• Type: Action - Looter
• Cost: 5
• Effect: +2 Cards / Each other player gains a Ruins / When you trash this, you may play another Cultist from your hand.

One of the strongest attack cards in all of Dominion. It packs Smithy-level draw (+2 Cards) plus a brutal junking attack (each opponent gains a Ruins) and chains via the on-trash trigger. The dual-function nature makes it dramatically stronger than pure attackers like Witch (curse-only) or pure drawers like Smithy.

Where Witch specializes in cursing and Smithy in drawing, Cultist does both with one card slot. The chain mechanic means stacking multiple Cultists in one turn is feasible — endgame blowouts are common. At cost 5 this stat-line is absurd; Cultist is a top-tier Dark Ages card and routinely a board-defining pickup.

Ruins come in five flavors, all weak cantrips or weak coin producers. Once piled into opponents' decks, their consistency rots. Cultist mirrors devolve into pure tempo races — whoever fires more, faster, wins. S-tier overall; mandatory pickup when present.

On 5/2 buy Cultist with the 5-coin slot. On 4/3 grab the first available 5-coin draw. Standard buy is 2-4 copies; with reliable +Action, more is better.

Mid-game goal: fire at least one Cultist per turn. Pollute opponents' decks while drawing yourself. Cultist is terminal, so pair with Villages (Fortress, Catacombs) to chain.

Late game: exploit the trash-chain. With 2+ Cultists in hand, trash one via Altar/Procession etc. and chain-play the other. Multiple Ruins per turn becomes routine.

Five Ruins types, all weak. When the Ruins pile empties, the attack whiffs. In 4-player games the pile depletes fast (10 Ruins / 3 opponents). In 2-player, ~5 Ruins per opponent gets distributed.

Cultist + Fortress: Non-terminal +Actions to fire Cultist multiple times per turn.

Cultist + Altar: Altar trashes Cultist → chain-play second Cultist. Altar gain effect + 2x Cultist effect.

Cultist + Procession: Procession plays Cultist twice → trashes → chain-play hand Cultist. Three Cultist firings in one turn.

Cultist + Graverobber: Recover Cultists from trash for re-use.

Cultist + Catacombs: Both engines reinforce one another (Catacombs draws into Cultist; Cultist's draw enables Catacombs).

Cultist + Witch: Curse + Ruins double junking. Opponents collapse instantly.

• Fortress: Non-terminal +Actions for Cultist chains.
• Altar: Trash + gain + chain trigger.
• Procession: Double-play + trash + chain-play.
• Graverobber: Retrieve Cultists from trash.
• Catacombs: Draw into Cultist.
• Witch: Curse + Ruins.
• Remodel: Trash Cultist for higher-cost gains.
• Grand Market: +1 Buy enables multi-Cultist purchases.

• Heavy terminal boards: Cultist is terminal — Villages essential.
• Moat: Blocks Cultist attack entirely.
• TfB-empty supplies: Chain-trigger goes unused.
• 4-player: Ruins pile depletes too fast.
• Poor House / Urchin junkers: Mutual junking stalemate.

Cultist mirror: whoever stacks more Cultists wins. After securing one on 5/2, prioritize Cultist on subsequent 5-coin slots.

When Ruins pile is near-empty, push one big turn to grab the last 1-2. After Ruins run out, Cultist becomes "+2 Cards" terminal draw — still solid for endgame engine.

Chain-play only triggers if a Cultist is in hand at trash time. Check before trashing.

Procession + Cultist is the nuclear combo: Procession plays Cultist twice (2 Ruins each) → trashes → chain-play hand Cultist (3rd Ruins) → gain 6-cost Action. Board-warping single turn.