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[Hertz_Doughnut]

Not sure if this has already been discussed... Let me know if it has...

I just bought the second edition of A Few Acres of Snow where the rule book pointed out that the reason there is a second edition is because some players discovered a broken strategy for the British that the designer hadn't realized. So at the end of the print run he made a small tweak to two or three rules and labeled the next print run "second edition". He also brought this up on boardgamegeek and encouraged owners of the first edition to amend their rules accordingly.

This is basically the first time I've heard of a physical board game being "patched" a la a video game... And got me thinking about similarly "patching" Dominion with a set of house rules for certain cards. Here's some ideas:

=====update: includes ideas I like from others in this thread (& elsewhere)=====
- Black Market – Replace the first two sentences with “At the beginning of your buy phase, reveal the top 3 cards of the Black Market deck.  This turn, you may buy these cards as if they were in the kingdom.”
- Bridge – Replace sentence with “While this is in play, cards cost 1 coin less, but not less than 0 coins”
- Coppersmith – Replace text with “While this is in play, Copper produces an extra 1 coin this turn.”
- Graverobber – Replace the first two words with “You may choose one:”
- Masquerade – After the first sentence, add “(If a player does not have any cards in hand, he takes the card passed to him and passes it to the player on his left.)”
- Moneylender – Prepend the text with “You may”
- Possession – Append the text with “A player cannot have two consecutive turns under the influence of Possession.”
- Scrying Pool – Replace the first sentence with “Reveal the top card of your deck and either discard it or put it back.”
- Thief – Replace the second sentence with “If they revealed any treasure cards, you may choose one for them to trash.”
- Throne Room – Replace the first sentence with “You may choose and Action card in your hand.”

[Axxle]

Scout: if this card is in the kingdom add an additonal card to the kingdom.  Scout cannot be bought or gained.

[Morgrim7]

Possession like Highway and Goons?

[heron]

The only things I would change are throne room and moneylender to you may.

[SirPeebles]

You may be interested in reading what Donald X. would do with a time machine.  Well, regarding Dominion changes, not going back in time to assassinate Hartler.

[werothegreat]

The only things I would change are throne room and moneylender to you may.

Likewise.  I would keep all other cards exactly the same.  Highway gets a "while this is in play" because it's non-terminal.  Bridge is fine being throneable.

[SirPeebles]

Would you give Graverobber a "you may" too, or does it get a pass for already being wordy?

[werothegreat]

Would you give Graverobber a "you may" too, or does it get a pass for already being wordy?

No, it gets a pass for having another option.

[SirPeebles]

I don't understand that reasoning.  There are definitely times you don't want to top deck, say, that spent Sea Hag from the trash.  Nor do you want to trash your Madman.  But you still want to play your Graverobber to buy cheap Peddlers to trash into Colonies during your Madman megaturn!

[heron]

I suppose Graverobber deserves a you may as well.

[Robz888]

I would change Thief to "you may."

I would give Scout an on-gain clause, so that whenever you gained a Green card, you would get one for free (like Duchess with Duchy).

I would delete Adventurer.

I think that's all.

[werothegreat]

I just realized that Adventurer has some nice synergy with Tunnel.

[Dsell]

Adventurer's not so bad it needs to not exist. It could use a +buy though.

[Robz888]

Adventurer's not so bad it needs to not exist. It could use a +buy though.

It is! Hands down worst card in the game.

[Dsell]

Adventurer's not so bad it needs to not exist. It could use a +buy though.

It is! Hands down worst card in the game.

I disagree! But I am pretty firmly in the camp that every card has its uses at least once in a great while. Adventurer's pretty bad but it has its *occasional* uses, and with a +buy I think it would occupy a nice little niche.

[SirPeebles]

I don't know that Adventurer is particularly worse than, say, Counting House.  But it certainly feels worse.  It looks pretty good the first time you see it, plus that new player has high expectations because it is the single most expensive  Action in base Dominion.  But in the end, it's a rather narrow card.  Like Counting House, it really is a pretty nice card to have in your deck, usually a terminal Gold or so, but it's unreliable and has high opportunity cost.  But hey, I'd be pretty happy to get one when I Procession a $5.

[michaeljb]

But I am pretty firmly in the camp that every card has its uses at least once in a great while.

That doesn't mean there can't be a worst card :p

[heron]

Although I wouldn't change it, I think adventurer would make a fine $5.

