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26

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 54: At the Border

« on: January 17, 2023, 06:10:50 pm »

With the snag of cards being gained to other places, I wondered if this mechanic was worth doing. These entries show interesting things it can do, so maybe it was.

czzzz		Workshop that can pick up gains earlier in the turn to hand. +: Putting a card gained this turn to hand is a new effect that the Border accomplishes. It can potentially be interesting too. Unlike other Workshops, having multiple copies is often meaningful. -: sad when there are no Villages. The +Buy does compensate for this situation, but feels tacked on; Workshops enable gaining multiple cards per turn anyway. Overview: the premise feels like a simple card that should exist, but the execution could be a bit better.
BryGuy	Desert Coyote Night, cost. Trash a card in play or in your hand to gain a Treasure costing up to more than it. You may gain a card, as if buying, using the Treasures on the Border and in play.	Expand/Mine a card into a Treasure, then buy a card including the Treasures on the Border. +: Nights checking your Border work well. Building up to big gains or Provinces can be achieved in different ways, which is interesting and replayable. -: it needs to check that cards in play to trash would be discarded this turn. It feels very strong; an unspent Silver can be made at least into a Gold and a , non-terminally. Overview: with a bit of power tweaking this could be a great card. One possibility is to fix the gained Treasure to a Silver.
emtzalex		Cycling Lab that cheapens with more gains and trashes on a single turn, with an Heirloom that adds trashing and +Buy for multiple gains. +: The Heirloom enables Culper Ring well. Forced trash makes using it later game a little tricky, unlike Goat. -: the player interaction works negatively here, when one player works to cheapen these the other players don't have to for that round of turns. The Heirloom is a radical speedup to the game that probably narrows the number of viable strategies. Overview: speeding up a Border game might be a good move, but I fear that Silver Dagger will script most of them. The cost reduction is probably better looking at just the player's own Border.
LibraryAdventurer	Shipping Village Action, cost. +1 Card +2 Actions You may play an Action card on your Border. If it is Outgoing, leave it there.	Village that plays Actions gained or trashed during the turn. +: interesting to build around, especially with tfb-ing an Action. Being a Village helps terminal gainers or trashers set up the extra play effect. -: this will need the Command treatment to stop infinitely playing Outgoing Shipping Villages. Overview: it loves having Action gainers and trashers in the Kingdom, so much so that without them it may be best to select another Village to make an interesting game. Because it's inconsistent even when such cards are present, my overall excitement is lukewarm.
NoMoreFun	Infiltrate Action, cost. Trash a card from your hand. You may play an Action from your Border twice.	Regular Throne that can thin instead, or do both with an Action previously trashed or gained during the turn. +: the function of weak thinning lets this be a reliable Throne+. There are other little uses like keeping hold of a trashed Action for later in the turn. -: only little negative things. The use of the Border isn't so interesting here, as this is almost 'trash a card from your hand. If it's an Action, you may play it twice' with a few hard-to-pull-off extra functions. Overview: weak trashing on a Throne is nice, a card I'm happy to see on the table. The other things it can do may as well be there, they don't take elegance away. Safe design.

Runner-up: Desert Coyote by BryGuy

Winner: Infiltrate by NoMoreFun

The Coyote was innovative! I did not think of treating the Treasures on the Border like they were in play. But, I felt the design that was safest in its presented form should take the win.

27

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 54: At the Border

« on: January 16, 2023, 04:30:54 pm »

Loot not using a type was why I just went with the words. Unprecedented with its unique rules. Events use Loot; maybe that's why? If landscapes use the Border, there would be the same issue with types on them; but, a type would let portrait cards exist that don't refer to the mat directly, say they just needed the start of turn discard behaviour.

Anyhow, 24 hours left

28

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 54: At the Border

« on: January 13, 2023, 12:42:20 pm »

...

• The Border mat is included whenever a card's instructions refer to the "Border", "Incoming" or "Outgoing". I might be persuaded by using a type though.

...

would this mat exist even if a player didnt have "new unique cads from a expansion" with it? is it intended to be there for vanilla users?

If no effect in the game needs it, there's not a lot of point slowing the gains and trashes down. So, it could be added to any game, but...why is it there? Perhaps if the tracking is useful for something like 1E Bonfire?

