There are great reviews of Thunderstone cards around. One of my favorite reviews is by BlueTorch over on BoardGameGeek who does a fantastic job of outlining a core strategy for Thunderstone and provides a solid review of a large portion of available cards. That said there are still some topics I want to explore. I like to think in terms of "what does X best". With that in mind I'm setting forth to analyze which cards, if any are good at providing an additional Buy.
First we need to understand if an additional Buy is even feasible. Many cards in Thunderstone are fairly expensive considering the game's economy. Every turn you draw 6 cards. The most common Gold value in Thunderstone is 2, making a 12 Gold hand the most you can assume to get (without adding additional draws and such). When it comes to buying cards, the average Weapons and Heroes tend to be in the 5+ range, while a lot of support cards tend to cost around 4. The majority of "great" cards cost 6, 7 or more.
Is it really possible you'll buy more than one thing in a turn given the cost of the more desirable items? Yes but its going to depend upon the tableau. If I could buy two Loriggs in a Village trip I would. With that in mind lets assume, given the right tableau, a Gold value of 10 is in the area of interest for an additional Buy to be useful. That's still not easy to do. If you were to get a 50/50 split in your starting hand you would have 5 Gold so you have a bit of work to do.
Ok so getting to 10 is a challenge but not insurmountable. The first hurdle is that Heroes you buy, with the exception of Thieves, do not help in the Gold area. This is one of the reasons why a good early buy is a Thief because they usually provide gold. When buying early items you should also be aware of cards that provide 3 Gold like Short Bow, Short Sword, Feast, and Lightstone Gem.
Perhaps the best way to get a strong Gold hand is to do something we already know we need to do - rest out Militia.
Factoring in everything said so far, it looks like an additional buy is reasonable to attempt but not something you should expect to work in your favor every turn. Most of the time you'll want Heroes and weapons. Together these items can be expensive making that Additional Buy card a dead card in some cases.
All right so lets say we want the flexibility of an additional Buy. What should we value most in a card that does this? Cards that provide draw abilities would be handy as they replace themselves instead of taking up a slot that could just be another Gold card. Cards that provide their own gold would be handy.
What we really should look for are cards that let us buy from the Dungeon and skip the Village altogether. This reduces the need to draw into 10+ Gold.
The following is my evaluation of the usefulness of Buy cards in Thunderstone. This is an evaluation primarily based on their ability to give you an additional Buy, not necessarily how good they might be in the game due to other factors.
Highland Officer [tws]
Cost 3.
VILLAGE: Draw 1 card. You may purchase a Militia in addition to your buy.
DUNGEON: Draw 1 card for each Militia revealed.
VILLAGE: Draw 1 card. You may purchase a Militia in addition to your buy.
DUNGEON: Draw 1 card for each Militia revealed.
This is a seductive card until you think through what he makes you do. This fellow forces you to adopt a pure Militia strategy. The goal is to populate your deck with multiple Highland Officers and Militia so you can trigger additional draws and go to the Dungeon with an army of Militia. Its all or nothing with this card. Put too few in your deck and imagine the turn where you draw into a handful of Militia and this guy fails to show up. Put too many in your deck and you dilute your attack and Gold value.
Blacksmith [wote]
Cost 3.
VILLAGE: Draw one card. You may buy one additional card if you buy a Weapon.
VILLAGE: Destroy this card to gain 2 gold. Place one Hero from your hand on top of your deck.
VILLAGE: Draw one card. You may buy one additional card if you buy a Weapon.
VILLAGE: Destroy this card to gain 2 gold. Place one Hero from your hand on top of your deck.
The design of the Blacksmith follows what I would want in a Buy card, except for the restriction on buying a Weapon. If there's an Elf or Lorigg on the table I want my extra Buy to let me buy two of those fellows, not force me into a purchase of a Weapon. I need weapons, but not a deck full of them.
Situational.
Barkeep [ts]
Cost 2. Gold 1.
VILLAGE: You may purchase one additional card this turn.
VILLAGE: Destroy this card to gain 2 gold.
VILLAGE: You may purchase one additional card this turn.
VILLAGE: Destroy this card to gain 2 gold.
As extra purchase cards go this one is ok. He clutters your deck a bit but does add Gold on trips to the Village. So he helps Buy another round, so to speak. He can be destroyed for 2 Gold. This is rather thoughtful of him because he knows he's going to clutter your deck when you need to go to the Dungeon.
Chalice [ts] – (Fighter/Cleric) - Cost 7
Level 3: STR 7. Magic Attack +4.
DUNGEON: Draw one card.
SPOILS (Village)
DUNGEON: Draw one card.
SPOILS (Village)
The Chalice is a card you probably wanted anyway and offers a rare unrestricted Spoils ability. You have to get him to Level 3 however and this is why he is ranked as a good additional Buy card but no higher.
Its all about the question - can you get him to Level 3 quickly enough for the extra Buy to make a difference? If Chalice is out then other players want him. There are only two Level 3 cards available so you and your opponents are competing for them. You also have to give up his awesome Level 2 ability. I'm not sure the extra buy is worth that.
Trader [ds]
Cost 4.
VILLAGE: In addition to your buy, you may destroy 1 card to take any non-Hero card worth up to 2 cost more from the village.
DUNGEON: Draw 1 card. If it is a Monster, draw another card.
VILLAGE: In addition to your buy, you may destroy 1 card to take any non-Hero card worth up to 2 cost more from the village.
DUNGEON: Draw 1 card. If it is a Monster, draw another card.
I like the Trader. His ability to trade up is unique in the game. Daggers and Torches can be converted into decent things like Flaming Swords.
He has two drawbacks. Once he’s traded off your starting items he becomes less useful because scaling into higher cost cards means you’re probably getting rid of something you wanted to keep in the first place.
