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1

Dominion League / Re: Rules & Regulations Changelog

« on: May 13, 2020, 02:22:34 pm »

Changes to IV. Joining and Leaving
Old:

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by replying to the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0.

New:

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by filling out the Google form embedded in the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0. You may only participate in the League once per season. You may switch your Dominion Online or Discord account at any time by letting your moderator know, but you may not join the League additional times using other accounts.

2

Rules Questions / Re: Considering Trader errata

« on: May 11, 2020, 01:47:17 pm »

This is happening, incidentally; there's a new card image, the rulebook has been changed. It's who knows how many months away for anyone to have it, but from my perspective it's done.

Hooray! Do you know when this change will be rolled out in the online version?

3

Rules Questions / Re: Considering Trader errata

« on: May 08, 2020, 03:06:05 pm »

FWIW I think exchange makes sense on the traveler and vampire line.

It's also on Changeling, and I don't think that has tripped up too many people. I think Changeling is similar to Trader.

Anyway Donald, have you considered a version that just trashes the gained card to gain a silver?

You'd have to add "other than Silver" or you keep revealing Trader until you've trashed through the whole Silver pile. I think you ideally want the Reaction to result in just one gain: with the old version you gained the Silver and not the original card, with the new version you gain the original card and not the Silver.

4

Rules Questions / Re: Considering Trader errata

« on: May 06, 2020, 03:04:49 pm »

I have hoped for this errata for a while, thanks for alerting me. It has no problems that I see, and has my full support. Plus future cards won't have to worry about breaking Livery-Trader, and people can't reveal Trader forever online.

My only suggestion would be to have the Reaction say "exchange that card for a Silver", to match Watchtower's phrasing.

5

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Interview with Donald X.

« on: May 04, 2020, 01:38:55 pm »

But I've seen some dominion championship matches online where the player spends a minute or so looking through the game log to deduce what's left in his deck, so it seems like the rule kind of backfires in that case.

The rules are written for IRL play, where there is no log to look through either.

6

Dominion League / Re: Rules & Regulations Changelog

« on: March 16, 2020, 02:22:59 am »

Changes to I. League Structure
Old:

Each League season lasts for 6 weeks, and is followed by a 2 week break. Players are divided into groups of at most 6 players. Groups are arranged in tiered divisions. There is a single A division, 2 B divisions, 4 C divisions, 8 D divisions, up to 16 E divisions, and up to 32 F divisions. Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D, E, and F) and Dominion Online level for new players.

At the end of the season the players with 1st place ranks promote to the next level, while players ranked 5th or 6th place demote. E division demotions (to F) will possibly be more lenient depending on the number of players.

New:

Each League season lasts 6 weeks, and is followed by a 2-week break. Players are divided into groups of approximately 6 players. Groups are arranged in tiered divisions. There is a single division in tier A; 2 divisions in tier B; 4 divisions in each of tiers C and D; 8 divisions in each of tiers E, F, and G; and 16 divisions in tier H. Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D and below) and Dominion Online level for new players. At the end of each season, some players promote or demote based on the standings (see section III).

Changes to III. Standings
Old:

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, D, E, and F promote.
• Players who finish in fifth place or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, and D demote.
• Players who finish in sixth place in tier E demote.

New:

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, and E promote.
• Players who finish in first or second place in tiers D, F, G, and H promote.
• Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, D, E, F, and G demote.

7

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Bonus Previews

« on: March 11, 2020, 03:49:03 am »

Bonus Preview 5: Gamble

Here's another Event. They travel in pairs.

Sometimes, it's really a gamble. Sometimes you know what card is next. Sometimes you even just bought it.

another card contributing to infinite loops, huh

awesome

How would it make for an infinite loop?  You're either playing the card or discarding it, either way, the top card is different the next time you play it

yeah, but a lot of infinite loops on this site that i have seen used topdeciing and then drawing and playing all the same cards and now it is easier

Or you've drawn your deck already, and you can gain a card to your discard pile and play it right away with Gamble.

8

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 4: Ways and Events

« on: March 05, 2020, 05:16:56 am »

Can you use a Way when playing a card affected by Enchantress?

Yes, Donald X. answered on Discord: "Enchantress is a lot like a Way. The main thing is that you can beat Enchantress by doing the Way instead."

9

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 2: Horses

« on: March 03, 2020, 01:25:35 pm »

"Gain a card" means from a Supply pile, does ""when you gain a card" also mean from a Supply pile, or in this case, does it include non Supply piles as well? e.g with Livery in play, when you gain a Ghost, do you gain a Horse?

Livery checks cards you gain from anywhere, so you would gain a Horse with your Ghost.

10

Dominion League / Re: Rules & Regulations Changelog

« on: December 08, 2019, 12:58:06 pm »

Changes to III. Standings
Old:

Ties are broken in the following order.

• Number of total points from matches between the tied players
• The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
• If 2 players are still tied after the 2nd tiebreaker in a position with promotion or demotion consequences, they play a playoff match of 2 games. Each player starts once. If the players are tied after 2 games, they play one final game with random starting player in which player 2 wins ties. A player may choose not to play the playoff match, and thereby concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player will demote or not promote. If neither player responds promptly or both players respond but cannot arrange a match in the required time, moderators will flip a coin.
  If more than 2 players are tied after the 2nd tiebreaker, moderators will randomly order them.

