Print

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

[assemble_me]

I missed an article like this one and decided to start it myself. If there's something similar, I'm glad to see it. And as this post isn't finished, I'm glad to hear what you have to add.

Are you one of those players? Your game starts, you get a glimpse of the board and think: Woah, this is so cool I really want to go for that! And while you're building your cool engine, your enemy just rushes those Gardens with Ironworks because you didn't look closely through the whole kingdom?
Well, then, welcome to this article. It happens to me as well, and I think it's easier to happen online then in a RL game.


Things are: You really need to focus early on. Take a deep breath. Watch closely. Don't take your decisions too early.
Having a checklist in mind helps to mitigate a failed board analysis.

Try to answer following questions:

Which attack cards are available?
- Often attacks have devastating outcomes for several kinds of decks. Cursors make it much harder for an engine to come together, especially if there's no trashing. You probably need to win the Curse/Ruins war and the game becomes a slog.
- Discard attacks are very painful for BM
- Is there a good defense card against a perticular attack? Sometimes otherwise board changing cards are a lot worse with the right defense. (Like Ambassador vs. IGG). Sometimes strong trashing lets you ignore slow cursors or junkers. And often it's worth picking up a few Menageries when your opponent plays Ghost Ship or Militia every turn
- And of course, there are attacks that are mostly ignoarable (like Spy or Thief - however you probably want a Thief in a Fool's Gold Mirror)

Are there any villages?
- Remember that Throne Room, King's Court or Tactician can serve as Pseudo Village

Is there any trashing?
- Sifting can be fine as well

Are there sources of +Buy?
- Pseudo forms of +Buy can help, like Tactician, or Trash for benefit like Remodel, Expand or Graverobber

Is there any Card draw?

What's the best Big Money Strategy?

Is it a Colony/Shelters game?

Is there any Alt-VP card + strong enabler?

Try to take a close look on every available card. Watch out for synergies and combos with other kingdom cards.

Think about what you want to do. Then think again. Take your time (and don't play those Goko games which state "Fast play" etc o_O)

[KingZog3]

You probably don't want Thief in a Fools Gold mirror.

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

[Awaclus]

This is how I analyze the board:

1. Are there any combos available?
Check the board for Market Square/Hermit and other combinations of cards that could be your primary plan.

2. Are there any Alt-VP cards? If so, can I base my strategy around them?

3. Can I build an engine on this board?
Needs a splitter and a terminal +card or a non-terminal +card.

4. Which cards do you want for each strategy (combo, rush, slog, engine, big money) and how do they work against each other?
This is complicated and the most difficult part, usually the answer is engine but sometimes it's not. Also, if there are cards that you want for many strategies, you might want to get them and wait until you know what your opponent is doing before committing to a strategy of your own.

5. If I go for this strategy, can my opponent disrupt it? If so, can I disrupt his disruption, and do I have to?
Don't go for the Hermit/Market Square deck when your opponent plays a Goons every turn. Go for it even if your opponent plays a Mountebank every turn.

[mustang255]

Analyzing any board comes down to a few questions in my mind:

• What is the greatest source of VP on the board that I can get before the game ends?
• How can I get it?

The first question is unfortunately slightly complicated, as the length of the game depends on your strategy, and your strategy depends on the length of the game. A prime example is Bishop, who is a source of potentially limitless VP, but ends the game sooner by giving your opponents free trashing. Dukes are another good example, as by not getting provinces, you extend the length of the game, potentially giving you enough time to buy the full compliment of Dukes and Duchies.

Most boards aren't so complicated though, as the answer is usually "Provinces, and maybe Duchies", which is why I think this is such a marginalized issue. Depending on where you're planning on getting your VP from, you should end up building your deck and playing the game differently; which is an important consideration when evaluating a board. If you're building towards Duke/Duchy, your deck will look radically different from someone working towards Provinces.

Colonies, Alt-VP, and VP Tokens (especially Goons) are the other likely candidates for best source of VP, though it depends on what is on the board. Most Alt-VP requires some sort of enabler to become more important than Provinces.


The second question is what everyone else seems to be addressing, so I won't go into detail there, as the other posts do a pretty good job answering it.

TLDR; I think it is important to look at the objective (VP) and work backwards from that, which isn't something I've seen explicitly mentioned in the other posts.

[Polk5440]

So, I have been working on a very similar article. But you beat me to the punch! If you are still interested, I can post it.

[dondon151]

This is going to sound like "depends on the kingdom" style advice, but the one thing I look for first is:

Watch out for synergies and combos with other kingdom cards.

[silverspawn]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

so you join games that say fast play and then don't play fast?

[Awaclus]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Is pulling a tgorm fine, too, since there's nothing your opponent can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game?

[KingZog3]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Is pulling a tgorm fine, too, since there's nothing your opponent can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game?

Im not saying slow play the guy. Im saying you shouldnt feel pressure to speed play. If theres a tricky endgame, Im not going to just play quickly because it was in the title. Im still going to think about it. Why cant I take a bit of time to analyze the board, then start playing?

[silverspawn]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Is pulling a tgorm fine, too, since there's nothing your opponent can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game?

Im not saying slow play the guy. Im saying you shouldnt feel pressure to speed play. If theres a tricky endgame, Im not going to just play quickly because it was in the title. Im still going to think about it. Why cant I take a bit of time to analyze the board, then start playing?

because the title says "fast play", which means precicely that you don't take time to analyze the board. joining them and disregarding it is... well it's something

[Awaclus]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Is pulling a tgorm fine, too, since there's nothing your opponent can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game?

