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1

Variants and Fan Cards / Treasure-reaction

« on: August 11, 2016, 05:20:16 pm »

Been a while since I've posted! But had a random idea pop to mind earlier today.

Treasure-Reaction
Cost: ?
$1
You may trash a Victory or Curse card from your hand. If you do, +$2
-----------
When another player plays an Attack card, you may set this aside from your hand and draw up to 5 cards in hand. If you do, at the start of your next turn, return this to your hand.

The reaction part is what came to mind. Not sure about the top. Could be something more vanilla, but if Attack is to remain the trigger, the top shuld be of the more exotic variety (cuz then if there ain't Attacks, then zZzZzZzZ).

I think the "draw up to" makes it different enough from Horse Traders to be interesting. Especially in the presence of handsize attacks, where it is something of a cross between Secret Chamber and Horse Traders. (Opponent plays Militia. You set aside this card, draw back up to five, choose the best 3, discard the rest.) And the fact that it is a treasure rather than an action makes it generally more useful to draw back into your hand.

2

Goko Dominion Online / Not working on iPad

« on: June 13, 2016, 08:00:15 am »

So I know others are having this problem, but I don't see any threads about it. Since the last update Dominion Online doesn't work on my ipad and the update will not install. Has there been any word on addressing this issue? It's quite frustrating since I typically play on my ipad, not my desktop.

3

Rules Questions / Goons Trader empty Silver

« on: February 07, 2016, 09:52:36 am »

I was playing Dominion Online and noticed that in a game where silver was depleted, a Goons was in play, and a trader was in hand, that when I bought a copper and then revealed trader, I first gained a point token but then lost it, seemingly because I failed to gain the Silver.
Is this just an incorrect implementation on the online version? Because it seems to me that Goons only cares whether you buy, and Trader only happens during the gaining (i.e., after buy), so it should still have given me a point even though I didn't gain anything.

4

Variants and Fan Cards / Dominion Templates

« on: February 05, 2016, 05:04:54 pm »

A few people PMed me about my Dominion templates. I have a multi-layer image file set up to easily put together multi-type cards. Here are the ones I have/ones that have been requested. If there's something anyone needs that isn't here, post it and I'll put it together and post it when I get a chance. I've left off the text.

There's quite a few of them, so to save space I'll just provide the link:
http://imgur.com/a/aZP2U
It includes:
Action
Action-Duration
Action-Duration-Hex
Action-Duration-Victory
Action-Hex
Action-Reaction
Action-Reaction-Reserve
Action-Reaction-Ruin
Action-Reserve
Action-Reserve-Duration
Action-Treasure
Action-Victory
Hex
Action-Traveller
Action-Reaction-Traveller
Action-Duration-Traveller
Treasure
Treasure-Reaction
Treasure-Reserve
Victory
Victory-Treasure
Victory-Reserve
Event

5

Variants and Fan Cards / Help with a reaction mechanic

« on: January 28, 2016, 07:29:17 pm »

Sadly original post got lost. Anyhow, i had an idea for a reaction effect earlier. But I cannot figure out a solid wording for it that doesn't get really wordy or run into weird conflict problems. Is there a way to make the effect work without being broken? It is basically a reaction (to anyone, inclduing yourself) that lets you name a card when compelled to reveal cards from your deck, and instead of that card being affected by the action, it is ignored. As a defense against certain trashing attacks, for instance, or a card you want to skip drawing if it would normally hit.

Reaction
When an action card causes you to reveal cards from your deck, you may set this aside. Name a card. While this is set aside, when you reveal the named card, set it aside with this card. At the start of your next turn, discard this and the cards set aside with it.

Maybe almost okay? Maybe hopeless? Maybe it stacks in a gamebreaking way? Not sure.

6

Variants and Fan Cards / Another risky investment card

« on: January 10, 2016, 06:27:40 pm »

I've been mulling over another risky investment VP gainer, dependent on pile depletion. Two versions of it, both too wordy at the moment:

Version A--one card:
$2--Action/Hex
-1 VP
Count the number of empty supply piles. If there are...
none, +1 card, +1 action
exactly 1, you may trash this. If you do, gain a Duchy.
2 or more, you may trash this. If you do, gain a Province.

