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7726

Dominion General Discussion / Re: News on forthcoming expansions

« on: January 24, 2012, 02:23:42 am »

Ugh, considering I caught on to Dominion just after Cornucopia came out, this feels somewhat similar to picking up A Song of Ice and Fire a couple years after Feast for Crows came out, though I'm certainly glad that Donald X is not George R R Martin and is actually able to put out a product more often than every five years.  What I'm getting at is that I was able to walk into so many expansions (or books) and devour them in quick succession, but now I have to wait.  I'm not sure if this is better or worse than starting off with the first item and waiting for each new entry...  I want Dark Ages/Winds of Winter nooowwwww....

7727

Dominion Isotropic / Re: Dream Features. Or: Features in My Really Weird Dream Last Night

« on: January 22, 2012, 03:20:48 am »

There have been groggy times where I've wondered how to get +Buy.  "I can't buy two donuts, I haven't played a Woodcutter..."

7728

Dominion General Discussion / Re: I really want to like this game - I must be missing something, HELP!!!

« on: January 20, 2012, 01:56:13 am »

I don't really like the idea that expansions may be the answer to a BM being a dominant strategy a majority of the time (Seems kind of like a flaw in the original game design).  But with that said, which expansion do you think is best..I can likely return and exchange.

The creator of the game, Donald X, created it with most of the expansions in mind.  The expansions aren't just tacked on like a hastily made movie sequel - they're really more of additional volumes in a larger story planned out from the beginning.  Each expansion complements the original game in its own special way, and successfully adds a paradigm shift as well.  So the expansions aren't corrections to some flaw, though they still can fundamentally change the game and how you view it.

Personally, I would recommend all the expansions (eventually), so there's no need to try to return any you may have already purchased.  That being said, there is certainly a particular order in which to get them.  First, get Intrigue - more than any other expansion, it is a pure extension of the original game, while still adding quite a lot of additional complexity.  There are definitely plenty of cards in it to discourage big money, particularly the attacks, namely Minion, Torturer, Swindler, and Saboteur.  All of these, in their own way, can destroy a player relying solely on money and a few drawing cards.

Next should be either Seaside or Prosperity.  Seaside adds a whole lot of cheaper cards, and introduces the Duration card mechanic (cards that last until your next turn).  Prosperity adds a whole lot of expensive cards, and introduces both Victory tokens (points that don't clog your deck) and special Treasure cards, which can, perhaps, be viewed as supplements to big money.

After that, Alchemy, Cornucopia and Hinterlands all add more complexity, and it's certainly up to you what you want to get first.

But even just staying with the base set, there are plenty of ways to discourage big money.  Just as an example, play a game with Chapel, Throne Room, Laboratory, and Festival.  Anyone who goes for those four cards will wildly outpace anyone going for just money. 

But trying different strategies, and seeing them succeed or fail is part of the fun of Dominion.  Even if your strategy fails spectacularly, it's still fun trying to put all the pieces together.  And when it does work, playing an entire deck's worth of Actions is so much more satisfying than just throwing down $8 worth of Treasure.

7729

Puzzles and Challenges / Dominion Analogy

« on: January 19, 2012, 10:16:15 am »

Herbalist is to Scheme as Salvager is to...  what?

If you can think of any other analogies, post them. 

7730

Dominion General Discussion / Re: News on forthcoming expansions

« on: January 17, 2012, 10:16:36 am »

I'm really looking forward now for the digital release and the Dark Ages Expansion. I shouldn't have read that. Now I just can't wait to get ~45 new Kingdom cards.
I'm really curious if the digital release will be updatable so it will include all 2 forthcoming expansions. I hope so.

I agree that Dark Ages somehow suggests expanding the curse theme. But if not, at least there will be really annoying attacks, as the theme hints at.

Yeah, Attacks definitely seems like a theme.  I don't think there'll be any tokens or mats, because there wouldn't be room for all the extra cards if there were.  It'll probably be a cards-only expansion like Hinterlands.

7731

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Combo: ridiculous card + scheme + outpost

« on: January 16, 2012, 02:20:59 pm »

Possession.  Hands down.  Your opponent will hate you forever.

7732

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Combo: ridiculous card + scheme + outpost

« on: January 16, 2012, 01:12:59 pm »

If there are no Villages, how do you expect to play both Torturer and Outpost in the same turn?

