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Messages - aku_chi

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26
Dominion Articles / Re: Son of Size Distortion
« on: April 30, 2019, 07:11:45 pm »
Because all of the actions are terminal, there aren't too many synergies to take advantage of.  I prefer going after Provinces; none of the Gardens enablers are strong enough to compete.  My preferred build off the 3/4 is to use one Amulet and three Bonfires to get to a 5-card hand*, then build up with Treasure Trove, Bandit, and Gold, in that order.  From there (starting turn 9 or 10), Province or Duchy.  Usually Witch is dominant, but in my tests against the AI on dominion.games, Bandit seemed to perform better, surprisingly.  This strategy can reach 8 Provinces decently quickly (~turn 17-21), so I don't think a Gardens approach has a chance.

*To get to a 5-card hand, open Amulet + Bonfire, and plan to Bonfire two more times over the next three turns.  However, you don't want to Bonfire a third time until you have a Silver (either purchased or gained via Amulet).  Amulet should usually trash Estates, but look for opportunities to give +coin for Bonfire #2, or Silver to enable Bonfire #3.  With best case draws, I can get to a functional 5-card hand on turn 5 (Amulet, Silver, Copper, Estate x2).  From there, you can buy Treasure Trove on turn 6 and Bandit on turn 7.  The usual case is one turn slower.  Use Amulet to clean up your last Copper.  Once I start greening, I use Amulet for coin to hit $8 or Silver otherwise.

27
Game Reports / Re: Bishop is underrated
« on: April 29, 2019, 08:53:07 am »
In the stats markus has collected from high-level players on dominion.games, Bishop is gained by the winner in 49% of games in which it appears, but it still seems to be overgained (the loser gains it more often).  It's not a bad card, though.  There are a large minority of games where it's part of the optimal payload.


28
Simulation / Re: BM + Flag Bearer
« on: April 03, 2019, 01:09:54 pm »
In practice, in the sample of games markus has collected stats for, the Flag Bearer pile empties in only 12% of games in which it appears.  Though, we can't rule out the deterrent effect from taking the first Flag Bearer as a result of the pile size.  Interestingly, this part of the first-mover disadvantage does not exist in 3+ player games.

This might also be a good place to post the stats for the Flag artifact:



The player who gains the Flag first wins very nearly 50% of the time in practice.  Gaining the Flag before turn 3 is negatively associated with winning.

29
Dominion Articles / Re: When Should I Start Greening?
« on: March 30, 2019, 10:51:13 am »
Valuable topic, and this article is a good entry point.

If you're playing a reasonable engine, one that draws a lot of cards but not always your entire deck, you start greening around the point where you're hitting $13 (Prov + Duchy), $16 (2 Provinces), or $18 (Province + 2 Duchies, a useful option to have in endgames). Two Provinces a turn is a sweet spot where the game ends very soon if both players decide to start greening - 8 Provinces goes away in 4 turns, or 2 turns each.

However, if you're playing a Kingdom with a strong engine, something like Wharf + Village + trashing, you may want to build even more. $24 for triple Province, $28 for 2 Province + 2 Duchy, maybe even $32 for 4 Provinces. On these boards, it's common for high-level play to turn into a game of chicken that eventually ends in a low-scoring 3 pile. When both players believe detouring for points will cost them the game, they both buy actions instead, bringing the game closer to a 3 pile.

The speed at which you can ramp up payload is the most important criteria here.  You say it at the start of the article, and you focus on it in the examples.  But in these two paragraphs, you focus on the engine enablers (draw + villages), which is confusing.  In the first paragraph, you mention "not always [drawing] your entire deck", which is a situation you explicitly avoid talking about in your examples in the second half of the article, and also doesn't map to how fast you can increase payload.  I'd rather say that an engine that mostly relies on basic treasures for payload is a good example for an engine that ought to build to ~$13-$21.  Regarding your example in the second paragraph, the presence of strong draw like Wharf does not influence my decision on when to green (with respect to the amount of payload in my deck) - what matters is the payload.  A base game example of stronger payload that might encourage me to build more is: Bandit + Remodel.  The efficiency of the draw does matter a little, in that you often need to pick up draw with stop cards to increase payload while maintaining consistency.  But the biggest impact of strong draw is accelerating the middle of the game, not amplifying the end of the game.

Examples
It might be worth linking to the Penultimate Province Rule article, because you rely on its wisdom.  Though said article is focused on single-gain games, it might be a good primer for your endgame examples.

Regarding your examples, one thing worth mentioning is that "P1" doesn't literally have to be the player who started the game; it's the player that first gets their deck to the relevant benchmark.  If P2 builds faster, they can be the one setting the tempo in endgame.

Finally, one (uncovered) common case comes to my mind.  Suppose both players are drawing their deck and have ~$14 of payload and haven't started greening yet.

P1: Buys Gold + draw/consistency.
P2: Buys Gold + Province.
P1: Buys Province x2.
P2: Buys Province x2.
P1: Is in a tough spot!  2 Provinces loses to Province + Estate.  Province + Duchy/draw loses to 2 Provinces - though this might be a gamble worth taking.  3 Duchies puts P1 in the threatening position (2 Provinces from P2 can be answered by Province + Duchy + Estate from P1), but probably crushes P1's reliability.  P1 has to choose between two uncomfortable options.

My takeaway is to recognize the importance of taking the first Province in an alternating 2-Province endgame.  If P2 chooses to mirror P1 and grab Gold + draw, they will almost certainly lose.  Taking the first Province makes their deck less reliable, but puts them in a more threatening endgame position.

30
I am still scared of Cathedral. I feel there are certain games where it is a must-open, but certain games where it is ignorable -- games with other reliable trashing, games that go on for a long time, games with hand-size-reduction attacks. Whereas the other top-tier Projects leave your deck in a strictly better state than they would without the Project.

The only other trashing that would make me consider skipping Cathedral is Donate, and I don't think games go on for a long time with Cathedral in them.

Urchin is an excellent reason to skip Cathedral.  If there's a handsize attack and strong alternative trashing, Cathedral is dubious.  Urchin and Catapult provide both in one card, and there are other kingdoms that might have both through a combination of cards.

31
TIL Will-o'Wisp is better than Lab.

It only increases handsize if the second card is cheap. Why is it better?

I suspect Awaclus means: "Trashing a card is like gaining a lab" so The Flame's Gift is like gaining a lab, whereas The Swamp's Gift is gaining a Wisp. To have Swamp higher than Flame is like saying Wisp is better than Lab.

This might be an excellent opportunity for Awaclus and others to reflect on all the ways in which trashing a card is not equivalent to gaining a Laboratory.

32
Shouldn't Alchemist and University be swapped?  Alchemist has the higher weighted average.

33
Fortune could drop another 10 ranks easy.  The winner only gains Fortune in 35% of the kingdoms in which it appears.  This is far lower than any other card in this top half (Dominate is closest at 51%, but this is probably an underestimate due to games being resigned before the first Dominate would be bought).