Version B--two cards:
Card X
$2--Action/Hex
-1 VP
+1 Card
+1 Action
Count the number of empty supply piles. If there are...
none, you may trash this and gain a Card Y
1 or more, you may trash this and gain a Duchy

Card Y
$3*--Action/Hex
-2 VP
+1 Card, +1 Action
If there are 2 or more supply piles empty, you may trash this and gain a Province.

In Version A, the pertinent risks are (1) the game ends on Provinces/Colonies before another pile is depleted and (2) deciding whether to cash out early for Duchies or try to hang on for Provinces. The card is not too detrimental, as a cantrip, so long as no piles have been depleted. After that, keeping them can past Duchy-ripeness can get in your way without good village support.

In version B, card X is a cantrip regardless of the number of empty supply piles. But once there is at least one empty pile, you are locked out of the trash-for-Province card, card Y. Being harder to get in the first place, I reverted this to a cantrip as well, but made the penalty for failure steeper by giving it -2 VP.

Other potential modifications:
Change the timing of the trash-for-VP to when you discard from play, allowing your buys to empty out a supply pile for you.
Change wording to "supply piles other than [this card's name]" to hinder a simple race to the bottom of this card's pile.

7

Variants and Fan Cards / Holy Order

« on: December 17, 2015, 10:08:32 am »

This post has been updated to reflect the current state of the cards. The following are more or less stable right now:
Here is the current state of all the cards in the set:

Clergy Traveller line:

Note: Cardinal clearly needs a buff. It's been played extensively. It doesn't give you any reward for trashing junk, though, and it doesn't hang around in your deck long enough to be used to liquidate your deck for points, since it's just a flash in the pan on the way to Pope. Maybe a static base VP gain like bishop, maybe some amount of draw first so it at least gives you a better chance to trash junk.

Sinner Traveller line:

Note 1: The card amounts for this line: Sinner (8x in 2p, 12x in 3-4p); the rest 4x
Note 2: Heretic feels a little weak, and might warrant a buff. Nun is very strong by comparison, but doesn't have the longevity (your deck quickly runs out of junk to trash for points) and stays a double-lab

$6+

$5

Notes:
Corvee has been modified. It now only draws you cards when an opponent buys rather than gains a card. In testing, we ran into some weird interactions from a case I cannot recall at present.
Holy See could probably be reduced to $4 with no ill effect. But it's purchase is fairly niche anyway, so I don't think it would make much difference.

$4

Notes:
Wedding: Everyone, myself included, seems to keep forgetting the on-buy effect. I might make it optional. Or I just need to drill it into my and other peoples' heads further.
Collection Plate: The on-buy effect has been changed to a copper, and Charity has been repurposed. The on-buy effect too keeps getting forgotten in playtesting. Probably because my wife and I don't own Hinterlands.
Labyrinth: I think this could be reduced in price to $3, or the Labyrinth restriction to the points removed. The VP token benefit has been fairly fringe so far. It might just be that the card is pretty niche.
Another alternative would be for it to react to your own gain rather than another player's, while keeping the restriction on revealing from gaining Labyrinth. Then you could at least coordinate your buying of VP to accord with Labyrinth in hand.

$3

$2

$1

Non-supply

Note: Excommunication was renamed to Damnation, and its effect changed from an untrashable curse to a -1 VP that, when trashed, gives a curse and copper.

Events

Note: These are untested, and the prices not certain.

8

Variants and Fan Cards / Traveller line: nuns and heretics

« on: December 15, 2015, 06:05:15 pm »

As you might guess from a few of the more recent cards I've posted here (the clergy Traveller line, Cloister, etc.), I'm starting to develop a church-themed set of cards. Tentatively calling it Holy Order. This is a second Traveller line I'm still working out. It's a split-path line: the supply card is Sinner, which you can exchange for either a Novice or a Heretic.


Essentially a Smithy with a negative VP, with reduced price to reflect it. Sinner actually requires a curse to activate the Traveller line, so in kingdoms without cursers you need to buy a Curse. Unlike previous Traveller lines, the upgrades in this set are all conditional to make advancement harder. The lines are only 3 cards long, after all.


