Devil's Workshop

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Devil's Workshop
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Night
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Nocturne
Illustrator(s)	Claus Stephan
Card text
If the number of cards you've gained this turn is: 2+, gain an Imp; 1, gain a card costing up to ; 0, gain a Gold.

Devil's Workshop is a Night card from Nocturne. It's a gainer whose effect is determined by how many cards you've previously gained that turn, either gaining you a Gold, a card costing up to , or an Imp.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• This counts all cards you have gained this turn, including cards gained at Night prior to playing it.
• You cannot choose a different benefit; if you have gained two or more cards, you have to gain an Imp, you cannot take a card costing up to or a Gold instead.
• Normally, bought cards are then gained, but cards exchanged for (such as Vampire exchanging for Bat) are not gained.

Other rules clarifications

• Since you can't gain anything while Possessed, playing Devil's Workshop on a Possession turn always gains a Gold. (And it is gained by the player possessing you, of course.)

Strategy

Devil's Workshop is a good card for , and is particularly useful if there are cards in the supply for or less that you would want a lot of. These cards could be engine components such as Conspirator, or even just some Silvers for a Big Money strategy. It's other main use, gaining Golds, is also very useful, because it allows you to get plenty of Gold early in the game, which is particularly good in Big Money decks. You can also use the Devil's Workshop in a rush, especially if you're going for an Alt-VP that costs (such as Gardens or Silk Road).

There are, however, other cards for rushes that might work better than Devil's Workshop, such as Talisman and Banquet. The problem is, neither of them can gain Victory cards. Devil's Workshop can, but no more than two per turn (one with the Devil's Workshop and one bought). You can use Workshop to gain more than two cards costing up to with Throne Room (and its variants) or Villages, unlike Devil's Workshop. These decks can, however, be difficult to set up, and, in practice, probably won't work very well. Below are some examples of Devil's Workshop in action:

Conspirator

The Devil's Workshop-Conspirator plus a village is a good engine, though it takes a while to set up. This strategy is especially potent when the Worker's Village is in the game, as you're going to need the +Buy once you start playing five or six Conspirators a turn. When playing this strategy, if you open -, then it's relatively straight forward: buy a Devil's Workshop and a Silver (or, if they're in the game a Village or a Ghost Town). However, opening - is a bit more annoying, making you have to settle for just the Devil's Workshop (and maybe a Hamlet, if possible). Also, when playing with the Baker, you can open -, and buy two Devil's Workshops in your first two turns. Once you start getting Devil's Workshops in your hand, you can get two Conspirators or a Conspirator and a village (if you have at least or in your hand plus the Devil's Workshop). You probably don't want too many Devil's Workshops, but it's still best to get about three or four. If you get two or more in your hand, an Imp or a Gold plus a village or Conspirator isn't going to hurt (however, it's not a great idea to get more than a few Imps, as you'll eventually get too many in one hand to play them all). Once you've gotten your Devil's Workshops you can really start focusing on Conspirators, but it's best not to get too many compared to how many villages you have, or else you'll start running out of Actions, ending up with dead Conspirators. Once you start getting villages and Conspirators in your hand, all you need to do is to make sure that you get at least most of your turns, which you shouldn't have too much trouble with once you have a good nine or ten Conspirators in your deck.

Big Money

Because of the Devil's Workshop's Gold-gaining ability, it's a natural Big Money card. Opening - allows you to buy a Silver and a Devil's Workshop, guaranteeing you a Gold by your second reshuffle (as a side note, if you get or more in a hand and a Devil's Workshop, you might want to buy a Silver, and then gain another one with the Devil's Workshop, instead of buying nothing and then gaining a Gold). Having more than one Devil's Workshop is not a bad thing, even when playing Big Money: if you get two Devil's Workshops in one hand, you could just get a Gold and a Silver with them. If you ever do end up playing enough Devil's Workshops to get an Imp, the Imp shouldn't hurt you. In fact, one or two of them could definitely be beneficial, giving you some terminal draw.

Chapel

Chapel is one of the best cards for , as it can be used to empty all the Coppers and Estates out of your deck. However, you usually won't be able to buy any cards on turns when you play Chapel. Devil's Workshop offers a way around this, allowing you to gain Golds while simultaneously trashing three cards from your hand.

You could also use Capital for a similar effect, buying a Province (or some other expensive card) the turn you play Capital, and while you're paying off your you can gain Golds with the Devil's Workshop.

Synergies

• Conspirator or other cheap engine components
• Events that don't gain cards like Expedition, and Projects, which allow you to use your buying power while still gaining a Gold
• Exploration gives another benefit for not buying cards.
• Turns where you are trashing or discarding other cards, such as from Ambassador, Chapel, or Secret Cave
• Capital and other cards that incur large amounts of
• Big Money, where you'll want a lot of Gold
• Supplies and Cavalry make it easy to gain Imps, which can play any number of Horses.

Anti-synergies

• Other gainers (including extra copies of Devil's Workshop) or +buy lead to Imp gains. A few Imps are OK, but too many could mean they will be drawn dead. Once the Imp pile is empty, Devil's Workshop will be another dead card.

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		If the number of cards you've gained this turn is: 2+, gain an Imp from its pile; 1, gain a card costing up to ; 0, gain a Gold.	Nocturne	November 2017
		If the number of cards you've gained this turn is: 2+, gain an Imp; 1, gain a card costing up to ; 0, gain a Gold.	Nocturne (2021 printing)

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Dutch	Atelier van de duivel
French	Atelier du diable			Si le nombre de cartes que vous avez reçue(s) à ce tour est : 2+: recevez un Farfadet de sa pile ; 1: recevez une carte coûtant jusqu'à  ; 0: recevez un Or.
German	Teufelswerkstatt			Ist die Anzahl der Karten, die du in diesem Zug genommen hast: 2 oder mehr: Nimm ein Teufelchen vom Teufelchen-Stapel; 1: Nimm eine Karte, die bis zu kostet; 0: Nimm ein Gold.	(2017)
German	Teufelswerkstatt			Wenn die Anzahl der Karten, die du in diesem Zug genommen hast…  2+ ist: nimm dir ein Teufelchen;  1 ist: nimm dir eine Karte, die bis zu kostet;  0 ist: nimm dir ein Gold.
Japanese	悪魔の工房 (pron. akuma no kōbō)			このターンに獲得したカードが… 2枚以上の場合: (小悪魔の山から)小悪魔1枚を獲得する。 1枚の場合: コスト以下のカード1枚を獲得する。 0枚の場合: 金貨1枚を獲得する。
Polish	Diabelski warsztat				Although Polish version is not released, this name is referred to in Polish Dominion 2E rulebook.
Russian	Дьявольская Мастерская (pron. d'yavol'skaya mastyerskaya)

Trivia

Official card art.

Preview

One trick Night cards can do is, they can care about what happened during the turn. Devil's Workshop is an example: it cares how many cards you gained this turn. You can skip buying stuff to get a Gold from it; you can try to get multiple cards so that Devil's Workshop gets you an Imp.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Nocturne Previews #1: Devil's Workshop, Raider, Ghost Town

Secret History

One of the first Night cards, somehow going the distance with no changes. It was a poster child for Night all through work on the set.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of Dominion: Nocturne