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[Augie279]

Weekly Design Contest #219: Livin' in the (Lost) City

So, Lost City. It's pretty good, right? +2 Cards, +2 Actions is a really good benefit that a lot of cards like giving for some reason. Lots of different ways to go about it, but your goal is to find a way to make one of these cards.

Challenge: Design a card that can give +2 Cards and +2 Actions.

...Some clarifications on what exactly that means below. If you have to ask about anything that's not listed here, ask! But I hope I'm comprehensive enough here. Just put +2 Cards and +2 Actions on it somewhere and you're probably good. This is just for people who feel like stretching definitions.


Valid:
-Cards that give +2 Cards, +2 Actions, and may also do other things. (Lost City, Encampment, Landing Party)
-Cards that can give +2 Cards and +2 Actions if you meet specific conditions. (Shanty Town, Diplomat, City, City Quarter, Sacrifice)
-Cards that (can) act like Lost City, but don't specifically say +Cards or +Actions on them. (Golem, Herald, Bustling Village)
-Cards that (can) give more than +2 Cards, +2 Actions. (Cursed Village, Crossroads, Lich)
-Cards that split up the +2 Cards and +2 Actions across multiple turns. (Longship)
-Cards that you can pay resources to get more cards with. (Capital City)
-Horse gainers. (Paddock) Gain X Horses and +X Cards are close to synonymous in my eyes.

Not Valid:
-Throne Room and its variants. I'm aware you can Throne a Horse or Laboratory for a Lost City effect. That isn't what I'm aiming for.
-Cards that keep your handsize neutral or reduce it. (Inn, Recruiter) I'm not aiming for sifters here. This is for draw and actions, together.
-Cards that can give +2 Cards, +2 Actions, but need specific support to do so. If you need to make a "technically this can work if X other card is on the board" justification, I'm not accepting it. (e.g. Ironmonger that hits Mill, Eldered Broker, Chameleoned Conclave, any Command-type cards)


Contest ends at the time this was posted 1 week from now, 5/22/2024. I will try and get judgement in two days from then, but life happens, so it may not be exactly then. Best of luck to all entrants!

Note: Please use the fan card generator to mock up cards you create. I won't accept entries not made in the form of an image. Imgur has been my default image hosting service for the sake of linking my own entries here, so if you haven't had experience mocking up fan cards, I recommend using it.

Entries: (If you need to update or replace your card, make a new post.)

kru5h - Polis - A Lost City with +Buy that's delayed until the next time you play one.
anordinaryman - Advisor City - A Lost City that lets your opponent choose what two Actions you play.
BryGuy - Mirage City/Bargain City - An Encampment that forces you to exchange it for a Storyteller variant or return it to the Supply.
silverspawn - Council Hall - A Lost City that lets your opponents sift 1.
NoMoreFun - One Horse Town - A Diplomat that requires you have exactly 1 Action in hand to get the Actions, but lets you discard any number of cards first.
valb7k - Way of the Elephant - Adds a Lost City effect to a Gold played with this and lets you return it for an Encampment.
D782802859 - Lost Temple - A Lost City that costs $4 after you trash, gain, or discard a card.
grep - Castrum - A Tribute v2 that reveals more cards from your own deck.
fika monster - Communal Ride - A Lost City that dishes out Horses to everyone else.
Tiago - County - An inverse City Quarter that gives you Actions based on the number of Treasures in your hand.
JW - Metropolis - Choose one: Lost City, or Village + Remodel.
LibraryAdventurer - Ambitious Village - Plays the top 2 cards of your deck.
segura - Gatekeeper - Plays all Actions from the top 3 cards of your deck
RovingBear - Imposter - When called, turns an Action you play into a Lost City.
grrgrrgrr - Golden Company - Landing Party that bottomdecks itself when you've spent all your Actions.
HorazVitae - Seasonal Market - Peddler with no discard pile, Lost City otherwise.

[kru5h]

Polis(v1) Action - Duration - $5

The next time you play a Polis: +2 Cards, +2 Actions, and +1 Buy.

Normally, would be too cheap for +2 Cards, +2 Actions, and +1 Buy, but this is nerfed by the fact that the first one you buy does absolutely nothing. The second time you play one, it activates the first. The third activates the second, and so on. Buying four of these is like having only three of them in your deck.

[anordinaryman]

Advisor City | Action | $4
+2 Cards

Reveal your hand. The player to your left chooses two Action cards in your hand. Play those cards in any order.

FAQ: Opponent chooses as many as they can, so if you only have one Action card in hand, they have to name that, and if you have 0 Action cards in hand, well this is just a bad moat.

I like the idea of this but I need some feedback on power level. The idea is that your opponents could make this terminal by having you play terminal actions and then end your action phase prematurely. Or force you to play trashers in the middle-end game when you don't have cards you want to trash.

