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Tournaments and Events / 2022 Dominion Online Championship
« on: August 22, 2022, 12:36:23 pm »
Each year Shuffle iT hosts a single-elimination tournament to determine the best online 2-player Dominion player, where the players fight for a 1000€ prize pool. This year, the tournament will start September 19th and continue into November.

This year's tournament will be hosted on the Shuffle iT discord: https://discord.gg/JqYVcpm, where all information regarding rules and logistics can be found in the #welcome channel. To join, fill out the signup form found in the Shuffle iT #sign-up channel, which also contains the list of players who have currently registered. Signups for a guaranteed spot will close September 13th, 2022 at 00 UTC.

Your tournament mods are: alibby1152, Bienchen1, Cave-o-sapien, Ingix, Lemonspawn, Mic Qsenoch, Naesala, Rozyroz, snowbz, SSounder, strumphf, TeamOkay, and xyrix.
You can find us all by joining the discord, and can message any of us with any questions there.  You can also feel free to ask any questions here in this thread, and I and the team will do our best to answer them quickly.

Best of luck to everyone!

2
The deadline for signups for the 2020 Dominion Online Championship is approaching. Players are encouraged to sign up (https://bit.ly/domchamp-signup) and are required to join the Shuffle iT Discord server (https://discord.gg/JqYVcpm). Eligibility requirements include having at least 20 rated games and a gold subscription extending through November 4th (full rules: https://bit.ly/domchamp-rules). Sign-ups close September 8th and the tournament fun will start on September 14th, 2020!

3
Dominion League / Season 41 - End of Season Deadlines
« on: August 17, 2020, 01:08:21 pm »
Season 41 officially ends on Sunday, August 30. To account for the westernmost timezones, the deadline for reporting matches is Monday, August 31, at 15:00 UTC.

If you need extra time to finish, you must contact your group moderator to request an extension of up to one week. All late finish matches must be reported by Monday, September 7, at 15:00 UTC.

If you fail to request an extension or complete the match by the late deadline, the responsible player(s) will be considered to have dropped mid-season. This means that they are banned for the next two seasons, and automatically demoted when they return. If they played at least 18 games (three matches), those are kept for the other players' standings and their remaining matches are "simulated" (see the full rules for how), but if they did not complete that many, their results are removed.

In addition to finishing your matches, all players must fill out the returning form to tell us whether they will be back for next season. This form was sent to you in a private message; you can also find it in the pinned post in your Discord division channel. The deadline for filling out the returning form is Monday, October 5, at 15:00 UTC. Any players who have not told us whether they will be back by then will be assumed to be not returning.

4
Dominion League / Season 40 - End of Season Deadlines
« on: June 22, 2020, 10:22:19 am »
Season 40 officially ends on Sunday, July 5. To account for the westernmost timezones, the deadline for reporting matches is Monday, July 6, at 15:00 UTC.

If you need extra time to finish, you must contact your group moderator to request an extension of up to one week. All late finish matches must be reported by Monday, July 13, at 15:00 UTC.

If you fail to request an extension or complete the match by the late deadline, the responsible player(s) will be considered to have dropped mid-season. This means that they are banned for the next two seasons, and automatically demoted when they return. If they played at least 18 games (three matches), those are kept for the other players' standings and their remaining matches are "simulated" (see the full rules for how), but if they did not complete that many, their results are removed.

In addition to finishing your matches, all players must fill out the returning form to tell us whether they will be back for next season. This form was sent to you in a private message; you can also find it in the pinned post in your Discord division channel. The deadline for filling out the returning form is Monday, July 13, at 15:00 UTC (the Season 41 signup deadline). Any players who have not told us whether they will be back by then will be assumed to be not returning.






5
Dominion League / Season 39 - End of Season Deadlines
« on: April 27, 2020, 10:11:18 am »
Season 39 officially ends on Sunday, May 10. To account for the westernmost timezones, the deadline for reporting matches is Monday, May 11, at 15:00 UTC.

If you need extra time to finish, you must contact your group moderator to request an extension of up to one week. All late finish matches must be reported by Monday, May 18, at 15:00 UTC.

If you fail to request an extension or complete the match by the late deadline, the responsible player(s) will be considered to have dropped mid-season. This means that they are banned for the next two seasons, and automatically demoted when they return. If they played at least 18 games (three matches), those are kept for the other players' standings and their remaining matches are "simulated" (see the full rules for how), but if they did not complete that many, their results are removed.

In addition to finishing your matches, all players must fill out the returning form to tell us whether they will be back for next season. This form was sent to you in a private message; you can also find it in the pinned post in your Discord division channel. The deadline for filling out the returning form is Monday, May 18, at 15:00 UTC (the Season 40 signup deadline). Any players who have not told us whether they will be back by then will be assumed to be not returning.

