Survivors (Dark Ages)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Survivors:

Survivors Strategy Guide

Introduction Survivors is one of the five Ruins cards introduced in Dark Ages. Unlike most cards in Dominion, you don't deliberately acquire Survivors - instead, they're dealt to players when someone buys or gains a Ruins-giver card like Cultist or Death Cart. Understanding how to make the best of Survivors when they end up in your deck is important for success in games where Ruins are present.

Basic Characteristics - Cost: $0 - Type: Action-Ruins - Effect: Look at the top 2 cards of your deck. Discard them or put them back in any order.

Core Strategic Elements

1. Deck Inspection The primary value of Survivors lies in its ability to look at upcoming cards. This information can be valuable for:
2. Planning your next turn
3. Deciding whether to use other effects that interact with your top cards

4. Determining if you should use deck-drawing effects

5. Filtering Options Survivors gives you two distinct choices: a) Discard both cards b) Reorder and keep both cards

This binary choice makes Survivors somewhat limited compared to more flexible sifting cards, but understanding when to use each option is crucial.

When to Keep vs. When to Discard

Keep Both Cards When: - Both cards are valuable for your next turn - You need specific cards in a particular order - You're trying to avoid shuffling - You want to protect good cards from opponent's attacks - You need the cards for specific combinations

Discard Both Cards When: - Both cards are weak (Coppers, Estates, other Ruins) - You want to access cards deeper in your deck - You're hoping to shuffle into better cards - You have strong draw effects in hand - You want to thin your deck for the turn

Tactical Considerations

1. Turn Timing
2. Early Turn: Using Survivors early gives you more information to plan the rest of your turn
3. Late Turn: Using it late can help set up your next turn

4. Multiple Survivors: If you have multiple copies, spacing them out can give you more control over your deck

5. Deck Tracking

6. Keep mental track of important cards in your deck
7. Consider what might be coming up after a shuffle

8. Use the information gained to inform other decisions

9. Hand Size Management

10. Survivors doesn't change your hand size
11. Can help you dig for specific cards while maintaining action density
12. Useful for managing your deck when you don't want to draw additional cards

Synergies and Combinations

1. Card Ordering Effects Strong synergies with cards that care about deck order:
2. Mystic
3. Vagrant
4. Oracle
5. Scout
6. Navigator

7. Patrol

8. Top-deck Manipulation Works well with cards that place cards on top of your deck:

9. Harbinger
10. Haven
11. Scheme
12. Treasury

13. Horse Traders

14. Draw Effects Can improve the efficiency of:

15. Laboratory variants
16. Hunting Party
17. Council Room

18. Smith variants

19. Discard Benefits Synergizes with cards that benefit from discarding:

20. Market Square
21. Tunnel
22. Faithful Hound

23. Haven

24. Action Chains Works well in decks with:

25. Village variants
26. Fishing Village
27. Native Village
28. Festival

Counter-Synergies and Weaknesses

1. Limited Impact
2. Doesn't improve hand size
3. Doesn't guarantee improvement in card quality

4. Uses an action without providing immediate economic benefit

5. Opportunity Cost

6. Takes up an action that could be used for more powerful effects
7. Can slow down explosive turns

8. May prevent playing more important action cards

9. Anti-Synergies Performs poorly with:

10. Cursing attacks (makes filtering less effective)
11. Shuffle-heavy strategies
12. Decks that need every action for economy

Dealing with Survivors in Your Deck

1. Early Game
2. Use aggressively to filter through starting deck
3. Help find key $5 purchases

4. Can assist in hitting important price points

5. Mid Game

6. Becomes more situational
7. Use to find specific combo pieces

8. Help manage deck composition

9. Late Game

10. Can help find key victory cards
11. Useful for avoiding green card clogs
12. Help maintain engine consistency

Strategic Contexts

1. Engine Building Pros:
2. Helps find key components
3. Can maintain engine consistency
4. Allows for better action sequencing

Cons: - Uses valuable actions - Doesn't add to engine capacity - May slow down engine building

1. Big Money Strategies Pros:
2. Can help find key treasures
3. Allows skipping weak cards
4. Helps maintain good money density

Cons: - Often better to just play treasures - Minimal impact on deck quality - Slows down play

1. Rush Strategies Pros:
2. Can help find key cards quickly
3. Allows managing victory card density
4. Helps maintain momentum

Cons: - Uses actions needed for gaining - May slow down rushing - Limited impact on overall strategy

Multiplayer Considerations

1. Attacks
2. Can help protect key cards from attacks
3. Useful for recovering from handsize attacks

4. Can help dodge certain deck inspection attacks

5. Race Elements

6. Less important in racing situations
7. Can help find key cards in tight races
8. May be too slow in aggressive games

Kingdom-Specific Considerations

1. No +Actions Available
2. Use Survivors sparingly
3. Prioritize more important actions

4. Consider ignoring Survivors entirely

5. Abundant +Actions

6. Can use more liberally
7. Good for deck optimization

8. Helps find key cards

9. Strong Trashing Available

10. May be worth trashing Survivors
11. Consider opportunity cost vs. other cards
12. Balance trashing priorities

Improving Your Survivors Play

1. Information Tracking
2. Remember what you've seen
3. Track shuffle timing

4. Note opponent's likely plays

5. Decision Making

6. Consider immediate vs. future benefits
7. Balance action efficiency

8. Think about deck composition

9. Timing Optimization

10. Plan action sequences
11. Consider turn structure
12. Think about future turns

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Overvaluing
2. Don't waste actions when unnecessary
3. Don't keep mediocre cards

4. Don't slow down strong turns

5. Undervaluing

6. Don't ignore useful information
7. Don't miss optimization opportunities

8. Don't forget about setup potential

9. Poor Timing

10. Don't use too early without reason
11. Don't use too late to matter
12. Don't waste on unnecessary information

Sample Decisions

Scenario 1: Early Game You see Copper + Silver - Usually keep both - Order depends on other cards in hand - Consider draw effects available

Scenario 2: Mid Game You see Estate + Action card - Decision depends on action card quality - Consider deck composition - Think about next shuffle

Scenario 3: Late Game You see Victory card + Treasure - Consider game state - Think about remaining turns - Balance need for points vs. economy

Conclusion

Survivors is a relatively weak card that you'll rarely be happy to receive, but understanding how to use it effectively can provide small advantages that add up over the course of a game. The key is to: - Use it thoughtfully for deck optimization - Maximize information gained - Balance action efficiency - Consider kingdom context - Think about timing and sequencing

While Survivors won't usually be game-changing, skilled players can extract value from it in many situations. The ability to look at upcoming cards and make informed decisions about keeping or discarding them can provide meaningful advantages when used correctly.

Final Tips - Don't overthink simple decisions - Use information gained effectively - Consider the opportunity cost - Think about deck composition - Plan for future turns - Balance immediate vs. long-term benefits

Remember that while Survivors is generally a weak card, making good decisions with it consistently can provide small edges that contribute to overall success in games where Ruins are present.