Lyrics of the Night : Predator

The one who sits (usually) to your right, looking at you with that blood-thirsty eye is your predator. He is the one that you hate most, but cannot get rid of (usually) until the end. In fact, it can be said that the ultimate purpose of every Vtes game (preferably), is to get rid of all those preys who are standing in your way to finally get the satisfaction (and the VP) of killing your first predator. In many ways, the predator at your side, is your ultimate goal.

That said, sometimes, your predator can suddenly become your best friend - becoming a pool of resisting blood against the other blood-thirsty guy who is already eyeing the VP that you represent. At such times you may be forced to help your predator to fend off some of the assaults from your (previous) ally. But make no mistakes, almost every predator will jump at the chance of ousting you if you let your guard down - regardless of what they've told you earlier. All will be done in the guise of "I must play to win". Simply put, he hates you, so hate him back.

There are 2 major path of thought in handling your predator.

The first is to cripple him quickly, and ensure that he sits there fending off his predator without coming at you ever. This is easier said than done. Normally when you go after the predator - be it combat attacks to reduce his minions, or pool damage to force him to defend - it creates a very bitter situation for the predator. Not only is he angry, but very often he becomes demoralized, and quickly fall prey to his predator, giving you a new threat that you might not want to face. (and definitely losing the satisfaction of getting that VP from him)

Therefore, the mode of attack, and the intensity of attack, is extremely important.

It is said that if you do injury to your predator, it should be so severe that you fear no vengeance or retaliation from him. This is correct, but it must be managed to a degree where he should still be able to defend against his predator for a while, and pretty much stay in the game. In order for this to happen, you must make sure that the predator retains enough defensive mechanism, pool and more importantly, the motivation to stay in the game.

We can usually achieve this with some level of "warning" or negotiation. For example, tell your predator that you're going to send 2 of his 3 vampires into torpor, and let him choose which one; alternatively, tell him you'll let 2 of those remains in his service if he doesn't bleed you with one of them (or both of them for a couple of rounds). But even if the predator is submissive, you should still cause some damage to him, preferably something that he'll need time to recover, but cannot recover completely - for example, getting rid of his Rack, or his brand new AK-47, or the Conductor whom is rallying all those daughters.

On the other hand, a predator is like any predatory animal - a lion only hunts when he is hungry, and when he's satisfied, the predator and prey live peacefully together - until the lion is hungry again. If you can make the predator feels that he is doing his job and getting his way, he may leave you alone for a while, or let down his guard. This level of deception is incredibly difficult. Bring your pool too low, and he might actually go all out to kill you, being out too few minions, and you can't get your VP, hang on to your important assets and you can't do your thing; and finally, whining and complaining can only go so far.

Negotiation seems to be the best way to achieve the "low profile, I'm already doomed" facade, but as your reputation as a player grows, this ruse will be more and more difficult to pull off. So, this deceptive level of ascendence is really not easy to do.

Most decks have some sort of predator defense - combat, blood steal, incapacitation, direct pool loss etc. But there are some decks, most notably the straight-forward moving decks, have no means of handling the predator. For these decks, the predator is really quite inconsequential - just kill your prey and hope that you do that faster than your predator can kill you.

(o.o)