As far as I remember (and you can correct me if this is wrong), all Dominion sets have the following cards:
Cards with +2 Actions or more.
Actions that are terminal Silvers with a bonus.
A card that gives out curses.
A card that gives terminal card draw.
A card that synergizes with itself (i.e. a one card engine.)
A card that trims the deck.
A card that gives +Buy.
This got me curious to examine the frequency with which these broad card categories appear in the official sets.
Terminal SilversThese are terminal actions that offer a flat +$2 bonus plus something extra. I've excluded attacks, since those fulfill a different purpose.
Base: 2
Intrigue: 1 (counting Steward but not Conspirator)
Seaside: 3
Alchemy: 0
Prosperity: 1
Cornucopia: 0
Hinterlands: 4
Average: 1.83 per full set
AttacksBase: 5
Intrigue: 4
Seaside: 5
Alchemy: 2
Prosperity: 3
Cornucopia: 3 (not counting Followers)
Hinterlands: 3 (not counting Ill-Gotten Gains)
Average: 4.17 per full set
CursersThese include non-attacks (Ill-Gotten Gains) and cards that only give out curses sometimes (Jester, Torturer).
Base: 1
Intrigue: 2
Seaside: 2
Alchemy: 1
Prosperity: 1
Cornucopia: 2 (not counting Followers)
Hinterlands: 1
Average: 1.67 per full set
Terminal DrawersIncluded are terminals that provide at least +2 Cards or up to 6. I wasn't going to include attacks, but sometimes (unlike with terminal Silvers) attacking drawers are used as much for the drawing as the attacking. So two separate numbers are provided here, one for non-attacks and one that includes attacks.
Base: 4 / 5
Intrigue: 2 / 3 (not counting Tribute)
Seaside: 1 / 2
Alchemy: 0
Prosperity: 2 / 3
Cornucopia: 0 / 0 (counting neither Young Witch nor Followers)
Hinterlands: 1 / 3
Average: 1.67 / 2.67 per full set
Self-Synergizing CardsThe definition for this is very inexact, but I decided to count any card that matches one of the following:
- Non-terminal or treasure that reliably grows hand-size (e.g., Laboratory but not Wishing Well).
- Non-terminal or treasure that draws at least one card and yields at least +$1 (e.g., Market) or lowers card costs (e.g., Highway) with each play.
- Non-terminal or treasure gainer that also enables the gained cards (e.g., University but not Horn of Plenty; also not Baron, since it's a terminal).
- Non-terminal or treasure that produces extra effect in multiples (e.g., Treasure Map, Fool's Gold).
- Card that offers choices (with at least one non-terminal choice) that, combined together, effectively accomplish one of the above (e.g., Nobles but not Pawn).
Base: 2
Intrigue: 3
Seaside: 4
Alchemy: 6 (includes Golem, as it
effectively increases hand-size)
Prosperity: 3
Cornucopia: 3 (not counting Trusty Steed)
Hinterlands: 5
Average: 4.33 per full set
TrashersThese do not include attacking trashers (e.g., Saboteur), only cards that trash from your own deck. The first figure excludes trash-for-benefit cards (e.g., Remodel, Bishop) and the second figure includes trash-for-benefit cards. Self-trashers (e.g., Mining Village) are not included. I decided to include Island in this category, since it's still a deck-slimmer, but I left Native Village out, since cards on the Native Village mat are usually subsequently returned to the deck.
Base: 1 / 4
Intrigue: 2 / 4
Seaside: 2 / 3
Alchemy: 0 / 2
Prosperity: 2 / 6
Cornucopia: 0 / 1
Hinterlands: 1 / 3
Average: 1.33 / 3.83 per full set
+BuyIncluded cards don't necessary provide +Buy every time they are played. Gainers are not included.
Base: 4
Intrigue: 3
Seaside: 2
Alchemy: 1
Prosperity: 6
Cornucopia: 1 (not counting Princess)
Hinterlands: 3
Average: 3.33 per full set
GainersThese are cards that allow a card to be gained outright. A well-designed set probably has this category balanced with the +Buy category, although they do fulfill a slightly different niche. The Remodel family is not included (I've counted them among the trash-for-benefit category, above), and nor are one-shots (e.g., Feast, Treasure Map), since those fulfill a different purpose. I've also excluded attacks (e.g., Thief, Jester), which may not have been the right call.