6
  • Returning Form Questions
    • Dominion: Menagerie
      • Motion to include Menagerie cards in the coming season.
        • YES (unanimous)
      • From the Returning Form responses, a majority of players had a weak or strong preference to include Menagerie cards as the default table setting. Only 20% of players were opposed. The default table settings in client will have the cards included, so their inclusion by default for League matches reduces the number of settings that need to be changed prior to a match. - alibby1152
        • Motion to have playtesters announce as much to their opponents as a courtesy.
          • YES (unanimous)
        • Some League players have advance knowledge of the cards as a result of playtesting the original designs and/or the client implementation. We believe that making their opponents aware of this will help ensure a level playing field. We ask those playtesters to be flexible with their opponents should they deem this to be an unfair advantage. - alibby1152
        • Automatic !match Posts
          • Motion to include !match in division channels when results are posted.
            • YES (2 dissenting)
          • Posting the !match results into Discord accomplishes several objectives: (1) It helps players process their games after the fact, either internally or in discussion with their opponent. (2) It provides accountability that the games were actually played and reported correctly (e.g. with equal numbers of starts). (3) For partial matches, it helps keep track of whose turn it is to start. We already see many players posting this sort of information when they fill out the form, and can do so automatically for them. -SamE
            • The addition of the !match command will add significant clutter to division channels. I'm a bit wary that this may bury messages related to scheduling that take place over the course of hours and/or days. I would prefer a different channel to post the !match results for tracking purposes. - alibby1152
          • Town Halls
            • Dropped Players
              • In situations where the moderators deem the consequences of a drop to have a significant effect on a promotion/demotion outcome in a division, should the moderators decide (at their own discretion) to settle the results with a tiebreaker match between the two players?
                • YES (1 dissenting)
              • Including this additional leeway was a popular opinion that emerged from the Season 38 Town Hall. It will allow for intervention in cases where drops have a significant impact on promotion/demotion. It's not something that will be taken lightly, but until now, there has been little we could do within the League rules to remedy such a situation. - alibby1152
                • If there's actually something tangible separating players at the end of the season, there's no need for a remedy. The system works. Do we have faith in the simulation system or not? - volfied
                • Rounding Simulated Results
                  • When players with at least 18 games drop out, the rest of their results are simulated in the following fashion: For each game between player A and player B, we average the win% of player A and the loss% of player B to get the "expected win%" of player A, and this fractional number of wins is then awarded to player A. This is designed to be the most balanced extrapolation of the two players' previous results, but can result in outcomes that are not multiples of 0.5 as all the other results are. Should we instead round the resulting simulations to the nearest 0.5?
                    • YES (2 dissenting)
                  • No one could actually win a game by a decimal fraction, so we're not producing a realistic situation. There's something unsatisfying/frustrating about winning/losing by 0.1 points that can't exist in the real world. - volfied
                    • With the flexibility above, rounding is unnecessary. It's fine for the scores to look "weird" -- after all, something unusual did happen in that division. - SamE
                  • Suggestions from last season
                    • Add clarification on how play-in matches are determined
                      • Many league players have asked how play-in matches are decided. We will be adding an entry into the FAQ describing our procedures for filling open spots in a tier.
                    • Changes from Moderators
                      • Season 39 Town Hall
                        • Table decision on whether we should hold a Town Hall in Season 39
                          • YES (unanimous)
                        • While we are open to holding a Town Hall during Season 39, we don't want to hold one just for the sake of holding one. If a topic emerges and/or is suggested by the community, we will revisit this matter. - alibby1152
                        • Update forum rules page to match FAQ for description of the new tier system
                          • There were inconsitencies between the rules and FAQ emerging from the change to the new tier structure. These will be reconciled and cleaned up.

                        7
                        The 2020 Dominion World Cup concluded this past weekend, with Team Germany A emerging as the Champion over Team Canada A. The Championship Match was spread over two days, with back-to-back matches on Friday and two matches on Saturday. Team Canada A got off to a fast start, with truffles defeating Sicomatc 4-2 and xyrix playing E.Honda to a 3-3 tie. Trailing 1.5-0.5, German alternate drsteelhammer stepped up in a big way, earning a 5-1 victory over amoffett11 in the first Saturday match. This led to a battle of team captains, RTT and kaplane, to decide the Champion. With the match tied at 1.5 and the Germans holding a 10-8 advantage in the games won tie-breaker, Team Germany needed only a tie in the match to claim the title. RTT left little to chance, winning the first three games and clinching the first World Cup title for Germany. With the World Cup decided, the players treated spectators to 3 games of Menagerie previews.

                        In a rematch of a Group Stage pairing, the Third Place match between Team USA B and Team Japan also came down to its final pairing. Team Japan scored the first point when cha-shu defeated Lemonspawn 5-1. With a 4-2 victory over kazumaru0828, alternate bluey_the_bear made the most of their first appearance in the World Cup and evened things at 1. Similar to the Championship Match, the final two matches were played on Saturday. In the early match, Team USA B scored a full point when La-Ya defeated yudai214 3.5-2.5. Leading 2-1 heading into the late match, but down 9.5-8.5 in the tie-breaker, team USA B needed a tie or victory by aku chi against pop180 to win the match. After 5 games, pop180 led 3-2, meaning the final game to decided the Third Place winner. aku chi emerged victorious to seal a tie in the match and a 2.5-1.5 victory for Team USA B.

