(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/2/2e/The_Flame%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #1 Flame's Gift Weighted Average: 94.75% / Unweighted Average: 89.39% / Median: 90.91% / Standard Deviation: 17.93% Widely considered to be the overall top Boon by the community, Flame’s Gift gives a free trash upon reveal. The inconsistency and randomness of the trashing effect leads me to conclude that it is overrated, although not by much. Flame’s Gift will probably retain it’s status as the top Boon in the future due to the community’s love for trashing, and frankly there isn’t much wrong with that. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/0/09/The_Swamp%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #2 Swamp’s Gift Weighted Average: 83.92% / Unweighted Average: 80.68% / Median: 81.82% / Standard Deviation: 18.43% My personal pick for best Boon, Swamp’s Gift gives out a Will-O-Wisp, which is a slightly worse Magpie (only because you cannot spam gain it usually). Also like Magpie, if you get a ton of them into your deck (hint: Druid) you will quickly be put into a great position to win. Wisps draw themselves, and the more you have the better. Without Druid, Wisp is more of an early game Lab which accelerates the deck and is a harmless cantrip with a scouting effect in the late game. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/4/44/The_Earth%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #3 Earth’s Gift Weighted Average: 73.87% / Unweighted Average: 72.73% / Median: 81.82% / Standard Deviation: 26.11% While this Boon only has one guaranteed good target in Blessed Village and one great enabler in Pixie, there is usually some good gaining to do in the Kingdom. At the virtual cost of $1 it is a very potent Boon. It is less consistent than Flame’s Gift, so #3 is the probable perfect spot. From here on out, the Boon strength drops off considerably. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/7/70/The_River%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #4 River’s Gift Weighted Average: 68.3% / Unweighted Average: 67.8% / Median: 72.73% / Standard Deviation: 15.96% River’s Gift is a guaranteed non-dead draw, albeit delayed until the start of the next turn. River’s Gift is nice consistency and is virtually never bad to get. It’s not spectacular, but it gets the job done. I am happy to see it with every Boonie, a good sign. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/4/42/The_Forest%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #5 Forest’s Gift Weighted Average: 62.5% / Unweighted Average: 60.98% / Median: 63.64% / Standard Deviation: 17.7% Even with a no +buy board, it is hard to line up Forest’s Gift in an engine without the astute help of many Pixies. (The moral of the story seems to be get Pixies whenever you are able, they are very good and flexible) That being said, landing this Boon at the right time just adds a nice potential advantage. Come on, it’s +Buy. You fought for Ruined Markets, you’ll fight for these too. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/3/31/The_Field%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #6 Field’s Gift Weighted Average: 57.91% / Unweighted Average: 57.58% / Median: 54.55% / Standard Deviation: 18.86% Starting to notice a trend? Generally the further down this list, the more situational the Boon. Field’s Gift is probably over ranked at #6. It’s only very nice with Druid and Pixie. The randomness lends itself to somewhat suck with the rest of the Boonies due to lack of control. Sometimes a Pixie can be popped for a village effect and sometimes it lets you play a second terminal, but usually it never does more than give a free +coin. Sometimes that is all you really want. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/0/01/The_Sun%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #7 Sun’s Gift Weighted Average: 44.01% / Unweighted Average: 45.83% / Median: 45.45% / Standard Deviation: 20.74% Sun’s Gift is a solid Boon to get, increasing consistency with the top of the deck manipulation. I am never really sad to see it (unless it triggers a bad shuffle), but usually doesn’t do a whole lot either. You probably wouldn’t pop a Pixie for this without a very good reason, but otherwise it’s mostly fine. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/f/f5/The_Sea%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #8 Sea’s Gift Weighted Average: 33.58% / Unweighted Average: 35.23% / Median: 36.36% / Standard Deviation: 22.01% Could be ranked lower. Sea’s Gift is just a second River’s Gift with Blessed Village, a potential 2 Labs with Pixie, and meh with everything else besides Idol. Sea's Gift is not a bad Boon, but within the context of the Boonies it is really not that good at all. Sea’s Gift is mostly mediocre for the same reason that Ruined Library is mediocre, only you’re usually spending your Action on a terminal Boonie instead. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/0/05/The_Wind%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #9 Wind’s Gift Weighted Average: 32.91% / Unweighted Average: 35.23% / Median: 36.36% / Standard Deviation: 21.53% Could be a little higher. Ignore all the times you played a Boonie at the end of a shuffle and landed this. It can happen. It’s usually a bit awkward in the same manner that Sea’s Gift is, but it also lets you see more cards so it’s just better overall. