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Author Topic: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles  (Read 74010 times)

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Beyond Awesome

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #25 on: May 13, 2016, 02:50:59 pm »
+3

My favorite alt. vp card by far, and probably my favorite card from Empires.
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math

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #26 on: May 13, 2016, 02:53:22 pm »
0

There are lots of things that could mess up this strategy.  The biggest one is failing to get the King's Castle.  Your opponent will buy that even if they haven't bought a single Castle so far; it's +2 VP for them and -15 for you, which is more than a Province swing.  If they snagged one of the smaller Castles, it's even more.  If both players contest these, the one who gets the King's Castle will probably win.

This is an amazing pile.  I'm guessing it will take a while to learn how to play this properly.  You really want an engine so you can hit $10, but those Silvers and Gold will hurt a lot, not to mention the Victory cards themselves.
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Squidd

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #27 on: May 13, 2016, 02:54:40 pm »
+17

Just gonna launch a whole Crumbling Castle from my Catapult, no big deal.
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math

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #28 on: May 13, 2016, 02:55:51 pm »
+2

Just gonna launch a whole Crumbling Castle from my Catapult, no big deal.

And it gives you more Catapult fodder when you do!
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eHalcyon

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #29 on: May 13, 2016, 02:56:54 pm »
+1

Achievement idea!

Renovator: Remodel a Humble Castle all the way up to a King's Castle (without remodeling a Castle card into a non-Castle card or vice versa).
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faust

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #30 on: May 13, 2016, 03:04:13 pm »
0

I see....

Highgarden (Grand Castle), The Red Keep (Sprawling Castle), The Eyrie (Crumbling Castle), Harrenhal (Haunted Castle), Casterly Rock (King's Castle {Sprawling Castle and King's Castle should be renamed}) and Moat Cailin (Small Castle)

But where is Winterfell!?!

Crumbling Castle is clearly Nightwatch or Castle Black.
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dbclick

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #31 on: May 13, 2016, 03:09:33 pm »
+1

Ok, here's estimated breakdown using the unaccounted for remaining card art.

The breakdown should be as follows:

300 Cards:
  • 24 Kingdom card piles of 10 cards each, except for castles (12 cards), 5 are the 5/5 split piles
  • 21 Landmarks
  • 13 Events
  • 0 blank cards

Here's the art breakdown for all 76 pieces of card artwork:
  • 24 pieces of art in the kingdom piles (randomizer art).
  • 21 pieces of landmark card art
  • 13 on the events
  • 8 additional for the castles (non-randomizers)
  • 24 + 21 + 13 + 8 = 66 art, leaving 10 for the split piles (which take 2 additional each)
  • 24 + 21 + 13 + 8 + 10 = 76 art

Assuming I'm correct, that's
  • 16 unrevealed Landmarks
  • 10 unrevealed Events
  • 2 unrevealed Split piles (with the 2 cards in each)
  • 8 unrevealed regular Kingdom cards (1 card per pile)
  • 38 total unrevealed cards/landmarks/events (we've seen 32 so far)
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ced

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #32 on: May 13, 2016, 03:11:43 pm »
0

Wow, these are crazy. It's very difficult to know how to play these at a glance, with so many different things going on. On the other hand they're certainly not ignorable - they offer so much in terms of VP.

At a guess, I can see Opulent Castle being very important. If you have an engine that can draw a good chunk of your Castles/starting Estates, Opulent Castle will start giving +$6 or more, letting you easily buy the last three cards in the pile. There are a couple of ready-made ways to snipe the Opulent from your opponent - you can Haunted Castle them and buy it after their bad turn; or you can Small Castle into it.

If you are contested for Castles, I see Humble and Kings losting their lustre, especially with the two trashing Castles. I think the focus might shift towards building an engine then incorporating Opulent/Sprawling/Grand Castles for lots of money and VPs.
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Witherweaver

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #33 on: May 13, 2016, 03:14:43 pm »
+1

Hooray for keeping up the 'Haunted' theme.
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dmet

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #34 on: May 13, 2016, 03:22:45 pm »
+1

I see....

Highgarden (Grand Castle), The Red Keep (Sprawling Castle), The Eyrie (Crumbling Castle), Harrenhal (Haunted Castle), Casterly Rock (King's Castle {Sprawling Castle and King's Castle should be renamed}) and Moat Cailin (Small Castle)

But where is Winterfell!?!

