Editing Three-pile ending

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A '''three-pile ending''' is when the game ends by emptying three Supply piles, rather than the {{Card|Province}} (or {{Card|Colony}}) pile.  When this is done as an intentional, strategic move by a player, it is called '''three-piling'''.

A few cards, usually [[Alt-VP]] cards in [[rush (strategy)|rush]] games, play best when a three-pile ending is the goal, and there are many cards, including [[+Buy]], [[gainer|gainers]], and [[curser|cursers]], that can be very useful in achieving such an ending.

In games with more than four players, four empty Supply piles are required to end the game.

== Cards that like three-pile endings ==
Most counting Alt-VP cards:
* {{Card|Gardens}}
* {{Card|Duke}}
* {{Card|Vineyard}}
* {{Card|Fairgrounds}}
* {{Card|Silk Road}}
* {{Card|Feodum}}
* [[Castle]]s
[[Victory token]] cards that need to continue adding cards for fuel:
* {{Card|Bishop}}
* {{Card|Goons}}
Swift-acting cursers:
* {{Card|Ill-Gotten Gains}}
* {{Card|Familiar}}

== Strategy ==
In order to achieve victory with a three-pile ending, you have to be sure that you have the most {{VP}}.  The most straightforward way to do that is by cheaply increasing your own points with Kingdom cards.  Alt-VP cards that give static {{VP}}, like {{Card|Harem}} and {{Card|Island}}, are usually not enough to justify trying to empty out three Supply piles, though {{Card|Distant Lands|Distant Lands'}} 4 {{VP}} is often quite tempting.  The counting Victory cards, like Gardens, are more likely to provide enough {{VP}} to viably compete with Provinces, but most need some sort of gaining enabler, like {{Card|Workshop}} or {{Card|Ironworks}}, in order to pump up their points.  Bishop usually needs help [[trasher|trashing]] to merit three-piling, but in such Kingdoms it might be more worth it to go for a [[golden deck]] and just buy Provinces; Goons, on the other hand, usually needs the help of an [[engine]] so it can be played consistently, and in multiples, in order to produce enough {{VP}} to overwhelm any player foolish enough to only go for Provinces.  

The second necessary part to three-piling is the actual means to emptying Supply piles.  The most obvious way to do that is through +Buy or gainers, though some are better than others.  Cheap, preferably [[non-terminal]] +Buy, like {{Card|Candlestick Maker}} or {{Card|Market Square}}, works well, as do gainers that are either cheap, like Workshop, or otherwise useful, like Ironworks.  Both of these groups do well emptying out their own piles; including the Alt-VP card in question, that just leaves one Supply pile left to empty, usually the {{Card|Estate|Estates}} or {{Card|Duchy|Duchies}}.  Curser games often lead naturally to three-piling, as the {{Card|Curse}} pile usually quickly empties.

While Alt-VP rushes are most commonly associated with three-piling, engines can often end up three-piling as well.  Engine players will often try to gain as many engine parts as possible, usually contesting certain piles in [[mirror (strategy)|mirror]] matches, such as {{Card|Fishing Village}}, {{Card|Grand Market}}, and {{Card|Laboratory}}.  With +Buy and cheap engine parts, more than one pile can empty without either player gaining a single [[Victory]] card.  Such games will often end with one player buying one Province or Colony, and then finishing off a third Supply pile, squeaking a win.  {{Card|City}} is notorious for this, as it requires two Supply piles to be empty in order to give its full effect in the first place.  This can be frustrating when a player is trying to build their engine toward a hard to get card, such as {{Card|Teacher}} or {{Card|Prince}}, and the game ends before they can even make use of it.

A few cards are exceptionally good at emptying piles.  {{Card|Border Village}}, {{Card|Stonemason}}, and {{Card|Messenger}} all gain either on-gain or on-buy; since you can buy a card once every turn, but can only play a card once every shuffle (usually), these cards usually empty piles faster than conventional gainers.  {{Card|Masterpiece}} is an interesting case; the only pile it can empty is the {{Card|Silver}} pile, and so works beautifully with {{Card|Feodum}}, but is less useful with the other counting Victory cards.

Ill-Gotten Gains is the ultimate three-piler, as it provides both the {{VP}} (in this case simply relative to your opponents due to all the Curses they've been given) and the pile emptying; once all the Ill-Gotten Gains are gone (barring any {{Card|Ambassador}} or {{Card|Trader}} shenanigans), two Supply piles are empty, and the Ill-Gotten Gains player just needs to empty a third.

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[[Category:Strategic concepts]]