Draw

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Laboratory, the archetype for this category.

Contents

Official Rules

  • "+X Card(s)" – the player immediately draws X number of cards from his Deck. If there are not enough cards in his Deck, he draws as many as he can, shuffles the Discard pile to form a new Deck, and then draws the rest. If he still does not have enough cards left after forming a new Deck, he just draws as many as he can.


Different uses of the term "Draw"

In Dominion, the word "Draw" has been used in multiple ways.

  • Synonymous with +Cards, as seen from the rules quote above
  • As a concept for describing capabilities of certain decks.


Draw concept definition

Draw is any combination of cards that increases the number of cards in hand, without decreasing the number of actions remaining.

The presence of draw in a given kingdom is important because having a cap on the number of cards you can have in your hand is a significant limiting factor in the potential of decks you’re able to build; Kingdoms with draw and kingdoms without draw play very differently. Without the presence of draw in a kingdom, the focus of most decks shifts to the cantrips, plus the most desirable non-drawing cards available.


List of Draw cards

Cards that can provide the draw effect will be listed below. Without the presence of at least one card on this list, it is impossible for a kingdom to have "draw" as defined above. However, the presence of most of the cards below does not necessarily mean that draw is possible -- some of the cards require some level of support to achieve the draw effect. Draw cards are sorted into sections according to what type of support they require in order to give the draw effect.


Draw that doesn’t require a lot of support

The length of this list is pretty short compared to everything else; these cards just draw you cards if that’s what you want. If you need to meet a requirement in order to enable that draw, it’s usually not a huge deal to do so.

AlchemistAlchemist.jpg, ArchiveArchive.jpg, CaravanCaravan.jpg, Cursed VillageCursed Village.jpg, Den of SinDen of Sin.jpg, GovernorGovernor.jpg, HirelingHireling.jpg, Hunting PartyHunting Party.jpg, LaboratoryLaboratory.jpg, Lost CityLost City.jpg, SaunaSauna.jpg/AvantoAvanto.jpg, StablesStables.jpg


Draw that requires some other non-Village support

Most draw cards require some support in order to work. With this list of cards, you will need some support in order to make them work, but the support is there often enough that it’s frequently worth using these cards as a source of draw.

  • AdvisorAdvisor.jpg needs a deck with few enough bad cards in it that you can reasonably expect to draw something good.
  • ApprenticeApprentice.jpg needs a deck with enough expensive cards that you can afford to trash some without ruining the potential of your deck.
  • ApothecaryApothecary.jpg can’t increase the number of non-Copper cards in your hand, which is a huge mark against it in terms of actual draw; you usually need some other enabler like WarehouseWarehouse.jpg to make it function as draw, otherwise its effect is closer to sifting.
  • CityCity.jpg needs a way to empty a supply pile quickly enough to be useful as a source of draw.
  • ExpeditionExpedition.jpg needs additional buys and money because you have to buy it repeatedly.
  • GhostGhost.jpg, GolemGolem.jpg, King's CourtKing's Court.jpg, PathfindingPathfinding.jpg, TeacherTeacher.jpg's +1 Card token, and PrincePrince.jpg need Action cards to find in your deck that you’re happy to play and/or use as sources of draw, even if they only have +1 Card (which is not normally enough by itself to give you a draw effect).
  • ImpImp.jpg needs enough unique cards in your deck to play with its ability, otherwise it will need Village support.
  • MenagerieMenagerie.jpg needs a deck that can provide opportunities to activate its draw ability.
  • StorytellerStoryteller.jpg needs high-value treasures, or having money before playing it, to work as draw.
  • SeerSeer.jpg needs a deck consisting of cheap cards to draw any cards.
  • Will-o'-WispWill-o'-Wisp.jpg can be hard to get, plus it doesn’t always draw you an extra card.
  • Wishing WellWishing Well.jpg normally only works as draw when you have some way of knowing what the second card of your deck is, which requires somewhat narrow support.

Draw that requires village support

All of these cards are terminal when used for their draw ability. In order to achieve the above definition for draw, the support of a Village in the kingdom is required.