[Morgrim7]

I dunno. Personally, if even one small aspect of Dominion was changed, like Bridge or Possession not being able to be King's Courted, the game just wouldn't be the same.

[Robz888]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Adventurer should be changed. Only that, given its price, it is the least useful card in all of Dominion. I agree it has uses, but I argue that they are vastly more marginal than Counting House. Or even Thief. Or Transmute. Or Scout.

[Eevee]

I feel like flying to DC just to argue about adventurer with Robz.

[Dsell]

But I am pretty firmly in the camp that every card has its uses at least once in a great while.

That doesn't mean there can't be a worst card :p

Oh for sure there can be a worst card, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to exist.

[werothegreat]

I feel like flying to DC just to argue about adventurer with Robz.

Come visit me while you're there!

[michaeljb]

But I am pretty firmly in the camp that every card has its uses at least once in a great while.

That doesn't mean there can't be a worst card :p

Oh for sure there can be a worst card, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to exist.

True. Because then you'd start eliminating cards, and eventually nothing deserves to exist! It's like that proof that all numbers are interesting.

[Morgrim7]

I will forever hold to the fact that Scout is the worst card in the game.

[Robz888]

I will forever hold to the fact that Scout is the worst card in the game.

Despite the rumors, I do not think that Scout is the worst card in 2 player Dominion. In 2 player Dominion, Thief is worse than Scout. In 3 or  player dominion, Scout is worse. Adventurer is worse than both in either case.

[Morgrim7]

I will forever hold to the fact that Scout is the worst card in the game.

Despite the rumors, I do not think that Scout is the worst card in 2 player Dominion. In 2 player Dominion, Thief is worse than Scout. In 3 or  player dominion, Scout is worse. Adventurer is worse than both in either case.

WW says so. End of discussion.

[blueblimp]

KC-Bridge kingdoms aren't strategically straightforward. You will need to work to get those together in a hand, which means engine-building, which means choices. Lots of interesting stuff to do.

[ycz6]

So can you think of a kingdom setup that includes KC and Bridge that isn't dominated by that combo? I can't.

Sea Hag + 7 non-trashers
Goons + 7 non-drawers

[eHalcyon]

I like Bridge as is.  It is powerful, yes, but it is not trivial to match it up.  I feel like having that kind of super-combo is neat, and the feeling you get when you pull off KC-Kc-Bridge-Bridge-Bridge is awesome enough to keep.

I think NV-Bridge might outrace KC-Bridge.  Also, Possession might make you think twice about trying for the KC-Bridge megaturn.

I don't think Coppersmith should be nerfed.  It's already a weak card; stacking with KC is pretty much the only way it ever sees real use.  And even with the stacking, it usually isn't dominant because you ALSO need +Buy and a way to draw enough Copper to make it worthwhile.




For Adventurer, maybe search for 3 treasures and keep 2 (so you have a slightly better chance of getting good treasures with it).

For Scout, make it part Victory type so it can draw itself.  And maybe make it worth 1VP.

[qmech]

- Black Market - the buy options happen during the buy phase, remove part about spending your treasures in the action phase (nulls Tactician combo)

Black Market/Tactician is nowhere near overpowered.  It's also fun to play.  Nerfing combos is not a goal I'd have if I was revising cards, as it makes the game less interesting!

As blueblimp said, there are plenty of interesting decisions in building a KC/Bridge megaturn deck.  Are there more decisions for BM/Smithy?  Sometimes the goal of Dominion is to amass Treasure quickly; sometime's it's to Curse your opponent more than they Curse you; sometimes it's to assemble a killer combo.  The variety of winning conditions, and spotting which one is the one to aim for this time, is one of the things that makes Dominion great.

[Davio]

I don't think you would want to mess with the power levels of the cards or the costs.
Probably it's just better to invent different cards to take their place.

The only things that "need" fixing are the things that don't keep you honest like Throne Room which has no "you may" or "or reveal a hand with no action cards".

Acres has the problem that it has such a limited set of cards, so it's actually a pretty big problem. Dominion has so many different possible sets that one or a few problem cards are hardly a problem at all. They're too often a waste of space in the kingdom, but little hurtful.

[SirPeebles]

The big difference that I see between KC-KC-Bridge-Bridge-Bridge and KC-Goons-Masquerade is that the former ends the games immediately so you can start up a new game.  The latter causes a long drawn-out endgame that cripples your opponent's ability to do anything more than buy a Curse/Copper/Ruins.  They aren't really that comparable.

