Enchantress

Enchantress
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Action - Attack - Duration
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Empires
Illustrator(s)	Claus Stephan
Card text
Until your next turn, the first time each other player plays an Action card on their turn, they get +1 Card and +1 Action instead of following its instructions. At the start of your next turn, +2 Cards

Enchantress is an Action-Attack-Duration card from Empires. It is a turn-worsening attack that turns the first Action each other player plays on their turns into a simple cantrip, although it does not affect effects below dividing lines. It also provides Duration draw. It is the first card to change effects on other players' cards.

FAQ

Official FAQ (2018)

• Players revealing a card like Moat when this is played have to do it right then, not later, even though the attack will not hurt them until their turn.
• While this is in play, the first Action each other player plays on each of their turns^* will give them +1 Card +1 Action instead of what it would have normally done.
• This does not affect abilities below a dividing line; they still function. For example a player playing Sacrifice would get +1 Card +1 Action and not do anything Sacrifice normally does; a player playing Groundskeeper^† would get +1 Card +1 Action and would still get   for gaining Victory cards.
• It can be helpful to turn the affected card sideways, to remember that it did not do what it normally did.
• Enchantress does not affect card abilities from cards played on previous turns; for example if an opponent plays Enchantress and you have an Archive out from a previous turn, on your turn you will first get a card from your Archive as normal, and then the first Action card actually played on that turn will be affected by Enchantress.
• If Enchantress affects a Crown played in a Buy phase, its player gets +1 Card +1 Action, but has no way to use the +1 Action, since it is their Buy phase (but it might matter e.g. if the player buys Villa).
• If your opponents play multiple Enchantresses in a round, they still only affect the first card you play on each turn, and not any further cards.

Other rules clarifications

• ^* The rulebook now clarifies that opponents' extra turns will also be Enchanted.
• ^† Many cards, including Groundskeeper, got reworded in 2022 and no longer have dividing lines. However, other cards still have dividing line effects (e.g. Page and Urchin), and those effects will still work, even if Enchanted.
• Just like a Crown played during your Buy phase, if the first Action you play during a turn is a Werewolf at Night, you'll still get +1 Card and +1 Action (and have no way to use the +1 Action).
• If a player under the effect of an Enchantress takes one or more extra turns, the first Action played on each of those turns is also turned into a cantrip.
• If a Duration card gets affected by Enchantress, it will get discarded from play this turn. This doesn't stop any below-the-line effects.
• Enchantress does not change anything about the card, just prevents on-play instructions on the card from being carried out properly. So cards that are Enchanted can still activate Reactions (such as another player's Diplomat), still carry out all Adventures tokens effects (such as the + token from Training), and can be still be replayed (e.g. by Royal Carriage) to perform their normal effects.
• Enchantress, Highwayman, and Ways make you ignore an Action's instructions. Because they have the same timing, you can choose which of those effects will win.
  • However, Way of the Chameleon still makes you follow the Action's instructions, which means Enchantress will stop it (and you'll get +1 Card and +1 Action). [1]
• Unlike Highwayman, this only affects the first Action that a player plays during their turn. So if they play an Action when it isn't their turn (e.g. Black Cat), it will be unaffected.

Strategy

Enchantress provides a small amount of Duration draw and an Attack which can occasionally cause duds or nullify an opponent's key Action card. As Duration draw, it has the usual advantages of not drawing Action cards dead and giving you an increased start-of-turn hand size, generally improving the reliability of your deck; however, it also has the usual disadvantage of Durations, in that it requires you to gain twice as many copies in order to benefit from the effect consistently (because you can play each copy at most every other turn). Additionally, Enchantress is terminal and (as a stop card on the turn you play it) provides a net hand size increase of only one card across each pair of turns. For these reasons, Enchantress is not ideal as a primary source of draw. Since the attack also doesn’t stack, it is often best to have just two copies that you play on alternating turns for the attack and reliability benefits. However, additional copies may be necessary if there is no better alternative for draw.

