Dominion tournament card sets

[jl8e]

Here are the card sets from this year's Dominion tournament at Dexcon. (Which I won.) I'm interested in how other people would have played them. (I didn't record the kingdom in the qualifying round, but could probably recall most of it if anybody cares; it was all-Intrigue. (Great Hall?, Masquerade, Shanty Town, Wishing Well, Bridge, Coppersmith, Duke, Torturer, Tribute, Harem.))

They were not fully random; the organizers at least filtered them for interestingness, and I believe the finals set was actually constructed, or at least adjusted from a random set.

Card texts behind a cut, because some of you don't care.

All games are four players.

I'll explain how I played and why in the comments, if anybody wants me to.


Semifinals:

Lighthouse
Action – Duration
$2
+1 Action
Now and at the start of your next turn: +$1.
While this is in play, when another player plays an Attack card, it doesn’t affect you.

Ambassador
Action – Attack
$3
Reveal a card from your hand. Return up to 2 copies of it from your hand to the Supply. Then each other player gains a copy of it.

Great Hall
Action – Victory
$3
1 Victory Point
+1 Card; +1 Action.

Smugglers
Action
$3
Gain a copy of a card costing up to $6 that the player to your right gained on his last turn.

Baron
Action
$4
+1 Buy
You may discard an Estate card. If you do, +$4. Otherwise, gain an Estate card.

Mining Village
Action
$4
+1 Card; +2 Actions
You may trash this card immediately. If you do, +$2.

Island
Action – Victory
$4
Set aside this and another card from your hand. Return them to your deck at the end of the game.
Worth 2 Victory Points

Torturer
Action – Attack $5
+3 Cards
Each other player chooses one: he discards 2 cards; or he gains a Curse card, putting it in his hand.

Wharf
Action – Duration
$5
Now and at the start of your next turn: +2 Cards; +1 Buy.

Nobles
Action – Victory
$6
2 Victory Points
Choose one: +3 Cards; or +2 Actions.

How do you plan to play on a 3-4 start? How about a 5-2?

If the first player buys a Torturer, does this affect your plan?

(I had a 5-2 in fourth seat.)



Finals:

Interestingly, there were three cards in common with last year's finals. (Tunnel, Margrave, and Spice Merchant.)

Colony and Platinum were in the game

Herbalist
Action
$2
+1 Buy; +$1
When you discard this from play, you may put one of your Treasures from play on top of your deck.

Fortune Teller
Action – Attack
$3
+$2
Each other player reveals cards from the top of his deck until he reveals a Victory or Curse card. He puts it on top and discards the other revealed cards.

Tunnel
Victory – Reaction
$3
2 Victory Points

---

When you discard this other than during a Clean-up phase, you may reveal it. If you do, gain a Gold.

Watchtower
Action – Reaction
$3
Draw until you have 6 cards in hand.
When you gain a card, you may reveal this from your hand. If you do, either trash that card, or put it on top of your deck.

Horse Traders
Action – Reaction
$4
+1 Buy; +$3; Discard 2 cards.
When another player plays an Attack card, you may set this aside from your hand. If you do, then at the start of your next turn, +1 Card and return this to your hand.

Spice Merchant
Action
$4
You may trash a Treasure from your hand. If you do, choose one:
+2 Cards and +1 Action;
or +$2 and +1 Buy.

Festival
Action
$5
+2 Actions, +1 Buy; +$2.

Margrave
Action – Attack
$5
+3 Cards; +1 Buy
Each other player draws a card, then discards down to 3 cards in hand.

Goons
Action – Attack
$6
+1 Buy; +$2
Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand.
While this is in play, when you buy a card, +1 VP token.

Expand
Action
$7
Trash a card from your hand. Gain a card costing up to $3 more than the trashed card.


Once again, how do you plan to play on a 3-4 or a 5-2?

(I had a 3-4, and went first.)

