Dominion Strategy Forum

Dominion => Variants and Fan Cards => Topic started by: Hertz_Doughnut on July 02, 2012, 05:52:37 pm

Title: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Hertz_Doughnut on July 02, 2012, 05:52:37 pm
Hi,

Love your site.  You're awesome.


My brothers and I sometimes like to play a crazy variant called Battle Royale where every single card is available in the kingdom.  We like it because we vet different deck-engines against each other and rank which ones are the best.  It's a fun change-of-pace after playing a bunch of games where it didn't feel like we had any fun combos.

Anyway...just thinking about how cool it would be if there was a Battle Royale lobby on isotropic for players who want to try this... and generate some stats to speculate about which combos are the best-of-the-best.  I don't think it would be too hard to program... except for designing an interface to somehow accommodate all the buy options.  (Maybe players would have to type in their purchases?  And then the cards already purchased in their deck would have clickable pictures/icons?)

And then for variation (and strategy analysis), throw in game creation options for:
(a) with/without Colonies
(b) with/without Chapel
(c) with/without heavy cursers (Witch/Mountebank/Sea Hag/Ill-Gotten Gains, for example)
(d) with/without Tournament

Hope you like the idea. :)

Kind regards,
David
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Grujah on July 02, 2012, 05:54:23 pm
Fairgrounds called.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Archetype on July 02, 2012, 05:57:12 pm
I've tried that. Not all the cards, just all the cards in a single set, usually Base. But we remove Chapel, Witch, and Gardens since those are usually power cards.

It's really fun!
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: qmech on July 02, 2012, 06:04:39 pm
What's the end condition in a game like this?
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Hertz_Doughnut on July 02, 2012, 06:21:26 pm
What's the end condition in a game like this?

The standard ones: All Colonies, all Provinces, or 3 piles
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: theory on July 02, 2012, 06:22:13 pm
Do you mean emptied Colonies / Provinces, or 3 Colonies / 3 Provinces?
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: popsofctown on July 02, 2012, 06:28:15 pm
I've been curious about this variant.  At worst it's "just another kingdom", and probably a very interesting one.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Captain_Frisk on July 02, 2012, 06:52:11 pm
I have often thought about this - wondering if there is a dominant - unbeatable strategy.  I suspect it involves 3 piling on some combination of Ironworks / Great Hall / Gardens / Ill Gotten Gains.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: theory on July 02, 2012, 06:52:42 pm
Do you mean emptied Colonies / Provinces, or 3 Colonies / 3 Provinces?

Colony pile empty (if playing with Colonies)
-or-
Province pile empty
-or-
Any 3 other piles empty
OK, just wanted to be clear, cause that would be a really terrible game if you ended it after just 3 Provinces  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: popsofctown on July 02, 2012, 06:56:26 pm
I have often thought about this - wondering if there is a dominant - unbeatable strategy.  I suspect it involves 3 piling on some combination of Ironworks / Great Hall / Gardens / Ill Gotten Gains.
Silk Road is actually stronger.  At least, that's what the Workshop/Silk Road/Gardens game seemed to teach me.

Bishop as a counter to it?
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Morgrim7 on July 02, 2012, 07:06:18 pm
Every card in base? I tried that, and it didn't seem to be all that fun, mostly chaotic. Never tried all the cards, though...hmm...
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Zem on July 02, 2012, 07:17:40 pm
In a 2-player game wouldn't this evolve into a KC-KC-goons-masquerade race? probably with some help from scheme and inn to get it all together.
Or is 3-piling faster?
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Morgrim7 on July 02, 2012, 07:22:59 pm
In a 2-player game wouldn't this evolve into a KC-KC-goons-masquerade race? probably with some help from scheme and inn to get it all together.
Or is 3-piling faster?
No, it would be extreme cursing, heavy trashing, and then maybe KC-Goons-Masq, or some sort of KC-Governor-Bridge thing once the curses were gone.
EDIT: greatrexpectations beat me to it.
EDIT: Never mind....
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: One Armed Man on July 02, 2012, 07:23:43 pm
Oh... and some cards need house rules... like Black Market and Young Witch's bane card.

We don't play with Black Market and choose a bane card at random. 


Better plan: Black Market deck is empty and Black Market IS the bane card.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: greatexpectations on July 02, 2012, 07:24:39 pm
a nearly identical thread popped up in april (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2190.0). some highlights from that thread were:
- KC/KC/goons/masq and TR/TR/goons/masq pins
- any alt VP, especially in rushes
- KC/KC/bridge/bridge/ridge megaturns
- FV/Goons/Watchtower engine

per this (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2090.0) thread, you would probably have to end the game in 7-8 turns.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: blueblimp on July 02, 2012, 11:20:39 pm
There was a simulation tournament that resembled this (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2193.0), although that's limited by what the simulator can do. I imagine opening Quarry/Amb or Quarry/Masquerade would be pretty good, with a transition into some sort of crazy engine involving Goons. Even an amazing rush is going to get killed by attacks before it can end the game.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Obi Wan Bonogi on July 03, 2012, 12:30:28 am
I feel like using all the cards is more of a puzzle than a game variant.  Using 20 random kingdom cards however...I think that would be fun :)
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: jonts26 on July 03, 2012, 12:33:10 am
The problem with using all the cards is that there are a handful of super powerful combos and almost all of the cards, except for the few combo power cards, might as well not be there.
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: dougz on July 03, 2012, 12:41:15 am
(http://isotropic.org/tmp/50cards.png)

Uh, no.  :-)
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: jonts26 on July 03, 2012, 12:47:28 am
...

Why are you mucking around with conspirators when there are hamlet powered vineyards to be had?
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: WanderingWinder on July 03, 2012, 09:52:52 am
...

Why are you mucking around with conspirators when there are hamlet powered vineyards to be had?
More to the point, why did you let the game last 11 turns?
Also:

(http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/22896810.jpg)
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Davio on July 03, 2012, 09:57:45 am
Lol at Black Market being in the kingdom.

I guess it's still useful for Mint or Mandarin tricks. :)
Title: Re: Battle Royale - letter to isotropic.org
Post by: Grujah on July 03, 2012, 09:59:41 am
Lol at Black Market being in the kingdom.

I guess it's still useful for Mint or Mandarin tricks. :)

Also, Tactician.