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1
Variants and Fan Cards / Card where opponent gets choice of benefit
« on: October 26, 2012, 10:51:27 am »
In my Coronation set http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4663.0, I added this card:
Mayor
4
Action
Gain a Silver, placing it on top of your deck.
Look at the top 4 cards of your deck. Draw one, trash one, discard one, and place the other back on top.
Each other player chooses one for themself: +1 card, trash a card from their hand, gain a Silver.

It turned out very weak. I started with the opponent benefit part and based the rest on giving you all 3 parts.

Sheriff
5
Action
+1 Card
+1 Action
Gain a Silver, placing it in your hand. Trash a card from your hand.
Each other player chooses one for themself: +1 card, trash a card from their hand, gain a Silver.

This seems weak, too. I also thought of putting it on a Curser (inspired by andwilk's Town Fool):

Corrupt Sheriff
5
Action-Attack
+$3
Each other player gains a Curse, then chooses one for themself:  +1 card, trash a card from their hand, gain a Silver.

What kind of card should get this kind of effect: A terminal or a non-terminal? Should it be on a $4, $5, $6? Should it be on an attack?

2
Variants and Fan Cards / A fan set of contest entries: "Coronation"
« on: September 13, 2012, 02:50:38 pm »
If we assemble modified versions of the cards I submitted to the Rinkworks Mini-Set Design Contest, you can form a fan set. This set has 17 cards currently. 2 Victories, 3 Attacks, 1 Reaction, no treasures.   This set has 20 cards currently. 2 Victories, 4 Attacks, 2 Reaction, 1 Treasure. Costs 2-7 are represented and there is a potion card.

These cards appear to have strong abilities for one strategy, but restrictions (explicit or gameplay-wise) make them better for a more complex strategy. A working theme for this set is "Coronation", the idea that all the cards are leading up to the crowning of a King or Queen. I only got that from a reading of the names "Drawbridge, Magistrate, Surveyor, Scribe, Herald, Foyer, and Regent". I don't have the peer group to test this with in person.

Edit (10/8): I have developed a "cards in hand" theme, especially with regard to card type and specific cards. There is targeting specific cards in hand, cards that you can discard instead of discarding multiple cards, having specific types of cards in hand, and plenty of interaction with the "draw up to" card of the set.

Here are the cards:

Drawbridge
2
Action-Reaction
+2 Coin. +1 Buy. Discard a card.
---------------
When one or more cards enters your discard pile on another player's turn, you may reveal and discard this from your hand. If you do, trash one card that enterred your discard pile, gain a card of the same cost, and +1 Card.


This responds to all but 2 attacks (Ghost Ship and Bureaucrat) in the game (and both attacks so far in the Rinkworks set, so I decided not to submit it). This also responds to Vault, Governor, and the Beggar reaction. Turning Curses into Coppers, Estates into 2 cost actions (like itself), and un-Swindling any other cards in your deck. It can quickly transition you from trashing to other cards or adjust the number of villages you need in your deck. If there are no cards of that cost, you can use this to trash it and gain nothing. Late game, it can make a $5 action discarded from a Rabble into a Duchy, etc. The top ability was chosen as another protection against junky decks.


Magistrate
2
Action
Choose 1: +2 Cards or +2 Actions.
Trash this card. Move the Magistrate token to the top of a non-Magistrate Supply pile.
--
Cards from the Supply pile with the Magistrate token have no effect when played. At the beginning of each player's Buy phase, that player can discard from their hand any number of cards from that pile for +$1 each, +$2 each instead if they are Kingdom cards.


It basically makes the supply pile with the token into a Silver, or a Copper if it is a non-Kingdom card. There are controls against using this on Province, Estate, Curse, or Copper for much benefit. This turns powerful (or weak) kingdom cards into a non-terminal silver. People haven't liked not being able to play their cards (without getting the discard bonus) in the past. It can be a control against a powerful opening or a player getting more than you of a powerful card. It lets you turn your Alt-VP cards into Harems or better. Some people are worried about people holding onto their Magistrates so that they can move the token the final time. Is that an acceptable strategy? Is it better than the return-to-supply method, where the card can get played the whole game and doesn't contribute as much to a piles ending? Does this need a clarification that it can be placed onto an empty supply pile?

