Overlord (Empires)

Overlord Strategy Guide

Overlord is one of the most versatile and powerful cards in Dominion, offering unprecedented flexibility by allowing you to copy any Action card costing up to $5 in the Supply. Understanding how to maximize its potential requires careful consideration of the available kingdom cards and recognition of key synergies.

Core Concepts

1. Flexibility The primary strength of Overlord is its ability to adapt to different situations. Unlike most cards that have a fixed function, Overlord can become whatever Action card you need at the moment. This flexibility means:
2. You can respond to your opponent's strategy
3. You can adjust your play based on your current hand composition

4. You can access powerful $5 actions without actually buying them

5. Cost Advantage At $0, Overlord is incredibly efficient for accessing $5 actions. This makes it:

6. An excellent opening buy
7. A strong target for gainers
8. Cost-reduction resistant (can't be blocked by Way of the Butterfly, for instance)

Key Strategic Considerations

1. Kingdom Analysis When Overlord is available, evaluating $5 Action cards becomes even more crucial. Consider:
2. Which $5 Actions provide the strongest effects?
3. Are there multiple useful $5 Actions to copy?

4. How do the $5 Actions interact with your overall strategy?

5. Quantity of Overlords Unlike most cards, having multiple Overlords is almost always beneficial because:

6. They can copy different cards on different turns
7. You can copy the same powerful card multiple times
8. They provide strategic flexibility throughout the game

Common Use Cases

1. Engine Building Overlord excels at enabling engines by copying:
2. Council Room for draw and buy
3. Laboratory for non-terminal draw
4. Market for all-around utility
5. Festival for actions and coins

6. Merchant Guild for coin and buy

7. Attack Prevention/Mitigation Overlord can defend against attacks by copying:

8. Moat for protection
9. Militia to counter-attack
10. Witch for curse distribution

11. Bureaucrat for deck control

12. Economy Enhancement Strong economic options include:

13. Market Square for +Buy and reactions
14. Merchant for coin generation
15. Mine for treasure upgrading
16. Mint for treasure copying

Specific Card Interactions

1. Strong Overlord Targets

Laboratory - Non-terminal draw - Helps find more Overlords - Builds engine consistency

Market - Provides everything (+1 Card, +1 Action, +1 Buy, +$1) - Never dead - Flexible utility

Council Room - Strong draw - Gives +Buy - Scales well with multiple copies

Festival - Virtual coin - Action acceleration - No drawback

Witch - Strong attack - Forces opponents to react - Maintains pressure

1. Weak Overlord Targets

Duration Cards - Overlord reverts at end of turn - Loses ongoing effects - Generally inefficient

One-Shot Effects - Cards like Feast or Remodel - Limited utility - Better to actually buy these

Terminal Draw without +Actions - Can strand actions in hand - Risky without proper support - May need actual copies instead

Timing and Sequencing

1. Early Game
2. Prioritize engine pieces
3. Copy draw cards to find more Overlords

4. Establish economic foundation

5. Mid Game

6. Adapt to opponent's strategy
7. Balance between draw and payload

8. Build toward win condition

9. Late Game

10. Focus on closing power
11. Copy victory point generators
12. Counter opponent's endgame

Advanced Strategies

1. Multi-Overlord Chains With multiple Overlords, you can:
2. Copy different cards for complementary effects
3. Stack similar effects for powerful turns

4. Maintain flexibility while executing strategy

5. Hybrid Approaches Combine Overlord with:

6. Actual copies of key cards
7. Complementary support cards

8. Alternative victory paths

9. Counter-Strategy Use Overlord to:

10. Mirror opponent's powerful plays
11. Block key cards from Supply
12. Pivot strategies mid-game

Countering Overlord

1. Supply Control
2. Trash or gain key $5 cards
3. Make desired targets unavailable

4. Force suboptimal copying

5. Speed

6. Rush ending before Overlord engine develops
7. Focus on alternate victory conditions

8. Prioritize efficiency over power

9. Cost Manipulation

10. Use Bridge to price cards out of range
11. Employ Ways to alter card utilities
12. Leverage landmarks that affect costs

Kingdom Considerations

1. Strong Kingdoms Overlord shines when:
2. Multiple strong $5 Actions exist
3. Engine pieces are available

4. Draw and actions are abundant

5. Weak Kingdoms Overlord struggles when:

6. Few worthwhile $5 targets exist
7. Big Money is dominant

8. Alternate victory conditions prevail

9. Mixed Kingdoms Adapt by:

10. Identifying key copy targets
11. Building flexible strategies
12. Maintaining option value

Buying Guidelines

1. Opening Buy Almost always buy Overlord when:
2. Strong $5 Actions are present
3. Engine potential exists

4. Multiple viable copy targets exist

5. Additional Copies Consider more Overlords when:

6. First copy proves effective
7. Multiple different targets are useful

8. Engine capacity exists

9. Supporting Cards Pair with:

10. Action suppliers
11. Card draw
12. Treasure for actual purchases

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Overvaluing Flexibility
2. Don't buy Overlord without good targets
3. Consider actual cards for crucial effects

4. Balance flexibility with consistency

5. Poor Copy Choices

6. Avoid copying terminal draw without +Actions
7. Don't copy one-shot effects needlessly

8. Consider hand composition when choosing

9. Neglecting Support

10. Don't forget about treasure
11. Build proper action capacity
12. Maintain deck balance

Sample Strategies

1. Draw-Heavy Engine
2. Copy Laboratory/Council Room
3. Build action capacity

4. Add payload cards

5. Attack-Based Control

6. Copy Witch/Militia
7. Maintain pressure

8. Develop alternate victory condition

9. Economic Focus

10. Copy Market/Merchant
11. Build buying power
12. Execute traditional strategy

Optimization Tips

1. Hand Management
2. Plan copy targets before playing Overlord
3. Consider remaining actions

4. Account for other cards in hand

5. Deck Composition

6. Balance Overlords with other cards
7. Maintain proper support ratio

8. Adjust based on kingdom

9. Timing Decisions

10. Choose when to play Overlords carefully
11. Plan multi-card turns
12. Consider opponent's position

Conclusion

Overlord is among the most powerful and flexible cards in Dominion. Its ability to copy any $5 Action provides unprecedented versatility and strategic options. Success with Overlord requires: - Careful kingdom analysis - Strong tactical decision-making - Proper support infrastructure - Understanding of timing and sequencing

When used effectively, Overlord can enable powerful engines, provide crucial flexibility, and adapt to changing game states. However, it requires careful consideration of available targets and proper support to reach its full potential. Masters of Overlord will carefully evaluate kingdoms, build appropriate support, and make strong tactical decisions about which cards to copy when.

Remember that while Overlord's flexibility is incredibly powerful, it's not always the optimal choice. Success comes from understanding both when to leverage its copying ability and when to pursue alternative strategies. With practice and understanding, Overlord can become a cornerstone of many winning strategies in Dominion.