Putting it on your Tavern mat is optional, but you cannot perform the upgrade part unless it is on the mat. So you presumably will only do so if you know you can buy a Province this turn or are likely to do so faster than it would cycle through your deck again. The main action is to pick any action card from your deck to play.


A double lab that lets you transform a Victory card into VP tokens and is an improved curse trasher compared to Sinner.


The dark side. Duration that stays in play until the conditions are met for advancing (so a comparable delay effect to nun for advancement). Does nothing for you the turn you play it, but afterward is like playing a Village and Smithy. With a curse "penalty" (see below). Great defense against hand-size attacks, but not as good a defense as Library.


Curses are points. Encourages piling out from here, with the combination of +Buy (get Curses) and trashing Victory cards (Estate).

Another card from the set might be more thematic for the exchange condition on Sinner, at least for the convent branch:

It's a non-supply card, a minor sifter, that serves as a defense in relation to another card (coming soon). I welcome suggestions of how that might be implemented. Or not.

9

Variants and Fan Cards / Band of Merry Men

« on: December 13, 2015, 08:55:00 am »

Playtested this one for the first time last night. It was quite fun and seemed both balanced and priced right. Benefits you and (mostly) benefits everyone else around you, to a lesser extent. Clarification: all players gain a Treasure card, but only the player that player BoMM gets it in their hand.

10

Variants and Fan Cards / Altered starting conditions

« on: December 09, 2015, 06:55:17 pm »

The combination of eHalcyon's thread about endgame parameters and one of the cards dropped from the Enterprise expansion got me thinking further about playing around with the starting conditions. LastFootnote's Domain attempted to do this by replacing a starting copper with a

• Treasure-Victory. I'd like to think more about alt-copper starters, perhaps akin to the Shelter setup from Dark Ages. Some initial ideas:
• Treasure-Reaction: Gives $1; when you buy a treasure, you may reveal this from your hand and trash it
• Treasure: Gives $1; while this is in play, Action cards cost +$1
• Treasure-Action: If you play this in your Action phase: You may put your deck in your discard pile; If you play this in you buy phase, gives $1
• Treasure-Victory: Gives $1, put this on top of the Estate pile when you play it; worth 2VP for every 2 Domains in your deck. You must buy it from Estate pile before estates can be bought.
• Treasure-Reserve: Gives $1, put this on your Tavern mat; At the beginning of your buy phase, you may call this into play
• Treasure: $1; at the end of your Buy phase, if you have at least $1 unspent, you may put this on top of your deck

The idea is still half baked. But it would probably involve a new starting rule that you can randomly choose one or two alt-coppers to use this game. Each player replaces one of their starting coppers with it/them. All players start with the same setup of starting alt-coppers.
Thoughts? Other alt-copper ideas? Potentially interesting starting buy ramifications?

11

Variants and Fan Cards / Three alt-VP cards

« on: December 06, 2015, 03:37:04 pm »

Cloister

Points of a Duchy given in chip form when you buy it, but itself a dead card in your deck. However, you can get rid of it like Hovel, potentially giving you the points without the deck space.

Labyrinth

Like a Tunnel, except that it gives VP tokens instead of Golds. Favors kingdoms with strong sifting or discard attacks, but still bears 2 points so it isn't dead in a kingdom without.

Latifundia

A VP with exponential point value (1=1; 2=4; 3=9; 4=16; 5=25; 6=36). Caps at 6, though, unlike Duke. Might be better priced at $5.

12

Variants and Fan Cards / A New Traveler Line--Clergy

« on: December 06, 2015, 01:50:58 pm »

Brainstorming a new traveler line. I thought a church hierarchy sounded like a fun naming theme. Haven't done the mock-ups yet.

Deacon
Action-Traveller—$2
+1 Action, +$1
---------------------
When you discard this from play, you may exchange it for a Village Priest.

Village Priest
Action-Duration-Traveller—$3
Now and at the start of your next turn, +1 Action.
Draw 7 cards (instead of 5) in this turn’s Clean-up phase.
---------------------
When you discard this from play, you may exchange it for an Archbishop
(This card is not in the Supply.)

