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« on: August 10, 2012, 02:29:47 pm »
Caspian: I like the concept, but I wish the alternate cost wasn't there, and it's not particularly strong. Probably needs other potion cost cards to work
Michigan: Hmm. With a +buy, it's a "silver" that lets you gain another "silver". Can't imagine using it otherwise, even if there's lots of other potion cards on the board, because a 2nd potion doesn't come in handy all that often, but +buy isn't that uncommon. I'd like to see how this one simulates.
Huron: The duke secret histories issue is a big one. I don't think a potion cost does much to change that, and if it's the only potion card, buying the potion is a red flag to your opponent to end the game quickly before you can amass any of them. The. Overall, probably too weak most of the time.
Superior: Very situational. In games with scrying pool it's going to be a must buy, but many games have neither attacks nor potion cost cards, and I don't like seeing cards that are ever truly dead weight on the board.
Victoria: Seems a bit too strong. Open potion/silver, buy potions whenever you get the chance (mostly early game), get all 8 Victorias (which should be quite easy as you can trash your starting estates) and you'll be very hard to beat, and not feel like you've really done anything that game (unless you're contested). If you get all 8, and 4 potions (which is very feasible), that's as good as getting all 8 provinces.
Tanganyika: Very scary in some games, especially with trashers. The potential is staggering; top deck 2 King's courts, and 2 bridges, or 2 possessions, or Goons, Masquerade. It's more situational than treasure map though, which is already too situational and luck based for my liking.
Baikal: A very cheap peddler that always gives you enough to buy another one, and rewards you VP for doing so? With a thin enough deck you won't need to buy anything else.
Erie: Similar to Superior; not worth it in games without many other potion cost cards. I do like a treasure with +buy, but I don't think the potion awkwardness would ever really be worth it.
Winnipeg: Very good early game trasher that can be used to make up for shortfalls late game. You'd probably set aside your potion as well, which is a handy thing to have since I can't imagine wanting more than 1 of these (which would usually be a death sentence for potion cards).
Ontario: I'm having trouble thinking of which phase of the game I'd buy this card, but that's not a mark against it
Ladoga: "An opponent" doesn't really work in dominion; go with "player to your left". I suppose the worst it could be is if you're forced to gain Duchess, and that would still be a non terminal silver (and you gain a somewhat unwanted card)
Onega: Works well as an alt VP card, but it may be too weak. Making sure you have enough economy to buy potions is key; the actual greening phase wouldn't be particularly hard once you've got enough potions to make sure the card works, but you could very easily find yourself way behind.
Nicaragua: I can see situations where this would work, but it seems mostly like a trap. Probably the best you could do with a "gain a province" action card though. From the other winning cards, Gatherer would combo very well with this.
Athabasca: I like this idea. Once you get a lot of these it will be very powerful, but without +buy you won't get much of an opportunity to do much else with your deck. The same could be said about alchemist though. I'd like to playtest this one.
Reindeer: So a terminal cellar that gives +2 cards after the fact. As a drawer, this will probably end up being about as strong as Smithy most of the time, since you'd usually have at least one dead card, and I would be even more hesitant to risk coppers given the added possibility of drawing dead actions. The attack portion is very nice, although keeping the potions for the attack hurts the sifting ability. Probably undercosted, although I really like the idea, and think it's worth a shot.
Titicaca: Does the cost go down twice if you have 2 titicacas in play? I assume it does, which makes it very strong. I like how it's self nomboing, but it would be frightening, especially in Colony games, if you've got a good engine (especially with +buy).
Manitoba: Seems like fun, although it will probably be seen more as just a cantrip trasher with an occasionally nifty bonus than part of a strategy (although upgrade is played fairly similarly IIRC). I'd like it better at 3P so you can gain a silver in hand when its outlived its usefulness, but maybe not being able to do that is the point. I also don't see the point of the +1 buy.
Albert: A potion cost card that would work very well in a big money deck? That's an impressive design, and I like it's simplicity. I don't like BM strategies much myself, but I'd like to see how this card simulates (it would be very easy to program). It may be too strong.
Khanka: Another Lab/Alchemist variant that seems better than both in many situations. It could result in an absurd amount of shuffling in IRL games. Also the potion search makes it almost too easy to buy many of these (even though it's a bit of a trap); and this could be scary with other potion cost cards. I do like how the +buy contrasts the potion discard, as it encourages purchasing another potion (although maybe not).
Urmia: Too expensive. It's just a cantrip with mild variances that you have no control over (and that you at many times won't want to play). It's barely ever a lab; I'd see the potion bonus as simply replacing a dead card, and I wouldn't often want to buy it over silver. This would be a nice $2 card (even with the potion bonus).
I'll do more after I have a good morning's sleep.
