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| − | {{Infobox Card|
| + | {{Cost|P}} |
| − | |name = Potion
| + | {{Cost|2P}} |
| − | |cost = 4
| + | {{Cost|3P}} |
| − | |type1 = Treasure
| + | {{Cost|4P}} |
| − | |kingdom = No
| + | {{Cost|6P}} |
| − | |supply = Yes
| + | {{Cost|XP}} |
| − | |illustrator = Matthias Catrein
| + | {{Cost|xP}} |
| − | |illustrator2 = Claus Stephan
| + | {{Cost|?P}} |
| − | |text = {{Cost|P|xl||P}}
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| − | }}
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| − | A '''Potion''' is a [[basic cards|basic]] [[Treasure]] card from the [[Alchemy]] set. It is the only card that produces {{Cost|P|||P}}, and therefore Potion is needed to buy cards with {{Cost|P|||P}} in the [[cost]].
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| − | During setup, Potion is added to the [[Supply]] if at least one [[Kingdom card]] with {{Cost|P|||P}} in the cost is on the board (or in the {{Card|Black Market}} deck).
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| − | {{Cost|P|||P}} is orthogonal to {{Cost}} in a cost; thus, although a card with a cost of {{Cost|XP|||P}} is considered to cost "more" than a card costing {{Cost|X}} or less with no {{Cost|P|||P}}, costs of, e.g., {{Cost|4}} and {{Cost|3P|||P}} are incomparable—neither is more or less than the other. Many [[trash-for-benefit]] cards whose effects depend on a card's cost only consider the cost in {{Cost|}} and ignore {{Cost|P|||P}}; most [[gainer#Workshop variants|Workshop variants]] can't gain cards with {{Cost|P|||P}} costs at all.
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| − | == FAQ ==
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| − | === Official FAQ ===
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| − | * This is a basic Treasure card. It costs {{Cost|4}} and produces {{Cost|P|||P}}.
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| − | * It is not a Kingdom card; see the Preparation rules.
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| − | == Strategy ==
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| − | Potion is a [[Treasure]] card that offers a currency completely distinct from {{Cost}}. With only a few exceptions, it is the only way to gain cards costing {{Cost|P|||P}}: there are no effects that give [[virtual coin|Action-based]] {{Cost|P|||P}}, unlike with {{Cost}}, and most [[gainer]]s are restricted to cards costing only {{Cost}}. This means Potion is usually a critical purchase, despite its downsides, when cards costing {{Cost|P|||P}} are important. While the effects of those cards can be very strong (e.g., {{Card|Possession}} or {{Card|Scrying Pool}}), Potion itself has several issues.
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| − | In the [[opening]] it is fairly similar to {{Card|Silver}}, as a Treasure [[stop card]] that can help you hit specific price points early but may not be the most effective long-term [[payload]]. Even more so than {{Card|Silver}}, its cost can mean that it has a high [[opportunity cost]], i.e. the lost chance to buy or gain something that would have much more immediate benefit than Potion (e.g., a {{Cost|4}} [[thinning|thinner]] such as {{Card|Bounty Hunter}}). Aside from this opportunity cost, Potion is also very narrow and inflexible in its use: in many cases, Potion can only be used to buy one card in the [[Kingdom]], and if you draw a hand that can’t afford that card, your opportunity to obtain that card is lost until the next [[reshuffle|shuffle]] and you are less likely to be able to afford something else. More generally, the bottleneck of only being able to buy one {{Cost|P|||P}} cost card per copy of Potion per shuffle limits the strength of many {{Cost|P|||P}} cost cards, as it is slow to acquire them in bulk. Adding more than one Potion is rarely a good idea, as this comes with a heavy additional opportunity cost and negatively impacts your [[deck control]], though it can be worth doing if you are scoring with {{Card|Vineyard}}.
