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[LibraryAdventurer]

Goons could use a sidekick. Create a split pile using an official card that costs $5 or more as the bottom card. (edited)

(I know something like this has been done before...
EDIT: I looked it up. contest #66 was the previous time this was done, so yeah, it's been long enough to do it again.)
I think the game could use more $1 or $2 cost cards, but your submission just has to cost less than the official card it's on top of.

Hint: It helps if there's some mechanic (including spammableness) that makes the top card likely to get bought out and undercover the bottom card. (I know this from experience. I've made at least one split pile where the bottom card never gets uncovered.)

[JW]

Destitute Village

Action
+3 Actions and +1 Buy.
+1 Card for each Raider you have in play.
 
Five Destitute Villages on top of five Raiders. Surely Raider needs a buddy that boosts it out of its current awfulness! Impoverished Village is a cheap source of +Actions that gives +Buy, so the pile is likely to run (but not too quickly, because its bonuses are of limited use early), and it makes Raiders more useful as well. But because Raiders cost $6, the entire Destitute Village / Raider pile is much harder to empty than 10 Destitute Villages alone, which reduces the extent to which it contributes to very fast three-pile endings.

[Timinou]

Cupbearer is meant to be at the top of a split pile with Prince.

The card is fairly cheap and pretty nice for engines.  It helps to draw your Action cards, so there is some synergy with Prince (and is itself a good target for Prince).   

[JW]

Cupbearer is meant to be at the top of a split pile with Prince.

The card is fairly cheap and pretty nice for engines.  It helps to draw your Action cards, so there is some synergy with Prince (and is itself a good target for Prince).

Nice card, but the contest specified that the bottom of the split pile should cost $5 or $6. I assume that LibraryAdventurer considered this and had a reason for not specifying $5 or more. Is lobbying permitted? :-)

Goons could use a sidekick. Create a split pile using an official card that costs $5 or $6 as the bottom card.

[Timinou]

Nice card, but the contest specified that the bottom of the split pile should cost $5 or $6. I assume that LibraryAdventurer considered this and had a reason for not specifying $5 or more. Is lobbying permitted? :-)

Goons could use a sidekick. Create a split pile using an official card that costs $5 or $6 as the bottom card.

Oops...I glossed over that requirement.  I’ll try to come up with a different submission (or will think about whether Cupbearer would work well on top of a $5 or $6 cost card  ).

[Chappy7]

This goes on top of Cobbler.  I love Cobbler and I want it to be better.  The Boot token would make it much better in most kingdoms. There is only one Boot Token, so the price reduction applies to everyone.  (Pretend the card says "Action-Duration" on the bottom.  Looks like I forgot that part)

[LibraryAdventurer]

Nice card, but the contest specified that the bottom of the split pile should cost $5 or $6. I assume that LibraryAdventurer considered this and had a reason for not specifying $5 or more. Is lobbying permitted? :-)

Goons could use a sidekick. Create a split pile using an official card that costs $5 or $6 as the bottom card.

Oops...I glossed over that requirement.  I’ll try to come up with a different submission (or will think about whether Cupbearer would work well on top of a $5 or $6 cost card  ).

Using Prince is fine. I just didn't expect anyone to use a card costing more than $6. I'll tweak the rule.

[spineflu]

EDIT: WITHDRAWN; check my entry downthread.

Collection • $1 • Treasure
$1
When you play a Gold this turn, +1 Buy.

Top card in a split with Hoard.

[4est]

Here's my entry this week. 5 copies of Lockbox go on top of 5 copies of Treasurer. +Buy helps deplete the top half of the pile, and then once you get the Key from Treasurer, you can "unlock" your Lockboxes for an extra one-shot $3 each. Be careful though: your opponent can swipe Lockboxes from the trash for themselves, but they'll need to steal the Key from you too to activate them.

[Xen3k]

Scrying Bones - $2
Action
+2 Cards
+1 Action
+1 Coffers
Put 2 cards from your hand onto your deck.

A cheap Candlestick Maker variant that can set up Mystic and helps you find the Mystics. It is an even 5 and 5 split with Mystic. Not sure if the draw 2 cards then return 2 cards effect is equivalent to a +Buy, but pricing it at $3 does not seem very appealing, so I went with $2. This also goes great with a number of other cards that care what is on top of your deck. Feedback is appreciated.

