Junk Dealer

Junk Dealer
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Action
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Dark Ages
Illustrator(s)	Kurt Miller
Card text
+1 Card +1 Action + Trash a card from your hand.

Junk Dealer is an Action card from Dark Ages. It is a cantrip which gives + like Peddler, but also requires you to trash a card; this is a benefit for most of the game, but can become a liability later.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• You draw before trashing.
• You have to trash a card from your hand if you can.

Strategy

Junk Dealer is a strong trasher and Peddler variant. Unlike most Peddler variants, Junk Dealer reduces your overall hand size rather than maintaining it, as it is mandatory to trash a card. However, its cantrip nature does mean that, unlike many other trashers, Junk Dealer taxes neither your draw nor your terminal space and offers useful cycling. Additionally, it also has the advantage of making it relatively easy to generate ; even if you use it to trash a Copper, it's likely that you'll draw another in addition to the that Junk Dealer generates.

These advantages frequently make Junk Dealer a good buy early in the game (especially in the opening) as it can help you thin quickly while continuing to cycle through your deck and buy cards. If you are using Junk Dealer as your primary means of thinning, adding a second copy can be helpful as well, particularly if you are facing a junking attack. Alternatively, Junk Dealer can also function well alongside other (likely terminal) trashers such as Moneylender. As a mandatory trasher, Junk Dealer loses some of its value once your deck starts to become largely clear of junk. If you lack good deck control, it sometimes becomes risky to play it: if you have no desirable target in hand, the card it draws does provide an extra chance of finding one, but this is only likely to be a reasonable gamble if that chance is fairly high given the remaining contents of your deck. However, Junk Dealer may remain useful in the later game if there is a continued influx of junk into your deck, either from junking attacks or because you are deliberately gaining it, such as with Groundskeeper. Fortress can also be trashed whenever you play Junk Dealer for an effect equivalent to that of a true (though expensive) Peddler.

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		+1 Card +1 Action + Trash a card from your hand.	Dark Ages 1st Edition	August 2012
		+1 Card +1 Action + Trash a card from your hand.	Dark Ages 2nd Edition	September 2017

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Czech	Vetešník			+1 karta +1 akce + Zahoď kartu z ruky na smetiště.
Dutch	Opkoper (lit. buyer)			+1 Kaart +1 Actie + Vernietig een kaart uie je hand.	(2012)
Finnish	Romukauppias
French	Brocanteur
German	Schrotthändler			+1 Karte +1 Aktion + Entsorge eine Karte aus deiner Hand.	(2012)
Japanese	屑屋 (pron. kuzuya)			+1 カードを引く +1 アクション + 手札1枚を廃棄する。
Korean	고물상 (pron. gomulsang)
Russian	Старьёвщик (pron. star'yovshshik)
Spanish	Chatarrero			+1 Carta +1 Acción +1 Elimina una carta de tu mano.

Trivia

Official card art.

Secret History

This was a relatively late addition. I wanted another +1 Card +1 Action thing for . I tried a version of this that only gave you the + if the trash had at least 10 cards in it, then 5, and then I just gave you the +

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of the Dark Ages Cards