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Topics - eHalcyon

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Dominion General Discussion / Vault vs CR vs Governor

« on: June 27, 2012, 11:56:15 pm »

I just played a game with Vault, CR and Governor. Both my opponent and I went straight for Governor (slight side trip with a couple of Monuments), splitting them 5/5, and I managed to win probably only due to a lucky draw and first player advantage that let me net the last two Provinces before my opponent could.

My question is if Governor is powerful enough that Vault and CR should be ignored. Note that Hamlet was also on the board, making CR chains possible. Is it worth losing the Governor split to also pick up Hamlet + CR? Maybe pick up an early CR so you can grab multiple Governors later with the +buy? With Governor around, you're sure to be flooded with Silver and Gold, so CR should have ample coin to spend. All the treasure also makes Vault a virtually guaranteed Province (since 2 Silver is just as good as 1 Gold). With Hamlet and CR in the mix, multi-province turns should be a breeze.

But is it fast enough to beat Governor? I still can't quite handle it so I can't tell when it isn't the dominant strategy.

Game Reports / Another Cautionary Tale

« on: June 21, 2012, 12:31:01 am »

I started playing on isotropic only a few days ago. Before this, I've only played in real life (with only Base and Intrigue) and on Androminion. All this to say -- I'm not very good.

Here's the game:

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201206/20/game-20120620-211310-0734ebc8.html

Governor and Goons are amazing together. Seeing those on the board, I open Silver/Silver to get them as quickly as possible. The problem -- I somehow didn't notice Ambassador there. Opponent opens Amb/Amb. OOPS. I could have opened Amb second but I figured I was going to lose the war anyway. On turn 3 I got 7 coin so I bought Forge, thinking that I could later use Governor to draw all the crap I was receiving and then Forge it all away. Never happened.

I won the Governor split and lost the City split. My opponent's engine was in excellent shape. Unfortunately, he failed to notice how close we were to 3-piling. On the last turn I use Governor to draw everything I can, managing to play 2 Cities and a Goons for enough buys to finish off the Estates (with lots of extra coin to spare).

My opponent could actually have won on the turn before me by buying the 3 remaining Estates. I was at 18 points. Buying the 3 Estates instead of engine components would have put him at 19.

Lessons: Look over the whole board before you start. Take the win when you can.

Can anyone offer insights on the proper way to play this board? Ambassador to start of course, but what do you prioritize between Governor, City and Goons? I'm thinking 1-2 Goons first, then as many Governors as possible, with maybe 1 or 2 Cities on the way. But if Governors are almost out, is it better to grab Cities instead?

Would a regular Governor Gold->Province strategy outrace Goons?

Puzzles and Challenges / Rigged

« on: June 20, 2012, 06:14:21 pm »

I think this is a fairly simple puzzle, but I wanted to post it anyway. The puzzle name is pretty bad. Couldn't think of a good one without giving too much away.

In a solitaire game, you have only a single non-drawing Action card in hand at the start of your turn. No Possession, no durations, nothing on mats. You have not yet purchased any VP cards, and no more than 2 copies of any other card. Starting from this turn, what is the minimum number of turns you need to pile drive Provinces?

Hard Mode: do not assume perfect shuffle luck.

My solution takes 2 turns, including the current one. Feel free to post anything that takes longer, or something that is faster if you can manage it.

If I can throw in an extra duration (from the previous turn), my solution can be pumped up to work for Colonies. How? If you use Caravan or Wharf, Hard Mode still applies to the draw. You can only choose your starting 5 cards.

Puzzles and Challenges / Catching Up

« on: June 12, 2012, 10:01:20 pm »

Your opponent just bought a Province and reshuffled (how did they get that HP stack so fast?!). Meanwhile, the most expensive card in your deck is a single $3 action (note: this means you have no silver, though you do have free reign on all the $2 cards though).

On your turn, you gain two Gold and a province without changing the state of your deck (draw pile). What did you play?

Edit:

Hard mode: No durations, nothing on mats, you never have more than 5 cards in hand.

Extra Hard Mode: You may not trigger a reshuffle.

There are some hints in replies #3 and #11. The intended solution has 2 copies of a certain card and only 1 of anything else.

Variants and Fan Cards / Card Name Ideas

« on: June 01, 2012, 09:10:54 pm »

While Dominion is not the most cohesive when it comes to flavour (especially in the base game), the names are all generally medieval-sounding. I thought it might be nice for fan-card makers to have a repository of names they can draw on. I'll start:

Locations (good for alt VPs, among other things):

Enchanted Forest, Orchard, Battlefield, Grotto, Dungeons, Windmill, Fountain, Castle, Palace, Chateau, Citadel, Manor, Burial Chamber, Cloister, Sanctuary, Monastery, Convent, Satrapy, Observatory, Harbour, Pier, Lumber Yard, Shipyard, Greenhouse, Aqueduct, Cove

People:

Vagabond, ~~Mercenary~~, Infantry, Cavalry, Itinerant Knight, Troubadour, Minstrel, Bard, Druid, Magus, Abbot, Vicar, Friar, Cardinal, Royal Guard, Herald, Harbinger, Artificer, Courtier, Gaoler, Surveyor, Shipwright, Pilgrim, Outcast

Objects:

Totem, Signet Ring, Chalice, Goblet, Chariot, Almanac, Topiary, Sundial

Villages:

Metropolis, Ghost Town

Variants and Fan Cards / Catacomb (Reaction idea)

« on: May 25, 2012, 01:26:22 am »

$5 Catacomb - Action-Reaction

+1 Card, +1 Action

Discard any number of cards. +1 Card per card discarded.