Be careful, though, that you consider the village you plan to use with these draw cards, and make sure it will actually work. For example, if your village is FestivalFestival.jpg and your draw card is MoatMoat.jpg, your hand size hasn't actually increased while maintaining the action count.

CatacombsCatacombs.jpg, Council RoomCouncil Room.jpg, CourtyardCourtyard.jpg, CultistCultist.jpg, DiplomatDiplomat.jpg, EnchantressEnchantress.jpg, EmbassyEmbassy.jpg, EnvoyEnvoy.jpg, Faithful HoundFaithful Hound.jpg, GearGear.jpg, Ghost ShipGhost Ship.jpg, Haunted WoodsHaunted Woods.jpg, Hunting GroundsHunting Grounds.jpg, JourneymanJourneyman.jpg, LibraryLibrary.jpg, MargraveMargrave.jpg, MasqueradeMasquerade.jpg, MoatMoat.jpg, NoblesNobles.jpg, Old WitchOld Witch.jpg, PatrolPatrol.jpg, PookaPooka.jpg, RabbleRabble.jpg, RangerRanger.jpg, Royal BlacksmithRoyal Blacksmith.jpg, Silk MerchantSilk Merchant.jpg, SmithySmithy.jpg, StewardSteward.jpg, SwashbucklerSwashbuckler.jpg, TorturerTorturer.jpg, Tragic HeroTragic Hero.jpg, VaultVault.jpg, WatchtowerWatchtower.jpg, WerewolfWerewolf.jpg, WharfWharf.jpg, Wild HuntWild Hunt.jpg, WitchWitch.jpg

Draw with serious issues

The cards in this list can be used, in theory, to meet the requirements for draw; but it’s usually extremely difficult or impossible without very strong support. Many of these cards are good cards, but they don’t serve the purpose of meeting the objective of the draw definition very well. That’s not to say that you can’t make them work in a pinch when nothing better is available, but it’s a lot of work and frequently won’t be worth it to pursue.

  • CryptCrypt.jpg will increase your hand size, but the issue here is that you can’t use just Crypt to draw your deck in any meaningful way, as other cards that you might want could be “trapped” in duration-land with these cards. Plus, it only works on Treasure cards.
  • CultistCultist.jpg has an on-trash benefit of +3 Cards. While this works well as draw, the number of times you can use this is usually limited to the number of Cultists you have that you're willing to trash from your deck (or from the supply with LurkerLurker.jpg).
  • IronmongerIronmonger.jpg can increase your handsize, but in order to get this to happen reliably, you need a high density of victory cards in your deck, which usually makes decks much worse and doesn’t function well without another source of draw.
  • MadmanMadman.jpg is a one-shot and is tough to gain.
  • MagpieMagpie.jpg only works on treasure cards
  • WarriorWarrior.jpg can be tough to get a lot of, and usually aren’t good at drawing cards until you get a ChampionChampion.jpg out.
  • PatricianPatrician.jpg is difficult to enable, especially if you want to have a lot of Patricians, plus there are only five of them.
  • SettlersSettlers.jpg/Bustling VillageBustling Village.jpg are very difficult to enable, and most of the draw you can expect to get from these cards is just Coppers.
  • Shanty TownShanty Town.jpg‘s draw very rarely happens and is pretty much impossible to make reliable.
  • SummonSummon.jpg can work as draw but is expensive and it only effectively gives you one card worth of draw.
  • VagrantVagrant.jpg can usually only draw cards that aren’t very good, so it’s more of a sifter than a draw card in real games of Dominion.

Draw that doesn’t work out in practice

These cards, while you can theoretically make them work as draw, have issues that are serious enough that they can almost never provide the draw effect in a real game of Dominion.

