Knight

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'''Knight''' is a [[type]] of [[Kingdom card]] from the [[Dark Ages]] expansion. There are 10 differently-named unique Knights with a single [[randomizer]] card; when Knights are selected as a Kingdom card for a game, they are shuffled into a single [[supply]] pile, of which only the top card can be seen and gained at any given time.
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'''Knight''' is a [[type]] of [[Kingdom card]] from the [[Dark Ages]] expansion. There are 10 differently-named unique Knights with a single [[randomizer]] card; when Knights are selected as a [[Kingdom]] card for a game, they are shuffled into a single [[supply]] pile, of which only the top card can be seen and gained at any given time.
  
 
Every Knight costs {{Cost|5}} except {{Card|Sir Martin}}, who costs {{Cost|4}}.  
 
Every Knight costs {{Cost|5}} except {{Card|Sir Martin}}, who costs {{Cost|4}}.  
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* {{Card|Sir Vander}} - ''When you trash this, gain a Gold.''
 
* {{Card|Sir Vander}} - ''When you trash this, gain a Gold.''
  
== FAQ ==
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=== Image Gallery ===
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{{CardImage|Dame_Anna}}{{CardImage|Dame_Josephine}}{{CardImage|Dame_Molly}}{{CardImage|Dame_Natalie}}{{CardImage|Dame_Sylvia}}{{CardImage|Sir_Bailey}}{{CardImage|Sir_Destry}}{{CardImage|Sir_Martin}}{{CardImage|Sir_Michael}}{{CardImage|Sir_Vander}}
  
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== Additional rules ==
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=== Preparation ===
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* If the Knights Kingdom card pile is being used, shuffle the Knights before the game, and place the pile face down with the top card face up.
 +
* The pile does not get a token for {{Card|Trade Route}} (from {{Set|Prosperity}}), even if the top Knight is a Victory card.
 +
== FAQ ==
 
=== Official FAQ ===
 
=== Official FAQ ===
 
* This is a pile in which each card is different.  
 
* This is a pile in which each card is different.  
 
* There is the same basic ability on each card, but also another ability unique to that card in the pile, and they all have different names.  
 
* There is the same basic ability on each card, but also another ability unique to that card in the pile, and they all have different names.  
* Shuffle the Knights pile before playing it, keeping it face down except for the top one, which is the only card that can be gained from the pile. See Additional Rules and Preparation.  
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* Shuffle the Knights pile before playing it, keeping it face down except for the top one, which is the only card that can be gained from the pile. See [[Dark_Ages#Additional_rules|Additional Rules]] and [[#Preparation|Preparation]].  
* Follow the rules on Knights in order from top to bottom; Sir Michael causes players to discard before it trashes cards.  
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* Follow the rules on Knights in order from top to bottom; {{Card|Sir Michael}} causes players to discard before it trashes cards.  
* The ability they have in common is, each other player reveals the top two cards of their deck, trashes one of them that they choose that costs from {{Cost|3}} to {{Cost|6}}, and discards the rest; then, if a Knight was trashed, you trash the Knight you played that caused this trashing.  
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* The ability they have in common is, each other player reveals the top two cards of their deck, trashes one of them that they choose that costs from {{Cost|3}} to {{Cost|6}}, and discards the rest; then, if a Knight was trashed, you trash the Knight you played that caused this trashing. Resolve this ability in turn order, starting with the player to your left.
* Resolve this ability in turn order, starting with the player to your left. Cards with {{Cost|P}} (from [[Alchemy]]) or {{Debt}} (from [[Empires]]) in the cost do not cost from {{Cost|3}} to {{Cost|6}}.  
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* Cards with {{Cost|P}} (from {{Set|Alchemy}}) or {{Debt}} (from {{Set|Empires}}) in the cost do not cost from {{Cost|3}} to {{Cost|6}}.  
 
* The player losing a card only gets a choice if both cards revealed cost from {{Cost|3}} to {{Cost|6}}.  
 
* The player losing a card only gets a choice if both cards revealed cost from {{Cost|3}} to {{Cost|6}}.  
 
* If they both do and one is a Knight but the player picks the other card, that will not cause the played Knight to be trashed.
 
* If they both do and one is a Knight but the player picks the other card, that will not cause the played Knight to be trashed.
* The Knight pile is not a [[Victory]] pile, and does not get a counter for {{Card|Trade Route}} (from [[Prosperity]]) even if Dame Josephine starts on top.  
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* {{Card|Dame Josephine}} is also a [[Victory]] card, worth {{VP|2}} at the end of the game. The Knight pile is not a Victory pile though, and does not get a counter for {{Card|Trade Route}} (from {{Set|Prosperity}}) even if Dame Josephine starts on top.  
 
* If you choose to use the Knights with {{Card|Black Market}} (a [[promo|promotional card]]), put a Knight directly into the Black Market deck, rather than using the randomizer card.
 
* If you choose to use the Knights with {{Card|Black Market}} (a [[promo|promotional card]]), put a Knight directly into the Black Market deck, rather than using the randomizer card.
 +
* {{Card|Sir Martin}} only costs {{Cost|4}}, though the other Knights all cost {{Cost|5}}. When Sir Martin is the top card of the pile, it can be gained with an {{Card|Armory}} and so on.
 +
* If {{Card|Sir Vander}} is trashed, you gain a {{Card|Gold}}; this happens whether it is trashed on your turn or someone else's. The player who had Sir Vander is the one who gains the Gold, regardless of who played the card that trashed it.
 +
* When playing {{Card|Dame Anna}}, you may choose to trash zero, one, or two cards from your hand.
  
=== Other Rules clarifications ===
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== Strategy ==
== Strategy Article ==
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In most [[Kingdom]]s, Knights are best thought of as [[payload]] for [[engine]]s that can play them reliably to punish opponents who [[build]] less than you do. The best use case for Knights is when you are able to play multiple Knights per turn, without much reprisal from your opponents, leaving them with an ineffective deck and giving you time to catch up, outscore them, and end the game. A common example of this occurs when you play an engine against most [[money strategies|money decks]]: in most such match-ups, your Knights can render their deck impotent once they start [[greening]], giving you more time to build and catch up.
''[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6928.msg220219#msg220219 Original article] by werothegreat''
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And lo, after the release of [[Cornucopia]], Dominionaters rejoiced at the capricious card {{Card|Tournament}}, and said unto [[Donald X]]: “Oh, great Donald X, we want more like this!”  And yea, Donald X bestowed upon his chosen people the Knights.
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Knights are best in Kingdoms in which their attack is high-impact. This is often the case in Kingdoms with the following:
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* little in the way of additional gains in the form of either [[gainer]]s or +[[Buy]]. As an example, money decks that can easily gain {{Card|Silver|Silvers}} (such as with {{Card|Amulet}}) are usually not very impacted by Knight attacks.
 +
* good [[engine]] components, including [[draw]], deck control, and [[Village (card category)|villages]], so that an attacker is able to reliably play multiple Knights per turn, decimating their opponents’ decks faster than they can be built up.
  
