Author Archives: theory

Combo of the Day #23: Vault/Philosopher’s Stone

Posted on January 12, 2011 by theory

Philosopher’s Stone doesn’t work very well with large handsizes, which is unfortunate because it’s otherwise always a good thing to improve your average handsize.  Enter Vault: by allowing you to discard Victory cards and Coppers for $1 each, you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Combo of the Day | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Combo of the Day #22: Ironworks/Scout/Great Hall

Posted on January 11, 2011 by theory

Both Ironworks and Scout work nicely with Great Hall.  Ironworks is normally not that great a card: you can freely get a $3 or $4 Action, but it has to be a good non-terminal, and few non-terminal $3 or $4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Combo of the Day | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Seaside: Native Village

Posted on January 10, 2011 by theory

The +Actions isn’t what makes this card so interesting—if all you’re looking for is more Actions, any other Village is superior. (The exception is if you have Libraries or Watchtowers and want to take advantage of its handsize-lowering effect.) Rather, … Continue reading →

Posted in Seaside | Tagged | 24 Comments

The Five Best $2 Cards

Posted on January 7, 2011 by theory

Disclaimer: Dominion does a really great job of balancing its Kingdom cards.  Pretty much every card has some situations where it shines, and some situations where it doesn’t.  Nevertheless, some cards just end up being flat-out better than others, either … Continue reading →

Posted in Rankings | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

The Five Worst $2 Cards

Posted on January 6, 2011 by theory

Disclaimer: Dominion does a really great job of balancing its Kingdom cards.  Pretty much every card has some situations where it shines, and some situations where it doesn’t.  Nevertheless, some cards just end up being flat-out better than others, either … Continue reading →

Posted in Rankings | Tagged , , , , | 27 Comments

Prosperity: Venture

Posted on January 5, 2011 by theory

Venture is one of those $5 “Silver-plus” cards: it’s guaranteed to be at least worth $2, but usually provides a little extra.  It does best in high-quality Treasure decks, and therefore works well with Hoard, Platinum, Mint, Moneylender, and Mine.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Prosperity | Tagged | 12 Comments

Prosperity: Goons

Posted on January 4, 2011 by theory

Buy phase synergy is ordinarily a product of three factors: +Buy, cost reduction (e.g., Quarry), and buy duplication (Talisman).  Increasing a single factor provides negligible benefits; no matter how cheap Peddler is, if you have only one Buy, it might … Continue reading →

Posted in Prosperity | Tagged | 28 Comments

Holiday Hiatus

Posted on December 23, 2010 by theory

The Dominion Strategy Blog will be on a limited posting schedule during the holidays. We will resume regular publication in the new year. Happy holidays and merry Dominioning!

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Seaside: Ambassador

Posted on December 23, 2010 by theory

This article is intended as an introduction to Ambassador. For a more recently updated and advanced article on Ambassador, click here. This is the card that a $5/$2 player hates seeing on the board more than any other.  Along with … Continue reading →

Posted in Seaside | Tagged | 14 Comments

Prosperity: Mint

Posted on December 22, 2010 by theory

Mint is a card with two very different abilities that synergize well with each other. First, Mint’s “trash-all-Treasures” ability is a considerable asset in the early game when you need to get rid of your Coppers (or Loan).  It’s less … Continue reading →

Posted in Prosperity | Tagged | 11 Comments