Border Village (Hinterlands)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Border Village:

Border Village Strategy Guide

Introduction: Border Village is a powerful $6 terminal draw card that provides both deck cycling and action density while offering a unique on-gain effect. Its flexibility and ability to accelerate your deck-building make it a significant card in many strategies, though its high cost requires careful consideration of timing and opportunity cost.

Core Benefits: 1. +1 Card, +2 Actions - Maintains hand size while providing surplus actions - Functions as a village variant with minor deck cycling - Enables action chains without reducing hand size

1. On-gain bonus effect
2. Gains any card costing $5 or less when acquired
3. Provides two cards for one buy
4. Accelerates deck building
5. Enables gaining of powerful $5 cards without using buys

Basic Strategy:

1. Early Game Considerations
2. Usually too expensive to rush in early game
3. Generally not a priority opening target
4. Better to establish engine components first

5. Can be an effective first $6 purchase if engine pieces are already in place

6. Mid-Game Utility

7. Excellent for transitioning into stronger engines
8. Helps establish action chains
9. Can grab key $5 components while building village infrastructure

10. Particularly valuable when you need both villages and specific $5 cards

11. Late Game Applications

12. Can help complete sets of key cards
13. Useful for gaining victory cards without using buys
14. May become less valuable as deck becomes more refined

Synergies and Combinations:

1. Gainers and Cost Reduction
2. Workshop variants: Can gain Border Village when cost-reduced
3. Bridge: Makes Border Village more accessible while increasing options for the free gain
4. Highway: Similar to Bridge, improves both aspects

5. Quarry: Makes Border Village more accessible in action-heavy decks

6. Payload Cards

7. Laboratory variants: Border Village can help chain these efficiently
8. Strong terminal actions: The +2 Actions enables playing multiple powerful terminals
9. Hunting Grounds: Another $6 card that benefits from village support

10. Governor: Both cards provide strong utility and chain well

11. Victory Card Strategies

12. Duchy/Duke strategies: Can gain Duchies as the bonus card
13. Gardens: Helps build deck size efficiently

14. Silk Road: Can gain both victory cards and actions to support them

15. Throne Room Effects

16. Throne Room/King's Court: Double-playing provides significant action surplus
17. Can enable massive action chains
18. Consider carefully as the on-gain effect doesn't multiply

Specific Strategy Considerations:

1. Timing Your Purchases
2. Best acquired when you can make use of both the village effect and the bonus gain
3. Consider whether immediate village support or the bonus gain is more important
4. May want to delay purchase if a critical $5 card isn't yet available

5. Can be worth buying even late if you need both actions and specific $5 cards

6. Bonus Gain Priorities

7. Market: Provides everything you want in most engines
8. Laboratory variants: Strong deck cycling
9. Council Room: Powerful draw that benefits from village support
10. Duchy (late game): Free victory points without using buys

11. Festival: Strong payload that works well with other villages

12. Competition Implications

13. Can drain important $5 piles faster than expected
14. May force opponents to alter their strategy
15. Consider pile control aspects when choosing bonus gains

16. Watch for opponent's potential to deny you key gains

17. Deck Composition Impact

18. Adds significant action density
19. May require adjusting treasure/action balance
20. Can help transition between strategies
21. Consider terminal space carefully

Advanced Tactics:

1. Engine Building
2. Use Border Village to simultaneously build action processing and payload
3. Can help establish critical mass faster than single-card purchases
4. Consider carefully which parts of your engine need doubling

5. May enable skipping intermediate engine pieces

6. Pile Control

7. Can empty two piles with one buy
8. Useful for three-pile endings
9. Consider alternative gains if primary piles are running low

10. Watch for opponent's pile control strategies

11. Buy Phase Optimization

12. May affect timing of other purchases
13. Consider whether to buy Border Village or its potential bonus gain first
14. Watch pile counts when planning purchases

15. May influence when to green (buy victory cards)

16. Action Chain Planning

17. Plan action sequences accounting for both Border Village and gained cards
18. Consider how bonus gains affect deck shuffle timing
19. May need to adjust play order based on what was gained
20. Watch for terminal collision potential

Countering Border Village:

1. Pile Pressure
2. Empty key $5 piles before opponent can use Border Village
3. Consider rushing alternate victory conditions
4. May need to adjust normal buying patterns

5. Watch for three-pile ending opportunities

6. Tempo Considerations

7. Can punish slow Border Village strategies
8. May need to play more aggressively
9. Consider rushing strategies if opponent is building too slowly

10. Watch for timing windows before engine comes online

11. Alternative Strategies

12. May need different engine components
13. Consider strategies that don't rely on contested $5 cards
14. Watch for opportunities to capitalize on opponent's timing
15. May need to adjust victory card buying patterns

Kingdom Considerations:

1. Strong Kingdoms
2. Multiple valuable $5 cards
3. Cost reduction available
4. Strong terminal actions present

5. Alternative victory conditions

6. Weak Kingdoms

7. Few valuable $5 cards
8. Heavy emphasis on treasures
9. Rush strategies dominant

10. Limited action support

11. Situational Value

12. Availability of other villages
13. Presence of alternate gainers
14. Victory card distribution
15. Tempo of the kingdom

Sample Strategies:

1. Basic Engine
2. Open Silver/Silver
3. Build to Border Village
4. Gain key engine pieces with bonus gains
5. Establish action chains

6. Transition to victory cards

7. Rush Variant

8. Open Silver/Silver
9. Rush Border Village
10. Gain Duchies as bonus
11. Continue pressure on victory cards

12. Watch for three-pile ending

13. Alternate Victory

14. Open normal economy
15. Build Border Village support
16. Gain alternate victory cards
17. Use bonus gains for support cards

18. Maintain engine functionality

19. Gainer Focus

20. Establish early gainers
21. Use cost reduction if available
22. Chain Border Villages
23. Gain engine pieces efficiently
24. Transition to end game

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Tactical Errors
2. Buying too early without support
3. Neglecting economy for villages
4. Gaining suboptimal bonus cards

5. Ignoring pile counts

6. Strategic Mistakes

7. Over-investing in Border Villages
8. Neglecting other engine components
9. Missing timing windows

10. Failing to adjust to opponent's strategy

11. Engine Building Errors

12. Too many terminals
13. Insufficient treasures
14. Poor gain choices
15. Inefficient action chains

Conclusion: Border Village is a versatile card that provides both immediate utility and long-term value through its bonus gain effect. Success with Border Village requires careful consideration of timing, gain choices, and overall strategy. Understanding these elements and how they interact with various kingdom configurations will help maximize its potential in your deck-building approach.

Key Takeaways: 1. Time purchases for maximum impact 2. Choose bonus gains carefully 3. Consider pile control implications 4. Watch for strategic timing windows 5. Maintain balanced deck composition 6. Adjust strategy based on kingdom context

With proper understanding and application of these principles, Border Village can be a powerful tool in your Dominion strategy arsenal, enabling faster engine building, efficient deck development, and strong late-game transitions.