I thought I might as well give all the cards a review for the first time. I have entered the contests but haven't reviewed them yet, better late than never! Note one of these cards is mine, I will try and be fair.
Bounty
Types: Action
Cost: $5
Reveal then discard the top 2 cards of your deck. For each differently named card revealed, if it is an… Action card, +2 Actions; Treasure card, +$2; Victory card, +1 Card; Curse, +1 Buy.
Unfortunately reminds me a little too much of Tribute. You could potentially set this card up with cards like cartographer, but it still compares a little unfavourable to Tribute for me.
Field
Types: Action
Cost: $4
Reveal the top 4 cards of your deck. Put one of each differently named card revealed into your hand. Discard the rest.
Looks pretty cool. It will often just be a smithy, but hey smithy costs $4 too, then sometimes better or worse. Nice.
Storyteller
Types: Action
Cost: $4
+1 Card. If this is the first time you played a Storyteller this turn, +1 Action.
While this is in play, when you play an Action card that you don't already have a copy of in play, +1 Action.
Clarification: The first Storyteller you play only gives you +1 Action, not +2 Actions, because it wasn't in play when you played it.
Seems like an interesting village variant. You might but able to get away with making it a cantrip, but testing needed. However it might be needed because it is pretty powerful otherwise... I am undecided. I think it good how it is.
Scarecrow
Types: Action
Cost: $3
+2 Cards. +2 Actions. Reveal your hand. Discard duplicate cards one at a time until you have no duplicate cards in hand.
I like it. I also like the little combo with Menagerie. Powerful if used correctly, but unlike menagerie it can hurt your hand.
Player King
Types: Action
Cost: $10
Trash a card from your hand. For each $ in its cost, gain a card costing up to $5 that is not a Victory card, putting it on top of your deck. If you gained 5 or more cards this way, trash this card.
In games using this, at the start of your Buy phase, you may reveal your hand. If there are no duplicate cards in it, Player King costs $5 less this turn (but not less than $0).
It has interesting stuff going on, but it seems a too crazily powerful. You can gain a whole kingdom pile of $5 by trashing a Player King, which is super powerful. I can imagine this being hilarious though.
The mechanics are pretty interesting, it just might need to gain $4 cards, and maybe half as many as the trashed cards price or something. I do like the idea of a jackpot of cards at a hefty price.
Ingot
Types: Treasure
Cost: $5
Worth $2. +1 Buy. If you have at least 4 differently-named Treasures in play (including this), +$2.
Looking pretty hot. It is good that it is always possible to activate this. Not quite sure how how the name make sense thematically, besides just being currency, but hey, super minor detail.
Flea Market
Types: Action
Cost: $5
+1 Card. +1 Action. +$1. This turn, you may buy any number of cards, but you may not buy more than one copy of any card.
I think this would be too similar to market in most games to get my vote. Interesting idea.
Grocer
Types: Action
Cost: $3
+1 Action. Put one of your Grocer tokens on a Supply pile; this pile must not cost more than any pile without one of your tokens. You may gain a card from any pile with one of your tokens on it.
Clarification: Each player has a set of identical tokens that are distinguishable from other players' tokens. Tokens are not artificially limited.
Cool idea, but I am not sure how it would play out. After you play this 17 times you could gain provinces every play. I am not against cards gaining provinces if it is done in a balanced way, which this might be. 17 times is nothing to be laughed at. But neither are provinces. I think it is interesting, I can't say much more without testing.
Kaleidoscope
Types: Action
Cost: $4
+1 Card. +1 Action. Reveal your hand and note the number of differently-named cards revealed. If you revealed at least: Two, +1 Buy; Three, +$1; Four, +1 Action; Five, +1 Card.
Mechanics wise, it definitely goes along with the variety theme of Cornucopia. It is pretty nice, but I think it is overshadowed by some of the other cards in my personal opinion. Might be a little too expensive since the end bit is hard to control, but I am not judging it on its price.
Raffle
Types: Action
Cost: $5
+1 Action. Set aside any number of differently-named Treasure cards from your hand, then play them in any order. Draw until you have 5 cards in hand.