Obviously I’m being sarcastic here - quite a lot of people detest the “first come, first serve” nature of the [[Prize|Prizes]], which seems to undermine the equality of opportunity that, for most, is the defining feature of Dominion, at least when comparing it to games like ''Magic: The Gathering''.  But the Knights are at once like and unlike Tournament. Yes, they all have different bonuses, some better than others, but at the end of the day you only get them for one reason - to trash the shit out of your opponent’s deck - and really, they all do this equally well.  But some are more equal than others, naturally.
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Knights are less impactful if the above conditions are not present. This is because Knights are mostly {{Cost|5}} [[terminal]] [[stop card]]s that provide only a small direct benefit to you, with most of their value otherwise coming from the attacking component. There is often a large [[opportunity cost]] in buying a Knight over other {{Cost|5}} cards, and a somewhat smaller opportunity cost in using up your [[terminal space]]. Some Knights can be individually desirable outside of their attacking function, however, if they are the only source of a particular effect in the Kingdom. {{Card|Dame Anna}} being the only [[trasher]] present and {{Card|Sir Martin}} as the only source of +Buy are two such examples, but it’s worth noting that these Knights are not reliable long-term sources of such effects, as they are eventually likely to succumb to an opponent’s Knight.
  
=== What do Knights do? ===
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Defending against Knights is both Kingdom- and gamestate-dependent. There are three main defensive options:
Playing a Knight forces each opponent to reveal the top two cards of their deck, and trash a moderately costed card from those two, if there are any. Each Knight also has an individual bonus and a cute unique name. These bonuses vary in usefulness, and the usefulness of each will vary depending on the kingdom.  And if a Knight trashes another Knight, the first Knight is also trashed.
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# Gaining Knights of your own. This often comes at the cost of improving your deck otherwise (e.g. adding a {{Card|Laboratory}} instead), but can be useful as eventually your new Knight should cancel out with one of their Knights, reducing the amount of attacks they can hit you with by one permanently.
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# Having excess gains to replace what gets trashed, or to gain sacrificial fodder (e.g. {{Card|Silver|Silvers}}). This is slightly more risky, as your gainers might get trashed and they can continue to use their Knights unabated, but usually this improves the overall quality of your deck more than adding a Knight.
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# [[Attack immunity]], if it exists in the Kingdom, can stop the Knights entirely.
  
=== How is this different from {{Card|Saboteur}}? ===
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Because the Knights pile is ordered randomly for every game, the one on top can dictate whether or not Knights should be gained that game. If you are the first player to gain a Knight, you will reveal the second Knight in the pile, often without a chance to get it for yourself before your opponent can. If the top Knight is weak and the second is desirable (e.g., {{Card|Dame Josephine}} first, then {{Card|Dame Anna}} second), you will be disadvantaged by taking the first Knight. Conversely, if the top Knight is desirable and you gain it quickly, revealing a weak second Knight, your opponent is likely forced either to take that Knight as a defensive strategy (which is not reliably effective) and build inefficiently, or to try and build otherwise and suffer the Knight attacks in the meantime.
Well, if you’ve spent more than five minutes on [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com f.ds], or read the wiki page for {{Card|Saboteur}}, you’re probably aware that Saboteur kind of sucks as a card.  It does absolutely nothing for the player, and more often than not will trip on {{Card|Silver|Silvers}}, and at the very worst will simply give your opponent’s deck a good cycling. Knights fix all of those problems, but at a cost, since we can’t have cards that are [[strictly better]] than one another at the same price.  Saboteur and Knights have different purposes, and both can shine in certain instances.  But let’s look at how they differ.
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Each Knight does something for the player, some more actively than others. Knights only flip over two cards, so they won’t turn over your opponent’s entire deck like Saboteur can.  So if your opponent has mainly cheap cards, Saboteur can sometimes be better, since it will seek out the expensive cards like a missile.  But most decks feature a fair amount of expensive cards, so Saboteur ends up being a lot like Knights a lot of the time.  But Knights also don’t let your opponent take a consolation prize - Duchies are no longer un-{{Card|Rebuild|Rebuild'ed}} into Estates - they’re simply destroyed.  That can really hurt in the endgame.
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Knights are typically most effective in the mid- and endgame. In the opening they are most likely to hit your opponents’ {{Card|Copper|Coppers}} and {{Card|Estate|Estates}}, trashing nothing and giving them free [[cycling]].  
  
=== So how do I play with Knights? ===
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In games in which Knights are important, winning the Knight [[split]] is fairly important. As an example, say your opponent was able to gain 6 Knights to your 4. In the long run, you’re likely to end up with 0 to their 2, leaving their attacks unopposed, which is usually a strong position for them. However, this does not mean you should buy Knights at every early opportunity. Building a stronger deck first, and then more aggressively pursuing the Knights as a second priority, is usually the best way to both win the Knight split and the Knight war. The most important thing is to build a good deck that can play all your Knights as often as possible by reliably drawing the Knights you have, rather than stuffing your deck with Knights and only playing some subset of them.
That really depends on the board, and it depends also on how your opponent plays them. Knights are one of those cards that can force you into a mirroring strategy, because allowing your opponent to win the Knights race can be extremely detrimental to you. Compare to other races - if you lose the {{Card|Fool's Gold}} race you can still come back by turning your Fool's Golds in to real {{Card|Gold|Golds}}, or by trying a different strategy. But when you lose the Knights race, you not only are being hurt more severely than you're causing hurt, but inevitably you will lose all your Knights while your opponent retains a few. Such a situation can almost force you into a pin, particularly in the context of an engine, where your opponent can play his four remaining Knights every turn, ensuring you just don't have a deck.  But not all Knights games will devolve into this race, and you may often ignore them altogether.  Their bonuses can be helpful, but aren't usually game-changing.
+
  
Generally you want to go for Knights when a few conditions appear - if you can play them often, if there isn't a viable cheap (or extremely expensive) strategy, and if the top Knight is desirable.
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===Individual Knight Strategy===
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* {{Card|Dame Anna}} - Can be important if no other [[trashing]] is available, particularly if it is the top Knight in the pile.
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* {{Card|Dame Josephine}} - Often weak, given {{VP|2}} is not very much and {{Card|Dame Josephine}} is likely to end up in the trash in a Knights war anyway.
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* {{Card|Dame Molly}} - Can be important if terminal space is extremely valuable (e.g., for playing more Knights).
 +
* {{Card|Dame Natalie}} - Sometimes useful if {{Cost|3}} cards that you want a lot of, such as {{Card|Village}}, are present.
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* {{Card|Dame Sylvia}} - Usually mediocre, suffers from the same problems as many [[terminal silver]]s.
 +
* {{Card|Sir Bailey}} - One of the stronger Knights, as it fits easily into many decks given its [[cantrip]] nature, alleviating some of the common problems with Knights (namely, being a terminal stop card).
 +
* {{Card|Sir Destry}} - Somewhat stronger Knight, as terminally drawing 2 cards is not very much but is better than being a stop card.
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* {{Card|Sir Martin}} - Situationally useful if no other +Buy is available, but in the long term is an unreliable source of such and thus is of limited use to a deck relying on it.
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* {{Card|Sir Michael}} - Fairly strong discard attack, likely most impactful in the midgame when your opponents have less junk to discard but don’t have full deck control.
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* {{Card|Sir Vander}} - Often weak, as it has no direct benefit on play, and only gains you a {{Card|Gold}} after it gets trashed. This {{Card|Gold}} is not likely to help very much in an engine playing a lot of Knights.
  
