The Dominion Strategist: 6 Best Ways to Win at Dominion

By: Blaze Aldrich | June 26th, 2025

(D. Hanlon, 2010)

The Dominion Strategist: 6 Best Ways to Win at Dominion

Welcome to The Dominion Strategist, your go-to blog for mastering the art of the Dominion deck-building board game! Dominion, designed by Donald X. Vaccarino, is a cornerstone of the deck-building genre, where players craft their decks from a shared pool of cards to score the most victory points. Whether you're a seasoned noble or a fresh faced peasant, these six strategies will elevate your game and help you claim victory in the Kingdom. Let’s dive into the best ways to win at Dominion!

1. Focus on Engine Building

A well oiled engine is the heart of many winning Dominion strategies. An "engine" is a deck that cycles quickly, generates lots of actions, coins, and buys, allowing you to play powerful combos consistently.

How to Do It: Prioritize cards that grant extra actions (e.g., Village, Festival) and card draw (e.g., Smithy, Laboratory). These let you play more cards per turn and dig for key cards. Pair them with cards that generate coins (e.g., Silver, Gold, or Market).

Why It Works: A strong engine lets you chain actions to buy expensive cards like Provinces or powerful kingdom cards while maintaining consistency.

Pro Tip: Balance your engine. Too many action cards without draw or money can clog your deck, leaving you with unplayable hands.

2. Master the Big Money Strategy

Sometimes, simplicity is king. The "Big Money" strategy focuses on buying treasure cards (Silver, Gold) and victory cards (Provinces) as quickly as possible, avoiding most action cards.

How to Do It: In the early game, buy Silver to boost your economy, then transition to Gold. Once you can reliably hit 8 coins, buy Provinces every turn. Avoid most kingdom cards unless they directly support buying power (e.g., Merchant for extra coins).

Why It Works: Big Money is fast and reliable, especially on boards with weak action cards or heavy attack cards like Witch that punish complex decks.

Pro Tip: Add one or two key action cards (like Militia or Council Room) to disrupt opponents or accelerate your buys, creating a "Money Plus" hybrid.

3. Trash the Junk

Starting cards like Coppers and Estates can dilute your deck, reducing your ability to draw powerful hands. Trashing these weak cards is often the key to building a lean, efficient deck.

How to Do It: Prioritize cards like Chapel, Remodel, or Moneylender that let you trash Coppers, Estates, or even weak action cards. Chapel, in particular, can wipe out your starting deck in a few turns if used aggressively.

Why It Works: A smaller deck with high quality cards (like Gold or strong actions) cycles faster and delivers consistent hands, letting you buy Provinces sooner.

Pro Tip: Don’t over trash. Keep enough treasures to maintain buying power, and be cautious about trashing cards that might be useful later (e.g., Estates for tiebreakers).

4. Attack to Disrupt

Attack cards can slow your opponents’ progress, giving you a relative advantage. Cards like Witch, Militia, or Cutpurse can disrupt opponents’ hands, decks, or economies.

How to Do It: Pick attack cards that synergize with your strategy. For example, Witch adds Curses to opponents’ decks, bloating them with dead cards, while Militia forces discards, disrupting their combos. Play attacks consistently to maximize their impact.

Why It Works: Slowing your opponents’ deck building gives you more turns to execute your strategy, especially in games where Provinces run out quickly.

Pro Tip: Watch the board for counters like Moat or Lighthouse, which can block attacks. If opponents have easy access to these, consider focusing on non attack strategies.

5. Adapt to the Kingdom

Dominion’s strength lies in its variety, each game’s kingdom cards create unique puzzles. The best players adapt their strategy to the specific board rather than forcing a favorite approach.

How to Do It: Analyze the kingdom cards at the start. Look for synergies (e.g., Village + Smithy for an engine, or Bridge + cheap actions for mega-turns). Identify key cards that define the game, like Chapel for trashing or Witch for attacks, and build around them.

Why It Works: Some boards favor engines, others Big Money, and some unique combos (e.g., using King’s Court to triple-play powerful actions). Adapting ensures you’re playing the most efficient path to victory.

Pro Tip: Pay attention to what’s missing. No +Buy cards? Big Money might dominate. No trashing? Avoid cards that add junk, like Curse-givers.

6. End the Game on Your Terms

Dominion ends when three supply piles are empty or the Province pile is depleted. Controlling the game’s end can secure your victory, especially if you’re ahead in points.

How to Do It: If you’re leading, rush to empty piles (e.g., buy out cheap cards like Estates or Silvers) or grab the last Province. If behind, stall by avoiding low-pile buys and focus on catching up with big point swings (e.g., buying Duchies or using cards like Gardens).

Why It Works: Ending the game when you’re ahead prevents opponents from catching up. Conversely, delaying the end gives you time to overtake a leader.

Pro Tip: Track pile sizes and opponent scores. Buying a Duchy over a Province can slow the game, giving you time to build a stronger deck.

Final Thoughts

Winning at Dominion requires a mix of planning, adaptability, and opportunism. Whether you’re building a sleek engine, stacking treasures for Big Money, or crippling opponents with attacks, the key is to read the board and your opponents’ moves. Practice these six strategies, experiment with kingdom card combos, and you’ll soon be ruling the table!

What’s your favorite Dominion strategy? Share your tips or ask for advice in the comments below, and let’s keep building better decks together! For more Dominion content, check out our posts on specific expansions or join our community on X for real-time strategy discussions. Happy deck-building!

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