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[emtzalex]

So, even before Commodore Chuckles had us designing Shelters for other expansions, with the restarting of the Set Expansion Contest, I'd been thinking about set-specific mechanics (i.e. those that are only in one or two expansions). Many of them (Debt, Reserve) require additional components (like tokens, mats, etc.) that would make it hard to casually include a single example of them in a set. One notable exception to this are Night cards, which, while exclusive to Nocturn, don't require anything but a different color card and an explanation of how they work in the rules.

Thus, I have come up with this week's challenge:

Design a Night card that would "fit" in an expansion besides Nocturn.

The easiest way for a card to fit into another expansion is for it to use a mechanic/component specific to that expansion (see follow-up post for an incomplete list). It may be possible to make a card fit thematically with a set without using such a mechanic, and they certainly aren't required. But the card should feel like it fits in that set.

You may use multiple cards and/or landscapes, including non-Supply cards. There's no limit to the number (but keep in mind that simplicity is a judging criteria). But, at least one of the cards in your submission needs to be an original Night card you designed. Also, please be sure to identify which expansion you are using.

Also, since the card needs to  "fit" in one of the official expansions, it cannot have any set-specific features from a different set (aside from being a Night card). That means no Reserve cards that gain Horses, no Allies that give Villagers, etc. It also means no fan mechanics which would require additional rules etc.


My main judging criteria is whether I would be excited to see the design in a Kingdom. Important factors for me are:

• balance -- is the card useful, but not overpowering (both in general and in a variety of Kingdoms);
• playability -- the card is fun to play and works in more than one type of deck;
• simplicity -- this doesn't always mean fewer words; a card with lots of text that, once you understand it, can be easily and intuitively be played is better than one with four lines of text that is hard to understand; and
• topicality -- the card (or cards) uses the mechanic in an interesting way--here, this means both that the card works (and makes sense) as a Night card and it fits the set.

The deadline for submissions will be 06:00 UTC / 2:00 a.m. Eastern/Forum time on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
Please let me know if you have any questions.



EDIT: Because whether a card's flavor and/or mechanic "fits" in an expansion is subjective, I'm not going to disqualify anything for not being sufficiently like the set. The only grounds for disqualification is using a different set's mechanics/card.

[emtzalex]

So, once again I have additional thoughts that would have made the OP unwieldy. I'm putting them here (there may be more later).


Idea behind the contest
A little bit more on my general thinking. Because they don't require any additional physical component, or interact with a pile of non-Supply cards that you'd generally want more than one card to interact with, I see Night cards as being a mechanic that could easily be added to a set, even a single card. This would not be true for a mechanic like VP tokens (which require a pile of physical tokens to be put in the box) or Horses (which require a pile of 30 cards that you want to interact with more than one card in the set. By contrast, a Reaction could easily be added to a set that didn't previously have one (this was done in Seaside 2E with Pirate).

Another mechanic that could easily be adopted to other sets is, as illustrated by last week's contest, Shelters. That actually didn't occur to me when I first came up with this, but I am super thrilled that the idea I wanted to do anyway turned out to be something of a continuation of a theme. Another obvious example is the Overpay mechanic. There was a previous Overpay contest in Week 131, and I prefer Night cards to Overpay cards.

I know some folks feel that adding the Night phase destroys the very clean ABC (Action Buy Clean-up) turn order, and therefore think of it as a more significantly game-altering mechanic. It's never bothered me that much (I think it's easy to remember ABC -- but sometimes there's an N).


How to make a Night card "fit" another set
Ideally, your card should fit the themes of the set both in terms of flavor (e.g. Hinterlands is about travel, Menagerie is about animals), and mechanics. To me, the most obvious way to do the latter is to use a set-specific mechanic, including:

• From...
• Alchemy: Potion costs
• Prosperity: VP tokens
• Dark Ages: Ruins, Spoils
• Guilds: Coffers
• Adventures: Events, Reserve cards, Travellers, player-specific pile & penalty tokens
• Empires: Events, VP tokens, split piles, Gathering cards, Debt, Landmarks
• Renaissance: Coffers, Villagers, Projects, Artifacts
• Menagerie: Events, Horses, Exile, Ways
• Allies: Rotator piles, Allies, and Liaisons

That said, this is clearly not the only way to make the mechanic fit a set. For example, there are a few ways to design a card that feels like it would be in Hinterlands. You can also use set-specific landscapes. But--quick warning--you can't just make a card a Night-Duration and say it fits with Seaside. Nocturn has as many Night-Durations as pure Night cards.

An Event, Project, Way, or Ally with the capacity to gain a Night card you designed could absolutely work. But, again, you can't use Ghost or any existing card as part of the design.


