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1

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #131: Novel Ways to Overpay

« on: October 11, 2021, 01:26:41 pm »

This looks too good relative to Province.
Let us assume an average of 4 Provinces per player. This is the same as buying Topiary Gardens 4 times while overpaying 5 each time such that there are 60 tokens on the mat. Now the Topiary Gardens are worth as many VPs as Provinces with the additional feature that you can buy further 6VP cards for $3.

It's true that buying 4 of these at $8 makes them worth the number of VP as a Province (and creates the opportunity to buy another at $3), but I disagree that this makes them better. When you buy a Province you have a guaranteed 6VP (absent it getting Swindled into a Peddler or Prince; Topiary Garden is much more vulnerable to Swindler). With this, the first 3 TGs you buy at $8 are not guaranteed to end up being worth 6VP, which makes buying one instead of a Province a potentially risky prospect. And because in 2 or 3 player games there are 4 TGs per player (and fewer games with more players), there is a non-negligible chance that you will not get the chance to buy a 5th one (or even a 4th).

Also, think about how this would happen practically. Imagine we are playing a 2 player game and you and I each have bought 3 Provinces at $8. If I hit $7, what am I going to do? Buy a Gold? A Duchy? I have an extremely strong incentive to buy a 4th TG at $7. Now, if you buy a 4th for $8, I've got a pretty big problem, but I would have had that anyway unless I was going to hit $8 on the following turn. If you don't hit $8 the turn after I buy the penultimate TG, you nevertheless have an extremely strong incentive to buy one at whatever you can spend, because if I buy that 5th one at $4, I now have 5 TGs worth 6 VP each. Thus, I think actually getting 4 TGs at $8 is going to be extremely rare.

I totally disagree. Absent trashing attacks, your card is strictly better than Province.

So it will be very centralizing in nearly all Kingdoms, i.e. players will build up their engines more than in an ordinary Kingdom and then try to massively overpay for Topiary Gardens (a player overpaying less than $5 for them is not a strategic equilibrium as the other players can simply go for Provinces then)-
There is no reason to go initially for the inferior and less flexible Provinces.

This does not lead to good play. It is called alt-VP for a reason, it should be a real choice and not a virtually always mandatory strategic path.

2

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #131: Novel Ways to Overpay

« on: October 10, 2021, 02:00:26 am »

This looks too good relative to Province.
Let us assume an average of 4 Provinces per player. This is the same as buying Topiary Gardens 4 times while overpaying 5 each time such that there are 60 tokens on the mat. Now the Topiary Gardens are worth as many VPs as Provinces with the additional feature that you can buy further 6VP cards for $3.

3

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 21: Curse you!

« on: October 09, 2021, 04:28:02 pm »

4

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #130: Sidekicks

« on: October 05, 2021, 06:56:55 am »

I like the idea of buffing weak cards.
But you cannot buff Scout via putting an Action-Victory on top. And Adventurer cannot be salvaged (it is IMO weaker than Moat). Trailblazer is a nice try but without other trashers it is likely unplayable.

5

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #129: In Play

« on: September 27, 2021, 01:24:56 pm »

The instructions are not quite clear to me. "costs $1 per differently named Treasure and Victory card" reads like shorthand for "$1 per differently named Treasure plus $1 per differently named Victory" - i.e. this would always cost at least $8 (with non-empty piles) as it counts itself twice. If it is supposed to be counted only once, I would write "$1 per differently named Treasure or Victory".

also isn't this like.... your third time entering this? I've only been here for two years and like, contest 70 and the "promos" set design contest weren't *that* long ago.

Yeah, it is not a new design.

6

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #129: In Play

« on: September 26, 2021, 09:43:57 am »

7

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Dominion: Allies

« on: September 19, 2021, 12:16:39 pm »

Up until now no card shaped thing has the same name as its expanion and the card Menagerie is from Cornucopia. I doubt Allies will show up in Allies.

The game description says otherwise.

8

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 20: Season 2 Finale (One plus One)

« on: September 15, 2021, 05:20:56 pm »

In my opinion, this contest is far too restrictive. I stopped reading when you began to single out particular sideway cards.

How so? You can submit any kind of sideways card (official WELPs, or fan ones like Acts, Edicts, or Wonders) as your design, as long as it uses one of the mechanics from this season.

When you say you stopped reading, I think you referring to my requirement that the submission be what I called an "independent" landscape (and not one that is only used with another card like Artifacts and States). To me this is the same as requiring the card to be in a Kingdom card pile. A State or Artifact itself is not a stand-alone design that can be judged (just like it would be impossible to judge Horse or Idle Hands because you would have to know how players gain them).

