Ghost Town
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* Since Night is after the Buy phase, normally you can play this the turn you buy it. | * Since Night is after the Buy phase, normally you can play this the turn you buy it. | ||
=== Other rules clarifications === | === Other rules clarifications === | ||
− | * If you gain this | + | * If you gain this onto your deck (with e.g. Armory), you didn't gain it to your discard pile, so Ghost Town's ability doesn't trigger and it stays on your deck. |
== Strategy == | == Strategy == | ||
+ | Ghost Town is a [[Night]] card which causes your next turn to begin with a [[Village_(card_category)|village]] effect. Since playing it does not require an [[Action]], it effectively gives you one extra Action per play, despite saying only "+1 Action" on the card. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ghost Town is often a strong auxiliary village and worth gaining at specific times in most games. One of its main functions is averting anticipated [[collision|terminal collisions]]. If you are [[Glossary#D|paying close attention to their deck]], you will sometimes be able to predict that you are about to draw two [[terminal]] Action cards but no village on the following turn. Because Ghost Town is gained to your hand and can be played immediately to take effect next turn, it can prevent such collisions. For example, if you are playing a [[money strategies|money]] deck that has three terminal Action cards you might notice that you have only drawn one of your terminals during the current shuffle but have 6 cards left in the deck. Knowing your remaining terminals are both coming up in the final hand of the shuffle, you may buy a Ghost Town to allow you to play both terminals on the following turn. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Opening with two terminal Action cards on turn 1 and turn 2 also becomes more desirable with Ghost Town in the Kingdom. If neither card is drawn on turn 3, the player can buy Ghost Town to resolve the likely turn 4 terminal collision, substantially reducing the downside of double-terminal openings as a true collision can only occur on turn 3. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ghost Town’s other main advantage is its tempo effect, namely a one-time +1 Card effect that can help accelerate one’s deck in the short term. Ghost Town does not in general function as draw for the same reason [[Cantrip]] Action cards do not. While it gives +1 Card, you also have to spend 1 card of draw first drawing it to hand, leaving it draw-neutral; however, because it is gained directly to hand, you do not have to expend any draw on the initial play of Ghost Town and the very first +1 Card received is a true one card’s worth of draw. Ghost Town’s draw effect alone is thus roughly half as strong as {{Card|Expedition}} and can occasionally be reason enough to buy Ghost Town even if you don’t value the village effect. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Finally, because Ghost Town draws a card at the start of your turn, it provides some marginal value in improving the consistency of your deck. Many engines need to find a specific combination of cards (such as {{Card|Stables}} and {{Card|Copper}}, or {{Card|Shepherd}} and {{Card|Estate|Estates}}) to kick off their draw. Seeing 6 cards to start the turn rather than 5 makes [[dud]] turns less likely. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ghost Town’s main drawback is that, as a [[Duration]] card, it can only be played at most every other turn, because it remains in play. Over the long term, a deck that is drawing itself will need two Ghost Towns played on alternating turns to achieve the same effect as a single {{Card|Village}} played every turn. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ghost Town’s limitations also make it poorly suited to function as the sole or primary village of most [[engine]]s. In a [[Kingdom]] with no other villages, the most Actions you could reliably generate per turn would be +5 from 10 Ghost Towns, playing 5 each turn. If your opponent contests the Ghost Town pile and you end up with half, this comes out to only +2 or +3 Actions per turn. Engines with strong [[non-terminal draw]] such as {{Card|Laboratory}} or {{Card|Hunting Party}} can often function with the limited [[terminal space]] afforded by Ghost Town, but engines with [[terminal draw]] such as {{Card|Smithy}} or Action-intensive payload such as {{Card|Bridge}} will find Ghost Town inadequate as a primary village. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The strongest counter to Ghost Town is {{Card|Haunted Woods}}, which blocks the Night phase entirely by forcing you to topdeck your hand during the Buy phase. Ghost Town should only be bought under exceptional circumstances with Haunted Woods in the Kingdom, as it will end up being a [[dead]] card in the deck versus an opponent who plays this Attack consistently. | ||
+ | |||
== Versions == | == Versions == | ||
=== English versions === | === English versions === | ||
