Alright, here are my thoughts on your entries! Hopefully this is easier to read than the last time I did this
anordinarymanSkipper | Action - Duration | $5
You may play an Action card from your hand.
Choose one: play it again, or set it aside and play it at the start of your next turn.
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This is gained onto your deck (instead of your discard pile).
Tracking with Durations seems difficult (something like Wharf for instance, leads to questions of “umm, how many times did I play that last turn again?”). I think the strength level is ok, comparable to something like Royal Carriage ($5 throne with a bit more flexibility, this one is good with some overdraw, top decking on gain can also help set up your next turn).
TiminouNovice
Action - Duration ($5)
Set aside up to 2 cards from your hand (on this). Choose one: trash them now; or at the start of your next turn, trash them and +1 Card per $1 they cost in total.
Double trashing with no other bonus for $5 isn’t very strong so most of the time I'd be wanting to make use of the second option. I like this card’s ability to setup megaturns or spike high purchase points. I think overall it’s weaker than Apprentice but it has some different things it can do for you.
faustSawmill
Action - Treasure - Duration ($4)
At the start of your next Buy Phase, +$2, +1 Buy
I never played Dominion in the time of the original Woodcutter, but I don’t think it’s a card I’d like using very often (Nomad Camp also doesn't impress me, Messenger is alright). This looks alright for spiking some purchases but I don’t see much else I’d get this card for besides that or the only source of +Buy.
emtzalexINVESTMENT ($5)
TREASURE - DURATION
+1 Buy
Choose one: +$2; or, at the start of your next turn, +1 Buy and +$3.
Similarly to Sawmill, I like the look of this card for spiking high purchases, don’t think I’d get it much otherwise. The extra Buys on the Duration option may also help with stuff like cost reduction or Peddler. I don't know, this one just doesn't excite me very much.
4estSentinel
Night - Duration ($2)
Either now or at the start of your next turn, +2 Cards then put 2 cards from your hand onto your deck.
I think this is a flexible card where both options will get some good usage. I’d aim to use the first choice more since I can keep reusing the same Sentinel, but the second choice also has some nice synergies (stuff that cares about the top of deck, as you already pointed out). Also because I saw it brought up, the name being the same as one of my other WDC cards doesn’t really mean anything to me, just made me chuckle a bit when I first saw it.
GubumpHarbor
Action - Duration ($4)
Either now or at the start of your next turn, +2 Cards and +1 Buy.
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When you gain this, you may play it.
A simple twist on Barge that sets up some interesting ideas. You can gain a bunch of them in a turn with some Workshops to set up a huge turn next turn. You can buy a couple to set up your next turn, like Den of Sin. And of course you can always just play it normally for a bit of extra draw now or next turn. Great work on this one!
JWTabernacle
$2
Action - Duration
Now, or at the start of your next turn, you may trash a card from your hand for +1 Card.
The ability to trash next turn instead can be nice so that you still have a 5 card hand to work with, but I think this is too slow of a trasher for something that doesn’t provide any other options after you’re done trashing (exs. Amulet, Steward, Masquerade). A terminal +1 Card on something can also be awkward since it can draw stuff dead without increasing handsize at all.
mandioca15Capstan (Action-Duration, $4)
+1 Card
+1 Action
Discard any number of cards. At the start of your next turn, draw that many cards.
Fantastic card for spiking purchases. I also like its lategame utility of discarding all your green cards/unneeded Actions or Treasures to set up a reliable next turn.
One concern I have with this card though is the tracking, remembering how many cards you discarded last turn seems difficult to do without a notepad or something else around.
NoMoreFunCopycat
Action - Duration ($4)
The next time any player plays an Action, gain a copy of it to your hand.
I think the gaining to hand and cheaper cost make this compare too favourably to Kiln. Yes, it can’t gain Treasures, but being able to immediately use a powerful Action outweighs that imo.
I do like the card’s idea, but I’d prefer it if it cost more or didn’t gain to hand.
xyz123Refit
Action - Duration ($5)
Choose one: Trash a card from your hand and gain a card costing up to $2 more than it; or at the start of your next turn trash a card from your hand and gain a card costing up to $3 more than it.
This solves a big problem that Expand has (that being by the time you can hit $7, it’s usually a little late for what it does). I think both options have some good usage, first for late game Gold -> Province and the second for early game Estates -> $5 (for example). Overall, great card. Interesting and easy to understand.
grepWagenburg
$4 - Action - Duration
+1 Card
+2 Actions
You may put your -1 Card token on your deck. If you did, at start of your next turn, +1 Card.
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While this is in play, you are unaffected by other players' Attack cards.
A $4 village is already in a relatively safe spot strength wise, but I like the unique options this card gives you. Overdraw can make the +1 Card next turn meaningful, and since you only need 1 out at a time to block attacks I don't think there is too much concern about losing all of your +Actions.
Xen3kInformation Broker - $6
Action - Duration
+2 Cards
+1 Action
Either now or at the start of your next turn, if you have no Debt, +2 Cards and take 4 Debt.
