Matthew Cordeiro
United States
Cumberland
Rhode Island
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I finally had a chance to play the polarizing Alchemy expansion. First, a little background on how this came to be...
I had some poison ivy growing on the edge of my back yard where it abuts a wooded area. My friend Rebecca said she wasn't allergic to it, and I half-jokingly said I'd pay her handsomely if she removed it. The next day, she showed up to remove it. My wife and I decided that the Alchemy expansion plus sleeves was adequate payment for services rendered.
Fast forward a couple weeks. Rebecca and her husband had the opportunity to play several times with the Alchemy cards, and they had an overall positive impression of them. They invited me over for a games night. By the time I showed up, the Alchemy randomizer cards had been mixed in with their base, Intrigue, and Prosperity sets, and in the six games I played, I was seeing one or two Alchemy cards in the tableau each time.
Overall, I like what I saw with the Alchemy cards, but I quickly realized that investing in a Potion with only one or two Alchemy cards in play was a difficult decision. In five of the six games, I passed on buying Potions.
In one of the games, however, I went for the Potion with only one Alchemy card in play. That one card happened to be the Golem. I opened with Potion/Chapel. With the Witch in play, I figured I'd use the Chapel for triple duty - Coppers, Estates, and Curses. I picked up a couple silvers and a Witch first, then bought the Golem. I thought I'd just stick with the one Golem since I had a thin deck. After getting the Golem, I trashed the Potion as well. After picking up a couple Golds, I bought an Adventurer. Now, things got interesting. I had a small deck filled with Silvers and Golds with no Copper, Estates, or Curses. Plus, the Golem was allowing me to play my Adventurer and Witch quite often, which was giving me enough money to buy a Province or Colony on most turns.
I don't think I played enough with the Alchemy cards to form a solid opinion, but I liked it enough to keep it on my wish list. I know the recommendation is to play with three to five at a time, but I think even one or two at a time can be worth investing in a Potion, given the right mix of Kingdom decks. I'm definitely looking forard to playing more with Alchemy.
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'The Completist'
United States
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I really like Alchemy if it sprouts up randomly. Doing a set up of 3-5 cards makes it an Alchmey game and differnet from the Dominion game I love. Randomly with one or two it still feels like Dominion with some extra decision making.
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Mark Judd
United States
Mapleton
Utah
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cordeiro wrote: Overall, I like what I saw with the Alchemy cards, but I quickly realized that investing in a Potion with only one or two Alchemy cards in play was a difficult decision...
This is one of the things I love most about playing with Alchemy and a completely random selection of kingdom cards. The risk/reward of buying a potion adds so much more when there is a limited number of Alchemy cards available.
Sometimes, the choice can almost be a no-brainer. Familiars with no other cursed attacks or trashing cards available - definite yes. Scrying Pools with trashers and +2 Actions - can't get enough (especially with other nice terminal actions, and + Coin actions). Vineyards with only terminal actions available - probably not. Philosopher's Stone with Chapels or long card drawing action chains - terrible choice.
Other times, the choice is tough and can make or break a game. Will that Transmute get lucky enough to hit my starting Estates? Would I be able to get enough buying power to get a Possession before my opponent does (if not, you might set them up for some great Possessed turns)?
Sometimes the Alchemy cards are game changers. Other times, they sit untouched. But trying to decide which role they will take in a current kingdom setup is all part of the fun of Dominion!
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V L
United States
Virginia
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cordeiro wrote: I finally had a chance to play the polarizing Alchemy expansion. First, a little background on how this came to be...
I had some poison ivy growing on the edge of my back yard where it abuts a wooded area. My friend Rebecca said she wasn't allergic to it, and I half-jokingly said I'd pay her handsomely if she removed it. The next day, she showed up to remove it. My wife and I decided that the Alchemy expansion plus sleeves was adequate payment for services rendered.
Fast forward a couple weeks. Rebecca and her husband had the opportunity to play several times with the Alchemy cards, and they had an overall positive impression of them. They invited me over for a games night. By the time I showed up, the Alchemy randomizer cards had been mixed in with their base, Intrigue, and Prosperity sets, and in the six games I played, I was seeing one or two Alchemy cards in the tableau each time.
Overall, I like what I saw with the Alchemy cards, but I quickly realized that investing in a Potion with only one or two Alchemy cards in play was a difficult decision. In five of the six games, I passed on buying Potions.
In one of the games, however, I went for the Potion with only one Alchemy card in play. That one card happened to be the Golem. I opened with Potion/Chapel. With the Witch in play, I figured I'd use the Chapel for triple duty - Coppers, Estates, and Curses. I picked up a couple silvers and a Witch first, then bought the Golem. I thought I'd just stick with the one Golem since I had a thin deck. After getting the Golem, I trashed the Potion as well. After picking up a couple Golds, I bought an Adventurer. Now, things got interesting. I had a small deck filled with Silvers and Golds with no Copper, Estates, or Curses. Plus, the Golem was allowing me to play my Adventurer and Witch quite often, which was giving me enough money to buy a Province or Colony on most turns.
I don't think I played enough with the Alchemy cards to form a solid opinion, but I liked it enough to keep it on my wish list. I know the recommendation is to play with three to five at a time, but I think even one or two at a time can be worth investing in a Potion, given the right mix of Kingdom decks. I'm definitely looking forard to playing more with Alchemy.
Wise play for the Golem there. I would have done that too.
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