Dragon's Lair -- your feelings?

[lordalx]

philosopher stone was removed from 2 player drafting.

Absolutely not: nothing is removed from Draft for a 2 player game, cards are still randomly picked, that means only 16 cards for 2 players which provide less opportunity to pick a specific card and might let you think it can be removed....

[Sohel]

philosopher stone was removed from 2 player drafting.

Absolutely not: nothing is removed from Draft for a 2 player game, cards are still randomly picked, that means only 16 cards for 2 players which provide less opportunity to pick a specific card and might let you think it can be removed....

Okay, in that case I was just "unlucky" not to see any PS in my 10 most recent games.
That is of course possible.
In that case, I will stick to my original comment that nothing is wrong with DL

[lordalx]

I´m really not sure if your information is correct.

... if devs can't even be trusted anymore
Nevermind, i'll let you screen game until you spot a philosopher stone ;p

[RicardoRix]

Yes, this tactic seems almost the default strategy to go for. In all my recent games my opponent has gone for this card 1st turn. They are also willing to use Reanimate by using the gold.

I totally understand the OP, the games are very dull and predictable.

Not that it will ever happen, but I think a good anti-dote would be that you can't but a Place of Power 1st turn. Better but a little more abstract is that you can't use a Place of power 1st turn.

[Wonderful Plays]

Yes, this tactic seems almost the default strategy to go for. In all my recent games my opponent has gone for this card 1st turn. They are also willing to use Reanimate by using the gold.

I totally understand the OP, the games are very dull and predictable.

Not that it will ever happen, but I think a good anti-dote would be that you can't but a Place of Power 1st turn. Better but a little more abstract is that you can't use a Place of power 1st turn.

Just the rule from the expansion (less monuments) for 2 players is enough IMO.

[BoardNoremac]

I agree that the game could definitely use the rule from the expansion for less monuments/places of power. Of course the full expansion would help even better, since imo these types of games thrive on having more cards for variety.

[Shaq Jenkins]

After playing 80+ games of this, I agree that Dragon's Lair is overpowering. The fact that a card that powerful can be bought in the first round is insane.

While I really enjoy Res Arcana, the strategies are starting to become too predictable (I'm guilty of using easy strategies to win, too). If Dragon's Lair and/or Alchemist's Tower are options, then I know that players will go for one of those. Alchemist's Tower is much easier to defeat, but Dragon's Lair is pretty much a guaranteed win for an experienced player. Dragon's Lair should cost more than it does now, especially in two player games.

I would love to see the expansion here as well - it adds more balance to the game.

[Sohel]

After playing 80+ games of this, I agree that Dragon's Lair is overpowering. The fact that a card that powerful can be bought in the first round is insane.

While I really enjoy Res Arcana, the strategies are starting to become too predictable (I'm guilty of using easy strategies to win, too). If Dragon's Lair and/or Alchemist's Tower are options, then I know that players will go for one of those. Alchemist's Tower is much easier to defeat, but Dragon's Lair is pretty much a guaranteed win for an experienced player. Dragon's Lair should cost more than it does now, especially in two player games.

I would love to see the expansion here as well - it adds more balance to the game.

What do you mean, "a card that powerful"?
The card produces 2 gold, which is equivalent to 4 resources, and you have to invest 12 resources to get it in the first place.
There are more efficient ways to generate way more resources.
Of course there are benefints to this card, like using reanimate on it, however, your opponent is always capable of denying that card.
When NOT going for DL its absolutely possible to end round 1 with an income of roughly 8 resources (which is twice the amount DL produces...).
You just gotta learn how to translate resources into points (or gold if you dont know how to make points other than buying monuments).

[Shaq Jenkins]

After playing 80+ games of this, I agree that Dragon's Lair is overpowering. The fact that a card that powerful can be bought in the first round is insane.

While I really enjoy Res Arcana, the strategies are starting to become too predictable (I'm guilty of using easy strategies to win, too). If Dragon's Lair and/or Alchemist's Tower are options, then I know that players will go for one of those. Alchemist's Tower is much easier to defeat, but Dragon's Lair is pretty much a guaranteed win for an experienced player. Dragon's Lair should cost more than it does now, especially in two player games.

I would love to see the expansion here as well - it adds more balance to the game.

What do you mean, "a card that powerful"?
The card produces 2 gold, which is equivalent to 4 resources, and you have to invest 12 resources to get it in the first place.
There are more efficient ways to generate way more resources.
Of course there are benefints to this card, like using reanimate on it, however, your opponent is always capable of denying that card.
When NOT going for DL its absolutely possible to end round 1 with an income of roughly 8 resources (which is twice the amount DL produces...).
You just gotta learn how to translate resources into points (or gold if you dont know how to make points other than buying monuments).

You neglected to mention in your argument that Dragon's Lair allows you to place dragons at a -3 resources discount, which is, again, huge and powerful. With that card, one can easily play dragons during the second round, especially if Obelisk is one of the monument cards.

Also, it is not easy for an opponent to stop someone from buying that card during the first round, unless they have Elvish Bow or another card that causes damage to their opponent.

I know how to generate resources - I was agreeing with the original poster about this card being overpowering.

[audinator]

I agree dragon's lair is too good. res is such a great game in general because of all the balancing and if dragons lair and alchemist tower aren't available there are so many different ways to win. but if someone buys dragons lair on the first turn its all but over, sometimes they can get AT on the same round haha, or they just get a massive head-start on buying the first monument. There might be a scenario to beating someone who gets DL on the first round but its really rare. often people only need to make one other card on their way to buying enough monuments to seal the victory. if you got 1 gold plus one resource ie 1.5 gold maybe that would be better balancing. other than that the balancing is an achievement and makes the game perfect but if a lot of people think its a race to DL that only one person can win there must be something to it. and finding an example that happens 1 of 10 times where DL gets beat doesn't really prove that it isn't too powerful. I'm with you on this. its almost a relief when it isn't in the game (AT being the other one that is really powerful to get in the first round) because you know its going to be a much more interesting game.