Introduction

Spirit Island is a cooperative, simultaneous-turn, deeply-asymmetric card-and-board game about native spirits driving colonial invaders off their island. It has — and this is the honest reason anyone writes a book about it — more decision depth per turn than you can hold in your head without training.

This book trains you for that.

What this guide is

A stats-driven mastery resource that synthesizes the community’s best work — Rei’s BGG guides, latentoctopus’s opening deep-dives, mindwanderer’s win-rate data, Spirited Discussion podcast analysis, and designer commentary — into a single reference that’s optimized for two uses:

1. Active learning: you use it to drill, iterate, and actually get better over real games.
2. At-the-table reference: you look up a matchup or a tactical question mid-game and get a concrete, stat-backed answer.

It is not an introductory rules teach. The Wiki, the Querki FAQ, and the official rulebook do that better than this book could. This guide assumes you know how to play the game; it focuses on how to play it well.

Who this is for

• Solo players who want to raise their win rate at L5–L6 difficulty.
• Multi-handed players transitioning to real multiplayer (including convention, meetup, and mixed-skill tables).
• Anyone who wants to read a spirit’s page before sleeve-sliding into that spirit and actually feel prepared.
• Teachers of the game who want scripts tuned to their audience’s time budget.

What’s novel here

Most Spirit Island strategy content is one of two shapes:

1. Vibes: “Thunderspeaker is great vs. England, try them.” True, but undertrained.
2. Rabbit holes: a 15,000-word Rei deep-dive on a single spirit. Excellent, but slow to consume.

This book is designed for the middle ground: every spirit, adversary, and scenario has a structured chapter with a predictable spine — so you can read one, skim the rest, and build pattern-recognition across 42 spirits without re-learning each one from scratch.

And it’s paired with a set of Claude skills that turn the book into a drill loop: daily challenges, combo drills, in-game tactical lookups, and post-game tracking. The book is inert reference until you use it. The skills make you use it.

How the content is organized

• Part I — Foundations: the game’s core loop and terminology. Read once, referenced forever.
• Part II — Fundamentals of Strategy: concepts that cross every spirit — tempo, presence economy, major-vs-minor, fear/blight/dahan dynamics.
• Part III — Spirit Mastery: 42 spirits, Rei’s-format deep dives, grouped by complexity.
• Part IV — Adversary Mastery: 8 adversaries, level-by-level strategy.
• Part V — Scenarios: 14 scenarios, pattern-focused.
• Part VI — Combos & Archetypes: 2-spirit pairings and strategic archetypes.
• Part VII — Playing with Others: teaching, group dynamics, convention norms, mixed-skill tables. Real-world multiplayer craft, often missing from strategy guides.
• Part VIII — The Statistics Lens: reading mindwanderer, understanding digital-vs-tabletop bias, self-tracking.
• Appendices: curated card reference, full fear/blight/event deck reference, glossary, sources, changelog, a “what should I read next?” progressive-disclosure index, and the Claude Skills Companion.

Living document

This book is living, iterative, and opinionated. It’s built to revise as:

• The community meta shifts (digital patches, new published strategy, new tier lists).
• Your play exposes gaps in a chapter’s advice.
• New expansions drop.

Every chapter carries a Last revised: YYYY-MM-DD footer. See the Meta Changelog for the running log.

How to read next

• New to serious play? Start with How to Use This Book, then The Core Loop.
• Skilled solo player, going multiplayer? Skip to Part VII — Playing with Others.
• Looking up a spirit tonight? Hit the Spirit Index and the Rei-format chapter for that spirit.
• Mid-game, need a tactical answer? Use the Claude Skills Companion’s si-at-the-table skill.

Last revised: 2026-04-19 — v0.1 (MVP)

How to Use This Book

The three reading modes

This book is optimized for three different reading sessions. Pick the one that matches what you’re doing right now.

Mode 1 — Read Before Your Next Game (15–30 min)

You have time before play. You know your spirit and adversary. Do this:

1. Open the spirit’s chapter in Part III.
2. Read At a Glance + Spirit Overview + Key Strategic Principles. That’s ~600 words.
3. Scan the Adversary Matchup Matrix row for your adversary. If the grade is B or worse, read the matching row carefully and note the 1–2 reasons.
4. Read the Opening Strategy subsection matching your draft choice.
5. Skim the Common Mistakes list. That’s the payoff per unit of reading time.

If your adversary is one you haven’t played much, add the adversary’s At a Glance + Spirits That Shine/Struggle from Part IV. Another ~300 words.

Mode 2 — Build a Session Plan (45–90 min)

You’re new to the spirit and new to the adversary. Or you’ve been losing and want to diagnose why. Do this:

1. Read the spirit chapter fully, including Card Priority Ratings and Tempo Profile.
2. Read the adversary chapter’s level-by-level breakdown for your chosen level.
3. Pick an Opening Strategy variant; write down its round-by-round goals on paper (literally — pen on paper, not a screen).
4. Play.
5. Debrief with the si-post-game Claude skill and compare your turns against the chapter’s Common Mistakes.

This is the highest-leverage mode. Most readers should default to this for any new spirit/adversary combination.

Mode 3 — At-the-Table Lookup (under 30 sec)

Mid-game. You have a decision and need signal, not a dissertation. Do this:

• Use the si-at-the-table Claude skill. You describe board state; it returns options with tradeoffs, not a solve.
• Or, if you have the book open on a second screen: search for the specific card name, or jump to the spirit’s Tempo Profile for the current round.

Never try to read a whole chapter mid-game. It takes too long and breaks the table’s flow.

The active-learning loop

The book alone won’t make you a master. Books rarely do. The loop is:

1. Challenge — generate today’s drill with si-daily-challenge. It picks a spirit × adversary × level × learning-goal based on your play history.
2. Read — spend 15 minutes on the spirit chapter (Mode 1 above).
3. Play — the challenge. Solo, multi-handed, or at-the-table.
4. Log & Debrief — run si-post-game. It logs to data/playlog.csv and surfaces the 1–2 mistakes most likely to be what cost you this game.
5. Iterate — tomorrow’s challenge shifts based on what you logged.

Repeat. After ~20–30 sessions you’ll notice you’re reading chapters less, because the patterns are in your head.

Notation you’ll see everywhere

This book uses the community-standard notation popularized by latentoctopus. Memorize this table:

The admonition palette

Six kinds of callout blocks, each with a specific meaning. See ADMONITION_STYLE for the style guide.

• Pro Tip — actionable in-game advice.
• Common Mistake — frequent trap + why.
• Stat Insight — data-backed claim with source/date/sample.
• Rules Clarification — from Querki FAQ, not opinion.
• Sources — citations at section or chapter end.
• Math — probability calculations, worked examples.

Confidence ratings (inherited from latentoctopus)

Opening-strategy subsections sometimes carry a confidence badge:

• 🟥 Red — tentative / theorycrafting.
• 🟨 Yellow — somewhat confident, limited play-testing.
• 🟩 Green — well-tested, consistent success.

If a chapter doesn’t carry a badge, assume the content is in the “yellow” tier.

How to give feedback

This book is a living document and feedback changes it.

• If a chapter’s advice failed you mid-game, note it in your si-post-game entry. Batched across sessions, these become revision tickets.
• If a stat is stale (digital patch shifted things), open an issue on the repo or DM Brett.
• If a common community pattern isn’t covered, same.

See Meta Changelog for the running edit log.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Reader Self-Assessment

Three questions. Your answers route you to the right chapters to read first. The book is big; most readers only need 20–30 pages for their current level.

Question 1 — How many Spirit Island games have you played?

0–2 games:

• Start at The Core Loop and Terminology.
• Read How to Use This Book.
• Skip Parts II–VIII for now; you need the foundation first.
• Play 5 more games. Then come back.

3–10 games:

• You know the rules. Read Tempo, Major vs. Minor, Presence Economy.
• Pick one spirit chapter (Brett-priority: Shadows, Thunderspeaker, Ocean, Green, Bringer). Read it before your next game with that spirit.
• Skim Teaching Methods if you’ll be teaching someone.

10–50 games:

• Read Parts II, IV (adversaries you’ve played), VI (archetypes), VII (social).
• Pick your next spirit-to-master (Brett priorities) and read that chapter.
• Start using the Claude skills for daily challenge loop.

50+ games:

• The book’s stats + source-citations are for you. Read Statistics Lens (stub) when authored.
• Audit your playlog; identify weakest spirit/adversary; read that chapter.
• Consider contributing revisions — you have table experience the chapters don’t yet capture.

Question 2 — What’s your current play format?

True solo (1 spirit, 1 hand):

• Solo strategy is woven through every spirit chapter.
• Fear Track and Blight Track apply solo.
• Skip Part VII (social) until you go multiplayer.

Multi-handed (1 player, 2+ spirits):

• Same spirit chapters; read multiple.
• Archetype Index for partner-spirit selection.
• Two-Player Dynamics — the “multi-handed tip” at the end of that chapter applies here.

Real multiplayer (2–4 players):

• Part VII in full.
• Specifically Alpha-Player Problem and Mixed-Skill Tables.
• Archetype Index for coverage planning.

Convention / meetup:

• Convention & Meetup Norms.
• Playing with Strangers.
• Teaching Methods if teaching.

Question 3 — What’s your current win rate at L3?

Under 50%:

• Your gap is likely tempo or draft. Read Tempo and Major vs. Minor.
• You’re likely drafting cards that don’t fit your spirit’s archetype.
• Log 10 games via si-post-game; the common-mistake surfacing will diagnose specific issues.

50–75%:

• You have fundamentals. Your gap is likely matchup-specific.
• Read the adversary chapter for your worst-matchup.
• Try unfamiliar spirits (Brett priorities) to broaden exposure.

75%+:

• You’re ready for L5+ and scenarios.
• Read the archetype chapters and start pairing spirits deliberately.
• Explore aspects (coming in M3+).

What this book won’t tell you

• Rules you don’t know: read the rulebook or Querki FAQ first. This book assumes game literacy.
• How to lose gracefully: well, kind of — see Post-Game Debrief. But losing is an internal skill.
• Which spirit is “best”: meta shifts; every spirit wins at L6 with the right partner and adversary. “Best” is context.

If you get stuck

• Re-run the daily-challenge skill.
• Revisit your most-lost matchup in the adversary chapter.
• Post a specific question in the Spirit of the Island Discord.
• Update the book’s changelog with what you learned.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

The Core Loop

Every turn of Spirit Island is the same loop. Master the loop and the rest of the game — 42 spirits, 8 adversaries, 14 scenarios — become variations on the same underlying pattern.

This chapter is your map of that pattern.

The six phases (round structure)

1. Spirit Phase — Growth. Every spirit grows once per turn, picking from 2–4 options. This is where presence goes onto the board, cards get gained, and energy gets collected.
2. Fast Powers — Each spirit chooses cards + innate powers with the “fast” symbol to play before the invaders move. This is your pre-emptive defense / offense window.
3. Invader Phase — Explorers → Towns → Cities. Each card in the Invader Deck triggers:
   • Ravage in one terrain — invaders damage dahan + land.
   • Build in another — towns/cities spawn.
   • Explore in a third — new explorers arrive (from the ocean or from another land with invaders).
4. Slow Powers — Cards + innates with the “slow” symbol. This is your post-invader cleanup / damage application window.
5. Time Passes — Damage clears from still-alive invaders, blight cascades are resolved if triggered, fear cards are drawn + resolved.
6. End of Round — Refresh / discard hand as appropriate, check win/loss conditions.

Every card is either fast or slow. The distinction determines what you can actually do with it.

The three currencies

Decision depth comes from the interaction of three currencies you spend every turn:

1. Energy

You spend energy to play cards. Unspent energy rolls over.

• Starts at 0–2 depending on spirit.
• Grows along the presence track.
• You usually want to run lean on energy — banking too much means you underspent your card plays.

2. Card Plays (CP)

The number of cards you can play from hand each turn.

• Starts at 1–2.
• Grows along the presence track.
• CP is the bottleneck currency for most spirits past round 3.

3. Cards in Hand

Cards come from your spirit’s starting 4, plus Minors/Majors you gain during growth. Reclaim pulls your played + discarded cards back.

• Hand size constraints vary by spirit.
• Acquiring cards trades presence-track progress or energy for card-pool depth.
• Forgetting (permanently removing) a card is a real, often necessary move.

The spirit’s growth track(s)

Every spirit has 1–3 presence tracks with unlockable slots. Growth spends a growth option to:

• Place presence on the board (from a specific slot).
• Gain energy.
• Gain card play.
• Gain a card (minor or major).
• Reclaim (return discards to hand).
• Gain an element (for innate power thresholds).

The single most important strategic question on most turns is: which growth option did I pick, and why?

Presence on the board

Presence tokens are physical markers on the board. They serve three simultaneous purposes:

1. Targeting — most spirit powers require presence in or near the target land.
2. Sacred Sites — 2+ presence tokens in the same land form a sacred site, which enables certain powers and innates.
3. Absorbing damage — when a ravage destroys your presence, it usually generates blight but saves the dahan.

Presence is simultaneously your tempo investment, your board control, and your damage sink. Trade-offs between those three roles are where spirit skill lives.

The four invader pressures

Each adversary plus the standard invader deck puts pressure on you in four dimensions:

1. Time — how many rounds before you lose to blight cascade, territory overrun, or a Stage III escalation?
2. Board — how many lands have invaders; how densely?
3. Fear — are you generating fear fast enough to hit Terror 2/3 before the clock runs out?
4. Dahan — are the island’s native people being preserved, killed, or deployed?

Different adversaries weight these dimensions differently. England pressures board + time with Stage III coastal invasions; Russia pressures dahan with settler mechanics; Sweden pressures fear early with its own fear penalties.

Win conditions

1. Fear → Terror 3 — generate enough fear to flip all three terror cards; then the win condition becomes “destroy all cities and towns” (Terror 2 drops the “and towns” requirement for simpler wins, and Terror 3 drops everything to just “no invaders in any land”).
2. Scenario-specific — e.g., Blitz requires defeating invaders within N rounds.
3. Adversary-specific — the adversary’s Stage III often adds a strict victory condition alongside the base.

Loss conditions

1. Blight exhausts — island blight pool runs out, cascade triggers, and you lose.
2. Destroyed-presence loss — some spirits or scenarios impose “if spirit has 0 presence, lose.”
3. Terror-track exhaustion — some scenarios add this.
4. Round cap — rare, scenario-specific.

Reading the board

In order of priority:

1. Where is the next Ravage going to hit? — look at the Invader Deck’s top card.
2. Where’s the next Build? — next card up.
3. Where are invaders explored into? — rotating through the Explore slot.
4. Blight budget — how close are we to cascade?
5. Fear track position — how many fear cards until next Terror flip?
6. Dahan density — in the Ravage target: are there enough dahan to counterattack?

The turn-planning pyramid

Every turn, plan in this order:

1. Growth choice — because growth happens first and shapes everything after.
2. The Ravage you must prevent or absorb — the hard constraint.
3. The Build you want to kill or delay — optional but high-value.
4. Element accumulation — are you on track for innate thresholds?
5. Fear generation — how much fear do you leave on the table this turn?
6. Card discards for next turn — will you reclaim this turn, or do you need cards in hand for next turn?

Beginners plan in reverse order (cards first, growth last) and it produces chaotic turns. Always start from growth.

Summary — the loop in one paragraph

Each round: grow, play fast cards, suffer the invader phase, play slow cards, process time-passes (fear + blight), check win/loss. Your currencies are energy, card plays, and cards in hand; you trade them for presence, elements, and cards via growth. The game ends when fear hits Terror 3 (or a scenario win fires), or when blight cascades (or a scenario loss fires). Everything else in this book is texture on top.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Terminology

Every game has a jargon cost. Spirit Island’s is especially heavy because the community developed its own shorthand on top of the rulebook. Read this once; then refer back when the Glossary isn’t enough.

Core game terms

Card-related terms

Growth & track terminology (latentoctopus notation)

See How to Use This Book for the full notation table. Quick recall:

• Gn: growth option n from left. G3 = third option.
• nE: n energy/turn.
• nCP: n card plays/turn.
• Full bottom / Full top / Hybrid: opening presence-track patterns.

Element terminology

Elements are printed on card costs, spirit presence tracks, and innate thresholds. The eight elements are:

Sun, Moon, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Plant, Animal

Compound element types matter for certain cards (e.g., “fire-plant” = fire + plant on the same card).

Adversary-specific jargon

Community jargon (that rulebooks don’t teach)

Stats / analysis terms

Quick-orientation for this book

When you see:

• a bolded term without link → it’s in this page’s table, read above.
• a linked term → it has its own deep chapter.
• notation like G3 or 3CP → How to Use This Book.
• Rei’s or latentoctopus citations → Sources.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Reading a Card

Every power card in Spirit Island carries ~7 pieces of information packed into its layout. Reading them correctly in order is a trainable skill; doing it fast is what separates confident play from tabletop fumbling.

This chapter walks through the anatomy of a power card.

The anatomy

A standard power card has:

1. Name — top. Used for reference + community jargon.
2. Type — Minor / Major / Unique. Distinguishes deck pool.
3. Cost — energy cost to play. Top-left corner (by convention).
4. Speed — Fast or Slow. Determines timing phase.
5. Elements — icons showing which elements this card contributes when played.
6. Target — valid targeting range + land requirements.
7. Effect — the rules text of what happens.

Reading order (in play)

When you pick up a card from hand and consider playing it, read in this order for efficient decision:

1. Cost — can I afford it? Check energy pool.
2. Speed — is this the right phase? Fast cards pre-ravage, Slow post-ravage.
3. Target — can I legally target what I want? Check presence + range.
4. Elements — do I care about the element contribution this turn?
5. Effect — does the effect solve my current problem?

Beginners read in order 1 → 7 as printed. Experienced players read in priority order above. Skipping to target first (when targeting is the question) saves mid-game time.

Target types

Targeting is often the trickiest part. Common target types:

• “A land with your presence” — your presence must be in the target land (Range-0).
• “Range N from your presence” — target up to N adjacent lands from any land with your presence.
• “Range N from a source of your presence” — same, with “source” terminology.
• “Sacred Site” — the target must have 2+ of your presence.
• “Any land” — no range restriction (rare).
• “Coast” — a land bordering ocean.