The impact of Enchantress's attack varies greatly depending on two main factors: how much worse your opponent’s turn is without the affected Action card, and whether they can play around the nullification. For example, if your opponent only has a single Action card in their hand and you are able to play Enchantress, that Action card will generate almost no benefit for your opponent. This can be the case in the early game, and Enchantress’s attack can be high impact if it negates a high-priority Action card—often a trasher such as Forager or an attack such as Witch—though there is a fairly high amount of variance as to whether you can play your Enchantress at the right time for this to occur. Later in the game, when your opponents have more Action cards, Enchantress is more likely to have the effect of slightly reducing your opponents’ terminal space (if it hits a village) or draw. It is thus more impactful against fragile decks (such as those relying on playing a particular combination of cards, e.g. a village and a terminal draw card, at the start of each turn), and unlikely to do anything against decks that have many cantrips.

There are a few options to counter Enchantress’s attack:

• The simplest method is to simply sacrifice an Action card that is not much better than a blank cantrip. This requires both having suitable cards (e.g. Border Guard), and having some way to ensure they are in your starting hand. Most often, this will occur as a byproduct of getting deck control and building normally, but you can also use Duration draw (including Enchantress itself) and other similar effects to increase your search space.
• Another light counter to the attack, which may pay off particularly well in the midgame, is to have a deck that is slightly overterminaled, theoretically allowing you to choose which terminals are most beneficial on any given turn and use one that you couldn't play in any case as a sacrifice to the Enchantress attack.
• Since the attack does not negate below-the-line effects of cards, cards that are primarily valued for below-the-line effects (especially early Travellers like Treasure Hunter) are good choices to play while under Enchantress attack.
• Since Ways override Enchantress's attack, it can sometimes be preferable to play your first card using a Way. Way of the Turtle is particularly notable, as you can completely negate the attack at the expense of one low-value card, which you can keep setting aside and re-playing with this Way every turn.

Enchantress's value can vary due to interactions with start-of-turn effects. For example, it can helpfully increase your search space for effects such as Mastermind, Transmogrify, or Crop Rotation. However, effects that involve start-of-turn plays of Action cards (e.g. Royal Galley) can be slightly weakened by the Enchantress attack, as it's not possible to first sacrifice a weak card from your hand to play as a cantrip.

External strategy articles

Note: Article(s) below are by individual authors and may not represent the community's current views on cards, but may provide more in-depth information or give historical perspective. Caveat emptor.

• Elestan's 2016 article

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		Until your next turn, the first time each other player plays an Action card on their turn, they get +1 Card and +1 Action instead of following its instructions. At the start of your next turn, +2 Cards	Empires Empires (2021 printing)	June 2016

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Dutch	Tovenares			Tot jouw volgende beurt krijgt iedere andere speler voor de eerste actiekaart die hij in zijn beurt speelt +1 Kaart en +1 Actie in plaats van de op de kaart beschreven aanwijzingen. Aan het begin van je volgende beurt: +2 kaarten.	(2016)
Finnish	Lumoajatar
French	Magicienne (lit. female magician)			Jusqu'à votre prochain tour, la première fois qu'un adversaire joue une carte Action à son tour, il a +1 Carte et +1 Action au lieu de suivre ses instructions. Au début de votre prochain tour, +2 Cartes
German	Zauberin			Bis zu deinem nächsten Zug dürfen alle Mitspieler die Anweisungen der ersten ausgespielten Aktionskarte in ihrem Zug nicht ausführen. Sie erhalten stattdessen: +1 Karte und +1 Aktion. Zu Beginn deines nächsten Zuges: +2 Karten	(2016)†† "...Anweisungen der ersten ausgepielten beim erstmaligen Spielen der ersten Aktionskarte…"
	Zauberin			Bis zu deinem nächsten Zug erhalten alle Mitspieler für die erste gespielte Aktionskarte in ihrem Zug +1 Karte und +1 Aktion anstelle ihrer Anweisungen. Zu Beginn deines nächsten Zuges: +2 Karten	2. Edition (2021) "...für die erste gespielte Aktionskarte in ihrem Zug, wenn sie das erste Mal in ihrem Zug eine Aktionskarte spielen,…" Rulebook FAQ 2021 for this card remains unclear: "Jeder Mitspieler erhält in seinem nächsten Zug…  Solange diese Karte im Spiel ist, erhält jeder Mitspieler in jedem seiner Züge…"
Japanese	女魔術師 (pron. on'na majutsu-shi, lit. female magician)			あなたの次のターンまで、他のプレイヤーが自分のターン最初のアクションカードを使用するとき、そのプレイヤーはその指示の代わりに+1 カードを引く、+1アクションを得る。あなたの次のターンの開始時、+2 カードを引く。
Polish	Czarodziejka			Do twojej następnej tury za każdym razem, gdy inny gracz zagrywa w swojej turze pierwszą kartę Akcji, zamiast wykonywać jej polecenia otrzymuje +1 kartę i +1 akcję. Na początku twojej następnej tury +2 karty.	(2017)
Russian	Заклинательница (pron. zaklinatyel'nitsa)

