Counting House

Basic Info

• Type: Action
• Cost: 5
• Effect: Look through your discard pile, reveal any number of Coppers, and put them into your hand.

Rating

A specialized one-trick pony that recovers Coppers from the discard pile. Right before a shuffle, can flip 8-10 Coppers into hand for an explosive turn.

Problems: terminal, discard-dependent, weak in Colony games, totally dead after a shuffle. Stability is awful.

Tier C overall. Only viable in BM-style decks that retain Coppers. Dead in trash-heavy or pure-engine decks.

Niche power: protects against Coppers gained via Mountebank/Pillage; thrives where Workshop variants flood the deck.

How to Play

Early: rarely the right $5 buy. Smithy, Gold, and Mountebank dominate.

Mid: pair with Banks/Jewels and time around shuffles. 7-10 Coppers in hand = $7-10 turn.

Late: enables Province + Duchy turns at $11+ with +1 Buy.

Shuffle awareness: never play just after a shuffle when discard pile is empty.

When to Pick / Skip

Pick when:

1. No strong trasher (Coppers stay).
2. Workshop-heavy boards keeping Coppers in motion.
3. Mountebank/Pillage in play (Coppers gain).
4. +1 Buy enables multi-card lategame turns.

Skip when:

1. Chapel/Bishop saturate.
2. Colony games (Copper devalued).
3. Pure engines.
4. Tiny decks where shuffle timing is hard.

1-2 copies typical.

Key Combos

Counting House + Cellar: Cellar discards Coppers, Counting House retrieves.

Counting House + Mountebank: Forced Coppers fed back into your hand.

Counting House + King's Court: 2-3 plays in one turn = massive recovery.

Counting House + Smithy: Smithy mines deck, finds CH while discard piles fill.

Counting House + Haven: Haven sets aside CH, plays next turn after discard fills.

Counting House + Throne Room: Double dip on a fat discard.

Synergies

• Cellar: Force-discard Coppers.
• Mountebank: Coppers from attack.
• King's Court: Multiplied recovery.
• Smithy: Draw to find CH.
• Haven: Timing control.
• Spice Merchant: +1 Buy enabler.
• Bank: Pairs with thick hand.
• Venture: Co-Treasure value.

Counters & Bad Matchups

• Chapel/Bishop: Strip Coppers, neutering CH.
• Colony games: Coppers worth less relative to Platinum.
• Pure engines: Coppers don't pile up.
• Tiny decks: Shuffle management impossible.
• Torturer/Minion: Hand attack removes CH.

Advanced Tips

Pre-shuffle peak: count deck, play CH the turn before reshuffle.

Multi-copy strategy: First CH retrieves all Coppers; second CH waits for discard to refill.

Cellar combo: Cellar discards Coppers, CH refills hand. Net: cycling for free.

Mountebank counter: Curse rush hurts you, but CH eats the Coppers.

Haven: Save CH for next turn when discard is full.

KC max: KC + CH + CH = double pull from refilled discard.

Province + Duchy: 10 Coppers + spare = $11. Need +1 Buy.

Mirror: Both running CH = restraint on early trash. Last to flush wins.

Post-shuffle weakness: Just after shuffle, discard is near-empty. Time CH plays carefully.