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[NoMoreFun]

Dominion already has an astonishing number of different kingdoms, but some cards compound that variety even further.

Your challenge is to design a card or landscape with setup rules that make it functionally a lot of different cards.

The clearest examples from the official cards are Druid, Riverboat and Way of the Mouse. Obelisk and Traits can potentially add a lot of variety too if it makes you rethink the card it applies to (E.g. Reckless). Same with Liaisons, and some Liaisons are more impacted by what the Ally is than others

No firm rules about what's in or out (E.g. not sure whether Ferryman or Band of Misfits "count", though they aren't what I had in mind). But I am looking for card (shaped things) that are different each game, so something like Pawn wouldn't count even though it's a bunch of cards at once. Online I should want to check and care about what the card (shaped thing) does in this game.

Looking for relatively simple ideas that create interesting cards. Balance can be hard with such variety (e.g. Riverboat can vary a lot) but it's worth trying.

Split piles etc. are fine.

Edit: For clarity, I really like Riverboat and Druid, and that's why I picked this prompt

[JW]

Do Black Market type effects qualify? For example, would the following (which is not my entry) qualify?

Distributor
$4 - Action
You may rotate the Wares pile. Then gain the top card from it.

Setup: Make a Wares pile with 4 copies in a row of 4 Action cards costing $5. It is not in the Supply.

[NoMoreFun]

Do Black Market type effects qualify? For example, would the following qualify?

Distributor
$4 - Action
You may rotate the Wares pile. Then gain the top card from it.

Setup: Make a Wares pile with 4 copies in a row of 4 Action cards costing $5. It is not in the Supply.

Everything qualifies. I will comment that this idea is more in line with being able to access cards as they are, than an idea creating multiple new "cards" if that makes sense.

[faust]

Venue - $6
Project

At the start of your Buy phase, follow the instructions on the set-aside Event.
-
Setup: Set aside an Event costing $4 or less.

As Riverboat turns Actions into Durations, so does Venue turn Events into Projects!

The timing of when it should trigger was a bit tricky, but start of Buy phase works best with most eligible Events.

[Gamer3000]

[Snorka]

Other examples are Way of the Mouse and, to a lesser extent, Young Witch.

[Optimal_Inefficiency]

Edit #2: I started with a card that turned Durations into straight Actions (Saltern), but then faust point out that even with my long list of FAQs, I had still missed an edge case or two. So then I made a simpler, less imaginative card that was a Treasure Druid, playing one of the set aside Treasures (Wealth). Now we are on submission #3, which I have been ignoring for days because I am really trying to avoid wall of text cards. But, I do really think it is a thematically and mechanically neat card, so here it is…

Seafarers — ($3)(Action) Set aside the top Sea card, face up. If more than 3 are face-up, put 1 at the bottom of the pile (you choose). Play a face-up Sea card, leaving it there. - Setup: Set aside a face down Sea pile of 20 unused non-Command Action cards costing up to $4.

FAQs:
- If you have less than 20 unused non-Command Action cards costing up to $4, use as many as you have.
- If it plays a Duration card, Seafarers stays in play until the Duration card stops having something to do.

First submission: https://i.imgur.com/JHFKjRT.png
Second submission: https://i.imgur.com/ofMbxtt.png

[faust]

Saltern — ($3)(Night - Duration) The next time you play a Duration card on your turn, you may resolve future-turn effects this turn. Discard it and this during Clean-up. - Setup: Add a Duration card pile to the Supply.

Saltern: a place that turns seawater into salt (like how this card turns Duration cards into non-Duration cards)

FAQs:
- Works on Actions, Treasures, & Night (that are Duration)
- Effects that would typically happen over several future turns occur all at once (e.g., Archive becomes +3 Cards, +1 Action)
- “Next time” cards resolve this turn, regardless of whether their condition is met
- If you have multiple Salterns in play while triggering its effect, you only discard one Saltern when resolving “Discard it and this during clean up” (if triggering Saltern’s effect for 2 cards, discard 2 copies of Saltern, etc.)
- If the other Duration card leaves play (e.g., is trashed) before it can be discarded, do not discard it
- Sometimes choosing to trigger this card’s effect will lead to an effect loss (e.g., Blockade would become a choice-less Hill Fort but lose the curser effect)
- This cannot affect cards that have (or can have) an effect on each turn for the remainder of the game (Champion, Endless Chalice, Hireling, Prince, Quartermaster, Taskmaster)
- This cannot affect cards that dictate size of next hand or capping cards played next turn (e.g., Outpost, Voyage)
- If the card’s duration effect cannot be triggered while resolving it, trigger it later during the same turn, if possible (e.g., you play Cargo Ship and decide to trigger your Saltern; you later gain a card and decide to put it on Cargo Ship; since the future-turn effect can now be resolved, do so immediately and put the card into your hand)

How does this interact with Duration-Attacks like Frigate? Does it matter if the Attack is worded like Frigate versus like Swamp Hag? Also, how do you trigger "next time" effects of cards like Flagship if their condition isn't met?

Unfortunately I think this is too messy. I'm also not sure it is worth it unless with some very specific cards.

[BryGuy]

Explorer • $5 • Action - Duration
+1 Villagers
If this is the first time you played an Explorer this turn, and the previous turn wasn't yours,
then take an extra turn after this one drawing six cards.
For this extra turn, each Action card can only use one of the set aside Ways.
-
Set-up: Set aside three random Ways.

