Dominion Strategy Forum

Dominion => Dominion Articles => Topic started by: lespeutere on September 12, 2013, 07:21:16 am

Title: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: lespeutere on September 12, 2013, 07:21:16 am
I searched for "Bandit Camp" via site search and didn't hit anything related to possession, so here comes a nice little thing I stumbled upon.

If there is possession on the board and it's likely to be an engine mirror, a Bandit Camp is a very good choice of pieces you want to add to your deck. Why is that?

1. It is an important engine piece in that it provides +action.
2. It provides $. So even if you trashed all your money, so that your opponent cannot use it while possessing you, you still have some $ to use.
3. It provides $ - only for you. This holds if you can draw your deck reliably and are playing possession reliably every turn. In your turn, you'll draw spoils the same turn you played BC. On possessed turns, your opponent gains Spoils himself so he cannot use it immediately. Moreover, you can use it when you possess him since he didn't have time to use it between adding it to his deck and being subjected to your possession.

Here is a sample game (http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130912/log.51102b6ee4b06719e45eef9d.1378983482637.txt), where poor yed suffered from exactly this for several turns.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: Warfreak2 on September 12, 2013, 07:49:33 am
This is more of a counter than a synergy. Good counter, though!
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: Schneau on September 12, 2013, 09:39:58 am
Good idea, though you should probably note that you don't want Bandit Camp if you can't draw your whole deck every turn, since in that case, your opponent can use your Spoils and you can't.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: SirPeebles on September 12, 2013, 09:43:40 am
Good idea, though you should probably note that you don't want Bandit Camp if you can't draw your whole deck every turn, since in that case, your opponent can use your Spoils and you can't.

Additionally, your opponent can spend your Spoils, removing them from your deck.

Edit:  Maybe that's already what Schneau meant, in which case the additional point is that your opponent can gain Spoils from your Bandit Camps.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: lespeutere on September 12, 2013, 11:19:10 am
This holds if you can draw your deck reliably and are playing possession reliably every turn. In your turn, you'll draw spoils the same turn you played BC. On possessed turns, your opponent gains Spoils himself so he cannot use it immediately. Moreover, you can use it when you possess him since he didn't have time to use it between adding it to his deck and being subjected to your possession.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: popsofctown on September 13, 2013, 08:02:30 am
Explorer did this before it was cool!

EDIT: Ok, only kind of.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: Warfreak2 on September 13, 2013, 08:05:06 am
And let's not forget Beggar...
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: lespeutere on September 13, 2013, 08:22:19 am
You seem to miss the main point, did I phrase it so easily misunderstandable?

In both cases of beggar and explorer, the treasures go into the possessor's deck permanently. So both the possessor and the possessed (if he possesses his opponent) can use them. However, if player A has BC, and player B has not, the ONLY player able to play spoils will be player A (if drawing the deck and playing possession are guaranteed as I have pointed out twice).
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: Warfreak2 on September 13, 2013, 09:31:47 am
At least in the case of Beggar, the Possessor probably doesn't want the Coppers. The comparison is that all three cards give you money now (Bandit Camp in the case of drawing your deck) via gaining other cards, so they don't work the same in the hands of a Possessor. Bandit Camp has the advantage that the opponent won't get to use the Spoils he gains while possessing you, while Beggar has the advantage that your opponent just doesn't want to gain three Coppers. Generally it's only worth taking them because you get to spend them immediately.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: flies on September 13, 2013, 10:32:17 am
You seem to miss the main point, did I phrase it so easily misunderstandable?

In both cases of beggar and explorer, the treasures go into the possessor's deck permanently. So both the possessor and the possessed (if he possesses his opponent) can use them. However, if player A has BC, and player B has not, the ONLY player able to play spoils will be player A (if drawing the deck and playing possession are guaranteed as I have pointed out twice).
B possesses A and plays A's Bandit Camps.  Now B has spoils in her deck and can play them - just not this turn.  I do indeed seem to be missing the point...
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: eHalcyon on September 13, 2013, 10:44:33 am
You seem to miss the main point, did I phrase it so easily misunderstandable?

In both cases of beggar and explorer, the treasures go into the possessor's deck permanently. So both the possessor and the possessed (if he possesses his opponent) can use them. However, if player A has BC, and player B has not, the ONLY player able to play spoils will be player A (if drawing the deck and playing possession are guaranteed as I have pointed out twice).
B possesses A and plays A's Bandit Camps.  Now B has spoils in her deck and can play them - just not this turn.  I do indeed seem to be missing the point...

OP also states that you are possessing him every turn, so you use up his Spoils before he gets to. Granted, this is now assuming that you are both playing Possession decks that can draw themselves every turn, or else you may not get to his Spoils when you possess.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: Kirian on September 13, 2013, 12:21:29 pm
So this one time, at Bandit Camp... someone possessed me.

(I feel old, there are people here too young to get the reference...)
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: sudgy on September 13, 2013, 12:22:19 pm
(I feel old, there are people here too young to get the reference...)

You got that right.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: ftl on September 13, 2013, 12:29:49 pm
I do think Bandit Camp does this a lot better than Beggar and Explorer, simply because it can be spammed.

I think you would never have a deck where your primary source of income is Beggars or Explorers, simply because the treasure stays in your deck permanently - if you have a double-explorer turn to buy a smithy, then a triple-explorer turn to buy a border village, soon after you'll find yourself basically playing BM with all those treasures.

Whereas in a Bandit Camp engine, you really can have Bandit Camp be your *only* source of money. And it's really not even that hard - build an engine with trashing and with Bandit Camp as the main village and you'll end up with that situation pretty organically.And then when somebody possesses you, they'll find that they've given themselves a bunch of spoils but have $0 to spend.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: flies on September 13, 2013, 01:56:09 pm
You seem to miss the main point, did I phrase it so easily misunderstandable?

In both cases of beggar and explorer, the treasures go into the possessor's deck permanently. So both the possessor and the possessed (if he possesses his opponent) can use them. However, if player A has BC, and player B has not, the ONLY player able to play spoils will be player A (if drawing the deck and playing possession are guaranteed as I have pointed out twice).
B possesses A and plays A's Bandit Camps.  Now B has spoils in her deck and can play them - just not this turn.  I do indeed seem to be missing the point...

OP also states that you are possessing him every turn, so you use up his Spoils before he gets to. Granted, this is now assuming that you are both playing Possession decks that can draw themselves every turn, or else you may not get to his Spoils when you possess.
Thanks for clarifying.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: Warfreak2 on September 13, 2013, 02:26:12 pm
I do think Bandit Camp does this a lot better than Beggar and Explorer, simply because it can be spammed.
For real, the strategic implications are different, we were just observing that the interaction is similar.
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: nopawnsintended on September 19, 2013, 08:00:14 pm
(I feel old, there are people here too young to get the reference...)

You got that right.

Oh, Kirian.  Why do you have to make me feel old?
Title: Re: Synergy: Bandit Camp / Possession
Post by: nopawnsintended on September 20, 2013, 09:52:57 am
So this one time, at Bandit Camp... someone possessed me.

(I feel old, there are people here too young to get the reference...)

From the same year... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy3rjQGc6lA ... "Yeah... we have sort of a problem here..."  I think it's called aging.