Gainer
A gainer is any card which allows you to gain cards without buying them. The simplest example is Workshop. They often work well with Gardens strategies, as they allow you to gain more cards than you have buys. They can also be useful for picking up engine components, especially cheap ones.
Cards that allow you to trash one card and gain another, like Remodel, are usually considered to be in a separate category from gainers, since they don't increase your deck size. However, they can sometimes have similar functions for gaining engine components or accelerating a three-pile ending.
Types of gainers
Cards in italics have been removed.
Workshop variants
These cards let you gain cards up to a particular maximum cost. Many of them work well in combinations with cost reduction methods like Highway, which will let you gain more expensive cards than you usually can.
- Dominion: Workshop, Artisan
- Intrigue: Ironworks
- Seaside: Smugglers, Blockade
- Alchemy: University
- Prosperity: War Chest
- Cornucopia: Horn of Plenty
- Dark Ages: Hermit, Armory, Dame Natalie
- Adventures: Artificer, Alms, Ball, Seaway
- Empires: Engineer, Charm, Advance, Banquet
- Nocturne: Devil's Workshop (if you've gained exactly 1 card that turn before you play it), Cobbler, Vampire, The Earth's Gift
- Renaissance: Inventor, Sculptor
- Menagerie: Groom, Falconer, Bargain, Demand
- Allies: Importer, Carpenter, Conjurer, Hill Fort, Crafters' Guild
Feast and Wish gain a card, but as one-shots act more as temporary replacements than gainers.
Disciple (from Adventures), Kiln and Way of the Rat (from Menagerie), and Specialist (from Allies) can gain you a copy of a card that you play, regardless of cost. Sunken Treasure, from Allies, can gain a copy of a card you didn't play, regardless of cost.
Trash gainers
These cards can gain cards out of the Trash instead of the supply:
- Intrigue: Lurker
- Dark Ages: Graverobber and Rogue
- Renaissance: Treasurer
Thief and Noble Brigand technically gain cards from the trash as well, but only the cards trashed as part of resolving their Attack abilities.
On-buy/gain gainers
These cards resemble the above in gaining cards up to or at a particular cost, but do so when you buy or gain another card, rather than when you play the gainer itself.
- Prosperity: Talisman
- Hinterlands: Haggler
- Adventures: Duplicate
- Empires: Charm
- Allies: Architects' Guild
Silver gainers
Since Silver is present in every game, and is often a useful card but rarely powerful, there are several cards that use gaining Silver as a decent but not very powerful bonus.
- Dominion: Bureaucrat
- Intrigue: Trading Post
- Seaside: Explorer
- Cornucopia: Trusty Steed
- Hinterlands: Jack of all Trades, Trader
- Dark Ages: Squire, Beggar
- Adventures: Treasure Hunter, Amulet, Trade, Raid
- Empires: Delve, Conquest
- Nocturne: Lucky Coin, The Mountain's Gift
- Menagerie: Scrap, Groom, Wayfarer, Alliance
- Allies: Town Crier
Gold gainers
These cards are able to gain a Gold, often at some cost such as having to trash a card.
- Dominion: Bandit
- Intrigue: Courtier
- Seaside: Explorer, Treasure Map
- Prosperity: Hoard
- Alchemy: Transmute
- Cornucopia: Bag of Gold
- Hinterlands: Fool's Gold, Tunnel
- Dark Ages: Market Square
- Guilds: Soothsayer
- Adventures: Treasure Trove, Quest
- Empires: Fortune, Haunted Castle, Wedding, Windfall
- Nocturne: Leprechaun, Devil's Workshop, The Sky's Gift
- Renaissance: Treasure Chest
- Menagerie: Reap, Enclave, Alliance
- Allies: Acolyte
- Promo: Dismantle, Governor
Other treasure gainers
These cards can be used to gain other Treasures — some specifically Copper or Spoils; others whatever Treasure happens to be available.
