(http://dominion.diehrstraits.com/scans/intrigue/masquerade.jpg)
Introduction
I love masquerade. But not because it’s awesome. Well, it is awesome, but that’s not why I love it. The first Dominion I owned was Intrigue. And there are some fun cards in there, but none quite so fun as Masquerade. I would buy it almost every game and shout MASQUERADE!!! and wave my hands in the air upon playing it. Clearly this is a card designed for partying. And waving my hands in the air is about the extent of my dancing skills. Something I’m told should never be done at actual parties.
Masquerade is one of the strongest cards in the game. In fact, the most recent Top 5 $3 card list (http://dominionstrategy.com/2011/12/30/the-five-best-3-cards-2011) has it second only to Ambassador. And rightfully so. This seemingly innocent card is, in fact, a powerhouse. People are typically drawn to the card by the neat passing mechanic. However, for most games, the passing mechanic is the least important aspect of the card, though still not unimportant. In fact, if you had a card which just offered +2 cards and the ability to trash a card, it would be just as strong for many games. But the ability to pass does lead to some very fun interactions and the occasional situation when the correct pass means the difference between winning or losing.
Big Money
Masquerade is in the top tier of non-attack enablers for big money games. Well, Wharf might be the top tier by itself, but Masq is surely only a notch below. Both the card draw and trashing for Masquerade are fairly weak, but the combination of the two is what gives it such strength. Normally trashers are poor big money enablers. But the card draw means that after trashing you still have a 5 card hand to work with. Consider other trashers which leave you with 3 or fewer cards. It is significantly harder to ramp up your economy with gimped hands in the early game. Additionally a trasher which gives +2 cards greatly improves cycling speed allowing the card to come back into your deck faster.
Since estate trashing is so much more desirable than copper trashing for money games, you likely won’t need a second masquerade. But adding another strong terminal into your deck is often the right play. Since Masq only draws two cards, collisions become more unlikely than other terminal draw cards. Often in money games with another strong enabler, the correct move is to get both, and usually the masquerade first.
Cursing attacks in particular tend to dominate money games. Masquerade counters them harder than most, so the best move is typically to open masquerade and transition into your curser. Though special mention should be made for Sea Hag, which is simply crushed under Masquerade’s weight. The combination of no early game economy and the decent chance that that curse comes right back to you simply gives the Hag no chance. Familiar is often weak enough in big money games anyway, but it is particularly weak against masquerade due to the curse passing and sheer speed of the card. It is also generally a good counter to Torturer. Take a curse and pass it right along. Though a well supported torturer chain will still be able to give you curses faster than you can pass them off.
One final point, and this is particularly true with Masquerade/Money mirrors, is that keeping an estate either by refusing to pass it or just refusing to trash it, can give you a huge advantage in the end game. You only need to win by 1 point. Certainly in the early game you want to aggressively remove estates but as the game wears on you need to start considering the worth of each estate you see.
Engines
While Masquerade shines in Big Money games, it is darned good in engine games too. Again, it’s not the best card draw, and it’s not the best trasher, but it does both. And the thinner your deck gets, the more often masquerade comes around to play, giving you good deck acceleration. Masquerade is particularly strong as an opening when there are strong $5 engine cards you want like wharf and bazaar. While Masq/Silver opening makes it difficult to see $6 for a little while, $5 is still very likely.
But the card is a double edged sword in these games. As you thin and improve your deck, you start running the risk of having a great hand, only to have a masquerade played on you. So in any engine game that involves Masquerade, do not over-trash your junk. Trash just enough so that you are likely to still have a card to pass on an opponents masq while still being able to fire your engine reliably. Easier said than done.
Special mention should be made for discard attacks. Masquerade has a love/hate relationship with discard attacks. In an engine where both masquerade and discards attack exist, you likely end up having to keep a junk card, even if masquerade never ends up being played. So the discard attack hurts even more than usual. Likely, the best counter to this combo is to get it going faster.
Slightly less special mention goes to cards which are top-decked. Alchemist, Treasury, Scheme, et al. if top-decked too aggressively will force you to pass good cards more often.
Possession
Possession is not an attack. This is because your opponent cannot actually hurt your current hand or deck at large with it. Excepting, of course, when masquerade or ambassador is on the board. Passing is not trashing and it's not gaining. So any cards you pass while possessed remain passed. Now, masquerade/big money is fast, and if there is no good engine, it’s unlikely that your opponent is able to buy possession, play it, and pass enough points to himself before you can drain provinces. But it there is an engine, not buying masquerade is often the safest choice unless there is a good way to trash it fairly quickly. Except, well, masquerade might be the card you need to really ramp up your engine and there might be no other trashing. Then what? Well, buy a masquerade anyway. If your opponent also has the same idea, you better hope the shuffle luck fairy is on your side. Because a bad hand or two can make the game very lopsided. If your opponent does not buy a masquerade, you are likely in a good position to set up your engine faster, and get and play possession first. Then buy a second Masquerade and pass it on over. Note: This is not a good way to make friends.
The Pin
Well, I can’t go ahead and write an article on masquerade without at least mentioning the infamous pin potential. By now, most Dominion enthusiasts are aware that the unique passing ability of Masquerade can lead to a game state where you can trash your opponent's entire deck while leaving them with a 0 card hand every turn. Note that this only really works in 2P games, as you can only trash the deck of the player to your left, while any other players are free to do whatever they wish.
The pin comes in a variety of flavors. The only truly required card is masquerade, but the other cards in potential pins are all fairly specific. Finding specific 3 and 4 card combos is exceedingly rare given the amount of possible kingdom configurations. As such, I won't bother going into great detail but read this post (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3239.msg58486#msg58486) for a detailed break down of possible pin methods.
Regardless of what cards you use, the goal is to reduce the opponent's hand size and then play a throned or king's courted Masquerade with no cards left in your draw or discard. You pass no cards but you do receive a card from your opponent, which you immediately trash. Thus, each time you play Masquerade, you trash a card from your opponent's deck while reducing their hand size by one. Just rinse and repeat until their entire deck is trashed. Also note: This, too, is not a good way to make friends.