Stone’s Unyielding Defiance

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Most of its special rules and innates require being where the Invaders are - particularly in the worst, most-overrun lands, so it can mitigate incoming Blight and (eventually) destroy the Invaders with their own Ravages. Does best with the patience to build up a position over time, and the temperance to hold some Energy in reserve so it can take advantage of Hold the Island Fast With a Bulwark of Will.

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

Starting Setup

Put 2 Presence on your starting board: 1 in the lowest-numbered Mountain without Dahan; 1 in an adjacent land that has Blight (if possible) or is Sands (if not).

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, card+1stone, energy4, card+1stone, energy6, card+1stone
• Card-play track: card1, earthX, earthX, earthreclaimX, earthanyX, card2earth

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule

BESTOW THE ENDURANCE OF BEDROCK When Blight is added to one of your lands, unless the Blight then outnumbers your Presence, it does not cascade or destroy Presence (yours or others’). DEEP LAYERS EXPOSED TO THE SURFACE The first time you uncover each of your “+1 Card Play” Presence spaces, gain a Minor Power. (They’re marked with [[Image:Minorsymbol.png|15px]] as a reminder.)

Innate: HOLD THE ISLAND FAST WITH A BULWARK OF WILL

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

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	2 Earth	When Blight is added to one of your lands, you may pay 2 Energy per Blight to take it from the box instead of the Blight Card. (Handle any cascade separately.)
2	4 Earth	The cost is 1 Energy instead of 2.
3	6 Earth + 1 Plant	When an Event or Blight card directly destroys Presence (yours or others’), you may prevent any number of Presence from being destroyed by paying 1 Energy each. (“Directly” means “not by adding Blight”.)

Innate: LET THEM BREAK THEMSELVES AGAINST THE STONE

• Speed: fast · Range: 0 · Target: any

(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	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 → 6.0
2	Mesmerized Tranquility	0	Fast	Water, Earth, Animal	Isolate target land. Each Invader does -1 Damage.	elements earth → 6.0
3	Carapaced Land	0	Fast	Earth, Plant, Animal	If targeting a land with Beasts, this Power has +1 Range. Defend 3.	elements earth+plant → 6.3
4	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 → 6.3
5	Quicken the Earth’s Struggles	1	Fast	Moon, Fire, Earth, Animal	1 Damage to each Town/City. OR Defend 10.	elements earth → 6.0
6	Sucking Ooze	0	Fast	Moon, Water, Earth	2 Fear if Invaders are present. Isolate target land.	elements earth → 6.0
7	Dark and Tangled Woods	1	Fast	Moon, Earth, Plant	2 Fear . If target land is a Mountain or Jungle, Defend 3.	elements earth+plant → 6.3
8	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 → 6.3
9	Nature’s Resilience	1	Fast	Earth, Plant, Animal	Defend 6.	elements earth+plant → 6.3
10	Encompassing Ward	1	Fast	Sun, Water, Earth	Target Spirit provides Defend 2 in each of its lands.	elements earth → 6.0

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 → 6.3
2	Walls of Rock and Thorn	4	Fast	Sun, Earth, Plant	2 Damage. Defend 8. Add 1 Wilds. Isolate target land.	elements earth+plant → 6.3
3	Bloodwrack Plague	4	Fast	Water, Earth, Animal	Add 2 Disease. For each Disease in target land, Defend 1 in target and all adjacent lands.	elements earth → 6.0
4	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 → 6.0
5	Bargains of Power and Protection	2	Fast	Sun, Water, Earth, Animal	Remove 1 of your Presence on the island from the game, setting it on the Reminder Card. F…	elements earth → 6.0

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 2 Presence on your starting board: 1 in the lowest-numbered Mountain without Dahan; 1 in an adjacent land that has Blight (if possible) or is Sands (if not).
• Starting income (from presence_energy_track[0] = energy2, presence_cardplay_track[0] = card1): 2 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); gain2earth ((spirit-specific: gain2earth — consult spirit panel)); Stone ((spirit-specific: Stone — consult spirit panel))
• G2: addpresence2 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 2)); energy3 ((+3 Energy this turn — growth effect, not track reveal))
• G3: gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); addpresence1 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 1))

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

energy2 · energy3 · card+1stone · energy4 · card+1stone · energy6 · card+1stone — income as slots reveal: 2 → 3 → card+1stone → 4 → card+1stone → 6 → card+1stone

Card-play track

card1 · earthX · earthX · earthreclaimX · earthanyX · card2earth — CP as slots reveal: 1 → earthX → earthX → earthreclaimX → earthanyX → 2

Innate Powers

• HOLD THE ISLAND FAST WITH A BULWARK OF WILL (Speed: Fast · Range: ? · Target: you)
  • L1 — 2 Earth: When Blight is added to one of your lands, you may pay 2 Energy per Blight to take it from the box instead of the Blight Card. (Handle any cascade separately.)
  • L2 — 4 Earth: The cost is 1 Energy instead of 2.
  • L3 — 6 Earth + 1 Plant: When an Event or Blight card directly destroys Presence (yours or others’), you may prevent any number of Presence from being destroyed by paying 1 Energy each. (“Directly” means “not by adding Blight”.)
• LET THEM BREAK THEMSELVES AGAINST THE STONE (Speed: Fast · Range: 0 · Target: any)

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 2 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 Stone’s Unyielding Defiance’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 Stone’s Unyielding Defiance: 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 Stone’s Unyielding Defiance: 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 Stone’s Unyielding Defiance: 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.