Comments

[mneme]

The qualifying round included Ambassador (which was why thought an engine was practical, if non-trivial). No Great Hall, I think.


For the semifinals:


Lighthouse / Ambassador / Great Hall / Smugglers / Baron
Mining Village / Island / Torturer / Wharf / Nobles

Ambassador/Silver on a 3/4, planning to build a Tort/Wharf/MV/NObles [with some Lighthouses, and, of course, money) deck. Maybe Ambassador/Baron if I'm willing to take some risks (so more likely in a late seat where pushing ahead in the race is important), but some extra money is important since so much of this game relies on 5 and 6 cost cards. The Baron's extra buy is also useful, but Wharf does make it somewhat redundant.

With a 5/2 split, Wharf/Lighthouse. Yes, Torturer is powerful here -- but with Ambassador in the game, it's important to get some extra lighthouses early, so Wharf's extra buy will come in handy--plus Wharf is much less likely to block your Lighthouse (only two action-less draws; the other two are before an action).

Finals game:

Colony and Platinum were in the game

Herbalist / Fortune Teller / Tunnel / Watchtower / Horse Traders
Spice Merchant / Festival / Margrave / Goons / Expand

The key card here is pretty clearly Tunnel -- with 3 card that make opponents discard, and two that let -you- discard, you're going to have ample opportunity to discard it, and those early golds are huge, particularly with such a top heavy set. So for a 3/4 split I'd be going Horse Traders/Tunnel, with a hope for early gold -- with Spice as a later pick (although if enough opponents took discard, I might do spice/tunnel instead and figure they had a good chance of discarding my tunnel for me).

For a 5/2, I'd unhappily start with Festival/Herbalist. Margrave just pays out too much to an opponent's tunnel/Horse Traders combo, plus Festival is a key card in the deck I want to build anyway (and Herbalist is surprisingly good with Platinums and engine decks), and will combo very well with opponent's discard once I pick up watchtower(s). I wouldn't be surprised if I ended the game with over a hundred points with either start -- as there's a -very- strong goons/watchtower/festival build here that in its endgame trashes 4-5 coppers/curses for 4+ points each.

[jl8e]

The qualifying round was all-Intrigue, so cannot have had Ambassador.

[mneme]

Huh. Good point; I probably misremember.

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

5/2 lighthouse/wharf esp. if torturers have been bought -- MVs once I have 2 wharves, silvers at three, gold with first 6, alternate nobles thereafter, keep up lighthouses. The only question is at 4 -- I think I like island in this deck for trimming, good chance of three-piling with torturer out so those 2v add up.

Second kingdom I'm with Josh, with MAYBE looking towards fest/watch/goons in the late game (PC game, so there IS a late game, no cursers so 3-piling unlikely, though with 4 players small ball right from horse-tunnel might work out)

[jl8e]

In the semis I opened torturer/lighthouse Nobody went for Ambassador early. I figured that between the torturers and lighthouses, it'd be a lot less powerful. (Even if you're taking curses from the torturer, it still slows the thinning power a lot.) I grabbed one later for some deck thinning, but never used it much.

I was playing money, torturer, lighthouse, mv, and wharf mostly. We three-piled on mv, lighthouse, and nobles IIRC. The other players started draining the nobles pile fairly rapidly at some point, while I was the only one hitting $8 at all often, so the game ended with me only in a small lead. (And if the first player hadn't eaten a curse or two off my ambassador, we would've tied.)

[jl8e]

In the finals, I did open the obvious tunnel/horse traders, and I'm not sure I ever bought money; early on I focused on winning the tunnel split (5), and then I had gold. (At some point, a player bought a Margrave, and when he used it I had three tunnels to pitch.)

I was buying festivals and watchtowers, but I don't think there's the engine deck there that josh does – those tunnels choked up the watchtower draw a lot, and the money floating around from the tunnel and horse traders makes hitting 8 happen pretty quickly. We piled out the provinces, with only one colony bought.