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[4est]

WDC #184: Spring is in the Air

After a long, cold, and dark winter, it's finally starting to warm up, at least where I live. Trees are awakening from their slumber, and flowers emerge from the dead ground. It's a joyous time of year to be outside and I'm here for it.

Our challenge this week is:

Design a card or card-shaped thing that evokes springtime.

Contest Guidelines:

• Your submission should either mechanically or thematically (or both) have something to do with the season of spring and its many associations.
• Some ideas of direction include (but are not limited to): new life, birth/rebirth, flowers, seeds, trees, planting, bloom, blossoms, sunshine, rain, showers, festivals, cleaning, outdoors, baby animals, garden, grass, melting, thawing, warmth, spring break, mother's day, tax day, earth day, etc.
• Your submission may be part of a split pile or involve additional cards.
• For the purposes of this contest, let's avoid fan mechanics such as Seasons or Freeze.
  
• Don't make me squint. Eliminate unnecessary words and complexity where possible.

Judgement Details:

• Entries and revisions must be submitted by 5:00 PM CDT (10:00 PM UTC) on Saturday, April 22. I'll have results posted on or before Monday, April 24.
• Entries will be judged on ingenuity, balance, simplicity, and creative mechanical or thematic homage to the season of spring.

Have fun! Looking forward to seeing y'all's designs!


Entries:

Farmer by segura
Rabbit by X-tra
Blossom by AJL828 
Small Seed, Plain Plant, Bold Blossom by BryGuy
Spell of the Equinox by NoMoreFun 
Renovate by Augie279
Pollinated by Will(ow|iam) 
Spring by majiponi
Maypole by emtzalex
Granary by JW
Resurrection by xyz123
Rainmaker and Rain by czzzz
Florist and Wild Meadow by RovingBear
Planter by LibraryAdventurer
Vernal Blossoms and Poem Notes by Ethan
Spig by arowdok
Seed by Violet CLM

[segura]

This is obviously mainly good in the late game in a draw engine. With enough draw power you might even be able to use two copies. Can also work a a middle-game support card for alt+VP decks. Due to the gathering mechanic there are potentially feedback mechanisms, i.e. A goes for Farmers so B will have to contest it and thus has an incentive to perhaps thin less or green earlier than he would otherwise.


It features a theoretical possibility for stalemates as the card does nothing to progress the game. But I think that is fairly theoretical and due to the gathering mechanic you have an incentive to eventually blow up all copies (but one, you might want to keep one as deterrent lest the other player amasses VPs with the last remaining copy) so the stalemate will eventually be broken

[X-tra]

Pile of 20 cards.

[AJL828]

Blossom
$4 - Event

Discard up to 3 differently named Action cards. Gain a copy of each card discarded.

With a lot of love and care you can create a beautiful garden full of different cards. But of course, that means you aren't going to be playing those cards this turn.
I'm not 100% sure if this is underpriced, in comparison to Pilgrimage I think it's fine? (Pilgrimage requires 2 turns of spending $4, but can also gain Treasures, Nights, and still lets you play the stuff you wanna gain)

[BryGuy]

After judging update:

Small Seed
$4 Action - Traveller
+1 Card
+2 Actions
-
When you discard this from play, you may trash this and a Treasure card from your Hand for a Plain Plant.

Plain Plant
$5* Action - Traveller
+1 Action
You may do this up to twice: discard a card to draw a card and +$1.
-
When you discard this from play, you may exchange this and a Victory card from your Hand for a Bold Blossom. (Not in the Supply)

Bold Blossom
$6* Treasure - Duration
+1 Buy
You may set up to four cards under this revealing them for +$1 per differently named card.
At the start of your next turn put the cards into your Hand and +1 Action. (Not in the Supply)

Judged:

Small Seed
$4 Action - Traveller
+1 Card
+2 Actions
-
When you discard this from play, you may trash this and a Treasure card from your Hand to gain a Plain Plant.

Plain Plant
$5* Action - Traveller
+1 Action
You may do this up to twice: discard a card to draw a card and +$1.
-
When you discard this from play, you may exchange this and a Victory card from your Hand to gain a Bold Blossom. (Not in the Supply)

Bold Blossom
$6* Treasure - Duration
You may set up to three cards under this.
At the start of your next turn, +1 Buy, reveal the cards for +$1 per differently named card, and put the cards into your Hand. (Not in the Supply)

My first thought was to do a traveller series which itself is sort of like a life cycle. I tried and failed with an animal and instead went with a plant. After playing a few rounds of Dominion today with scant trashing, i tried to think about what i would have wanted aside from trashing in such a game.

