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51

Help! / Re: Seprix's Game Report Centre

« on: July 21, 2016, 02:37:34 pm »

I would probably open Silver just to give myself a better chance of drawing $3 with my Potion.  We've had this discussion more with Familiar, but Native Village is atrocious at helping you hit $3P.

52

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Dominion: Enterprise (Beta)

« on: July 21, 2016, 12:34:10 pm »

Oh man, guys, let's move this portion of the conversation over to the Variants Forum, what do you say?

If debt takes precedence, that could create interesting strategic plays.  For example, if you have $6 and 6 debt, it's probably often best to pay off exactly 5 debt so you don't have to buy a Copper.

53

Dominion General Discussion / Re: My first Empires games

« on: July 21, 2016, 12:11:38 pm »

Doesn't Charlatan have a rules contradiction with debt?  It says players must use all their buys, but if you have debt then you are not allowed to use buys.  How was this resolved?

We actually didn't notice that because we didn't have a turn where someone didn't fully pay off debt while someone else had a Charlatan in play. So we didn't decide how to resolve this. I guess LF could make a ruling about this since Charlatan is his card.
(There was only one turn in the game where someone didn't fully pay off their debt from last turn and that was when I had a dud turn after buying a City Quarter. No one had Charlatan in play that turn.)

If debt takes precedence, that could create interesting strategic plays.  For example, if you have $6 and 6 debt, it's probably often best to pay off exactly 5 debt so you don't have to buy a Copper.

54

Rules Questions / Re: Can a Princed Crown Throne a Treasure?

« on: July 19, 2016, 10:43:41 pm »

How much Treasure could a Princed Crown Throne if a Princed Crown could Throne Treasure?

One. "You may play a Treasure from your hand twice." "A" implies singular.

If a Princed Crown could Throne Treasure, a Princed Crown could Throne as much Treasure as a Crown could Throne.

Also true. And that amount is 1. 

Not so! A Princed Crown could Throne but one Treasure if a Princed Crown could Throne Treasure, while a Crowned Crown could Throne two Treasures and a Crowned Crown can Throne Treasures.

How many Crowns could a Crowned Prince Prince if a Crowned Prince could Prince Crowns?

55

Let's Discuss ... / Re: empires: city quarter

« on: July 18, 2016, 08:29:36 pm »

I think getting City Quarter only makes sense if there is good trashing or good sifting on the board, and even then I'd prefer good trashing. CQ is comparable to a Madman that doesn't leave your deck if you can clean it up and fill it with actions, though that's sort of best case and maybe not reasonable to consider each game.

8 debt is a pretty high cost, but it can be worked on over time and CQ can conditionally do some great things. How often are you willing to pay 8 debt for a Village? If you can't trash cards from your deck, perhaps seeing 1 other action card each time you see your CQ is about the best you can manage, but maybe that's worth it.

I think it's much better than this.  First of all, most boards have at least some trashing.  Second, how often is Scrying Pool NOT good?  City Quarter is like a Scrying Pool with a village attached, and it stacks.

56

Let's Discuss ... / Re: empires: city quarter

« on: July 18, 2016, 07:11:17 pm »

I've never played with it, but I think I would probably start getting them after the second shuffle.  Your deck has 3-6 Actions by that point, and you've probably trashed some of your starting cards as well.  It's extremely easy to enable (just buy lots of Action cards), so the question is probably how best to use the massive draw you're getting, as well as when the best time is to buy it.  Like most Debt cards, it's probably best to get it at the end of a shuffle so you can use it to help pay off the debt more quickly.

57

Tournaments and Events / Re: A Tournament Question

« on: July 18, 2016, 02:57:40 pm »

I'm not a big fan of team play; that's just a personal preference.  I like the idea of a losers bracket.

Alright. Interesting. How would you set up team play if you had to? How would you set up a loser's bracket?

For a loser's bracket, one idea that I've seen that worked well was that the losers of later rounds in the main bracket got automatic byes for the first rounds of the loser's bracket.  For example, if the first round was A v. B, C v. D, E v. F, G v. H, and ACEG were the winners, then the first round of the loser's bracket would be something like B v. F, D v. H (the seeding could be different).  If A beat C, E beat G, B beat F, and D beat H, then the next round would include something like C vs. F and G vs. D.  Then the winner of that match would play against the loser of the AE match.  When a player loses two matches, that player is eliminated.  In the championship match, the winner has played one fewer game than the loser and both have won the same number of games, no matter when the loser lost a game.

If I had to do team play, I would probably have each team play each other once.

58

Tournaments and Events / Re: A Tournament Question

« on: July 18, 2016, 02:34:57 pm »

I'm not a big fan of team play; that's just a personal preference.  I like the idea of a losers bracket.

