Board Thread:Debate of The Week/@comment-28112409-20171002223259/@comment-30105631-20171002231529

Team Coven

The Mafia is host to some of my favourite roles in ToS, behind only the Serial Killer. Which is why this is hard for me to admit - I just don't think the mafia is powerful enough to compete with the Coven, and this is because of one simple reason: Versatility.

The mafia have more roles than the Coven, and all of these roles are less powerful than any single member of the Coven - for example, the Framer is not as powerful as the Hex Master in the Coven. The Ambusher is not as powerful as Medusa. There is not a single mafia role that is more powerful than a Coven role except for the Godfather and the Mafioso, but the Coven's Necronomicon allows for the Coven's initial short-comings in killing ability to be improved upon by the end of the game.

Not only that, but there are less roles in the Coven, so you are more likely to get a powerful role.

You can argue that the mafia have subtlety on their side, but most Coven roles exchange subtlety for more power - for example, the Coven Leader is not only a consigliere but also a role that can direct protection to the members of the coven, force people to kill themselves and others, and mess up investigative roles.

I don't think the complaint that the Coven are situational has any merit, as all Coven roles are useful in most circumstances. Overall, I think the Coven's versatility and power outweighs the subtlety the mafia have, and that is why I think overall the Coven is simply better than the mafia.