Contra werothegreat, Fortune wouldn't be close to a top 3 card in this list even if it was always available; Donate, Goons, and King's Court are absurdly centralizing.  In fact, Fortune is pretty close to where I would expect it to be if people only considered games in which it is revealed.  Fortune is strong payload amplification, but sometimes the game ends too fast for an purchase to pay off.  And sometimes there's no draw and Fortune is pretty weak.

34
According to the markus stats, the winner gains one copy of Recruiter in ~41% of games and two Recruiters in ~30% of games.  This suggests to me that single Recruiter with a complementary trasher is often a winning approach.  Two Recruiters should be the norm if you have no better means of trashing your starting cards, or if Recruiter is your best source of +actions.  The winner gains 3+ Recruiters in 16+% of games, but I don't have a good feel for the conditions that would recommend that approach.  The ~13% of the time the winner gains zero Recruiters includes the rare kingdoms with superior trashing and +actions, and also mistakes.

35
Jeez, what do you people have against cursers

Well... Mountebank, Cultist, Witch, Torturer, and Old Witch are all in the top 25 $5 cards, so... I think there are still strong junkers.  Over the years, we've been able to better identify which junkers usually aren't worth the investment if there's a convenient way to trash Curses.  These are the junkers that have been losing ranks.

36
According to markus's stats, games with Wandering Minstrel in the kingdom end a full turn earlier than games with Walled Village in the kingdom.

And that warrants a 43.5pp difference?

It warrants a substantial difference.  Wandering Minstrel is (roughly) in the top 10% of cards with those turn counts, while Walled Village is exactly average.  Gain rates, turn counts, and whatever else you want to look at all support Wandering Minstrel being a substantially stronger card than Walled Village.

37
According to markus's stats, games with Wandering Minstrel in the kingdom end a full turn earlier than games with Walled Village in the kingdom.

38
*All stats are from those collected by markus
**I have a lot of disagreements this time.

Major deviations (16+) from my personal list
45: Young Witch (62) - I don't have a super high opinion of Sea Hag or Marauder, but they are generally must-buy cards when there's no way to trash their junk.  Young Witch doesn't even have that going for it.  If the bane is a card you want - which it often is - Young Witch can be a bad investment even if there's no Curse trashing.  It's only gained by the winner 43% of the time.  In Young Witch's defense, it's occasionally decent to open with.

44: Transmogrify (21) - Transmogrify is a really strong opener that speeds up games.  The winner opens it 42% of the time and being the only player to open Transmogrify is strongly associated with winning.  Turning Estates into Silver or better in your hand is almost always great.  Transmogrify can also save a turn down the road, mill Provinces, etc...  But mostly, you should open it and turn those Estates into good cards and immediately play them.

41: Temple (57) - I originally thought Temple would be strong.  Steward and Remake show that trashing two cards from hand is really strong, right?  But I kept losing games when I opened Temple.  The problem with Temple is tempo.  Unless there's a great $2 card, you can't buy anything on the turn you trash with Temple.  And Temple stops trashing two cards pretty fast.  With Remake, you can gain $3s while you trash.  With Steward, your trasher becomes your economy to help you kickstart your building phase.  With Temple, you just trash slowly, can't buy anything, and only have a few VP chips afterwards.  Sometimes a Temple opening can work: economy-generating $2s, Alms, etc...  But usually there's a better way to thin - even if that means getting a Silver or two to save up for a $5 trasher.  Temple is gained by the winner in 58% of games, so maybe I'm being too harsh on it.  But it hasn't worked well for me.

35: Mission (18) - I'm pleased that Mission rose.  It has room to keep rising.  Think of it this way: all you need to do during your Mission turn is play a Workshop to break even.  Everything else is bonus.  Trash a couple starting cards?  I'd do that for $4 and consider myself way ahead.  Play a nasty attack?  Skip a bad turn?  It's pretty rare to find a kingdom with no opportunity for a lucrative Mission.  And the stats support that: the winner buys Mission in 70% of games, and an average of 2.2 times.  The loser buys it significantly less often, suggesting that it is still underbought.  And while the benefit of a Mission can be marginal, sometimes it's almost as good as another full turn - either when you get most of your value through non-buy gains, or there is an Event or Project you can buy.

32: Envoy (53) - One of the more surprising discoveries when perusing the stats markus collected is how infrequently terminal draw cards are gained.  Take Envoy, for instance.  The winner gains Envoy in only 50% of games.  In 50% of games, Envoy does absolutely nothing for the winner.  The top half of $4 cards are filled with cards that are gained 65+% of the time by the winner.  And while Envoy definitely can be impactful sometimes, it's simply beat out by better draw options pretty often.

30: Procession (50) - This is a tough one.  I don't pretend to know how to best play with Procession.  But I do know that lots of good Dominion players (whom we have play stats for) don't gain Procession often: just 49% of the time.  Should I rate Procession higher because it might be better when played by extremely skilled Dominion players we don't have sufficient data on?  Maybe.  But I'm not quite ready to do so.  I freely admit that when Procession is strong, it can be game-warpingly strong.

26: Mountain Village (44) - This is simply in the wrong tier of villages.  Mountain Village is gained about as often as Farming Village and Mining Village (~70%), and significantly less than Plaza and company (80+%).  Mountain Village's effect is minor and occasionally negative.  Fortress (gained by the winner 76% of the time) has an occasionally centralizing ability.

24: Smithy (51) - Same deal as Envoy.  Smithy is only gained by the winner in 54% of games; it often isn't the best source of draw.

23: Moneylender (40) - As my writeup indicated, I'm a bit baffled as to why this was ranked so much higher this year.  In particular, I find the good Estate trashers (Transmogrify, Salvager, Remodel) to be a tier above Moneylender, and the stats support that.  While Salvager is gained by the winner in 67% of games, Moneylender is gained by the winner in only 59% of games and appears to be slightly overgained.  Moneylender is certainly good sometimes; that's why I have it in the top half of $4s.

20: Hideout (43) - Initial stats indicate that Hideout might be slightly overrated.  It's only gained by the winner 72% of the time and seems to be overgained.  This is lower than Transmogrify, and closer to the Mining Village tier of villages.  But maybe I rated it a bit low; it can be more impactful than other villages.

18: Silk Merchant (2) - This card wasn't on my radar when it was first revealed, but I've become a believer.  Take a look at Wander Winder's video on Silk Merchant openings if you haven't yet.  Silk Merchant is a phenomenal opener thanks to the Villager and Coffer.  It's also great with trash for benefit.  And the initial stats speak volumes: Silk Merchant is gained an astounding 94% of the time by the winner, and yet it's still a big advantage to be the only player gaining Silk Merchant.  Even more astonishing, games with Silk Merchant in the kingdom are almost two full turns shorter on average!  This puts Silk Merchant in elite company.  This is top 3 $4 card beyond a doubt.