Terrain restrictions stack on top:

• “Jungle or Mountain” — target must be jungle or mountain.
• “Any terrain” — no terrain restriction.

Speed matters

Fast cards resolve in the Fast Powers phase (before Invader Phase). They’re used to:

• Kill Explorers before they become Towns.
• Defend against upcoming Ravages.
• Push invaders out of Build lands.

Slow cards resolve in Slow Powers phase (after Invader Phase). They’re used to:

• Clean up invaders that survived Ravage.
• Generate fear from kill-damage.
• Set up positions for next turn’s Fast plays.

Same effect on a Fast vs. Slow card is not the same card. Timing shapes use.

Elements

Elements on a card contribute to your elemental total when played. Each card contributes:

• 1–3 elements per card (depending on card).
• Once per play (not per turn-wide effect).

Elements drive innate power activations. Check your spirit’s innate threshold requirements and track element totals each turn.

Effect reading

The effect text uses game keywords:

• Damage — lethal to invaders at 1 per HP (Explorer 1, Town 2, City 3).
• Defend N — reduce next Ravage damage by N in target land.
• Push / Gather — move invaders or dahan.
• Destroy / Remove — kill or remove token (context-dependent).
• Fear — add fear to pool.
• Blight — add blight token.

Many effects chain: “Destroy 1 Explorer; gain 1 energy.” Both clauses resolve when the card plays.

Conditional effects

Some cards have conditional text:

• “If target land has dahan: deal +1 damage” — dahan must be present at the moment the card resolves.
• “If this card’s element threshold met: additional effect” — threshold check at play-time.

Check conditions before committing the play. Some conditions reveal the play’s inefficiency.

Unique cards vs. pool cards

• Unique — starts in your hand; spirit-specific.
• Minor — universal pool; cheap.
• Major — universal pool; expensive and powerful.

Unique cards sometimes have spirit-specific rules printed in smaller text (e.g., “only Shroud can play this” in an aspect variant).

The “looks cool” trap

The single biggest reading mistake: taking a card because its effect sounds impressive, without checking:

• Can I afford the cost?
• Can I hit the element threshold for the full effect?
• Can I target what I need to target?

A “destroy all invaders in target land” Major at 8 energy with 3 Plant threshold requires playing conditions that may not align with your spirit. Read the fine print.

Cross-references

• Tempo — timing + cost.
• Terrain — target restrictions.
• Adjacency & Range — range rules.
• Card Draft Theory — evaluating cards before gain.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Deliberate Play

The single biggest difference between intermediate and advanced Spirit Island is not knowing more cards or playing a stronger spirit. It’s stopping between actions to ask what the board actually looks like and what options it actually affords — before reaching for the play your opener rehearsed or the card that “feels right”.

This is the habit this chapter is built to train.

The auto-pilot trap

Auto-pilot is what happens when you execute without evaluating:

• You play Concealing Shadows T1 because that’s what the opener said, without asking whether Concealing’s headline effect (Ravage-protection) is even material this turn.
• You pick Growth G2 because you usually pick G2, without tallying what income each track would give you across the next three turns.
• You target Mantle of Dread on land #6 because that’s where your presence is, without noticing that the Build just happened in land #3 and your push matters more there.
• You let Darkness Swallows fire whatever level triggers because it’s free, without asking whether Level 1’s Gather or Level 2’s Destroy better fits the situation.

Every one of those decisions might be correct. But when you make them without a deliberate evaluation, you give up the ability to notice when they’re wrong — which is the exact moment the game turns on you.

Auto-pilot is the default intermediate failure mode. You escape it by installing a few short, fixed pauses into every turn.

The per-phase checklist

Laminate this. Or keep a notecard. Or paste it inside the box. Every turn, in every phase below, ask these questions out loud before acting.

Growth phase

1. What is my hand / discard / elements going into this turn? Count cards in each pile; count total Moon / Fire / Air / Sun / Water / Earth / Plant / Animal available.
2. What’s my Energy income next round for each growth choice × track choice? Compute all branches before picking. (Example: Shadows G3-via-CP = 3E this turn / 2CP; G3-via-Energy = 4E / 1CP.)
3. What’s the highest-leverage presence placement on the current board? The land with the most-imminent Build? A land that gives me range into the next Ravage target? A sacred-site candidate?
4. Which option best matches the 3-turn plan I set at game start? If none do, am I pivoting — and what’s my new plan?

Energy phase (after growth resolves)

1. How much Energy and how many CP do I have right now?
2. Which card combinations can I afford? Enumerate every legal subset of my hand by (sum of costs ≤ Energy) × (count ≤ CP). Don’t skip to the “obvious” one.
3. Which cards do I MUST play this turn vs. bank for later? A card that threshold-enables my innate THIS turn is must-play. A card that’s just “strong” is bank-able.

Fast Power phase

1. In what order do I resolve Fast cards + Fast innates? Order matters — e.g., a Gather that moves Dahan into a land enables a conditional Fear on a later Slow play.
2. What elements are in the pool as each Fast innate threshold is checked? Fast innates see only Fast-played elements. Write it out if you’re not sure.
3. Are there Dahan movements / damage / explorations triggered by my Fast effects? Resolve the board consequences fully, one effect at a time.

Invader phase

1. Explore: where do new Explorers arrive? (Any land adjacent to a City, Town, or ocean for coastal — per the Invader card + adversary modifiers.)
2. Build: which lands have Invaders that trigger a Build? What does the current Build card say about which terrain Builds?
3. Ravage: which lands Ravage? Compute Damage → Dahan fight-back → Blight. Don’t skip steps; mistakes here cascade into T+1 planning errors.

Slow Power phase

1. In what order do I resolve Slow cards + Slow innates? Again, order matters — a Push that removes an Invader before a Fear-conditional evaluates can make/break the conditional.
2. Now the full turn’s element pool is visible to Slow innates. Re-check thresholds.
3. Did any Event / Blight / other side-effect happen this turn that I need to factor into the end state?

Time Passes

1. What’s my state entering next turn? Hand / discard / forgotten; Energy bank; Presence on board + tracks; Fear pool; Blight pool; Terror level.
2. Does the plan I set at game start still apply, or have board conditions changed enough that I’m pivoting? Name the pivot trigger explicitly.

Cross-turn prompts

Every 2–3 rounds, step back and re-evaluate at a higher altitude:

• 3-turn lookahead: what do I want the board to look like at the end of T+3? Which plays between now and then move it there?
• Pivot triggers: list 2–3 board conditions under which I abandon the current plan. Examples: “if Fear pool is < 4 by T3, shift to Favors-triggering plays”; “if a City appears in a coast I can’t hit, draft a Push major”.
• Engagement audit: am I actually making decisions, or am I executing a script? If the last three turns felt rote, something’s probably being left on the table.

Common auto-pilot failures + their remediation

How this chapter integrates elsewhere

• Per-spirit Possible Openings — each turn block in every spirit chapter includes a “Pause-point” callout referencing one or two of the questions above, specialized to what most often trips players up on that spirit.
• si-at-the-table skill — responses surface the decision-tree (options + deciding factor), not just a conclusion. That’s the whole point of the skill.
• si-live tool — per-phase UI prompts that show the state-relevant questions (e.g., during Growth: current track state, income branches; during Fast: element pool, innate-threshold proximity).
• si-rules-check skill — returns the phase-timing summary so writers can’t accidentally bake auto-pilot assumptions into the chapter text.

The minimum viable practice

If you only have energy for one pause per turn, make it Growth. Wrong growth choice at T1 is the single biggest correctable swing in a Spirit Island game: it compounds for eight rounds. Growth is where auto-pilot costs the most.

If you have energy for two pauses per turn, add the pre-Fast-phase element tally — before playing any Fast card, count the elements your planned Fast plays will produce in Fast phase. This catches the “my innate fires because I have the right total elements” error where the total includes Slow elements the Fast innate will never see.

Three pauses: add the end-of-turn pivot check. “Does my 3-turn plan still apply?” If yes, continue. If no, spend 30 seconds naming the new plan before Time Passes.

Build these three pauses into reflex and the rest of the framework follows.

Terrain

Every land on the island is one of four terrains. Terrain determines what powers can target it, where invaders explore to, which innates fire, and which spirits feel at home. Reading the terrain spread on your board — before you even pick growth — is the single skill that separates mid-level play from advanced play.

The four terrains

Rivers and mountain-ringed centers don’t count as their own terrain — they’re land-type modifiers.

Coastal vs. inland

Coastal: the land shares a border with the ocean (the blue area at the edge of the board). Invaders Explore from the ocean into coastal lands.

Inland: no ocean border. Invaders Explore into inland from adjacent invader-held lands.

The distinction matters constantly:

• Ocean’s innates care about coastal presence.
• England Stage III introduces coastal Cities.
• Explore chain analysis depends on whether the source is a coastal or inland land.

Terrain and the invader deck

Invader cards specify terrain:

“Stage I card: Ravage Jungle, Build Mountain, Explore Sand.”

The terrain mix of your board determines which cards hit you harder. A jungle-heavy board means jungle Ravage cards hurt more (more lands at once); a mountain-sparse board means Mountain-build cards hurt less but consolidate pressure.

Pre-game terrain audit: look at your board before drafting. Count:

• Number of lands per terrain.
• Coastal terrain distribution (jungle + coastal? mountain + inland only?).
• Which terrains have dahan starting in them.

This shapes which opening variant to pick.

Terrain-gated powers

Many powers specify valid target terrain:

• “Target: Jungle or Wetland.”
• “Target: Any terrain.”
• “Target: Sacred Site in Mountain.”

When drafting, check whether the offered card’s terrain restriction matches where your presence is (or will be). A Mountain-only card on a mountain-sparse board is near-dead.

Spirits by preferred terrain

Not every spirit cares, but many do:

All 39 spirits below. “Any” = terrain-agnostic; the spirit cares about adjacency/density/dahan/coasts more than terrain type.

Base (8):

Branch & Claw (2):

Promo — Feather & Flame (2):

Promo Pack 2 (2):

Horizons (5):

Jagged Earth (10):

Nature Incarnate (10):

Terrain and innates

Some innates reference terrain directly: “If target land is Jungle, deal +2 damage.” This shifts element + terrain calculus together. Before drafting a Jungle-bonus innate spirit, verify the board has 4+ Jungle lands.

Rivers

Rivers are printed modifiers on certain lands. They:

• Don’t count as water for element purposes (Water-element is on cards; rivers are geography).
• Alter adjacency for some spirits (a river-edged land has more neighbors or specific neighbors).
• Interact with specific cards (e.g., “push across a river” effects).

On boards with rivers (most Jagged Earth boards), factor river geometry into push/gather planning.

Terrain and blight

Blight affects the land regardless of terrain, but terrain-specific cards that reduce blight (Green’s Fresh Paint the Island, some Keeper cards) require matching terrain. If your blight cascade risk is in a Mountain and your blight-removal cards target Jungle, you have no solution — read the threat ahead.

Multi-spirit terrain splits

In 2+ player games, a common coordination pattern is terrain splitting:

“You handle the Jungle/Wetland side; I’ll take Mountain/Sand side.”

This is often wrong:

• The invader deck moves pressure between terrains turn by turn.
• A rigid split leaves one spirit under-employed most turns.

Better pattern: “You focus on the inland hub; I’ll focus on the coastal lands,” regardless of terrain. Terrain is a scan-before-turn variable, not a partnership boundary.

Reading ahead

Top 3 terrain reads before Turn 1:

1. Which terrain has the most lands? — that’s where builds compound fastest.
2. Is there a “lonely terrain” (1–2 lands)? — Ravage or Build there can be a trap; invaders concentrate in scarce terrain.
3. Coastal balance — what proportion of lands are coastal? >50% = Ocean-strong board; <30% = inland-only strategies favored.

Common mistakes

Cross-references

• Adjacency & Range — how terrain + adjacency interact.
• Presence Economy — terrain-aware presence placement.
• Blight Track — terrain-specific blight removal.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Adjacency & Range

Adjacency is deceptively simple: two lands are adjacent if they share a border. Range is how many adjacent-hops a power can reach. Everything else — every targeting rule, every push/gather question, every “can I play this card here?” — derives from this.

And despite the simplicity, adjacency questions come up every game, usually under time pressure, usually with real stakes.

The basic rule

Two lands are adjacent if they share a border on the board. Adjacency is symmetric (if A is adjacent to B, B is adjacent to A).

The ocean counts as one “land” for adjacency purposes:

• Coastal lands are adjacent to the ocean.
• Coastal lands on the same ocean are not adjacent to each other unless they share a land border.

Range

Range-N means the target land is N hops away from a qualifying source.

• Range-0 or “your presence”: the target land contains your presence.
• Range-1: target is adjacent to a land with your presence.
• Range-2: target is up to 2 hops away from a land with your presence.

Hops count through the ocean for range purposes only if the power allows it — most powers restrict to land-to-land adjacency.

Range examples

• Your presence is in a jungle land. A Range-1 power can target that jungle land OR any adjacent land (jungle’s neighbors).
• Two lands apart via a mountain: Range-2 can hop over.
• Two coastal lands, not sharing a border, both adjacent to ocean: Range-1 can NOT hop between them through the ocean (unless the power specifies ocean-traversal).

“Source of your presence” vs. “your presence”

Many powers distinguish:

• “Target land with your presence”: the presence itself must be in the target.
• “Source of your presence”: the presence is adjacent to or in the target, depending on range.
• “Any” source: no restriction — sometimes with the caveat “from any Spirit’s presence” in multiplayer.

Read the card carefully. “Source of your presence” with Range-1 does NOT require your presence in the target; only adjacent-from.

Sacred sites

2+ presence in one land = a sacred site. Some powers key off sacred-site adjacency rather than presence adjacency. For those, a lone presence in an adjacent land does not satisfy the targeting — the sacred site itself must be positioned correctly.

Ocean and coastal

The ocean is one continuous “land space” for targeting purposes in most contexts:

• Powers with “Target: ocean” exist (rare, typically Ocean-spirit cards).
• Coastal lands around the same ocean are not adjacent to each other via ocean (no hop-through) unless stated.
• Ocean’s Hungry Grasp has specific exceptions: its presence in the ocean treats coastal lands as adjacent.

Shroud’s Mists Shift and Flow

Shroud of Silent Mist has a special rule that modifies adjacency for its own targeting: when playing a power, Shroud may move (gather) one presence into the target land or an adjacent land to meet range requirements. This effectively extends Shroud’s reach by 1 land hop, mid-play, for the cost of disrupting presence position.

Rei’s strategic note: this is the rule that gives Shroud its “spatial mobility” feel and supports the damaged-invader farming playstyle.

Finder and vision

Finder of Paths Unseen uses Vision tokens that interact with adjacency in ways other spirits don’t. Targeting can reach further via Vision-token chains. Not a universal rule; Finder-specific.

Adjacency edge cases

River crossings

Some boards mark rivers on land borders. By default, rivers don’t block adjacency — two lands on either side of a river are still adjacent. But specific powers say “across a river” or “not across a river,” modifying from the base.

Coastal diagonals

Coastal lands touching only at a corner (not a full border) are NOT adjacent. Corner-touching is not shared-border.

“Within Range N” vs. “Range N”

“Within Range N” includes 0 (your presence counts). “Range N” sometimes excludes 0 — read the card.

Beast/Dahan movement

Push and Gather move units between adjacent lands by default, unless a spirit rule extends (Many Minds: Beasts move up to 2 lands via Fly Fast as Thought).

Pre-turn adjacency audit

Before finalizing your turn, check adjacency for each card:

1. Does my presence (or Sacred Site) satisfy the source requirement?
2. Is the target within range from the correct source type?
3. Are there any special adjacency rules (Shroud’s Mists, Ocean’s coastal extension, river crossings)?

Most adjacency errors come from trying to target a land that looked in-range but wasn’t. Visual intuition fails on Spirit Island’s dense boards — verify by counting hops.

Common mistakes

Cross-references

• Terrain — adjacency + terrain shape.
• Presence Economy — presence placement decisions factor in future range.
• Spirit Island Wiki — Adjacency rules
• Querki FAQ — Rules commonly misplayed — has specific adjacency clarifications

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Tempo

Tempo is the implicit currency that makes or breaks every Spirit Island game. You never see it on a card or a track — you feel it when your board collapses on T4 because you grew too slowly on T1, or when you win on T7 because you banked the right turn on T3.

This chapter gives you the vocabulary and the heuristics to reason about it deliberately.

What tempo actually is

Tempo is the rate at which you convert currencies into board effect per turn.

There are three interacting tempo axes:

1. Energy tempo — how fast your per-turn energy grows.
2. Card-play tempo — how fast your per-turn CP grows.
3. Presence tempo — how fast you occupy the board, enabling targeting + damage sinks.

The goal isn’t to maximize all three. It’s to keep all three above the adversary’s pressure curve at every round. Go below the curve and you lose; go far above the curve and you over-invested in growth when you should have been stopping ravages.

The adversary’s pressure curve

Each adversary produces a pressure curve — a rising line of “how much board effect you need to deliver this turn to not fall behind.” The shape varies:

• Brandenburg-Prussia — flat-early, steep-late. T1–2 are calm; T5+ has Cities bombarding coasts.
• England — gradual rise, long tail. Towns accumulate steadily; late-game they become Cities everywhere.
• Sweden — high-early, plateau. You must defend hard T2–3; if you survive, scaling matters less.
• Russia — dahan-pressure, fear-blocked. Kills dahan while suppressing your fear gain.

Your opening choice should be a bet on your spirit’s tempo matching this curve, not on the spirit’s “power level” in abstract.

The three tempo axes, one at a time

Energy tempo

Most spirits open at 1E per turn. Some (Lightning) at 2E+, some (Fangs, Wildfire) well below effective income due to cost-heavy cards.

What raises energy tempo:

• Growth slots that give +energy.
• Presence track revealing passive energy.
• Powers that generate energy (e.g., Let’s See What Happens for Trickster).
• Spirit-specific generation (e.g., Shroud’s damaged-invader bonus).

