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Author Topic: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2  (Read 5483 times)

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BitTorrent

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Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« on: April 04, 2013, 04:09:09 pm »
+4

Talk about specific base cards - Age 2

Right, as the current leader I should write something...less conceptial(i.e. those mechanics thing). Let's talk about specific cards.

Starting from age 2. I skipped age 1 because there are a lot more mechanics back in age 1 as the start of the game, so each card's actual function may be altered by a lot. I will try to keep writing until age 10...maybe.

Cards in age 2:

Red

Construction
[T][T][X][T]

For most players, the first connection of this card is the Empire achievement. While it can lead you to the Empire achievement, remember that is a bonus condition which is only a part of it.

The 'main' dogma of this card is actually a hand robber, which somewhat promotes sort of mathematical gain as you get 2 cards while your opponent lose a hand (-2 and +1 from the demand). Though one of the best way to use it, is to rob everything your opponent has when he/she has 3 hands. 2 Construction dogma in a row and you take away everything from them while they are left with one random age 2 card.

Remember it is always better if you left something random to your opponent instead of something they intended to save. In this case, if you only dogma once he/she can save a hand of their desire, which could possibly the intended card of their plan. When we are going for some disruptive dogma try to take away your opponent's next step and disrupt their plan.

Road Building
[T][T][X][T]

Trick card which defines a good player from the community. This one can do a wide variety of tricks, both when you are leading towers or losing it.

The most easy one is a 'clean green robbing' which you meld a red card and another card. You give your opponent that red and take away their green so they lose their green and you keep the Road Building to yourself. The same trick also give your opponent a red card which you can cover their useful red card with some dump. In a real game one of my opponent keep Math-ing and he got both Industrial and Electricity. I melded Plumbing and another card with Road Building, give him that Plumbing which covers up the dangerous Industrialzation, and got the Electricity which I jumped all the way from age 3 to age 7, while my opponent was sent back to age 5.

Another possible usage is to force your 'Tower-ful' opponent to meld something if he/she only have 1 hand. Be careful, though, if you know that your opponent is gotta meld that card next turn anyway, you should consider is that worth to save his/her next action in-order to earn a free draw from it. Though you still get the usage of the Road Building.

There are a lot other tricks: most of them related to icon mechanics. Do remember, a card which allows you to meld 2 cards in a action can quickly change your board. Say you can meld both Fermenting and Pottery in 1 single action which you can suddenly jump out with Leaves. The type of swift board alternation can create a lot of momentum and pressure to your opponent, which can draw their attention.

Yellow

Fermenting
[L][L][X][T]

Just refer to my 'How to do F&R combo for dummies' in one of the post by Hideyoshi about massive drawing mechanics with Fermenting, don't want to repeat again.

One thing to remind is that both leaves are on the left side of the card which means that if this card is somehow on your bottom pile, an effect to splay your yellow right would give you some easy leaves.

One more thing is that, since this card do not give you score or achievement, you may actually share the dogma to your opponent in very late stage of the game if he/she is doing some super board with industrialization but a bit lack of score. Share the effect to them with careful consideration may actually end the game by massive drawing. Remeber, hands do not count as score, unless you got someone called Michelangelo in the FitS.

Canal Building
[X][C][L][C]

Another trick card, while this one is way more difficult to master.

Do remember one thing: never intentionally set up a canal building scoring. If you got Physics + Canal Building it is alright since it is fast enough (2 action + ~15 points). The point is, Canal Building is simply a slow card which don't save you action, just as Bicycle, and it does no development effect to your board. So unless you can win the game by one more use of it, never intentionally set a canal building plan.

Won't explain a lot on this card since this one is just too difficult to describe accurately. This one is not exactly a scorer though it might lead you to a lot of points (i.e. Physics + Canal Building). Though the key is, it is really a slow one, so unless you got extra action to spare, don't count on it.

Blue

Mathematics
[X][B)[C][B)

Everybody who are experienced with Innovation know this card.

My general thought about Math-ing:

a. Try NOT to do age2 -> age3. Age 3 don't give you much candies and if you cover it with Translation you will rage. If you cover it with Alchemy while you don't have any tower lead(it usually happens), you will rage too. If there is still a lot of age2 cards it is fine then.
b. age3 -> age4 is fine since even you may cover it, Experimentation would give you access to age5 cards.
c. age4 -> age5: think about what can you do with Chemsitry and Physics in that exact scenerio and you will know is that a gamble or a solid play. There are times that Physics is absolutely useless, say your opponent got Machinery on their board already. There are also times that Chemistry is not too useful say you don't have any score in your scorepile.
d. age5 -> age6 is usually something tasty, while age6 -> age7 face the same effect as age2 -> age3
e. age7 -> any age is usually good enough UNLESS your opponent may rob your new invention in their very next turn. (Banking, Enterprise, Skyscaper, Compass, Road Building, and others in the echoes set). Always pay attention to these cards when you are working on Math-ing.
f. Math an age 10 card can end the game. Simple enough.

Notice the crown on this card, it means that it can fulfill the requirement of Translation as a blue card. Not much blue cards actually qualify for it.

There are times that you don't pull this thing immediately after you get it. My experiance is, I don't rush for Math-ing as long as I have organized another plan to get achievement/win the game. Remember, after all, Math is a card who helps you to search for options, not a real game winner.

Calender
[X][L][L][B)

2 leaves on this blue card makes it a backup for Pottery in F&R plays or blocking possible Machinery.