I don't know if those drawbacks are enough to price it at $4. I considered giving it a "gain a copper" when you gain it. I also considered it at a $5 and gaining a silver when you gain it. So, here is the simplest version and looking for power-level feedback.

Iron Harvest
Action - $5
+1 Buy
Reveal and discard top four cards of your deck.
+1 Action per Action card revealed.
+$1 per Treasure card revealed.
+1 Card per Victory card revealed.

An attempt to fix a notoriously weak card from first edition

Grep, the opening post says Augie279 "won't accept entries not made in the form of an image. " so your entry isn't going to be accepted as is, I believe.

[LibraryAdventurer]

Seems like everyone is requiring images when they judge now. Why?
It's a pain to make the mock-up, then upload it somewhere, post the link here, and then redo the upload and link if I change the card. I don't want to have to make an imgur account just for the weekly design contest.

[BryGuy]

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                           

Mirage City • $3 • Action
+2 Cards
+2 Actions
Reveal a Hand card costing $5 or more to exchange this for a Bargain City; otherwise return this to the Supply.

Bargain City • $5* • Action
+2 Actions
+1 Buy
You may Play a Treasure. You may pay up to $2 for +1 Card per $1 paid. (Not in the Supply)

Here is a City variant that can gain you access to another City variant.

                                                                                                             

[fika monster]

WITHDRAWN ENTRY

Shared Momentum
Trait

Any +1 is instead +2.
When you gain this card, each other player gains a horse and +1 Villager.
(this trait can't be on a card without +1)

Is traits allright? Here is one i just made.

Turns any normal +1 something action card into a +2!! Techniclly it could land on a non +1 Card and +1 Action card, in which case it woulnt be a lost city.
But i just love the idea.

To make this not be identical to lost city i made it so the other players gains horses, and a villager. A different "penalty" for you.

[silverspawn]

Seems like everyone is requiring images when they judge now. Why?
It's a pain to make the mock-up, then upload it somewhere and post the link here. I don't want to have to make an imgur account just for the weekly design contest.

You can use https://imgbb.com/, it doesn't need an account. And you can do a mockup without image, then it takes < 1 minute once you figured out how

[silverspawn]

Council Hall - Action - $5

+2 Cards, +2 Actions, Each other player may discard a card, to draw a card.

[NoMoreFun]

[valb_7k]

Way of the Elephant
You may play a Gold from your hand for +2 Cards +2 Actions. If this card costs $3 or more, you may return it to its pile for +2 Cards +2 Actions.

I hope Ways are acceptable. A weaker Encampment as a Way, which makes you play a Gold (instead of reveal, so it's not too spammable) or return a $3+ action to the supply (so no thinning your Ruins with this) or do both to get the Lost City effect twice.

[Augie279]

Way of the Elephant
You may play a Gold from your hand for +2 Cards +2 Actions. If this card costs $3 or more, you may return it to its pile for +2 Cards +2 Actions.

I hope Ways are acceptable. A weaker Encampment as a Way, which makes you play a Gold (instead of reveal, so it's not too spammable) or return a $3+ action to the supply (so no thinning your Ruins with this) or do both to get the Lost City effect twice.

I'm alright judging your card here, but you disappeared after winning the last contest. If you're not interested in judging contests yourself, please let us know when you win a contest so we don't have to wait 5 days to pass judgement to the next person.

[Augie279]

Seems like everyone is requiring images when they judge now. Why?
It's a pain to make the mock-up, then upload it somewhere and post the link here. I don't want to have to make an imgur account just for the weekly design contest.

The primary purpose is to make sure that your effects actually fit on a card and still remain readable. If given instructions for what a card does, I don't mind making a mockup of the card myself personally.

[D782802859]

[valb_7k]

I'm alright judging your card here, but you disappeared after winning the last contest. If you're not interested in judging contests yourself, please let us know when you win a contest so we don't have to wait 5 days to pass judgement to the next person.

Ah sorry. I'm new to the forums and don't check it every day, and when I looked at the judging post I misread it as my submission being a semi-finalist and not a finalist (let alone the winner). Thanks for your patience with me. I can judge a contest if I happen to win again, and I'll check the forum more diligently when I'm in a contest.

[grep]

...

Castrum
$5 - Action
+1 Buy
Reveal and discard top four cards of your deck.
+1 Action per Action card revealed.
+$1 per Treasure card revealed.
+1 Card per Victory card revealed.


Fixed version of a notoriously weak card from the first edition.
Added image, renamed.

[fika monster]

NEW ENTRY
Reverting back to previous form:

Communal Ride
$3 Action

+2 Cards
+2 Actions
Each other player gains a horse

Communal ride v4 (that was worse)

[anordinaryman]

...

