r/spiritisland

Hi you all!

I just wanted to share that I beat all adversaries from Base, B&C and JE wit Starlight on Level 6 solo!

I wanted to do that as a challenge after purchasing JE. Thus, I never played with Starlight before and learnt France, Habsburg, Russia and Starlight itself while doing it.

I definitely struggled the most against Russia 6, which felt like a completely different game and was honestly anxiety-inducing and thrilling at the same time.

Since this challenge was so much fun, I have a question:

Are there any other spirits where this could be fun? I am searching for a spirit from the contents mentioned above that can beat all these adversaries on Level 6 (obviously some struggle will be involved).

The reason I am asking is that for example Base River against England 6 would be a big no from me since it just feels like playing the lottery to get the right powers or play the game of my life. I want a challenge but it should stay reasonable for my skill level :)

I thought about Keeper of the forbidden wilds since this spirit seems to be also very good. I also thought about Stone, but cannot really estimate if it can handle all adversaries.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Rules question regarding Fang: Hi everyone—I’m definitely overusing Reddit lately. Sometimes I find answers in old threads, but I couldn't find this one...

Several times in previous games with Fang, I had very powerful actions to play that required casting a Fast Power without having the necessary range at the moment of playing the card. The plan was to move a Presence using a Beast (via my first Innate Power) to get into range and strike the region (the same applied to other cards requiring a Sacred Site that I could have formed after moving my Beasts/Presence, but didn't have when I played the cards).

Can I still cast the spell and decide the precise order of actions afterward so everything coordinates correctly?

Also, just double-checking: we agree that transforming a Presence into a Beast happens before casting spells, right? I wasn't sure if I could use that ability after moving Beasts/Presence to end up with two Beasts at once (though I didn't think that was allowed).

So far, I’ve avoided doing these things, but what are the classic gameplay mistakes with Fang? This is my second game, and both times I’ve finished the match right at the start of Phase II—the Invaders don't even have time to settle in! (Granted, I’m playing at a low difficulty—Prussia Level 2—but I struggle much more with other Spirits, so this feels a bit odd.)

I've been playing Spirit Island since the base game, and I'd say I'm pretty experienced with it by now, though more of a casual player than going for the challenge. I play with adversaries sometimes, usually on difficulty 1-2 just to spice things up a little, but mostly I just play vanilla. I'm an experienced boardgamer in general, but I must admit I'm not the greatest strategist or planner. That might be relevant to my question.

I notice I often get stuck in a "reclaim loop", where I either don't have enough cards to not reclaim every other turn, or doing the same thing over and over again is the best immediate option, forcing me to reclaim every single turn. For instance, I have 3 card plays each turn and only 5 cards in hand, or I need to use a specific card (say, a big Defend number) every single turn to not lose Dahan/Presence/gain Blight.

Am I doing something wrong? I must admit, I often focus on not losing anything right now instead of losing something right now and preparing for more power/impact next turn. I'm basically making sure things don't escalate, but also ensuring that I don't gain the upper hand, either. Should I sometimes take the loss of a Presence to set myself up for the future, or is this how you're "supposed" to play? I know, Blight is a resource, but I also want to make sure I don't set myself up for cascades in the future.

I am playing with downpour and fractured days. I have gathered 6 water for downpour so i can repeat this slow power 3 times. Then, since there is fractured days in play he has slip the flow of time which lets downpour resolve a slow power now.

Can this slow power be done 3 times all in the fast power phase due to fractured day's ability?
Does this work the same way with events that say you can play a slow power as fast now?

I have never played Spirit Island, but I keep hearing about it and seeing it mentioned everywhere. I noticed it has a complexity rating of around 4 on BGG, which honestly sounds a little intimidating to me.

Some games that are rated considerably lower have already been a bit of a pain for me to set up, learn, and explain to other people, so I wanted to ask about Spirit Island specifically.

If I understand it correctly, is Spirit Island difficult mainly because there is a lot to think about and the decisions are challenging, rather than because the game itself is difficult to learn?

