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Author Topic: Allies Preview 1: Allies  (Read 20171 times)

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Donald X.

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Allies Preview 1: Allies
« on: February 28, 2022, 03:00:10 am »
+28

I was working on lots of new games in 2019. And going to restaurants, and walking down the sidewalk within 6 feet of strangers, without a care in the world. The pandemic hit and everything stopped. It turns out I cannot get much work done on games that are never played. Then I started playing Dominion with Dame Natalie in 2020, and well now there's an expansion coming out. It's a lesson for us all. Allies feels to me like "more Dominion" more than most sets; there are a lot of cards that could go in any set. Part of that is how it came to be; I just made a bunch of cards. But it does have some mechanics, and I'm leading with Allies themselves.

Allies are landscape cards that tell you how a Favor token can be used. Favor tokens are produced by Liaisons. In games with a Liaison, you put out a single Ally (even with multiple Liaisons), and well that's that, it tells you what the token does. There are 23 Allies, in their own separate deck, which is like having 23 new kinds of tokens. Only we use coin tokens for all of them, and put them on a mat. Here are some Liaisons, out of the 9 total in the set:



Underling is as straightforward as they get; it's a cantrip that gives you a Favor token. If you want a bunch of Favor tokens, Underling is there for you. Bauble is the Treasure version of Pawn you never knew you wanted. The last option is that whole bit about getting to topdeck cards; you can pick any two options and that's one of them. And one of them is a Favor. And then Broker is the combination Apprentice / Salvager / other things that you never knew you wanted. It can make a lot of Favors at once when you want that.

Well that's all well and good, but what are the Allies like? Here are five of them:



So let's say the game has Underling in it. You turn over an Ally, it's Cave Dwellers. This game, you can get Favors with Underlings, and you can use them to discard/draw repeatedly at the start of your turn. That's all there is to it. No wait, there's one more thing: you start the game with a Favor token. So if you never get a Liaison, you still get to do a little something. Except with Allies that cost more than one Favor to do anything.

Cave Dwellers lets you filter; Coastal Haven saves cards for next turn; Peaceful Cult trashes. Those are all pretty simple. Plateau Shepherds is like a Landmark, it lets you score for having a bunch of $2's, but you need to pair them with Favors. And then League of Bankers doesn't let you spend Favors; you just amass them, and get +$ each turn based on how many you have.

Cards will be playable online at dominion.games (maybe not exactly when this is posted, but soon afterwards; take your time to savor these words and it will all work out), in the same way we've done for the last few expansions. Three kingdom cards, that's not enough, let's have two more.



Hunter is a Lab that gets you a varying number of cards, based on type. Skirmisher Militias people, but only when more attacks are coming in. Which of course can just be more Skirmishers, or some other attack.

So there's a preview, and there will be more previews (with cards playable online) through Friday.
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mxdata

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2022, 04:11:01 am »
0

Out of curiosity, why did you make the limit of one Ally a hard rule rather than recommendation? It's not a complaint (indeed, I feel like the limit of one way and two total landscapes should also have been hard limits)

Initial thoughts on these: Favors certainly add a new dimension to the game! I just played a game with Plateau Shepherd + Underling + Pawn and Moat, and that was certainly an interesting one, having Pawn and Moat be effectively worth 2 VP! In retrospect, I should've bought more Underlings, because I ended up with more total $2 cards than Favors. That's something to keep in mind when playing with that Ally. If there's no other $2 cards, it makes Estate-trashing considerably less attractive, since in that scenario they're effectively Duchies!

Hunter wouldn't work very well with Night cards (other than Werewolf, of course). I'm assuming that with dual-type cards, you can use a card for either of its types? E.g., if one of the revealed cards is a Mill, I assume you could put it into your hand as either an Action card (and put another Victory card into your hand) or as a Victory card (and put another Action card into your hand)? And if you revealed two Mills, you could put one in your hand as an Action card and the other as a Victory card?
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-Stef-

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2022, 04:24:11 am »
+4

I'm assuming that with dual-type cards, you can use a card for either of its types? E.g., if one of the revealed cards is a Mill, I assume you could put it into your hand as either an Action card (and put another Victory card into your hand) or as a Victory card (and put another Action card into your hand)? And if you revealed two Mills, you could put one in your hand as an Action card and the other as a Victory card?

Yes, correct. It gets simpler in your mind if you do it one by one instead of all at once. The first thing you do is put an Action in hand. Any Action Card will do, so a Mill or a Crown is just as valid as a Village. Then a Treasure, and finally a Victory card.
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railmc

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2022, 05:25:51 am »
+2

Just played and the new mechanic is sooo much fun. Thanks a lot!

