Editing Three-pile ending

A '''three-pile ending''' is when the game ends by emptying three 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]] 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 piles are required to end the game, but most competitive Dominion play is done with only two players.

== Cards that like three-pile endings ==
Most counting Alt-VP cards:
* {{Card|Gardens}}
* {{Card|Duke}}
* {{Card|Vineyard}}
* {{Card|Fairgrounds}}
* {{Card|Silk Road}}
* {{Card|Feodum}}
[[Victory token]] cards that need to continue adding cards for fuel:
* {{Card|Bishop}}
* {{Card|Goons}}
Swift-acting cursers:
* {{Card|Ill-Gotten Gains}}
== 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 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 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 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]] 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 pile, squeaking a win.  {{Card|City}} is notorious for this, as it requires two 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 [[Combo: Masterpiece and Feodum|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 piles are empty, and the Ill-Gotten Gains player just needs to empty a third.

{{Navbox Strategy}}