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1

Dominion General Discussion / Getting back into Dominion

« on: November 20, 2020, 11:25:37 pm »

I've been out of competitive Dominion for about 5 years, and have been on here occasionally in the interim. I was thinking of getting back into it this winter. I have some experience with Empires, but none with Nocturne, Renaissance, or Menagerie.

So, what do I need to know? What are the good new cards and combos? Is f.ds still the place to be to discuss Dominion strategy, or are people more on Discord or something?

2

Other Games / Deck-Building Games

« on: September 01, 2019, 01:44:30 pm »

Dominion is my favorite game -- the only one I've rated 10 on Board Game Geek. I expect many of you feel similarly about it. I've always wanted to find another deck building game that is great, but none that I've played come close to Dominion. For me, one of the biggest flaws of most other deck-builders is that they have variable supplies -- when one player buys a card, it gets replaced by a random card from a deck, meaning it can be somewhat random whether you or one of your opponents gets a good card that comes out. I love that in Dominion, if you buy a card, your opponent can as well, because of the fixed supply.

So, I'm wondering if any of you have any recommendations. Here are my ratings and short thoughts on deckbuilders I've played:

Dominion - 10
Besides the fixed supply described above, I also love:
- Limited actions/buys and the ability to draw your deck if you play things right.
- Variable end game conditions.

Clank! In Space! - 8.1
Pretty good game here, though a lot of it is in the board in addition to the cards.

Mystic Vale - 7.8
The card modifying mechanic is interesting, but I didn't find it gripping.

Star/Hero Realms - 7.6
This is my favorite of it and similar games like Ascension and Shards of Infinity, partly because of its simplicity and partly because it does the race interaction well.

Ascension - 7.5
Only played once, thought it was fine.

Shards of Infinity 7.2
Not quite as good as Star Realms.

A Few Acres of Snow - 6.4
Only played once, didn't have a great time.

Legendary - 4.9
Only played once, didn't have a great time, not into the theme.

Thunderstone - 4.4
Really didn't like this one much at all.

3

Variants and Fan Cards / Question about Rules-Changing Event-Like Cards

« on: March 17, 2017, 09:00:34 pm »

I've been out of the fan cards scene for a long time, so I'm guessing something like this has been mentioned before. My idea is to have non-cards like Events/Landmarks that, when used, change the rules of the game. But, unlike Events, they aren't things you can buy, and unlike Landmarks, they don't just affect scoring. Can anyone point me to where this type of thing has come up in the past, assuming it has?

Here are some ideas I had for such cards. They would all change how the game was played, some more so than others, in a way that might feel a lot like "house rules" or a total game variant. You certainly wouldn't want to play with them all the time, but I could imagine some of these making for some interesting Dominion.

During Cleanup, draw 6 cards instead of 5.

Add an extra Kingdom card pile on top of this card. When you buy a card from this pile, +1 Buy.

Play with your cards visible to your opponents.

Copper, Silver, and Gold give +$1 more when played.

After looking at the kingdom, you may choose the number of Coppers in your starting deck, anywhere from 0 to 10.

(2-player only) When you buy Victory cards, they go into your opponent's discard pile. At the end of the game, whoever has the fewest victory points wins.

4

Solo Challenges / Embargo x100

« on: February 25, 2017, 09:44:37 am »

I remember enjoying solo challenges back in the day on Isotropic. They were a fun way to try out something challenging not just theoretically, but in practice.

Now, we have Shuffle iT, which can link to full game playthroughs, as well as many more cards and events than we did then! Here's a new solo challenge, if people are interested in trying it!

The Challenge: You must put 100 Embargo tokens on the Province pile. Whoever does this in the fewest turns wins.

The Rules:
- Solo mode on Shuffle iT
- You can choose the Kingdom
- You may have up to 2 Events/Landmarks
- Bonus points for buying a Province to drain the Curses
- Post the game number here so we can look at your log -- this isn't a theoretical challenge, you have to actually do it!

This puzzle is similar to some that have been given in the past. But, at the time of those challenges, I don't think it was actually possible to give out 100 Embargo tokens like it is now.

