Haven
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Haven (Seaside)

Cost: $2

Type: Action-Duration

Text: +1 Card\n+1 Action\nSet aside a card from your hand face down. At the start of your next turn, put it into your hand.

Strategy Review

Haven Strategy Guide

Haven is a $2 Action-Duration card from Seaside that allows you to set aside a card from your hand until your next turn, while providing +1 Card and +1 Action. While seemingly simple, Haven offers surprising strategic depth and utility that makes it a valuable addition to many decks.

Core Functions and Basic Usage

  1. Terminal Draw Smoothing Haven's primary function is to smooth out your deck's performance across turns. By setting aside a valuable card when you can't use it effectively, you ensure access to it on your next turn. This makes Haven particularly useful for:

  2. Saving terminal actions when you've already played one

  3. Preserving valuable treasure cards for big money turns
  4. Holding onto victory cards that would otherwise dead-draw
  5. Guaranteeing specific combo pieces for your next turn

  6. Deck Tracking Haven provides perfect information about at least one card you'll have next turn, which helps with planning and probability calculations. This information becomes increasingly valuable as you gain experience with the card.

  7. Virtual Hand Size While Haven doesn't increase your overall card count, it effectively gives you access to an extra card across two turns, helping to prevent dead draws and ensuring more consistent play.

Timing and Strategic Considerations

Early Game (Turns 1-5) In the opening phase, Haven serves several purposes:

  • Smoothing early deck shuffles
  • Preserving key $5 purchases for critical turn 3/4 buys
  • Setting aside copper when you need actions more
  • Holding Colony/Province when forced to gain them early

The $2 price point makes Haven an attractive opening buy, especially in games where: - You start with 5/2 split - You're planning for engine building - The kingdom lacks other strong $2 options - Terminal draw density is high

Mid Game (Turns 6-12) During the middle game, Haven's utility expands:

  • Orchestrating specific combinations
  • Managing deck composition during transitions
  • Preserving key components for engine turns
  • Protecting against attacks

Late Game (Turns 13+) In the endgame, Haven can be crucial for:

  • Guaranteeing Province purchases
  • Managing green card density
  • Setting up game-ending turns
  • Protecting against opposing rushes

Specific Strategic Applications

  1. Engine Building In engine contexts, Haven shines by:

  2. Preserving payload cards for big turns

  3. Holding key engine pieces until you can play them
  4. Managing terminal collision
  5. Ensuring critical cards aren't lost in shuffles

  6. Big Money Strategies Even in simple Big Money decks, Haven offers value:

  7. Securing Province purchases

  8. Managing terminal silver collision
  9. Smoothing out treasure distribution
  10. Reducing variance in buying power

  11. Rush Strategies When pursuing rush strategies, Haven helps by:

  12. Maintaining tempo

  13. Managing green card density
  14. Preserving key purchases
  15. Ensuring consistent buying power

Synergies and Combinations

Strong Synergies:

  1. Terminal Draw Haven works exceptionally well with terminal draw cards like Smithy, Council Room, or Witch by:
  2. Preventing terminal collision
  3. Preserving draw cards for maximum effect
  4. Managing hand size across turns

  5. Payload Cards Cards that provide significant benefits but may not always align perfectly benefit greatly from Haven:

  6. Bridge
  7. King's Court
  8. Grand Market
  9. Forge

  10. Duration Cards Haven naturally complements other duration cards:

  11. Wharf
  12. Fishing Village
  13. Caravan
  14. Market Square

  15. Action Chains Cards that benefit from specific sequences work well with Haven:

  16. Throne Room variants
  17. Village variants
  18. Laboratory variants
  19. Festival chains

  20. Reaction Cards Haven can hold reaction cards until needed:

  21. Moat
  22. Horse Traders
  23. Watchtower
  24. Market Square

Counter-Synergies and Weaknesses

  1. Fast Games Haven's power diminishes in extremely quick games where:
  2. Provinces empty rapidly
  3. Rush strategies dominate
  4. Terminal silver is optimal
  5. Time for engine building is limited

