Gainer

Revision as of 05:16, 30 July 2019

Workshop, a gainer card.

A gainer is any card which allows you to gain cards without buying them. The simplest example is Workshop. They often work well with Gardens strategies, as they allow you to gain more cards than you have buys. They can also be useful for picking up engine components, especially cheap ones.

Cards that allow you to trash one card and gain another, like Remodel, are usually considered to be in a separate category from gainers, since they don't increase your deck size. However, they can sometimes have similar functions for gaining engine components or accelerating a three-pile ending.

Types of gainers

Cards in italics have been removed.

Workshop variants

These cards let you gain cards up to a particular maximum cost. Most of them work well in combinations with cards like Highway, which will let you gain more expensive cards than you usually can.

• Dominion: Workshop, Artisan
• Intrigue: Ironworks
• Seaside: Smugglers
• Alchemy: University
• Cornucopia: Horn of Plenty
• Dark Ages: Hermit, Armory, Dame Natalie
  • Altar sits on the border between a gainer and a remodeler; like remodelers it makes you trash a card as well as gain one, but unlike remodelers the cost of the card gained is independent of the card trashed.
• Adventures: Artificer, Alms, Ball, Seaway, Disciple
• Empires: Engineer, Charm, Advance, Banquet
• Nocturne: Devil's Workshop (if you've gained exactly 1 card that turn before you play it), Cobbler, Vampire, The Earth's Gift
• Renaissance: Inventor, Sculptor

Feast and Wish gain a card, but as one-shots act more as temporary replacements than gainers.

Trash gainers

These cards can gain cards out of the Trash instead of the supply:

• Intrigue: Lurker
• Dark Ages: Graverobber and Rogue
• Renaissance: Treasurer

Thief and Noble Brigand technically gain cards from the trash as well, but only the cards trashed as part of resolving their Attack abilities.

On-buy/gain gainers

These cards resemble the above in gaining cards up to or at a particular cost, but do so when you buy or gain another card, rather than when you play the gainer itself.

• Prosperity: Talisman
• Hinterlands: Haggler, Duchess
• Adventures: Duplicate
• Empires: Charm

Silver gainers

Since Silver is present in every game, and is often a useful card but rarely powerful, there are several cards that use gaining Silver as a decent but not overpowered bonus.

• Dominion: Bureaucrat
• Intrigue: Trading Post
• Seaside: Explorer
• Cornucopia: Trusty Steed
• Hinterlands: Jack of all Trades, Trader
• Dark Ages: Squire, Beggar
• Adventures: Treasure Hunter, Amulet, Trade, Raid
• Empires: Delve, Conquest, Crumbling Castle
• Nocturne: Lucky Coin, The Mountain's Gift
• Promo: Governor

Gold gainers

These cards are able to gain a Gold, often at some cost such as having to trash a card.

• Dominion: Bandit
• Intrigue: Courtier
• Seaside: Explorer, Treasure Map
• Prosperity: Hoard
• Alchemy: Transmute
• Cornucopia: Bag of Gold
• Hinterlands: Fool's Gold, Tunnel
• Dark Ages: Market Square, Sir Vander
• Guilds: Soothsayer
• Adventures: Treasure Trove, Quest
• Empires: Fortune, Haunted Castle, Wedding, Windfall
• Nocturne: Leprechaun, Devil's Workshop (if you've gained no other cards that turn), The Sky's Gift
• Renaissance: Treasure Chest
• Promo: Dismantle, Governor

Other treasure gainers

These cards can be used to gain other Treasures—some specifically Copper or Spoils; others whatever Treasure happens to be available.