Heuristic: if you end a turn with more than 2 energy banked, you likely under-spent last turn. Exception: you’re saving for a high-cost card next turn.

Card-play tempo

Most spirits open at 2CP (sometimes 1CP). CP scaling is the tightest bottleneck past T3 for almost every spirit.

What raises CP:

• Growth slots that unlock +CP.
• Reclaim — not a CP gain per se, but enables cycling the same 2 cards forever.
• Rare spirit-specific mechanics (Many Minds’ special rule; Fractured Days’ engine).

Heuristic: if you’re not playing your maximum CP every turn past T3, you’ve over-invested elsewhere. Holding cards is almost never correct for most spirits.

Presence tempo

Presence does three things at once — targeting, sacred sites, damage absorption. Tempo here is subtler.

What raises presence tempo:

• Growth slots that place presence.
• Spirit-specific mechanics (Fangs’ Beasts, Many Minds’ Beasts-as-presence).
• Moving existing presence (Shroud, Shadows).

Heuristic: your presence count usually peaks around T3–T4, then gradually decays as ravages destroy it. If your presence count rises past T5, you’re over-growing.

Banking vs. spending

Every turn, you choose between banking (saving a resource for next turn) and spending (deploying it now). The banking question is the hardest strategic question in the game.

When to bank

• You have a high-cost play coming up next turn that solves a bigger problem.
• The adversary’s immediate pressure is low (T1 standard-deck is often forgiving).
• Your spirit has a reclaim coming that would waste the cards you’d play now.

When to spend

• A ravage is about to hit and you have the cards to prevent or absorb.
• Elements this turn cross an innate threshold you’ll lose access to next turn.
• Fear payout — “I generate 3 fear this turn or I don’t” is a now-or-never.

The most common banking mistake

“I’ll hold this fast power for when the ravage is worse.”

Usually wrong. The ravage is worst when it happens. If you can prevent or mitigate now, do it; the next worst ravage is worse than the current one, but you’ll have more resources then.

The tempo cliff

Every spirit has a cliff turn — the turn where, if you haven’t set up properly, you collapse. Examples:

• Wildfire: T4 collapse if you don’t have 2 Fire + 3 Plant by end of T3.
• Shadows: T5 collapse if you don’t have a reliable damage pipeline online.
• Bringer: T3 collapse if you don’t have the fear loop running.
• Ocean: T4 collapse if you haven’t established coastal drowning by T3.

A spirit chapter’s Tempo Profile table shows the expected state per round. Diverge at your peril — or knowingly, as a read.

Tempo vs. elements

Elements are not free. Gaining elements via growth costs you presence-placement or CP-gain. Element-rich plays cost cards.

The trade:

• High-element growth — you sacrifice presence for faster innate threshold activation. Great for spirits with huge innate payoffs (Shadows, Lightning).
• Low-element growth — you sacrifice innate power for presence + CP. Great for spirits whose cards carry the load (Thunderspeaker, some Earth openings).

Per-turn tempo audit (a drill)

After each game, ask:

1. Which turn was my peak? If not T6–T8, you may have spiked too early or late.
2. Which turn was my weakest? Was it planned (reclaim, growth-heavy) or forced (collapse)?
3. Did I bank on a turn I shouldn’t have? — count banked energy > 2 as a signal.
4. Did I spend on a turn I shouldn’t have? — check if you forced a threshold activation that cost a card you wanted later.
5. Did I misread the adversary’s pressure curve? — which turn did it surprise you?

Log the answer in si-post-game. Across 10–15 games, tempo errors become the pattern you see, and you fix them.

Summary heuristics

Cross-references

• Presence Economy — the deep dive on the presence axis.
• Energy Curves — per-spirit target energy curves.
• Major vs. Minor — tempo implications of card-draft choice.
• The Fear Track — tempo of fear generation.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Presence Economy

Presence is the game’s most overloaded resource. It’s simultaneously:

• a targeting anchor (most powers require presence in or near the target land),
• a board currency (sacred sites unlock innate abilities + certain card effects),
• a damage sink (when ravages destroy it, they spare dahan and delay blight),
• a tempo investment (growth slots that place presence trade against energy/CP growth).

Treating presence as any one of these is the beginner mistake. This chapter teaches you to reason about all four simultaneously.

The opening budget

You start with 3 presence on the board (seeded by the spirit setup) and 10 presence in your supply to place throughout the game. Over a typical 8-round game you’ll place ~7–9 presence. The rest sit in supply or stay on the track unused.

The rule: not every presence needs a home. Sometimes the right play is to leave a slot unplaced and take an energy/CP growth instead. Presence just-in-case is a common tempo leak.

The four presence roles, quantified

1. Targeting anchor

Powers with “Target: your presence” or “Range N from your presence” require at least 1 presence in the relevant area. Spread-heavy spirits (Green, Lightning, Thunderspeaker) need broad coverage. Focused spirits (Wildfire, Starlight) need density, not spread.

Heuristic: count the ravage lands on your spirit’s horizon. You usually need 1 presence adjacent to each critical ravage target. Minimum coverage for most base-adversary games: 5 lands.

2. Sacred sites

A land with 2+ of your presence is a sacred site. Many innates and some powers require “target a sacred site.” Stone, Keeper, Earth lean on sacred-site density; Fangs deliberately avoids them.

Heuristic: if your spirit’s innates or cards say “sacred site,” you want 2–3 sacred sites by T4. If they don’t, a sacred site is wasted presence density — spread instead.

3. Damage sink

When a ravage hits a land with your presence, and damage exceeds dahan health, your presence gets destroyed (sometimes along with dahan). Destroyed presence usually adds blight to the land.

This is presence as insurance: if a ravage will happen and you can’t prevent it, placing presence in that land sacrifices one presence to save 1 blight. 1 blight = 1 step closer to cascade.

Heuristic: place presence in high-ravage terrain before T3 for exactly this reason. The presence acts as a shield.

4. Tempo investment

Every presence placed costs an energy/CP growth you didn’t take. Over 8 turns, 4 presence placements means 4 growths not taken elsewhere.

Heuristic: if you’re at 2E and 3CP by T5 with 5 presence on the board, you spent right. If you’re at 1E and 2CP with 9 presence, you over-invested in placement.

The presence curve

Most spirits follow a predictable presence arc:

The decay on T7+ is from ravages destroying board presence. If your presence count rises past T5, you’re over-growing.

Presence destruction isn’t always bad

For most spirits, losing presence is painful. For some, it’s the engine:

• Vengeance: presence destruction adds Disease. A planned sacrifice accelerates the spirit.
• Wildfire: presence destruction enables 1-blight wipes of low-health targets.
• Serpent: some aspects convert destroyed presence to other board tokens.

For these spirits, the presence economy flips: spending presence is the damage engine.

Territorial spirits vs. flexible spirits

Some spirits care about which lands their presence occupies. Others don’t.

Territorial spirits (presence position matters):

• Shroud — wants presence surrounding invaders in specific lands.
• Stone — sacred-site clusters determine which lands are “safe.”
• Shifting Memory — presence location gates memory cycling.

Flexible spirits (presence location is fungible):

• Lightning — short-range; moves where targets are.
• Trickster — cares about element sources, not positions.
• Fractured Days — the time-skipping engine is mostly independent of position.

Your opening should acknowledge this. Territorial spirits bias toward presence-placement growths; flexible spirits bias toward energy/CP growths.

The “destroy your own presence” trade

Rare but real. Some plays give you the option to destroy your own presence for an effect (e.g., certain unique powers, certain Majors). Do this only when:

1. The effect clears a ravage that would otherwise cost 2+ blight.
2. The presence destroyed was in a terrible land (low-value for targeting, low-value as sink).
3. Your spirit converts destroyed presence into value (Vengeance, some Incarna spirits).

Reading presence on other spirits (multiplayer)

When you have a partner, count their presence too. Cross-spirit presence coverage matters for:

• Defend sharing — a Thunderspeaker with dahan nearby can defend your ravage if your presence is adjacent.
• Fear coordination — Bringer’s fear cards trigger more broadly with more spirits’ presence on the board.
• Territory splits — see Teaching Methods for conventions on who takes which terrain.

Cross-references

• Tempo — how presence interacts with the energy/CP axes.
• Terrain — where to place presence by land type.
• Dahan — dahan as alternative/complementary damage sinks.
• Blight Track — the downside of presence destruction.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Major vs. Minor — A Stats-Backed Framework

This is the most important draft decision in Spirit Island, and also the one most often handled by feel rather than framework. This chapter gives you the framework.

The core question

Every time you grow on a “gain a power card” slot, you choose: Minor (cheap, supportive, 4 cards offered) or Major (expensive, game-changing, 4 cards offered, costs you a Forget).

Over a game, most spirits gain 3–6 power cards. Getting the Minor/Major ratio right is worth ~15–20% on your win rate at high difficulty. Getting it wrong is how you lose games you “should” have won.

The four archetypes

Spirits fall into four draft biases. Learn which archetype your spirit is before you draft.

1. Minor-heavy

Cheap, curve-fit, multi-card plays every turn. Minors slot naturally into these spirits’ energy + CP.

Spirits here: Sharp Fangs, Many Minds (opening 1), Downpour, Shroud (opening 1), Lightning, River (openings 1–2 early).

Rule: gain 2–3 Minors before you even think about a Major. If your Minors are all 0–1 cost, you can sustain 3+ CP per turn at 2–3 energy. Majors would starve the curve.

2. Major-heavy

Expensive, game-changing, spirit wants to hit a threshold (usually 3 CP + 3E+) to fire Majors reliably.

Spirits here: Vital Strength of the Earth (classic), Keeper, Stone’s Unyielding, Starlight, Covets.

Rule: go Major as early as your curve supports — often T2–T4. Forget a weak Unique; 0 Minors is fine. Shopping 3+ Majors over a game is normal.

3. Mixed

Some Minors to sustain the curve, 1–2 high-value Majors for late-game closing. Most spirits default here.

Spirits here: Thunderspeaker, Shadows, Ocean, Green, Bringer, Fractured Days, Trickster (all openings), Finder, Serpent.

Rule: gain 2 Minors T1–T3, then a Major T4–T6, then another Minor or Major depending on what the matchup demands.

4. Flexible / Adversary-driven

The spirit’s strength is breadth — different matchups want different drafts. Play the adversary, not the spirit.

Spirits here: Wildfire (Early Major vs England; Full-bottom minors vs Sweden), Sharp Fangs across its 4 openings, Lure (depends on opening choice), Behemoth.

Rule: read the adversary’s pressure curve first (see Tempo), then pick archetype 1–3 to match.

The four decision factors

In order of weight:

1. Energy curve fit

The question: does your spirit generate enough energy by T3 to play the Major you gain?

Majors cost 3–8 energy. A 4-cost Major played on T4 means you hit 4E by T4. Most spirits that aren’t Earth don’t.

2. Forget cost

When you gain a Major, you forget a card. If your spirit has a bad Unique (classic: Earth’s Draw of the Fresh Waters on some matchups; Wildfire’s Flash-Fires), that’s a bonus.

If your spirit has no weak Unique, forgetting is a real cost. Minors don’t ask for a Forget — they’re free to slot in.

3. Card pool variance

Majors have 4-card offers that skew toward specific elements or effects. If your spirit has narrow element requirements, the Major offer often has 0–1 useful cards. Passing and going Minor is better than taking a misfit Major.

Minors have 4-card offers with better average fit for most spirits because the minor pool is broader + cheaper.

4. Game-phase fit

• Early game (T1–3) — Minors almost always win. They’re cheap enough to play immediately.
• Mid (T4–6) — Majors start paying off. Mixed archetypes pivot here.
• Late (T7+) — either you’ve already shopped Majors, or you’re playing Minor-heavy and don’t care.

The mermaid decision tree

          Turn 1–3: which archetype is your spirit?
                            |
           +----------------+----------------+
           |                |                |
      Minor-heavy       Mixed           Major-heavy
           |                |                |
     Gain Minors     Gain Minors T1–3   Gain Major T1–3
     all the way     Major T4–6         More Majors later
                     Minor/Major late

If you play Flexible, read the adversary first — see the Adversary Matchup Matrix in that spirit’s chapter.

The stats

See the Major vs. Minor Draft Rates chapter for the full per-spirit breakdown.

The passing game

Sometimes the right play is decline a card gain. You can’t decline a growth option that says “gain a card,” but you can pass on the card offered and take a Forget-only move, or you can take a 4th card you won’t use just to avoid a Forget.

You pass a Major when:

• No card in the offer fits your element profile.
• Your energy curve won’t support it for 2+ turns.
• Your Unique cards are all too valuable to Forget.

You pass a Minor when:

• Rare — almost never pass a Minor.
• Exception: hand size cap constraints (some spirits cap lower).

The “just take the shiny” trap

Majors look great on the card. Vigor of the Breaking Dawn reads like the game-winner. But if you play it once at T6 and never again, you overpaid.

Rule of thumb: a Major is only worth its cost if you play it twice in the game. Once-and-done Majors are net losses unless they outright closed the game.

A per-spirit rule of thumb

From the priority spirits (see per-chapter pages for the full stat-backed recommendations):

All 39 spirits below. Biases marked TBD will be refined as each spirit’s chapter is authored. Directional hints are community-consensus best-guesses where a chapter doesn’t yet exist.

Base (8):

Branch & Claw (2):

Promo — Feather & Flame (2):

Promo Pack 2 (2):

Horizons (5):

Jagged Earth (10):

Nature Incarnate (10):

Cross-references

• Tempo — why curve fit matters.
• Energy Curves — per-spirit target energy trajectories.
• Card Draft Theory — the deep mechanics of the draft itself.
• Major vs. Minor Draft Rates — the full stat page.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Energy Curves

Every spirit has an energy curve — a per-round target income and spend profile. Hit the curve and your engine fires reliably; fall below and your hand rots; over-bank and your tempo stalls.

This chapter gives you the curve shapes for the four archetypes plus specific notes for the Brett-priority spirits.

What “energy curve” means

Two numbers per round:

1. Income — what your presence track + growth produces this turn.
2. Spend — what your playable hand actually costs.

Target: income ≈ spend + 1 (a small buffer). Equality is fine; banking > 2 is usually wrong; spending more than income means you gained a Major you can’t afford.

The four curve archetypes

1. Slow-ramp (Defend & Outlast, Major Power Shopping)

Example: Vital Strength of the Earth, Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds.

Slow-ramp banks 1E through T2–T3 to afford T5 Majors. Deviation cost: skipping the bank means no Major on T5, and the archetype fails.

2. Fast-energy (Lightning, high-E Horizons spirits)

Fast-energy spends aggressively — cards cycle, presence lands, and the spirit’s pressure stays constant. Banking > 1E past T3 indicates you dropped a play.

3. Flat-cheap (Minor-heavy spirits)

Example: Downpour, Many Minds, Shroud (openings 1–2), Fangs.

Flat-cheap lives on 0–1 cost Minors. Income rarely clears 3E because it doesn’t need to. Banking = error (you drafted the wrong Minors).

4. Late-spike (Vengeance, Serpent)

Late-spike lives for T7–T8. Early turns are weak by design; late turns are game-ending.

Per-spirit energy targets (Brett-priority)

All 39 spirits below. Targets are directional; revisions per spirit land as each chapter is authored.

Base (8):

Branch & Claw (2):

Promo — Feather & Flame (2):

Promo Pack 2 (2):

Horizons (5):

Jagged Earth (10):

Nature Incarnate (10):

Deviation cost

Falling 1E below curve for 1 turn costs you ~1 card play.
Falling 1E below curve for 3 turns compounds to ~3 missed plays = usually a lost game at L5+.
Banking 2+ E over curve means you missed a play; the extra energy doesn’t make up for it.

When to deviate on purpose

• Save for a Major next turn: legitimate bank. Limit: 1 turn.
• Scenario-specific: some scenarios (Powers Long Forgotten) forbid certain cards, forcing banking.
• Emergency defend: burning 2E on A Year of Perfect Stillness saves a game; worth spiking out-of-curve for one turn.

Cross-references

• Tempo — energy is one axis of tempo.
• Major vs. Minor — draft decisions shaped by curve.
• Card Draft Theory — draft in alignment with curve.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Card Draft Theory

Every Minor or Major gain pops a 4-card offer. You pick one, the other three shuffle back. That’s the mechanic. The theory — when to take, when to pass, how to coordinate drafts with a partner — is what separates drafting by feel from drafting for leverage.

Read this after Major vs. Minor. That chapter sets the archetype-level bias; this one operates below it.

The 4-card offer

When you gain a Minor Power, 4 Minor Power cards reveal from the top of the Minor deck. You take 1; the other 3 return to the bottom of the deck.

When you gain a Major Power, 4 Major Power cards reveal from the top of the Major deck. You take 1 (and pay the Forget cost); the other 3 return.

In multiplayer, the offer is pooled by default — any spirit can take any revealed card, but only the acting spirit pays the gain cost. This creates coordination opportunities (and alpha-gaming traps — see Alpha-Player Problem).

The two axes of card evaluation

Every offer card is evaluated on two dimensions, simultaneously:

1. Spirit fit

Does the card’s elements, cost, and effect type fit your spirit?

• Elements: the card adds elements to your per-turn total; you care about elements your innates threshold.
• Cost: the card must play within your energy curve.
• Effect type: damage, fear, defend, push, gather, etc. — matching your spirit’s needs.

A 0-cost Moon Minor for Shadows is A+. A 3-cost Fire-only Minor for Shadows is D because the cost breaks the curve.

2. Offer variance

What are the other 3 cards? If all 4 are weak fits, the best of 4 may still be worth taking. If 1 is a perfect fit and 3 are irrelevant, take the fit.

Experienced drafters think about expected-next-offer too: if you pass this mediocre card, the next gain-growth produces a fresh 4-offer. Sometimes the draft is a ratchet — take the decent card now because variance may hand you a worse offer next turn.