  • AdventurerAdventurer.jpg can only draw treasures, and requires Village support to fit this definition.
  • BeggarBeggar.jpg and Counting HouseCounting House.jpg are not only terminal, but they only draw Coppers, so you need to convert that into better cards. Beggar gains you a whole bunch of Coppers which you have to deal with somehow, and Counting House requires you to have Coppers in your discard to work at all.
  • Boons can sometimes increase your hand size in some cases with The Sea's GiftThe Sea's Gift.jpg or The River's GiftThe River's Gift.jpg, but these are unpredictable, weak effects that are impractical to try to plan around.
  • CobblerCobbler.jpg and SaveSave.jpg are forms of pushing a card from one turn to the next, but are limited enough in their utility that they don't work out well in practice.
  • DuplicateDuplicate.jpg has interactions with the gain-to-hand abilities RocksRocks.jpg and GuardianGuardian.jpg which can increase hand size. While this fits the definition of draw here, it's completely impractical.
  • FortressFortress.jpg needs to be combined with some very specific sources of trashing in order to function as draw, which is convoluted enough that it’s almost never possible; the main exception being with ProcessionProcession.jpg.
  • Jack of All TradesJack of All Trades.jpg has many abilities, but the draw-to-5 isn't powerful enough to overcome the fact that a deck that uses this as its only source of draw is brought down by the constant treasure-gain from Jack.
  • ScoutScout.jpg can only draw Victory cards, which are useful so rarely that Scout is almost never a good addition to any deck.
  • TributeTribute.jpg isn’t reliable enough at drawing cards to work out.
  • VillaVilla.jpg increases hand size when gained and returns to the Action phase, so it technically fits the definition of draw. With AlmsAlms.jpg this can function as draw once per turn, but isn't practical.

Cards Gallery

Draw that doesn’t require a lot of support

Alchemist.jpgArchive.jpgCaravan.jpgCounting House.jpgCursed Village.jpgDen of Sin.jpgGovernor.jpgHireling.jpgHunting Party.jpgLaboratory.jpgLost City.jpgSauna.jpgAvanto.jpgStables.jpg


Draw that requires some other non-Village support

Advisor.jpgApprentice.jpgApothecary.jpgCity.jpgCity Quarter.jpgCrossroads.jpgEncampment.jpgGhost.jpgGolem.jpgHerald.jpgImp.jpgKing's Court.jpgMenagerie.jpgMinion.jpgPrince.jpgScrying Pool.jpgShepherd.jpgStoryteller.jpgTactician.jpgTeacher.jpgWill-o'-Wisp.jpgWishing Well.jpg

Expedition.jpgPathfinding.jpg


Draw that requires village support

Catacombs.jpgCouncil Room.jpgCourtyard.jpgCultist.jpgDiplomat.jpgEnchantress.jpgEmbassy.jpgEnvoy.jpgFaithful Hound.jpgGear.jpgGhost Ship.jpgHaunted Woods.jpgHunting Grounds.jpgJourneyman.jpgLibrary.jpgMargrave.jpgMasquerade.jpgMoat.jpgNobles.jpgPatrol.jpgPooka.jpgRabble.jpgRanger.jpgRoyal Blacksmith.jpgSmithy.jpgSteward.jpgTorturer.jpgTragic Hero.jpgVault.jpgWatchtower.jpgWerewolf.jpgWharf.jpgWild Hunt.jpgWitch.jpg

Draw with serious issues

Crypt.jpgGhost Town.jpgHaven.jpgIronmonger.jpgMadman.jpgMagpie.jpgNative Village.jpgRoyal Carriage.jpgSettlers.jpgBustling Village.jpgShanty Town.jpgVagrant.jpgWarrior.jpg

Summon.jpg


Draw that doesn’t work out in practice

Beggar.jpgCobbler.jpgCounting House.jpgDuplicate.jpgFortress.jpgJack of All Trades.jpgSir Destry.jpgTrusty Steed.jpgVilla.jpgZombie Apprentice.jpg

Save.jpgThe River's Gift.jpgThe Sea's Gift.jpg


Removed Cards

Adventurer.jpgScout.jpgTribute.jpg


Dominion Game Mechanics
Turn Phases ActionBuyNightClean-up
Vanilla Bonuses +Card • +Action+Buy • +Coin
Tokens AdventuresCoin (Coffers, Villager, Favors) • DebtVictory
Other mechanics CallCost reductionDiscardExchangeExileGainOverpayPassPayRevealRotateSet asideTrash
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