Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[werothegreat]

What I find interesting about Dominion is that although the cards are released in discrete sets, they are really part of a larger whole, and we treat them as extensions, rather than separate games (and I realize this was intentional).  While a card may be from a certain expansion, it is thought of more as part of Dominion as a whole, rather than of that expansion.  But each expansion typically seems to be remembered most (at least by me) by cards in it that could be considered "unique" - these are cards that cannot be said to be variants of another, pre-existing card.  Let's take a look at each set, divying them into uniques and variants:

Base - since this is the first set, this has the most firsts, though there are even variants in here - for the most part, I try to name a variant group from its first instance, by cost, or in this set, if they appear in the "First Game" recommended Kingdom.

Uniques:
Cellar
Moat
Village
Woodcutter
Workshop
Militia
Remodel
Smithy
Market
Chapel
Chancellor
Bureaucrat
Feast
Gardens
Moneylender
Spy
Thief
Throne Room
Laboratory
Library
Witch
Adventurer

Variants:
Mine (Remodel)
Council Room (Smithy)
Festival (Village/Woodcutter)

Intrigue
Uniques:
Pawn
Secret Chamber
Great Hall
Masquerade
Steward
Swindler
Baron
Bridge
Coppersmith
Scout
Minion
Tribute
Harem

Variants:
Courtyard (Smithy)
Shanty Town (Village)
Wishing Well (Lab)
Conspirator (Market)
Ironworks (Workshop)
Mining Village (Village)
Torturer (Smithy/Witch)
Trading Post (Remodel)
Upgrade (Remodel)
Duke (Gardens)
Nobles (Village/Smithy)

Seaside
Uniques:
Embargo
Haven
Pearl Diver
Ambassador
Island
Treasure Map
Ghost Ship
Merchant Ship
Outpost
Tactician

Variants:
Lighthouse (Moat)
Native Village (Village)
Fishing Village (Village)
Lookout (Scout)
Smugglers (Workshop)
Warehouse (Cellar)
Caravan (Lab)
Cutpurse (Militia)
Navigator (Scout)
Pirate Ship (Thief)
Salvager (Moneylender)
Sea Hag (Witch)
Bazaar (Village/Market)
Explorer (Bureaucrat)
Treasury (Market)
Wharf (Smithy)

Alchemy
Uniques:
Philosopher's Stone
Golem
Possession

Variants:
Transmute (Remodel)
Vineyard (Gardens)
Apothecary (Scout)
Herbalist (Woodcutter)
Scrying Pool (Lab/Spy)
University (Village/Workshop)
Alchemist (Lab)
Familiar (Witch)
Apprentice (Moneylender)

Prosperity
Uniques:
Trade Route
Monument
Talisman
Contraband
Counting House
Mint
Royal Seal
Hoard
Bank

Variants:
Loan (Scout)
Watchtower (Library)
Bishop (Moneylender)
Quarry (Bridge)
Worker's Village (Village)
City (Village/Lab)
Mountebank (Witch)
Rabble (Smithy)
Vault (Secret Chamber)
Venture (Adventurer)
Goons (Militia)
Grand Market (Market)
Expand (Remodel)
Forge (Chapel/Remodel)
King's Court (Throne Room)
Peddler (Market)

Cornucopia
Uniques:
Diadem
Tournament
Harvest

Variants:
Bag of Gold (Bureaucrat)
Followers (Militia/Baron/Witch)
Princess (Bridge)
Trusty Steed (Pawn)
Hamlet (Village)
Fortune Teller (Spy)
Menagerie (Lab)
Farming Village (Village)
Horse Traders (Woodcutter)
Remake (Remodel)
Young Witch (Witch)
Horn of Plenty (Workshop)
Hunting Party (Lab)
Jester (Workshop)
Fairgrounds (Gardens)

Hinterlands
Uniques:
Fool's Gold
Scheme
Tunnel
Jack of all Trades
Trader
Cache
Embassy
Haggler
Ill-Gotten Gains
Mandarin

Variants:
Crossroads (Village/Cellar)
Duchess (Spy)
Develop (Remodel)
Oasis (Market)
Oracle (Spy)
Noble Brigand (Thief)
Nomad Camp (Woodcutter)
Silk Road (Gardens)
Spice Merchant (Moneylender)
Cartographer (Scout)
Highway (Bridge)
Inn (Village)
Margrave (Militia/Smithy)
Stables (Lab)
Border Village (Village)
Farmland (Remodel)

Promos:
Uniques:
Black Market
Governor
Stash

Variants:
Envoy (Smithy)
Walled Village (Village)

You've probably noticed that certain variant families are very large, notably Market, Scout, Spy, Lab, Village and Remodel.  But the wonderful thing about Dominion is that although more than half of the cards we use are variants, the variations they have lend such depth to the game, that it's more a fond familiarity than annoying boredom when we see a variant card.  Just felt like putting this into writing.  What do you all think?  Do you agree?  Is this too simplistic?  Do you like that there are a lot of variants?  Would you prefer more unique cards?