=== How do I know which Knight is desirable? ===  
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=== Notable Synergies===
That depends on the kingdom, silly.  {{Card|Sir Bailey}} is never a bad investment, since he's essentially a zero-space card. {{Card|Dame Molly}} and {{Card|Sir Michael}} are usually strong, but with lots of [[Village (card category)|villages]] or a better discard Attack (respectively), they're more middling. The others are far more dependent on the Kingdom.  {{Card|Dame Natalie}} is a good Knight to get if you're losing the Knights race, as she can help fill your deck with Silver, which is usually better to have trashed than a more important card. The two that are least useful are {{Card|Sir Vander}} and {{Card|Dame Josephine}}, as the former simply gives you a consolation prize when knocked off his horse by another Knight, and the latter might, in rare instances, be a tie-breaker - neither actually do anything for you when played aside from their Knight Attack, which makes them even more equivalent to Saboteur.  Dame Josephine is a little less desirable than Sir Vander, because it's highly likely that your Knights are going to end up trashed to your opponent's Knights, so that 2 {{VP}} usually won't even end up added to your total anyway.
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* Trash interaction, especially {{Card|Necromancer}} - With {{Card|Necromancer}}, you can continue to play cards (including Knights) after they’ve been trashed by the Knights. This can lead to very attack-heavy games in which the {{Card|Necromancer}} split is important. {{Card|Lurker}} also has a similar effect in Kingdoms with Knights.
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* {{Card|Overlord}} - Allows you to play Knights or other powerful cards interchangeably, and is immune to the Knight attack itself, meaning you can continuously play Knights until the Knights pile runs.
 +
* [[Cost reduction]] - In games with cost reduction, you can more carefully control which cards your Knights trash. This can mean sometimes trashing your opponents’ {{Card|Province|Provinces}}, or hitting more important cards than {{Card|Silver|Silvers}}.
  
But certain of the Knights will be especially useful in different Kingdoms. You should be on the lookout for Knights which complement the rest of the set - if there's a {{Card|Laboratory}} engine but no villages on the board, {{Card|Dame Molly}} is amazing; if {{Card|Dame Anna}} is the only trasher on the board, or if {{Card|Sir Martin}} is the only source of +Buy, they instantly become desirable just for their bonus ability. {{Card|Dame Natalie}} is excellent with {{Card|Feodum}}, {{Card|Sir Martin}} can be {{Card|Workshop|Workshopped}} and goes excellently with {{Card|Fool's Gold}}.  So make sure you take a look at what else is in the kingdom before deciding to pass on the Knights or dive into them pell-mell.
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===External strategy articles===
 
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''Note: Article(s) below are by individual authors and may not represent the community's current views on cards, but may provide more in-depth information or give historical perspective. Caveat emptor.''
=== What goes well with Knights? ===  
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* [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6928 werothegreat's 2013 article]
{{Card|Highway}} (and sometimes {{Card|Bridge}}).  Two Highways means that your Knights can now trash {{Card|Province|Provinces}}.  Three Highways means that your Knights no longer trash other Knights, so you don’t have to worry about losing them.  Just don’t play too many - it’ll look pretty silly when Provinces cost {{Cost|2}}, and you’re only cycling your opponent’s deck for him. Bridge can be used for the same purpose, but if you're in a position where you can play multiple Bridges per turn, it might be simpler to just end the game with a mega-turn rather than fiddle around with using just a few bridges to help your Knights.
+
 
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Knights are also best when played often, so any card or combo that allows for that is awesome, whether it be {{Card|Scheme}}, {{Card|Sage}}, an engine, or whatever else you can come up with.
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+
{{Card|Saboteur}} also paradoxically does well on Knights boards, as it can safely trash your opponent’s Knights - even just hitting one with Saboteur makes it worth having bought one.  Also, Knights can clear out everything costing from {{Cost|3}}-{{Cost|6}} in your opponent’s deck, leaving only more expensive cards, like Provinces, for the Saboteurs to find.
+
 
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{{Card|Graverobber}} (and sometimes {{Card|Rogue}}) goes excellently with the Knights.  Since they're trashing left and right and sometimes getting trashed themselves, Graverobber can pick them right back up or scoop up their leavings, and in the endgame can turn them into Provinces if necessary.
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=== How do I counter Knights, or, when should I not get them? ===
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{{Card|Fortress}}.  This card makes Knights not just pointless, but usually helpful to your opponents.  Revealing and trashing a Fortress puts it into your opponent’s hand.  That’s not something you really ever want to do.  Maybe you can combo this with playing multiple {{Card|Pillage|Pillages}} per turn, but I doubt that.
+
 
