Well, when there is fog in a war we kinda have to guess where the enemies are and where they'll turn up, and of course what they're up to. Fog of War is a problem common to Methuselahs too, since they have little idea what their opponents have up their sleeves and what they'll be throwing at them during their turns, as well as their potential defensive measures when one is taking a certain action.
Of course, the Fog of War works against the opponents as well, since they will have very little idea what you have up your sleeves as well as your defensive capability, until you kind of show them what you can do. On the other hand, if your deck is so predictable that there is absolutely no question about what you're going to do, and what you can do, then I feel that it is a miracle you remain a Methuselah after these many centuries. (That said, if the opponent can't do a thing despite knowing exactly what you can do, well, that works too)
Your defensive capability is therefore important to both deny, and better still, deter, your opponent from taking aggressive actions against you. Most of these defensive measures concern themselves with the predators, since the prey will be the one that you'll be using all your offensive options against most of the time. There are exceptions of course, Danz being the prime example.
I think there are 3 kinds of broad category of defenses that one uses in Vtes, active defense deals with incapacitating your predator enough that he/she will stop bothering you - this almost always involves combat, but there are certain cards that can achieve that as well, such as Cryptic Mission, and more recently, Shattering Crescendo. Reactive defense is the most common defense that people use, mainly due to their efficiency. Wake cards, Deflections and bleed-reducing cards are the prime examples, supplementing the Intercept cards that forms the bulk of defenses for most reactive decks. Passive defenses are most commonly expressed in pool-gains, or deterrents such as high on-board Intercepts or blocking capabilities - it is sometimes combined with active defenses by using the famous scare tactic.
Active defenses is usually part of the offensive strategy. A combat deck example, also relies on their ability to enter combat with their predator's minions to remove the ability of the predator to damage him. In essence this is also the deck's main strategy of getting rid of the prey. Although pool damage is rarely applied to the predator (such as Fame), supporting damage will sometime still go through (such as Tension in the Ranks). The problem with this style of defense is that it normally weakens the predator significantly, paving the way for your grand-predator to surf through his prey and get started on you. As a side effect it also slow down your work against your prey, wasting precious actions of your minions and the even more precious cards that you spent to take out the predator. The skill to know when to start and when to stop targeting the predator is important in this kind of defenses. There are of course exceptions, such as certain Daughter's deck that use votes to kill but Crescendo to defend, seconding the Crescendo against the prey when it is convenient. But most of the time, every action that one spent to fight the predator is one that is not going towards the acquisition of a victory point. Therefore, active defense should always try to couple with intimidation tactics. (and therefore becoming a passive defense)
Reactive defense, unless it is a wall deck, is usually a part of the deck that is packed strictly for the predator - take Telepathic Counter for example - this is an excellent defensive card, but completely useless against your prey. Reactive defensive cards that specialized in bouncing will use those bleeds taken by the predator against the prey as well, and that will supplement the offensive campaign against the prey. However, this still doesn't hide the fact that these cards are circumstantial - IF the predator does not bleed, or bleed only occasionally and for very little amount, then all the bounce cards are not going to be very efficient, and at worse may jam up your hand, preventing you from getting the cards that is necessary in ousting your prey. Reactive defenses are therefore efficient in action-cost (your vampires "reacts", and is free to "act" during your turn, not losing any action options during your turn) but low in card efficiency (you need wake cards, reaction cards and so on, diluting your offensive package)
A very specific kind of reactive defense deals with blocking, which will then involve combat and sometimes intercept cards. Such wall decks are also often card intensive, and can be denied of their effectiveness if their opponents fight better than them. Dedicated Wall decks, normally, are the ultimate in defenses, and are usually quite hard to crack, but consequently their ousting power are usually sacrificed to enable a large combat/block package in the deck.
Passive defenses are defenses that increases the pool, and just "defend with your pool"; or a better option will be the creation of a strong intimidating package on-board or through playing cards, and thereby deterring your predator from being too aggressive against you. Bloat decks will increase their pool faster than what their predator can deplete, thereby creating a defense through what they are made to do in the first place - such decks usually have a swarm bleed or vote option to oust the prey in the later game, and requires patience to play. These decks are also often reasonably slower and require longer setup time, during which they have little defense against aggressive predators.
Intimidation defense is probably a subset of the passive defense, and should be the one that every kind of defensive package can achieve if they do their talking right. (Of course it has to be backed up by actual defensive capability, unless you're really good with karate or an excellent speaker. On the other hand, you can bribe your predator.) A frightened predator is a preferred predator - if your predator is afraid to take actions against you, and wait until he has the "perfect hand" to deal with you, it will almost always give you a relatively easier time which you can dedicate to deal with your prey or continue your preparation to the ultimate victory.
There are multiple ways to do this, of course. Ferox with +3 Intercept and Preternatural Strength is a very good trump card to show to your predator, and it will give you a lot of mileage when you discuss the potential medical insurance that your predator has to pay for his minions when he cannot stealth through your defenses. If the "negotiation" is successful, you can limit the damage to your pool to a minimal. Such negotiations, however, normally only come by after you show your predator what they can expect if they fail in their actions - meaning, you have to have a show of force before the intimidation factor can kick in.
There is one last defensive measure.
You can beg.
(o.o)
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