Personally, I really enjoy games where I have to think hard about how to get myself out of a bad situation and look for the perfect move or combination of actions. That kind of difficulty is exactly what I like.

What I really dislike, however, is having to constantly remember and check lots of rules, taking a long time just to learn the game well enough to actually start playing, or having a huge setup that takes forever before you can even get the game onto the table.

So for someone like me, would Spirit Island be a good fit?

Also, since I am only considering buying it at the moment, I was wondering about the current state of the game.

Are there any new editions, reprints, expansions, or other releases expected? Is there any talk of a definitive edition or something similar that might make it worth waiting before buying?

And finally, are there any expansions that actually include miniatures? I love miniatures hehe, so that would definitely be a plus for me.

Basically, is now a good time to get into Spirit Island, or would you wait a bit if you were in my position?

Thanks!

Been playing on and off since the base game but I have never really dipped into aspects much, still working through all the spirits. I just got Nature Incarnate and saw that it comes with a huge pile and figured I should start paying more attention.
So tell me of aspects, what's good? What's fun? What's crazy?

Are any generally considered to be the 'new default' for any spirits? Are there any where you'd never go back to the base spirit?

Hi everyone! I recently started playing Spirit Island, and I absolutely love it. That said—and as you might have guessed from the post title—there’s a topic I’d like to get your thoughts on.

Ever since I began my Spirit Island journey, I couldn't help but notice that the balance between spirits is quite uneven. In an asymmetric game, this is to be expected—since each spirit has its own strengths and weaknesses, it makes sense. However, I find it incredibly frustrating that some spirits are affected more negatively than others by certain factors, such as the adversary/matchup, solo vs. multiplayer play, difficulty levels, events, and so on.

As I regularly browse the discussion threads, I get the impression that certain Spirits are automatically viewed as potential liabilities for their teams (Vital Strength of the Earth, Shadows Flicker Like Flame), while others are seen as highly dependent on card draws or inherently more difficult to play successfully than the rest (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares). I’ve even read—though perhaps people are exaggerating—that some are no longer fun to play because they are simply too powerful (A Spread of Rampant Green or Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds).

To give a concrete example, I’ll talk about the recent experience that gave me this impression. I’ve loved playing Thunderspeaker from the very start. The spirit really gives me the feeling of commanding an army—a powerful one, certainly, but one that can suffer severe setbacks following a military defeat. In short, the gameplay is fantastic. Since acquiring the *Branch & Claw* expansion, however, I feel that Thunderspeaker suffers much more from certain events than other spirits do:

- Events that destroy Dahan reduce the size of its "army."

- Events that boost adversary attacks can bypass established defenses.

- Events that move Dahan can save Invaders from a counterattack.

I realize, of course, that introducing randomness we have to adapt to is the whole point of the Event phase. However, these events occur right before the Invader phase, leaving us with no way to react or save our Dahan. Furthermore, the consequences of an unfavorable event are far more severe for Thunderspeaker than for other spirits—which, I admit, I find quite frustrating. I’ve played other Spirits since then, and honestly, I no longer feel any frustration or tension when it comes time to flip an Event card.

So, that’s a long post—thanks to everyone who took the time to read it. Just a reminder: the goal here certainly isn't to badmouth Spirit Island. I still play it and love it. I’m looking for your thoughts to spark a discussion and see how you handle this :DD

Hey Guys,

So i bought the 2 Add Ons Branch & Claw and Jagged Earth.
My Question now is, I didnt find a proper answer in the Guide or on Google, how many Power Cards do I have to use per Round or Player?
Or do I just mix them all together?

Thank you

Something like how [[Stone's Unyielding Defiance]] is able to prevent [[all things weaken]] from destroying presences due to [[bestow the endurance of bedrock]]

 

What are some other rare/lesser known interactions that you know of?