Well, if I read the first paragraph you tell me that I can use ANY sideway card. Yippie, I got a cool Artefact!
But, silly me, I forgot to read the second paragraph which tells me why the first paragraph is actually wrong.

Dude, it is your contest so you can run it however you want to. I just wanna tell you that this kind of hyper-restrictive setup will rather, well, restrict creativity than set reasonable parameters in which it can flourish.

9

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 20: Season 2 Finale (One plus One)

« on: September 15, 2021, 01:18:27 pm »

In my opinion, this contest is far too restrictive. I stopped reading when you began to single out particular sideway cards.

10

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #128: Look at the trash!

« on: September 14, 2021, 12:55:02 am »

Old Drum is crazy. Even if you do not intend to exchange it, a cantrip trasher for $3 is overpowered as you can open with two copies of it.

11

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 20: Season 2 Finale (One plus One)

« on: September 13, 2021, 12:48:36 am »

I think that this is too weak as it is only a cantrip if you are able to match it with the junk it generates and that you don’t want.
If you gotta play some other action as Salmon to make this a cantrip, it is not really a cantrip as you wasted a precious Action on a weak terminal Copper.

12

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 19: Join the Queue

« on: September 10, 2021, 06:35:16 am »

Bureaucracy is broken. Due to the Silver you get you can open with it.
Open T1 with 4 Coppers, T2 you pay back you Debt and T3 you can buy a 5.
Whoever opened with 3 Coppers is likely to auto-lose.

13

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 19: Join the Queue

« on: September 06, 2021, 04:25:23 am »

I have no idea about the mechanical soundness of the split pile but it is a lovely and very creative design.

14

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 19: Join the Queue

« on: September 03, 2021, 03:02:57 pm »

I doub that a half-Lab for $4 is overpowered as Caravan is a half-Lab in a deck-drawing engine (and stronger otherwise).

15

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 19: Join the Queue

« on: September 03, 2021, 01:42:51 pm »

16

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 30, 2021, 02:19:53 pm »

Huh? There is no tracking problem at all. Play Treasures, buy something, draw to 4.
All you gotta do is what you always gotta do anything: count your Coins.

You are constantly checking the change halfway your turn.

True that. In Dominion you gotta constantly remember how many Actions, Buys and Coins you have. Throne Room variants lead to an actual tracking mess because they influence all 3 variables.

Souk does not unless you wanna argue that subtracting is significantly more difficult than adding.

So you add something you have to track that you dont used to have to track… but what for?

You always gotta count your Coins. With Throne Rooms or cards that conditionally provide Coins or cost reduction it becomes more complicated that simply counting all the Coin symbols on all cards.
So your notion that this card somehow leads to a huge tracking mess that is totally unheard of is plain false.

The argument is that you have to do more tracking, while it does not provide satisfying gameplay. Unnecessary complexity where +buy will do just fine.

I totally disagree. Mid-turn gaining is, at least to me, what makes a card that would otherwise be fairly bland interesting.
It is in this respect similar to to Artificer vs. Market. The latter is simple whereas the former is more of a high-skill card.

yeah in a lot of ways, the highlight of Souk is giving access to "when buy" effects like Spices' coffers mid-turn, so you can use them during the buy phase proper. There's not a ton of these interactions, since there's not a ton of when-buy triggers that'd care about this, but there is novelty with that and it interacts well with its heirloom.

That is what i said with “too niche”: there are to few cards that make this out of secuence buy fase worth while. That is what this card effectively does: make an extra buy fase with 1 card and return to your action fase. (And then maybe draw some cards). There is little strenght in that effect, other then the +buy in most kingdoms.

(And plus 1 buy supports the heirloom even an pinch better)

This is totally false. Gaining engine pieces mid-turn (and drawing into them) is pretty useful.
It is not like this is something novel, you can do this with plain old Workshop.

17

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 30, 2021, 11:57:43 am »

Huh? There is no tracking problem at all. Play Treasures, buy something, draw to 4.
All you gotta do is what you always gotta do anything: count your Coins.

You are constantly checking the change halfway your turn.

True that. In Dominion you gotta constantly remember how many Actions, Buys and Coins you have. Throne Room variants lead to an actual tracking mess because they influence all 3 variables.

Souk does not unless you wanna argue that subtracting is significantly more difficult than adding.

So you add something you have to track that you dont used to have to track… but what for?

