Reflections and lessons learned on $4 cards.
(see my comments on the $1-$2 cards for my process of analyzing my rankings versus the new 2014 consensus rankings)
http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10578.msg368900#msg368900The $4 cards for me were a real eye-opener in how different my rankings were than the new 2014 rankings. I had more deviation in the $4 cards than I did in the $1-$2 or $3, or even the $5 cards as of today. I’m still trying to digest this, but I’m thinking it may indicate I have a bit to learn on priorities of buys for early to mid game cards. In some cases though I think I just had a hard time ranking the $4 cards appropriately.
My top 3 most overrated cards were:
Taxman - I had it in the middle of the pack. On further consideration it belongs lower, but I think it is better than #45.
Death Cart - Yeah…I probably overrated it, and those ruins are bad, but sometimes the quick $5 spend is just so helpful…
Walled Village - Again I probably overrated it a few spots, but I still see all of the villages as enablers which are critical to making the engines work since a terminal draw without a village is an engine stopper.
My top 3 most underrated cards were:
Monument - A real surprise to me as I like the card, and use it a lot as an opener on a 4/3 draw. I just felt there were some other stronger cards in mid to late game. I would probably change my ranking on this if I were to do it again.
Ironworks - Another card I buy a lot…just a matter of how I ranked them.
Quarry - I have played a lot of Prosperity since it is one of the 4 sets I own IRL. I certainly have used it a lot, but just didn’t consider it quite as much of a game changer as some of the other cards, but perhaps I need to reconsider.
After review, I decided my most underutilized $4 cards were:
Wandering Minstrel - Wow have I changed my mind on that!! So much so that I just adopted it for my profile picture (more appropriate to my ID I think ; ) I simply had not explored its potential enough after a couple games where it bypassed golds or platinums. Now I think of it as one of the real powerhouse engine cards. I would definitely rank it a lot higher now.
Scavenger - I’ve certainly used it, but probably not as often as I should have.
Procession - I still need to explore this card more. Just so hard to find a situation where I want to trash/upgrade an action card…or more likely I just need to get better at spotting the opportunities.
Where I still differ:
Sea Hag - A powerful card, but I just don’t see it at #1. I had it at #4 personally. Without an ability to trash or remodel it later, it too often becomes a dead card.
Young Witch - Likewise, a good card, but too often foiled by bane cards, and having to discard 2 cards is a pretty big penalty unless you are looking to do some sifting. Was not in my top 10.
Tournament - I love this card. Cornucopia is one of the IRL sets I own, and I have played a lot of it in 2, 3, and 4 person games. The prizes are just so much fun, and so powerful that they are often game changers. But…if you don’t quickly get to the first couple prizes, and your opponents get a few Provinces, they are often dead action cards. I may be biased from 4 player games where that happens a lot more often, but I don’t see Tournament at #2.
Jack of All Trades - This was my #1. I can see it might not deserve #1 since it can fade in later game, but it is just such a strong all-around opener and after-the-fact counter to attacks. Just a lot of fun to play, so it got my fun vote!
Caravan and Militia - probably deserve to be a few spots higher in my humble opinion. Oh…and Trader as well for both the silver generation when that is valuable, and for the reaction to turn curses into silvers.