Shelter

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[[Image:Necropolis.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Necropolis]], a Shelter card.]]
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[[Image:Shelters.png|thumb|right|200px|[[Overgrown Estate]], [[Hovel]] and [[Necropolis]], the three Shelter cards.]]
  
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'''Shelters''' are a [[card type]] from [[Dark Ages]]. In games using [[Kingdom card|Kingdom cards]] from Dark Ages, Shelters may be used in players' starting decks instead of the {{Card|Estate|Estates}} that starting decks usually contain. Shelters do not have a [[supply]] pile; the only ones in the game are the ones that players start with. Although they cannot be bought, Shelters have a cost of {{Cost|1}}.
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'''Shelter''' is a [[card type]] from [[Dark Ages]]. In games using [[Kingdom card]]s from Dark Ages, Shelters may be used in players' starting decks instead of the {{Card|Estate|Estates}} that starting decks usually contain. Shelters do not have a [[Supply]] pile; the only ones in the game are the ones that players start with. Although they cannot be bought, Shelters have a cost of {{Cost|1}}.
  
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Shelter cards have a red frame—however, since every Shelter card has two [[type|types]], each Shelter's frame is half red and half the color associated with its other type.
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Shelter cards have a red frame—however, since every Shelter card has two [[type]]s, each Shelter's frame is half red and half the color associated with its other type.
  
 
There are three differently-named Shelters; each player's deck starts with one of each:
 
There are three differently-named Shelters; each player's deck starts with one of each:
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* {{Card|Overgrown Estate}}—a [[Victory]]–Shelter
 
* {{Card|Hovel}}—a [[Reaction]]–Shelter
 
* {{Card|Hovel}}—a [[Reaction]]–Shelter
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* {{Card|Necropolis}}—an [[Action]]–Shelter
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* {{Card|Necropolis}}—an [[Action]]–Shelter<br>&nbsp;
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* {{Card|Overgrown Estate}}—a [[Victory]]–Shelter
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== Additional rules ==
 
== Additional rules ==
 
The rules for playing with Shelters are described in the Dominion: [[Dark Ages]] rulebook and are reproduced here.  
 
The rules for playing with Shelters are described in the Dominion: [[Dark Ages]] rulebook and are reproduced here.  
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* If only Kingdom cards from Dark Ages are being used this game, the Shelter cards replace starting {{Card|Estate|Estates}} - each player's starting deck is seven {{Card|Copper|Coppers}}, a {{Card|Hovel}}, a {{Card|Necropolis}}, and an {{Card|Overgrown Estate}}.
 
* If only Kingdom cards from Dark Ages are being used this game, the Shelter cards replace starting {{Card|Estate|Estates}} - each player's starting deck is seven {{Card|Copper|Coppers}}, a {{Card|Hovel}}, a {{Card|Necropolis}}, and an {{Card|Overgrown Estate}}.
 
* If a mix of Kingdom cards from Dark Ages and other sets is being used, then the use of Shelters should be determined randomly, based on the proportion of Dark Ages cards in use. For example, choose a random Kingdom card being used - such as the last card dealt from the Randomizer deck - and if it is from Dark Ages, use Shelters in place of starting Estates.
 
* If a mix of Kingdom cards from Dark Ages and other sets is being used, then the use of Shelters should be determined randomly, based on the proportion of Dark Ages cards in use. For example, choose a random Kingdom card being used - such as the last card dealt from the Randomizer deck - and if it is from Dark Ages, use Shelters in place of starting Estates.
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* Do not use the same card to choose whether or not to use Shelters as you use to choose whether or not to use {{Card|Platinum}} and {{Card|Colony}} (from [[Prosperity]]).  
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* Do not use the same card to choose whether or not to use Shelters as you use to choose whether or not to use {{Card|Platinum}} and {{Card|Colony}} (from {{Set|Prosperity}}).  
 
* Using Shelters does not change the Estate Supply pile; it still contains 8 Estates for 2 players and 12 Estates for 3 or more players.
 
* Using Shelters does not change the Estate Supply pile; it still contains 8 Estates for 2 players and 12 Estates for 3 or more players.
 