29

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #174: Back to the Future

« on: January 12, 2023, 06:24:38 am »

Honcho - Action Duration, $5 cost.
You may play a non-Duration Action card from your hand. If it's still in play, play it two more times. The next time any player gains a copy of it, discard it at that turn's Clean-up.

KC that keeps the target (and itself) out of the deck until a copy of the target is gained.
Edited to discard at Clean-up to prevent pile-emptying loops.

30

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week 54: At the Border

« on: January 11, 2023, 06:56:40 am »

I assume gained cards to go the Border no matter where they would've been gained to, so e.g. Sculptor still gains to your Border?

I think the cleanest and least disruptive rule is to treat it like other gain locations; if multiple locations are given choose, otherwise the default is Incoming instead of the discard pile, and that's where card effects like Watchtower expect to find them. I don't think spoiling cards like Blockade or Buried Treasure would be a fun interaction to create.
Nor Fortress for trashing, for that matter.

For sure, it's a flaw with this mechanic, quite a big one.

31

Variants and Fan Cards / Fan Mechanics Week 54: At the Border

« on: January 10, 2023, 05:51:30 pm »

The Border mat, a space for tracking gains and trashes each turn. Each player gets one. Every gain goes to Incoming, unless something moves it somewhere else, so cards will come into the deck after Clean-up draw rather than before it, so a bit slower. Every trash goes to Outgoing, to be put in the trash pile start of next turn; they don't interact with effects concerning the trash until then.
Other rules:

• When-gain abilities trigger when the card goes to Incoming. When-trash abilities trigger when the card goes to Outgoing.
• If a card moves off or onto a Border for any reason other than gaining or trashing, it does not count as a gain or trash (like Exile isn't gaining).
• Discarding from Incoming and moving Outgoing to the trash are two separate effects to do once each first thing at start of turn. If Donate is in the game, choose the order you do the three effects in.
• The Border mat is included whenever a card's instructions refer to the "Border", "Incoming" or "Outgoing". I might be persuaded by using a type though.

So, its main purpose is a tracking aid, enabling effects that would otherwise require memory that not everybody has or wants in their games of Dominion. Abilities concerning your own Border are fine, but ones concerning the other players could be an interesting area. Or a card could move around Borders somehow, if that's interesting?

An example:

A Smugglers that can work on any player, both gains and trashes. The card it gains goes on your Incoming, so all the other players' Smuggler cards can gain a copy of it until your next turn.

I haven't tested any card ideas out for this mechanic, only brainstormed. Your ideas, should you wish to enter, could easily be more interesting than mine.
I will close the contest in 7 days, January 17th 04:00pm forum time. Until then...

32

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 53: Climb Every Mount

« on: January 10, 2023, 04:01:24 am »

OK, I have an idea for a mechanic. I just need to make a mock-up first...

33

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 53: Climb Every Mount

« on: January 07, 2023, 12:31:32 pm »

Alpha Wolf - Action Mount, $5 cost.
+2 Cards
+1 Action
You may lose a Villager for +1 Card. Discard a card.
-
Mount: when any player plays an Action card, you may reveal a copy of it from your discard pile to dismount for +3 Villagers.

34

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #173: New Year's Resolutions

« on: January 04, 2023, 03:33:56 am »

It sure is tempting to empty 2 piles out instantly, or 3 if you gain Border Villages. Perhaps a bit too easy an end-game condition.

Also, with different backs, how will players 'shuffle' their deck? Keep going until all the Temptations are where they want them to be, or will there be a special rule like with Stash?

35

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #173: New Year's Resolutions

« on: January 02, 2023, 11:57:45 am »

If I were to make a resolution to improve my Dominion, it would have to involve the 4-player IRL games I nearly always play. There are plenty of flaws and fixes to these games this forum has already covered: they're too short to make satisfying decks; three-pile endings are unpleasantly common; certain cards like Cursing Attacks get unpleasantly strong.
I thought of which fix to focus on, and ended up grouping the lot together in one mechanic:

Continents

Landscape cards that enlarge the kingdom to a continent, and make the game longer. When a Continent is added to the game:

• Add 1 more of each base Victory card to the Supply per player (including Colonies if in the game)
• Add an extra Kingdom pile
• One more pile will need to empty for the game to end (typically 4)

The recommended rules for inclusion: if there are 4 or more players in a game, after setup, add a Continent; this can be random selection, or chosen to suit the game and/or players' mood. It could be a 3rd landscape card.
They could alternatively be included in just the same way as TWELPs, even in 2- or 3-player, if players want a randomly decided big long game.
I designed these assuming one Continent per game, but...they could stack up in multiples?

