Editing Empires

{{Infobox Set
|name = Empires
|type = Expansion

|cards = 300
|kingdomcards = 242
|kingdomsets = 24
|randomizers = 24
|othercards =
* 13 [[Event]]s 
* 21 [[Landmark]]s
|release = June 8, 2016

|tokens =
* 40 [[Debt]] tokens
* 24 1{{VP}} tokens
* 12 2{{VP}} tokens
* 20 5{{VP}} tokens

|theme = 
* [[Debt]]
* [[Split pile]]s
* {{VP}} [[Victory token|tokens]]
* [[Landmark]]s
|coverartist = [[Martin Hoffmann]] and [[Claus Stephan]]
|rulebook = https://www.riograndegames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Dominion-Empires-Rules.pdf
}}

'''Empires''' is the tenth expansion to Dominion.  The box contains 24 sets of Kingdom Cards. It introduces the [[Debt]] mechanic, [[Split pile]]s, [[Gathering]] cards, and [[Landmark|Landmarks]].  It also reintroduces {{VP}} [[Victory token|tokens]] and [[Event|Events]].
== Contents ==
=== Kingdom cards ===
There are 12 {{Card|Castles}} (2 copies each of {{Card|Humble Castle}}, {{Card|Small Castle}}, {{Card|Opulent Castle}}, and {{Card|King's Castle}}; 1 copy each of the rest), 5 copies of each half of each [[split pile]] (pairs of cards separated by a slash), and 10 copies each of the rest.
* {{Debt|4}}: {{Card|Engineer}}
* {{Debt|8}}: {{Card|City Quarter}}, {{Card|Overlord}}, {{Card|Royal Blacksmith}}
* {{Cost|2}}: {{Card|Encampment}}/{{Card|Plunder}}, {{Card|Patrician}}/{{Card|Emporium}}, {{Card|Settlers}}/{{Card|Bustling Village}}
* {{Cost|3}}: {{Card|Castles}}, {{Card|Catapult}}/{{Card|Rocks}}, {{Card|Chariot Race}}, {{Card|Enchantress}}, {{Card|Farmers' Market}}, {{Card|Gladiator}}/{{Card|Fortune}}
* {{Cost|4}}: {{Card|Sacrifice}}, {{Card|Temple}}, {{Card|Villa}}
* {{Cost|5}}: {{Card|Archive}}, {{Card|Capital}}, {{Card|Charm}}, {{Card|Crown}}, {{Card|Forum}}, {{Card|Groundskeeper}}, {{Card|Legionary}}, {{Card|Wild Hunt}}

=== Events ===
* {{Debt|5}}: {{Event|Triumph}}
* {{Debt|8}}: {{Event|Annex}}, {{Event|Donate}}
* {{Cost|0}}: {{Event|Advance}}
* {{Cost|2}}: {{Event|Delve}}, {{Event|Tax}}
* {{Cost|3}}: {{Event|Banquet}}
* {{Cost|4}}: {{Event|Ritual}}, {{Event|Salt the Earth}}
* {{Cost|4||3}}: {{Event|Wedding}}
* {{Cost|5}}: {{Event|Windfall}}
* {{Cost|6}}: {{Event|Conquest}}
* {{Cost|14}}: {{Event|Dominate}}

=== Landmarks ===
* {{Landmark|Aqueduct}}
* {{Landmark|Arena}}
* {{Landmark|Bandit Fort}}
* {{Landmark|Basilica}}
* {{Landmark|Baths}}
* {{Landmark|Battlefield}}
* {{Landmark|Colonnade}}
* {{Landmark|Defiled Shrine}}
* {{Landmark|Fountain}}
* {{Landmark|Keep}}
* {{Landmark|Labyrinth}}
* {{Landmark|Mountain Pass}}
* {{Landmark|Museum}}
* {{Landmark|Obelisk}}
* {{Landmark|Orchard}}
* {{Landmark|Palace}}
* {{Landmark|Tomb}}
* {{Landmark|Tower}}
* {{Landmark|Triumphal Arch}}
* {{Landmark|Wall}}
* {{Landmark|Wolf Den}}

=== Additional materials ===
==== Tokens ====
The English releases uses metal tokens; some foreign releases use cardboard tokens instead.
* 40 {{Debt}} [[Debt|tokens]]
* 56 {{VP}} [[Victory token|tokens]]:
** 24 1{{VP}} tokens
** 12 2{{VP}} tokens
** 20 5{{VP}} tokens

