Recruiter

Basic Info

Type: Action
Cost: 5
Effect: +2 Cards / Trash a card from your hand. +1 Villager per $1 it cost.

Rating

Renaissance's "trash-to-Villager converter." Cost 5: +2 Cards + trash + Villagers per $1 of trashed card. Trash cost-5 = +5 Villagers; cost-4 = +4 — massive Villager generation.

Biggest strength: cost-conversion. Trash Experiment ($3) for +3 Villagers; Silver ($3) same. Cards leaving the supply still convert into Villagers — deck-expand into Villager-explosion strategy.

Overall A tier. Cost-5 draw + thin + Villager combo is strong, engine core.

How to Play

Auto-buy at 5 coins. Top contender alongside Witch / Library.

Mid: trash Coppers / Estates for 0-2 Villagers + thin.

Late: trash Recruiter ($5) for +5 Villagers, fueling Province turn terminals.

Trash Targets

Priority:

Copper ($0, 0 Villagers) - thin only.
Estate ($2, +2 Villagers) - thin + tokens.
Silver ($3, +3 Villagers).
Experiment ($3, +3 Villagers) - removes from deck.
Self ($5, +5 Villagers) - burst.

Key Combos

Recruiter + Chapel: Bulk-thin + concentrated Villager bursts.

Recruiter + Experiment: Trash Experiment for +3 Villagers.

Recruiter + Witch: Trash Witch ($5) for +5 Villagers (sacrifice Curser).

Recruiter + City Gates: +1 hand size.

Recruiter + Inventor: Gain chain.

Recruiter + Throne Room: TR + Recruiter = +4 Cards + 2 trashes + huge Villagers.

Synergies

Chapel: Thin + trash combo.
Experiment: Natural trash target.
Mid-cost Actions: Trash for many Villagers.
City Gates Project: +1 hand.
Inventor / Workshop: Gain chain.
Throne Room: Doubled.
Remodel / Improve: Trash + gain chain.

Counters & Bad Matchups

Thin decks: No trash targets.
Quick-finish: Villager bank wasted.
Pure Big Money: No use for Villagers.
Terminal-light: Villager surplus.

Advanced Tips

Trash timing: early Estate / Copper for thin; mid Experiment / Recruiter for Villager burst.

Recruiter self-sacrifice: trash one Recruiter with another for +5 Villagers. Buy multiples while supply lasts.

Witch dilemma: Trashing Witch ($5) = +5 Villagers, but loses curser. Judge carefully.

Province turn: bank Villagers all game, dump for terminal-stack on Province turn for multi-Province.