Dominion Openings: Your First Two Buys

Dominion openings are the closest thing the game has to chess theory. Every player starts with the same ten cards, so the first two turns follow patterns you can learn once and use forever. The kingdom changes every game, but the math of the opening does not.

Why your first two turns add to $7

Your starting deck is 7 Coppers and 3 Estates. You draw 5 for turn 1, and at the end of turn 1 you draw the other 5 for turn 2. Between the two hands you see all 10 cards, which means $7 in total.

That leaves two possible splits:

• 4/3: $4 on one turn and $3 on the other. This happens in 5 games out of 6.
• 5/2: $5 and $2. This happens in 1 game out of 6.

The math is simple counting. A 5/2 happens when your first hand is either 5 Coppers, or 2 Coppers with all 3 Estates. Of the 252 possible first hands, 21 are all Copper and 21 hold every Estate. That is 42 hands, one in six.

Plan for 4/3, and have a 5/2 plan ready for the lucky game.

Your two buys come back together

At the end of turn 2 your deck is empty. You shuffle your discard pile, now 12 cards: the starting 10 plus your two buys. Turns 3 and 4 draw 10 of those 12 cards.

Two numbers follow from that shuffle:

• About 3 times in 10, both opening buys land in the same hand on turn 3 or 4.
• About 3 times in 10, at least one of them sits in the last 2 cards and waits until turn 5.

That first number is why pairing matters. If you open with two terminal Actions, such as Smithy and Militia, about 3 times in 10 they arrive together, and you can play only one. Pairing a terminal with Silver avoids the problem: Silver never collides with anything.

The best openings in the First Game kingdom

The First Game set has no strong trasher and no Witch, so money and one good Action card go a long way.

On a 4/3:

• Smithy and Silver. The classic. Smithy turns a five-card hand into seven cards, and Silver gives those hands money. The Dominion Strategy site reports that Smithy with Big Money reaches 4 Provinces by around 14 turns, against about 17 for money alone.
• Militia and Silver. Militia gives +$2, so it works like a Silver that also shrinks every opponent’s next hand to 3 cards. Strong at any player count.
• Silver and Silver. Fine when you are unsure. You lose nothing, and you can still pick up a Smithy or Militia next shuffle.

On a 5/2:

• $5: Market is a safe pick: it replaces itself and adds $1 and a Buy. You can also spend $5 on Smithy or Militia; overpaying is allowed.
• $2: Cellar helps you dig past Estates. Moat helps if an opponent has opened Militia. Buying nothing is also legal, and it keeps your deck lean.

Mine and Remodel are slower openers here. Each spends a turn improving one card instead of making that turn better. They earn their place later, or in kingdoms built around them.

Reading a new kingdom

Once your group moves past the First Game set, read the ten piles before anyone buys. Check these in order:

1. A strong attack. Witch, which gives every other player a Curse each time it is played, is the big one in the base set. If it is out, plan to get one early.
2. Trashing. Chapel trashes up to 4 cards from your hand. Opening Chapel and Silver, then trashing Coppers and Estates hard, builds a small deck that plays its best cards every turn. It feels slow for a few turns, and that is normal.
3. A good $4 terminal. Smithy, Militia, and Moneylender all pair well with Silver.
4. Villages and +Buy. These matter for engines, which the midgame lesson at Level 2 takes up.

If none of the first three show up, open Silver and Silver, and take a strong card at $5 when you can.

Three opening rules worth keeping

• One terminal is enough to start. Two terminals in the opening collide about 3 times in 10 on turns 3 and 4.
• Never open with points. An Estate bought on turn 1 is a dead card for the whole game.
• Respect Silver. When no Action at your price helps, Silver always does.

For more on how one card plus money beats a pile of clever cards, see Dominion strategy for beginners.