17: Quarry (42) - This was a surprise to me, but Quarry just isn't gained much: only 59% by the winner.  Quarry is certainly good with cheap +buy, but in many games there isn't a convenient time to work it into a build.

6: Sauna (22) - Sauna is a funny card.  The Sauna + Avanto synergy is strong, and it seems unbeatable when 2+ players pursue it.  But, if there are ways to build without Sauna, it will take a long while for the opponent to get through all 5 Saunas (at least two of which are practically useless) to reveal the Avantos - at which point, you can contest them if they're important draw.  So, I recommend trying to build without Sauna if there's other adequate trashing and +actions in the kingdom.  Sauna is gained by the winner 79% of the time, but I expect this number to drop even further, because - in games where only one player gains Sauna - the only player to gain Sauna performs worse than expected.

39
[Flag Bearer] is the third most gained $4 card overall!
From what I can see, it's in 4th, after Tournament, Magpie, and Silk Merchant.

Good catch.  I missed Magpie.

Flag Bearer was even in my top 10.  I don't really stand by my rankings, but what can I say, we usually got Flag Bearer.  And when we did get it, we got a lot of them and it was very game-dominating.  And the stats show that other people have had a similar experiences, so I'm puzzled that people think it's weak.

Earlier I made a sim and it seems like first Flag Bearer is pretty bad in a single-card kingdom.  So, In the future I will think harder before getting the first one.  But I think first Flag Bearer is good in a lot more situations than the sim suggests.  The thing about the single-card kingdom is that your opponent only needs to pass up on gold to take the flag away from you, but in a real kingdom there are much better options than gold, so taking the flag comes with a more serious opportunity cost.

It's hard for a sim to capture the situations in which getting the first Flag Bearer is correct.  If you're tracking your opponent's deck, you can identify situations where it's awkward for them to buy Flag Bearer.  This could happen as early as turn 3/4 where you see that your opponent opened to buy a key $5 card, but missed it on turn 3.  If you're sitting with $4 before their 4th turn and buy Flag Bearer, you put them in a bind where they either need to pass up on the key $5 or give you multiple turns with the Flag.  Other situations include:
  • Opponent going into debt.
  • Opponent being over-terminalled and really needing to get villages.
  • Opponent needing to all his buys/$ for greening.

And then there are situations where you build your deck to better gain and trash Flag Bearer.  Maybe you picked up an Ironworks, Remodel, or Procession and your opponent didn't.  At this point, you're better positioned to gain or trash a Flag Bearer each turn, so starting the Flag minigame will favor you.

Finally, there might be a situation where you know that the extra card on your next turn will be critical.  Maybe you track your deck and realize that a turn 3 Flag Bearer will guarantee that you hit $6 on turn 4 for a crucial Altar or something.  It might be correct to buy Flag Bearer even though it starts the Flag minigame on slightly poor terms.

The case for never getting the first Flag Bearer is very weak.  (At least in 2-player games.  It seems more dubious to be able to keep the Flag in a 3+ player game - thought there are still cases where you can build a deck where gaining and trashing Flag Bearer on alternate turns is low-cost.)

40
*All stats are from those collected by markus
**I have some major disagreements with this list.

Major deviations (19+) from my personal list
82: Island (56) - Stats suggest that Island has been terribly underrated for a long while now.  The winner gains Island 59% of games - and an average of 1.7 copies (including games when it's not gained).  Let's compare to its neighbors in the community ranking: Talisman (30%), Gardens (40%), Trader (32%).  And all of those cards seem to be significantly overgained, unlike Island.  In fact, excluding the cards I call out below, you have to go all the way up to Walled Village before you find a card on this list gained more than Island!  So, the stats show Island is gained quite a lot: why?  Island is very conveniently gained by workshop variants, and action gainers.  Island + Province is a cost-effective greening strategy that keeps a deck reliable.  Island is not a very good opener, so try not to make that mistake.  This card belongs up near the middle of this list, not with the truly weak $4 cards (of which there are many).

61: Skulk (38) - Another seriously underrated card.  Skulk is gained by the winner in 76% of games.  There are only two cards in this bottom half that exceed that, and you can be sure I'm going to discuss them.  Skulk is a $4 Gold that comes with a card that is often better than nothing.  Skulk is fantastic with trash for benefit cards (Apprentice, Upgrade, Recruiter, etc...).  Skulk is solid payload to add in a kingdom with sufficient draw.  Skulk is also good in sloppy decks with good filtering.  Skulk is so often part of the best deck that I am shocked to find it in the lower half of this list.

59: Flag Bearer (27) - Wow.  What a dismal initial showing for Flag Bearer.  Flag Bearer brings up some interesting questions about what it means for a card to be good.  Certainly, it would put you at a huge disadvantage to never contest Flag Bearer.  +1 card forever (and a terminal Silver) for a mere $4 is unrivaled value.  So, it must be that Flag Bearer's low votes are from people who believe that it is rarely correct to gain the first Flag Bearer.  Taking the Flag from an opponent is more valuable than taking it from the ether, so there could be some truth to this.  Let's take a look at the stats!  The winner gains Flag Bearer is a whopping 92% of games - and is the first player to gain Flag Bearer in exactly half of those games!  This is the third most gained $4 card overall!  While the second mover advantage might seem strong in theory, there is usually a point in the game where it pays to be the first mover on Flag Bearer.  This can be because you have trash for benefit and better deck control, or you expect your opponent won't be able to gain Flag Bearer on their next turn without making a large sacrifice.  Flag Bearer has a large impact on games, and I expect it to significantly rise in the rankings next year.

54: Diplomat (35) - This was an undeserved drop.  +2 cards, +2 actions for $4 is very strong.  I'm going to look for a way to make that happen whenever Diplomat is in the kingdom.  With two Diplomats in the deck, even if only one activates, you get a net +2 cards; as good as playing two Laboratories.  Diplomat can reliably activate any time the opponent is playing an attack, or there is an attractive non-terminal way to decrease handsize.  The winner gains Diplomat in 59% of games - 2.0 copies on average.  This is a bit less than, say, Farming Village, but with a much more powerful effect that I think it gets the edge.

53: Remodel (32) - Remodel is underappreciated.  Between turning Estates into engine components, Silver into $5s, and Golds into Provinces, it's rare to find a board where Remodel doesn't accelerate a build or enhance payload.  The winner gains Remodel in 65% of games, which exceeds many cards in the top half including the highly rated Procession, Moneylender, and Quarry.

