First thing you'll notice when you get this expansion is just how HUGE it is. Each base set comes with 25 distinct kingdom cards. The average expansion (other than the horrid Alchemy and the rushed Cornucopia) provided 25. This set comes with 35 distinct kingdom cards (one of which-- knights-- is a stack of ten unique cards that are played as a single kingdom stack), three alternatives to the three starting estates, and three cards that act like kingdom cards but are only accessed via other cards. This expansion feels mind-blowingly large because it is. For reference, here is a chronological list of expansions and the number of kingdom cards that they came with: Dominion had 25kingdoms (2008) Intrigue had 25kingdoms (2009) Seaside had 26kingdoms (2009) Alchemy had 15kingdoms (2010) Prosperity had 25kingdoms (2010) Cornucopia had 13kingdoms (2011) Hinterlands had 26kingdoms (2012) Dark Ages has 35kingdoms (2012) The set introduces a few new types of cards Shelters - these function as alternatives to the three estate cards that players normally start with in their deck. They are slightly less detrimental because they each do something small (some are +action, some give you things for trashing them, etc). There are three different types Ruins - these are like shelters in the fact that they are under-powered cards. They function somewhere between [estates] (which give a small victory point reward but clog up your hand) and curses (which both hurt you and clog up your hand). They clog up your hand slightly, don't award victory points, but have some powers in the game. They are usually under-powered compared to kingdom cards in the supply so they don't hurt as much as a curses but water down the power of your deck. Usually you give them to other players when you pillage or ransack them, but sometimes (like the [Death Wagon], they come with another kingdom card. Knights- these act like a normal kingdom cards in that they are put out in a stack of 10, but only the top card is visible and each card in the stack is unique (each has its own name e.g. [sir michel]and power). Basically its just ten different kingdom cards stacked as one to add more variability to the game. [Rats]- these are traditional action cards in every way except that they self-replicate, eat through your deck (make you trash a card) and there are 20 instead of 10 of them. [Hermit]/[Madman]- When you have [Hermits] in your game, you will also pull out a pile of [Madman] cards. When you use a [Hermit] and fail to buy a card that turn, the [Hermit] turns into a [Madman] (you trash the [Hermit] and get a [Madman] from another stack ([Madman], [Mercenary] and [Spoils] are all action or treasure cards that can only be acquired via other cards and don't count toward the 10 kingdom limit or game-end conditions. Its an interesting mechanic where hermits can go mad and madmen go out in a blaze of glory. [Urchin]/[Mercenary] - When/if you play with the [Urchin] card, you also pull out a stack of [Mercenary] cards. [Mercenaries] are not part of supply and can only be acquired via an [Urchin]. The gist is that if an [Urchin] aims high (takes on multiple tasks/actions in a single turn] then he becomes a [mercenary] (trash the [Urchin] and get a {mercenary] [Spoils] - these are not in the supply and can only be acquired by cards that pillage or ransack others. [Spoils] are basically a single-use [gold]. Pillaging means that other players discard cards and you put a [spoils] card in your discard pile. Ransacking means you give every other player a Ruin card and you gain a [Spoils]. When the [Spoils] appears in your hand, you use it for +3 coin and instead of discarding it to your discard pile, you discard it back to the [spoils] stack from whence it came. When trashed - many of these cards have a power that is only used when the card is trashed (whether voluntarily as a strategy or involuntarily). This adds a lot of interesting strategy particularly with Hinterlands and Seaside. Trash as power - [Death Cart] is an extremely powerful card that requires you to trash an action card. If you don't, you trash it at the end of that turn. Cards like [Procession] allow you, amongst other things, to use an action card twice (a la [throne room], but if you double an action, you trash that card. Both are examples of trash "powering" or "powering up" cards. So is it fun? Yes it is. We played three games with Dark-Ages-only sets and two games with sets mixed with Dark-Ages cards last night (after getting it via two-day shipping and we had a blast. The game plays very well with itself, and played interestingly with other cards. On one of the games, the mix wasn't optimal because we had many cards to put things into the trash, but nothing to trash them or get them out of the trash. Overall, the cards are very versatile for almost every setup, and its far from the harshly-limited alchemy expansion, but you will want to play with at least one card that causes players to trash cards (from any expansion) and at least one that benefits from being trashed. Pulling cards from the trash is optional, but makes for a fun dynamic. The good +++You get a TON of variety here and a TON of content ++Cards feel unique and fun ++As with almost all Dominion sets, the card name, card art and card mechanic all work flawlessly together ++Unique expansion feel (poverty, destruction, underground and rebirth) ++interesting new mechanics introduced ++great art +It actually helps make some of the less-viable Cornucopia cards more viable The bad -some cards aren't as fun without being matched with others (which could be said about almost any set). It's far from the train-wreck that is Alchemy. -Some cards are a little less inspired -Some games felt a little "impoverished" and bogged down. We didn't have a lot of money or our hands were filled with under-powered ruins. It fits the expansion feel well, but I tend to favor the power-play games rather than the games where everyone scrapes along toward victory-- this is totally subjective. Overall, the cards are great, but just a notch below Prosperity, Seaside and Hinterlands. There is just so much variety and content, though. If it was a smaller set like Conucopia, I'd put it at the bottom of the list with Cornucopia. As it is, this is the single biggest expansion to date and introduces so many new ideas that the sheer quanitity of original content makes up for the quality of some of the cards. 1) Intrigue (the better base set) 2) Prosperity (the highest quality expansion set) 3) Dark-Ages (the expansion with the most new ideas) 4) Seaside (the second best in terms of quality) 5) Hinterlands (the quirkiest and most bizarre but often overpowered) 6) Cornucopia (a little blah and TINY) and just skip Alchemy altogether. It's bad. You'll never play it.
