Kingdom Card Guide

Kingdom Card Evaluation Criteria

Five axes for evaluating kingdom cards:

Axis	Description	Importance
+Actions	Does it grant extra Actions?	★★★★★
+Card Draw	Does it draw cards?	★★★★★
Coin Generation	Does it produce Coins directly?	★★★★☆
Trashing	Does it remove unwanted cards from your deck?	★★★★☆
Attack	Does it disrupt opponents' strategies?	★★★☆☆

The Critical Combination: +Actions + +Cards

Engine building requires a source of extra Actions. Without them, you can only play one Action card per turn. Cards that provide both +Actions and +Card Draw are the most valuable engine components.

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Power Cards Reference

Market (5 cost)

+1 Card, +1 Action, +1 Buy, +1 Coin. One of the most versatile cards in the base set. Buy multiples whenever available.

Smithy (4 cost)

+3 Cards. Exceptional draw efficiency. The backbone of Big Money strategies. Combine with Villages to play multiple copies.

Library (5 cost)

Draw until you have 6 cards in hand (may skip Action cards). Guarantees a large hand every turn in treasure-heavy decks.

Village (3 cost)

+1 Card, +2 Actions. Essential engine component. Usually want 1–3 copies in an engine deck.

Laboratory (5 cost)

+2 Cards, +1 Action. The ideal card for engine decks — draw and action continuation in one package.

Festival (5 cost)

+2 Actions, +1 Buy, +2 Coins. An engine lubricant that pays for itself in Coins.

Militia (4 cost — Attack)

+2 Coins. Opponents discard to 3 cards. The most common and impactful attack. Counter: Moat.

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Defending Against Attacks

Moat (2 cost)

+2 Cards. Reaction: Reveal to block any Attack targeting you. The universal defense against all Attacks. Run 1–2 copies when Attacks are present.

Common Attacks and Defenses

Attack	Effect	Defense
Militia	Discard to 3 cards	Moat, Embassy
Witch	Give opponents Curses	Moat, trash Curses
Thief	Steal treasure cards	Reduce treasure dependence
Pirate Ship	Destroy opponents' treasures	Reduce Gold reliance

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Big Money vs. Engine Building

Situation	Recommended Strategy
Kingdom lacks both +Actions and +Card Draw	Big Money
Both +Actions and +Draw are available	Engine Building
Opponent is rushing Provinces	Big Money (stability)
Long game expected	Engine Building (scales better)
Heavy Attack presence	Be cautious with Engine (Curses disrupt)

Big Money Pros/Cons

Pros: Simple, consistent, resilient to Attacks, less deck-size-dependent Cons: Loses to polished engines in the late game; limited flexibility

Engine Pros/Cons

Pros: Dominant in the late game; can buy multiple Provinces per turn Cons: Slow to build; vulnerable to Curses and hand disruption

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Deck Compression

Trashing weak cards is one of the most important skills in Dominion.

Key Trashers:

• Chapel (2 cost): Trash up to 4 cards per play. Best trasher in the game. Priority buy on opening hand.
• Remodel (4 cost): Trash a card, gain a card costing up to 2 more.