                        The Championship matches were commentated by H.exe and Mic Qsenoch, who have both graciously posted the replays to their YouTube channels and can be found here:

                        Sicomatic vs. truffles (H.exe):



                        E.Honda vs. xyrix (H.exe):



                        drsteelhammer vs. amoffett11 (Mic Qsenoch):



                        RTT vs. kaplane (Mic Qsenoch):


                        8
                        With the Championship and Third Place matches coming up, we take a look at how we got there.

                        QUARTERFINALS

                        In the only "upset" of the first round, we saw Group B runner-up Team Japan eliminate Group A winner Team USA A. With victories by cha-shu over Mic Qsenoch (4-2) and kazumaru0828 over elementmario222 (4-2) and a 3-3 draw between sillypotter and nasmith99, Team Japan advanced only needing to play 3 matches.

                        In another clash requiring only 3 matches, Team Canada A eliminated Team United Kingdom with a 4-2 victory by kaplane over Rabid, a 5-1 victory by xyrix over heth, and a 4-2 victory by amoffett11 over Gazbag. This set up a Semifinal match with Team Japan.

                        Our only Quarterfinal match requiring more than 3 matches actually required 5. In regulation time, Team France jumped out to a 2-1 lead over Team USA B with a 4-2 victory by gamesou over Lemonspawn and 3-3 ties between bouchon and rsilverstein12 and La-Ya and Emeric. Down 3-2 in his match, rsilverstein12 saved a "match point" when securing his draw. With his team down 2-1, Team Captain aku chi needed at least 4 wins in his match with Marin. After falling behind 2-1, he persevered and won 3 straight games to set up a tie-breaker match (and rematch) with Marin. With a 3-1 victory by aku, Team USA B advanced to the Semifinals.

                        In the last quarterfinal match, Team Germany eliminated Team East Europe in only three matches, 2.5-0.5. Sicomatic ran his undefeated streak to 24 games in a victory over Magyi, while E.Honda secured a full point with a 6-0 victory over awaclus. A draw between RTT and Jean-Michel meant that Team Germany had done enough to await the tie-breaker winner.

                        SEMIFINALS

                        In the first Semifinal, Team Japan couldn't continue their run through the North American teams. After defeating Team USA B in their Group Stage match and Team USA A in the Quarterfinals, Team Canada A put an end to the Japanese team's championship hopes in 3 matches, all played on the same day. xyrix started the Canadian's day off on the right foot with a 4-2 victory over cha-shu. A 3-3 tie between amoffett11 and kazumaru028 meant that we went into the evening match between truffles and yudai214 with Team Canada knowing they could advance with a win. truffles pulled through, 4-2 win, sending Team Canada to their first ever World Cup Championship Match.

                        Delayed a week by the USA B/France playoff, the second semifinal took place the following week. Team USA B got off to a fast start, with La-Ya not only ending Sicomatic's undefeated run, but also securing a full point with a 4-2 match victory. The next two matches were played almost simultaneously, with Freaky vs. aku chi and RTT vs. Lemonspawn starting only a half hour apart. With aku chi earning a 5-1 victory, the American team vaulted to a 2-0 match lead and 9-3 lead in games. RTT was able to mitigate the damage with a 5-1 victory of his own, setting the stage for the final match between E.Honda and rsilverstein12. Needing at least a 4-2 victory to keep Team Germany A alive, E.Honda did one better, winning the match 5-1. This tied the overall match at 2-2, but based on the total wins tiebreaker (13-11), Team Germany A advanced to the Championship Match.

                        CHAMPIONSHIP AND THIRD PLACE MATCHES

                        Lineups for the Championship and Third Place Matches have been submitted, with the following pairings (and match times, if scheduled).

                        Championship (Team Germany A vs. Team Canada A)

                        RTT vs. kaplane
                        E.Honda vs. xyrix
                        Sicomatic vs. truffles (March 6, 1700 UTC)
                        drsteelhammer vs. amoffett11 (March 7, 1600 UTC)

                        Third Place (Team Japan vs. Team USA B)

                        pop180 vs. aku chi
                        cha-shu vs. Lemonspawn (March 5, 1200 UTC)
                        yudai214 vs. La-Ya (March 7, 1200 UTC)
                        kazumaru0828 vs. bluey_the_bear

                        Good luck to the players and we hope to see everybody else as spectators. We are working on forming commentary teams for as many of these matches as possible.

                        The bracket and results can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/dominion-wc20-ko-matches

                        9
                        Dominion League / Season 38 - End of Season Deadlines
                        « on: March 02, 2020, 01:13:58 am »
                        Season 38 officially ends on Sunday, March 15. To account for the westernmost timezones, the deadline for reporting matches is Monday, March 16, at 15:00 UTC.

