Gain
To gain a card is to add it to your deck (that is, all cards you own, rather than just your draw deck). Without specification, gained cards go into your discard pile. The most common way to gain cards is through buying them, though there are other ways, mostly through gainer cards. It is also possible to add cards to your deck without gaining them, via Masquerade or via exchanging a Traveller. Some cards have an effect when they are gained, and a few cards have an effect when another card is gained, or would be gained.
Gaining a card does not normally let you use the card immediately. However, in some cases a gained card may be put into your hand, where it may be used like any other card in your hand. For example:
- Any Treasure card gained by Mine or Treasurer
- Copper gained by Ill-Gotten Gains or Beggar
- Silver gained by Trading Post or Rocks
- Gold or Silver gained by Explorer
- Cards gained by calling Transmogrify
- Any card gained by Artisan, Cobbler, Wish or Sculptor
Some cards gain themselves to your hand:
The cards above all gain a card to the person playing the card. Some cards cause others to gain a card:
- All the primary Cursers
- All the secondary Cursers
- Those that trash with replacement: the cards Saboteur, Swindler, and the Hex Locusts when other players receive it.
- Noble Brigand
- Embassy
- Marauder
- Cultist
- Messenger
Official Rules
- Take a card from the Supply and put it into your discard pile.
- Sometimes a card will let you gain a card from a place other than the Supply, but by default gained cards come from the Supply.
- Sometimes a card will let you gain a card to a location other than your discard pile, but by default all gained cards are put into your discard pile.
- You do not play a card when you gain it; it just goes to your discard pile.
Other rules clarifications
- If a card lets you gain a card to a location other than your discard pile, the gained card is put into that location no matter where it would normally go when gained. For example, Artisan can gain a Nomad Camp to your hand, even though Nomad Camp is usually gained onto your deck.
References