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tripwire

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #25 on: January 24, 2017, 09:02:25 pm »
+3

I'll preface this by saying I love every expansion, and there aren't really any cards that make me upset. Some might be "blah" but I don't hate any of them.

1. Empires: This might be because it's brand new (I just got it this Christmas), but I am giddy about this expansion. I love alternative victory points and cards that encourage you to play in non-traditional ways, and Landmarks are this to the nth degree. This expansion also seems to encourage the people I play with to try a wider range of divergent strategies rather than just mirror each other. Finally some cards create new decisions: how long do I spin my wheels buying groundskeepers? Do I uncover the next card in this split pile? Will playing this gathering card help my opponent more than me? Etc.

2. Guilds/Cornucopia: I might even put Guilds here by itself, but combining it with Cornucopia makes it an easy number 2. I love coin tokens and Guilds has a bunch of cards that can do so many different things without having to list 40 different options on the card: (Herald, Stonemason, Butcher). I like Cornucopia for many of the reasons others have listed, and I even like Tournament, despite how swingy it can be.

3. Dark Ages: I just love how combo-y and bizarre this set can be. I even don't really mind the cards people love to hate here. Yes, urchin is almost a necessity, but it doesn't obsolete other decisions you make throughout the game. Rebuild can obsolete those decisions, but a Rebuild game is such a different way of playing dominion that I like it. Even in mirrors there can still be decisions, and beating rebuild with an engine or strong BM can feel great. Okay, maybe I would end up preferring the "or" version of Cultist, but I've never tried it.

4. Prosperity: This is the beginning of the solid expansions that I really like, but don't really get me crazy-excited when I think about them (just normal excited-for-dominion excited). What puts this above other expansions in this tier would be Colony/Platinum, victory tokens, and the additional non-attack interaction in the set (all even more reasons why I love Empires).

5. Hinterlands: Hinterlands is good. It doesn't really strike me one way or the other. Maybe the theme of on-buy/gain is a little too invisible? Or didn't seem as  innovative/mind-blowing as other expansions' themes? I really do like a lot of these cards, but they aren't the ones I think of when I think "OMG I love that card!" Okay, I do really like farmland.

6. Seaside: Durations are super cool, but I don't think the ones in Seaside really change the way you play that significantly; they're just good cards (Tactician is the stand-out from the set in this regard). The set also has a few duds such as Pirate Ship which is especially problematic because it can look so powerful to newbies. I'm especially disappointed by Embargo. It's such a cool idea that doesn't really seem worth it in practice. Also, it requires a bunch of tokens just for it. :(

7. Alchemy: I really want this to be higher. I think potions are a really cool idea, and I love a lot of these cards, but I do think I'd like some of these cards more with some tweaks (scrying pool without the spying, a limit of one turn for possession, maybe a +buy on Phil Stone?) That being said, all of them are cool enough that I'd miss them. Even the weak cards are still cool. Oh, transmute, how I wish you weren't bad. I think this is also hurt by being a small expansion. I'm in the camp of really wishing we could get an alchemy 2nd edition (bigger and tweaked), but I get why it makes no sense to do it. :'(

8. Adventures: I really think I should like this expansion more than I have so far. Events are a wonderful inclusion in the game, but now that Empires suggests they might be evergreen, this expansion is no longer artificially inflated by them. I play most often IRL, and still regularly introduce the game to new players. As a result, I find the various tokens in this expansion too fiddly. Even the reserves can feel a bit fiddly sometimes.

9. Intrigue: I really like cards that can play a variety of roles, but I generally don't like using choices to do that. I think it removes some of the moments of discovery or epiphany that this game creates. I do really like the high percentage of alternate victory cards in the set, it's just that since almost all other expansions have them too, they don't affect this expansion's rank that much.

I think my opinion on Intrigue will greatly improve with the second edition, though. Some of the removals were great: Saboteur just felt bad for everyone including the person who played it; Secret Chamber was weak, the reaction was really fiddly, and it's outshone by other discard for benefit cards; and Scout was both boring and weak. Additionally, I really love some of the new cards although I have very limited experience playing with them. Diplomat and Lurker especially.

10. Dominion: The base game serves its purpose really well: introducing the game with a bunch of simple and straightforward cards. I also love how a bunch of the cards train you to become better at deckbuilders just by existing. That being said, I think this is the only expansion I can become bored of playing. The range of different decks it enables seems more limited. It also included a lot of duds. This is remedied by the second edition, but the replacements are just as vanilla as the rest of the set. I get why that's the case; I just don't get excited about it.


