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[Titandrake]

Just a random idea I've been thinking about.

Telescope
Cost: ?
Action - Perpetual (This stays in play during the cleanup phase)
On the turn you play this, +1 Action
While this is in play, each other player reveals their hand.

At what cost would you consider buying this?

My current guess is $3. I haven't tried playtesting this card at all, although I tried testing a version that was a Duration card, which revealed everyone's hand and replaced itself for $2. I never had a good justification to buy it. However, changing it to last the entire game makes it a lot more significant. I'd imagine it would clearly be more valuable in certain games than others (in a Big Money game the Silver is probably going to be better). However, I can't think of a game where I would want to buy this for $5+.

[Davio]

I think this is less harmless than it may seem at first.

I can only imagine this being useful with certain cards in the setup:
- Possession
- Young Witch
- Mountebank
- Masquerade
- Ghost Ship/Swindler
- Etc...

I guess the crux of this card is the fact that you not only know their current hand, but the cards they discard or put back on top of their deck as well...

It's close to harmless in setups with no attacks or with mild attacks.
It makes observing the PPR a lot easier though, because you can see if you will immediately lose if you buy the 2nd to last Province or if you will have a shot at the last one.

[ftl]

Seems like it would be very situational. I might want it in Possession games, to see whether I should let the opponent deal with a bad hand or to Possess it - or to see whether I should junk up my next hand because he has a possession. Not sure whether there'll be there's a good time to pick one of these up, but maybe. Might be useful with some other attacks, but not all THAT often - I guess it might help decide whether to use an attack or not if I have clashing terminals, but that's a situation to avoid anyway. Might help avoid secret-chamber defenses, but that's rarely a concern.

I might give it a try at 3 or 4, if one of those cases seems true, but I'm not sure whether it's actually a good idea or whether I'd just be trying for the novelty.

[Thinkaman]

Yeah, this affects very few cards, and even fewer specific combinations where it introduces a meaningful choice.  Sure, maybe I can see in advance that you can block my Montebank... but how much is that information going to drastically change my decisions?  Maybe I get to use a marginally superior terminal action?  Like if I have Tournament, knowing if you have a Province or not is of zero value 99% of the time. 

More cards "attack" the top of opponent decks than specific cards in hands.  Thief, Tribute, and Pirate Ship give you a significant reward based on this state as well, so it matters.  Hence, Spy/Scrying Pool.

[DStu]

I can only imagine this being useful with certain cards in the setup:
- Possession
- Young Witch
- Mountebank
- Masquerade
- Ghost Ship/Swindler
- Etc...

Don't forget the Peddler.

[rinkworks]

Deck Snooper
$2 - Action
+1 Card
+1 Action
All players reveal the top two cards of their deck and put them back in either order.

But yeah, I unfortunately have to agree that this and the OP card are probably too situational and marginal to be worth having.  I say unfortunately because it's kind of a cool idea, and potentially good flavor, to preface attacks with some information-gathering.

It strikes me as a kind of card that would become less useful the better you get at the game.  Everybody has terminal collisions now and then, but as you get better at the game, you get better at minimizing that risk.  When you don't have a terminal collision, do you need to gather information?  Usually not.  You'll play the Mountebank anyway, because, hey, +$2.

[DG]

There is a potential problem in a 4-player game that the owner of the telescope gives information to other players for free. As soon as two players have telescopes the other players don't need them.

Permanent durations might also break the costing of the peddler.

[Hamlet]

The only good way to have a perpetual duration card (and a fun way, I think) is to only allow one to be used at a time. For example:

Trojan Horse
Action/Duration
Cost: $5
+$2
+ 1 Buy
 (every turn this card is in play)
If another player plays a Trojan Horse, discard this card.

I'm not saying this card is perfect as is, but this is the only way to have a good duration card that lasts more than one turn.

As to the telescope, I agree that most of the time looking through other's hands isn't as useful as it could. It's highly situational, but I wouldn't be suprised if a card in this form came up somehow.

[rinkworks]

Trojan Horse
Action/Duration
Cost: $5
+$2
+ 1 Buy
 (every turn this card is in play)
If another player plays a Trojan Horse, discard this card.

I'm not saying this card is perfect as is, but this is the only way to have a good duration card that lasts more than one turn.

I don't agree with that last statement at all.  I think there are plenty of ways you can do that, but never mind:  the mechanic you've described with this card is really cool.  The card is good enough that you'd like to take it away from your opponents as soon as possible, but not quite good enough that you want to clog your deck up with lots of duplicates of it, just to increase the chance you can play it sooner.  That, in turn, may increase the value of cyclers and such.

[DStu]

Trojan Horse
Action/Duration
Cost: $5
+$2
+ 1 Buy
 (every turn this card is in play)
If another player plays a Trojan Horse, discard this card.