----

When you discard this other than during a Clean-up phase, you may reveal it and set it aside. In your next Buy phase, +$2 and move this to your discard pile.

==============================

The reaction is the main idea here. It's something that combos nicely with cards that discard, e.g. Warehouse, Cellar, Secret Chamber, vault. It makes double-Tactician much easier. It also counters discard attacks. Any thoughts on this?

I'm not sure about the main portion of the card. The above is an improved Cellar, much like Vault is an improved Secret Chamber. It means that it can trigger itself. Other options including turning it into a Victory-Reaction like Tunnel or making it into another Silver-with-Bonus.

Variants and Fan Cards / Interaction Idea: Shared Tokens

« on: May 18, 2012, 07:14:29 pm »

Since many people seem to be posting card ideas today, here's something...

The concept is that these cards use a shared token system, giving them a natural synergy. I am sure that there are many different things you could do with such a system; these are just a few ideas. I haven't play-tested them (don't have a regular group to play with) but would love feedback and suggestions.

========================================

Relic -- Treasure
Cost: $5

$1. +1 Relic token. When you play this, you may give up any number of Relic tokens for +$1 each.

Details: Relic is always worth $2 if desired, since it provides a Relic token when played. Its main power comes from the flexibility provided via the tokens; you can save up coin for the future. The power is compounded if there are other cards around that use Relic tokens.

========================================

Abbot -- Action
Cost: $4

+1 Relic token.

Trash a card from your hand. Gain Relic tokens equal to half its cost in coins, rounded down.

When this is in the Kingdom, at the start of your turn you may give up any number of Relic tokens. +1 Card for each token given up.

Details: This card introduces a persistent effect that all players may use so long as you have Relic tokens available. The card drawing power does not cost an action. I think this may be buggy with Black Market!

========================================

Abbey -- Action
Cost: $6

Choose one: Trash any number of your cards from your hand and gain that number of Relic tokens; or give up any number of Relic tokens and choose one for each token lost (you may choose the same thing multiple times): +2 Cards, +2 Actions, +1 Buy, +$2.

Details: This is probably too powerful due to the massive flexibility, but it is offset (at least on its own) by the heavy cost of gaining those tokens. It does function as a super-chapel in this manner, but you can't buy it as an opener so it's not as effect a deck-thinner. Also... lots of AP, probably.

========================================

I originally had an alternate VP card named "Reliquary" that was almost identical to the recently posted Tower card. But thinking more on it, I don't think such a card would play well with a shared token mat.

Having such a VP card disincentivizes using the tokens for bonuses with the other cards. Similarly, having the other cards available to gain even more tokens discourages a player from trying to end the game as opposed to accumulating more and more points.

Any suggestions on another way to do token-based VP?

Variants and Fan Cards / Individual Kingdoms

« on: April 18, 2012, 11:25:53 pm »

How would the game change if each player played with a separate Kingdom (i.e. different 10 cards each)? Is there a way to make this balanced? Maybe through a veto mode?

Even funkier: each player drafts their own kingdom. You can set up your strategy, but as it is revealed your opponent can draft counters. For this, I'd say that a player can draft something that the other has already drafted; that card would be played like in a normal game (this would be more difficult to work out with more than 2 players).

How ridiculous is the game now?

Dominion General Discussion / Confusing Kingdom...

« on: March 03, 2012, 01:57:03 am »

Ran into this on Androminion and did not really know what to do:

Cellar (Bane), Haven, Young Witch, Silk Road, Duke, Hunting Party, Wharf, Vault, Tactician, Border Village, Expand

with Colony and Platinum

With both Cellar and Vault on the board, neither curses nor excessive greening should hurt that much. Cellar being the bane card is an added bonus. Is it even worth it to pick up Young Witch?

The board just makes me want to rush Silk Road with Duchy and Duke... but I have no idea if that's a good move. And then, I'm not sure of proper support... Vault looks good, but Wharf is tempting too. Maybe there's something that can be done with Tactician, or double-Tactician? Would Border Village be a better buy over Gold?

This kingdom leaves me so confused. Against the Androminion AI there's no problem, but against another person... dunno. Insights?

Variants and Fan Cards / Highly Strategic Card Ideas: Ivory Tower and Armory

« on: February 28, 2012, 11:55:56 pm »

So I have a lot of ideas for new fan cards, some are really simple and some really complex. I prefer the latter, and I thought I'd share two of them here. Unfortunately, I cannot really playtest these cards since my friends and I don't have much time to get together to play IRL, and even then we only have the base set and Intrigue. I'd love to get some feedback, and would be thrilled if some groups could test these ideas out.

