Contest 120 Judgment
Pack Mule • $5 • Action - Duration
While this is in play, at the start of your turn, +1 Card.
-
At the start of Cleanup for your turns, you may pay $1 or discard an Action card from your hand. If you did not, discard this from play.
This is an interesting twist on hireling. I think you could afford to lose the "pay $1" and drop the cost to $4; still, with the $1 upkeep cost and the $5 buy cost, it's pretty balanced. It does feel pretty bad on that initial play having to pay the upkeep without getting a benefit, though. I wonder if this would get more play than hireling or if the opportunity cost is still too high being terminal.
Craftsman • $6 • Action - Duration
Gain 3 differently named cards costing less than this and set them aside face down (you may look at them).
At the start of your next three turns, put one into your hand.
This could probably afford to either nix Victory cards - "Gain 3 differently named non-Victory cards costing less than...." - or cost $8. Like, "here's three duchies" should probably have prince-esque opportunity cost. It might also be ok at $5, although i think it'd play very different in $4 alt-VP games.
That said, with one of those changes, this card should exist.
Mine Digger • $4 • Action - Duration
Gain a Copper to your hand.
At the start of your next turn, gain a Silver to your hand.
At the start of your next turn after that, gain a Gold to your hand.
This might be among the best Big Money enablers I've ever had to judge. This has some great combos with landmarks specifically - Palace, Keep, and Fountain love it.
The gain to hand and the fact that it stays out of your deck for three turns really helps out big money in a way that seems
unfairly good at $2 pretty balanced at $4.
Finalist
Brewery • $5 • Action - Duration
+$1
At the start of your next turn, choose one: +$3, or replay this.
I think this will play very differently in village-heavy games than in non-village games - you'll want to cycle it a lot more. That said, even just keeping it in play as a non-swipeable "the key" is pretty good.
Hella points from elegance on this though. Short, sweet, to the point. Great job.
Finalist
Refinery • $6 • Night - Duration
At the start of each of your Night phases that this remains in play, you may trash a card from your hand to gain a card costing up to $1 per different card type (Action, Attack, etc.) you have in play. If you don't, discard this from play.
This is a pretty elegant way to make a gainer whose qualifications start at gain a card costing up to $2 + $1 per type you have in play.
I think it'll really shine in games where there's Weird Types in play - a knight, or prize, or gatherer, or spirit.
I like it at $6 so it misses the openings, although I do think mathdude is correct that it could cost $5. It's probably going to be critical in clearing out coppers, and hitting $6 before like, turn five, is more spiky than hitting $5.
I don't know if you'd ever want more than one of these. Maybe in rushes.
Finalist
Confessional • $4 • Action - Duration
Now and at the start of your next 2 turns, you may trash a card from your hand. If you trash an...
Action card, +2 Cards, +1 Villager.
Treasure card, +1 Buy, +1 Coffers.
Victory card, +1VP, gain a Horse.
I'm not sure why this is a Night card. it's got an antisynergy with itself, which, compare/contrast with Sacrifice when you have to use that as the only source of villages. It also makes you lose out on a thing from trashing anything but victory cards that first turn.
That said, this seems good. Probably want to open with it, get it in play asap to help clear out stuff, maybe do two if it's the only trasher. I think the Action version of this card would be even better, but at least this way you can't draw it dead.
Royal Barge • $5 • Action - Duration
Set aside any number of Action cards from your hand, face down (under this). While any remain, at the start of each of your turns, play one of them twice.
This, with copies of itself, has some Shenanigans Potential. I think to minimize the confusion, it should probably only work with non-Durations; that said, this is probably also the way to do the hypothetical duration throne that was cut from Seaside.
This is great though, I've got a headache trying to track it already.
Summoning Circle • $2 • Action - Duration
At the start of your next 2 turns, set aside a card from your hand (on this). At the start of your next turn after that, trash them and this, and gain a Curse and a card costing up to $6.
This looks good; kinda slow, maybe, but in the same role as Embargo where you've got $2 and a buy left and you're like, alright, throw in an Embargo.
The curses provide more grist for summoning, which is a neat little self-synergy. and $6 gainers are rare enough. I like it.
Rubbish Collector • $4 • Action - Duration
While this is in play, at the start of each of your turns you may trash a card from your hand. Discard this from play at the end of your turn if you did not trash anything with this
I think you hit the nail on the head with the Chapel comparison, which means I have to ask: why isn't this a $2 cost so it's totally affordable regardless of opening? Is it just because it compares favorably to Cathedral?
I think I'd make a change, which is this trashes itself - you should have to spend the opportunity cost of a buy on a second one if you pulled the plug early - as is, getting to "turn it back on" feels unearned.
