Pentex Subversion vs Star Vamp Build

I think there are several problems with Pentex Subversion, one of the biggest IMHO is that it is very hard to counter. The best counter is contesting it and that is not what Id call a very good solution.
Another big problem with the card is that it is boring in the sense that it prevents a player from playing the game, it becomes really stupid when you add Anthelios and multiple masterphase actions.
Starvampire decks are weak enough Pentex Subversion is an unneccesarily strong counter to them. COnsider if it had the text the controller of the minion can cancel this card as it is played by burning 4 pool I can guarantee you it would still see almost exactly as much play if not more than it does today and I'd still think it too strong.

In my opinion the card should be banned or at least modified along with Temptation of Greater Power. Mainly because they are ver very strong cards while simultaneously having effects that are not fun.

All-seeing, -blocking and all-omnipotent star vampire isn't a fun thing either.

Difficult thing all in all... :/

Anthelios is the problem not the Pentex or the MMP.

Perhaps the "problem" isn't Star vampire vs Pentex but an issue of card ownership. If one plays on Lackey where all of the cards are available one quickly see's why Pentex is neccessary. However, when playing with real cards, if you don't own things like Heart of Cheating, Enkil Cog, Summon History, etc, your star vampire decks aren't going to be as threatening and a Pentex will shut down your C or B tiered deck. If you don't own a lot of the more desired cards, Pentex might feel more overpowered.

I don't remotely believe Pentex is necessary to balance the game. I'm far more scared of winnie decks, fast stealth vote, and so forth than star vampire decks. While it can be tedious to get into game lock situations because someone got all of the right toys in place, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent such a game state and there are decks besides star vampire decks that end up producing the same results as star vampire decks.

In the absence of Pentex, people might find it productive or enjoyable to make different deckbuilding decisions. While that may mean more DI's to stop tool up plays or faster decks or more combat or more Sensory Deprivations or whatever, which are not necessarily more fun, to say that the game won't work without Pentex strikes me as ridiculous.

CalibanX wrote: Perhaps the "problem" isn't Star vampire vs Pentex but an issue of card ownership. If one plays on Lackey where all of the cards are available one quickly see's why Pentex is neccessary. However, when playing with real cards, if you don't own things like Heart of Cheating, Enkil Cog, Summon History, etc, your star vampire decks aren't going to be as threatening and a Pentex will shut down your C or B tiered deck. If you don't own a lot of the more desired cards, Pentex might feel more overpowered.

I don't think the lack of summon history or enkil cog defines tier of a deck (except when the deck is supposed to be based on these cards, that are very specific). Heart of nizchetus is really a necessary and amazing card to almost every single deck on the game.

So, pentex is an amazing card that defines games. I won my first tournament last weekend because I played a pentex on the right time. Its a powerful card, however it can be countered easily.