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| − | Because of this bottleneck, if you want to use cards costing {{Cost|P|||P}}, you usually need to commit early, which often means buying Potion in the [[opening]]; this will especially be the case when playing those {{Cost|P|||P}} cost cards early is especially impactful, for example [[junker|junking]] with {{Card|Familiar}} or drawing with {{Card|Apothecary}}. Conversely, if there are strong cheap cards that will help you initially [[build]] more quickly, and the cards costing {{Cost|P|||P}} don’t have as much immediate impact, it may be preferable to delay the Potion slightly. This is more likely to be the case with {{Cost|3P|||P}} cost cards, because there is a somewhat small but significant chance of missing the {{Cost|3P|||P}} price point when opening with Potion. In other cases, there’s no point in obtaining one until you are ready to afford a more expensive target (notably {{Card|Possession}}) or until later still ({{Card|Vineyard}}).
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| − | Certain effects can help solve some of the problems with making effective use of your Potion. [[Cycling]] (e.g. {{Card|Warehouse}}) can help with the acquisition bottleneck. Effects that can help guarantee you hit a price point (e.g. [[Coffers]] from {{Event|Pageant}}) can help ensure you do not miss out on buying the {{Cost|P|||P}} card this shuffle. A source of [[+Buy]] can also allow you to make use of additional {{Cost}} you generate by buying another card, as many {{Cost|P|||P}} cost cards have a low price in {{Cost}}, i.e. {{Cost|2}} or {{Cost|3}}. {{Card|Storeroom}} is a particularly useful support card for Potion in the early game, as it has all three of these attributes.
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| − | Other effects allow you to either acquire {{Cost|P|||P}} cards faster than you otherwise could, or to skip the Potion entirely. In the case of the former, you can stretch a single Potion to two purchases that need it by playing it twice with {{Card|Crown}} or using {{Card|Stonemason|Stonemason’s}} [[overpay]] effect, or use effects that can gain more copies of a {{Cost|P|||P}} card once you have the first one, for example {{Card|Changeling}}, {{Card|Disciple}}, or {{Way|Way of the Rat}}. For the latter, gainers that do not have a {{Cost}} condition such as {{Card|Lurker}} or {{Event|Transport}} suffice. Notably, {{Card|Squire}} can gain any [[Attack]] with its on-trash effect, including {{Card|Scrying Pool}} and {{Card|Familiar}}.
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| − | Cards with {{Cost|P|||P}} costs offer some immunity to Attacks and player interaction effects that care about card costs (e.g., {{Card|Knights}}, {{Card|Smugglers}}, and {{Card|Chariot Race}}). If those effects will be an important part of the Kingdom, likely because they can be played multiple times per turn, cards costing {{Cost|P|||P}} and therefore Potion itself may be slightly more attractive than other alternatives.
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| − | Given that Potion, as a Treasure, is often a hindrance to your deck control, it may be worth trashing it if you no longer need it: for example, it may no longer be of any use if the {{Card|Scrying Pool|Scrying Pools}} have run out or you if do not need to buy another {{Card|Familiar}} because the {{Card|Curse}} pile is empty. At {{Cost|4}}, Potion makes a good target for [[trash-for-benefit]] effects.
