expect you play a third one.
Think of known ash heap as a resource, but don't forget that your unrevealed remaining deck is even more important.

Je te précise bien que la library restante est plus importante que le ash heap. Mais c'est aussi plus dur à prévoir/gérer et est donc je ne considère pas que ce soit à mettre dans un article "débutant".

Mousnich soulève un bon point : comprendre une mécanique de deck, c'est reconnaître les disciplines et les orientations principales des clans, tout en tenant compte des cardtexts (parfois souverainement important !) des vampires...

[TTC_master]

je suis d'accord sur le point de vue "connaître les disciplines" mais je ne pense pas que ce soit bien pour un débutant, ou en tout cas que ça vaille le coup de l'écrire

un débutant peut regarder ce que son adversaire a déjà joué, savoir ce qu'il peut jouer, la priorité reste de connaître les règles. J'ai une anecdote à ce sujet en magasin:

Didier : Travis va chercher {insert random power}
noob 1 : block de Meshenka avec une manoeuvre
Didier: ok
noob 1: loin 2 aggravés!!!!
Didier: ok
[perd 2 points de sang]
noob 1 : ???

bon pour dire que la priorité c'est déjà de comprendre comment ce jeu se joue, les alliés, les vampires, les cartes... après savoir que animalism ça bleede... bon il le verra normalement, c'est quand même pas ça le critère n°1 du deck... mais je reste d'accord avec toi Matthias, grand panda du kung-fu

[mousnich]

je m'étais fais la même réflexion concernant les disciplines et les débutants. C'est vrai que ce n'est pas la priorité et que c'est très difficile (je ne connais tjs pas les cartes de disciplines des clans de bloodline)