I assume gained cards to go the Border no matter where they would've been gained to, so e.g. Sculptor still gains to your Border?I think the cleanest and least disruptive rule is to treat it like other gain locations; if multiple locations are given choose, otherwise the default is Incoming instead of the discard pile, and that's where card effects like Watchtower expect to find them. I don't think spoiling cards like Blockade or Buried Treasure would be a fun interaction to create.
(https://trello.com/1/cards/617db99d137f3463158c1e8b/attachments/63bdea7be17d02018f945266/download/Border_mat.png)
The Border mat, a space for tracking gains and trashes each turn. Each player gets one. Every gain goes to Incoming, unless something moves it somewhere else, so cards will come into the deck after Clean-up draw rather than before it, so a bit slower. Every trash goes to Outgoing, to be put in the trash pile start of next turn; they don't interact with effects concerning the trash until then.
Other rules:So, its main purpose is a tracking aid, enabling effects that would otherwise require memory that not everybody has or wants in their games of Dominion. Abilities concerning your own Border are fine, but ones concerning the other players could be an interesting area. Or a card could move around Borders somehow, if that's interesting?
- When-gain abilities trigger when the card goes to Incoming. When-trash abilities trigger when the card goes to Outgoing.
- If a card moves off or onto a Border for any reason other than gaining or trashing, it does not count as a gain or trash (like Exile isn't gaining).
- Discarding from Incoming and moving Outgoing to the trash are two separate effects to do once each first thing at start of turn. If Donate (http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Donate) is in the game, choose the order you do the three effects in.
- The Border mat is included whenever a card's instructions refer to the "Border", "Incoming" or "Outgoing". I might be persuaded by using a type though.
An example:A Smugglers (http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Smugglers) that can work on any player, both gains and trashes. The card it gains goes on your Incoming, so all the other players' Smuggler cards can gain a copy of it until your next turn.
(https://trello.com/1/cards/617db99d137f3463158c1e8b/attachments/63bddec0090d9201b0898b17/download/Smuggler.png)
I haven't tested any card ideas out for this mechanic, only brainstormed. Your ideas, should you wish to enter, could easily be more interesting than mine.
I will close the contest in 7 days, January 17th 04:00pm forum time. Until then...
If no effect in the game needs it, there's not a lot of point slowing the gains and trashes down. So, it could be added to any game, but...why is it there? Perhaps if the tracking is useful for something like 1E Bonfire?......
- The Border mat is included whenever a card's instructions refer to the "Border", "Incoming" or "Outgoing". I might be persuaded by using a type though.
would this mat exist even if a player didnt have "new unique cads from a expansion" with it? is it intended to be there for vanilla users?
| (https://i.imgur.com/Whd7VcMh.png) | Quote Culper Ring • Action • $9* | |
| (https://i.imgur.com/g7krGksh.png) | Quote Silver Dagger • Treasure - Heirloom • $4 |
I like the idea, but the 2nd part would be a lot clearer if it said something like "Play the treasures on your Border, leaving them there. Then you may buy a card."
Desert Coyote
Night - $5
Trash a card in play or in your hand to gain a Treasure costing up to $3 more. You may gain a card, as if buying, using the Treasures on the Border and in play.Trash a card in play or in your hand to gain a Treasure costing up to $3 more. If the gained card cost $3 or less, you may gain another copy of it. You may gain a card, as if buying, using only the Treasures on the Border.
Shipping Village
$5 - Action
+1 Card
+2 Actions
You may play an Action card on your Border. If it is Outgoing, leave it there.
(https://trello.com/1/cards/617db99d137f3463158c1e8b/attachments/63bdea7be17d02018f945266/download/Border_mat.png)
- The Border mat is included whenever a card's instructions refer to the "Border", "Incoming" or "Outgoing". I might be persuaded by using a type though.
| czzzz | (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52620949742_5387fb71c7_w.jpg) | Workshop that can pick up gains earlier in the turn to hand. +: Putting a card gained this turn to hand is a new effect that the Border accomplishes. It can potentially be interesting too. Unlike other Workshops, having multiple copies is often meaningful. -: sad when there are no Villages. The +Buy does compensate for this situation, but feels tacked on; Workshops enable gaining multiple cards per turn anyway. Overview: the premise feels like a simple card that should exist, but the execution could be a bit better. |
| BryGuy | Quote Desert Coyote | Expand/Mine a card into a Treasure, then buy a card including the Treasures on the Border. +: Nights checking your Border work well. Building up to big gains or Provinces can be achieved in different ways, which is interesting and replayable. -: it needs to check that cards in play to trash would be discarded this turn. It feels very strong; an unspent Silver can be made at least into a Gold and a (http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/thumb/7/7d/Coin5.png/16px-Coin5.png), non-terminally. Overview: with a bit of power tweaking this could be a great card. One possibility is to fix the gained Treasure to a Silver. |
| emtzalex | (https://i.imgur.com/Whd7VcMh.png) (https://i.imgur.com/g7krGksh.png) | Cycling Lab that cheapens with more gains and trashes on a single turn, with an Heirloom that adds trashing and +Buy for multiple gains. +: The Heirloom enables Culper Ring well. Forced trash makes using it later game a little tricky, unlike Goat. -: the player interaction works negatively here, when one player works to cheapen these the other players don't have to for that round of turns. The Heirloom is a radical speedup to the game that probably narrows the number of viable strategies. Overview: speeding up a Border game might be a good move, but I fear that Silver Dagger will script most of them. The cost reduction is probably better looking at just the player's own Border. |
| LibraryAdventurer | Quote Shipping Village | Village that plays Actions gained or trashed during the turn. +: interesting to build around, especially with tfb-ing an Action. Being a Village helps terminal gainers or trashers set up the extra play effect. -: this will need the Command treatment to stop infinitely playing Outgoing Shipping Villages. Overview: it loves having Action gainers and trashers in the Kingdom, so much so that without them it may be best to select another Village to make an interesting game. Because it's inconsistent even when such cards are present, my overall excitement is lukewarm. |
| NoMoreFun | Quote Infiltrate | Regular Throne that can thin instead, or do both with an Action previously trashed or gained during the turn. +: the function of weak thinning lets this be a reliable Throne+. There are other little uses like keeping hold of a trashed Action for later in the turn. -: only little negative things. The use of the Border isn't so interesting here, as this is almost 'trash a card from your hand. If it's an Action, you may play it twice' with a few hard-to-pull-off extra functions. Overview: weak trashing on a Throne is nice, a (http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/thumb/7/7d/Coin5.png/16px-Coin5.png) card I'm happy to see on the table. The other things it can do may as well be there, they don't take elegance away. Safe design. |