+
When there are more powerful Attacks, like [[Curser|Cursers]], [[Looter|Looters]] or discarding Attacks, you’ll probably want to go with those over Knights. An extreme case is {{Card|Cultist}}: not only does it quickly fill your deck with Ruins, but when it's trashed, it gives your opponent +3 cards.
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+
If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve lost the Knights split (or just didn’t go for Knights in the first place), fill your deck with junk.  Knights can’t do anything to Coppers and Estates, and trashing superfluous Silvers doesn’t hurt too much.  This is one instance where having {{Card|Dame Natalie}} would be nice - she can fill you up on Silver, until she inevitably succumbs to your foes.
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{{Card|Tunnel}} is also a decent deterrent - when it’s revealed with another {{Cost|3}}-{{Cost|6}} card, you’ll naturally want to trash the other, discarding the Tunnel for a {{Card|Gold}}.  Also beware of playing {{Card|Highway}} (or {{Card|Bridge}}) before a Knight when Tunnel’s around, because then Tunnel automatically gets discarded, even if it’s the only {{Cost|3}}-{{Cost|6}} card around. Likewise {{Card|Market Square}} is a good deterrent ("Oh, you trashed my Silver?  Well, I'll just get three Golds to replace it. Thanks!").  {{Card|Beggar}} also does well, as it ensures that Knights will trash a trivial card, and gives you an extra {{Card|Silver}} to boot.  Or you could reveal a {{Card|Secret Chamber}}, so that your opponent just discards your top-decked {{Card|Estate|Estates}} for you.
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Any strategy that revolves around cheap cards will kick chivalric butt.  {{Card|Poor House}} and {{Card|Fool's Gold}} can't be trashed by Knights, and offer up insane amounts of money to recompense the loss of other cards.  And once you've gotten {{Card|Province|Provinces}} with them, those Provinces aren't affected either.  In a similar vein, the {{Cost|7}} and {{Cost|8*}} cost cards are also immune, so don't be surprised if your opponent ignores Knights in favor of {{Card|Bank|Banks}} or {{Card|Peddler|Peddlers}}. {{Card|Spoils}}, {{Card|Madman}}, {{Card|Mercenary}} and [[Prize|Prizes]] are also handily resistant to the Knights' Attack.  As such, Knights are essentially useless in {{Card|Colony}} games.  Once a player has two {{Card|Platinum|Platina}}, they're essentially immune to your Knights and can just keep buying Colonies at their leisure.
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Besides direct counters like {{Card|Lighthouse}} or {{Card|Moat}}, another protection from Knights is to fill the deck with {{Cost|2}}-cost [[cantrips]], such as {{Card|Pawn}}, {{Card|Hamlet}}, or {{Card|Pearl Diver}}.  This counter is particularly beneficial in situations where the cards are desirable for other reasons, like {{Card|Hamlet}}+{{Card|Menagerie}}, which also benefits from the Knights' variety.  Lighthouse is particularly useful as it provides the equivalent buying power of a {{Card|Silver}}, while occasionally protecting from the Knight, but it cannot be trashed.
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It's also noteworthy that {{Cost|P}}-cost cards are never trashed by knights, so an engine based on them is entirely safe.
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=== Knight Qvist Rankings ===
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
+
! Card !! 2013 Ed. !! 2014 Ed. !! +/-
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Sir Michael}} || data-sort-value=01 | 1 || data-sort-value=01 | 1 || 0
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Sir Bailey}} || data-sort-value=02 | 2 || data-sort-value=02 | 2 || 0
+
|-
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|{{Card|Dame Anna}} || data-sort-value=05 | 5 || data-sort-value=03 | 3 || +2
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Dame Molly}} || data-sort-value=04 | 4 || data-sort-value=04 | 4 || 0
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Sir Destry}} || data-sort-value=06 | 6 || data-sort-value=05 | 5 || +1
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Dame Sylvia}} || data-sort-value=03 | 3 || data-sort-value=06 | 6 || -3
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Dame Natalie}} || 10 || data-sort-value=07 | 7 || +3
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Sir Vander}} || data-sort-value=08 | 8 || data-sort-value=08 | 8 || 0
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Sir Martin}} || data-sort-value=09 | 9 || data-sort-value=09 | 9 || 0
+
|-
+
|{{Card|Dame Josephine}} || data-sort-value=07 | 7 || 10 || -3
+
|}
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=== Synergies/Combos ===
+
* {{Card|Scheme}}/{{Card|Sage}}
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* [[Engine|Engines]]
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* {{Card|Highway}} (or {{Card|Bridge}})
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* {{Card|Saboteur}}
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* {{Card|Graverobber}}
+
* Various [[Cornucopia]] cards which reward variety will like the different Knights in the pile.
+
** {{Card|Fairgrounds}}
+
** {{Card|Horn of Plenty}}
+
** {{Card|Menagerie}}
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** Cards that allow you to gain other cards eg. {{Card|Workshop}} or {{Card|Ironworks}}
+
 
+
=== Antisynergies ===
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* {{Card|Fortress}} [[engine|engines]] counter Knights
+
* [[Gainer|Gainers]] can flood the opponent's deck with cheap cards they don't mind trashing
+
** Silver flood cards like {{Card|Trader}} or {{Card|Jack of all Trades}}
+
* junking Attacks
+
* most Reaction cards
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* Extreme anti-synergy with {{Card|Cultist}}
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* Strategies based on expensive (>{{Cost|6}}), cheap (<{{Cost|3}}), or {{Cost|P}}-cost cards
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* Colony games
+
  
 
== Versions ==
 
== Versions ==
Line 142: Line 97:
 
! Print !! Digital !! Text !! Release !! Date  
 
! Print !! Digital !! Text !! Release !! Date  
 
|-
 
|-
| {{CardVersionImage|KnightsOld|Knights}} || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsDigitalOld|Knights from Goko/Making Fun}} || Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained. || Dark Ages 1st Edition || August 2012
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| {{CardVersionImage|KnightsOld|Knights}} || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsDigitalOld|Knights from Goko/Making Fun}} || Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained. || Dark Ages || August 2012
 
|-
 
|-
| {{CardVersionImage|Knights|Knights}} || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsDigital|Knights from Shuffle iT}} || Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained. || Dark Ages [[Second Edition|2nd Edition]] || September 2017
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| {{CardVersionImage|Knights|Knights}} || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsDigital|Knights from Shuffle iT}} || Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained. || Dark Ages [[Second Edition#Formatting_changes|(2017 printing)]] || September 2017
 
|}
 
|}
 
===Other language versions===
 
===Other language versions===
 
In general, the specific names of the Knights do not change in different languages.
 
In general, the specific names of the Knights do not change in different languages.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Print !! Digital !! Language !! Name !! Text  
+
! Language !! Name !! Print !! Digital !! Text !! Notes
 
|-
 
|-
| {{CardVersionImage|KnightsCzech|Czech language Knights}} || || Czech || Rytíři ||
+
!Czech
 +
| Rytíři || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsCzech|Czech language Knights}} || || Před každou hrou, v niž se používají řytíři, zamíchej jejich balíček.  Polož ho lícem dolů s výjimkou vrchní karty. Tu jedinou je možné ziskat. ||
 
|-
 
|-
| || || Dutch || Ridders ||
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!Dutch
 +
| Ridders || {{CardLangVersionImage|Dutch}} || {{CardLangVersionImage|Dutch|d=s}} || Doen de Ridders mee, schud dan<br>aan het begin van het spel de<br>stapel ridderkaarten. Houd deze<br>als gedekte stapel op tafel en zorg<br>ervoor dat steeds alleen de bovenste<br>kaart open ligt. Dit is de enige kaart<br>van die stapel die gekocht of gepakt<br>kan worden. || (2012)
 
|-
 
|-
| || || Finnish || Ritarit ||
+
!Finnish
 +
| Ritarit || || || ||
 
|-
 
|-
| || || French || Chevalier ||
+
!French
 +
| Chevalier || || || ||
 
|-
 
|-
| {{CardVersionImage|Knights German-HiG|German Version }} || || German || Ritter ||
+
!German
 +
| Ritter || {{CardVersionImage|Knights German-HiG|German language Knights 2019 by ASS}} || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsDigitalGerman|Knights from Shuffle iT}} || Spielvorbereitung:<br>Mischt alle Ritter, legt sie als verdeckten Stapel in den Vorrat und deckt die oberste Karte auf. Es darf immer nur die oberste Karte des Stapels genommen oder gekauft werden. || (2019)
 
|-
 
|-
| || || Japanese || 騎士 (pron. ''kishi'') || 騎士を使用する各ゲ一ムの開始前に、騎士の山をシャッフルする。一番上のカード以外は裏にする。山の一番上のカードのみ購入•獲得可能。
+
!Japanese
 +
| 騎士 (pron. ''kishi'') || || || style="padding:15px 0px;"| 騎士を使用する各ゲ一ムの開始前に、騎士の山をシャッフルする。一番上のカード以外は裏にする。山の一番上のカードのみ購入•獲得可能。||
 
|-
 
|-
| || || Korean || 기사 (pron. ''gisa'') ||
+
!Korean
 +
| 기사 (pron. ''gisa'') || || || ||
 
|-
 
|-
| || || Russian || Рыцари (pron. ''rytsari'') ||
+
!Polish
 +
| Rycerze || || || || <small>Although Polish version is not released,<br>this name is referred to in Polish Dominion 2E rulebook.</small>
 
|-
 
|-
| || || Spanish || Caballero ||
+
!Russian
 +
| Рыцари (pron. ''rytsari'') || || || ||
 +
|-
 +
!Spanish
 +
|Caballeros || {{CardVersionImage|KnightsSpanish|Spanish language Knights}} ||  || Mezcla el montón de Caballeros antes de cada partida en la que vayas a jugar con ellos. Deja el montón boca abajo excepto la carta superior, que es la única que puede comprarse o ganarse. ||
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 175: Line 142:
 