Feoffee
2
Action
Trash up to 2 cards from your hand. If you trashed 2 cards that share a type, gain a card costing up to $5 that shares a type with both the trashed cards. [Types include Action, Curse, Treasure, and Victory]


This works best with $4 or $5 alternate treasures, Duchy or other VP rushes that don't mind trashing, and general trashing. It isn't the best at trashing Curses. This gets a slight boost in Dark Ages. It can trash only one card if needed. I thought about it being weak at $3, so I am trying it at $2 for now so that you can get a bunch of this and upgrade them.


Surveyor
3
Action
Draw until you have 7 cards in hand.
________________________________
While this is in play, you cannot buy Treasure cards.


If this set has a theme, it is "Cards that have strong abilities for one strategy and restrictions that make them better for another." This would be a great BM card without the Treasure restriction, but this version makes it useful getting Victory and Action cards, especially megaturns.


Scribe
4
Action
+$2
Reveal at the top 4 cards of your deck. Put the Curses in your hand, discard the Victory cards, place all Actions on the top of your deck in any order, and place all Treasure cards on the bottom of your deck in any order.


Another Curse hater. This card doesn't give you the choice or flexibility that other deck improvers have. It may leave 2 terminals on top of your deck and shove your Gold/Platinum to the bottom. This isn't a cure-all, you usually have to have a good engine or a deck filled with Green (or Purple) to make this card better than Navigator.

Rat Catcher
4
Action-Attack
Choose 1: trash any number of cards from your hand and gain a Curse, putting it in your hand; or trash up to one Curse from your hand, and each other player gains a Curse, putting it in his hand.


A Curser/Chapel. I do wonder how this will play. Do you trash a CCEE hand and gain a Curse? Does that decision depend on whether your opponent bought a Rat Catcher, too. Note that I submitted this name to the contest well before Dark Ages was spoiled. This card has an interesting Rats interaction anyway. This card is weaker at Cursing than Sea Hag; it counters itself somewhat. It empties the Curses quickly and trashes them quick, too. Its weak Chapel effect has no weakness when there are no Curses left, and that is intentional, so that you can grab one of these late and clean up your deck. 

District
46
Victory
Worth 1VP for each non-Treasure card you have 54 or more copies of.



A Victory card with admitted problems in 4player. It makes every race for good Actions and Victory cards interesting. You have to get 6 of a card to guarantee your opponent won't get it too. It is a consolation for losing the Cursing race without a way to trash them. It works well with 2 cost actions you can piledrive, like Hamlet and Pawn and with gainers. I haven't played enough 4 player to know whether getting 2 cards that other players are not getting is viable with this, but alt-Victory cards are often ignorable anyway. Unknowingly, I had copied an earlier card by jimjam for the contest. This version is somewhat different. I might adjust or replace this. editted: 10/18. Now you don't need to compete for every action card in 2p. You only need to have the average amount of victory cards in 2 or 3 player and only need one additional Estate.


Foyer
4
Action
+2 Cards, +2 Actions, +$1. Discard 3 cards or 1 silver.


Thanks to razorborne for his idea for "Discard 3 cards or 1 silver" from the Storeroom card. I did what I call the "Lab to Bazaar" transformation. Now it looks less like a modified Warehouse and more like its own thing. Like Whitesmith, this can work with Silver gainers. It is strong, but playing it more than once a turn is risky  (like Inn) in many decks.


ManufactoryRefuge
5
Action
+2 Cards, +1 Action
If there are no cards on your Manufactory mat, set aside an Action or Treasure card from your hand onto your Manufactory mat or reveal a hand with no Actions of Treasure cards. Otherwise, take a card from your Manufactory mat and place it in your hand.


 editted: 10/18
A Lab variant. The first play of each game is similar to +2 cards, +1 actions, Native-Village a useful card from your hand. Then, every other play is +3 cards, +1 action, worth the +2 cards, +1action on average, making this a strong Haven-Lab hybrid if you intend to use 2 or more of there in a thin deck. The "Action or Treasure card only" restriction makes it a more interesting choice and weakens it a bit. This will let you manage the card types in your hand for Army, Herald, Foyer, Feofee and Rat Catcher.

Marquise
6
Action-Attack-Victory
+3 Cards
Each other player discards a Victory card from their hand or reveals a hand with no Victory cards and gains an Estate and a Copper.
---------------------------------
Worth 1 VP for every 2 Estates in the supply.


A fancy alternate Victory attack. Playing this in multiples will likely work better as an attack but not as a Victory card. If your opponent has no way of getting +Buy and isn't going for VP rush, this is worth VP so that you want it late, not early and you might not want to use the attack part. Compared to Nobles, it might be worth similar VP and has an Attack instead of the +actions option, but the attack gives VP! In multiplayer, it starts out worth more VP, but the VP it is worth declines more quickly. It is a counter to Action-Victories and Treasure-Victories. It is weak to Tunnel.