His second drawback is the board. There may not be any decent items to trade your Daggers, Torches and Iron Rations for.
At least if you tire of him he can trade himself in for a Short Sword. The non-hero restriction also stinks although I understand why they did it.
Doomgate Squire [dg]
Cost 5.
VILLAGE/DUNGEON: Draw one card.
VILLAGE: You may purchase one additional card.
REPEAT DUNGEON: Discard 1XP to give one Hero Attack +1.
VILLAGE/DUNGEON: Draw one card.
VILLAGE: You may purchase one additional card.
REPEAT DUNGEON: Discard 1XP to give one Hero Attack +1.
I've warmed up to this card after playing with it for a bit. In both the Village and Dungeon he makes sure he's not a clog by letting you draw into another card. The Dungeon effect is a bit underwhelming but hey, we were looking for an additional Buy here. He does that without complaint.
Guide [ds]
Cost 4. Gold 2. Light 2.
VILLAGE: You may buy an additional card.
VILLAGE: You may buy an additional card.
With Two Gold and two Light you can think of a Guide as a replacement for that Torch you’ve been trying to dispose of.
As Buy cards go, this is a good one and positioned in the "better" category simply for the 2 Light. If you're not sure my ranking, think of Guide as Attack +4, just add Hero.
Elite Militia [tws]
Cost 3. STR 4. Gold 0. Attack +2.
When purchased you may make an additional buy and may destroy 1 Militia.
When purchased you may make an additional buy and may destroy 1 Militia.
I'm not keen on Militia but with this one I'll make an exception. You want to rid your deck of basic Militia anyway. If you arrive at the Dungeon with 8-9 Gold you can upgrade your Militia and get a good Hero or weapon to boot. This is an excellent card that turns an otherwise useless card into something that can wield a Short Sword and keep the early to mid-game Dungeon trips going. Also only needs 2VP to convert into a more useful Hero.
Highland [hod] – (Fighter / Thief) – Cost 7
Level 1: STR 5. Attack +2. Gold = 1.
VILLAGE: Destroy this card to take a Treasure from another player.
Level 2: STR 6. Attack +3. Gold = 1.
DUNGEON: Buy 1 Hero.
Level 3: STR 6. Attack +3. Gold = 2.
DUNGEON: Buy 1 Hero and add it to your hand.
VILLAGE: Destroy this card to take a Treasure from another player.
Level 2: STR 6. Attack +3. Gold = 1.
DUNGEON: Buy 1 Hero.
Level 3: STR 6. Attack +3. Gold = 2.
DUNGEON: Buy 1 Hero and add it to your hand.
What is the one thing you want to buy more of if you can? Heroes of course. Well the Highland lets you do it. In addition she produces Gold and has good Strength and Attack value. A fantastic card if buying Heroes is what you want to be doing more of.
Isri [hod] – (Fighter / Archer) – Cost 7
Level 1: STR 5. Attack +2.
DUNGEON: Destroy a revealed Item or Weapon to gain Attack +1.
Level 2: STR 6. Attack +3.
DUNGEON: Destroy a revealed Weapon to gain Attack equal to its Weight.
SPOILS: Buy a Weapon.
Level 3: STR 7. Attack +4.
DUNGEON: Destroy a revealed Weapon or a Weapon from the village stack to gain Attack equal to the Weapon’s Weight.
DUNGEON: Destroy a revealed Item or Weapon to gain Attack +1.
Level 2: STR 6. Attack +3.
DUNGEON: Destroy a revealed Weapon to gain Attack equal to its Weight.
SPOILS: Buy a Weapon.
Level 3: STR 7. Attack +4.
DUNGEON: Destroy a revealed Weapon or a Weapon from the village stack to gain Attack equal to the Weapon’s Weight.
Is Isri nice or what? She lets you destroy your Daggers, Iron Rations, and Torches early. At Level 2 she lets you buy more Weapons. Level 2 is very achievable for a Hero. At Level 3 she doesn't trash your hard-earned weapons, she trashes the ones from the Village. This is a very well designed card.
Village [hod] – (Thief / Hero) – Cost 6
Level 1: STR 4. Attack +1. Gold = 1.
DUNGEON: Buy 1 Village card.
Level 2: STR 5. Attack +3. Gold = 1.
VILLAGE/DUNGEON: After buying a card this turn, take 1 village card of lower cost than the purchased card and place it in your discard pile.
DUNGEON: Buy 1 Village card.
Level 2: STR 5. Attack +3. Gold = 1.
VILLAGE/DUNGEON: After buying a card this turn, take 1 village card of lower cost than the purchased card and place it in your discard pile.
This is a great Additional Buy card. At Level 1 he lets you Buy from the Dungeon while providing Gold and Attack value. His strength is enough to wield a Short Sword, a Hatchet, or other decent weapon. At level 2 he becomes amazing for a few reasons. There is the obvious Buy One Get One Free ability but he's also Attack +3 and maxed to his Victory Point value. A normal hero takes two trips to the village to convert to VP. This fellow takes a single trip making him a bit easier to convert to VP.
These are all heroes whom I did not mention above. I consider them poor choices for additional buys, assuming that is the goal here. They are poor choices because they limit what you can Buy. They are poor choices due to the Level 3 prerequisite and the time required to upgrade a hero to Level 3. Consider when Leveling up one of these Heroes you are choosing to not Level up a better Hero. Then there's the arguable point that you might not want to buy some of these to begin with.
Cabal - Level 3 - Spoils (Spell)
Clan - Level 3 - Spoils (Weapon)
Flame - Level 3 - Spoils (Light Item)
Magehunter - Level 3 - Spoils (Mercenary)
Terakian - Level 3 - Spoils (Villager)
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