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[chwhite]

So, one of the sub rosa themes that a lot of us have noticed from Hinterlands is the re-emergence of Silver-based strategies.  Jack, Stables, Trader, Embassy, etc: all of these cards and more have made that most boring of cards both more interesting and important, pushing us beyond Beyond Silver.  So it comes as no surprise that Silver-based cards from earlier sets, which were once justly mocked for their inability to sustain the combos and chaining necessary to win against decks based around Prosperity, or Cornucopia, or really anything since Seaside, are getting a serious re-evaluation.

In short, I've been buying Bureaucrat a bunch these days.  Not all the time, not even half of the time, but way more often.  And it's been working out pretty well!  Here are some examples:

http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111121-235335-4c76ba4a.html

This is a pretty damn boring board, with no Villages, no trashing and the only other attack being Noble Brigand, so it's not surprising that some sort of BM is going to win.  I went heavy Oasis rather than Silver on the grounds that the B-crat would let me start greening faster, and I could just discard Victory cards to the Oasis while getting the 'crat back faster.  I ended up not greening as fast as I thought I would, and it ended up a tie.  This is probably the least impressive example here.


http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111121-221809-b72c7d8d.html

I'm not the only one who has rediscovered the power of the Bureaucrat, as Obi Wan Bonogi opens with one too!  The Bureaucrat was more useful for boosting my own economy, while the Fortune Teller (yes, I opened those two terminals and won) was more for the attack.  If you're lucky enough to draw the Fortune Teller the turn before the Bureaucrat, then it's a guaranteed hit, which is nice.  Loan was a complete dud, and it's also worth noting that this is a relatively bad board for Menagerie, and yet we both bought some and had it it a couple times.  I think Obi's 7 Menageries were overkill, but one or two was useful as a possible B-crat counter (mine hit twice), and it's not like you needed more Silver here. 


http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111116-162335-ef609a89.html

Even before Hinterlands, I still sometimes bought Bureaucrat as an enabler for hybrid Gardens strategies, which is pretty much what this game was.  I generally would only get a second Bureaucrat if Gardens or Dukes are around, and they were here, not worth rushing but great as cheap Duchies.  Horn of Plenty was also good support, picking up stuff like Gold and Gardens.  Also worth noting: Oracle's pretty good with money too.


http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111116-123304-8afe13dc.html

Who says Bureaucrat can't be used in engine decks?  This is probably my best example, as both the attack and Silver gain are REALLY USEFUL in Chapel games: it forces your opponent to trash slower, and lets you build your economy faster, junking Coppers with impunity and buying engine parts instead of money.  And, of course, Border Village/Rabble is exactly the sort of engine that improves Bureaucrat's attack!

[DG]

I think in one of the recent league games someone reportedly joked "why don't we let the simulator play this?" after playing out a simple tactician/bank/treasure deck. In fact, if they'd asked the simulator it would have said "buy a bureaucrat".

[olneyce]

Who says Bureaucrat can't be used in engine decks?  This is probably my best example, as both the attack and Silver gain are REALLY USEFUL in Chapel games: it forces your opponent to trash slower, and lets you build your economy faster, junking Coppers with impunity and buying engine parts instead of money.  And, of course, Border Village/Rabble is exactly the sort of engine that improves Bureaucrat's attack!

I read this description and thought 'yeah, I had a game very similar to that.'  Turns out I had exactly that game.  It was pretty terrible.  The Bureaucrat basically shut me down.

[Jorbles]

Who says Bureaucrat can't be used in engine decks?  This is probably my best example, as both the attack and Silver gain are REALLY USEFUL in Chapel games: it forces your opponent to trash slower, and lets you build your economy faster, junking Coppers with impunity and buying engine parts instead of money.  And, of course, Border Village/Rabble is exactly the sort of engine that improves Bureaucrat's attack!

I read this description and thought 'yeah, I had a game very similar to that.'  Turns out I had exactly that game.  It was pretty terrible.  The Bureaucrat basically shut me down.

That game is actually an incredible example of when to use a bureaucrat. I'm going to have to start looking at boards closer when Bureaucrat is out, I usually just treat Bureaucrat boards as 9 card kingdoms, but I'm definitely going to think it through a bit more now.