Cauldron

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Cauldron
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Treasure - Attack
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Hinterlands
Illustrator(s)	Garret DeChellis
Card text
+1 Buy The third time you gain an Action this turn, each other player gains a Curse.

Cauldron is a Treasure-Attack card from Hinterlands (Second Edition). It is a curser that only attacks if you can gain three Action cards on the turn when you play it; and it helpfully provides +Buy to help you get there.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• If you gain three Actions before playing Cauldron that turn, then it won't give out a Curse.
• It doesn't matter how many non-Action cards you gained; the third time you gain an Action, each other player gains a Curse.
• This is cumulative if you play multiple Cauldrons.
• This a Treasure, so you play it in your Buy phase, but also an Attack, so cards like Guard Dog and Moat can be used in response to it.

Other rules clarifications

• If gaining your 3rd Action card in a turn causes you to play a Cauldron (e.g. you gain Border Village, gain a Cauldron, and play it with Mining Road), it will instantly give out a Curse.

Strategy

Synergies/Combos

• certain late-phase gainers that let the player gain multiple cards: Pilgrimage, Stonemason, etc.
• Border Village, Port, Experiment
• Cards and Events that gain Horses

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		+1 Buy The third time you gain an Action this turn, each other player gains a Curse.	Hinterlands (Second Edition)	July 2022

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
German	Hexenkessel			+1 Kauf Wenn du in diesem Zug zum dritten Mal eine Aktionskarte nimmst, nimmt jeder Mitspieler einen Fluch.
Polish	Kociołek			+1 zakup Kiedy po raz trzeci w tej turze dodasz kartę Akcji, każdy z pozostałych graczy dodaje Klątwę.	(2024)

Trivia

Official card art.

Preview

Ill-Gotten Gains is a cute concept, but in practice makes for bad experiences. It was hard to even try to make a replacement along the same lines; I don't want games to be about emptying a certain pile that also empties the Curses, plus the Duchies.

Cauldron isn't tied to gaining Cauldrons, so it doesn't empty its own pile, just the Curses, and it's not even great at emptying those. But it's a Silver with a +Buy so it doesn't have to always Curse them. And it ties into the when-gain theme, being better with cards like Border Village.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Hinterlands 2E Preview 3

Secret History

The new Ill-Gotten Gains. It triggers on other gains, so it doesn't empty two piles. It plays into the when-gain theme, being a combo with things that gain extra cards. And it does the in-vogue modern Witch thing of not being able to give out Curses for a while.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of Hinterlands 2E

Wording

I'm still happy with the wording on Cauldron. Wordings to make this situation clearer have other costs; that's always what it comes down to. If you typically had to worry about having gained three things ahead of playing it, I might be unhappy with it as-is; you don't and I'm not.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Shuffle iT Discord, 2024

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