• Dominion: Thief
• Prosperity: Mint
• Hinterlands: Noble Brigand, Ill-Gotten Gains, Cache
• Dark Ages: Beggar, Marauder, Bandit Camp, Count, Pillage
• Guilds: Taxman
• Adventures: Hero
• Empires: Banquet
• Nocturne: Tragic Hero, Greed
• Renaissance: Treasurer

Other specific-card gainers

• Intrigue: Baron—can gain an Estate
• Alchemy: Transmute—can gain another Transmute
• Cornucopia: Followers—gains an Estate
• Cornucopia: Tournament—can gain a Duchy or a Prize
• Cornucopia: Jester—can gain whatever card is on top of the opponent's deck
• Hinterlands: Duchess—can gain another Duchess
• Dark Ages: Count—can gain a Duchy and/or a Copper
• Dark Ages: Rats—gains additional copies of Rats
• Dark Ages: Urchin—can gain a Mercenary
• Dark Ages: Death Cart—gains Ruins upon gain
• Adventures: Magpie—can gain additional copies of Magpie
• Adventures: Disciple—gains a copy of whatever Action card you play with it
• Adventures: Port—gains another Port on buy
• Empires: Small Castle—gains another Castle, if you trashed one
• Empires: Wild Hunt—can gain an Estate
• Empires: Triumph—gains an Estate
• Empires: Annex—gains a Duchy
• Empires: Ritual—gains a Curse
• Empires: Dominate—gains a Province
• Empires: Sprawling Castle—can gain a Duchy or Estates
• Nocturne: Devil's Workshop—gains an Imp (if you've gained 2+ other cards that turn)
• Nocturne: Leprechaun—gains a Wish if you have exactly 7 cards in play
• Nocturne: Tormentor—gain an Imp (if you don't have any other cards in play)
• Nocturne: The Swamp's Gift—gains a Will-o'-Wisp
• Nocturne: Haunted Mirror—can gain a Ghost
• Nocturne: Magic Lamp—can gain Wishes
• Nocturne: Cursed Gold—gains a Curse on play
• Nocturne: Locusts—can gain a Curse
• Nocturne: Plague—gains a Curse
• Renaissance: Experiment

Changeling gains a copy of a card you have in play, but as a one-shot acts more as a temporary replacement than a gainer.

When gain/buy/trash gainers

• Hinterlands: Border Village - gains a cheaper card when gained
• Hinterlands: Duchess - allows you to gain itself when you gain a Duchy
• Hinterlands: Cache - comes with two Coppers when gained
• Dark Ages: Squire - gains an Attack card when trashed
• Dark Ages: Death Cart - gains 2 Ruins when gained
• Dark Ages: Catacombs - gains a cheaper card when trashed
• Dark Ages: Feodum - gains 3 Silvers when trashed
• Dark Ages: Hunting Grounds - gains a Duchy or 3 Estates when trashed
• Guilds: Masterpiece - can gain Silvers when bought
• Guilds: Stonemason - can gain 2 Action cards when bought
• Adventures: Messenger - gains all players a copy of the same cheap card
• Adventures: Port - gains an additional copy of itself when bought
• Adventures: Alms - gain a cheap card if you have no Treasures in play
• Adventures: Quest - gain a Gold if you discard the right things
• Adventures: Pilgrimage - gain copies of up to 3 cards in play
• Adventures: Ball - gain 2 cards costing up to
• Adventures: Raid - gain a Silver per Silver in play
• Adventures: Seaway - gain a card costing up to , put your +1 Buy token on its pile
• Adventures: Trade - gains up to 2 Silvers, if you trash cards
• Empires: Crumbling Castle - gains a Silver when gained or trashed
• Empires: Haunted Castle - gains a Gold when gained during your turn
• Empires: Sprawling Castle - gains a Duchy or three Estates when gained
• Empires: Rocks - gains a Silver when gained or trashed
• Empires: Triumph - gains an Estate
• Empires: Annex - gains a Duchy
• Empires: Advance - gains an Action costing up to if you trash an Action
• Empires: Delve - gains a Silver
• Empires: Banquet - gains 2 Coppers and a non-Victory card costing up to
• Empires: Ritual - gains a Curse
• Empires: Wedding - gains a Gold
• Empires: Windfall - gains 3 Golds if your deck and discard pile are empty
• Empires: Conquest - gains 2 Silvers
• Empires: Dominate - gains a Province
• Nocturne: Skulk - gains a Gold when gained
• Renaissance: Experiment - always gained in pairs
• Promo: Summon - gains and sets aside a cheap card, and plays it at the start of your next turn

Though it does not gain a card, Inheritance does set aside a card from the Supply that is included in your deck at the end of the game.