Dominion Expansions Ranked
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It’s time to take on the monumental task of ranking the expansions for the popular deck building game Dominion. There are so many expansions out there! We hope that this ranking list will be all you need to make a decision for which expansion you want to get!
We will be going into this ranking system with the following things in mind. The core game is not an expansion so it will not appear in this this. We will also be ranking everything off the second edition of the game. We will also not be including any promo cards in the ranking, box releases are all we are going for here. Finally, if the current way to buy sets are as a combined set, then we will rank it as a combined set.
If you are wondering how to play dominion you can check out our article on How to Play Dominion here.
#12 - Dominion: Cornucopia/Guilds
Cornucopia is not a set that I would look out for. It was a smaller expansion set that really focuses on having a variety of cards.
Guilds was the small expansion that introduced the concept of coffers. You could pay more than what you needed to get an added bonus to the card. It’s an interesting concept but still not something that I would seek out when it comes to other expansions for the game. Especially because there are so many more cool sets that could be picked.
Now it has been awhile since these were sold separately so they can now be purchased under the box called Cornucopia. Even still with them being combined, it is just the weakest expansion overall to me. If you are looking for that next expansion to get, I would recommend later entries on this list as a good starting point.
With all that being said. Just because this is at the bottom of the list does not mean that it’s not worth playing or having to fill out your collection. You can pick up a copy of the game for yourself using the link here: https://amzn.to/39tC2ou
#11 - Dominion: Hinterlands
Hinterlands was released in October of 2011. It’s also the first large box expansion to appear on this list with a total playing card set of 300.
Hinterland adds an interesting mechanic where an effect happens upon buying cards. The mechanic compared to other sets that have been released since is not all that flashy. One thing that I did not care for too much with this one was the lack of theme that was present. It seemed to be a little bit all over the place.
This was the 4th expansion after the base game and it seemed to be lacking an identity that the other sets that had been released up to this point had.
You can pick up a copy of this expansion here: https://amzn.to/2WY5JM5
#10 - Dominion: Intrigue
Dominion Intrigue is the only expansion that is playable by itself upon release. Let me be clear that right now this is no longer a standalone set! Before second edition rolled around this set was was an all in one version of the base game that could be picked instead of the actual base game. No longer though as the second edition strips out the necessary cards in order for this to be a base set.
This set does not have any earth shattering new cards and has the strongest feel of an extension to the base game. There is noticeable theme here and that of seedy, mischievous and dark. If you want to have a theme or some thievery and sabotage, then this is a good set to pick up.
If you are looking for a set that does not deter very far from the core mechanics of the game, this is a good classic, set. You can pick up a copy of this set here: https://amzn.to/3dEEa0b
#9 - Dominion: Dark Ages
Dark Ages is another large expansion with 500 cards inside. The set was also released in August of 2012. It introduced some new concept cards such as shelters, ruins, and spoils.
The spoils concept is interesting where when playing a card that grants spoils, we get a new kind of money called spoil cards. These can only be used once so they they do not shuffle back into the deck once used.
Dark Ages is a pretty neat set that is a much more moody set. The main mechanic appears to be the knights. It’s not something I particularly cared for when playing it for the first time. It’s honestly because of the knights that this set appears so low in the ranking list. If there was something more interesting in the place of the knights this set might rank a little higher.
However, because this set is so massive it might be a good first buy for you. There are so many cards in this set that are available due to the set size. Another reason why you might want to pick this set up is if you enjoy the aspect of trashing cards out of your deck. You can pick up a copy of this set here: https://amzn.to/33UTTnp
#8 - Dominion Menagerie
Menagerie is one of the more recent expansions to the game. This expansion in particular has several unique mechanics such as ways cards, the horse deck, and my personal favorite from the set, the exile mechanic.
The ways mechanic offers an alternative ability to the action cards when they are played. This especially played with newer players still learning the rules can bog the game down, but for seasoned players is a fun mechanic and really gives further incentive to picking action cards from the supply.
The Horse deck is drawn from by action of other cards from the supply effects or ways. They add more cards and actions on your turn when played, but are then returned to the horse pile after each use. This mechanic was fine, but was actually difficult to explain to new players on when the activate on a turn.