=== Secret History ===
 
=== Secret History ===
 
{{Quote
 
{{Quote
|Text=How about a pile where every card is different? To keep from being too much to remember, they could be variations on a theme. Thus was my thinking back when, and the 2007 version of the set had a pile of Knights. They each had "Each other player trashes the top card of his deck," which was my standard trashing attack in those days, plus a bonus that varied by Knight. At that time kingdom card piles were 12 cards, and exactly 12 people had played Dominion when I made the first version of the expansion, so I had a Knight for each of them.
+
|Text=How about a pile where every card is different? To keep from being too much to remember, they could be variations on a theme. Thus was my thinking back when, and the 2007 version of the set had a pile of Knights. They each had "Each other player trashes the top card of his deck," which was my standard [[trasher|trashing]] [[attack]] in those days, plus a bonus that varied by Knight. At that time [[kingdom]] card piles were 12 cards, and exactly 12 people had played Dominion when I made the first version of the expansion, so I had a Knight for each of them.
  
When the top-card-trashing attacks all died their deserved deaths, I had to find a way to fix up the Knights. I settled on trashing cards in the range {{Cost|3}}–{{Cost|6}}. I tried other ranges, man, don't think I didn't. If the lower limit is {{Cost|4}}, you always buy Silver over {{Cost|4}}'s, which makes the game less fun. If the top limit is {{Cost|5}}, you always buy Gold over {{Cost|5}}'s, which makes the game less fun. {{Cost|3}}–{{Cost|6}} is the range that does not actually stop you from building a deck with actions, while not helping your opponents by trashing junk, and not being so swingy as to trash Provinces. I could have gone {{Cost|3}}–{{Cost|7}} but decided to let the {{Cost|7}}'s be excitingly immune to Knights.
+
When the top-card-trashing attacks all died their deserved deaths, I had to find a way to fix up the Knights. I settled on trashing cards in the range {{Cost|3}}–{{Cost|6}}. I tried other ranges, man, don't think I didn't. If the lower limit is {{Cost|4}}, you always buy {{Card|Silver}} over {{Cost|4}}'s, which makes the game less fun. If the top limit is {{Cost|5}}, you always buy {{Card|Gold}} over {{Cost|5}}'s, which makes the game less fun. {{Cost|3}}–{{Cost|6}} is the range that does not actually stop you from building a deck with [[action]]s, while not helping your opponents by trashing junk, and not being so swingy as to trash {{Card|Province|Provinces}}. I could have gone {{Cost|3}}–{{Cost|7}} but decided to let the {{Cost|7}}'s be excitingly immune to Knights.
  
 
The Knights slowed down the game, and needed some penalty to mildly keep them in check. They still slow down the game, but you know, not quite as much. They are for the people who like this kind of thing, and well some people adore them, slower game and all. Some people are all, my cards, my precious cards, and well there are plenty of other cards in the set for those guys. Sometimes someone else's cool fun thing trashes your cards, that's just the way it is. Anyway where was I. A penalty. I let them {{Card|Moat}} each other, which was okay, and also tried letting any attack Moat them. I think Bill Barksdale suggested having them kill each other. It's a good penalty because it means if people go heavy into Knights, they kill each other off and then there are not as many of them.
 
The Knights slowed down the game, and needed some penalty to mildly keep them in check. They still slow down the game, but you know, not quite as much. They are for the people who like this kind of thing, and well some people adore them, slower game and all. Some people are all, my cards, my precious cards, and well there are plenty of other cards in the set for those guys. Sometimes someone else's cool fun thing trashes your cards, that's just the way it is. Anyway where was I. A penalty. I let them {{Card|Moat}} each other, which was okay, and also tried letting any attack Moat them. I think Bill Barksdale suggested having them kill each other. It's a good penalty because it means if people go heavy into Knights, they kill each other off and then there are not as many of them.
  
The 12-card pile had a few abilities that have not survived. There were a few that scaled with the number of players in a way that I sometimes am okay with but which wasn't great. Like, +{{Cost|1}} per treasure trashed. There was one that attacked the turn you got it: the Hinterlands Knight. And all of the original resource abilities were weaker—it was +1 Card etc. rather than +2 Cards etc. The Knights needed to be better, and improving the bonuses was more fun than improving the attack.
+
The 12-card pile had a few abilities that have not survived. There were a few that scaled with the number of players in a way that I sometimes am okay with but which wasn't great. Like, +{{Cost|1}} per [[treasure]] trashed. There was one that attacked the turn you got it: the {{Set|Hinterlands}} Knight. And all of the original resource abilities were weaker—it was +1 Card etc. rather than +2 Cards etc. The Knights needed to be better, and improving the bonuses was more fun than improving the attack.
  
 
The Knights are still all named after real people, so hey let's meet them! Some of them are even illustrated on the cards, although two declined, two are small children, and some of the remaining six resemble the actual person more than others.
 
The Knights are still all named after real people, so hey let's meet them! Some of them are even illustrated on the cards, although two declined, two are small children, and some of the remaining six resemble the actual person more than others.
  
Dame Josephine / Dame Natalie / Dame Sylvia: My wife and daughters.
+
{{Card|Dame Josephine}} / {{Card|Dame Natalie}} / {{Card|Dame Sylvia}}: My wife and daughters.
  
Dame Molly / Sir Destry: Two friends who were in the first game of Dominion, along with me and Dame Josephine. For you Prosperity fans, Dame Molly is the one who suggested "spendy" as an expansion theme.
+
{{Card|Dame Molly}} / {{Card|Sir Destry}}: Two friends who were in the first game of Dominion, along with me and Dame Josephine. For you {{Set|Prosperity}} fans, Dame Molly is the one who suggested "spendy" as an expansion theme.
  
Sir Martin / Dame Anna: A friend who would have been in that game, but he'd moved away some months earlier, and his girlfriend.
+
{{Card|Sir Martin}} / {{Card|Dame Anna}}: A friend who would have been in that game, but he'd moved away some months earlier, and his girlfriend.
  
Sir Bailey: Dame Molly's boyfriend, and the second person to have a copy of Dominion. He was also the first person to make homemade cards, if mine don't count, and he made Courtyard.
+
{{Card|Sir Bailey}}: Dame Molly's boyfriend, and the second person to have a copy of Dominion. He was also the first person to make homemade cards, if mine don't count, and he made {{Card|Courtyard}}.
  
