Cheap
| Cheap | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Info | |
| Type | Trait |
| Set |
Plunder |
| Illustrator(s) | Matthias Catrein |
| Trait text | |
Cheap cards cost  less. | |
Cheap is a Trait from Plunder. A card with this trait has its cost reduced by for the entire game.
FAQ
Official FAQ
- This lowers the cost of a pile for the entire game (including when scoring).
- Costs can't go below
. - This doesn't reduce non-
like 
and 
, for example this does nothing on the Engineer pile (from Empires). - This does not apply during setup; it can't for example cause a
to be used as Young Witch's Bane (from Cornucopia).
Other rules clarifications
Strategy
The cheap trait has an obvious effect of making certain cards more attractive, with the sole exception of on boards where their best use is a trash-for-benefit. Cheap can often make an otherwise unviable strategy strong, such as when it is attached to a card that would otherwise cost 
in the presence of a gainer such as Workshop or Ironworks, and that card is a key component in an engine that would normally be too slow to build. It can just as well though facilitate a big money strategy though, especially whene there is a powerful cheap card facilitating it. In general, if a strategy would be viable without cheap and that strategy hinges on a card not useful for other strategies, that card being cheap makes that strategy the dominant strategy, which can lead to a boring board where the outcome comes down to luck. Cheap is more interesting on boards where it enhances an otherwise weaker strategy, or when the cheap card can be used in multiple strategies. It also tends to produce interesting games when attached to otherwise weaker cards that might normally not get played.
If cheap is attached to a card that would normally costs 
, it can produce some unusual effects when combined with Remake or Upgrade. This can either be desireable, if the cheap card benefits your deck in quantity, or harmful if it does not. The extraordinary low cost of these cards can also produce interesting results in the presence of +Buy, allowing you to rapidly fill your deck with the cheap card, which then makes it more likely that the game will end on piles. This effect can also occur to a lesser degree when cheap is attached to a card that would cost 
, especially if the card is desireable in quantity.
The effect of cheap on game speed is also inconsistent and requires careful reading of the board to assess. It tends to speed up the game in most cases, but when it is attached to a junking attack it can have the opposite effect. It also sometimes favors a normally-slower strategy, such as if a key engine component is cheap. However, if it is attached to an already-inexpensive card, it can favor a rush strategy by making it more likely the game ends on piles.
Cheap also tends to change the dynamics of trash-for-benefit cards that depend on card costs, but the effect of this can go either way, making them stronger (such as if cheap opens up the possibility of gaining trashing fodder easily) or weaker (such as if the cheap card is already easy to gain, and now provides less benefit). One unusually powerful combination is that a cheap Peddler can be upgraded or remade into a Province.
Cheap also interacts with attacks that reference card costs, such as Rogue or Warrior. Swindler usually becomes more powerful when the cheap card is desireable, but on some boards, cheap might make Swindler useless, such as if some other card that costs is desireable and the cheap card places an even better card as the only alternative at this price point.
Versions
English versions
| Digital | Text | Release | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cheap cards cost less. |
Plunder | December 2022 |
Other language versions
| Language | Name | Digital | Text | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch | Goedkoop |  |
Goedkope kaarten kosten minder. |
||
| German | Billig |  |
Billige Karten kosten weniger. |
Trivia
Preview
Secret History