Archbishop
Action-Traveller—$
+$2
Trash up to two cards from your hand. If you do, +VP equal to hand their combined costs in coins, rounded down.
---------------------
When you discard this from play, you may exchange it for a Cardinal.
(This card is not in the Supply.)

Cardinal
Action-Traveller-Attack—$5                     Each other player trashes a card from their hand costing $3 or more, or reveals a hand without any. Gain one of the trashed cards, putting it into your hand.
---------------------
When you discard this from play, you may exchange it for a Pope.

Pope
Action-Attack—$6                     Each other player with 4 or more cards in hand draws a card then reveals their hand and discards two cards that you choose.
---------------------
When you would discard this card from play, return it to the Pope pile and gain +5 VP tokens.

13

Variants and Fan Cards / The cards keep coming

« on: December 02, 2015, 10:15:54 am »

Okay, I have been posting my cards in batches. This is most of the rest of what I have. It includes a few more cards exploring the passing mechanic. I know some people have been wary about this privileging one player over another, but I think it works well enough, and especially in the two-player context that I and the friend for whom these are going to be a gift play. Still, I welcome considerations that might affect 3- and 4-player.

Regent

The player faces a dilemma: use a powerful, almost-Grand Market, one-shot action then give it to your neighbor along with the two points and hope it makes it back around to you before endgame, or retain the points for yourself.

Changeling

A sort of Golem variant. Should maybe cost $4. You steal an action from your neighbors deck and play it as your own. The card must be played, even if it's something you'd rather not (e.g., ambassador in a hand full of good cards, or mandatory trasher) and keep it. In exchange, that player gets the changeling in their deck.

Cursed Idol

Playtested this initially as a copper costing $3, but it was too powerful when stacked. Increased cost to $4 for beginning-of-game purposes, decreased coin production to $0. The drawback to such a powerful curser is the -1VP of the card itself, and the top-decking of green. The common -VP critique about disparity in power between trashing and non-trashing games is mitigated, I think, by the fact that good trashers also mitigates the cursing effect.

Antiques

Modified version of another fan card I saw, though I'm not sure from where now. An expensive copper initially, worth more than gold once a pile is gone, and worth a point if the game ends on three piles depleted (or more). A sort of city variant that is nothing like city in type.

Concubine

Originally started as a Harem variant. My wife and I have played with this card for quite some time, and both really enjoy it. It is, admittedly, quite strong, and especially in its weakening of handsize attacks by setting aside coins immune from opponents.

Shaman

A two-shot card, essentially. The first time, it is a lab. The second time, akin to playing two villages and a smithy (start turn with 2 actions, 7 cards). But then you have to give it up to an opponent, top-decking it even.

Buried Treasure

A variant on Fairgrounds, Horn of Plenty, and Bank. Weaker than bank in that variety, not simple numbers of treasures, determines value--so a giant hand isn't necessarily a boon to it. On a board with no other kingdom treasures, it maxes at $4/4VP (or $5/5VP with Platinum). With more, it can rival and surpass Province for points (as the cheaper Fairgrounds can ion many boards).

Iconoclast

One of my earlier ideas. A bishop variant. But instead of rewarding you for trashing higher value cards with more VP tokens, it attacks other opponents VP tokens, or doles out curses if they have none to lose. Players start with some protection, according to number of players. Giving coin still encourages buy, and it faces the same constraint on limitless game by forced trashing--you'll eventually run out of cards. That said, it faces the exact same combos that bishop has for extending the game. It lacks, however, the benefit to other players that Bishop has, so I wonder if, upon playing, all other players should draw a card or something.

14

Variants and Fan Cards / Another set of custom cards

« on: November 30, 2015, 09:14:09 am »

A few more of my custom cards here! (Still not all of them; figure it's better to review a few at a time.) Unlike the last batch, most of these have seen at least moderate amounts of playtesting.


Toll Road: An action or treasure, depending on whether it is played during action or buy phase. Action phase it is a crossroads that gives the +3 actions every time, but has no draw. Buy phase it gives coin for unused actions. The action part ensures it's always on a board where it could be worth more than just a copper. It plays somewhat like a fool's gold, when played for the treasure value, since having multiples in hand increases the value.


