Baron
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Baron (Intrigue)

Cost: $4

Type: Action

Text: +1 Buy\nYou may discard an Estate card. If you do, +$4.\nOtherwise, gain an Estate card.

Strategy Review

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Baron:

Baron Strategy Guide

Baron is a fascinating $4-cost Action card from Intrigue that offers a strong economic boost with some careful timing and deck manipulation. While its ability to generate $4 is powerful, managing the Estates it interacts with requires strategic consideration.

Core Mechanics and Basic Usage

  1. Opening Considerations
  2. Baron is a viable opening purchase due to its $4 cost
  3. Starting hands contain 3 Estates, making early Baron plays reliable
  4. Can provide strong early economy when hitting Estate connections

  5. Creates interesting decision points about Estate retention

  6. Key Functions

  7. Provides +1 Buy
  8. Generates $4 when discarding an Estate
  9. Forces Estate gain when unable to discard one
  10. Acts as both economy and Victory card enabler

Early Game Strategy

  1. Opening With Baron Baron is a reasonable opening card, particularly in games where:
  2. You want extra Buys early
  3. Quick acceleration to $5+ purchases is valuable
  4. Estate-based strategies might be viable
  5. Alternative $4 terminals are weak

The main advantage of an early Baron is its ability to convert your starting Estates into significant buying power. A Baron-Estate combo produces $4, which combined with other Treasure cards can enable early Province purchases or key $6-$7 cost cards.

  1. Early Game Considerations
  2. Keep track of Estate distribution in your deck
  3. Consider whether to thin Estates or retain them
  4. Balance Baron quantity with other terminal Actions
  5. Plan for mid-game Estate management

Managing Estate Supply

  1. Estate Retention The decision to keep or thin Estates becomes crucial with Baron:
  2. Early game: Usually beneficial to discard Estates for $4
  3. Mid game: Requires careful balance based on strategy
  4. Late game: May want to retain Estates for VP

  5. Consider Victory card-based strategies

  6. Estate Supply Manipulation Baron can affect the Estate pile in several ways:

  7. Gaining Estates when none can be discarded
  8. Creating Estate scarcity in multiplayer games
  9. Enabling Estate-based scoring strategies
  10. Supporting Victory card synergies

Deck Composition Considerations

  1. Optimal Baron Quantity The number of Barons to acquire depends on:
  2. Available terminal Action space
  3. Estate quantity and management strategy
  4. Presence of deck drawing/filtering
  5. Game pace and Victory card strategy

Generally aim for: - 1-2 Barons in basic Big Money strategies - 2-3 in Estate-heavy strategies - 2-4 with strong deck drawing support

  1. Support Cards Baron benefits from:
  2. Deck drawing (Laboratory, Council Room)
  3. Card filtering (Cellar, Warehouse)
  4. Estate-supporting cards (Mill, Gardens)
  5. Action enablers (Village variants)

Synergies and Combinations

  1. Strong Synergies

Estate Multipliers: - Mill: Rewards Estate holding - Gardens: Benefits from extra green cards - Duke: Makes Estates more valuable - Feodum: Creates additional VP path

Deck Control: - Cellar: Helps find Estates/Baron combinations - Warehouse: Improves hand quality - Hunting Grounds: Provides draw and potential Estates - Scrying Pool: Benefits from extra green cards

Action Support: - Village variants: Enable multiple Baron plays - Throne Room/King's Court: Multiply Baron effects - Festival: Provides additional Actions and economy - Market: Complements Baron's +Buy

  1. Notable Combinations

Baron + Mill: - Retain Estates for Mill points - Use Baron selectively for economy - Build toward dual Victory strategy

Baron + Gardens: - Gain Estates aggressively - Use Baron for economy when needed - Build deck size quickly

Baron + Duke: - Actively collect Estates - Use Baron primarily for gaining - Balance economy needs carefully

Counter-Strategies and Weaknesses

  1. Main Weaknesses
  2. Terminal Action (competes for Action space)
  3. Requires Estates for economy
  4. Can clog deck with green cards

  5. Susceptible to hand variance

  6. Counter-Play

  7. Aggressive Estate draining
  8. Focus on alternate economy
  9. Emphasize deck efficiency
  10. Target crucial pile exhaustion

Timing and Execution

  1. Early Game (Turns 1-5)
  2. Prioritize Baron-Estate connections
  3. Use $4 bonus for key purchases
  4. Begin establishing deck strategy

  5. Consider Estate management plan

  6. Mid Game (Turns 6-12)

  7. Balance Estate retention vs. economy
  8. Coordinate with deck strategy
  9. Manage terminal Action density

  10. Adjust Estate quantity as needed

  11. Late Game (Turns 13+)

  12. Consider Victory card pile status
  13. Evaluate Estate retention value
  14. Use Baron gaining ability strategically
  15. Prepare for game-end conditions

Advanced Strategies

  1. Estate Management Techniques
  2. Track Estate quantity carefully
  3. Plan discard/gain decisions
  4. Consider opponent's strategy

  5. Manipulate Estate pile strategically

  6. Multi-Baron Sequencing When playing multiple Barons:

  7. Order plays based on Estate availability
  8. Consider Buy usage efficiency
  9. Plan gaining sequences

  10. Manage hand composition

  11. Pile Control Baron affects three piles:

  12. Estates: Through gaining/discarding
  13. Baron: Through purchases
  14. Victory piles: Through enhanced buying power

Kingdom-Specific Considerations

  1. Slow Kingdoms In kingdoms with:
  2. Limited trashing
  3. Few card draws

  4. Weak terminals Baron can provide crucial economic boost

  5. Fast Kingdoms With strong:

  6. Card draw
  7. Deck efficiency

  8. Alternative economy Baron becomes more situational

  9. Victory Card Kingdoms When Victory cards matter:

  10. Consider Estate retention carefully
  11. Balance economy vs. scoring
  12. Watch pile depletion
  13. Coordinate with Victory strategies

Sample Strategies

  1. Baron Big Money
  2. 1-2 Barons
  3. Discard Estates aggressively
  4. Focus on Treasure acquisition

  5. Transition to Provinces quickly

  6. Baron Gardens

  7. 2-3 Barons
  8. Gain Estates actively
  9. Build deck size

  10. Balance economy needs

  11. Baron/Duke Engine

  12. 2-4 Barons
  13. Retain/gain Estates
  14. Develop Action chains
  15. Balance scoring components

Gameplay Tips

  1. General Guidelines
  2. Track Estate location
  3. Plan Action sequencing
  4. Monitor pile counts

  5. Adjust strategy to kingdom

  6. Common Mistakes

  7. Over-purchasing Barons
  8. Poor Estate management
  9. Neglecting terminal Action spacing

  10. Mistiming Estate gains/discards

  11. Decision Points Key moments require evaluating:

  12. Estate retention vs. economy
  13. Baron quantity
  14. Gaining timing
  15. Victory pile dynamics

Conclusion

Baron is a versatile $4 card that requires careful planning and execution. Its ability to provide strong economy while interacting with Victory cards creates interesting strategic decisions throughout the game. Success with Baron depends on:

  • Understanding kingdom context
  • Managing Estates effectively
  • Timing purchases appropriately
  • Coordinating with overall strategy

The card rewards thoughtful play and adaptation, making it a valuable addition to many strategies when used correctly.

Learning to use Baron effectively improves several key Dominion skills: - Resource management - Timing optimization - Pile control - Strategy adaptation

While not always a kingdom-defining card, Baron's unique combination of economy and Victory card interaction makes it a fascinating component of the Intrigue set and a valuable tool in many situations.