Sir Vander / Sir Michael: My e-friend who suffered through endless conversations about Dominion but did not playtest much, and another e-friend who playtested a bunch.
+
{{Card|Sir Vander}} / {{Card|Sir Michael}}: My e-friend who suffered through endless conversations about Dominion but did not playtest much, and another e-friend who playtested a bunch.
 
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4318.0 The Secret History of the Dark Ages Cards]
 
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4318.0 The Secret History of the Dark Ages Cards]
 
}}
 
}}
 +
=== Knight outtakes ===
 +
{{Quote
 +
|Text=
 +
There were 12 Knights originally, including several that didn't make it, including a "when-gain, play" Knight, a couple that gave resources based on what they trashed (back when they could trash any card), and one that could turn into a {{Card|Duchy}} he trashed. Later on, with them looking mostly like they do now, {{Card|Sir Martin}} and {{Card|Sir Bailey}} were the tricky slots. They all cost {{Cost|5}}, {{Card|Sir Bailey}} with +2 Buys (then later +{{Cost|1}} +2 Buys) sucked, and {{Card|Sir Martin}} tried a few {{Card|Warehouse}}-type things. As you know {{Card|Sir Martin}} ended up costing {{Cost|4}} and getting +2 Buys, and {{Card|Sir Bailey}} got +1 Card +1 Action.
 +
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 +
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg360194#msg360194 Interview with Donald X.]
 +
}}
 +
=== How were the Knight abilities matched to their names? ===
 +
{{Quote
 +
|Text=
 +
{{Card|Dame Josephine}}, {{Card|Dame Molly}}, and {{Card|Sir Destry}} picked their effects (from the list).
  
 +
{{Card|Sir Martin}} is younger than the rest of us fogies so he's the little Knight. {{Card|Sir Vander}} has been suicidal so he's the Knight that rewards you for dying. {{Card|Dame Natalie}} was/is small so she got gaining small cards, a more tenuous connection. {{Card|Dame Sylvia}} just got something decent, and the others are random.
 +
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 +
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg595735#msg595735 Interview with Donald X.]
 +
}}
 +
=== Retrospective ===
 +
{{Quote
 +
|Text=
 +
Enough people hate the Knights that if I changed everything I'd change them, but enough people love them that Dark Ages 2E wouldn't consider dropping them.
 +
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 +
|Source=[https://discord.com/channels/212660788786102272/577083165039132672/669673516672745472 Dominion Discord, 2020]
 +
}}
 +
{{Quote
 +
|Text=
 +
The whole premise was to have it be 10 unique cards. If I were doing them today I would keep that part! I still like it. The Knights are wordier than I like, the attack is stronger than I like, and there are a few to tweak otherwise.
 +
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 +
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg871096#msg871096 Interview with Donald X.]
 +
}}
 
{{Navbox Dark Ages}}
 
{{Navbox Dark Ages}}
 
{{Navbox card types}}
 
{{Navbox card types}}
 
[[Category:Single-expansion special card types]]
 
[[Category:Single-expansion special card types]]
 +
[[category:trashing attack]]
 +
[[category:attack]]
 +
[[category:offense]]

Latest revision as of 05:37, 18 January 2024

Knights
Knights.jpg
Info
Cost $5
Type(s) Action - Attack - Knight
Kingdom card? Yes
Set Dark AgesDark Ages icon.png
Illustrator(s) Matthias Catrein
Card text
Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained.

Knight is a type of Kingdom card from the Dark Ages expansion. There are 10 differently-named unique Knights with a single randomizer card; when Knights are selected as a Kingdom card for a game, they are shuffled into a single supply pile, of which only the top card can be seen and gained at any given time.

Every Knight costs $5 except Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg, who costs $4.

Every Knight is an ActionAttack–Knight card (Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg is also a Victory card) with the same main trashing attack ability—''Each other player reveals the top 2 cards of their deck, trashes one of them costing from $3 to $6, and discards the rest. If a Knight is trashed by this, trash this card"—and each Knight has a unique second ability.

Contents

[edit] List of Knights (and their secondary abilities)

[edit] Image Gallery

Dame Anna.jpgDame Josephine.jpgDame Molly.jpgDame Natalie.jpgDame Sylvia.jpgSir Bailey.jpgSir Destry.jpgSir Martin.jpgSir Michael.jpgSir Vander.jpg

[edit] Additional rules

[edit] Preparation

  • If the Knights Kingdom card pile is being used, shuffle the Knights before the game, and place the pile face down with the top card face up.
  • The pile does not get a token for Trade RouteTrade Route.jpg (from ProsperityProsperity.jpg), even if the top Knight is a Victory card.

[edit] FAQ

[edit] Official FAQ

  • This is a pile in which each card is different.
  • There is the same basic ability on each card, but also another ability unique to that card in the pile, and they all have different names.
  • Shuffle the Knights pile before playing it, keeping it face down except for the top one, which is the only card that can be gained from the pile. See Additional Rules and Preparation.
  • Follow the rules on Knights in order from top to bottom; Sir MichaelSir Michael.jpg causes players to discard before it trashes cards.
  • The ability they have in common is, each other player reveals the top two cards of their deck, trashes one of them that they choose that costs from $3 to $6, and discards the rest; then, if a Knight was trashed, you trash the Knight you played that caused this trashing. Resolve this ability in turn order, starting with the player to your left.
  • Cards with P (from AlchemyAlchemy.jpg) or D (from EmpiresEmpires.jpg) in the cost do not cost from $3 to $6.
  • The player losing a card only gets a choice if both cards revealed cost from $3 to $6.
  • If they both do and one is a Knight but the player picks the other card, that will not cause the played Knight to be trashed.
  • Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg is also a Victory card, worth 2 VP at the end of the game. The Knight pile is not a Victory pile though, and does not get a counter for Trade RouteTrade Route.jpg (from ProsperityProsperity.jpg) even if Dame Josephine starts on top.
  • If you choose to use the Knights with Black MarketBlack Market.jpg (a promotional card), put a Knight directly into the Black Market deck, rather than using the randomizer card.
  • Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg only costs $4, though the other Knights all cost $5. When Sir Martin is the top card of the pile, it can be gained with an ArmoryArmory.jpg and so on.
  • If Sir VanderSir Vander.jpg is trashed, you gain a GoldGold.jpg; this happens whether it is trashed on your turn or someone else's. The player who had Sir Vander is the one who gains the Gold, regardless of who played the card that trashed it.
  • When playing Dame AnnaDame Anna.jpg, you may choose to trash zero, one, or two cards from your hand.

[edit] Strategy

In most Kingdoms, Knights are best thought of as payload for engines that can play them reliably to punish opponents who build less than you do. The best use case for Knights is when you are able to play multiple Knights per turn, without much reprisal from your opponents, leaving them with an ineffective deck and giving you time to catch up, outscore them, and end the game. A common example of this occurs when you play an engine against most money decks: in most such match-ups, your Knights can render their deck impotent once they start greening, giving you more time to build and catch up.

Knights are best in Kingdoms in which their attack is high-impact. This is often the case in Kingdoms with the following:

  • little in the way of additional gains in the form of either gainers or +Buy. As an example, money decks that can easily gain SilversSilver.jpg (such as with AmuletAmulet.jpg) are usually not very impacted by Knight attacks.
  • good engine components, including draw, deck control, and villages, so that an attacker is able to reliably play multiple Knights per turn, decimating their opponents’ decks faster than they can be built up.