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! Print !! Digital !! Text !! Release !! Date | ! Print !! Digital !! Text !! Release !! Date | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | | {{CardVersionImage|Ghost Town|Ghost Town}} || {{CardVersionImage|Ghost TownDigital|Ghost Town from Shuffle iT}} || At the start of your next turn, '''+1 Card''' and '''+1 Action'''.< | + | | {{CardVersionImage|Ghost Town|Ghost Town}} || {{CardVersionImage|Ghost TownDigital|Ghost Town from Shuffle iT}} || At the start of your next turn, '''+1 Card''' and '''+1 Action'''.<hr style="width:66%;text-align:center;margin-left:17%;">This is gained to your hand (instead of your discard pile). || Nocturne || November 2017 |
|} | |} | ||
=== Other language versions === | === Other language versions === | ||
− | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | + | {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible autocollapse" style="text-align:center;" |
− | ! Language !! Name !! Print !! Digital !! Text | + | ! Language !! Name !! Print !! Digital !! Text !! Notes |
|- | |- | ||
!Dutch | !Dutch | ||
− | | Spookstad || || || | + | | Spookstad || || || || |
|- | |- | ||
!French | !French | ||
− | | Ville fantôme || || || Au début de votre prochain tour : | + | | Ville fantôme || || {{CardVersionImage|Ghost TownFrench2022Digital|French language Ghost Town 2022 from Shuffle iT}} || Au début de votre prochain tour : '''+1 Carte''' et '''+1 Action.'''<hr style="width:66%;text-align:center;margin-left:17%;">Cette carte est reçue en main (et non dans la défausse). || |
|- | |- | ||
!German | !German | ||
− | | Geisterstadt ||{{CardVersionImage| | + | | Geisterstadt || {{CardVersionImage|Ghost TownGerman|German language Ghost Town 2017 by ASS}} || {{CardVersionImage|Ghost TownGerman2022Digital|German language Ghost Town 2022 from Shuffle iT}} || Zu Beginn deines nächsten Zuges:<br>'''+1 Karte''' und '''+1 Aktion'''<hr style="width:66%;text-align:center;margin-left:17%;">Diese Karte wird auf die Hand genommen (anstatt auf den Ablagestapel). || (2017) |
|- | |- | ||
!Japanese | !Japanese | ||
− | | 幽霊街 (pron. ''yūreigai'') || || || あなたの次のターンの開始時に、'''+1 カードを引く'''、'''+1 アクション''' | + | | 幽霊街<br>(pron. ''yūreigai'') || || || style="padding:15px 0px;"| あなたの次のターンの開始時に、'''+1 カードを引く'''、'''+1 アクション'''。<hr style="width:66%;text-align:center;margin-left:17%;">このカードは、捨て札置き場ではなく、手札に獲得する。 || |
+ | |- | ||
+ | !Polish | ||
+ | | Miasto duchów || {{CardLangVersionImage|Polish}} || || || (2022) | ||
|- | |- | ||
!Russian | !Russian | ||
− | | Город-Призрак (pron. ''gorod-prizrak'') || || || | + | | Город-Призрак<br>(pron. ''gorod-prizrak'') || || || || |
|} | |} | ||
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}} | }} | ||
=== Secret History === | === Secret History === | ||
+ | For strumphf's 2022 advent calendar, Donald X. [https://youtu.be/s7cpIHNMZrU?t=12 went in-depth on the development] of Ghost Town. | ||
{{Quote | {{Quote | ||
|Text=Early on the set had a village that went into your next hand. It was pretty sweet. And, separately, I had a Night card that was a village for your next turn. That was cool too; at first it had a {{Card|Duchess}}-like rider that let you get it when you trashed an [[Action]], but that didn't come up enough so I slimmed it down to the sleek basic effect. And then Billy suggested combining the two cards and here we are. It was a better way to implement the village - no setting it aside - and spiced up the Night card. | |Text=Early on the set had a village that went into your next hand. It was pretty sweet. And, separately, I had a Night card that was a village for your next turn. That was cool too; at first it had a {{Card|Duchess}}-like rider that let you get it when you trashed an [[Action]], but that didn't come up enough so I slimmed it down to the sleek basic effect. And then Billy suggested combining the two cards and here we are. It was a better way to implement the village - no setting it aside - and spiced up the Night card. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
+ | === Wording === | ||
+ | This quote also applies for {{Card|Nomad Camp}}, {{Card|Guardian}}, {{Card|Night Watchman}}, and {{Card|Den of Sin}}. | ||
+ | {{Quote | ||
+ | |Text=If you instead do "when you gain this, put it into your hand," people don't actually put it into their discard pile and then hand, or even think that's what's happening. So when interactions come up, the Ghost Town approach is more likely to have people following the rules. And I mean, I prefer telling you to do what people will actually do. | ||
+ | |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]] | ||
+ | |Source=[https://discord.com/channels/212660788786102272/285903840660946954/640624993721516088 Dominion Discord, 2019] | ||
+ | }} | ||
{{Navbox Nocturne}} | {{Navbox Nocturne}} | ||
{{Navbox Cards}} | {{Navbox Cards}} |
Latest revision as of 19:32, 28 January 2024
Ghost Town | |
---|---|
Info | |
Cost | |
Type(s) | Night - Duration |
Kingdom card? | Yes |
Set | Nocturne |
Illustrator(s) | Marcel-André Casasola Merkle |
Card text | |
At the start of your next turn, +1 Card and +1 Action. This is gained to your hand (instead of your discard pile). |
Ghost Town is a Night-Duration card from Nocturne. It's a delayed village, doing nothing when it's played, but drawing a card and giving an Action on your next turn. It's also conveniently gained to your hand, so it can be played immediately.
