Fathomless Mud of the Swamp
Card data, innate thresholds, special rules, growth options, presence track, and suggested-draft cards below were parsed deterministically from the Spirit Island Wiki via scripts/wiki-fetch.py (MediaWiki API → raw wikitext → template field extraction — no LLM summarization). Remaining [VERIFY] items: Play Difficulty (not in Wiki spirit template; spirit panel only), aspect mechanics (aspect-page parser pending), live mindwanderer stats, and board ratings (play data).
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Expansion | Horizons of Spirit Island |
| Complexity | Low |
| Play Difficulty | [VERIFY from spirit panel] |
| Growth type | “one” — see Growth Options below |
| Power summary (1–5) | Offense 3 · Control 2 · Fear 3 · Defense 3 · Utility 2 |
| Primary Elements | Water, Moon, Earth, Plant (derived from innates + uniques) |
| Aspects | [VERIFY from physical aspect panels] |
Spirit Overview — Framing
Wiki-printed playstyle note:
Likes having Sacred Site where Invaders will Build, but may need to re-create those Sacred Site after oozing outwards with its Innate Power. In smaller games, might be able to cut off the most Inland lands from Explore actions by Destroying Inland Town/City and stopping new ones from being built. Causes a fair bit of Fear, much of which represents unpleasantness, hardship, and disgust.
Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].
Starting Setup
Put 2 Presence on your starting board, in the lowest-numbered Wetland. You start with your 4 Unique Powers and 0 Energy.
Growth Options (one)
| Growth | Effects |
|---|---|
| G1 | first=reclaim, second=addpresence0 |
| G2 | first=addpresence1, second=addpresence1 |
| G3 | first=gain1p, second=addpresence2, third=energy2 |
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, plant, energy2, energy3, water, energy4, energy5
- Card-play track: card1, card2, earthX, card3, moonX, card4
Core Mechanics & Special Rules
Special Rule
OFFER NO FIRM FOUNDATIONS At your Sacred Site, Build actions add Explorer instead of Town/City.
Innate: SPREADING AND DREADFUL MIRE
- Speed: slow · Range: 1 (optionally from a sacred site) · Target: invaders
| Level | Thresholds | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1  Water | Move 1 Presence from the origin Sacred Site to target land. (This is required.) |
| 2 | 1  Moon + 2 Water + 1  Earth | 1 Fear  . 1 Damage. Push 1 Dahan  . |
| 3 | 2 Moon + 3 Water + 2 Earth | 1 Fear . 1 Damage. Push 1 Dahan . |
| 4 | 3 Moon + 4 Water + 3 Earth + 2  Plant | 2 Damage. |
Unique Cards (all, Wiki-verified)
Card Priority Ratings
Scored across all 114 Minor + 98 Major cards in the full deck (Base + B&C + JE + NI), weighted by Fathomless Mud of the Swamp’s innate element demands, mid-game energy estimate, primary-innate speed, and power-summary ratings. See data/references/draft-priority/fathomless-mud-of-the-swamp.json for full scoring + reasons.
- Primary elements (innate-weighted): Water (wt 4.2), Moon (wt 2.1), Earth (wt 2.1)
- Mid-game energy estimate (T3–T5 avg): 4.0E
- Power summary: Offense 3 · Control 2 · Fear 3 · Defense 3 · Utility 2
Uniques
No Unique cards listed.
Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)
| # | Card | Cost | Speed | Elements | Effect (truncated) | Why this pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gift of Power | 0 | Slow | Moon, Water, Earth, Plant | Target Spirit gains a Minor Power Card. | elements earth+moon+plant+water → 9.0 |
| 2 | 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+water → 8.4 |
| 3 | 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+water → 8.4 |
| 4 | Sucking Ooze | 0 | Fast | Moon, Water, Earth | 2 Fear if Invaders are present. Isolate target land. | elements earth+moon+water → 8.4 |
| 5 | 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 moon+plant+water → 6.9 |
| 6 | The Shore Seethes with Hatred | 1 | Slow | Fire, Water, Earth, Plant | 1 Fear . Add 1 Badlands and 1 Wilds. | elements earth+plant+water → 6.9 |
| 7 | Terror Turns to Madness | 0 | Slow | Moon, Air, Water | If the Terror Level is… Terror Level 1: 3 Fear . Terror Level 2: 2 Fear or add 1 Strife.… | elements moon+water → 6.3 |
| 8 | Twilight Fog Brings Madness | 0 | Slow | Sun, Moon, Air, Water | Add 1 Strife. Push 1 Dahan . Each remaining Dahan takes 1 Damage. | elements moon+water → 6.3 |
| 9 | Mesmerized Tranquility | 0 | Fast | Water, Earth, Animal | Isolate target land. Each Invader does -1 Damage. | elements earth+water → 6.3 |
| 10 | Renewing Rain | 1 | Slow | Water, Earth, Plant | If target land is a Jungle or Sands, Remove 1 Blight  . | elements earth+plant+water → 6.9 |
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+water → 8.4 |
| 2 | Dream of the Untouched Land | 6 | Fast | Moon, Water, Earth, Plant, Animal | Remove up to 3 Blight and up to 3 Health worth of Invaders. | elements earth+moon+plant+water → 9.0 |
| 3 | 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+moon+plant+water → 9.0 |
| 4 | Weave Together the Fabric of Place | 4 | Fast | Sun, Moon, Air, Water, Earth | Target land and a land adjacent to it become a single land for this turn. (It has the ter… | elements earth+moon+water → 8.4 |
| 5 | Bargain of Coursing Paths | 2 | Fast | Moon, Air, Water, Earth | Bargain: 1 Presence now and -1 Energy/turn. Now: Mark both target land and another land w… | elements earth+moon+water → 8.4 |
HoSI Beginner Deck Bundle — for reference only
These are the cards shipped with Fathomless Mud of the Swamp in the Horizons of Spirit Island beginner bundle — a curated onboarding subset, not an optimized draft list. The picks above (Top Minor / Major) draw from the full expansion pool. Keep this table for historical reference or when playing with a HoSI-only card pool.
| Card | Type | Cost | Speed | Elements | Effect (truncated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam Vents | Minor | 1 | Fast | Fire, Air, Water, Earth | Destroy 1 Explorer  . |
| Entrancing Apparitions | Minor | 1 | Fast | Moon, Air, Water | Defend 2. If no Invaders are present, Gather up to 2 Explorers . |
| 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 . |
| Cleansing Floods | Major | 5 | Slow | Sun, Water | 4 Damage. Remove 1 Blight . |
| 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… |
| The Land Thrashes in Furious Pain | Major | 4 | Slow | Moon, Fire, Earth | 2 Damage per Blight. For each Blight in adjacent lands, 1 Damage (in target land). |
| Gift of Power | Minor | 0 | Slow | Moon, Water, Earth, Plant | Target Spirit gains a Minor Power Card. |
Cards to Avoid (anti-synergy flagged)
| Card | Reason(s) |
|---|---|
| Land of Haunts and Embers | adds Blight |
| Scour the Land | adds Blight |
| Renewing Boon | destroys Presence |
| Skies Herald the Season of Return | destroys Presence |
| Devouring Ants | destroys Dahan |
| Tsunami | destroys Dahan |
| Solidify Echoes of Majesty Past | destroys Presence |
| Pyroclastic Flow | adds Blight |
| Blazing Renewal | destroys Presence |
| The Jungle Hungers | destroys Dahan |
| Insatiable Hunger of the Swarm | adds Blight |
| Pillar of Living Flame | adds Blight |
| Poisoned Land | destroys Dahan, adds Blight |
| Volcanic Eruption | destroys Dahan, adds Blight |
| Draw Towards a Consuming Void | destroys Presence |
Key Strategic Principles
[VERIFY and enhance] — strategic principles should be derived from Wiki-verified mechanics above.