== FAQ ==
 
== FAQ ==
 
=== Official FAQ ===
 
=== Official FAQ ===
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=== Other Rules clarifications ===
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* Dark Ages includes Shelters - {{Card|Hovel}}, {{Card|Necropolis}}, and {{Card|Overgrown Estate}}.
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* These cards replace starting Estates in some games, as described under [[#Preparation|Preparation]].
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* Shelters have no corresponding [[Supply]] pile; they can never be bought, and {{Card|Ambassador}} (from {{Set|Seaside}}) cannot return one anywhere.
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=== Other rules clarifications ===
 
* It is allowed to reveal a Shelter when playing {{Card|Ambassador}}. In that case, it is not returned to the Supply (since it is not in the Supply) and opponents do not gain a copy of it.
 
* It is allowed to reveal a Shelter when playing {{Card|Ambassador}}. In that case, it is not returned to the Supply (since it is not in the Supply) and opponents do not gain a copy of it.
  
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== Strategy Article ==
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== Strategy ==
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''[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6369.0 original article] by werothegreat, edited by theory''
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Since Shelters differ from {{Card|Estate|Estates}} in several ways, their presence in your starting deck impacts various strategic considerations.
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# Their lower cost, at {{Cost|1}} instead of {{Cost|2}}, reduces the potential value of using [[trash-for-benefit]] effects, such as {{Card|Salvager}}, to trash your starting cards. This can be a particular problem for cards like {{Card|Upgrade}}: unless there is a desirable card available at {{Cost|2}}, such as {{Card|Border Guard}}, trashing a Shelter will force you to gain an {{Card|Estate}} or another useless card.
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# The fact that three of your starting cards are unique rather than identical has a few implications. The most likely to be relevant are those that relate to [[thinning]]: Shelters are easier to thin with {{Card|Temple}} and provide more payoffs with {{Card|Bounty Hunter}}, but it's unlikely to be efficient to {{Event|Banish}} them. Before you've thinned your Shelters, or in cases where this is impossible, they improve your chances of activating {{Card|Menagerie}} but make drawing with {{Card|Hunting Party}} less effective. Finally, if you keep them in your deck until the end of the game, they will give you extra {{VP}} with {{Landmark|Museum}} but impose a {{VP}} penalty with {{Landmark|Wolf Den}}.
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# Unlike in other games, you start with no {{Card|Estate|Estates}}, which devalues effects that benefit from their automatic presence in your deck, such as {{Card|Baron}}, {{Card|Rebuild}}, and {{Event|Inheritance}}.
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Beyond these issues, each of the Shelters also has some unique properties which lead to other considerations and interactions.
  
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Shelters are the most drastic change made to Dominion by the Dark Ages expansion.  They were saved for last in the previews before release, after we saw the trash-gainer, the {{Cost|1}} card, the [[Ruin|Ruins]] and their [[Looter|Looters]], the upgrading cards, and {{Card|Spoils}}. While each of those do change the game in their own ways, ranging from the subtle to the not-so-subtle, they certainly more or less fit into the game space of Dominion as we know it – at the end of the day, they are simply Kingdom cards with cool, new effects. But Shelters change how we play Dominion at a fundamental level.
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As an [[Action]] card that starts the game in your deck, {{Card|Necropolis}} sometimes has a major impact on what you can do in the [[opening]], even though its [[Village (card category)|village]] effect is irrelevant at first. {{Card|Necropolis}} is a prime target for effects that require you to trash an Action card, and in cases like {{Event|Advance}} and {{Card|Animal Fair}}, it's often worth activating this ability immediately. The presence of a [[Way]] can also be important: for example, {{Way|Way of the Sheep}} guarantees you can buy a card costing {{Cost|5}} in the opening. Later in the game, many Ways continue to be situationally more useful than {{Card|Necropolis|Necropolis's}} effect, making it worth keeping in your deck. {{Way|Way of the Horse}} is especially noteworthy: because {{Card|Necropolis}} has no pile to return to, this Way makes it equivalent to a {{Card|Laboratory}} that you start out with for free. In some games, {{Card|Necropolis}} can eventually become useful for its village effect, although this is weak, coming in the form of a [[stop card]] with no other bonus. Its presence sometimes enables you to somewhat delay the purchase of other villages, and can occasionally resolve early [[terminal]] [[collision]], although it's still often better to thin it if you can. Alternatively, if the Kingdom offers strong deck control but no other villages, keeping your {{Card|Necropolis}} can be worthwhile, as it will allow you to consistently play an extra [[terminal]] each turn once you are drawing your deck.
  
