Tournament

Basic Info

Type: Action
Cost: 4
Effect: +1 Action. Each player may reveal a Province from their hand. If you do, discard it and gain any Prize (from the Prize pile) or a Duchy onto your deck. If no-one else does, +1 Card and +1 Coin.

Rating

Cornucopia's signature card and one of Dominion's most iconic. At cost 4, "cantrip + (reveal Province → gain Prize) or (no opposition → +1 Card +1 Coin)" is wildly efficient. The 5 Prizes (Tournament's reward suite — Followers, Princess, Trusty Steed, Bag of Gold, Diadem) are each S-tier on their own; landing the first one swings games dramatically.

The biggest draw is "double-using a Province": normally an 8-coin VP card, but with Tournament in deck a Province in hand also unlocks a Prize gain. Tournament is non-terminal so it doesn't disrupt engines. Even without Province, "if no other reveals: +1 Card +1 Coin" beats a Silver in tempo.

Overall S tier. Top-priority pickup whenever Tournament is on the board. Often outranks Jack and Silver as the 4-coin must-buy.

How to Play

Open with Tournament if you hit 4 coins early. On 4/3 splits, Tournament is the leading 4-coin pick. Multiple Tournaments (2-3) raise odds of pairing with a Province.

Mid-game value peaks the turn after buying a Province: the next turn's Tournament likely lands a Prize. The "Province → Province → Tournament-for-Prize" tempo defines the game.

Prize priorities (situational):

Followers (Curser + Estate + handsize attack)
Tournament-Prize: Trusty Steed (+2 cards / +2 actions / +2 coins / silver flood — supreme flexibility)
Princess (cost-2 to all cards — engine accelerator)
Diadem (+2 coins + per-action bonus)
Bag of Gold (cantrip Gold-gain)

Key Combos

Tournament + Drawer: Smithy / Hunting Party / Menagerie raise the chance of pairing Tournament with Province. Hunting Party is the gold standard (guarantees finding a Province if any exists in the deck).

Tournament + Village: Tournament itself is non-terminal, but stacked Tournaments and the Trusty Steed Prize benefit from villages.

Tournament + Library / Council Room: Big draws pull Provinces into hand; Library smooths late-game.

Tournament + Smithy: Simple draw to find Province + Tournament.

Tournament + Remake / Chapel: Thinning sharply raises Province-draw odds. 3-4 thin + 1-2 draw is stable.

Tournament + Festival: +2 coin / +1 buy / +2 actions sets up Province purchase.

Synergies

Hunting Party: Guaranteed Province-pull combo.
Menagerie: +3 cards if hand-diverse.
Smithy: Bulk draw.
Remake / Chapel: Thinning improves draw odds.
Horse Traders: +3 coin Province acceleration.
Library: Hand smoothing.
Great Hall (Intrigue): Cantrip + VP boosts early hand quality.
Throne Room: TR + Tournament = 2 Prizes (needs 2 Provinces).
Council Room: +4 cards / share-draw helps everyone find Province (mixed effect).

Counters & Bad Matchups

Discard attacks (Militia, Ghost Ship): forced to dump Province whiffs Tournament.
Pure Big Money mirrors: if opponent reaches Province first, they take Prizes.
Rush strategies (Gardens, Ambassador): game ends before Provinces appear.
Province pile depletion: Prizes still available via Duchy fallback (but value drops).

Advanced Tips

The "first Prize race" is the heart of Tournament play. Whoever buys Tournament fastest and reaches Province soonest dominates. Even on 5/2 splits, prioritize Tournament — go Silver-then-Tournament if needed.

Each Prize is unique (one copy each). Late-comers must adapt: if Followers is taken, stockpile counters (Moat / Lighthouse / opposing Tournament's no-reveal bonus).

The "no other revealed" bonus (+1 Card +1 Coin) is more potent than it looks — Tournament is a +1 Card +1 Action +1 Coin cantrip with attached upside, beating Silver outright at cost 4.

With multiple Tournaments, every Province gain enables an ongoing Prize-per-turn loop. Ideal: 2-3 Tournaments + 2-3 Provinces.

Tournament that fires on Province discards the Province. Tracking remaining Province count matters in endgame — sacrificing the 2nd-or-later Province (3 VP) for a Prize is "3 VP for Prize" trade-off.