This one was probably the most difficult for me to evaluate, since no other Action gives Debt on play. With excess payload (which is something I find myself with often enough) taking debt for extra draw seems useful. I like the change of making the draw conditional on having no Debt, otherwise “gainer” focused decks look like they could get out of control.
lompeluitenWood Sculptor ($5)
Action - Duration
Either now or at the start of your next turn, gain a card to your hand costing up to $4.
Delaying a $4 gain until next turn can be useful early on to let you play your gained card right away (unless you have Villages of course). It's a weird "in the middle" state between being terminal and non-terminal. Simple and to the point. I like this card.
spinefluSovereign • $5 • Action - Duration
You may play a non-Duration Action from your hand twice. You may set it aside if there's a copy of it in the Supply, to play it twice at the start of your next turn.
Until then, the first time another player plays a copy of the set aside card on their turn, they play it again afterwards.
Powerful throning with a drawback isn’t something I’ve seen before, I like the concept. This is a card that greatly rewards different playstyles and/or meticulous tracking of your opponent’s deck, after all if they don’t have the card you set aside, who cares about the drawback? I also like having “non-Duration” on this so that way my head doesn’t spin trying to remember what got played when.
majiponiImitation
cost $6 - Action - Duration
You may play an Action card from your hand. If you do, choose one: replay it; or leave it in play until the start of your next turn, to gain a copy of it into your hand.
This is a much more flexible version of Kiln, so I think the higher price is appropriate. I think it would excel in games with high cost Actions, or Potion/Debt costs. It seems a bit slow for some games (as each gain takes 2 turns), but I think it has enough times where it is worthwhile.
Freddy10Merchant Wagon ($4)
Action - Duration
+1 Action
Choose one: Discard any number of cards, then draw that many; or at the start of your next turn: +2 Cards
Another decent card for spiking purchases. $4 for the Cellar effect isn’t very good though, so I think I’d prefer something a little stronger for this effect.
Overall though I think this card is fine.
fika monsterVanguard
Action - Duration ($5)
Either now or at the start of your next turn: put your deck into your discard pile. Put 2 cards from your discard pile into your hand.
I think this card is a little weak overall, but it has some great utility not seen in many other cards. It’s great with terminal draw BM, and is also a nice counter to many attacks including Rabble, Ghost Ship, and Sea Hag. The next turn effect can also be useful for setting up an extra reliable starting hard.
GardoomalionEstate Trader
Action - Duration ($4)
+2 Cards
+1 Buy
This turn, when you gain a Victory card, you may set aside the top card of your deck face down (on this). At the start of your next turn, put those cards into your hand.
This card is sad when you’ve drawn your whole deck, as you have nothing else to set aside for your next turn, compared to most other duration draw cards that give you +Cards at the start of your turn. I think this card would be much more flexible if it could set aside cards from your hand as well. It may seem a little OP at first, but since you’re usually not greening until the end I don’t think it’s an issue.
arowdokBlockade Runner $3
Action - Duration
Either now or at the start of your next turn, +$2.
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While this is in play, when you gain a card, either trash that card or put it onto your deck.
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Set up phase: Each player adds an Embargo token to a Supply pile. (For the rest of the game, when a player buys a card from that pile, they gain a Curse.)
The on-play ability and the “while in play” ability are both pretty nice and simple. I dislike the Set-Up section though. It’s unclear what order the players place the Embargo tokens, and I feel it also tries to “force” part of the “while in play” ability when similar cards (such as Watchtower) can function just fine without needing everything to be fully utilized 100% of the time.
MochaMokoCall to Arms
⑤ Action - Duration
You may play a non-Duration
Action from your hand twice.
Trash a card from your hand. If it's an Action, set the card you played aside (on this). If you did, at the start of your next turn, play it twice.
My first thought with this card (naturally) is “LOL Fortress.”
Even without that, I think this is another $5 Throne that offers some good utility (trashing is helpful of course) and combos very nicely with other things such as Horses or cheap cantrips you normally don’t really need. Nice work!
spheremonkHarbor
Action - Duration ($6)
Draw up to 4 cards. For each card less than 4 you draw, put a token on this. At the start of your next turn, +1 Card per token
While it isn’t strictly better than Hunting Grounds (due to no on-trash bonus), I do think this card compares to it a little too favourably. I do love the flexibility this card offers but I feel it needs to be a little more expensive (not sure if $7 makes it too weak though). Maybe a small on-gain penalty?
mathdudeRevolutionist
Action- Duration, $5
+1 Card
+1 Action
You may trash a card from your hand. If you don't, at the start of your next turn, +1 Card and trash a card from your hand.
This one seems pretty good. A cantrip trasher with the option to delay the trashing (for when you draw this with all your $ early on) is quite nice. Giving an extra +1 Card next turn is also nice, since it allows you to operate with a “normal” handsize for each of the 2 turns.
I decided to split up the rankings into three (instead of two) sections this time. Without further ado:
Semi-FinalistsSentinel by 4est
Harbor by Gubump
Wagenburg by grep
Wood Sculptor by lompeluiten
Sovereign by spineflu
Revolutionist by mathdude
Runner-UpsCapstan by mandioca15
Refit by xyz123
WinnerCall to Arms by MochaMoko
Congratulations to Mocha for winning the contest! And thank you to everyone who came out to submit this week! I had a lot of fun with this contest!