== Flavor text ==
{{Quote|
 |Text=The world is big and your kingdom gigantic. It's no longer a kingdom really; it's an empire. Which makes you the emperor. This entitles you to a better chair, plus you can name a salad after yourself. It's not easy being emperor. The day starts early, when you light the sacred flame; then it's hours of committee meetings, trying to establish exactly why the sacred flame keeps going out. Sometimes your armies take over a continent and you just have no idea where to put it. And there's the risk of assassination; you have a food taster, who tastes anything before you eat it, and a dagger tester, who gets stabbed by anything before it stabs you. You've taken to staying at home whenever it's the Ides of anything. Still overall it's a great job. You wouldn't trade it for the world - especially given how much of the world you already have.
 |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 |Source=[http://riograndegames.com/Game/1306-Dominion-Empires Rio Grande Games]
}}
== Cards gallery ==
=== Kingdom cards ===
{{CardImage|Engineer}}{{CardImage|City_Quarter}}{{CardImage|Overlord}}{{CardImage|Royal_Blacksmith}}{{CardImage|Encampment}}{{CardImage|Plunder}}{{CardImage|Patrician}}{{CardImage|Emporium}}{{CardImage|Settlers}}{{CardImage|Bustling_Village}}{{CardImage|Castles}}{{CardImage|Catapult}}{{CardImage|Rocks}}{{CardImage|Chariot_Race}}{{CardImage|Enchantress}}{{CardImage|Farmers'_Market}}{{CardImage|Gladiator}}{{CardImage|Fortune}}{{CardImage|Sacrifice}}{{CardImage|Temple}}{{CardImage|Villa}}{{CardImage|Archive}}{{CardImage|Capital}}{{CardImage|Charm}}{{CardImage|Crown}}{{CardImage|Forum}}{{CardImage|Groundskeeper}}{{CardImage|Legionary}}{{CardImage|Wild_Hunt}}
=== [[Castle]]s ===
{{CardImage|Humble_Castle}}{{CardImage|Crumbling_Castle}}{{CardImage|Small_Castle}}{{CardImage|Haunted_Castle}}{{CardImage|Opulent_Castle}}{{CardImage|Sprawling_Castle}}{{CardImage|Grand_Castle}}{{CardImage|King's_Castle}}

=== Events ===
{{EventImage|Triumph}}{{EventImage|Annex}}{{EventImage|Donate}}{{EventImage|Advance}}{{EventImage|Delve}}{{EventImage|Tax}}{{EventImage|Banquet}}{{EventImage|Ritual}}{{EventImage|Salt_the_Earth}}{{EventImage|Wedding}}{{EventImage|Windfall}}{{EventImage|Conquest}}{{EventImage|Dominate}}
=== Landmarks ===
{{EventImage|Aqueduct}}{{EventImage|Arena}}{{EventImage|Bandit_Fort}}{{EventImage|Basilica}}{{EventImage|Baths}}{{EventImage|Battlefield}}{{EventImage|Colonnade}}{{EventImage|Defiled_Shrine}}{{EventImage|Fountain}}{{EventImage|Keep}}{{EventImage|Labyrinth}}{{EventImage|Mountain_Pass}}{{EventImage|Museum}}{{EventImage|Obelisk}}{{EventImage|Orchard}}{{EventImage|Palace}}{{EventImage|Tomb}}{{EventImage|Tower}}{{EventImage|Triumphal_Arch}}{{EventImage|Wall}}{{EventImage|Wolf_Den}}

== Impact ==
Empires was the first "normal-sized" 300-card set since [[Hinterlands]], and yet managed to introduce the most unique cards (and card-like objects) of any set until then, due to Split piles, Events and Landmarks.  This, along with its heavy theme of {{Debt}} and {{VP}} tokens, makes it probably the most complex set released in Dominion.  As [[Adventures]] before it was intended as a [[Seaside]] sequel, Empires acts a [[Prosperity]] sequel, and like its predecessor, offers a great deal of tools for [[engine]]s and [[Alt-VP]] strategies.

Like the increasingly complex sets that came before it, Empires broke new ground in terms of card effects and properties, such as a few new [[cost]]s (including a {{Cost|10}} and a {{Cost|14}}), a [[Duration]] that stays out for three turns, a card that returns you to your Action phase from your Buy phase, a [[handsize attack]] that makes you discard down to 2 cards in hand, an [[Attack]] that changes how your opponents' cards work, a way to prevent yourself from being able to buy anything for the rest of the game, a way to bid, sources of negative {{VP}} other than {{Card|Curse|Curses}}, and the first [[Action]]-[[Treasure]] in the game.

=== Debt ===
The Debt mechanic allows players to buy certain cards and Events earlier than usual, while spreading the cost across future turns.  This can shake up openings, though most of the Debt cards are not particularly useful early in the game.  They are, however, almost all quite powerful in the mid- to late-game, and players ignore them at their peril. 

=== Victory tokens ===
In Prosperity, {{VP}} [[Victory token|tokens]] were introduced via three fairly simple cards, but there was still a fair amount of design space left to use with them.  Empires takes the idea and runs with it, with almost half the set using {{VP}} tokens in one way or another.  These cards give players many more options to victory other than simply working towards {{Card|Province|Provinces}}, adding much more variety to the game than the simple addition of more Kingdom cards.

=== Split piles ===
While the idea of more than one different card in a pile is not new, having been used in [[Dark Ages]], the [[Knight]]s and [[Ruins]] piles were each essentially variations on a single theme.  Split piles, with two completely different cards in a pile, adds a new dynamic to the game.  Having only 5 copies of a potentially key card adds competition, particularly in games with more than 2 players, and having to get through half the pile before being able to access the typically more powerful bottom cards also livens things up.

=== Landmarks ===
Where Adventures added Events, buyable effects not tied to cards in your deck, Empires adds Landmarks, allowing new scoring rules to be added to the game.  While some can be innocuous, simply adding a few {{VP}} here and there, others, in particular the penalizing Landmarks, can drastically affect gameplay, and how players choose to go about their strategies.