I'm not saying this card is perfect as is, but this is the only way to have a good duration card that lasts more than one turn.

I don't agree with that last statement at all.  I think there are plenty of ways you can do that, but never mind:  the mechanic you've described with this card is really cool.  The card is good enough that you'd like to take it away from your opponents as soon as possible, but not quite good enough that you want to clog your deck up with lots of duplicates of it, just to increase the chance you can play it sooner.  That, in turn, may increase the value of cyclers and such.

+1

[Taco Lobster]

Contraband is the only other card I might add to the list of those effected by this card.  If your opponent knows exactly what you can buy, Contraband's limitation becomes that much more potent.

The other effect would be the late game - knowing whether your opponent can buy the last province on his next turn is valuable information when you're a province behind and are choosing between taking that last province to tie or taking a duchy to win.

[ChaosRed]

Could the card have more utility if part of what it could do is be discarded to react to an attack? I've often toyed with the idea of a reaction card that "sits" in play with a utility function that can later be discard to avoid an attack or at least invoke a reaction (like Lighthouse but situational). You could of course, use the card's feature to decide whether to discard for the reaction too (although its not that informative, but it would help influence the decision).

[Karrow]

Trojan Horse
Action/Duration
Cost: $5
+$2
+ 1 Buy
 (every turn this card is in play)
If another player plays a Trojan Horse, discard this card.

I'm not saying this card is perfect as is, but this is the only way to have a good duration card that lasts more than one turn.

I don't agree with that last statement at all.  I think there are plenty of ways you can do that, but never mind:  the mechanic you've described with this card is really cool.  The card is good enough that you'd like to take it away from your opponents as soon as possible, but not quite good enough that you want to clog your deck up with lots of duplicates of it, just to increase the chance you can play it sooner.  That, in turn, may increase the value of cyclers and such.

So what are we saying here
--> (every turn this card is in play)

The card is in play on your opponents turn.

I'd love to see permanent duration cards that change the game play.  For old Magic players think Howling Mines.  The OP's card idea could be like Revelation from Magic.

And there is no reason that they can not stack when they effect everyone.  Short of VP tokens Dominion is finite in length.  A "draw 1 additional card when you draw cards in your cleanup step" duration card would simply speed things up more and more as it was played.  Gain a curse would just speed the curse pile emptying.  "Draw one less card (but not less than X)" would slow the game down no more than a ghost ship game.

I like the global permanent duration idea for effects that effect all players equally because on their own they are not overpowered since they effect everyone the same.  Without a strategy though they can hurt the person who bought them because that person had to spend the $ and use the action.  But they can be game-changers.  Seeing one in the kingdom, you have to consider your strategy and what-if this card is played.  Build a strategy that uses the card to your advantage?  Play a riskier strategy and hope no one else plays the card?  Modify your strategy to deal with the card if it is played, but then loose to someone who doesn't because no one plays the card?

But the reasons I like the idea are the same reasons others will not.  It can create more variance & add more to the metagame.

[Hamlet]

So what are we saying here
--> (every turn this card is in play)

The card is in play on your opponents turn.

I'd love to see permanent duration cards that change the game play.  For old Magic players think Howling Mines.  The OP's card idea could be like Revelation from Magic.

Yeah, I wrote that poorly. It's meant to only apply on the players turn, not for everyone else. The idea of the card is to only apply for the player who used it, which rushes other players to decide whether it's a big enough threat the take out or not.
Making it global would give no incentive for another player to play another one. I'm sorry, I should have taken out that provision.

[rinkworks]

Trojan Horse
Action/Duration
Cost: $5
+$2
+ 1 Buy
 (every turn this card is in play)
If another player plays a Trojan Horse, discard this card.

I'm not saying this card is perfect as is, but this is the only way to have a good duration card that lasts more than one turn.

I don't agree with that last statement at all.  I think there are plenty of ways you can do that, but never mind:  the mechanic you've described with this card is really cool.  The card is good enough that you'd like to take it away from your opponents as soon as possible, but not quite good enough that you want to clog your deck up with lots of duplicates of it, just to increase the chance you can play it sooner.  That, in turn, may increase the value of cyclers and such.

Just realized:  Pulling Trojan Horse out of the Black Market would be a really, really, really good deal.

[ChaosRed]

Trojan Horse is a great idea, although I wish there was another draconian way to get rid of it.

These are called "enchantments" in Magic, and what makes them weak in Magic is they are really easy to dispel. I like the way you dispel it, but would love another option to get rid of it. Could you buy it out of play for a price maybe? Or should the disenchant happen the moment any player BUYS a Trojan Horse?

But really, the idea and the design of the card is compelling, great job. The card is perfectly named too, fits perfectly with Dominion's general theme.