Hearth-Vigil
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 BGG thread 3137164. Thinnest NI coverage — physical-copy verify is especially important.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Expansion | Nature Incarnate |
| Complexity | Moderate |
| Play Difficulty | [VERIFY] |
| Growth type | “one” — pick one growth per turn |
| Power summary (1–5) | Offense 3 · Control 1 · Fear 2 · Defense 4 · Utility 4 |
| Primary Elements | Sun (both innates backbone) · Animal (Keep Watch) · Earth (Warn L2) · Air (Keep Watch L3) |
| Special Rules | Rooted in the Community (Blight doesn’t destroy Presence when Dahan present) + Fortify Heart and Hearth (Dahan +4 HP in your lands; Event/Blight immunity) |
| Aspects | None |
| Rei’s Guide | Not covered |
| latentoctopus | Not listed |
| BGG | thread 3137164 |
Spirit Overview — Framing
Hearth-Vigil is a reactive Dahan-protector — Dahan in your lands get +4 HP and Event/Blight-Card immunity. Not a Blight-stopper — very good during Ravages, poor against established Cities that aren’t Ravaging.
Wiki-printed playstyle note:
Dahan-protection spirit. Reactive defense; Dahan first-strike on Ravages.
Identity in one line (Steve496 BGG — different user):
I’ve found it very strong (broken, really) to just loop Favors of Story and Season. That’s all you need to hit the first tier of your innates, move a ton of Dahan around, and probably clear both ravaging lands without losing any Dahan.
Complexity signal: Moderate — easiest of the NI Incarna spirits.
Starting Setup
Put 3 Presence on your starting board: 1 in the highest-numbered land with Dahan and 2 in the lowest-numbered land with at least 2 Dahan. Add 1 Dahan in each of those lands (additional survivors of the Invaders’ diseases).
Growth Options (growthtype: “one” — pick one per turn)
| Growth | Effects | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| G1 | Reclaim + Add Presence (R0) | Reclaim + density |
| G2 | Gain 1 Power Card + Add Presence (R3 Dahan-land) | Card + Dahan-adjacent spread |
| G3 | Add Presence (R2) + +3 Energy | Spread + energy |
Presence Tracks
- Energy:
gather1dahan1land → ...(energy track is unusual; specifics[VERIFY]) - CP:
energy0 → energy1sun → energy2 → energy3animal → energy4 → energy5sun
Starting income: 0 Energy, 1 Card Play (with Dahan-gather on first track-reveal).
Core Mechanics & Special Rules
Special Rule: Rooted in the Community
Blight added in your lands does not Destroy your Presence if Dahan are present. (Ravage Actions Destroy Dahan before added Blight destroys Presence and cascades.)
Dahan-presence pairing = Blight-cascade immunity. The identity-shaping rule.
Special Rule: Fortify Heart and Hearth
Dahan have +4 Health (each) while in your lands. Event and Blight Card Actions don’t damage, destroy, or replace Dahan in your lands.
Dahan tanks. Event/Blight-Card immunity covers half the punishing events for free.
Innate: Warn of Impending Conflict
- Speed: Fast · Target: Yourself
| Level | Thresholds | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2  Sun + 1  Earth | In one of your lands, 1 Dahan deals Damage before Invaders during Ravages. |
| 2 | 3 Sun + 1 Earth | In that land, another Dahan deals Damage before Invaders. |
| 3 | 4 Sun + 2 Earth | In that land, all Dahan deal Damage before Invaders. |
| 4 | 5 Sun + 3 Earth | Instead, all Dahan in all of your lands deal Damage before Invaders. |
Dahan first-strike escalating from 1 Dahan → all Dahan in 1 land → all Dahan in all lands.
Innate: Keep Watch for New Incursions
- Speed: Fast · Range: 1 · Target: Any
| Level | Thresholds | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1  Animal | Gather up to 2 Dahan, from your lands only. |
| 2 | 1 Sun + 2  Air + 3 Animal | Once this turn after Invaders are added/moved into target land, 1 Damage per Dahan. |
| 3 | 2 Sun + 3 Air + 4 Animal | Repeat this Power. |
Unique Cards (all 4, Wiki-verified names)
- Coordinated Raid
- Surrounded by the Dahan
- Favors of Story and Season (the signature reclaim-loop card per Steve496)
- Call to Vigilance
[VERIFY exact costs/text.]
Key Strategic Principles
- Loop Favors of Story and Season — Steve496’s core strat. Clears both Ravages without losing Dahan.
- Rush the 1/Sun top-track spot. kyren_vos: “my most important takeaway was that I should have gone for the 1/Sun top track spot earlier. I waited to take it until turn 4… which meant I wasn’t reliably hitting the second level of my left innate early on, resulting in taking some blight I shouldn’t have.”
- Sun is the backbone. Both innates key off Sun.
- Dahan preservation is non-negotiable. Rooted only fires when Dahan are present.
- Watch for Loyal Guardian — your anti-cascade relocation tool when Dahan leave a land.
Possible Openings
Shared starting state
- 3 Presence + 2 Dahan added on starting board.
- 4 Uniques in hand.
- 0 Energy, 1 Card Play.
