Market Square (Dark Ages)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Market Square:

Market Square Strategy Guide

Overview: Market Square is a fascinating card that combines a modest cantrip effect with a powerful trashing-based reaction ability. Its dual nature makes it both a reliable deck component and a potential engine for explosive economic gains. Understanding when and how to leverage both aspects of Market Square is key to maximizing its potential.

Basic Characteristics: - Cost: $3 - Provides: +1 Card, +1 Action, +1 Buy, and a reaction ability - Key feature: Can be discarded when your cards are trashed to gain a Gold

Core Strengths:

1. Cantrip Functionality
2. Market Square's basic action provides all three key bonuses (+Card, +Action, +Buy)
3. Self-replacing nature means it doesn't clog your deck
4. Helps maintain deck fluidity while providing extra Buys

5. Low cost makes it accessible early in the game

6. Gold-Gaining Reaction

7. Converts trashing events into economic opportunities
8. Can potentially gain multiple Golds in a single turn
9. No limit to how many Market Squares can be discarded per trash
10. Works with both voluntary and forced trashing

Strategic Considerations:

1. Early Game Acquisition
2. Consider opening with Market Square when:
3. Trashing is available in the kingdom
4. Extra Buys will be valuable
5. You need cheap non-terminal actions
6. Can be a strong second card after a $4/$3 split opening

7. Multiple Market Squares are often desirable

8. Mid-Game Usage

9. Scales well with trashing engines
10. Helps maintain deck consistency
11. Provides necessary +Buy for engine building

12. Gold gaining becomes more impactful

13. Late Game Value

14. Reaction becomes less valuable as deck improves
15. Basic cantrip function remains useful
16. Consider stopping Market Square purchases when:
17. Deck is already optimized
18. Better terminal actions are available
19. Trashing opportunities are diminishing

Key Synergies:

1. Self-Trashing Cards
2. Chapel: Premier combo, allowing multiple Gold gains early
3. Trading Post: Guaranteed trashing with good timing
4. Remodel: Controlled trashing with upgrade potential
5. Salvager: Combines trashing with economic boost

6. Mine: Reliable treasure upgrading

7. Attack-Based Trashing

8. Knights: Opponent's trashing triggers your reaction
9. Rogue: Both players' trashing can be beneficial

10. Swindler: Can create opportunistic trashing moments

11. Other Synergistic Cards

12. Warehouse: Helps find Market Square when needed
13. Cellar: Improves chances of having Market Square ready
14. Treasury: Works well with the +Buy for sustained draw
15. Garden: Extra Buys help pile up victory cards
16. Bridge: Makes buying multiple Market Squares easier

Advanced Tactics:

1. Timing Your Reactions
2. Don't automatically discard Market Square for every trash
3. Consider deck composition and current needs
4. Save Market Squares when:
5. Better trashing opportunities are coming
6. Gold wouldn't improve current deck

7. You need the cantrip effect more

8. Multiple Market Square Management

9. Having multiple copies increases reaction opportunities
10. Can discard multiple Market Squares per trash
11. Balance between keeping for actions vs. holding for reactions

12. Consider deck size when deciding how many to hold

13. Engine Building

14. Use Market Square's +Buy to acquire engine components
15. Leverage Gold gains to reach key price points
16. Don't over-invest in Market Squares at expense of engine pieces
17. Consider trashing Golds later for better components

Countering Market Square:

1. Limiting Trashing
2. Avoid playing trashing attacks when opponent has Market Squares
3. Consider alternative strategies that don't enable opponent's reactions

4. Focus on non-trashing attacks

5. Outpacing the Strategy

6. Build faster engines that don't rely on Gold
7. Use provinces/colonies before Gold advantage becomes significant

8. Leverage alternate victory conditions

9. Competing for Market Squares

10. Deny opponent access to multiple copies
11. Use trashing yourself to benefit from remaining copies
12. Consider whether depleting pile helps your strategy

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Over-Investment
2. Buying too many Market Squares early
3. Holding too many for reactions vs. playing as actions

4. Neglecting other important cards for Market Square

5. Poor Reaction Timing

6. Discarding too eagerly for Gold
7. Not considering deck composition

8. Missing better trashing opportunities

9. Inflexible Strategy

10. Focusing too much on the Gold-gaining aspect
11. Ignoring the utility of the action component
12. Not adapting to kingdom context

Sample Strategies:

1. Chapel Engine with Market Square
2. Open Chapel/Market Square
3. Aggressively trash estates and coppers
4. Gain multiple Golds early
5. Transition to engine components

6. Use extra Buys for victory cards

7. Knights Defense

8. Acquire 2-3 Market Squares early
9. Hold them when Knights are likely
10. Convert opponent's attacks into economic advantage

11. Build strong deck with gained Golds

12. Trading Post Combo

13. Use Trading Post to trash deliberately
14. Time Market Square discards with Trading Post plays
15. Build strong treasure base quickly
16. Leverage extra Buys for victory cards

Kingdom Considerations:

1. Strong Kingdoms for Market Square
2. Heavy trashing available
3. Multiple +Card effects
4. Clear engine potential

5. Limited alternate +Buy options

6. Weak Kingdoms for Market Square

7. No trashing available
8. Better $3 options present
9. Strong alt-VP strategies

10. Colony games without supporting cards

11. Mixed Kingdoms

12. Evaluate trashing potential
13. Consider competition for copies
14. Assess speed of alternate strategies
15. Balance with other engine components

Cost Analysis:

1. Investment Consideration
2. $3 cost is very accessible
3. Can often grab multiple copies early
4. Good return on investment with Gold gains

5. Maintains utility throughout game

6. Opportunity Cost

7. Competes with other valuable $3 cards
8. May delay crucial engine pieces
9. Holding for reaction reduces action utility
10. Gold gains may not always be optimal

Specific Match-ups:

1. vs. Big Money
2. Market Square helps match Big Money's pace
3. Extra Buys allow victory card accumulation

4. Gold gains can exceed normal money density

5. vs. Engines

6. Provides necessary +Buy for engine building
7. Helps maintain consistency

8. May need to focus more on action than reaction

9. vs. Rush Strategies

10. Can help defend against hostile rushing
11. Extra Buys support counter-rushing
12. May need to prioritize reaction over action

Conclusion:

Market Square is a versatile card that rewards careful planning and tactical flexibility. Its strength lies in providing consistent deck support while offering powerful economic opportunities through its reaction ability. Success with Market Square requires:

• Understanding kingdom context
• Balancing action vs. reaction usage
• Timing trash reactions effectively
• Managing multiple copies efficiently
• Adapting strategy as game progresses

When used properly, Market Square can be a cornerstone of various successful strategies, from explosive Chapel engines to defensive Knights counters. Its low cost and dual utility make it a valuable addition to many decks, but maximizing its potential requires careful consideration of timing, opportunity costs, and strategic context.

Remember that Market Square's true power often lies not in its individual components but in how they work together to support your overall strategy. Whether you're using it primarily for its cantrip effect, its reaction ability, or both, always consider how it fits into your broader gameplan and the current state of the game.