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[minced]

I've noticed that a few dominion cards, rather than having a direct effect like +money or +actions, instead change the way another card behaves or the way a turn phase behaves. Let's call these cards "meta" cards. Coppersmith is the most prominent example: it makes copper produce an additional +$1. Hoard is a lesser example, since it changes your buy phase so you gain golds when you buy victory cards, as is goons, which allows you to gain +1 VP for buying things. Throne room and King's Court define their effects based on another card in hand, so they're also tentatively meta cards.

As you'll notice, not many meta cards exist and those that do are often quite powerful; goons and KC are unstoppable on the right board. Since the theme hasn't been explored much, I'm attempting to concoct an expansion around the concept, and I'm curious what other people think. Here are some examples:

Sewer
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+1 action
+1 buy
---
While this is in play, you may set aside an estate or curse to draw 2 cards. At the end of your turn, discard the cards set aside.
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Reaction: When you gain a card, you may reveal this to trash it and gain an estate in hand.
Action/Reaction (5)

Effectively, this card turns an estate into a laboratory (wow!), so it might make flooding your deck with estates a viable strategy. However, any turn in such a deck that skips a sewer is going to suck. Note that any turn with a single sewer in hand in the initial deck will net $4 in the worst case scenario, and $5 if there is at least one estate in hand, so this card can make some big money.

As for the interaction with curses, it's probably too strong, but I wanted to include it just for thoughts.
Smelter
---
+2 actions
+$1
---
While at least one smelter is in play, when you trash a card, draw another card.
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Action (3)

This card is meant to support weaker trashers like trading post, which becomes +2 cards +$2 trash one card with smelter support, or trade route, which becomes significantly more attractive. I didn't want it to stack because, while drawing four cards for each card you chapel away sounds hilarious, it's probably broken.

[Fangz]

Sewer doesn't make estates into laboratories. It makes an estate *and* a sewer into two other cards. Apart from the +buy, it's strictly worse than trashing those estates altogether. If it gave +3 cards it might be a contender. In the worst scenario, you'd draw copper, sewer, estate, estate, estate. Play sewer, and get a $3 buying phase. That's pretty poor compared to just getting silvers. This definitely isn't worth $5. It might not even be worth $2.

Similarly with smelter. Drawing one card would just be equivalent to not having the smelter in hand at all.

[minced]

Sewer doesn't make estates into laboratories. It makes an estate *and* a sewer into two other cards. Apart from the +buy, it's strictly worse than trashing those estates altogether. If it gave +3 cards it might be a contender. In the worst scenario, you'd draw copper, sewer, estate, estate, estate. Play sewer, and get a $3 buying phase. That's pretty poor compared to just getting silvers. This definitely isn't worth $5. It might not even be worth $2.

Similarly with smelter. Drawing one card would just be equivalent to not having the smelter in hand at all.

I don't think you understand how this card works: setting aside an estate does not cost an action and can be done repeatedly, just as hoard's "while this is in play" effect triggers each time you buy a victory card. The "worst-case" turn you described would be

copper, sewer, estate, estate, estate

(play sewer)

copper, estate, estate, estate
(set aside one estate)

copper, estate, estate, two more cards

(set aside other estate)

copper, estate, four more cards,

(set aside third estate)

copper, six more cards that are not estates

This turn would likely net you $7, which is why I priced sewer above Baron.

Also, if you chapel away a single card after playing smelter, you effectively have four cards in hand, one action, and $1 to spare, which is on par with masquerade.

[Thisisnotasmile]

Sewer doesn't make estates into laboratories. It makes an estate *and* a sewer into two other cards. Apart from the +buy, it's strictly worse than trashing those estates altogether. If it gave +3 cards it might be a contender. In the worst scenario, you'd draw copper, sewer, estate, estate, estate. Play sewer, and get a $3 buying phase. That's pretty poor compared to just getting silvers. This definitely isn't worth $5. It might not even be worth $2.

Copper, Sewer, Estate, Estate, Estate would give you +1 action, +1 buy, +6 cards in addition to the $1 from the Copper.

Similarly with smelter. Drawing one card would just be equivalent to not having the smelter in hand at all.

Apart from you're up one action and $1.

(I knew I'd be ninja'd but I typed it anyway...)

[play2draw]

I think sewer is written incorrectly. "You may set aside an estate..." implies you may do it only once. It should say "You may set aside any number of estates from your hand, +2 cards per estate set aside with this card," or something like that.

Nevermind. I missed the part about "while this card is in play". So does playing two sewers mean that setting aside an estate would draw 4 cards?

[WanderingWinder]

I think it's right, because of the "while this is in play" clause. If it were as you suggest, then you couldn't later draw estates and use the sewer ability on them.

[Superdad]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as it is currently worded, I don't think sewers would stack. They would both allow you to set aside an estate and draw 2 cards, but the effect wouldn't stack, because you have to pay the cost first (set aside the card) to get the benefit (2 cards).

I think of this as two enchantments in Magic the Gathering that read "Discard an estate: draw 2 cards". Such an enchantment would not stack with itself.

It would stack if it instead read as such: 
While this is in play, you may set aside an estate or curse at anytime in your action phase. While this card is in play, if a curse or estate is set aside this turn: +2 cards.




Similarly, I believe two smelters would stack with the current wording, even though it looks to me like the current wording was designed specifically so that they don't stack.

Both smelters would exist in play and the condition of "if at least one smelter is in play" would trigger on each card, and each card would trigger the benefit, thus stacking.

If you did *not* want this to stack, the wording could be changed to "If only 1 smelter is in play: ______". However, I don't see a problem with this card stacking. I actually really like this card, I think it is quite a fun design.

[minced]

You're right, I meant for the smelter and sewer abilities not to stack, since I was a little afraid of somebody trashing a card to draw four more cards or something. But you know what? If it's possible to make a draw engine with smelter-chapel or smelter-ironworks-watchtower, I'd like to see how it plays out.

As for sewer, I think the ability is probably too powerful. Perhaps if an estate were +1 card +$1, so peddler rather than laboratory, it would be a little more balanced.