Dances Up Earthquakes

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Very much about tempo and timing: Can play high-cost Powers extremely easily, but they won’t take effect until later in the game. Faces a constant tension between solving problems now and carefully planning ahead for big turns in the future - neglecting either one can be disastrous. Despite starting with 6 Unique Powers, benefits greatly from gaining more.

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

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 ({{quake}}) nearby.

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: energy1impendenergy1, movepresence1energytrack, energy2, impend1, energy3, impendenergy2, energy4any
• Card-play track: card2, gather1dahan1land, moonfire, impend1, earthX, card3, card4

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 ({{impendingcard}}), 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.) RHYTHMIC POWER BUILDS TO A CATACLYSMIC CRESCENDO
When you gain Energy from your Presence Track, also gain {{impendingenergyblank}} Energy onto each Power Card made {{impendingcard}} on a previous turn. If any {{impendingcard}} now have Energy on them at least equal to their cost, discard that Energy and play them. (This costs no card plays.)

Innate: LAND CREAKS WITH TENSION

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

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	1 Earth	If you have at least 1 {{impendingcard}}, Add 1 {{quake}} in one of your lands.
2	1 Moon + 1 Earth	In one of your lands, Defend 1 per {{impendingcard}} (max. 3).
3	1 Moon + 2 Earth	If you have at least 3 {{impendingcard}}, Add 1 {{quake}} in one of your lands.
4	2 Moon + 3 Earth	In one of your lands, Defend 1 per {{impendingcard}} (max. 3).

Innate: EARTH SHUDDERS, BUILDINGS FALL

• Speed: slow · Range: 0 · Target: quake

(no thresholds listed in Wiki)

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	Quicken the Earth’s Struggles	1	Fast	Moon, Fire, Earth, Animal	1 Damage to each Town/City. OR Defend 10.	elements earth+moon → 4.5
2	Sucking Ooze	0	Fast	Moon, Water, Earth	2 Fear if Invaders are present. Isolate target land.	elements earth+moon → 4.5
3	Dire Metamorphosis	1	Slow	Moon, Air, Earth, Animal	1 Fear . 1 Damage. 1 Damage to [[Dahan]]. Add 1 [[Badlands]], 1 [[Beasts]], 1 [[Disease]],…	elements earth+moon → 4.5
4	Infested Aquifers	1	Slow	Moon, Water, Earth, Animal	If target land has any Disease, 1 Damage to each Invader. OR If target land is a Moun…	elements earth+moon → 4.5
5	Pull Beneath the Hungry Earth	1	Slow	Moon, Water, Earth	If your Presence is present, 1 Fear and 1 Damage. If target land is a Sands or Wetland, 1…	elements earth+moon → 4.5
6	Unquenchable Flames	1	Slow	Moon, Fire, Earth	1 Fear . 1 Damage to Towns/Cities. Invaders do not heal Damage at end of turn.	elements earth+moon → 4.5
7	Dark and Tangled Woods	1	Fast	Moon, Earth, Plant	2 Fear . If target land is a Mountain or Jungle, Defend 3.	elements earth+moon → 4.5
8	Guardian Serpents	1	Fast	Sun, Moon, Earth, Animal	Add 1 Beasts in one of target Spirit’s lands. If target Spirit has a Sacred Site in that …	elements earth+moon → 4.5
9	Haunted by Primal Memories	1	Fast	Moon, Air, Earth	1 Fear . Defend 3. If Beasts are present, +2 Fear .	elements earth+moon → 4.5
10	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 → 3.0

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Melt Earth Into Quicksand	4	Fast	Moon, Water, Earth	1 Fear . 2 Damage. Isolate target land. After Invaders/Dahan are Moved into target land, D…	elements earth+moon → 4.5
2	The Land Thrashes in Furious Pain	4	Slow	Moon, Fire, Earth	2 Damage per Blight. For each Blight in adjacent lands, 1 Damage (in target land).	elements earth+moon → 4.5
3	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 earth+moon → 4.5
4	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 earth+moon → 4.5
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+moon → 4.5

HoSI Beginner Deck Bundle — for reference only

No HoSI beginner-deck bundle for this spirit.

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 land with Dahan. You start with your 6 Unique Power Cards and 0 Energy. Set the Quake Tokens ({{quake}}) nearby.
• Starting income (from presence_energy_track[0] = energy1impendenergy1, 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); addpresence2orgainmajorwoforgetting ((spirit-specific: addpresence2orgainmajorwoforgetting — consult spirit panel))
• G2: gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); addpresence1 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 1))
• G3: addpresence3 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 3)); energyimpend ((spirit-specific: energyimpend — consult spirit panel)); reclaim1 (Reclaim 1 Power Card (of your choice))

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

energy1impendenergy1 · movepresence1energytrack · energy2 · impend1 · energy3 · impendenergy2 · energy4any — income as slots reveal: 1 → movepresence1energytrack → 2 → impend1 → 3 → impendenergy2 → 4

Card-play track

card2 · gather1dahan1land · moonfire · impend1 · earthX · card3 · card4 — CP as slots reveal: 2 → gather1dahan1land → moonfire → impend1 → earthX → 3 → 4

Innate Powers

• LAND CREAKS WITH TENSION (Speed: Fast · Range: ? · Target: you)
  • L1 — 1 Earth: If you have at least 1 {{impendingcard}}, Add 1 {{quake}} in one of your lands.
  • L2 — 1 Moon + 1 Earth: In one of your lands, Defend 1 per {{impendingcard}} (max. 3).
  • L3 — 1 Moon + 2 Earth: If you have at least 3 {{impendingcard}}, Add 1 {{quake}} in one of your lands.
  • L4 — 2 Moon + 3 Earth: In one of your lands, Defend 1 per {{impendingcard}} (max. 3).
• EARTH SHUDDERS, BUILDINGS FALL (Speed: Slow · Range: 0 · Target: quake)

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)
• Fast-phase L1 ceiling from Uniques alone is insufficient — need 1 Earth, Uniques give 0. L1 only fires T1 with a drafted Fast Minor providing the shortfall element(s).

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 Dances Up Earthquakes’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 Dances Up Earthquakes: 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 Dances Up Earthquakes: Front-load coastal defense or disruption before T3’s first Ravage.

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 Dances Up Earthquakes: 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.