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As we’ve known since our first game, our deck in Dominion starts off with seven {{Card|Copper|Coppers}} and three {{Card|Estate|Estates}} – we’re so used to this concept that we plan our entire strategies around knowing this. We think about the risk of [[opening]] with two terminals, we consider whether trashing Estates is worth losing the points they give, we see the power of {{Card|Ambassador}} and {{Card|Baron}} as opening buys, and we rest easy knowing our first {{Card|Silk Road}} will be worth at least 1 point.  Shelters throw all those concepts out the window, and give us some new ones.
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{{Card|Hovel}} not only provides no {{VP}} but lacks the [[Victory]] card type entirely, meaning that it lacks even the minor advantages of {{Card|Estate|Estates}} in e.g. providing [[draw]] when revealed by {{Card|Ironmonger}}. The fact that it can be trashed when you gain a [[Victory]] card is its most useful feature: for example, its presence in your hand may slightly increase the attraction of gaining an [[alt-VP]] card that is useful for your deck in any case, such as {{Card|Mill}}. When considering whether to gain a Victory card to trash {{Card|Hovel}}, it is important to assess the long-term effect on the number of stop cards in your deck. For example, if you buy your first {{Card|Province}} and trash a {{Card|Hovel}}, you’ve added zero stop cards on net. If, on the other hand, you were to gain an {{Card|Estate}} in the early game to trash {{Card|Hovel}}, the number of stop cards would not immediately change, but once you start [[greening]] and buy your first {{Card|Province}} the number of stop cards increases by one, meaning you effectively have taken an extra {{Card|Estate}} for no particular benefit. Occasionally, however, it can be worth trashing {{Card|Hovel}} by buying an {{Card|Estate}} when you have {{Cost|2}} and nothing better to buy if the {{Card|Estate}} can be put to use in some way that {{Card|Hovel}} couldn't (perhaps in feeding a trash-for-benefit effect or using it for draw with {{Project|Crop Rotation}}).
  
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First, they all cost {{Cost|1}}, which affects quite a few cards that depend on other cards’ costs (as you’ll see soon).  Next, they all do something – you are now starting the game with cards that have text on them – get out those reading glasses.  Third, you no longer start off with 3 {{VP}}, so strategies that trash into engines no longer have to worry about a tie-breaking Estate. Finally, only one of them is a Victory card, which has ramifications to be discussed in time.
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{{Card|Overgrown Estate}} is often an attractive target for trashing as early as possible, since doing so provides some [[cycling]] and is reasonably likely to draw a {{Card|Copper}} in the early game, increasing your {{Cost}} output that turn. However, it's worth paying attention to cases where this effect could trigger an undesirable shuffle or draw a card dead, in which case it may be better to trash something else. Since {{Card|Overgrown Estate}} does have the Victory type, it does interact with some of the same effects as {{Card|Estate}} (such as {{Card|Rebuild}} and {{Card|Shepherd}}), but these are still unlikely to be worth using.  
  
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More broadly speaking, all opening theory related to Estates goes out the window. For example:
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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.''
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* [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6369.0 werothegreat's 2013 article]
  
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* Baron gets completely neutered ({{Card|Crossroads}}, too, to a lesser extent)
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== Card gallery ==
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* Ambassador is unable to return a Shelter (since they aren’t in the Supply), so it only works on Coppers now
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{{CardImage|Hovel}}{{CardImage|Necropolis}}{{CardImage|Overgrown Estate}}
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* {{Card|Bishop}}, {{Card|Remodel}}, {{Card|Salvager}}, {{Card|Apprentice}} — all the early game “[[trash for benefit]]” cards tend to do much worse when they can only trash {{Cost|1}} cards instead of {{Cost|2}}.
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* {{Card|Remake}} and {{Card|Upgrade}} now give you {{Cost|2}}s instead of {{Cost|3}}s.  Whether this is a plus or minus is entirely dependent on the board: you’re probably happy to pick up more {{Card|Fool's Gold|Fool's Golds}}, but probably not if you’re picking up more {{Card|Secret Chamber|Secret Chambers}}.
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* Cards that depend on variety get stronger: {{Card|Menagerie}} (which didn’t really need the help), and {{Card|Harvest}} (which does)
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* {{Card|Swindler}}, instead of trashing an Estate and replacing an Estate, will just trash it out of your deck (or replace it with a {{Card|Poor House}})
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Later in the game, not having those three Estates has some other effects:
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== Trivia ==
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=== In other languages ===
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* Czech: Útočiště (lit. ''refuge'')
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* Dutch: Onderdak
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* Finnish: Suoja
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* German: Unterschlupf
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* Japanese: 避難所 (pron. ''hinanjo'')
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* Russian: Убежище (pron. ''ubyezhishshye'')
  