Escort • $4 • Action - Duration
+1 Action
Trash a card from your hand. Put a coin token on here for each $ it cost.
At the start of your turn, if there are any coin tokens on here you may remove one to discard your hand and draw 5 cards.
(This stays in play as long as there are coin tokens on it.)
Feel like this could reasonably cost $3 or even $2. I'm not sure what double opening these would get me that a single open wouldn't - one fewer estate, maybe. I get that you're trying to have it priced in comparison to Guide but honestly how many times do you call Guide in a game? maybe twice? three or four times if there's handsize attacks?
I mean, it's a fine way to do mulligans, but it's also not very exciting.
Minor nitpick not taken into account with judging: you should probably phrase it "+5 Cards" rather than "draw 5 cards"
Eastern Hireling • $5 • Action - Duration
+1 Card
+1 Action
If this is in play at the start of your turn, +1 Card.
-
Any player may pay $2 on their turn to discard this from play.
This is an interesting twist on hireling. I'd be very interested to see how it played, but I suspect in multiplayer games this ends up in politicsland - only one player has to spend extra money to discard someone else's card, which puts it into some kingmaker territory where there's competing opportunity costs - the player that causes it to discard loses the ability to spend that $2 on improving their own deck.
Still, in more casual games, or in 2p, this looks fun.
JW also brings up a good point about the timing on the purchase mattering. That can be fixed in a revision though.
River Guide • $5 • Action - Duration
Now and at the start of your next two turns, choose one:
+1 Card, +1 Action; +$3; trash a card from your hand.
I think this is way too crazy good. It needs some restriction on it, either to make you do a different thing, or the same thing each time. Otherwise it's a nonterminal hireling* at $5.
*yeah you have to keep playing it so there'll be draw-opportunity lost, but still, way too good.
Or, like faust points out: it's a gold for three turns at the same price as merchant ship's silver-for-two-turns.
It can probably drop the +$3 option too.
Exhibit • $2 • Night - Duration
Set aside a non-Duration card you have in play under each Exhibit you have in play.
While any cards remain set aside under this, at the start of your Buy phase, discard one of them for +$2.
I do think it is novel that you can "refuel" the exhibits while they're still in play. That took me a couple times reading to click how that'd work. I think that's an interesting self synergy that makes this card not just crypt for silvers only with an initial opportunity cost.
I feel like you'd always want to double open this and pray for minimal initial collision. It's some real good pseudotrashing / turning opening decks into silvers.
I also feel like this'd get misplayed in non-app/paper settings very consistently. It's got some real subtlety to it.
Finalist
War Bond • $4 • Action - Duration
+1 Action
Put 1 Coffer onto this for each Action card in play (including this). At the start of your subsequent turns, take a Coffer from this. If none left, discard this.
I think I had a similar card way back in... 2018? it did trashing for coffers, cost-into-coffers style, with a 1 coffer/turn drip, and was very good. I think this would almost always see play and nearly always empty - you get your deck up and running, and with spare $4+buy or gainers, grab these to throw down for payload. I don't think it needs the +Action on it to be an extremely viable engine component, and I think it's potentially busted with how good it is at a non-terminal $4. It's probably an easy/reasonable nerf to make this only care about uniquely named actions.
Galley • $6 • Action - Duration
What if hireling but for deck cleanup? Or, what if cathedral but green-friendly?
Like I said with Refinery, $6 is an awkward price for cards you 100% want in ... basically everything but a Donate game, really. I think having this at $8 would be a more viable price point - makes the choice 'do i go for points, or do I go for deck improvement?'.
Offer • $4 • Action - Duration
Set aside a card from your hand or the Supply (under this). When a player gains a card, the leftmost other player with a copy of it under one of their Offers returns that copy to its pile for +2 Cards and +1%.
I feel like Invest does this better, with fewer sui generis cases ("the leftmost other player"), albeit at the cost of doing it in the open rather than blindly. I don't think the opportunity cost of a) getting a card an opponent needs to b) return it to the supply is really worth 2 cards and a vp, though, and having it worth more than that (in deck component terms) would be swingy; maybe just +3vp? Does seem like a fun minigame though.
Philosopher • $5 • Action - Duration
+$2
You may put your deck in your discard pile.
While this remains in play, +$2 at the start of your turns.
---
When you shuffle your deck, discard this from play
This has some "strictly better" issues compared to Merchant Ship, while also being more flexible than Merchant Ship. There was also no revisions for the loop Aquila pointed out, convoluted though it may be.
Also with the discard clause below the line, you may have some loops with ways, particularly cases like w.o.t. Horse and w.o.t. Pig, that are nonconvoluted, especially since the (appropriately philosophical) ruling that you can shuffle one card - you draw deck, play Philosopher as wot Pig, have no cards in your deck, so you shuffle your discard (even if it's empty), which causes Philosopher to discard, but now your deck is still empty, which causes another shuffle, which puts Philosopher back in your deck, then your hand. (thank you for making me re-read the shuffle rules :/ )
You could fix this by doing a set aside and discard at clean-up thing.