I’ve played a few games of Towering Roots, and I think this is the first spirit where I’m really not sure what I should be doing from a high level strategy perspective. Like, what does this spirit want to do? My games have felt like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Any insights?

Spirit	# of Games	Win Rate	Blight Flip Rate
Ocean	86486	56.58%	54.73%
Lightning (Pandemonium)	12023	55.66%	62.46%
Keeper	101046	54.32%	54.65%
Many Minds	14830	51.69%	56.77%
BoDaN (Violence)	8171	50.74%	57.53%
Lightning (Wind)	8375	50.02%	52.47%
Fangs	30288	49.02%	55.72%
Stone	55126	48.86%	51.88%
Eyes	35307	47.57%	50.61%
Serpent (Locus)	1445	45.26%	52.04%
Serpent	42304	45.24%	49.44%
River	43265	43.77%	60.45%
Mud	23933	43.71%	57.76%
Lightning (Immense)	14337	43.30%	63.03%
Whirlwind	18748	42.79%	64.60%
Green	38229	42.31%	48.78%
Starlight	28912	42.00%	57.62%
Lure	39156	40.14%	67.43%
Fractured Days	16624	39.94%	48.33%
Memory (Mentor)	3209	39.36%	49.39%
Green (Regrowth)	3542	39.24%	43.42%
Behemoth	16859	38.75%	57.33%
Shadows (Dark Fire)	4824	37.94%	70.19%
Heat	18727	37.49%	61.77%
River (Travel)	10174	36.81%	57.35%
Volcano	25154	36.62%	70.74%
Vengeance	27104	36.14%	85.42%
Fangs (Unconstrained)	4695	35.87%	57.42%
Thunderspeaker	34656	35.66%	60.91%
Lightning	34411	35.53%	63.95%
Trickster	13524	34.95%	66.73%
Voice	7878	33.41%	59.18%
DEE	3883	33.12%	61.47%
BoDaN	21972	31.86%	71.68%
Shadows (Reach)	2404	31.66%	74.13%
Memory	10514	31.34%	61.42%
Thunderspeaker (Tactician)	2452	30.38%	57.38%
Teeth	16457	30.17%	65.94%
Downpour	11945	29.96%	48.43%
Keeper (Spreading Hostility)	4360	29.93%	55.48%
Finder	6677	29.77%	55.28%
Shadows (Amorphous)	802	29.18%	68.45%
Shadows	11968	28.94%	67.60%
Shadows (Madness)	2973	28.59%	72.79%
Roots	6257	28.30%	54.13%
Shadows (Foreboding)	1254	27.27%	68.58%
Ocean (Deeps)	6600	26.95%	68.39%
River (Haven)	2496	26.80%	63.18%
Wildfire	31752	26.66%	78.36%
Earth (Might)	4628	26.06%	53.31%
Shroud	7512	25.49%	76.01%
River (Sunshine)	4829	24.79%	61.19%
Earth	16347	22.37%	57.44%
Earth (Resilience)	3061	16.60%	66.15%

^Table ^formatting ^by ^ExcelToReddit

Who do are y'all's go to adversaries for duo games?

Not sure how to apply the threshold text of the major power "Talons of Lightning".

If I resolve effects in order from top to bottom, then "Increase this Power's Range to 3" has happened after I've targeted a land and after I've generated Fear, dealt damage, and destroyed towns. So is this a useless effect? Or does it increase the power's range for the next time I play it?

Appendix:

(i) The rules book (at least the Horizons version I have) says about Elemental Thresholds: "Resolve the base effect and all threshold effects that you meet, in order from top to bottom."

(ii) Talons of Lightning's last threshold effect is "Increase this Power's Range to 3."

(iii) Link to card on wiki. I've read through the FAQ on querki and didn't find an answer.

So I just started the tutorial to learn this game, and I'm stuck on this part because I only have 1 dahan on Inland Mountain to push to the Inland Wetland. Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance.

https://preview.redd.it/cvzofnywyxjh1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=a608f622cc7ad26581c03f96b225f21f652495a9