Castrum
$5 - Action
+1 Buy
Reveal and discard top four cards of your deck.
+1 Action per Action card revealed.
+$1 per Treasure card revealed.
+1 Card per Victory card revealed.


Fixed version of a notoriously weak card from the first edition.
Added image, renamed.

I think it’s still weak, the main thing is that tribute needed cards with multiple types to be truly effective. In the context of intrigue, it was bolstered since there are many x-victory cards. Designed as an independent card, there’s nothing to improve it.

I recommend you give this card two types, so in games with Castrums , you’re guaranteed to have access to a card that makes it worth it. One quick fix would be making it an action-treasure. Another fix would be replacing the +Buy to make it an action - victory worth 1 vp. The vp version feels a little stronger and might benefit from the original 2 card reveal text, potentially.

[segura]

I disagree. The extra Buy makes it fairly centralizing in plenty of Kingdoms and the card is only weak (gee, you get 5 vanillas!) if it hits more than 2 Actions:

4 Treasures - Animal Fair
3 Treasures, 1 Action - stronger than Gold
2 Treasures, 2 Actions - Festival

These are all decent or stronger than $5. If you also reveal green and thus draw, the card is basically always stronger than Market.

[StrangerSon712]

True, but you will hit 2 or more Actions fairly often if you are building right. 3 or 4 Treasures out of 4 is a bad deck, and Festival is on the weak end of cards. And if your village can be terminal something isn't right.

Consistency is valuable, and this card doesn't have that. It's better than Harvest and Tribute, sure, but I'm not sure it's better than, say, Carnival. Sure it fills a niche in a lot of kingdoms, and like Festival it can fill that niche, but it really isn't doing a particularly good job of it.

That said, I think it would be a bit cluttered as a Victory card. Maybe another fix would be better, or maybe it's interesting enough that it can exist as a weak card.

[segura]

True, but you will hit 2 or more Actions fairly often if you are building right. 3 or 4 Treasures out of 4 is a bad deck, and Festival is on the weak end of cards. And if your village can be terminal something isn't right.

Not all Kingdoms support engines and you ignore that this does a job in a money (payload) as well as an engine (splitter) deck. It is not automatically a splitter at all but a variable card. Also, you gotta consider the very card while building. It is similar in this respect to Hunter, a card which also wants you to have variable types (read: green earlier than otherwise and don’t mindlessly increase you Action density).

As I said, it is only bad if you hit more than 2 Actions. All other cases are effects that are as good or stronger than that of a $5 which compensates for the risk / lack of reliability.

[JW]

Metropolis
- Action
+1 Card and +2 Actions.
Choose one: +1 Card; or trash a card from your hand to gain a card costing exactly more than it.

Notes: It’s Lost City or a combined Village / Upgrade. It can be your +Actions, draw, and trashing, but with its high cost you're going to want other cards to be able to fill one or more of those roles too.

Name chosen before the similarly named “Polis” was posted.

Edit: Removed duration type, thanks silverspawn!

Mock-up here: Link

[StrangerSon712]

If the kingdom doesn't have draw this is decent, but it's not super great either. If the kingdom has weak draw and no trashing, this might have relevance in the ways you are pointing out. But that's not most kingdoms at all.

While building, this is approximately either a blank Loot, a terminal +$3 +1 Card, or a Grand Market. Blank Loot is okay but not great, particularly because you want to be drawing your trasher, and the last 2 are usually pretty good, although the terminal mode will occasionally mess you up. So it does something nice there, but Hunter is double lab in those good situations, so it doesn't compare well. Also important to mention is that the "while building" phase doesn't last very long, so you aren't getting that (limited) value for long.

Less important, but I'm confused about your use of the word payload. Payload is by definition the cards an engine is trying to play every turn, so if a deck is a payload deck, that would mean you are drawing every turn.

Overall this card pushes towards weak engines. It raises the floor of any kingdom, but lowers the ceiling. I don't think it is any more relevant in money than Harvest was (hint: it wasn't).

[Ethan]

NEW ENTRY

Communal ride

Communal Ride
$3 Action

+2 Cards
+2 Actions
Each other player gains a Horse.

Weak for me compared to Lost City.
Never mind, somehow i saw the price as .

[Tiago]

Inverse City Quarter!

Communal ride

Weak for me compared to Lost City.

Which is why it costs $3. This is meant to be used as a village, not a draw card.

[Augie279]

Metropolis
- Action Duration
+1 Card and +2 Actions.
Choose one: +1 Card; or trash a card from your hand to gain a card costing exactly more than it.

Notes: It’s Lost City or a combined Village / Upgrade. It can be your +Actions, draw, and trashing, but with its high cost you're going to want other cards to be able to fill one or more of those roles too.

Name chosen before the similarly named “Polis” was posted.

I'm requesting that all participants submit cards as images. This won't be judged until it is one, but if you'd like I can make an image version for you.