- Dominion: Thief
- Seaside: Pirate
- Prosperity: Mint
- Hinterlands: Noble Brigand, Ill-Gotten Gains, Cache
- Dark Ages: Beggar, Marauder, Bandit Camp, Count, Pillage
- Guilds: Taxman
- Adventures: Hero
- Empires: Banquet
- Nocturne: Tragic Hero, Greed
- Renaissance: Treasurer
Other specific-card gainers
- Intrigue: Baron—can gain an Estate
- Alchemy: Transmute—can gain another Transmute
- Cornucopia: Followers—gains an Estate
- Cornucopia: Tournament—can gain a Duchy or a Prize
- Cornucopia: Jester—can gain whatever non-Victory card is on top of other player's deck
- Dark Ages: Count—can gain a Duchy and/or a Copper
- Dark Ages: Rats—gains additional copy of Rats
- Dark Ages: Urchin—can gain a Mercenary
- Dark Ages: Death Cart—gains Ruins upon gain
- Adventures: Magpie—can gain additional copy of Magpie
- Adventures: Port—gains another Port on buy
- Empires: Small Castle—gains another Castle by trashing one
- Empires: Wild Hunt—can gain an Estate
- Empires: Triumph—gains an Estate
- Empires: Annex—gains a Duchy
- Empires: Ritual—gains a Curse
- Empires: Dominate—gains a Province
- Empires: Sprawling Castle—can gain a Duchy or Estates
- Nocturne: Devil's Workshop—can gain an Imp
- Nocturne: Leprechaun—can gain a Wish
- Nocturne: Tormentor—can gain an Imp
- Nocturne: The Swamp's Gift—gains a Will-o'-Wisp
- Nocturne: Haunted Mirror—can gain a Ghost
- Nocturne: Magic Lamp—can gain Wishes
- Nocturne: Cursed Gold—gains a Curse
- Menagerie: Sleigh—gains two Horses
- Menagerie: Supplies—gains a Horse onto your deck
- Menagerie: Scrap—can gain a Horse and/or Silver when you trash a card
- Menagerie: Cavalry—gains two Horses
- Menagerie: Groom—can gain a Horse and/or Silver
- Menagerie: Paddock—gains two Horses
- Menagerie: Livery—gains a Horse when you gain a card costing or more
- Allies: Distant Shore—gains an Estate
When gain/buy/trash gainers
- Hinterlands: Border Village - gains a cheaper card when gained
- Hinterlands: Cache - gains two Coppers when gained
- Hinterlands: Duchess - allows you to gain itself when you gain a Duchy
- Dark Ages: Catacombs - gains a cheaper card when trashed
- Dark Ages: Death Cart - gains 2 Ruins when gained
- Dark Ages: Feodum - gains 3 Silvers when trashed
- Dark Ages: Hunting Grounds - gains a Duchy or 3 Estates when trashed
- Dark Ages: Sir Vander - gains a Gold when trashed
- Dark Ages: Squire - gains an Attack card when trashed
- Guilds: Masterpiece - can gain Silvers when bought
- Guilds: Stonemason - can gain 2 Action cards when bought
- Adventures: Messenger - can gain a card costing up to when bought
- Adventures: Port - gains an additional copy of itself when bought
- Adventures: Alms - can gain a card costing up to
- Adventures: Quest - can gain a Gold if you discard numbered card combinations
- Adventures: Pilgrimage - can gain copies of up to 3 cards in play
- Adventures: Ball - gains 2 cards costing up to
- Adventures: Raid - gains a Silver per Silver in play
- Adventures: Seaway - gains a Action card costing up to
- Adventures: Trade - can gain Silvers if you trash cards
- Empires: Crumbling Castle - gains a Silver when gained or trashed
- Empires: Haunted Castle - gains a Gold when gained during your turn
- Empires: Sprawling Castle - gains a Duchy or three Estates when gained
- Empires: Rocks - gains a Silver when gained or trashed
- Empires: Triumph - gains an Estate
- Empires: Annex - gains a Duchy
- Empires: Advance - gains an Action costing up to if you trash an Action
- Empires: Delve - gains a Silver
- Empires: Banquet - gains 2 Coppers and a non-Victory card costing up to
- Empires: Ritual - gains a Curse
- Empires: Wedding - gains a Gold
- Empires: Windfall - gains 3 Golds if your deck and discard pile are empty
- Empires: Conquest - gains 2 Silvers
- Empires: Dominate - gains a Province
- Nocturne: Skulk - gains a Gold when gained
- Renaissance: Experiment - gained in pairs
- Menagerie: Hostelry - can gain Horses when gained
- Menagerie: Desperation—gains a Curse
- Menagerie: Ride—gains a Horse
- Menagerie: Bargain—gains a non-Victory costing up to , and each other player gains a Horse
- Menagerie: Demand—gains a Horse and a card costing up to
- Menagerie: Stampede—gains 5 Horses
- Menagerie: Reap—gains a Gold, and sets it aside
- Menagerie: Enclave—gains a Gold
- Menagerie: Alliance—gains a Province, a Duchy, a Estate, a Gold, a Silver, and a Copper
- Menagerie: Populate—gains a card from each Action Supply pile
- Allies: Lich - gains a cheaper card when trashed
- Promo: Summon - gains an Action card costing up to , and sets it aside
Edge cases
- Though it does not gain a card, Adventures: Inheritance does set aside a card from the Supply that is included in your deck at the end of the game.
- Though Nocturne: Changeling trash itself and gains a copy of a card you have in play, both effects are not related. Furthermore as a one-shot Changeling acts more as a temporary replacement than a gainer.
- Though it does not gain a card, Menagerie: Camel Train does move a card from the Supply to your Exile mat that is included in your deck at the end of the game (or earlier if you legitimately gain a copy and choose to discard the ones in Exile).