5

Dominion General Discussion / What Have I Missed?

« on: January 18, 2017, 07:30:27 pm »

So, I've been essentially out of competitive Dominion since a little after Guilds was released. I've started playing a lot with the release of dominion.games, and want to get up to speed for more competitive play again.

I'm wondering what big shifts in the metagame I should know about. Are Rebuild, Cultist, and Ambassador still dominant cards? What new cards are similarly dominant? What Events and Landmarks make the biggest impact on the game? Are Castles ever the best strategy? How does debt change the game? What questions do I not even know to ask? Have there been any good memes? Etc.

6

Goko Dominion Online / Gokoins/payment discussion

« on: April 21, 2015, 11:40:33 am »

Here's another thing I don't think I've seen mentioned:

Get rid of Gokoins. Let us pay real money to buy the cards we want to buy, including promos. Cut out the fake middle currency. It's probably not on the minds of users here who bought the cards long ago, but with Adventures coming, I'm sure we'd all appreciate being able to just buy it instead of buying Gokoins first, leaving us with a few to spend on diddly squat.

7

Help! / Slog or Ambassador?

« on: June 23, 2014, 09:42:55 am »

Code: [Select]

Hamlet, Ambassador, Chancellor, Woodcutter, Bridge, Gardens, Quarry, Contraband, Graverobber, Harvest
Log: http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140622/log.5070b64ea2e6d027a23183f4.1403485598090.txt

In this game we both opened Ambassador, and ended up very sloggy with me trying to use Graverobbers to get Provinces while he hit Duchies hard for the win.

Afterward, I wondered whether a Gardens slog would be the way to go here, with Bridge, Woodcutter, and Hamlet giving +Buy. I was worried that uncontested, the Ambassador player could get something going with Bridge and Hamlet, but now that I look again I think there's just not enough draw for an engine to work.

So, would a Gardens slog be best here? If so, do you open Quarry/Woodcutter, Bridge/Woodcutter, or Bridge/Hamlet?

8

Game Reports / Cartographer helps top deckers

« on: June 04, 2014, 03:14:33 pm »

Code: [Select]

Vineyard, Hermit, Masquerade, Familiar, Herald, Talisman, Cartographer, Mystic, Soothsayer, Wharf
http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140604/log.5070b64ea2e6d027a23183f4.1401908216708.txt

In this game against Geronimoo, he goes for pretty standard Masq/Wharf BM, and I decide to try for an interesting engine relying on Herald as the only "village". Cartographer shines here, since it allows me to line up my Heralds and Mystics to get the most out of them. I choose to start with a Potion, hitting Familiars early with the plan of using them for Vineyards late. I'm not sure if this is the right path, since Masq can send back the Curses, but I think it is since I end up cursing faster than he can trash, giving me time to build up my engine. Even a mid-game Talisman is nice here, allowing me to grab a bunch of Heralds at once to feed the Vineyards and ensure I don't slow too much while greening.

Geronimoo ended up resigning after 13 turns, probably as much because of my slow turns (sorry!) as because of the state of the game. Things were slow duesince I had to figure out how to put back Cartographered cards to make them line up with my Heralds and Mystics properly. It's complicated when you play a Herald which reveals and plays a Mystic and you have to remember which card to name!

I definitely don't think I played this board perfectly, but the engine definitely seems like the way to go here. Lots of fun interactions in this one!

9

Puzzles and Challenges / Most Cards in Hand Before Playing A Card

« on: May 26, 2014, 10:31:54 am »

What is the theoretical maximum number of cards you can have in your hand before playing a card during your turn? You can assume any number of players up to 6 who are working together, and perfect shuffle luck. Here are some cards I can think of that you or your opponents can play to increase your handsize before you play a card:

Wharf
Caravan
Haven
Tactician (plus Laboratory and Golem to play 9 of them)
Band of Misfits
Torturer (opponent gives you Curses in hand)
Council Room
Governor
Soothsayer (may not be useful if opponents use Torturer to give you all the Curses)
Horse Traders (reaction to attack)
Masquerade (if you have no cards in your hand, after, say, reacting with all your Horse Traders, a Masq can pass you a card)

Am I missing any cards? It would be tricky to figure out the exact number you can have, since you have to work out piles emptying and what to King's Court, etc.