At the end of the season, players who place 1st in their groups will promote to the next higher division, and players who place 5th and 6th will demote to the next lower division. For instance, the players who place 5th and 6th in the A group will demote to the B division, and the players who place first in B1 and B2 groups will promote to the A division to take their places. We might possibly be more lenient in the lower divisions depending on overall numbers.

New:

In the case of a tie within a division, the player with the total number of points from the matches between the tied players wins. If there is still a tie:

• If the tie is between two players, they play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly break the tie.
• If the tie is between three or more players, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, D, E, and F promote.
• Players who finish in fifth place or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, and D demote.
• Players who finish in sixth place in tier E demote.

Changes to IV. Joining and Leaving
Old:

To join the League, you must join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server. To join the Dominion Discord server follow this link: https://discord.gg/jeN2sAB

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League here: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0

You're not required to own any cards in order to sign up, and who owns what will not have any influence on how players are placed into groups.
When a player joins for the first time, they are placed in a division based on the availability of spots and their level on the Dominion Online Leaderboard.
At the end of each season, players must indicate if they intend to stay in the League, or leave for the next season. You will not automatically re-enter the next season without specifying your preference. Please indicate whether you intend to return for the next season or not in your division's scheduling thread before the end of the season.

Available spots that are created when players leave the League will be filled with players in the following order:

• Players who left the League after a prior season within the last year (up to six seasons before the new one) are inserted at the level they previously earned.
• Players who are joining for the first time, or who we were unable to place based on criteria #1 will be inserted into remaining openings by their rating on the Dominion Online leaderboard.
• The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 2nd are promoted.
• The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 5th skip demotion.

New:

To join the League, you must join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server: https://discord.gg/jeN2sAB. Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by replying to the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0. You do not need to purchase a subscription to Dominion Online, and Dominion Online subscriptions have no bearing on players’ tiers, divisions, or seeding.

At the end of each season, players who want to return for the following season must fill out the Returning form linked in their division’s Discord channel, otherwise by default they will leave the League. The following priorities are used, in order, to fill the open spots created by players who leave:

• Players returning to the League after playing in one of the past 6 seasons are placed into the tiers they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently and with ties broken by seeding. For purposes of this priority only, divisions may have up to 7 players each.
• Players returning from before the past 6 seasons, or joining for the first time, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level.
• Players who finished in second place with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion up to the next higher tier.
• Players who finished in fifth place with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion to not demote to the next lower tier.

When multiple players are offered free promotions (as described above) to a tier with not enough open spots for all of them, that tier determines how players are chosen: For tiers A, B, and C, the moderators arrange play-in matches between those players. For all other tiers, the moderators choose the players at their discretion, taking into account time zones.

During a season, the moderators may, at their discretion, fill new open spots from a waiting list.

11

Dominion League / Re: Rules & Regulations Changelog

« on: October 04, 2019, 01:55:48 am »

Changes to
Old:

Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on level on the Shuffle IT client (dominion.games), with time zone taken into account in the lower divisions (D, E, and F).

New:

Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D, E, and F) and Dominion Online level for new players.

Changes to II. Match Structure and Policies
Old:

The League standard is to play games on Dominion Online with VP tracking enabled on randomly generated kingdoms using all cards that either player owns (the default on dominion.games, no matter who hosts the table). These standards should be followed for all games unless both players agree to alternate arrangements. Games may be played without VP tracking, in person, with only a limited set of expansions, particular kingdom cards you want practice with, etc., but both players must consent. If you wish to make arrangements that differ from the League standard, you should make this clear to your opponent when scheduling your match. Spectators must be allowed for all matches in Divisions A-D. Spectators for matches in Divisions E and F are encouraged, but if you or your opponent request to disallow spectators you must honor that request. You are encouraged but not required to allow spectators to see your cards.

New:

The League standard is to play matches on Dominion Online, though you may play in-person. For games played online, spectators must be allowed for matches in tiers A, B, C, and D, and players cannot request to disallow spectators. Spectators are encouraged in other tiers, but a request by any player to disallow spectators must be honored. Players in all tiers are encouraged to turn the option to allow spectators to see their cards on and the option for players to see spectator chat off.

For games played online, the table should have the following settings by default, any of which both players can mutually agree to change before the game:

• The disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be. Except for the foregoing, Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns, from zero to two landscapes, and no specific cards or landscapes required.
• The game should be unrated.
• The victory point counter should be used.

Added:

A playing session is a series of one or more games between the same two players. A match may be played over one or more playing sessions. During an individual session, players may not adjust their cardlists unless mutually agreed upon. For the purpose of this rule, any consecutive games played between the same two players with less than 24 hours between them are considered to be part of the same session.

Changes to IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season
Old:

The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will seek to replace them with another player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player has played fewer than 3 complete matches (18 games), any games they played are voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer match.
• If the removed player has played at least 3 complete matches (18 games), the results will be retained in the standings. In addition, so as not to compare any players with different numbers of games played, any unplayed games with dropped players will be simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. The dropped player is then considered ineligible and finishes below all other players, including possible demotion in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team's discretion.