Knights are less impactful if the above conditions are not present. This is because Knights are mostly $5 terminal stop cards that provide only a small direct benefit to you, with most of their value otherwise coming from the attacking component. There is often a large opportunity cost in buying a Knight over other $5 cards, and a somewhat smaller opportunity cost in using up your terminal space. Some Knights can be individually desirable outside of their attacking function, however, if they are the only source of a particular effect in the Kingdom. Dame AnnaDame Anna.jpg being the only trasher present and Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg as the only source of +Buy are two such examples, but it’s worth noting that these Knights are not reliable long-term sources of such effects, as they are eventually likely to succumb to an opponent’s Knight.

Defending against Knights is both Kingdom- and gamestate-dependent. There are three main defensive options:

  1. Gaining Knights of your own. This often comes at the cost of improving your deck otherwise (e.g. adding a LaboratoryLaboratory.jpg instead), but can be useful as eventually your new Knight should cancel out with one of their Knights, reducing the amount of attacks they can hit you with by one permanently.
  2. Having excess gains to replace what gets trashed, or to gain sacrificial fodder (e.g. SilversSilver.jpg). This is slightly more risky, as your gainers might get trashed and they can continue to use their Knights unabated, but usually this improves the overall quality of your deck more than adding a Knight.
  3. Attack immunity, if it exists in the Kingdom, can stop the Knights entirely.

Because the Knights pile is ordered randomly for every game, the one on top can dictate whether or not Knights should be gained that game. If you are the first player to gain a Knight, you will reveal the second Knight in the pile, often without a chance to get it for yourself before your opponent can. If the top Knight is weak and the second is desirable (e.g., Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg first, then Dame AnnaDame Anna.jpg second), you will be disadvantaged by taking the first Knight. Conversely, if the top Knight is desirable and you gain it quickly, revealing a weak second Knight, your opponent is likely forced either to take that Knight as a defensive strategy (which is not reliably effective) and build inefficiently, or to try and build otherwise and suffer the Knight attacks in the meantime.

Knights are typically most effective in the mid- and endgame. In the opening they are most likely to hit your opponents’ CoppersCopper.jpg and EstatesEstate.jpg, trashing nothing and giving them free cycling.

In games in which Knights are important, winning the Knight split is fairly important. As an example, say your opponent was able to gain 6 Knights to your 4. In the long run, you’re likely to end up with 0 to their 2, leaving their attacks unopposed, which is usually a strong position for them. However, this does not mean you should buy Knights at every early opportunity. Building a stronger deck first, and then more aggressively pursuing the Knights as a second priority, is usually the best way to both win the Knight split and the Knight war. The most important thing is to build a good deck that can play all your Knights as often as possible by reliably drawing the Knights you have, rather than stuffing your deck with Knights and only playing some subset of them.

[edit] Individual Knight Strategy

  • Dame AnnaDame Anna.jpg - Can be important if no other trashing is available, particularly if it is the top Knight in the pile.
  • Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg - Often weak, given 2 VP is not very much and Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg is likely to end up in the trash in a Knights war anyway.
  • Dame MollyDame Molly.jpg - Can be important if terminal space is extremely valuable (e.g., for playing more Knights).
  • Dame NatalieDame Natalie.jpg - Sometimes useful if $3 cards that you want a lot of, such as VillageVillage.jpg, are present.
  • Dame SylviaDame Sylvia.jpg - Usually mediocre, suffers from the same problems as many terminal silvers.
  • Sir BaileySir Bailey.jpg - One of the stronger Knights, as it fits easily into many decks given its cantrip nature, alleviating some of the common problems with Knights (namely, being a terminal stop card).
  • Sir DestrySir Destry.jpg - Somewhat stronger Knight, as terminally drawing 2 cards is not very much but is better than being a stop card.
  • Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg - Situationally useful if no other +Buy is available, but in the long term is an unreliable source of such and thus is of limited use to a deck relying on it.
  • Sir MichaelSir Michael.jpg - Fairly strong discard attack, likely most impactful in the midgame when your opponents have less junk to discard but don’t have full deck control.
  • Sir VanderSir Vander.jpg - Often weak, as it has no direct benefit on play, and only gains you a GoldGold.jpg after it gets trashed. This GoldGold.jpg is not likely to help very much in an engine playing a lot of Knights.

[edit] Notable Synergies

  • Trash interaction, especially NecromancerNecromancer.jpg - With NecromancerNecromancer.jpg, you can continue to play cards (including Knights) after they’ve been trashed by the Knights. This can lead to very attack-heavy games in which the NecromancerNecromancer.jpg split is important. LurkerLurker.jpg also has a similar effect in Kingdoms with Knights.
  • OverlordOverlord.jpg - Allows you to play Knights or other powerful cards interchangeably, and is immune to the Knight attack itself, meaning you can continuously play Knights until the Knights pile runs.
  • Cost reduction - In games with cost reduction, you can more carefully control which cards your Knights trash. This can mean sometimes trashing your opponents’ ProvincesProvince.jpg, or hitting more important cards than SilversSilver.jpg.

[edit] External strategy articles

Note: Article(s) below are by individual authors and may not represent the community's current views on cards, but may provide more in-depth information or give historical perspective. Caveat emptor.

[edit] Versions

[edit] English versions

Print Digital Text Release Date
Knights Knights from Goko/Making Fun Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained. Dark Ages August 2012
Knights Knights from Shuffle iT Shuffle the Knights pile before each game with it. Keep it face down except for the top card, which is the only one that can be bought or gained. Dark Ages (2017 printing) September 2017

[edit] Other language versions

In general, the specific names of the Knights do not change in different languages.

Language Name Print Digital Text Notes
Czech Rytíři Czech language Knights Před každou hrou, v niž se používají řytíři, zamíchej jejich balíček. Polož ho lícem dolů s výjimkou vrchní karty. Tu jedinou je možné ziskat.
Dutch Ridders Doen de Ridders mee, schud dan
aan het begin van het spel de
stapel ridderkaarten. Houd deze
als gedekte stapel op tafel en zorg
ervoor dat steeds alleen de bovenste
kaart open ligt. Dit is de enige kaart
van die stapel die gekocht of gepakt
kan worden.
(2012)
Finnish Ritarit
French Chevalier
German Ritter German language Knights 2019 by ASS Knights from Shuffle iT Spielvorbereitung:
Mischt alle Ritter, legt sie als verdeckten Stapel in den Vorrat und deckt die oberste Karte auf. Es darf immer nur die oberste Karte des Stapels genommen oder gekauft werden.
(2019)
Japanese 騎士 (pron. kishi) 騎士を使用する各ゲ一ムの開始前に、騎士の山をシャッフルする。一番上のカード以外は裏にする。山の一番上のカードのみ購入•獲得可能。
Korean 기사 (pron. gisa)
Polish Rycerze Although Polish version is not released,
this name is referred to in Polish Dominion 2E rulebook.
Russian Рыцари (pron. rytsari)
Spanish Caballeros Spanish language Knights Mezcla el montón de Caballeros antes de cada partida en la que vayas a jugar con ellos. Deja el montón boca abajo excepto la carta superior, que es la única que puede comprarse o ganarse.