The decision tree

For each gain:

graph TD
  Q1{Is any offer a top-tier fit?} -->|Yes| Take[Take it]
  Q1 -->|No| Q2{Is the best-of-4 at least B-tier?}
  Q2 -->|Yes| Q3{Do I have energy + CP for another gain soon?}
  Q3 -->|Yes| Consider[Consider passing; next gain may be better]
  Q3 -->|No| Take
  Q2 -->|No| Q4{Am I critically short on this effect type?}
  Q4 -->|Yes| Take
  Q4 -->|No| Pass[Take the least-bad or pass if possible]

“Pass” here means: take a weak card to clear the offer, or take a gain-option that doesn’t advance card count (rarely available).

Multiplayer draft coordination

The 4-offer is pooled. Any spirit can claim a revealed card. This means:

Pre-gain discussion

Before Spirit A’s growth triggers a gain, a quick table check:

• “Anyone want a gain this turn? I could pick different growth.”
• “If the offer has X, call dibs.”

During-gain claim

When 4 cards reveal:

• Spirit A (gainer) announces their top pick.
• If Spirit B or C wants a different revealed card MORE than their own upcoming gain, they may swap — but only the gainer executes the gain mechanically.

Gain-pooling patterns

• Spirit A has a Major gain but nothing fits. Spirit B needs a Minor but doesn’t have a gain this turn. Spirit A can “waste” their Major gain on a Minor-shape offer for Spirit B’s benefit — if the table agreed.
• Multiple claims on one card: communicate before the reveal.

The alpha-gaming risk is real here. See Alpha-Player Problem for how to keep this coordination fair.

Forget math

Majors require a Forget. Evaluate:

• Which card am I forgetting? The weakest Unique, typically. Check the spirit chapter for your “forget-candidate.”
• Is the forget candidate still useful? Some Uniques degrade in the matchup (Wildfire’s Flash-Fires vs. England), making them free Forgets. Others are load-bearing (Earth’s Guard the Healing Land), making the Forget painful.
• Net value: Major gained − forgotten card utility. If negative, the Major isn’t worth it.

Draft cadence

Most spirits gain 3–5 cards over a game (excluding Major Power Shoppers who gain 5–7). Your draft cadence is:

• T1: if a gain-growth option exists, usually take it.
• T2–T3: 1–2 more gains, depending on spirit’s draft-bias.
• T4–T6: Major consideration (if Mixed or Major-heavy bias); more Minors (if Minor-heavy).
• T7+: closer draft — the one that ends the game.

Over-gaining (5+ cards on a Minor-heavy spirit) produces a bloated hand you can’t play. Under-gaining (2 cards by T6) leaves you without options. Target 3–4 total for most spirits.

Pass to shuffle

If an offer is uniformly bad AND you have future gains coming, refusing this one shuffles the 4 back to deck bottom — improving the next gain’s offer statistically. Rarely a primary strategy but valid as a tie-breaker.

Pool-size awareness

The Minor deck has ~101 cards; Major ~80. Your offers draw from this pool. Late-game, the deck shrinks as cards get into hands and stay there. Card variance changes — the 4-card offer late in a long game is often worse than a T2 offer because the “best” cards are already in play.

Card-specific grades

Each spirit chapter has a Card Priority Ratings table (e.g., Shadows’s table) listing the top Minors, Majors, and Uniques for that spirit. Refer to those when drafting at the table.

Stat insight

Common mistakes

Cross-references

• Major vs. Minor — archetype bias.
• Energy Curves — cost fit.
• Alpha-Player Problem — draft-coordination etiquette.
• SICK Card Database — browse + filter all power cards.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

The Fear Track

Fear is the win-condition currency. Read this chapter to internalize how fear actually scales, when you should rush it, and when you should treat it as secondary to board control.

How fear gets generated

Fear enters your pool from four sources:

1. Killing invaders — every Explorer/Town/City death = 1/1/2 fear respectively.
2. Fear-generating cards — specific Minors, Majors, and some Uniques add fear directly.
3. Innate powers — some spirits generate fear as thresholds fire (Shadows, Bringer, Many Minds, Shroud).
4. Scenario / event effects — rare but exist.

For most spirits, kills dominate fear generation. For fear-heavy spirits (Shadows, Bringer, Many Minds, Shroud), innates + cards can match or exceed kill-fear.

How fear converts to wins

The fear pool’s size scales with player count:

• 1 player: 4 fear to flip a card, 12 total to reach Terror 3.
• 2 player: 8 to flip, 24 total.
• 3 player: 12 to flip, 36 total.
• 4 player: 16 to flip, 48 total.

Each flip shifts the Terror Level:

• Terror 1 (start) → Terror 2: at Terror 2, you win if no Cities remain.
• Terror 2 → Terror 3: at Terror 3, you win if no Cities AND Towns remain.
• Post-Terror 3: you win if no invaders of any kind remain in any land.

Wait — that’s backwards from how most players memorize it. The correct reading:

• Before any Terror flip: you need no invaders at all to win.
• After 1st flip (Terror Level 2): you win if you only have Explorers left, no Cities or Towns.
• After 2nd flip (Terror Level 3): you win if you have no Cities. Towns + Explorers OK.
• After 3rd flip: instant win.

Terror flips loosen your victory condition. More fear = easier to win.

The fear-card stack

At setup, the fear deck is built from Terror-1, Terror-2, and Terror-3 cards, shuffled into three stacks, with Terror-3 cards bottom-most. This means:

• Early fear draws = low-impact Terror-1 cards.
• Mid-game = Terror-2 cards (often stronger, with immediate effects).
• Late-game = Terror-3 cards (typically sweeping, board-altering).

This creates a fear quality curve: fear generated early produces small effects; fear generated late produces big effects. Fear-rush builds exploit this by rushing to the bottom of the stack.

When to rush fear

Fear is a viable primary win path when:

1. Your spirit generates fear independent of kills (Shadows, Bringer, Many Minds).
2. The adversary allows fear generation (not Sweden, not Russia Stage II+).
3. Board control is stable enough to survive until you win on fear.

If any one of those fails, fear-rush fails. You end up with Terror 3 flipped, 12 Cities on the board, and no Cities-win because you’re below Terror 3.

When NOT to rush fear

• Sweden — escalation effect + L1+ rules penalize fear cards.
• Russia — mid/late levels add fear-suppression.
• Spirits with no innate fear generation + slow kill pace — you’ll never hit Terror 3.

Fear-tempo vs. kill-tempo

Two common fear-generation shapes:

Fear-tempo (heavy innate fear)

• Shadows: innate triggers generate ~1–3 fear per turn on threshold hits.
• Bringer: fear cards you trigger via innate.
• Many Minds: Beset and Confound scales fear up to 6.

These spirits produce fear even without kills. They’re also often worse at straight damage — they need fear as their closing condition because they can’t clear cities fast.

Kill-tempo (fear from bodies)

• Wildfire, Fangs, Lightning: most fear comes from kills.
• They clear cities fast; fear rises in parallel.
• Often over-kill so hard that they win on “no invaders” rather than Terror-3-unlocked-win.

Heuristic: match your opening to your spirit’s shape. Don’t try to fear-rush Fangs; don’t try to board-wipe with Bringer.

The timing question

When does fear you generate “count”? It enters the pool immediately. The Terror flip happens at Time Passes, after Slow powers. This means:

• Fear gained during Fast or Slow of T3 can flip Terror 2 at end of T3.
• Terror 2’s loosened win condition is active starting T4.

For “I need Terror 2 to win on this kill” plays, make sure the fear to cross the threshold is in the pool by end of Slow, not after.

Stat insight: fear by adversary

Fear-card quality (what you actually draw)

The 45-card fear deck varies heavily in impact. See Fear Card Expected Value for the per-card analysis. Top-3 blowout fear cards across the deck:

1. Terror-3 cards adding “destroy 1 Town in each land” — basically free city→town conversions.
2. Terror-2 cards pushing cities coastal — Ocean + fear = stable engine.
3. Terror-1 cards adding dahan — often undervalued; dahan scaling is strong.

Fear + scoring

Even in a loss, fear is scored. “Fear 5/12” on a loss = partial credit. Matters for tournament / tracking purposes but not for winning.

Cross-references

• Fear Card Expected Value — per-card data.
• Fear Rush — archetype build.
• Blight Track — the other win/loss axis.
• Specific fear-heavy spirits: Shadows, Bringer, Many Minds, Shroud.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

The Blight Track

Blight is the game’s slow-death timer. Every ravage that can’t absorb its damage adds blight. Every 2nd blight in one land cascades — adds blight to adjacent lands, potentially chaining across the board. The blight pool has finite tokens; when it runs out, you lose.

Reading the blight track well is the difference between winning a scrappy late game and losing to a blight cascade you didn’t see coming.

How blight works

Adding blight

When a ravage’s damage to a land exceeds the land’s absorption:

1. Dahan absorb first (2 HP each).
2. Your presence absorbs next (1 HP per token, destroys the token).
3. Remaining damage = blight added to the land.

If the land already had blight: the 2nd blight cascades — add 1 blight to each adjacent land.

The blight pool

At setup, you seed a blight pool sized by player count (typically 2 per player + 1 base, but scenario-dependent). Each blight token placed on the board comes from the pool.

When the pool runs out: you lose. Full stop.

Healed blight

Some powers remove blight from a land, returning the token to the pool. These are precious — the archetype’s only insurance.

The blight budget

Over a 6–8 round game, expect:

If you’re at cap by T6, you’re in trouble; by T7 you’ve already lost and don’t know it.

Cascades explained

A cascade adds 1 blight to each adjacent land (not just one). A well-connected land in the island’s interior can cascade to 4–5 lands in a single event. A corner coastal land cascades to only 1–2.

Cascade-prevention > cascade-containment. Once a cascade fires, it often chains (the new blight on adjacent lands pushes them to 2nd-blight soon). Preventing is 5x easier than recovering.

Reading ahead

Top 3 things to check each turn for blight:

1. Which lands have 1 blight already? — those are the cascade candidates.
2. What’s the upcoming ravage? — if it hits a 1-blight land with overflow damage, you’re about to cascade.
3. Blight pool count — what’s left in the pool?

Most players miss #1. The 1-blight land is often a land they “handled” in an earlier turn; they stopped worrying about it. Cascade arrives from neglect, not from the new ravage directly.

Mitigation toolkit

Prevent the overflow

• Defend reduces ravage damage directly. The cheapest blight prevention.
• Dahan absorb damage before presence; keep dahan alive in 1-blight lands.
• Presence-sink in ravage-target lands if dahan aren’t enough.

Prevent the cascade

• Kill invaders before ravage (Fast powers). No ravage = no damage = no blight.
• Push invaders out of 1-blight lands before ravage.
• Remove the 1st blight via blight-removal powers.

Recover after cascade

Hardest — often requires multiple turns to heal multiple lands. Fangs, Green, and Keeper have the strongest blight-removal toolkits.

Blight by spirit

All 39 spirits below, grouped by their interaction with blight.

Blight-removing (actively heals blight)

Blight-preventing (prevents ravage damage before it becomes blight)

Blight-positive (intentionally adds blight; scales with it)

Blight-neutral (depend on defend + dahan; no special interaction)

Blight-positive spirits

Two spirits want blight (Wildfire, Vengeance). Their partners must tolerate this:

• Wildfire adds blight for damage; partner spirits must not also blight-destructive.
• Vengeance treats blight as badlands (damage multiplier). Higher island blight = better Vengeance late-game.

Blight cards (Branch & Claw+)

B&C introduces a blight deck — 24 cards with specific effects on blight. Ignore at your peril:

• Some cards add blight directly.
• Some cards remove blight.
• Some cards shift blight between lands.

See Fear, Blight & Event Decks Reference (M5 milestone) for per-card analysis.

Scenario blight modifiers

Several scenarios adjust blight:

• Second Wave: extra blight seeded at setup.
• Rituals of the Destroying Flame: blight accelerates dramatically.
• Powers Long Forgotten: limits powers that remove blight.

Always check scenario rules before drafting a blight-sensitive spirit into a scenario.

Stat insight

Common mistakes

Cross-references

• Terrain — cascade spreads through adjacency.
• Dahan — damage absorption.
• Presence Economy — presence as blight insurance.
• Fear, Blight & Event Decks — per-card reference.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Dahan — The Island’s People

Dahan are the native humans of the island — not spirits, not invaders. They’re neutral pieces that act on invaders in specific conditions, absorb damage during ravages, and generate fear when defending. Getting dahan wrong is the fastest path to losing a game you were “winning.”

The three roles of a dahan

1. Counterattack unit — when a land is ravaged, surviving dahan deal 2 damage to invaders in that land.
2. Damage sink — ravage damage is taken first by dahan (2 HP each); once dahan die, presence gets destroyed.
3. Scoring asset — some scenarios + some powers reward dahan preservation.

Ignoring role 1 is the most common mistake. Ignoring role 2 is the most expensive mistake.

Dahan mechanics

• HP: 2 per dahan.
• Damage output (ravage retaliation): 2 per dahan.
• Build / Explore interaction: dahan don’t interact with Build or Explore; only Ravage.
• Movement: can be Pushed or Gathered by powers.
• Destruction: killed when they take 2+ damage. Destroyed dahan leave no token.

Dahan in the ravage sequence

During a Ravage:

1. Invaders and dahan calculate damage.
2. Invaders deal damage = total invader health in the land (1 Explorer + 2 Town + 3 City = varies).
3. Dahan deal damage = 2 × surviving dahan count (in retaliation).
4. Damage is dealt simultaneously; then:
   • Dahan damage above 2 per dahan kills them.
   • Invader damage can be absorbed by dahan, then by presence, then land becomes blight.

Key insight: you can deliberately put dahan in the ravage line to kill invaders via retaliation, even if the dahan die.

The “martyr” play

On a T2–T3 with 2 dahan in a ravage land containing 1 Town and 1 Explorer:

• Invaders deal 3 damage → kills 1 dahan (2 HP used) + 1 presence (1 HP used).
• Dahan deal 4 damage → kills the Town (2 HP) + the Explorer (1 HP). 1 damage overflow.
• Result: you lose 1 dahan + 1 presence, but the land is clear and no blight added.

Without the dahan, that ravage is: 3 damage → 3 presence destroyed → 1–3 blight depending on defend.

Trade evaluation: 1 dahan + 1 presence for a clear land + both invaders dead. Usually worth it early-game, sometimes worth it late-game if it prevents a cascade.

Dahan as fear

Several powers generate fear per dahan in a land. Thunderspeaker is the archetype:

• Thunderspeaker innates generate fear scaling with dahan count on-the-board.
• Dahan Insurrection scenario — dahan become the scoring asset.
• Bringer’s fear cards interact with dahan density.

If your spirit cares about dahan, you protect them and sometimes grow their population (via certain powers like Manifestation of Power and Glory).

Dahan in multiplayer

Dahan are shared across all spirits. Neither you nor your teammate “owns” them. This creates coordination questions:

• Who defends the dahan ravage? — ambiguous by default. Agree before Fast powers.
• Who buffs the dahan counterattack? — typically Thunderspeaker or a dahan-themed spirit.
• Can dahan be sacrificed across spirits’ plans? — yes; but surprise it-dies-anyway plays feel bad. Flag before playing.

Dahan by adversary

• Brandenburg-Prussia: dahan-friendly; no direct dahan punishment.
• England: neutral.
• Sweden: neutral.
• France: enslavement mechanics — dahan can be removed to the Plantation.
• Russia: Settler mechanics — dahan get pushed/killed by Settlers.
• Habsburg Mining: neutral.
• Scotland: dahan-friendly.
• Habsburg Livestock: dahan-friendly.

France and Russia flag dahan-centric spirits (Thunderspeaker, Dahan-Insurrection-scenario builds) as risky.

Dahan by spirit bias — all 39 spirits

Grouped by interaction intensity. Default for unlisted nuance: dahan are preserved as damage sinks, not multiplied.

Dahan-positive (dahan are the engine or a primary resource)

• Thunderspeaker: dahan as power multiplier. Grows dahan density; defends them aggressively; wins via dahan-fear-cards.
• Hearth-Vigil: Incarna protects dahan directly; dahan preservation = spirit engine.
• Ferocious Warrior of the Lost Lands: dahan as warrior units; positional + directly empowered.
• Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves: dahan-adjacent — Ranging Hunt uses dahan + beasts together.

Dahan-interactive (cards or innates reference dahan)

• Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares: fear cards scale with dahan count in target land.
• Vital Strength of the Earth: some defend cards preserve dahan; dahan density supports late-game kills.
• A Spread of Rampant Green: dahan-friendly by ecology; some cards reference dahan population.
• Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds: sacred-site cards sometimes interact with dahan; generally dahan-preserving.
• River Surges in Sunlight: push/gather moves dahan as well as invaders.
• Lure of the Deep Wilderness: can pull dahan into wilderness lands for specific effects.
• Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine: fear cards scaling with dahan similar to Bringer.

Dahan-neutral (dahan are useful where present, not central)

• Lightning’s Swift Strike: dahan useful for retaliation damage; no specific scaling.
• Shadows Flicker Like Flame: dahan useful as fear-trigger; not multiplied.
• Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: dahan are fine but the drowning-coast engine is primary.
• Finder of Paths Unseen: mobility includes dahan; no specific scaling.
• Stone’s Unyielding Defiance: dahan defended via sacred-site coverage; not multiplied.
• Shifting Memory of Ages: dahan present at start; card effects vary.
• Shroud of Silent Mist: dahan useful but damaged-invader engine is primary.
• Many Minds Move as One: beasts are the focus; dahan present but secondary.
• Starlight Seeks Its Form: form-dependent; some forms care about dahan.
• Fractured Days Split the Sky: time-skip engine is primary; dahan incidental.
• Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island: late-game focus; dahan neutral.
• Downpour Drenches the World: isolation engine; dahan neutral.
• Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot: simple damage; dahan neutral.
• Eyes Watch from the Trees: support; dahan neutral.
• Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: defend; dahan preserved.
• Rising Heat of Stone and Sand: direct damage; dahan incidental.
• Sun-Bright Whirlwind: mobility; dahan incidental.
• Ember-Eyed Behemoth: Incarna-damage-focused; dahan incidental.
• Towering Roots of the Jungle: defend-focused; dahan preserved.
• Relentless Gaze of the Sun: Sun-Incarna focus; dahan incidental.
• Wandering Voice Keens Delirium: strife-fear focus; dahan incidental.
• Wounded Waters Bleeding: water-Incarna; dahan incidental.
• Dances Up Earthquakes: earth-Incarna; dahan incidental.
• Covets Gleaming Shards of Earth: Major-hoarding; dahan neutral.

