Mint (Prosperity)

Mint Strategy Guide

Introduction: Mint is a complex $5 Action card from Prosperity that allows you to duplicate Treasures while coming with a significant drawback when purchasing. Understanding when and how to use Mint effectively requires careful consideration of timing, board context, and your overall strategy.

Core Mechanics: 1. Main ability: You may reveal and gain a copy of a Treasure from your hand 2. Purchase penalty: When bought, trashes ALL Treasures you have in play

Key Strengths: - Provides direct Treasure gaining without paying coin cost - Can duplicate expensive Treasures like Gold or Platinum - Doesn't require trashing the original Treasure - Can rapidly increase deck quality by duplicating good Treasures

Key Weaknesses: - Purchase penalty can be devastating if not managed properly - Requires Treasures in hand to be effective - Takes up an Action - Does nothing if you have no Treasures in hand - Gained Treasures go to discard pile, not immediately into play

Optimal Timing for Purchase:

The most critical decision with Mint is when to buy it. Here are the key considerations:

1. Early Game Purchase:
2. Best bought on a turn where you haven't played any Treasures
3. Can save up $5 using Villages and other non-Treasure sources
4. Consider opening with Mint if the board supports it

5. Early purchase allows more uses throughout the game

6. Mid-Game Purchase:

7. Buy after playing important engine pieces
8. Purchase when you can afford to lose your played Treasures

9. Consider buying when you have strong alternative money sources

10. Late Game Purchase:

11. Generally avoid late purchases unless you have specific combos
12. Can be viable if you're transitioning away from Treasures

Treasure Management Strategies:

1. Pre-Purchase:
2. Hold back Treasures in hand when planning to buy Mint
3. Use alternative money sources (e.g., Market, Grand Market)
4. Consider cards that let you pick up Treasures (e.g., Treasury)

5. Save important Treasures in hand rather than playing them

6. Post-Purchase:

7. Maximize hand size to increase chances of having Treasures
8. Consider deck tracking to know when Treasures are coming
9. Use card draw after playing Mint to find more Treasures
10. Plan turns to ensure Treasures and Mint align

Synergies and Combinations:

1. Strong Treasure Synergies:
2. Platinum: Creating multiple Platinums rapidly accelerates your economy
3. Gold: Efficient multiplication of high-value Treasures
4. Bank: Can create powerful money turns as you gain more Treasures
5. Hoard: Multiply it to gain more Golds when buying Victory cards
6. Venture: Creates strong money density in deck
7. Royal Seal: Helps manage gained Treasures' placement

8. Cache: Gain multiple copies for quick money boost

9. Draw and Deck Management:

10. Laboratory/Smithy: Find both Mint and Treasures
11. Warehouse/Cellar: Dig for needed components
12. Treasury: Retrieve Treasures to hand
13. Haven: Set aside Treasures for next turn
14. Library: Draw until finding needed pieces

15. Scholar: Refresh hand to find Treasures

16. Action Support:

17. Village variants: Provide actions for Mint plus other cards
18. Throne Room/King's Court: Multiple Mint uses
19. Gardens: Benefits from gaining many Treasures
20. Trade Route: Can make use of trashed Treasures

21. Bridge: Reduce cost of gained Treasures

22. Special Interactions:

23. Coppersmith: Multiply Coppers then enhance their value
24. Merchant: Multiple Silvers become more valuable
25. Crown: Play Mint twice in one Action
26. Tracker: Control where gained Treasures go
27. Noble Brigand: Reveal gained Treasures for attack

Counter Strategies:

1. Against Mint:
2. Rush strategies to end game before Mint engine develops
3. Cursing attacks to clog deck
4. Discard attacks to remove Treasures from hand
5. Ghost Ship/Militia type attacks

6. Possession to force bad Mint plays

7. Playing Around Counters:

8. Build reliable draw engines
9. Include multiple money sources
10. Maintain alternative victory conditions
11. Include deck protection cards

Building Different Strategies:

