Results:
Expunge by Augie279: This one is pretty interesting, it seems like it would reward getting draw cards early on as you would be very likely to hit $4 while also having multiple Victory cards in hand. I don’t think opening with this is too strong, but you probably wanna do it sometimes. It also makes for a very good counter to Torturer. I can’t of much else to add, I like this one.
Royal Parade by JW: The concept for this one is fun but I think it’s too expensive to be worth it most of the time. Ultimately you’re paying $6 for +1 Card (since you won’t have to draw that Action card) and 1 more action play than your deck would otherwise. Most of the time I see myself preferring to gain some other Action card to boost my deck permanently instead of just for 1 turn. I do think a cheaper version of this idea could work though, it would be especially interesting when this would be the only village.
Offering: I find this to be too similar to Ritual. It is different in that you can actually thin with it, but since your opponents can also thin I don’t think you’ll be using it for that much (like Bishop). It’s also not clear to me how the order of the other players trashing their cards is resolved. Normally, the order of things like this don’t matter, but with you getting an extra VP if anyone else trashes, there is some incentive to “fake out” the other players. It may also just resolve clockwise, but I still think that falls into too political of a design for a Dominion card.
Explosion by Will(ow |iam): I think this is too strong, especially due to it netting you extra buys. Buying this on turn 3 will result in you having both your opening buys, the ability to play both (if they are terminal actions), having the ability to buy several cards at once, and ensuring nothing misses the shuffle. Now there are similarly strong Events in the game (mainly Donate is what I’m thinking of) but with those there is some variance to when/how they’re used (even if you do want it somewhat early 99% of the time). With this Event however, I only picture myself wanting to get it turn 3 (or turn 4 if turn 3’s hand is $2).
Fold by NoMoreFun: Very simple! I can see this being used frequently early on to accelerate cycling back to your opening buys or sometimes as a means of correcting bad shuffles set up by cards like Golem. It rewards deck tracking and encourages you to think about the $1 difference between certain cards you might want, which I think is a great thing. Great work.
Coronation by Ethan: I think this is well balanced, but is again very similar to an existing Event. This is essentially just a Throne version of Toil, and without the +Buy Toil has, I think this is going to be a harder sell on a lot of boards. It also should have some sort of non-Duration clause, as there is nothing paired up beside any Duration cards you play to help you remember using Coronation on them last turn.
Gathering by segura: This seems very useful across all stages of the game. You can use it early to resolve upcoming terminal collision, or in the mid-end game to prevent losing a turn to a dud. Being buy neutral the first time allows you to still get other things done on your current turn as well, without it feeling too spammy (which it might if the +Buy was unconditional). You often overshoot pricepoints in Dominion, so I think this would be bought a fair amount on average, but like Fold it encourages thinking about the small price gaps in what cards you want to buy. Another excellent submission.
Arson by Gubump: I think this is too strong in comparison to Bonfire and also varies significantly depending on your the order of your opening splits. Having 5/2 or 4/3 only allows for 1 use of this and limits the number of Estates that can be trashed, while having 2/5 or 3/4 allows for 2 uses and trashing of 2 or 3 Estates.
Conservation by fika monster: Looks very fun with trash for benefit cards, but I don’t think I would use it without any around. $5 is a lot to pay to downgrade trashing and junking attacks, and I’d rather get an Action card to help my deck permanently (much like Royal Parade). I think this concept would be best utilized in a rotating split pile actually, as that way you could ensure the presence of TFB cards to make it interesting.
Mulligan by kru5h: I think that this is too strong given its ease of access. This effectively (almost) doubles your search space for your starting hand each turn, which seems a little too much anti-dud insurance compared to similar effects (like Guide, which needs a pair to be used once per turn, or Journey, which requires hitting $4). I think some extra cost or restriction on what can be discarded would make this more interesting.
Cast by Aquila: This Event provides a very unique way of teaching players the basics of engine building and the downsides of Silver and Gold, while still also showing them they don’t have to completely ignore them. This event allows you to stay thinner while hitting early price points, and later on spike higher ones. It even provides an interesting decision of whether or not to get some “Silver +” type cards, like Patron or Gondola (as Silver can be stored now and used in a pinch). I really like this one.
Divination by faust: Like Conservation, I think this is a really fun concept that is unfortunately just a bit too narrow as an Event. It seems really exciting with the cards it works well with, like Mystic, Chariot Race, or Ironmonger, but I’m not sure how useful it would be outside of those “top card of deck” synergies (as ideally, you want your engine to be reliable enough to draw everything without needing to see the next card coming up. I think this is also worth revisiting in a different form, like a rotating split pile.
Laurels by spheremonk: I’ll still provide some feedback for this, even though it indirectly can gain cards. First off, I think this has some wording problems, as I think as worded it can re-set aside Prizes you’ve already played this turn, or even Prizes from other player’s areas (can you set aside cards that are set aside elsewhere?). Regardless a simple, “from the Prize pile” can fix this, so I won’t pay much mind to it. I think that this event is problematic still unfortunately, as the Prizes have significant Power variance, and oftentimes being the first one to use this will make other players have a harder time getting it (mainly talking about Followers here). I really only see myself wanting this for Followers, Steed, or maybe Princess sometimes.
Compost Pile by BryGuy: The first option still compares favourably to Bonfire, allowing trashing of Estates/Shelters and being buy neutral. I don’t really get the point of the second option, as all players share the same trash, so putting more cards in there to benefit from this part of the Event also helps your opponents (and without a cap, this can produce ludicrous amount of +$ in combination with trashing attacks).
Visit by X-tra: This is a really cool parallel to Populate, and I really like that this works best with the sorts of Actions that don’t work well with Populate (this benefits from +$, gains, and terminal cards, as you won’t be able to use the extra actions unless there’s Villa or Cavalry or something). Duration tracking seems a little problematic, but like the suggestion made for Conservation, placing a cube on this each turn as a reminder is a good enough solution. Nonetheless, a unique and interesting card.
Lightning by grep: This is another good concept but I feel like it’s missing something, mainly because this is strictly an attack-like effect with no other benefit. Attack-like events can work for sure, but having some benefit besides the attack makes it a lot less upsetting if the attack park doesn’t work out. Perhaps some benefit for the person buying it also based on the types of the card would be interesting.
Honourable Mentions:
Fold by NoMoreFun
Visit by X-tra
Runner Up: Cast by Aquila
Winner: Gathering by segura
Author
Topic: Weekly Design Contest #197: One Order of Events, Hold the Gains (Read 3681 times)