52: Mill (24) - I get Mill a lot.  And judging from the markus stats, most of you do, too.  Mill is gained by the winner in 79% of games and the pile empties in 31% of games in which it appears!  Mill is one of the best non-terminal openers to hit $5, it continues to discard Estates or extra terminals for gain in the midgame, and later on can discard Provinces while boosting your payload.  And all the while, these Mills you've been collecting are adding to your point total, perhaps forcing your opponent to get a nasty Duchy to compensate.  Like Island, Mill is easy to gain and has all the same victory card synergies (Battlefield, Ironworks, etc...).  Mill actually dropping ranks is baffling.

41
*All stats are from those collected by markus
**I don't feel passionate about most of these deviations.  They're all in the ballpark.

Major deviations (8+) from my personal list
30: Market Square (22) - A small difference here, but I value this cheap source of +buy a little more than than the consensus.  Market Square is gained by the winner in 86% of games, with an average of 3.0 copies.  Getting a bunch of cantrip +buy really helps with pile control.  And then there's the Gold gaining which sometimes offers a way to build that skips right past Silver.  Market Square has crazy combos with Donate, Hermit, and Apprentice, and works well with most trashers.
27: Enchantress (18) - The top 20 $3s are pretty stacked, but Enchantress makes it into my list.  My default is to get at least two Enchantresses in a game, and I need a pretty good reason not to do so.  The duration draw is such a boon to reliability, while the attack is usually a detriment to the opponent's reliability.  Enchantress is gained by the winner in 74% of games and is a decent opener.
23: Scheme (32) - Maybe it's inconsistent for me to value Enchantress for its consistency and have Scheme a bit lower.  But, Scheme is actually gained just as often as Enchantress despite being a cantrip.  A solid card, beyond doubt, but the $3s are stacked.
16: Hermit ( 8 ) - Hermit is a card I still don't fully understand how to play with.  It's a solid Estate and Curse trasher so long as there are decent $3s you want.  But Madman is the tricky part.  An early Madman can give a big boost, and late Madmen can fuel a megaturn.  There are some strong strategies that can keep a deck fueled by Madman draw (at least for a while).  It's gained by the winner in 85% of games, which is very high for a terminal action; I think it deserves a spot in the highly contested top 10 $3s.
15: Gear (4) - It's 2019 and people are still underrating Gear.  Gear is uniquely powerful in its ability to control your hands from turn to turn.  Feel free to read my Gear article to learn more about Gear's strengths.  Gear is gained by the winner in 80% of games and it's still one of the most undergained cards at this price point.  Buy Gear and take the control back!
13: Bonfire (21) - Okay, I'm probably biased against Bonfire.  I've had some bad experiences with Bonfire when Estate trashing was non-existent or very expensive.  But these boards are a minority, and Bonfire is often the most efficient way to trash Coppers.  After all, the winner buys it in 87% of games an average of 2.1 times per game.
9: Fishing Village (17) - Fishing Village is strong.  It provides economy and reliable +actions.  It's good to pick up early.  Unsurprisingly, the winner gains it in 86% of games.  But, I think that Fishing Village is often only marginally better than the next best option (either Silver or another village - depending on the phase of the game).  Whereas the higher ranked $3 cards are more unique and game-defining.

42
*All stats are from those collected by markus

Major deviations (8+) from my personal list
61: Harbinger (53) - There's a lot of Harbinger hate out there, but I still find myself playing turns in Dominion where there are good cards in my discard pile.  Harbinger isn't great, but it becomes better than Silver pretty quickly in most decks.  Harbinger is gained slightly less often (49% by the winner) than Sage and Caravan Guard, but those two cards appear to be more overgained (gained significantly more often by the loser).
55: Secret Cave (34) - Wow was this card underrated.  Disregarding Magic Lamp for now, Secret Cave has a more powerful effect than Oasis.  Secret Cave can be used to spike $6+ early, works well with draw-to-X, and helps spike $8 in junked up decks.  But Secret Cave is especially strong because of how it helps activate Magic Lamp.  Activating Magic Lamp is something you should do ASAP in almost every game.  Secret Cave is a perfect card to be one of your uniques: cheap, cantrip, duration.  Secret Cave is gained by the winner in a whopping 81% of the time; it's a travesty to be rated so low.
45: City Gate (54) - I believe I underrated this Project.  It's a pretty minor effect, but it can help smooth money in the early turns, and make your good cards less likely to miss the shuffle.  It's bought by the winner in 83% of games.
42: Workshop (52) - I like the good $4 Workshop variants as much as the next guy, but I'm down on vanilla Workshop.  Too often, it's hard to fit Workshop into a build if you also want $5+ cards.  The winner gains Workshop in only 47% of games.  Workshop is decent, but so are its peers (Farmers' Market and Leprechaun in my list).
39: Expedition (30) - Drawing cards is good.  Expedition can be used tactically to make sure you see your key card early or avoid a dud late.  The winner buys Expedition in 77% of the games it's in - significantly more than the loser.  I think it's every bit as good as Experiment.
38: Loan (46) - To me, Loan is a trasher of nearly last resort.  It's fine if you aren't getting early Silvers, but often awkward.  It's gained by the winner 49% of the time, and seems to be overgained.  It's not a bad card, but there aren't many bad $3s.

43
The Dominion Cards Lists 2018 Edition: $4 Cards (Top Half)

30-34 votes for each card.  Bottom half by ThetaSigma12.

#47 ▼19 Marauder (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 54.6% ▼10.6pp / Unweighted Average: 58.2% / Median: 59.6% ▼5.8pp / Standard Deviation: 20.5%

Marauder takes a big drop this year, losing 19 ranks and over 10pp!  While Marauder is close to essential when there is no convenient way to trash Ruins, it's a dubious pickup otherwise.  The Spoils are nice, but slow.
#46 ▲2 Cemetery (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 55.9% ▲3.5pp / Unweighted Average: 54.9% / Median: 51.1% ▼0.8pp / Standard Deviation: 23.5%

Cemetery continues to hang out around the center of the list.  Cemetery can be fantastically efficient trashing with a gainer like Workshop or (especially) Alms, but it's slow if you need to buy it.  It's also easily gainable points, which occasionally matters.
#45 ▼16 Young Witch (Cornucopia) Weighted Average: 56.6% ▼8.3pp / Unweighted Average: 53.4% / Median: 56.4% ▼12.7pp / Standard Deviation: 23.4%

Young Witch has dropped a few years in a row, and this is the largest drop yet.  Starting with Adventures and especially with the 2nd edition replacements, the Young Witch bane cards have been getting stronger and stronger, making it harder to justify investing in Young Witch.  In games with either no Curse trashing or a weak bane, Young Witch can still play a role.
#44 ▲3 Transmogrify (Adventures) Weighted Average: 56.7% ▲3.8pp / Unweighted Average: 52.5% / Median: 51.1% ▼2.0pp / Standard Deviation: 21.7%