[Awaclus]

The big difference that I see between KC-KC-Bridge-Bridge-Bridge and KC-Goons-Masquerade is that the former ends the games immediately so you can start up a new game.  The latter causes a long drawn-out endgame that cripples your opponent's ability to do anything more than buy a Curse/Copper/Ruins.  They aren't really that comparable.

Though, it's always possible to concede as soon as you realize what's going on.

[dondon151]

I think that part of what H_D is saying is that sometimes, getting the KC-KC-3x Bridge hand first is too luck-based. In a tournament game at GenCon, I drew a hand of KC-KC-2x Bridge with little support in the kingdom, which was pretty lucky (and probably maddening for Fabian, who was one of my opponents and was going to be the clear winner until I drew that hand, which ended the game in a tie for 1st).

[ftl]

The best part of Dominion is that every game is different. Depending on the cards available, it might be a very luck-based kingdom or not, there might be one optimal strategy where both players go for minor tweaks on it or there might be a plethora of reasonable options, there might be a slow slog for VP or it might be a race to get a combo going first. Nothing wrong with some games having lots of luck in them! 

Now, as it turns out, the OP thought it was something that needed fixing because he plays a variant where all cards are always available, and so KC-bridge turned out to be a dominant strategy in that set. But I think that's a very different game than Dominion, where most sets are unique!

[SCSN]

I would change the first Native Village option to "+1 card, set aside one card from your hand face down on your Native Village mat". You'd probably need to increase its costs, but it opens up many strategic possibilities that its current randomness prevents from being viable.

[blueblimp]

I would change the first Native Village option to "+1 card, set aside one card from your hand face down on your Native Village mat". You'd probably need to increase its costs, but it opens up many strategic possibilities that its current randomness prevents from being viable.

Not sure whether you're serious (since it's April Fool's), but this would make Native Village insanely powerful, possibly even the best village in the game. (Well, maybe Fishing Village would still be better.) Early on, it would play a little like Village-plus-trash-a-card, which is fantastic. Later, it would still offer a lot of engine control--for example, if you've drawn your whole deck and have NV plus a draw card in hand, put that draw card on your mat so that if next turn you draw a NV in your hand, then you can immediately kick off your draw engine.

I'm not saying that crazily overpowering NV is a bad thing; I like Fishing Village as much as the next guy. But it would change the feel of the card a lot, and maybe not in a good way.

[AdamH]

I hate to poop on your parade, because I think this is interesting, but this and the Battle Royale most defo belong in the Variants subforum.

[theory]

Moved them.

[HiveMindEmulator]

One idea I had that I like is changing IGG to be a dual-type victory card worth 0 VPs. The reason is just to make them not run out at the same time as Curses as often. I think the more interesting part in IGG games is the transitions out of IGGs, and this can make transitions into things other than Duchies more common.

[eHalcyon]

Bridge isn't bugged.  Lots of cards are great with KC.

[Awaclus]

Bridge isn't bugged.  Lots of cards are great with KC.

True, and KC kind of sucks if every action card is errata'd so that it doesn't work with KC.

[A Drowned Kernel]

I've often wondered if Governor could be tweaked to be a little less game-warpingly powerful by giving the other players the option of which benefit they want. In a lot of Governor games giving your opponent a silver almost seems like an attack. This would slow play down quite a bit, though. And I guess it would ruin the whole Puerto Rico homage thing. Maybe just make picking the silver up optional?

[Asper]

Scout: if this card is in the kingdom add an additonal card to the kingdom.  Scout cannot be bought or gained.

I never had any problem with cards that are too weak. Forge and Expand are pretty crappy cards as far as i can see, but everyone may ignore them and still have a fun game... Cards like Rebuild are much worse for me. If a card is so strong you have to go for it or you'll lose, it just makes me feel like wasted time. It's not interesting. But maybe i just suck at rush strategies or whatever is the way to beat Rebuild

I would change the first Native Village option to "+1 card, set aside one card from your hand face down on your Native Village mat". You'd probably need to increase its costs, but it opens up many strategic possibilities that its current randomness prevents from being viable.

