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51

Variants and Fan Cards / You may trash a card from your discard pile.

« on: July 27, 2012, 01:41:07 pm »

I'm trying to figure out how to make this work- I think it would be interesting to have such a wide net for possible targets, but in exchange only be able to go one at a time.  It could synergize well with discard for benefits and Chancellor, two things I wouldn't mind boosting a bit.

+1 Action would probably be good, but I feel it needs something more or it's too close to Lookout.  Still, with just that, I feel it could make a decent 3. (It gives you more options than Lookout, but won't help with cycling or setting up your next draw.)  But...is making it spammable really a good thing when the point is quality over quantity?

+Card would be interesting, but it'd mess up the all-important CHANCELLOR SYNERGY.

I had originally thought of adding a way to trash a card from your hand, possibly requiring one before you could do the other, but then I decided that was just kinda boring since the point was to trash from something BESIDES your hand.

Maybe make it a terminal Silver for 3?  Or a +2 Action for....I don't even know what the price would be, but gut says 3-4.

52

Variants and Fan Cards / Fan card logistics

« on: July 26, 2012, 10:40:47 pm »

So, I'd kinda like to get into trying some of the cards here and testing some of my own, but I have some issues.  I only have one friend who plays Dominion, and we don't get together that often, and I'm not even sure he'd want to bother with variant cards or getting that many sleeves.  I would probably only be able to play fan cards with myself, which honestly would be fine with me, but I don't have the real cards, so I'm not sure of a good way to do so.

-Is there a program or something out there that would help me manipulate cards and handle the rules myself?  I'm thinking something like Apprentice, but that seems like it would work rather poorly with Dominion's mechanics, and I'm not sure how playing against myself would work.
-Is my next best bet just scribbling stuff on index cards or something?  I can't really afford to buy the real cards, and it would be kinda silly anyway since I only have the one friend who plays. (and he owns most of the sets)
-Are there any particularly well respected fan cards?  I assume Archivist and the mini-set winners would be good places to start, but anything else here particularly worthy of use?
-Any tips for playtesting?  Types of kingdoms I should be sure and hit?  Good "default" kingdoms to use?

53

Dominion Isotropic / Effect with/without on Councilroom

« on: July 18, 2012, 01:32:52 pm »

"Effect with" is the number of standard deviations better than expected you perform when you buy or gain the card.
"Effect without" is the number of standard deviations better than expected you perform when you never buy or gain the card.

By "expected," is it referring to the baseline of "how well everybody does with this card," or "how well Tombolo does in general"?  Or some combination of the two or something?

54

Help! / I will try to post a game here every day.

« on: July 04, 2012, 12:55:44 am »

I want to get better at this game.  I'm currently hovering around the upper teens, but I seem to have plateaued.  Therefore, when I am able, I will try to pick one interesting game a day (or maybe more) to post here, give my thoughts, and see what you guys have to say about it.  Even if I don't get tons of feedback, organizing my thoughts and formally presenting them should be helpful for me!