Regent
7
Action
Reveal and set aside all cards from your hand in any order. For each set aside card, choose 1: place it on top of your deck, play it if it is an action or treasure, discard it, or trash it.


A wacky card I haven't submitted anywhere else. It essentially gives you as many +actions as Actions in your hand, trashes what you don't want, and puts everything else where you want it to be, one by one. Whether you want this or something else depends on your deck, but I am not exactly sure when it is strong yet.

Purification
2P
Action
+1 card, +1 action, +1 buy
Discard or trash a card from your hand. Gain a card costing less than it, putting it in your hand.


A random potion card. A slightly stronger version of this was my highest ranking card of the set design contest, so I decided to post it here, as well. I made it to have an interaction with every potion card in Alchemy.



Here are some additions added 9/24/12.

Arena
4
Action
You may discard a card from your hand. If you do, +1 card, +1 action.
Any number of players can reveal a Duchy from their hands. If you do, gain an Arena and 2 SilversSpoils. If no one else does, +1 card.


A mini-Tournament. I really don't know exactly what the prize should be, but I like including an Arena with the prize. Duchies can run out quicker, but they are not often bought before Provinces. This may provide incentive. It works with Count, Duchess, and Duke.
editted: 10/18 Now with Spoils!

Crown
6
Treasure
Worth $2
When you gain or play this, you can discard a non-Victory card from your hand. If you do, gain a copy of the discarded card.


An improved version of my submission to the Treasure contest. I thought of the name when I posted this thread and figured any coronation needed one. The addition of the on-gain gave this some tactics, flexibility, and strength I think it needed. Get an extra copy of a card you didn't need in your hand. Have $9 in hand? Buy this and get a free Gold.

Here are some additions/changes added 10/8/12.
Herald
3
Action
+1 Action
Reveal your hand.
If you reveal an Action card, +1 Action.
If you reveal a Treasure card, +$1.
If you reveal a Curse, gain a card costing up to $3.
If you reveal a  Victory card, +1 Card.


I improved Herald for games without Curses and made it less likely a player would buy Curses for it. The options you are likely to get average around $3.5 in worth, but if you design the deck around it, you can do better. With Action, Treasure, and Victory, this is now a Bazaar. If you are being cursed, this will help by giving you Heralds, Silvers, or Victory cards and assist the balance of your deck. Decks start out with 7 treasures and 3 victory cards. Crafting a balance with the actions may make for an interesting dynamic. The bonuses now line up with Ironworks and Co.

Warlord
4
Action-Attack
+2 Cards
Each other player reveals their hand. Choose a card from each revealed hand4 cards from their hand. Choose a revealed card from each other player. That player choose one: discard that card, or you gain a copy of that card.


People thought the old version was too close to Jester. Now you get more choice of what to gain, and your opponent can stop you by discarding the card. It somewhat encourages buying enough terminal actions that having to discard one isn't a big loss. I am working on how this scales for large games. I think if multiple people are attacking you this way, eventually there will be nothing good for other people to try to gain, and the piles may run out. One thing I can change to weaken the card is have the target reveal all but one card from their hand.

Artisan
4
Action
+1 Action
+$1
While this is in play, non-Victory cards cost $1 less.


Artisan now works the other way, making shenanigans possible without the confusion of cards going back and forth in cost. This one compares a bit to Quarry, but this has its effects in the action phase. Until greening in a normal deck, this acts like a silver. Buys, trash for benefit/upgrading, Minion, draw up to, Conspirator, Thief/Pirate Ship/ Noble Brigand, Foyer, etc. make this different compared to silver that only is a copper with victory cards.

Army (Formerly Assassin)
5
Action - Attack
+3 Cards.+4 cards Discard 2 cards or 1 copper.         
Choose 1: +1 card; or You may haveeach other player with 5 or more cards in their hand reveals a number of cards from their hand equal to the number of Army cards you have in play. Each other player discards one revealed card you choose.


 editted: 10/18
This version doesn't have the Moat confusion, the King's Court or mass village problem, etc. It isn't perfect, but I think it captures the growing threat idea while making every card in the other player's hand matter.

Champion
6
Action
+1 Buy, +$5.
Discard 3 cards or 1 Champion.