10

Goko Dominion Online / TotalBiscuit on Goko

« on: January 04, 2014, 09:45:41 pm »

I just noticed that Goko was reviewed by TotalBiscuit today. I haven't had time to watch it yet, but it will be interesting to see. Check it out:

11

Dominion General Discussion / Diggers: Some of the Worst Designed Cards?

« on: December 26, 2013, 08:49:36 am »

I realized yesterday that out of the official Dominion cards, diggers constitute some of the more poorly designed cards in the game. Here, a digger is a card that reveals cards from the top of your deck until meeting some stopping condition, and then doing something with one or more of the revealed cards.

Of course, "poorly designed" is very subjective. In general, many diggers have the problem of quickly cycling your deck, and therefore requiring reshuffles that are slow in real life. Additionally, many of the diggers are either overpowered or very weak. Here's my breakdown:

Overpowered
Rebuild - Largely considered too strong, leading to boring strategies.
Hunting Party - Not as bad as Rebuild, but pretty strong and can often play as a boring HP+X strategy.

Underpowered
Adventurer - One of the weakest cards per cost in the game.
Golem - Too expensive to be worth going for unless there are other Potion cards.
Sage - Maybe decent enough to not be considered underpowered. But, I've never seen anyone get too excited about it.

Probably Fine
Venture - "Fixed" Adventurer
Farming Village
Journeyman
Scrying Pool - Though fine, it can be slow to resolve.
Loan - Mostly weak, but decent enough to go here.


So, 4-5 out of 10 diggers being either OP or UP seems like a pretty high percent, considering the number of OP or UP cards in general. I wonder if there's something about diggers that makes them harder to design well?

12

Game Reports / Mandarin + Graverobber

« on: December 12, 2013, 09:00:32 am »

Code: [Select]

Beggar, Haven, Coppersmith, City, Counterfeit, Graverobber, Haggler, Jester, Mandarin, Tribute
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20131212/log.5070b64ea2e6d027a23183f4.1386855819734.txt

On this weak board, my opponent opens Jester/Haven and goes basically Jester BM with a few Counterfeits. I decide that life isn't fun without a little experimentation, so I open Haven/Counterfeit and go for a Mandarin + Graverobber remodel strategy. I'm sure its weak in general, but this board seemed just weak enough to give it a shot. I considered the Haven/Mandarin/Mandarin/Mandarin/Mandarin opening, but decided it would be better to get a Counterfeit first, so that I could trash down my Coppers while buying Mandarin every turn. I think that was key, since it allowed me to later match up my Graverobbers and Mandarins more readily.

I got a Silver turn 3 and 2 Havens turn 4, hoping that many Havens will help me connect Graverobber and Mandarin. Then on turns 6 through 9 I Counterfeit a Copper and buy a Mandarin every turn, with supplemental Havens on turns 7-9. Once I'm loaded with Mandarins, I grab a Graverobber turn 10.

I end up Graverobber remodeling 3 Mandarins and a Graverobber, plus buying 1 Province outright for the win. My opponent's Jester was a disaster, hitting Necropolis, Copper, and Haven in its 3 plays, making it a glorified terminal Silver. The Graverobber/Mandarin strat probably isn't optimal here, but it was fun to play something a bit different with some low-end cards!

13

Feedback / Block Posts that Contain "Mine"

« on: October 17, 2013, 11:11:35 am »

Is it possible to ignore all posts that contain a word -- for example, "mine"?

I'm only half joking.

14

Variants and Fan Cards / Alms

« on: October 08, 2013, 08:10:36 am »

Here's a wacky idea I had last night:

Alms
Types: Action
Cost:$1
Name a non-Victory card in the supply. For each $1 in its cost, reveal a card from your deck. If the revealed cards have a total cost less than or equal to the cost of the named card, gain a copy of the named card. Discard all revealed cards.