Not sure whether you're serious (since it's April Fool's), but this would make Native Village insanely powerful, possibly even the best village in the game. (Well, maybe Fishing Village would still be better.) Early on, it would play a little like Village-plus-trash-a-card, which is fantastic. Later, it would still offer a lot of engine control--for example, if you've drawn your whole deck and have NV plus a draw card in hand, put that draw card on your mat so that if next turn you draw a NV in your hand, then you can immediately kick off your draw engine.

I'm not saying that crazily overpowering NV is a bad thing; I like Fishing Village as much as the next guy. But it would change the feel of the card a lot, and maybe not in a good way.

Scout: if this card is in the kingdom add an additonal card to the kingdom.  Scout cannot be bought or gained.

I also think Native Village could use a buff. "Look at the top card of your deck. discard it or put it face-down on your Native Village map." seems okay to me. It still would be a 3$, i guess, and we need some weak/difficult cards, after all.

[HiveMindEmulator]

I've often wondered if Governor could be tweaked to be a little less game-warpingly powerful by giving the other players the option of which benefit they want. In a lot of Governor games giving your opponent a silver almost seems like an attack. This would slow play down quite a bit, though. And I guess it would ruin the whole Puerto Rico homage thing. Maybe just make picking the silver up optional?

Hadn't thought of that one... but yeah... if player 2 doesn't want the Silver he ought to be able to say "no thanks".   As is, he can't even Moat against it.

The remodel choice already has "may" and it would be unusual for player2 to turn down the +1 card.


How many other cards force the opponent to do something without being labeled attacks?  Here are the ones I found ordered from most severe to least...

Ill-Gotten Gains
Masquerade
Possession (esp if they Ambassador your Colonies away...)
Governor
Embassy
Tribute
Council Room

I think the bottom four could all include the word "may".

How would Tribute work with "may"?

[SirPeebles]

I've often wondered if Governor could be tweaked to be a little less game-warpingly powerful by giving the other players the option of which benefit they want. In a lot of Governor games giving your opponent a silver almost seems like an attack. This would slow play down quite a bit, though. And I guess it would ruin the whole Puerto Rico homage thing. Maybe just make picking the silver up optional?

I feel like those forced Silvers are what keeps Governor toned down a bit.  Without your opponent junking you with Silvers, it would be too easy on many boards to amass slim decks of nothing but Gov 'n' Gold, leading to explosive megaturns.

[Davio]

Maybe allow revealed Tribute cards to be put back, but that may imbalance it too much.

[ipofanes]

But I am pretty firmly in the camp that every card has its uses at least once in a great while.

That doesn't mean there can't be a worst card :p

Oh for sure there can be a worst card, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to exist.

True. Because then you'd start eliminating cards, and eventually nothing deserves to exist! It's like that proof that all numbers are interesting.

Doesn't that proof exist for natural numbers only?

[SirPeebles]

It depends on what you mean by exist, but there's a rather trivial extension to any countable with a canonical or "interesting" bijection with the natural numbers.  And then there are people who seem to think that a property such as "not definable" makes a number intrinsically interesting.

[ipofanes]

It depends on what you mean by exist,

as in "is written down somewhere". And yes, I had uncountable sets of numbers in mind.

[AHoppy]

I think a lot of these modifications should be specific to the battle royale play style.  In normal Dominion, powerful combinations like the ones you are trying to nerf are A) not always available because one or more components are not in the kingdom or B) something like trashing or a village is missing, so the combination becomes much harder to bring together.  For battle royale, since all cards and helper cards are available, these hard to pull off combos would become easier.  So this nerfing makes sense. 

Another combo you may need to address for battle royale is the Hermit-Market Square one.  It can have the exact same effect as KC-KC-Bridge-Bridge-Bridge, and i can imagine it would be pretty easy to pull off in your battle royale game

[math]

The Hermit-Market Square combo automatically becomes much less powerful if your opponent is also going for it (5 Hermits can't do nearly as much damage as 7 or 9).  I don't think it's a problem.

[eHalcyon]

The Hermit-Market Square combo automatically becomes much less powerful if your opponent is also going for it (5 Hermits can't do nearly as much damage as 7 or 9).  I don't think it's a problem.

But Graverobber can bring back more Hermits. Also, that means that you are forced to pursue the same strategy if your opponent goes for it.

NV-Bridge might be dominant too...

[eHalcyon]

You are overstating the power of KC - Bridge, which still requires solid strategy to bring the pieces together quickly, and probably underestimating how powerful Hermit-Market Square really is.