[Davio]

There may be a lot of variants, but this is not something I'm concerned about.
Even the slightest addition can make a lot of difference.

Compare Worker's Village vs. regular Village in a game with Peddlers.
Highway is a very different card than Bridge because of the lack of +Buy and that you can't TR or KC it for extra discount.

Variants are good, they make it so players aren't immediately lost when they see a new kingdom. A good mix of uniques and variants add to the player's experience. When I started playing Seaside for instance, a card like Warehouse didn't scare me as I had seen Cellar before. Durations were totally new though of course. Every expansions has its own +2 Actions card needed to facilitate engines and this is a good thing.

Bringing out only uniques may be too confusing for people and it's pretty hard to come up with 150+ unique cards anyway. There are only so many things you can do with a deck of cards.

[eHalcyon]

Don't really want to look through the whole list right now, but I want to say that there are definitely some "variants" you listed that I would not agree with.  For example, you list Native Village as a Village variant.  While technically true, the NV mat makes it VERY different from a regular village; it is definitely a unique mechanic.

I'm also not sure how you classified Hinterlands cards.  You list Embassy as unique, but it's really just another super draw card.  Same with IGG, which is like a Silver/Witch, and Cache, which is basically Gold.  If you are taking into account their on-gain effects, I don't see why you wouldn't with something like Inn.

Also, IIRC, Donald X. actually called Golem a Throne Room variant in the Secret Histories.

[HiveMindEmulator]

The thing is, it really depends on what you consider "unique" and what you consider a "variant". For example, why isn't Embassy considered a Smithy variant? Horse Traders a Woodcutter variant? Jack a Trading Post variant? Or Jester a Workshop variant? What makes Bishop a Moneylender variant? Why is Loan a Scout variant and not a Moneylender variant? Trading Post a Remodel and not a Bureaucrat? etc...

I bet if you got a few other people to try to make this list, it would come out different from yours. There are certain properties that a lot of cards share, but the cards as a whole can end up being a lot different in a lot of situations.

[ednever]

How is Loan a variety of Scout?

Am I missing something? I can't see how the cards are similar at all.

Ed

[eHalcyon]

Yeah, not seeing the Loan/Scout comparison.

Also, I would consider Talisman to be a Workshop variant.  Herbalist is not a variant of Woodcutter to me (the "topdeck a played treasure" is the key bit; there are plenty of things with +Buy and they shouldn't be considered Woodcutter variants) but Scheme is actually a variant of Herbalist (with action card instead of treasure).

[werothegreat]

The thing is, it really depends on what you consider "unique" and what you consider a "variant". For example, why isn't Embassy considered a Smithy variant? Horse Traders a Woodcutter variant? Jack a Trading Post variant? Or Jester a Workshop variant? What makes Bishop a Moneylender variant? Why is Loan a Scout variant and not a Moneylender variant? Trading Post a Remodel and not a Bureaucrat? etc...

I bet if you got a few other people to try to make this list, it would come out different from yours. There are certain properties that a lot of cards share, but the cards as a whole can end up being a lot different in a lot of situations.

Anything that takes a look through your deck I considered a Scout variant.  On that note, Adventurer and Venture should probably be Scouts, too.  I considered calling Embassy a Smithy variant, but the massive drawing, plus the sifting, plus the on gain thing made it seem different enough, though I kept going back and forth.  Horse Traders probably should be a Woodcutter variant, now that you mention it.  And Jester a Workshop variant.  I considered anything a Moneylender variant if it trashed a card while gaining you some benefit besides gaining another card, like coins, drawing, or victory tokens.  Loan is closer in playstyle to Lookout than to Moneylender, so I put it in the Scout family.

[rinkworks]

Quick note:  I think Ironworks got missed.  Easy to call that a Workshop variant.

While I agree with the sentiment that a lot of these calls are subjective, it's certainly interesting to see a ballpark estimate of the number of unique ideas in the game visually.  I wasn't expecting that there would be as many uniques as there are.  I mean, how many types of manipulation are actually possible, anyway?  Apparently quite a lot!  I'm relearning this recently, as I've been teaching a new player the game and gradually introducing new concepts in the kingdoms we use.  I'd thought we'd basically covered them all, then realized we hadn't touched potions yet, plus several niche concepts like Treasure Map and Black Market.

