Menagerie (Cornucopia)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Menagerie:

Menagerie Strategy Guide

Introduction: Menagerie is a $3 action card from Cornucopia that rewards players for maintaining diversity in their hand. While seemingly simple, it presents interesting deck-building challenges and opportunities. When optimized, it can provide powerful card draw, but it requires careful consideration of your deck composition to maximize its effectiveness.

Basic Mechanics: - Always provides +1 Action - Reveals your hand - Draws 3 cards if your hand has no duplicates - Draws 1 card if your hand has any duplicates - Important note: The hand check happens after revealing but before drawing cards

Core Strengths: 1. Potential for significant card draw (+3 cards) 2. Self-replacing with +1 Action 3. Relatively cheap at $3 4. Can function as a cantrip even when not optimal

Core Weaknesses: 1. Conditional card draw 2. Requires careful deck building 3. Less reliable than many other drawers 4. Can be awkward with traditional engine pieces

Optimal Usage Strategies:

1. Deck Composition

The key to maximizing Menagerie is maintaining hand diversity. Consider these approaches:

a) Single-Copy Strategy - Include only one copy of most cards - Particularly effective in kingdoms with many unique options - Works well with card-gaining alternatives to buying duplicates - Examples: Workshop, Artisan, Horn of Plenty

b) Natural Diversity - Use cards that tend to exit your hand quickly - One-shot cards like Horse - Cards that play themselves like Castle - Terminal actions that you'll play immediately

c) Mixed Approach - Some duplicates of key cards - Variety in support cards - Balance between consistency and diversity

1. Timing Considerations

When to Play Menagerie: - Early in your turn before playing other cards - After playing cards that could create duplicates - When you need to draw into specific cards - As part of an action chain

1. Number of Menageries to Buy

The optimal number depends on your strategy:

a) Single Menagerie - Safer in traditional engines - When diversity is hard to maintain - In slower games with few actions

b) Multiple Menageries (2-3) - When building around hand diversity - With strong deck filtering - In kingdoms with many unique cards

c) Many Menageries (4+) - Rarely optimal - Can work with extremely diverse decks - Usually better to diversify your action cards

Synergies and Combinations:

1. Sifting Effects Strong synergy with cards that help manage hand composition:
2. Cellar
3. Warehouse
4. Haven
5. Library

6. These cards help you set up duplicate-free hands

7. Deck Inspection Cards that let you know what's coming:

8. Scout
9. Oracle
10. Navigator

11. Helps predict Menagerie's effectiveness

12. Gainers Cards that help maintain diversity:

13. Workshop
14. Artisan
15. Horn of Plenty

16. Allows gaining different cards without buying duplicates

17. Trashing Effects

18. Chapel
19. Steward
20. Ambassador

21. Helps remove unwanted duplicates

22. Duration Cards

23. Fishing Village
24. Caravan
25. Wharf
26. Stay in play, reducing hand duplicates

Counter-Synergies:

1. Traditional Engine Pieces
2. Village variants (usually want multiple copies)
3. Smithy variants (usually want multiple copies)
4. Laboratory variants

5. These cards typically want duplicates for consistency

6. Draw-to-X Cards

7. Library
8. Watchtower

9. Can interfere with hand composition

10. Heavy Terminal Draw

11. Smithy
12. Council Room

13. Can create duplicate problems

14. Cards That Create Copies

15. Overlord
16. Band of Misfits
17. Can create unexpected duplicates

Sample Strategies:

1. Diverse Engine Components:
2. 1-2 Menagerie
3. Single copies of various actions
4. Trashing

5. Card gaining Goal: Build a diverse but effective deck that consistently triggers Menagerie's bonus

6. Menagerie Chain Components:

7. 2-3 Menagerie
8. Fishing Village/Village variants

9. Deck inspection Goal: Chain multiple Menageries together while maintaining hand diversity

10. Hybrid Approach Components:

11. 1-2 Menagerie
12. Traditional engine pieces
13. Strong filtering Goal: Use Menagerie as supplemental draw while maintaining some duplicate engine pieces

Kingdom Considerations:

1. Strong Kingdoms for Menagerie:
2. Many unique $3-$4 cards
3. Strong trashing
4. Good filtering options
5. Alternative gaining methods

6. Duration cards

7. Weak Kingdoms for Menagerie:

8. Few unique cards
9. No trashing
10. Heavy emphasis on traditional engines
11. Limited action capacity

Early Game Strategy:

1. Opening Considerations:
2. Menagerie/Silver split can work well
3. Menagerie/Trashing split is often strong

4. Consider $3/$4 openings with complementary cards

5. Early Priorities:

6. Establish basic economy
7. Set up deck diversity
8. Get key support cards

Mid-Game Development:

1. Transition Phase:
2. Evaluate need for additional Menageries
3. Build towards your chosen strategy

4. Maintain hand diversity

5. Key Decisions:

6. Balance between unique cards and duplicates
7. When to stop adding Menageries
8. How to handle greening phase

Late Game Adjustments:

1. Green Phase:
2. Be aware that Victory cards can create duplicates
3. Consider timing of green card purchases

4. May need to adjust strategy as deck composition changes

5. End Game:

6. Menagerie becomes less reliable
7. May need to shift to simpler strategies
8. Consider trimming deck if possible

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Over-Investment
2. Buying too many Menageries
3. Focusing too much on diversity at expense of effectiveness

4. Neglecting economy

5. Poor Timing

6. Playing Menagerie at wrong moment
7. Not considering upcoming shuffles

8. Failing to track deck composition

9. Strategy Misalignment

10. Trying to force Menagerie into inappropriate strategies
11. Ignoring better alternatives
12. Not adapting to kingdom context

Tips for Success:

1. Deck Tracking
2. Keep mental note of duplicates
3. Track shuffle timing

4. Monitor deck composition

5. Flexibility

6. Be willing to pivot strategies
7. Adapt to opponent's moves

8. Recognize when Menagerie isn't working

9. Support Structure

10. Build appropriate support around Menagerie
11. Maintain economic viability
12. Keep action capacity sufficient

Multiplayer Considerations:

1. Attack Protection
2. Menagerie can help recover from attacks
3. Consider defensive options

4. May need more reliability

5. Table Politics

6. Watch for pile-emptying threats
7. Consider impact on other players

8. May need to adjust timing

9. Scaling

10. Strategy may work differently with more players
11. Consider impact on game length
12. May need more backup plans

Online Play Tips:

1. Interface Management
2. Use hotkeys efficiently
3. Track revealed cards carefully

4. Monitor opponent's actions

5. Time Management

6. Plan turns ahead
7. Know when to think longer
8. Don't get caught in analysis paralysis

Conclusion:

Menagerie is a fascinating card that rewards careful deck building and thoughtful play. While it can be powerful in the right circumstances, it requires more setup and consideration than simpler draw cards. Success with Menagerie comes from understanding its limitations and building appropriately around it.

Key Takeaways: - Build for diversity but maintain effectiveness - Support with appropriate cards - Stay flexible in strategy - Monitor deck composition carefully - Know when to pursue alternative strategies

With proper understanding and application of these principles, Menagerie can be a powerful addition to many strategies, providing efficient card draw while encouraging interesting deck-building decisions.