Designing Night cards
A quick reminder. Because Night cards are played after the Buy phase, things that many Action and Treasure cards do--giving vanilla bonuses of +Cards, +Actions, +Buys, or +Coins--are all but useless on a Night card (unless you're getting them next turn as part of a Night-Duration). Official Night cards do things like gain, trash, sift your deck, and attack. Other mechanics that accrue benefits on other turns (like Reserve cards, Coffers/Villagers, and gaining non-Supply cards like Horses or Spoils) offer interesting possibilities that weren't available in Nocturn.

[Builder_Roberts]

Well now... This feels like a contest I should be able to win. I've made quite a few Night cards recently. The problem is which one to choose of the cards I've made.
I've been trying to make Night cards with alternate types. so this sort of thing is right up my alley!

For Hinterlands, I've made a Night - Reaction card called Last Watch.

Last Watch - $4 - Night - Reaction
If it's your Night phase, put up to 2 cards onto your deck when you discard them from play this turn. Otherwise, +2 Cards.
-
At the start of your turn, you may play this from your hand.

It's essentially a sort of scheme +. You can use the top decking mechanic to topdeck itself, to get that sweet +2 Cards next turn.
It utilizes the reaction from Clerk to get that cool "dawn" effect.
I really hope I don't have to hype the card up more than that.

I have two other options for people to think about, though I'm not submitting them for the Contest.
For Adventures, a Night - Reserve card called Caravaneer.


For Prosperity, a Treasure - Night card called Black Gold. (didn't think that was going to be a thing, huh?)


Other contestants - don't feel restrained to just Night cards and Night - Duration cards! There are other options!

[majiponi]

Sir Nightking
cost $5 - Night - Attack - Duration - Knight
At the start of your next turn: +1 Card, and each other player reveals the top 2 cards of their deck, trashes one costing $3 - $6, and discards the rest; If anyone trashes a Knight, trash this.

Until then, when another player plays a Knight, it won't affect you.


EDIT: Dark Ages, include it Knight pile

[Xen3k]

Set: Dark Ages

Cat Burglar - $4
Night - Looter
For each card in your hand, choose a different thing: Gain a Spoils; trash a card from your hand; gain a Copper onto your deck; gain a Ruins; gain a Curse.

Simple Spoils gainer and slow trasher that penalizes you if you have too many cards left in your hand.

[emtzalex]

I have two other options in case this doesn't qualify -

Last Watch definitely qualifies as a submission from Hinterlands. I clarified the OP to make clear that cards will only be disqualified if they use a mechanic or card from a different set.

Sir Nightking
cost $5 - Night - Attack - Duration - Knight

I presume you mean this to be from Dark Ages, and to be include in the Knights pile. Unless I hear otherwise I'll judge it as such.

Everyone, please try to remember to say which expansion you are using. It will often be obvious, but with many cards to judge I'm not going to work extra hard to chase that down, and if I don't know what set it's from, I'll assume it doesn't fit the set that well.

[n_sanity]

Set: Alchemy



Not a super good use of the Night Mechanic, besides the flavor.  I tried to capture the "Jekyll gets stuck as Hyde unless he consumes Potions" and "Eventually he'll run out and get stuck as Hyde forever" theme from the original book. And of course, I tried to make it tie into the Potion theme from Alchemy.

Maybe I need to come up with a new entry that actually uses Night "well", since this same idea could work pretty easily as a Action too...

[Homersolo]

I can't figure out how to post the Generated Card, so I will just post the following:

Set:  Dark Ages

Card Name:  Crypt Raider

Cost:  2

Type:  Night - Attack

Text:  If you have a Ruins in play, you may trash it.  If you do, gain two Spoils.  If you have no Ruins in play, each player, including you, gains a ruin from the supply. 
-
When you gain this, return all Ruins from the trash to the supply and gain two ruins. 

[Homersolo]

You aren't wrong.  The best imaginative aspect of it was the reload.  I was also thinking of Ways which may make you want to play the ruins. 

[4est]

For Menagerie, Wolf is a Duplicate and Smugglers variant that can Exile another copy of a card that was already gained this turn. Early on, you can Exile a copy of an Action card you gained to pick up later like with Camel Train. Unlike Camel Train, it can Exile Victory cards from the Supply, so you can gain a Duchy and then Exile another one with your Wolf. The Reaction lets you play it whenever someone else does and gain Exile something they gained on their turn (sort of like Smugglers). When one Wolf starts howling, the rest can join in.

Wolf is a light update to my old submission, Coyote, keeping an almost identical top and making a simpler and more interactive Reaction. Name change for theming of course.

