Sorry I didn't respond to this for so long! I got distracted by Legend of Grimrock and only recently got back to updating this set. I actually wrote most of this post weeks ago but didn't actually submit it. The parts that I've just written today are marked with 'UPDATE'.
We used the version that gave one Cathedral token when gaining it, and the trashing was definitely used in every case. I don't think the card is too powerful. I think it is just a solid card and some of the other cards might not be powerful enough. It definitely works well with a money-based strategy, similar to how Courtyard works well with money.
I was trying to figure out an easy way to allow the purchasing of additional Cathedral tokens for more money when you buy the Cathedral (i.e. spend another coin (or two?) when purchasing the Cathedral to get another token with it). It could make for an interesting choice between getting a Gold at 6 or getting a Cathedral with 2 trash tokens... Might be worth trying.
Hmm, I'm not sure I'm too gung-ho about allowing extra tokens for additional cash. I don't want Cathedral to get much more wordy or complex than it already is. It sounds like a good idea for a card in general, though.
I failed to gain a Gold with it when I played it. I think that happened at least one other time. The problem is that if you fail to get a gold with it, it is a significant setback, since it is a one-shot card that costs four and is then gone. To me it was more of a gamble than Gambler (bigger gain when you succeed, bigger loss when you fail). Perhaps make the self-trashing conditional on guessing correctly?
We also didn't think that it lived up to its name, since trashing one card from the supply doesn't significantly affect the supply. Also, it is rare that any one player would buy very many of them, since its main use is to get a Gold earlier on in the game and its utility decreases later on (plus it can be a bit harder to guess the Kingdom card later on).
You could change the text below the line to read "When you buy this or trash this..." so that you get two opportunities to trash from the supply per Monopoly, rather than one.
I really love these ideas. I think the trashing being conditional on a correct guess is a winner for sure. I also like the 'When you buy or trash this' idea, except if I phrase it that way, you'd be able to trash the entire Monopoly pile when you bought your first Monopoly. I'll try to phrase it another way such that you can trash more than one card per Monopoly bought. Perhaps 'When you buy this or play it', like Noble Brigand. I may give the card a dramatic overhaul.
I agree that the action effect of Clerk is not very good/interesting. Perhaps you could also let the person choose to leave one of the three cards on top of the deck? It seems kind of thematic, shuffling papers around on a desk, from the inbox to the outbox...
Yeah, I was trying to keep the theme a bit in mind when designing the action portion, more to give me ideas than anything. Although once I find an effect I like, I can easily change the name and art to match.
The real issue is that I basically need the action effect to be interesting, unique, situationally useful, and to fit on two or three lines, because the reaction effect takes up most of the space on the card. That's a pretty tall order.
UPDATE: I've decided that trying to make Clerk a balanced $2 card is too difficult. I've decided to bump its cost and I've thought up a more unique ability for it. Since its cost is now higher, I feel better about changing the reaction to allow an unlimited number of cards to be trashed.
ClerkTypes: Action – Reaction
Cost: 4
Gain a Silver. Look through your discard pile and put a card from it on top of your deck.
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When another player plays an Attack card, you may reveal this from your hand. If you do, trash any number of cards from your hand.
I'm going to playtest this version. I'll post later with my findings.
As an early game card, I don't find Gambler to have a stronger effect than, say, Masquerade or other good cost 3 openers that have a bit of trashing. And I think its effect should be stronger than a Masquerade, since you're only going to get to play Gambler a few times before you're "forced" to trash it.
It also doesn't "feel" like a Gambling card, since the only gamble is whether or not it will get trashed. I usually think of gambling in association with a chance to make a lot of money, and getting the silver or other (fairly early-game) buy that I don't want to trash just isn't that big of a reward.
Yeah, I'll admit it's ironic that Gambler is one of the 'safest' cards to buy. Thematically, the idea is that you're giving him stuff from your Kingdom to gamble away. Usually he loses (which is what you want), but eventually he 'wins'.
The big thing that Gambler has over Masquerade is its +1 Action. So it's really more comparable to Lookout, Spice Merchant, or even Loan. So opening Masquerade/Silver is way better than Gambler/Silver, but Gambler/Militia or Gambler/Monument should net you better results.
To beef Surveyor, how about gaining the card on top of your deck? It seems like it would be fair to get to play it next turn, since you don't get to play it this turn as you have to discard it. You also might want to bump the cost up to 4 with that change since it might compare too favorably to Mint, for instance.
I'd also considered this option. My idea was actually to put the revealed card back onto your deck instead of gaining the new card onto your deck, but they amount to the same thing unless the Supply pile for the card is empty, in which case you probably wouldn't reveal a card anyhow.
UPDATE: Instead of changing how the card works, I've decided to drop Surveyor's cost from $3 to $2. I think it'll be much more palatable at the lower price point. It's the kind of card you'd be happy to pick up with an extra buy and a couple of extra coins.
UPDATE: Also, I've decided to try Fund out at $5 and without the 'discard your hand' bit. Even I was forgetting to discard my hand every time I played it. It'll work a lot differently, since before it specifically prevented mega-turns and now you pretty much need one in order for them to really shine. I'm not a big fan of mega-turn-based decks, but I know some people are, and the card's wording is much simpler this way.