Lighthouse
Lighthouse | |
---|---|
Info | |
Cost | |
Type(s) | Action - Duration |
Kingdom card? | Yes |
Set | Seaside |
Illustrator(s) | Marcel-André Casasola Merkle |
Card text | |
+1 Action + At the start of your next turn: +. Until then, when another player plays an Attack card, it doesn't affect you. |
Lighthouse is an Action-Duration card from Seaside. It gives + on the turn you play it and on the turn after you play it, and also, like Moat, protects you from Attacks. Since it gives a total of + spread between two turns, its buying power is almost as good as Silver.
Contents |
FAQ
Official FAQ (first edition)
- You get +1 Action and + when you play this, and then you get + at the start of your next turn.
- Also, while Lighthouse is in play, other players' Attack cards do not affect you (even if you want them to).
- This does not prevent you from using Reactions when other players play Attacks.
Other Rules clarifications (second edition)
- Lighthouse only protects you from Attacks when they're played. So if you get attacked by a Corsair or Blockade, playing a Lighthouse afterwards will not protect you from their attacks.
- This protects you for the rest of the turn when you play it. So if after playing a Lighthouse, you gain a Duchy, this will protect you from another player's Black Cat.
- This offers no protection during your next turn. This means that on the turn after you play a Lighthouse, you can still get attacked by another player's Black Cat.
- If you play a Lighthouse via a Command variant, you will be protected against Attacks.
Other Rules clarifications (first edition)
- Lighthouse only protects you from an Attack when they're played. So if you get attacked by a Corsair or Blockade, playing a Lighthouse afterwards will not protect you from their attacks.
- This protects you from Attack cards both on the turn you play it, and during your next turn, which may matter with Black Cat.
- If you play a Lighthouse without putting it in play, such as via a Command variant, you get the +Action and both + but not the attack immunity.
Strategy
Lighthouse is a non-terminal Action and Duration card that offers virtual and Attack immunity. This defensive ability is the primary reason to use Lighthouse, but in the absence of Attacks Lighthouse functions similarly to a Silver, in that it generates (albeit across two turns) and is a non-terminal payload stop card.
The defense against Attacks provided by Lighthouse can be quite impactful. With sufficient deck control, you can play a Lighthouse every turn effectively rendering you completely immune to attacks. Because you’d ideally always have one in play, a pair of Lighthouses only ever amounts to one stop card that you have to draw, which is a small price to pay against attacks such as Militia, which otherwise could take as much as two Laboratories to undo. In the presence of problematic Attacks, you may want to prioritize gaining Lighthouse earlier and playing it reliably.
Compared to the other forms of Attack immunity, Lighthouse is much more reliable than hoping to draw a Moat in your starting hand, far quicker to set up than Champion, and provides twice as much as Guardian does. On the other hand, however, Moat is (weak) terminal draw, Champion is an extremely strong village, and Guardian cannot be drawn dead.
Lighthouse has two main advantages over Silver in an engine. First, it is slightly cheaper (a useful factor on a / opening split), although this may not matter much if you are limited on gains or +Buy. Second, as Action-based payload, Lighthouse is more useful with cards that rely on such effects, such as Tactician and draw-to-X effects (e.g., Library).
Very rarely, you may prefer to be affected by an Attack (e.g., discarding cards to activate Menagerie, or trashing a Curse to Old Witch after the Curses have run out), and because Lighthouse’s protection is not optional you might opt to not play it.
Versions
English versions
Digital | Text | Release | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
+1 Action Now and at the start of your next turn: +. While this is in play, when another player plays an Attack card, it doesn’t affect you. |
Seaside | October 2009 | ||
+1 Action Now and at the start of your next turn: +. While this is in play, when another player plays an Attack card, it doesn't affect you. |
Seaside (2016 printing) | July 2017 | ||
+1 Action Now and at the start of your next turn: +. While you have this in play, when another player plays an Attack card, it doesn't affect you. |
Seaside (2020 printing) | October 2020 | ||
+1 Action + At the start of your next turn: +. Until then, when another player plays an Attack card, it doesn't affect you. |
Seaside (Second Edition) | June 2022 |
Other language versions
† The line separating start-of-turn abilities is unwarranted and was removed in later print runs. This matters e.g. when you are Enchanted or you use a Way.
Trivia
Secret History
Retrospective