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[Christen]

I already have Dominion, Prosperity, Alchemy, and Guilds. Due to circumstances, I can only buy one expansion among Hinterlands, Cornucopia, or Dark Ages. So what set would you recommend I get next to make for interesting interactions with the current cards I have?

[jsh357]

If you like the complexity of Alchemy and Guilds, go for Dark Ages.

If you're looking for some more simple cards (on paper), go for Hinterlands.

Cornucopia is my favorite expansion, and it's always a good choice.

[Christen]

If you like the complexity of Alchemy and Guilds, go for Dark Ages.

If you're looking for some more simple cards (on paper), go for Hinterlands.

Cornucopia is my favorite expansion, and it's always a good choice.

That being said, you are saying Hinterlands should be a good set for decent starting players (not complete newbies)? Why Cornucopia by the way? Given that, I might stay away from Dark Ages for now since we already have two complex sets. Thanks for your input!

[Asper]

I already have Dominion, Prosperity, Alchemy, and Guilds. Due to circumstances, I can only buy one expansion among Hinterlands, Cornucopia, or Dark Ages. So what set would you recommend I get next to make for interesting interactions with the current cards I have?

Depends on your preferences:

Hinterlands is an expansion with 26 cards, many of which help you deal with victory cards and other junk. Some of those are sifters, but there's also Trader, which will make you drown in Silvers. It also (and most prominently) introduced the concept of cards that do something when gained, including two that harm your opponents when gained. It is probably the set with the least complex cards. It has an a bit above average amount of victory cards (and treasures). It's a lot more tame than Dark Ages.

Dark Ages has two things going for it: Being a very, very big expansion with 35 kingdom cards and throwing a lot of unwritten rules for Dominion out of the window (well, you can take this as a "con", too). This includes gaining cards from the trash, a pile with not 10 but 20 cards in it, a pile with all different cards, a new kind of junk card (Ruins), cards that can only be gained through other cards, and Shelters, which you may use to replace starting Estates. So Dark Ages is a lot, lot new stuff to learn and not really a "beginner" set. If that's okay for you and you want something "fresh", take this one. One theme of the expansion is the trash, by the way. It has cards that do something when trashed.

Cornucopia is the smallest of the three. With only 13 kingdom cards, you should consider how much content you get for your money. Still, Cornucopia has some very cute cards that are interesting to play. The set's theme is variety, which is why it has cards like Menagerie that reward you for it, or Young Witch, which enforces it (you play with 11 kingdom cards if it's out). Tournament is a card that allows you to gain the 5 unique prize cards that are also part of the set. As most cards in Cornucopia (Hunting Party being a clear counterexample) demand variety, this also means new strategies to go for.

All three are fun. Hinterlands and Cornucopia are easier to grasp, with Cornucopia having a bit more cards that encourage you to play differently than you normally would, but with Hinterlands offering more new cards. Dark Ages is a lot of cards and a lot of rules. It's crazy and changes the game a lot.

Hope this was helpful.

Edit: Didn't resist removing a double negative.
Edit 2: Removed a claim about the quality of the Hinterlands cards.

[jsh357]

If you like the complexity of Alchemy and Guilds, go for Dark Ages.

If you're looking for some more simple cards (on paper), go for Hinterlands.

Cornucopia is my favorite expansion, and it's always a good choice.

That being said, you are saying Hinterlands should be a good set for decent starting players (not complete newbies)? Why Cornucopia by the way? Given that, I might stay away from Dark Ages for now since we already have two complex sets. Thanks for your input!

Hinterlands is a great set for new players, I imagine.  There are some complex strategies you can go for with the cards, but on the whole the cards are very easy to understand.  You buy this, thing X happens--there's not too much to worry about.

Cornucopia is a set that promotes variety--playing decks that use many types of cards, having hands with more types of cards in them, that kind of thing.  I like building fun decks, and Cornucopia cards support this.  It does have Tournament, which is a card I don't care much for, but other than that I feel like it adds a lot to the game in spite of how small an expansion it is. (And I dislike more cards in DA and Hinterlands anyway)

Dark Ages is probably the most complicated currently released expansion, but I would not say it's overly complex either.  You and your friends will be able to handle it.  I just recommend getting it as one of your last expansions, in part because it's a great set to get to add a final 'oomph' to the game once you get everything.  Of course, I bought all of the expansions at once myself so I can't say for sure if that means anything.

[Awaclus]

Dark Ages has the most interesting interactions with everything, especially Guilds. I don't think you have to be worried about the complexity, unless you dislike complex cards in general.

Hinterlands is super fun too.

including two that harm your opponents when gained.

Ill-Gotten Gains and Embassy!

[Beyond Awesome]

Dark Ages has a lot of annoying cards. So there is that. It also adds a lot of strategic depth. Overall I feel Dark Ages has a lot of hit and miss cards. I personally recommend buying it last for this reason and go for Hinterlands

[Christen]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Dark Ages sounds fun, but I guess I will go with the recommendation leaving it for last. I have yet to acquire Intrigue and Seaside (out of stock in our local stores) so those are still down the line.

I guess I'll go with Hinterlands first since it would give me the most cards.

[liopoil]

Dark ages has the most cards, so that's a plus. Some of my favorite and least favorite cards are in dark ages.

[JW]

Dark ages has a lot of cards, so you can just not play with the ones you don't like while still getting great value. I left rebuild and cultist in the box.

[Awaclus]

I like Rebuild and Cultist. Urchin is awful though, I never use it IRL.

[Teproc]

If you want more of the same, Cornucopia is the best. Yes, Hinterlands has more cards obviously, but the card quality in Cornucopia is probably the bigger of any Dominion set and the variety theme lead to more enjoyable gameplay.

If you want to really change the game and have a different experience, Dark Ages is the way to go. It's by far the expansion that changes the game the most, so if you want that, there you go.

[Joseph2302]

I think Cornucopia is fun, however lots of people think it's overpowered, as in many of the cards seem to be must-buy cards if they're in the kingdom.

Dark Ages is super-fun in general though, but complicated.

For an easy expansion, I think Cornucopia, for the most fun, I would say DA.