                        If you need extra time to finish, you must contact your group moderator to request an extension of up to one week. All late finish matches must be reported by Monday, March 23, at 15:00 UTC.

                        If you fail to request an extension or complete the match by the late deadline, the responsible player(s) will be considered to have dropped mid-season. This means that they are banned for the next two seasons, and automatically demoted when they return. If they played at least 18 games (three matches), those are kept for the other players' standings and their remaining matches are "simulated" (see the full rules for how), but if they did not complete that many, their results are removed.

                        In addition to finishing your matches, all players must fill out the returning form to tell us whether they will be back for next season. This form was sent to you in a private message; you can also find it in the pinned post in your Discord division channel. The deadline for filling out the returning form is Monday, March 23, at 15:00 UTC (the Season 39 signup deadline). Any players who have not told us whether they will be back by then will be assumed to be not returning.

                        10
                        Tournaments and Events / 2020 Dominion World Cup Group Stage Recap
                        « on: February 11, 2020, 10:34:12 am »
                        Before moving on to the Knockout Stage (which begins in a few hours with a match between Lemonspawn and gamesou), we would like to take a moment to reflect on the Group Stage. We bid farewell to Teams Israel, Germany B, Greece, West Europe, Oceania, Scandinavia, Russia, and Canada B and congratulations to Teams USA A, France, USA B, Japan, Canada A, East Europe, Germany A, and United Kingdom. The 2020 World Cup marked the first appearance for Teams Greece and Israel. We hope to see them again in 2022, in addition to more first-time appearances. And now, summaries of each group.

                        GROUP A:

                        Group A saw Team USA A take first place and Team France second. The US team was led by a strong 3-0 performance (and 13-3 overall record) from Bryan, who played on both Tables 3 and 4. Team France was a model of consistency. All four players (who also formed the 2018 World Cup Team) finished with a 2-1 match record, and outside of bouchon who went 11.5-6.5 overall, everyone went 11-7 over their 3 matches. We would also like to recognize a very strong performance from Israel's catoftheyear, who went 2-0-1 on Table 2 with an impressive 12-6 record against the likes of gamesou, Mic Qsenoch, and Micha1980.

                        GROUP B:

                        Group B was the tightest race at the top, with Team USA B edging Team Japan for the top spot, 9.5 to 9. In fact, the two teams recorded the same number of game wins, 50. Lemonspawn led the way for USA B, scoring 2.5 points on a record of 13-5. The most match points in the group were scored by Japan's yudai214, who went 3-0 while tying for the second most game wins (14) of any player in the tournament. West Europe's della put forth a notable performance, winning both matches they played in while compiling a 9-3 game record.

                        GROUP C:

                        Team Canada A took the Group C victory en route to their first ever advancement to the World Cup Knockout stage. Helping pace Canada A was amoffett11, who recorded a 3-0 match and 13.5-4.5 game record between Tables 3 and 4. The Canadians will be joined there by Team East Europe, who received strong contributions from all four Tables, including 2+ points from markus, Jean-Michel, and awaclus. hoget10 of Team Oceania deserves recognition for their bounce back performance. After dropping their first match 0-6, they went on to score 2 points for Team Oceania while going 9-3 the rest of the way.

                        GROUP D:

                        Perhaps the most impressive performances and most exciting race came from Group D. Team Germany A led all teams with the most match points (10.5) and game wins (56, 5 more than the next best) on their way to claiming first place. Helping them to all those wins was Sicomatic, who scored the first ever perfect record of 3-0/18-0 in a World Cup Group Stage. The second place team was not decided until the final two matches of the Group Stage. Team United Kingdom scored victories in their final two simultaneous matches to edge Team Russia. pppppppppp proved to be the hero, scoring 3 match points (and the only player to take a full point from Germany) while amassing a 13-5 record. Burning Skull put together one of the strongest performances by a player on Table 1, scoring 2.5 points for Team Russia while compiling a 14-4 record.

                        We look forward to the Knockout Stage and hope you all tune in for what will be some competitive, high-quality matches. The Knockout Stage will feature the following matches:

                        USA A vs. Japan
                        Canada A vs. United Kingdom
                        USA B vs. France
                        Germany A vs. E Europe

                        The bracket and results can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/dominion-wc20-ko-matches

                        If you haven't already, come join us in the World Cup Discord server: https://discord.gg/RhG4pUu

                        11
                        Dominion League / Season 37 - End of Season Deadlines
                        « on: January 06, 2020, 01:10:05 am »
                        Season 37 officially ends on Sunday, January 19. To account for the westernmost timezones, the deadline for reporting matches is Monday, January 20, at 15:00 UTC.

                        If you need extra time to finish, you must contact your group moderator to request an extension of up to one week. All late finish matches must be reported by Monday, January 27, at 15:00 UTC.

