Hoarder
$6
Action
Trash a card from your hand. For each $2 it costs (round down), choose one: +1 Card, +1 Action; +2 Cards; gain a Gold.
I like this as a Salvager-family TFB. I like the flexibility this gives you over Upgrade as well. The Gold-gaining synergizes with itself because Golds give you quite the nice benefit with this card. Trashing starting Estates for Gold is unlike any card except transmute, but I think at $6 it’s balanced.
RAISER • • Night
If you have more Action cards in play than Treasure cards, +2 Villagers.
If don't, gain a Gold.
I’m not sure how I feel about this card. +2 Villagers seems weak for a $5 card, and in an engine this is what you’re going to get out of it. It seems like a good BM enabler as well, it’s something nice you can pick up when you have $5 that isn’t a silver. Overall I think it’s a little weak? Not bad though.
Bounty - Event, $5 cost.
Trash a card from your hand. Gain a card costing up to $2 more than it. If there's no other copy of it in the trash, gain a Gold.
-
Setup: trash a Copper and an Estate from the Supply.
At first, I missed that this was an event. I think it works much better as an event than an Action card. I worry that this covers some of the same ground that Enhance already covers. Also it seems a little bit too easy to mill Provinces with it. I like the “no other copy in the trash” clause, though, it is unique and I think it works here.
Barman - Action $5
If you have a Gold on your tavern mat, put it into your hand. Otherwise, +$1 and gain 2 Golds onto your tavern mat.
I think your self-critique is right--this is a little too-much better than Explorer. This works 2/3 times, and even when it doesn’t work you still get +$1. I wonder if there’s a different bonus you can give instead of +$1 to make it a little weaker but still good--maybe +1 Buy?
Way of the Buffalo - Way
You may discard a Gold from your hand to gain a Gold.
I like this one. This essentially gives you a Gold for the price of Silver, as long as you already have a Gold in-hand. It’s weak, but most ways are supposed to be weakish, and it’s unique. I like it.
Reverend (Action, $5)
+$2
+1 Buy
Trash a card from your hand. For the rest of this turn, when you trash a card, gain a Gold.
I like this card as well. It is a nice priest variant, and I like that it doesn’t work on its first trash. I wonder if stacking it is too good of a payoff, but it’s hard to stack due to its terminalness. I think it’s balanced for its price though.
Forecast
Event - $3
+1 Buy
Gain a Gold. Each other player gains a Spoils.
I think this would be good enough without the +1 Buy. Gold for $3 is already pretty cheap. Also, as was noted in the thread, sometimes a vanishing Gold is better than a real Gold. I do like the concept though, and it’s pretty simple too, which is good.
Secluded Village
$5 - Action/Reserve
+1 Card
+3 Actions
Put this on your Tavern mat.
-
When you have no Actions left during your Action phase, you may call this, to gain a Gold.
This seems pretty weak. This has the same cost as Bustling Village (granted, it’s not part of a split pile) and is much weaker. You usually want more Villages than Golds in your deck, but this makes you gain Gold every time you want to get your village back. I almost wonder if it would work the other way around. But then it’s a lot like Coin of the Realm, so maybe not. I like the concept though.
Amalgam
Event - $0
Trash an Action card and a Treasure card from play. If you did, gain a Gold.
This is really nice with Necropolis (well, so are Ways and a few Events) and other cheap actions. I would happily trash a Pearl Diver and a Copper for a Gold. I think giving Gold this alternate cost is cool and I like the concept and it seems balanced.
Opera House - Action $4
+2 Cards
Choose one twice, you get the first option, each other player gets the second option: gain a Gold; or +1 Coffers; or reveal the top 2 cards of your deck and add one to your hand.
I think this is balanced. I really don’t have much else to say about it. I like that it’s not as game-dominating as Governor.
Dwarf Miner • • Action
You may gain a Gold. If you did not, trash a card from your hand to gain a card costing up to more.
In games using this, when you play a Gold, return it to the Supply and gain a Spoils.
I’m not sure how I feel about the “in games using this” clause. I feel like it would be better as a “while this is in play” so that other strategies that involve using golds for money aren’t completely crushed, especially if there is no other virtual money in the game. The card on top is strong, but the below-the-line weakens it enough so that I think it’s good.
Minecart - Action $5
You may discard 2 cards to gain a Gold.
You may gain a Silver.
You may gain a Copper to your hand.
Then, +$1 per card you’ve gained this turn.
This seems bonkers. It also seems like a huge BM enabler, because with taking every option you’re up +$4 for this turn and you have added $6 to your deck. I could see it being used in an engine for TFB purposes, but overall I think it’s a little too powerful, especially if you can stack it.
Loom - $4
Action - Attack - Reaction
+$2
You may reveal a card from your discard pile and put it onto your deck. If the revealed card is an Attack card, each other player gains a Curse.
-
When you gain a Curse, you may discard this, to gain a Gold.
The attack card that only works if you have more than 1. I’ve always liked this idea and think this is a good implementation. I like the reaction too; I misread it at first to be a “when you would gain a Curse... instead gain a Gold” but I like that the gold comes with the curse instead of instead of.
Sow - Action-Duration, $4
+1 Card
+1 Action
At the start of your next turn, if there are three or more of this in play, discard all Sow in play and gain a Reap to your hand. Otherwise, +$1
Reap - Treasure $6
Worth $2
Gain a Gold.
(This is not in the supply)
As worded, you still get 1 Reap per Sow in play, which is crazy. It’s way too easy to line up 3 cantrips (or more!) and get +$6 to your current hand. It also feels like Reap is treading over what Hoard and Treasure Trove have already done better.
Gold Miner $3
+1 action
+1 card
You may take one of the following cards in hand:
a Copper
a Silver if 1 supply pile is empty
a Gold if 2 supply piles are empty.
A cantrip Copper-gainer. Ehhh.... seems weakish at best. I don’t think I’d want this outside of slog games like IGG rushes which aren’t really a thing anymore. The gold-gaining never ends up meaning much I think because the game is so close to over by the time 2 supply piles are empty.
Bursary - Project $6
At the start of your turn, you may trash a card costing $3 from your hand to gain a Gold to your hand.
I like that you don’t just have to trash Silvers now. It seems decent, though I don’t know how many times I’d actually use it in a game. I think most of the time when I’d buy this, I’d rather just buy the Gold right out.
Midas Touch
When you gain an Action card, gain a Gold. When you play a Gold, return it to its pile.
Project
$5
Seems cool, but as someone else pointed out, this instapiles the Golds and Horses with Livery. And as another person pointed out, I wonder if this wouldn’t work just as well with “when you gain an Action card, gain a Spoils.” That solves both problems, I think.
Goblin • $4 • Action
You may trash a Treasure
from your hand.
If you trashed a Gold,
choose one: +4 Cards; or +3 Actions; or +1 Buy and +$3; or gain a Gold.
If you trashed something other than Gold, gain a Gold.
This has a lot of stuff going on. I think the "gain a gold" option on the Gold-trashing is just extra words that could easily be removed. I like the options that you have for trashing a Gold because none of them are particularly strong, but the versatility is good. This seems a little too strong for $4 and too weak for $5. Maybe get rid of the actions option? Not sure at this point how to weaken it without making it too weak though. I like the concept!
Runners-upWay of the Buffalo, by grrgrrgrr
Amalgam, by grep
Reverend, by mandioca15
WinnerLoom, by Marpharos! I’ve always loved the concept of the attack that doesn’t attack all the time, and this does that very well. And I think the reaction is well-balanced and fun. Congrats!