Crown

Basic Info

• Type: Action-Treasure
• Cost: 5
• Effect: If played in Action phase, play an Action from hand twice. If played in Buy phase, play a Treasure from hand twice.

Rating

Hybrid doubler from Empires. As Action: Throne Room equivalent. As Treasure: doubles a Treasure (Gold becomes $6). Universal flexible piece.

Greatest strength: never dead. Throne Room with no Actions is dead; Crown plays as Treasure. Conversely, no Treasures? Use as Action. Massive flexibility boost.

Engine: doubles strong Actions. BM/hybrid: doubles Gold/Platinum for finish. Last-turn: Crown + Gold = $6.

Community: Tier A, top of Throne family. Cost 5 competes with Forum/Engineer, but Crown's flexibility holds value.

How to Play

Early: $5 slot competes with Forum/Engineer. Engine + strong actions = Crown can wait. BM = take Crown early for Treasure-doubling close.

Mid: After engine build, double key actions. Smithy doubled = +6 cards. Lab doubled = +4 cards / +2 actions.

Late: Buy phase Crown + Gold = $6. Province in range.

Action vs Treasure Choice

Decision tree:

1. Worth-doubling Action in hand → use as Action.
2. Gold/Platinum to double → use as Treasure.
3. Both → judge by money-needed and distance-to-Province.

Crown's mode is locked at play time. Played as Action, can't switch.

Key Combos

Crown + Gold: Buy phase $6.

Crown + Platinum: Buy phase $10 (Colony games).

Crown + Smithy: +6 cards as Throne.

Crown + Witch: 2 curses spread.

Crown + Lab: +4 cards / +2 actions.

Crown + Festival: +4 actions / +2 buys / +$4.

Crown + Crown (as Throne): Crown thrones Crown — 4-fold action sequence possible.

Crown + King's Court: KC-Crown chain, multi-multiplier.

Crown + Overlord: Overlord becomes Action, Crown doubles.

Synergies

• Strong actions (Smithy, Lab, Witch, Festival): Doubling targets.
• Gold/Platinum: Treasure-doubling targets.
• King's Court: Crown doubling.
• Overlord: Layered doubling engine.
• Terminal silver (Market, Smithy): Terminal doubled.
• +1 Buy cards: Spend doubled Treasure.

Counters & Bad Matchups

• Weak doubling targets: Doubling Copper/weak action wastes.
• Terminal-collision: Crown is Throne-like, eats Action slot.
• Pure trash engines: Crown takes a $5 slot, but pure thin/draw might prefer other $5s.
• Short games: No time to assemble Crown stack.

Advanced Tips

Never-dead is Crown's signature. Open with 2 Crowns even on action-light boards.

Crown + Crown chain: Crown A thrones Crown B; Crown B thrones target X 2x. 4 fires per turn.

Crown + KC: KC + Crown + target = 4 plays of target.

Treasure-double hidden value: Substitutes 2nd Gold (Crown + Gold = $6 = 2 Golds). Saves a deck slot, improving engine cycle.

Crown buy priority: BM-side early. Engine-side after key actions stack. At least 1.

Mirror: Buying Crown one turn earlier wins. Same turn? Quality of doubling target decides.

Crown-BM variant: Silver/Silver/Crown/Gold/Province. Crown doubles Gold for $8 hits.

Decision check: Before "throne it", consider Treasure-double instead. If Province is in range, double Gold.