Familiar
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Familiar is a very powerful attack, since it is a [[cantrip]] and therefore does not become a [[dead]] card once the {{Card|Curse|Curses}} have been depleted, and once you have a few in your deck you can hand out Curses with it very rapidly. However, its {{Cost|P}} cost makes it slow to acquire multiple copies of and extremely swingy: there is a roughly one in four chance that one player will be unable to get a Familiar on turns 3 and 4 and the other player will, much higher than the chance of missing out on a {{Card|Witch}} or {{Card|Mountebank}}. | Familiar is a very powerful attack, since it is a [[cantrip]] and therefore does not become a [[dead]] card once the {{Card|Curse|Curses}} have been depleted, and once you have a few in your deck you can hand out Curses with it very rapidly. However, its {{Cost|P}} cost makes it slow to acquire multiple copies of and extremely swingy: there is a roughly one in four chance that one player will be unable to get a Familiar on turns 3 and 4 and the other player will, much higher than the chance of missing out on a {{Card|Witch}} or {{Card|Mountebank}}. | ||
− | Unlike Witch and Mountebank, having a Familiar does not itself improve your per-turn buying power (and having a {{ | + | Unlike Witch and Mountebank, having a Familiar does not itself improve your per-turn buying power (and having a {{Card|Potion}} can harm buying power in the absence of other desirable {{Cost|P}}-cost cards), so Familiar strategies can actually lose to super-fast [[Big Money]] strategies like BM+{{Card|Wharf}}, or [[engine]]s which ramp up fast enough to be able to trash the curses as they come in. Familiar is especially weak against {{Card|Masquerade}}-[[Big Money]], as it is a fast strategy which is able to return the gained Curses to the Familiar player. |
=== Synergies/Combos === | === Synergies/Combos === | ||
* Other {{Cost|P}}-cost cards | * Other {{Cost|P}}-cost cards |
Revision as of 08:50, 15 October 2013
Familiar | |
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Info | |
Cost | |
Type(s) | Action - Attack |
Kingdom card? | Yes |
Set | Alchemy |
Illustrator(s) | Alex Drummond |
Card text | |
+1 Card +1 Action Each other player gains a curse. |
Familiar is an Action-Attack from Alchemy. It is a cantrip curser—i.e., it gives opponents Curses and gives you +1 Card and +1 Action. It is the only non-terminal curser or junking attack, and therefore can be very strong; however, its cost makes it harder to gain than most other cursers. It can be a very frustrating card, since its cost makes it likely for a player to be unable to afford it far longer than their opponent if they draw their Potion at the wrong time!
Contents |
FAQ
Official FAQ
- If there aren't enough Curses left to go around when you play Familiar, you deal them out in turn order, starting with the player to your left.
- If you play Familiar with no Curses remaining, you will still get +1 Card and +1 Action.
- A player gaining a Curse puts it face-up into his discard pile.
Other Rules clarifications
Strategy Article
There isn't a Familiar strategy article. It was mentioned in both the five worst potion cards and the five best potion cards by theory.
Familiar is a very powerful attack, since it is a cantrip and therefore does not become a dead card once the Curses have been depleted, and once you have a few in your deck you can hand out Curses with it very rapidly. However, its cost makes it slow to acquire multiple copies of and extremely swingy: there is a roughly one in four chance that one player will be unable to get a Familiar on turns 3 and 4 and the other player will, much higher than the chance of missing out on a Witch or Mountebank.
Unlike Witch and Mountebank, having a Familiar does not itself improve your per-turn buying power (and having a Potion can harm buying power in the absence of other desirable -cost cards), so Familiar strategies can actually lose to super-fast Big Money strategies like BM+Wharf, or engines which ramp up fast enough to be able to trash the curses as they come in. Familiar is especially weak against Masquerade-Big Money, as it is a fast strategy which is able to return the gained Curses to the Familiar player.
Synergies/Combos
- Other -cost cards
Antisynergies
- Chapel trashes too fast for Familiar, which starts at a disadvantage because of the useless Potion
Trivia
Secret History