7733

Dominion General Discussion / Re: News on forthcoming expansions

« on: January 16, 2012, 12:24:03 am »

Dark Ages is 500 cards but is not a standalone. So while you are only getting one expansion this year, it's a big one.

I've got several wet spots right now.  So excited!

7734

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Is it too early to speculate on the Spring 2012 expansion?

« on: January 15, 2012, 12:56:14 pm »

Apparently the next expansion is going to be called Dark Ages. Thoughts?

7735

Dominion General Discussion / Re: News on forthcoming expansions

« on: January 15, 2012, 12:54:30 pm »

Had anyone heard the names for these expansions before this announcement was made?

7736

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Is it too early to speculate on the Spring 2012 expansion?

« on: January 05, 2012, 03:00:02 am »

Just as a thought, apparently Adventurer was taken from this next expansion.  What mechanic can we deduce from this applies to the set as a whole?

7737

Dominion Isotropic / Re: Um... what's wrong with iso right now?

« on: January 04, 2012, 02:14:53 am »

I was just disconnected.  When I try to connect again I get an error:

Tumblbeast.jpg
Something's wrong.
We apologize for the inconvenience.

Yeah, I'll keep getting something like that from time to time.

7738

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Ill-Gotten Gains - bad for the game?

« on: January 04, 2012, 02:13:18 am »

Games where Ill-Gotten Gains is the dominant strategy are uninteresting and not fun.  This is not complaining that I lose to IGG, or that I don't know how to play it.  It's my 5th strongest win given avail.  I win more often than I usually do both when I gain it and when I don't.  I am not complaining that it's too good.  It's somewhat frequently ignorable (maybe 30% of games) and when it's a good but not dominating option (maybe another 30%), it can be fun.  I am not complaining that it's too strong.

But when it's clearly the card to go for in the set, the game is just kind of crappy.  I feel sorry for my poor opponents when I IGG spam them, and it disrupts what would otherwise be a nice engine.  It feels different than a gardens rush say, where my opponent has the choice to go for an engine, or go for a gardens spammed deck.  When I go for an IGG, my opponent has no choice but to get spammed, and I don't have a lot of interesting decisions to make.  It leaves me bored and my opponent frustrated.

IGG, it's the new Minion, only worse.

If your opponent were sensible, he'd try to at least split the IGGs with you (and thus the Curses), leaving one more pile to empty.  At that point it becomes a greening rush, which IGG can help with.

7739

Dominion General Discussion / Re: THE Dominion Card List(s): $4 cards Part 2/3 posted

« on: January 03, 2012, 03:17:46 pm »

You can't King's Court an Embargo...  just saying.

You can. Just like Feast.

I see.  I re-read the rules for Base and Intrigue.  Somehow this doesn't seem entirely consistent with other mechanics in the game...

7740

Dominion Articles / Re: Combo: Steward/Scrying Pool

« on: January 03, 2012, 03:03:39 pm »

I don't understand why steward is necessary here. Wouldn't this also work with any other early trasher, and isn't this basically just a scrying pool article?
Also, most of your advice isn't that good - for example where you say to buy absolutely nothing but actions. That's not necessary at all. Or to just go for duchies and estates(!) - your opponent isn't doing nothing here, they should have a bigger lead than that by the time you've emptied two piles(!). Or where you imply that the scrying pool attack discarding half their deck will destroy their engine; it won't - basically you get the same effect from playing a single fortune teller. I could go on...

I picked Steward because it can give $2, which, paired with a Potion, is enough to give you a Scrying Pool, no matter what else is in your deck.  And Steward, unlike Chapel, is useful later on.

7741

Dominion Articles / Combo: Steward/Scrying Pool

« on: January 03, 2012, 02:51:16 pm »

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!  Scrying Pool is nigh!  Now, I'll be the first to admit that in decks rife with Treasures, Victory cards and Curses, Scrying Pool is rather shitty, being a more expensive, slightly better Spy.  However, trashing away these aforementioned cards can allow you to draw your entire deck every turn with a single card.  With Steward, you can not only get rid of all those nasty non-Action cards, but also increase the likelihood that your Potion will meet with the two coins necessary to get your first Scrying Pool.  Once there, continue to trim your fat.  Hopefully, you will have bought some coin-yielding cantrips, or at least some villages and coin-yielding terminals.  The odds are pretty good that any given kingdom will have at least one of those.  Now, it is very important to only buy Actions - absolutely nothing else.  The only thing you want your Scrying Pool to trip on is your solitary Potion, which you can even trash once you feel you've gotten enough Scrying Pools.  You don't want just one, as tempting as that may be: you'll need them for the end game.  Once you've built up a nice action engine dripping with buying power, start to green.  With any luck, this will only take a turn or two: if you've emptied enough piles buying Actions, you can just go for Duchies or Estates, while your opponent scrambles to reconstruct their engine after you discarded half of it with your Pools.