Transmogrify rises a bit this year.  Transmogrify is a flexible card that can turn Estates into Silver or something better, help ensure you kick off, and/or mill Provinces from the supply.  Transmogrify is often a strong opener - especially if you find it on turn 3.
#43 ▲3 Farming Village (Cornucopia) Weighted Average: 57.0% ▲0.4pp / Unweighted Average: 56.5% / Median: 53.2% ▼6.1pp / Standard Deviation: 15.7%

Next up in the many $4 villages is Farming Village.  A $4 village is a pretty good card, and Farming Village has a minor effect added on which helps in situations where you can't trash Estates/Curses or in games with extended greening.
#42 ▼5 Mining Village (Intrigue) Weighted Average: 57.5% ▼3.5pp / Unweighted Average: 55.2% / Median: 56.4% ▼5.3pp / Standard Deviation: 16.5%

Mining Village is up next, with a small drop.  Opening Mining Village has rightly fallen out of fashion, but the ability to trash for coin is good for bursting on your last turn, and sometimes in combination with trash gainers (e.g. Lurker).
#41 ▼2 Temple (Empires) Weighted Average: 58.7% ▼2.1pp / Unweighted Average: 57.0% / Median: 52.1% ▼7.9pp / Standard Deviation: 24.8%

After a moderate drop last year, Temple is beginning to stabilize.  I know I thought Temple might be top card quality when it was first revealed, but with experience, many have realized that Temple is often too slow for a trasher that provides no material benefits.  Still, sometimes you can build despite the reduced economy from Temple (in which case it's correct to open) - or Temple is the only way to trash a certain type of card (in which case it's correct to get later).  And in these cases, the VP on the Temple pile is likely to play a minor role later in the game.
#40 ▲1 Advisor (Guilds) Weighted Average: 60.1% ▲0.2pp / Unweighted Average: 58.1% / Median: 58.7% ▲4.4pp / Standard Deviation: 19.6%

Advisor stabilizes after a large jump last year.  Non-terminal draw is strong, but Advisor can certainly be awkward.  It shines brighest with gainers and supplemental draw (including cantrips) and in decks with consistent card quality.  Other times, it gets outclassed by other draw.
#39 ▼6 Devil's Workshop (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 60.5% ▼2.3pp / Unweighted Average: 56.7% / Median: 55.3% ▼2.7pp / Standard Deviation: 19.7%

Devil's Workshop makes a surprise drop in the rankings this year.  Devil's Workshop is very unique.  While it's most common mode is that of a Night-phase Workshop, it also has powerful Gold-gaining and Imp-gaining modes.  It can be difficult to gain Imps when Devil's Workshop is the only source of additional gains, which perhaps partly explains its fall.
#38 ▼4 Sacrifice (Empires) Weighted Average: 60.7% ▼1.5pp / Unweighted Average: 62.2% / Median: 63.8% ▼0.4pp / Standard Deviation: 21.1%

Sacrifice also makes a modest fall.  Sacrifice is rated higher in the unweighted rankings, which perhaps heralds a fall in the future as well.  Sacrifice is certainly better than no trashing at all, and it also works well to fill in gaps for specialized trashers.  Sacrifice is top in class for dealing with Ruins, but its Copper-trashing and Estate-trashing modes are weaker than other options often present in the kingdom.
#37 ▲5 Ironworks (Intrigue) Weighted Average: 60.7% ▲1.0pp / Unweighted Average: 58.3% / Median: 62.0% ▲5.1pp / Standard Deviation: 19.7%

Ironworks makes a modest rise.  Ironworks specializes in gaining $3-$4 actions, can deplete piles rapidly with overdraw, and can power some VP rushes.  For all that, there are kingdoms where the key cards all cost $5+ and Ironworks can't accomplish much.
#36 =0 Salvager (Seaside) Weighted Average: 60.9% ▼1.0pp / Unweighted Average: 60.0% / Median: 62.8% ▲1.1pp / Standard Deviation: 21.5%

Salvager retains its spot in the upper portion of the list.  Salvager is great at trashing starting Estates and can trash Curses and Copper if necessary.  Salvager can also trash cards that have overstayed their welcome, works well with Gold gainers, and can mill Provinces.  Remodel also does most of these things, so I suppose Salvager is higher because people value its cosolation trashing of $0 cards.
#35 ▲15 Mission (Adventures) Weighted Average: 60.1% ▲9.8pp / Unweighted Average: 56.3% / Median: 55.3% ▲19.5pp / Standard Deviation: 26.2%

Mission makes a big rise this year, but retains a high standard deviation.  Mission's value is highly board dependent, but it's strongest when there are ways to gain, attack, and trash on the Mission turn.  Mission also plays nicely with the Page and Peasant lines.
#34 ▲4 Sea Hag (Seaside) Weighted Average: 61.8% ▲0.9pp / Unweighted Average: 61.7% / Median: 59.6% ▼3.4pp / Standard Deviation: 23.6%

Sea Hag makes a slight rise this year after a few years losing ranks.  Once the top rated $4 card, there is still a lot of disagreement about Sea Hag's power level, as it received multiple votes in the top 10% and bottom 30%.  Sea Hag is undoubtedly dominant in games with no way to trash Curses.  But in games where it is convenient to trash Curses, the player who buys and plays Sea Hag might slow themselves down more than their opponent.  Sea Hag is a brutal attack, and is sometimes valuable to cement a deck control advantage.
#33 ▼7 Caravan (Seaside) Weighted Average: 62.1% ▼3.3pp / Unweighted Average: 62.5% / Median: 62.8% ▼5.1pp / Standard Deviation: 16.3%

Caravan's rank has oscillated a bit recently, while staying firmly in the upper portion of the list.  Nonterminal draw is strong, but Caravan is pretty slow.  Still, if it's the only draw, it's often worth getting.  And it also adds consistency to decks with more efficient draw.
#32 ▲12 Envoy (Promos) Weighted Average: 63.4% ▲4.7pp / Unweighted Average: 60.9% / Median: 61.7% ▲6.1pp / Standard Deviation: 17.9%

Envoy makes a large jump this year (though only 4.7pp) to get closer to Smithy.  Envoy is similar to Advisor in that it works best with supplemental draw and decks of consistent quality.  Decks that rely on Envoy for draw can be quite inconsistent.
#31 =0 Jack of All Trades (Hinterlands) Weighted Average: 63.9% ▼0.8pp / Unweighted Average: 65.9% / Median: 69.2% ▼7.1pp / Standard Deviation: 20.8%

After a big fall the past two years, Jack of All Trades is closer to stabilizing, though it is rated higher in the unweighted ranking.  Jack of All Trades is a versatile proactive counter to most attacks.  It can be the basis for a decently strong moneyish strategy, or it can be incorporated into an engine that can appreciate (or at least tolerate) the Silvers it provides.
#30 ▼3 Procession (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 65.2% ▼0.2pp / Unweighted Average: 63.6% / Median: 68.1% ▲0.5pp / Standard Deviation: 22.6%