=== Engines ===
Empires adds quite a lot of cards and Events that are friendly to engines:
* {{Card|Engineer}} - gains engine components and can later remove itself
* {{Card|City Quarter}} - a powerful drawing [[Village (card category)|village]]
* {{Card|Overlord}} - can emulate most engine pieces, and can be acquired early
* {{Card|Royal Blacksmith}} - the most powerful static [[terminal draw]] in the game
* {{Card|Encampment}} - an incredibly cheap {{Card|Lost City}}
* {{Card|Patrician}} - does well in high-cost engines
* {{Card|Emporium}} - rewards engine building
* {{Card|Bustling Village}} - gives the highest consistent number of Actions of any village
* {{Card|Chariot Race}} - does well in high-cost engines
* {{Card|Fortune}} - arguably the most powerful card in the game, able to double the {{Cost}} output of an engine
* {{Card|Sacrifice}} - a powerful [[soft terminal]] [[trasher]]
* {{Card|Temple}} - a good trasher that also gains {{VP}}
* {{Card|Villa}} - allows for all sorts of engine shenanigans
* {{Card|Archive}} - allows an engine to function with little to no trashing
* {{Card|Capital}} - allows the early purchasing of expensive engine pieces
* {{Card|Charm}} - allows the gaining of multiple like-costed engine pieces, particularly ones costing {{Debt}}
* {{Card|Crown}} - flexible, and allows for multiplying on more boards
* {{Card|Groundskeeper}} - functions best within an engine
* {{Card|Wild Hunt}} - decent draw that also gains {{VP}}
* {{Event|Triumph}} - rewards engines that gain many things per turn
* {{Event|Donate}} - arguably the most powerful Event in the game, can get an engine going extremely quickly
* {{Event|Advance}} - allows the early gaining of expensive engine pieces
* {{Event|Salt the Earth}} - allows a player that is ahead to end the game quickly
* {{Event|Windfall}} - rewards an engine that can draw your entire deck
* {{Event|Dominate}} - only realistically achievable with an engine
* {{Landmark|Colonnade}} - rewards engines that rely on multiple copies of an Action
* {{Landmark|Labyrinth}} - rewards engines that gain more than one card per turn
* {{Landmark|Orchard}} - rewards engines with multiple copies of different Actions
* {{Landmark|Tomb}} - rewards trashing, which is usually essential for an engine
* {{Landmark|Tower}} - rewards engines that [[Three-pile ending|three-pile]]
* {{Landmark|Triumphal Arch}} - rewards engines with multiple copies of different Actions

=== Big Money ===
Empires has a few Big Money enablers:
* {{Card|Plunder}} - can help a Big Money player get an extra edge in {{VP}}
* {{Card|Crown}} - having {{Cost|5}} in your hand instead of {{Cost|6}} means you have to forgo {{Card|Gold}}, but {{Card|Crown}} is never a bad buy for Big Money.
* {{Card|Legionary}} - a brutal Attack that rewards you for having {{Card|Gold}}
* {{Event|Delve}} - makes {{Card|Silver}} easier to get
* {{Event|Wedding}} - makes Gold easier to get
* {{Event|Conquest}} - rewards you for getting Silver
* {{Landmark|Aqueduct}} - rewards gaining lots of Silver and Gold, then [[greening]] early
* {{Landmark|Fountain}} - rewards having extra {{Card|Copper}}
* {{Landmark|Palace}} - rewards having extra Silver and Gold

However, Empires also has a couple Landmarks that actively penalize Big Money strategies:
* {{Landmark|Bandit Fort}} - penalizes having Silver and Gold
* {{Landmark|Wall}} - penalizes bloated decks that don't trash

== Theme ==
Empires is in some respects conceived as a sequel to [[Prosperity]] and shares many of the same structural themes: like Prosperity, it includes [[Victory token]]s, a large number of Kingdom [[Treasure]] cards, several relatively expensive cards, and relatively few [[Attack]] cards. 

* 6 Debt cards: {{Card|Engineer}}, {{Card|City Quarter}}, {{Card|Overlord}}, {{Card|Royal Blacksmith}}, {{Card|Fortune}}, {{Card|Capital}}
* 9 Victory token cards: {{Card|Plunder}}, {{Card|Emporium}}, {{Card|Castles}}, {{Card|Chariot Race}}, {{Card|Farmers' Market}}, {{Card|Sacrifice}}, {{Card|Temple}}, {{Card|Groundskeeper}}, {{Card|Wild Hunt}}
* 6 Split piles: {{Card|Encampment}}/{{Card|Plunder}}, {{Card|Patrician}}/{{Card|Emporium}}, {{Card|Settlers}}/{{Card|Bustling Village}}, {{Card|Castles}}, {{Card|Catapult}}/{{Card|Rocks}}, {{Card|Gladiator}}/{{Card|Fortune}}
* 7 Special Treasures: {{Card|Plunder}}, {{Card|Humble Castle}}, {{Card|Rocks}}, {{Card|Fortune}}, {{Card|Capital}}, {{Card|Charm}}, {{Card|Crown}}
* 5 off-theme cards: {{Card|Enchantress}}, {{Card|Villa}}, {{Card|Archive}}, {{Card|Forum}}, {{Card|Legionary}}
There are also 13 Events:
* 5 use Debt: {{Event|Triumph}}, {{Event|Annex}}, {{Event|Donate}}, {{Event|Tax}}, {{Event|Wedding}}
* 6 use Victory tokens: {{Event|Triumph}}, {{Event|Ritual}}, {{Event|Salt the Earth}}, {{Event|Wedding}}, {{Event|Conquest}}, {{Event|Dominate}}
There are also 21 Landmarks:
* 1 uses Debt: {{Event|Mountain Pass}}
* 10 use Victory tokens: {{Landmark|Aqueduct}}, {{Landmark|Arena}}, {{Landmark|Basilica}}, {{Landmark|Baths}}, {{Landmark|Battlefield}}, {{Landmark|Colonnade}}, {{Landmark|Defiled Shrine}}, {{Landmark|Labyrinth}}, {{Landmark|Mountain Pass}}, {{Landmark|Tomb}}

== Trivia ==
Donald X. stated a couple weeks before release that Empires has a Roman flavor in terms of theme.  It was the first set to be released in the [[second edition]] layout style.

