Attack
Attack is a type of Action card. They can be played like any other Action card; the Attack subtype indicates how they interact with some Reaction cards, such as Moat and Secret Chamber. Though Attacks are typically cards which hurt the opponent, not all plays of Attack cards will hurt the opponent, and not all cards which hurt opponents are Attack cards.
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Kinds of Attacks
There are 4 different kinds of attacks (some Attack Cards combine these). Donald X. Vaccarino explained them here.
Attacks that make you discard
They usually make you discard down to 3 cards, and the victim chooses which cards to discard. They don't stack. These include Militia, Ghost Ship, Goons, Margrave, Mercenary, Followers and Sir Michael. Urchin makes you discard down to 4 cards. Minion is a variation that makes you discard down to 4 cards, but you can't choose which card to discard, because you discard your whole hand and draw 4 new ones. Pillage is a one-shot where the attacker chooses the card to discard. On the other hand there is Torturer which stacks and Cutpurse which can potentially stack, if you have multiple Coppers in hand. Bureaucrat makes you put Victory cards on your deck and can also potentially stack.
Attacks that trash your cards
They usually trash one of the top two cards of the opponents' decks. This is either restricted to certain card types (Thief, Noble Brigand, Pirate Ship) or to a certain price range (Knights and Rogue) or offers a replacement. The replacement is either a card costing less than it (Saboteur) the victim can choose or a card costing the same (Swindler) the attacker can choose.
Attacks that give you junk
They are usually cards that distribute Curses. These are Witch, Torturer, Sea Hag, Familiar, Mountebank, Young Witch and Ill-Gotten-Gains (which is per definition no attack card). Then there are Looters which distribute Ruins. These are Marauder and Cultist. And then there are cards that distribute other cards, possibly including Curses and Ruins. These are Ambassador, Swindler and Jester.
Attacks that muck with your deck order
These are cards that discard the good cards from your deck. These are Spy, Scrying Pool, Rabble, Fortune Teller and Oracle. Ghost Ship and Bureaucrat make you put cards from your hand back on top of your deck.