Obviously, this strategy will not work by itself.  You can't get rid of all your Coppers too soon, or you'll just be left with a Steward, a Potion, and a whole bunch of useless Pools.  If you have the unfortunate luck to see Scrying Pool and Steward on a board with no good cantrips or villages or terminal coin-givers, it may be better to just give it a miss and go for BM.  However, this strategy shines like a supernova in two instances, and even makes one card a wee bit better, all of which happily come from the same expansion (who would have thought!  intentional synergy!).

University: When University is on the board with these two cards, feel free to trash all the way down to Steward and a Potion.  After that, alternate between Scrying Pool and University.  The University will fill your deck with delicious coin-yielding Actions, while your Scrying Pools let you draw them - usually on the same turn you gain them.  University a Festival, play a Scrying Pool, play the Festival!  I could go on about Universities, but I'll save that for another article.

Vineyard: This will require a slightly different strategy.  You will definitely need as many Scrying Pools as you can get, as well as any and all sources of +Buy.  You will also need more than one Potion (four should do).  When you feel your deck is bloated enough with Actions, and you have your four Potions and +Buys, take four Vineyards.  Next turn, if your Scrying Pools don't trip too hard on the Vineyards (you'll probably want at least eight Scrying Pools), you can do the same, ending it if it's a 2-player game, and making it ridiculously hard for your opponents to catch up in a 3- or 4-player game.

Possession: While generally a weaker card, this type of deck ensures that you can play your Possession every turn, severely annoying your opponent.

This combo will trip on anything that would gum up your Scrying Pool works.  If Ambassador or any Curser is in the kingdom, forget about everything said above.  You may still want some Scrying Pools to clear through the muck, but you would be better served getting your own Ambassador/Curser to try to muck their deck faster.  However, if Lighthouses are available, this combo can ensure that a Lighthouse is played every turn, letting you ignore deck-bloating attacks.

Works well with:
-Any Action, particularly non-terminals, and givers of coin and Buys
-University
-Vineyard
-Possession
-Lighthouse

Conflicts with:
-Any Treasures
-Actions that give Treasures: Bureaucrat, Trading Post, Explorer, etc
-Non-Action Victory cards: Gardens, Duke, etc
-Ambassador
-Curse-giving cards: Witch, Familiar, etc
-Crossroads
-Tournament

7742

Dominion General Discussion / Re: THE Dominion Card List(s): $4 cards Part 2/3 posted

« on: January 03, 2012, 11:05:19 am »

You can't King's Court an Embargo...  just saying.

7743

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Male vs Female Cards

« on: December 31, 2011, 07:34:57 pm »

Dominion has a medieval theme and I think those dark ages were more male centered than female.
So it's not the game's fault if there is an uneven balance.

Basically all women at that time were either (Young) Witches, Whores (not yet a card) or Nobles.

Whores = Harem.

7744

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Dominion Big Box and Big Box 2

« on: December 31, 2011, 12:09:47 pm »

It might actually be cool (and easier to carry and store) if there were three Big Boxes - first one with Base, Prosperity and Alchemy, the second with Intrigue, Seaside and Cornucopia, and the third with Hinterlands and the final two expansions, with promos littered throughout.  But looking at the pictures, where are the mats and tokens kept in that box?

7745

Dominion General Discussion / Re: I read it differently

« on: December 31, 2011, 11:01:31 am »

I only read the reaction of Fool's Gold when other players spam it before I can.  I hate it on iso when the other player buys a Province, I have four Fool's Golds in hand, and it wants me to do the reaction.  No!  Go away, reaction!  I've got multiple buys!

7746

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Auction - a new card

« on: December 31, 2011, 10:58:48 am »

I don't like the idea and here are my 2 simple reasons:

1. It makes the game more complex and harder to understand, but not more interesting or more funny. The treasures are treasures for a reason and it is nice that we can play them ONLY in the buy phase, so we must be prepared to do so.