[SirPeebles]

Especially in a battle royale, where Hermit/Market Square has its favorite support cards like Scheme and Haven.  Scheme lets you get a ton of Madmen even if your opponent(s) are pursuing the same strategy.

[eHalcyon]

I think a lot of these modifications should be specific to the battle royale play style.  In normal Dominion, powerful combinations like the ones you are trying to nerf are A) not always available because one or more components are not in the kingdom or B) something like trashing or a village is missing, so the combination becomes much harder to bring together.  For battle royale, since all cards and helper cards are available, these hard to pull off combos would become easier.  So this nerfing makes sense. 

Another combo you may need to address for battle royale is the Hermit-Market Square one.  It can have the exact same effect as KC-KC-Bridge-Bridge-Bridge, and i can imagine it would be pretty easy to pull off in your battle royale game

For either (A) or (B) in normal Dominion how do these tweaks hurt anything?  They might be unnecessary, but not harmful.  In case (C) [when the components are in the kingdom AND helper cards are available], the tweaks are helpful.  So we have....

	Tweaks	No Tweaks
Case A	Unnecessary	Unnecessary
Case B	Unnecessary	Unnecessary
Case C	More balanced	Imbalanced

To address this directly, nerfing powerful combos that only appear in a small subset of games makes the game as a whole less interesting.  It may very well be that KC-Bridge is overly dominant in the Battle Royale variant, but it certainly is not dominant in every regular 10 card kingdom that those two cards appear in.  If you nerf Bridge to nerf that combo, you also eliminate all the interesting 10 card kingdoms featuring them.  And they ARE interesting -- do you have the support necessary to bring the 5 cards together?  In what order do you pick up the pieces to reach the megaturn before your opponents?  Is there a faster strategy, or a way to disrupt the one going for the combo?  These are interesting decisions.

[DStu]

For either (A) or (B) in normal Dominion how do these tweaks hurt anything?  They might be unnecessary, but not harmful.  In case (C) [when the components are in the kingdom AND helper cards are available], the tweaks are helpful.  So we have....

The question is if they are really helpful.  The game is somehow about the interaction of the cards, and for some (most?), a strong combo once in a while is fun as long as it does not dominate the game (in a boring way) each time it is on the board.  But this is not the case for KC-Bridge, as said you need more ingredients to this than just KC and Bridges, then you usually need at least 3 Kings Court which are almost 3 Provinces, so a huge investement.  There might be counters like Possession, you have to build that engine in the first place,  and you have to realize the sets where KC-Bridge megaturn is the way to go.  There also might be 3-piling...

I have 11 games with KC+Bridge on CR,
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20121003-010623-b39df04e.html ended 3-6, so probably no 2KC3Bridge
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120913-130930-26483123.html attempt for megaturn, won with KCBridge+3singleBridges and 3pile
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120704-233915-95458099.html I play 2KC3Bridge but to late, opponent grinded Province 1KC1Bridge
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120222-094639-874ef26c.html IGG no KCs bought from me
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120124-084614-f80d9801.html building up for megaturn but 3pile
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110913-140248-44b7df29.html 3pile, no Bridges bought
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110721-085429-a85ba5be.html loss, oponent doesn't buy Bridges
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110518-113648-b03669c1.html first clear 2KC3Bridge here
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110414-225704-877ad8c5.html directly the next one. OK, it wass 2KC2Bridges
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110329-230532-9979d83e.html seems like Bank is easier here than Bridges
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110323-103427-b70666ef.html don't know what this is, but definitely not a megaturn.

So we have 11 games where 2 featured a megaturn, but all the others played certainly differently, while some of them gained from the possibility of the megaturn but played out differently.  So it's not at all clear what the end of a game with KC and Bridge will be, even if there is a possible engine on the board...

[cluckyb]

Maybe allow revealed Tribute cards to be put back, but that may imbalance it too much.

That would create a kingmaker scenario where someone could choose to leave a great hall and a harem there and keep feeding the one player. (sorta kinda have that problem already with duchess, I guess, but that is only one card and would be a combo so isn't really a huge issue)

[DStu]

http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120124-084614-f80d9801.html and the second would probably end differently.  But I don't think the game-plan will change rapidly, if you have KC+engine and bridges you will shift priority of KCs from Bridges to the engine, to get mass actions and full draw, try to win the Bridge split and win this way.
But also now it's maybe that your target is 2KC3Bridge, but your real target always is to win, and usually this can be done before you get to 2KC3Bridge (see second game)

I think the real harm is when building up 1KC1Bridge now gives +3buys and engine components 3 cheaper, which will usually give you 3-4 engine components, this is not that easy anymore if they are only reduced by $1

[eHalcyon]

If Bridge were originally the way you've modified it, I wouldn't have another point of comparison.

