{"items": [{"author": "GuySrinivasan", "source_link": "https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eL4jpno9fgbEx2efZ#hLvqhwMDEjmnQ3H85", "anchor": "lw-hLvqhwMDEjmnQ3H85", "service": "lw", "text": "I like the idea of 9 choose 6, and might see my way to being on board with "No IV turn 1" with the variant. Without the variant, of course, trade must remain, or else windfall starts become quite bad. The extra freedom to play Settle on turn 1 without worries seems pretty balanced with not having a starting world in the first place.
As to this particular draw, I'll assume 4p. Smuggling Lair is very very good here. It's free which lets you keep the more-synergistic-than-usual cards you're going to start with, comes with a good, lets you leech off of Consume/Trades very well, and gives you an extra eventual point. Research Labs is not very good if you and your opponents are good; it's clunky, usually steals your green goods for points when you would rather cards, has a niche Produce benefit that is less likely to come up when you've got green synergies going, and has a strong Explore benefit but good players will be avoiding the Explore action as much as possible. I would definitely keep Smuggling Lair, discard Research Labs, and play Develop, with an eye toward your next 3 turns involving leeching off others' IV while getting down 2-3 of Genetics Labs, Rebel Warrior Race, and Ancient Race, then deciding what to do from there. Turn two depends on others' turn 1 plays, but the most likely line is Develop for Genetics Lab to put pressure on others' ability to usefully play developments or maybe Settle if 1+ folks played Bank/Credits/Works and there wasn't a Settle turn 1, to put pressure on others' economy in general and ensure your cardflow begins, which again would be safe with Smuggling Lair as your Settle because if someone finesses you with IV you still get the 2 cards.", "timestamp": 1589997684}, {"author": "Alexei", "source_link": "https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eL4jpno9fgbEx2efZ#nraFFx42AG5DBLpAy", "anchor": "lw-nraFFx42AG5DBLpAy", "service": "lw", "text": "This is one of my favorite games! I\u2019ll definitely try the variant.\n", "timestamp": 1590082396}]}