Opening A — Community-default (Favors loop) 🟨
T1 · Growth: G2 top (+1 presence, +Gain Power Card). T1 · Play: Draft Minor. Play Favors of Story and Season (reclaim-looped every turn if solo — can’t target self in team games).
T2 · Growth: Move to bottom track — 1/Sun spot is critical (kyren_vos).
T3 · Growth: G2 bottom for continued presence placement into Ravage-threatened lands with Dahan. Play Favors again if reclaimed.
- First Ravage under innate should have Dahan striking first.
T4+ · Growth: G2 bottom for reclaim/energy. Draft Air and Animal for L3 of both innates.
Opening Decision
- Default Opening A — Favors loop + Sun-rush.
Card Priority Ratings
Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (Sun + Animal + Air + Earth)
| # | Card | Cost | Speed | Elements | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call to Migrate | 0 | Fast | Air, Animal | 0-cost Air + Animal |
| 2 | Call to Bloodshed | 0 | Slow | Moon, Animal | 0-cost Animal |
| 3 | Gift of Constancy | 0 | Fast | Sun, Plant, Animal | 0-cost Sun + Animal |
| 4 | Song of Sanctity | 0 | Slow | Sun, Plant, Animal | 0-cost Sun + Animal |
| 5 | Drift Down to Rest | 0 | Slow | Sun, Air, Plant | 0-cost Sun + Air |
| 6 | Call of the Dahan Ways | 1 | Slow | Moon, Earth | Earth-feeder |
| 7 | Bats Scout for Raids | 1 | Fast | Moon, Air, Animal | Air + Animal |
| 8 | Quicken the Earth’s Struggles | 0 | Slow | Earth, Plant, Animal | 0-cost Earth + Animal |
| 9 | Unrelenting Growth | 0 | Slow | Sun, Plant | 0-cost Sun |
| 10 | Pull Beneath the Hungry Earth | 0 | Slow | Moon, Earth | 0-cost Earth |
Top 5 Major Draft Picks
| # | Card | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Settling into Hunting Grounds | Earth + Animal + Plant |
| 2 | Instruments of Their Own Ruin | Animal + multi-land |
| 3 | Tigers Hunting | Cheap Animal |
| 4 | Angry Bears | Animal + Fear |
| 5 | Vigor of the Breaking Dawn | Sun + Plant |
Adversary Matchup Matrix
| Adversary | Rating | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Brandenburg-Prussia | ★★★★☆ | Dahan first-strike destroys Prussia Build stacks |
| Sweden | ★★★★☆ | [VERIFY] |
| France-Plantation | ★★★★☆ | Dahan-attract synergy; Dahan tanks Ravages |
| England | ★★☆☆☆ | Weak — established non-Ravaging Cities bypass Rooted |
| Habsburg Mining | ★★☆☆☆ | Weak — Blight-without-Ravaging |
| Russia | ★★★☆☆ | Pogrom events break Dahan pockets |
| Scotland | ★★★☆☆ | [VERIFY] |
| Habsburg Livestock | ★★★☆☆ | [VERIFY] |
kyren_vos’s Prussia 5 loss report: “events that add building HP neuter first-strike; events that force Dahan movement break your pockets.”
Board / Map Configuration
Boards with dense starting Dahan clusters — standard Dahan-scalers prefer B, C, F.
Game-Phase Strategy
Early (T1–T3)
- Favors of Story and Season reclaim loop.
- Rush 1/Sun top-track spot (kyren_vos).
- Warn of Impending Conflict L1 online by T2–T3.
Mid (T4–T6)
- Warn L2/L3 — multi-Dahan first-strike.
- Keep Watch L1 for Gather-2-Dahan per cast.
Late (T7+)
- Warn L4 — all Dahan in all your lands first-strike.
- Keep Watch L3 — Repeat for double-damage.
Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)
- Dahan-scalers: Sharp Fangs, River Surges, Lure, Finder.
- Avoid: Dahan-destroyer spirits (Bringer of Dreams, Volcano, Wounded Waters Roiling).
Common Mistakes
- Delaying the 1/Sun spot. kyren_vos’s named lesson.
- Abandoning lands — Hearth-Vigil’s protections are lands-with-your-presence-scoped.
- Forgetting Loyal Guardian. Your anti-cascade relocation tool.
- Ignoring Event-Card Dahan immunity. Fortify Heart eats half the punishing events for free.
Tempo Profile
| Turn | Target state |
|---|---|
| 1 | G2 top + Favors + Minor; Sun track begun |
| 2 | Bottom-track 1/Sun spot critical |
| 3 | G2 + Favors reclaim + Minor; Warn L1 online |
| 4+ | Warn L2 reliably; Keep Watch Gather-2-Dahan |
| 7+ | Warn L4 board-wide first-strike |
Source Notes
- Mechanics:
data/references/wiki/hearth-vigil.json(Wiki-parsed 2026-04-23). - Openings: BGG thread 3137164.
- Coverage note: Only 3 BGG posts in the analysis thread; latentoctopus + Dahan-Codex no content. Thinnest coverage of the NI spirits — physical-copy playtesting is especially important.