OK, let's try a simple exercise, for the sake of interest. Consider the overpaid IGG. Since it is like a mini-version of IGG, I will now call it Li'l-Gotten Gains (LGG).
Li'l-Gotten Gains - Treasure - $2+
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$1
When you play this, you may gain a Copper, putting it into your hand.
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When you buy this, you may overpay for it by $3. If you do, each other player gains a Curse.
For the sake of completeness, let's also consider a version without the cursing at all. Let's call it Nil-Gotten Gains (NGG).
Nil-Gotten Gains - Treasure - $2
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$1
When you play this, you may gain a Copper, putting it into your hand.
Now, here is the
2013 list for $1-$2 cards, and here is the
2013 list for $5 cards. Assume that you agree with those two lists. Now, where would you rank NGG and LGG in the $2 list? Where would you rank LGG in the $5 list? Please try to do this objectively, and provide reasoning for your placements (or reasoning for why you cannot make an adequate placement).
I will try.
On the $5 list, LGG is of course most similar to IGG. However, it is inferior in two ways. First of all, it does worse with TfB. Second, and more important, the potential lower cost interferes with certain IGG strategies. Normally I would say that the lower cost is a bonus, because if you cared more about the on-play then there is less opportunity cost for you. With LGG, the big example is of course Gardens. But this small advantage is outweighed by a disadvantage -- one of the most powerful aspects of IGG is that it runs out two piles at once. With LGG, an opponent can easily counter by buying cheap LGGs, leaving extra curses in the supply.
IGG is ranked #5 on its list, so I cannot put LGG higher than that. Therefore, I think I will put it at #9, below Torturer. LGG is still very powerful, as all Cursers tend to be. The disadvantage caused by the potential disruption as described above hurts it, but not terribly much. You can still curse your opponent, and if your opponent is buying LGG at $2, well, they're just getting a poor card and they aren't really hurting you at all. Maybe you can't 3-pile as easily, but there are other things you can do. Overall, it is far more likely for both parties to buy IGG at $5.
OK, what about on the $2 list?
NGG is a terrible card in all but the most niche circumstances. Although it is a Treasure, I would say that Beggar is better. It provides an extra $1 on play and it has a snazzy reaction. Moreover, in decks where you like the Copper gaining, Beggar is probably better for providing that third Copper, terminal or not. Therefore I would put NGG below Beggar, which is at #14. The next few cards below that are Vagrant, Moat and Herbalist. I think all of these have decent use cases that are more common that NGG's. Next is Pearl Diver... although PD is generally harmless in any deck, it has very little value. At least NGG is worth up to $2 on play and has a decent use case with Gardens. I will rank NGG at #18, pushing Pearl Diver down.
Great. Now for the tough one -- LGG. It is better than NGG for sure, so it has to be above #18. Can I put an upper bound? It doesn't beat Chapel in my book.
The next several cards on the list are Hamlet, Courtyard, FG, Lighthouse and Squire. These are all strong $2 cards for different reasons. I think LGG actually deserves a place among them. After all, it junks the opponent's deck. But it also costs an extra $3 to get that ability, which is a non-trivial cost. How do I weigh that cost now? By gut instinct, I think I would put LGG below FG and above Lighthouse -- so, #5.
The difficulty I experience is how to weigh the power of the overpay effect against the extra opportunity cost it incurs compared to the other $2 cards which have no such extra cost, nor such extra power. There is a tension here that makes my head spin when trying to rank it. It is even more difficult with the real overpay cards because you have to consider the opportunity cost/increased benefit for each amount you overpay from the base cost.
How would you guys do it?