My Favorite Dominion Cards

I’ve been playing a lot of Dominion online with friends. We’re kind of addicted. In real life we only have the following sets:

• Base
• Intrigue
• Prosperity
• Hinterlands
• Empires
• Nocturne

However, Dominion online has all the sets! We’ve played with cards and abilities that add totally new dynamic to the game. Some are very interesting and fun. However, I wouldn’t want to buy entire sets just for a few cards that I like.

Anyway, I thought I’d blog about my favorite Dominion cards.

• Bishop (Prosperity) – Gives you a victory coin, a coin, and you can trash a card and get that amount (divided by two) in victory coins. You play Bishop to trash an Estate, now you have two victory coins and no estates clogging your deck. Easily one of my favorite cards.
• Bounty Hunter (Menagerie) – Gives you an action and you can exile a card from your hand. If it’s the first of its kind in exile, you get plus three coin.
• Black Cat (Menagerie) – Gives you two cards but if it’s in your had when someone buys a victory card, it gives everyone a curse. This card is quickly becoming a favorite of mine due to that fact. Snatch these cards up so when people buy victory cards, they get curses as well! These are now the first cards to go.
• Black Market (Promo) – When you play it, it gives you the ability to buy cards that are not in the sets you’re currently playing with. In real life, I guess we’d play with the blue backed (shuffle) cards. Not sure where you can really get this but this is an interesting card.
• Border Village (Hinterlands) – One card, two actions and gives you a free, cheaper card when you buy it. It works well to get free Laboratories, Groundskeepers, whatever.
• Castles (Empires) – Every castle is different (except for the first few ones). Each one goes up in value and allows you to do different things. They go up in power as you go up with the final one costing 10 coins. If you’re playing with these, try to get them before they’re gone. They go fast!
• Chariot Race (Empires) – One action and you reveal the top card and another player reveals their top card; if your card is more 1 coin and a victory coin. I haven’t had the best of luck with these but I think later in the game they work better.
• City (Prosperity) – One card, two actions. Another card that’s get it while it lasts. This card gets better as the game goes on as the more piles are gone, the more powerful the card is.
• Devil’s Workshop (Nocturne) – Dependent on how many cards you’ve gained. Nice to gain an easy gold if your hand is crap. It’s also nice to get Imps if you’ve gained two or more cards. Cascading Devil’s Workshops works as you can play as many Night cards as you want!
• Distant Lands (Adventures) – Placed on your tavern mat. It’s worth 4 victory points at the end of the game. Get these fast and play them.
• Duke (Intrigue) – Worth one victory point per each Duchy you have. Yes, it’s boring but towards the end if you don’t have enough for a Province, these 5 coined cards are easy victory points. I’ve won a game doing this strategy.
• Duplicate (Adventures) – Put on your tavern mat and called when you gain a card and you get a duplicate of that card (up to 6 coins). Pretty powerful for easy gold.
• Expand (Prosperity) – Trash a card and you get something worth 3 coins more than it. Perfect for turning Estates into Duchies then Dutchies into Provinces.
• Farmer’s Market (Empires) – One buy and worth 1 coin per victory coin on it. When four victory coins are on it, you trash it and get those victory coins. Great card but it’s stressful when other players buy it.
• Fool’s Gold (Hinterlands) – Worth one coin but if you have two, both together are worth five coins. I don’t know why more people don’t love this card.
• Forge (Prosperity) – Trash any number of cards and gain what they all total to be. Good way to trash Copper and something else just to get that something else back. Good at the end of the game when you’re clinging for your life.
• Giant (Adventures) – Turn your journey token over. If it’s face up plus five coin and everyone looks at the top two cards of their deck and trashes any worth 3 to 6. If it’s face down plus one coin. This card goes great with any kind of Village. I always buy a few of these guys.
• Grand Market (Prosperity) – One card, one action, one buy, two coins. Cannot buy this with Coppers! Very powerful card.
• Groundskeeper (Empires) – One card, one action but you gain a victory coin when you buy a victory card. I like to cascade them and get more coins!
• Harem (Intrigue) – Two coins, two victory points. It’s a great card as it doubles as victory points and coins.
• Hireling (Adventures) – Stays in play and every turn you get an extra card. This card is too powerful to be only 6 coins. I think it should be worth more. Get them as soon as you can as you can get more cards into every one of your hands faster.
• Hoard (Prosperity) – Two coins but you gain a gold when you buy a victory card. Pretty nice to get free gold.
• Lurker (Intrigue) – One action and you trash a card from its supply or gain a card from the trash (actions only). Very nice to get expensive cards at the beginning of the game. Used very well for cards that are harder to get like Peddlers or Grand Markets. I usually try to get two my first two turns so I can trash something then immediately get it.
• Mill (Intrigue) – One card, one action, discard two cards for 2 coins and it’s worth one victory point. I hurry to get these since it always gives you a card and an action and it’s victory as well.
• Monument (Prosperity) – Two coins, one victory coin. Simple. Easy money and victory coins.
• Mountebank (Prosperity) – Two coins and each other player gains a curse and a copper (unless they have a curse in their hand). Great attack card and it clogs up other peoples’ decks with crap. One game we ran out of copper because of this card.
• Nobles (Intrigue) – Worth two victory points and you get to choose +3 cards or two actions. It pays for itself as it’s worth victory and it does something.
• Oasis (Hinterlands) – One card, one action, one coin, discard a card. A lot of folks don’t like this card because of the discard but I don’t mind it. I usually discard a victory point or a copper.
• Peddler (Prosperity) – One card, one action, one coin. Like a Market however the cost depends on how many action cards you’ve played. Peddlers can be free!
• Port (Adventures) – One card, two actions when you buy it you get another one for free. Not bad for 4 coins.
• Ratcatcher (Adventures) – One card, one action so it takes care of itself. You trash a card when you call it back from your mat.
• Replace (Intrigue) – Like Remodel, it does the same thing except if you gain an action or treasure, you get it onto your deck. If you choose to buy a victory point, every player gains a Curse. Great for turning copper into Estates and cursing everyone!
• Sacrifice (Empires) – Trash an action card and get +2 cards and +2 actions, trash a treasure and get 2 coins, trash a victory and get 2 victory coins. I love it. Easily trashes estates out of your hand and doubles their value. Keep buying estates and trashing them with this. I love trashing cards!
• Scheme (Hinterlands) – One card, one action, put an action card on top. I Scheme Schemes! They’re awesome for playing a card over and over.
• Temple (Empires) – Get a victory coin and trash one to three cards and add a victory coin to the Temple pile; whoever buys it gets the victory coins accumulated there. Easy victory coins. However, trashing in later hands can be stressful.
• Trade Route (Prosperity) – One buy, trash a card and you get that many coins that are on the Trade Route map. Really good towards the later parts of the game. Love this card.
• Treasure Map (Seaside) – Trash two of them and get four golds onto your deck. Get these as soon as possible and hope you get two in a row to get some serious gold.
• Upgrade (Intrigue) – One card, one action. Easy way to turn a card that costs 5 into a gold. Or get rid of coppers.

Bottom line, I love cards that trash! I love getting rid of coppers. I love upgrading cards into something better. I love trashing curses. If a game doesn’t have a trash card in it, I’m sad.