The idea is that if you have mostly bad cards, or can make the top of your deck look like you have bad cards, then you can gain good cards. Alms requires you to have a cost-density of <= 1 for the revealed cards in order for it to work. I haven't thought about its cost much, but $1 seemed interesting since then it has a cost-density of 1 itself.

This idea isn't very refined, so it may well be very broken. Now that I think about it, it would probably go very well with cost-reducers, as well as Tunnel.

15

Variants and Fan Cards / An Attempt at a Victory Card That Cares about The Trash

« on: September 27, 2013, 07:42:50 am »

I know that everyone and his brother has come up with a Victory card that cares about the trash, and that most of them don't work well or aren't interesting. But, I don't think I've seen this idea before, but maybe it's too crazy:

Junkyard
Types: Action - Victory
Cost: $4
Trash a card from your hand.
--
At the end of the game, treat the Trash as an extra player's deck, and count how many points it has after removing any Junkyards. This card is worth 1 VP for each 2 VP in the Trash deck.


It's a bit awkward, especially since you can't count Junkyards in the trash since they would make it paradoxical to count the points in the trash. But, it seems more interesting than most cards in this style that just count something in the trash.

16

Goko Dominion Online / Goko slows to a crawl

« on: September 26, 2013, 09:45:43 pm »

I was just playing a 4-player game with some friends. The first game went fine, but during the second game, my interface got so slow that it was basically unresponsive. For example, I'd spend $8, and each time I clicked "overpay for Doctor", it would take 10-15 seconds to display that I had overpayed by 1 more and give me the chance to do it again. I remember this happening sometime near beta, but this is the first time I've experienced it. I had a fine internet connection (easy streaming of video at the same time). Anyone had this happen, or have ideas how to fix it?

17

Puzzles and Challenges / Necropolis Play During First Reshuffle

« on: September 25, 2013, 07:27:32 pm »

Here's a puzzle that I don't have the answer to: In a solo game, is there any reason to play Necropolis on Turn 1?

How about on Turn 2? I have at least one answer for this one: If you buy Nomad Camp on Turn 1, then you could play Necropolis and Nomad Camp to buy a $4 Peddler on Turn 2.

Are these any different if we allow multiple players?

18

General Discussion / Respect - Over 3000!

« on: September 17, 2013, 04:07:44 pm »

theory and Donald X. are racing toward being the first to get to 3000 respect. theory has more recent activity, but Donald has the upper edge for now. Who will get there first!?

19

Game Reports / Rats!

« on: September 06, 2013, 08:31:31 pm »

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130906/log.51453438e4b0de86766bd494.1378512314315.txt

I've always said that Rats can be huge in a Scrying Pool game, and here's a great example. It's a beautiful board with Stonemason (to grab 2 Scrying Pools at once, as well as trash Rats later), Village and Wharf to add consistency and +Buys, and the real star of the show: Secret Chamber!

Turn 11 I gain 9 Rats while trashing 8 Coppers and an Estate. Turn 12 I can draw and discard my entire deck multiple times with Scrying Pool and Secret Chamber, while also trashing Rats to gain Villages and Secret Chambers. My opponent resigns, though I would have only had 3 buys to use with at least $25. With a few Wharf buys that turn, I could have bought most of the Provinces on turn 13.

I probably didn't play this perfectly, but it was a blast to play!

20

Dominion General Discussion / The Dominion Card Sorter

« on: August 23, 2013, 11:54:07 am »

Would you like to order some Dominion cards, either for something like Qvist's rankings or Wandering Winder's Power Rankings, without having to do it all by hand? If so, I have a Python program for you!

The Dominion Card Sorter is a program I wrote to help me sort things for Qvist's lists. Around last time that was happening, I published the program and a few people used it. Since then, I've cleaned it up and added some other related utility programs. All of them are open source - feel free to use it or edit it as you like! Here's the description I put in the readme:

DominionCardSorter.py
This is the main utility. You can use it to sort different lists of Dominion cards, such as $4 cards, Potion cost cards, Knights, and Ruins. Use it from command line with python DominionCardSorter.py.