[blueblimp]

The thing is, it really depends on what you consider "unique" and what you consider a "variant". For example, why isn't Embassy considered a Smithy variant? Horse Traders a Woodcutter variant? Jack a Trading Post variant? Or Jester a Workshop variant? What makes Bishop a Moneylender variant? Why is Loan a Scout variant and not a Moneylender variant? Trading Post a Remodel and not a Bureaucrat? etc...

I bet if you got a few other people to try to make this list, it would come out different from yours. There are certain properties that a lot of cards share, but the cards as a whole can end up being a lot different in a lot of situations.

Anything that takes a look through your deck I considered a Scout variant.  On that note, Adventurer and Venture should probably be Scouts, too.  I considered calling Embassy a Smithy variant, but the massive drawing, plus the sifting, plus the on gain thing made it seem different enough, though I kept going back and forth.  Horse Traders probably should be a Woodcutter variant, now that you mention it.  And Jester a Workshop variant.  I considered anything a Moneylender variant if it trashed a card while gaining you some benefit besides gaining another card, like coins, drawing, or victory tokens.  Loan is closer in playstyle to Lookout than to Moneylender, so I put it in the Scout family.

Adventurer is actually in the Smithy family, since it is a terminal draw--but 2 treasures instead of 3 of any card. Venture is in the Peddler family, imo, since it is a non-terminal giving $1 and replacing itself. Neither card improves your next turn's draw on average, unlike Scout.

I'm tempted to call Embassy an Adventurer variant, since it also has the effect of drawing 2 good cards (although it's $5 and you get to choose the cards, which makes it much stronger).

[AJD]

I think the Moneylender / Spice Merchant / Trade Route family and the Salvager/Apprentice/Bishop/Trader family are appreciably different and it does them a disservice to conflate them into one category like that. (And Trading Post is more like the first of these sets than like Remodel.)

Tournament is a Market / Black Market variant.

[AJD]

Adventurer is actually in the Smithy family, since it is a terminal draw--but 2 treasures instead of 3 of any card. Venture is in the Peddler family, imo, since it is a non-terminal giving $1 and replacing itself. Neither card improves your next turn's draw on average, unlike Scout.

What's interesting is that there's a lot of ways to divide up these categories. Adventurer can be classified with Smithy (terminal that increases handsize), with Golem (dig through deck for a specified card type), or even with Harvest (terminal that gives you a potentially large amount of coin). None of these are wrong; they just emphasize different aspects of the card's behavior. I'm a big fan of categorizations like this, but some of the more complicated cards have a lot more overlap between basic types than werothegreat's list totally acknowledges.

[blueblimp]

Oh yeah, don't get me started on Bishop. It is much more like a Monument than anything else, because without support, Bishop thins your opponent's deck as much as it thins yours. That makes it play totally different from even a slow trasher like Trade Route, because when you trash, your opponent trashes too and didn't need to buy a card to do it.

Bishop shines when: your opponent doesn't want to trash (e.g. you played a discard attack, your opponent bought a stronger trasher, or your opponent is going Gardens); or you can connect it reliably with expensive cards (golden deck and variants). Neither of these cases is anything like cases where other slow trashers are good.

[PSGarak]

I think this list would be easier to parse if it were organized by family rather than by expansion. Not only does this make it easier to see family trees, it also makes it easier to argue over what defines a family.

I consider a "village" something whose primary purpose is giving +actions, and whose other effects (usually) aren't the reason you buy the card. As such, I would put Native Village, Mining Village, and University into different categories. Native Village is an unusual form of card draw that can be the linchpin of mega-turn decks; Mining Village I usually buy for the on-trash ability; and you don't go all the way through Potion just for the +Actions from University, you do it to load up on 5-cost actions (+actions support its main use, not the other way around).

I think Trash-for-Benefit cards are a large family with two sub-families (with overlap). In one branch, cards whose benefit is strictly gaining a card to your deck, but who do nothing for your current hand: Remodel, Upgrade, Develop, Remake, Expand, Forge, Trader, Transmute, Farmland. In the other branch, cards whose benefit is strictly a bonus on this turn: Moneylender, Spice Merchant, Apprentice, Salvager (Trade Route?). In the middle, cards that gain you a card for immediate use, thereby gaining a card to your deck in addition to improving your current hand: Mine, Trading Post. I don't know where to put Bishop, but I lean towards the second category.

[Ozle]

How about some sort of giant linking diagram.
So you list out all the cards in bubbles and then show links to other cards they share properties with, possibly with specific colours for specific links.

im sure theres a name for that sort of diagram but it escapes me.