=== In other languages ===
* Dutch: Keizerrijken
* Finnish: Keisarikunta (lit. ''Empire'' - singular)
* German: Empires
* Japanese: 帝国 (pron. ''teikoku'')
* Polish: Imperium (lit. ''Empire'' - singular)
* Russian: Империи (pron. ''impyerii'')

There are currently no plans to release Empires in French, despite there being French translations for every previous set.

=== Non-medieval themes for future expansions ===
{{Quote
|Text=I think the ancient Rome stuff sits next to the medieval stuff and doesn't look so out of place. The Roman empire lasted a long time past its heyday, and they weren't so far behind in technology from the dark ages. Modern stuff would clash in a way that Rome didn't.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg869514#msg869514 Interview with Donald X.]
}}
=== Pre-teaser ===
A couple days before the teaser (which itself would come a couple days before actual previews), Donald X. dropped some news on changes in layout of cards.
{{Quote
|Text=Well this is unprecedented, but I'm not made of stone. Here are some spoilers about card layout.

* A bigger font is used on cards that don't have lots of text.
* "They" is used instead of "he."
* +'s in the body of text are now in bold.
* Card texts are more carefully centered than ever before.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=14665.msg594525#msg594525 Dominion: Empires Announced!]
}}
=== Teasers ===
{{Quote
|Text=Dominion: Empires has:

* 76 pieces of card art.
* 60 {{VP}} symbols.
* 16 red hexagons.
* 10 uses of "Setup."
* 2 [[Duration]] cards.
* 2 ways to trash cards from the Supply.
* An [[Action]]-[[Treasure]] card.
* An [[Event]] costing {{Cost|14}}.
* A way to double your money.
* A way to bid.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=15340.0 Empires Teasers!]
}}
=== Secret history ===
{{Quote|Text=One evening on a vacation, I paced around, the only one awake, thinking about what the future could possibly hold for Dominion. Was there anything great left to do? I jotted down some notes, then typed it all up when I got home.

Of the stuff I came up with, a few things went together, to make a kind of [[Prosperity]] sequel. It would have more {{VP}} tokens, those seemed like they had a lot more life in them than just those 3 Prosperity cards. Some "bonus" cards of some sort would award {{VP}} at the end of the game, like Kingdom Builder scoring methods. There would be giant expensive cards that you could pay for later. There would be cards that effectively didn't cost a Buy to buy. Special treasures could be a focus again. And there were three or so other ideas that did not actually make it. I like to tell the whole story, but who knows, I might need that stuff someday. Anyway you can only fit so much stuff in an expansion.

Initially the big thing I wanted out of {{VP}} tokens was, cards you trash for {{VP}} based on the game state. So, they would count things that conventional [[Victory]] cards can't, like how many [[Action]]s you managed to get into play at once. So I tried several of those and well in the end there's Emporium (which just checks a threshold) and Triumph (an Event). The original concepts didn't work out, but there are a zillion ways to make {{VP}} in this set so it was not much of a loss. A key thing was to try to avoid "golden decks" - where you just make points every turn without pushing the game towards ending. So most of the {{VP}} token stuff is tied to gaining cards, or trashing cards, or will run out some other way.

I didn't try the "bonus" cards for a while. When I finally got to them, they initially didn't matter enough, but it was easy to make them matter more and that all worked out. I made more and more of them and in the end there are 21. It could have been 20 Landmarks, 12 Events, 2 blanks, but I had the extra cards so in they went.

I had Debt from the start (and it had been in the ideas file for years). The first version though was a word on cards, "Debt," that meant you didn't need the {{Cost}} to buy the card, but went into Debt. The Debt tokens worked the same way as they do now. One day I thought of using a symbol, and the cards changed to things like "When you gain this during your turn, take [red coin with a 10 on it]." They were like that for a while, before finally I put the symbol into the [[cost]]. With Debt a significant concern was that you could just buy the card turn one, and if that was good it seemed like the game could be too scripted. So the big Debt cards always tried to not be good turn one, although it took a while to really get there. Originally the cards could all be bought with {{Cost|0}}, and in the end some have {{Cost}} costs too.

And cards that gave you +1 Buy when bought, I made a couple and then it seemed like, that was plenty.

One day Jeff Boschen complained that one of the Debt cards (an earlier version of City Quarter) was dominating games, that in particular you could always get all the copies you needed, even in a 2-player game. And I thought, hmmm, I could have piles that were only 5 cards. And then from there went immediately to, wait, 5 cards, then 5 of another card. And I tried some cards like that and it seemed pretty cool. You get to tie together the cards somehow. A big issue was making sure you would get through the top 5 often enough; not necessarily every game, but you know, not as some rare thing. So three are cheap [[cantrip]]s, and Gladiator eats its own pile for you.

I had no plans to have any [[Duration]] cards in this set, then somehow tried one, and then a couple more. The original one didn't make it but there are two Duration cards. The objection all these years was the amount of rulebook space Duration cards took in [[Seaside]], but in [[Adventures]] that rulebook space was small enough to not seem so bad to repeat.