                        If you fail to request an extension or complete the match by the late deadline, the responsible player(s) will be considered to have dropped mid-season. This means that they are banned for the next two seasons, and automatically demoted when they return. If they played at least 18 games (three matches), those are kept for the other players' standings and their remaining matches are "simulated" (see the full rules for how), but if they did not complete that many, their results are removed.

                        In addition to finishing your matches, all players must fill out the returning form to tell us whether they will be back for next season. This form was sent to you in a private message; you can also find it in the pinned post in your Discord division channel. The deadline for filling out the returning form is Monday, January 27, at 15:00 UTC (the Season 38 signup deadline). Any players who have not told us whether they will be back by then will be assumed to be not returning.

                        12
                        Commentary by aku chi and markus


                        13
                        Dominion League / Re: Season 35 - Late Signups
                        « on: July 15, 2019, 11:16:07 am »
                        Signups listed below. See Available Spots for how many openings there are, and the Waiting List for late Signups. Confirmed players are also color-coded according to tentative divisions; these will be finalized after the rating cutoff on Saturday, July 20.


                        14
                        Dominion League / Season 35 - Late Signups
                        « on: July 15, 2019, 11:13:46 am »
                        Season 35 will run from Monday, July 22 until Sunday, September 1. Signups are now closed. If you would like to sign up for next season, you can do so here.

                        As of Season 31, we are requiring all new and returning players to join the Dominion Discord before signing up. If you aren’t familiar with it, Discord is a messaging app for gamers, ideal for real-time chatting with your opponents in the League.

                        To sign up, please post a message in this thread with your dominion.games username, timezone*, and Discord username (formatted like @___#___). Please make sure to state the exact spelling of your username (upper/lower case, special characters, and so on). You will be placed in an appropriate division according to your timezone and rating on dominion.games as seen in the client or here.

                        Please check the welcome thread first and read the rules to make sure you're comfortable with the format and the time it takes to play a season. If you have any questions be sure to check out the FAQ. You can also ask questions about the League at the dominionleague channel on the Dominion Discord. If you join, we highly recommend, but do not require, using Discord to communicate with your opponents.

                        If there is space for you this season, you will receive a personal message on Discord from a league moderator to confirm your signup. You must reply to this message within 24 hours or your signup will be removed.

                        If there is no space appropriate for you (given your level and timezone), we will instead invite you to sign up for next season! You should hear back either way by Sunday, July 28.

                        *When specifying a timezone, please use one of these common examples or use the same format and look yours up in the complete list.
                        Code: [Select]
                        America/Chicago
                        America/Denver
                        America/Los_Angeles
                        America/New_York
                        Australia/Sydney
                        Europe/Berlin
                        Europe/London

                        15
                        Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition
                        « on: February 16, 2019, 02:08:50 pm »
                        37-41 in the 2 cost list

                        16
                        Note:  There were 3 new cards added in the $0-$2 range from Renaissance.

                        The Best - Cards (Bottom Half)
                        #48 =0 Duchess (Hinterlands) Weighted Average: 3.5% ▼1.6pp / Unweighted Average: 5.9% / Median: 0.00% ▼2.3pp / Standard Deviation: 17.2%

                        Yet again, we find Duchess at the bottom of the rankings, being ranked last on over half of the lists and over 4pp behind the next lowest card. Perhaps out of pity, one list rated Duchess as the best card.  You may sometimes pick one up for free when buying Duchy, but many times it's not worth even taking for free. Skipping over Duchess even when it's free points to the weakness of this card.

                        #47 ▼4 Tax (Empires) Weighted Average: 9.7% ▼5.2pp / Unweighted Average: 11.6% / Median: 6.4% ▼0.4pp / Standard Deviation: 15.9%

                        Tax experienced one of the biggest drops on this year's list, falling four spots and being rated the worst card on five lists. With one of the lower standard deviations, there is substantial agreement amongst the voters. Like last year, Tax is also the lowest rated Event in the $0-$2 range. Unless you have a spare buy and $2 extra, Tax doesn't seem worth it and does little to alter the course of the game. Plus, you may be the one to eventually pick up the $2 Debt.

                        #46 ▲1 Beggar (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 12.7% ▲3.3pp / Unweighted Average: 17.4% / Median: 8.5% ▲1.7pp / Standard Deviation: 24.3%

                        Beggar rose one spot and saw a slight bump in it's overall rating.  Beggar was voted lowest on two lists but also was rated the highest on one. Although adding three coppers can help hit early price points, adding the extra junk to your deck can really hurt future efficiency. You're typically trying to trash coppers, but there are certain edge cases where Beggar is quite useful. In particular, in games with sources of alt-VP like Gardens and Triumph, Beggar may have a substantial impact. Additionally, the added coppers can be used as fuel for trash/discard for benefit cards.

