Scepter

Scepter
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Treasure - Command
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Renaissance
Illustrator(s)	Marco Morte
Card text
Choose one: +; or replay an non-Command Action card you played this turn that's still in play.

Scepter is a Treasure–Command card from Renaissance. When you play it, it can replay an Action card you played earlier in the turn. If you don't want to do that, you can get + out of it instead.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• This cannot replay a Duration card you played on a previous turn, but can replay one played the same turn (in which case Scepter will stay in play until the Duration card leaves play).
• This can cause you to get +Actions in your Buy phase, but that does not let you play Action cards in your Buy phase (though Scepter itself replays one).
• If this causes you to draw cards and some of them are Treasures, you can still play those Treasures.

Other rules clarifications

• Scepter can replay an Action that isn't finished resolving, such as a Storyteller that played Scepter in the first place.
• Command cards are not replayed. [1]
• If a card you play leaves and then later returns to your play area (for example, if you play a Duplicate and then call it on the same turn), you can't replay it with Scepter.
• If a Duration card has been played for both a non-Duration ability (such as Barge, or a Way) and a next-turn effect, the Scepter will stay in play, since the action card is staying in play.

Strategy

Scepter is a Kingdom Treasure that usually acts as a Throne Room variant. The option to generate is an advantage over other Throne variants, giving you an alternative play mode in case you cannot or do not want to use the Action replaying mode. However, Scepter has two significant disadvantages compared to most other Throne Room variants because it is played in the Buy phase, when under ordinary circumstances you cannot play additional Action cards from your hand. First, it is far less effective at increasing your terminal space, since replaying a non-terminal Action during the Buy phase gets you +Actions too late to use them. Second, when you replay a draw card with Scepter and draw Action cards, you effectively draw them dead as you can no longer play them. Scepter is therefore most often relevant when villages are otherwise lacking and it allows you to replay important terminal payload such as Bridge or Livery during your Buy phase. An additional minor disadvantage of Scepter is that, since it can only replay Actions you still have in play, it has no use with one-shots such as Acting Troupe.

There are two different types of effects that allow you to circumvent some of Scepter’s usual drawbacks, primarily by changing the timing or order of when you can play specific cards.

• Effects that let you play Scepter in your Action phase (e.g., Storyteller or Black Market) are generally very effective, as they allow you to use it more like a normal Throne Room variant to generate net +Actions, and also generally give you more play order freedom than if you could only play it during the Buy phase. For example, it may be better to replay a gainer before you draw and trigger a shuffle. In a similar manner, effects that allow you to return to your Action phase (e.g., Villa and Cavalry) allow you to effectively play Scepter in between Actions.
• Effects that let you play Actions in your Buy phase can potentially solve the problem of drawing Action cards dead; these may also include Action cards that allow you to play other Action cards, for example, by replaying a Conclave with Scepter. Effects such as these are generally more difficult to work with, since they still don’t allow Scepter to generate usable net +Actions, and there’s often a cost (e.g. Toil) or limitation (e.g. Capitalism) involved.

Like Royal Carriage, Scepter has a small advantage that most other Throne Room variants do not, in that multiple Scepters can replay a single copy of a target card. This can be useful with cards that are difficult to acquire in multiples, such as Disciple or a Prize, but also means that Scepter can occasionally allow you to build an engine that primarily operates in the Buy phase. With a single terminal draw card in play and a source of +Buy (likely from a Treasure such as Spices), you can play your draw card in the Action phase, then replay it multiple times using Scepters. While this can be difficult to set up reliably, it can be an effective way to draw a good portion of your deck and play your Treasure payload. This can be more effective with draw-to-X effects such as Scholar and Way of the Owl, as you can play the drawn Treasures between Scepter plays to draw even more cards.

Notably, Scepter can autopile itself when used to replay a gainer able to gain Scepters to your hand. This occurs most often with Artisan (if you have a large enough hand size so you have spare cards to topdeck) and to a lesser extent with Sculptor (which requires cost reduction of at least to make Scepter gainable by Sculptor). Gaining so many Scepters relatively cheaply can be useful for an explosive increase in your payload, or as part of a pileout.

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		When you play this, choose one: +; or replay an Action card you played this turn that's still in play.	Renaissance	November 2018
		Choose one: +; or replay an Action card you played this turn that's still in play.	Renaissance (2021 printing)
		Choose one: +; or replay a non-Command Action card you played this turn that's still in play.	Command erratum	August 2024

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Chinese	權杖 (pron. quán zhàng)
Dutch	Scepter			Als je deze kaart speelt, kies je één van de volgende: +; of speel een Actiekaart die je deze beurt hebt gespeeld en nog in het spel is nogmaals.
French	Sceptre			Quand vous jouez cette carte, choisissez : +; ou rejouez une carte Action jouée à ce tour qui est encore en jeu.
German	Zepter			Wenn du diese Karte ausspielst, wähle eins: + oder spiele eine Aktionskarte, die du in diesem Zug ausgespielt hast und die noch im Spiel ist, noch einmal aus.	(2019)
	Zepter			Wähle eins: + oder spiele eine Aktionskarte, die du in diesem Zug gespielt hast und die noch im Spiel ist, noch einmal.	(Nachdruck 2021)
	Zepter			Wähle eins: + oder spiele eine Nicht-Befehl-Aktionskarte, die du in diesem Zug gespielt hast und die noch im Spiel ist, erneut.
Japanese	王笏 (pron. ōshaku)			次のうち1つを選ぶ:「+」;「このターンに使用した、場に残っているアクションカード1枚を再使用する。」
Russian	Скипетр (pron. skipyetr)
Spanish	Cetro			Cuando juegas esta carta, eliges una opción: +; o vuelves a jugar una carta de Acción que hayas jugado este turno y que siga en juego.

Trivia

Official card art.

Secret History

A way to replay actions was an old idea. Well Royal Carriage does it but you know, as a card you played. Royal Carriage happened, but this did not, because what if this game there's no card with +1 Action? You couldn't play your after-the-fact Throne Room. A fix is to make it a Treasure, and that card tried out for Nocturne. Well first it was a Night card, and both the Night and Treasure actually returned you to your Action phase, so that most effects would be meaningful. I didn't feel like it was adding much, and changed it to a Treasure that didn't change phases, which meant that many cards were now no good with it. Which I liked; it made it more of a combo card. It was a poor fit for a set with a lot of Night cards though. It made a list of cards to try in the next set, and when the time came, we tried it again, and then I made it both weaker when strong and stronger when weak, by changing it from always making , to either making or replaying a card.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of Dominion: Renaissance

Old name

Sir Destry suggested North Room for Scepter (because north is like throne backwards).

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Dominion Discord, 2020