Dominion is a medieval game; ancient Rome is not medieval. I remained wishy-washy on that issue, not quite wanting to go full-on ancient Rome. In the end the set is called Empires and has a bunch of Roman things. Roman empires were around for a while in various forms, extending into medieval times, so there.

Late in the going, Scott Colcord took it upon himself to get all of the recommended sets played. The recommended sets don't always get much attention and well these ones did make it to a table or two.

Empires started out as a kind of Prosperity sequel. And ended up as one; it has super-spendy cards (though you can pay for them later), more Treasures than other non-Prosperity sets, {{VP}} tokens, even a Treasure that makes {{Cost|6}} and an Event that gets you 15{{VP}}. One of Prosperity's less-obvious themes is player interaction; it ups the [[non-attack interaction]] to cope with having fewer attacks (which in turn was to make sure {{Card|Colony}} was reachable in enough games). Empires has that too. There are again only three attacks, but the 3 Gathering cards are all interactive, plus Chariot Race and Gladiator, plus Castles in that way {{VP}} piles can be; the split piles cause more competition for cards; and then some of the Events are interactive and many Landmarks are, and those don't even take up space in the usual 10 Kingdom cards.

I used every good Event idea that I had in Adventures. Still, why not try to make more? {{VP}} tokens helped a lot, and I ended up with 13 new Events.

Originally the Landmarks were all "when scoring" except it took a while for me to add the actual words "when scoring" to them. The first "6 VP per player" cards started with 12 VP, and I tried a few at "4 VP per player."

*** Outtakes ***

This time around I'm putting the outtakes in list form instead of paragraph form. I'm skipping some stuff mentioned above, and a few things that seem like I could maybe fix them up if I have to make more cards someday.

Regular card outtakes:
- The first card in the file is a {{Card|Witch}} variant that gives you +1 VP if the {{Card|Curse}}s have run out. That sounded nifty enough that it hung around for most of testing, though later versions triggered on buying a card. If you somehow got +1 Buy and then played it and bought two things, yeeha. Eventually the trigger started to seem bad, and then the whole card fell apart. And I replaced it with {{Card|Enchantress}}, hooray, a happy ending.

- {{Card|Village}}, you may trash this for +1{{VP}} per 2 Actions in play;

- and +2 Cards, you may trash this for +1{{VP}} per 2 cards in your hand. I liked the idea of cards you cashed in for {{VP}}, but well, you would generally like to hold onto the card until the last minute, and we've already had that experience with {{Card|Mining Village}}. They seemed like a good direction and then I fiddled with them and then they died.

- Right and a third one, a treasure worth {{Cost|1}}, may trash it to pay any amount of {{Cost}} for +{{Card|VP}}. That one you cashed in of course, since you didn't want the big {{Card|Copper}}. There were a 
couple versions; they were dominating and didn't seem worth pursuing.

- I tried several cards that cost a lot but let you go into {{Debt}}, that tried to look impressive and in the end were too impressive. First up, a new extra-turn card. I also had double your {{Cost}} in Fortune, and I felt like, double your {{Cost}}, with +1 Buy, was like an extra turn but way way faster to resolve.

- One of the most significant outtakes was a treasure that gave +1 Buy and produced {{Cost|1}} per Buy you had. So by default it made {{Cost|2}} and a Buy. But with other sources of +Buys it made more {{Cost}}. You could just play multiple copies of it and build up. If you think about it, it's like {{Card|Bridge}}, but gives you the {{Cost}} up front to divide how you want, instead of assigning {{Cost|1}} per purchase. It turns out that's strong. For a long time the card seemed on the edge of acceptable; gradually I got sick of it. I put it in the {{Card|Plunder}} slot and then killed it.

- There was a Witch that gave everyone else a {{Card|Curse}} and +1{{VP}}. It seemed cute; it's like giving them a {{Card|Ruined Village}}, but they end up ahead a {{Card|VP}} if they trash the {{Card|Curse}}. So do you still even want to give them these {{Card|Curse}}s? Yes, you still do, but not as much as usual. I still like the idea but well it wasn't popular. Tower can give you that "{{Card|Curse}}s are just blank" feeling.

- A {{Card|Knights|Knight}}-like attack trashed from the Supply if it missed. I decided {{Card|Salt the Earth}} was enough of that. Yes and {{Card|Gladiator}}.

- A couple attacks played around with playing cards you bought that turn; then I had a village that let you play a card from your hand when you gained it, and then I figured out how to do {{Card|Villa}}.

- I tried a Reaction that gave you +VP when attacked. Man. You load up on them and then hope they attack you. Even at once per round I wasn't happy with it.

- I tried giving other players VP as a penalty. It's not pretty-looking but was around for a while.

- +1 Action, get the {{Card|Silver}}s and another card from the top 4. Also you got +1{{VP}} per {{Card|Silver}} in play when you gained it (then, +1{{Card|VP}} per 2 {{Card|Silver}}s, then no {{VP}}). The top was crazy. I thought the bottom would survive somewhere in some form but it did not.

- Here's a {{Card|Venture}} variant, discard N cards to play the treasures from your top N cards. I have a very vague memory of trying this.

- There was a card that made each card you bought come with a {{Card|Silver}}. For a while I thought there would be a sub-theme of cards doing things when you bought other cards. Also I thought there would be a sub-theme of making {{Card|Silver}} more exciting.

- Treasure, name a card, worth {{Cost|1}} per copy of it you have in play (cost {{Cost|5}}). A super-{{Card|Coppersmith}}; if you name {{Card|Copper}} it's a {{Card|Coppersmith}} treasure, but you can name something else instead. It looked classic and got a lot of chances.

