Abandoned Mine (Dark Ages)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Abandoned Mine:

Abandoned Mine Strategy Guide

Introduction: Abandoned Mine is one of the five Ruins cards from Dark Ages, which are special pile cards that players typically receive unwillingly through the effects of Looters (cards that give out Ruins). Unlike most cards in Dominion, you cannot buy Abandoned Mine directly - it can only be gained through other card effects. Understanding how to deal with Abandoned Mine is crucial because it's often thrust into your deck against your will.

Basic Characteristics: - Cost: $0 - Type: Action-Ruins - Effect: +$1 - Notable features: Cannot be bought directly, only gained through Looter cards

Core Concepts:

1. Understanding Ruins Distribution Before diving into specific strategies, it's important to understand how Ruins enter the game:
2. Ruins only appear in games with Looter cards (e.g., Cultist, Death Cart, Marauder)
3. The Ruins pile contains a mix of five different Ruins cards
4. Abandoned Mine makes up roughly 20% of the Ruins pile

5. The number of Ruins in the game depends on player count (10 per player)

6. Basic Value Assessment Abandoned Mine's inherent properties: Pros:

7. Provides $1 when played
8. Counts as an Action card for effects that care about that
9. Zero cost can matter for certain card interactions

Cons: - Takes up a deck slot - Uses up an action - Generally inferior to Copper (which doesn't require an action) - Cannot be bought when desired

1. Primary Strategic Approaches

a) Minimizing Impact The most common approach to Abandoned Mine is minimizing its negative impact on your deck:

Deck Thinning: - Use Trashers to remove Abandoned Mine when possible - Priority targets for Chapel, Steward, Trading Post, etc. - Generally should be trashed before Copper due to action requirement

Deck Acceleration: - Use draw effects to cycle past Abandoned Mine quickly - Cards like Laboratory, Village, and Caravan help mitigate the action cost

b) Strategic Integration In some cases, you may want to work with Abandoned Mine rather than against it:

Action Chain Enablers: - Can trigger effects that care about playing actions - Works with cards like Scholar, City Quarter, or Royal Blacksmith - Can contribute to Trophy Hunter counts

Alternative Uses: - Fodder for cards that trash or exile for benefit - Can be used with Sewers or Forge - Potential resource for Workshop-like effects

1. Specific Card Interactions

Strong Positive Synergies:

1. Throne Room variants
2. Can double the $1 benefit
3. Particularly useful with King's Court for +$3

4. However, usually better targets exist

5. Library

6. Can be discarded to draw more valuable cards

7. Helps mitigate the action-blocking nature

8. Traveller cards

9. Can help meet action-playing requirements

10. Particularly useful with Teacher and Champion

11. Trail

12. Abandoned Mine counts as a $0 card

13. Can help trigger Trail's bonus

14. Border Guard

15. Provides an action to reveal for Border Guard's effect
16. Can contribute to action density requirements

Negative Interactions:

1. Action-limited engines
2. Competes for valuable action plays

3. Can clog crucial early game turns

4. Counting House

5. Takes up hand space that could be used for Copper

6. Gardens strategies

7. Generally prefer Copper for same deck size

8. Timing and Gameplay Considerations

Early Game: - Usually best to trash if possible - Can seriously impede engine building - May need to play for money in desperate situations

Mid Game: - Less harmful once engine is established - Can contribute to action chains if necessary - Still generally worth trashing if convenient

Late Game: - May not be worth trashing with limited turns remaining - Can become acceptable payload in action-rich decks - Consider keeping for edge cases (e.g., Province cost reduction)

1. Kingdom Context Considerations

When to Embrace: - Heavy action chains present - Strong trashing for benefit cards available - Action payoff cards in supply

When to Aggressively Remove: - Limited actions available - Big Money strategies - Draw-to-X cards present

1. Counter-Strategies Against Looters

Preemptive Measures: - Rush strategies to end game before Ruins accumulate - Compete for Looter cards to control Ruins distribution - Build strong trashing capabilities early

Reactive Approaches: - Adapt deck composition to handle action requirements - Incorporate draw effects to cycle past Ruins - Consider alternative victory conditions

1. Advanced Techniques

Action Management: - Sequence Abandoned Mine early in turn if playing multiple - Can serve as action counter for cards like Bridge Troll - Consider terminal space impact in engine design

Opportunity Cost Analysis: - Weigh trashing against other priorities - Consider deck composition impact - Factor in game length predictions

1. Multi-Player Considerations

In 3+ Player Games: - More Ruins in supply increases Abandoned Mine frequency - Higher importance of Ruins management strategy - Greater competition for trashing resources

Multiplayer Politics: - Track Ruins distribution among players - Consider targeting Looter attacks strategically - Watch for Ruins pile depletion timing

1. Common Mistakes to Avoid

2. Over-valuing:

3. Treating as equivalent to Copper
4. Keeping too long in action-limited decks

5. Building strategies around utilizing them

6. Under-valuing:

7. Ignoring potential synergies
8. Trashing when better targets exist

9. Forgetting about action-counting effects

10. Tactical Errors:

11. Playing unnecessarily when actions are scarce
12. Poor sequencing in action chains

13. Failing to account for Ruins distribution

14. Special Considerations

Alternative Card Costs: - Can be relevant for Bridge effects - Matters for cards that care about $0 cost cards - May impact cost-reduction strategies

Virtual Cost: - Consider action use as additional cost - Factor into comparing with other cards - Impacts decision-making with gainers

1. Summary and Key Takeaways

Primary Strategy Points: 1. Usually trash when possible 2. Consider keeping for specific synergies 3. Plan for Ruins impact when Looters present 4. Adapt strategy based on kingdom context 5. Balance trashing priorities with other needs

Success Metrics: - Minimize action waste - Maintain deck efficiency - Capitalize on synergies when present - Control Ruins distribution effectively

Conclusion:

Abandoned Mine represents one of Dominion's interesting design spaces where managing unwanted cards becomes a key skill. While generally considered a negative card to receive, understanding its proper handling and occasional utility can provide small edges that accumulate into victory.

The key to handling Abandoned Mine effectively lies in recognizing whether your kingdom and strategy call for rapid removal or strategic incorporation. Most often, treating it as a priority target for trashing will be correct, but remaining alert to synergistic possibilities can occasionally reveal hidden value.

Remember that Abandoned Mine's presence in your deck is usually not a choice but rather a consequence of opponent's actions or your own need to use Looter cards. Therefore, the skill lies not in choosing to acquire them but in managing them optimally once they arrive in your deck.

Success with Abandoned Mine often comes down to proper preparation (having trashing available), accurate assessment (identifying when to keep versus trash), and strategic flexibility (adapting plans to accommodate their presence). Master these elements, and this seemingly simple Ruins card becomes another tool in your strategic arsenal rather than merely an obstacle to overcome.