ExpansionsByRanking.py
This program takes a list of all the cards that you have sorted into some sort of order, with better (or more favorite) cards coming earlier. It then prints the expansions sorted by the average ranks of the cards in each expansion. For example, to print the expansions using Wandering Winder's Power Rankings 2, you can type python ExpansionsByRanking.py CardLists/WWPowerRankings2.txt. This will tell you which expansions WW thinks are strongest, and gives this output (lower=better):

Code: [Select]

Cornucopia  75.3
Hinterlands 88.8
Dark Ages   99.2
Guilds      99.2
Prosperity  103.1
Intrigue    104.0
Seaside     107.5
Alchemy     117.7
Base        121.1
Promo       131.2
RankingsInExpansion.py
This program is similar to ExpansionsByRanking.py. It takes a list of all the cards sorted into an order. It then asks which expansion you are interested in, and prints all of the cards from that expansion along with their ranks in your list. For example, if you want to use Wandering Winder's Power Rankings 2, you can type python RankingsInExpansion.py CardLists/WWPowerRankings2.txt.

21

Dominion General Discussion / Dominion on Google Code Jam

« on: August 18, 2013, 10:21:37 pm »

I was looking through previous Google Code Jam problems, when I found one called Pseudominion. I first noticed "dominion" in the title, and then when reading the problem I was convinced it was modeled after Dominion. If you look at the contest analysis (answer spoilers), this is indeed the case!

(Code Jam is a programming contest put on by Google.)

22

Help! / Difficult Power Cards Kingdom

« on: August 10, 2013, 03:10:34 pm »

Here's a game that I started playing yesterday, but had to quit after my video driver crashed (I know, lame excuse, right?). Here's the kingdom:

This board seems to be stuffed with power cards, and I had a hard time deciding which way to go. Ambassador seems to be strongly countered by Apothecary and Hermit, as well as Lighthouse, which also counters Mountebank. Tournament is probably strong. I have no idea if Procession, Apprentice, or Duke are playable here, and even lowly Workshop seems like it could be used for good.

I decided to delay Ambassador and opened Hermit/Potion to head straight for Apothecary. I picked up a bunch of Lighthouses and then an Ambassador, which may have been a mistake. I often have the problem of trying to buy every card in the kingdom, and I think I did that a bit here. But, I really lost the game on turn 10, when I had enough for a Province but passed 2 Coppers instead of 1 with Ambassador, and then frustratedly bought a Procession.

So, what would you open here, and with what strategy? My opponent opened Ambassador/Tournament, and seemed to be doing better by the time I quit.

23

Dominion General Discussion / What is your favorite vanilla card?

« on: July 23, 2013, 10:07:18 am »

Most vanilla cards are in the base set, but there are a few others. I'm counting any kingdom card that has one of the standard +'s (Card, Action, Buy, $), as well as plain Victory amounts and +VP cards.

24

Variants and Fan Cards / Polymath

« on: June 22, 2013, 09:59:17 am »

Polymath
$5 - Action
When you play this, get the effect of the top card of the Polymath stack. If it is empty, the opponent on your left chooses which effect you get.
--
There are 5 effects, each of which appears on 2 of the 10 cards in the stack. Before the game, the stack is shuffled and only the top card is visible. The effects are:
- +$3, +1 Buy
- +2 Cards, +2 Actions
- Gain 2 Silvers, putting one in your hand.
- Trash up to 3 cards. +$1 per card trashed.
- +1 Card, +1 Action, Gain a card costing up to $5.


The main idea of this card, which I don't remember seeing before, is that the card changes depending on what the top card on the stack is. All of the effects are very strong for a $5 card, but you can't count on it being reliable for the effect you need. The wording is a bit rough, and the effects probably need some balancing. I feel like it would be fun to play with, but would it be too swingy?

25

Dominion General Discussion / Chapel Cost?

« on: June 15, 2013, 02:45:50 pm »

Would you price Chapel at $2 knowing what you do now?