New:

The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player played no games, they are simply removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player played fewer than 3 complete matches (each match being 6 games), the games they played are voided, and the remaining players play one fewer match.
• If the removed player played 3 or more complete matches (each match being 6 games), the games they played are retained and the games they did not play are simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League seasons. Dropped players finish last place in their division and will demote, which may affect their placement in subsequent seasons they return to. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes), the ban period and demotion penalty may be reduced or eliminated at the moderators’ discretion.

12

Dominion League / Season 35 - End of Season Deadlines

« on: August 19, 2019, 05:10:32 pm »

Season 35 officially ends on Sunday, September 1. To account for the westernmost timezones, the deadline for reporting matches is Monday, September 2, 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 9, 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 7, at 15:00 UTC (the Season 36 signup deadline). Any players who have not told us whether they will be back by then will be assumed to be not returning.

13

Dominion General Discussion / Re: New Promos: Church, Captain (Gen Con 2019)

« on: August 03, 2019, 02:17:08 am »

(Summary of Discord discussion below. If I understand correctly, the interaction was originally described by Seprix during Playtesting)

In the presence of ferry, band of misfits and any other cost reducer, Captain enables the following infinite loop:

(1) Buy ferry on Captain
(2) Play cost reducer
(3)
   (a) Play Captain as Band of Misfits
   (b) Play Band of Misfits as Captain
   (c) Goto a

While this does not do anything on the turn it is played, it allows you to play an arbitrary number of cards costing up to 4, at the beginning of next turn.

With Adventures tokens, the loop can do some serious work on the turn it's played as well.

14

Dominion League / Re: Season 35 - Newsletter: Seeking Feedback

« on: July 22, 2019, 02:56:36 pm »

Currently, a When2Meet schedule is posted in the division channel only late into the season (I don't know the exact mechanics.) I don't see why it shouldn't be there the whole season. It's easier to write the times I'm free on a spreadsheet-type thing than it is to describe it with just text.

We would like to facilitate scheduling as much as possible, but there were a few reasons why we did not pursue this solution: The when2meet interface become unwieldy when there are so many columns of dates. Also, players may not know their schedule far in advance, or their schedule will change, but they forget to update the when2meet.

15

Dominion League / Re: Rules & Regulations Changelog

« on: July 22, 2019, 02:15:02 am »

Changes to II. Match Structure and Policies
Old:

II. Match Structure

New:

II. Match Structure and Policies

Added:

We recognize that players from different backgrounds have different opinions on which undos, if any, should be allowed when playing Dominion. Therefore, players can choose any policy on what undos they will allow, as long as they announce it to their opponent ahead of time. In the absence of such an announcement, they will be expected to follow the default policy for the League, which is to grant undos of small numbers of non-information-revealing steps.

Changes to III. Standings
Old:

Ties are broken in the following order.

• Number of total points from matches between the tied players
• The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
• Coin Flip

New:

Ties are broken in the following order.

• Number of total points from matches between the tied players
• The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
• If 2 players are still tied after the 2nd tiebreaker in a position with promotion or demotion consequences, they play a playoff match of 2 games. Each player starts once. If the players are tied after 2 games, they play one final game with random starting player in which player 2 wins ties. A player may choose not to play the playoff match, and thereby concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player will demote or not promote. If neither player responds promptly or both players respond but cannot arrange a match in the required time, moderators will flip a coin.
  If more than 2 players are tied after the 2nd tiebreaker, moderators will randomly order them.

Added:

In addition, the top two finishers in the A1 division will play a second 6-game match to determine the Champion for the Dominion League for that season. For the purposes of determining the Champion (and only those purposes), the results of this match will be added to the results of the season, including updates to tiebreakers. The match date and time should be determined by the two players well in advance to allow for the moderator team to find a commentator team. Even if the outcome of the match is settled before the sixth game, all six should be played out for the purpose of spectator entertainment.

Changes to X. League Moderation
Added:

When new or additional moderators are needed, there will be an open call posted to the forum. New moderators are chosen by a vote of the current moderator team.

Removed:

If you ever take issue with a decision made by the moderator team, feel free to reach out to us and we will discuss it at the next moderator meeting (one meeting each season).

Added:

Whenever the moderators gather for an official meeting at which rules may change (at least once per season), the agenda of the meeting and the outcome of any votes, including the number dissenting, will be made public within a week of the meeting.

Changes to XI. Amendments
Added new section:

XI. Amendments

These rules can be amended for future seasons by a majority vote of the moderators. All such changes will be posted to the Changelog with an explanation of the change taking place. Exceptions to rules for the current season may be granted if and only if the moderators and all directly affected players agree to the exception.

16

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest Thread

« on: April 09, 2019, 09:06:45 pm »

Here's my submission, the Silver Miner. He could strike it rich off the top of your deck, or just find one in the Supply; he'll get you a Silver one way or another, he's no slacker. It started out as a wackier concept, but morphed into a Menagerie variant. I'm not totally happy with it, but I could revisit it some day.