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* {{Card|Hunting Party}} trips over them instead of bypassing them all
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=== Preview ===
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* {{Card|Silk Road}} is worth a lot less, but {{Card|Fairgrounds}} is worth considerably more
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{{Quote|Text=Here they are at last, the Shelters. In an all Dark Ages game, your starting deck is 7 {{Card|Copper|Coppers}}, {{Card|Necropolis}}, {{Card|Overgrown Estate}}, {{Card|Hovel}}. When mixing sets up, the rule for using Shelters is similar to the {{Card|Platinum}} / {{Card|Colony}} rule.
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* {{Card|Rebuild}} starts off with fewer initial Victory cards
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* {{Event|Inheritance}} does not have 3 Estates to work with from the start
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* {{Card|Fortune Teller}} discards much more
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* {{Card|Death Cart}} has an extra Action to trash
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So, in general, cards that interact with Victory cards are weakened in Shelters games, but most cards that deal with trashing, engines or hand/deck variety are bolstered.
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Shelters may not be worth the 1 {{VP}} of an Estate, but they are way better to have in your deck. Necropolis lets you go a little heavier on [[terminal]]s from the get-go. Overgrown Estate gives you an extra little treat if you ever manage to trash it. And Hovel has a built-in way to get rid of it - you move out of that Hovel, and into a nice {{Card|Duchy}} or something.
  
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Let’s look at each Shelter one by one.
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You can't buy Shelters, but they cost {{Cost|1}}. That's just to shake up how various cards interact with them. A {{Card|Remodel}} doesn't take you as far as it used to. And with only one being a Victory card, that {{Card|Crossroads}} doesn't go to as many places. {{Card|Baron}} doesn't know what to do with these. And an {{Card|Ambassador}} can't even give them away, since they have no piles to return to. On the other hand, they are fine places to get animals for your {{Card|Menagerie}}. And how much exactly can you build {{Card|Fairgrounds}} up to now, in games without {{Card|Black Market}}? Man. A lot.
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  | Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
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=== Necropolis ===
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|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3939.0 Dark Ages Preview #5: Necropolis, Overgrown Estate, Hovel]
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{{Card|Necropolis}} is easily the most useful of the Shelters, and, at first glance, would seem to be the only reason why anyone would ever want to use Shelters. It is nice to immediately start off with a card giving +2 Actions, particularly if you are transitioning into an engine with more {{Card|Village|Villages}} and more Actions.  A single Necropolis doesn’t go that far if there are no other Villages on the board, but it can also help if you plan on opening with two terminal Actions.  If they collide (probability 30.3%), your odds of also drawing the Necropolis in that hand is about 30%.
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=== Hovel ===
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{{Card|Hovel}} is probably the closest we will ever come to a Dominion card that is just a [[Reaction]] and nothing else. Being able to trash a card upon buying a Victory card is not completely new – {{Card|Farmland}} introduced us to this concept in [[Hinterlands]].  But Hovel allows you to do this when buying any Victory card, so long as the card you’re trashing is Hovel. So what is the point of this?  It tilts towards alternative Victory cards.  In a vacuum, buying {{Card|Harem}} becomes somewhat stronger than buying {{Card|Gold}} with its tiny bit of deck-thinning. It allows that {{Card|Province}} buy to be just a little bit less harmful to your carefully crafted engine, as instead of adding to your deck, it is replacing a card.  Perhaps the only time you’ll want to save Hovel from trashing is in a {{Card|Gardens}} game, where every extra card counts.
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Now, suppose you open {{Cost|5}}/{{Cost|2}}, and there isn’t anything to buy with {{Cost|2}}. Your Hovel is in your hand. Do you buy an Estate to trash the Hovel out of your deck?
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This was a heavily-debated question on the forum, and it did not come to a clear consensus. ehunt‘s explanation is quite helpful:
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{{Quote
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|Text=Sarah and Laura play a game. On turn 2, Sarah replaces a Hovel with an Estate. Laura declines to do this, keeping the Hovel and buying nothing.
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Now Sarah’s and Laura’s decks are identical (let’s say no card on the board references Estates). We can imagine their decks and draws stay identical hand for hand (except Laura draws her Hovel whenever Sarah draws her Estate). At some point, Sarah will buy a green card with her Estate in hand. Nothing happens. Laura buys a green card with her Hovel in hand; she trashes it. Now their decks are different. Sarah’s got an Estate in her deck that Laura doesn’t have.
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So the question is: '''is the turn on which you expect to buy a green card with Hovel in hand late enough that you’d be willing to take a free Estate?'''
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|Name=ehunt
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|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4508.msg100987#msg100987]
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}}
 
