I'm going to do a series covering all of the new Empires and 2nd Edition Dominion cards after playing with them quite a bit. First, I am going over every single Debt card in Empires, whether Events or Kingdom Cards. I have some possible insights to share. Think of this as a "post-initial impression" impression. I'm still forming my thoughts on these cards. If you also have any interesting tidbits with Debt cards or the power of them to add, I'd like to hear them.
Debt
First, let's talk about Debt itself, as a concept. Debt is a fascinating mechanic that buffs +Buy. Have an extra +Buy and only $1? You can take a Debt card right there, and your deck is much better for it. Any time there is a Debt Card and +buy, that is just another reason to go for engines over Big Money. Debt cards are Engine cards, with little to no exception. A lot of times, you'll see these high prices for Debt cards, and you'll just freak out. It's worth it to get these and go into debt. They improve your deck in the long run more than if you did not get them.
Engineer
In case nobody got the memo, all the Debt cards are really really good. Every single one of them. Even that Annex one. Engineer is no exception. Whenever you want Workshop, you want Engineer even more. It's pretty straight forward, but in case someone cannot conceptualize it, Engineer can gain two cards for you and then remove itself from your deck.
I can say it right now though: Engineer Gardens is probably not a 'thing'. Sure, you can get two Gardens with your last pop! Great! However, you cannot gain Engineers with your Engineers, so it's a lot slower than you would first expect. Not that Workshop Gardens is all that good anyways.
The games where Engineer really really shines are Herald-centric games, Ironmonger games, basically any great $4 cost you simply have to have. It's Woodcutter on steroids.
City Quarter
Think about how strong City Quarter is. Just think about it. City Quarter is stronger than that. It is a legitimate top 10 Kingdom Card for me. Yes, I'm serious. King's Court, Goons, Mountebank, Chapel, Cultist, Donate, Save, Bonfire, City Quarter. It belongs there. "But Seprix, it costs $8 Debt!" So? Just pay $4 now, and $4 later. Don't delude yourself into thinking it costs so much. The 8 is a lie. It's cheaper. In addition, the more City Quarters you add, the more your deck explodes, enabling you to pick up more of them per turn. It's incredible.
Do you want to know how good this card is? To sum it up bluntly,
IGNORE THIS CARD AND YOU LOSE. You'll just lose. And it won't be close. Always look for ways to incorporate City Quarter into your strategy. It enables awful awful engines and makes them insane. City Quarter encourages you to mass up on Action cards. Any engine you can build can be so much better with City Quarter. I cannot stress enough how insane this card is. Its King's Court levels of good. If you did not get that impression somehow, you know now.
Royal Blacksmith
Everyone likes to be down on Royal Blacksmith. I can understand that for certain. But think of it this way. Rather than thinking about all the Coppers you lose from your hand, think about this. It draws 5 Cards, pulls out all of the Victory Cards, the Action cards, every other kind of card but Copper, and puts that into your hand. With all that crap in your hand, you can draw the rest of the Coppers. It's not a problem for you. Aside from the cool combo of Counting House, it's really not a problem.
All that aside, do not delude yourself into thinking this is anything but an Engine card. Fool's Gold Blacksmith is a fine combo (and it works as long as you're not contested too much!), but that is an exception to a general rule: When you buy Royal Blacksmith, you need an Engine. You just do. The more Coppers you trash, the less you'll miss when drawing all those great cards.
Overall, Royal Blacksmith is probably the weakest Debt card, but that doesn't mean it is bad by any means. On the contrary, it is a very strong draw card that enables you to have more payload in your deck for your Villages over drawing power, simply by the pure size of the drawing. It's cheaper than Hunting Grounds.
Overlord
If City Quarter is the strongest Debt card, Overlord is the second strongest. It enables T2 bought Mountebanks, Cultists, Junk Dealers, Wharf, Upgrade, Sentry, and every insane opening combo you can think of. It's versatile. It doesn't care if you like chocolate or vanilla. It loves you all the same, and it will do anything costing up to $5 for you. Because you're that awesome.
Overlord is the most Kingdom dependent for certain, except maybe Royal Blacksmith. In a 9 Scout Kingdom, it's not going to win you any games. Anyone remember Band of Misfits, and how cool it seemed? Man, what a great card! And then you realized, it really sucks actually. Overlord is the fixed Band of Misfits you've always hoped and dreamed of. I promise. You won't be sorry. I don't want to say it is a Top 10 card though, and it really really is board dependent.
Triumph
One of the biggest problems now with all of these new VP Events and Gathering cards and all of these Landmarks is when to take them. The community has not figured it out yet, and either have I. I can guess that the same rules still apply. You don't green until later if it junks you, unless you're threatening a 3-pile. Greening before that is catastrophic. You stop building for a second. Your opponent can suddenly overtake you. Don't let all these shiny VP cards fool you into thinking otherwise.
That being said, think of this card as Alt-VP for gaining. You get 2 VP with a buy right there, because you gain an Estate and the VP with that gain. After that? Buy tons of Coppers, buy out the rest of the Estates to prevent your opponent from getting them, etc. My point is, don't buy this earlier, even when you have trashing, for example. It's not helping you build.
Donate
Best card in the game. There is no better card in Dominion. Everyone knew this coming in, and I can confirm it. Donate changes the game in the way Governor does, or Cultist does. It will make you re-imagine the entire concept of Dominion and building engines. There are so many ways, so many options, and I can tell you right now, I have barely scratched the surface of what this card can do. I don't know when best to buy it, or what to buy before getting it. There are so many question marks as to what is slightly better on any given board.
One tip though: Do not fear junking attacks. You can just Donate them away again. It's not a problem for you. You'll be so much thinner after your first Donate, and your average deck worth will have so much more value than before, even with all of that junk.
Annex
This is the Event no one understands. And I understand. I also understand why. Nobody knows how to play with Inn. Right now, go open Making Fun and play some Inn Cage Matches. Find out and learn when best to buy Inn. Seriously, go do it. It's a close approximation to how Annex works. Except Annex is even better.
Firstly, Annex gets you a Duchy. For free. Game ends, you've piled out but you have an extra buy left. Heck, buy Annex, grab a free 3VP! Who cares about Debt, the game is over.
Secondly, Annex is better than Inn. It helps your deck maintain consistency. You can put all of your cards except for your 4 Victory Cards and the Copper (the 5 you leave behind) and put the rest in your deck. Wow, you're guaranteed to win now. Again, who cares about Debt? Spend that $5 you were going to on Duchy anyways and buy Annex instead.
That being said, Inn has one thing that Annex does not. Inn is a village, and you want a Village. Annex is something you usually only get at the end game.
Wedding
And finally, Wedding. If you have a 4/3 opening, you will be very sad. If you have a 3/4 opening, you will be quite happy. Opening Gold is very very good. Skip Silver entirely. Who needs it? Open Steward/Gold. Now the question remains is this: Do you still open Gold on 4/3, skipping Action cards? Probably not, but it will depend on the board of course. Don't be afraid to look at a tactical Wedding buy. It gives +1 VP also, which is a bit cute. It might give you a leg up. It might not.
That is my post "initial impressions" impressions for Empires Debt cards. I hope you all got something out of this, and I'm looking forward to any insights you might have on these cards as well.
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Topic: Post Impressions Part 1: Debt Cards (Read 1187 times)