You describe a way you beat NV-Bridge.  Well, does it consistently beat NV-Bridge?  And if so, wouldn't constant attacks also beat down KC-Bridge?

Unless you make every single card the same, there will always be cards and combos that are simply more powerful than others.  Should they be removed or nerfed?  Sure, if they are so game-breakingly powerful that they are almost always dominant.  Bridge as it is simply doesn't fall into that category, so a nerf is not necessary.  But leaving it as is means that, in a few games, that combo DOES come up, and then you have a glorious turn where you pile drive the Provinces.  That kind of moment is worth having once in a while.

As for [5 cards] + [1 action] = Win...

Well, KC-Goons-Masq pins do that, don't they?  Except instead of one glorious megaturn, it is a long and painful grind towards an inevitable conclusion.

But the point is that, in Dominion, you don't just get those 5 cards in hand.  That's not how it works.  You have to buy KC, and KC is not cheap.  You have to align five cards in your hand, and that's not easy either.  Treasure Map only requires two cards to kick off, but that in itself is tough enough that it's a weak card.  5 cards is much more difficult.

[eHalcyon]

You are talking about how certain cards dominate, but then you say that every game would start out with some kind of junking until the Curses ran out.  Doesn't that mean that the cursers are dominating?  Why is that acceptable when KC-Bridge is not?

I agree that balance isn't perfect between all the cards, but that's not the point.  The point is that KC-Bridge really isn't dominant in all setups of regular games.  If it is in Battle Royale, then yeah -- address that for the variant.  But it's not necessary for the regular game, and actually detracts a bit from those breakout moments.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that "Booya-Bridge-turns" are the best thing ever.  It's not that I really, really like the combo or anything.  I'm just saying that it's nice to have big moments once in a while, for those rare times when you can pull it all together.  It's not fun if every single game plays out the same, whether that means always KC-Bridge or always slog or whatever.

[AHoppy]

eHalcyon basically adressed everything I was going after.  Yes, sometimes those combinations are the most dominating thing on a board.  And that in my opinion can make games more interesting.  Being able to notice a dominating combination and the successfully pull it off is one off the most fun things in Dominion.  true, battle royale would make these opportunities more accessible, but I would think that something like KC-Bridge is the only dominating combo.  I think any combos that end the game quickly would be dominating.  you never have to figure out what to do when the actions are crap, because none of the actions are crap.  So if you just start nerfing every powerful combo, then to me all that you will leave is big money... and that's far from interesting.

[ipofanes]

In Diplomacy, Turkey wins half the time.

Izzatso? I don't bother to actually create an account only to look it up in http://www.playdiplomacy.com/index.php?msg=6, but maybe someone with access can enlighten us.

[Jack Rudd]

My memory is that Russia had the best win rate of all the powers in Diplomacy, but it's a long time since I saw any statistics. I'd be surprised if Turkey racked up a large share of the victories, because it's very difficult for Turkey to get over the main stalemate lines.

[Robz888]

Russia leads the pack.

Then I think Britain, France, turkey, and Germany are virtually tied.

Austria is a bit behind them.

Italy is further behind the other six.

[popsofctown]

I think you should errata Masquerade differently.  Your nerfing some interesting uses that are not overpowered.  Occasionally I like to find a way to play a Militia followed by an empty handed Masquerade, then receive a Gold, then transition out of that into buying Provinces rather than continuing to focus on the pinning.

I think you should remove your additional text and instead change the trashing to be conditional on passing.  "If you passed a card, you may trash a card from your hand".
That lets you play 1 empty Masquerade per turn, but that's it.  It's in similar spirit to your Possession errata, in a way.

[popsofctown]

In a 2 player game, though, you're not really passing at all.  And a multiplayer game is just an extension of that, the player with the empty hand is basically not participating in the passing.  That doesn't seem in the spirit of the card any more than what I've proposed.

Prepending "If your deck and discard pile are both empty, gain a Copper/Estate/Curse/Gold" would be in the "passing spirit".