                        #45 ▼3 Quest (Adventures) Weighted Average: 12.9% ▼3.4pp / Unweighted Average: 15.6% / Median: 8.5% ▼2.9pp / Standard Deviation: 16.3%

                        Quest is another Event that saw a significant drop in the rankings, falling three spots and 3.4pp. It was also ranked last by two voters. This Event offers alternate paths to gold, but reaching the conditions efficiently can be somewhat tricky. You probably don't want to base your opening buys off of this, but if the opportunity presents itself when your deck is filled with curses or you have lots of leftover cards from terminal draw, it can be worth the buy.

                        #44 ▲2 Embargo (Seaside) Weighted Average: 13.4% ▲1.1pp / Unweighted Average: 17.2% / Median: 10.6% ▲1.6pp / Standard Deviation: 19.9%

                        Embargo gained two spots and saw a rating increase of 1.1pp. Despite the rating boost, Embargo was rated the lowest on three lists. With any sort of trashing in the Kingdom, the curse gained won't slow an opponent down too much. However, it may be useful on a 5/2 opening, where you can buy your $5 and place a token on it the second time through your deck. Also, as a terminal silver that leaves your deck, Embargo can help hit a key price point early but not clog up your deck later.

                        #43 ▲1 Herbalist (Alchemy) Weighted Average: 13.9% ▼0.2pp / Unweighted Average: 18.5% / Median: 10.8% ▼2.8pp / Standard Deviation: 19.2%

                        Herbalist rose one spot but was also voted last once. Most of the time, you're buying Herbalist for the extra buy. In an engine deck, you won't want a treasure on top of your deck, instead wanting to draw it (and Herablist) later. Exceptions include top-decking a Potion to keep Alchemists alive or a Crown to kick off your next turn. Herbalist can be useful in money decks, allowing you to keep your best economy on top.

                        #42 ▲3 Pearl Diver (Seaside) Weighted Average: 17.1% ▲4.1pp / Unweighted Average: 17.1% / Median: 12.8% ▲3.7pp  / Standard Deviation: 16.9%

                        Pearl Diver moved up three spots in the rankings. Despite two last place votes, it also saw the largest increase in its rating, adding 3.7pp. Pearl Diver won't clog your deck, but as a cantrip with marginal benefit, it won't make it significantly better either. While typically not very useful, topdecking your bottom card can sometimes keep a turn going and help ensure that a card doesn't miss a shuffle. Other marginal benefits include potential activation of Conspirator or lowering the cost of Peddler.

                        #41 =0 Poor House (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 22.1% ▼1.9pp / Unweighted Average: 25.2% / Median: 21.3% ▲3.1pp / Standard Deviation: 18.6%

                        Poor House maintained its ranking and dropped 1.9pp in rating. It is also the first card at the bottom that did not receive a last place vote. In games where you can trash most or all your treasures, Poor House offers pretty good payload at $4. This is even stronger in engine decks with spare actions. In Kingdoms with trashers that stipulate gaining cards costing exactly one coin more or less, Poor House can sneak up on you.

                        #40 ▼2 Vagrant (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 24.0% ▼7.2pp / Unweighted Average: 26.8% / Median: 21.3% ▼3.7pp / Standard Deviation: 17.3%

                        Vagrant took a bit of a hit, falling two spots and losing 7.2pp. Vagrant often draws comparisons to Pearl Diver, but instead of interacting with the bottom of your deck, it lets you see the top card of your deck after drawing. This helps sift through junk cards, but in clean decks, the marginal benefit just isn't that great. With the release of Renaissance, Vagrant can gain coffers if paired with Patron, but finding Patron would be quite lucky.

                        #39 ▲1 Faithful Hound (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 27.9% ▲0.1pp / Unweighted Average: 27.8% / Median: 21.3% ▼3.7pp / Standard Deviation: 17.4%

                        Faithful Hound gained one in the rankings and saw a small rating increase of 0.1pp. Faithful Hound is very similar to the card that comes in just above it in the rankings:  Moat. The two cards share the same cost and action but differ in their reaction. While the +2 cards offers some draw, it will only increase your hand size by one. Thus, using it in engines with non-drawing sources of actions does not do as much to keep you moving through your deck. The distinguishing feature in the Faithful Hound vs. Moat debate is the reaction effect. The benefit of Faithful Hound's reaction is that it increases your next hand to six cards, helping support discard for benefit action cards. One obvious example is with Artificer, where putting Hounds back in your deck the next turn increases the number available to discard. This reaction can also be helpful in decks using with sources of non-terminal draw such as Forum or Warehouse. Rather than using Faithful Hound for draw, it can be used fuel these other cards.

                        #38 ▲1 Moat (Base) Weighted Average: 30.0% ▼0.9pp / Unweighted Average: 29.5% / Median: 23.4% ▲0.7pp / Standard Deviation: 19.9%

                        Moat gained one spot despite seeing its rating drop by 0.9pp. As mentioned above, Moat and Faithful Hound are very similar cards with the only difference being their reaction effect. Thus, the use of Moat in engines is exactly the same as with Faithful Hound. While Moat protects against attacks, there is no guarantee that you will always have it in hand. Stacking your deck with Moats to prevent attacks clogs your deck and you're essentially attacking yourself. However, games with particularly harsh attacks can make Moat almost necessary. The availability of cards that allow you to topdeck your Moat without having to buy more than one or two can make it a more attractive purchase. Scheme and Star Chart offer this flexibility, although using Star Chart's ability on Moat is quite weak.

