Plaza (Guilds)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Plaza in Dominion:

Plaza Strategy Guide

Introduction Plaza is a $4 action card from the Guilds expansion that offers deck manipulation, action acceleration, and coin token generation. While it may appear simple at first glance, Plaza's versatility makes it a valuable addition to many strategies, particularly in engines that can benefit from both its action generation and treasure conversion abilities.

Basic Properties - Draws 1 card - Provides 2 additional actions - Optional ability to discard a Treasure for a coin token - Self-replacing cantrip with extra actions - Does not terminate chains of actions

Core Benefits

1. Action Generation Plaza's +2 Actions makes it an excellent village card, allowing you to play multiple terminal actions in your turn. This aspect alone makes it valuable in engine-building strategies.

2. Treasure Conversion The ability to convert treasure cards into coin tokens provides several advantages:

3. Thins your deck of treasure cards when desired
4. Stores buying power for future turns
5. Creates flexibility in purchasing

6. Can help enable certain combos and interactions

7. Deck Manipulation By discarding treasures, Plaza helps you cycle through your deck faster and can improve the consistency of your engine.

Optimal Usage Strategies

1. Early Game (Turns 1-4)
2. Plaza is a reasonable opening at $4
3. Pairs well with a terminal draw card in your opening
4. Can help establish early engine pieces

5. Early coin tokens can enable important $5 purchases

6. Mid Game (Turns 5-10)

7. Focus on acquiring multiple Plazas if building an engine
8. Begin converting excess Coppers into coin tokens
9. Use coin tokens strategically for key purchases

10. Consider trashing Coppers if a trasher is available

11. Late Game (Turns 11+)

12. Convert higher value treasures if needed for specific purchases
13. Use stored coin tokens for Province purchases
14. May become less important if engine is already running smoothly

Key Synergies

1. Draw Cards Plaza works exceptionally well with terminal draw cards:
2. Smithy
3. Council Room
4. Hunting Party

5. Laboratory The extra actions ensure you can play both your draw cards and other terminals.

6. Trashers Combining Plaza with trashing effects creates powerful deck improvement:

7. Chapel: Trash Coppers you don't convert to tokens
8. Steward: Additional flexibility in handling treasures

9. Forge: Convert multiple treasures into higher-value ones

10. Coin Token Synergies

11. Baker: Additional coin token generation
12. Merchant Guild: More opportunities to collect tokens
13. Fortune Teller: Makes stored tokens more valuable

14. Bank: Can help manage treasure density

15. Treasure-Based Strategies Plaza enhances cards that care about treasures:

16. Merchant: More control over Copper plays
17. Bank: Helps manage treasure count
18. Grand Market: Easier to avoid Copper in hand
19. Venture: Increases likelihood of hitting valuable treasures

Specific Combo Examples

1. Plaza/Baker Engine
2. Multiple Plazas and Bakers generate abundant coin tokens
3. Flexible purchasing power

4. Strong consistency with proper deck control

5. Plaza/Chapel Engine

6. Rapidly thin deck while storing value
7. Convert some Coppers to tokens, trash others

8. Very efficient Province-buying capability

9. Plaza/Draw Engine

10. Multiple Plazas support terminal draw cards
11. Quick deck cycling

12. Consistent access to key cards

13. Plaza/Bank Strategy

14. Carefully manage treasure density
15. Store excess treasures as tokens
16. Maximize Bank value when needed

Counter Strategies

1. Rush Strategies
2. Aggressive Province rushing can outpace Plaza engines
3. Gardens strategies can win before Plaza engines mature

4. Curse-giving attacks can slow token accumulation

5. Hand Attack Cards

6. Militia/Bureaucrat can disrupt Plaza combos
7. Forced discarding reduces Plaza's effectiveness

8. Ghost Ship can prevent access to key components

9. Anti-Engine Cards

10. Possession can steal accumulated tokens
11. Cultist can flood deck with Ruins
12. Swamp Hag can punish buying engine pieces

Timing Considerations

1. When to Convert Treasures
2. Early game: Convert excess Coppers
3. Mid game: Strategic conversion for specific purchases

4. Late game: Higher value conversions if needed

5. When to Save Tokens

6. Save for important $5 purchases early
7. Accumulate for Province purchases

8. Keep some tokens for flexibility

9. When to Play Plaza

10. Usually best played early in your action phase
11. Consider treasure needs for current turn
12. May save for later if drawing new treasures

Kingdom Considerations

1. Alternative Village Presence
2. Native Village: May prefer over Plaza
3. Fishing Village: Often stronger than Plaza

4. Workers' Village: More straightforward option

5. Treasure Alternatives

6. Alternative treasure sources may reduce Plaza's value
7. Consider Platinum/Colony games differently

8. Evaluate against other coin token generators

9. Victory Card Mix

10. Alternate victory cards may change Plaza's value
11. Colony games may require more treasure retention
12. Silk Road/Gardens affect engine building priorities

Advanced Techniques

1. Token Management
2. Track opponent's buying power
3. Plan multiple turns ahead

4. Consider probability of drawing specific treasures

5. Engine Timing

6. Balance Plaza quantity with other components
7. Recognize when engine is "complete"

8. Adjust strategy based on opponent's pace

9. Treasure Optimization

10. Calculate optimal treasure conversion timing
11. Balance deck thinning with buying power
12. Consider future turn requirements

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Over-Converting Treasures
2. Don't convert too many treasures too early
3. Maintain enough buying power for current turn

4. Consider deck composition carefully

5. Under-Valuing Actions

6. Don't focus solely on token generation
7. Remember Plaza's village capability

8. Balance action chain requirements

9. Poor Token Usage

10. Don't spend tokens unnecessarily
11. Plan token usage for key purchases
12. Consider saving tokens for flexibility

Specific Kingdom Recommendations

Strong Plaza Kingdoms: - Multiple terminal draw cards - Trash for benefit cards - Other coin token generators - Card-dependent treasures

Weak Plaza Kingdoms: - Strong alternative villages - Big Money dominant - Rush-friendly kingdoms - Heavy attack presence

Conclusion

Plaza is a versatile card that offers both engine support and economic flexibility. Its success depends heavily on kingdom composition and player strategy. Key points to remember:

1. Value both aspects of the card:
2. Action generation

3. Token generation

4. Consider kingdom context:

5. Available engine components
6. Presence of synergistic cards

7. Opponent's likely strategy

8. Maintain flexibility:

9. Don't over-commit to one aspect
10. Adjust strategy as game develops

11. Monitor opponent's progress

12. Practice efficient timing:

13. When to buy Plaza
14. When to convert treasures
15. When to use tokens

With proper understanding and application, Plaza can be a powerful component in many successful Dominion strategies. Its dual utility as both a village and economy card makes it a valuable addition to many engines, while its token generation ability provides strategic flexibility throughout the game.

Final Tips: - Start with 2-3 Plazas in most engine builds - Convert Coppers early, save better treasures - Balance token generation with current needs - Remember Plaza's village capability - Adjust strategy based on kingdom and opposition

This understanding of Plaza's capabilities and limitations will help inform better decision-making in games where it's available.