Can't wait to play all of them
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mxdata

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2022, 05:33:56 am »
+1

League of Bankers can really snowball! Especially in games with +buy, it can get insane! The one game I've played with it, I was getting +$10 from it by the end of the game!
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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2022, 05:50:42 am »
0

yeeeeah preview season....
I like the design of the allies. Coastal Haven i love you!

I would be interested in why Hunter doens't consider Night cards.
I know there are not many of them but i planned to use Allys in the same cardpool as Nocturne cards ;)
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Davio

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2022, 06:14:57 am »
0

Previews are available on dominion.games, just go to the match page and click on "preview vs bot".
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mxdata

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2022, 06:19:47 am »
0

yeeeeah preview season....
I like the design of the allies. Coastal Haven i love you!

I would be interested in why Hunter doens't consider Night cards.
I know there are not many of them but i planned to use Allys in the same cardpool as Nocturne cards ;)

Most likely because they're in different expansions, unless it turns out that there's some Night cards in Allies, which I doubt will be the case. Actually, even in Nocturne, there aren't any cards that refer to Night cards. Same reason there are no cards outside of Alchemy that refer to Potion costs
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Davio

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2022, 06:24:28 am »
+1

yeeeeah preview season....
I like the design of the allies. Coastal Haven i love you!

I would be interested in why Hunter doens't consider Night cards.
I know there are not many of them but i planned to use Allys in the same cardpool as Nocturne cards ;)

Most likely because they're in different expansions, unless it turns out that there's some Night cards in Allies, which I doubt will be the case. Actually, even in Nocturne, there aren't any cards that refer to Night cards. Same reason there are no cards outside of Alchemy that refer to Potion costs
Well there are some night cards which are also Action cards, like Werewolf, so that's still a valid target.

Coastal Haven says "you still draw 5", which I think means exactly what it says? Draw 5? So if you pay to keep 1 Gold in your hand instead of discarding it, after clean-up you draw 5 and now have 6 cards in hand?
And I would assume the effect stacks with the Flag, so if you pay 1 favor and have the Flag, you would simply end up with 7 cards (1 kept, 5 drawn normally and 1 drawn from having the flag).

I like Bauble because in some games, a single +Buy goes a long long way to making an engine viable.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2022, 06:27:48 am by Davio »
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mxdata

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2022, 06:28:59 am »
0

yeeeeah preview season....
I like the design of the allies. Coastal Haven i love you!

I would be interested in why Hunter doens't consider Night cards.
I know there are not many of them but i planned to use Allys in the same cardpool as Nocturne cards ;)

Most likely because they're in different expansions, unless it turns out that there's some Night cards in Allies, which I doubt will be the case. Actually, even in Nocturne, there aren't any cards that refer to Night cards. Same reason there are no cards outside of Alchemy that refer to Potion costs
Well there are some night cards which are also Action cards, like Werewolf, so that's still a valid target.
Werewolf's the only Night - Action card, all the rest would get discarded by Hunter

Quote
Coastal Haven says "you still draw 5", which I think means exactly what it says? Draw 5? So if you pay to keep 1 Gold in your hand instead of discarding it, after clean-up you draw 5 and now have 6 cards in hand?
And I would assume the effect stacks with the Flag, so if you pay 1 favor and have the Flag, you would simply end up with 7 cards (1 kept, 5 drawn normally and 1 drawn from having the flag).

Yeah, that's how it works on Dominion Online, and it makes sense that way. So it's basically similar to Save, except you use Favors instead of coins, and you're not limited to one card
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mxdata

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2022, 06:35:55 am »
0

I really like how, with the fact that you start with 1 Favor, some of these Allies make certain openings more likely. Cave Dwellers increases the probability of having a $5 opening, for example, by choosing to discard your Estate when you have 4 coppers + 1 Estate, and Coastal Haven can turn a 3/4 opening into a 2/5, or a 2/5 into a 1/6! Or, conversely, if there's no good $5 cards, it can turn a 5/2 opening into a 4/3. And Peaceful Cult lets you trash one of your starting Estates on turn 1
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Joshua

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2022, 07:08:42 am »
+1

Will there be any bonus previews aswell?
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GendoIkari

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2022, 10:16:21 am »
+1

To clarify, in any game with a Liaison, each player starts with 1 Favor Token? Just making sure because it was only mentioned in the sample game, not as part of the regular Liaison rules.

