If you are trying to get all the details to make a decision, this Dominion expansions guide is for you. Below is a rundown of all the expansions that have been released for the pioneering deck builder board game ranked chronologically. See which Dominion expansion is right for you. Maybe it is all of them, and that is ok.
Visit the Dominion Guide for all other information.
2009 | Intrigue
RANK: 3 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A large expansion of 26 Kingdom cards, introduces Victory cards that share other types and focuses on cards that allow a player to choose between multiple effects.
COST BREAKDOWN: 3x 2C | 5x 3C | 8x 4C | 8x 5C | 2x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you just want more, Intrigue is for you, it is just general expansion in all areas you know and love. If you want more options to make in-game this is great too, many cards let you choose from multiple options as you play them.
Buy Dominion: Intrigue
2009 | Seaside
RANK: 2 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A large expansion of 26 Kingdom cards, introduces Duration cards and in general focuses on cards that can have effects on turns other than when they’re played.
COST BREAKDOWN: 5x 2C | 5x 3C | 8x 4C | 8x 5C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you want to set more up for the future while you are playing then Seaside may be for you. Several cards that you play now stick around and do additional things later.
Buy Dominion: Seaside
2010 | Alchemy
RANK: 10 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A small expansion of 12 Kingdom cards, introduces Potion and focuses on Action cards.
COST BREAKDOWN: 2x 0C | 4x 2C | 3x 3C | 1x 4C | 1x 5C | 1x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you want a mini-game within the Dominion universe, Alchemy might be for you. The entire economy is changed by the new “potion” card that helps you acquire things. It is like its own completely separate thing.
Buy Dominion: Alchemy
2010 | Prosperity
RANK: 1 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A large expansion of 25 Kingdom cards, introduces Platinum and Colony, $7-costing cards, and VP tokens, and focuses on Treasure cards and powerful or expensive cards.
COST BREAKDOWN: 3x 3C | 5x 4C | 9x 5C | 3x 6C | 4x 7C | 1x 8C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you love that doing it BIG then Prosperity might be for you. There are many more expensive cards here that make it necessary for you to build up your machine bigger and better than ever before. Much higher stakes, someone getting a 9 VP card is a little harder to bounce back from than a Provenance.
Buy Dominion: Prosperity
2011 | Cornucopia
RANK: 6 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A small expansion of 13 Kingdom cards, focuses on cards that reward or increase diversity in players’ hands and decks.
COST BREAKDOWN: 1x 2C | 2x 3C | 5x 4C | 4x 5C | 1x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you are all about serenity and variety, Cornucopia may be for you. There are no special new rulebook mechanics, it really is just about cards that take advantage of you having a bunch of different cards. A more jumbled but along for the ride game.
Buy Dominion: Cornucopia
2011 | Hinterlands
RANK: 5 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A large expansion of 26 Kingdom cards, focuses on cards with when-gain and when-buy effects.
COST BREAKDOWN: 3x 2C | 5x 3C | 5x 4C | 10x 5C | 2x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you want to see Dominion do things you have never seen it do before, but generally want a broad range of things, then Hinterlands may be for you. The cards here are all about doing something extra like when you buy them or gain them in other ways.
Buy Dominion: Hinterlands
2012 | Dark Ages
RANK: 4 of 12
DESCRIPTION: An extra-large expansion of 35 Kingdom cards, introduces Ruins, Shelters, and various other unusual configurations of cards, and focuses on trashing.
COST BREAKDOWN: 1x 1C | 3x 2C | 6x 3C | 10x 4C | 13x 5C | 2x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you love those crazy Dominion combos and want a lot of bang for your buck, then Dark Ages may be for you. There are many great cards and there is so much going on.
Buy Dominion: Dark Ages
2013 | Guilds
RANK: 8 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A small expansion of 13 Kingdom cards, introduces Coin tokens and overpaying.
COST BREAKDOWN: 2x 2C | 2x 3C | 4x 4C | 5x 5C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you like to save up and then put that money to good use, then Guilds may be for you. The main thing to come out of this is paying for things in weird ways. You have a token that lets you acquire money and then spend it in the future and you can also pay extra for certain cards to do things.
Buy Dominion: Guilds
2015 | Adventures
RANK: 7 of 12
DESCRIPTION: An extra-large expansion of 30 Kingdom cards, revisits Duration cards, introduces Reserve cards and Events, and adds tokens that can modify cards, or track card or Event effects.
COST BREAKDOWN: 5x 2C | 5x 3C | 7x 4C | 12x 5C | 1x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you love the Seaside expansion or are looking for a new game component, then Adventurers might be for you. The expansion builds out on the popular duration cards that keep doing things and expands into other similar areas. Then there are events, a crazy new layer to the game.
Buy Dominion: Adventures
2016 | Empires
RANK: 9 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A large expansion of 24 Kingdom cards, introduces the Debt mechanic, Split piles, Gathering cards, and Landmarks, and also reintroduces VP tokens and Events.
COST BREAKDOWN: 3x 2C | 4x 3C | 5x 4C | 11x 5C | 4x 8C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you love the Dominion expansions that give you ways to score points outside of the norm, Empires might be for you. The victory point tokens have a very strong role and there are also major additions to many of the previously launched mechanics.
Buy Dominion: Empires
2017 | Nocturne
RANK: 11 of 12
DESCRIPTION: An extra-large expansion of 33 Kingdom cards, introduces Night cards, Heirlooms, and Boons and Hexes, and also focuses on gaining and using cards from outside the supply.
COST BREAKDOWN: 6x 2C | 6x 3C | 9x 4C | 11x 5C | 1x 6C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you want an interesting new phase introduced to Dominion, then Nocturne may be for you. There is a new night phase here that splits up when and how you can play cards. The cards mainly support this idea and this overall “night” theme.
Buy Dominion: Nocturne
2018 | Renaissance
RANK: 12 of 12
DESCRIPTION: A large expansion of 25 Kingdom cards, revisits Coffers and introduces Villagers, Projects, and Artifacts.
COST BREAKDOWN: 3x 2C | 4x 3C | 8x 4C | 10x 5C
WHY IT MIGHT BE FOR YOU: If you have many Dominion expansions, love them all and just want to expand on the greatest hits, then Renaissance might be for you. There is nothing crazy about this one, just expands in some similar spaces in a polished way.
Buy Dominion: Renaissance
Sources of information include Board Game Geek and Dominion Wiki.
