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[Davio]

Glady, I am blessed with a good enough memory that it dates back to my starting days of Dominion. Now this was only a year ago (back when Alchemy was the newest expansion) and I'm only 26 so this isn't too hard. But I vividly remember some of the earliest games I played with friends and it was amazing. A sense of general awe came over me after that first game. I buy this card, shuffle and now it's in my hand? Wow!

Not surprisingly, this was the first deck building game I had ever played and buying and getting to play cards was such a revelation. It was a totally different game from all the Euro worker placement / cube gatherers we had played before and required quite a different mindset. With those Euro games, every cube was precious and we couldn't waste a single one of them.

So, obviously, there were a lot of cards in Dominion that I had no idea were so good until I started to learn more about the game, play on BSW, discuss on BGG and eventually move over to Isotropic and these forums.

Chapel comes to mind as the epitome of cards that I didn't understand at first. Trash money and victory points. Wait, what? I didn't understand tempo back then. How wrong I was. It's now my 2nd highest "Win Rate Given Avail" card and that's saying something. My "Win Rate With" is at 1.48 ± 0.14.

The Cursers I understood quite early, especially after having been cursed yourself you start seeing the value of giving your opponents both dead cards and negative VPs.

Torturer I actually picked up on later, because I somehow assumed it worked like Militia, never letting one get down to less than 3 cards. My jaw dropped to the floor the first time someone played multiple Torturers in a row.

Ambassador is also a card that I underrated in the beginning. Maybe that's because there's no bold text on the card. It looks so harmless and even gives free gifts.

I had problems with a lot of the Alchemy cards in the beginning, but I've grown fonder of them as time goes by.


Are there any cards that you remember misjudging horribly when you started playing or when expansions came out? Did you have a "Jack"-experience with some of the others? Tell us...

[theory]

I used to hold onto my Feasts, so that I could draw them with a Throne Room and "get my money's worth" from the Feast.

[Jimmmmm]

I distinctly remember in the early days saying to another total noob, "Yeah, there seem to be some totally pointless cards." Speaking, of course, of Chapel and Chancellor. Well, 1 out of 2's not bad.

I also remember coming to the conclusion that Village was better than Lab. Which makes me think I was buying a lot of actions.

I also didn't really get the point of Remodel at first. The first time I witnessed the Estate -> Remodel -> Gold -> Province sequence, it kind of blew my mind.

Moneylender was another one. I didn't think it was worth it, since I considered it to be a short-term benefit at the cost of a long-term loss. Of course, if I had thought for a moment and realised that the benefit was no better than that of Silver and Woodcutter, something might have clicked.

A bit more recently, my first thoughts of Develop was that it was of the same calibre as Remodel and Remake and should cost 4. But I've always found in practise it's way too fiddly and ends up forcing me to take cards I don't really want.

Also, my first thought of Governor was that it was pretty much a better Council Room. Now I'm generally hesitant to draw with it and primarily use it for Gold-gaining.

[Lekkit]

Gardens. Big Time. I've played the game for a year now. This September we had our Swedish nationals, and it was only just before then I realised how game-warping the card can be.

Ambassador was also a card that for a long time seemed like a sub-par card.

Forge and Upgrade was both bad (in our minds) for a long time, since it was so hard to get what you actually wanted from them. We played Remodel a lot more than both of those cards.

To be honest I've never felt that Chapel was a bad card. It was mainly due to the friend who introduced us to the game and explained how good it was and why before we actually played with the card. Also, I've been a lot into deck building in TCGs, and know the importance of a tight deck.

[Kahryl]

Minion.  When I first played Dominion in meatspace, neither I nor anyone at the table really understood the card.  "For a $5," I mused, "it should really do something better than reducing enemy handsizes to four, even with a plus action!" I think part of the problem is that I read "opponents discard and draw four" and "you discard and draw four" as separate choices on the list.  Another is that I simply did not comprehend the idea of a Minion chain.

[brokoli]

Like many people, I misjuged Ill-Gotten gains.

[Forge!!!]

I had always thought Ambassador and Masquerade were pretty useless, until I came on here and found out they were actually two of the best cards. It was very confusing.

[GendoIkari]

The biggest one for me was Loan. When Prosperity first came out, me and 2 of my friends who played Dominion a lot were all pretty much like "yeah, I can't possibly imagine a single situation in which you would ever consider purchasing it." It wasn't until I started playing on Iso a lot and reading these boards that I realized I was wrong.

[Kahryl]

Yeah Loan was another one I re-read a few times, trying to think of some reason I would ever purchase it.

It's especially disappointing because it's confusable with Venture - same kind of name, and a "$1 plus find another treasure and do something".  But the 'something' is so horribly worse in Loan's case, it made me do a double take.

[mnavratil]

Oh, second on Ill-Gotten Gains. I remember when someone first played the rush agianst me; at first I thought they were just playing badly and it was a horrible strategy. Turns out maybe not so much.

Also I thought ambassador was terrible for quite sometime and never bought it.

[jotheonah]

I used to think having Moneylender and Mine on the same board was a waste because why would anyone go for the Moneylender. I remember playing games in the base set where we would all automatically buy out the mines, oblivious to the concept of terminal collision.

[Captain_Frisk]

Notable mistakes for me:

Sea Hag - I figured this was like saboteur, an attack that didn't benefit the attacker at all.