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/d/d2/The_Sky%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #10 Sky’s Gift Weighted Average: 24.05% / Unweighted Average: 25.76% / Median: 18.18% / Standard Deviation: 19.58% Probably the second worst Boon, and third worst isn’t much better for Sky’s Gift. Discarding three cards for a singular Gold is a giant ask, and the sporadic uncontrollable nature of Boons makes it even harder to land at the right time. And the reward is.. a Gold. At least Mountain’s Gift just outright gives you a Silver. Sky’s Gift is usually and rightly ignored. |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/c/c5/The_Mountain%27s_GiftDigital.jpg) | #11 Mountain’s Gift Weighted Average: 12.81% / Unweighted Average: 12.5% / Median: 9.09% / Standard Deviation: 12.81% Probably the most criminal under ranking on this list, Mountain’s Gift is actually one of the better Boons in the game (I have it at #6). I will fight you on this. Silver hate has gotten out of control. New rule: Buying Silver is bad, but getting free ones is usually fine. It generally gets worse the later the game goes on, but aren’t all of the Boons situational? And early game extra economy for free? Yes please. Stop with the Silver hate. Silver isn’t Curse+. Mountain’s Gift is not the second worst Boon, and I expect it’s position to rise in the coming year. (pssst, popping a Pixie on Mountain's Gift is actually really good, give it a try) |
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/a/a2/The_Moon%27s_Gift.jpg) | #12 Moon’s Gift Weighted Average: 16.29% / Unweighted Average: 12.06% / Median: 9.09% / Standard Deviation: 23.17% While there is a nice combo with Moon’s Gift and Blessed Village, otherwise you are usually sad to reveal this Boon. Remember how inconsequential Harbinger is the majority of the time it is played? Don’t expect anything better from Moon’s Gift. Dream about all of the times you’ll top deck a Goons in a thick deck, Boons just don’t work like that with their sporadic nature. |
I don't get why River's Gift is above Sun's Gift here. Sun's Gift at the end of the turn is basically duration draw when it discards green cards, and it can discard Coppers too. Sun's Gift does a much better job at preventing dud turns than River's Gift. River's gift is only going to be better when your next hand was already pretty perfect or if you got it at the start of your turn when your top of deck had no junk. That or you spam River's Gift with King's Court on Druid. You're more likely to lose a game due to a dud turn than not having your perfect hand be more perfect.
Edit: Well, River's Gift also has the edge when your next hand is all cantrips or something, to be fair.
I don't get why River's Gift is above Sun's Gift here. Sun's Gift at the end of the turn is basically duration draw when it discards green cards, and it can discard Coppers too. Sun's Gift does a much better job at preventing dud turns than River's Gift. River's gift is only going to be better when your next hand was already pretty perfect or if you got it at the start of your turn when your top of deck had no junk. That or you spam River's Gift with King's Court on Druid. You're more likely to lose a game due to a dud turn than not having your perfect hand be more perfect.
Edit: Well, River's Gift also has the edge when your next hand is all cantrips or something, to be fair.
River Gift is much much better when you are drawing your deck, which is big.
The writeup for Swamp's gift talks about how Will-o-wisp is great if you get a bunch of them. That will never happen if you get them via Boons.
Which is why getting it is goodI'd put the Forest’s Gift and Field’s Gift slightly higher, perhaps #2 and #3 respectively. +buy is the rarest of +vanilla effects, so Field’s Gift is most often the only source of the + of the vanilla-effect Boons, and this even more important if you're the only player to get access to it (similar reason why Ruined Market is the best Ruins). And the +action is nice when the Boons are terminal, allowing the only way to play multiple terminals. And the +action seems to make Druid really good.+buy once every 12 plays of a card is pretty bad.
1 extra buy on 1 or two turns is not a very big difference maker. It is also true that +buy isnt a very big deal early which is where things have a bigger out come of the game.Which is why getting it is goodI'd put the Forest’s Gift and Field’s Gift slightly higher, perhaps #2 and #3 respectively. +buy is the rarest of +vanilla effects, so Field’s Gift is most often the only source of the + of the vanilla-effect Boons, and this even more important if you're the only player to get access to it (similar reason why Ruined Market is the best Ruins). And the +action is nice when the Boons are terminal, allowing the only way to play multiple terminals. And the +action seems to make Druid really good.+buy once every 12 plays of a card is pretty bad.
Why is Mountain's Gift not #12 even though it has the lowest rated average?