[edit] Trivia

Official randomizer card art.

[edit] Secret History

How about a pile where every card is different? To keep from being too much to remember, they could be variations on a theme. Thus was my thinking back when, and the 2007 version of the set had a pile of Knights. They each had "Each other player trashes the top card of his deck," which was my standard trashing attack in those days, plus a bonus that varied by Knight. At that time kingdom card piles were 12 cards, and exactly 12 people had played Dominion when I made the first version of the expansion, so I had a Knight for each of them.

When the top-card-trashing attacks all died their deserved deaths, I had to find a way to fix up the Knights. I settled on trashing cards in the range $3$6. I tried other ranges, man, don't think I didn't. If the lower limit is $4, you always buy SilverSilver.jpg over $4's, which makes the game less fun. If the top limit is $5, you always buy GoldGold.jpg over $5's, which makes the game less fun. $3$6 is the range that does not actually stop you from building a deck with actions, while not helping your opponents by trashing junk, and not being so swingy as to trash ProvincesProvince.jpg. I could have gone $3$7 but decided to let the $7's be excitingly immune to Knights.

The Knights slowed down the game, and needed some penalty to mildly keep them in check. They still slow down the game, but you know, not quite as much. They are for the people who like this kind of thing, and well some people adore them, slower game and all. Some people are all, my cards, my precious cards, and well there are plenty of other cards in the set for those guys. Sometimes someone else's cool fun thing trashes your cards, that's just the way it is. Anyway where was I. A penalty. I let them MoatMoat.jpg each other, which was okay, and also tried letting any attack Moat them. I think Bill Barksdale suggested having them kill each other. It's a good penalty because it means if people go heavy into Knights, they kill each other off and then there are not as many of them.

The 12-card pile had a few abilities that have not survived. There were a few that scaled with the number of players in a way that I sometimes am okay with but which wasn't great. Like, +$1 per treasure trashed. There was one that attacked the turn you got it: the HinterlandsHinterlands.jpg Knight. And all of the original resource abilities were weaker—it was +1 Card etc. rather than +2 Cards etc. The Knights needed to be better, and improving the bonuses was more fun than improving the attack.

The Knights are still all named after real people, so hey let's meet them! Some of them are even illustrated on the cards, although two declined, two are small children, and some of the remaining six resemble the actual person more than others.

Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg / Dame NatalieDame Natalie.jpg / Dame SylviaDame Sylvia.jpg: My wife and daughters.

Dame MollyDame Molly.jpg / Sir DestrySir Destry.jpg: Two friends who were in the first game of Dominion, along with me and Dame Josephine. For you ProsperityProsperity.jpg fans, Dame Molly is the one who suggested "spendy" as an expansion theme.

Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg / Dame AnnaDame Anna.jpg: A friend who would have been in that game, but he'd moved away some months earlier, and his girlfriend.

Sir BaileySir Bailey.jpg: Dame Molly's boyfriend, and the second person to have a copy of Dominion. He was also the first person to make homemade cards, if mine don't count, and he made CourtyardCourtyard.jpg.

Sir VanderSir Vander.jpg / Sir MichaelSir Michael.jpg: My e-friend who suffered through endless conversations about Dominion but did not playtest much, and another e-friend who playtested a bunch.

[edit] Knight outtakes

There were 12 Knights originally, including several that didn't make it, including a "when-gain, play" Knight, a couple that gave resources based on what they trashed (back when they could trash any card), and one that could turn into a DuchyDuchy.jpg he trashed. Later on, with them looking mostly like they do now, Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg and Sir BaileySir Bailey.jpg were the tricky slots. They all cost $5, Sir BaileySir Bailey.jpg with +2 Buys (then later +$1 +2 Buys) sucked, and Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg tried a few WarehouseWarehouse.jpg-type things. As you know Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg ended up costing $4 and getting +2 Buys, and Sir BaileySir Bailey.jpg got +1 Card +1 Action.

[edit] How were the Knight abilities matched to their names?

Dame JosephineDame Josephine.jpg, Dame MollyDame Molly.jpg, and Sir DestrySir Destry.jpg picked their effects (from the list). Sir MartinSir Martin.jpg is younger than the rest of us fogies so he's the little Knight. Sir VanderSir Vander.jpg has been suicidal so he's the Knight that rewards you for dying. Dame NatalieDame Natalie.jpg was/is small so she got gaining small cards, a more tenuous connection. Dame SylviaDame Sylvia.jpg just got something decent, and the others are random.

[edit] Retrospective

Enough people hate the Knights that if I changed everything I'd change them, but enough people love them that Dark Ages 2E wouldn't consider dropping them.


The whole premise was to have it be 10 unique cards. If I were doing them today I would keep that part! I still like it. The Knights are wordier than I like, the attack is stronger than I like, and there are a few to tweak otherwise.


Cards $0 Ruins (Abandoned MineAbandoned Mine.jpgRuined LibraryRuined Library.jpgRuined MarketRuined Market.jpgRuined VillageRuined Village.jpgSurvivorsSurvivors.jpg) $0star SpoilsSpoils.jpg $1 Poor HousePoor House.jpgShelters (HovelHovel.jpgNecropolisNecropolis.jpgOvergrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg) $2 BeggarBeggar.jpgSquireSquire.jpgVagrantVagrant.jpg $3 ForagerForager.jpgHermitHermit.jpg (MadmanMadman.jpg) • Market SquareMarket Square.jpgSageSage.jpgStoreroomStoreroom.jpgUrchinUrchin.jpg (MercenaryMercenary.jpg) $4 ArmoryArmory.jpgDeath CartDeath Cart.jpgFeodumFeodum.jpgFortressFortress.jpgIronmongerIronmonger.jpgMarauderMarauder.jpgProcessionProcession.jpgRatsRats.jpgScavengerScavenger.jpgWandering MinstrelWandering Minstrel.jpg $5 Band of MisfitsBand of Misfits.jpgBandit CampBandit Camp.jpgCatacombsCatacombs.jpgCountCount.jpgCounterfeitCounterfeit.jpgCultistCultist.jpgGraverobberGraverobber.jpgJunk DealerJunk Dealer.jpgKnightsKnights.jpg (Dames AnnaDame Anna.jpgJosephineDame Josephine.jpgMollyDame Molly.jpgNatalieDame Natalie.jpgSylviaDame Sylvia.jpg • Sirs BaileySir Bailey.jpgDestrySir Destry.jpgMartinSir Martin.jpgMichaelSir Michael.jpgVanderSir Vander.jpg) • MysticMystic.jpgPillagePillage.jpgRebuildRebuild.jpgRogueRogue.jpg $6 AltarAltar.jpgHunting GroundsHunting Grounds.jpg
Combos and Counters Apprentice/Market SquareBeggar/GardensBishop/FortressDonate/Market SquareHermit/Market SquareLurker/Hunting GroundsMasterpiece/FeodumProcession/FortressTrader/Feodum
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