}}
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It’s important to point out that this might never happen.  You may in fact, never draw your Hovel with a Province-buying hand, in which case you certainly would have rather just swapped it out for an Estate early on.  But you might be guaranteed to draw your Hovel with a Province-buying hand (let’s say you have a big draw [[engine]]), and you might not want an extra dead card in the deck so early.
 
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Note also that alternative green cards (like {{Card|Great Hall}} or {{Card|Harem}}) mean that you’ll almost certainly be drawing a green-buying hand with Hovel quite early on, in which case there’s no need to buy an Estate.  And of course, quite a few cards depend on Estate, either directly or indirectly: Baron, Crossroads, even Bishop.
 
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Finally, the game might — or might not — be decided by that 1 {{VP}}.  On boards with [[+Buy]], it’s unlikely, so the advantage of that Estate probably won’t decide the game.  But on boards without +Buy, that 1 VP can prove quite valuable (especially as there are no starting Estates in each player’s deck).
 
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=== Overgrown Estate ===
 
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{{Card|Overgrown Estate}} has a cute little on-trash bonus, but not much else going for it.  Its main role is its Victory label, which makes it eligible for cards like Rebuild and Crossroads.  You can do tricks like {{Card|Hermit|Hermiting}} an Overgrown Estate from your discard to let you draw a card, or trashing it on your opponent’s Bishop so you can swap it out for a hopefully better card in your hand.
 
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=== Conclusion ===
 
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Bear in mind, though, that Shelters are, according to the rules, only supposed to show up in majority Dark Ages games, just like {{Card|Colony}} and {{Card|Platinum}} are only supposed to show up in majority Prosperity games.  So Shelters, while game-changing, has not upset the entire Dominion paradigm, and you can choose not to play with them if you wish.  But personally, I feel that, other than making Baron a sad panda, Shelters make for a more interesting, enjoyable Dominion experience.
 
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== Trivia ==
 
 
=== Secret History ===
 
=== Secret History ===
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{{Quote|Text=
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{{Quote|Text=<p>
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'''Shelters''': Tom Lehmann suggested replacing starting Estates with something else, to make the environment feel more Dark Ages-y. I thought this was a great idea. [[Ruins]] obv. doesn't work, because some people would make out, unless we picked specific ones. And Curse isn't very interesting. But I could just make up three new cards, which is what I did. {{Card|Necropolis}} shakes up early turns, since you can stomach more in the way of terminal actions; {{Card|Overgrown Estate}} gives you a little prize if you crack it open eventually; and {{Card|Hovel}} tempts you into buying a victory card when you might not have.
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Tom Lehmann suggested replacing starting Estates with something else, to make the environment feel more Dark Ages-y. I thought this was a great idea. [[Ruins]] obv. doesn't work, because some people would make out, unless we picked specific ones. And Curse isn't very interesting. But I could just make up three new cards, which is what I did. {{Card|Necropolis}} shakes up early turns, since you can stomach more in the way of terminal actions; {{Card|Overgrown Estate}} gives you a little prize if you crack it open eventually; and {{Card|Hovel}} tempts you into buying a victory card when you might not have.</p>
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<br><br>
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Hovel is the only one that changed. Originally it was an action you could trash by discarding your hand. It turned out that trashing it turn 1-2 usually seemed like the correct play, even if you drew it with four Coppers. So that was no good. Hovel as printed has nice flavor going for it; you move out of your old Hovel and into a nice Duchy.
 