Individual Continents can fix specific issues, or just add fun passive effects like Edicts.



Paradisaic limits Attacks to one hit on each player between their turns, but in exchange gives them an extra ability to be trashed for draw when discarded from play (whoever's turn in the case of Black Cat). Hopefully this addresses repeatable Attacks like junking or Knights. Cultist though...
Cavernous sorts out opening turns when they're crucial, giving each player two shots of +5 Cards then put 5 cards onto deck at start of turn.
Volcanic is a crazy thing that a lengthened game might get away with; when you gain a card, trash a card from hand, mandatory.

The flavour and convenience of these might help motivate me to try them someday.

36

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 52: It only gets Charter

« on: December 26, 2022, 05:47:23 pm »

Instructor - Charter, $4 cost.
When you play a card, if you don't have a copy of it in play, +1 Action, or if you do, this stops.

Treasures and Nights are checked so it can be cheaper. I thought 'this stops' would be better than 'remove your cube', since the effect ending is clearer.

37

Rules Questions / Buried Treasure - Watchtower

« on: December 22, 2022, 06:13:05 am »

If Buried Treasure's default location is in play rather than the discard pile (because it's forced, not optional), does Watchtower expect to find it there so it can move it? Does that then mean there's an invisible +1 Buy + $3 next turn?

38

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Up to Date Guide to Fan Card Creation

« on: December 19, 2022, 05:28:31 pm »

I overhauled this guide. The wording in each part I've tried to simplify. I rearranged the Research section into bullet points, used GendoIkari's extension to link example cards for each point, and I believe covered all the official mechanics up to Plunder. I don't feel this guide is concise just yet, and refinements could be made, but it's there for now.

39

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #172: Trait Me Right

« on: December 19, 2022, 03:59:21 am »

Wanted
When you play a Wanted card, +1 Action and +. When you discard a Wanted card from play, Exile it.

40

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Card Mechanics Week 51: Season 5 Finale Challenge

« on: December 17, 2022, 05:34:56 pm »

Smuggling Run
Event, $5 cost.
Once per game: +5 Routes. Each other player gets +5 Mutineers.

Choose early or late game use.

41

Dominion General Discussion / Re: * Plunder Previews #4: Next Time *

« on: December 15, 2022, 07:37:26 am »

Does Inherited work from the top of the pile first, or are we all starting with a Fortune this game?

42

Dominion General Discussion / Re: * Plunder Previews #2: Durations & Traits *

« on: December 13, 2022, 06:14:48 am »

So what are the rules for including a Trait in an all-random game? Shuffled in with the WELPs?
In that case, is maximum 2, uh, TWELPs the recommendation?

43

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics week 39: Snowy Mac-snow

« on: June 05, 2022, 03:38:34 am »

Mountain Road - Action Level, $4 cost.
+4 Cards
+1 Action
Gain 5 Snows -1 per level.

Level cards start at level 1, so this gets 4 snows to start with, right?

44

Rules Questions / Highwayman + Specialist

« on: April 26, 2022, 02:05:32 pm »

"The first Treasure played does nothing", does that affect every time it's replayed as well? If Specialist attempts to play a Gold twice (no other Treasures played), does it get $0 or $3?

45

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week #33: Trial By Fire

« on: April 06, 2022, 05:38:24 pm »

Results

In my exploration of this mechanic, I echo emtzalex in feeling like there's a lot that could be done with it. Your ideas show diversity and that often simplicity works well. Putting burn abilities on Durations at first felt like more possibilities, but now it doesn't seem like too many more. Maybe instead of trashing the card at the next Clean-up, trashing it at your next Clean-up would have been better, doing something like turn the card diagonally or upside down for tracking?
I also see that this is similar to other fan mechanics on the forum, like LFN's Activation type. Incidentally, my inspiration came from Star Realms; cards that trash (scrap) themselves for extra benefit is a central mechanic there.

