Hi all,
In Dominion, we have actions which cause another action to be played, possibly multiple times. We also have Durations, with effects that linger to the following turn.
And we have lots of discussions about how they interact. I've found at least:
...all containing statements by Donald X, plus remarks by others with varying degrees of definitiveness.
As I understand it, the way things stand at the moment is:
- "If you play or modify a Duration card with another card, that other card also stays in your play area until it is no longer doing anything." (The actual rule.)
- This does not apply to cards which "play or modify" the card which "plays or modifies" the Duration -- if you play Throne Room, choose Throne Room, then choose Wharf, only the second TR stays out.
- The rule should be construed as "until you clean up and it is no longer doing anything". If you Throne Room a Haven, you don't get to discard the Throne Room (and possibly cycle your deck enough to re-draw it) immediately the two Havens come in at the start of your next turn.
- Golem is "no longer doing anything" the moment it's played the actions you drew.
- Tactician only has its effect once even if doubled or tripled, so a Throne Room is "no longer doing anything" and gets discarded during clean-up.
- Conversely a Throne Room used on an Outpost is still "doing something" according to the BGG rules FAQ?
- If you Procession a Duration, the Procession stays out, but the Duration gets trashed for gain this turn. The Procession is your reminder that something is afoot next turn.
- If you Procession a Throne Room then choose a Duration, the Procession trashing the Throne Room takes precedence over the "stays in your play area until it is no longer doing anything" rule; the Throne Room is trashed for gain this turn.
- If you use a Band of Misfits as a "play or modify" card, or as a Duration, it stays out precisely as long as the card it's impersonating would have done.
- You have Durations "in play" until clean-up at the end of the following turn (for the purposes of Peddler, etc.)
- However, you have not "played" it on the following turn (for the purposes of Conspirator)
- Throne Rooms, Kings' Courts, Processions, Bands of Misfits, etc. that are left out are "in play" but not "played", similarly.
Is that all correct?
One question I've never seen asked: what happens if you Procession an Outpost or Tactician? (On the one hand, maybe Procession stays out if and only if a Throne Room would have done; on the other, maybe the Procession is "doing something" by marking that there's a trashed duration to apply next turn.)
More generally, am I the only person who thinks this all feels unduly gnarly? I see a three-way conflict between:
- Consistency and clarity of the rules
- Having cards cleared up if they serve no further purpose
- Giving players the best chance possible of remembering what's supposed to happen at the start of their next turn
I can see two simpler alternative rules:
- Everything is cleaned up at the end of your turn, including Durations and cards which played or modified them.
- Any card which causes a Duration to be played is itself a Duration until it leaves play, and all Durations (even Tacticians on which you discarded nothing) stay in play until your next turn.
The first one causes obvious memory problems. But what if there were "duration proxies" for each kind of Duration? They could be full-size cards, or perhaps mini cards or some other kind of token. When you play a Duration you stick a duration proxy in front of you; at the start of your next turn, you get the benefit. Throne Room a Duration? Place two proxies. Band of Misfits a Duration? Place a proxy corresponding to what you chose. Procession a Duration? Trash the Duration, but leave the proxies standing. Play Tactician; have you discarded any cards? If so, place a Tactician proxy.
The second would mean that if you chain Throne Room -> Throne Room -> Duration, both Throne Rooms stay out. For players like me who lay out the actions they play hierarchically, it just means you leave the entire hierarchy out as-is.
Has anyone tried playing in either of these ways? How much difference do they make to gameplay and/or strategy? My instinct is that the first is by far the tidiest option, it's just a shame it needs several dozen extra game pieces.
