Ocean’s Hungry Grasp

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Extremely good at assaulting the coasts where the Invaders start out strong, but quite weak inland - the ocean is not accustomed to affecting events so far ashore. Its Presence shifts in and out like the tide, which can be tricky to manage, but permits re-positioning and tactical retreats or offensives in the hands of a skillful player. Has fairly inexpensive Unique Powers, but the energy gained from drowning Invaders can be necessary in stepping up to more potent Powers.

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

Starting Setup

Put 2 Presence onto your starting board: 1 in the Ocean, and 1 in a Coastal land of your choice.

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: energy0, moon, water, energy1, earth, water, energy2
• Card-play track: card1, card2, card2, card3, card4, card5

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule

OCEAN IN PLAY You may add/move Presence into Oceans, but may not add/move Presence into Inland lands. On boards where you have 1 or more Presence, Oceans are treated as Coastal Wetlands for Spirit Powers and Blight. You Drown any Invaders or Dahan moved to those Oceans. DROWNING Destroy Drowned pieces, placing Drowned Invaders here. At any time you may exchange (X) Health of these Invaders for 1 Energy, where X = number of players. (Ignore modifiers to Invader Health.)

Innate: POUND SHIPS TO SPLINTERS

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

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	1 Moon + 1 Air + 2 Water	1 Fear .
2	2 Moon + 1 Air + 3 Water	+1 Fear .
3	3 Moon + 2 Air + 4 Water	+2 Fear .

Innate: OCEAN BREAKS THE SHORE

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

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	2 Water + 1 Earth	Drown 1 Town .
2	3 Water + 2 Earth	You may instead Drown 1 City .
3	4 Water + 3 Earth	Also, Drown 1 Town / City.

Unique Cards (all, Wiki-verified)

Call of the Deeps

• 0 Energy · Fast · Range 0 · Coastal Land · Moon, Air, Water
• Gather 1 Explorer . If target land is the Ocean, you may Gather another Explorer.

Grasping Tide

• 1 Energy · Fast · Range 1 · Coastal Land · Moon, Water
• 2 Fear . Defend 4.

Swallow the Land-Dwellers

• 0 Energy · Slow · Range 0 · Coastal Land · Water, Earth
• Drown 1 Explorer , 1 Town , and 1 Dahan .

Tidal Boon

• 1 Energy · Slow · Range No Range · Another Spirit · Moon, Water, Earth
• Target Spirit gains 2 Energy and may Push 1 Town and up to 2 Dahan from one of their lands. If Dahan are pushed to your Ocean, you may move them to any Coastal land instead of Drowning them.

Card Priority Ratings

Uniques

The spirit’s own 4 Unique Power cards (always in hand; always A-tier by default — see Uniques section above for full text):

• Call of the Deeps
• Grasping Tide
• Swallow the Land-Dwellers
• Tidal Boon

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Sucking Ooze	0	Fast	Moon, Water, Earth	2 Fear if Invaders are present. Isolate target land.	elements earth+moon+water → 15.6
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 → 15.6
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 → 15.6
4	Twilight Fog Brings Madness	0	Slow	Sun, Moon, Air, Water	Add 1 Strife. Push 1 Dahan . Each remaining Dahan takes 1 Damage.	elements air+moon+water → 14.7
5	Entrancing Apparitions	1	Fast	Moon, Air, Water	Defend 2. If no Invaders are present, Gather up to 2 Explorers .	elements air+moon+water → 14.7
6	Gift of Power	0	Slow	Moon, Water, Earth, Plant	Target Spirit gains a Minor Power Card.	elements earth+moon+water → 15.6
7	Steam Vents	1	Fast	Fire, Air, Water, Earth	Destroy 1 Explorer .	elements air+earth+water → 14.7
8	Call to Trade	1	Fast	Air, Water, Earth, Plant	You may Gather 1 Dahan . If the Terror Level is 2 or lower, Gather 1 Town and the first Ra…	elements air+earth+water → 14.7
9	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 air+moon+water → 14.7
10	Sky Stretches to Shore	1	Fast	Sun, Air, Water, Earth	This turn, target Spirit may use 1 Slow Power as if it were Fast, or vice versa. Target S…	elements air+earth+water → 14.7

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	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 air+earth+moon+water → 17.7
2	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 air+earth+moon+water → 17.7
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 air+earth+moon+water → 17.7
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+moon+water → 15.6
5	Mists of Oblivion	4	Slow	Moon, Air, Water	1 Fear per Town/City this Power Destroys (max. 4 Fear ). 1 Damage to each Invader.	elements air+moon+water → 14.7

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 onto your starting board: 1 in the Ocean, and 1 in a Coastal land of your choice.
• Starting income (from presence_energy_track[0] = energy0, presence_cardplay_track[0] = card1): 0 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); gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); OceanG ((spirit-specific: OceanG — consult spirit panel))
• G2: OceanA ((spirit-specific: OceanA — consult spirit panel)); OceanA ((spirit-specific: OceanA — consult spirit panel)); energy1 ((track slot showing 1 Energy))
• G3: gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); Ocean ((spirit-specific: Ocean — consult spirit panel)); OceanP ((spirit-specific: OceanP — consult spirit panel))

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

energy0 · moon · water · energy1 · earth · water · energy2 — income as slots reveal: 0 → moon → water → 1 → earth → water → 2

Card-play track

card1 · card2 · card2 · card3 · card4 · card5 — CP as slots reveal: 1 → 2 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5

Innate Powers

• POUND SHIPS TO SPLINTERS (Speed: Fast · Range: 0 · Target: coastal)
  • L1 — 1 Moon + 1 Air + 2 Water: 1 Fear .
  • L2 — 2 Moon + 1 Air + 3 Water: +1 Fear .
  • L3 — 3 Moon + 2 Air + 4 Water: +2 Fear .
• OCEAN BREAKS THE SHORE (Speed: Slow · Range: 0 · Target: coastal)
  • L1 — 2 Water + 1 Earth: Drown 1 Town .
  • L2 — 3 Water + 2 Earth: You may instead Drown 1 City .
  • L3 — 4 Water + 3 Earth: Also, Drown 1 Town / City.

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: Moon ×2, Air ×1, Water ×2
• Fast-phase L1 ceiling from Uniques alone is sufficient — you can fire L1 T1 without drafting (play enough Fast Uniques to meet the threshold).

Unique Power Cards

Card	Cost	Speed	Range	Target	Elements	Effect
Call of the Deeps	0	Fast	0	Coastal Land	moon, air, water	Gather 1 Explorer . If target land is the Ocean, you may Gather another Explorer.
Grasping Tide	1	Fast	1	Coastal Land	moon, water	2 Fear . Defend 4.
Swallow the Land-Dwellers	0	Slow	0	Coastal Land	water, earth	Drown 1 Explorer , 1 Town , and 1 Dahan .
Tidal Boon	1	Slow	No Range	Another Spirit	moon, water, earth	Target Spirit gains 2 Energy and may Push 1 Town and up to 2 Dahan from one of their lands. If Daha…

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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp’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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: 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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: Front-load coastal defense or disruption before T3’s first Ravage.

Sweden L2+ — Fear-card effects reduced

What changes: Sweden’s escalation reduces the impact of Fear cards. Spirits that win by riding Fear cards to Terror-level flips are meaningfully slower.

Mitigation for Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: Shift from fear-rush to board-control: favor Damage/Push Majors over more Fear; accept Terror 2 flip ~2 rounds later.

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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: 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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: 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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: 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 Ocean’s Hungry Grasp: 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.