Hovel is the only one that changed. Originally it was an action you could trash by discarding your hand. It turned out that trashing it turn 1-2 usually seemed like the correct play, even if you drew it with four Coppers. So that was no good. Hovel as printed has nice flavor going for it; you move out of your old Hovel and into a nice Duchy.
 
  |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 
  |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
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{{Navbox Dark Ages}}
 
{{Navbox Dark Ages}}
 
{{Navbox card types}}
 
{{Navbox card types}}
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[[Category:Card types]]
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[[Category:Single-expansion special card types]]

Latest revision as of 09:42, 19 July 2022

Overgrown Estate, Hovel and Necropolis, the three Shelter cards.

Shelter is a card type from Dark Ages. In games using Kingdom cards from Dark Ages, Shelters may be used in players' starting decks instead of the EstatesEstate.jpg that starting decks usually contain. Shelters do not have a Supply pile; the only ones in the game are the ones that players start with. Although they cannot be bought, Shelters have a cost of $1.

Shelter cards have a red frame—however, since every Shelter card has two types, each Shelter's frame is half red and half the color associated with its other type.

There are three differently-named Shelters; each player's deck starts with one of each:

Contents

[edit] Additional rules

The rules for playing with Shelters are described in the Dominion: Dark Ages rulebook and are reproduced here.

[edit] Preparation

  • If only Kingdom cards from Dark Ages are being used this game, the Shelter cards replace starting EstatesEstate.jpg - each player's starting deck is seven CoppersCopper.jpg, a HovelHovel.jpg, a NecropolisNecropolis.jpg, and an Overgrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg.
  • If a mix of Kingdom cards from Dark Ages and other sets is being used, then the use of Shelters should be determined randomly, based on the proportion of Dark Ages cards in use. For example, choose a random Kingdom card being used - such as the last card dealt from the Randomizer deck - and if it is from Dark Ages, use Shelters in place of starting Estates.
  • Do not use the same card to choose whether or not to use Shelters as you use to choose whether or not to use PlatinumPlatinum.jpg and ColonyColony.jpg (from ProsperityProsperity.jpg).
  • Using Shelters does not change the Estate Supply pile; it still contains 8 Estates for 2 players and 12 Estates for 3 or more players.

[edit] FAQ

[edit] Official FAQ

[edit] Other rules clarifications

  • It is allowed to reveal a Shelter when playing AmbassadorAmbassador.jpg. In that case, it is not returned to the Supply (since it is not in the Supply) and opponents do not gain a copy of it.

[edit] Strategy

Since Shelters differ from EstatesEstate.jpg in several ways, their presence in your starting deck impacts various strategic considerations.

  1. Their lower cost, at $1 instead of $2, reduces the potential value of using trash-for-benefit effects, such as SalvagerSalvager.jpg, to trash your starting cards. This can be a particular problem for cards like UpgradeUpgrade.jpg: unless there is a desirable card available at $2, such as Border GuardBorder Guard.jpg, trashing a Shelter will force you to gain an EstateEstate.jpg or another useless card.
  2. The fact that three of your starting cards are unique rather than identical has a few implications. The most likely to be relevant are those that relate to thinning: Shelters are easier to thin with TempleTemple.jpg and provide more payoffs with Bounty HunterBounty Hunter.jpg, but it's unlikely to be efficient to BanishBanish.jpg them. Before you've thinned your Shelters, or in cases where this is impossible, they improve your chances of activating MenagerieMenagerie.jpg but make drawing with Hunting PartyHunting Party.jpg less effective. Finally, if you keep them in your deck until the end of the game, they will give you extra  VP with MuseumMuseum.jpg but impose a  VP penalty with Wolf DenWolf Den.jpg.
  3. Unlike in other games, you start with no EstatesEstate.jpg, which devalues effects that benefit from their automatic presence in your deck, such as BaronBaron.jpg, RebuildRebuild.jpg, and InheritanceInheritance.jpg.

Beyond these issues, each of the Shelters also has some unique properties which lead to other considerations and interactions.

