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« on: July 10, 2012, 10:37:46 am »
For what it's worth, my thoughts are below. For me, it helps to group the cards into categories when thinking about them.
Interaction
I am liking the cards that allow your opponents to more directly affect your victory point count by buying certain cards. I also like the cards that interact with Provinces or Estates and how the game ends. For instance: Gannet, Guillemot, Bittern, Waxwing, and Loon. Although, some are better than others.
Alt VP, Straight Up
I guess there is still space for straight-up alternate VPs counting certain types of cards and getting VP tokens. For instance: Petrel, Cormorant, Bluebird, Warbler, Woodpecker, Osprey, and Spoonbill. Some of these are better than others, but there are a couple I would definitely like to play.
VP+Action-like ability
Some of these cards wish they were actions (or from engine-builders who don't like buying boring green cards and would rather just buy actions?). While some of these cards are interesting, I wish some of these cards had been billed as Victory-Action dual types instead, or just were an improved action card submitted for a different category. They might be even more interesting that way.
Flamingo: If I'd only played a Pawn, then I wouldn't need to buy this.
Shearwater: If I'd only played a Scheme or an Herbalist...
Tanager: If I'd only played an Outpost...
Heron: I like the Peddler influence, but is it going to be an ignorable card in too many kingdoms?
Harrier: I wish I'd played a Haggler and purchased a Duchy, then I wouldn't need to buy this.
Plover: I wish I'd played a Chapel,...
Oystercatcher: I wish I'd played an Upgrade to get rid of those curses and coppers,...
Tern: If only I were a better Dominion player, I wouldn't need this to make Ironworks work.
Hummingbird: I wish I'd played a Bishop, then I wouldn't need to buy this.
Lark: If I'd only played a Workshop...
Nuthatch: If I'd only gained a Lark....jk [edit: b/c it's actually better and leads to a game breaking cycle with Border Villages -- see nopawnsintended post below].
With these cards plus all the trash and gain on gain/on buy cards (Gadwall, Egret, Kestrel, Yellowlegs, Puffin, Macaw, Woodpecker, Pelican, and Vireo), and I'm beginning to think a lot of submitted cards are vying for the upcoming expansion of the Hinterlands expansion! I love that expansion and its on buy/on gain theme, and evidently lots of designers do, too. But how much of it do we really need?
Tokens, Mats, and Accounting, Oh My!
For me Dominion has reached a saturation point with regards to new mats and token types. When playing in person, it's time consuming to set up and do all the token accounting needed during the game when you have more than one type of special set-up card in play and are switching them in and out each game. Online there is not that constraint, but with so many cards that require detailed accounting (which is fun only when done really well), some of the following entries should come with a warning: "card counter required."
Loon: Serious accounting ("Did I put territory token on when I bought my last Province?" "Yes." "No." ...). One thing that wasn't mentioned above is the ability to Ironworks, Remodel, Upgrade, etc. into Loons without affecting its worth, which adds (too much?) power to the card.
Grebe: Concerns about stength
Pipit: I like that this is a riff on the Young Witch set up. Does require you to remember the cost of the card is one more than printed, though.
Ibis: Accounting every time you don't use a buy ("Did I...?")
Sandpiper: Uses existing tokens, which I like. Seems to have the potential to be more balanced than Grebe, if the starting price was a little higher.
Kingfisher: Another token! And introduces politics in a way that isn't normally present in a game of Dominion.
Flycatcher: Another token!
Bunting: More special decks! (and not as streamlined as Pipit)
I think this Challenge shows that coming up with a good, balanced Victory Card is more difficult than it first appeared.
[Disclaimer: one of the cards mentioned in the post is mine.]