The Haunted Castle is Minas Morgul and the Opulent Castle is Cinderella Castle
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pacovf

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #35 on: May 13, 2016, 03:30:56 pm »
+1

Well, this is one way to do the fabled Victory Card that counts itself. Cool! It's going to be hard to wrap your head around this. I wonder how often you want to keep them all.
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faust

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #36 on: May 13, 2016, 03:32:34 pm »
+7

Castles are a very nice VP source for Menagerie decks.
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GendoIkari

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #37 on: May 13, 2016, 03:37:24 pm »
+4

It's not until now that I noticed the running theme of dead/haunted things making you put cards onto your deck: Ghost Ship, Haunted Woods, now Haunted Castle. Bureaucrat doesn't quite fit...
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popsofctown

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #38 on: May 13, 2016, 03:38:23 pm »
0

Is it necessary to restrict Haunted Castle to "during your turn"?  I can't think of many ways to gain it other than during your turn.  An opponent's Amb-Haunted Castle, I guess, but that seems like a poor move anyway.  I guess it can be safe to Swindle somebody's Gold into Haunted Castle.  Is there some broken interaction I'm missing?  Future-proofing?

Grand Castle could have just said "and".

I am nitpicking the text because I don't know what to say about this pile.  Oh boy.

Saboteur.  Though he himself is not an issue, it makes a little sense to future proof for things like it.
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Witherweaver

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #39 on: May 13, 2016, 03:38:30 pm »
+18

It's not until now that I noticed the running theme of dead/haunted things making you put cards onto your deck: Ghost Ship, Haunted Woods, now Haunted Castle. Bureaucrat doesn't quite fit...

They're dead inside.
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popsofctown

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #40 on: May 13, 2016, 03:39:21 pm »
0

Haunted Castle seems kind of like too much of a no-brainer to buy, more so than all the others.
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GendoIkari

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #41 on: May 13, 2016, 03:42:35 pm »
0

Buying all 8 Castles (2 player game) is worth 41 points, NOT counting the Duchy and the 1 vp for on-gain bonuses, or the variable vp for the other on-gain bonus. So just 1 point shy of all 8 Provinces, and way less total cost ($52 instead of $64, plus you only need to hit $8+ 3 times).
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Awaclus

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #42 on: May 13, 2016, 03:44:40 pm »
0

Haunted Castle seems kind of like too much of a no-brainer to buy, more so than all the others.

Well duh, ghosts don't have brains so it's just fitting for Haunted Castle to be a no-brainer.

Maybe the "not having brains" part is what the other topdecking attacks share in common with Bureaucrat. It's quite fittingly also a no-brainer to go for, after all, it's one of the strongest cards in all of Dominion.
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pinkymadigan

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #43 on: May 13, 2016, 03:48:21 pm »
0

The Haunted Castle, to me, looks like a cross between the older Castlevania castles and the King's Quest II Dracula's castle.

So I'm pretty sure there's a vampire inside.

Named Dracula.
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Archetype

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #44 on: May 13, 2016, 03:59:53 pm »
0

Having Wolf Den in a kingdom makes Castles much less attractive. Pairing them with other cards that like variety (Menagerie, Fairgrounds, etc.) would make for an interesting setup.
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Elestan

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #45 on: May 13, 2016, 04:04:00 pm »
0

Buying all 8 Castles (2 player game) is worth 41 points, NOT counting the Duchy and the 1 vp for on-gain bonuses, or the variable vp for the other on-gain bonus. So just 1 point shy of all 8 Provinces, and way less total cost ($52 instead of $64, plus you only need to hit $8+ 3 times).

Yes, but you're taking the risk that you won't get all of the Castles.  If your opponent snipes just the King's Castle, then you've paid $42 for 24 VP (plus bonuses) in seven cards, which is not nearly as compelling.

Castles really shine in 3P, though; there are a lot more points up for grabs.
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Witherweaver

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #46 on: May 13, 2016, 04:05:54 pm »
+7

Disappointed there is no Swamp Castle.  Or a Howl's Moving Castle.
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Witherweaver

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #47 on: May 13, 2016, 04:07:25 pm »
0

Maybe the bidding card is a Real Estate Auction Event, which let's you bid on Castles~
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xyz123

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #48 on: May 13, 2016, 04:14:37 pm »
+1

I can think of one (albeit very specific) scenario where Haunted Castle could cause a problem with you gaining it on your opponents turn. Your opponent plays Governer and selects the remodel option. They trash a Cultist to gain a 7 cost card. You trash a 5 cost card and gain Haunted Castle.

If your opponent has 5 or more cards in their hand they have two instructions that contradict each other.
- Draw 3 cards
- Put 2 cards from their hand on top of their deck.
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Beyond Awesome

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Re: Empires Bonus Preview #5: Castles
« Reply #49 on: May 13, 2016, 04:20:32 pm »
+1

Well, this is one way to do the fabled Victory Card that counts itself. Cool! It's going to be hard to wrap your head around this. I wonder how often you want to keep them all.

Castle-mon! Gotta collect em all.
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