Discard for benefit

Vault, a discard for benefit card.

Discard for benefit cards are those that, usually optionally, let you discard cards in order to get some other effect. If that effect is drawing, the card is considered a sifter. Some cards like Scholar make you discard your entire hand before drawing cards up to a set handsize; these cards fall under the category of draw-to-X.

List of cards

Cards in italics have been removed.

Discard any number of cards

• Intrigue: Secret Chamber
• Prosperity: Vault (when played by yourself)
• Dark Ages: Storeroom
• Adventures: Artificer
• Empires: Opulent Castle (only discards Victory cards)
• Nocturne: Shepherd (only discards Victory cards)
• Menagerie: Hostelry (on gain only, and only discards Treasures)
• Promo: Marchland (on gain only)

Discard a set number of cards for a non-scaling benefit

• Intrigue: Baron – 1 Estate
• Intrigue: Mill – 2 cards
• Prosperity: Anvil – 1 Treasure
• Prosperity: Vault (when played by another player) – 2 cards
• Seaside: Tactician – your entire hand
• Hinterlands: Wheelwright – 1 card
• Hinterlands: Witch's Hut – 2 cards (only has a benefit if both are Actions)
• Dark Ages: Count – 2 cards (one of its options)
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Hamlet – 1 card (does this twice)
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Horse Traders – 2 cards
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Joust – 1 Province (set-aside and then discarded in Clean-up)
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Plaza – 1 Treasure
• Cornucopia & Guilds: Tournament – 1 Province
• Adventures: Quest – 1 Attack, 2 Curses, or 6 cards
• Nocturne: The Earth's Gift – 1 Treasure
• Nocturne: Haunted Mirror – 1 Action
• Nocturne: Lost in the Woods – 1 card
• Nocturne: Secret Cave – 3 cards
• Nocturne: The Sky's Gift – 3 cards
• Menagerie: Way of the Rat – 1 Treasure
• Allies: Capital City – 2 cards
• Allies: Sycophant – 3 cards
• Plunder: Figurine – 1 Action
• Plunder: Friendly – 1 Friendly card
• Plunder: Foray – 3 differently-named cards

Sickness and the Attacks performed by Mountebank and Torturer in effect lets players discard cards to not gain junk cards.

Discard itself (as a Reaction)

• Dark Ages: Beggar – When another player plays an Attack card.
• Dark Ages: Market Square – When one of your cards is trashed.

Cards that benefit from being discarded

Some cards give an extra benefit if they themselves are discarded by some effect.

• Hinterlands: Tunnel
• Hinterlands: Weaver
• Hinterlands: Trail
• Nocturne: Faithful Hound
• Menagerie: Village Green

Strategy

Discard for benefit effects can be used to reduce your handsize before using a draw-to-X effect or other effect that benefits from a small handsize (like Diplomat). They can also be used to remove duplicate cards from your hand before using Menagerie, or to activate on-discard effects like that of Tunnel.

Gallery

Scaling Benefit

Fixed Benefit

Cards that benefit from discarding themselves

Cards that benefit from being discarded

Removed