                        #37 ▼5 Tracker (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 31.0% ▼8.8pp / Unweighted Average: 32.9% / Median: 34.0% ▼4.6pp / Standard Deviation: 14.3%

                        Tracker was one of the biggest losers in this years ranking, falling five spots and 8.8pp. While Tracker is a terminal copper, it provides two benefits. The Boon you receive can help give you a leg up on your opponent, especially early in the game. However, the Boons are unreliable and at times can provide no benefit or even hurt you. Tracker also allows you to topdeck newly purchased cards. This can be particularly helpful in accelerating your deck, as you do not have to wait for a good card to work through the shuffle. While probably not the best terminal card out there, if your deck can support it, Tracker can be sneaky good. Tracker comes with Pouch, adding a source of +buy to your deck.

                        #36 ▲1 Druid (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 35.4% ▲3.8pp / Unweighted Average: 37.4% / Median: 34.0% ▲4.5pp / Standard Deviation: 15.7%

                        While rising one spot in the rankings, Druid also saw a rating increase of 3.8pp. Unlike with Tracker, you know which Boons you're going to get when buying Druid. However, the randomness of which Boons are set aside makes assessing the strength of Druid as a whole difficult. With weaker Boons, Druid becomes almost obsolete. However, with a Boon like the The Field's Gift, Druid is no longer a terminal card, making it easier to work into your deck and giving a small economic boost. The Swamp's Gift adds some draw to your deck with Will-O-Wisps. While the Flame's Gift is appealing, it tends to be quite slow trashing. At the very least, Druid always gives +buy which can be helpful for adding components to your deck.

                        #35 =0 Haven (Seaside) Weighted Average: 35.6% ▲1.1pp / Unweighted Average: 37.1% / Median: 38.3% ▲4.2pp / Standard Deviation: 19.2%

                        Haven held its spot in the rankings but gained 1.1pp in rating. Haven isn't a powerhouse but can be helpful in improving the efficiency of your deck. Being able to set aside stop cards such as Estates early or Provinces late keeps your deck moving along. A well-timed Haven can keep stop cards out of your shuffle. A pair of Havens or a single Haven and good deck tracking can be used to guarantee the connection of two cards such as Tournament/Province, two Treasure Maps, Village/Draw, etc. One drawback of Haven is that despite +1 card, it reduces your handsize.

                        #34 ▲2 Cellar (Base) Weighted Average: 36.1% ▲3.0pp / Unweighted Average: 40.2% / Median: 36.2% ▼0.2pp / Standard Deviation: 20.1%

                        Cellar gained two spots in the ranking, increased its rating by 3.0pp and garnered one first place vote. Cellar is a good sifter that allows you cycle quickly through your deck. It can really shine in games with little or no trashing and lots of junking. One of the main issues with Cellar is that with each play, you actually reduce your hand size. Having too many in your deck without a source of draw can be an issue.

                        #33 =0 Settlers (Empires) Weighted Average: 37.6% ▼0.7pp/ Unweighted Average: 39.6% / Median: 34.0% ▼0.1pp / Standard Deviation: 17.4%

                        Settlers maintained its ranking and lost 0.7pp in rating. Settlers is the top card of a split pile with Bustling Village. When drawn towards the end of a shuffle and if you haven't trashed all your coppers, Settlers is at its best as a cheap Peddler. You can also set up this benefit in games with discard attacks or discarding actions. After discarding coppers, they can be picked back up with Settlers. The extra copper can help hit a key price point, especially early in the game. However, in games where you'll be trashing all of your starting coppers, it is rendered almost useless by the end of the game. Even at it's worst, Settlers should hardly ever make your deck worse.

                        #32 ▲2 Pawn (Intrigue) Weighted Average: 37.8% ▲2.2pp / Unweighted Average: 41.2% / Median: 36.2% ▲2.1pp / Standard Deviation: 18.4%

                        Pawn is two ranks higher and saw a rating increase of 2.2pp. While it doesn't have game changing abilities, Pawn won't really clog up your deck and offers good flexibility. As a non-terminal source of +buy, Pawn is quite useful in engine decks where you don't have to use it as draw. Using the extra coin early in the game can also help hit a key price point.

                        #31 ▼5 Advance (Empires) Weighted Average: 38.7% ▼9.6pp / Unweighted Average: 39.0% / Median: 38.3% ▼11.7pp / Standard Deviation: 18.8%

                        Advance was the biggest loser yet again this year. Not only did it tie for the largest drop in ranking, five, it also lost the most rating, 11.7pp. Advance is very strong in two cases. First, in games with Shelters, Advance can turn your Necropolis into a high-cost action card on turn 1 or 2. Second, trashing Ruins to Advance provides a very nice upgrade to otherwise useless cards. Other than those specific cases, Advance can be useful in games with extra sources of buy and cheap action cards that are good early but not as helpful later in the game.

