Siren

Basic Info

Type: Action-Duration-Attack
Cost: 3
Effect: Each other player gains a Curse. At the start of your next turn, draw up to 8 cards in hand. When you gain this, trash it unless you trash an Action from your hand.

Rating

A premier Plunder card. At cost 3, "Curse-spread + draw to 8 next turn" — Witch-level attack stacked with Council-Room-grade draw — and Duration-bound across two turns.

Biggest strength: built-in trash-on-gain. Provides deck thinning as part of the gain step. The "self-trash unless you trash an Action" gate is the price; opening hands of pure Estates/Coppers can't satisfy it.

Weakness: gain difficulty. Without an Action card in hand, gaining Siren burns it. You need to seed an Action first (turn 1) before going for Siren on turn 3-4.

Overall S tier. Top priority on Plunder boards.

How to Play

Early: "Buy weak Action turn 1 → Gain Siren turn 3-4 → trash that Action." Pre-seeded action cards (Cellar, Travelling Fair, etc.) get cleansed via Siren's gain ability.

Mid: Fire Siren each turn. 1 play = Curse-spread + draw to 8 next turn = Village+Smithy+ on a stick. Blocked by Moat as an Attack.

Late: Even after Curse pile depletion, "draw to 8 next turn" remains a powerful drawer for Province closeouts.

Gain-Timing Technique

Turn 1: Buy weak Action (Cellar, Pawn, etc.).
Turn 3-4: Gain Siren → trash that weak Action.
Three benefits at once: thinning + Curse spread + massive draw.

If no trashable Action in hand on Siren-gain → Siren self-trashes. On Action-light boards, plan accordingly. Always seed a Village line first.

Key Combos

Siren + Throne Room: Doubled Siren = 2 Curses to each + draw-to-8 twice next turn (effectively double drawer cycle).

Siren + Harbor Village: Harbor Village +$1 next-turn + Siren draw-to-8 = explosive next-turn opening.

Siren + Buried Treasure: Buried Treasure provides +$3 + Siren draw enables Province purchase.

Siren + Pilgrim: Pilgrim's +4 cards + topdeck pairs nicely with Siren's draw cycle.

Siren + Witch: Double Curse-spread. Opponents take 2 Curses per turn.

Synergies

Throne Room / King's Court: Siren doubling.
Harbor Village: Next-turn coin boost.
Pilgrim: Deck-shaping + draw.
Smithy: Initial seed Action → trashed on gain.
Cellar: Cheap seed Action → trashed on gain.
Workshop: Gain-Siren enabler.
Remodel: Trash + gain chain.
Border Village (Hinterlands): +2 Actions + on-gain.

Counters & Bad Matchups

Moat: Reaction blocks Curse spread completely.
Diplomat (Intrigue): Reaction analog.
Action-light boards: No seed Actions → Siren self-trashes on gain.
Late-game gain: Curse pile empty → spread effect wasted.

Advanced Tips

Gain timing: Seed Action turn 1; Siren turn 3-4. To accelerate, sacrifice a 3/4 split for a $3 weak Action over Silver.

Curse pile management: 2 Sirens push 6 Curses out in 2 turns (2-player). 3-4 player games burn the pile faster — 2 Sirens needed.

"Draw to 8" power: Strong with thinned decks; weak with bloated Estate/Copper pile. Thin in parallel.

Mirror match: Both fire Sirens, both Curse each other. First-player drops Curse first; second-player parallel-trashes.

Siren-BM: Siren + Silver/Gold pure BM works. Province line is fast.

Avoiding self-trash: If no trashable Action available on gain, skip the buy. Acquire when Action is in hand.