Dominion: Nocturne

This is great on its own. Haven't experimented too much mixing and matching this with other expansions - could see that getting unwieldy. But on its own, this has such a unique flavor - I'm a fan.

The spookiest set! This probably ranks alongside Seaside as the most "thematic" set. Night cards are a mixed bag, Changeling is my least favorite card due to its function online. They slow the game down a bit, but also do add an extra dimension to play (sometimes). I LOVE the heirlooms. They are the opposite of Shelters, which I think are pointless. The boons and hexes are also meh.

The only Dominion expansion I have some regret getting it. Well I don't actually regret having it, I just regret having it while not buying some of the other simpler expansions first.

For experienced gamers this box contains some serious fun. But even then, some other Dominion boxes (e.g. Adventures) still contain more fun. And for new players, it's a rules-heavy nightmare. I should have known it when it says "Nocturne", but since I'm not a new player I ignored the warning. Problem is you still want to play with new players if you want to play it at all.

Nocturne is still salvageable if you only use its "simpler" cards, e.g. Druid, Faithful Hound, Conclave, Shepherd, Pooka and Tragic Hero. Then, perhaps some simple night cards and fate cards, and Necromancer, which uses no new mechanics but is 4x as complex as any other card.

Still not sure if night phase gives me excitement, some cards are never used (feels like filler stacks).

Provisional rating. So far so good. Definitely more complexity, but the Night phase seems a worthy addition. Glad to have more Duration cards too.