And that's my introductory spiel.

infangthief	Slum - Action, cost. +2 Actions +1 Buy - : discard your hand. +4 Cards.	Non-drawing Village with +Buy that can be burned for mild draw-to-X. +: the hand change is effective on a burn ability; it's a choice, and doing it later than when played can make more draw. Losing a Village and a +Buy can make a challenging decision. -: Drawing a poor hand with the burn can feel awful. Overview: a useful package for engines or big money (burning while playing Treasures to draw more). Likeable, but possibly it's worth .
Augie279		Smithy that can be burned for now and next turn Village. +: Draw that burns for +Actions is a simple and effective use of the mechanic. -: As already mentioned, tracking the next turn burn effect is awkward. Overview: if the gave +2 Villagers instead, that might make a compelling card.
emtzalex		Fair as a Hireling variant that can be turned off for a refund. +: Carrying a lump of money over to a future turn is a good way to use the burn mechanic, being limited to cards in the Supply unlike Coffers. -: nothing wrong really, I'm just not too excited by this. Overview: very much a plan ahead card, since it's not the best for early +Buys. Because it's a , I guess players will almost always get this thinking ahead to Provinces/relevant win condition, and not to building. At giving less , it may help build too. I think this is what's boring me.
scolapasta		A Coffers and Villager in one, as a card. +: very simple, it can be used just like a Villager and/or a Coffers. -: perhaps not too interesting because this almost already exists in more flexible forms; a Villager can let terminal draw be played first in a turn, but this needs to be played before terminal draw to work. Overview: it can exist, a that never hurts the deck, but it won't add much excitement.
Xen3k		One-shot trasher and payload in one. +: the adds an alternative early game function to an otherwise mid to late game card; a nice use of the mechanic. It has pleasing niches over other trashers. -: with payload including +Buy and mass trashing, this may dictate the way every game it's in is played. With no other trashing, / openings are at a huge advantage. Overview: perhaps a cheaper variant trashing fewer cards and giving would be less dictating and be accessible to everyone regardless of opening.
Timinou		Engine support that may become alt VP later. +: A tempting trasher that can disappear when it's done or if the burn boost is needed now, that can also have strong reason to keep around. It makes interesting decisions while being interactive. -: the VP strength is affected by the number of players in the game, especially without Shelters. Overview: somehow make the VP work around player number, and this could be interesting.
LibraryAdventurer	Witch Trials - Action Attack, cost. +1 Buy + Each other player gains a Curse. - : return up to 2 Curses from your hand or the trash to the Supply.	A curser that can keep the pressure on a long time. Burning during the on-play effect could be relevant as Curses can be pulled out from the trash to give out should the pile be empty. +: It's a much gentler Witch that has an interesting choice with its . Having to trash the card to put Curses back into the Supply stops cursing going on indefinitely. -: behaviour will be a bit different with number of players; 2 returned Curses will be given out in one attack in 3-player, but not in 2. Overview: I started out not liking this - returning Curses never seemed doable - but I've warmed to it. It appears to be a high skill curser, which not many of the official ones are, involving thought about having the fewest Curses long term.
Joxeft		Next-turn hand size increaser or one-shot Attack with 3-card Minion. I assume the next turn +2 Cards +1 Buy first checks the hasn't been used. +: The on-play can defend against the attack, if one doesn't use the . -: the attack can be used politically in 3+ players; one can wait until the player to the left has had their turn. Yes their next turn will be weaker, but they may not get a next turn. Overview: this card helped me see that a Duration attack isn't safe ground.
fika monster		Weak engine assistance that burns to grant the Cavalry effect. +: There are several fun combos; like gaining and buying things to the top of the deck, drawing them with the and having the +Actions to play them. -: nothing much can be wrong with this, only its similarity to Cavalry. Even then, the timing of the return to Action phase creates different play. Overview: safe and interesting.
UltimateGeek		Rotating split pile focused on the powerful top trasher and the bottom VP card. As yet, I've had no play experience with rotating piles. +: scaling payload in Ride Ticket could be interesting in a rotating pile. -: The best Treasure Ticket Booth can get is often Silver; it helps to patch up economy loss from Park & Ride trashing, but is still a weak . There's no urgent rush to trash the State Fairs since they're cantrips, so Ride Ticket won't often do much. Overview: Park & Ride is very desirable, so these County Fairs will likely rotate. Ticket Booth could easily be ignored unless a nice Treasure is in the game. Ride Ticket could become a cheap Gold later, and until then will be skipped. State Fair is a good pick-up worth contesting, an easier Distant Lands. So, as is, the game flow with this pile seems quite scripted, and the two middle cards could be strengthened with more independent use.
spineflu		Deck thinner that can be used later as a Supply emptier. +: it makes large on the unconventional way to end the game while providing a constant self benefit. -: it could put huge pressure on with explosive emptying potential. Several factors can make it crazy: more players; presence of certain cards like Cultist or Necromancer; if this is the only trasher. Overview: a radical fan card that may spice up a few games, but I wouldn't think too many. Sometimes this won't be welcome on the table.

