There are precious few means of gaining pool in a Vtes game, and the more effective means usually involves a Vampire - be it taking an action (Political Pool Gains such as Consanguinous Boon or Action Based Gains such as Art Scam); recalling investment (Blood Dolls and Minion Taps line of cards) or the more challenging killing the prey and gain the pool path.
There are of course some Master cards that give a Methuselah pool, such as the wallpaper Ascendence the more commonly seen Investment cards. But a reuseable pool gain option comes in the form of the Powerbases. Which one to use very much depends on preference and deck styles, but there are some that are better than others, and some are very difficult to justify in a deck.
The best of all pool gain Powerbases is probably Powerbase: Montreal. This once expensive card is very useful in pool gain. First, it is free and free is always good. Secondly, done correctly, playing it will ensure that you get at least 1 pool for it - afterall, once played, it is unlikely that you do not get that 1 blood from the blood bank that goes to your uncontrolled region during that particular influence phase, giving you a 1 pool worth for that card. Thirdly, it is useable repeatedly, over and over again. Provided you can guard it, or retrieve it every round, you get to enjoy its refreshment every influence phase - that is a 1-pool gain every round, multiplied by the number of rounds you had it in play. Lastly, it does not just "burn" if it has no blood counter or something like what happens to some other Powerbases - it can also be "transferred" from player to player to let your "selected" allies gain from the Powerbase as well. A most efficient card if you ask me.
Of course, like all Powerbases, it is unique. But it is the least problematic Powerbase where uniqueness is considered. It does, however, slows down the game sometimes. With a potential bloating device like the Montreal on the table, many Methuselahs will spend time and effort to go after it turn after turn, in order to give their pool just a little boost. Of course, in the hands of a wall deck, this Powerbase may not be that accessible, and may be a path to victory if the prey or predator tried to get it. On the other hand, it is a real good bargaining chip or tool to facilitate some support for your allies.
Powerbase: Barranquilla is a Sabbat card, and was thought to be not very effective unless you have big capacity Sabbat Vampires coming into play. It pales in comparison to the Montreal. This Powerbase falls into the category of those Powerbases that "can be burned", meaning that you might pay for it, and get absolutely nothing before it succumb to enemy attacks. Powerbases like this sometimes requires defensive measures. Barranquilla is good in the sense that if you play mid to fat Sabbat Vampires, it is potentially a big bank of pool that you can claim turn after turn at a measly cost of 1 pool, and it gives you that pool during untap phase without any further investment of time or Master phase actions. Even with a 6-cap Sabbat in your service you can gain 5 pool over 5 turns - not a bad deal if you can defend this Powerbase. The fact that titled Vampires gain +1 Stealth for burning Barranquilla doesn't make it look better. Powerbase: Mexico is similar to Barranquilla - but it is probably catered for more "weenie" based decks. This is however quite an inferior card, even to Barranquilla - it costs 2 pool, gives you only 5 blood, and any other Methuselahs (could be your prey) could benefit from it by taking all the blood from the Powerbase and cause it to be burnt - not a good thing. It kinda works well with Fall of the Sabbat though - since after that there will be no Sabbats to burn it. Do be advised that it is hardly worth the effort - it still costs 2 pool and only net you 3 pool over 5 turns, though it is quite self-sufficient for that 5 turns once you've played it. (However, if your environment is Sabbat-lacking, then this card may be an interesting addition)
There are other Powerbases that requires investment, but they're actually 2 of the better ones: Powerbase: Chicago and Powerbase: Washington. Chicago requires blood to be moved from the blood bank or move those blood on the Powerbase to your pool during an untap phase - meaning you're probably looking at a 1 pool gain every 2 turns. To add to the problem, other Methuselahs could take an action to move those blood to their pool, making it risky to increase the number of blood on the Powerbase. Do note that the longer you place blood on Chicago rather than taking it, the better the returns - 2 untap phase nets 1 pool, 3 nets 2 pool, 4 nets 3 pool and so on - for me, I tend to keep to 3 turns, meaning I place 2 blood and then the next round I'll get it back. The good thing is that Chicago will not burn if there is no blood on it, it can be used again and again, and it has no other cost involved. Not so for Washington. Washington requires you to invest pool before getting anything back. For every pool you invest in Washington, the blood bank matches it, much like the Spring Singapore investment fund. It does allow you to take 2 blood back instead of 1, so if you spend 1 pool every round, you will have a net gain of 1 pool every 2 rounds. Again, if you invest more, you stand to gain faster since you can get back 2 blood every untap phase. Washington is still susceptible to enemy Vampires taking all the pool away...
The choice of using Washington or Chicago is quite dependent on decks and preference. These are not the best pool gain stuff, but they're of good enough quality to see play once in a while. I personally prefers Chicago due to it's lower cost and maintainance, but I've seen others specialises on Washington due to it's potentially greater and faster returns.
And let's not start on Powerbase: New York. Suffice to say that it is a complete letdown when compared to any of the above Powerbases and in need of an errata to make it better.
(o.o)y
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