You always gotta count your Coins. With Throne Rooms or cards that conditionally provide Coins or cost reduction it becomes more complicated that simply counting all the Coin symbols on all cards.
So your notion that this card somehow leads to a huge tracking mess that is totally unheard of is plain false.

The argument is that you have to do more tracking, while it does not provide satisfying gameplay. Unnecessary complexity where +buy will do just fine.

I totally disagree. Mid-turn gaining is, at least to me, what makes a card that would otherwise be fairly bland interesting.
It is in this respect similar to to Artificer vs. Market. The latter is simple whereas the former is more of a high-skill card.

18

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 30, 2021, 01:06:07 am »

Huh? There is no tracking problem at all. Play Treasures, buy something, draw to 4.
All you gotta do is what you always gotta do anything: count your Coins.

You are constantly checking the change halfway your turn.

True that. In Dominion you gotta constantly remember how many Actions, Buys and Coins you have. Throne Room variants lead to an actual tracking mess because they influence all 3 variables.

Souk does not unless you wanna argue that subtracting is significantly more difficult than adding.

So you add something you have to track that you dont used to have to track… but what for?

You always gotta count your Coins. With Throne Rooms or cards that conditionally provide Coins or cost reduction it becomes more complicated that simply counting all the Coin symbols on all cards.
So your notion that this card somehow leads to a huge tracking mess that is totally unheard of is plain false.

19

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 28, 2021, 12:21:24 am »

Huh? There is no tracking problem at all. Play Treasures, buy something, draw to 4.
All you gotta do is what you always gotta do anything: count your Coins.

You are constantly checking the change halfway your turn.

True that. In Dominion you gotta constantly remember how many Actions, Buys and Coins you have. Throne Room variants lead to an actual tracking mess because they influence all 3 variables.

Souk does not unless you wanna argue that subtracting is significantly more difficult than adding.

20

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 27, 2021, 02:47:37 pm »

Huh? There is no tracking problem at all. Play Treasures, buy something, draw to 4.
All you gotta do is what you always gotta do anything: count your Coins.

21

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 18: From A to B

« on: August 26, 2021, 07:04:40 am »

Explorer is weak and thus not the best benchmark but this appears to be better. It is strictly better in two aspects (extra Buy, extra Route token if you gain the Silver to hand) and only potentially worse (when Explorer gains Gold)

22

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 18: From A to B

« on: August 24, 2021, 02:05:19 pm »

Quick grammar nitpick for the wording on the mat: the sentence is missing parallel structure.

It should either be:

... to put it into your hand, put it onto your deck, or trash it.

or

... to either put it into your hand or onto your deck, or trash it.

As it it is now it reads "to put it into your hand, [put it] onto your deck, or [put it] trash it", but the phrase "to put it trash it" doesn't make sense. An alternative reading is "to put it into your hand, [to] onto your deck, or [to] trash it." and likewise "to onto your deck" doesn't make sense. Since both readings are incorrect, it needs to be changed.

It could also say "or to trash it" for the last option.

Anyway, here's my entry:

I don’t get this. Ignoring cases where players use Route tokens for other stuff, it is basically a one-shot Curser. Once the Curses are out, it even hands out good stuff.

23

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 24, 2021, 12:01:25 pm »

I think that it is too good. Non-terminal, trashing from play, token bonuses look far stronger than the Cursing/topdecking of Replace.
Especially trashing from play. You can Mine your Coppers into Silvers with the Heirloom in play and you can Remodel PLAYED Golds into Provinces.

24

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 18: From A to B

« on: August 24, 2021, 11:56:00 am »

Trade Fair - $4
Action
+1 Action
+1 Buy
Choose 3 different things: +1 Card, +1 Villager, +1 Coffers, +1 Route.
Each other player gets the remaining thing.

A build your own Market/Village. It is discounted due to giving other players something nice. I am not sure if both of the base + 1 Action and Buy are needed. I am also not sure if is one combination of choices that will be the obvious best. Possible stronger than intended interaction is Hand-Size attacks, but handing players cards before such attacks will just make their remaining hand optimal, so that may not be an issue. Feedback is appreciated.

I think that this is too good. Route tokens are on average the weakest of all, so you can always pick the Baker/Worker Village mixture.

25

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #126: Seeking an Heir

« on: August 23, 2021, 01:02:00 pm »

I don’t think that it is too strong. I doubt that the situations in which this shines, i.e. the already mentioned Workshops, draw-to-X and „Smithy before Village“, occur that more often than situations in which this sucks relative to Workers Village (Thrones, Actions like Scrying Pool, Herald and so on that want a high Action density) to justify a higher price / lower strength.