In which I fail to respect Mountebank: This post
In which Minions don't work well if you lose at Amb Tennis: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg60066#msg60066
In which OMAGAW CITIES: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg60664#msg60664
In which I manage to wind up with a bloated deck in a chapel game: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg61208#msg61208
In which I fail to rush Silk Road: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg61586#msg61586
In which I don't even know with the Jesters: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg62433#msg62433
In which (spoilers) Governor and Chapel make games go quickly: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg62713#msg62713
In which we are introduced to my tunnel obsession: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg63324#msg63324
In which the megaturn never happen: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg63886#msg63886
In which the third pile does not in fact magically drain itself: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg64532#msg64532
In which a desperation Duke rush actually works: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg64906#msg64906
In which we are introduced to my Hoard obsession: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg65181#msg65181
In which Forge bogs down the Minion fight: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg65489#msg65489
In which $4 cards vie for supremacy on an IGG-decimated battlefield: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg66718#msg66718
In which I hand out all 10 Curses and still barely Goons my way to victory: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg66858#msg66858
In which I win commandingly and have no idea how: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg67650#msg67650
In which Goons fail me: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg68618#msg68618
In which "rush" is a relative term: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg69023#msg69023
In which Trader saves the world: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=post;quote=69636;topic=3269.50
In which you can't have Fool's Gold without Fools: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg70564#msg70564
In which Possession makes for weird games: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg72232#msg72232
In which we go from almost dead to piledriving Provinces: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg73506#msg73506
In which I am already dead: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg74469#msg74469
In which we come back from a lull with awkward Vineyards: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg77285#msg77285
In which you can also play with THREE players: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg80020#msg80020
In which we SUCCEED at rushing Peddlers and FAIL at doing anything with them: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg80317#msg80317
In which Possession outrushes Masquerade: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg82427#msg82427
In which Gardens awkwardly slogs to victory: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg83922#msg83922
In which Grand Market fanboyism barely avoids a loss: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg84630#msg84630
In which there are too many alt VP cards: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg91175#msg91175
In which even hated cards can win games: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg92765#msg92765
In which, no, Scout and Thief are still kinda weak: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg94140#msg94140
In which we return from hiatus with a random Highway game!: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg119056#msg119056
In which there are too many of my favorite cards: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg119233#msg119233
In which I still don't know how to run Vineyards: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg121796#msg121796
In which Minions don't actually automatically win: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg122609#msg122609
In which flailing vaguely at a botched plan sometimes works out: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.new#new
In which terminal draw does not mean you should load up on more terminals you can draw: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg125525#msg125525
In which "Amb" looks really weird if you type it enough: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg126580#msg126580
In which Governor fails to impress: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg127180#msg127180
In which what do you MEAN I don't automatically win with a sweet 5/2?: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg128667#msg128667
In which I try my hand at Double Tac: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg130931#msg130931
In which they all laughed at IW/Gardens but I SHOWED THEM who is laughable!: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg132095#msg132095
In which I somehow beat my friend at his own game: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg134244#msg134244
In which, not gonna lie, I partially just wanna show off IW/VY: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg135721#msg135721
In which Upgrade Complete!: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg136384#msg136384
In which a pseudo-mirror match ends in a 59-3 loss: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg138462#msg138462
In which YW is the star of a Golem/Tunnel deck: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg139702#msg139702
In which hey look more IW rushing: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg140604#msg140604
In which GOKO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! also new expansions: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg257090#msg257090
In which babby's first feodum rush: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg259295#msg259295
[and then a very long break happened]
In which we build a weird discard engine: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg752008#msg752008
In which our strategy is "all of these cards look nice": http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3269.msg752034#msg752034

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201207/03/game-20120703-214811-04b2ed34.html

What I went for: Golem/Oasis/Scheme to power Peddlers, and Mountebank as a kicker.
What he went for: Mountebank/Scheme
What I wound up with: Unfocused Fairgrounds deck with HoP

Sadly, his internet cut out in endgame, so I'm not actually sure who would've taken it.  I didn't expect to get that many Fairgrounds, so I had no exit strategy for ending the game, but it looks like his engine was petering out pretty badly.

I think my entire premise was flawed here.  Golem, Oasis, and Scheme are a decent enough Peddler engine...except for the complete lack of +Buy.  I try to remedy this later on with HoP, but have issues actually hitting it right.  I realized I stumbled into a decent Fairgrounds setup and switched gears to that, but then I couldn't trash my HoP, and the money never worked out right.  I don't think Bureaucrat was worth it at all, and I would've been better served trying harder to get an early Mountebank.  Similarly, Scheme was a better idea than Oasis, but at least they both fueled Fairgrounds.  By the time my deck got off the ground, though, it was pretty much too late to catch up.  I would've liked more Golems.

On turn X, should I have Schemed the Mountebank instead of the Golem?  Golem's pretty nice, and I figured it had a decent chance of hitting Mountebank anyway, but Mountebank...is Mountebank.

I don't understand why he kept buying Estates.  I feel like he had me beat all game and I lucked into a comeback.

If I had it to do again: I'd open with some combination of Silver and Scheme, skip Peddler unless I luck into it at $4, and just go for Scheme/Mountebank, with maybe some Farmlands to defend against Mount.  Maybe go for 4 VP Fairgrounds as well, maybe not.  Golem....maybe later than I went for it, but probably not.

55

Game Reports / ...How did I screw up Ironworks/Gardens, exactly?

