Dances Up Earthquakes
Card data, innate thresholds, special rules, growth options, presence track, and unique-card text parsed via scripts/wiki-fetch.py. Remaining [VERIFY]: Play Difficulty, aspect mechanics, live mindwanderer stats, board ratings.
Strategic framing from Steve Haas’s “Turn 4 Megaquake” BGG guide (thread 3107804) — dominant canonical opening.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Expansion | Nature Incarnate |
| Complexity | Very High |
| Play Difficulty | [VERIFY] |
| Growth type | “one” — pick one growth per turn |
| Power summary (1–5) | Offense 5 · Control 2 · Fear 2 · Defense 3 · Utility 4 |
| Primary Elements | Earth (both innates) · Fire (Earth Shudders) · Moon (Land Creaks) · Air (expensive) |
| Special Rules | Begin a Dance of Decades (impend Power Cards by paying Energy; cards sit aside for future turns) |
| Aspects | None |
| Rei’s Guide | Not covered |
| latentoctopus | Not listed |
| BGG Guide | Steve Haas T4 Megaquake — thread 3107804 |
Spirit Overview — Framing
Dances Up Earthquakes is the tempo/impending spirit — banks cards into a future turn via Begin a Dance of Decades, then detonates them simultaneously. The community meta is dominated by Steve Haas’s Turn 4 Megaquake opening — so dominant one commenter admitted:
Hardly feels like we’re playing a game.
Wiki-printed playstyle note:
Impend cards for a future crescendo. Quake tokens + Fire + Earth scaling for board-wide damage + fear.
Complexity signal: Very High is correct — impending-energy timing, quake-token management, and T4 threshold-stacking all need rehearsal.
Starting Setup
Put 1 Presence on your starting board in the highest-numbered land with Dahan. You start with your 6 Unique Power Cards and 0 Energy. Set the Quake Tokens nearby.
6 Uniques in hand (not 4) — unusually deep starting kit.
Growth Options (growthtype: “one” — pick one per turn)
| Growth | Effects | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| G1 | Reclaim + Add Presence (R2) OR Gain Major without Forgetting | Mid-game Reclaim |
| G2 | Gain 1 Power Card + Add Presence (R1) | Default opening move |
| G3 | Add Presence (R3) + Impend Energy + Reclaim-1 | Energy-spike into impending |
Presence Tracks
- Energy:
energy1+impendenergy1 → movepresence1 → energy2 → impend1 → energy3 → impendenergy2 → energy4any - CP:
card2 → gather1dahan1land → moonfire → impend1 → earthX → card3 → card4
Starting income: 1 Energy (+ 1 Impending Energy — bonus for impended cards), 2 Card Plays.
Core Mechanics & Special Rules
Special Rule: Begin a Dance of Decades
Whenever you would play a Power Card, you may instead pay any amount of Energy onto the card to make it an impending card, setting it aside out of play for use on a future turn. (It doesn’t provide Elements. It’s still your Power Card, so it can be forgotten while it’s impending.)
Impend = bank the card for later. Energy paid sits on the card until resolution; multiple cards can impend in parallel.
Innate: Land Creaks With Tension
- Speed: Fast · Target: You
| Level | Thresholds | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1  Earth | If you have ≥1 impending card, add 1 Quake in one of your lands. |
| 2 | 1  Moon + 1 Earth | In one of your lands, Defend 1 per impending card (max 3). |
| 3 | 1 Moon + 2 Earth | If ≥3 impending cards, add 1 Quake. |
| 4 | 2 Moon + 3 Earth | In one of your lands, Defend 1 per impending card (max 3). |
Innate: Earth Shudders, Buildings Fall
- Speed: Slow · Range: 0 · Target: Quake
Text: X Damage (where X = Quake tokens), plus element-scaling Fear and fire damage. [VERIFY exact threshold math]. T4 fully-threshold state: 4 Fire + 5 Earth + 7 cards played = 2-damage-per-quake + Invader damage + 2 Fear.
Unique Cards (6, Wiki-verified names)
- Inspire a Winding Dance
- Resounding Footfalls Sow Dismay
- Radiating Tremors
- Rumblings Portend a Greater Quake
- Gift of Seismic Energy
- Exaltation of Echoed Steps
[VERIFY exact costs/text — fetch parse incomplete; cross-check physical copy before opener play.]
Key Strategic Principles (Steve Haas’s T4 Megaquake framework)
- T4 is the target turn — Earth Shudders fully threshold with 7 cards played.
- Impend expensive Uniques on T1–T2. Gift of Constancy (3-cost), Resounding Footfalls (3-cost) are the high-cost candidates.
- Two cheaper Majors > one expensive Major. Steve: “two cheaper majors is going to be better than one major costing 5 or 6, since you can so easily threshold majors.”
- Minor drafts must secure Fire+Earth. Left innate demands both.
- Don’t impend 0-cost Minors — no Energy-discount benefit.
- Don’t impend T3 and do nothing real — still place Quakes + Defend in the interim.
Possible Openings
Shared starting state
- 1 Presence on highest-Dahan land.
- 6 Uniques in hand.
- 0 Energy, 2 Card Plays.