In the design challenge, this card intimidated with its large number, but don't be threatened by it. It is strong when multiplied, or in crazy decks that can draw themselves over multiple times; it can do a Vault impression of removing 3 cards from your hand to gain $5, discarding all but a Gold from your hand for a province turn; it can help with a draw engine; A silver helps this reach $7 if you have to. A well-trashed deck with only one of these wouldn't want to discard 3 cards. Compare the "discard 1 champion" to something like Festival + Goons, and the "using two 6 cost cards and an action to get $5 +1 Buy" seems weak. It gets beat by discard attacks and has "frenemies"; I made a chart. I have removed the +1 Buy from Artisan, so putting it here makes sense.

Guarded Village
3
Action-Reaction
+2 Actions
+$1
Look at the top 2 cards of your deck. Discard one of them. Put the other one on top of your deck.
-------------------
When another player plays an Attack card, you can discard this to gain a Guarded Village, placing it on top of your deck.


In the design challenge, I posted this at $4 for fear that gaining villages might be too strong, but compared to Fishing Village, I think $3 is fine. Putting this in and updating Herald kicked out Township.


Mayor
4
Action
Gain a Silver, placing it on top of your deck.
Look at the top 4 cards of your deck. Draw one, trash one, discard one, and place the other back on top.
Each other player chooses one for themself: +1 card, trash a card from their hand, gain a Silver.


This probably isn't "in" the set because I have no idea how balanced it could be. The wording could be improved. I just thought of combining all the little bonuses cards give opponents onto one card. This could be worth 5. I don't know. I don't want +action because it is too much like Governor. A modified JOAT/ Lookout that cannot be forced to trash a Colony. The opponent gets to do one of the things you get to do.

Removed in their current form:

Township
3
Action
+3 Actions
At the beginning of your Buy step, if you do not play any actions after this card, gain an Action card costing up to 4.


This is a little weak, too. It works as an Action gainer and a village to make use of the gained Actions. I tried it out and it seemed a little weak for most purposes, being best at gaining cantrips at the beginning of the game in untrimmed decks. If +3 actions is fair at $2, it seems okay at $3. It even has something to do if you draw it with no actions. There is another 3 cost village on the way and another added to the set now. This seems unspectacular, so it is cut for now.

Herald
3
Action
Reveal your hand.
If you reveal a Victory card, +1 Action.
If you reveal an Action card, +$1.
If you reveal a Curse, +1 VP.
If you reveal a Treasure card, +1 Card.


I have a huge aversion to cursers. I would like good defenses to them. This is a peddler variant that makes Curses into VP generators (that occasionally prevent you from getting the other bonuses). This has an interaction with Action-Victories and Treasure-Victories. I feel that Ironmonger from Dark Ages covered this territory pretty well.

Whitesmith
4
Action
+2 Cards. Reveal any number of Silver cards from your hand. +1 Action for each Silver revealed.


Another in card that seems like it would be for BM or for engines, but it really doesn't know its place. It was made to interact with Silver gainers. In a previous thread, setting megaturn seems to be its best use, but it is strong when you are just trying to make it a cheap Lab for a trimmed deck, too. Less relevant for the set now, Foyer covers its role and more cards are becoming $4.

Warlord (formerly Tribe)
5
Action-Attack
+$2
Each player reveals the top 2 cards of his deck. You choose 1 for them to discard and put the other back. If any non-Victory cards are revealed, you may gain a copy of one non-Victory card revealed this way.


DXV mentioned in his secret history of Oracle that discarding one of 2 cards from the top of the deck was bad, but I am not sure whether he meant for a 3 cost terminal drawer or in general. To test that, Warlord acts as a gainer that can grab a copy of the valuable cards opponents have in the midgame while getting rid of them. Reacting to this card with Moat or Secret Chamber reduces the odds that Warlord will pull up a card worth gaining. I think this scales better in multiplayer than Jester.

Artisan (formerly Philanthropist)
5
Action
+$3
+1 Buy
While this is in play, Victory cards cost +$1.


I am not sure about whether to keep this one, but I have kept a version of all of my other contest entries. The card works better with Throne Room effects than other terminal money. It provides a +Buy when needed. Victory cards cost +$1, so this can make trash for benefit, upgrading, and other effects more interesting with your Victory cards. It has a hindrance on gaining multiple victory cards in a turn.

Assassin
5
Action - Attack
+4 Cards. Discard 2 cards or 1 copper.         
Each other player with 4 or more cards in their hand reveals a number of cards from their hand equal to the number of +Actions you have remaining. Each other player discards one revealed card you choose.


