Mountebank
| Mountebank | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Info | |
| Cost |
 |
| Type(s) | Action - Attack |
| Kingdom card? | Yes |
| Set |
Prosperity |
| Illustrator(s) | Kieron O'Gorman |
| Card text | |
+ Each other player may discard a Curse. If they don't, they gain a Curse and a Copper. | |
Mountebank is an Action–Attack card from Prosperity. It is considered one of the strongest Cursers because it can hand out two junk cards per play—both a Curse and an only slightly less undesirable Copper—thus rapidly weakening engines that would otherwise be able to get deck control. It is less effective against players who have already been hit by it a few times, since an opponent who already has a Curse in hand may discard it to avoid the junk-distribution effects of Mountebank.
It was removed from the second edition of Prosperity and replaced with Charlatan, which retains the theme of a curser that distributes junk Treasure, but in a less oppressive and frustrating way.
FAQ
Official FAQ
- This hits the other players in turn order, which can matter when the Curse or Copper piles are low.
- Each of the other players in turn chooses whether or not to discard a Curse card, and the players who do not gain a Curse and a Copper from the Supply, putting them into their discard piles.
- If either the Curse or Copper pile is empty, players still gain the other card.
Other Rules clarifications
- A player hit by Mountebank gains the Curse first, and then the Copper.
Strategy
Before it was removed, Mountebank was a terminal silver with an Attack oppressive enough to make it one of the strongest cards in the game. It is more harmful to your opponents than other junking Attacks because it causes them to gain two junk cards at once and can continue to give out Coppers after the Curses run out; this means that it is often centralizing and leads to a slog more often than most junkers do.
Playing Mountebanks early and often is the best way to cripple your opponents’ decks. Gaining a copy of Mountebank as early as possible, including in the opening, is usually a priority and it is often a good plan to make use of effects like Transport or Ferry to do so. Another way to ensure you can play Mountebank early on is to gain an Overlord in the opening, which is possible regardless of your opening split while offering extra flexibility later. While it’s usually difficult to try and get full deck control with your opponents attacking you with their Mountebanks, you can still try to increase how frequently you draw your own Mountebanks with thinning or cycling effects such as Spice Merchant or Warehouse respectively. You can also add additional copies of Mountebank. Generally, about two copies of Mountebank are sufficient: it is terminal, so you don't want too many, but two is unlikely to be enough to cause terminal collision problems, assuming that your opponents are also attacking you. The impact of additional copies is somewhat reduced by Mountebank’s conditional junking (i.e., if they’re already very junked, it’s harder to junk them more).
There are a few factors that can mitigate Mountebank’s impact. Very strong thinning such as Chapel can make dealing with Mountebank much more manageable, and it is sometimes skippable as a result. Otherwise, avoiding as much of Mountebank’s junk as possible is usually a priority, so it’s usually the right move to discard a Curse if you have one in hand when attacked, even if keeping it would have enabled you to trash it; this may continue to be the case even once the Curses run out. Given the option to counter the attack, it is often preferable to trash your Curses after your Coppers and Estates. Occasionally it may even be beneficial to use effects such as topdecking with Courtyard to make sure you will have a Curse in hand to discard.
Versions
English versions
| Digital | Text | Release | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
+ Each other player may discard a Curse. If he doesn’t, he gains a Curse and a Copper. |
Prosperity | October 2010 |
|
 |
+ Each other player may discard a Curse. If they don’t, they gain a Curse and a Copper. |
Prosperity (2016 printing) | February 2017 |
Other language versions
| Language | Name | Digital | Text | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 詐騙 | + 其它玩家可以棄掉手上的一張詛咒。如果沒棄，則他獲得一張詛咒與一張銅幣。 | ||
| Czech | Mastičkář (lit. quack) | |||
| Dutch | Charlatan (lit. charlatan) |  |
+ Iedere andere speler mag een vloekkaart afleggen. Als hij dat niet doet, pakt hij een vloekkaart en een koperkaart. | |
| Finnish | Petkuttaja (lit. trickster) | |||
| French | Charlatan (lit. charlatan) |  |
+ Tous vos adversaires peuvent défausser une Malédiction. S'ils ne le font pas, ils reçoivent une Malédiction et un Cuivre. | |
| German | Quacksalber (lit. quack) |  |
 |
+ Jeder Mitspieler darf einen Fluch aus seiner Hand ablegen. Wer das nicht tut, nimmt einen Fluch und ein Kupfer. |
| Italian | Ciarlatano (lit. charlatan) | |||
| Japanese | 香具師 (pron. yashi, lit. charlatan) |
+ 他のプレイヤーは全員、呪い1枚を捨て札にしてもよく、捨て札にしなかった場合、呪い1枚と銅貨1枚を獲得する。 | ||
| Polish | Szarlatan (lit. charlatan) |  |
+ Każdy z pozostałych graczy może odrzucić Klątwę. Jeżeli tego nie zrobi, dodaje Klątwę i Miedziaka. | |
| Russian | Шаралатан (pron. sharlatan, lit. charlatan) |
|||
| Spanish | Charlatán (lit. charlatan) |
Trivia
Name
Secret History
Retrospective
Second edition removal
