Dominion Strategy Forum

Dominion => Dominion General Discussion => Topic started by: LittleFish on December 03, 2018, 05:42:44 pm

Title: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: LittleFish on December 03, 2018, 05:42:44 pm
I have the Second edition of Dominion. I have Seaside, Cornucopia & Guilds, Dark Ages, Adventures, Empires, Nocture and Renaissance. I aim to collect all of them. I definitely want Prosperity next and then either Alchemy, Hinterlands, or Intrigue. What are the benefits and downfalls of those expansions?

I posted this previously and people responded and people said Intrigue first. I looked at the card lists and decided liked the look of noble Brigand and Fools gold. Is that enough to move Hinterlands up on the list?

Also, is Possession enough to move Alchemy up?
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: GendoIkari on December 03, 2018, 05:54:02 pm
As a very general answer, I'd have to say "no". The thing is, what makes Dominion so good (and popular) is the variety. I don't know how you and your group play, but in general when people play Dominion, they aren't using the same card in the majority of their games, even if it is a card they love. What matters more is the mechanics that are common to multiple cards. So if the reason that you like Noble Brigand so much is that it does something when you buy it, then Hinterlands makes more sense for you.

But if you just like that card specifically, then you have to decide if you like it so much that having it available in some percentage of your games will make it your overall experience better than having all the different things that Intrigue has to offer in a lot more of your games.

Ultimately it's your opinion that matters. But do keep in mind that even if you like a card, you probably won't actually see it used very often compared to all other cards.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: William Howard Taft on December 03, 2018, 06:09:09 pm
I looked at the card lists and decided liked the look of noble Brigand and Fools gold. Is that enough to move Hinterlands up on the list?

Also, is Possession enough to move Alchemy up?

Especially if you're going to be playing IRL casual games with friends, whatever cards seem like the most fun is what you should go with. IMO Hinterlands is a great expansion even just for the Reaction cards. I don't care if it's a bad strategy, discarding Tunnels for Gold is a great time.

If you love Dominion you'll eventually get the other expansions too, so you might as well start with the ones that look like the most fun to play.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Commodore Chuckles on December 03, 2018, 06:52:43 pm
Also, is Possession enough to move Alchemy up?

It's enough to move it down, certainly.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Awaclus on December 03, 2018, 07:07:04 pm
I posted this previously and people responded and people said Intrigue first. I looked at the card lists and decided liked the look of noble Brigand and Fools gold. Is that enough to move Hinterlands up on the list?

Also, is Possession enough to move Alchemy up?

I recommend playing online to see which cards you actually like playing with the most. Unfortunately for this purpose though, Possession is such a universally disliked card that it has been disabled from automatched games on dominion.games (although it is still possible to manually set up games that have it).
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: trivialknot on December 03, 2018, 09:47:26 pm
It should also be mentioned that Noble Brigand is not a well-liked card.  It's not that people hate it, it just rarely makes a difference.  So there's the danger in choosing a set just because of one or two cards--you might be disappointed.

Hinterlands is good though, especially if you like playing larger decks.  If you like wackier effects though, I'd probably go with Intrigue.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Jimmmmm on December 04, 2018, 01:13:52 am
I recommend playing online to see which cards you actually like playing with the most. Unfortunately for this purpose though, Possession is such a universally disliked card that it has been disabled from automatched games on dominion.games (although it is still possible to manually set up games that have it).

Wow I didn't know that! Any chance Rebuild will get the same?
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Titandrake on December 04, 2018, 03:06:21 am
I recommend playing online to see which cards you actually like playing with the most. Unfortunately for this purpose though, Possession is such a universally disliked card that it has been disabled from automatched games on dominion.games (although it is still possible to manually set up games that have it).

Wow I didn't know that! Any chance Rebuild will get the same?

Rebuild is unlikely to get universally banned. A lot of people think Rebuild isn't as good as it used to be, due to a mix of players getting better at building engines that don't fit Rebuild well, more powerful engine cards getting released in new expansions, and the heavy increase in alt-VP from Empires in particular. It's strong for a simple strategy but it's not as close to a must-buy as it used to be.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Awaclus on December 04, 2018, 08:13:13 am
I think that Rebuild actually improves the game. If it's an interesting (e.g. engine) game, the interesting strategy is usually stronger or on par with Rebuild, and if it isn't a very interesting game, Rebuild makes it faster.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Polk5440 on December 05, 2018, 02:35:50 pm
With the expansions you have, you can't go wrong with adding Intrigue or Hinterlands. Alchemy doesn't give you as much bang for your buck, so you have to really want those cards first for some reason. Possession is not that reason.

... if it isn't a very interesting game, Rebuild makes it faster.

For certain definitions of interesting, I suppose.
Title: Re: Is One Card Enough To Buy an Expansion Over Another?
Post by: Titandrake on December 05, 2018, 02:45:42 pm
I mean, instead of having a card that makes less interesting boards end fast, you could have a card that makes more boards interesting. IMO Rebuild isn't good for the game.