Spirit Island: let's all kill Columbus

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Spirit Island: let's all kill Columbus

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

Spirit Island is great.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2022 04:10

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 06:54

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

sirtommygunn posted:

I think the player board offers pretty compelling reasons to use healing cards already, with the growth option and the fact that you're losing 1 influence or power card on any turn you don't use a heal.

e: mixed up healing and water cards somehow, though I'd bet the water based healing cards are better at not losing/regaining what you lose from the spirit's effect.

It isn't super obvious how the healing mechanic works, so I'll try to clarify.

Every round, you'll add either a water token or animal token to your board. These aren't element markers that power your innates, they're just tracking what cards you're playing more of, water or animals.

You'll also have to destroy a presence every round (or forget a card), but you're adding a new one each round and you start with 4, so it's not as bad as it sounds.

On round 3, you'll unlock your first healing card, which gives you a new special rule. There are two abilities you can gain, and which one you get depends on which token you've collected more of. This special rule doesn't replace your existing one, so you'll still need to sacrifice a presence each round.

Finally on round 5 you'll get your second healing card. Again there are two cards, one for water and one for animals. Each option will replace one of your innate powers with a new one, and more importantly will get rid of your starting special rule. At this point, Wounded Waters has defined its new nature and is no longer fading.

So it seems there are a few ways you can grow the spirit by drafting powers (lots of water, lots of animals, and a mix of each) based on your teammates and your adversary.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2022 07:47

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

Triskelli posted:

I've played Spirit Island only a couple of times and feel like I'm going to be swallowed up each time. I've yet to graduate to specific invaders or beyond the prescribed newbie decks. How do I get gud?

Also, don't use the "newbie decks" after your first game. A large part of the game is choosing which minor or major power to gain. Oftentimes the choice will be whichever card has elements that match your innate, but sometimes you really need a defend card, or something that moves Dahan.

On that note, the Dahan are a valuable resource and can be extremely powerful once you're practiced with using them. Move them into the right place, give them a defend power, and you've got free damage.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2023 23:36

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

Lightning is totally fine for your first play; it's Shadows Flicker that I thought was generally considered the weakest of the basic 4.

Lightning is a bit weird in that its "optimal" strategy is to play no cards at all on the first turn, saving up energy and throwing out a bunch of presence in order to play 3 cards on the second round, devastating the invaders. That really only matters when you start going up against adversaries; for the basic setup you can play it however you want and it's fine.

Phelddagrif fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jan 20, 2023

# ¿ Jan 20, 2023 01:48

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

ConfusedUs posted:

I've played five games in the base set now. I was lucky enough to have someone point out some of the most common mistakes and strategy rules for the base set.

Should I add just Branch & Claw or go all in with both it and Jagged Earth? I own them both already, and I've noticed that Jagged Earth contains all the rules for B&C.

Also, any advice for common mistakes and strategy with the expansions?

I would include both; Branch and Claw is kind of a mini-expansion, with only two new spirits. Jagged Earth gives you a lot more options.

The biggest change the expansions add is events, which add a level of uncertainty. Sometimes you think you have just enough defend, only for the invaders to deal +1 damage this turn. On the flip side, sometimes the Dahan give you extra defense, saving a land you thought was lost. Events are kind of complicated and take some getting used to.

If you start with just B&C, be aware there's a rule change in Jagged Earth. Normally you draw and resolve an event at the start of each invader phase, but you skip that in the first round, to keep things from getting out of hand before you have a real chance to get settled.

The other big addition in the expansions is tokens, which are placed in lands and help the spirits in various ways. Preventing explores and builds, cancelling damage from ravaging, that sort of thing. Several of the new spirits interact with these tokens directly.

# ¿ Jan 20, 2023 17:48

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

Thickets Erupt is an obscenely good major with Keeper, I love it.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2023 22:04

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 06:54

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

dwarf74 posted:

I'm glad this thread exists!

But I'm absolutely terrible at this game, the times I've tried it. Are there any videos or anything you'd recommend with hints about sucking less?

I recommend Kalen Noreth's videos; he's done some primers on the spirits from the base game, and does a good job of explaining his thought process and strategy as he goes through his games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW3LV-fp16g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF_BLgVju6c

# ¿ Mar 25, 2023 06:29

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