- Use the Special Rule to its fullest (see above for exact text).
- Element thresholds drive innate firing — see the innate tables above.
- Suggested draft cards are Wiki-recommended; pattern-match to your matchup.
Opener Mechanics — starter reference
Auto-derived from data/references/wiki/fathomless-mud-of-the-swamp.json. This section states the factual mechanics every opener must build on (starting income, growth options, innate thresholds, Fast-vs-Slow timing). It is not a strategic opener — use this as the foundation, then apply Deliberate Play + si-rules-check before writing T1/T2/T3 prose.
Starting state
- Setup: Put 2 Presence on your starting board, in the lowest-numbered Wetland. You start with your 4 Unique Powers and 0 Energy.
- 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); addpresence0 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 0))
- 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)); energy2 ((track slot showing 2 Energy))
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 · plant · energy2 · energy3 · water · energy4 · energy5 — income as slots reveal: 1 → plant → 2 → 3 → water → 4 → 5
Card-play track
card1 · card2 · earthX · card3 · moonX · card4 — CP as slots reveal: 1 → 2 → earthX → 3 → moonX → 4
Innate Powers
- SPREADING AND DREADFUL MIRE (Speed: Slow · Range: 1 · Target: invaders)
- L1 — 1 Water: Move 1 Presence from the origin Sacred Site to target land. (This is required.)
- L2 — 1 Moon + 2 Water + 1 Earth: 1 Fear . 1 Damage. Push 1 Dahan .
- L3 — 2 Moon + 3 Water + 2 Earth: 1 Fear . 1 Damage. Push 1 Dahan .
- L4 — 3 Moon + 4 Water + 3 Earth + 2 Plant: 2 Damage.
- L1 — 1
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)
| Turn | Explore | Build | Ravage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ✓ | — | — | Ravage-protection effects are dormant T1. |
| 2 | ✓ | ✓ | — | First Build; Ravage-protection still dormant. |
| 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | First Ravage; Ravage-protection becomes material. |
| 4+ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Full cycle continues. |
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
- Compute post-growth E/CP for every growth × track-choice branch. Don’t assume both tracks reveal simultaneously.
- Enumerate legal T1 plays — subsets of hand with sum(costs) ≤ E and count ≤ CP.
- Separate Fast vs. Slow elements — when claiming an innate fires, verify the threshold is met using only elements from its resolution phase (Fast sees Fast; Slow sees Fast + Slow).
- Flag dormant effects — Ravage-protection, Defend N, etc. are null T1/T2 in base play. Only cite them as opener value when the trigger actually occurs that turn.
- State per-turn material effect for every card play: Fear generated, units pushed/gathered/destroyed, elements contributed. Never narrate dormant effects as if they were active.
Adversary Matchup Matrix
[VERIFY all grades] — template only; fill in per-adversary notes after play.
| Adversary | L0 | L3 | L5 | L6 | Notes [VERIFY] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Brandenburg-Prussia | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Sweden | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| France (Plantation) | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Habsburg Mining | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Russia | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Scotland | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Habsburg Livestock | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Strategy Cliffs — per-adversary-level shifts that change Fathomless Mud of the Swamp’s math
Not every adversary level is a linear scale-up — some levels flip specific rules that alter what your Powers accomplish. These are the cliffs most relevant to Fathomless Mud of the Swamp’s profile (Fear 3, Offense 3, Control 2, Defense 3, Utility 2).
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 Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: 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 Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: 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 Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: 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 Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: 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 Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: 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 Fathomless Mud of the Swamp: 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
[VERIFY from mindwanderer] — pending re-scrape of mindwanderer current data. Historical directional figures unavailable in this template draft.
Source Notes
- Authoritative mechanics (this chapter):
data/references/wiki/fathomless-mud-of-the-swamp.json— parsed viascripts/wiki-fetch.py. - Spirit Island Wiki — Fathomless Mud of the Swamp.
- Cross-reference: Archetype Index.
- Related skill: si-wiki-fetch.
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.