Procession falls ever so slightly after a larger rise last year, but retains a high standard deviation which includes a first place vote.  Procession is one of the most challenging cards to play well.  It offers a whole lot (throne effect + midturn upgrade), but in a total package that is often awkward (often you want to throne cards you can't upgrade into another action).  Procession isn't gained nearly as often as its peers in this list, but how much of that is players being unsure how to incorporate the card?
#29 ▲3 Conspirator (Intrigue) Weighted Average: 65.9% ▲1.0pp / Unweighted Average: 64.1% / Median: 67.0% ▲0.3pp / Standard Deviation: 20.3%

Conspirator has remained pretty stable over the years.  It's one of the most efficient sources of coin payload, but overinvesting reduces consistency.  And, at the end of the day, pure coin payload can only contribute so much.
#28 ▼7 Plaza (Guilds) Weighted Average: 66.1% ▼3.4pp / Unweighted Average: 61.5% / Median: 66.0% ▼3.1pp / Standard Deviation: 18.5%

Plaza falls a bit (and more significantly in the unweighted ranking), but still clearly separates itself from the weaker $4 villages.  It's often worth picking up a Plaza even in the presence of other strong villages, because the flexibility of a few coffers is quite valuable.  There are diminishing returns for Plaza's discard-for-coffers ability, but you'll be happy to keep gaining Plazas if you need the village effect.
#27 ▼5 Fortress (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 67.2% ▼1.5pp / Unweighted Average: 65.4% / Median: 66.0% ▲0.6pp / Standard Deviation: 21.1%

Fortress also takes a small fall.  Fortress's on-trash ability ranges from unusable to board-centralizing with trash for benefit (especially Procession and Develop), and its higher standard deviation reflects disagreement on how to evaluate that ability.
#26 Mountain Village (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 67.2% / Unweighted Average: 66.6% / Median: 66.0% / Standard Deviation: 14.1%

We finally reach the next Renaissance card.  Mountain Village has been initially placed with the other strong $4 villages - and with a lot of agreement.  Mountain Village is best with mid-turn gaining and during the deck-building phase when there might be strong cards in the discard pile.  It becomes worse than vanilla Village in the face of junking or discard attacks.  Mountain Village is sometimes worth picking up in no-draw games even when the village effect is dubious, due to the value of selecting a card from the discard pile.
#25 ▲6 Blessed Village (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 67.8% ▲3.3pp / Unweighted Average: 62.3% / Median: 67.0% ▼2.8pp / Standard Deviation: 18.8%

Blessed Village rises a little to top this group of villages.  Blessed Village is deceptively strong; the choice of when to gain the boon offers a lot of flexibility, and being able to get a small advantage while adding a critical card to your deck speeds up building significantly.  The unweighted average is lagging behind, which suggests that this card might continue to rise.
#24 =0 Smithy (Base) Weighted Average: 68.5% ▲0.9pp / Unweighted Average: 65.8% / Median: 70.2% ▼3.9pp / Standard Deviation: 16.9%

Smithy maintains its place in the upper quartile with a lot of agreement.  The price is right for Smithy, which offers strong terminal draw for only $4.  It's best in the prescence of gainers and, of course, villages.
#23 ▲11 Moneylender (Base) Weighted Average: 68.5% ▲6.5pp / Unweighted Average: 67.3% / Median: 72.3% ▲9.7pp / Standard Deviation: 14.5%

Moneylender makes a shockingly high rise in this year's rankings.  Moneylender is a strong opener that lets you trash Copper and hit $5 at the same time.  Perhaps Moneylender is looked upon more favorably now that there are many other cards that can fill in the gaps that Moneylender can't cover (trashing Estates and Curses).
#22 ▲1 Shepherd (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 69.0% ▲1.4pp / Unweighted Average: 68.1% / Median: 71.3% ▲2.2pp / Standard Deviation: 22.5%

Shepherd retains its position near the top, showing that it isn't a fad.  Decks with Shepherd as the primary draw are quite unique, and can be very strong with Copper trashing and a little extra reliability.
#21 Priest (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 70.1% / Unweighted Average: 68.5% / Median: 71.1% / Standard Deviation: 23.1%

The next Renaissance card clocks in just outside the top 20.  Like Salvager, you can open Priest and hit $5 while trashing Estates.  Unlike Salvager, Priest can continue to trash $0 cards for decent benefit.  Priest also has a payload ability that is hard to utilize in practice.  This card has a lot of disagreement right now, with several votes in the top 10% and the bottom 50%.
#20 Hideout (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 70.6% / Unweighted Average: 68.6% / Median: 73.4% / Standard Deviation: 18.5%

Another Renaissance trasher makes its appearance.  Hideout is a rare trasher that is weaker in the opening.  It works best as supplemental trashing (Curses or Copper, ideally) and supplemental +actions.  As the only source of trashing or +actions, it is awkward but often worth it.
#19 ▲18 Exorcist (Nocturne) Weighted Average: 70.8% ▲10.3pp / Unweighted Average: 66.0% / Median: 64.9% ▲8.1pp / Standard Deviation: 22.1%

Exorcist is one of the big winners in this list, gaining 18 ranks and 10.3pp!  It still has a lot of disagreement with several votes in the bottom half and a first place vote.  Exorcist is great at non-terminally turning Estates into Will-o-Wisps.  It can also trash Curses and Copper if necessary, or trash more expensive cards (that have either overstayed their welcome or were efficiently gained) into Imps or Ghosts.
#18 Silk Merchant (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 71.1% / Unweighted Average: 66.5% / Median: 66.0% / Standard Deviation: 25.2%

The next Renaissance card, Silk Merchant, makes it into the top 20.  Silk Merchant is a deceptively strong card that is especially powerful to open with - and with trash for benefit.  Silk Merchant has a lot of disagreement right now, with stronger players pushing the average upwards.  I fully expect Silk Merchant to rise next year as people get familiar with how strong it is.
#17 ▲2 Quarry (Prosperity) Weighted Average: 71.4% ▲3.2pp / Unweighted Average: 70.8% / Median: 75.0% ▲8.3pp / Standard Deviation: 18.1%

Quarry makes a slight rise this year.  Quarry is especially strong in the presence of +buy, where its cost reduction can be applied multiple times.  In games without +buy, it's hard to get excited about a restrictive Gold.
#16 =0 Militia (Base) Weighted Average: 73.1% ▼1.2pp / Unweighted Average: 73.5% / Median: 77.7% ▼0.1pp / Standard Deviation: 19.2%

Militia stands the test of time and retains its high placement.  Handsize attacks are almost always worth getting at some point in the game, and Militia distinguishes itself from the competition by costing only $4.
#15 Sinister Plot (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 74.4% / Unweighted Average: 73.5% / Median: 71.7% / Standard Deviation: 20.0%

