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[svenisntb]

What are some of the worst cards in dominion? Thief and Scout famously, but there are others. I was thinking about these worst cards and realized that there is nothing wrong with the mechanic, they could be interesting to play with, but they are just so bad it is almost never worth it.

Can we tweak them slightly though? Keep the majority of the card the same, but change it slightly so it can actually be good?

Scout+ $4 ACTION - VICTORY
+1 Action
Reveal the top 4 cards of your deck. Put the revealed Victory cards into your hand. Put the other cards on top of your deck in any order.
1VP

Thief+ $4 ACTION - ATTACK
+2 Cards
Each other player reveals the top 2 cards of his deck. If they revealed any Treasure cards, they trash one of them that you choose. You may gain any or all of these trashed cards. They discard the other revealed cards.

Pearl Diver+ $2 ACTION
+1 Card
+1 Action
Look at the bottom card of your deck. You may put it on top or discard it.

The Scout+ self synergizes and is worth 1VP. I was thinking of making it ACTION - VICTORY worth 0VP, but I think it would actually still be too bad most of the time. As it is, Scout+ still can't draw anything useful most of the time, but it does increase your handsize and sift your deck without being a terminal.

Thief+ is kind of an all in one BM enabler. Yes you still run across the problem of trashing your opponent's coppers, but if the engine is weak, or if Treasure is the payload, I think Thief + can be viable on it's own.

Pearl Diver+ actually lives up to it's name. You can actually hunt for that 1 card you need! With a normal pearl diver, you play it, move a silver to the top of your deck, play another one, leave the estate on the bottom and your next 3 pearl dives are nothing but useless cantrips. With Pearl Diver+ you discard the Estate and each subsequent Pearl Diver+ gives you a tangible benefit. Maybe this card is too strong actually, it is comparable to Spy minus the attack.

Next time I play dominion IRL I'm going to suggest we play these cards as their "+" counterparts. In the mean time, what are your thoughts? Any more cards you can think of that need an upgrade?

Last note, making cards that are unquestionably "strictly better" but still balanced is fun. It feels so scandalous.

[soulnet]

There is already a thread on "fixing" cards, and the topic has been mentioned several times. Your specific fix for Scout, in particular, was brought up many many times.

[svenisntb]

Bonus card, does not fit the "strictly better" theme, but I was thinking of other Thief variants.

Pickpocket $2 ACTION - ATTACK
+1 Card
+1 Action
Each other player reveals the top card of his deck. If they revealed any Treasure cards, they trash them. You gain all of these trashed cards. They discard the other revealed cards.

Advantage of this over Thief is that you can spam these and absolutely wipe someone out of Treasures. Disadvantage is that gaining the trashed coppers is mandatory. This card is certainly situational, but if the engine payload is Treasure, I think this card could become critical and winning the split could mean the game.

Also could lead to some of the strange decisions you have to make in games that have Possession. Do I trash down? Do I buy copper to clog his deck?

[svenisntb]

There is already a thread on "fixing" cards, and the topic has been mentioned several times. Your specific fix for Scout, in particular, was brought up many many times.

Well, darn, I looked through the first few pages of this subforum and didn't see a thread. I think the idea is interesting because it can be immediately helpful in the next IRL game of dominion I play. No printing off cards and explaining whole new concepts, just "hey guys, Scouts are worth 1VP today!"

[Jack Rudd]

Pearl Diver is gained in more than half the games where it is available. It is not a terrible card.

[Asper]

Pearl Diver is gained in more than half the games where it is available. It is not a terrible card.

It's not particularly useful most of the time, but it's nonterminal, handsize-neutral and available at a price point where the decision is often between Pearl Diver and nothing.

[pedroluchini]

Pearl Diver is the quintessential might-as-well card.

"I've got $2 and a spare buy. Might as well get a Pearl Diver."