This one is rather straight forward, a 'draw 2 card' effect is usually straight enough since usually you are not willing enough to share such effect to your opponent, unless that is the winning move.

The key of this card is to get some score and throw your hand away. That is one of the reason why you try to score earlier so you do not have to work on the requirement once you got Calender.

Green

Currency
[C][L][X][C]

A great scorer. Real. A green scorer is rare. A crown scorer is rare. A lot of players underestimated the greatness of currency even until now.

Currency is the first 'hand eater' which consumes your hand quickly and transform them as scores. There are times that you get a large hand and have no real means to score them, while currency serves that quite well.

You can score 5 points if both age 1 and 2 are empty while you return a 1 and a 2, and you can score some 13 points if both age 1,2,3 are empty while you return 1,2,3,4. This 2 are the common tricks where the first one gives you enough points for next 1 achievement and the second one gives you points for 2 achievement. There are other tricks, too.

Mapmaking
[X][C][C][T]

This card is rather straight forward, since you cannot 'share' this to your opponent in a 1 vs 1 game. Do remember the optimum approach on it is to sweep out age 1 card first and try to score a better number for each use.

There are minor tricks like Optics + Mapmaking though I personally do not think these 2 cards are related. It is just a fail-safe mechanism instead of a vaild combo (since you can keep melding crown cards with Optics so you do not have to go Mapmaking).

Purple

Philosophy
[X][B)[B)[B)

Rather a strange card in base set. In echoes play this is extremely strong since you can quickly turn some echo effects on with the left splay.

One part of its usage is as a scorer, but the effective range is like Agriculture, which only works well after some age 4-5 as you can score ~5 points with it each time.

Another part of it is a Bulb wildcard. Say both players got a bulb Blue, with Philosophy on your table your opponent cannot take a sole Bulb lead even he/she got cards like Paper. They gotta have multiple wildcards for you because Philosophy is a strong wildcard which provides 3 Bulbs. A triple icon card would easily beat down a double icon card, just like Oars being destroyed by The Wheel.

Left-Splaying is easily connected with massive Towers, Paper and Invention. Though there are other things, too.

Monotheism
[X][T][T][T]

A card which can take away any color of top card from your opponent except purple is extremely strong, which also comes with solid effects like 'draw and tuck a 1'.

One of the possible trick is to use it to counter gunpowder. When someone melds GP and attacks you, he/she would lose towers from the covered red top card, so they would occationally get behind you. If you only keep 1 red top card, just let them get it. You follow up with Monotheism and get rid of GP, so you can keep developing Towers freely from this point.

Another trick is: use it with Coal. When you see your opponent get a key card down the board (say, the fermenting), you burn your yellow away by Coal followed by Monotheism to strike his/her Fermenting precisely.

The final note is, sometimes when you are behind in towers and lack of colors while your opponent got all 5 colors, it is somewhat more benefitial to share the draw and tuck a 1 to your opponent and benefit from possibly get a new color by it. Since you will get a free draw action from sharing anyway, this maybe better then drawing directly.

------

I may keep writing till age 10, maybe not, since this is rather long.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2013, 04:48:58 am by BitTorrent »
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theory

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2013, 04:10:47 pm »
0

Good article.  But I must point out that although Mathematics could help you with Translation if you meld it from the first part of the dogma, there's already a blue card with crowns that helps for Translation ;-)
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BitTorrent

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2013, 04:17:41 pm »
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Good article.  But I must point out that although Mathematics could help you with Translation if you meld it from the first part of the dogma, there's already a blue card with crowns that helps for Translation ;-)

Say you actually dogma Translation and actually meld all your scores. If your score pile get anything blue, you must meld them all so you need something out of Translation to accomplish the achievement part. Though in another case you are right, say you don't meld score or you don't have anything blue in your score pile.

Won't insert this into the article though since this is about the Translation card instead of Mathematics itself.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2013, 04:25:40 pm by BitTorrent »
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popsofctown

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2013, 04:47:55 pm »
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You listed Construction and Road Building as having different icon layouts.  Aren't they identical?
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TrojH

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2013, 09:34:01 pm »
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"Monolithism"? You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.  ;)

It's "Monotheism".
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WinterSpartan

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2013, 09:46:32 pm »
+2

Monotheism is also one of those cards that makes me feel obliged to say something in chat. "Thou shalt not have Fermenting! Beer is a heretical abomination!" I'm sure everybody does that.

...No? Just me? Ah well then.
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carstimon

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2013, 10:44:55 pm »
+3

I will try to keep writing until age 10...maybe.
Wouldn't you rather cover it up with a more powerful blue, like chemistry or something?
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BitTorrent

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2013, 04:52:06 am »
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"Monolithism"? You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.  ;)

It's "Monotheism".

Fixed. Thanks. I sometimes connect that card with the 'Alien Monolith' in RFTG...sort of things.

Wouldn't you rather cover it up with a more powerful blue, like chemistry or something?

Maybe a ksasaki style left-splayed Lever - Almanac - Magnifying Glass - Ruler thing then...sounds efficient, too.
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theory

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2013, 01:16:45 pm »
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I'm going to incorporate bits of this into the Age 2 Tier List.
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Alexmf

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Re: Talk about specific base cards - Age 2
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2013, 06:29:01 pm »
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Interesting thoughts! I'm still pretty new to this game und reading such articles helps a lot to get to know the cards and some common strategies.
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