[NoMoreFun]

Spell of the Equinox
Night - $3
If you have, in play...
More Action cards than Night cards, Gain a Will-o-Wisp;
More Night cards than Action cards, Gain an Imp;
The same number of each, Gain a Wish

[czzzz]

This is no longer my submission; here's my revised submission.

[Augie279]

Spring cleaning time! Out with the old, in with the new. Improve may not be the best card, but when you've got free reign to not deal with a terminal Silver in your deck, maybe you can get more use out of it.

[Gubump]

Spring cleaning time! Out with the old, in with the new. Improve may not be the best card, but when you've got free reign to not deal with a terminal Silver in your deck, maybe you can get more use out of it.

Saying "in play" twice is redundant. You can just say "trash any number of Action cards you would discard from play this turn," as you obviously can't discard cards from play that aren't in play anyway.

[Will(ow|iam)]

Pollenated
Trait
When you gain a Pollenated card, gain another one (that doesn't come with another)

[majiponi]

Spring
cost $3 - Action
+1 Action
Turn your Journey token over (it starts face up). Then if it's face up, +3 Cards and +1 Buy.


It needs shrinking to show its power.

[emtzalex]

My Submission:

Maypole • $4 • Action - Treasure Reveal the top 4 cards of your deck. Choose one: play a revealed Action card; or +1 Buy and put a revealed Treasure card into your hand. Put the rest back on top in any order.

[segura]

My Submission:

Maypole • $4 • Action - Treasure Reveal the top 4 cards of your deck. Choose one: play a revealed Action card; or +1 Buy and put a revealed Treasure card into your hand. Put the rest back on top in any order.

I think this would probably be fine at $3. Vanilla-wise it is cantrip, Village or Market Square but unlike Sage it does not sift.

[JW]

Granary
$5 - Action Victory
+1 Card and +2 Actions
You may discard a card. If it is an Action, +2 Cards.
1

Notes: You can use your Actions to fuel your growth, but (as with "Shy" trait cardS) it's not clear that you always want to. 

[xyz123]

Resurrection
Night
$4

Choose one: Trash a card you have in play and gain a card costing up to $2 more than it onto your deck; or trash a card from your hand and gain a card from the trash costing up to $2 more than it.

- I decided to make a card called Resurrection so I went for a Night card that is a spin on Graverobber. I did initially consider allowing you to gain a card costing 3 more if you trashed a card you had in play but decided it would be too easy to turn 5s into Provinces. I also reduced the cost to 4.

[czzzz]

Alright so I keep looking at what I submitted before and it doesn't really do what I wanted it to. So here's my revised submission, for better or worse:

Rainmaker still builds up the clouds by pseudo-trashing. I did like the limit on the old one, but I don't like the sound of "Discard up to 3 Rain from Exile" which would be the equivalent here. Anyways it gains a Rain in addition to the Exiled one, if you Exile like a Silver or a Duchy, which opens the floodgates and you can have a nice storm to bless your crops.

Notes/Edits: Rain costs $2 so that you can't just Exile it with Rainmaker to get extra Rain.
Rainmaker says "Exile a Rain" because I can't say "from the Supply" if it's not in the Supply, and "from the non-Supply" sounds stupid to me. -- took Ethan's "from its pile" suggestion, thank you.
Rain ended up pretty similar to Figurehead but that wasn't the goal. At first it was a Treasure that gave +2 Cards, but that was basically a slightly worse Horse. This had more of the feel I was going for: it stacks up for simultaneous effect, rather than playing and returning in a chain like Horses/Spoils.

[majiponi]

Alright so I keep looking at what I submitted before and it doesn't really do what I wanted it to. So here's my revised submission, for better or worse:

Rainmaker still builds up the clouds by pseudo-trashing. I did like the limit on the old one, but I don't like the sound of "Discard up to 3 Rain from Exile" which would be the equivalent here. Anyways it gains a Rain in addition to the Exiled one, if you Exile like a Silver or a Duchy, which opens the floodgates and you can have a nice storm to bless your crops.

Notes: Rain costs $2 so that you can't just Exile it with Rainmaker to get extra Rain.
Rainmaker says "Exile a Rain" because I can't say "from the Supply" if it's not in the Supply, and "from the non-Supply" sounds stupid to me.
Rain ended up pretty similar to Figurehead but that wasn't the goal. At first it was a Treasure that gave +2 Cards, but that was basically a slightly worse Horse. This had more of the feel I was going for: it stacks up for simultaneous effect, rather than playing and returning in a chain like Horses/Spoils.