Wow, power! yeah I can definitely sense the power of this one... I think it is probably too good for its cost, but I don't mind the actual ability. I think it would have to be nerfed or cost more, but I like cards that increase the power of draw-to-X engines because they are cool, and a relatively unexplored mechanic.
Vanguard
Types: Action
Cost: $5
+2 Cards. +2 Actions. +1 Buy.
While this is in play, when you buy a card, trash each copy of that card you have in play.
Not too bad, just I think it might be a little annoying. Probably fine balance wise though. Pretty nice for the early game. Engines dislike it, I would think, which seems to be the type of deck you would want to build with it, which is an odd mix.
Pariah
Types: Action
Cost: $5
Gain a card costing up to $6. Each other player may gain a Curse. If he does, he gains a copy of the card you gained.
So essentially it gives you opponent/s a curse and leaves you both at similar deck quality, or gains you a $6 card. Seems fairly reasonable. You can be tactical and gain an expensive card that your opponent doesn't want so this is just an awesome gainer.
Theater
Types: Action
Cost: $4
+2 Actions. You may reveal a Patron card from your hand. If you do, +2 Cards.
[hr[
Setup: Add an extra Kingdom card pile costing $5 or $6 to the Supply. Cards from that pile are Patron cards.
I think this is decent. Probably not quite rocking my excitement-meter enough for me to vote for it though.
Carnival
Types: Action – Attack
Cost: $3
+1 Card. +1 Action. The player to your left chooses a card in the Supply without a Carnival token on it. Either gain a copy of it or each other player gains a copy of it, your choice. Put a Carnival token on that pile. If each Supply pile has a token, remove all the tokens.
EDIT: Carnival now gives [+1 Card; +1 Action].
Mechanics wise I think this is fairly cool. At the start especially, and a lot of the time it will gain you cards you don't really want, or give your opponents cards you don't really want them to have, but would rather not have yourself, so that helps balance it a little. However sometimes it jackpots like with a gold or a province. They can only be gained every 17 plays though, which is a lot of plays! I think this card is too cheap, especially since it was cantrip-ified, but makes it more spammy which is helps the card. Again voting on mechanics though.
Side Show
Types: Action
Cost: $5
+2 Actions. Reveal your hand. +$1 for each differently named Action card you revealed.
Pretty cool, can be like an almost super festival which is fun times for the engine player. Again not sure if I am excited enough to vote for it but it is interesting. Oh, it would be a little tricky to keep track of how much each of these are worth, especially is you have heaps in an engine, so this might be a problem.
Wine Cellar
Types: Action
Cost: $4
Reveal up to 2 differently named cards from your hand and put them on top of your deck. +$2 per card revealed this way.
When you buy this, reveal your hand. If you don't reveal at least 2 differently named cards, trash this.
Sorta comparable to horse traders. This give you more coinage, but the 'self attack' is more nasty, like a ghost ship instead of a militia (in a sense). Not too bad, but I think Harvest covers the space for variety-based-virtual-money.
Traveling Circus
Types: Action – Victory
Cost: $5
Look through your deck and set aside any number of differently named Victory cards from it. Put them into your hand. Shuffle your deck.
Worth 1 VP for every 2 differently typed cards in your deck.
Clarification: Each unique combination of types counts as a unique type. For example, an Action card and an Action – Attack card count as differently-typed cards.
I like this. The top is considerably nerfed by the fact that you can only set aside differently named victory cards, which makes it pretty balanced. And the bottom is cool. Similar to Fairgrounds, but different enough to make me happy. The type thingo is cool, even though similar to fairgrounds. Thinking about it, it might be fairly hard to make it worth heaps though? Very kingdom dependant, with the chance of being worth heaps like fairgrounds!
Nomad
Types: Action
Cost: $4
+1 Card. +1 Action. Trash a card from your hand. You may gain a card with cost exactly equal to the cost of the trashed card, putting it into your hand.
Pretty handy, you can flip you $5 to duchys in the endgame, and pile drive other piles pretty hard. Adds some interesting strategies, and would quicken games. Sold on it? I am not sure yet. I don't think cantrip cards trash is too good $4. Junk dealer has it, and a +$1 at $5. +$1 is worth a fair bit, so I think it is fairly priced at $4.