- Treasure version of {{Card|King's Court}}, with {{Debt}}. A dud.

- A cantrip super-{{Card|Remodel}} (up to +{{Cost|5}}) that had you take {{Debt}} equal to the amount you {{Card|Remodel}}'d up. {{Debt}} and {{Card|Remodel}}s are a poor combination, but I tried it multiple 
times anyway.

- {{Card|Mine}} 3 times, with a {{Debt}} cost. Then, trash a treasure to gain a treasure to hand - the same if you went {{Card|Copper}} to {{Card|Platinum}}, but usually weaker. It thought it had a shot, and spent some time in split piles.

- {{Card|Remodel}} 3 times, with a {{Debt}} cost. Debt? That's okay, I'm not going to be buying any more cards.

- In the same vein as {{Card|Farmers' Market}}, I tried a {{Card|Warehouse}}. You draw N cards then discard N, N being the number of tokens on the pile. And could optionally trash it to take the VP. {{Card|Farmers' Market}} made the concept work.

- There were a bunch of treasures I tried briefly for split pile slots. A treasure version of {{Card|Vault}}. A treasure that gained you a copy of a treasure in play. A treasure that played the {{Card|Copper}}s from your 3 top cards. A treasure that made cards the previous player had gained cheaper. A treasure (worth {{Cost|2}}) you could put on your deck ala {{Card|Treasury}}. A treasure worth {{Cost|1}} per other differently named treasure you had in play. A treasure that let you trash a card when gaining or trashing it. A treasure you cashed in for two {{Cost|3}}'s when you played it (that one goes back to Prosperity). A double {{Card|Harem}} - {{Cost|4}} and 4{{VP}} for {{Cost|10}}. You know it wouldn't have been embarrassing, but when its pile died I didn't miss it.

- There was a bigger {{Card|Wharf}} with {{Debt}} cost - +3 Cards this turn and next.

- Here's a {{Card|Wishing Well}} where you just need to get the type right, not the card name. Man I don't remember trying this. And next to it a version that could get 2 cards if they both matched.

- There were cards called Barbarian, don't think there weren't. Here's one where they name a card, then trash their top card if it costs {{Cost|3}}+ and isn't what they named. Then immediately a version where they revealed two cards; revealing one has worked on a few attacks but tends to be too random. My memory is this attack just never hits.

- I tried another permanent duration; +{{Cost|2}} each turn with the first Action card you play, with a {{Debt}} cost. It was in the running for a big debt slot, it seemed potentially balanceable but was not as fun as the competition.

- I tried a few things in the {{Card|Settlers}} slot, maybe not all in the file, but here's a 2-card {{Card|Cartographer}}.

- Each other player reveals 2 cards from their hand, trashes one you choose, gains a replacement to their hand with the same cost, also your choice. Attacks are hard.

- Ah yes, so many cards tried out for {{Card|Engineer}}'s slot. Here's an {{Card|Expand}} with on-use {{Debt}} that tried to dodge {{Card|Remodel}}/Debt issues by doing something different if you had any {{Debt}}. A +{{Cost|1}} {{Card|Remodel}} that had you draw 2 cards when you gained or trashed it; I still like the idea of a {{Card|Remodel}} that does something when gained/trashed. A +{{Cost|5}} Remodel that, when trashed, gave you a {{Cost|5}}. Yowza. Another one of these, gaining you a copy of a card in play with some limits to try not to go nuts. Another one with different limits, man. Okay here are 3 that involve putting {{VP}} on the pile. One is just a {{Card|Workshop}} that accumulates {{VP}} you can trash it to get; one counts down, it's reset to 5{{VP}} when a copy is gained, and when played gains a card for the number of {{VP}} on the pile and then gives you a {{VP}} from the pile, that was fun to try; and a {{Card|Workshop}} that adds or takes {{VP}} based on how much the card you gained cost. Finally, the one that held the slot for the longest out of these, a {{Card|Workshop}} that turns into {{Card|Remodel}} if a pile is empty. That seemed okay and like I could live with it if I couldn't do better, but I like {{Card|Engineer}} better.

Landmarks outtakes:

- 1{{VP}} per card costing {{Cost|4}} wasn't very interesting;

- ditto 1{{VP}} per card costing {{Cost|6}}+.

- 2{{VP}} per Attack seemed okay for a while but didn't survive. I then tried 2{{VP}} per card with 2+ types. It feels like {{Landmark|Obelisk}} covers "this random pile is worth points."

- 10{{VP}} if you have at least 3 {{Card|Curse}}s; not the best way to use {{Card|Curse}}s.

- 5{{VP}} if the game ended on your turn; that looks interesting but isn't really and could cause a stalemate.

- -1{{VP}} per {{Card|Duchy}} -2{{VP}} per {{Card|Province}}; what is there to say.

- If the {{Card|Province}}s are empty, 2{{VP}} per {{Card|Estate}}; that's a classic thing that didn't work out in Victory card form or here either.

- In a similar vein, 1{{VP}} per empty Supply pile per {{Card|Province}} you have.

- When "1{{VP}} per {{Cost|6}}" didn't work out I tried "take 2{{VP}} from here when you gain {{Card|Gold}}."

- There's one that gave you 2{{VP}} for shuffling; it just doesn't make a difference.

- One gave +1{{VP}} for starting your Buy phase with 6+ cards in hand.

