Cartographer (Hinterlands)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Cartographer:

Cartographer Strategy Guide

Introduction Cartographer is a $5 action card from Hinterlands that provides deck control and filtering while maintaining card flow. Its ability to both sift through multiple cards and manipulate deck order makes it a versatile card that can serve multiple strategic purposes.

Basic Properties - Draws 1 card and gives 1 action (self-replacing) - Looks at top 4 cards - Can discard any number of those cards (0-4) - Orders remaining cards

Core Strengths 1. Deck Control The primary strength of Cartographer is its ability to provide reliable deck control. By letting you see four cards deep and choose what to keep or discard, it helps you: - Remove unwanted cards from your immediate draw - Stack your deck for upcoming turns - Increase the density of good cards in your deck - Reduce hand variance

1. Self-Replacing Nature Being self-replacing (providing +1 Card and +1 Action) means:
2. You can play multiple Cartographers in sequence
3. It doesn't compete for action slots with your other cards
4. It maintains hand size while providing its benefits

Key Uses and Strategies

1. Early Game Usage In the early game, Cartographer can:
2. Help filter through starting Coppers and Estates
3. Find key early purchases like Gold or other important $5-6 cards
4. Improve consistency of early money hands

Early game considerations: - Generally worth getting as your first $5 buy - Can help accelerate early economy - Works well with both Big Money and engine strategies

1. Mid-Game Optimization During the mid-game, Cartographer excels at:
2. Finding key components of your engine
3. Discarding less valuable cards as your deck improves

4. Setting up important combinations

5. Late Game Applications In the late game, Cartographer helps:

6. Find Victory cards when needed
7. Discard Victory cards when they would clog your deck
8. Maintain engine consistency
9. Set up specific end-game scenarios

Specific Strategic Applications

1. Deck Stacking One of Cartographer's most powerful uses is strategic deck stacking:
2. Order cards to ensure specific combinations next turn
3. Set up crucial plays like double Province turns
4. Arrange draw cards optimally

5. Position payload cards (like Gold) where needed

6. Engine Support In engine decks, Cartographer:

7. Helps find key engine pieces
8. Maintains engine consistency
9. Filters out unwanted cards

10. Can set up important card sequences

11. Money Deck Enhancement In Big Money strategies:

12. Helps find important treasure cards
13. Discards low-value treasures when better ones are available
14. Improves hand consistency
15. Can set up specific buy amounts

Synergies and Combinations

1. Draw Cards Cartographer works exceptionally well with:
2. Laboratory
3. Hunting Party
4. Library

5. Other drawing cards that benefit from deck order control

6. Action Chains Combines effectively with:

7. Village variants (allowing multiple Cartographers)
8. Duration cards (can set up future turns)

9. Cards that care about deck order (Oracle, Scout)

10. Trashing Cards Complementary with:

11. Chapel
12. Steward

13. Other trashers that benefit from additional filtering

14. Treasure-Based Strategies Strong synergies with:

15. Bank
16. Venture
17. Cards that care about treasure density

Specific Card Combinations

1. Laboratory + Cartographer
2. Both self-replacing
3. Creates consistent draw and filtering

4. Helps find key cards reliably

5. Village + Cartographer

6. Allows multiple Cartographer plays
7. Improves engine consistency

8. Can create powerful filtering chains

9. Duration Cards + Cartographer

10. Can set up future turns for duration effects
11. Helps ensure maximum benefit from duration cards
12. Particularly strong with Fishing Village, Wharf

Counter-Strategies and Weaknesses

1. Limited Impact
2. Doesn't add cards to hand beyond the initial draw
3. Cannot trash cards

4. Limited filtering compared to dedicated trashers

5. Competition at $5

6. Many strong alternatives at $5 price point

7. Must evaluate against other options like Market, Council Room

8. Vulnerability to Attacks

9. Discard attacks can disrupt planned stacking
10. Deck order attacks can negate benefits
11. Junking attacks can overwhelm filtering capacity

When to Buy Cartographer

Strong Buy Indicators: 1. Early in the game when deck control is valuable 2. Building an engine that needs consistency 3. No strong trashing available 4. Need help finding specific cards reliably 5. Playing against deck-disorder attacks

Weak Buy Indicators: 1. Strong trashing already available 2. Better $5 engine components available 3. Fast game where deck control less important 4. Heavy attack presence that disrupts deck order

Timing Considerations - Often good as first $5 purchase - Value decreases in late game - Can still be useful mid-game for deck control - Consider kingdom context for timing

Kingdom Analysis Examples

Example Kingdom 1: Cartographer, Chapel, Village, Laboratory, Market Strategy: - Buy Cartographer after Chapel - Use to find engine pieces - Stack deck for consistent Laboratory chains - Filter Victory cards late game

Example Kingdom 2: Cartographer, Bank, Venture, Market, Militia Strategy: - Early Cartographer for treasure management - Stack treasures for Bank - Filter copper when better treasures available - Protect against Militia attacks

Number of Cartographers to Buy

Generally Consider: - 2-3 in engine decks - 1-2 in Big Money variants - More if heavy filtering needed - Fewer if competing with other important $5 cards

Factors affecting quantity: 1. Presence of +Actions 2. Speed of game 3. Need for filtering 4. Competition for deck space 5. Presence of attacks

Advanced Techniques

1. Multi-Turn Planning
2. Use Cartographer to set up specific sequences
3. Plan around known opponent strategies

4. Prepare for crucial turns

5. Defense Against Attacks

6. Filter junk cards from attacks
7. Maintain deck consistency despite interference

8. Set up protective card sequences

9. Engine Optimization

10. Use multiple Cartographers efficiently
11. Maximize benefit of deck inspection
12. Balance filtering with other engine needs

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Over-Filtering
2. Discarding too aggressively
3. Removing useful cards

4. Reducing deck size too much

5. Under-Utilizing Ordering

6. Not planning future turns
7. Failing to set up combinations

8. Random card ordering

9. Poor Timing

10. Buying too late in the game
11. Not adapting strategy to game phase
12. Missing key purchase opportunities

Conclusion

Cartographer is a versatile card that provides consistent deck control and filtering while maintaining action economy. Its strength lies in its flexibility and ability to support various strategies while improving deck consistency. While not always the strongest $5 option, it's often a solid choice that can significantly improve deck performance and reliability.

Key Takeaways: 1. Excellent deck control tool 2. Self-replacing nature adds flexibility 3. Supports multiple strategies 4. Strong early-game purchase 5. Requires thoughtful use for maximum benefit

Best used in: - Engine building - Treasure-focused strategies - Defensive positions - Consistency-dependent strategies

Remember that Cartographer's true strength comes from consistent, thoughtful use rather than dramatic single-turn effects. Master its subtle advantages to improve your overall game performance.