                        #30 =0 Ducat (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 38.8% / Unweighted Average: 44.7% / Median: 40.4% / Standard Deviation: 19.9%

                        Ducat is the first card from Renaissance on this list and lowest rated of the three new $0-$2 cost cards. Ducat is very similar to Candlestick Maker, providing a source of non-terminal buy and a coffer, albeit in the buy phase. Be aware of the copper trashing ability, in that it must be a copper from your hand and not one in play. Even so, it is worth considering buying Ducat with $3 to exchange a copper with plus buy for a copper.

                        #29 =0 Scouting Party (Adventures) Weighted Average: 41.5% ▼3.4pp / Unweighted Average: 41.2% / Median: 42.6% ▲3.1pp / Standard Deviation: 17.3%

                        Scouting Party kept its spot in the rankings and dropped 3.4pp in rating. At the very least, Scouting Party can really cycle your deck. In games with little or no trashing, you can skip over the junk and help line up two cards to kick off your next turn. In games with Travelers, Scouting Party can really accelerate the advancement up the line. Given that it comes with an additional buy, Scouting Party can be bought pain free if you have an extra $2 or $3 and don't want to pick up another action or Silver. While there are times where Scouting Party can hurt you, forcing you to discard a card or two you would've liked to have held on to, it's still a useful card.

                        #28 ▼1 Guardian (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 42.2% ▼4.8pp / Unweighted Average: 39.4% / Median: 38.3% ▼7.2pp / Standard Deviation: 24.0%

                        Guardian lost one spot in the rankings and saw its rating drop by 4.8pp. There was a lot of disagreement on this card, with the second largest standard deviation in the bottom half of the list and one last place vote. Much like Lighthouse, Guardian protects against attacks, gives +$1 on your next turn, and serves as a dead card while in hand. Since Guardian is gained directly to your hand, it can serve as an advanced copper for your next draw, giving a slight boost to your next buy. In games with particularly strong attacks, setting up a deck with two Guardians that will allow you consistently play one per turn can be a game saver. In games with weaker attacks, it may be worth skipping Guardian altogether to avoid the dead card in hand.

                        #27 ▼4 Candlestick Maker (Guilds) Weighted Average: 43.0% ▼7.6pp / Unweighted Average: 46.6% / Median: 46.8% ▼3.2pp / Standard Deviation: 17.6%

                        Candlestick Maker continued it's descent in the rankings, falling another four spots, along with a rating drop of 7.6pp. While Candlestick Maker is essentially an upgraded Pawn, providing an action, buy, and coffer, it's what's missing that limits its use. Without draw, Candlestick Maker is a stop card, albeit one that provides non-terminal buy. This makes it ideal for engine decks that can support it with other cards that draw. Candlestick Maker will add value to most decks, but having too many risks dud turns that only accumulate coffers.

                        #26 ▲4 Patrician (Empires) Weighted Average: 44.5% ▲3.8pp / Unweighted Average: 44.4% / Median: 42.6% ▲8.5pp / Standard Deviation: 13.0%

                        Of the cards in the bottom half, Patrician saw its ranking improve the most. It moved up four spots and gained 3.8pp in rating. Patrician is the top card of a split pile with Emporium. In games with good trashing, Patrician can really shine, providing a good source of additional draw. As many of the most impactful cards cost $5 or more, Patrician can be very strong. However, if you can't get rid of cheaper cards, Patrician's ability to draw extra cards is diminished. Thus, the strength tends to be board specific. If nothing else, Patrician can serve as a Vagrant later in the game, drawing in Duchies and Provinces, allowing for cleaner hands down the road.

                        #25 ▼4 Delve (Empires) Weighted Average: 47.9% ▼5.2pp / Unweighted Average: 50.4% / Median: 51.1% ▼2.8pp / Standard Deviation: 22.0%

                        Delve fell four spots and lost 5.2pp in rating. There was a fair amount of disagreement, with Delve having the third highest standard deviation in the bottom half and one last place vote. Delve is tied to how useful having Silver in your deck is. In games with Feodum or Triumph, Delve can be quite impactful. An early Delve can help hit $5 the second time through your deck, or on boards with no good $2 options, Delve provides an alternative over nothing.



                        Many thanks to Qvist for setting this up yet again and apologies in advance for any mistakes or disagreements. If you find anything wrong or glaring omissions, let me know and I'll take care of it.

                        17
                        Dominion League / Re: Season 30 - Signups
                        « on: October 10, 2018, 10:44:53 am »
                        New player to league

                        Username: alibby1152
                        Timezone:  America/Denver
                        Discord:  @alibby1152#8501

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