How to Read Any Dominion Kingdom in Two Minutes

In a random kingdom, the first two minutes decide more than any single turn. Strong players do not look at ten new cards and wait for inspiration. They ask the same questions in the same order, every time. This lesson gives you that order, then reads two of the rulebook’s own kingdoms with it.

The opening lesson gave you a short version. This is the full routine.

The six questions

1. Is there a strong attack? Look for a card that hurts every game, such as Witch. If there is one, you probably want it, and you need a plan for when others play it. Milder attacks like Militia or Bureaucrat matter, but they rarely decide the plan alone.

2. How strong is the trashing? Chapel or Sentry means a thin deck is possible. Moneylender or Remodel means a little thinning. None means every deck stays fat, which favors money.

3. Can the deck draw itself? Look for Villages (Village, Festival, Throne Room) and draw (Laboratory, Smithy, Library, Council Room). You need both, or plenty of cantrip draw like Laboratory. Without both, an engine will stall.

4. Is there +Buy? Market, Festival, and Council Room give it. Without +Buy, an engine buys one card a turn, just like a money deck. That makes the engine much less attractive.

5. Is there another way to score or end the game? Gardens with a gainer like Workshop can rush. Count the cheap piles that could run out.

6. What is the best Big Money plus one card? Find the strongest $4 and $5 terminal for a money deck. This is your fallback, and the yardstick for anything fancier.

Then decide: money plus one card, engine, or rush. Name your 4/3 opening and your 5/2 opening. That is the two minutes.

Kingdom one: Size Distortion

The rulebook’s Size Distortion kingdom is Artisan, Bandit, Bureaucrat, Chapel, Festival, Gardens, Sentry, Throne Room, Witch, and Workshop.

1. Attack: Witch. That anchors the read. Expect to want one early.
2. Trashing: Chapel and Sentry. Strong. Curses can be trashed too.
3. Self-draw: Festival and Throne Room give Actions, but the only draw is Witch’s +2 Cards and Sentry’s +1. An engine here has little to draw with.
4. +Buy: Festival.
5. Another way: Gardens and Workshop. A rush is possible, and the Curses Witch hands out make every deck bigger.
6. Best money card: Witch.

A reasonable read: Witch with money, adding Sentry or light Chapel use to clear Curses, and watch closely for an opponent who goes for Workshop and Gardens. The kingdom’s name is the hint: big decks against small ones.

Kingdom two: Silver & Gold

Silver & Gold is Bandit, Bureaucrat, Chapel, Harbinger, Laboratory, Merchant, Mine, Moneylender, Throne Room, and Vassal.

1. Attack: Bandit, which hits money decks, and Bureaucrat. Neither is a Witch.
2. Trashing: Chapel and Moneylender, plus Mine to upgrade Treasure.
3. Self-draw: Laboratory, which needs no Villages. Throne Room can double a Lab.
4. +Buy: none.
5. Another way: no.
6. Best money card: Laboratory is strong at $5, and Moneylender at $4.

A reasonable read: with no +Buy, a big engine turn still buys only one card, so the goal is a deck that hits $8 every turn. Trash with Chapel or Moneylender, add Laboratories and Gold, and buy a Province each turn. Bandit punishes a deck built on Silver and Gold, so lean on Laboratories for consistency.

These reads are starting points, not answers. The point is that six questions turn a page of text into a plan quickly.

Common misreads

• Seeing a Village and assuming an engine. Check for draw and +Buy too.
• Missing the attack. A Witch in the corner of the layout changes everything.
• Forgetting piles. Gardens, cheap gainers, and Curses can end a game on three piles long before the Provinces run out.
• Falling for an expensive card. A $5 card that does not fit your plan is worse than a Silver that does.

Practice

Reading speed comes from repetition. Shuffle the randomizers, deal ten, and read them aloud. You do not need to play the game every time. Our Dominion strategy for beginners article has a short table of base card roles that helps when a card is new to you.