[werothegreat]

Someone asked for a "by family" grouping:

-Cellar (Warehouse, Crossroads)
-Moat (Lighthouse)
-Village (Festival, Shanty Town, Mining Village, Nobles, Native Village, Fishing Village, Bazaar, University, Worker's Village, City, Hamlet, Farming Village, Crossroads, Inn, Border Village, Walled Village)
-Woodcutter (Festival, Herbalist, Horse Traders, Nomad Camp)
-Workshop (Ironworks, Smugglers, University, Horn of Plenty, Jester)
-Militia (Cutpurse, Goons, Followers, Margrave)
-Remodel (Mine, Trading Post, Upgrade, Transmute, Expand, Forge, Remake, Develop, Trader, Farmland)
-Smithy (Council Room, Courtyard, Torturer, Nobles, Wharf, Rabble, Margrave, Envoy)
-Market (Conspirator, Bazaar, Treasury, Grand Market, Peddler, Tournament, Oasis)
-Chapel (Forge)
-Chancellor
-Bureaucrat (Explorer, Bag of Gold)
-Feast (Mining Village, Embargo)
-Gardens (Duke, Vineyard, Fairgrounds, Silk Road)
-Moneylender (Salvager, Apprentice, Trade Route, Bishop, Spice Merchant)
-Spy (Scrying Pool, Fortune Teller, Duchess, Oracle)
-Thief (Pirate Ship, Noble Brigand)
-Throne Room (Golem, King's Court)
-Laboratory (Wishing Well, Caravan, Scrying Pool, Alchemist, City, Menagerie, Hunting Party, Stables)
-Library (Watchtower)
-Witch (Torturer, Sea Hag, Familiar, Mountebank, Followers, Young Witch, Ill-Gotten Gains)
-Adventurer (Venture)
-Pawn (Trusty Steed)
-Secret Chamber (Vault)
-Great Hall
-Masquerade
-Steward
-Swindler
-Baron (Followers)
-Bridge (Quarry, Princess, Highway)
-Coppersmith
-Scout (Lookout, Navigator, Apothecary, Loan, Cartographer)
-Minion
-Tribute
-Harem
-Haven
-Pearl Diver
-Ambassador
-Island
-Treasure Map
-Ghost Ship
-Merchant Ship
-Outpost
-Tactician
-Philosopher's Stone
-Possession
-Monument
-Talisman
-Contraband
-Counting House
-Mint
-Royal Seal
-Hoard
-Bank
-Diadem
-Harvest
-Fool's Gold
-Scheme
-Tunnel
-Jack of all Trades
-Cache
-Embassy
-Haggler
-Mandarin
-Black Market
-Governor
-Stash

[O]

Bridge/Princess are actually woodcutter variants IMO, with Highway being a market variant.
Embassy is a smithy varient
Harem, Royal Seal, Stash and Hoard are silver variants and Cache/Contraband are gold variants

Ghost Ship is a Militia variant

[HiveMindEmulator]

You could also argue Scheme is like Haven, Pearl Diver like Scout, Possession like Outpost, Counting House is like Adventurer, and Talisman, Haggler, and Mint are all types of Workshops (maybe Mint goes in your Bureaucrat family). Navigator also seems more like Chancellor than Scout, but I think the biggest mis-associations you have are:
1. Loan being Scout and not Moneylender. The main thing it does is trash Copper, not mess with the top of your deck.
2. The whole Feast family doesn't really make sense. It's just cards that trash themselves? So you should include Treasure Map. But otherwise, i'd break it up. Feast is like Workshop, Mining Village like Village, and Embargo unique.

[chwhite]

Someone asked for a "by family" grouping:

A few groups I'd make that are different from your list:

I'd call JoaT a Bureaucrat variant (possibly Hoard as well?); Black Market a Woodcutter variant; and Embassy a Smithy variant.

I'd separate out Lookout/Loan from Scout/Apothecary/Cartographer, and possibly put Navigator in with Chancellor (being terminal is a big difference here)- the main point of Lookout/Loan is the trashing, not the lookahead.

Harvest/Merchant Ship/Mandarin are all probably in the same family, terminal sources of treasure.

Finally: Coppersmith and Bank belong together.

[PSGarak]

I would lump Cache and Contraband as "Gold, but cheaper and with a drawback." Mandarin and Horse Traders could conceivably fit in that category, but that's a bigger stretch. Maybe even Fool's Gold.

Tactician and Haven belong together, because they both build up your next turn at the expense of your current turn. One could argue that Lookout, Navigator, Scout, Cartographer, and even Treasure Map offer a similar benefit, though they're less strict about enforcing the "next turn" part.