59

Let's Discuss ... / Re: empires: vp for gaining a bunch of stuff events

« on: July 13, 2016, 08:55:57 pm »

I can't see myself buying Conquest in very many situations where I wouldn't have bought Harem, barring massive silver gaining and stuff like that.  I guess you would start buying it slightly earlier in the game than Harem, since it gives an extra Silver.

Triumph seems amazing.  In an engine with Goons or Merchant Guild, I usually end up buying at least two cards per turn, often more, and buying Copper for the extra bonus becomes a very attractive option.  Triumph seems like it would play out similarly.  Also, trashing the Estate and rebuying Triumph each turn is probably worth it, for a Distant Lands-style effect that doesn't use an action.  It's even better with a Remodel variant, since gaining a replacement card from the Estate powers up this turn's Triumph even more.

60

Tournaments and Events / Re: Seprix's Lame Tournament

« on: July 13, 2016, 01:56:18 am »

/in

61

Let's Discuss ... / Re: Let's Discuss Empire Events: Wedding?

« on: July 12, 2016, 09:48:58 pm »

Fun fact: Travelling Fair and Wedding nearly cancel each other out.

Explain?

If you travelling fair then wedding, you gain a gold putting it on top of your deck for 6, and use the gold next turn to pay off the debt. The only differences are the VP and one less card next turn.

Borrow for a Wedding at the Fair
Event - $0
+1 Buy
Once per turn: If your -1 Card token isn't on your deck, put it there and +1 VP.

62

Game Reports / Re: they never stop, do they

« on: July 12, 2016, 09:41:56 pm »

-miser and poor house are useless but you can't win em all

I could be wrong, but Miser seems like a very useful card here.  There are good cheap cards to get so your Miser turns won't be wasted, and playing lots of Misers reduces the chances of Swindler giving you Curses.  Coin of the Realm can give you the actions you need to play multiple Misers, and Travelling Fair lets you use all the money you get from them.  You can either add them to the Magpie/Bank strategy, or go for a totally different strategy with lots of Misers, CotR, and Poor House (never drawing, but playing multiple Misers/Poor Houses).  Pawn and Swindler will be useful no matter which strategy you use.

Wouldn't recommend using poor houses because cotr.
You have a valid point mostly because the game is so long.

Poor house still isn't amazing, but it should always give +$2 at least after getting rid of the Coppers, and it will sometimes give +$3.  If nothing else, it's an extra unique card for Fairgrounds.

63

Game Reports / Re: they never stop, do they

« on: July 12, 2016, 09:27:02 pm »

-miser and poor house are useless but you can't win em all

I could be wrong, but Miser seems like a very useful card here.  There are good cheap cards to get so your Miser turns won't be wasted, and playing lots of Misers reduces the chances of Swindler giving you Curses.  Coin of the Realm can give you the actions you need to play multiple Misers, and Travelling Fair lets you use all the money you get from them.  You can either add them to the Magpie/Bank strategy, or go for a totally different strategy with lots of Misers, CotR, and Poor House (never drawing, but playing multiple Misers/Poor Houses).  Pawn and Swindler will be useful no matter which strategy you use.

64

Let's Discuss ... / Re: let's discuss matters of empires: advance!

« on: July 11, 2016, 08:23:42 pm »

With Advance on the board, most cheap cards could be considered to be a Feast that costs a buy instead of an action to play.  (Advance can gain $6 cards as well, but it'll probably be used for $5 cards most of the time.)  That sounds pretty good on an engine board with lots of +Buy, such as one using Worker's Village or Market or Bridge, but if buys are limited this will probably be left alone most of the time.  It's definitely something to consider on any board, but it probably won't be game-defining.

65

Mini-Set Design Contest / Re: 2016 Treasure Chest Design Contest - Part 7: Prosperity (Voting!)

« on: July 11, 2016, 08:10:17 pm »

Collector
Types: Action
Cost: $4

+1 Action

You may play a Treasure card from your hand.
Draw until you have 4 cards in hand.
Each other player may discard a card.

I really like this card.  I tend to like draw-to-X cards in general, and this one seems to be balanced and interesting.  Letting the opponent discard opens up interesting interactions, especially if you play multiples, but it isn't good enough for your opponent to make it underpowered.

Consortium
Types: Action
Cost: $7

+2 Actions

Choose a number up to 8.  Each player may draw until they have that many cards in hand.  Choose a number down to 3.  Each player who drew discards down to that many cards in hand.

I'm not a fan of this card; it seems a bit too expensive for what it does, and I think it would bring a bit too much AP with not enough benefit to make it worth it.

Divdends
Types: Treasure
Cost: $7

Worth $1

When you play this, gain a Treasure costing less than it, putting it into your hand.

I agree with those who say this seems a bit powerful.  Also, we already had a Treasure as the winner of the last contest, and I'd like to see something different.  I like the card idea, though.