Silver Miner - Action, $3
+1 Action
Reveal the top card of your deck and put it into your hand. If it's a Silver, +2 Cards. Otherwise, gain a Silver.

17

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest Thread

« on: April 04, 2019, 01:09:18 am »

Well if remember werewolf only had otherwise and that was after night phase. I can add otherwise if it’s your Action phase gain 2 silvers putting one on your deck. But werewolf did not have Action phase in its wording.

Werewolf did only have 'otherwise', but it also had only one 'if'. Your card had multiple 'if's, which is the reason I think it should specify which 'if' the 'otherwise' was talking about. The other option is to have the Action phase effect first, so that there is only one 'if' before the 'otherwise'. You don't have to change it, I just think it's clearer if you do.

For what it's worth, Crown does not have an "otherwise" wording.

18

Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: Events

« on: February 27, 2019, 08:52:15 pm »

So many puns.  Well done

Thank you! It was a risk since many don't like puns, but it's good to know the effort was appreciated.

19

Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: Events

« on: February 27, 2019, 01:19:59 pm »

I found some errors in the differences from last year (at http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=18185.0):

- Bonfire should be +2, not +3

- Lost Arts should be -3, not -4

Good catches, thank you! I checked that the changes netted to 0, but did not account for having counterbalancing errors.

20

Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: Projects

« on: February 26, 2019, 01:50:39 pm »

Citadel
[...]
It’s not a Princed Throne Room; make sure the first Action you play each turn gives +1 Action.

Is that really true in Renaissance-land, though? Start by doubling a terminal draw, then use a Villager to continue your Action Phase, replenishing your Villager supply before next turn?

It was just meant as a word of caution for those who may not have seen that interaction coming. There are certainly other solutions to the problem: Villagers, Fishing Village, Champion, even a Princed Throne.

I am still scared of Cathedral. I feel there are certain games where it is a must-open, but certain games where it is ignorable -- games with other reliable trashing, games that go on for a long time, games with hand-size-reduction attacks. Whereas the other top-tier Projects leave your deck in a strictly better state than they would without the Project.

If Cathedral is around, why is the game going on for a long time? It wasn't intuitive to me at first, but buying Cathedral is very often good, even if the board doesn't seem to be screaming Cathedral.

21

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Interview with Donald X.

« on: February 25, 2019, 08:08:58 pm »

Did you consider another use for Villagers, like how Butcher is another use for Coffers?

22

Dominion General Discussion / The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: Projects

« on: February 25, 2019, 07:20:30 pm »

How exciting, I get to introduce a new list! These are the Projects. They are shiny and new, and everyone usually always buys whichever ones are on the table, or uh the screen. Turns out that’s not a bad move; over half the Projects received a vote for first, so they're all pretty good. This speaks to the balance of Renaissance, and also to the strength of Projects. There's no previous year's ranking to compare this to, but I'll still say some things from up on this here soapbox (no puns this time, I promise).

