Cost reduction
(→List of cost-reducers) |
(Adding blurb about costs of Events and Projects not affected) |
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:''[All cards or some subset of cards] (including cards in players' hands) cost {{Cost|X}} less this turn, but not less than {{Cost|0}}.'' | :''[All cards or some subset of cards] (including cards in players' hands) cost {{Cost|X}} less this turn, but not less than {{Cost|0}}.'' | ||
| − | Reducing a cost in {{Cost}} does not reduce a cost in {{Debt}} or {{P}}. | + | Reducing a cost in {{Cost}} does not reduce a cost in {{Debt}} or {{P}}. Reducing the cost of cards does not affect the cost of [[Event|Events]] or [[Project|Projects]]. |
== List of cost-reducers == | == List of cost-reducers == | ||
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Most cards that reference a specific cost in {{Cost}} do well with cost-reducers, as most such cards use the specific cost as an upper limit. For example, {{Card|Workshop}} can gain any card costing up to {{Cost|4}}; without cost reduction, this effect is rather weak, but with four Highways in play, a Workshop can gain Provinces. On the other hand, cards that give a scaling effect per cost in {{Cost}} of another card (most often [[trash for benefit]] cards) will do ''less'' well with cost-reducers, as their effect will be diminished, and cards that reference a cheaper card will give no effect if their cost has been reduced to {{Cost|0}}. For examples, trashing a {{Card|Silver}} to an {{Card|Apprentice}} when you have Princess in play will only draw you one card, and with five Highways in play, {{Card|Band of Misfits}} can't do anything. | Most cards that reference a specific cost in {{Cost}} do well with cost-reducers, as most such cards use the specific cost as an upper limit. For example, {{Card|Workshop}} can gain any card costing up to {{Cost|4}}; without cost reduction, this effect is rather weak, but with four Highways in play, a Workshop can gain Provinces. On the other hand, cards that give a scaling effect per cost in {{Cost}} of another card (most often [[trash for benefit]] cards) will do ''less'' well with cost-reducers, as their effect will be diminished, and cards that reference a cheaper card will give no effect if their cost has been reduced to {{Cost|0}}. For examples, trashing a {{Card|Silver}} to an {{Card|Apprentice}} when you have Princess in play will only draw you one card, and with five Highways in play, {{Card|Band of Misfits}} can't do anything. | ||
| − | Since cost reduction affects cards but not | + | Since cost reduction affects cards but not Events, it is less useful for strategies that depend heavily on buying Events. |
{{Navbox Mechanics}} | {{Navbox Mechanics}} | ||
Revision as of 13:49, 15 November 2018
Cost reduction is a recurring mechanic in Dominion. Rather than directly fielding coin, cost-reducers decrease the cost of cards, an effect which becomes more valuable with more buys. Typical cost reduction instructions follow this wording:
- [All cards or some subset of cards] (including cards in players' hands) cost
less this turn, but not less than 
.
Reducing a cost in 
does not reduce a cost in 
or 
. Reducing the cost of cards does not affect the cost of Events or Projects.
List of cost-reducers
- Bridge - the archetypal cost-reducer
- Quarry - only affects Actions
- Peddler - only reduces its own cost during the Buy phase, depending on how many Actions are in play
- Princess - reduces costs by
, but only one copy
- Highway - cantrip
- Bridge Troll - effectively increases costs for opponents with the –
token
- Ferry - reduces a single Supply pile's cost by
- Inventor - gains a card costing up to
before cost reduction kicks in
- Canal - reduces costs on your turn for the rest of the game
Strategy
Most cards that reference a specific cost in do well with cost-reducers, as most such cards use the specific cost as an upper limit. For example, Workshop can gain any card costing up to ; without cost reduction, this effect is rather weak, but with four Highways in play, a Workshop can gain Provinces. On the other hand, cards that give a scaling effect per cost in of another card (most often trash for benefit cards) will do less well with cost-reducers, as their effect will be diminished, and cards that reference a cheaper card will give no effect if their cost has been reduced to . For examples, trashing a Silver to an Apprentice when you have Princess in play will only draw you one card, and with five Highways in play, Band of Misfits can't do anything.
Since cost reduction affects cards but not Events, it is less useful for strategies that depend heavily on buying Events.
