Spice Merchant

Basic Info

• Type: Action
• Cost: 4
• Effect: You may trash a Treasure from your hand to choose one: +2 Cards +1 Action, OR +1 Buy +$2.

Rating

Hinterlands' modal trasher. Trash a Treasure → choose draw (+2/+1) or economy (+1 Buy/+$2). Cost 4 with this flexibility is excellent.

Trash + draw combo complements Chapel for thinning, +1 Buy enables multi-buys, +$2 padding economy. Versatile.

Community consensus: solid mid-tier Hinterlands; Copper-trasher + modal output. Tier A.

How to Play

Open at $4. Top 3/4-split $4 contender.

Early: Trash Copper for +2/+1 (cantrip-style + 1 extra draw). Thinning + draw together.

Mid: Switch to +1 Buy / +$2 mode for multi-buy turns.

Key Combos

Spice Merchant + Fool's Gold: With many FGs, +1 Buy enables double-buy; or +2 Cards finds more FGs.

Spice Merchant + Chapel: Chapel mass-trash Coppers, SM cleans up.

Spice Merchant + Bridge: +1 Buy + Bridge cost reduction = multi-buy.

Spice Merchant + King's Court: 2 Treasures trashed / 2 modes selected.

Spice Merchant + Mine (Base): Cycle Treasures.

Synergies

• Chapel: Thinning pair.
• Fool's Gold: Multi-buy + draw.
• Bridge: Cost reduction synergy.
• King's Court / Throne Room: Doubling.
• Border Village: Action support.
• Mine: Treasure cycling.
• Remodel: Trash chain.

Counters & Bad Matchups

• Treasure-poor decks (engine): Activation fails.
• Heavy attacks: Treasures denied.
• Short games: Modal benefit lost.

Advanced Tips

Trash priority: Copper first; Silver mid-game; Gold last resort.

Mode pick: Early +2/+1 (draw); mid+ +1 Buy/+$2 (economy).

Cap: 1-2 copies. 3+ over-trashes Treasure.

KC + SM: 2 Treasures + 2 modes.

FG fuel: FG #1 = $1 (good trash target).

3-pile to-go: +1 Buy multi-buy drains piles.