Opening A — Steve Haas T4 Megaquake 🟨🟩 (dominant)
T1 · Growth: G2 (top: +2 presence). T1 · Play: Draft Minor (Fire or Earth priority). Impend most expensive Uniques (Gift of Constancy + Resounding Footfalls — both 3-cost). Pay 0 or small energy onto them.
T2 · Growth: G2. T2 · Play: Draft second Minor. Impend Radiating Tremors (2-cost). Actually play Rumblings of Discontent (places quake + defends). Hits Land Creaks L1 → +1 Quake.
T3 · Growth: G2. T3 · Play: Draft Major; Forget Rumblings. Impend two Minors, play Exaltation or Inspire. One Quake from innate.
T4 · Growth: G2. T4 · Play: Draft second Major, Forget unique played T3. All impended cards crash in: Gift + Resounding + Radiating + 2 Minors + both Majors. 7+ cards in play, 5 Quake tokens, right innate fully thresholded.
Steve: “Clear your board on turn 4 straight up wins” solo.
Opening B — Slow-burn / multiplayer (940202 variant) 🟥
T5 megaquake with ravage-skip looping for multi-board or England.
Opening C — G3 early (vs. France 6) 🟥
Switch to G3 (+1 impending energy) to fire the quake one turn earlier vs France 6 when town-limit pressure is too high.
Opening Decision
- Default Opening A (T4 Megaquake) — solo, Prussia, Scotland, Russia, HME.
- Opening B (T5 variant) — England, Sweden L5+, multi-board.
- Opening C (G3 early) — France 6 only.
Card Priority Ratings
Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (Fire + Earth)
| # | Card | Cost | Speed | Elements | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyroclastic Friction | 1 | Fast | Fire, Earth | Fire + Earth prime |
| 2 | Call of the Dahan Ways | 1 | Slow | Moon, Earth | Moon + Earth |
| 3 | Visions of Fiery Doom | 1 | Slow | Moon, Fire | Fire + Moon |
| 4 | Rain of Blood | 1 | Slow | Moon, Fire, Water | Multi-element Fire |
| 5 | Quicken the Earth’s Struggles | 0 | Slow | Earth, Plant, Animal | 0-cost Earth |
| 6 | Pull Beneath the Hungry Earth | 0 | Slow | Moon, Earth | 0-cost Earth |
| 7 | Gift of Power | 1 | Fast | Moon | Moon-feeder |
| 8 | Elemental Boon | 0 | Fast | Sun, Moon, Fire, Air | 0-cost Fire |
| 9 | Predatory Nightmares | 0 | Fast | Moon, Animal | 0-cost Moon |
| 10 | Sap Their Strength | 1 | Fast | Moon, Earth, Plant | Earth + Moon |
Top 5 Major Draft Picks
| # | Card | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cast Down into the Briny Deep | 5 | Fire + Earth threshold |
| 2 | Pyroclastic Flow | 6 | Fire + Earth multi-land |
| 3 | Volcanic Eruption | 8 | Late-game closer |
| 4 | Infinite Vitality | 4 | Fire + Plant |
| 5 | Tigers Hunting | 3 | Cheap Fire |
Adversary Matchup Matrix (Steve Haas’s solo L6)
| Adversary | Rating | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Brandenburg-Prussia | ★★★★★ | 100% (Steve’s data) |
| Scotland | ★★★★★ | 100% |
| Russia | ★★★★★ | 100% |
| Habsburg Mining | ★★★★★ | 100% |
| Sweden | ★★★★☆ | 90–95% |
| England | ★★★☆☆ | 80%+ (needs T5 variant) |
| France-Plantation | ★★★☆☆ | 80% (town-limit risk; needs G3 early) |
| Habsburg Livestock | ★★★★☆ | 80% |
Board / Map Configuration
Board D + Scotland + Wetlands early is Steve’s named edge-case (extra attention required).
Game-Phase Strategy
Early (T1–T3)
- Impend cadence per Opening A.
- Still place Quake tokens + Defend in interim.
Mid (T4–T5)
- T4 Megaquake.
- Board-clear or significant damage.
Late (T6+)
- Reclaim cycle with impending-again.
- Second Megaquake around T8.
Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)
- Consistent early-presence partners (Ocean, Shadows, Lightning) while DUE ramps.
- Set-piece-Turn-4 partners (Behemoth, Stone).
- Avoid partners who need T1–T3 help (Shadows vs England).
Common Mistakes
- Impending every play — still need Quake placement + Defend in interim.
- Impending 0-cost Minors — no Energy-discount benefit.
- Drafting expensive T3 Major (5–6 cost) — blocks second Major T4.
- Not securing Fire+Earth on T1–T2 Minor drafts.
Tempo Profile
| Turn | Target state |
|---|---|
| 1 | G2 + Impend Gift of Constancy + Resounding Footfalls; draft Fire/Earth Minor |
| 2 | G2 + Impend Radiating; play Rumblings; Land Creaks L1 |
| 3 | G2 + Draft Major; impend 2 Minors; play Exaltation/Inspire |
| 4 | MEGAQUAKE: 7+ cards + 5 Quakes + Earth Shudders full threshold |
| 5+ | Reclaim cycle; Quake Megaquake cadence every 4 turns |
Source Notes
- Mechanics:
data/references/wiki/dances-up-earthquakes.json(Wiki-parsed 2026-04-23). - Primary guide: Steve Haas BGG 3107804.