I know 'to each his own' and all that, but it's just really hard for me to fathom how much effect the art has on how much people like cards or sets. For me, the art is nice to have, but it makes almost no difference on how much I like or dislike cards.

I agree for the most part. Disliking a card because of its art or theme seems bizarre to me. That said, good or fun art can make me like a card even more. I especially like the conventions and callbacks that have developed in Dominion art and names. Things like Scouting Party or how cards named after small animals (Rats/Magpie) tend to multiply and ghosts place cards back on the deck (I wish Wild Hunt was named differently as a result).
« Last Edit: January 24, 2017, 09:04:26 pm by tripwire »
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LibraryAdventurer

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #26 on: January 24, 2017, 10:13:43 pm »
0

I know 'to each his own' and all that, but it's just really hard for me to fathom how much effect the art has on how much people like cards or sets. For me, the art is nice to have, but it makes almost no difference on how much I like or dislike cards.

I agree for the most part. Disliking a card because of its art or theme seems bizarre to me. That said, good or fun art can make me like a card even more. I especially like the conventions and callbacks that have developed in Dominion art and names. Things like Scouting Party or how cards named after small animals (Rats/Magpie) tend to multiply and ghosts place cards back on the deck (I wish Wild Hunt was named differently as a result).
Yes. Card names and flavor I really do appreciate. It's just the art that I don't care about as much.

PS: The Wild Hunt are not typical ghosts. They might not even be ghosts as all, but fairies or demigods.

Hockey Mask

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #27 on: January 24, 2017, 10:37:15 pm »
+4

Picking my favorite Dominion expansion is like asking me which child is my favorite.


My son is an only child...Empires.
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McGarnacle

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #28 on: January 25, 2017, 07:34:11 am »
+1

Picking my favorite Dominion expansion is like asking me which child is my favorite.


My son is an only child...Empires.

And the answer is the same either way- the best-looking one.
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Polk5440

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #29 on: January 25, 2017, 09:35:41 am »
+2

1. Hinterlands
2. Intrigue (2nd ed)
3. Seaside

These three expansions are Dominion to me. When I play with friends (which is much less often than it used to be -- people are moving on) I now prefer to randomize among these three expansions (plus a few select cards from base Dominion). Intrigue 2nd edition removed what I disliked about Intrigue and made it even better.

4. Cornucopia
5. Guilds

Both of these small expansions have grown on me. Cornucopia because Tournament is no longer as much of an outlier when stacked against the new crazy from the recent few expansions. Guilds because I initially hated the idea of more tokens, but the cards are just so well implemented and so smooth to play. Coin tokens add enough to win me over. And Masterpiece is great! I love overpay.

6. Empires
7. Prosperity
8. Dark Ages
9. Dominion (2nd ed)

Pluses and minuses in each of these. The novelty of Colony/Platinum has worn off. I have grown to greatly dislike VP tokens and almost never play with them IRL. Dark Ages has some of my least favorite cards and I have cooled to the trashy theme. Dominion 2nd ed still doesnt have a ton of replay value alone. However, there are some great cards in each expansion.

10. Adventures

Gah. Just no. I greatly dislike the tokens, most of the events, and the Travellers. Only a handful of cards appeal to me. This expansion will likely never land on my shelf. I even avoided buying it on MF and would have avoided it on SiT if it wasn't packaged with Empires. 

11. Alchemy

If you've ever played this in person, you know how slow and generally not fun most of these cards are to play. Online it's better, but this is another expansion I have zero desire to own.
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MatthewCA

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #30 on: January 25, 2017, 10:01:34 am »
+1

Second, in multi-player games, pirate ship can be very effective. I know there isn't much love for it here. In a 3 player game against my brother and my wife, she managed to get her pirate ship up to +$7 by like turn 7, then ran away with the game.

Just to make sure, you guys are playing such that if a Pirate Ship trashes a treasure from 2 opponents, it still only goes up by 1 coin, right?

Yeah, we've been doing that wrong lol. I rescind my defense, that card is weak.
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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #31 on: January 26, 2017, 10:57:52 am »
0

I'd probably rate them in order of release (ascending), though Adventures might edge out Empires.
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Aleimon Thimble

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #32 on: January 27, 2017, 07:27:29 am »
+4

Alright let's do this.

1. Adventures: This expansion came out during the height of my Dominion enthusiasm (bordering on addiction), when I spent my free time reading all the pages on the Dominion Strategy Wiki, so it's only natural that it became my favorite. It contains a couple of very cool cards to build strong, exciting and original decks, including the Travellers, and it helps balancing engines and BM alike with Distant Lands and Port on one hand, and Treasure Trove and Gear on the other hand.