[arowdok]

Trailblazer
Action $4
Reveal your hand and discard pile. Trash a revealed Copper from both; if you didn't trash any Copper this way, gain a Trailblazer; if you can't gain a Trailblazer, gain an Adventurer and a Gold.

Adventurer
Action $6
Reveal cards from your deck until you reveal 2 Treasure cards. Put those Treasure cards into your hand and discard the other revealed cards.

I wanted to help out a removed card that is bad but I enjoyed playing with. I know dominion rarely trashes from the discard pile (for good reasons) but I thought this could be an interesting space to play in as the trashing is mandatory from both zones and unlike many trashers at $4 this gives you nothing while in trashing mode.

A few notes the trashing must be done in both zones if able, the gaining of Trailblazer only happens when both the hand and discard pile has no Copper and the gain must be done if able, and since it is a split card pile the gain is a bit weird. So the Trailblazer can only be gained if the top of the pile is a Trailblazer and same with the Adventurer. This should usually only happen once a the Trailblazers are gone but Dominion can get weird. Also note if Trailblazer/Adventurer pile is empty you will still gain the gold (unless it that pile is also empty which is super rare).

[Timinou]

I don’t know if it’s necessary to reveal cards in your discard pile and hand rather than looking through it (a la Hermit).  I don’t think accountability would be an issue since it should be clear where the trashed Coppers are coming from (but if it’s a concern, it could be done sequentially from the hand then the discard pile).

[Gubump]

I don’t know if it’s necessary to reveal cards in your discard pile and hand rather than looking through it (a la Hermit).  I don’t think accountability would be an issue since it should be clear where the trashed Coppers are coming from (but if it’s a concern, it could be done sequentially from the hand then the discard pile).

The revealing is necessary because the Copper trashing is mandatory. Your opponents don't get to look through your discard pile and hand to make sure there aren't any Coppers you're lying about not being there to trash.

[Timinou]

I don’t know if it’s necessary to reveal cards in your discard pile and hand rather than looking through it (a la Hermit).  I don’t think accountability would be an issue since it should be clear where the trashed Coppers are coming from (but if it’s a concern, it could be done sequentially from the hand then the discard pile).

The revealing is necessary because the Copper trashing is mandatory. Your opponents don't get to look through your discard pile and hand to make sure there aren't any Coppers you're lying about not being there to trash.

You're absolutely right...I wasn't thinking about the fact that the trashing is mandatory and players have an incentive to be dishonest about not being able to trash Coppers.  Revealing your whole discard pile just seemed a tad awkward, but it is necessary.

[Boomyday]

Here is my card for the week.

5 copies of Scrapyard on top of 5 copies of Forge.
It has 2 uses: providing junk to trash with forge, and being a gold or Duchy for 4 with sufficient deck control. It is not a lab for 4 - more like a ruined village in draw power as it produces 2 junk cards each play. Hope you like it!

[JW]

Here is my card for the week.

5 copies of Scrapyard on top of 5 copies of Forge.
It has 2 uses: providing junk to trash with forge, and being a gold or Duchy for 4 with sufficient deck control. It is not a lab for 4 - more like a ruined village in draw power as it produces 2 junk cards each play. Hope you like it!

Scrapyard without a synergistic Trasher to pair with it is very bad, though, so Forge is unlikely to be uncovered!

[NoMoreFun]

Skeptic
Action - $2
+$1
Trash a card from your hand. If it costs less than this, +1 Card, +1 Action.

On top of Mountebank

[Aquila]

On top of Venture:

Projection - Treasure, $2 cost.
At Clean-up, you may trash a Treasure card you would discard from play this turn, to gain a Treasure costing up to $3 more than it.

Artificially cheap to avoid it being a two-step Gold.

[xyz123]

Land Survey
Action $4

+1 Card
+1 Action

Discard any number of Victory cards revealing them. $1 per card discarded.


This goes on top of Rebuild.


I decided to go for Rebuild as I don't think strategies for it are that interesting. Also with Rebuild strategies you want to start buying them early on, which you can't do with a split pile. Hopefully this might mix it up a bit. There are three things I hope to achieve.
1) The card has a synergy with Rebuild.
2) The card can also be useful in other strategies, so both players going for it doesn't mean it will always be a Rebuild mirror.
3) The card can also be ignored by a player going for another strategy. They can have the option to leave the Rebuild player to have to gain all the Land Surveys themself.

