Main Page/Establishment Democrat

“

A deck for the experienced Democrat politician.

”

The Establishment Deck is one of the two most common decks in the game alongside Establishment Republican, being used by 5 different Democratic candidates. This is the ideal deck for any Democrat with legislative or political experience, extending to many Senators, Representatives, and even party elites.

This card set was introduced as part of the original playtest alongside several other essential card sets on February 21st, 2024 (see: Patch Notes).

Introduction

Playstyle

The Establishment Democrat is the foremost way to pull levers and play the political game.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Powerful Political Capital Gain: There are multiple ways to gain Political Capital, thanks to Lobbying Teams, Lobbyists, and your Party Hotshot, you will be well ahead of the game when it comes to making political maneuvers.

Too Many Non-Impactful Cards: Many cards in this deck such as Red Tape, Reach Across the Aisle, and even the Analyst can be taken advantage of by any opponents, making it hard to get your Political Capital's worth when playing against equal candidates. Because of this many of these cards will be hard to make effective mileage out of, and will require you to be ahead or have Political Capital to throw around to make advantageous use of them.

Card Types

Neutral

These cards can be taken advantage of by anyone when used, and are preferable when you don't have much of a strong deck to play, or when you may simply have the stronger position or candidate stats to back it up. The analyst in particular can be used to frequently alternate between cards and force deck reshuffles, making it one of the most unique cards in the game, exclusive only to the Establishment Democrat set while opposingly the Establishment Republican deck possesses the Mentor.

5

Reach Across the Aisle

For 4 Turns, after creating an Ad, gain 1 Political Capital. Affects all Candidates.

5

Reach Across the Aisle

For 4 Turns, after creating an Ad, gain 1 Political Capital. Affects all Candidates.

2

Red Tape

For 4 Turns, everyone (this includes you) loses 1 Stamina at the start of a new Turn.

2

Red Tape

For 4 Turns, everyone (this includes you) loses 1 Stamina at the start of a new Turn.

6

Analyst

Play in Target State. Whenever a Candidate visits a State with an Analyst, they discard a card and draw a card.

7

Drastic Change

All Candidates discard two cards and then draw one card.

Enthusiasm

When it comes to shaping enthusiasm, there are 3 different enthusiasm operatives to do so, giving the player all the basic tools to shape up a national campaign without specifically focusing on one type of card type over any others. Although you may have 3 celebrity endorsements under your belt should you need the national boost, just make sure that those enthusiasm scores don't bottom out to zero after you play them.

2

Cheerleader

Increase Enthusiasm in target state by 5% at the start of every turn.

5

Cheersquad

Increase Enthusiasm in target state by 10% at the start of every turn.

2

Intimidator

Decrease Opponent Enthusiasm in Target State by 2% at the start of every turn.

5

Rally Rouser

Put a Rally Rouser operative in a state. If they start the next turn in the state gain 30% Enthusiasm.

3

Scarlett De'Luxe

Gain support from Scarlett De'Luxe, a respected movie star. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

3

Heath Cassmore

Gain support from Heath Cassmore, a philanthropic billionaire. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

3

Javed Haqq

Gain support from Javed Haqq, veteran news anchor. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

Defense

When it comes to countering problematic cards, getting a lock on the situation with fixers and maverick reformers is pertinent to curbing your opponent's most valuable tools. Keep note of how many fixers and maverick reformers that may have been expended, as it will be important to space them out should opponents use it as an opening to plop down endorsements, or other powerful cards that may give them a crucial opening. Should you need to secure an endorsement, the Spy Network can be used to waste an enemy Fixer and will be helpful in stopping opponents from trying to thwart your state operations allowing for nasty surprises on your opponent.

1

Fixer

Remove a target card effect from a state.

1

Fixer

Remove a target card effect from a state.

4

Maverick Reformer

Remove all opponent card effects from a Target State.

4

Maverick Reformer

Remove all opponent card effects from a Target State.

2

Spy Network

Put a Spy Network in a Target State. It will prevent opponents from playing 1 Card in the state.

Offense

The Crooked Prosecutor is one of the best cards when it comes to simply securing an advantage. Not only can it be used right before an election, but unless they have a Bodyguard they will be short a turn, missing out on crucial political opportunities, speeches, and most importantly: valuable campaign time. You have only one of these, so use it wisely!

3

Crooked Prosecutor

Target Player starts next turn with 0 Stamina.

