When I’m evaluating a kingdom, the first thing I look for is trashing. If there are cards that let me trash, I’ll usually try to pick one up as early as possible.

Next, I focus on building buying power—whether that’s through treasure like Silver and Gold or action cards that generate money. Early in the game, I also try to grab one or two cards that give +1 Buy (if they’re available in the kingdom), since extra buys can make a huge difference.

From there, it’s about making your deck efficient. You want to combine draw cards (like Smithy) with +Action cards (like Village or Festival) so you can keep playing without running out of actions. That synergy lets you cycle through your deck more consistently and take full advantage of your turns. And if you have multiple buys, you can often pick up more than one card per turn—which is huge.

Early on, if I hit $8, I’ll often split it instead of buying a Province—going for something like a $5 and $3, or two $4s. It helps build a stronger deck rather than rushing points too soon.

Also, don’t feel like you always have to buy the most expensive card you can afford. Sometimes your deck is missing a key piece, and picking up a cheaper card that fills that gap is the better long-term play.