Harvest Queen
Types: Action
Cost: $5
Set aside any number of differently named Action cards from your hand. Play them in any order.
This looks like it would be fun. It embraces the diversity theme too. I also like how you can make engines out of this with no +actions, which is nice. Might be a little overpriced, but that is easily fixed.
Showman
Types: Action
Cost: $3
+1 Action. Reveal a card from your hand, then reveal the top card of your deck. If they don't match, +1 Card and +$1.
I think this is balanced, but not heaps exciting. It would be a good peddler variant for this set as a whole though. I think it is reasonably priced, because +1 card, +1 action +$1, is commonly accepted to cost about $4, and this would sometimes be that, and sometimes miss, especially early game when it is important.
Old Gaffer
Types: Action – Attack
Cost: $4
+$2. Each other player may reveal a hand without duplicate cards. If he doesn't, he gains a Curse.
I think it is a decent card idea, but I think it would be a little powerful at its price point because will most of the time just hit early game and will hurt a lot. IMO it would need a drawback, or to cost more with a slight bonus. I don't think I would vote for it because of the presence of young witch in Cornucopia, unfortunately.
Wheat Field
Types: Victory
Cost: $4
Worth 1 VP for every each differently named non-Victory card of which you have at least 4 copies.
Not too bad. Just not quite exciting enough, or different enough to fairgrounds for my vote.
Potluck
Types: Action
Cost: $4
+2 Actions. +1 Buy. If you have at least 4 differently named cards in play (counting this): +2 Cards, +$1, discard 2 cards.
This looks quite fine. In engines with variety it would work very nicely, especially as the only source of +buy.
Hydra
Types: Action – Reaction
Cost: $999
+1 Action. +1 Card per Hydra you have in play (including this).
When another player plays an Attack card, you may discard this. If you do, gain a Hydra.
You are probably sick of people telling you to give costing it a go, but I reckon it is good to have a stab at it. The actual card looks fine, I think it would be fun building a big chain of these. Maybe it would cost $5? That is my guess. The attack reaction is cool too.
Outcast
Types: Action – Attack
Cost: $4
+1 Buy. +$1. Each other player discards any number of cards, then reveals his hand. Each player who reveals duplicate cards gains a Copper.
This is pretty funky. It offers a decision of, 'ahh do I discard heaps? maybe more then 2?!', or 'ah do I gain a copper?'. I think it has a pretty cool inbuilt tension.
Dairy
Types: Action
Cost: $5
+3 Cards. Reveal then discard any number of cards. If you discarded any cards, gain a card with cost up to $1 plus the number of differently named cards discarded. If you discarded at least 3 differently named cards, +1 Action.
I like that this can mainly be used as just +3 cards, or can be used as a gainer. I also have a bit of a thing for non-terminal gainers ever since ironworks... It has nice self synergy since you will need to be discarding lots of cards to gain expensive cards, and this gives +3 cards! I will consider this one because it is a cool idea that has been executed well. Can't see much wrong with it balance wise, needs play testing.
Barter Shop
Types: Action
Cost: $5
+1 Card. +1 Action. Reveal your hand. You may discard a card from your hand that is not a duplicate. If you do, gain a card costing up to $6 that is not a copy of a card in your hand.
I am thinking this is too powerful for the price as it is soo strong early, but again, mechanics are key. Mechanics: yeah it is ok. It doesn't seem super out there or anything, not quite to my taste.
Sharpening Stone
Types: Treasure
Cost: $4
Worth $1. If you had at least 4 differently named cards in play (not including this), +1 Buy and +$2.
I do like this idea, unfortunately I think that Ingot executed it in a slightly better way.
Scythe
Types: Action
Cost: $4
Trash any number of differently named cards from your hand. Gain a card with cost less than twice the number of cards trashed.
Yeah compares a little too unfavourably to remake. I can't see much wrong with it balance wise. It would be a fairly slow trasher, except for in shelter games.
I introduced it to my uni friend who also plays magic and he really likes it too, so we are probably going to develop a friendly rivalry there! It is worlds apart from Dominion, I can definitely confirm what you guys said before. Thanks for all your other recommendations too, I will probably want to get a good game that can be played with a group too, so the suggestions are gold!
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