^†† The line separating start-of-turn abilities is unwarranted and was removed in the "2. Edition" printing. This matters e.g. when you are Enchanted or you use a Way.

Trivia

Official card art.

Card Art

It's Circe from Greek mythology.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Dominion Strategy Forum

Preview Story

The self-styled Prince of Giants squinted down at the tiny red-haired figure before him. "What you say?" he rumbled, setting a few cascades of pebbles tumbling down the nearby hillside. He shouldn't be talking to anyone, he knew; the Master had sent him down this highway with strict orders to squash anyone approaching.

"Most magnificent of titans", the woman purred, stroking a slender hand over one of his massive calves. "I beg you not to harm me...I merely came to offer you a meal; you must be famished after your long watch."

The giant leaned down, nostrils flaring as he sniffed, and his stomach growled. Suddenly he felt as though he hadn't fed in days. "Eat you?" he grunted. His meals weren't usually so cooperative, but he wasn't going to complain. She did smell good.

A lilting peal of laughter filled his ears. "Oh no, sir giant!" The woman gestured toward the side of the road, where a massive cauldron bubbled merrily. A couple of pigs snuffled through the undergrowth nearby, and he thought he caught the scent of roasting pork. "Please, won't you try my stew?" Seeing him eying the pigs, she smiled. "And after you finish the stew, you can enjoy my pigs to your heart's content."

Why hadn't he noticed those before? The question vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, wafting away as the rich aroma of the stew sent his mouth watering. Grunting, he leaned his club against the hillside and lumbered off to enjoy the meal. He could always squash her after dinner.

—Elestan, Empires Bonus Preview #4: Enchantress

Secret History

A late card, replacing another attack. I quickly tweaked the resources and the wording, but the premise worked immediately.

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

Relevant outtakes

The first card in the file is a Witch variant that gives you +1   if the Curses have run out. That sounded nifty enough that it hung around for most of testing, though later versions triggered on buying a card. If you somehow got +1 Buy and then played it and bought two things, yeeha. Eventually the trigger started to seem bad, and then the whole card fell apart. And I replaced it with Enchantress, hooray, a happy ending.

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

Retrospective

Well there's probably another way to do Enchantress. Except for being cumulative it's a lot like "each other player discards an action (), and if they did draws a card"

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Dominion Discord, 2020

Playing Dominion Online (Shuffle iT)

The online implementation, when you're affected by Enchantress, will replace the image of whatever first Action you play with a close up of the pig from the original art.

And the reason was that we were getting lots of bug reports that said "card XYZ is not working, see my game number ...". Then it turned out there was an Enchantress played, that of course stopped the card XYZ doing what it normally does. This was due to several factors; the main one being the game doesn't show cards in play from the non-active player, so players could simply not see their opponent's Enchantress as they could in RL play. So the choice was made to make it very clear that, if you are affected by an opponent's Enchantress, you can see that in advance in your personal status bar, and, most importantly, when you wanted to click on the first Action card that turn, you would see the Pig picture and be reminded that you get +1 Card, +1 Action.

—Ingix, Dominion Strategy Forum, Re: Dominion: Menagerie