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[GeneralRamos]

I've been mulling over another risky investment VP gainer, dependent on pile depletion. Two versions of it, both too wordy at the moment:

Version A--one card:
$2--Action/Hex
-1 VP
Count the number of empty supply piles. If there are...
none, +1 card, +1 action
exactly 1, you may trash this. If you do, gain a Duchy.
2 or more, you may trash this. If you do, gain a Province.

Version B--two cards:
Card X
$2--Action/Hex
-1 VP
+1 Card
+1 Action
Count the number of empty supply piles. If there are...
none, you may trash this and gain a Card Y
1 or more, you may trash this and gain a Duchy

Card Y
$3*--Action/Hex
-2 VP
+1 Card, +1 Action
If there are 2 or more supply piles empty, you may trash this and gain a Province.

In Version A, the pertinent risks are (1) the game ends on Provinces/Colonies before another pile is depleted and (2) deciding whether to cash out early for Duchies or try to hang on for Provinces. The card is not too detrimental, as a cantrip, so long as no piles have been depleted. After that, keeping them can past Duchy-ripeness can get in your way without good village support.

In version B, card X is a cantrip regardless of the number of empty supply piles. But once there is at least one empty pile, you are locked out of the trash-for-Province card, card Y. Being harder to get in the first place, I reverted this to a cantrip as well, but made the penalty for failure steeper by giving it -2 VP.

Other potential modifications:
Change the timing of the trash-for-VP to when you discard from play, allowing your buys to empty out a supply pile for you.
Change wording to "supply piles other than [this card's name]" to hinder a simple race to the bottom of this card's pile.

[GeneralRamos]

This post got mostly buried in the midst of Seasons fever (justifiably!) so I'm bumping this with some mock-ups.



And alternately:

[AdrianHealey]

Interesting card.

My concernish comment would be: it's usually *fairly* easy to predict wether or not a pile will run out and how fast (and there is an increased incentive to make it happen if close), causing these cards to be not as swingy.


Edit: I really don't think Widows and Orphans is that swingy, if you can reasonably predict the flow of the gamz.

[Asper]

Wording suggestion for Widow that avoids the gap and is overall shorter:
"Trash this. If no supply pile is empty, gain an Orphan. Otherwise, gain a Duchy."

Similarly, Orphan: "If at least 2 supply piles are empty, you may trash this. If you do, gain a Province"
Also avoids gaining two Provinces if you played Throne Room on Orphans.

Widows and Orphans:
"If the number of empty supply piles is...
0: +1 Card, +1 Action
1: You may trash this. If you do, gain a Duchy.
2: You may trash this. If you do, gain a Province."

Or:
" If no supply pile is empty, +1Card, +1Action.
Otherwise, you may trash this. If you do and the number of empty supply piles is...
...1: Gain a Duchy
...2 or more: Gain a Province"