Yes it is based on Shepherd.

*Updated following feedback.

[mandioca15]

Goshawk (Action-Reaction, $3)

+2 Cards
———
When you play a card that has two or more types, you may play this from your hand.

This forms a split pile with Falconer.

[JW]

Land Survey
Action $3

+1 Action

Discard any number of Victory cards revealing them. $1 per card discarded.


This goes on top of Rebuild.

This card is so weak that is would rarely be gained and Rebuild would very rarely be uncovered. With a $4 cost and +1 Card it would be a reasonable power level.

[silverspawn]

Goes on top of King's Court

[faust]

Unpopular opinion time! I find it hard to design a card for this, because many of the existing cards just play better if they're not part of a split pile. The submissions so far reinforce that opinion for me.

This goes on top of Cobbler.  I love Cobbler and I want it to be better.  The Boot token would make it much better in most kingdoms. There is only one Boot Token, so the price reduction applies to everyone.  (Pretend the card says "Action-Duration" on the bottom.  Looks like I forgot that part)

I'm not sure this makes Cobbler better. Cobbler is an early-game card, and with this you can only gain it well into the midgame.

Here's my entry this week. 5 copies of Lockbox go on top of 5 copies of Treasurer. +Buy helps deplete the top half of the pile, and then once you get the Key from Treasurer, you can "unlock" your Lockboxes for an extra one-shot $3 each. Be careful though: your opponent can swipe Lockboxes from the trash for themselves, but they'll need to steal the Key from you too to activate them.

This makes the first option on Treasurer pretty useless, by buffing the other two and limiting Treasurer gains to the mid-late game, where trashing is less useful anyways. I also really don't think it's necessary to reward Key control more. The better design for this would be if the text that Lockbox has was on Key, and Key did nothing else, and the first Treasurer option was removed. But of course that doesn't fit the contest.

Scrying Bones - $2
Action
+2 Cards
+1 Action
+1 Coffers
Put 2 cards from your hand onto your deck.

A cheap Candlestick Maker variant that can set up Mystic and helps you find the Mystics. It is an even 5 and 5 split with Mystic. Not sure if the draw 2 cards then return 2 cards effect is equivalent to a +Buy, but pricing it at $3 does not seem very appealing, so I went with $2. This also goes great with a number of other cards that care what is on top of your deck. Feedback is appreciated.

Giving Mystic an inbuilt combo cheapens the experience I feel. Now you can't enjoy those times when there are other combos, and much of the deck-tracking rewards from Mystic are gone.

Goes on top of King's Court

This should probably have a ? in the top corners, as the $4 is conditional (see Charm). I'm not convinced that this is good enough for King's Court to be uncovered a signficant portion of the time. Even if it is, though, limiting to 5 King's Courts makes it likely that the person who wins the split has a massive advantage.

[silverspawn]

Was about to say that I agree, but then I remembered Sauna, isn't it similar to Sauna/Avanto? +3 cards in a game without +cards may be just as important as a KC.

of course it would not be absurd to criticize Sauna for that exact reason.

[Xen3k]

Unpopular opinion time! I find it hard to design a card for this, because many of the existing cards just play better if they're not part of a split pile. The submissions so far reinforce that opinion for me.

Scrying Bones - $2
Action
+2 Cards
+1 Action
+1 Coffers
Put 2 cards from your hand onto your deck.

A cheap Candlestick Maker variant that can set up Mystic and helps you find the Mystics. It is an even 5 and 5 split with Mystic. Not sure if the draw 2 cards then return 2 cards effect is equivalent to a +Buy, but pricing it at $3 does not seem very appealing, so I went with $2. This also goes great with a number of other cards that care what is on top of your deck. Feedback is appreciated.

Giving Mystic an inbuilt combo cheapens the experience I feel. Now you can't enjoy those times when there are other combos, and much of the deck-tracking rewards from Mystic are gone.

I appreciate the feedback! Personally I dislike the split pile cards in general and wish some of the cards that are split pile came as single piles. This challenge was tough for me for this reason; I just really don't like split piles as a mechanic. I agree this does cheapen the skill involved in using Mystic effectively, but I am not too concerned  as Mystics gimmick is used in cheaper cards to a less frustrating effect, to my taste at least. Thanks again!