Newbie, tempted by the POD shift

Hi there everyone. Seasoned card player and collector here, always viewed V:TES with respect for the passion of its player base and longevity of the game, but have always been turned off by the availability of product. However, with the sudden appearance of the Print on Demand sets popping up and the idea of more becoming available in the future, I have suddenly become very tempted to finally give this game a go.

So I've been doing my due diligence to research what's out there and what would be needed to get a taste. I'd like to avoid spending $40+ a piece per starter deck, but it's also clear that the POD sets currently available aren't going to be enough to play with by themselves. I guess what I'm wondering at this point is what would be a good cost-effective way to get a solid base that I can then supplement with the POD sets as they come out?

After some digging, I saw that there were the offerings at Rose Tatu, specifically the Play Group Support Kits for what is remaining. Looks like they would give 4 basic decks using the Happy Families formula (not sure what this means) plus some extras. One slightly more expensive option is the Camarilla set, which if I'm understanding correctly would likely be a bit more compatible with the Keepers of Tradition stuff maybe? I recognize that the Bloodlines-centric POD set is probably a whole different beast in itself.

There also looks to be some constructed beginner decks on ebay that also look to be Camarilla clans. I don't suppose either of these options would be compatible as far as the crypt cards go (if I understood what I was reading correctly), but I imagine the library cards would be largely interchangeable/relevant?

Hoping some vets might be able to confirm if I'm going in the right direction or point me that way if not. I thank you for your time regardless!

Any of those should be good! Welcome to the game!

Is Rose Tatu still active? Cool! Happy Families is a formula to 'balance' out all of the disciplines in a crypt, to give a deck a tool-boxy, all-around vibe. It's fun, casual and for a beginner might give a thorough, all-around grasp of what disciplines do.

At the moment, if you prefer physical cards from the get-go, I'd recommend Camarilla starters. If you can find KoT starers, a box of them will definitely get you started. www.fantasiapelit.com should still have them if ebay is a no-show. The POD bundles complement them nicely.

Any bundles you find on ebay that are aimed at beginners should be an option.

Just a remainder: printed proxies are still completely tournament legal, and I'd guess will be until a new core set is published. That might take some time. They're even better for casuals and getting your playgroup together.

Amaranth is an excellent tool for deck building and proxies:

amaranth.vtes.co.nz/

It also has some quickstart decks that are reasonable in complexity and power level. You could give the game a whirl with those, for example.

JavelinChimera wrote: One slightly more expensive option is the Camarilla set, which if I'm understanding correctly would likely be a bit more compatible with the Keepers of Tradition stuff maybe? I recognize that the Bloodlines-centric POD set is probably a whole different beast in itself.

There also looks to be some constructed beginner decks on ebay that also look to be Camarilla clans. I don't suppose either of these options would be compatible as far as the crypt cards go (if I understood what I was reading correctly), but I imagine the library cards would be largely interchangeable/relevant?

Hello there and welcome!

Regarding deckbuilding in VTES, its a lot to take in, but the starting point is having a crypt that synergises with your library cards. Each vampire clan in VTES has three 'clan disciplines'. Disciplines are needed to be able to play most library cards. These are depicted by the symbols on the left side of the card. If its a library card, the symbols signify what discipline is needed to play the card. If its a vampire card, symbols signify what disciplines the vampire possesses. You want these to coincide in your deck as much as possible. Thus your deck likely doesn't work if you swap crypts with another deck and so on.

One of the main reasons in my opinion to buy a starter preconstructed deck, is to immediately gain a 12-card crypt which to build upon. (Also some starters contain actually good cards with monetary value). Once you have the starter, you can acquire individual cards from other sources. Just one starter deck may not be a very strong deck, but its a base which to expand and build upon. We just had a new player mash together two toreador starters to create an auspex/celerity gun deck , and play it pretty successfully in our recent weekly game night.

You just need to choose what type of deck do you want to play, what playstyle is to your liking? Some clans are better than others in different strategies. There are sources that may help in both choosing a decktype and choosing a clan to go with it.

Also, if I may ask, do you already have a VTES playgroup in your local area, or how are you planning to play IF you decide to take the final step into the world of vampires? If you are uncertain whether you actually like the game, its possible to play with proxies or even use the program lackeyCCG over the internet to play (theres a facebook group that organises games via Lackey)

Card availability is what it is currently, but I really hope the print-on-demand plan picks up speed in the future.

Greetings!

For a good crypt selection to supplement your starters, you should look into buying the Blood Shadowed Court Deck. It isn't really a deck, just 100 vampires, but they're awesome.

You can pick up 3rd Edition Booster Boxes kinda cheaply on Ebay ( <200$?) and Jyhad booster boxes -36 packs for ~100$. The 3rd Ed. had a larger size print run I think, but they also got the card-backs 'reversed' (which is no big deal if you're using sleeves) but it does make them less in demand than other sets.

Don't forget to add yourself to the VTES Players' World Map .

Oh lordy, no, please don't shell out that much on EBay for sealed product.

I'm a fellow newbie, and I ended up going through the Finnish e-store Fantasiapelit (which was recommended somewhere or another on here) to obtain boxes of starters, etc. Their shipping to the United States is flat-rate and a bit pricey, but it's worth it if you're buying in bulk.

Thank you everyone for the info!

So I have learned sooo much more about the game over the past few days, and am excited to get some cards and play with friends. I purchased from a couple of different sources, including a set of beginner decks from ebay, a group support kit from Rose Tatu, and a bunch of starters from Fantasiapelit (overseas shipping is never fun, but even considering that it was muuuch cheaper than ebay for starters).

It doesn't look like there are any reasonably nearby players or Princes that I can see on the maps, but that's not really a deal breaker. I tend to be the one in my circle of friends that buys the cards and makes decks for us to all play whenever the opportunity and mood strikes.

Once again, thank you for all of the help and advice!