Ambassador
| Ambassador | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Info | |
| Cost |
 |
| Type(s) | Action - Attack |
| Kingdom card? | Yes |
| Set |
Seaside |
| Illustrator(s) | Alexander Jung |
| Card text | |
| Reveal a card from your hand. Return up to 2 copies of it from your hand to the Supply. Then each other player gains a copy of it. | |
Ambassador is an Action-Attack card from Seaside. When played, it lets you return up to 2 copies of a card from your hand to the supply, and makes all opponents gain a copy of that card; it clears out your deck like a trasher while filling your opponents' decks with junk. It is an extremely powerful opening when setting up an engine in a 2-player game; in the late game, it can even be used as a Curser if you are willing to buy a Curse for it to use.
FAQ
Official FAQ
- First you choose and reveal a card from your hand. You may place up to 2 copies of that card from your hand back in the Supply. Then the other players each gain a copy of it from the Supply.
- You may choose not to put any of them back in the Supply.
- If the pile for the chosen card runs out, some players may not get one; cards are given out in turn order starting with the next player.
- If you have no other cards in hand when you play this, it does nothing.
Other Rules clarifications
- If you reveal a card which is not in the Supply, such as Spoils, Madman, Mercenary, or Shelters, Ambassador does nothing. Similarly, because none of the cards bought through Black Market are in the Supply, if you reveal a card bought through Black Market, Ambassador does nothing.
- If you reveal a card which is part of a Supply pile with differently named cards, such as Ruins or Knights, you can only return two cards to the supply pile if they have the same name. Other players will only gain cards with that name.
Strategy Article
Original article and deeper followup article by theory
Ambassador is a powerful card that combines trashing (technically psuedo-trashing as it returns to the supply) with a junk-dealing attack. At 
, it is an exceptionally powerful for its cost. Ambassador works well with engines, as it can be used to construct engines, and the drawing provided by engines both makes it more likely that you will be able to play Ambassador on a desirable target, and mitigates the reduced hand size resulting from playing Ambassador to return cards to the supply.
The presence of Ambassador on the board is bad news for a 
/
player, possibly more than any other card. Along with Chapel, Ambassador is one of Dominion’s two best openers. The first couple of turns are critical: if you fall behind in “estate tennis”, your deck will quickly crash and burn.
The most common Ambassador dilemma early on is drawing it with 3 Copper + 1 Estate. Contrary to popular practice, Ambassadoring 2 Coppers (rather than 1 Estate) is the best play; deck-thinning is, at this point, more important than a marginal increase in your attack. Moreover, Ambassadoring the Coppers decreases the chance your opponent will Ambassador you two Estates while increasing your own chances for the same. Of course, it’s not a great move if you or your opponent are also relying on Moneylender/Coppersmith, but the point remains that you should almost always try to Ambassador two cards at a time in the early game.
In the midgame, you can start Ambassadoring early cards that have outstayed their welcome: your opponent will likely have little use for a late game Loan, Moneylender, Sea Hag, or Chapel. If you have strong enough deck-drawing (perhaps your opponent foolishly passed up on buying an Ambassador), consider buying a Curse and using the Ambassador as a pseudo-Witch.
Like many attacks, Ambassador is great with Throne Room/King's Court: just be sure not to give away all the copies of the card you are Ambassadoring! In addition, Ambassador is the rare attack that does not conflict with other attacks. No matter when you play it, it is always dealing damage to your opponents. Of course, you will draw hands where you don’t want to play the Ambassador, but it’s nice to have an attack that amplifies other attacks rather than cancelling them. It is especially powerful with Pirate Ship.
Ambassador is also a great defense, especially against opponents that opened with Mountebank, Witch, or Torturer. That doesn’t mean that those cards aren’t important if Ambassador is available (if you’re Ambassadoring a Curse, you aren’t Ambassadoring something else), but it’s certainly a better defense than getting a Moat and crossing your fingers. Mountebank works slightly better against Ambassador than other cursers, because it gives out two different types of junk cards.
Keep an eye out for Ambassador’s unique game-ending ability: it’s sometimes to your advantage to gift your opponent a Province or Colony in order to force the game to end on your turn. (See, e.g., this game, where I win by gifting my opponent the last Colony instead of allowing him the chance to win with a lucky Tactician.)
Ambassador also synergizes with Cutpurse: the added coppers make Cutpurse more likely to hit, making the attack retain its strength later into the game than it normally would. In multiplayer, this can benefit you even if you do not buy a Cutpurse, so long as other players do.
Openings
Ambassador is a strong opening buy. Double Ambassador makes a strong opening on some boards, especially when there are desirable -cost cards like Native Village, Crossroads or Hamlet. Desirable -cost cards make opening Ambassador/Silver more attractive. Ambassador can also be paired with 
-cost cards like Caravan or Spice Merchant. Quarry is also a good buy as playing it does not take an action, and it can be used to pick up strong actions.
Weaknesses
Perhaps Ambassador’s greatest weakness is the dreaded Possessed Ambassador. But even then, opening Ambassador isn’t dangerous so long as you have a way to get rid of your Ambassador (Remodel, Salvager, Bishop). Indeed, stuffing your opponent with crap will probably keep him from Possessions and let you get first crack at them.
Note that Ambassador is significantly weaker in Dark Ages games using Shelters, since Ambassador cannot be used to get rid of your starting Shelters.
Synergies/Combos
- Throne Room / King's Court
- Curse (sometimes)
- Opponents’ Curse-giving attacks
- Pirate Ship
- Cutpurse
Antisynergies
- Opponent’s Possession
- Opponent’s Militia (somewhat, but not as much as with Chapel)
- Chapel (somewhat; it’s viable to open Ambassador/Chapel, but probably not better than Silver/Chapel)
- Gardens decks, also Silk Road and Duke.
- Shelters
Trivia
Secret History