Sinister Plot sneaks into the 15th slot with relatively high agreement (for a Renaissance card).  Sinister Plot is almost always worth picking up at some point, and the sooner the better (usually).  Sinister Plot can help spike a higher pricepoint early, save a dud turn, and/or set up a megaturn.  Very handy.
#14 ▼1 Herald (Guilds) Weighted Average: 75.6% ▼1.1pp / Unweighted Average: 73.5% / Median: 79.8% ▲0.8pp / Standard Deviation: 21.6%

After a fall last year, Herald has started to stabilize.  Herald can provide +actions and +cards all at the same time.  All you need is a deck with a high action density.  Herald is best when it can be efficiently gained in bulk and when you can trash your starting cards.  Herald's forced play is occasionally awkward with mandatory trashers or decks where play order must be carefully controlled.  Sometimes, you can build more reliably without Herald.
#13 ▼1 Worker's Village (Prosperity) Weighted Average: 75.8% ▼2.2pp / Unweighted Average: 72.6% / Median: 77.7% ▼2.7pp / Standard Deviation: 19.0%

Worker's Village can't quite crack the top 10.  Worker's Village looks so unassuming, but getting +buy with your +actions is a huge boon to building an engine.  With the plentiful +buy that a stack of Worker's Villages provide, 3-pile endings become far more likely.
#12 ▼1 Port (Adventures) Weighted Average: 77.4% ▼1.9pp / Unweighted Average: 73.1% / Median: 83.0% ▼1.0pp / Standard Deviation: 22.7%

Port retains its spot just above Worker's Village and Herald.  Getting two Ports for one buy is very efficient.  Port is especially good with Adventures tokens, but works less well with gainers.
#11 Inventor (Renaissance) Weighted Average: 79.8% / Unweighted Average: 78.2% / Median: 87.2% / Standard Deviation: 21.8%

Inventor is the highest rated $4 Renaissance card this year, landing just short of the top 10.  Inventor's cost reduction is definitely the strongest bonus effect of the $4 workshops, but there is some disagreement as to how it compares with strongest $4 cards, including Bridge.  Like Bridge, Inventor gets stronger in multiples - so long as you have the +actions and draw to support them.
#10 ▲3 Magpie (Adventures) Weighted Average: 81.8% ▲6.4pp / Unweighted Average: 79.5% / Median: 87.2% ▲4.5pp / Standard Deviation: 19.2%

Magpie rebounds into the top 10 this year.  A single Magpie is quite innocuous, but leaving the opponent to gain 7+ Magpies efficiently is often a losing move.  Magpie is especially good in decks with a treasure payload, with Adventures tokens, and with trash for benefit.
#9 ▼4 Ironmonger (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 82.5% ▼5.1pp / Unweighted Average: 79.9% / Median: 86.2% ▼2.7pp / Standard Deviation: 21.9%

Ironmonger drop a few places this year, but holds onto a top 10 spot.  Ironmonger is a fantastic opener, and stays strong throughout the game and in any deck.  As the only source of +actions, it's not ideal, but still worth going for.  It gets stronger in games with sustained greening.
#8 =0 Spice Merchant (Hinterlands) Weighted Average: 82.7% ▼2.8pp / Unweighted Average: 76.4% / Median: 85.1% ▼3.1pp / Standard Deviation: 20.6%

After last year's rise, Spice Merchant retains its place.  Spice Merchant is one of the most efficient Copper trashers in the game, and an excellent opener.  Spice Merchant is also occasionally the only source of +buy, which is awkward but can be made to work with a treasure gainer.
#7 ▲2 Throne Room (Base) Weighted Average: 83.7% ▲2.5pp / Unweighted Average: 81.3% / Median: 87.2% ▲0.8pp / Standard Deviation: 18.0%

Throne Room makes a small jump into 7th place.  Throne Room is powerful and flexible, amplifying your draw or payload as needed - all the while saving on +actions.  Throne Room is at its best with efficient gainers and terminal draw.  It's weaker when decks are unreliable or payload isn't throneable (e.g. treasures or Bridge Troll).
#6 ▼2 Sauna (Promo) Weighted Average: 85.1% ▼4.2pp / Unweighted Average: 87.1% / Median: 90.4% ▼1.0pp / Standard Deviation: 12.2%

Sauna makes a small drop after last year's high initial placement.  It's even higher in the unweighted rankings, suggesting that weaker players overestimate its strength.  Sauna does have a high amount of agreement, with no votes in the bottom half (which no other card comes close to)!  Sauna + Silver is a decent way to trash; weaker in the beginning, but ramping up in the midgame.  Sauna + Avanto is also a very efficient source of draw.  It can be awkward, however, to get to Avantos if you're the only player getting Saunas - so if there is other trashing and +actions, avoiding Sauna can be correct.
#5 ▲2 Villa (Empires) Weighted Average: 87.2% ▲0.3pp / Unweighted Average: 84.1% / Median: 90.4% ▲2.7pp / Standard Deviation: 17.5%

Villa bumps up into the top 5.  If Villa is the only source of +actions or +buys, it's an essential pickup.  But Villa's true strength lies in how it lets you build in a different way: loading up on terminal draw and payload and getting Villas as needed to keep going.  Villa has additional synergies with cards that benefit from emptying your hand of treasures before playing (e.g. Library).  And while these decks can fall apart when Villas run out, leaving all 10 Villas to the opponent is a sure way to lose.  Villas are also bonkers with cost reduction or other pile-emptying enablers (e.g. Haggler, Talisman) - leading to very quick pileouts.  Villa is a truly game-changing card.
#4 ▼1 Wandering Minstrel (Dark Ages) Weighted Average: 89.3% ▼0.4pp / Unweighted Average: 84.3% / Median: 91.5% ▼2.3pp / Standard Deviation: 21.8%

Wandering Minstrel retains its place near the top.  The most highly esteemed of the $4 villages, Wandering Minstrel accelerates your deck towards the cards you most want to play.  Wandering Minstrel also lets you re-order your actions, which provides additional synergy with some cards (e.g. Vassal).  Wandering Minstrel's filtering is so strong that it often allows engines to overcome a bunch of junk cards.
#3 ▼1 Tournament (Cornucopia) Weighted Average: 90.9% ▼0.8pp / Unweighted Average: 88.2% / Median: 93.6% ▼2.7pp / Standard Deviation: 18.0%

Tournament loses a position, but has 5 first place votes.  Tournament's prizes are very strong cards; it's often essential to build around gaining them. Tournament acts like a Poacher in the early game, which makes it convenient to incorporate into a build.  Tournament is at its strongest when the Prizes fill a gap in the kingdom; Followers for a handsize attack, Trusty Steed for +actions, Princess for +buy, Followers and Trusty Steed for +cards.
#2 ▲4 Bridge (Intrigue) Weighted Average: 91.4% ▲4.0pp / Unweighted Average: 87.6% / Median: 93.6% ▲3.5pp / Standard Deviation: 18.2%

Bridge continues its climb into 2nd place!  Bridge received two first place votes.  Bridge is one of the strongest payload cards in the game.  Playing 7+ Bridges lets you immediately empty the Province pile, and many Bridge games revolve around being the first person to do so, while dancing around 3-pile endings that Bridge empowers.  Bridge is also a decent opener, often helping to gain the components needed to fuel the megaturn.  Bridge is much weaker in kingdoms that lack +actions or sufficient draw.
#1 =0 Remake (Cornucopia) Weighted Average: 95.4% ▲1.2pp / Unweighted Average: 90.0% / Median: 97.9% ▼0.4pp / Standard Deviation: 21.7%

Remake keeps its first place spot and shows no signs of giving it up.  Remake has a clear lead over the other top 5 cards and received 13 first place votes.  Remake is a very strong opener.  Turning Estates into Silver or better is good for tempo.  When trashing two Copper is considered a card's weaker mode, you know you have a strong card.  Remake can also be a powerful gainer later in the game, but it's often awkward in forcing you to upgrade exactly two cards.

