[Dominion] Gardens Card Guide - VP per 10 Cards Strategy
Rating of the Base set Gardens. Cost 4 Victory. Worth 1 VP per 10 cards in deck. The signature deck-stuffing scoring card.
Gardens
Basic Info
- Type: Victory
- Cost: 4
- Effect: Worth 1 VP per 10 cards in your deck (rounded down).
Rating
Dominion's unique "deck-size scoring" Victory card. Cost 4 with non-standard scoring — different strategic axis from Estate (cost 2, 1 VP) or Duchy (cost 5, 3 VP).
In normal strategies, decks reach 20-40 cards, making each Gardens worth 2-4 VP — less than Province (6 VP) but cost-efficient. In Gardens-rush strategies (deck-stuffing), decks of 50-100 cards make each Gardens worth 5-10 VP, exceeding Province.
Overall: Gardens strategy A-S tier / Normal strategy B-C tier. With Gardens + Workshop (or any gainer), Gardens-rush is a strong option.
How to Play
4-coin opening: 1 Gardens or commit to Gardens strategy. Gardens-rush requires Workshop/Remodel etc. for gain rate.
Mid-game: 3-5 Gardens. 8 Gardens at deck-40 = 32 VP, equivalent to ~5.3 Provinces. Typical Gardens build aims for 50-80 card deck via Gardens + Silver/Copper/Workshop.
End-game: Trigger 3-pile ending. Gardens pile (8-12) + Estate pile + Copper pile depleting forces game end. Alternative to Province pile-down.
Gardens Math
40-card deck, 5 Gardens = 4 VP × 5 = 20 VP. ~3.3 Provinces equivalent. 60-card deck, 6 Gardens = 6 VP × 6 = 36 VP. 6 Provinces equivalent. 80-card deck, 8 Gardens = 8 VP × 8 = 64 VP. 10+ Provinces equivalent.
Engine builds typically take 10-15 turns to drain Provinces (8 × 6 = 48 VP). Gardens-rush at the same turn count aims for 60-80 card deck = 36-64 VP. When engine takes longer, Gardens wins.
Key Combos
Gardens + Workshop: Core Gardens-rush. Workshop into Gardens/Silver/Estate, deck swells.
Gardens + Cellar: Cycling without thinning. Stable.
Gardens + Wharf (Seaside) / Horse Traders: Deck swelling + cycling synergy.
Gardens + Vineyard (Alchemy): Both scaling Victory cards. Action-heavy decks score in both.
Gardens + Smithy: Drawing accelerates 3-pile ending.
Gardens + Throne Room + Workshop: TR + Workshop = 2 gains. Deck swelling + 3-pile speedup.
Synergies
- Workshop: Gardens-rush core.
- Remodel: Convert Coppers/Estates to Gardens.
- Throne Room: Doubled gains.
- Cellar: Non-thinning cycling.
- Wharf (Seaside): Draw + cycling + duration.
- Vineyard (Alchemy): Action-VP combo.
- Border Village (Hinterlands): Gain-on-buy chain.
- Smithy / Council Room: 3-pile drain acceleration.
Counters & Bad Matchups
- Trash-priority supplies: Chapel/Sentry/Forager thin deck → Gardens VP drops.
- No gainers available: Without Workshop/Artisan/Graverobber, Gardens collection is slow.
- Strong attacks: Witch/Bandit corrupt Gardens deck, slowing pace.
- Short games: Engine completes in 10 turns → Gardens-rush can't catch up.
Related Conditional VP
- Vineyard (Alchemy, 0P): 1 VP per 3 Action cards. Similar scaling.
- Gardener (Allies, 3): Gardens-like.
- Duke (Intrigue, 5): 1 VP per Duchy.
- Harem (Intrigue, 6): Treasure + 2 VP.
- Castles (Empires, 3-10): Split-pile Victory.
- Feodum (Dark Ages, 4): 1 VP per 3 Silvers.
These are "conditional Victory" cards alongside Gardens. With multiple in supply, choose the one fitting your build.
Advanced Tips
When to choose Gardens strategy: Workshop available + opponent goes for slow engine (6-8 turn completion). Gardens-rush ends game faster via 3-piles.
Deck-swelling limit: Over-stuffing reduces Province purchase chance. Buy Silvers/Coppers/Workshops to swell, with Gold for Province options.
3-pile depletion: Gardens (10-12) all bought → Estate pile (8-12) via Remodel/Workshop → Copper pile if possible. Calculate timing.
Gardens vs Duchy: Cost 4 vs cost 5. Under deck-40, Duchy (3 VP) better. Over deck-40, Gardens better. Mid-game Duchy, late-game Gardens common.
Province relation: Normal builds with 3-4 Provinces use Gardens as cost-4 supplement. Gardens-rush only needs 1 Province as final-turn buy.