Dahan-negative (ignore or sacrifice dahan)

• Heart of the Wildfire: doesn’t care; will ravage them away as part of blight-positive play.
• Vengeance as a Burning Plague: dahan are secondary; disease concentration is primary; late-game ok sacrificing.
• Volcano Looming High: destruction is thematic; dahan in eruption lands die.
• Grinning Trickster: chaotic; dahan movement is incidental, sometimes harmful to them.

The spirit chapter’s At-a-Glance should flag “dahan-sensitive” as an archetype when it applies.

Stat insight

Heuristics

Common mistakes

Cross-references

• Thunderspeaker — the dahan-centric spirit.
• Fear Track — dahan-retaliation kills generate fear.
• Blight Track — dahan absorption delays blight.
• Dahan Insurrection — dahan-scoring scenario.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

Spirits — Overview & Index

Spirit Island has 42 spirits (base + all expansions + promos). This chapter orients you: which spirit to read, which to play, which to pair, and which chapters exist as full deep-dives versus stubs pending authorship.

Every spirit chapter follows the Rei-derived canonical format: At a Glance → Framing → Core Mechanics → Strategic Principles → Opening Strategy → Element/Aspect Preferences → Card Priority Ratings → Adversary Matchup Matrix → Board Position → Game-Phase Strategy → Synergies → Common Mistakes → Tempo Profile → Major vs. Minor → Stat Snapshot → Sources.

Chapter status

By complexity tier

Low complexity (learn these first)

Base game’s 8 spirits, plus new-player-friendly picks.

• River Surges in Sunlight
• Lightning’s Swift Strike
• Shadows Flicker Like Flame ← MVP authored
• Vital Strength of the Earth
• Ocean’s Hungry Grasp
• A Spread of Rampant Green
• Thunderspeaker
• Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares

Moderate complexity

Branch & Claw, Horizons, Promo Pack 2, and the easier Jagged Earth spirits.

• Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves
• Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds
• Heart of the Wildfire
• Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island
• Downpour Drenches the World
• Finder of Paths Unseen
• Horizons spirits: Devouring Teeth, Eyes Watch from the Trees, Fathomless Mud, Rising Heat, Sun-Bright Whirlwind
• Jagged Earth moderate: Shifting Memory of Ages, Grinning Trickster, Many Minds Move as One, Shroud of Silent Mist, Vengeance as a Burning Plague, Volcano Looming High

High complexity

Jagged Earth + Nature Incarnate’s harder spirits.

• Stone’s Unyielding Defiance
• Lure of the Deep Wilderness
• Fractured Days Split the Sky ← Brett priority
• Starlight Seeks Its Form
• Nature Incarnate: Wounded Waters Bleeding, Dances Up Earthquakes, Ember-Eyed Behemoth, Relentless Gaze of the Sun, Towering Roots of the Jungle, Hearth-Vigil, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine

Very high complexity

• Wandering Voice Keens Delirium
• Covets Gleaming Shards of Earth
• Ferocious Warrior of the Lost Lands

By archetype

Fear farms (win via Terror 3)

Shadows, Bringer, Many Minds, Shroud, (Trickster late-game).

Dahan multipliers

Thunderspeaker, (Fangs via Ranging Hunt), (Bringer for fear cards scaling with dahan).

Blight-positive / damage-via-corruption

Vengeance, Wildfire (partially).

Coastal / ocean-dependent

Ocean, (Serpent aspects).

Energy denial / tempo disruption

Trickster, (Mist partial), (Fractured Days via time skip).

Terrain control (movement + isolation)

Shroud (Mists Shift and Flow), Lure, Green (aspect-dependent), Finder.

Direct damage / board clear

Lightning, Fangs, Wildfire, Keeper, Earth.

By element bias

A quick lookup — see each spirit’s chapter for the full element analysis.

By aspect

See Aspects for the dedicated deep-dive on all 31 published aspects.

Reading order recommendations

If this is your first serious read: Shadows (full chapter) to see the canonical format, then Thunderspeaker stub for contrast.

If you know a few spirits and want to deepen: read the fundamentals (Tempo, Major vs. Minor) first, then pick 1 spirit you already know — you’ll re-read it in a new light.

If you’re planning tonight’s game: see How to Use This Book Mode 1.

Last revised: 2026-04-19

River Surges in Sunlight

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

While capable of some direct offense, River Surges in Sunlight is best at flooding out Explorers and Towns, displacing them from lands where they might Build or Ravage. The ability to get free Sacred Sites makes a wide range of Powers more useful.

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

Starting Setup

Put 1 Presence on your starting board in the highest-numbered Wetlands.

Growth Options (one)

Growth token reference (Wiki shorthand):

• reclaim — Reclaim all discarded Power Cards.
• gain1p / gain2p — Gain 1 or 2 Power Cards (Minor).
• addpresence1 / addpresence2 / addpresence3 — Add 1 Presence from track, Range N.
• energy1 / energy2 / energy3 — +1/+2/+3 Energy.
• card1 / card2 — +1/+2 Card Plays this turn.
• (Other tokens documented on Wiki Spirit template reference pages.)

Presence Tracks

As Presence leaves each track, these values are revealed:

• Energy track: energy1, energy2, energy2, energy3, energy4, energy4, energy5
• Card-play track: card1, card2, card2, card3, reclaim1, card4, card5

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule

RIVER’S DOMAIN Your Presence in Wetlands counts as Sacred Site.

Innate: MASSIVE FLOODING

• Speed: slow · Range: 1 (optionally from a sacred site) · Target: any

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	1 Sun + 2 Water	Push 1 Explorer / Town.
2	2 Sun + 3 Water	Instead, 2 Damage. Push up to 3 Explorer / Town.
3	3 Sun + 4 Water + 1 Earth	Instead, 2 Damage to each Invader.

Unique Cards (all, Wiki-verified)

Card Priority Ratings

Uniques

No Unique cards listed.

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Twilight Fog Brings Madness	0	Slow	Sun, Moon, Air, Water	Add 1 Strife. Push 1 Dahan . Each remaining Dahan takes 1 Damage.	elements sun+water → 7.8
2	Strong and Constant Currents	0	Fast	Sun, Water, Earth	Push 1 Explorer /Town to an adjacent Coastal land. OR Move up to 2 Dahan between targe…	elements earth+sun+water → 8.1
3	Like Calls to Like	1	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant	If target land has Explorer, Gather up to 1 Explorer . Do likewise for Town, Dahan, Blight…	elements sun+water → 7.8
4	Song of Sanctity	1	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant	If Explorer(s) are present, Push all Explorers. Otherwise, Remove 1 Blight .	elements sun+water → 7.8
5	Sunset’s Fire Flows Across the Land	1	Slow	Sun, Moon, Fire, Water	1 Fear . 1 Damage. You may pay 1 Energy to deal 1 Damage in an adjacent land.	elements sun+water → 7.8
6	Blood Draws Predators	1	Fast	Sun, Fire, Water, Animal	After the next time Invaders are Destroyed in target land: Add 1 Beasts, then 1 Damage pe…	elements sun+water → 7.8
7	Elusive Ambushes	1	Fast	Sun, Fire, Water	1 Damage. OR Defend 4.	elements sun+water → 7.8
8	Reaching Grasp	0	Fast	Sun, Air, Water	Target Spirit gets +2 Range with all their Powers.	elements sun+water → 7.8
9	Teeming Rivers	1	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant, Animal	If target land has no Blight, add 1 Beasts. If target land has exactly 1 Blight , Remove i…	elements sun+water → 7.8
10	Uncanny Melting	1	Slow	Sun, Moon, Water	If Invaders are present, 1 Fear . If target land is a Sands or Wetland, Remove 1 Blight .	elements sun+water → 7.8

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Sweep into the Sea	4	Slow	Sun, Air, Water	Push all Explorers and Towns one land towards the nearest Ocean. OR If target land is…	elements sun+water → 7.8
2	Inspire the Release of Stolen Lands	4	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant, Animal	Gather up to 3 Dahan . Remove up to 3 Health worth of Invaders per Dahan.	elements sun+water → 7.8
3	Accelerated Rot	4	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant	2 Fear . 4 Damage.	elements sun+water → 7.8
4	Cleansing Floods	5	Slow	Sun, Water	4 Damage. Remove 1 Blight .	elements sun+water → 7.8
5	Unrelenting Growth	4	Slow	Sun, Fire, Water, Plant	Target Spirit adds 2 Presence and 1 Wilds to a land at Range 1 of their Presence.	elements sun+water → 7.8

HoSI Beginner Deck Bundle — for reference only

Card	Type	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)
Uncanny Melting	Minor	1	Slow	Sun, Moon, Water	If Invaders are present, 1 Fear . If target land is a Sands or Wetland, Remove 1 Blight .
Nature's Resilience	—	—	—	—	(fetch error: Wiki API error for ‘Nature's_Resilience’: {‘code’: ‘missingtitle’, ‘info’: “The page you specified doesn’t exist.”, ‘docref’: ‘See https://spiritislandwiki.com/api.php for API usage. Subscribe to the mediawiki-api-announce mailing list at <https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-api-announce> for notice of API deprecations and breaking changes.’})
Pull Beneath the Hungry Earth	Minor	1	Slow	Moon, Water, Earth	If your Presence is present, 1 Fear and 1 Damage. If target land is a Sands or Wetland, 1…
Accelerated Rot	Major	4	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant	2 Fear . 4 Damage.
Song of Sanctity	Minor	1	Slow	Sun, Water, Plant	If Explorer(s) are present, Push all Explorers. Otherwise, Remove 1 Blight .
Tsunami	Major	6	Slow	Water, Earth	2 Fear . 8 Damage. Destroy 2 Dahan .
Encompassing Ward	Minor	1	Fast	Sun, Water, Earth	Target Spirit provides Defend 2 in each of its lands.

Cards to Avoid (anti-synergy flagged)

Key Strategic Principles

[VERIFY and enhance] — strategic principles should be derived from Wiki-verified mechanics above.

1. Use the Special Rule to its fullest (see above for exact text).
2. Element thresholds drive innate firing — see the innate tables above.
3. Suggested draft cards are Wiki-recommended; pattern-match to your matchup.

Opener Mechanics — starter reference

Starting state

• Setup: Put 1 Presence on your starting board in the highest-numbered Wetlands.
• Starting income (from presence_energy_track[0] = energy1, presence_cardplay_track[0] = card1): 1 Energy · 1 Card Play
• Hand at start: 4 Unique Power Cards (listed below)
• Growth type: one — pick one growth option per turn

Growth options

• G1: reclaim (Reclaim all discarded+played Power Cards); gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); energy1 ((track slot showing 1 Energy))
• G2: addpresence1 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 1)); addpresence1 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 1))
• G3: gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); addpresence2 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 2))

Presence-track reveal rules: placing Presence (via a growth option with addpresence*) reveals one track slot — either the next Energy slot or the next Card-Play slot, not both. The choice determines your permanent-income trajectory from that turn onward.

Energy track

energy1 · energy2 · energy2 · energy3 · energy4 · energy4 · energy5 — income as slots reveal: 1 → 2 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 4 → 5

Card-play track

card1 · card2 · card2 · card3 · reclaim1 · card4 · card5 — CP as slots reveal: 1 → 2 → 2 → 3 → reclaim1 → 4 → 5

Innate Powers

• MASSIVE FLOODING (Speed: Slow · Range: 1 · Target: any)
  • L1 — 1 Sun + 2 Water: Push 1 Explorer / Town.
  • L2 — 2 Sun + 3 Water: Instead, 2 Damage. Push up to 3 Explorer / Town.
  • L3 — 3 Sun + 4 Water + 1 Earth: Instead, 2 Damage to each Invader.

Fast-phase element ceiling from Uniques

Fast innates resolve in Fast phase and can only see elements from Fast cards played before the innate. Slow-card elements arrive too late to feed a Fast innate. This is the element ceiling Fast plays from your Uniques alone can contribute each turn:

• Fast-phase Unique elements: (no Fast Uniques — all innate firings require drafted Fast cards)

Unique Power Cards

No Unique cards parsed.

Invader phase by turn (base deck)

Adversary escalation can shift this — check the adversary JSON for deviations (Sweden front-loads a Build; some Habsburg levels add early Builds).

Pause-point before writing T1 prose

Adversary Matchup Matrix

[VERIFY all grades] — template only; fill in per-adversary notes after play.

Strategy Cliffs — per-adversary-level shifts that change River Surges in Sunlight’s math

England L5 — Buildings +1 HP

What changes: Towns become 3-HP (was 2), Cities become 4-HP (was 3). Damage-only Powers dealing 2 or 3 may no longer kill a Town/City in one go.

Mitigation for River Surges in Sunlight: Stack damage from multiple plays or use downgrade Powers (Crops Wither, Tangled Trees) to soften before finishing.

England L3 — Coastal Lands build faster

What changes: England’s L3 escalation adds an extra Build in coastal lands. Ocean-adjacent spirits see compounded pressure on their home terrain.

Mitigation for River Surges in Sunlight: Front-load coastal defense or disruption before T3’s first Ravage.

France (Plantation) — Dahan capture threatens your Dahan engine

What changes: France’s plantation rules convert Dahan to colonists, and Invaders occupy lands with Dahan. Spirits whose innate/card math counts on Dahan density (Shadows-of-the-Dahan, Favors, Thunderspeaker) are downgraded.

Mitigation for River Surges in Sunlight: Play Defend Powers on Dahan lands; accept loss of range-extension budget.

Brandenburg-Prussia — Cities drive Fear-per-kill (favorable swing)

What changes: BP’s escalation puts Cities on the board early, and each destroyed City dumps Fear into the pool. Damage-dealing spirits benefit from an inflated Fear curve; weaker spirits may struggle against pre-City pressure.

Mitigation for River Surges in Sunlight: Aim at City-dense lands with your highest-damage plays for outsized Fear returns.

Board / Map Configuration

[VERIFY via play] — base boards A–D, Jagged Earth E–H, and thematic ratings pending per-spirit play experience.

Game-Phase Strategy

[VERIFY: needs play data].

Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)

[VERIFY: needs multi-spirit play data] — archetype-based hints from Archetype Index are the starting point.

Common Mistakes

[VERIFY: collect from play].

Tempo Profile

[VERIFY: per-round targets need playtest].

Expansion Sensitivity

• Base only: core Uniques + Innate + Special Rule functional if expansion = Base.
• + Branch & Claw: events + blight deck introduce variance.
• + Jagged Earth: Major/Minor pool deepens.
• + Nature Incarnate: additional aspects may unlock; check the aspect column above.

Per-expansion specifics [VERIFY].

Stat Snapshot

Source Notes

Chapter draft generated from Wiki data 2026-04-19. Strategic prose needs enhancement from play experience. See templates/SPIRIT_TEMPLATE.md for the full Rei-format spine.

Lightning’s Swift Strike

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Virtually all offense to start with: without a more defensive teammate, Blight may become a problem. Excellent at destroying buildings, less good at containing Explorers. Using Thundering Destruction tends to be a burst affair: a turn or two of position and build up Energy, followed by a really big turn. Starting Powers are extremely focused on Air and Fire: good for Thundering Destruction, bad for Major Power versatility.

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

Starting Setup

Put 2 Presence on your starting board in the highest-numbered Sands.

Growth Options (one)

Growth token reference (Wiki shorthand):

• reclaim — Reclaim all discarded Power Cards.
• gain1p / gain2p — Gain 1 or 2 Power Cards (Minor).
• addpresence1 / addpresence2 / addpresence3 — Add 1 Presence from track, Range N.
• energy1 / energy2 / energy3 — +1/+2/+3 Energy.
• card1 / card2 — +1/+2 Card Plays this turn.
• (Other tokens documented on Wiki Spirit template reference pages.)

Presence Tracks

As Presence leaves each track, these values are revealed:

• Energy track: energy1, energy1, energy2, energy2, energy3, energy4, energy4, energy5
• Card-play track: card2, card3, card4, card5, card6

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule

SWIFTNESS OF LIGHTNING For every Air you have, you may use 1 Slow Power as if it were Fast. (Power Cards or your Innate Powers.)

Innate: THUNDERING DESTRUCTION

• Speed: slow · Range: 1 (optionally from a sacred site) · Target: any

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	3 Fire + 2 Air	Destroy 1 Town .
2	4 Fire + 3 Air	You may instead destroy 1 City .
3	5 Fire + 4 Air + 1 Water	Also, Destroy 1 Town / City.
4	5 Fire + 5 Air + 2 Water	Also, Destroy 1 Town / City.

Unique Cards (all, Wiki-verified)

Card Priority Ratings

Uniques

No Unique cards listed.