	#20 Road Network   Weighted Average: 12.58% / Unweighted Average: 16.67% / Median: 5.26% / Standard Deviation: 23.19% Many don’t see the value of Road Network. To them I say, play some 4-player games. Something has to be last, though.
	#19 Exploration   Weighted Average: 16.43% / Unweighted Average: 18.00% / Median: 10.53% / Standard Deviation: 22.91% We're comparing different costs here, so one of the main things to note is, can I open this? And with Exploration you can, but that won't usually be great. Hermit and Mission do a lot to make not buying cards worth your while; Exploration is currently regarded as Bathsy. It needs combos to truly shine, which makes it a bit narrow, and narrow things don't rank highly here. I do believe Exploration to be high-skill, and expect it to move up the ranks with time.
	#18 City Gate   Weighted Average: 29.39% / Unweighted Average: 33.89% / Median: 26.32% / Standard Deviation: 26.32% Another Project you can open, but probably shouldn't. Sometimes City Gate is key to kicking off your turn, but often your engine is already working anyway. And if you don't have an engine, would a Silver have been more useful? Once you've bought City Gate, it can be hard to say whether your game would have played more or less the same without it.
	#17 Crop Rotation   Weighted Average: 32.37% / Unweighted Average: 38.75% / Median: 31.58% / Standard Deviation: 24.55% These next two Projects help you plow through your starting cards. I think that's a large part of why they're ranked low: ideally you're trashing those starting cards. Projects are a steal because you pay once and get the benefit every turn, instead of cards you only use once per shuffle (not now, Scheme). The problem here is that $6 isn't really a steal.
	#16 Silos   Weighted Average: 34.73% / Unweighted Average: 33.69% / Median: 26.32% / Standard Deviation: 25.55% I reason that this ranks higher than Crop Rotation becaue it's cheaper, and because you can Cellar any number of Coppers (as opposed to Shepherding only one Victory card). You're ideally trashing your Coppers, so Silos is maybe a bit narrow? It's not like Silos is bad, but something has to be 16th.
	#15 Barracks   Weighted Average: 37.30% / Unweighted Average: 42.54% / Median: 47.37% / Standard Deviation: 23.19% That lonely man is ruing his lot in life: I should have stayed in school, those guys at the Academy know way more about Actions than me. It's a village that starts working soon as you buy it, that can be nice. But by the time you get to buying Barracks, you likely already have villages. Plus some turns you didn't need the extra Action, some turns you needed 2 extra Actions, and well have I mentioned Academy yet?
	#14 Fair   Weighted Average: 40.09% / Unweighted Average: 41.39% / Median: 36.84% / Standard Deviation: 20.73% Sometimes you just really need an extra Buy. Fair's got you covered.
	#13 Guildhall   Weighted Average: 42.51% / Unweighted Average: 41.58% / Median: 36.84% / Standard Deviation: 27.63% How often do you want a deck of Treasures? *Puts out Guildhall.* How about now? It paints a silver lining around opponents' Mountebanks, and gives a buff to Treasure-gaineres. But usually you have to already want those cards, you're not building a Bureaucrat deck just because Guildhall is around.
	#12 Pageant   Weighted Average: 44.32% / Unweighted Average: 44.30% / Median: 42.11% / Standard Deviation: 24.62% The dream of having an overpay-for-Coffers card lives through in this. Opening Pageant sounds promising, but apparently the gameplay stats are showing it is largely a trap. It's also not every day you see Ryan Laukat commissioned for something that's not a Treasure. There are a lot of days, you see.
	#11 Piazza   Weighted Average: 44.39% / Unweighted Average: 42.28% / Median: 36.84% / Standard Deviation: 25.08% You buy Herald plenty, and Piazza wants to get in on the fun. You can debate in the comments how justified the comparison is. We want there to be discussion on these forums, and I'm here for you. Guildhall was above Piazza in the List of Best $5 Cards.
	#10 Canal   Weighted Average: 45.73% / Unweighted Average: 49.24% / Median: 47.37% / Standard Deviation: 26.65% Kicking off the top 10 is Canal. You can make whatever comparisons to Highway or the Key. But you can't really go wrong with Canal, except maybe trash for benefit.
	#9 Innovation   Weighted Average: 56.98% / Unweighted Average: 57.78% / Median: 63.16% / Standard Deviation: 24.30% The weighted average for Innovation is a jump up from Canal, so we're in a new tier here. A Projects ranking by the Discord community had Innovation 4 places higher, the biggest difference between that list and this one. I dunno, seemed worth noting. The $6 cost means you can't just pick it up willy nilly, and recognizing when it's good is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
	#8 Fleet   Weighted Average: 58.73% / Unweighted Average: 55.26% / Median: 57.89% / Standard Deviation: 26.76% The artwork is very ominous. At worst, Fleet is a delayed Duchy (a pretty high floor). At best, it defends against 3-piling. And maybe some other things, I personally still get psyched out by Fleet games, but I think you usually always buy it?
	#7 Capitalism   Weighted Average: 59.04% / Unweighted Average: 60.18% / Median: 57.89% / Standard Deviation: 17.65% Capitalism is by far the most exotic Project. Some boards it might do absolutely nothing; it doesn’t have a setup clause to ensure Actions with +$ amounts are around. But when it’s good, it’s good. Really good. Still, I suspect this one to fall a rank or two as the hype wears off, and its niche-ness settles in. Fleet and Capitalism were swapped in the List of Best $5 Cards, so are essentially neck and neck.
	#6 Citadel   Weighted Average: 59.50% / Unweighted Average: 63.52% / Median: 63.16% / Standard Deviation: 23.54% For those keeping count, the top 5 Projects after this are all ones that you could open. One might infer from that that the best Projects are ones you get the most turns with. But that’s not for me to say. Anyway, before those we have Citadel. You can’t (usually) open it. Despite that, it’s #6, which means its effect is pretty sweet. Spiking is important here, like with Inheritance. It’s not a Princed Throne Room; make sure the first Action you play each turn gives +1 Action.
	#5 Sewers   Weighted Average: 71.39% / Unweighted Average: 69.96% / Median: 78.95% / Standard Deviation: 24.59% Without another trasher around, Sewers does nothing. Fortunately Renaissance comes with plenty of trashing. So, when there is trashing around, Sewers doubles it. It pairs nicely with trashers that are restricted to what they can trash or where they can trash from.
	#4 Academy   Weighted Average: 72.00% / Unweighted Average: 68.77% / Median: 78.95% / Standard Deviation: 24.38% It looks so innocent, but man. Academy can be bonkers, almost letting you entirely skip other villages (I said almost, OK). Probably don't open it on $5/$2, but don't wait too long. It also makes you think twice about Maraudering or Cultisting.
	#3 Sinister Plot   Weighted Average: 75.74% / Unweighted Average: 70.58% / Median: 78.95% / Standard Deviation: 24.07% What is so sinister about this plot? It seems very above board to me. Even if you're using it as an every-other-turn-Flag, that's not bad for $4. The time-value-of-Projects principle very much applies here: the sooner you buy it, the more time you have to benefit from it. The top 3 Projects together received 75% of the first place votes.
	#2 Star Chart   Weighted Average: 80.97% / Unweighted Average: 73.24% / Median: 89.47% / Standard Deviation: 28.35% If you don't yet think this deserves do be this high, just try buying it. And don't forget IRL to topdeck something.
	#1 Cathedral   Weighted Average: 85.73% / Unweighted Average: 77.90% / Median: 94.74% / Standard Deviation: 32.27% Unsurprisingly, Cathedral sits on top (bottom?) of these rankings. It received by far the most votes for first, 15 of them (there were 31 voters). It's basically the Donate Project; what else is there to say that we don’t already know? Trashing is great, and a one-time investment in this gets you trashing every turn for the rest of the game, buyer beware. It has its pitfalls of course; we've all been burned by Cathedral. Watch out for their Militias and your Alchemists.