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| − | == Versions ==
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| − | ===English versions===
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| − | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
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| − | ! Print !! Digital !! style="width:14%"|Text !! Release !! Date
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| − | |-
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| − | | {{CardLangVersionImage|o=1}} || {{CardLangVersionImage|o=1|d=1||Potion from Goko/Making Fun}} || {{Cost|P|xl||P}} || Alchemy 1st Edition || May 2010
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| − | |-
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| − | | {{CardLangVersionImage|o=2}} || ''never implemented'' || {{Cost|P|||P}} || {{Set|Base Cards}} 1st Edition || June 2012
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| − | |-
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| − | | {{CardLangVersionImage}} || {{CardLangVersionImage|d=1}} || {{Cost|P|||P}} || Alchemy [[Second Edition|2nd Edition]] || ''physical set unreleased''
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| − | | {{CardBaseVersionImage|Potion-base|Second edition version, with new format and icon}} || ''never implemented'' || {{Cost|P|||P}} || [[Base Cards]] 2nd Edition || June 2018
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| − | |}
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| − | ===Other language versions===
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| − | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
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| − | ! Language !! Name !! Print !! Digital !! style="width:14%"|Text !! Release
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| − | |-
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| − | !Chinese
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| − | | 藥劑 (pron. ''yàojì'', lit. ''drug'') || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !Czech
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| − | | Elixír || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !Dutch
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| − | | Toverdrank (lit. ''magic potion'') || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !Finnish
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| − | | Rohto (lit. ''medicament'') || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !French
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| − | | Potion || || || ||
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| − | !German
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| − | | Trank || {{CardVersionImage|PotionGerman2019rulebook|German language Potion 2010, 2014, 2019}} || || {{Cost|P|xl||P}} || style="text-align:left;"| Die Alchemisten 2010<br>Mixbox 2014<br>Mixbox 2019<br>Einsteiger-Bigbox 2019
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| − | |-
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| − | !German
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| − | | Trank || {{CardVersionImage|PotionNewGerman|German language Potion 2014}} || {{CardLangVersionImage|German|d=1}} ||{{Cost|P|m||P}} || style="text-align:left;"| Basiskarten-Set 2014<br>Sammler-Box 2019
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| − | |-
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| − | !Italian
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| − | | Pozione || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !Japanese
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| − | | ポーション (pron. ''pōshon'') || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !Russian
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| − | | Зелье (pron. ''zyel'ye'') || || || ||
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| − | |-
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| − | !Spanish
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| − | | Poción || {{CardLangVersionImage|Spanish}} || || {{Cost|P|m||P}} ||
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| − | |}
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| − | == Trivia ==
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| − | [[Image:PotionArt.jpg|thumb|right|354px|Official card art.]]
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| − | === Secret History ===
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| − | {{quote|
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| − | |Text=When I came up with Dominion, I figured it would have multiple resources. When I actually made it, I went with one resource, because it was simpler. I could always add another resource in an expansion. With Alchemy I finally got around to doing that. Originally I was thinking it would be Reagents or Mandrake or something. I didn't find a good enough picture to use for such a card, so I went with Potions. That's how these decisions get made.
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| − | |Name=Donald X. Vaccarino
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| − | |Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=118.0 The Secret History of the Alchemy Cards]
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| − | }}
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| − | {{quote|
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| − | |Text=This is the same card as ever. I put it at {{Cost|4}} because none of the cards that are always out cost {{Cost|4}}. Originally the pile was 12 cards. There was room for 16 so there are 16. Twelve is probably enough, but it's nice to have a few extras just in case.
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| − | |Name=Donald X. Vaccarino
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| − | |Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=118.0 The Secret History of the Alchemy Cards]
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| − | }}
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| − | === Is Potion design space limited? ===
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| − | {{Quote|Text= Well they really aren't that limited. It's bad if too many of them make you build slow chaining decks, like the ones in Alchemy do, but any given one can be a slow chaining card. A Potion-coster's thing is that it needs to be playable in multiples when there are no other Potion-costers out; it wants to either have +1 action or more, or play actions directly, or be a {{VP}} card or treasure, or be [[soft terminal|a Remodel/Vault]], or be really expensive. With a few extra more obscure niches. There's no special limit on how many cards like that you can make; they're normal cards that every expansion has.
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| − | |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
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| − | |Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg466885#msg466885 Interview with Donald X.]
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| − | }}
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| − | === Should Potion give +{{Cost}}? ===
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| − | {{Quote|Text= The premise was an alternate resource; not a partially alternate resource. Many people over the years have thought they'd like "{{Cost|P|||P}} +{{Cost}}“ better. I've never felt much of a pull towards that though. So far what I like best is just not doing potions.
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| − | |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
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| − | |Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg857375#msg857375 Interview with Donald X.]
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| − | }}
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| − | {{Navbox Alchemy}}
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| − | {{Navbox Cards}}
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| − | [[Category:Special base cards]]
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| − | [[Category:Treasure base cards]]
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