Im not saying slow play the guy. Im saying you shouldnt feel pressure to speed play. If theres a tricky endgame, Im not going to just play quickly because it was in the title. Im still going to think about it. Why cant I take a bit of time to analyze the board, then start playing?

I do that as well, but it's not because they can't do anything about it, it's because "fast" is relative and it's difficult to tell what they mean by it — maybe they just want to play with an opponent who is playing on the "Fast" setting, or an opponent who doesn't take extra time reading the cards and finding his way around the interface. I fit some descriptions of "fast", so I join (if that's the most appealing game there is). I mean, if they want to play a fast game against an opponent who makes bad plays, they could play against the bots, so it doesn't sound like that's what they want.

[Polk5440]

So, I have been working on a very similar article. But you beat me to the punch! If you are still interested, I can post it.

Ok, so I posted it anyway. 

[assemble_me]

You probably don't want Thief in a Fools Gold mirror.

Actually, I've never tried it myself and don't came up with this idea. This is a reference to the Fool's Gold article: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2143.0 - I may revoke this statement, it was prior to keep your mind open when looking at the board, maybe a card that is weak most of the time may shine - or at least has its use - on this particular board.

Analyzing any board comes down to a few questions in my mind:

• What is the greatest source of VP on the board that I can get before the game ends?
• How can I get it?

[...]

TLDR; I think it is important to look at the objective (VP) and work backwards from that, which isn't something I've seen explicitly mentioned in the other posts.

I really like your post and I think that this might work out as well. You have a quite different approach and I can comprehend it. My point is: I want to eliminate the chances of missing something that is going on on the board. In my opinion, the best way to do so, is to take your time, have a close look on ALL the cards and their interactions, first. This is meant to be a mental step back, trying to focus on all available possibilities.
In my opinion, picking your strategy and deciding how you want to build your deck is the second step, as it should be easier once you have a good overview of the board.

3. Can I build an engine on this board?
Needs a splitter and a terminal +card or a non-terminal +card.

I guess that's the conclusion if all the components are there and it could be pointed out afterwards.

4. Which cards do you want for each strategy (combo, rush, slog, engine, big money) and how do they work against each other?
This is complicated and the most difficult part, usually the answer is engine but sometimes it's not. Also, if there are cards that you want for many strategies, you might want to get them and wait until you know what your opponent is doing before committing to a strategy of your own.

5. If I go for this strategy, can my opponent disrupt it? If so, can I disrupt his disruption, and do I have to?
Don't go for the Hermit/Market Square deck when your opponent plays a Goons every turn. Go for it even if your opponent plays a Mountebank every turn.

Yeah, so picking the strategy is what should be there afterwards.

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Well, that was just a little side blow, didn't expect to get that many comments for it . Maybe it shouldn't have been in my first post at all.

So, I have been working on a very similar article. But you beat me to the punch! If you are still interested, I can post it.

Ok, so I posted it anyway. 

Well, I guess that's fine. It looks like you've already put a lot of effort into it. I'd rather have read a comprehensive post than trying to write one myself. Besides, you're much more experiencend and I'm a rather mediocre player, probably below average when looking at the players frequenting this board.

[Grujah]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Is pulling a tgorm fine, too, since there's nothing your opponent can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game?

Im not saying slow play the guy. Im saying you shouldnt feel pressure to speed play. If theres a tricky endgame, Im not going to just play quickly because it was in the title. Im still going to think about it. Why cant I take a bit of time to analyze the board, then start playing?

I do that as well, but it's not because they can't do anything about it, it's because "fast" is relative and it's difficult to tell what they mean by it — maybe they just want to play with an opponent who is playing on the "Fast" setting, or an opponent who doesn't take extra time reading the cards and finding his way around the interface. I fit some descriptions of "fast", so I join (if that's the most appealing game there is). I mean, if they want to play a fast game against an opponent who makes bad plays, they could play against the bots, so it doesn't sound like that's what they want.

It is obvious what is meant by fast. They want an  opponent that doesn't take much time making the decisions, and does it it streamlined and on-the-fly, fast, and are saying that they will do the same. The reason is their own and really non of your business (not much time?), and you shouldn't join if you don't plan on respecting the title.

[silverspawn]

Also, you can play those games that say "Fast Play" because theres nothing they can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game.

Is pulling a tgorm fine, too, since there's nothing your opponent can do to force you to play fast except kick from the next game?

Im not saying slow play the guy. Im saying you shouldnt feel pressure to speed play. If theres a tricky endgame, Im not going to just play quickly because it was in the title. Im still going to think about it. Why cant I take a bit of time to analyze the board, then start playing?

I do that as well, but it's not because they can't do anything about it, it's because "fast" is relative and it's difficult to tell what they mean by it — maybe they just want to play with an opponent who is playing on the "Fast" setting, or an opponent who doesn't take extra time reading the cards and finding his way around the interface. I fit some descriptions of "fast", so I join (if that's the most appealing game there is). I mean, if they want to play a fast game against an opponent who makes bad plays, they could play against the bots, so it doesn't sound like that's what they want.

It is obvious what is meant by fast. They want an  opponent that doesn't take much time making the decisions, and does it it streamlined and on-the-fly, fast, and are saying that they will do the same. The reason is their own and really non of your business (not much time?), and you shouldn't join if you don't plan on respecting the title.

yes, precicely.

[Awaclus]

It is obvious what is meant by fast. They want an  opponent that doesn't take much time making the decisions, and does it it streamlined and on-the-fly, fast, and are saying that they will do the same. The reason is their own and really non of your business (not much time?), and you shouldn't join if you don't plan on respecting the title.

It is not obvious. Something like "5 min" would be obvious.