2. Prosperity: Colonies, in combination with those big expensive cards, make the game last longer, which is cool. I sometimes find that games on great engine boards end too quickly, when there's suddenly a half-empty Province pile while you're still busy building your awesome engine, and you didn't get all the satisfaction you need. Prosperity helps to get every ounce of satisfaction out of the Dominion experience, which is why I still love it so much even though it's one of the older expansions.

3. Guilds: After the top 2, there's a small gap, but Guilds is still really awesome even if it's small. It contains exciting cards such as Merchant Guild, Stonemason, Soothsayer (one of the few junkers I like) and of course my alltime favorite: Herald. Overpay and coin tokens are two amazing mechanics that really help to spice up the game.

4. Dark Ages: Even though there are relatively fewer cards I'm amazed by in this expansion, I really appreciate Dark Ages for the overall feel. It really is dark, and many of the cards are thematically medieval. Plus, Shelters are a cool twist on the otherwise bland starting deck, even though they could have been even more original.

5. Dominion (Base): Let's get the obvious downsides out of the way first: it's often not so interesting for advanced players by itself, and there are a ton of duds (that were removed in the second edition, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get my hands on one). Still, it deserves to be in the top half. For one thing, it introduced most of us to the Dominion world. But more importantly, it is a very helpful set to own if you're looking for simple cards. I personally don't own a Base set anymore (gave it to my ex when we were still dating), and sometimes I miss it when I want to introduce the game to new players. The 'first game' board is such an amazing setup for first-time players and really helps to kindle their enthusiasm. And if you want to test out a couple of new cards or combos you don't often play with, sometimes you want to put a vanilla Village or Smithy or Market in the kingdom. The Dominion universe couldn't exist without these simple ideas.

6. Hinterlands: Fairly middle of the road. It's still an amazing expansion, let's be honest - Dominion is just that great. But the others mentioned above are better. Moving on.

7. Empires: I haven't played with it a lot, but I don't think it's going to become one of my favorites. The main thing I have against it is that there are just too many concepts introduced, too many different ideas implemented, and too much deviation from the basics of Dominion. I don't think the Dominion world was ready for Landmarks AND Events AND VP tokens AND Debt tokens AND Durations AND split piles AND Gathering all in the same expansion. It's just a bit too much. Nevertheless, I don't want to criticize it too much, because some of these concepts by themselves (especially more cards with VP tokens and Landmarks - alternative ways for scoring, basically) are absolutely fantastic. And the expensive Debt cards - City Quarter, Royal Blacksmith and Overlord - are all very cool to play with despite the fact that I'm not too fond of the Debt mechanic. Basically, the immense diversity in Empires is kind of a two-edged sword.

8. Cornucopia: The versatility theme is okay and the individual cards are pretty cool, but it doesn't really feel like much of an actual full set, and that's not just because of its size (because Guilds and Alchemy have a way more pronounced identity).

9. Intrigue: It's fairly similar in both its upsides and downsides to base Dominion, but with both the upsides and the downsides less pronounced. The cards are not quite as vanilla and simple, but there also aren't quite as many obvious duds. In terms of being a base set, the actual Base set clearly wins, and in terms of being an expansion, most of the other expansions (except maybe the bottom two) win. In that sense, Intrigue is stuck in the middle - not bad for either, but compared to the rest, not amazing either.

10. Seaside: Yawn. It's okay, I guess? But it's rather boring. I wouldn't buy it.

11. Alchemy: I really don't mind the Potion concept at all. In fact, I think it's pretty cool. It's just that, like I've said in another topic recently, almost half of the cards in this set (5 or 6 out of 12) have a serious design flaw. So yeah, there's only one placement possible for Alchemy, even though the other cards are mostly very cool (I still love University, Golem, Apothecary and Apprentice).
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Hockey Mask

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #33 on: January 27, 2017, 04:07:04 pm »
+1

My opinion on Adventures would probably be higher if the quality was better.  I can live with the thin cards but my tokens are horrible.
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allanfieldhouse

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #34 on: January 28, 2017, 11:19:33 am »
+1

To everyone making lists, feel free to rank Base and Base (2nd Edition) separately. It would be really interesting to see a consensus of just how much people think the changes improved the sets.
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brokoli

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #35 on: January 28, 2017, 06:46:41 pm »
+1

I'm very surprised to see that there are many people on this forum that actually dislike some of the expansions. To me, all expansions are fun to play with, adds very cool cards and have only very few flaws.