2. It makes combos that seems a bit silly to me. The general idea of Tactician is "I will change 2 good turns for 1 hell of a turn!" With Vault, you are still punished the way you cannot play Golds and Silvers (and you need a Village). With Black Market or Auction, the idea dies.

I don't like Black Market, but I don't hate it for 1 simple reason - IT IS A PROMO! The card is wierd, but it should be wierd, cause that is to me what promos should be.

So if this is an "I think it would be awesome to have a card like this in an expansion" idea, I totally disagree.
If this is an "I think this card is funny and I want to play with it with my friends" idea, it is of course your bussiness  I don't find it funny, because it adds nothing new to the game (except some annoying AP such as "I have a Library and a Remake in my deck, so should I put the Coppers in game or not?")

PS: Sorry if this was a bit harsh, I didn't mean it 

I'm trying to find a way to make it funny/interesting.  And the whole point of cards is to change the rules.  New expansions mess with your idea of what you do when.  Nomad Camp?  Inn?  You're not supposed to be able to play Actions before the first reshuffle! 

Also, you don't have to Vault your Golds and Silvers.  That would actually be kinda stupid.

7747

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Is it too early to speculate on the Spring 2012 expansion?

« on: December 30, 2011, 11:48:37 pm »

Food for thought:

There are only two sets after this one, and one of them is a latecomer with its own special thing going on.

Donald X in the secret history of Hinterlands. what do we think that means???

Yet another resource, a la Potion?  A different basic set of card, alongside Action, Treasure, Victory and Curse?  More tokens?  More mats?  Little figurines to move around on a giant inflatable chessboard?

7748

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Auction - a new card

« on: December 30, 2011, 11:45:34 pm »

How about removing the Attack, and changing it to "Put any number of Treasures in play, and buy a card.  This does not start your buy phase, and you may continue playing Actions after this."  You could buy a card, and with a small enough deck and a drawer, instantly put it into play.  Plus, even though the $1 of the Quarry might be used, it could still be used to Remodel an Estate into a Grand Market.

7749

Variants and Fan Cards / Auction - a new card

« on: December 30, 2011, 06:23:11 pm »

AUCTION
$5
Action-Attack

+1 Card
+1 Action
Discard a card.
Put any number of Treasures into play.  This does not require you to enter your Buy phase.  Each other player reveals a Treasure from their hand and puts it on top of their deck, or reveals a hand with no Treasures.

I wanted a card that deliberately does what Black Market does as a side effect - let you play Treasures before your Buy phase.  I made it a cantrip not so that it could be spammed, but so that you don't have to choose between playing it or some other Action.  I'm not sure why I put in the discard - it just felt right.

So as a whole, this card synergizes with:
Library
Minion
Tactician
Herbalist (with Tactician/Minion)
Alchemist (with Tactician/Minion)
Watchtower
Menagerie
Horse Traders
Hunting Party
Tunnel
Jack of all Trades
Mandarin

I'll admit that without any of these cards in the supply, this card is rather useless.  Perhaps there could be some sort of Menagerie-like self-synergistic effect?  Like, +Cards equal to number of Treasures in play?  Or +$1 for every Treasure in play, like an Action bank?  Though of course, either of those options would just make Auction/BM ridiculously powerful.  Thoughts?

7750

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Is it too early to speculate on the Spring 2012 expansion?

« on: December 30, 2011, 12:29:11 pm »

This is just trash/discard-for-benefit and it already exists in many forms.

You can distinguish between non-Curses and Curses, though, for example:
"Trash a card. Gain a Silver in hand. If the trashed card was a Curse, gain a Gold in hand instead."

Cards like that would make it easier for cursed players to come back, a thing I'd like to see.

Better wording: "Trash a card from your hand.  If it was a Curse, gain a Gold, putting it into your hand.  Otherwise, gain a Silver, putting it into your hand."

How is this supposed to work? This card would be better than trade route, possibly better than JOAT. So the cost has got to be $4 at least, probably more, making it unlikely as a comeback card. Basically it's just another deterrent to cursing attacks.

It's a sort of combination of Trade Route and Explorer.

I think what could actually work would be a card that requires you take a Curse or two with it, like Cache makes you take Coppers.  It would be a lower cost, but since these are actual Curses you're getting that can clog your deck, and not "Blood Money," you'd actually think twice before getting it.