Ocean’s Hungry Grasp

Spirit Overview — Framing

Ocean is the coastal-only drown machine — presence lives in oceans + coastal lands, and every Invader pushed into your ocean converts to Energy via the Drowning rule. Ocean’s special rules restructure the board for your spirit: on boards where you have Presence, oceans are treated as Coastal Wetlands.

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Inland-forbidden spirit with ocean-based presence. Drown Invaders for Energy; multi-board spread via shared oceans.

Identity in one line: coast-locker, drown-fueler, multi-board presence via shared oceans in 3–4p.

Complexity signal: High is correct. Inland-forbidden is a hard constraint; multi-board spread via oceans is a mid-game pivot that needs rehearsal; Drowning-to-Energy conversion is its own sub-economy.

Starting Setup

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

Growth Options (growthtype: “one” — pick one per turn)

Presence Tracks

• Energy track (7 slots): energy0 → moon → water → energy1 → earth → water → energy2
  • 0E → +Moon marker → +Water marker → 1E → +Earth marker → +Water marker → 2E
• Card-play track (6 slots): card1 → card2 → card2 → card3 → card4 → card5
  • 1 CP → 2 CP → 2 CP → 3 CP → 4 CP → 5 CP

Starting income: 0 Energy, 1 Card Play. Ocean is deeply energy-starved early — the Drowning-to-Energy conversion is how you stay afloat.

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.

Hard placement constraint + ocean-as-Wetland clause.

Special Rule: Drowning

Destroy Drowned pieces, placing Drowned Invaders here. At any time you may exchange (X) Health of these Invaders for 1 Energy. (1 Explorer = 1 HP; 1 Town = 2 HP; 1 City = 3 HP.)

Invaders pushed into your oceans → Drowned pile → exchange HP for Energy at any time. Partner-pushed Invaders count (tell allies!).

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.

L1 requires a coastal Town in range 0 — only your starting coastal land. Adversary setups (Prussia, France 3, England) provide one; Sweden does not.

Unique Cards (all 4, 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.

0-cost Fast Explorer-drain into your ocean. Triggers Pound Ships L1 + Drowning-Energy gain.

Grasping Tide

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

Fast Defend with Fear. Moon + Water — element-primes Pound Ships.

Swallow the Land-Dwellers

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

0-cost triple-Drown. Water + Earth primes Ocean Breaks the Shore L1. Watch out: Drowns your own Dahan too.

Tidal Boon

• 1 Energy · 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 Dahan are pushed to your Ocean, you may move them to any Coastal land instead of Drowning.

Ally gift: +2 Energy + Push-for-partner + Dahan redirect (avoid Drowning own Dahan). The signature Ocean ally card.

Key Strategic Principles

1. Water + Earth are load-bearing. Both innates key off them.
2. Drowning = energy economy. Every pushed Invader becomes fuel.
3. Tell allies to push Invaders into your oceans. Free Energy + free Drowning.
4. Multi-board via oceans in 3–4p. Use G3 to spread presence across boards.
5. Ocean Breaks the Shore L1 is a T1 target if adversary provides coastal Town.
6. Sweden is the worst matchup — no coastal Town at most levels.
7. Swallow the Land-Dwellers Drowns Dahan. Don’t play on Dahan-present lands.

Possible Openings

Shared starting state

• 2 Presence — 1 Ocean, 1 Coastal land.
• 4 Uniques in hand: Call of the Deeps (0E Fast, Moon/Air/Water), Grasping Tide (1E Fast, Moon/Water), Swallow the Land-Dwellers (0E Slow, Water/Earth), Tidal Boon (1E Slow, Moon/Water/Earth).
• Starting income: 0 Energy, 1 Card Play.

Opening A — Antistone’s Standard 🟨 (default)

T1 · Growth: G2 bottom (2 presence in oceans, +1 Energy). T1 · Play (1E, 1 CP): Call of the Deeps + Tidal Boon.

• Triggers Pound Ships L1 (1 Moon + 1 Air + 2 Water) + Ocean Breaks the Shore L1 (2 Water + 1 Earth) if coastal Town present.
• Pause-point: Ocean Breaks the Shore is Range 0 — only targetable in your starting coastal land. Requires a coastal Town there. If Sweden or similar: skip.

T2 · Growth: Push presence from ocean into a coastal land; place 1 bottom; gain Minor. T2 · Play: Grasping Tide + Swallow the Land-Dwellers + new Minor.

• In 4P, push into coastal land adjacent to 4th board, then place onto 4th board — presence on all boards.

T3 · Growth: G1 Reclaim (forced Ocean-Gather into each ocean where possible). T3 · Play: New hand from Reclaim.

T4 target: Settled into the high-tide/low-tide cycle; Reclaim cycles with ocean-gather; presence on multiple boards; innate triggers sustained.

Opening B — Growth-stacking (497328) 🟥

G2/G2/G3 sequence — energy-energy, plays-plays, plays. Makes elements easier (free moon + water) + realistic 4-fear Pound Ships L3. But T1–T3 card-play economy is awkward (Boon alone T1 → Call+Tide T2 → Swallow+Minor T3). Best in 4p where you want presence on all boards fast.

Opening Decision

• Default Opening A vs. Prussia, France 3, England (coastal-Town adversaries).
• Opening B in 4P when spread matters more than T1 Drown.
• Don’t pick Ocean vs. Sweden at most levels.

Card Priority Ratings

Uniques — Ocean-specific ranking

1. Tidal Boon — ally-amp + Dahan-redirect.
2. Call of the Deeps — 0-cost Fast Drown-fuel.
3. Swallow the Land-Dwellers — triple-Drown 0-cost.
4. Grasping Tide — Fast Defend + Fear.

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (Water > Earth > Moon)

Top 5 Major Draft Picks

Cards to Avoid

Adversary Matchup Matrix

Board / Map Configuration

Board D bonus: if Wetlands get explored during setup, Call of the Deeps can Gather 2 Explorers into the ocean T1 instead of 1.

Otherwise board-selection priority: boards with coastal Towns at setup + adjacent-to-partner-board oceans (for multi-board spread in 3–4p).

Game-Phase Strategy

Early (T1–3)

• Call of the Deeps every turn; drown Explorers.
• Ocean Breaks the Shore L1 on coastal Towns.
• Tidal Boon gift to partner for energy.

Mid (T4–6)

• Multi-board spread via G3 ocean-push.
• Drowning-Energy conversion funds Majors.
• Pound Ships L2 reliable.

Late (T7+)

• Ocean Breaks the Shore L2/L3 — City drown.
• Pound Ships L3 — big Fear per turn.
• Tsunami / Cast Down Majors.

Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)

• Push-based partners — Thunderspeaker, Lightning (Harbingers Push), Keeper (Spreading Wilds Push) — funnel Invaders into your oceans.
• Tidal Boon targets — Lightning, Major-drafters need the Energy gift.
• Coastal-adjacent boards — board select for shared ocean access.

Common Mistakes

Tempo Profile

Source Notes

• Mechanics: data/references/wiki/ocean-hungry-grasp.json (Wiki-parsed 2026-04-23).
• Openings: Antistone BGG 1970506.