I like the concept, but it needs some revisions.
Bookkeeper • $5 • Action - Duration
+3 Coffers
Gain a card costing up to $4.
Take @4. At the start of your next turn, if you have any @, replay this.
Three coffers is too much. Like even on a card that'll net you debt, 3 coffers is a ton. 3 coffers is $7 terminal action territory, not "keep gaining them next turn and also a $4 card, for $5" territory. If you're giving debt anyway, this should probably have a debt price so it doesn't self-gain with literally any cost reduction.
Acrobat • $3 • Action - Duration
+1 Action
+1 Buy
-
At the end of your turn, discard it unless you played an Acrobat this turn.
At the beginning of your turn, if this is in play:
+1 Card.
This is a really neat, clean design. Has kind of a Stockpile quality build to it. Its on-play is kind of meh - I'm interested to see the game where this is the only buy and you have to turn off your drawing power to get those +buys - but this is really quite novel.
Finalist
Compost • $3 • Action - Duration
+1 Action
At the start of each of your turns, if this has set aside 3 or more cards, trash this and them, and gain a card to your hand costing up to $6.
Until you trash this, when you gain a card, you may set it aside face up (on this).
This has some issues for two reasons.
First, you have the "using with a command card" issue - a quick fix would be to give this the command type (which, I'm sure others will balk at, given that it isn't playing anything); a more thorough one would be to include a "while this is in play" clause in the (already pretty wordy) top paragraph, or change the "until you trash this" to "while this is in play".
The second issue is the setting aside is optional. This leads to some wild power creep like essentially automatically exiling green you buy. That's a bit too busted at non-terminal $3, imo. There's a fix for this, though: make it no longer optional to set aside your gains on this. You want to gain cards, you've gotta get rid of your compost first.
I'm less concerned about the "this blocks junkers" part than others in the thread - so does lighthouse or guardian or champion. It's not that hard to adjust your play style away from an attack when someone goes hard on defense.
You mention that the card has been buffed several times over the course of its conception. That was maybe not the best impulse. I'd consider it a lot more favorably if it were terminal (and had the above fixes).
Dark Caverns • $6 • Night - Duration
Set aside up to 3 non-Duration cards you have in play, face down (under this). While any remain, at the start of each of your turns, put one of them into your hand.
I feel like in a world where crypt and scheme exist, this shouldn't, mostly due to issues of "better" even if it's not strictly better. This is really good, even at $6, and having a couple of them to juggle That One Card that makes your deck pop off so it pops off every turn is extremely good. I think having it at $3 and one card would be more reasonable.
Native Trail • $4 • Action - Duration
+1 Action
Now, and at the start of your turns while you have any cards set aside with this:
Set aside the top card of your deck under this, or put all cards set aside with one of your Native Trails into your hand.
This is a really interesting take on Native Village, or, kinda, Lookout. I feel like this is a card design I'd think was really good and go in on hard but it'd end up screwing me over, kinda like Research. If it's as good as I'm imagining it is, I don't think it needs the +Action.
It's not really clear if you can look at the set-aside cards or not. I'd guess yes? just based on other cards that set aside cards. I imagine it'd matter for having multiples in play.
Cash Advance • @2 • Treasure - Duration
$3
Put @2 on this. At the start of each of your buy phases, if there is any @ on this, you may take any amount of @ from here.
First up, props for designing a Treasure - Duration. I sort of expected more of them and was surprised to only get one.
Second, why would I want to take the debt on this ever? I get to "get it back into your deck" but why wouldn't I just pick them up to spike some power card and then leave them in play and never pay them off (because it's not my debt yet).
Also, you generally want the debt cost of a thing to be higher than the reward from it. Like, if this gave a cumulative 4 debt later for $3 now? that's sort of how debt actually works in real life and makes for a more interesting use of the mechanic.
Also, as segura suggested, the @2 cost is weird and pretty bad. I get what you were going for with this, but this is too much free stuff - maybe make the debt trickle in, 1 per turn, until it's empty?
My main judging criteria was "does this card need revisions?" and that gave me the five finalists, after which I compared the remaining cards in terms of novelty, utility, balance, and so on. Here's how they stacked up:
Placed:
• Acrobat by Freddy10
• Mine Digger by majiponi
• Refinery by AJL828
Runner Up:
• Brewery by X-tra
Winner:
•
Exhibit by faustCongrats everyone, I know this was a frustrating contest and I hope we all learned a lot about why Bonfire needs to be reworded to include "non-Duration".