As an Action card that starts the game in your deck, NecropolisNecropolis.jpg sometimes has a major impact on what you can do in the opening, even though its village effect is irrelevant at first. NecropolisNecropolis.jpg is a prime target for effects that require you to trash an Action card, and in cases like AdvanceAdvance.jpg and Animal FairAnimal Fair.jpg, it's often worth activating this ability immediately. The presence of a Way can also be important: for example, Way of the SheepWay of the Sheep.jpg guarantees you can buy a card costing $5 in the opening. Later in the game, many Ways continue to be situationally more useful than Necropolis'sNecropolis.jpg effect, making it worth keeping in your deck. Way of the HorseWay of the Horse.jpg is especially noteworthy: because NecropolisNecropolis.jpg has no pile to return to, this Way makes it equivalent to a LaboratoryLaboratory.jpg that you start out with for free. In some games, NecropolisNecropolis.jpg can eventually become useful for its village effect, although this is weak, coming in the form of a stop card with no other bonus. Its presence sometimes enables you to somewhat delay the purchase of other villages, and can occasionally resolve early terminal collision, although it's still often better to thin it if you can. Alternatively, if the Kingdom offers strong deck control but no other villages, keeping your NecropolisNecropolis.jpg can be worthwhile, as it will allow you to consistently play an extra terminal each turn once you are drawing your deck.

HovelHovel.jpg not only provides no  VP but lacks the Victory card type entirely, meaning that it lacks even the minor advantages of EstatesEstate.jpg in e.g. providing draw when revealed by IronmongerIronmonger.jpg. The fact that it can be trashed when you gain a Victory card is its most useful feature: for example, its presence in your hand may slightly increase the attraction of gaining an alt-VP card that is useful for your deck in any case, such as MillMill.jpg. When considering whether to gain a Victory card to trash HovelHovel.jpg, it is important to assess the long-term effect on the number of stop cards in your deck. For example, if you buy your first ProvinceProvince.jpg and trash a HovelHovel.jpg, you’ve added zero stop cards on net. If, on the other hand, you were to gain an EstateEstate.jpg in the early game to trash HovelHovel.jpg, the number of stop cards would not immediately change, but once you start greening and buy your first ProvinceProvince.jpg the number of stop cards increases by one, meaning you effectively have taken an extra EstateEstate.jpg for no particular benefit. Occasionally, however, it can be worth trashing HovelHovel.jpg by buying an EstateEstate.jpg when you have $2 and nothing better to buy if the EstateEstate.jpg can be put to use in some way that HovelHovel.jpg couldn't (perhaps in feeding a trash-for-benefit effect or using it for draw with Crop RotationCrop Rotation.jpg).

Overgrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg is often an attractive target for trashing as early as possible, since doing so provides some cycling and is reasonably likely to draw a CopperCopper.jpg in the early game, increasing your $ output that turn. However, it's worth paying attention to cases where this effect could trigger an undesirable shuffle or draw a card dead, in which case it may be better to trash something else. Since Overgrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg does have the Victory type, it does interact with some of the same effects as EstateEstate.jpg (such as RebuildRebuild.jpg and ShepherdShepherd.jpg), but these are still unlikely to be worth using.

[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] Card gallery

Hovel.jpgNecropolis.jpgOvergrown Estate.jpg

[edit] Trivia

[edit] In other languages

  • Czech: Útočiště (lit. refuge)
  • Dutch: Onderdak
  • Finnish: Suoja
  • German: Unterschlupf
  • Japanese: 避難所 (pron. hinanjo)
  • Russian: Убежище (pron. ubyezhishshye)

[edit] Preview

Here they are at last, the Shelters. In an all Dark Ages game, your starting deck is 7 CoppersCopper.jpg, NecropolisNecropolis.jpg, Overgrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg, HovelHovel.jpg. When mixing sets up, the rule for using Shelters is similar to the PlatinumPlatinum.jpg / ColonyColony.jpg rule.

Shelters may not be worth the 1  VP of an Estate, but they are way better to have in your deck. Necropolis lets you go a little heavier on terminals from the get-go. Overgrown Estate gives you an extra little treat if you ever manage to trash it. And Hovel has a built-in way to get rid of it - you move out of that Hovel, and into a nice DuchyDuchy.jpg or something.