1. Mint-Focused Engine: Components:
2. Multiple Mints
3. Strong card draw
4. Action suppliers
5. Key Treasures to duplicate Strategy:
6. Establish reliable drawing
7. Get 2-3 Mints
8. Focus on duplicating best Treasures

9. Build toward mega-turns

10. Mint Support Role: Components:

11. 1-2 Mints
12. Mixed economy
13. Flexible action cards Strategy:
14. Use Mint opportunistically
15. Maintain balanced deck
16. Don't over-invest in Treasures

17. Keep alternative paths to victory

18. Treasure-Heavy Approach: Components:

19. Mint
20. Premium Treasures
21. Treasure-synergy cards Strategy:
22. Focus on valuable Treasures
23. Use Mint to multiply key pieces
24. Build toward powerful money turns
25. Consider Bank/Gardens victory path

Kingdom Considerations:

1. Favorable Kingdoms:
2. Premium Treasures available
3. Strong card draw
4. Action multiplication
5. Treasure synergies

6. Alternative money sources

7. Unfavorable Kingdoms:

8. Heavy attacking
9. Junking strategies
10. Limited card draw
11. No valuable Treasures
12. Action-light boards

When to Skip Mint:

1. Board Conditions:
2. No valuable Treasures to copy
3. Heavy attack presence
4. Better $5 options available

5. Fast game pace likely

6. Deck Conditions:

7. Highly Action-dependent economy
8. Limited draw capability
9. Already strong money density
10. Victory path doesn't need more Treasures

Opening Considerations:

1. Mint Opening: Pros:
2. Early access to multiplication
3. Can shape strategy from start
4. Maximizes uses throughout game Cons:
5. Slow initial development
6. Vulnerable to attacks

7. Requires support cards

8. Alternative Openings:

9. Open with draw/actions, get Mint later
10. Build engine first, add Mint for boost
11. Focus on key support pieces early

Timing Your Mint Plays:

1. Early Turn: Pros:
2. Can use drawn Treasures
3. Allows planning rest of turn Cons:
4. Might miss Treasures drawn later

5. Uses early Action

6. Late Turn: Pros:

7. Know all available Treasures
8. Can make informed decisions Cons:
9. Might have played key Treasures
10. Less flexibility with gained cards

Advanced Techniques:

1. Multi-Mint Turns:
2. Use Throne Room effects
3. Chain multiple Mints
4. Maximize hand size first

5. Track gained Treasures

6. Treasure Management:

7. Keep key Treasures in hand
8. Use alternative money sources
9. Plan multiple turns ahead

10. Track deck composition

11. Economy Building:

12. Target specific Treasures
13. Build reliable draw first
14. Maintain Action balance
15. Consider victory timing

Sample Turn Sequences:

1. Basic Mint Turn:
2. Play Village
3. Play Draw card
4. Play Mint, copy Gold
5. Play Treasures

6. Buy improvements

7. Complex Engine Turn:

8. Play multiple Villages
9. Draw most of deck
10. Play multiple Mints
11. Copy various Treasures

12. Execute mega-turn

13. Late Game Turn:

14. Draw deck
15. Play Mint chain
16. Copy Platinum/key Treasures
17. Build toward game end

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Purchase Timing:
2. Buying with valuable Treasures in play
3. Getting Mint too late

4. Overinvesting in multiple Mints

5. Usage Errors:

6. Playing Treasures before Mint
7. Not building sufficient draw

8. Copying suboptimal Treasures

9. Strategic Mistakes:

10. Over-focusing on Mint strategy
11. Neglecting victory condition
12. Ignoring board context

Conclusion:

Mint is a powerful but complex card that requires careful planning and execution. Success with Mint depends on: - Proper purchase timing - Strong support cards - Good Treasure management - Clear strategic direction - Board context awareness

When used correctly, Mint can create powerful economies and enable dramatic deck improvements. However, it requires significant skill to use effectively and must be approached with a clear understanding of its strengths and limitations. Always consider the broader game context and victory conditions when incorporating Mint into your strategy.