That's all for the Projects, check back tomorrow for the grand finale: Boons and Hexes.

23

Dominion General Discussion / The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: Events

« on: February 25, 2019, 12:46:32 pm »

These lists are usually hotly contested, and I don't expect this to be an exception. After all, debate over the futile art of ranking is why we're all here. I will say some things, and you will let me know where I went wrong. That's the fun to be had.

The Events have been scattered throughout the other 2018 lists, and are discussed there by better players than me, go see for yourself. I included the stats on this list, for the first time since 2015 I'll have you know, but interpretting those will largely be an exercise for the reader. Instead I'll keep it brief, and hopefully entertaining, while trying to not rehash things already said in the other lists, and event-ually make puns (sorry, non-native English speakers).

	#34 =0 Annex (Empires) Weighted Average: 6.18% ▲2.02pp / Unweighted Average: 7.43% / Median: 3.03% ▲3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 16.36% 8 of the bottom 10 Events are from Empires, yikes. Although this one is not being annexed to the top of the list, less than half the voters this year placed it in last place, and its weighted average increased 50%! Annex has to celebrate these little victories in life because it's so decidedly last place.
	#33 =0 Raid (Adventures) Weighted Average: 11.61% ▼0.30pp / Unweighted Average: 15.67% / Median: 9.09% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 19.59% Here's one of those 2 lowly-ranked Adventures Events. Attack Events could have been explored more, why does no one else like Attacks? Anyway, pairing the attack with Silver gaining wasn't doing it any favors. It got one vote for 1st, but I don't think that was serious.
	#32 ▼1 Ritual (Empires) Weighted Average: 13.60% ▼2.58pp / Unweighted Average: 17.03% / Median: 12.12% ▼3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 16.86% This transforms one of your cards into a Curse, in exchange for some VP. You have to trash a good card for it to be worth it, but then you wonder, why am I paying my hard-played money to turn one of my good cards into a Curse? Most people's wealth of points comes from VP cards, and if you thinking buying this will make you ritual be sorely mistaken.
	#31 ▼1 Tax (Empires) Weighted Average: 14.12% ▼2.11pp / Unweighted Average: 16.51% / Median: 11.54% ▲2.45pp / Standard Deviation: 19.92% Shoot, I need to file my taxes. Anyway, this Event is fine, the setup makes games spicy but people complain too much about how taxing it is.
	#30 ▲2 Banquet (Empires) Weighted Average: 14.83% ▼2.14pp / Unweighted Average: 17.89% / Median: 12.12% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 19.94% This serves up the same experience as Cache, because the penalty there was so beloved. Put them together with Tower, though, and watch out. Is the theme of this that you munch on Copper?
	#29 =0 Quest (Adventures) Weighted Average: 16.38% ▼2.56pp / Unweighted Average: 17.62% / Median: 12.12% ▼3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 16.37% The other bottom 10 Adventures Event is Quest. It gives you alternate ways to pay for a Gold, but they're often harder than just rustling up $6. And isn't buying Treasures passé anyway?
	#28 ▼1 Conquest (Empires) Weighted Average: 24.66% ▼4.04pp / Unweighted Average: 26.56% / Median: 21.21% ▼3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 21.06% Speaking of buying Treasures being passé, here's Conquest. 2 Silvers for $6, you tell me how much of a bargain that is. It comes with free VP though, and that is cute when it stacks. Without combos, you're just hoping the 2VP makes a difference. This is the first Event on this list to not receive a vote for last place.
	#27 ▲1 Wedding (Empires) Weighted Average: 24.84% ▼1.66pp / Unweighted Average: 30.63% / Median: 21.21% ▼3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 20.58% Speaking of speaking of buying Treasures… These Events are all down here for a reason, folks. For Wedding, the VP isn't free or stackable. The marriage of coin and debt costs is the gimmick here, so when you need to open Gold, I propose buying Wedding.
	#26 ▼2 Salt the Earth (Empires) Weighted Average: 34.18% ▼0.01pp / Unweighted Average: 33.61% / Median: 27.27% ▼3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 19.82% There is a big jump in weighted average, signaling that we are now in a new tier of Events. Salt the Earth's standard deviation shrank, and weighted average is essentially unchanged. So there's a strong consensus around this one, and that consensus is that Salt the Earth is the 26th best Event in Dominion.
	#25 ▲1 Windfall (Empires) Weighted Average: 37.01% ▲4.11pp / Unweighted Average: 36.27% / Median: 33.33% ▲6.06pp / Standard Deviation: 19.05% How is it that Windfall and Swashbuckler both feel so difficult to pull off?? I think I have a Schrödinger discard pile that is always both empty and full.