Develop - Not nearly as crazy as it looks

Ill Gotten Gains - Why would i give myself a juiced-up copper to give you a curse?  I mean, yes, your deck is getting worse, but so is mine.... Oh snap, 3 piles are gone already?

Jack of All Trades - Didn't theory say we wanted less silver in our decks?  I don't care if it does 4 things... it does them all badly!

[Lekkit]

Sea Hag - I figured this was like saboteur, an attack that didn't benefit the attacker at all.

I second this.

[jotheonah]

wait, how is it not that?

[mnavratil]

I guess the point is that, unlike saboteur, Sea Hag is actually good.

[jotheonah]

Ok, I just got worried there was some benefit I didn't know about. 

[GendoIkari]

Ok, I just got worried there was some benefit I didn't know about. 

You mean you didn't see the tiny text at the bottom that says "Gain a gold, putting it into your hand"??

[brokoli]

Bridge is a card I have long underestimated, thinking about a terminal silver  .

Also,

Lookout - I thought it was too risky. But with the +action, the card is interesting.
Torturer - Choose between a militia and a crappy witch... I just forgot the +3 card...
Ghost Ship - At first, I thought militia would be strongest than ghost ship. After, I saw I was wrong.

[werothegreat]

For me:

Library - Up to seven cards?  That's only two more cards...  Smithy is better than that...  Oftentimes for me it takes actually playing a card to get an idea of its value.  I <3 Library. 

Any trasher - Why would I want to get rid of cards?  Uh durr durr...

Steward - I started off "meh" on it, but now I love it.  Dearly.

Trading Post - "But Mine is sooo much better!" Not in early game, it's not...

Saboteur - originally thought this was the most evil thing to do to someone.  Then I realized it is evil, but only in certain situations, like when you've bought 7 of the Cities, and want to sabotage your opponent's Cities.  Other than that, it's a waste of an Action.

Caravan - "It's only a cantrip - what good is that?"

Vault - "Oh.  That looks... interesting..."

Rabble - "Messing with the top of your opponent's deck isn't THAT distressing."  "NOOOO MY GRAND MARKETS!!!!"

[Taco Lobster]

Most of the "better than I initially thought" category have been covered above, so I'd like to mention those cards that I thought were OMG BROKEN! originally.

Nobles:  I get either 3 cards or 2 actions, plus victory points on top of that?!?!  That's way too powerful.

Adventurer:  I was convinced that an engine could be bulit using Adventurer, and I spent many games with the base set trying to bulid it.  It just seemed so damn good, and it cost 6, how could it not be secretly awesome and powerful?

Great Hall:  I think all the joint victory cards seemed better to me than they really are, and Great Hall seemed absolutely insane as well.  It was a victory card that didn't eat up a space in my deck.  How powerful is that?!

[Elyv]

Since I've actually understood how the game works:

IGG: "Why not just buy a witch instead of this stupid, bad silver? Aren't I clogging up both decks at the same speed"
Jack: "Wow that's a lot of words for something that really doesn't give me a whole lot."
Goons: "It's just kind of a better militia, right?" To my credit, I managed to figure this one out on my own
Governor: I misread it horribly at first and now I buy it all the time. I don't feel like I know how to play it though
Tactician: "Discard my hand? Why would I want to do that?"
Possession: "I steal their turn, that must mean this card is amazing!"
Mint: "You mean when I buy it, I can trash all my coppers?! Wow!"
Wharf: "+2 cards? That's it? Smithy gives me 3!"
I misread Farmland about 3 times
I thought Haggler, Develop, and Oasis were really good at first.

That's enough for now.

[Davio]

When the Hinterlands cards were coming out two at a time, I was quite excited about Border Village, because, well BV+Torturer, BV+City, BV+Council Room, etc...

But now that I have quite a few games under my belt since Hinterlands, the actual kingdoms I come across in the wild that make me choose BV over Gold are rare. Sure, I'll take it with a Duchy, but oftentimes it's just the Gold for me.

[Robz888]

Bureaucrat. I remember playing a few games, introducing Dominion to a friend, and explaining how Bureaucrat was just the best card. You don't have to buy any more Silvers--it gives you all the Silvers you will need!

Then when I first purchased Intrigue, my brother won a bunch of games by just buying Coppersmith (and literally nothing else but Provinces). I kept Swindling his Province, depleting the pile, and ending the game before I could get any engine going. Coppersmith seemed so good!

[rspeer]

When my friend first got Dominion and I played against him as a complete noob, I remember being in fear of his village chains. "Village... Village... Village... seven villages?! He's drawing most of his deck! He's unstoppable!"

Explorer sounded great when I read it. It puts the money right into your hand and gets better with Provinces? Watch out, everyone, here comes an Explorer-fueled Province rush!

My friends and I thought Masquerade was a weak joke card for an incredibly long time. In fact, I don't think I understood it until I made the best openings list, at which point my mind was blown by how many of the top openings involved Masquerade.

[Kore]

When I first played the game, I loved spy. It replaces itself so it always makes your deck better! Why would anyone not want to buy as many spies as possible? Chapel on the other hand seemed pretty useless, why would I want to trash my cards unless they were curses?

More recently, I underestimated bishop and goons when I got prosperity and thought that crossroads was borderline broken.