That's how I rank today :

1- Cornucopia - I like basically all cards except Tournament (but still, I sometimes find pleasure in using the prizes in specific contexts) and Hunting party in IRL plays. Now that a lot of new expansions are released, my excitement about cornucopia diminished a little but I still feel a nostalgic love for this little expansion.

2- Adventures - I do not like everything in this set (I'm not too fond of travellers, not very excited by all events and I don't get why caravan guard is so pointlessly weird), but the things I like, I really like them. Reserve cards adds lot of very interesting tactical decisions to the game. Guide and Transmogrify are awesome. Lost arts, Pathfinding, Training and Seaway allows to reinvent the cards in a creative ways (and that's what made me love dominion : the creativity of the deck-building concept). And Swamp Hag and Haunted woods are very balanced and brillantly designed attack cards. So this set is really interesting.

3- Dark Ages - DA have very interesting kingdom cards that plays in very unique ways. I'm thinking about Procession, Rats, Fortress, Poor house, Death Cart, Rogue or Beggar… I'm very disappointed by Cultist, I think it could have been better designed, like, with no chaining effect I would be very happy. Using the ruins for only three cards is also disappointing. And the fact that every game with knights turns into knight battle… another disappointed. But overall, this set is very nice.

4- Empires - I'm still discovering this expansion, I haven't even tried all the cards yet. But Landmarks is the reason why I rank this expansion high. I love alternative ways to gain victory points. I think some of these landmarks could have been old simple alt vp cards (palace, tower) and I miss these alt-vp that creates so interesting assymetric games. But the interaction around VP added by some landmarks and gathering cards is very interesting as well and adds more hard decisions. I'm less convinced by the new kingdom cards, but as I said, it's still too new for me.

5- Hinterlands - I like how this set made Big Money better again, and more interesting to play. A lot of cards in this set involve very subtle tactical decisions. I particularly enjoy Tunnel and Develop.

6- Seaside - I find the duration cards introduced in this set very fun to play, especially tactician and Outpost. Overall I like a lot of cards in this set, for different reasons. Even the simplest cards like Bazaar or Warehouse.

7- Intrigue 1st and 2nd edition - Both Intrigue have a bunch of interesting cards. I always enjoy playing with Conspirator, Bridge, Baron, Mining Village, Duke, or… Coppersmith :( from the new edition cards, I like Mill, Replace, Diplomat and Lurker. These 4 could almost comfort me for the loss of coppersmith. Almost.

9- Guilds - I like a lot of the cards there, with no real preference. Coin tokens and overpay are nice concept that could have been used more, in a bigger expansion. Overpay especially is not very well used, it's just a small bonus for herald or doctor that rarely matters (and I really dislike the chance factor on doctor).

10- Prosperity - A cool set. My favorite cards are the $7 cost. I'm less excited by the rest and I dislike Mountebank and Goons because they are simply too strong and almost always worth it. And trade route is rarely more than just a weak trasher that sometimes provides money.

11- Dominion 2nd edition - Base game is fine, but I like expansions even more. Also, witch and chapel are too dominant but I'm ok with that, because new players won't necessarly see it and knowing that they are dominant don't make the game unintersting. The 2nd edition cards are fine as replacement for the 1st edition cards.

12- Alchemy - There are few problems about alchemy : the attack on scrying pool, the cost of familiar, the weakness of transmute and that's already 1/4 of the set. That's why I rank this expansion low, despite the funny cards.

13 - Dominion 1st edition - Because of the 6 duds replaced in the 2nd edition.
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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #36 on: January 28, 2017, 07:06:47 pm »
0

To everyone making lists, feel free to rank Base and Base (2nd Edition) separately. It would be really interesting to see a consensus of just how much people think the changes improved the sets.
Do you think there'd be anyone who thinks the original Base game was better?  I can see people missing some of the old cards, but probably everyone would agree that the 2nd edition is better when considering them separately.

allanfieldhouse

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Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« Reply #37 on: January 30, 2017, 03:42:59 pm »
0

To everyone making lists, feel free to rank Base and Base (2nd Edition) separately. It would be really interesting to see a consensus of just how much people think the changes improved the sets.
Do you think there'd be anyone who thinks the original Base game was better?  I can see people missing some of the old cards, but probably everyone would agree that the 2nd edition is better when considering them separately.

I actually hadn't even considered that someone might like 1st editions better.

I'm just more interested to see how much the changes have affected people's enjoyment of those sets. For example, the OP has Intrigue (2nd ed) listed as his favorite. Well, what was it before the changes? Was it only his fourth favorite expansion then?
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