1
Variants and Fan Cards / how much should this cost?
« on: August 18, 2012, 08:27:27 pm »
Blacksmith-$4
Action
+2 cards, +$1
in a recent discussion, it came to my attention that this card does not exist. the only way to simultaneous net cards in hand while gaining $ is Trusty Steed, which is irrelevant to costing discussions. I guessed 4 due to the comparison with Smithy. early game it is probably better in a straight big money deck, since $1 is above the expected value of the average card in your deck, and the lower +card reduces risk of collision, but in exchange it is weaker late when you're looking to buy provinces, since at that point the average card in your deck should be worth more than $1. however, in both those situations, the lower +card actually helps pull it to the center. early, it slows your cycling compared to smithy, making it worse, whereas later it slows it still, making it better, since when you're greening you'd love to wait as long as possible to shuffle those provinces up.
outside of BM, it is probably worse than smithy overall, since it digs less deep, but if you have some extra actions lying around, maybe it's better, since it contributes to your economy without getting in the way of your digging, meaning you don't have to also buy as many treasures as you might have to with smithy.
I'm sure, considering the simple nature of the design, that this is not the first time it's been brought up, but I'm curious what people think. also, I haven't read the full Dark Ages spoiler yet, so maybe this is in there, in which case I'd be curious how close I was.
Action
+2 cards, +$1
in a recent discussion, it came to my attention that this card does not exist. the only way to simultaneous net cards in hand while gaining $ is Trusty Steed, which is irrelevant to costing discussions. I guessed 4 due to the comparison with Smithy. early game it is probably better in a straight big money deck, since $1 is above the expected value of the average card in your deck, and the lower +card reduces risk of collision, but in exchange it is weaker late when you're looking to buy provinces, since at that point the average card in your deck should be worth more than $1. however, in both those situations, the lower +card actually helps pull it to the center. early, it slows your cycling compared to smithy, making it worse, whereas later it slows it still, making it better, since when you're greening you'd love to wait as long as possible to shuffle those provinces up.
outside of BM, it is probably worse than smithy overall, since it digs less deep, but if you have some extra actions lying around, maybe it's better, since it contributes to your economy without getting in the way of your digging, meaning you don't have to also buy as many treasures as you might have to with smithy.
I'm sure, considering the simple nature of the design, that this is not the first time it's been brought up, but I'm curious what people think. also, I haven't read the full Dark Ages spoiler yet, so maybe this is in there, in which case I'd be curious how close I was.