[fika monster]

Ally: helping hand

After playing a liason, you may spend 5 favors to play the set aside card, leaving it there.
-
Setup: choose an unused non duration action or treasure card costing 3 or less. Set aside on top of this.

[Snorka]

RETRACTED: THIS IS NO LONGER MY ENTRY

[grrgrrgrr]

Trash 2 cards from your hand.
-
Setup: Add 2 extra Ways to the game; these can only be used with Mutant.

[grrgrrgrr]

I had several ideas-- I considered matching with Enlarge or Town, but decided on Crew in the end.

Hate to be that guy, but this practically already exists in the form of the Tireless trait.

[kru5h]

WITHDRAWN.

See my new post for new entry.

Elevate v2


v1

[LibraryAdventurer]

Again, I think I submitted this card to an earlier contest and I think it's changed since then.

Doppelganger
$4 - Action - Command
Turn your Journey token over. If it's face-up, play any Action card in the supply, leaving it there. Otherwise, play the True Form card, leaving it there. If the card you played cost $5 or more, take <1> debt.
-
Add an unused non-Command Action card costing $2 or $3 to the game to be the True Form card.

[kru5h]

If we edit our entry, do you want a new post or an edit to the original post?

[NoMoreFun]

If we edit our entry, do you want a new post or an edit to the original post?

Either is fine - I'll go through the entries top to bottom when I judge

[segura]

Trash 2 cards from your hand.
-
Setup: Add 2 extra Ways to the game; these can only be used with Mutant.

Looks like a nerfed Steward.

[Holger]

Trash 2 cards from your hand.
-
Setup: Add 2 extra Ways to the game; these can only be used with Mutant.

Looks like a nerfed Steward.

Why nerfed? When the added Ways are Sheep and Otter, Mutant is actually equivalent to Steward. With other ways it can be better or worse than Steward, depending on the kingdom.

[valb_7k]

Armaments $6 Treasure-Attack

Choose one: +$2 or play the set-aside card, leaving it there.
-
Setup: Set aside an unused Attack card costing $3 or $4

Plays an attack card in the Treasure part of the buy phase, which should be useful most of the time (rip Urchin and Skulk).

[silverspawn]

Trash 2 cards from your hand.
-
Setup: Add 2 extra Ways to the game; these can only be used with Mutant.

Very cool design! The fun thing here is that this is very likely to be a premium because just the top half is worth buying in most games. So you'll actually get to use the exotic ways even if they're weak.

[4est]

Okay hear me out: How about a card that the players get to design themselves before they start? Will likely swing from hilariously bad to hilariously good game to game.

No idea what it should cost or if that should be adjusted for player count (and I definitely wouldn't recommend this be played with 5 or 6 players). Appreciate any and all feedback for making this unhinged design possibly playable.

FAQ:

• Before the game starts, each player gets a hand of 3 Ruins to choose from (players do not see each other's hands). Each player secretly selects 1 (or 2 in two-player games) to put face down on the Committee mat. All others are removed from the game and then flip the selected Ruins face up.
• If a Looter is in the Kingdom, make a separate pile of Ruins. For example, if Committee and Cultist are both in the Kingdom for a 2-player game, there should be a 10-card Ruins pile in the Supply, and another 4 Ruins on the Committee mat.

*Edit: Removed the Looter type, I decided it's not necessary and is less confusing this way.

[JW]

Charm School
Project - $7
At the start of your turn, you may discard a card to play the set-aside card, leaving it there.
Setup: Set aside an unused non-Duration Action costing $3.

Notes: Charm School trains Princes, of course! Prince is a fun yet weak card, so Charm School aims to have a more reasonable power level.

The action set aside needs to be a kingdom card, sorry about ruining your dreams about horses! At least you can still experiment!

Replaces my previous (deleted) entry, which didn’t fit the contest theme as well.

[segura]

Trash 2 cards from your hand.
-
Setup: Add 2 extra Ways to the game; these can only be used with Mutant.

Looks like a nerfed Steward.

Why nerfed? When the added Ways are Sheep and Otter, Mutant is actually equivalent to Steward. With other ways it can be better or worse than Steward, depending on the kingdom.

Sure. Butterfly, Owl and Horse also make it non-dead after it did its trashing thing.  But if you look at the Traits in total, you see that the average Traits that you get are weaker than what Steward does.
Weak draw is always useful in a thinned deck, which is more often than a non-thinned deck an engine. Camel, Chamelon, Frog, Goat, Mole, Rat and Turtle are all Ways that yield little to no benefit in such a situation.

[segura]

Okay hear me out: How about a card that the players get to design themselves before they start? Will likely swing from hilariously bad to hilariously good game to game.

No idea what it should cost or if that should be adjusted for player count (and I definitely wouldn't recommend this be played with 5 or 6 players). Appreciate any and all feedback for making this unhinged design possibly playable.

FAQ:

• Before the game starts, each player gets a hand of 3 Ruins to choose from (players do not see each other's hands). Each player secretly selects 1 (or 2 in two-player games) to put face down on the Committee mat. All others are removed from the game and then flip the selected Ruins face up.
• If a Looter is in the Kingdom, make a separate pile of Ruins. For example, if Committee and Cultist are both in the Kingdom for a 2-player game, there should be a 10-card Ruins pile in the Supply, and another 4 Ruins on the Committee mat.

*Edit: Removed the Looter type, I decided it's not necessary and is less confusing this way.

I don’t see the appeal. The most likely combinations are Smithy, Lab, Village, Peddler. So you get a basic vanilla card that is correctly priced, underpriced or overpriced.