- I tried a few versions of "At the start of your turn, you may gain a {{Card|Copper}}, to take 2{{VP}} from here." It's kind of interesting, but some players just always take the {{Card|Copper}}, and sometimes you 
forget to take the {{Card|Copper}} and are unhappy. I tried it with {{Card|Curse}}; I tried it triggering on buying Treasures.

- When any player buys a Victory card, each player may discard a Victory card for +1{{VP}}. Random and not so meaningful.

- When you buy a Victory card, reveal hand for +1{{VP}} per Victory card. {{Card|Grand Castle}}s everywhere.

- -1{{VP}} per copy you have after the first of each card. Then, -1{{VP}} per copy after the 2nd. Then non-Victory cards only. The card to do was {{Landmark|Wolf Den}} but I wasn't there yet.

- Reveal a hand of no duplicates at turn start to take 2{{VP}}. Very easy to forget.

- At start of buy phase, if more Actions in play than VP tokens, +2{{VP}}. You want more and more Actions. Not bad, except wait, it's no good in a game with any other way to make {{VP}} tokens, and I was making a whole expansion of those.

Events outtakes:

- Pick your next hand. It turns out that's pretty good and also repetitive.

- A couple versions of, {{Card|Expand}} your top card.

- {{Card|Summon}}! It always was hoping to be a promo but was in the set for a bit.

- A {{Card|Scheme}} variant. It's tricky to make it useful and not automatic.

- A {{Card|Moat}}-in-advance. It's tricky to make it useful and not stop people from buying attacks.

- Various versions of, the player to your left gains an {{Card|Estate}} and you get +3{{VP}}. I couldn't give everyone an {{Card|Estate}} and didn't want anything political.

- A few versions of a hot potato - you pay to give it to the player to your left, and it punishes whoever has it (the Event, sitting in front of them). Again politics was an issue, but also it just wasn't creating good 
times.

- A few {{Card|Haggler}} variants that were too hard to get value out of.

- A few versions of, trash a card, get {{VP}} if the trash didn't have it yet (phrased to not be {{Card|Fortress}} tricks).

- It seemed like I could do "make anything a {{Card|Nobles}}/{{Card|Harem}}" and it would be reasonable. Pay {{Cost|6}}, gain a card costing up to {{Cost|4}}, get +2{{VP}}. I could make it be worth doing, but 
entertainment-wise it was a dud.

- I tried giving {{Card|Duchy}} an ability. It had to be a buy phase ability but that was fine; I tried +1 Buy +{{Cost|1}} (but +2 Buys because you bought the Event). Discard a {{Card|Duchy}}, get that stuff, cost 
{{Cost|0}}. It sounded interesting and was supposed to make me consider getting a {{Card|Duchy}} for the +Buy. It did sometimes, but didn't add enough to make the grade.

- Trying to make other giant Events like {{Card|Donate}} and {{Card|Dominate}}, I briefly tried "gain all Actions from a pile" and "gain the trash."
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 |Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=15660.0 The Secret History of the Empires Cards]
}}

== Recommended sets of 10 ==
=== Empires only ===
{{Kingdom|Castles|Chariot Race|City Quarter|Engineer|Farmers' Market|Forum|Legionary|Patrician|Sacrifice|Villa|event1 = Wedding|landmark1 = Tower|imgwidth = 150|title = Basic Intro}}
{{Kingdom|Archive|Capital|Catapult|Crown|Enchantress|Gladiator|Groundskeeper|Royal Blacksmith|Settlers|Temple|landmark1 = Arena|landmark2 = Triumphal Arch|imgwidth = 150|title = Advanced Intro}}
=== Empires & [[Dominion (base set)|Dominion]] ===
{{Kingdom|Enchantress|Forum|Legionary|Overlord|Temple|Cellar|Library|Remodel|Village|Workshop|event1 = Windfall|landmark1 = Orchard|imgwidth = 150|title = Everything in Moderation}}
{{Kingdom|Catapult|Charm|Farmers' Market|Groundskeeper|Patrician|Bureaucrat|Gardens|Laboratory|Market|Moneylender|event1 = Conquest|landmark1 = Aqueduct|imgwidth = 150|title = Silver Bullets}}
=== Empires & [[Intrigue]] ===
{{Kingdom|Castles|Crown|Enchantress|Sacrifice|Settlers|Baron|Bridge|Harem|Ironworks|Torturer|event1 = Banquet|landmark1 = Arena|imgwidth = 150|title = Delicious Torture}}
{{Kingdom|Archive|Capital|Catapult|Engineer|Forum|Masquerade|Mining Village|Nobles|Pawn|Trading Post|event1 = Salt the Earth|landmark1 = Wolf Den|imgwidth = 150|title = Buddy System}}
=== Empires & [[Seaside]] ===
{{Kingdom|Castles|Chariot Race|Encampment|Enchantress|Gladiator|Salvager|Smugglers|Tactician|Warehouse|Wharf|event1 = Tax|landmark1 = Wall|imgwidth = 150|title = Boxed In}}
{{Kingdom|Archive|Farmers' Market|Overlord|Temple|Wild Hunt|Explorer|Haven|Native Village|Pirate Ship|Sea Hag|event1 = Delve|landmark1 = Fountain|imgwidth = 150|title = King of the Sea}}
=== Empires & [[Alchemy]] ===
{{Kingdom|City Quarter|Crown|Encampment|Enchantress|Farmers' Market|Apothecary|Apprentice|Herbalist|Transmute|University|landmark1 = Colonnade|landmark2 = Museum|imgwidth = 150|title = Collectors}}
=== Empires & [[Prosperity]] ===
{{Kingdom|Capital|Gladiator|Patrician|Royal Blacksmith|Villa|Bank|Forge|Grand Market|Loan|Royal Seal|event1 = Dominate|landmark1 = Obelisk|colony = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Big Time}}
{{Kingdom|Chariot Race|City Quarter|Encampment|Groundskeeper|Wild Hunt|Bishop|Mint|Monument|Peddler|Talisman|landmark1 = Basilica|landmark2 = Palace|colony = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Gilded Gates}}