  6. Heavy Attack Environments While Haven can help manage attacks, it struggles against:

  7. Militia effects (forced discard)
  8. Saboteur (deck destruction)
  9. Fortune Teller (topdeck attacks)
  10. Ghost Ship (hand size reduction)

  11. Alternative Victory Conditions Some alternate victory conditions reduce Haven's utility:

  12. Gardens (wants quantity over quality)
  13. Duke (needs consistent Duchy buying)
  14. Colonies (higher price point changes timing)

Defending Against Attacks

Haven provides modest protection against various attacks:

  1. Discard Attacks
  2. Can save key cards from Militia/Margrave
  3. Preserves combo pieces against Torturer
  4. Protects against Ghost Ship

  5. Deck Attack Protection

  6. Minimal protection against Saboteur
  7. Can save key cards from Pirate Ship
  8. Helps recover from Swindler

  9. Cursing Protection

  10. Can set aside Curses to reduce their impact
  11. Helps maintain momentum through Witch attacks
  12. Manages Young Witch bottom-decking

Kingdom Considerations

When evaluating Haven's potential in a kingdom, consider:

  1. Pace Indicators
  2. Presence of attacks
  3. Alternative victory conditions
  4. Colony/Platinum
  5. Landmarks/Projects

  6. Support Cards

  7. Villages available
  8. Draw quality
  9. Payload options
  10. Trashing capability

  11. Competing $2 Options

  12. Native Village
  13. Pearl Diver
  14. Lighthouse
  15. Chapel

Cost Considerations

At $2, Haven competes with several powerful cards:

Strong Alternatives: - Chapel (superior in trashing contexts) - Native Village (better for combo decks) - Lighthouse (superior attack protection)

Weaker Alternatives: - Pearl Diver (generally inferior) - Cellar (situationally better) - Courtyard (different timing considerations)

Opening Buy Considerations

Haven as an opener works best when:

  1. Opening 5/2
  2. Can pair with a $5 card effectively
  3. Helps manage early deck shuffles
  4. Supports transition to engine building

  5. Alternative Split

  6. Can complement $3-4 cards
  7. Helps reach critical price points
  8. Manages terminal collision early

Number of Havens to Buy

Optimal Haven count varies by strategy:

  1. Engine Building
  2. 2-3 Havens typically optimal
  3. More if heavy terminal draw present
  4. Fewer with strong village support

  5. Big Money

  6. 1-2 Havens usually sufficient
  7. More can help with Province timing
  8. Diminishing returns after 2-3

  9. Rush Strategies

  10. 1 Haven often enough
  11. More can slow critical mass
  12. Consider skipping if too slow

Timing Considerations

Key moments for Haven purchases:

Early Game - Opening buy if conditions right - First reshuffle if needed - When reaching first $5 cards

Mid Game - When transitioning to engine - Before adding green cards - When terminal density increases

Late Game - Rarely correct to add Haven - Consider gaining for deck tracking - May help manage Province density

Advanced Techniques

  1. Multi-Turn Planning
  2. Track Haven cards across shuffles
  3. Plan purchase sequences
  4. Manage green card density

  5. Information Management

  6. Use Haven information for probability calculations
  7. Track opponent's turns and likely purchases
  8. Plan attack timing around Haven protection

  9. Engine Optimization

  10. Sequence Haven plays optimally
  11. Manage terminal spacing
  12. Control shuffle timing

Conclusion

Haven is a subtle but powerful card that offers significant strategic depth despite its simple appearance. Its ability to smooth out deck performance, guarantee key cards, and provide perfect information about future turns makes it valuable in many situations. While not always a game-defining card, Haven's low cost and consistent utility make it a worthwhile addition to many strategies.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Haven excels at:
  2. Smoothing deck performance
  3. Guaranteeing key cards
  4. Managing terminal collision
  5. Providing future information

  6. Consider Haven when:

  7. Building engines
  8. Managing terminal draw
  9. Needing consistent performance
  10. Lacking other $2 options

  11. Avoid Haven when:

  12. Racing to end game
  13. Playing pure Big Money
  14. Facing heavy attacks
  15. Better $2 options exist

Understanding Haven's strengths and limitations allows players to make better decisions about when to include it in their strategy and how to maximize its effectiveness throughout the game.