	#24 ▲1 Pilgrimage (Adventures) Weighted Average: 37.65% ▲4.64pp / Unweighted Average: 38.27% / Median: 33.33% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 19.74% This went up one rank because someone realized they could set up their Giant with it. Jokes aside, gaining 3 pricey cards can sometimes be worth the journey there and back. Does anyone else think Pilgrimage should be spelled with 2 Ms?
	#23 ▼1 Scouting Party (Adventures) Weighted Average: 38.42% ▼5.36pp / Unweighted Average: 40.31% / Median: 39.39% ▲3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 16.91% I thought parties were supposed to be fun, but the forced discarding here really kills the mood. Cheap Events with +Buy should in theory be easy to pick up, but you will think twice about this one. Combos with Scout: draw all the Victory cards, so that your Scouting Party looks at 5 good cards that it can't keep all of.
	#22 ▼2 Advance (Empires) Weighted Average: 38.99% ▼8.77pp / Unweighted Average: 40.37% / Median: 39.39% ▼6.06pp / Standard Deviation: 16.15% Hey, some games you start with a Necropolis, and that's pretty cool. But this Event doesn't advance in rank this year. In the $0–$2 Cards List, Scouting Party was rated higher than Advance, fun fact.
	#21 ▼2 Trade (Adventures) Weighted Average: 42.26% ▼6.77pp / Unweighted Average: 42.83% / Median: 39.39% ▼12.13pp / Standard Deviation: 17.65% The trade-off here for trashing is that you're not thining, and the junk gets replaced by other stop cards. Not loading up on Silver is one of the tricks of the trade here. But it's not a trick this Trade knows.
	#20 ▼2 Delve (Empires) Weighted Average: 42.75% ▼6.67pp / Unweighted Average: 46.38% / Median: 39.39% ▼9.09pp / Standard Deviation: 23.28% I heard you like Silver, so now it costs $1 and 1 Buy less! Wait you don't like Silver? Don't underestimate Delve with Tower, though.
	#19 ▼4 Expedition (Adventures) Weighted Average: 46.44% ▼7.76pp / Unweighted Average: 48.50% / Median: 48.48% ▼3.04pp / Standard Deviation: 16.17% Expedition is one of the biggest losers. Which would be good if it were on NBC. Instead it's here, and it's expeditiously making room above for some heretofore underappreciated Events.
	#18 ▲3 Seaway (Adventures) Weighted Average: 47.10% ▲2.81pp / Unweighted Average: 48.10% / Median: 48.48% ▲6.06pp / Standard Deviation: 17.67% This Event is finally starting to see way more appreciation. People don't like spending $5 on a $4, but +Buy is good (and too often undervalued). When you need Buys like water, Seaway is there for you. Thinking Seaway should be top 10 like the other vanilla bonus token Events doesn't hold water, but it's good to see it float up a few ranks.
	#17 ▲6 Ball (Adventures) Weighted Average: 47.77% ▲6.71pp / Unweighted Average: 44.60% / Median: 45.45% ▲9.09pp / Standard Deviation: 16.78% Ball is the big winner among the Events this year, up 6 places. I think people again bawled about "wasting" a $5 on some $4s, but they're staying on the ball with $4s being good.
	#16 =0 Training (Adventures) Weighted Average: 53.54% ▲2.22pp / Unweighted Average: 56.18% / Median: 57.58% ▲2.02pp / Standard Deviation: 16.52% Hey, way to go us, we were right on the money with this ranking last year.
	#15 ▼1 Travelling Fair (Adventures) Weighted Average: 61.49% ▲4.14pp / Unweighted Average: 58.64% / Median: 60.61% ▲4.09pp / Standard Deviation: 16.84% Travelling Fair seems to be the culprit of many degenerate combos, most recently with Priest. Despite this, it traveled down one spot this year and that seems fair.
	#14 ▲3 Mission (Adventures) Weighted Average: 63.78% ▲12.45pp / Unweighted Average: 58.59% / Median: 57.58% ▲15.16pp / Standard Deviation: 21.23% Sometimes you hit $8 on a Mission turn, and you're sad. Sometimes you're Attacking your opponent twice as often. Make it your mission to get the most out of your extra turns.
	#13 ▼1 Borrow (Adventures) Weighted Average: 64.41% ▲4.28pp / Unweighted Average: 62.44% / Median: 68.18% ▲13.63pp / Standard Deviation: 21.96% Horrible art, good Event. Very cleverly designed. It is the first Event on this list to get a vote for 1st (besides that one for Raid).
	#12 ▲1 Triump (Empires) Weighted Average: 66.59% ▲7.60pp / Unweighted Average: 61.41% / Median: 62.50% ▼4.17pp / Standard Deviation: 24.55% Extra gains put the tri-oomph in this Event. The combos are not uncommon, and when they're present, yee haw.
	#11 ▼1 Summon (Promo) Weighted Average: 68.52% ▲4.06pp / Unweighted Average: 62.69% / Median: 63.64% ▼3.03pp / Standard Deviation: 21.15% Anytime is a good time for butterflies. This is another $5-for-a-$4 Event, but it is a powerhouse. It summons up much of the experience of Prince, minus all of the drawbacks.
	#10 ▲1 Plan (Adventures) Weighted Average: 69.12% ▲7.04pp / Unweighted Average: 67.15% / Median: 69.70% ▲12.12pp / Standard Deviation: 12.88% Plan has done nothing but climb the ranks of this list over the years, and enters the top 10 for the first time. 8 of the top 10 Events are from Adventures, the mirror image of the bottom 10. Donald X. used the best ideas for Adventures, he didn't plan on needing more.
