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Seaside: Treasure Map

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jotheonah:
This is my first attempt at an article, so please be kind with your constructive criticism. There's nothing here that will astound the veteran player, but there's currently no article on the sit on this card and I think this hits some of the major points often missed by beginners.

Seaside: Treasure Map

Treasure Map is, as Donald X. would say, a cute card. Gold is really good, right? And 4 Golds, that's a lot of Gold. Right there, on top of your deck.

The problem is that, at $4, you can't open TM/TM.  So it takes at least three turns to get 2 Maps, another 2 to hit a reshuffle, and at that point you have to rely on luck to get 2 of your 12 cards together in a hand (and that's assuming you open Treasure Map/nothing). Your odds of hitting before the third reshuffle without help are a mere 29 percent. The odds get better if you buy more Maps, but that's time your opponents could be spending building up an engine or just buying those Golds the easy way.  And the probability may not be relevant to you in a game where your opponent cashes in on Turn 5 and you're still floundering on Turn 15. Treasure Map is a notoriously luck-dependent card, and simulators prove that no Treasure Map-only strategy beats Big Money.

Luckily, there are other ways to get your Treasure Maps together. Note that you have to play one Treasure Map and have the other in hand to get the Golds, so, promising as they might sound at first, Scheme, Golem, and Throne Room are of no help to you (well, Scheme actually can be helpful, but not in such an obvious way).

Trashers are a big help, especially mass-trashers like Chapel. Get your deck down to 5 cards and your Treasure Maps are guaranteed to hit, plus once they do, your deck will be more than half Gold. Cyclers that leave you with an action, like Warehouse and Cellar, are good too. Terminal cyclers and drawers are no good – there's nothing worse than drawing two Treasure Maps together, with no Actions left to activate them. When trying to set up Maps without a trasher, be careful how much else you buy. Cantrips are best as they don't really take up space in your deck. One or two Silvers might be helpful to get the Maps quickly, but too many will be a liability.

Talisman lets you get your two Maps at once.  Throw in Royal Seal or Watchtower and it's a must-buy, but even without them, if you're committed to Treasure Maps, a Talisman will likely help, though you negate that help if you use it to buy a lot of other cards. 

Haven is a natural fit with Treasure Maps – save that Map until next turn. Same with cards like Scout, Navigator, and, especially Cartographer – anything that lets you set up your next hand. Tactician-Treasure Map is a no-brainer, as it dramatically increases your chances of hitting and gives you plenty of Actions. Even the humble Courtyard is not to be overlooked (though it is also a terminal drawer, so if you play it to save one Treasure Map, you might end up drawing the other one).

If you've somehow managed to build an engine that draws your whole deck but have neglected to buy enough money for it (not an uncommon situation for new players to the game, or for Scrying Pool decks), pick up a few quick Maps and inject a bunch of Gold into your engine all at once. Beware of Treasure Maps in a Possession game, as your opponent can trash your Maps and gain the Gold into his deck, then do it again next turn. But if Minion is out, skip the Maps altogether. If you somehow manage to put your Maps together, your Gold turn will probably still get ruined.

So I've managed to get four Gold onto my deck, what do I do with it? Well, the obvious answer is “buy a Province/Colony.”  And a lot of the time that is the right buy. In particular the Province buy. But four Golds and seven Copper is not going to power you through 5 Colonies, and your second set of Maps is going to be a lot harder to activate than your first. (Trying for a second set is almost certainly going to fail, unless you have a very specific plan for it.) So in a Colony game, a Platinum might actually be the right choice. You'll have to judge based on the efficiency of your opponent's deck.

If you can do it without a lot of extra trouble, and without making it harder for your Maps to hit, it's nice to be able to exert some control over what the fifth card will be on our Gold x4 hand.  Scheme is a good way to do this, stocking up on Schemes and Pawns (or another cantrip +Buy, so as not to hurt the chances of hitting the Maps in the first place).  Return your +Buy card to the top of your deck after you activate your Maps and you'll find yourself with 13 and 2 buys, much more helpful than 12 and one buy.

Wharf is even better than a Schemed Pawn (though you have to love the thematic synergy there), giving you the +Buy and another 2 cards, but Wharf is a terminal drawer, so getting it set up might not be worth it. On the other hand, it's a non-terminal draw on your next turn, so it could help you set up the Maps if played carefully.

By far the easiest to set up is Nomad Camp, since it goes to your top-deck when you buy it, assuming you can muster $4 after trashing your Maps. This means at least having one Silver floating around.

If you don't see an enabler for Treasure Maps on the board, just say no. Treasure Maps are a shiny trap. Even if there are good enablers, think seriously about whether Maps are going to be faster than the next best alternative. Playing Treasure Maps does tend to involve committing to them, at least until you get them activated. Trying to pursue another strategy with Treasure Maps on the side is a losing proposition.  Plan on the worst luck scenario, not the best one.

When you actually get those Maps to hit, it's a nice feeling, and it can certainly decide the game.  But be smart with them – they're not nearly as cute as they look.

COMBOS WITH: Haven, Talisman, Watchtower, Royal Seal, Warehouse, Cellar, non-terminal drawers, heavy trashing, Scheme (but not the way you'd think), Alchemist, Cartographer, Scout, Navigator, Nomad Camp, Tactician, Outpost, Wharf.

CONFLICTS WITH: Cursing attacks, terminal drawers, Golem, Possession, deck attacks like Bureaucrat, Spy, Fortune Teller, and Rabble, Minion.

ycz6:
Good article! Well-thought out and comprehensive.

WanderingWinder:
A pretty good article overall. There are a couple points I'd like to make: First, treasure maps get better with more players. Well, they don't, but say you're in a four player game. Well, you've got like a 30-something percent chance of hitting these fast enough to be dominating, which is really good for 4th position...
Next, and more important, spending almost any time to work out how to fix the 5th card you get with the golds is not going to be a great proposition. On the plus side, several of the enablers work pretty well for that fifth card, if you're lucky enough (haven is particularly good).
Usually, platinum is what you want on your post-map turn in a colony game, province in a non-colony game.

Jack Rudd:
Don't forget Nomad Camp as a +Buy for the 4-Gold turn; it has the bonus that if you buy it after trashing your Treasure Maps, it automatically goes on top with the four golds.

jonts26:

--- Quote from: jotheonah on January 09, 2012, 05:14:13 pm ---the humble Courtyard

--- End quote ---

You also misspelled awesome.


As for the actual content of the article, I would say overall it's pretty comprehensive but there's a couple points I'd like to add to. The talisman/watchtower trick is a lot of fun but I'm not totally convinced by it. The big problem is that you want those cards early game, but you have to resign yourself to not playing the watchtower so you can use the topdecking. And without a silver you need to draw talisman, 3 coppers, watchtower to have it hit. Not something I'd count on. And then your chances of watchtower/talisman colliding only go down from there unless you load up on talismans or watchtowers, which you don't really want to do.

I also want to add that unless you are able to draw your deck, or at least most of it, trying for a second set of maps is a terrible idea, even with decent support like warehouse or haven.

But really, your last few sentences sum it up. Treasure map is a huge trap for beginners, but recognizing when it's good will make it a very powerful card on the right board.

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