Curious why Peaceful Cult is at the start of your buy phase (as opposed to the end of your turn start of clean-up, or even just at any time). Was it to specifically weaken it with Treasure-Liaisons? End of your turn would act very similarly to start of your buy phase, except for Treasure-Liaisons and various edge cases.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2022, 11:26:28 am by GendoIkari »
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octelium

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2022, 10:23:43 am »
0

At the start of your buy phase creates decisions with copper. Trash or spend....
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GendoIkari

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2022, 10:26:27 am »
+1

At the start of your buy phase creates decisions with copper. Trash or spend....

You'd still have that same decision with end of turn or at any time... you just don't play the coppers that you want to trash.
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octelium

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #15 on: February 28, 2022, 10:28:35 am »
0

Doh, true. ...
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LastFootnote

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #16 on: February 28, 2022, 11:03:38 am »
+1

"End of your turn" is after you've drawn a new hand of cards.
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GendoIkari

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #17 on: February 28, 2022, 11:25:44 am »
0

"End of your turn" is after you've drawn a new hand of cards.

Oops. Change my question to start of cleanup then.
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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #18 on: February 28, 2022, 11:36:54 am »
+1

wow i really like claus stephan's art. has he done other dominion cards?


also here's the checkoff sheet from the teaser as of day one

edit: yes, claus stephan's done a whole bunch of dominion cards; for some reason these ones looked different to me.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2022, 12:28:35 pm by spineflu »
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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #19 on: February 28, 2022, 11:40:41 am »
0

Coastal Haven says "when discarding", I guess this is really "when you would discard"? That is to say, you never discard the cards you want to keep, right? So a Tunnel Capital wouldn't trigger, for instance.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2022, 02:13:22 pm by Jeebus »
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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #20 on: February 28, 2022, 11:55:25 am »
+1

Coastal Haven says "when discarding", I guess this is really "when you would discard"? That is to say, you never discard the cards you want to keep, right? So a Tunnel wouldn't trigger, for instance.

Tunnel doesn't trigger during cleanup anyway, right?

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #21 on: February 28, 2022, 12:25:52 pm »
+20

Combos With Scout (RIP)


Underling: Scout's re-ordering ability here is key, because after Scout draws all your starting Estates, you might still have some Coppers (maybe a Silver or two) on top of your deck before the Underling. Now you can move the Underling to the top of your deck. Scout essentially does you a "favor" here. So it's not just a combo, it's a thematic combo.

Bauble: Forms an important three card combo with Scout and Villa. First, you buy a Victory card, then you top deck it with Bauble, then you buy Villa (make sure you chose the extra buy and top-decking options) to return to your action phase, then you play Scout and draw that victory card you just bought. And Bauble is still in play if you want to do this again with an additional Scout.

Broker: Competes with Scout at the same price, so you'll typically forgo this card until the Scout pile runs out.

Hunter: This can really help you get those Scouts out of your deck and into your hand, but you'll end up discarding excess Scouts so it's a bit of a wash.

Skirmisher: Scout is a good defense against an opponent's Skirmisher. Remember: Skirmisher can't make you discard a Scout.

With the Allies, I'm not sure. My sense is they will speed up the game, so we'll have to see how the infamous "Scout Rush" plays out.
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GendoIkari

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #22 on: February 28, 2022, 12:34:42 pm »
0

Coastal Haven says "when discarding", I guess this is really "when you would discard"? That is to say, you never discard the cards you want to keep, right? So a Tunnel wouldn't trigger, for instance.

Right, I read it not as when taking any particular action, but rather simply during the part of the clean-up phase when discarding your cards is generally happening. So not your standard action-based trigger, but rather just a description of which part of the turn you are doing the thing in. Just like how Flag is referring to the general time that you are drawing cards during cleanup; not reacting to a specific "you have now drawn your new hand" or "you would be drawing your new hand right now".
« Last Edit: February 28, 2022, 12:43:00 pm by GendoIkari »
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Donald X.

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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #23 on: February 28, 2022, 12:59:49 pm »
+6

Out of curiosity, why did you make the limit of one Ally a hard rule rather than recommendation? It's not a complaint (indeed, I feel like the limit of one way and two total landscapes should also have been hard limits)
Obv. players can do whatever they want. I like to not overwhelm people with stuff on the table; one Ally is plenty. And then I didn't have to worry about how the cards worked with more than one Ally.
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Re: Allies Preview 1: Allies
« Reply #24 on: February 28, 2022, 01:13:46 pm »
+1

skirmisher + invest question: A has invested in skirmisher. B plays skirmisher then buys one.

Does A have to discard down first, or can they choose which order the two effects happen?
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