44
Re why is Tracker so low: topdecking cards is quite strong. Having to buy a terminal Copper + random Boon to do so isn't that strong. Part of the problem with Tracker is that it comes with Pouch, so you have a +Buy card for free, which pushes you towards an engine, which would often rather spend its terminal space on something other than Tracker.

I think Tracker is a lot better in an engine than a moneyish strategy, so Pouch and Tracker both nudge in the same direction.  In a moneyish strategy that doesn't increase handsize, a terminal that might only provide $1 makes it harder to hit $8.  In an engine with draw, topdecking your newly gained draw is great for consistency.  Tracker is probably at its strongest in draw engines that would be unreliable if not for Tracker's topdecking.  Also, the Pouch enables opening with Tracker + other card + card sometimes.

45
*All stats are from those collected by markus

Major deviations (6+) from my personal list
21: Fool's Gold (29) - Fool's Gold hasn't aged well.  You're almost always better off opening with a trasher or more reliable economy to gain the trasher.  And while Fool's Gold is theoretically good payload, it usually gets outclassed unless you're short on +actions and heavy on +buy.  Then there are the rare games where it's correct to go in for Fool's Gold immediately.  Fool's Gold is only gained by the winner in 46% of games and is seemingly overgained (the loser gains it more often).  Fool's Gold is only opened (gained before turn 3) by the winner a measly 14% of the time.
20: Squire (13) - People might not be super excited about Squire, but they gain it.  A LOT.  The winner gains Squire in 82% of games and Squire piles in 26% of games it appears in.  Sometimes, it's the only/best source of +actions, sometimes +buy, and sometimes the on-trash is part of the best way to build.  It's pretty rare for Squire to be completely irrelevant in a kingdom.
16: Travelling Fair (10) - You all know this event is good.  I think it's better.  The stats for this one are actually shocking.  It's bought by the winner in 81% of games, and in games where only one player buys it, they win a whopping 70% of the time!  I have some doubt about the causation direction on that stat, because Travelling Fair might occasionally be something you only buy on the turn you win, but I don't think that can explain the full effect.  Stats aside, +buy on demand is great, and topdecking is great.  Buy this often.
14: Borrow (20) - This event is hard to rate.  It's bought in almost every game, but how much is it really doing?  I suppose I'm not as fond of it as some of you, but I might have some bias.
5: Monastery (16) - For two years in a row now, this card has been pretty significantly overrated.  Monastery has a fantastic best case, but, in practice, it spends the most important early turns trashing one card.  And sometimes you get the dreaded Monastery, 2 Estates, 2 Copper hand and buy a sad second Monastery.  Monastery is gained by the winner in only 69% of games (compared with 80% for Ratcatcher).  In games when only one player gains Monastery, they win only 43% of the time.  Trashing is good, but there are frequently better ways to trash than Monastery.  It isn't as innocuous to pick up as Ratcatcher or Raze, because it is a stop card.

46
*All stats are from those collected by markus

Major deviations (6+) from my personal list
47: Tax (41) - This event is tricky to rate, but... worse than Beggar, Embargo, and Herbalist?  No way.  The winner buys Tax at least once in 59% of games - and an average of 1.4 times across all games.  Some of these buys aren't impactful, but I can attest that some certainly are.
37: Tracker (31) - I don't know why this card lost ranks; it's solid.  Topdecking gains and buys is a powerful effect.  If you can spare the terminal space, you should get one.  It's gained by the winner in 51% of games.
31: Advance (21) - This is the biggest mistake of the list, IMO.  In addition to the Shelter and Ruins cases that alibby1152 mentioned, Advance is going to be part of the best build whenever plentiful +buy and cheap action cards are available.  This card can give you a completely different way to build your deck.  Advance is bought by the winner in 66% of games with an average quantity of 1.9 buys - both significantly higher than the loser.  This is a high-skill card that speeds up games; don't sleep on it!
28: Guardian (22) - If the opponent has an attack more significant than Scrying Pool, it almost always pays to have Guardian defense.  It's gained by the winner in only 56% of games and seems to be overgained, so I can believe that I ranked it a little too high.
26: Patrician (33) - I like Patrician a lot.  But, I guess there are more $2 cards I like more?  It's hard to compare it with the non-cantrips, my only deviation from the community consensus on that front is Haven > Patrician, but they're close.

47
Let's Discuss ... / Re: Let's Discuss Renaissance Cards: Scepter
« on: February 11, 2019, 09:50:56 pm »
I don't have a full bead on Scepter, but I know for sure that it's weaker than Royal Carriage.  One of the best things about Throne Room variants is that they can help you draw your deck and amplify your payload.  In most cases, Scepter only does one of those things.  Even though it's slightly better at amplifying payload, that doesn't make up for it's (usual) inability to help you draw your deck.

48
In my document I have som phrases like this:

The Action you play has to be differently named from any cards you have in play.

This is clear and unambiguous.  Using "all" instead of "any" would probably cause me to double-take.  Alternative wording that might be clearer: "The Action you play must have a different name than any card you have in play."

49
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Dominion Log Statistics
« on: February 01, 2019, 08:46:21 am »
markus is still collecting stats and presenting them better than ever!  I recently made a video where I talk about how to find the stats, interpret them, and why I find them valuable.  Hopefully this interests some people.


50
The buff for Poor House really isn't that significant. It's just coin at the end of the day. A little cheaper, but unimpressive.

I'm no expert, but I would think a treasure that costs and produces would be super strong. Copper and 2 Poor Houses is a Province, no matter what else is in your hand.

It would be super strong in the opening, but you don't (usually) have Capitalism in the opening.  If you're getting Capitalism just for Poor House, now you've spent a $5 and two $1 buys for $7 of payload over two stop cards.  I agree with jsh; Poor House is fine with Capitalism, but it's not a can't-miss synergy.  Pirate Ship and Minion are much stronger synergies.

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