Investor
Types: Action
Cost: $5

+1 Action

Discard any number of Treasure cards. For each card discarded, +1 Card and +$1.

I like this card.  It seems pretty balanced and useful in general.  It compares well (but not too well) with Bank if you've drawn your deck, and it's like a Bank plus Cellar if you haven't, but the fact that it can only discard Treasures keeps it from being overpowered.

Minister
Types: Action
Cost: $6

All cards cost $1 less this turn, but not less than $0.
You may gain a card costing up to $4. If you do, each other player gets +1 VP.

This seems interesting, but I still think it's a bit weak.  You need to play 4 in a turn to gain Provinces, and if you use it for engine parts your opponents get a bonus that stacks very well for them.

Proliferate
Types: Action
Cost: $7

Gain a card costing $3, a card costing $4, a card costing $5 and a card costing $6.

Clarification: Cards are gained one at a time in the order given. If there are no $4 cards, you still gain the other three cards.

This seems okay, but I don't really like how quickly it empties multiple piles, and I don't like having to gain unwanted cards with my good ones either.

66

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Make an attack that dishes out Debt

« on: July 11, 2016, 04:52:55 pm »

I agree with eHalcyon.  For example, if another player player plays a Minion (discarding and drawing) and you reveal a Moat, do you draw 4 cards?

67

Puzzles and Challenges / Re: How high can you go

« on: June 22, 2016, 05:50:54 pm »

Tact squire throne embargo tfair x=567 y=568

With infinite Curse and Embargo piles, Embargo doesn't work either.

68

Puzzles and Challenges / Re: How high can you go

« on: June 22, 2016, 05:44:42 pm »

Kingdom is just Tactician, Bank, platinum/colony, Travelling Fair. Play tactician the previous turn, play 5 platina, play 5 banks for 25 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 = 65 coins. Buy 32 traveling fairs, and you have your original buy and a tactician buy for 34 buys. X = 34, Y = 12345

Shamelessly stealing this, but adding Haven. The previous turn, start with a Tactician in play and play 8 havens that each set aside Bank, then Tactician (discarding your last card). Total of 181 coins for 5 Platina and 13 Banks. Buy 90 Traveling Fairs, plus your original buy and a Tactician buy for 92 buys. X=92, Y=92^92.

This doesn't work; with an infinite Haven pile, you can gain an arbitrarily large number of cards if you build long enough.
Turn A: Play 3 Havens and a Tactician.
Turn B: 13 card hand.  Play 11 Havens and a Tactician.
Turn C: 21 card hand.  Play 19 Havens and a Tactician.
Repeat as long as desired, then draw a bunch of Banks on the last turn.

schadd is currently winning.

69

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Dominion Challenge I: Make Transmute Useful

« on: June 22, 2016, 02:11:47 pm »

Here's one attempt that I'll flesh out and revise more later but I want to squeeze in the door now: Coin of the Realm, Cultist, Transmute, Duke, Beggar, Navigator, Cutpurse, Chancellor, Feast, Scout

Basically, if you neglect Transmute, you miss out on an easy way to trash Ruins to get Duchy for Dukes. Actions are plentiful, but not Buys, and the board is sloggy enough that Duke / Duchy should beat Province.

This challenge is a lot harder without being able to put Vineyard in the kingdom.

I could be wrong, but I think straight Beggar-Duke would be stronger than Transmute, especially since Beggar also gets stronger in the presence of Cultist.  Maybe you could replace it with something else like Herbalist.

70

Game Reports / Re: Keep the change

« on: June 21, 2016, 01:27:06 am »

Caveat:  I don't own Empires and have never played with any of the new cards before.

That being said, I think Donate is strong enough to ignore Catapult completely, at least in the early game.  You don't need the Catapult trashing, a late-game Donate can take out curses if necessary, and the engine is strong enough to draw itself reliably after trashing the starting cards (even after adding 2-3 Curses).

City Quarter is strong, but it needs Action cards in your hand in order to fully activate.  Haunted Woods is amazing here.  Even with only one each turn, you're starting each turn with an 8-card hand (or 6 if your opponent made you discard), which is enough to make City Quarter very worthwhile.  With two Haunted Woods each turn, it's completely bonkers.  There's also Scheme to ensure a City Quarter in your starting hand, and Dungeon can give you more Actions and discard non-Action cards to trigger City Quarter's effect.  I would get at least 3 of them, and possibly more later in the game - however many it takes to keep drawing your deck.

Charm is the only +Buy on the board, so it will definitely play a role.  I'd probably use it for the +Buy ability a lot, since there aren't many good cards with the same cost.  Haunted Woods+Charm or Haunted Woods+Mystic is probably the best use of its main ability, but Scheme+Dungeon, Scheme+Silver, or Scheme+Catapult might be situationally useful as well.  I would probably get at least two Charms for the +Buy.  The fact that City Quarter and Donate are expensive means that +Buy won't be as crucial in the early game.