The first number excludes gainers that can only gain a specific card (e.g., Bureaucrat, Baron, and I've included Explorer among these too); the second number includes these.
Base: 1 / 2
Intrigue: 1 / 2
Seaside: 1 / 2
Alchemy: 1 / 1
Prosperity: 2 / 3
Cornucopia: 1 / 1 (not counting Followers)
Hinterlands: 2 / 3 (not counting Cache)
Average: 1.5 / 2.33 per full set
VillagesCards that offer at least +2 Actions, though not necessarily every time they're played.
Base: 2
Intrigue: 3 (not counting Tribute, due to lack of control)
Seaside: 3
Alchemy: 1
Prosperity: 2
Cornucopia: 2 (not counting Trusty Steed)
Hinterlands: 3
Average: 2.67 per full set
SiftersThese are cards that improve either your hand or the top of your deck as their primary effect. They can do other things, so long as this is their main purpose. Thus, I'm including Spy but not Young Witch, though obviously there is lots of gray area here. Drawers like Laboratory are not included unless they also sift (e.g., Oracle, Farming Village). I've excluded returns that put themselves on top of your deck (e.g., Walled Village, Treasury) but included cards that put other cards on top (e.g., Royal Seal, Scheme).
Base: 3
Intrigue: 2
Seaside: 4
Alchemy: 2
Prosperity: 2
Cornucopia: 1
Hinterlands: 8
Average: 3.67 per full set
CantripsFor strategy discussion, a broader definition of "cantrip," one that would include Villages and Laboratories, seems to have the most practical application. But we've already accounted for both of these in categories above. So here, the definition of "cantrip" I'm using is: A card that gives exactly +1 Card and exactly +1 Action at least some of the time. That means Conspirator and Wishing Well are included, but Laboratory and Village are not. Somewhat arbitrary, I'm allowing mandatory discards, but only after the draw; thus, Oasis counts but Cellar doesn't.
Base: 2
Intrigue: 5
Seaside: 4
Alchemy: 2
Prosperity: 2
Cornucopia: 2 (not counting Hunting Party)
Hinterlands: 4
Average: 3.5 per full set
Non-TerminalsOne of the more fundamental balances is non-terminals vs. terminals. Cards that are always non-terminals count. Cards that are sometimes non-terminal (e.g., Conspirator, Pawn) count half. All types of non-terminals are included: cantrips, Villages, Laboratories, Attacks, etc. I'm counting Throne Room and King's Court as half, since they can be doubled-up to allow extra actions.
Base: 6.5
Intrigue: 9.5
Seaside: 10
Alchemy: 6.5
(Potion costs are more suited to non-terminals; thus, this is a bit of an outlier)Prosperity: 4.5
(unusual number of Treasures make this number a bit smaller than it would be)Cornucopia: 5 (not counting prizes)
Hinterlands: 7.5
Average: 8.25 per full set (8.56 if Alchemy and Prosperity are excluded)
Card CostsIt's also important to balance card costs. These are the number of cards priced at $2 / $3 / $4 / $5 / $6.
Base: 3 / 4 / 10 / 7 / 1
Intrigue: 3 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 2
Seaside: 5 / 5 / 8 / 8 / 0
Alchemy:
(Potion costs disqualify this one as an outlier)Prosperity:
(Colony game design disqualifies this one as an outlier)Cornucopia: 1 / 2 / 5 / 4 / 1
Hinterlands: 3 / 5 / 6 / 10 / 2
Average $2 Cards: 3.33 per full set
Average $3 Cards: 4.88 per full set
Average $4 Cards: 8.0 per full set
Average $5 Cards: 8.22 per full set
Average $6 Cards: 1.33 per full set
If you're making a Potion-based or Colony-based set, we only have one data point apiece, but here they are:
Colony Set: $2 Cards: 0
Colony Set: $3 Cards: 3
Colony Set: $4 Cards: 5
Colony Set: $5 Cards: 9
Colony Set: $6 Cards: 3 (one with a buy restriction)
Colony Set: $7 Cards: 4
Colony Set: $8* Cards: 1
Potion Set: $2 Cards: 1
Potion Set: $5 Cards: 1
Potion Set: $P Cards: 2
Potion Set: $2P Cards: 3
Potion Set: $3P Cards: 3
Potion Set: $4P Cards: 1
Potion Set: $6P Cards: 1