Land Surveyor: Came out of the desire to have another variable-price card. It's a decent buy at $4, good at $2, and a steal at $0. It functions as a somewhat improved scout, clearing out greens, but drawing a card so multiples in hand aren't simply wasted. Having one also, like peddler, makes it easier to get subsequent ones, since it brings the price-reducing greens into your hand.


Stockpile: This was a favorite during playtesting. Came out of a desire for another duration-reaction. It sets you up for a better buying round on the subsequent turn. It is a powerful defense against hand-size reduction attacks, as reacting to one allows you to set it and up to two treasures aside, leaving you with a hand of 3. And you still draw another card when you start your own turn.


Drawbridge: A one-shot reaction. One part moat, one part bridge, and it draws you one card. Drawbridge. It was well liked during playtesting.


Suq: certainly a more marginal card, but it worked fairly well, esp. in early game. It might warrant a price reduction to $2. It removes your ability to buy on the current turn (unless other +buy available or a Suq from a previous turn in play) and in exchange improves your chances for a better buy next turn by effectively playing a market. Multiple suqs in hand one is great for hand two. But it's still fairly weak and I welcome suggestions. The idea was to make a duration that killed buy in turn one and enhanced buy in turn two, like a much weaker tactician. So help making it useful to this end would be appreciated.


Price Controls: Not a new concept, but modified a bit from other versions I've seen. It uses the coin tokens to mark the price increase, but doesn't "conflict" with Trade Route's tokens--it just means that in a Trade Route game victories start with the increased price, and buying them takes it off. It potentially ramps up Trade Route's potential buying power. But this is a fringe case anyway. There are also conditions for ending the price increase--the price control pile is depleted. And it doesn't allow you to continually mark up one card--it is limited to one token per pile. Creates interesting cases for cost-for-benefit cards, is a potential tool for disrupting opponents Mines or Rebuilds, or in some cases, for enhancing them.

15

Variants and Fan Cards / A bunch of custom card ideas, looking for feedback

« on: November 27, 2015, 11:05:03 am »

UPDATE: see images below for revised versions

I've been compiling some card ideas for some time, and recently decided to playtest and print a few as a gift for a friend who is a huge Dominion fan. I welcome some feedback on these card ideas (and more to follow in the near future). I'll start with just 6 of them.

Triumph
Action - $4
You may select an action card from your hand and play it three times. Trash it. Gain an action card costing less than this. SETUP: include ruins in the supply.
Like a cross between king's court and procession, but downgrade's cards and ultimately leaves ruins in its wake.

Haunted Castle
Action/duration/curse - $6
-3 VP
At the start of each of your next turns for the rest of the game, you may choose one: +1 buy or +1 action. (This stays in play.)
Penalty for a permanent +action or buy. Seems to me a bit weaker than the already-too-strng hireling, and hence balanced. A good boon to either engines or big money.

Imp
Action/curse - $3
-2 VP
+1 action
Choose one: +2 cards; +$2; or look through your discard pile and trash a card.
Playing with a good combo of action and negative vp penalty. Modified steward. Does the trash-from-supply effect make it good enough to warrant the point penalty? It also facilitates easy trashing of imps later in the game.

Provincial Revolt
action/attack -$5
+1 action
+1 VP chip
Each other player must return a victory card from their hand to the supply pile and gain a victory card costing less than it, or reveal a hand with no victory cards. If any other player returned a victory card to the supply this turn, +$3
Development of what seems to be a common card idea.

Saturnalia
Action - $6
+1 card
+1 buy
+$3
When you play this card, if you have any unused actions remaining, -1 action
This is a card that rats up 2 actions if available and is difficult to stack, but is not dead if no villages are in the kingdom.

Siege machines
Action/attack - $4
+$2
Each other player reveals the top two cards of their deck, trashes one of them costing $3 to $4, and discards the rest. If they trash a card, they gain a ruins on top of their deck.
You may gain a card from the trash costing $3 or $4.
Still trying to figure out the right price point for this, make it better at hitting, etc.