Scholar (Renaissance)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Scholar:

Scholar Strategy Guide

Introduction: Scholar is a powerful draw card from Renaissance that offers a unique combination of hand-clearing and massive draw. At $5, it competes with many other strong cards in its price range, but offers distinctive advantages and challenges that make it particularly interesting in certain strategies.

Core Mechanics: - Discards your entire hand first - Draws 7 new cards - Net card advantage of +6 cards (assuming you had 1 card left after playing Scholar)

Key Strengths: 1. Massive Draw Power - Drawing 7 cards is one of the largest single-card draws in Dominion - Can help you see a large portion of your deck quickly - Excellent for finding key cards in larger decks

1. Hand Reset
2. Allows you to completely refresh a bad hand
3. Can clear unwanted cards or dead terminals

4. Helps escape terminal collision

5. Consistency

6. Always draws exactly 7 cards
7. Provides predictable results
8. Not dependent on hand size or other conditions

Key Weaknesses: 1. Forced Discard - Must discard potentially valuable cards - Can't selectively keep good cards - May waste resources or critical components

1. Terminal Action
2. Takes up your action for the turn
3. Can conflict with other terminals

4. Requires villages to play multiple

5. Cost

6. At $5, competes with other powerful cards
7. Not always the best option at this price point

Optimal Use Cases:

1. Engine Building Scholar excels in engine-building strategies where you want to:
2. Find key components quickly
3. Cycle through your deck rapidly
4. Set up big turns with multiple actions

The forced discard is less problematic in engines because: - You'll likely see the discarded cards again soon - You often have redundant components - The massive draw helps find replacements

1. Recovery Mechanism Scholar serves as an excellent recovery tool when:
2. You have a weak starting hand
3. You're stuck with multiple terminals

4. You need to find specific answers

5. Late Game Dig In the late game, Scholar can help:

6. Find remaining victory cards
7. Locate key finishing cards
8. Push through the last few points

Synergies and Combinations:

1. Village Effects Strong village pairings include:
2. Village
3. Festival
4. Workers' Village

5. Native Village These allow multiple Scholar plays and help manage terminal density.

6. Duration Cards Scholar works well with duration cards because:

7. They aren't discarded when already in play
8. Their effects continue next turn
9. They help manage terminal collision Notable examples:
10. Fishing Village
11. Wharf
12. Haven

13. Gear

14. Card Selection Cards that help manage your deck complement Scholar:

15. Scrying Pool
16. Oracle
17. Sentinel

18. Warehouse These help ensure valuable cards aren't lost to Scholar's discard.

19. Throne Room Effects Double Scholar plays can be powerful with:

20. Throne Room
21. King's Court

22. Crown These create massive draw turns but require careful planning.

23. Reserve Cards Reserve cards pair well because:

24. They're safe from Scholar's discard
25. Can be called after drawing
26. Provide flexibility Examples:
27. Teacher
28. Royal Carriage
29. Treasure Trove

Counter-Synergies and Cautions:

1. One-Shot Effects Scholar can waste cards that:
2. Provide one-time benefits
3. Need specific timing
4. Have limited uses Examples:
5. Will-o'-Wisp
6. Ghost

7. Imp

8. Careful Resource Management Be cautious with:

9. Coin tokens
10. Victory tokens

11. Special treasures These might be discarded before use.

12. Limited Draw Decks Scholar may be problematic in decks:

13. With few cards
14. Running lean strategies
15. Focusing on specific combinations

Building Around Scholar:

1. Early Game (First 2-3 Shuffles) Priority acquisitions:
2. 1-2 Scholars
3. Village effects
4. Deck control cards Focus on:
5. Building basic engine components
6. Managing terminal density

7. Establishing draw consistency

8. Mid Game (Turns 8-15) Development goals:

9. Additional Scholars if needed
10. Support cards for chosen strategy
11. Payload components Consider:
12. Terminal density
13. Deck size

14. Victory card dilution

15. Late Game (Final Turns) Adjustments:

16. Possibly trim Scholars
17. Focus on point generation
18. Maintain engine reliability

Timing and Usage Tips:

1. Optimal Play Order Generally:
2. Play other terminals first
3. Use Scholar to find villages

4. Save some draw for after villages

5. Hand Assessment Consider Scholar when:

6. Hand lacks key components
7. Multiple terminals present

8. Need specific cards

9. Deck Tracking Monitor:

10. Location of key cards
11. Shuffle timing
12. Victory card distribution

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Over-buying
2. Don't get too many Scholars
3. Balance with other terminals

4. Consider deck size

5. Poor Timing

6. Playing too early in turn
7. Discarding valuable resources

8. Missing critical combinations

9. Neglecting Support

10. Insufficient villages
11. Lack of payload
12. Poor deck control

Countering Scholar:

1. Attack Cards Effective attacks include:
2. Militia (reduces hand size)
3. Ghost Ship (deck order disruption)

4. Cursers (deck dilution)

5. Alternative Strategies Consider:

6. Big Money variants
7. Slogs
8. Rush approaches

Kingdom Considerations:

1. When to Buy Scholar Good conditions:
2. Village availability
3. Engine potential

4. Weak alternative $5 cards

5. When to Skip Scholar Poor conditions:

6. Heavy attacks present
7. Better $5 options

8. Anti-engine kingdoms

9. Number to Buy Typical amounts:

10. 1-2 in most engines
11. 2-3 in Scholar-focused decks
12. 3+ rarely correct

Sample Strategies:

1. Classic Scholar Engine Components:
2. 2x Scholar
3. 4-5x Village variants
4. Payload cards

5. Light trashing Goal: Consistent engine building

6. Scholar Big Money Components:

7. 1x Scholar
8. Silver/Gold focus

9. Limited support cards Goal: Enhanced treasure density

10. Scholar Combo Components:

11. 1-2x Scholar
12. Key combo pieces
13. Village support Goal: Finding specific combinations

Expert Tips:

1. Deck Management
2. Track shuffle timing
3. Monitor deck composition

4. Plan for victory card dilution

5. Action Management

6. Calculate terminal density
7. Plan village distribution

8. Consider action sequencing

9. Resource Optimization

10. Time coin token use
11. Manage special cards
12. Plan for discards

Alternative $5 Cards to Consider:

1. Instead of Scholar
2. Laboratory (no discard, less draw)
3. Market (more flexible)

4. Council Room (multiplayer impact)

5. Complementary to Scholar

6. Mining Village (extra actions)
7. Market Square (resource generation)
8. Duchy (alternative victory path)

Conclusion: Scholar is a powerful but demanding card that requires careful deck building and thoughtful play. Its massive draw power comes with significant restrictions that need to be managed, but in the right circumstances, it can be a key engine component or recovery tool. Success with Scholar depends on understanding its limitations and building appropriate support around it.

Key Takeaways: 1. Build proper village support 2. Manage terminal density carefully 3. Plan for the forced discard 4. Time plays thoughtfully 5. Consider kingdom context

With proper support and careful play, Scholar can be a powerful addition to many strategies, particularly in engine-building approaches. However, it's important to recognize when alternative cards might better serve your strategy and to build appropriate support when including Scholar in your deck.