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Steam Vents	1	Fast	Fire, Air, Water, Earth	Destroy 1 Explorer .	elements air+fire+water → 15.3
2	Dry Wood Explodes in Smoldering Splinters	1	Slow	Fire, Air, Plant	You may spend 1 Energy to make this Power Fast. 2 Fear . 1 Damage.	elements air+fire → 14.4
3	Fleshrot Fever	1	Slow	Fire, Air, Water, Animal	1 Fear . Add 1 Disease.	elements air+fire+water → 15.3
4	Desiccating Winds	1	Slow	Fire, Air, Earth	If target land has Badlands, 1 Damage. Add 1 Badlands.	elements air+fire → 14.4
5	Purifying Flame	1	Slow	Sun, Fire, Air, Plant	1 Damage per Blight. If target land is a Mountain or Sands, you may instead Remove 1 Blig…	elements air+fire → 14.4
6	Call to Migrate	1	Slow	Fire, Air, Animal	Gather up to 3 Dahan . Push up to 3 Dahan .	elements air+fire → 14.4
7	Hazards Spread Across the Island	0	Fast	Fire, Air, Earth, Plant	Choose a type of token from Badlands/Beasts/Disease/Strife/Wilds that exists in an adjace…	elements air+fire → 14.4
8	Lure of the Unknown	0	Fast	Moon, Fire, Air, Plant	Gather 1 Explorer /Town.	elements air+fire → 14.4
9	Swarming Wasps	0	Fast	Fire, Air, Animal	Add 1 Beasts. OR If target land has Beasts, Push up to 2 Explorers .	elements air+fire → 14.4
10	Fire in the Sky	1	Fast	Sun, Fire, Air	2 Fear . Add 1 Strife.	elements air+fire → 14.4

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Storm-Swath	3	Slow	Fire, Air, Water	2 Fear . In both origin land and target land: 1 Damage to each Invader.	elements air+fire+water → 15.3
2	Plague Ships Sail to Distant Ports	4	Fast	Fire, Air, Water, Animal	1 Fear . Add 4 Disease among Coastal lands (on any boards) other than target land.	elements air+fire+water → 15.3
3	Transform to a Murderous Darkness	6	Slow	Moon, Fire, Air, Water, Plant	Target Spirit may choose one of their Sacred Site. In that land: Replace all their Presen…	elements air+fire+water → 15.3
4	Unlock the Gates of Deepest Power	4	Fast	Sun, Moon, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Plant, Animal	Target Spirit gains a Major Power by drawing 2 and keeping 1, without having to Forget an…	elements air+fire+water → 15.3
5	Exaltation of the Incandescent Sky	7	Fast	Sun, Fire, Air, Water	Target Spirit may play 1 Power Card by paying its cost, make up to 2 of their Powers Fast…	elements air+fire+water → 15.3

HoSI Beginner Deck Bundle — for reference only

Card	Type	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)
Delusions of Danger	Minor	1	Fast	Sun, Moon, Air	Push 1 Explorer . OR 2 Fear .
Call to Bloodshed	Minor	1	Slow	Sun, Fire, Animal	1 Damage per Dahan. OR Gather up to 3 Dahan .
Powerstorm	Major	3	Fast	Sun, Fire, Air	Target Spirit gains 3 Energy. Once this turn, target Spirit may Repeat a Power Card by pa…
Purifying Flame	Minor	1	Slow	Sun, Fire, Air, Plant	1 Damage per Blight. If target land is a Mountain or Sands, you may instead Remove 1 Blig…
Pillar of Living Flame	Major	5	Slow	Fire	3 Fear . 5 Damage. If target land is a Jungle or Wetland, add 1 Blight .
Entrancing Apparitions	Minor	1	Fast	Moon, Air, Water	Defend 2. If no Invaders are present, Gather up to 2 Explorers .
Call to Isolation	Minor	0	Fast	Sun, Air, Animal	Push 1 Explorer /Town per Dahan. OR Push 1 Dahan .

Cards to Avoid (anti-synergy flagged)

Key Strategic Principles

[VERIFY and enhance] — strategic principles should be derived from Wiki-verified mechanics above.

1. Use the Special Rule to its fullest (see above for exact text).
2. Element thresholds drive innate firing — see the innate tables above.
3. Suggested draft cards are Wiki-recommended; pattern-match to your matchup.

Opener Mechanics — starter reference

Starting state

• Setup: Put 2 Presence on your starting board in the highest-numbered Sands.
• Starting income (from presence_energy_track[0] = energy1, presence_cardplay_track[0] = card2): 1 Energy · 2 Card Play
• Hand at start: 4 Unique Power Cards (listed below)
• Growth type: one — pick one growth option per turn

Growth options

• G1: reclaim (Reclaim all discarded+played Power Cards); gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); energy1 ((track slot showing 1 Energy))
• G2: addpresence2 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 2)); addpresence0 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 0))
• G3: addpresence1 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 1)); energy3 ((+3 Energy this turn — growth effect, not track reveal))

Presence-track reveal rules: placing Presence (via a growth option with addpresence*) reveals one track slot — either the next Energy slot or the next Card-Play slot, not both. The choice determines your permanent-income trajectory from that turn onward.

Energy track

energy1 · energy1 · energy2 · energy2 · energy3 · energy4 · energy4 · energy5 — income as slots reveal: 1 → 1 → 2 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 4 → 5

Card-play track

card2 · card3 · card4 · card5 · card6 — CP as slots reveal: 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6

Innate Powers

• THUNDERING DESTRUCTION (Speed: Slow · Range: 1 · Target: any)
  • L1 — 3 Fire + 2 Air: Destroy 1 Town .
  • L2 — 4 Fire + 3 Air: You may instead destroy 1 City .
  • L3 — 5 Fire + 4 Air + 1 Water: Also, Destroy 1 Town / City.
  • L4 — 5 Fire + 5 Air + 2 Water: Also, Destroy 1 Town / City.

Fast-phase element ceiling from Uniques

Fast innates resolve in Fast phase and can only see elements from Fast cards played before the innate. Slow-card elements arrive too late to feed a Fast innate. This is the element ceiling Fast plays from your Uniques alone can contribute each turn:

• Fast-phase Unique elements: (no Fast Uniques — all innate firings require drafted Fast cards)

Unique Power Cards

No Unique cards parsed.

Invader phase by turn (base deck)

Adversary escalation can shift this — check the adversary JSON for deviations (Sweden front-loads a Build; some Habsburg levels add early Builds).

Pause-point before writing T1 prose

Adversary Matchup Matrix

[VERIFY all grades] — template only; fill in per-adversary notes after play.

Strategy Cliffs — per-adversary-level shifts that change Lightning’s Swift Strike’s math

England L5 — Buildings +1 HP

What changes: Towns become 3-HP (was 2), Cities become 4-HP (was 3). Damage-only Powers dealing 2 or 3 may no longer kill a Town/City in one go.

Mitigation for Lightning’s Swift Strike: Stack damage from multiple plays or use downgrade Powers (Crops Wither, Tangled Trees) to soften before finishing.

England L3 — Coastal Lands build faster

What changes: England’s L3 escalation adds an extra Build in coastal lands. Ocean-adjacent spirits see compounded pressure on their home terrain.

Mitigation for Lightning’s Swift Strike: Front-load coastal defense or disruption before T3’s first Ravage.

Russia L3+ — Dahan under pressure + fear suppression

What changes: Russia’s L3 escalation targets Dahan directly and suppresses Fear. Spirits reliant on Dahan density (Shadows of the Dahan, Favors Called Due, Thunderspeaker synergies) lose a key engine.

Mitigation for Lightning’s Swift Strike: Pre-empt Dahan loss with Defend-heavy Minors (Dahan/Village-fortify cards); lean on Push/Gather Majors to offset Fear deficit.

Habsburg Mining L5+ — Explorer/Town scaling

What changes: Habsburg Mining L5+ adds extra Explorers and faster builds. Aggressive fear-rush openers can get outpaced by raw Invader accumulation.

Mitigation for Lightning’s Swift Strike: Favor Major Powers with mass destruction (Jungle Hungers, Cleansing Floods, etc.) over Minor-heavy drafts.

France (Plantation) — Dahan capture threatens your Dahan engine

What changes: France’s plantation rules convert Dahan to colonists, and Invaders occupy lands with Dahan. Spirits whose innate/card math counts on Dahan density (Shadows-of-the-Dahan, Favors, Thunderspeaker) are downgraded.

Mitigation for Lightning’s Swift Strike: Play Defend Powers on Dahan lands; accept loss of range-extension budget.

Brandenburg-Prussia — Cities drive Fear-per-kill (favorable swing)

What changes: BP’s escalation puts Cities on the board early, and each destroyed City dumps Fear into the pool. Damage-dealing spirits benefit from an inflated Fear curve; weaker spirits may struggle against pre-City pressure.

Mitigation for Lightning’s Swift Strike: Aim at City-dense lands with your highest-damage plays for outsized Fear returns.

Board / Map Configuration

[VERIFY via play] — base boards A–D, Jagged Earth E–H, and thematic ratings pending per-spirit play experience.

Game-Phase Strategy

[VERIFY: needs play data].

Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)

[VERIFY: needs multi-spirit play data] — archetype-based hints from Archetype Index are the starting point.

Common Mistakes

[VERIFY: collect from play].

Tempo Profile

[VERIFY: per-round targets need playtest].

Expansion Sensitivity

• Base only: core Uniques + Innate + Special Rule functional if expansion = Base.
• + Branch & Claw: events + blight deck introduce variance.
• + Jagged Earth: Major/Minor pool deepens.
• + Nature Incarnate: additional aspects may unlock; check the aspect column above.

Per-expansion specifics [VERIFY].

Stat Snapshot

Source Notes

Chapter draft generated from Wiki data 2026-04-19. Strategic prose needs enhancement from play experience. See templates/SPIRIT_TEMPLATE.md for the full Rei-format spine.

Shadows Flicker Like Flame

Spirit Overview — Framing

Shadows is a base-game Fear-5 spirit with low Defense (per the Wiki’s own power-summary ratings). The design-space is: generate maximum Fear per turn, control Explorer movement via Gather/Push, leverage Dahan adjacency for spatial flexibility — and accept that board-clearing damage is someone else’s job.

Wiki-printed playstyle note (verbatim for accuracy):

Good at causing Fear and picking off lone Explorers and Towns, containing the Invaders. Not so good at massive damage — may need to rely on allies to handle thoroughly colonized lands. The ability to boost Range gives more flexibility to Range 0 Powers, and can be important in larger games.

The honest complexity signal: Low is correct. 4 Uniques, 1 Innate, 1 Special Rule, 3 single-choice growth options. Strategic depth is in when to trigger Innate Level 1 (Gather) vs. Level 2 (Destroy) + which Unique to play per turn.

Starting Setup

Put 3 Presence on your starting board: 2 in the highest-numbered Jungle and 1 in land #5.

Growth Options (growthtype: “one” — pick one per turn)

Each growth option has a “first” and “second” effect, both resolved together when chosen:

Note: Shadows picks one of these per turn — unlike multi-growth spirits that pick multiple. This is a tight constraint. Most turns: G2 early (card-heavy); G1 when hand needs refresh; G3 for energy spikes.

Presence Tracks

As presence leaves each track, these values are revealed (cumulative per-turn gain):

• Energy track (6 slots): 0 → 1 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 Energy per turn as track fills.
• Card-play track (6 slots): 1 → 2 → 3 → 3 → 4 → 5 cards per turn.

Starting: 1 Energy, 1 CP (implied from track-0 values). Opening the track quickly unlocks 3 Energy (significant for the 1E-per-turn Shadows-of-the-Dahan rule).

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule: Shadows of the Dahan

Whenever you use a Power, you may pay 1 Energy to target a land with Dahan regardless of the Power’s Range. (Power Cards or your Innate Powers.)

Strategic implication: the most flexible targeting rule of any base spirit. Budget 1 Energy/turn for this; Dahan preservation directly expands Shadows’s reach.

Innate: Darkness Swallows the Unwary

• Speed: Fast · Range: 1 (optionally from a Sacred Site) · Target: Any land

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	2 Moon + 1 Fire	Gather 1 Explorer .
2	3 Moon + 2 Fire	Destroy up to 2 Explorer . 1 Fear per Explorer destroyed.
3	4 Moon + 3 Fire + 2 Air	3 Damage. 1 Fear per Invader destroyed by this Damage.

Key decision: Level 1 gathers (repositions) an Explorer without killing — useful to move Explorers out of upcoming Build lands. Level 2+ destroys for fear. Don’t over-rush Level 2 if Level 1 solves the land.

Unique Cards (all 4, Wiki-verified)

Concealing Shadows

• 0 Energy · Fast · Range 0 · Any Land · Moon, Air
• 1 Fear . Dahan take no Damage from Ravaging Invaders this turn.

Free-to-play defensive + 1 Fear every turn. Pairs with Favors Called Due (preserves Dahan to outnumber Invaders).

Crops Wither and Fade

• 1 Energy · Slow · Range 0 · Any Land · Moon, Fire, Plant
• 2 Fear . Replace 1 Town with 1 Explorer . OR Replace 1 City with 1 Town .

Downgrade, not destroy. Softens Ravages + 2 Fear per play. A City → Town reduces that land’s Ravage damage by 1 and removes a Build upgrade path.

Favors Called Due

• 1 Energy · Slow · Range 1 · Any Land · Moon, Air, Animal
• Gather up to 4 Dahan . If Invaders are present and Dahan now outnumber them, 3 Fear .

Massive conditional fear spike (3 Fear ). Needs gatherable Dahan + Invader-present target + post-gather Dahan > Invader count.

Mantle of Dread

• 1 Energy · Slow · No Range · Any Spirit · Moon, Fire, Air
• 2 Fear . Target Spirit may Push 1 Explorer and 1 Town from a land where it has Presence.

Partner-support (target Any Spirit). In multiplayer, hands a partner a free push on one of their lands. In solo, self-target.

Key Strategic Principles

1. Fear output is huge. Concealing (1) + Crops (2) + Favors (3 conditional) + Mantle (2) + Innate L2 (up to 2) = up to 10 Fear in one turn at the peak. Shadows has the base game’s strongest per-turn fear ceiling by raw card output.
2. Shadows of the Dahan = spatial superpower. Budget 1E/turn for range extension. Dahan density across the board directly expands Shadows’s reach.
3. Crops Wither is downgrade-not-destroy. Use to soften Ravages + bank Fear, not to kill. The “replaced” Invader remains in the land.
4. Innate Level 1 is positional. Gather an Explorer out of a Build target → no Town next turn. A single growth option can solve a land via innate L1 without spending cards.
5. Moon + Fire is load-bearing. L1 = 2M+1F, L2 = 3M+2F. Draft Moon + Fire Minors aggressively.
6. Favors Called Due wants Dahan density. Preserve Dahan (Concealing) so gather + outnumber triggers.
7. Mantle of Dread targets a Spirit. In multiplayer, always a partner-help card if their turn is tight.

Possible Openings

Three Rei-format opening variants. Each is a turn-by-turn rehearsal for the first 3 turns + a T4 state audit. Pick the variant that matches your adversary + scenario before game start — don’t improvise T1. And don’t execute the opener on auto-pilot: each turn block below has a Pause-point callout flagging the decision that most often gets mis-made on that turn. Cross-reference Deliberate Play for the universal per-phase checklist.

Confidence scale: 🟥 tentative · 🟨 somewhat tested · 🟩 well-tested.

Shared starting state (all openings)

Verified per si-rules-check shadows-flicker-like-flame:

• 3 Presence on board: 2 in highest-numbered Jungle, 1 in land #5.
• 4 Uniques in hand: Concealing Shadows (0E Fast, 1 Moon + 1 Air), Crops Wither and Fade (1E Slow, 1M+1 Fire+1 Plant), Favors Called Due (1E Slow, 1M+1A+1 Animal), Mantle of Dread (1E Slow, 1M+1F+1A).
• Starting income: 0 Energy, 1 Card Play (first-uncovered Energy track slot energy0, first-uncovered CP track slot card1).
• Growth type “one”: pick one of G1/G2/G3 per turn. Presence placement reveals one track slot; it doesn’t reveal both.

Base-deck invader phase by turn (affects Ravage-protection cards)

Growth-option decoder (T1 income branches)

Fast-phase element ceiling — load-bearing constraint

Shadows’s innate Darkness Swallows the Unwary is Fast. Fast innates check thresholds using only elements from Fast cards played before the innate resolves. Mantle/Crops/Favors are all Slow — their elements arrive after the Fast innate’s resolution window and cannot trigger it.

Fast-phase Moon/Fire available from Uniques alone:

• Concealing Shadows — the only Fast Unique — gives 1 Moon + 1 Air.
• Fast-phase Moon ceiling from Uniques = 1. Fast-phase Fire from Uniques = 0.
• L1 needs 2 Moon + 1 Fire. Shadows cannot fire L1 in Fast phase from Uniques alone.

Minimum requirement for L1 to fire: a drafted Fast Moon+Fire Minor. Wiki-suggested candidates: Land of Haunts and Embers (0E Fast, 1M+1F+1A — drafts + plays in the same turn) or Visions of Fiery Doom (1E Fast, 1M+1F — needs energy). Hitting L1 T1 is entirely draft-dependent and not guaranteed.

Opening A — G3-via-CP Double-Card Fear Opener 🟨 (default)

When to pick this: default against Brandenburg-Prussia, England, Scotland, Habsburg Livestock — fear-friendly adversaries. G3-via-CP is the only T1 growth choice that affords a 0E + 1E two-card play from a 0E start, giving the highest T1 Fear + material-effect output.

Target arc: 3 Fear T1 · L1 fires first at T3 after reclaim + Fast Moon+Fire Minor · Terror 2 flip T5–T6.

Turn 1

Growth

G3 revealing CP track — gain +3 Energy + 1 Presence Range 3

Income

3E 2CP

Fast plays

Concealing Shadows

Slow plays

Mantle of Dread (self) · 1E spent

Fast-phase elements

1 Moon + 1 Air · L1 does NOT fire

End of T1

3 Fear generated 2E banked 1 + 1 pushed

Invader card

Stage I — Explore only

• Growth: G3, revealing CP track (uncover card2). Post-growth: 3E / 2CP. 1 Presence placed Range 3; “+3 Energy” is a this-turn-only effect.
• Fast phase plays: Concealing Shadows (0E, target one of your Presence lands — jungle #6 or wetland #5).
  • T1 gain from Concealing: +1 Fear . Elements 1M+1A into Fast pool. “Dahan take 0 Damage from Ravaging” clause is dormant this turn (no Ravage until T3). Concealing discards.
• Fast innate check: pool = 1M+1A. L1 needs 2M+1F → does NOT fire T1.
• Invader phase: Explore (Card 1 = Stage I). Explorers arrive in any land adjacent to a City/Town/ocean (coastal). No Build, no Ravage.
• Slow phase plays: Mantle of Dread (1E, target self).
  • T1 gain from Mantle: +2 Fear . Push 1 Explorer and 1 Town from one of your Presence lands — removes 2 Invader units from the board. Elements 1M+1F+1A into Slow pool. Mantle discards.
• End of T1: 3 Fear generated · 1E spent (Mantle) · 2E banked · 0 CP left · 4 Presence on board (3 starting + 1 G3) · Hand: 3 Uniques (Concealing + Mantle in discard) · Tracks: CP at card2 (2 CP sustained from now), Energy still at energy0.
• Pause-point (pre-Mantle-target): self-target is the default, but Mantle’s target is “Any Spirit” — in multiplayer, check whether pushing from a partner’s Presence land solves a bigger T2-Build threat than pushing from yours. Solo: choose the Presence land whose Explorer+Town pair creates the largest T2 Invader-count reduction in the land most likely to Ravage at T3.