Operatives

The operatives from the classic Political Machine series are here! The Establishment Democrat deck in particular has 3 Spin Doctors to work with, with one of them being an expert, as well as an additional smear merchant. These are powerful tools in primaries, and can hold as much weight as certain Think Tank HQ upgrades making them effective for changing the margins on the map.

2

Expert Spin Doctor

Increase Issue Score by 20% in Target State

1

Spin Doctor

Increase Issue Score by 10% in Target State

1

Spin Doctor

Increase Issue Score by 10% in Target State

1

Smear Merchant

Decrease Issue Score of all Opponents by 10% in Target State.

Speeches

When it comes to getting the most out of your speeches, you have a Stump Speech Expert and Speech Personalizer that when timed and placed well, can be used to increase your speed effectiveness by 50%. Thankfully speech cards are low on the totem pole when it comes to cards your opponent will try to counter, meaning you will be able to get constant mileage out of them when they are effectively used.

5

Speech Personalizer

Increase Speech Effectiveness by 50% in Target State.

3

Stump Speech Expert

Increase Speech Effectiveness by 50% for 4 turns.

Endorsements

When it comes to getting a 2% boost across the map and bringing important issues to the top of the state table, with strong issue scores to boot, then these issue Endorsements will be your most crucial step towards affecting the state of the race. Your opponents, players and AI included, will make high priority of these cards, so secure and time them wisely!

6

Coalition for Immigrants

Seek endorsement from the Coalition for Immigrants, a pro Immigration Reform group, in target State. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

6

Environmental Protection Mutual

Seek endorsement from Environmental Protection Mutual, a pro Environmental Protection group, in target State. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

6

Gun Violence Reduction Coalition

Seek endorsement from Gun Violence Reduction Coalition, a pro Stricter Gun Control group, in target State. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

6

Racial Justice Coalition

Seek endorsement from the Racial Justice Coalition, a pro Racial Equality Initiatives group, in target State. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

6

Sentencing Reform Council

Seek endorsement from the Sentencing Reform Council, an anti Tough on Crime group, in target State. Increases Enthusiasm in all States by 2%.

Political Capital

These are some of your best cards when it comes to giving you the direct upper hand. Not only is your Lobbying Team and Lobbyist powerful means of racking up PC gain, but should your opponent ignore it, you will be seeing your political capital double or even tripled throughout the course of the entire game, making them centralizing factors in determining what goes on behind the scenes in the presidential race. A well timed expert opinion can deter your opponent from having the crucial capital to secure a necessary endorsement, and may help you around crucial election dates, or simply just secure your PC advantage. Uniquely you have the Party Hotshot card to gain PC for a cheap cost that cannot be fixered, however at the cost of -150k in Funds every turn.

3

Expert Opinion

All opponents lose 3 Political Capital

3

Expert Opinion

All opponents lose 3 Political Capital

3

Lobbying Team

Generates 2 Political Capital the start of every turn from Target State.

2

Lobbyist

Generates 1 Political Capital the start of every turn from Target State.

1

Party Hotshot

Become a Party Hotshot. At the start of each Turn, lose 150K in Funds and gain 1 Political Capital.

Cash

If you need a quick cash infusion, plop down a Big Donor to save yourself valuable stamina and turns in fundraising, or maximize your fundraisers with the Event Coordinator to build up a campaign war chest that will last throughout the entire game. You might not even need Consulting Offices should you land one of these cards early in the game. Alternatively, should you need to save money when constructing a building, you can throw out the Experienced Builders card.

5

Big Donor

Gain 1,500,000 in funds from a mysterious benefactor.

5

Big Donor

Gain 1,500,000 in funds from a mysterious benefactor.

3

Event Coordinator

Increase the effectiveness of Fundraisers in Target State by 75%.

3

Experienced Builders

Decrease the amount of funds needed for construction in Target State by 50% for 1 turn.

Update History

v.82

• Orientation and Identity Campaign
  • Orientation and Identity Campaign endorsement was removed, replaced with Environmental Protection Manual instead
• Donation Drive
  • 1 Donation Drive was removed, replaced with Big Donor instead
• Expert Smear Merchant
  • 1 Expert Smear Merchant was removed, replaced with a Spin Doctor instead

• Environmental Protection Manual
  • Environmental Protection Manual added, preserving the amount of Issue Endorsements at 5
• Big Donor
  • 1 Big Donor was added, changing the total of Big Donors from 1 to 2
• Spin Doctor
  • 1 Spin Doctor was added, changing the total of Spin Doctors from 1 to 2