-- Hastur --
Victoria's Loft
---------------
Type : Support
Cost : 3
Subtype : Location.
Game Text: During the refresh phase, insane characters cannot be restored.

-- Hastur --
Vaporous Isle
-------------
Type : Support
Cost : 3
Subtype : Location.
Game Text: While Vaporous Isle is ready, any character that would go insane is instead returned to its owner's hand. Forced Response: If an opponent succeeds at a story, exhaust Vaporous Isle.

I've been wondering what the general opinion is to which of these cards is better. I always liked the loft for insanity but it can sometimes backfire. What I like about the isle is there might actually be quite a few uses to driving your own characters insane to get their put into play responses again. While isle wont lock down anything I'm still not sure if it's good enough to slow them down enough. I guess isle and shadow company could do the trick.

I'm thinking of changing my hastur deck to use isles instead and see how that works.

As always, it depends what other cards are in your deck.

Hastur has many cards like Chaugnar Faugn which get much, much better as your opponent accumulates insane characters. At five insane bods, he wins stories with a simple exhaust. Victoria's Loft is key to that strategy. Similarly, for a mixed-borders deck focussed on hand elimination (lots of Byakhee Attack, Priestess of the Yellow Sign and Carcosa action) it might be good to return your opponent's characters to hand so that you can discard them directly.

Options are good to have...

I guess I should have mentioned LCG. I figured the old stuff is kinda done so not really an issue for discussion.

Actually i think only on T2 format , i think it would be cool using the ISLE to make your aspiring artist back in yr hand

And sure on T1 v Victoria is pretty cool with Pulp Writer decks

Fine, in the LCG format Thing from the Stars , Spawn of the Sleeper (limited by a trigger) and, kinda, Brain Transplant are cards that target your opponent's insane characters.

Byakhee Attack is the only current Hastur card attacking an opponents' hand.

As you have pointed out, the Isle has greater potential for combos with your own cards (returning to hand with the intention of re-playing them for a 'when played' effect), but I can't see anything in Hastur's current card pool which justifies the amount of effort that would require.

As to their intrinsic mechanics, Loft means that the opponent's investment in their insane characters is locked away, and (this bit's important), they are prevented from playing another unique character with the same name as an insane character (since insane cards keep their name). Since the LCG seems to be following a path of more uniques, this could become quite useful in limiting the opponent's play options (assuming they had more than one copy of a unique character in their deck). In fact, permanently driving them insane is better than destruction against a unique character.

On the other hand, Isle also negates the opponent's investment in their character, but allows them to re-invest by playing it again. That might slow them down due to the restricted number of Domains available for playing cards and powering effects, but it also gives them the option of playing the character again, which they don't get with Loft . It seems to me that both Loft and Isle have a similar slowing effect (by negating investment in characters) but Loft can remove play options whereas Isle , by definition, increases play options.

Considering all this, and noting that Vaporous Isle is ineffective after an opponent wins a story (until readied), I'd suggest that Victoria's Loft is still the way to go. Obviously, a deck relying on it should take a precaution or two to ensure that its own characters aren't caught in her trap, but there are more complementary effects available for the Loft as opposed to the Isle and it keeps its own effect regardless of whether you're ahead or behind in stories.

I'd have to check the FAQ to see whether the Brain Transplant half-works or can't be played when the Loft is out (I think you can do the first effect of driving someone insane and then simply can't do the 'Then restore' effect - but would need to check).

As usual, your mileage may vary.

Muzar_Nulus said:

P.S.: Sorry, something gone wrong!!

Yes, you can use Brain Transplant, but because Victoria's Loft only denies you to resotre insane characters during the Refresh Phase, you must complete all the effect. Better used with Sedated.... IMHO

Regards!

Heh, just play Brain Transplant during the Refresh Phase!

Muzar_Nulus said:

Brilliant!