Exile however is a mechanic I love, using it to remove cards from a deck but still getting the points of the cards at the end of the game is awesome. It can also be a thorn in your opponent’s side when you exile their treasured cards making it harder for them to get those cards back in their deck.
At the end of the day though, while this set is not inherently a bad set, I would still prefer to pick up any of the expansions further up on the list as this expansion can add some time for some not incredibly deep and intriguing mechanics.
You can pick this set up for yourself using the affiliate link here: https://amzn.to/2UIH3Ej
#7 - Dominion Seaside
Seaside was one of the first expansions to the game and was the first non-base game that requires either intrigue or the base dominion game to play (reminder: Intrigue is expansion only now). It only slightly edges out Dark Ages on the list because most of the cards in this set are enjoyable where Dark Ages had some hit and miss decks. It comes with 26 new decks, tiles, embargo tokens and gold tokens. It also comes with some unique features like the island card, the pirate ship or the native village card. The theme of the set is great and really comes through. This set is not very complex in comparison to others and is a really nice way to get started when looking to spice up the base game. The introduction of duration cards add a nuance to the turns. It’s not too difficult to understand. The theme to this set is really fun as well. I have always been a sucker for pirate adventure!
I would highly recommend this set as one of the first sets you pick up when starting to look for expansions. You can pick up a copy here: https://amzn.to/2QQY3r6
#6 Dominion: Empires
Empires is the 10th expansion to the game and has the traditional 300 cards to it’s set making it a large expansion. There are some cool new features that make this set pretty interesting to play. One of these mechanics is the debt mechanic.
The game comes with debt tokens that are used to buy some cards at a faster rate, but be careful. If you have debt, you may not be able to buy other cards until your debt is paid off. The fact that you can quickly buy cards for your deck and risk shooting yourself in the foot with the lack of gold to back your pace of play.
The set is a pretty interesting play and is a fun way to change up the pace to Dominion. So if you are wondering what expansion might be next for you and if you enjoyed other sets in the game like alchemy or Prosperity, this set might be for you as it’s yet another method of moneyflow! Check out our link to pick up a copy: https://amzn.to/2JlSexx
#5 - Dominion: Adventures
Entering the top 5 now and the first entry is Dominion: Adventures. This set has 400 cards in it and is another large expansion to the game. It was also the set that introduced Event cards that. These cards can be used as an alternative to buying cards in the decks to activate their effects. They do not go into your hand, so they are essentially one time buys that sit on the table for use throughout the game.
That mechanic is pretty neat and did make some re appearances in other sets. I like the idea of an easy button sitting on the table if you are really just unhappy with what you drew for your turn.
This also set includes a reserve card that allows you to set cards from your deck aside to be used later. This does a couple things. It shrinks the size of your deck, and allows for you to pull them out at the time you really wanted to use them.
At first I felt that this mechanic kind of broke the feel of the game, but at the same time, pulling off an incredible combo becomes much easier and you can count on it happening more often than not.
Its for that reason that Adventures is a really fun set to play. It feels very different from a regular Dominion game, so if you are looking for a set that really shakes up how the game is played. Then this set might just be for you. You can pick up a copy of it here: https://amzn.to/344MPol
#4 - Dominion: Alchemy
A little bit of a controversial placement for this set to many, Dominion: Alchemy is number 4 on our list. Let me explain. Alchemy is the highest ranked small expansion on our list. With only 150 cards in the set. They are tied together very closely and thick with theme.
A new currency is in this set called potions, and they act as a resource to buy other cards in this expansion. I personally love the potions method of currency and the effects of many of the cards in this set. If you are a first time buyer, This set might be just what you need to change up the pace of the base game, and at a lower cost then the other expansions to the game which is important. You can try it out for yourself and see what we are talking about using our link here: https://amzn.to/2QVAInZ
#3 - Dominion: Prosperity
Prosperity was released in October 2010 as a large expansion with 300 cards in the box. Dominion prosperity is one of the best versions of the game simply because of the amount of wealth that gets thrown around in it. There is so much wealth being thrown around in this version of the game in fact, that they introduced the Platinum currency cards which are more valuable than the gold.
