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[Ozle]

In a non-obvious game, is there a card you always seem to go for?

Obviously for the super-serious players out there who know all the 'best' moves then this question is a bit moot, but for the casual player, is there a kingdom card that makes your eyes light up and its always an early purchase?

Mine is probably Steward, probably wasted so many early silver buys have instead gone on this card when i should have gone for something else, just the one mind.

And the obvious chapel, cant resist it even when is not needed!

[RisingJaguar]

To answer the question seriously, almost always you should be buying Hunting parties and Goons.

As for me personally, just checked my popular buys, I tend to overinvest in scheme compared to the norm.  (96% compared to 65%, 3ish gained vs. 1.5ish gained).  Top decking engines is too enticing.

[ecq]

I was going to say Hunting Party as well.  There are very very few decks where it doesn't add something.  Getting one early is great for accelerating the game.

[WanderingWinder]

I rather rarely get hunting party when wharf is available.
To straight answer the question in the thread's subject: no. There's always some situation you don't want the card.
Oh also, there are no 'super-serious players out there who know all the 'best' moves'. Well, maybe Donald X. or one of his playtesters who don't pop on around here.

[Ozle]

I rather rarely get hunting party when wharf is available.
To straight answer the question in the thread's subject: no. There's always some situation you don't want the card.
Oh also, there are no 'super-serious players out there who know all the 'best' moves'. Well, maybe Donald X. or one of his playtesters who don't pop on around here.

Think you have taken it a bit too literlly, thats why 'best' is in ' '. I imagine there are quite a few people reading here that are not able to look at a kingdom board and work out whether engine decks, or bmu or whatever is viable. Maybe i should have said advanced players instead of super serious.

Im not talking about the card that you always 'should' buy, just a card you buy more than you usual despite the board (possibly because your mind tells you it will fit)

There are bound to be people reading here

[jsh357]

I find it hard to pass up Colonies

[jomini]

I'll pass on colonies in a lot of goons engines. Chapel/festival/menage/goons can easily give me more points than the entire colony deck on my last turn of a close game; in that case I'm FAR more worried that I get the last turn and pile out than spending cash on a colony. Likewise, I find there are a good number of Jack boards where you can pile out the provinces before the opponent gets to their 3rd colony; particularly in multiplayer with attacks. Even something like tournament will give me pause before running into colonies.

I'm positive that even Donald and his playtesters don't know all the "best" arcane combos. He told us that they never saw any of the Masq pins in playtesting and there are times where that just is the best combo on the board.

[DG]

Caravans are highly purchased card. In many kingdoms you get 4 to spend and a caravan seems to offer more benefit than another silver or overloading on cheap terminal cards. It probably doesn't break your deck.

[meshuggah42]

When Minion is available, I always buy it.

[brokoli]

I almost always buy fishing village and Island.
I think Minion is strongly overrated... if you don't use the attack part, Minion is basically +1 action, +2$... which is not very good.

[jomini]

I'll pass on caravans if I'm doing heavy dead draw (e.g. BM-envoy), if I don't have a lot of 4's and I need my early one for something else (e.g. baron -> forge), or if I'm playing something like menage/library/watchtower/jack where that +card is of marginal value or detrimental. Particularly if there is something else out there I actually need (like a bishop) or that does more for me without losing tempo (like cutpurse), I'll pass on caravan. Not to mention chapel decks where I get to do some power opening like festival/chapel/menage and I simply never purchase anything that costs 4.

Minion is extremely powerful as it allows you to cycle like mad, can be turned into a psuedo village with golem or TR, and is self contained disappearing cash for library/menage/watchtower. However, there are boards where I will skip it. KC/Bridge/quarry comes to mind. Likewise, I may go gardens if I have two opponents open minion off of 5/2s to my 4/3 with workshop/garden. While I will go minion/tunnel there are times where I never get around to buying the minion because the other guy has done all the work for me.



Island is terrible if your opponent goes possession; losing a key card (like your own possession, a golem, etc.) makes it a no go on some fast possession boards. Fishing village can compete with better engine components. For instance with chapel, festival and menage a festival/chap opening allows me to get rolling quickly and with some luck I will always perfer another menage to a fishing village or have the cash for the superior festival (which I can play every turn in a strong menage deck rather than every other turn).