I don't get why River's Gift is above Sun's Gift here. Sun's Gift at the end of the turn is basically duration draw when it discards green cards, and it can discard Coppers too. Sun's Gift does a much better job at preventing dud turns than River's Gift. River's gift is only going to be better when your next hand was already pretty perfect or if you got it at the start of your turn when your top of deck had no junk. That or you spam River's Gift with King's Court on Druid. You're more likely to lose a game due to a dud turn than not having your perfect hand be more perfect.
Edit: Well, River's Gift also has the edge when your next hand is all cantrips or something, to be fair.
River Gift is much much better when you are drawing your deck, which is big.
This is true, but Sun's Gift is a lot more relevant when you get it before you actually get to the point where you're drawing your deck, possibly speeding you up by a turn with its combined cycling and ability to help reach higher price points more easily. Bard, Tracker, Blessed Village, and Idol are all often seen in the early game where you still have a sizeable deck. Maybe Pixie is an exception where you don't want to trash it for Sun's Gift. Sun's Gift can also make up for the lack of draw compared to River's Gift later in the turn if received when you're trying to kick off, say after playing a Village.
Weighing the Boons solely in the context of massive engines seems like it doesn't give a complete picture of what these Boons are truly capable of.
I don't get why River's Gift is above Sun's Gift here. Sun's Gift at the end of the turn is basically duration draw when it discards green cards, and it can discard Coppers too. Sun's Gift does a much better job at preventing dud turns than River's Gift. River's gift is only going to be better when your next hand was already pretty perfect or if you got it at the start of your turn when your top of deck had no junk. That or you spam River's Gift with King's Court on Druid. You're more likely to lose a game due to a dud turn than not having your perfect hand be more perfect.
Edit: Well, River's Gift also has the edge when your next hand is all cantrips or something, to be fair.
River Gift is much much better when you are drawing your deck, which is big.
This is true, but Sun's Gift is a lot more relevant when you get it before you actually get to the point where you're drawing your deck, possibly speeding you up by a turn with its combined cycling and ability to help reach higher price points more easily. Bard, Tracker, Blessed Village, and Idol are all often seen in the early game where you still have a sizeable deck. Maybe Pixie is an exception where you don't want to trash it for Sun's Gift. Sun's Gift can also make up for the lack of draw compared to River's Gift later in the turn if received when you're trying to kick off, say after playing a Village.
Weighing the Boons solely in the context of massive engines seems like it doesn't give a complete picture of what these Boons are truly capable of.
See it this way: the ceiling for Sun is higher (discarding 4 bad cards, or doing some turn-saving reordering), but it's much less reliable. River helps you every single time, no matter what deck you're building (edge cases: very small deck, minion).
Most Boons are situational, but River is a sure thing.
Boons are very hard to rank, because their strength varies greatly depending on what is their source. Like the only two fate cards that would have a similar looking Boons rank are Bard and Tracker, for all the other ones the list would be greatly different one from the other.
So I kind of feel like there might have been wildly different ratings criteria from different voters. I, for example, tried to use Bard and Tracker as my guides when evaluating, but now I think that doing some sort of mental average between the lists to be a more reasonable approach.
Maybe we could get these 2017 Hexes results added to the wiki page for "List of Cards by Qvist Rankings"?
http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?title=List_of_Cards_by_Qvist_Rankings&action=edit
The Flame’s Gift is totally overrated. You often draw that Boon mid-game where trashing is not as important as in the opening. Sometimes trashing may be even bad. Trashing Copper, for example, means also -$1, which can be crucial later, if you want to hit $6 or $8.
Trade Route, Forager and Moneylender are usually the superior cheap Copper trashers in comparsion with Bard, Druid and Tracker.
The Flame’s Gift is totally overrated. You often draw that Boon mid-game where trashing is not as important as in the opening. Sometimes trashing may be even bad. Trashing Copper, for example, means also -$1, which can be crucial later, if you want to hit $6 or $8.The Flame's gift is optional and thus never bad. If it were mandatory, then yes it would be pretty bad; hence why Mountain's and Wind's Gift are far down the list.
Trade Route, Forager and Moneylender are usually the superior cheap Copper trashers in comparsion with Bard, Druid and Tracker.
The Flame’s Gift is totally overrated. You often draw that Boon mid-game where trashing is not as important as in the opening. Sometimes trashing may be even bad. Trashing Copper, for example, means also -$1, which can be crucial later, if you want to hit $6 or $8.
Trade Route, Forager and Moneylender are usually the superior cheap Copper trashers in comparsion with Bard, Druid and Tracker.
Druid and Tracker don't really thin your deck in the long run because the cycle of 12 Boons includes the forced Silver gain from Mountain's Gift (that doesn't even get drawn by Will o' Wisp normally).