Stacking the Deck: A Dominion Strategy Guide (Part 6)

After the first two turns, there are no guarantees.  The specifics of what you do depend on what you draw, but the basic principles are the same. Let us continue with the rest of those phases, starting with phase 2 (obviously): the GOLD rush!

Oh gold, you are so useful!

Stacking the Deck: A Dominion Strategy Guide (Part 5)

In previous posts, I discussed deck-building strategy, Dominion strategy, game terminology, and finally specific categories of cards.

Now let's talk about different "phases" of the game. Because you may not realize it, but you can break down Dominion into different parts that have slightly different goals. Each card in Dominion may be useful in all of these phases, but many of them are more useful in some phases than others, and some may even be extremely useful in certain phases but not at all useful in others.

What am I talking about?  Read on to find out.

[Note: due to length, this post has been broken up into multiple parts.  Below we tackle phase 1]

Stacking the Deck: A Dominion Strategy Guide (Part 3)

So you're familiarizing yourself with deck-building concepts, and you've started to commit specific Dominion techniques to memory. But how do you know the best cards to choose?

It helps to understand the various elements that appear on Dominion cards. You know, the +1 Cards, the +1 Buys, etc. etc. You may know the mechanics, but do you really understand what they mean?

Lets talk about that.

Stacking the Deck: A Dominion Strategy Guide (Part 2)

So if you read the previous post, you may now have started to understand deck-building as a whole. You're starting to get that it's not just about adding any and all cards to your deck willy-nilly, but picking and choosing the ones that actually get your deck closer to accomplishing its goal. You know that getting rid of useless cards can be a more effective turn than keeping them.

But still, it's hard to put these concepts into practice, without... well, a little practice. Each deck-building game is a little different, but this is a Dominion strategy guide. So let's dive in to Dominion.

Stacking the Deck: A Dominion Strategy Guide (Part 1)

So you've got a copy of Dominion and a group of people to play with. You enjoy it, but you've found yourself on the losing end of far too many games, and you're ready to step it up.

You've maybe looked up a few guides on the Internet (or maybe you haven't), but they've all been too technical, too mathy, with too many statistics. You just want to play, but you want to play well.

Well, look no further, friend, fellow player, and loyal dragon-slaying compatriot! With this guide, I aim to teach you a few principles that will help you improve your game with any set of cards. I won't just give you strategies, but the concepts behind the strategies that will help you understand not just what to do, but why you do them, so you can make quick decisions on how to build your deck after a quick glance at the cards available. And finally, I think these tips will help you not just play better, but have even more fun with a delightfully well-designed game.

In this multi-part series, I will start with basic and general deck-building concepts, which will help you understand any deck-building game a little better. In the next part, I'll delve into Dominion-specific strategies, focusing on concepts that will help you play better and understand how to see when and where cards will be useful. Finally, I will look at some specific cards, pointing out some of my favorites and how they can be used to deadly effect, as well as cards that I don't think are all that great.

Reading and mastering these tips will not guarantee your victory every time, but when you learn these things, you will certainly play better, win more often, and have a whole lot of fun while doing it!  Read on, compatriots!