Terminal silver

Monument, a terminal silver card.

"Terminal silver" is an informal term for terminal Action cards that provide + and are stop cards —i.e., they have the same effect on your buying power as Silver does. Most terminal silvers have another benefit in addition to the and are priced to compete with Silver for your buy—so a key strategic point is deciding whether the additional benefit the Action card provides is sufficient to offset the probability of drawing it without enough actions to be able to play it. Many terminal silvers are Attacks, with the + allowing the cards to benefit your current turn as well as harm your opponents.

Similarly, terminal Actions that provide +, +, or + may sometimes be referred to as "terminal Copper", "terminal Gold", and "terminal Platinum", respectively.

List of terminal silvers

Cards in italics have been removed.

3- and 4-cost terminal silvers

These cards compete the most directly with Silver.

• Dominion: Chancellor, Militia, Vassal, Woodcutter
  • Moneylender gives + but trashes a Copper, so in effect it is a terminal silver: you have more than if you hadn't played it.
• Intrigue: Swindler
  • Bridge gives + and lowers prices by , so if you only use one buy Bridge acts as a terminal silver.
  • Conspirator and Steward are terminal silvers sometimes but not always.
• Seaside: Cutpurse, Navigator
• Prosperity: Clerk, Monument
• Hinterlands: Nomad Camp, Nomads
• Dark Ages: Scavenger
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Fortune Teller
• Adventures: Messenger
  • Amulet can give +, but over 2 turns, and is only effectively terminal the turn it is first played.
• Nocturne: Bard
• Renaissance: Cargo Ship, Flag Bearer, Improve, Priest
• Menagerie: Cardinal
• Allies: Archer, Garrison, Tent, Town
• Plunder: Flagship
  • Fortune Hunter is a terminal silver per its card text, but it also lets you play a Treasure from your deck, so in many cases it will give you more than in total.
• Promo: Black Market

Other costs

• Intrigue:
  • Tribute can be a terminal Silver depending on the cards revealed.
• Seaside: Corsair, Embargo, Merchant Ship
• Prosperity: Goons, Mountebank
• Hinterlands: Duchess, Haggler
• Dark Ages: Dame Sylvia, Mercenary, Rogue
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Jester
  • Courser and Trusty Steed can (like Steward) optionally function as terminal silvers.
  • Princess and Renown lower prices by , so if you don't use multiple buys, they act as terminal silvers.
• Adventures: Hero
• Nocturne: Tormentor
• Menagerie: Kiln
• Allies: Barbarian, Town Crier
• Plunder: Search
• Rising Sun: Mountain Shrine
  • Kitsune can optionally function as a terminal silver.

• Way of the Sheep from Menagerie allows any Action card to be used as a terminal silver.

Edge cases

• Conclave, Paddock, and Patron can also be non-terminal
• Butcher, Footpad, and Villain provide two Coffers.
• Explorer, from Seaside gains a Silver or Gold to your hand.
• Sacrifice and Spice Merchant have to trash a Treasure which usually deducts from the generation.
• Farmers' Market, Gladiator, and Soldier generate variable amounts of which does sometimes but not always amount to .

Gallery

Terminal Silvers

Removed cards