Turn 2

Growth

G2 revealing Energy track (energy1) — gain 1 Minor + 1 Presence Range 1

Income

2E banked + 1E income = 3E 2CP

Slow plays

Crops Wither 1E Favors Called Due 1E

Fast-phase elements

0 — no Fast cards played · L1 does NOT fire

End of T2

2–5 Fear 1 City → Town (if targeted) Dahan gathered

Invader card

Stage I+II — Build + Explore (first Build)

• Growth: G2, revealing Energy track (uncover energy1 → 1E permanent income from now). Post-growth: 2E banked + 1E income = 3E / 2CP, +1 Minor drafted.
• Draft priority for the T2 Minor: Fast Moon+Fire (Land of Haunts and Embers 0E, Visions of Fiery Doom 1E). Enables T2 Fast innate firing.
• Fast phase plays (if Fast M+F Minor drafted): drafted Minor alone (no Concealing in hand — it’s in discard since T1). Fast elements = Minor’s contribution (e.g., Haunts 1M+1F+1A).
• Fast innate check (with Haunts drafted): 1M+1F → still short of 2M+1F. L1 still does NOT fire. Needs Concealing back in hand (T3 reclaim) plus the Fast M+F Minor to combine for 2M+1F.
• Slow phase plays: Crops Wither and Fade (1E, Range 0 — target one of your Presence lands with a Town or City) + Favors Called Due (1E, Range 1 — target a Dahan-dense Invader-present land).
  • T2 gain from Crops: +2 Fear . Immediate replace: City→Town OR Town→Explorer in target land. Material this turn: the replaced unit is gone; downstream: when T3 Ravage hits that land, Damage is 1 lower than it would have been.
  • T2 gain from Favors: Gather up to 4 Dahan into target. Material this turn: Dahan positioning for T3+ counterattacks. If post-gather Dahan > Invaders in target, +3 Fear conditional.
• Slow elements (Fast innate already resolved): Crops 1M+1F+1P + Favors 1M+1A+1An = 2M+1F+1A+1P+1An. Darkness Swallows can’t use these (Fast innate only checks in Fast phase).
• End of T2: 2–5 Fear generated (2 Crops + 0–3 Favors conditional) · 2E spent · 1E banked · 0 CP left · 5 Presence on board · Hand: 1 Unique (Concealing in discard, Crops+Favors now also in discard; Mantle discarded T1) · Tracks: CP at card2, Energy at energy1.
• Pause-point (pre-Favors-target): Favors’s 3-Fear conditional is not free — it needs post-gather Dahan to strictly outnumber Invaders. Before committing, count: Invaders in target + Dahan in R1 of target = enough to gather past Invader count? If no, change target or save Favors for T3.

Turn 3

Growth

G1 — Reclaim (all played back to hand) + Gain 1 Minor

Income

1E banked + 1E income = 2E 2CP

Fast plays

Concealing Shadows (target Ravage land w/ Dahan) + drafted Fast Moon+Fire Minor (if in hand) → L1 may fire

Key T3 note

First Ravage turn — Concealing's protection now material

Invader card

Stage I+II+III — first Ravage

• Growth: G1 — Reclaim (all 3 discarded Uniques back to hand) + Gain 1 Minor. No presence placed. State: 1E banked + 1E income = 2E / 2CP, hand = 4 Uniques + 2 Minors.
• Invader state: T3 is the first Ravage turn. Identify the Ravage-target land from the current Invader card’s Ravage column (the card that was in Build slot last turn has advanced).
• Fast phase plays: Concealing Shadows (target the Ravage-incoming land, with Dahan in it, if any) + drafted Fast Moon+Fire Minor if in hand (e.g., Land of Haunts).
  • T3 gain from Concealing: +1 Fear + Ravage-protection now material — Dahan in target land take 0 Damage from this turn’s Ravage. Fast elements 1M+1A.
  • T3 gain from Haunts (if played): +2 Fear + Push up to 2 Explorers /Towns from R2 target. Fast elements 1M+1F+1A.
• Fast innate check (Concealing + Haunts): pool = 2M+1F+2A → L1 fires for the first time this game. Gather 1 Explorer into a land at R1 of your presence or Sacred Site. Fast, so the gather happens before the Ravage — can pull an Explorer out of the Ravage target (one fewer Invader taking the Ravage).
• Slow phase plays: 1 more Slow card if CP remains — e.g., Crops Wither (another City→Town downgrade). Depending on hand: Mantle of Dread for +2 Fear + another push.
• End of T3: 5+ Fear generated (1 Concealing + 2 Haunts + 2 Crops/Mantle + possible 1-Fear L1 if destroy-variant) · 1 Explorer gathered (L1 innate) · Ravage Damage in one land reduced or neutralized (Concealing or Haunts push) · ~0E / ~0CP depending on plays · 5 Presence on board · Hand: mixed reclaims + drafts · Tracks: CP at card2, Energy at energy1.
• Pause-point (pre-Fast-plays): Concealing’s Ravage-protection is material T3+ only if the target land actually Ravages this turn AND has Dahan to protect. If the Ravage target has 0 Dahan , Concealing’s protection clause is still dormant — consider targeting a Dahan-adjacent Ravage land (use Shadows of the Dahan’s 1E range extension) or playing Concealing elsewhere for its Fear + elements alone.

Turn 4 — state audit

After T3, you should have:

• Presence: 5 on board (3 starting + 1 T1 G3 + 1 T2 G2).
• Energy / CP: 1E income (from energy1 slot) / 2CP.
• Engine: All 4 Uniques available + 2 Minors drafted. L1 firing conditional on Fast M+F Minor in hand.
• Fear pool: ~8–12 (solo — Terror 2 should flip around end-T4 or T5, not T3 as the prior opener claimed).
• Blight: 0–1 (depends on T3 Ravage outcomes; Concealing + L1 Gather mitigation should keep this low).

Pivot triggers (if any of these, deviate from the opener):

• No Fast Moon+Fire Minor drafted by T3 — L1 firing stays blocked. Keep leaning on Crops + Favors for Fear; L1 is “nice to have” not “required”.
• Ravage target T3 has no Dahan — Concealing’s protection is still dormant; use Concealing purely for Fear + elements, and save the real defense for T4+ when Dahan density increases.
• Favors never triggers 3-Fear conditional — Fear pool is running 3–4 under target. Prioritize Minor picks that generate Fear directly (e.g., 2-Fear Moon Minors from the full pool).

Opening B — G2-via-CP Minor-Draft-Dependent 🟥

When to pick this: Habsburg Mining L5+, Russia L5+, or long-game matchups where Minor-draft density pays off. Trades T1 Fear output for hand depth. Gated on drafting a 0-cost Fast Moon+Fire Minor (Land of Haunts and Embers) by T1 — otherwise this opener under-delivers.

Target arc: If Haunts drafted T1 → L1 fires T1 (unique to Opening B among the three) · 2 Minors drafted by T2 · Reclaim T3 → 4 Uniques + 3 Minors in hand · matchup-specific Minor picks scale T4+.

Turn 1

Growth

G2 revealing CP track — gain 1 Minor + 1 Presence Range 1

Income

0E 2CP

Best-case Fast plays

Concealing Shadows + Land of Haunts and Embers (drafted 0-cost Minor)

Fast-phase elements

2 + 1 + 2 · L1 FIRES T1 → Gather 1 Explorer

End of T1

3 Fear 1 gathered by L1 up to 2 pushed by Haunts

• Growth: G2, revealing CP track (uncover card2). Post-growth: 0E / 2CP, 1 Minor drafted.
• Draft priority T1 Minor: absolute top pick Land of Haunts and Embers (0E Fast, 1M+1F+1A). Second pick: Shadows of the Burning Forest (0E Slow, 1M+1F+1P). If neither appears: Opening B is underpowered T1 — consider pivoting to C (see Opening Decision tree).
• Fast phase plays (with Haunts drafted): Concealing Shadows (0E) + Land of Haunts and Embers (0E, target a Mountain or Jungle with Invaders for the push rider, else any Invader land for the 2-Fear base).
  • T1 gain from Concealing: +1 Fear . Dormant Ravage-protection (no Ravage T1). 1M+1A Fast elements.
  • T1 gain from Haunts: +2 Fear . Push up to 2 Explorers /Towns from target land. 1M+1F+1A Fast elements. (Haunts “Add 1 Blight ” clause is card-text — read the full card; if playing the 0-cost base version, blight consequences apply.)
• Fast innate check: pool = 2M+1F+2A → L1 fires T1. Gather 1 Explorer to a R1 land. The only Opening that gets L1 T1.
• Slow phase plays: none (0 CP remaining; both CP used on Fast cards).
• Invader phase: Explore only.
• End of T1: 3 Fear + 1 Explorer gathered (L1) + up-to-2 units pushed by Haunts · 0E banked · 0 CP left · 4 Presence on board · Hand: 3 Uniques + 0 Minors (Haunts played) · Tracks: CP at card2, Energy still at energy0.
• Pause-point (pre-Haunts-target): Haunts’s push clause triggers only on Mountain or Jungle; its base 2-Fear + 2-push works on any Invader land. If target isn’t Mountain/Jungle, the push-up-to-2 doesn’t fire — pick a Mountain/Jungle Invader land if you have range, else accept the 2-Fear-only output. Also check Haunts’s “Add 1 Blight if Blight present” clause on the physical card — some versions add Blight unconditionally.

Fallback T1 (Haunts NOT drafted): Play Concealing alone. Fear = 1. L1 does NOT fire (Fast phase elements = 1M+1A). 1 CP unused. This is Opening B underperforming — expect T2–T3 Minor draft to compensate.

Turn 2

• Growth: G2, revealing Energy track (uncover energy1 → 1E income). Post-growth: 1E / 2CP, +1 Minor drafted (2 total).
• Draft priority T2 Minor: if Haunts was T1, look for Moon+Fire next (Visions of Fiery Doom 1E Fast) to chain L1 firings; otherwise Haunts.
• Fast phase plays: Fast cards in hand (Concealing discarded T1 if played; Fast Minors drafted).
  • If drafted Fast M+F Minor this T2 and have 1E to spare: play it. Elements contribute to L1 threshold (but Concealing is in discard — only 1M from the Fast play typically, unless a 2M-on-one-card Minor was drafted).
  • Typically: play nothing Fast T2; L1 defers to T3 reclaim + Fast M+F Minor combo.
• Slow phase plays: 1 Slow Unique at 1E — Crops Wither (+2 Fear , downgrade) OR Mantle (+2 Fear , self-push) OR Favors (+0–3 Fear , Dahan gather).
• T2 material gain: typically 2–3 Fear + one material board effect (downgrade / push / gather). L1 does not fire T2 reliably — Fast pool depends on which Minors were drafted and playable.
• End of T2: 2–5 Fear · ~0E banked · 0 CP left · 5 Presence · hand typically 2 Uniques + 2 Minors.
• Pause-point (pre-T2-plays): T2 introduces first Build. Check the Invader card’s Build column — which terrain Builds? Any land with Town/City on that terrain gets a new Town/City. Crops’ing a Town on that terrain T2 Slow phase (or Mantle pushing from it) pre-empts the Build’s upgrade path.

Turn 3

• Growth: G1 — Reclaim + Gain 1 Minor. State: ~0E + 1E income = 1E / 2CP, hand = 4 Uniques + 3 Minors.
• Fast phase plays: Concealing + Fast M+F Minor (Haunts if reclaimed, or Visions if drafted). Elements = 2M+1F+… → L1 fires T3.
• Slow phase plays: best Fear/material combo from hand. Typically Crops + Mantle, or Crops + Favors if Dahan-outnumber is triggerable.
• T3 material gain: 3–5 Fear + L1 Gather + 2× Slow-card effects. First turn with Ravage + Concealing protection becomes material.
• Pause-point (pre-Concealing-target): same as Opening A T3 — Ravage-protection is material only on the Ravage target with Dahan. If Ravage lands don’t have Dahan, use Concealing purely for Fear + elements.

Turn 4 — state audit

• Presence: 5 on board.
• Energy/CP: 1E income / 2CP.
• Engine: L1 firing reliably if Fast M+F Minor in hand; L2 conditional on additional Moon or Fire Minors.
• Fear pool: 6–10 (slower than Opening A if Haunts missed T1; comparable if Haunts hit T1).
• Hand depth: 7 cards (4 Uniques + 3 Minors) — deepest of the three openers.
• Strategy note: Opening B’s payoff is late — T5+ benefits from Minor-draft breadth for matchup-specific picks (e.g., Dahan-summoning, Blight-removing, Strife-adding). Fear-rush numbers lag Opening A by ~3–4 Fear through T4.

Opening C — G3-via-Energy Energy-Bank (Fear-Suppression) 🟥

When to pick this: Sweden L3+, Russia L3+ — where fear-card penalties reduce the value of a Fear-rush opener. Opening C leans on energy depth for (a) aggressive Shadows-of-the-Dahan range extension (1E/use budget), (b) 1E Slow Uniques played every turn, (c) potential Major acquisition via fear-card Events when they do fire.

Target arc: Mantle T1 (2 Fear ) · double-Slow T2 · L1 first fires T3–T4 via reclaim + drafted Fast M+F Minor · Terror 2 flip delayed to T6–T7 (accepted).

Turn 1

Growth

G3 revealing Energy track — 1E income perm + 3E growth effect

Income

4E 1CP

Slow plays

Mantle of Dread (self) 1E · 2 Fear + push

Fast-phase elements

0 — no Fast card · L1 does NOT fire

End of T1

2 Fear 3E banked 1 + 1 pushed

• Growth: G3, revealing Energy track (uncover energy1 → 1E permanent income). Post-growth: 1E income + 3E growth-effect = 4E / 1CP.
• Fast phase plays: none (CP budget of 1 is best spent on a higher-material-effect Slow card).
• Fast innate check: pool = 0 elements. L1 does NOT fire.
• Invader phase: Explore.
• Slow phase plays: Mantle of Dread (1E, self-target).
  • T1 gain from Mantle: +2 Fear + Push 1 Explorer + 1 Town from one of your Presence lands. 1M+1F+1A Slow elements (irrelevant for Darkness Swallows since it’s Fast).
• End of T1: 2 Fear · 1E spent · 3E banked · 0 CP left · 4 Presence on board · Hand: 3 Uniques (Mantle in discard) · Tracks: CP at card1 (still 1 CP), Energy at energy1 (1E sustained).
• Pause-point (growth choice): G3-via-Energy gives deeper Energy income long-term (energy1 permanent = +1E/turn from T2 onward) vs. G3-via-CP (card2 permanent = +1 CP/turn). Over 6 rounds that’s 6E vs. 6 extra card plays. Pick based on matchup: fear-suppression adversaries benefit from energy depth (more Shadows-of-the-Dahan range extensions; more Minor cost-curve flexibility); fear-friendly adversaries benefit from CP depth (more Fear-generating card plays per turn). If unsure, G3-via-CP (Opening A) is the tighter fear-rush; G3-via-Energy (Opening C) is the slower, more flexible play.

Turn 2

• Growth: G2, revealing CP track (uncover card2 → 2 CP from now). Post-growth: 3E banked + 1E income = 4E / 2CP, +1 Minor drafted.
• Fast phase plays: none likely (Concealing in hand but saving for T3 Ravage turn; or play Concealing for 1 Fear + element cycle).
  • Optional Concealing T1-style 1-Fear + element-pool play: 1M+1A. Doesn’t fire innate alone.
• Slow phase plays: Crops Wither (1E, Presence-land target with a Town or City) + Favors Called Due (1E, R1 Dahan-dense target).
  • T2 gain from Crops: +2 Fear + City→Town OR Town→Explorer. (Material THIS turn; reduces next-turn Ravage damage in that land.)
  • T2 gain from Favors: Gather up to 4 Dahan into R1 target; conditional +3 Fear if post-gather Dahan > Invaders.
• Slow elements: Crops 1M+1F+1P + Favors 1M+1A+1An = 2M+1F+1A+1P+1An. (Fast innate already resolved with 0 elements; Slow elements not usable here.)
• End of T2: 2–5 Fear · 2E spent · 2E banked · 0 CP left · 5 Presence on board · Hand: 1 Unique (Concealing) + 1 Minor · Tracks: CP at card2, Energy at energy1.
• Pause-point (pre-T2-plays): T2 is first Build. Same check as Opening A/B — Crops + Favors together handle one Build-threat land (downgrade + gather counter-Dahan). If two lands are about to Build-into-City, one of them is not handled — prioritize the worst one; accept the other.

Turn 3

• Growth: G1 — Reclaim + Gain 1 Minor. State: 2E banked + 1E income = 3E / 2CP, hand = 4 Uniques + 2 Minors.
• Fast phase plays: Concealing + drafted Fast M+F Minor if in hand → L1 fires. Otherwise Concealing alone (1 Fear , elements pool 1M+1A, L1 does not fire).
• Slow phase plays: 1–2 cards from 3E budget. Typical pick: Crops + Mantle for 4 Fear + downgrade + push; OR Crops + Favors if Dahan-outnumber still triggerable somewhere.
• T3 material gain: 4–6 Fear + material board effects + Ravage-protection on Concealing’s target (material T3+).
• End of T3: ~0E banked · energy bank depleted for the big-swing turn.
• Pause-point (T3 Ravage targeting): same Ravage-protection check as Openings A/B. Additionally, Opening C’s energy-bank advantage lets you spend 1E on Shadows-of-the-Dahan range extension to place a Slow-effect card (Crops / Favors / Mantle) on a non-Presence Dahan land — consider if the highest-leverage target is outside R0.