It has an accountability problem.  How can I prove that I don't have a Rain in hand?
It does not care whether I actually Exiled a Rain.  Is it intended?

[Ethan]

Rainmaker says "Exile a Rain" because I can't say "from the Supply" if it's not in the Supply, and "from the non-Supply" sounds stupid to me.

Maybe we can use 'its pile' like those one-shot non-supply cards.

[segura]

Alright so I keep looking at what I submitted before and it doesn't really do what I wanted it to. So here's my revised submission, for better or worse:

Rainmaker still builds up the clouds by pseudo-trashing. I did like the limit on the old one, but I don't like the sound of "Discard up to 3 Rain from Exile" which would be the equivalent here. Anyways it gains a Rain in addition to the Exiled one, if you Exile like a Silver or a Duchy, which opens the floodgates and you can have a nice storm to bless your crops.

Notes: Rain costs $2 so that you can't just Exile it with Rainmaker to get extra Rain.
Rainmaker says "Exile a Rain" because I can't say "from the Supply" if it's not in the Supply, and "from the non-Supply" sounds stupid to me.
Rain ended up pretty similar to Figurehead but that wasn't the goal. At first it was a Treasure that gave +2 Cards, but that was basically a slightly worse Horse. This had more of the feel I was going for: it stacks up for simultaneous effect, rather than playing and returning in a chain like Horses/Spoils.

It has an accountability problem.  How can I prove that I don't have a Rain in hand?
It does not care whether I actually Exiled a Rain.  Is it intended?

The Rain is not Exiled from hand.

[RovingBear]

My submission:
A split pile where the florist is on top.

[majiponi]

Alright so I keep looking at what I submitted before and it doesn't really do what I wanted it to. So here's my revised submission, for better or worse:

Rainmaker still builds up the clouds by pseudo-trashing. I did like the limit on the old one, but I don't like the sound of "Discard up to 3 Rain from Exile" which would be the equivalent here. Anyways it gains a Rain in addition to the Exiled one, if you Exile like a Silver or a Duchy, which opens the floodgates and you can have a nice storm to bless your crops.

Notes: Rain costs $2 so that you can't just Exile it with Rainmaker to get extra Rain.
Rainmaker says "Exile a Rain" because I can't say "from the Supply" if it's not in the Supply, and "from the non-Supply" sounds stupid to me.
Rain ended up pretty similar to Figurehead but that wasn't the goal. At first it was a Treasure that gave +2 Cards, but that was basically a slightly worse Horse. This had more of the feel I was going for: it stacks up for simultaneous effect, rather than playing and returning in a chain like Horses/Spoils.

It has an accountability problem.  How can I prove that I don't have a Rain in hand?
It does not care whether I actually Exiled a Rain.  Is it intended?

The Rain is not Exiled from hand.

Oh, then you should write "from its pile".

[LibraryAdventurer]

Planter
$5 - Action - Duration
Trash a treasure from your hand. Gain a Treasure costing up to $3 more than it, putting it on your deck. At the start of your next turn, discard up to two cards, then draw up to 6 cards in hand.
-
When you gain this, play it.

I played with this a few times. Still not sure just how strong it is. I figured it being slow made it need the bottom part, but maybe I'm wrong because the next turn effect is strong.

[segura]

So this is Taxman without the Attack but with some terminal sifting and drawing. The second turn effect is probably on average stronger than the Forum effect of Sea Witch. Even taking into account how strong Sea Witch and its sifting in junking games is relative to ordinary Witch, being a Duration is a serious drawback.

So a simply analysis would be: better than Taxman due to the sifting, worse than Taxman due to the Duration, similar to Taxman as the handsize Attack and the Duration draw roughly balance each other out.

So we look at a $4 (even if this is slightly better than Taxman, Taxman is nothing to write home about as Mine variants cannot be powerhouses).The on-gain effect is nice but you basically gotta overpay for this for it to matter.

[silverspawn]

Strong at 5$, I think. Definitely not 4$.

[segura]

Strong at 5$, I think. Definitely not 4$.

Mine and variants like Taxman or Planter are slow and weak. Mine could be non-terminal or cost $4 and it would probably still suck.
Planter is, as I pointed out above, similar to one of the weakest $4s in the game.