Based on what I think could be added to the official game the best, the shortlist:
Slum, Overgrown City, Witch Trials, Second Chance.

Now this is tough between my top two here. But I will say...

Runner-up: Witch Trials by LibraryAdventurer

Winner: Second Chance by fika monster

Second Chance demonstrates very nicely what a can do. It has different possible functions depending on when during the turn it's used, with a variable top part to help.

fika monster, the floor's all yours.

46

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week #33: Trial By Fire

« on: April 05, 2022, 02:13:21 pm »

24 hours left

47

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week #33: Trial By Fire

« on: April 01, 2022, 04:19:52 pm »

If a card has a burn ability and is also a Duration card with a normal next-turn effect, can you use the burn ability when it's someone else's turn?

If by normal next-turn effect you mean not having "...if you didn't use this card's " then I can't see how it could work cleanly. So I'd think it just can't be done.

If you meant like Wharf instead of Hireling, then yes, for the turn it's out it can work, to be trashed at the next Clean-up.

48

Weekly Design Contest / Re: Weekly Design Contest #147: Target Demographic

« on: March 31, 2022, 01:44:19 pm »

Boat Dwellers - Ally
At Clean-up, spend any number of Favors, to set aside a Copper you would discard from play per 2 Favors spent. At the start of your next turn, put them into your hand.

I nearly made the Coppers be played just to be different, decided put into hand was more useful more often, and couldn't have both for text space.
I've yet to play Allies but many of these entries look convincing already.

49

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week #33: Trial By Fire

« on: March 31, 2022, 08:33:48 am »

I went with "Until you use this card's " instead of while-in-play, as I think putting the latter on a Duration creates an unnecessary rules issue.

This is an excellent fix for all forms of Durations! I didn't twig that they could all be set aside and tracking next turn effects at once, but this solves the problem neatly. I'll add this to the OP:
If you make a Duration card with a burn ability, always make later turn effects check the hasn't been used.

50

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Fan Mechanics Week #33: Trial By Fire

« on: March 30, 2022, 03:54:48 am »

May you trigger burn abilitie during an action playing before it be fully resolved?

Good question, I guess this would come down to how much tracking is an issue for people. If I were Donald having to consider everybody, I would say no for simplicity. Because we're fans, I might make things a bit more open:
A burn ability can be used in the middle of resolving the card's on-play effect, but the rest of the on-play effect is resolved afterward; it is not stopped. So I wouldn't try any "if this is in play" or "trash this. If you do" on-play effects on a card with a burn ability, as that would be unnecessarily confusing.

My Submission:

Slush Fund • $5 • Action - Duration At the start of each of your turns, if you have 2 Buys or fewer, +1 Buy. : +$4 (This stays in play.)

...
EDIT: It occurred to me that a player will keep getting the +1 Buy even after they trash their Slush Fund (and don't replace it). I'm probably going to change the card so that doesn't work, but I haven't decided that for sure.

This would need an "if this is in play" clause, otherwise would be like an invisible Fair everyone has to remember they bought.

I did mention putting a burn ability on a Duration, but only had on-play Duration effects in mind. Sorry I wasn't clear. Duration burn abilities like this would twist the rules I described a bit, in that this would have to be both set aside and tracking the next-turn +Action at the same time, to be trashed at that turn's Clean-up. I suppose with the on-play not being a Duration tracking isn't too hard here; but it still wouldn't be a card in play for something like Emporium.
So, this does just about work and won't be disqualified, but I don't think I would rate it highly.

I've added these issues to the OP.