Throne Room

Basic Info

Type: Action
Cost: 4
Effect: You may play an Action card from your hand twice.

Rating

The progenitor of Dominion's "multiplier" archetype and the iconic combo card of the Base set. Doubling any Action's effect from a single play means a single key action's value effectively doubles. At cost 4, Throne Room is the most accessible doubling tool and a centerpiece of engines and combo decks.

That said, Throne Room itself is terminal (no +Action), and it depends on having other actions to double — running it well usually requires Village support. Playing "Throne Room + Smithy" in one turn requires that Throne Room (terminal) leaves at least one Action remaining, meaning at least one Village in the engine.

Strong Throne Room targets include: powerful terminals (Smithy, Witch, Remodel, Bridge, Council Room) and strong cards with +Actions (Market, Festival). Doubling a Village creates a "+1 card / +3 actions" effect — a sort of super-village.

Overall A to S tier (board-dependent). Excellent on engine boards with strong terminals + Villages; merely OK with weak doubling targets. In Base-only games, Throne Room + Smithy is the typical mid-game core.

How to Play

In the opening, Throne Room is a standard cost-4 buy. On a 4/3 split, the 4-coin slot can go to Throne Room, but doubling targets aren't yet in deck so it's often deferred. Mid-game is when you add 2-3 copies once strong actions are settled.

Mid-game: think "what does Throne Room double?" Smithy = +6 cards. Witch = +4 cards + 2 Curses distributed. Remodel = trash 2 / gain 2. Bridge = -2 cost / +2 buys. Survey the supply, identify the best target, and shape the build accordingly.

End-game: balance Province purchases vs. Throne Room + Remodel combos. Drawing "Throne Room + Remodel + something" lets you trash 2 Golds → gain 2 Provinces, the textbook closing move.

Key Combos

Throne Room + Smithy: +6 cards in one play. The classic. Hand swells to 10-11 cards, dramatically improving Province odds.

Throne Room + Witch: +4 cards + 2 Curses dealt. The most devastating Base-set combo against opponents.

Throne Room + Remodel: Trash 2 / gain 2. Mid-game Estate→Duchy, end-game Gold→Province conversion. Removes deck clutter while scoring.

Throne Room + Market: +2 cards / +2 actions / +2 buys / +2 coins. Like Lab + Festival + Cellar in one click.

Throne Room + Festival: +4 actions / +2 buys / +4 coins. Reliably hits 8+ for Province plus extras.

Throne Room + Council Room: +8 cards / +2 buys. Massive draw + multi-Province turn. Yes, opponents draw 2, but they're drawing Curse-poisoned cards.

Throne Room + Throne Room: Pair of TRs allows 4x play of a single action. TR-A doubles TR-B; TR-B then doubles two actions. The strongest multiplier achievable in Base-only games.

Throne Room + King's Court (Prosperity): TR doubles KC for 6 plays of one action. Effectively double-KC.

Synergies

Smithy: +6 draw, the textbook combo.
Witch: 2 Curses + 4 cards, devastating.
Remodel: VP conversion combo.
Market: Multi-stat doubling.
Council Room: +8 draw + 2 buys.
Festival: +4 actions + 4 coins.
Workshop: 2x gain (also useful for Gardens).
Militia / Bandit: Double terminal attacks.
Throne Room: TR-TR enables 4x.
Mine: Double treasure upgrade.

Counters & Bad Matchups

Duration cards: Doubled durations carry both effects to next turn (legal but loses the "concentrate effect in one turn" appeal). Net result is fine but more complex.
Heavy terminal collisions: TR is itself terminal — Villages required to chain.
Weak doubling targets: Without strong terminals or +Actions, TR's value drops.
Trash-for-Benefit boards: Procession trashes the TR itself.

Related Multipliers

Each major Dominion expansion adds multiplier-class cards:

King's Court (Prosperity, 7): Triple play. The strongest.
Procession (Dark Ages, 4): Play twice + trash + gain cost+1 Action + play.
Royal Carriage (Adventures, 2): Replay the action you just played, even on later turns.
Mastermind (Allies, 4): Replay a played Action.
Coach (Allies, 3): Cheap +1 coin variant.

When Throne Room shares a board with stronger multipliers (King's Court especially), prioritize the stronger one first.

Advanced Tips

Decisive thinking matters: identify the best target the moment Throne Room hits hand. Smithy = draw, Remodel = closing move, Witch = double curses.

TR-TR-X-Y is the strongest Base-set combo. When you have two Throne Rooms + two strong actions in hand, the game is essentially over.

Engine math: Throne Room counts as a soft "+Action source" too. TR doubling a +1-Action card yields effectively +2 Actions, which means TR itself contributes "+1 Action" to the engine.

Doubling weak cards is weak. Don't waste Throne Room on cost-3 cards (Village, Cellar) when stronger 5-cost actions are available.