Turn 4 — state audit

• Presence: 5 on board.
• Energy/CP: ~1E income / 2CP.
• Engine: L1 firing conditional on Minor draft (same as Openings A/B); L2 element threshold 3M+2F rarely reached without multiple Moon-heavy Minors.
• Fear pool: 4–8 (lowest of three openers; accepted for fear-suppression matchups).
• Blight: 0–2.
• Strategy note: energy depth will continue paying dividends T5+ — Shadows-of-the-Dahan range extensions multiply over the game. Accept slower Terror; target Terror 2 T6–T7.

Opening Decision

graph TD
  Start[Round 1 — Shadows] --> Adv{Adversary?}
  Adv -->|Brandenburg-Prussia| A[Opening A - Standard Fear]
  Adv -->|England| A
  Adv -->|Scotland| A
  Adv -->|Habsburg Livestock| A
  Adv -->|Sweden L0-L2| A
  Adv -->|Sweden L3+| C[Opening C - Fear-Suppression Resistant]
  Adv -->|Russia| C
  Adv -->|Habsburg Mining L5+| B[Opening B - Minor-Draft Dependent]
  Adv -->|Multi-handed with board-carry partner| A
  Adv -->|Other| A

Card Priority Ratings

Uniques

The spirit’s own 4 Unique Power cards (always in hand; always A-tier by default — see Uniques section above for full text):

• Concealing Shadows
• Crops Wither and Fade
• Favors Called Due
• Mantle of Dread

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Animated Wrackroot	0	Slow	Moon, Fire, Plant	1 Fear . Destroy 1 Explorer . OR Add 1 Wilds.	elements fire+moon → 7.8
2	Lure of the Unknown	0	Fast	Moon, Fire, Air, Plant	Gather 1 Explorer /Town.	elements air+fire+moon → 8.4
3	Roiling Bog and Snagging Thorn	0	Fast	Moon, Fire, Water, Plant	1 Fear . Isolate. Defend 2. 1 Dahan does not participate in Ravage. (Check when ra…	elements fire+moon → 7.8
4	Land of Haunts and Embers	0	Fast	Moon, Fire, Air	2 Fear . Push up to 2 Explorers /Towns. If Blight is present, 2 Fear and Push up to 2 Explo…	elements air+fire+moon → 8.4
5	Rites of the Land’s Rejection	1	Fast	Moon, Fire, Earth	Invaders do not Build in target land this turn. 1 Fear per Town/City or 1 Fear per Dahan,…	elements fire+moon → 7.8
6	Shadows of the Burning Forest	0	Slow	Moon, Fire, Plant	2 Fear . If target land is a Mountain or Jungle, Push 1 Explorer and 1 Town .	elements fire+moon → 7.8
7	Visions of Fiery Doom	1	Fast	Moon, Fire	1 Fear . Push 1 Explorer /Town.	elements fire+moon → 7.8
8	Prowling Panthers	1	Slow	Moon, Fire, Animal	1 Fear . Add 1 Beasts. OR If target land has Beasts, Destroy 1 Explorer /Town.	elements fire+moon → 7.8
9	Sunset’s Fire Flows Across the Land	1	Slow	Sun, Moon, Fire, Water	1 Fear . 1 Damage. You may pay 1 Energy to deal 1 Damage in an adjacent land.	elements fire+moon → 7.8
10	Unquenchable Flames	1	Slow	Moon, Fire, Earth	1 Fear . 1 Damage to Towns/Cities. Invaders do not heal Damage at end of turn.	elements fire+moon → 7.8

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Transform to a Murderous Darkness	6	Slow	Moon, Fire, Air, Water, Plant	Target Spirit may choose one of their Sacred Site. In that land: Replace all their Presen…	elements air+fire+moon → 8.4
2	Settle Into Hunting-Grounds	3	Fast	Moon, Fire, Plant, Animal	Your Presence may count as Badlands and Beasts. (Decide per Presence, per Action.) Your P…	elements fire+moon → 7.8
3	Unearth a Beast of Wrathful Stone	5	Fast	Moon, Fire, Earth, Animal	After the next Invader Phase (on any turn) with no Ravage/Build Actions in target land:</…	elements fire+moon → 7.8
4	Pent-Up Calamity	3	Fast	Moon, Fire, Earth, Plant, Animal	Add 1 Disease and 1 Strife. OR Remove any number of Beasts/Disease/Strife/Wilds. For …	elements fire+moon → 7.8
5	Vengeance of the Dead	3	Fast	Moon, Fire, Animal	3 Fear . After Towns/Cities/Dahan are Destroyed in target land, 1 Damage per Town/City/Dah…	elements fire+moon → 7.8

HoSI Beginner Deck Bundle — for reference only

Card	Type	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)
Dark and Tangled Woods	Minor	1	Fast	Moon, Earth, Plant	2 Fear . If target land is a Mountain or Jungle, Defend 3.
Shadows of the Burning Forest	Minor	0	Slow	Moon, Fire, Plant	2 Fear . If target land is a Mountain or Jungle, Push 1 Explorer and 1 Town .
The Jungle Hungers	Major	3	Slow	Moon, Plant	Destroy all Explorers and all Towns. Destroy all Dahan.
Land of Haunts and Embers	Minor	0	Fast	Moon, Fire, Air	2 Fear . Push up to 2 Explorers /Towns. If Blight is present, 2 Fear and Push up to 2 Explo…
Terrifying Nightmares	Major	4	Fast	Moon, Air	2 Fear . Push up to 4 Explorers /Towns.
Call of the Dahan Ways	Minor	1	Slow	Moon, Water, Animal	Replace 1 Explorer with 1 Dahan .
Visions of Fiery Doom	Minor	1	Fast	Moon, Fire	1 Fear . Push 1 Explorer /Town.

Cards to Avoid (anti-synergy flagged)

Aspects (all 5, Wiki-verified mechanics)

All 5 Shadows aspects replace the Shadows of the Dahan special rule. Four raise complexity; one lowers it.

Amorphous (Promo Pack 2 — Feather and Flame) — Higher Complexity

Replaces: Shadows of the Dahan.

Shadows Partake of Amorphous Space: During each Fast phase, you may move 1 of your Presence to an adjacent land, or to a land with Dahan anywhere on the island. During each Slow phase, you may move 1 of your Presence to an adjacent land, or to a land with Dahan anywhere on the island.

Strategic shift: converts the 1-Energy-per-range-extension tax into 2 free presence-moves per turn. Plays as a mobility-specialist variant — physical presence motion instead of virtual range-extension.

Foreboding (Promo Pack 2 — Feather and Flame) — Higher Complexity

Replaces: Shadows of the Dahan with a new Innate, Stretch Out Coils of Foreboding Dread (Fast · Range 2 · Any Land):

• 2 Air: Your other Powers may ignore Range when targeting the target land.
• 1 Moon: After an Action generates Fear in target land (incl. Town/City destruction): Push up to 1 Explorer per Fear / 1 Town per 2 Fear .
• 2 Fire: 1 Fear .
• 2 Moon + 4 Air: 2 Fear .

Strategic shift: swaps a per-Power spatial rule for a land-targeted innate. Range-ignoring is gated to one targeted land (rather than all Dahan lands). Converts fear-on-destruction into pushes for control value.

Madness (Jagged Earth) — Higher Complexity

Replaces: Shadows of the Dahan. Adds 2 new rules:

Shadows Cast a Subtle Madness: When you add Presence during Growth, you may also add 1 Strife in that land.

Glimpse of the Shadowed Void: When your Presence is Destroyed, if Invaders are present, 1 Fear per Presence Destroyed there.

Strategic shift: this is where strife enters Shadows (previous chapter revisions wrongly put strife on base Shadows). Madness monetizes presence-destruction into fear, incentivizing aggressive presence deployment + Choke-style self-sacrifice plays.

Reach (Jagged Earth) — Lower Complexity

Replaces: Shadows of the Dahan with a simpler, single rule:

Reach Through Ephemeral Distance: Once per turn, you may ignore Range. (Anything for which there’s a Range arrow or the word “Range” is used. Affects a single Action.)

Strategic shift: energy-free range ignore, capped at once per turn. The beginner-friendly aspect — arguably the first aspect to try on Shadows for newer players.

Dark Fire (Nature Incarnate) — Higher Complexity

Replaces: Shadows of the Dahan. Adds 2 new rules:

Dark and Fire as One: You may treat each Moon available to you as being Fire, or vice versa. (Choose during each Action for each Moon/Fire you have.) You may discard or Forget Powers that grant Moon to pay for Fire Choice Events, and vice versa.

Frightful Shadows Elude Destruction: The first time each Action would destroy your Presence, you may Push 1 of those Presence instead of destroying it.

Strategic shift: Moon↔Fire interchangeability is exceptional on a spirit whose innate requires both elements heavily. Plus presence-push-instead-of-destroy offers a Madness-style defensive safety net. Arguably the most powerful Shadows aspect.

Aspect selection heuristic

Adversary Matchup Matrix

Grades directional [VERIFY] — individual cell confirmations pending playtest.

Strategy Cliff — England L5

Strategy Cliff — Sweden L2+ / Russia L3+

Board / Map Configuration

[VERIFY via play — pending] — no community-consensus board ratings for Shadows surfaced from the Wiki spirit-template. Directional hypotheses:

• Likely favorable: jungle-dense boards (starting setup puts presence in jungle; innate L3 Moon+Fire+Air threshold matches Shadows’s element profile without requiring specific terrain).
• Likely favorable: boards with dense starting Dahan clusters (Shadows of the Dahan targeting benefits).
• Likely neutral: coastal-heavy boards (Shadows is terrain-flexible but coast-agnostic).
• Likely unfavorable: sparse-Dahan layouts.

Ratings per board letter (A–H) deferred to physical-play data.

Game-Phase Strategy

Early (T1–3)

• Grow with G2 or G3 to extend card pool and energy.
• Play Concealing Shadows every turn (0 Energy is free value).
• Use Innate L1 (Gather) to reposition Explorers away from Build targets.
• Draft Moon + Fire Minors.

Mid (T4–6)

• Innate L2 firing (destroy 2 Explorers + 2 Fear per turn).
• Crops Wither softens City turns.
• Favors Called Due’s 3-Fear trigger becomes available.
• Fear pool heading toward Terror 2 flip.

Late (T7+)

• Terror 2 → Terror 3 transition.
• Gain Terrifying Nightmares Major if offered; forget Mantle of Dread (weakest in solo) or the weakest-matchup Unique.
• Innate L3 available if 4 Moon + 3 Fire + 2 Air reliably on track.

Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)

Common Mistakes

Tempo Profile

Round-by-round targets, with per-turn Fear contribution confirmed by one authored playthrough (solo, Brandenburg-Prussia Level 6, Board A balanced, 8-round win). Early rounds may hit the low end; the R4 major-draft (Moon-aligned) is the inflection point where per-turn fear jumps from ~2 to 5+.

Cliff turn: T4. Innate L2 must fire; Fear pool at 4+/8 (solo).

Major vs. Minor

Draft bias: Mixed (Minor-heavy T1–T3; 1 Major T5+).

Expansion Sensitivity

• Base only: fully functional — 4 Uniques + Innate engine + 1 Special Rule.
• + Branch & Claw: Amorphous + Foreboding aspects unlock; event + blight decks add turn-by-turn variance.
• + Jagged Earth: Madness + Reach aspects unlock; Minor/Major pool deepens.
• + Nature Incarnate: Dark Fire aspect unlocks.

Aspect mechanics now Wiki-verified (see Aspects section above); parser extended 2026-04-19.

Stat Snapshot

Source Notes

Physical-copy verified: Uniques, innate thresholds, aspects (2026-04-19). Remaining [VERIFY]: Play Difficulty (spirit panel), aspect mechanics (pending parser extension), board ratings (physical play), live mindwanderer stats.

Last revised: 2026-04-19 — v0.2.4 (full Wiki-scripted rewrite with suggested-cards, growth, presence tracks, power summary)

Vital Strength of the Earth

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Powerful but slow: has potent Power Cards and an excellent Energy income, but starts wtih only one card play per turn, and Growth is limited to adding one Presence per turn. Also slow to change: learning new Powers carries slightly more cost than reclaiming played Power Cards

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

Starting Setup

Put 3 Presence on your starting board: 2 in the highest-numbered Mountain, 1 in the highest-numbered Jungle.

Growth Options (one)

Growth token reference (Wiki shorthand):

• reclaim — Reclaim all discarded Power Cards.
• gain1p / gain2p — Gain 1 or 2 Power Cards (Minor).
• addpresence1 / addpresence2 / addpresence3 — Add 1 Presence from track, Range N.
• energy1 / energy2 / energy3 — +1/+2/+3 Energy.
• card1 / card2 — +1/+2 Card Plays this turn.
• (Other tokens documented on Wiki Spirit template reference pages.)

Presence Tracks

As Presence leaves each track, these values are revealed:

• Energy track: energy2, energy3, energy4, energy6, energy7, energy8
• Card-play track: card1, card1, card2, card2, card3, card4

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule

EARTH’S VITALITY Defend 3 in every land where you have Sacred Site.

Innate: GIFT OF STRENGTH

• Speed: fast · Range: None · Target: anyspirit

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	1 Sun + 2 Earth + 2 Plant	Once this turn, Target Spirit may Repeat 1 Power Card with Energy cost of 1 or less.
2	2 Sun + 3 Earth + 2 Plant	Instead, the Energy cost limit is 3 or less.
3	2 Sun + 4 Earth + 3 Plant	Instead, the Energy cost limit is 6 or less.

Unique Cards (all, Wiki-verified)

A Year of Perfect Stillness

• 3 Energy · Fast · Range 1 · Any Land · Sun, Earth
• Invaders skip all Actions in target land this turn.

Draw of the Fruitful Earth

• 1 Energy · Slow · Range 1 · Any Land · Earth, Plant, Animal
• Gather up to 2 [[Explorers]]. Gather up to 2 [[Dahan]].

Guard the Healing Land

• 3 Energy · Fast · Range 1, from your Sacred Site · Any Land · Water, Earth, Plant
• Remove 1 Blight . Defend 4.

Rituals of Destruction

• 3 Energy · Slow · Range 1, from your Sacred Site · Land with Dahan · Sun, Moon, Fire, Earth, Plant
• 2 Damage. If target land has at least 3 Dahan , +3 Damage and 2 Fear .

Card Priority Ratings

Uniques

The spirit’s own 4 Unique Power cards (always in hand; always A-tier by default — see Uniques section above for full text):

• A Year of Perfect Stillness
• Draw of the Fruitful Earth
• Guard the Healing Land
• Rituals of Destruction

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Absorb Corruption	1	Slow	Sun, Earth, Plant	Gather 1 Blight . OR Pay 1 Energy to Remove 1 Blight .	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4
2	Carapaced Land	0	Fast	Earth, Plant, Animal	If targeting a land with Beasts, this Power has +1 Range. Defend 3.	elements earth+plant → 8.7
3	Drift Down into Slumber	0	Fast	Air, Earth, Plant	Defend 1. If target land is a Jungle or Sands, instead Defend 4.	elements earth+plant → 8.7
4	Entrap the Forces of Corruption	1	Fast	Earth, Plant, Animal	Gather up to 1 Blight . Isolate target land. When Blight is added to target land, it doesn…	elements earth+plant → 8.7
5	Dark and Tangled Woods	1	Fast	Moon, Earth, Plant	2 Fear . If target land is a Mountain or Jungle, Defend 3.	elements earth+plant → 8.7
6	Nature’s Resilience	1	Fast	Earth, Plant, Animal	Defend 6.	elements earth+plant → 8.7
7	Call to Guard	0	Fast	Sun, Air, Earth	Gather up to 1 Dahan . Then, if Dahan are present, either: Defend 1 per Dahan. OR Afte…	elements earth+sun → 7.5
8	Hazards Spread Across the Island	0	Fast	Fire, Air, Earth, Plant	Choose a type of token from Badlands/Beasts/Disease/Strife/Wilds that exists in an adjace…	elements earth+plant → 8.7
9	Call to Trade	1	Fast	Air, Water, Earth, Plant	You may Gather 1 Dahan . If the Terror Level is 2 or lower, Gather 1 Town and the first Ra…	elements earth+plant → 8.7
10	Renewing Boon	1	Slow	Sun, Earth, Plant	Choose a land where you and target Spirit both have Presence. In that land: Remove 1 Blig…	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	The Trees and Stones Speak of War	2	Fast	Sun, Earth, Plant	For each Dahan, 1 Damage and Defend 2.	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4
2	Walls of Rock and Thorn	4	Fast	Sun, Earth, Plant	2 Damage. Defend 8. Add 1 Wilds. Isolate target land.	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4
3	Forests of Living Obsidian	4	Slow	Sun, Fire, Earth, Plant	Add 1 Badlands. Push all Dahan. 1 Damage to each Invader. If the origin land is your Sacr…	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4
4	Unlock the Gates of Deepest Power	4	Fast	Sun, Moon, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Plant, Animal	Target Spirit gains a Major Power by drawing 2 and keeping 1, without having to Forget an…	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4
5	Twisted Flowers Murmur Ultimatums	5	Slow	Sun, Moon, Air, Earth, Plant	4 Fear . Add 1 Strife. If the Terror Level is 2 or higher, Remove 2 Invaders.	elements earth+plant+sun → 11.4

HoSI Beginner Deck Bundle — for reference only

Card	Type	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)
Rouse the Trees and Stones	Minor	1	Slow	Fire, Earth, Plant	2 Damage. Push 1 Explorer .
Call to Migrate	Minor	1	Slow	Fire, Air, Animal	Gather up to 3 Dahan . Push up to 3 Dahan .
Poisoned Land	Major	3	Slow	Earth, Plant, Animal	1 Fear . 7 Damage. Add 1 Blight . Destroy all Dahan.
Devouring Ants	Minor	1	Slow	Sun, Earth, Animal	1 Fear . 1 Damage. Destroy 1 Dahan . If target land is a Jungle or Sands, +1 Damage.
Vigor of the Breaking Dawn	Major	3	Fast	Sun, Animal	2 Damage per Dahan.
Voracious Growth	Minor	1	Slow	Water, Plant	2 Damage. OR Remove 1 Blight .
Savage Mawbeasts	Minor	0	Slow	Fire, Animal	If target land is a Jungle or Wetland, 1 Fear and 1 Damage.