Previous submission:

[Gubump]

For Menagerie, Coyote is an Exiler and Duplicate variant that can Exile another copy of a card you already gained this turn. Early on, you can Exile a copy of an Action card you gained to pick up later like with Camel Train. Unlike Camel Train, it can Exile Victory cards from the Supply, so you can gain a Duchy and then Exile another one with your Coyote. The Reaction lets you reveal anytime other players (or you) Exile something, letting you Exile a copy of what they Exiled from your hand. Since it's a reveal trigger, this does allow you to reveal multiple times. So if your opponent Exiles an Estate, you can reveal your Coyote twice to Exile two Estates from your hand.

This needs to specify that it's revealed from hand.

[LibraryAdventurer]

for Intrigue

Hideaway
$3 - Night - Victory
Choose one: Gain a Silver, put a card from your discard pile on top of your deck, or +1 Card at the end of this turn (after drawing).
-
Worth 1 VP.

(Maybe it should cost $4?)

[NoMoreFun]

Boarding House
Night - $3
This turn, if you didn't remove any tokens from your:
Coffers Mat, +1 Coffers
Villagers Mat, +1 Villager

[scott_pilgrim]

Submission (for Guilds):

Name: Thieves' Guild
Types: Action, Treasure, Night
Cost: $6
Text: +3 Cards, +1 Buy; +1 Coffers per card you've gained this turn.

[binbag420]

https://imgur.com/a/bhd1tVn


A Reserve-Night card for Adventures. Combos with itself and all the new night cards that have just been added to every expansion.

[CaptainReklaw]

For Guilds:

Tomb Raider

+2 Coffers

$3 Night


Should say Night on bottom of card.
A simple but useful, easy to understand card.

[Augie279]

A split pile of all night cards for Allies because why not. Designed to slot into any deck without too much issue but can't win you the game on their own.

also a night version of Donate because I thought that'd be cool

[Augie279]

I can't figure out how to post the Generated Card

Try this?

[spineflu]

For Guilds:

Tomb Raider

+2 Coffers

$3 Night


Should say Night on bottom of card.
A simple but useful, easy to understand card.

Smells like a $5.

agree. compare/contrast with Butcher or Villain and remember that Night cards are nonterminal.

[spineflu]

This one is for Seaside. Lets you set up your next hand. Stacking them lets you silver flood your next hand.

[xyz123]

One for Allies.

Lychnobite
Night - Liaison
$2

Discard any number of cards from your hand. For each card discarded +1 Favor

[Gamer3000]

A Night card for Menagerie, Pawnshop is a versatile card that can be used both as a pseudo-trasher and a gainer. Its gaining ability requires you to exile a more expensive card and is limited to cards you don't already have a copy of in play. By the time it can gain cards by exiling expensive cards you want exiled (e.g. Provinces), many of the cards you would want to gain will likely already have a copy in play.

[AJL828]

For Intrigue:

Welder
Night - Victory ($6)

Discard a card. For each type it has, gain a card costing up to $4.
---
Worth 1 VP per 2 different card types you have (round down).


Fits Intrigue's theme of playable Victory cards as well as the sub theme of card type interaction used by a few other cards (Courtier, Ironworks, Replace). It discards the card (unlike how Courtier works) so that multiple Welders can't reveal the same 3-4 type card and destroy piles super quickly, and also cannot gain anything if you have no other cards in hand. I put it at $6 mostly due to the Victory portion, it's practically guaranteed to be worth at least 2 VP and can very often be worth 3 or more (and at $5 I felt that compared too well to Duchy since this also has a playable effect).

Update: Cleaned up the wording a little bit. Thanks to Builder_Roberts for their suggestion.

Old Version:

[Marpharos]

My updated submission for Seaside:

Siren
Action-Duration-Attack-Night
$3
If it's your Night phase, at the start of your next turn, +$2
Otherwise, each other player with 4 or more cards in hand discards a Treasure or Duration card from their hand, or reveals a hand with neither.


Most ships are duration cards, and I thought a mermaid/siren should attack those more than anything else. Also, I wanted it to affect durations in play, but thought that wouldn't actually be fun. Undecided whether it should hit a treasure and a duration, or just one or the other.

Edits:
Missing Attack type
Changed price from $5 to $3

[Builder_Roberts]

Welder
Night - Victory ($6)

Reveal and discard a card from your hand. Once for each different type it has, gain a card costing up to $4.
---
Worth 1 VP per 2 card types you have (round down).

you always discard from your hand, the top of your discard is public knowledge, no card has the same type twice, and the bottom portion needs clarification.

Suggested wording:
Discard a card. For each type it has, gain a card costing up to $4
-
Worth 1VP per 2 different card types you have (round down).