=== Empires & [[Cornucopia]] ===
{{Kingdom|Overlord|Sacrifice|Settlers|Villa|Wild Hunt|Fairgrounds|Horse Traders|Menagerie|Jester|Tournament|event1 = Annex|landmark1 = Colonnade|imgwidth = 150|title = Zookeepers}}
=== Empires & [[Hinterlands]] ===
{{Kingdom|Catapult|Forum|Patrician|Temple|Villa|Border Village|Develop|Haggler|Ill-Gotten Gains|Stables|event1 = Donate|landmark1 = Labyrinth|imgwidth = 150|title = Simple Plans}}
{{Kingdom|Castles|Charm|Encampment|Engineer|Legionary|Cache|Farmland|Highway|Spice Merchant|Tunnel|landmark1 = Battlefield|landmark2 = Fountain|imgwidth = 150|title = Expansion}}
=== Empires & [[Dark Ages]] ===
{{Kingdom|Castles|Chariot Race|City Quarter|Legionary|Sacrifice|Death Cart|Fortress|Pillage|Rats|Storeroom|event1 = Advance|landmark1 = Tomb|shelters = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Tomb of the Rat King}}
{{Kingdom|Capital|Charm|Engineer|Groundskeeper|Legionary|Bandit Camp|Catacombs|Hunting Grounds|Market Square|Procession|event1 = Triumph|landmark1 = Defiled Shrine|shelters = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Triumph of the Bandit King}}
{{Kingdom|Archive|Catapult|Crown|Patrician|Settlers|Feodum|Hermit|Ironmonger|Rogue|Squire|event1 = Ritual|landmark1 = Museum|shelters = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = The Squire's Ritual|id = squiresritual}}
=== Empires & [[Guilds]] ===
{{Kingdom|Castles|City Quarter|Engineer|Gladiator|Royal Blacksmith|Baker|Butcher|Doctor|Herald|Soothsayer|landmark1 = Baths|landmark2 = Mountain Pass|imgwidth = 150|title = Cash Flow}}
=== Empires & [[Adventures]] ===
{{Kingdom|Capital|Catapult|Charm|Crown|Farmers' Market|Coin of the Realm|Page|Relic|Treasure Trove|Wine Merchant|event1 = Banquet|landmark1 = Keep|imgwidth = 150|title = Area Control}}
{{Kingdom|Archive|Encampment|Royal Blacksmith|Temple|Villa|Dungeon|Duplicate|Hireling|Peasant|Transmogrify|event1 = Mission|landmark1 = Bandit Fort|imgwidth = 150|title = No Money No Problems}}
=== Empires & [[Nocturne]] ===
{{Kingdom|Cemetery|Changeling|Exorcist|Fool|Shepherd|Archive|Castles|Catapult|Engineer|Temple|landmark1 = Tomb|imgwidth = 150|title = Luftschloss}}
{{Kingdom|Faithful Hound|Ghost Town|Pixie|Pooka|Skulk|Chariot Race|Forum|Groundskeeper|Sacrifice|Settlers|event1 = Banquet|imgwidth = 150|title = Pooka Pranks}}
=== Empires & [[Renaissance]] ===
{{Kingdom|Cargo Ship|Experiment|Mountain Village|Priest|Sculptor|City Quarter|Farmers' Market|Groundskeeper|Sacrifice|Wild Hunt|project1 = Exploration|landmark1 = Battlefield|imgwidth = 150|title = Exploring the City}}
{{Kingdom|Acting Troupe|Flag Bearer|Improve|Old Witch|Scepter|Chariot Race|Enchantress|Gladiator|Patrician|Villa|event1 = Ritual|project1 = Sewers|imgwidth = 150|title = Navigating the Sewers}}

=== Empires & [[Menagerie (expansion)|Menagerie]] ===
{{Kingdom|Animal Fair|Cavalry|Sleigh|Stockpile|Wayfarer|Catapult|City Quarter|Crown|Engineer|Villa|way1=Way of the Pig|event1=Advance|imgwidth=150|title = No Money Down}}
{{Kingdom|Camel Train|Fisherman|Gatekeeper|Sanctuary|Snowy Village|Enchantress|Overlord|Sacrifice|Settlers|Wild Hunt|event1=transport|landmark1=Triumphal Arch|imgwidth=150|title = Detours and Shortcuts}}

=== Empires & [[Allies]] ===
{{Kingdom|Contract|Forts|Specialist|Swap|Sycophant|City Quarter|Enchantress|Farmers' Market|Settlers|Wild Hunt|ally=Island Folk|landmark1=Orchard|imgwidth = 150|title=Island Empire}}
{{Kingdom|Capital City|Carpenter|Clashes|Hunter|Importer|Castles|Catapult|Charm|Crown|Patrician|ally=Trappers' Lodge|landmark1=Triumph|imgwidth = 150|title=Castle Wars}}

{{Navbox Empires}}
{{Navbox expansions}}