On the Take

 

Danigral - 1 out of 5. Just like the others, you’re wasting a card slot on an effect that might not do anything but make your opponent go to another story if he doesn’t have a card to throw away. If he does have an extra card, it doesn’t make a difference. Pass.

 

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5. Very solid and may see play even though is an attach to a story card attachment. Forcing your opponent to lose a card (and can’t even get benefit of recursion since it isn’t going to discard pile) in order to go to the story is a very solid effect.

 

Obtuse - 3 out of 5. I like this, kinda. Maybe combine with some Hastur hand discard to make it extra painful? Does the art strike you as a little off? With a name like “On the Take” I think of dirty cops looking the other way. Not, ahem, a trio of what I can only assume to be ladies of the evening.

 

livingend - 2 out of 5. This is only really efficient if you’re actively pushing for stories, and if you’re not playing against MU. What On The Take doesn’t promote is durdling around because your opponent has to commit at least twice to the attached story for you to get up on cards in this exchange. And that’s not counting that you drained a domain for the whole charade. Verdict: On one hand, only playable in a blazing rush deck. On the other hand, why do care about card advantage in a rush deck?

 

WWDrakey & Ire - 3 out of 5. Now that’s… a pretty irritating Story attachment to drop on something like Chaos Unleashed. Some decks running with a low amount of draw will find the cost almost unbearable, while others (like Miskatonic?) will easily shrug it off. Still, a nice option for taking a different approach with Syndicate, and not feeding recursion is a plus.

I look at this card in two distinct ways.  

One, you use it when your opponent is low on cards, meaning he might commit elsewhere rather than lose 1-2 cards.  MY VERDICT: okay.

Two, you use it to leverage cards like The Back Room and An Offer You Can't Refuse.  Those cards are irritatingly balanced, so you need to figure out a way to unbalance them.  Yes, I know, you're ultimately supplying your opponent with free ammunition to pay for On the Take, but that means you've also just tilted The Back Room in your favor (same with AOYCR).  You're dictating how your opponent spends the "money" you're giving him.  Plus, when your opponent keeps mingling with the "ladies" pictured on the art, a good Scandal! from a Hack Journalist is in order.  You give your opponent reason to think he has the extra cards he needs to "play through" On the Take, then you take away the success tokens he's given his cards for.  Now, he has to start all over at that story, he's lost 1-2 cards for nothing, and he's probably not going to go back there ever again because he doesn't want to keep getting suckered.  MY VERDICT: Strong.