Remodeler

Remodel, the namesake card of the Remodelers.

A remodeler is a trash-for-benefit card that allows you to trash one or more cards and gain cards to replace them depending on the cost of the trashed card. The nickname is derived from Remodel, a simple card with this effect from the base set, which allows you to gain a card costing up to more than the trashed card. Other remodelers differ from the basic Remodel by allowing a wider or narrower range of costs for the gained card, providing other benefits in addition to the gain, or limiting you to trashing or gaining cards of specific types.

Typically, remodelers maintain the size of your deck, providing neither net gains nor thinning; however, a few can gain more cards than they trash (Develop) or vice versa (Forge). Some can act as trashers because they have very strict limits on what can be gained, in Kingdoms in which no card meeting the criteria is available, they will trash a card without replacing it. For example Upgrade will normally not gain a card upon trashing Copper unless Poor House is in the Kingdom.

Many remodelers have names that are verbs.

List of Remodelers

Cards in italics have been removed.

Flexible cost limit

These cards gain a card costing up to more than the trashed one, which means they can usually gain a copy of the same card, or even a cheaper card. This allows many of them to be used for milling Provinces.

• up to more: Remodel, Replace, Carpenter, Modify, Enlarge
• up to more: Transmogrify, Zombie Mason (trashes the top card of your deck)
• up to more: Expand
• other: Butcher

Some cards have restrictions on what they can trash and / or gain.

• Mine and Taxman each trash one Treasure to get another Treasure costing up to more.
• Graverobber can only trash Action cards but gains any card costing up to more.
• Rebuild finds a Victory card in your deck to trash and gains another Victory card costing up to more.
• Enhance cannot trash Victory cards but can gain any card costing up to more.

Some cards gain cards cheaper than the trashed one.

• Stonemason - trashes a card to gain two cheaper cards.
• Exorcist - trashes a card to gain a cheaper Spirit.
• Dismantle - trashes a card and gains both a cheaper card and a Gold if the card costs at least .

Closely related:

• Salvager does not gain a replacement for the trashed card, but instead gives you and +Buy to allow you to buy one. This enables lines of play like a remodeler; for example it can mill Provinces.
• Displace is similar to Remodel but Exiles instead of trashing. Cannot be used for milling Provinces because it cannot gain the same card that was Exiled.

Fixed cost limit

The cards gain a card costing exactly more than the trashed one. These means they mostly cannot be used for milling Provinces but can sometimes be used for thinning; for example using Upgrade you can trash a Copper without having to gain another card if there is no card available costing exactly .

• Upgrade and Remake - trash cards gaining others costing exactly more.
• Forge - trash any number of cards and gain one with a cost equal to the sum of the costs (can be used both for milling by replacing Province with Province and for thinning by replacing multiple cards with a single one).
• Develop trashes a card and gains two cards (costing exactly more and less).
• Farmland has an on-gain remodeling effect gaining a card costing exactly more than the trashed one.
• Procession plays an Action twice and upcycles it into one costing exactly more.
• Improve trashes an Action in play and upcycles it into a card costing exactly more.
• Governor can let each player trash a card and gain another one costing exactly more for other players and more for the user.

• Closely related but do not trash cards:
  • Way of the Butterfly lets you play an Action card to return it to the Supply and gain any card costing exactly more.

Remodelers that can be used as gainers

Some remodelers can work as gainers because they gain more cards than they trash.

• Stonemason, Dismantle, Develop
• Graverobber and Displace let you keep access to the card you remodel.

Most Remodelers can act as gainers if the trashed card has an ability that returns it to you from the trash (for example Fortress) or otherwise replaces itself (for example Catacombs).

Related effects

These cards are related to Remodelers in that they trash a card and gain one card but are distinct from Remodelers in that the cost of the gained card does not depend on the Cost of the trashed card.

• Transmute - the gained card depends on the type of the trashed card.
• Trader - trashes a card and gains Silvers, and the number gained depends on the Cost of the trashed card.
• Jack of All Trades - trashes a non-Treasure card and gains a Silver.
• Hermit - trashes a non-Treasure card and gains any card costing up to .
• Rats - always gains another Rats
• Altar - gains any card costing up to
• Trade - can trash up to two cards and gains a Silver for each.
• Advance - trashes an Action card to gain any Action card costing up to .
• Ritual - trashed a card and gains a Curse.
• Scrap - trashes a card and can gain a Silver and/or Horse (can generate extra gains).
• Acolyte - trashes an Action or Treasure to gain a Gold
• Woodworkers' Guild - trashes an Action card to gain any Action card.
• Swap - returns an Action card to the Supply to gain any Action card costing up to .
• Peril - trashes an Action card to gain Loot.
• Pickaxe - trashes any card, and gains Loot if the trashed card costs or more.

• One-shot gainers (Feast, Changeling, Wish, Spell Scroll) also resemble Remodelers in that they trash one card (themselves) and gain another card.

Gallery

Flexible cost limit

Fixed cost limit