	#9 ▼2 Alms (Adventures) Weighted Average: 71.25% ▼3.25pp / Unweighted Average: 68.46% / Median: 72.73% ▼4.19pp / Standard Deviation: 23.00% This almsmost could have fallen out of the top 10, but it begged for the chance to stay.
	#8 ▲1 Dominate (Empires) Weighted Average: 72.81% ▼0.19pp / Unweighted Average: 74.12% / Median: 78.79% ▼6.06pp / Standard Deviation: 18.19% Dominate moves up a rank while all its stats got worse, math is weird. 15VP is good, I hear VP is how you win. It's fun to see the unconditional instruction "gain a Province".
	#7 ▼3 Lost Arts (Adventures) Weighted Average: 75.27% ▼6.14pp / Unweighted Average: 76.71% / Median: 84.85% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 23.07% Lost Arts lost 3 places this year. Playing only one Action per turn is one of Dominion's biggest restrictions, and this does good work to get around that. There's not much of an art to choosing the pile; pick the one you want to spam a lot of. It got one vote for last, which is interesting as it's probably not the confused voter/troll (I assume they were the last place vote for Donate).
	#6 ▲2 Save (Adventures) Weighted Average: 76.42% ▲2.78pp / Unweighted Average: 71.79% / Median: 75.76% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 25.16% All the other Events that give +1 Buy landed outside the top 10, save this one. It's often hard to see how much Save is helping you, so it's good to see it get some recognition. Keeping a Victory card out of your deck can really save your shuffle.
	#5 ▲1 Inheritance (Adventures) Weighted Average: 77.33% ▼2.50pp / Unweighted Average: 74.43% / Median: 80.77% ▼7.11pp / Standard Deviation: 21.39% The top 5 Events are either pretty cheap, or very expensive. There is value in cheap things you can buy early and get more use out of, but also in expensive things that do something crazy powerful. You're rarely opening Inheritance, but it's so exotic and inherently strong that you are usually working extra hard to spike $7.
	#4 ▼2 Pathfinding (Adventures) Weighted Average: 77.75% ▼6.59pp / Unweighted Average: 79.29% / Median: 81.82% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 16.88% Pathfinding's path found its way out of 2nd place, and not just into 3rd, but into 4th. Less than 2.5pp separates this from 7th, it's a close race.
	#3 ▲2 Bonfire (Adventures) Weighted Average: 79.15% ▲0.98pp / Unweighted Average: 78.06% / Median: 78.79% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 13.43% Trashing is good, who knew? Clearly we didn't last year, what ever were we thinking having Bonfire at #5. Once I Bonfired my Champion because of Wolf Den, that was cute. But usually you're just burning currency; it's a fire festival.
	#2 ▲1 Ferry (Adventures) Weighted Average: 85.95% ▲4.24pp / Unweighted Average: 83.72% / Median: 87.88% ▲6.06pp / Standard Deviation: 15.32% Ferry's rise on the Best $3 Cards List was matched here, as it sailed into 2nd place. And with a fairly sizeable lead over Bonfire.
	#1 =0 Donate (Empires) Weighted Average: 94.56% ▼2.07pp / Unweighted Average: 93.47% / Median: 100% =0pp / Standard Deviation: 19.93% Much like last place, first place is far away from the pack. 26 out of 32 people voted Donate first. It's as close as you come to a must-buy card; you donate want to skip it.

I Project that the next list will be posted several hours from now, but in the meantime you can discuss these Events.

24

Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: $4 Cards (Bottom Half)

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:53:05 pm »

I probably missed this discussion earlier; but are first-edition cards left out of the rankings? I would assume so, otherwise where is Thief?

I disagree with that; just because a card isn't in the second printing of Dominion doesn't make it any less an official and real Dominion card.

Disagree with your disagreement.

Anyway, Cutpurse is way too low.  In the early game, it's better than Militia.

Curious on what grounds. Are these supposed to be the "Second Edition Dominion Card Lists" or the "Dominion Card Lists"?

I would say they aren't official anymore. Donald X. has said on BGG (and probably elsewhere too), "I recommend that you stop using the replaced cards". My understanding is that they are no longer part of the Dominion canon, and not worth the trouble ranking. They also weren't ranked in 2017.

25

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest Thread

« on: December 12, 2018, 06:12:24 pm »

I love this, except for being perhaps too automatic which is, given that you can construct your deck such that you have a discard more often, arguable. Do you think that it would be too expensive if it costed $1?

It doesn't give +1 Action like Villa, so that makes is less automatic imo. (Also, you can put the +1 Buy after the "once per turn" for bigger text, like Save.)