Trading Post
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Trading Post (Intrigue)

Cost: $5

Type: Action

Text: Trash 2 cards from your hand. If you do, gain a silver card; put it into your hand.

Strategy Review

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Trading Post:

Trading Post Strategy Guide

Overview: Trading Post is a $5 action card from Intrigue that serves multiple strategic purposes: deck thinning, trash-for-benefit, and silver gaining. Its unique ability to immediately put the gained Silver into your hand makes it distinctly different from most gainers, offering interesting tactical possibilities.

Key Strengths: 1. Powerful deck thinning 2. Immediate access to gained Silver 3. Reliable money generation 4. Mid-game improvement of hand quality 5. Copper elimination without losing buying power

Key Weaknesses: 1. Mandatory two-card trash 2. Terminal action 3. Requires suitable trash fodder 4. Can be awkward in early game 5. Diminishing returns as deck improves

Early Game Strategy

Timing the Purchase: Trading Post is typically best purchased in the early-to-mid game, usually as your first or second $5 buy. The ideal timing depends on several factors:

  • Presence of other trashers
  • Alternative $5 options
  • Kingdom card synergies
  • Opening split

Early Game Considerations: - With a 5/2 opening, Trading Post can be a strong second-buy after a $2 card - With a 4/3 opening, consider whether you need early trashing more than engine pieces - Evaluate whether your starting deck has enough suitable trash targets

What to Trash: Priority order for trashing (general guidelines): 1. Curses 2. Ruins 3. Estates (situational) 4. Coppers (when you have better treasure) 5. Early game actions that have outlived their usefulness

Early Game Tips: - Don't trash Estates too aggressively if the game might go long - Keep enough Coppers to ensure you can still hit important price points - Consider keeping some early game actions for Trading Post fodder later

Mid-Game Usage

Optimal Play Patterns: 1. Try to play Trading Post before other actions to maximize the value of the gained Silver 2. Use the immediately gained Silver to reach higher price points 3. Consider trashing previously gained Silvers in mirror matches 4. Time your plays to maximize probability of having good trash targets

Hand Management: - Keep track of remaining trash targets in your deck - Balance trashing versus keeping components needed for engines - Consider holding suboptimal cards as future trash fodder

Mid-Game Transitions: As your deck improves, Trading Post's role changes: - Early: Primary deck thinner - Mid: Supplementary money source - Late: Converting dead cards into immediate money

Late Game Considerations

When to Stop Using Trading Post: - When trash targets become scarce - When immediate Silver is less valuable than other actions - When deck is sufficiently thin - When victory cards need to be accumulated

Late Game Opportunities: - Converting dead engine pieces into money - Trashing previously useful cards that no longer serve a purpose - Emergency defense against attacks by converting junk into immediate money

Synergies and Combinations

Strong Synergies:

  1. Card Draw
  2. Laboratory
  3. Smithy

  4. Council Room These help find both Trading Post and trash fodder

  5. Other Trashers

  6. Chapel
  7. Steward

  8. Salvager Creating a multi-pronged trashing approach

  9. Silver Multipliers

  10. Mine
  11. Merchant Guild

  12. Bank Leveraging the gained Silvers

  13. Action Chains

  14. Villages
  15. Fishing Village

  16. Market Allowing multiple Trading Posts in one turn

  17. Hand Smoothing

  18. Cellar
  19. Warehouse
  20. Secret Chamber Finding appropriate trash targets

Anti-Synergies:

  1. Lean Deck Strategies
  2. Already thin decks don't need more trashing

  3. Risk of having insufficient trash targets

  4. Alt-VP Strategies

  5. Silk Road

  6. Gardens Where deck size matters

  7. Copper Benefiters

  8. Coppersmith

  9. Apothecary Where Coppers are valuable

  10. Terminal Action Heavy Boards

  11. Competing for limited action slots
  12. Difficulty chaining multiple posts

Specific Kingdom Card Interactions

Strong With: 1. Throne Room/King's Court - Multiple Trading Posts in one action - Rapid deck thinning - Multiple Silvers gained

  1. Bridge
  2. Makes gained Silvers more valuable

  3. Enables money-based strategies

  4. Treasury

  5. Helps manage deck composition

  6. Provides reliable draw

  7. Scheme

  8. Allows repeated Trading Post use
  9. Maintains trashing pressure

Weak Against: 1. Militia/Ghost Ship - Reduces hand size - Makes finding two trash targets harder

  1. Torturer
  2. Adds Curses faster than they can be trashed

  3. Competes for actions

  4. Possession

  5. Opponent can force poor trashing choices
  6. Can waste important trash opportunities

Counter-Strategy: When playing against Trading Post: 1. Rush strategies to punish slow deck development 2. Curse giving to overwhelm trashing capacity 3. Hand size reduction to make trashing harder 4. Competition for key price points

Kingdom Considerations

When to Buy Trading Post:

Strong Reasons: 1. Heavy curse-giving presence 2. Few alternative trashers 3. Silver-based strategies viable 4. Slow enough game pace for deck improvement 5. Sufficient trash targets available

Weak Reasons: 1. Better $5 alternatives present 2. Fast game pace expected 3. Limited trash targets 4. Strong engine components available 5. Alternative money sources present

Number to Buy: - Usually 1-2 is sufficient - 3+ only in specific circumstances: * Heavy curse giving * Many weak cards to trash * Silver-based strategy * Limited alternative actions

Gameplay Tips and Tricks

Maximizing Efficiency: 1. Track trash targets remaining in deck 2. Plan trashing sequence across multiple turns 3. Consider holding suboptimal cards for future trashing 4. Time purchases to maintain trashing targets

Common Mistakes to Avoid: 1. Over-trashing early game 2. Neglecting alternative strategy development 3. Buying too many copies 4. Trashing crucial engine components 5. Ignoring deck composition

Advanced Techniques: 1. Using gained Silver to enable specific price points 2. Timing plays with other action cards 3. Managing trash targets for maximum efficiency 4. Leveraging immediate Silver gain for specific combos

Sample Opening Strategies

5/2 Opening: - Trading Post + Cellar - Trading Post + Chapel - Trading Post + Pearl Diver

4/3 Opening: - Silver + Trading Post - Village + Trading Post - Fishing Village + Trading Post

Alternative Strategies: 1. Double Trading Post - Aggressive trashing - Multiple Silver gains - Requires careful management

  1. Trading Post + Engine Piece
  2. Balanced approach
  3. Maintains flexibility

  4. Requires good timing

  5. Trading Post + Alternative Trasher

  6. Maximizes deck improvement
  7. Requires coordination
  8. Can be very powerful

Conclusion

Trading Post is a versatile card that requires careful timing and strategic planning to use effectively. Its primary strengths lie in deck thinning and immediate money generation, but it requires appropriate support and careful management of trash targets. Success with Trading Post often depends on:

  1. Correct timing of purchase
  2. Proper selection of trash targets
  3. Balance with other strategy elements
  4. Understanding of game pace and context
  5. Management of deck composition

When used properly, Trading Post can be a powerful tool for deck improvement and economic development, but it requires more finesse than simpler trashers like Chapel. Its unique ability to provide immediate money through Silver gains sets it apart from other trashing cards and can enable interesting tactical plays.

Remember that Trading Post's effectiveness varies significantly based on kingdom context and game state. Being able to recognize when and how to best utilize Trading Post is key to maximizing its potential in your Dominion strategy.