You can't buy Shelters, but they cost $1. That's just to shake up how various cards interact with them. A RemodelRemodel.jpg doesn't take you as far as it used to. And with only one being a Victory card, that CrossroadsCrossroads.jpg doesn't go to as many places. BaronBaron.jpg doesn't know what to do with these. And an AmbassadorAmbassador.jpg can't even give them away, since they have no piles to return to. On the other hand, they are fine places to get animals for your MenagerieMenagerie.jpg. And how much exactly can you build FairgroundsFairgrounds.jpg up to now, in games without Black MarketBlack Market.jpg? Man. A lot.
—Donald X. Vaccarino, Dark Ages Preview #5: Necropolis, Overgrown Estate, Hovel

[edit] Secret History

Tom Lehmann suggested replacing starting Estates with something else, to make the environment feel more Dark Ages-y. I thought this was a great idea. Ruins obv. doesn't work, because some people would make out, unless we picked specific ones. And Curse isn't very interesting. But I could just make up three new cards, which is what I did. NecropolisNecropolis.jpg shakes up early turns, since you can stomach more in the way of terminal actions; Overgrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg gives you a little prize if you crack it open eventually; and HovelHovel.jpg tempts you into buying a victory card when you might not have.

Hovel is the only one that changed. Originally it was an action you could trash by discarding your hand. It turned out that trashing it turn 1-2 usually seemed like the correct play, even if you drew it with four Coppers. So that was no good. Hovel as printed has nice flavor going for it; you move out of your old Hovel and into a nice Duchy.
—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of the Dark Ages Cards


v . t . e
Cards $0 Ruins (Abandoned MineAbandoned Mine.jpg • Ruined LibraryRuined Library.jpg • Ruined MarketRuined Market.jpg • Ruined VillageRuined Village.jpg • SurvivorsSurvivors.jpg) $0star SpoilsSpoils.jpg $1 Poor HousePoor House.jpg • Shelters (HovelHovel.jpg • NecropolisNecropolis.jpg • Overgrown EstateOvergrown Estate.jpg) $2 BeggarBeggar.jpg • SquireSquire.jpg • VagrantVagrant.jpg $3 ForagerForager.jpg • HermitHermit.jpg (MadmanMadman.jpg) • Market SquareMarket Square.jpg • SageSage.jpg • StoreroomStoreroom.jpg • UrchinUrchin.jpg (MercenaryMercenary.jpg) $4 ArmoryArmory.jpg • Death CartDeath Cart.jpg • FeodumFeodum.jpg • FortressFortress.jpg • IronmongerIronmonger.jpg • MarauderMarauder.jpg • ProcessionProcession.jpg • RatsRats.jpg • ScavengerScavenger.jpg • Wandering MinstrelWandering Minstrel.jpg $5 Band of MisfitsBand of Misfits.jpg • Bandit CampBandit Camp.jpg • CatacombsCatacombs.jpg • CountCount.jpg • CounterfeitCounterfeit.jpg • CultistCultist.jpg • GraverobberGraverobber.jpg • Junk DealerJunk Dealer.jpg • KnightsKnights.jpg (Dames AnnaDame Anna.jpg • JosephineDame Josephine.jpg • MollyDame Molly.jpg • NatalieDame Natalie.jpg • SylviaDame Sylvia.jpg • Sirs BaileySir Bailey.jpg • DestrySir Destry.jpg • MartinSir Martin.jpg • MichaelSir Michael.jpg • VanderSir Vander.jpg) • MysticMystic.jpg • PillagePillage.jpg • RebuildRebuild.jpg • RogueRogue.jpg $6 AltarAltar.jpg • Hunting GroundsHunting Grounds.jpg
Combos and Counters Apprentice/Market Square • Beggar/Gardens • Bishop/Fortress • Donate/Market Square • Hermit/Market Square • Lurker/Hunting Grounds • Masterpiece/Feodum • Procession/Fortress • Trader/Feodum
Other concepts When trash • Looter
v . t . e
Dominion Card types
Basic types Action • Treasure • Victory • CurseCurse.jpg
Multi-expansion special types Attack • Duration • Reaction • Command
Single-expansion special types Prize • Reward • Shelter • Ruins • Looter • Knight • Reserve • Traveller • Gathering • Castle • Night • Heirloom • Fate • Doom • Spirit • Zombie • Augur • Clash • Fort • Liaison • Odyssey • Townsfolk • Wizard • Loot
Non-card types Event • Landmark • Boon • Hex • State • Artifact • Project • Way • Ally • Trait
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