Goons: Difference between revisions
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== Strategy == | == Strategy == | ||
Goons | Before it was removed, Goons was a [[terminal silver]] and one of the best [[payload]] cards in Dominion: it offers a strong attack, [[+Buy]], and a source of [[alt-VP]] that is often centralising, being theoretically limited only by the number of cards you can buy over the course of the game. If the [[Kingdom]] allows you to build a deck that will be capable of consistently playing multiple Goons per turn, this is highly likely to be the optimal strategy. Doing so will enable you to accumulate many {{VP}}, since buying useful cards scores with Goons, avoiding the usual negative effects of greening. Gaining [[Victory card]]s is unlikely to be necessary at all, except perhaps at the very end of the game. Even if it isn’t possible to play multiple Goons, it’s still likely to be a strong [[terminal]] Action for your deck. | ||
Goons is a terminal [[stop card]], and your opponents are likely to be using it to attack your hand size, so a deck that aims to play a large number of Goons consistently needs a powerful [[engine]] to support this. Thus, the best case scenario for Goons is one that has good [[trashing]], strong [[draw]], and plentiful [[Village (card category)|villages]]. However, even if the engine will be slow to come together, it will usually still be worth building to multiple Goons plays per turn. When building a Goons-focused engine, it's common to gain one Goons as soon as you can: at this stage, the {{VP}} it provides is largely incidental, but the {{Cost|2}} and +Buy are useful, and the primary benefit is the attack, which will slow down your opponents’ efforts. Aside from your first Goons, [[deck control]] is the key aim; you can subsequently keep adding more Goons as you acquire the ability to draw and play them consistently. | Goons is a terminal [[stop card]], and your opponents are likely to be using it to attack your hand size, so a deck that aims to play a large number of Goons consistently needs a powerful [[engine]] to support this. Thus, the best case scenario for Goons is one that has good [[trashing]], strong [[draw]], and plentiful [[Village (card category)|villages]]. However, even if the engine will be slow to come together, it will usually still be worth building to multiple Goons plays per turn. When building a Goons-focused engine, it's common to gain one Goons as soon as you can: at this stage, the {{VP}} it provides is largely incidental, but the {{Cost|2}} and +Buy are useful, and the primary benefit is the attack, which will slow down your opponents’ efforts. Aside from your first Goons, [[deck control]] is the key aim; you can subsequently keep adding more Goons as you acquire the ability to draw and play them consistently. |
Revision as of 08:10, 28 June 2022
Goons | |
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Info | |
Cost | |
Type(s) | Action - Attack |
Kingdom card? | Yes |
Set | Prosperity |
Illustrator(s) | Tu Pei-Shu |
Card text | |
+1 Buy + Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand. While you have this in play, when you buy a card, +1 . |
Goons is an Action–Attack card from Prosperity. It is a terminal silver, since it gives + but no +Action. It is similar to Monument in that it gives you tokens—one token if you buy only one card this turn, but one more for each additional buy; it gives +Buy to help with that, as well. In addition, Goons is also a discard attack like Militia.
Goons is one of two Attack cards costing more than Raider.
, the other beingFAQ
Official FAQ
- You get +1 per card you buy, but do not get +1 for gaining a card some other way.
- Multiple copies of Goons are cumulative; if you have two Goons in play and buy a Silver, you'll get +2 .
- However if you King's Court a Goons, despite having played the card 3 times, there is still only one copy of it in play, so buying Silver would only get you +1 .
Other Rules clarifications
- Buying Events does not give you .
Strategy
Before it was removed, Goons was a terminal silver and one of the best payload cards in Dominion: it offers a strong attack, +Buy, and a source of alt-VP that is often centralising, being theoretically limited only by the number of cards you can buy over the course of the game. If the Kingdom allows you to build a deck that will be capable of consistently playing multiple Goons per turn, this is highly likely to be the optimal strategy. Doing so will enable you to accumulate many , since buying useful cards scores with Goons, avoiding the usual negative effects of greening. Gaining Victory cards is unlikely to be necessary at all, except perhaps at the very end of the game. Even if it isn’t possible to play multiple Goons, it’s still likely to be a strong terminal Action for your deck.
Goons is a terminal stop card, and your opponents are likely to be using it to attack your hand size, so a deck that aims to play a large number of Goons consistently needs a powerful engine to support this. Thus, the best case scenario for Goons is one that has good trashing, strong draw, and plentiful villages. However, even if the engine will be slow to come together, it will usually still be worth building to multiple Goons plays per turn. When building a Goons-focused engine, it's common to gain one Goons as soon as you can: at this stage, the it provides is largely incidental, but the and +Buy are useful, and the primary benefit is the attack, which will slow down your opponents’ efforts. Aside from your first Goons, deck control is the key aim; you can subsequently keep adding more Goons as you acquire the ability to draw and play them consistently.
In the midgame, further improvements to your deck's reliability and payload take priority over maximising scoring. However, once you have a very reliable deck with some overdraw, you might increase the number of cards you purchase per turn (e.g. by buying several cheap cantrips over fewer, more valuable cards); you could even spend some spare Buys on Coppers or other junk to accumulate more , if you can trash them easily on your next turn (or better still, immediately with Watchtower). Late in the game, especially on your final shuffle, scoring extra points in this way is likely to become crucial. An eventual three-pile ending, favouring whoever has managed to get the most Goons into play consistently, is probable; a player who aims to acquire all the Provinces quickly instead will have a deck that deteriorates rather than improving as the game continues, will have much less control over when it ends, and is likely to be outscored.
With a weaker, less reliable engine, a lack of village support, or a money strategy, consistently playing multiple Goons per turn may be difficult or impossible. Attacking and scoring with this card is still likely to be important throughout the game; an early Goons may still be useful, and you may want more than one of them even if you aren’t aiming to draw your deck and play them all each turn. However, the weaker the engine, the more likely it is that Goons will be secondary in importance to those provided by Victory cards. Additionally, if a rush is possible, an opponent adopting such a strategy is likely to be less severely slowed by the Goons attack, and building a Goons-focused deck may take too long to be able to outscore the rush before the game ends.
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. Caveat emptor.
Versions
English versions
Digital | Text | Release | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
+1 Buy + Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand. While this is in play, when you buy a card, +1 . |
Prosperity | October 2010 | ||
+1 Buy + Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand. While this is in play, when you buy a card, +1 . |
Prosperity (2016 printing) | February 2017 | ||
+1 Buy + Each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand. While you have this in play, when you buy a card, +1 . |
Prosperity (2020 printing) | October 2020 |
Other language versions
Trivia
Card Art
Preview
Secret History
Retrospective
Second Edition Removal
Further thoughts