======================================

Ivory Tower -- Action - Reaction
Cost: $5

+1 Action.

Choose one: +1 Card, reveal one Action or Treasure card from your hand and set it aside face down on your Ivory Tower mat; or put up to two cards from your mat into your hand. You may look at the cards on your mat at any time; return them to your deck at the end of the game.
________________
When you gain a card that is not a Victory card, you may reveal this from your hand. If you do, you may put that card face down on your mat.

Details:
- A variation on Native Village that makes it less luck-based.
- Restricting the action to Action and Treasure cards prevents players from using Ivory Tower as an unlimited Island for Victory and Curse cards.
- The reaction, on the other hand, can potentially help keep Curses out of your deck. It also provides another way to add useful cards to the mat.

======================================

Armory -- Action - Treasure
Cost: $7

Choose one: Play this as a Treasure worth $2, you may set aside one Action or Treasure card you buy this turn face up on your Armory mat; or, play this as if it were one of the cards on your Armory mat.

Return cards on your mat to your deck at the end of the game.

Details:
- You can play this as an Action or as a Treasure, but not both.
- If you have multiple Armories in hand, you can play each as something different, or all as the same thing. Each choice is separate.
- You can Throne Room/King's Court an Armory and play it as any two/three cards on the Armory mat, but in this case each choice must be an Action. If there are no Action cards on the Armory mat, it does nothing (though it can still be used with TR/KC since it is still marked as an Action card).
- If revealed by Golem it must be played as an Action. If there are no Action cards on the Armory mat, it does nothing.
- The card type of "Action - Treasure" adds new interaction with cards like Tribute and Ironworks (though you'd need some Bridges or Highways for the latter).
- Since it is a Treasure card, it is vulnerable to some attack cards like Thief and Pirate Ship.

======================================

Does the control provided by Ivory Tower warrant a higher cost? It would certainly make Treasure Maps really easy to trigger.

Does Armory seem too powerful? I figure that it has a lot of potential for pulling together cards for amazing combos, but the cost to set it up is quite high.

There are many ways these concepts could be tweaked to simplify them but I rather like them as they are here.

Dominion General Discussion / What to Prioritize?

« on: February 23, 2012, 01:47:27 am »

I don't really have much time to play on isotropic (and when I do, it's just with friends) but I tend to spend spare minutes zipping through games on Androminion. I'm still fairly amateur but I feel like I know enough to come up with a decent plan on most boards, if one exists.

Playing on Androminion, I ran into a set where I really didn't know what to prioritize:

Scrying Pool, Philosopher's Stone, Familiar, Swindler, Tunnel, Tournament, Margrave, Library, Venture, Adventurer

Library doesn't seem all that great to me here. It would sort of counter Margrave, but the only source of +Actions is Trusty Steed so you can't turn it into an engine. Similarly, I don't really like Swindler here because I feel Margrave and Adventurer are both better to have as terminals.

Venture and Adventurer looks like a really fun combo, and Tunnel looks really attractive due to Margrave, Venture and Adventurer; it could actually end up a fairly consistent source of Gold. Throw in Philo Stone and there is a very real chance of double Province turns. Margrave would be the main source of +Buy but it's terminal. There is also Princess, where the price reduction effect would make those big money turns even sweeter.

Since I think this is more of a Money kind of board, Scrying Pool doesn't seem all that great. I still want the Potion though, because Familiar will be important and Philo Stone can be great later on. If I'm unfortunate enough to hit 2p instead of 3p, Scrying Pool is an alright consolation prize since it helps power up Philo Stone and it is a cantrip at worst.

All that said though -- I have no idea what to prioritize. On a 4/3 split, Potion/Silver? Would Swindler actually be a decent opening? I can see Swindler being useful to turn Coppers into Curses even before someone gets Familiar, and also potentially changing Familiar to Philo Stone early (and back again late, when Curses are out). I still think Silver is better though.

On 3, Tunnel or Silver? I suppose there's no point grabbing a Tunnel until the opponent picks up a Margrave or you have an Adventurer or Venture.

On 5, should you take Margrave or Venture? One Margrave and then Ventures after that? Two Margraves?

On 6, Gold or Adventurer?

How many Familiars should be bought and when should I switch over to Philo Stone?

Given the synergy between Adventurer and Venture, and the fact that Philo Stone can be worth much more than Gold, is there a point when you'd rather not reveal Tunnel for Gold?

And finally, when you manage to align Tournament with a Province, would you prefer Princess or Trusty Steed? Or Maybe even Bag of Gold to get more cards in the discard for Philo Stone, and to top-deck Gold for Aventurer/Venture? I believe Diadem would be useless given lack of +Actions cards, and Followers would be redundant with Familiar and Margrave.

A lot of questions, I know, but I'd be really interested in insights.

Thanks!