Militia

Militia
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Action - Attack
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Base
Illustrator(s)	Matthias Catrein
Card text
+ Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand.

Militia is an Action and Attack card from the Base set. It is the first handsize attack that most players encounter when learning Dominion, making opponents discard down to three cards in hand. It is also a terminal silver, meaning that it gives + but no +Action.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• Players with 3 or fewer cards in hand do not discard any cards. Players with more cards discard until they only have 3.

Other rules clarifications

• When attacked by Militia, you do not have to let players see all the cards you discard, just the one you leave on top of your discard pile.

Strategy

Militia is a terminal silver and a discard attack, meaning it provides you with extra economy while simultaneously slowing down your opponents’ turns. Generally, Militia is a strong attack. Purchasing one early on to slow down your opponents will often help you out in the long run, especially if you plan to eventually build an engine that will allow you to play it every turn. Most decks will contain exactly one Militia, as the attack does not stack.

Militia is most impactful in Kingdoms with strong trashing but weak draw, where your opponents are more likely to have to discard useful cards and less likely to be able to operate effectively with a reduced hand size. Militia is sometimes skippable in Kingdoms with strong draw and weak villages, where the attack is relatively unimpactful and Militia is an inefficient use of terminal space. Strong junking attacks can also make Militia skippable, as your opponents can simply discard the junk to the Militia attack.

In the early game Militia is often a strong purchase. Making an opponent discard a single Copper can be enough to ensure that they can’t afford what they wanted to buy.

After the opening, Militia’s effectiveness depends on your opponents’ deck composition. Decks that have cleaned out their junk cards, usually in the form of Estate or Copper trashing, are more likely to have to discard something important. Similarly, decks that rely on having many of the same card in hand (e.g. Silver-flooding money decks) are also particularly susceptible. Decks built around rush strategies are typically unaffected by the discard attack as they typically don’t bother to trash their starting cards. Militia’s effect on engines varies, but it can be quite impactful if there is not a good way to ensure reliability (such as duration draw), because it increases the chance that your opponents’ engine will dud and increases the amount of draw necessary to fully draw their deck.

Militia synergizes with effects that draw cards for your opponents. For example, Council Room or Governor can provide you with very strong draw, at the expense of extra draw for your opponents; playing Militia afterwards helps nullify this downside by having them discard back down to 3 cards.

Militia has a few counters, some more obvious than others. Attack immunity cards such as Moat can block its attack, leaving your opponents unaffected. Some counters can even provide your opponents with some benefit when you play Militia. Your opponents’ Village Green can be played if you use Militia while they have it in hand to discard, and draw-to-X cards such as Library let the opponent discard below-average cards and replace them with cards from their deck.

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		+ Each other player discards down to 3 cards in his hand.	Dominion	October 2008
		+ Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand.	Dominion (Second Edition)	October 2016

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Chinese	義勇軍 (pron. yìyǒngjūn, lit. volunteer army)
Czech	Milice
Dutch	Militie			+ Iedere andere speler legt naar zijn keuze kaarten af totdat hij er 3 op handen heeft.	Tweede editie (herdruk 2019/2020)
Finnish	Nostoväki
French	Milice			+ Tous vos adversaires défaussent jusqu'à avoir 3 cartes en main.
German	Miliz			+ Jeder Mitspieler legt Handkarten ab, bis er nur noch 3 hat.	2. Edition (2019)
Greek	Πολιτοφυλακή (pron. politofylake)
Hungarian	Polgárőrség
Italian	Milizia
Japanese	民兵 (pron. minpei)			+ 他のプレイヤーは全員、手札が3枚になるように捨て札にする。
Korean	민병대 (pron. minbyeongdae)
Norwegian	Hird
Polish	Milicja			+ Każdy z pozostałych graczy odrzuca karty, aż będzie miał ich 3 na ręce.	(2015)
Romanian	Gardă (lit. guard)
Russian	Ополчение (pron. opolchyeniye, lit. home guard)			+ Каждый другой игрок сбрасывает до трёх карт в руке.
Spanish	Milicia			+ Los demás jugadores se descartan hasta quedarse con 3 cartas en la mano.	First Edition (2008)
	Milicia			+ Los demás jugadores se descartan hasta quedarse con 3 cartas en la mano.	Second Edition (2016, 2021)

Trivia

Official card art.

Secret History

I already told the story of this one under Bureaucrat. If you skipped ahead to get to the Militia story, go back.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of the Dominion Cards

Retrospective

For Militias, it's a thought, that maybe they should check handsize and hit 2 cards, instead of "down to 3." I'd rather encourage you to get two Militias for that Council Room deck. I'd rather have something like Expedition not hosed as much.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Dominion Discord, 2019

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