« on: June 27, 2012, 04:43:39 pm »

I thought that Caravan, Worker's Village, AND Workshop would combine for a pretty nifty Ironworks/Gardens rush, but my opponent was able to start getting Colonies before I was anywhere close to three-piling.  I am pretty sure that is not how Ironworks/Gardens is supposed to go, so can somebody tell me where I went astray?
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201206/27/game-20120627-133911-962317af.html

56

Dominion Isotropic / Royal Seal, Grand Market, and auto-money

« on: June 25, 2012, 07:51:15 pm »

Is there any reason to have Royal Seal not autoplay?  Just played a game with Royal Seal and Grand Market, and missed my GM on a turn where I had RS/Gold/Silver/Copper/Estate because when I hit the money button, it didn't play the Royal Seal...which meant I "couldn't" get GM, so it played the Copper and I wound up having to settle for Gold.

57

Other Games / What should I do once Isotropic goes down?

« on: June 17, 2012, 04:01:06 pm »

So I'm on a big Dominion binge, but I don't often see my friend who plays, and allegedly isotropic is going down in the near future.  I fully intend to check out the FunSocket game, but I'm in a pretty tight financial spot, so if it's expensive or subscription-based or sucky I might not get it immediately, and thus would need something to fill the Dominion-shaped hole in my heart. 

Any other free online games that are like Isotropic where I can just log on whenever I feel like it and play a quick game or two to kill a few minutes?  IDEALLY I'd like another deckbuilder, but I hear that there aren't really many other good ones compared to Dominion.  I've dabbled in Puzzle Strike and might go back to it.  I'd also be up for other board games, card games, eurogames, CCG's, or what have you, especially if they're kinda quick to play and anywhere near as good.  I don't even really know what's available, so I'd appreciate any ideas.

58

Variants and Fan Cards / Activate-at-will Durations

« on: October 29, 2011, 12:28:08 am »

I had an idea that I haven't seen before- durations that you activate when you want rather than the next turn.  Something like this:


Officer Academy
$4 Action-Duration
This card stays in play until you choose to discard it.  You may do so at any point during any of your Action Phases.  When you do, +1 Card, +1 Action.

The net effect is that of a cantrip, sure, but it's more like a more flexible mini-tactician.  Activating it doesn't cost an action, which makes it useful in a variety of situations, and if you draw it on a turn you don't want to waste handsize or actions, you can simply discard it immediately and it's just a cantrip.  Once it's in play, you have tons of freedom in setting up a mega-turn, as it's like a free village/lab.  You can even use it to continue an action chain that fell a bit short on cards or actions.

I wasn't sure how to price it, and I'm still not.  It's pretty useless unless you're building a deck that lends itself to megaturns, or a junk deck where you have nothing to lose by playing it.  It's almost strictly inferior to Tactician, but the ability to delay until you can maximize the benefit, as well as the ability to activate it without using an action, and the ability to simply cycle it out on turns where you don't want it gives it flexibility where it lacks power.

I was originally going to propose the idea as a token mechanic rather than a duration, but I like the idea of it being out of your deck until you use it.  This route also prevents an otherwise strong KC combo.  The effect could be used with lots of little "boosts" (+Buy?  Trash a card?  +$?) but this was the one that struck me as most immediately interesting.

59

Variants and Fan Cards / New to creating cards, what d'you think of these two?

« on: October 14, 2011, 08:54:46 pm »

I have nobody to playtest with, so that route's out, as is any likelihood of these actually seeing play, but I do like making content for things, so I'm tossing around ideas for an Umineko-related fan expansion, based largely around a theme of draconian measures, as demonstrated here.

Witch's Epithet ($7 Action)- Trash your hand.  Gain a Gold for every card trashed.
I couldn't decide between $6 or $7 for this.  I settled on $7, as it makes it more of a late game card.  I figure the only cards you reeeeally are gonna have to think about sacrificing are Provinces, so making it $7 makes it that much more a late game buy.

Golden Witch ($4 Action)- Your choice: Either everybody else gains a Gold and a Curse, or you do.
I am honestly not sure whether the effect is beneficial, but it'd be solid in the presence of other cursers to drain the pile.