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[ednever]

Embargo is rapidly becoming one of my favorite cards. I think it's the most interactive card in the game - more than any other card it force you to pay attention to your opponent's strategy and figure out what you can do than will hurt him more than it hurts you.

You also have to be careful that you don't lock yourself into a strategy that can be countered with an effective use of Embargo. And you need to be flexible to adjust your strategy every time Embargo is played.

Then throw in figuring out when it's worth it to pick up a curse for that card you need.

(A special case for all this is Potion cards. The second someone picks up a potion you should think about ignoring the potion and grabbing an Embargo to Embargo the potion card you are sure they want. It's likely still worth picking up a single Familiar if there is an Embargo on it, but likely not worth the second one. Most other potion cards are at their best when stacked - and that's the hardest thing to do with an Embargo'd card)

Here's a fun game I played where we both played pretty well. There ended up being 8 Embargos played on 8 different cards - and five curses picked up between the two of us.

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201210/10/game-20121010-113700-5a039b29.html

SmuggledDuchy opened with FG, so I ignored silver and grabbed an Embargo to block his spamming of FG. It just went on from there with Embargoing of Potion cards, Golds, Provinces, Border Villages (when I was buying BV+Duchy and then Remodeling BV into Provinces) and on and on...

Ed

[shark_bait]

As a player whose favorite card is Embargo, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said.  The gain vs. buy distinction is also a favorite aspect of the card for me.  It helps add another layer of intricacy to an already incredibly well designed card!  Kudos for showing Embargo some love!

[popsofctown]

Embargo is one of those cards that is so well designed that it makes me disappointed with other cards.

[Qvist]

Draw some random 9 cards, add Embargo, have a fun interesting set.
One of my favourites too.

[brokoli]

Yes, I love it too, and don't understand why I've seen so many people who veto embargo on isotropic...
I just don't like the lucky aspect of the card (sometimes you will draw embargo when nothing is really interesting at embargoing).

[Davio]

I love Embargo, because of the number of times you have to switch strategies.
I was going for Provinces, but now they're triple Embargoed. Okay, I'll go for Duchies instead.
Gold is Embargoed? Guess I'll take those Horns of Plenty now, etc... etc...

[Dubdubdubdub]

Recently had a fantastic game with embargo, warehouse and treasure map (and some source of +buy, I believe Market). I stupidly went for treasure maps with warehouse help, but being just a little careful, I opened with 2 warehouses. As expected, my 5/2 opponent swiftly embargoed TM's, forcing me to really think.
It drove me into the arms of Counting House, supported by a lot of warehouses, cellars, and +buy. Had a lot of fun trying to make this work, and nailed it

[SirPeebles]

I also like how embargo doesn't block off cards entirely.  When a really powerful card is embargoed, you have to make the decision of whether it's worth the curse.  But it's your choice, sort of like Torturer.

[Davio]

Oftentimes, you want to Embargo the same card that you're buying with the extra $2. 

[SirPeebles]

Oftentimes, you want to Embargo the same card that you're buying with the extra $2. 

This happens to me so often.  I'll think "haha, now to embargo the witches!" and then think "man, maybe I should buy this second witch first"

[thirtyseven]

Would any of you involved in this thread be willing to write an (updated) article on Embargo? I have several questions about the card, like:

When (if ever) should you open Embargo, or crazier yet, double-Embargo?

When (if ever) should you Embargo the Embargo or Curse piles?

If your opponent buys/gains a Potion, should you automatically go for Embargo?

If there are multiple Potion cards, should you Embargo the cheaper Potion card first or just focus on the more valuable one?

When should you buy a card from an Embargoed pile with curses still in the supply?

We can even discuss these in this thread, although I hope this does not count as "thread-hijacking."

[ftl]

Easy answer for when to open Embargo: 5/2 . It's a one-time terminal silver which is often a better buy than nothing! Or when opponent has opened potion and there's only one potion-cost card which would be dominating if not stopped by embargo.

Double embargo... man I can't think of any case.

Embargo curse when you want to pile-drive curse to end the game. Embargo embargo when you're feeling like you're ahead on your strategy and don't want your opponent to disrupt it with embargos.

If your opponent buys a potion, it MAY be helpful to get an embargo... only if you can spare the turn. Remember, takes you a turn to get the embargo unless you have +buy. And your opponent can always just not buy the potion-cost card - yeah he wasted a turn to get a potion that he can't use, but you also spent a turn to get an embargo that doesn't stay in your deck. So it's not an obvious choice, and depends on the kingdom and the potion-cost card and how good trashing is.

If there's multiple potion-cost cards, embargo the one that's more useful in that kingdom. Or the one which you already have. Or the one that's more likely to be helpful to the opponent. Cheaper doesn't mean less valuable! 

When should you buy a card from an embargoed pile? Depends on the kingdom! If there's good enough trashing that you can just deal with the curse. Or if the card is a curser, and you need to get one so as not to lose the curse split 10-0. Or when it's a key card for your deck and you just have to deal with the curse because you just need that card no matter what.

[thirtyseven]

Thanks! Those were the answers I expected, but I appreciate the elaboration and confirmation