There really is no card that is an auto-buy.

[Catalytic]

I can't help myself when I see Governor.  Or Minion.  Or Lab.  I am a sucker for  cards that easily chain together apparently.

[^_^_^_^]

Silver. I always buy at least one silver.

[Titandrake]

Tournament. Almost always a Prize you want. Off the top of my head, the only situation you don't want it in is a Gardens/Silk Road rush.

[brokoli]

Tournament. Almost always a Prize you want. Off the top of my head, the only situation you don't want it in is a Gardens/Silk Road rush.

Tournament is a waste of time if :
- You have a big deck (IGG, silver-gainers, ...) and you're unlikely to draw your tournament and your province the same turn.
- There is already a curser so followers are not so interesting, and you don't really need the other prizes.
- You prepare a mega-turn (KC-Bridge...)
- It's a very fast game

[Ozle]

I can't help myself when I see Governor.  Or Minion.  Or Lab.  I am a sucker for  cards that easily chain together apparently.

I went through a lab phase, but i think im over it now and it seems to be way down my list

[Ozle]

People on the thread who are pointing out scenarios where the cards people name are not must buy, obviously im still not explaining properly.

Its about cards that you always find yourself buying, even if they are nowhere near the optimal move.

If you're one of the people that don't have an intrinsic 'favourite' like that, and im sure thats lots of people here, thats cool. But clearly from examples given here, some people do.

Does that mean if some ne has a perchant for buying Highway they are not going to be an efficient dominion player, sure, but it doesnt really matter to a lot of people.

[Asklepios]

Silver. I always buy at least one silver.

Not me. Not if Fishing Village is there, or Remake, or if I get 5/2 and Scheme is there.

I almost always buy Silver, but sometimes you get the chance to go straight to gold.

Also, I'll not always take Tournament, will quite often pass up Minion (say if there's a Mountebank or Witch there), and Laboratories will often leave behind.

Cards I can almost never resist: Governor, Vineyard, Mountbank, Witch.

Cards I'll pretty much ALWAYS take when available: Colonies,

[blueblimp]

I'll almost always get Masquerade if it's available, except in obvious situations (Hunting Party, Gardens, etc.). In particular, if Jack and Masq are both there, I'll prefer the Masq because it's more fun, even though the cards are of similar strength.

[RisingJaguar]

Probably not perfectly for this thread, but for all the talk of scout being the worst card (easily top 5) in all of dominion, I gain scout 63.4% of the time.  I suck with it too (both negative effects with/without).  Maybe I should stop buying it... it just seems so harmless...

[Ozle]

Probably not perfectly for this thread, but for all the talk of scout being the worst card (easily top 5) in all of dominion, I gain scout 63.4% of the time.  I suck with it too (both negative effects with/without).  Maybe I should stop buying it... it just seems so harmless...

Perfect for this thread! Heh

What do you think, the +1 Card/Action draws you in?

[jotheonah]

I almost always buy fishing village and Island.
I think Minion is strongly overrated... if you don't use the attack part, Minion is basically +1 action, +2$... which is not very good.

But why wouldn't you use the attack part?  I've never seen Minion as an engine component because it's an engine all by itself. So rarely will I pick up one Minion. Usually I will drive the Minion pile and play a Minion deck. There aren't many cards that I consider to be so self-sufficient.

(Although, it would team up nicely with Library since it cuts down handsize and doesn't replace itself if you use it for money.)

[axlemn]

Unless there's possession, I always buy masquerade. 

[Wingnut]

I think Swindler qualifies considering I've played 94 games with it and not bought it twice. I just enjoy the swinginess, at least on that card.

[Fabian]

Probably not perfectly for this thread, but for all the talk of scout being the worst card (easily top 5) in all of dominion, I gain scout 63.4% of the time.  I suck with it too (both negative effects with/without).  Maybe I should stop buying it... it just seems so harmless...

This blows my mind Jaguar, I'm impressed I'm at a more conservative 7%, myself!