Metropolis by [TP] InfernoThis is an improved Market or Bazaar, so $6 would be its value ($1 lower than its price with only Copper/Silver/Gold). On top of that, many kingdom treasures don't really antisynergize with engines: Bank likes draw, Loan trashes, Relic wants to be played every turn, etc. And this card is also good in treasure heavy decks as it can also act as a Market Square. Long story short: the price concept is neat, but the execution is flawed.
Owl by majiponiThe choice of the vanilla effect is sound, as Hexes are typically weaker than Ghost Ship and Witch, but those cards lack the ability to choose between 3 attacks. Biggest strike against this is that several Hexes are not balanced around of being used each turn (possibly multiple times). Delusion is the prime example, but Envy can be really bad as well, and Greed would need some errata as well. Nontheless, this is a novel attempt at making an Evil Druid.
Cozener by pstI really like how this card is its own thing, instead of being a shameless Black Market rip-off. The discard mechanic is a clever way of making sure hitting Donate isn't an autowin as other players can follow suit. It can be quite annoying when someone hits stuff like pathfinding, because then players are forced to hit a high amount of $$ in a rapid fashion. However, this can't be as bad as someone acquiring an Outpost through BM.
This is in the top 4Polymorph by forkofnatureWhat cards can be added to the kingdom? All unused dominion cards? That's a buttload of options and also makes future expansions render older setups obsolete. Is it a subset of the unused cards? Specify it in a setup section!
That out of the way, I'm not really sold by this. As far as the "remove" part goes, it is a stronger version of Tax and Embargo, two cards that usually harm the user about as much as the opponent. The "unlock a new pile" part can be cool once in a blue moon, but most of the time, the games are too symmetric to make it benefit the user more than the opponent.
(I also see you made an event version but you didn't specify it'd replace this submission).
Tall Tale Teller by NoMoreFun This one is really neat, with a funny image. Making a card produce less is a surefire way of reducing its value, and $3 sounds like an appropriate price for this (especially considering it degrades Bazaar into Village). Very curious to make an engine with a piece that gives debt on each play. Only suggestion I'd give is not allowing Attack cards here.
This is in the top 4 Splice by Gazbag I'd love to see a working version of this, but your version looks rather... unfinished to say it at least. The "best version" you described reads +4 Cards, +3 Actions, which is beyond ridiculous. In fact, any nonterminal can make this quite strong; Moat+Pearl Diver already makes it a better version of The Forbidden Card. With two terminals, however, this card will almost certainly become rather bland.
Travelling Shop by Gubumb Novel concept for sure. And I actually do agree with the restriction to cards between $3 and $5, as hitting $6 with this is just too annoying (and I don't wanna see Familiar being locked behind this thing). It needs playtesting to see how it works in practice, but I definitely value the idea of cards that are locked to a later section of the game (or just a fraction of your turns). And playing with more than 10 kingdom cards can be cool as well.
This is in the top 4Boss by AquillaThis attack can be really oppressive, as it is a little too reliable at hitting specific targets. Especially the $5 costing version sounds scary, as it produces $3, and is able to force me to discard my Plazas. It compares rather favorable to Raider, which costs $6, forces the user not to play any filler tech to be good, and hits once per 2 turns. The idea is nice, but it doesn't sound like a recipe for fun.
Sleepwalker by Something_SmartIf the pool of Dream cards has exactly one useful card, then this is a Sage+, as it has no chance of stumbling upon a Silver or a Province, and being forces to ply it immediately is irrelevant. If the pool of dream cards has multiple useful cards, then this card is still really good if it isn't too important which one you play, and packs some Golem-esque swingyness otherwise. For these reasons, I am afraid this card isn't going to play that well.
Crusade by mandioca15Sounds like an alright source of VP, but the guaratueed presence of 3 attack piles can make it somewhat automatic. The Attack is weak enough to ensure the prices of the cards don't have to be lifted. I am afraid that the attacks are a little too easy to forget though.
Warlock by spinefluI't good that you try to circumvent the Delusion problem, but it does make the card somewhat wordy. Ultimately, the attempt is futile, as Delusion can still be summoned consistently by two Warlocks, which is still too good. (I mis the Setup part in the card's text).
Gang by FragasnapBeing a Smithy variant makes it rather easy to find the Initiate card, and when that card is nonterminal, we can easily gain a Sauna/Avanto situation on steroids. Especially considering there are 10 of these, while there are only 5 avantos. For this reason, it may be wise to limit the pool of possibilities to terminal cards, although that'd make the card rather wordy (as "terminal" is not official terminology).
Bait by gregI'm a little confused by how the card operates. What do you mean with "the turn"? The turn you play this card? The next turn? Both?
I think this card can be decently fun and balanced, though it is hard to tell from face value. Gaining $5 costs is pretty dope for a $4 costs, though the conditions in doing so are probably tight enough. For the bait, I'd limit to $2-$3 costs to fit flavor and add some consistency, and use a similar setup as Young Witch.
Good or Evil by Abel_KThis card can be a strictly superior DoubleLab, a major red flag. The balance issues most definitely don't there, though. You can always choose between two "benefits", which in combination with above are very powerful relative to its cost. If one of the cards is a Sea Hag, the card becomes a Sea Hag with a half-pawn that can be something else, while still costing $4.
The card is also a pain to figure out, as it has a variable price and has lots of choice. The phrase "attack or benefit" is not official dominion terminology and will most definitely cause confusion. You definitely overdid it on the "differs per game" part.
Treasure Cove by seguraTreasure Cove obviously needs a different name (Treasure Trove exists) and the formulation is also rather unclean. That said, it's quite a solid nomination. I think it is alright power wise, as it needs to be drawn together with the other treasures in order to produce a decent amount of money (it is a greatly-inforior Bank if we foget the VP), and the VP-to-price ratio isn't too crazy either. Obviously, playtesting would give a more accurate result. It compares favorably to Harem, but that is fine, as Harem is horrible.
This is in the top 4Travelling Players by nemrymIf we forbid any 5s to be rolled, we'd obtain a configuration that either already exists at a better price point, or that is just plain dreadful. The 5s are the main issue though. Cards that give VP need to be designed with great care, as they may not cause endless games. Monument produces 2$, is terminal and doesn't draw, and therefore builds towards the end. This cannot be said about the vast majority of the configurations with 5s (especially when there are two...).
King by anordinarymanLimiting the pool to $3 costing cards would be a start (you don't want Sea Hag there...). Although that wouldn't save the card from having balance issues... The optimal strategy of playing King seems trying to deplete the Arms pile as fast as possible, to ensure opposing kings can use them as little as possible. If Arms is Pearl Diver, this means that King is temporary a Lost City, which is pretty stellar in situations where Throne Room would be a dead card. And with stronger Arms cards, this situation only gets worse. I'm not sold, sorry.
Master by pubbyThis one doesn't qualify for this contest. And I'm not a fan of it either sorry. It's too centralizing, messes too much with the overall flow of the game, and makes turn order too much of a factor. First you have to get masters to get actual cards, but then the masters become completely useless. Without trashers, this sounds quite like a degenerate situation.
This brings us to the following top 4:
4) Treasure Cove by segura
3) Travelling Shop by Gubumb
2) Tall Tale Teller by NoMoreFun
1) Cozener by pst
Congratulations, pst, you win this weak's challenge and will host challenge 53!!