I feel that it makes the game insanely fun and every time we use this expansion I find that we really get into it. This is one of the expansions that really demands a second play around not because it’s difficult, but because we had such a blast playing it that we had to again.
All of these top expansions are must haves to your game if you are looking to get expansions and this is a fantastic place to start either as a new player as the rules are not to complex, or as a seasoned veteran to the game that wants to go through a bunch of wealth shenanigans that this set provides. You can pick up a copy for yourself here: https://amzn.to/3dCxakm
#2 - Dominion: Renaissance
Dominion Renaissance was released in 2018 as a large expansion with 300 cards to it. It also brings back the coffers that were first seen in the guilds expansion to the game. It’s for that, that the guilds expansion was ranked so low compared to this set. This set simply did it better. There is just something about holding onto those coins in this expansion that feels good as well.
Renaissance contains duration cards, artifacts and projects. Artifact cards are really cool with how they get earned and bring up and take down the value of cards that you are purchasing for your deck.
Artifacts are cards that you can buy and essentially work for you until someone else buys a card that would take the artifact away from you! Oh, No! Now decks have a variable strength. So it may or may not be worth it to get the artifacts, and that is something that really makes this set stand out to me.
Another really cool part to this set is villagers, where they act as actions that can be banked for use on later turns. So holding onto a large amount of actions for the late game is always a blast. If you are able, you can build your deck even faster to get ahead of the curve of other players.
Project cards are cards that you can buy and the effect lasts for you for the entire game. This is a cool feature that really just adds more abilities and nuance to each players turn.
This set just has so many interesting things to it and is a perfect set to look out for when wanting to have a slightly more complex game that offers many new features.
What really makes this set a number 2 though is that it’s super fun for veteran players, and not to complex for new players looking for their first expansion. You can pull this out for virtually any player and you will all have a great time playing it. You can find a link to this set here: https://amzn.to/2QVAey6
#1 - Dominion: Nocturne
This probably won’t surprise most of you, but if Renaissance is a good set for all around players, this set is amazing for the players really looking to take this game to a new level. That is why Nocturne has been placed all the way up at the top here.
Nocturne is a crazy set. Many games attempt to do day and night cycles. Games that I truly love, like the blood moon expansion in Talisman 4th Edition revised. This basically expands the amount of parts to a turn. At night there are no limits to actions and that is really fun to do. It also makes me feel mischievous doing things in the darkness to screw over the other players. It takes the concept of Intrigue and blows it out of the water with theme and mechanics.
There are also boon cards in this set that are activated by using bards that can be purchased from the purchase decks. The game plays with three of these and though they are activated via the bard, they play similar to events in other sets.
Hex cards that you can give players can result in state cards that do all sorts of damaging effects to your fellow players like reduce their victory points, or stop a player from buying things on a turn. The hexes are really fun and still fit with the overall dark theme of the box.
The theme of the game is also just super fun to play. It’s substantially different from the rest of the game. It introduces zombies and vampires. The night time feature is crazy fun to, just having the extra step with your turn after the buy phase where all the gloves come off makes this a joy to play.
Be sure to pick this copy up, my table has so much fun with this expansion and it comes out several times a year. You can pick up a copy of this set here: https://amzn.to/39xCnXy
Dominion: Allies
We will be ranking this set after we have had a chance to play through several games once the set is released. You can however pre-order this expansion using the link here: https://amzn.to/3pvYjxa
Based on your play style it might be different from our list and that is awesome! Let us know your ranking of these expansions in the comments below. At the end if the day, Dominion is a fantastic game, if you have not gone out and given it a try please do. It’s easily my most favorite deck building game on the market and I am happy to see that we are STILL getting new content for it making the releases now span over a decade.
Don’t have the base game yet? Well pick it up already and start playing!
Be sure to check back here once for news on New Dominion Expansion in 2021.
Be sure to check out our other content on the site and let us know if there are any other lists expansions or games that you want us to do.
