Embassy

Basic Info

• Type: Action
• Cost: 5
• Effect: +5 Cards / discard 3 cards / When you gain this, each other player gains a Silver.

Rating

Top-tier Hinterlands terminal drawer. +5 Cards far surpasses Smithy (+3); even after discarding 3, net gain is +2 with massive sifting. At cost 5 this efficiency is exceptional — alongside Council Room as the strongest $5 terminal drawer.

The on-gain Silver to opponents is a downside, but the Silver dilutes their engine density. Often a wash or even self-positive.

Community consensus: top draw card in Hinterlands, alongside Council Room as the strongest $5 terminal. Tier A-S.

How to Play

Mid: buy 1-2 Embassies. Core of engine.

Use the 3-discard to ditch Estates and Coppers. Doubles as soft thinning.

3-discard hurts on small decks but with mid-game density of Estates/Coppers, ditches deadweight.

When to Pick / Skip

On Embassy boards going engine, near-mandatory pickup. Skip when:

1. Pure BM with no draw need (rare).
2. Few $5 turns and stronger $5s (Witch, Minion) preferred.
3. Tight small-deck plans where 3-discard hurts.

Usually 1-2 copies suffice.

Key Combos

Embassy + Village: Terminal action — village support (Border Village, Fishing Village).

Embassy + Chapel / Masquerade: Thinning + draw — full engine. 3-discard becomes painless on thin decks.

Embassy + Crossroads: Crossroads draws VP, Embassy massive draw. More VPs in hand boost Crossroads' +Card/VP.

Embassy + Fool's Gold: FG is Treasure; Embassy draws → multi-FG explosion.

Embassy + King's Court / Throne Room: +10 / +15 cards. Massive thinning too.

Embassy + Inn: Inn shuffles Embassy back for reuse.

Embassy + Bridge: Draw + cost-reduction → multi-Province.

Synergies

• Chapel / Masquerade: Thinning offsets discard pain.
• Border Village / Fishing Village: Action support.
• Crossroads: VP + draw synergy.
• Fool's Gold: Massive Treasure draws.
• King's Court / Throne Room: Doubled draw.
• Inn: Reuse.
• Bridge: Draw + cost reduction.
• Smithy (Base): Backup draw.

Counters & Bad Matchups

• Heavy attacks (Minion, Torturer): Reduced hand defeats +5 effect.
• Trash-poor decks: 3-discard hits key cards.
• Short games: No time to fire Embassy multiple times.
• BM opponents: Granted Silver helps them more than your engine wants.

Advanced Tips

3-discard priority: Estate > Copper > unwanted terminal > excess Treasure.

Play Embassy early in turn for max sifting effect.

Second Embassy: 1 reaches near-deck-out; 2 stabilizes; 3+ excess.

On-gain Silver: Dilutes opponent decks. Often net neutral or favorable to thinner engines.

KC + Embassy: +15 draw / 9 discards. Engine knockout.

Crossroads combo: Embassy draws large hand; Crossroads outputs +1 Card per VP — VP-heavy hand maximizes Crossroads value.

Embassy-BM: Embassy → Silver → Embassy → Gold → Province. Solid even in BM contexts.

Inn shuffle: When Inn is gained, shuffle Embassy back for immediate reuse.

3-discard utility: Ditch Coppers to raise density. Keep Silver/Gold.