Contents |
[edit] FAQ
[edit] Official FAQ
- Since Night is after the Buy phase, normally you can play this the turn you buy it.
[edit] Other rules clarifications
- If you gain this onto your deck (with e.g. Armory), you didn't gain it to your discard pile, so Ghost Town's ability doesn't trigger and it stays on your deck.
[edit] Strategy
Ghost Town is a Night card which causes your next turn to begin with a village effect. Since playing it does not require an Action, it effectively gives you one extra Action per play, despite saying only "+1 Action" on the card.
Ghost Town is often a strong auxiliary village and worth gaining at specific times in most games. One of its main functions is averting anticipated terminal collisions. If you are paying close attention to their deck, you will sometimes be able to predict that you are about to draw two terminal Action cards but no village on the following turn. Because Ghost Town is gained to your hand and can be played immediately to take effect next turn, it can prevent such collisions. For example, if you are playing a money deck that has three terminal Action cards you might notice that you have only drawn one of your terminals during the current shuffle but have 6 cards left in the deck. Knowing your remaining terminals are both coming up in the final hand of the shuffle, you may buy a Ghost Town to allow you to play both terminals on the following turn.
Opening with two terminal Action cards on turn 1 and turn 2 also becomes more desirable with Ghost Town in the Kingdom. If neither card is drawn on turn 3, the player can buy Ghost Town to resolve the likely turn 4 terminal collision, substantially reducing the downside of double-terminal openings as a true collision can only occur on turn 3.
Ghost Town’s other main advantage is its tempo effect, namely a one-time +1 Card effect that can help accelerate one’s deck in the short term. Ghost Town does not in general function as draw for the same reason Cantrip Action cards do not. While it gives +1 Card, you also have to spend 1 card of draw first drawing it to hand, leaving it draw-neutral; however, because it is gained directly to hand, you do not have to expend any draw on the initial play of Ghost Town and the very first +1 Card received is a true one card’s worth of draw. Ghost Town’s draw effect alone is thus roughly half as strong as Expedition and can occasionally be reason enough to buy Ghost Town even if you don’t value the village effect.
Finally, because Ghost Town draws a card at the start of your turn, it provides some marginal value in improving the consistency of your deck. Many engines need to find a specific combination of cards (such as Stables and Copper, or Shepherd and Estates) to kick off their draw. Seeing 6 cards to start the turn rather than 5 makes dud turns less likely.
Ghost Town’s main drawback is that, as a Duration card, it can only be played at most every other turn, because it remains in play. Over the long term, a deck that is drawing itself will need two Ghost Towns played on alternating turns to achieve the same effect as a single Village played every turn.
Ghost Town’s limitations also make it poorly suited to function as the sole or primary village of most engines. In a Kingdom with no other villages, the most Actions you could reliably generate per turn would be +5 from 10 Ghost Towns, playing 5 each turn. If your opponent contests the Ghost Town pile and you end up with half, this comes out to only +2 or +3 Actions per turn. Engines with strong non-terminal draw such as Laboratory or Hunting Party can often function with the limited terminal space afforded by Ghost Town, but engines with terminal draw such as Smithy or Action-intensive payload such as Bridge will find Ghost Town inadequate as a primary village.
The strongest counter to Ghost Town is Haunted Woods, which blocks the Night phase entirely by forcing you to topdeck your hand during the Buy phase. Ghost Town should only be bought under exceptional circumstances with Haunted Woods in the Kingdom, as it will end up being a dead card in the deck versus an opponent who plays this Attack consistently.
[edit] Versions
[edit] English versions
Digital | Text | Release | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
At the start of your next turn, +1 Card and +1 Action. This is gained to your hand (instead of your discard pile). |
Nocturne | November 2017 |
[edit] Other language versions
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Preview
[edit] Secret History
For strumphf's 2022 advent calendar, Donald X. went in-depth on the development of Ghost Town.
[edit] Wording
This quote also applies for Nomad Camp, Guardian, Night Watchman, and Den of Sin.