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Dominion Menagerie Expansion
Dominion Menagerie explained: 30 Kingdom cards, Horses, Exile mats, Ways, returning Events and how the expansion changes Action-ca
Dominion Menagerie explained: 30 Kingdom cards, Horses, Exile mats, Ways, returning Events and how the expansion changes Action-ca
Dominion: Menagerie is the 13th Dominion expansion. It adds 30 Kingdom cards plus three major systems: Horses, Exile and Ways. Events also return.
What Menagerie adds
- 30 Kingdom card piles
- Horses
- Exile mats
- Ways
- Returning Events
Horses
Horses are temporary draw cards. They give you cards and Actions, then return to their pile, creating bursts of deck speed without permanently swelling your deck.
Exile
Cards sent to Exile leave your deck without being trashed. Later effects can recover copies, making Exile a flexible middle ground between keeping and permanently removing cards.
Ways
Ways give Action cards an alternate way to be played. Instead of using the printed Action text, you may use the selected Way, creating tactical flexibility from cards that would otherwise be weak in a particular hand.
Events return
Events are effects bought during the Buy phase without entering your deck. Menagerie uses the established Event system alongside its new mechanisms.
Compatibility
Rio Grande states that Menagerie can be combined with any other Dominion expansion.
Who should add Menagerie?
Menagerie is best for players who already understand standard Dominion and want more tactical card flexibility. Ways in particular make familiar Action cards behave differently from game to game.
Horse cards: how the temporary draw works
A Horse is a special Action card from a non-Supply pile. Playing it gives +2 Cards and +1 Action, then returns the Horse to its pile. You cannot simply buy a Horse with your Buy; other cards must tell you to gain one. When the Horse pile is empty, an instruction to gain a Horse gains nothing.
Example: if a Horse is in your hand at the start of your Action phase, playing it replaces itself with two new drawn cards and leaves you an Action to continue your engine. It then goes back to the Horse pile rather than to your discard pile. The next Horse you gain might be returned and drawn again later in the game.
The Horse pile is not one of the ten ordinary Kingdom piles and does not become a normal Supply pile merely because it is present in a game.
Exile mats: removing cards without trashing them
Each player has their own Exile mat. Cards placed there are out of your deck but are not trashed and do not normally count as cards in your deck. When you gain a card, you may discard all cards with the same name from your Exile mat to your discard pile, following the published rules.
Example: you previously exiled two copies of a card named Estate. Later you gain an Estate. You can choose to discard both exiled Estates to your discard pile; you are not forced to retrieve them individually, nor must you return them automatically. This makes Exile different from permanent trashing and lets you adjust deck quality during play.
Some specific cards override the usual exile behaviour; follow the printed text when one does.
Ways: replacing an Action card’s usual text
A Way is an optional alternate instruction available when playing an Action card. Instead of executing that card’s printed instructions, you can choose to use the chosen Way’s effect. A Way is not a card gained into your deck, and it does not create an additional Action play by itself.
Illustrative decision: you draw an Action that would be weak with the current hand. If the available Way offers a more useful effect, you can use the card as that Way instead. You are choosing an alternative use, not receiving both the card’s printed ability and the Way’s effect at once.
Ways can make ordinary Kingdom cards play differently in each setup. Read the exact Way text and the official Menagerie rulebook for timing and Duration interactions.
Events and setup: what is in the supply?
| Component | In normal Supply? | How you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Action/Treasure/Victory cards | Yes, when selected | Buy or gain via normal rules |
| Horse pile | No | Gain only when an effect specifies it |
| Way | No | Choose the alternate action effect when playing an Action |
| Event | No | Buy the printed one-time effect in your Buy phase; do not gain a card |
| Exile mat | No | Personal area holding exiled cards |
Menagerie adds 30 Kingdom cards, plus the new landscapes and components. A standard game still selects ten Kingdom piles; landscape setup follows the relevant rules and recommendations.
Is Menagerie a good Dominion expansion for you?
Choose Menagerie if you enjoy planning multi-card combos but want more flexible Action turns and temporary deck-cleanup decisions. Horses provide bursts of draw, Ways allow alternative Action uses, and Exile can remove low-value cards without destroying them permanently.
For someone still learning Dominion’s base mechanics, understanding Actions, Buys and the normal discard/shuffle cycle is more important than mastering all three new systems at once. Start with Kingdom sets featuring one Menagerie mechanism, then introduce more complex interactions.
Official reference: Rio Grande Games, Dominion Menagerie rulebook. These examples are illustrative rather than text copied from cards.
Related Dominion guides
Publisher source
Expansion details checked September 2026.
