+Buy: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:26, 8 August 2024

Playing a card that provides +Buy increases the number of cards you are allowed to buy during your buy phase.

Some cards that give +Buy have it as part of their core function, such as Herbalist; usually the +Buy is the only reason for wanting a Herbalist. In some cases, a card offers +Buy as a feature that synergizes with its core function: Collection offers you a reward per card you buy, and gives +Buy to make the reward go farther. Other cards have +Buy merely as an extra vanilla bonus that keeps the card competitive with other cards at the same cost: Worker's Village is a village costing with the +Buy as an extra bonus for the it costs more than Village.

Strategy

+Buy is an essential component of most engine strategies, since engines can take a long time to build; +Buy allows you to acquire engine components more rapidly, thus speeding up the construction of the engine, and once the engine is running it allows you to buy multiple Victory cards at once to make up for the slower start. An easy trap to fall into is that of "overbuilding" an engine in the absence of +Buy: there's no use in building a deck that can regularly generate each turn if you can still only buy one Province with it. In some cases, if the +Buy card is rather unwieldy like Herbalist, it is good strategy to wait to buy even a relatively cheap +Buy card until you are close to generating enough to benefit from the effect, although you need to avoid waiting too long as well or else you will have to waste on the turn you buy that card.

If you are lacking the deck control to generate large amounts of or to assure having a +Buy card in hand when you do, a +Buy card may not be worth its opportunity cost.

Cards that give unrestricted +Buy

Cards in italics have been removed.

Terminal

Dominion: Woodcutter
Intrigue: Baron, Bridge
Alchemy: Herbalist
Prosperity: Goons
Cornucopia: Horse Traders
Hinterlands: Nomad Camp, Nomads, Souk
Dark Ages: Squire, Storeroom
Guilds: Merchant Guild
Adventures: Peasant, Messenger, Bridge Troll, Wine Merchant
Empires: Farmers' Market
Nocturne: Sacred Grove, Druid, Skulk
Menagerie: Way of the Monkey
Allies: Herb Gatherer, Town
Rising Sun: Fishmonger

Terminal draw

Cantrip

Treasures and other non-terminal stop cards

Dominion: Festival
Seaside: Astrolabe
Prosperity: Tiara, Collection
Hinterlands: Cauldron
Dark Ages: Counterfeit
Guilds: Candlestick Maker
Cornucopia & Guilds: Demesne
Empires: Villa, Capital, Charm, Fortune
Nocturne: Pouch
Renaissance: Ducat, Spices
Menagerie: Stockpile
Plunder: Jewelled Egg, Mining Road, Rope, Buried Treasure, Sack of Loot
- Loot cards: Amphora, Endless Chalice, Jewels, Orb, Prize Goat, Puzzle Box, Sextant, Shield, Staff, Sword

+Buy between other options

Bauble
Hamlet
Pawn can provide +Buy in combination with either +Action, +Card, or +.
Courtier offers +Buy as one of several choices.
Scrap offers +Buy as one of several choices.

Other

Travelling Fair can transfer arbitrary amounts of into +Buy
Seaway and Teacher can give +Buy to an Action card pile in the Supply.
League of Shopkeepers can give you +buy when you play a Liaison.
Flourishing Trade can convert excess +Actions into +Buy

Cards that give restricted +Buy

Cards that need to trash a card

Some cards need to trash a card, so they only replace cards

- Seaside: Salvager
- Prosperity: Trade Route
- Hinterlands: Spice Merchant
- Dark Ages: Forager

Limited amounts of +Buy

Some cards are difficult to come by or only exist in very limited numbers:

- Cornucopia: Princess
- Dark Ages: Ruined Market, Sir Martin
- Cornucopia & Guilds: Renown
- Nocturne: The Forest's Gift
- Renaissance: Fair
- Tactician You can generally get only one extra Buy from it and even to make use of this you need to build your deck in a specific way.

Other restrictions

Some cards only work later during the game when one or more piles have emptied:
- Menagerie: Animal Fair
- City (but only after 2 Supply piles are empty)

Prosperity: Contraband can prevent you from buying certain desirable cards.

Some effects need you to to gain specific kinds of cards to get +Buy:
- Allies: Galleria, Band of Nomads
- Plunder: Abundance
Rising Sun: Panic turns Treasures into one-shot sources of +Buy

Giving back Buys

Forum, Cavalry, and Nearby cards give +Buy when gained. Similarly, Villa can be played instantly after being gained and so gives back a Buy.
Galleria and Band of Nomads can give back Buys upon buying certain cards.
A number of Events do not use up a Buy because they give one back whenever bought.
- Adventures: Borrow, Save, Scouting Party
- Empires: Delve
- Menagerie: Desperation, Gamble, Pursue, Toil
- Plunder: Avoid, Bury, Deliver, Launch, Mirror, Rush
- Rising Sun: Continue