A combination of some gimmicky ideas I had. The attack gets much better the more extra actions you have available. Because this card digs so far into your deck, you may find more Assassins, terminals, and villages that will change how strong the next Assassin is. This is likely less painful than a Torturer chain, but the potential to Pillage repeatedly with lots of Fishing Villages is there.

3
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201207/22/game-20120722-120718-a4ff6066.html

Bureaucrat, Cartographer, Colony, Noble Brigand, Platinum, Quarry, Remake, Sea Hag, Shanty Town, Treasure Map, Village, and Worker's Village

I quickly jump ahead because Bureaucrat can't keep up with my Estate trashing and Sea Hags. I look at the board because I am unable to get $6 for gold, and I see Treasure Map. So I get 2 each on turn 18 and 19. Turn 20, using Cartographer and villages, I get 4 of them in 1 hand.

— One Armed Man's turn 20 —
One Armed Man plays a Cartographer.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action.
... (One Armed Man reshuffles.)
... looking at the top 4 cards of the deck.
... discarding 1 card and putting 3 cards back on the deck.
One Armed Man plays a Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
One Armed Man plays a Worker's Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions and +1 buy.
One Armed Man plays a Treasure Map.
... trashing the Treasure Map.
... trashing a Treasure Map from hand.
... gaining 4 Golds on the deck.
One Armed Man plays a Treasure Map.
... trashing the Treasure Map.
... trashing a Treasure Map from hand.
... gaining 4 Golds on the deck.
One Armed Man plays a Gold.
One Armed Man buys a Shanty Town.
(One Armed Man draws: 5 Golds.)

4
Variants and Fan Cards / 3 Actions that let Silver Shine
« on: June 24, 2012, 04:38:30 pm »
Silver is often a consolation prize for a mediocre turn. Threads have ensued about silver/terminal openings vs. 2terminals, silver/potion openings, whether silver is worth getting in the mid-late game at all. Silver gainers like Explorer, Trader, Trading Post, and Bureaucrat are often weak. Other ways to gain silver are Workshop-like effects, JOAT, Upgrade and Remake.

Some ideas that came from the fact that silver is always available. Names are an afterthought, sorry if I copied yours.

Jeweler?- 6 cost.
Action
Name a Treasure card. That Treasure produces an extra 1coin this turn. Then, +1 Card.

Inspired by Coppersmith. Adding value to Silver alone likely leads to dumb Big Money games, and giving players the choice makes the math of deciding what to choose easy. Adding the +1 card after the naming and making it compete with Gold often makes the player feel smart. In a hand of Copper, Silver, Gold, Jeweler, Estate: if you want a province, you name Copper because drawing a gold or silver gives you 2 coin anyway.


Whitesmith? - 4 cost.
Action
+2 Cards. Reveal any number of Silver cards from your hand. +1 Action for each Silver revealed.

What is this card for? What card combinations break it? I don't know, but it is decently powerful in most weak boards. Silvering works best if you have no villages available and are choosing to Big Money. Engines might not pick up silvers usually.


Villain? - 5 cost.
Action-Attack
+1 Coin. +1 Buy. Each other player gains a Silver, placing it in their hand. Look in each other player's hand; choose 1 non-Victory card and return it to the Supply.

This card is likely going to cause people to freak out. It lets you take away people's most-wanted card! Unfun for new players. Like Saboteur, but with an exception for victory cards. In boards with Villain, getting double terminal in hand is okay, because the attack either doesn't hurt you or resolves the collision itself in hands with 2 terminals. Hitting a 5 cost attack is potent, hitting a Gold reduces the hand's coin output by 1, but 7+ cost cards instantly become unsafe. The card encourages buying 2 mediocre cards over 1 strong one. Even if you are hit with this attack multiple times, the worst thing happens the first time, and you are left with a silver for every card it hits, leaving you a hand like Silver, Silver, Silver, Copper, Province in the mid-late game. Schemes are good protection, Alchemists are vulnerable, and Herbalists (another +1 coin, +1 buy) might endanger your Treaures, and high value villages (Bazaar, Festival, City) might be pulled from your hand if you have 2 terminals in hand. Until recently, I had it trash the cards. In long multiplayer games, the silvers might run out, resulting in that version turning deadly.

5
Introductions / Hello forum, I am One Armed Man
« on: June 24, 2012, 03:50:51 pm »
Hello. I have been a huge Dominion fan since I was introduced to it at MACE 2010. I hover around isotropic in the low 30s (I am 35 today yay).
I am an ameteur game designer and industrial engineer from North Carolina.

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