Settlers/Bustling Village is probably too weak without much +Buy and with Donate trashing your starting Coppers.  However, if you can pick up a couple of extra Settlers, they will never hurt, and they can help activate your City Quarters.  The same goes for Wishing Well, but it's outclassed by Scheme and Dungeon.  I probably wouldn't buy Coin of the Realm at all here until late in the game for Keep points; it doesn't help City Quarter at all, there are only two terminals, and City Quarter is a much better village on this board.  Mystic will be useful for the money, but Charm would probably be better there after Donating.  Catapult might be worthwhile in the later game, depending on what your opponent is doing.  Even if it only trashes a Curse per turn to make a second Donate unnecessary, that's probably good enough.

Keep will be interesting to play around.  Charm being the only extra buy makes picking up late-game Treasures difficult but not impossible.  The top priority is to keep the engine running smoothly, though, so picking up spare Silvers early probably isn't a good idea.  It's important to remember that buying a Province is a 12 point swing, whereas buying a Gold when neither of you had it or your opponent has just one is only a 5 point swing.

I would probably open Silver/Silver or Mystic/Settlers, get at least $6 in my deck (?), and then Donate all the junk, followed by buying a Charm or two and then City Quarters, Haunted Woods, and cheap cantrips.  Charm plus debt lets you buy Haunted Woods and City Quarter in the same turn, which is pretty nice.

71

Game Reports / Re: "Gear BM beats lots of engines"

« on: June 16, 2016, 09:12:56 pm »

Actual question.

Code: [Select]

Travelling Fair, Pathfinding, Page, Stonemason, Gear, Shanty Town, Armory, Duplicate, Treasure Map, Giant, Horn of Plenty, Treasure Trove
Any chance engine can win here against Gear BM? The engine looks so precarious. It's so close to being good, but not quite there. I'd say it should win, but it's a bit close in my mind.

Hmm, good question.  I think the engine can win here, but I'm not certain.  Getting Giants early could make it harder for the BM player, and there's Travelling Fair and Stonemason for buys and pile control (Travelling Fair lets you always use all of the Giant money).  Gear is great with Travellers; you can play them without worrying about drawing the Traveller dead. The biggest problem is the almost-nonexistent trashing.  Using Stonemason to get two Pages from a Silver seems decent; you can Pathfind the Pages later.

72

Dominion General Discussion / Re: A different way to choose Colony/Platinum and Shelters

« on: June 12, 2016, 01:56:17 am »

Obviously, we should be talking about increasing the frequency of Rats, that is a card.

Dude! Every time you play a game with Rats, add a Rats to the randomizer deck.

...And trash another card from the randomizer deck (or reveal a randomizer deck of all Rats).

I'll trash Scout and Adventurer first.

73

Rules Questions / Re: Fortune and -$1 Token

« on: June 11, 2016, 04:43:09 pm »

When Fortune doubles your money, does it do that by giving you +$N where $N is your current coin total, meaning a -$1 Token would reduce that to +${N - 1}?  Or is it really a multiplication and somehow different from "getting" coins, letting the effect bypass -$1 Tokens?

If a -$1 Token does reduce the $ gained, does that mean you didn't quite double your $ and can play another Fortune and get the doubling effect again?  Or is merely attempting to follow the "double your $" instruction sufficient to disallow you from getting the effect again, regardless of whether it was completed successfully the first time?

You get $1 less and yet that still counts as your doubling for the turn.

You have $ and a -$1 token and can play Fortune. Bridge Troll won't do it, it must be Ball. You had $6 or more, bought Ball gaining Villa, didn't play the Villa (which would eat the -$1 token and we wouldn't want that, uh there's Haunted Woods in effect and you want that Villa in your next hand), went back to your Buy phase and played Fortune. Well there you have it, it's possible.

Edge case challenge, hard mode: Can you find a situation where that's better than playing Fortune first before buying the Ball?  I'm don't think it's possible, but I would love to be proven wrong.

74

Dominion: Empires Previews / Re: Question about Donate

« on: June 11, 2016, 04:24:39 pm »

Woah if you have 12 and two buys you can go donate/villa to essentially take another turn.

I could be misunderstanding, but I don't think this works.  Donate takes place after the end of your turn, whereas Villa takes place when you buy it.  Villa will trigger first, and you need to finish the second Action phase before Donating.

75

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Things that will never happen in Dominion

« on: June 11, 2016, 04:05:55 pm »

One more thing that will "never happen": Something costing less than $5 that's strictly better than Silver.  And it ended up costing $2.