Rising Heat of Stone and Sand
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 taurunti’s notes + Aaron Stevens BGG thread 2955905. No Rei / latentoctopus / Phantaskippy.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Expansion | Horizons of Spirit Island |
| Complexity | Low |
| Play Difficulty | [VERIFY] |
| Growth type | “one” — pick one growth per turn |
| Power summary (1–5) | Offense 5 · Control 3 · Fear 1 · Defense 2 · Utility 3 |
| Primary Elements | Fire (all tiers) · Earth (L2/L3/L4) · Air (L1/L3/L4) |
| Special Rules | Blistering Heat (Invaders at your Sacred Sites have −1 Health, min 1) |
| Aspects | None |
| HoSI | Yes |
| Wiki Guides | taurunti G3 Standard + BGG 2955905 |
Spirit Overview — Framing
Rising Heat is a weaken-and-destroy board controller — Blistering Heat gives Invaders −1 HP at your Sacred Sites (a party-wide damage multiplier helping every spirit’s damage cards at Heat’s Sacred Sites). The innate is one of the strongest HoSI innates — capable of wiping an entire land at tier 4.
Wiki-printed playstyle note:
Sacred-site damage multiplier + range-1 innate scaling. Teaches Sacred-Site management.
Teaching role: Sacred-Site management, range-1 planning, innate-centric play.
Starting Setup
Put 2 Presence on your starting board, in the highest-numbered Sands. You start with your 4 Unique Power Cards and 0 Energy.
Growth Options (growthtype: “one” — pick one per turn)
| Growth | Effects | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| G1 | Reclaim + Gain 1 Power Card + +1 Energy | Reclaim cycle |
| G2 | Add Presence (R3 Mountain/Sands) × 2 | Spread across terrain |
| G3 | Gain 1 Power Card + Add Presence (R1) + +2 Energy | Default opening — card + close spread + energy |
Presence Tracks
- Energy:
energy1 → earth → energy2 → energy3 → fire → energy4 → energy5 - CP:
card1 → card2 → card2 → card3 → card4 → card5fire
Starting income: 1 Energy, 1 Card Play.
Core Mechanics & Special Rules
Special Rule: Blistering Heat
At your Sacred Site, Invaders have −1 Health (min. 1).
Party-wide damage multiplier. Every damage Power at a Heat Sacred Site hits harder. In multi-spirit, partners’ damage Powers benefit too.
Innate: Scorch with Waves of Heat
- Speed: Slow · Range: 1 · Target: Any
| Level | Thresholds | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2  Fire + 2  Air | 2 Damage to Explorer only. |
| 2 | 3 Fire + 2  Earth | 2 Damage. |
| 3 | 4 Fire + 1 Air + 3 Earth | 2 Damage. |
| 4 | 5 Fire + 2 Air + 3 Earth | 1 Damage to each Invader. |
Tier 4 is the city-clearer — only needs a single Earth-heavy Minor on top of Uniques at 1E/5P.
Unique Cards (all 4, Wiki-verified names)
- Sweltering Exhaustion — S-tier skip card; prevents Build.
- Call on Herders for Aid — flexibility.
- Stinging Sandstorm — push/damage utility.
- Gift of Searing Heat (shared HoSI unique) — 1 Damage at Sacred Sites across the table.
Key Strategic Principles
- Fire + Earth drafts. Earth comes from tracks; Fire comes from Minors.
- Sweltering Exhaustion is S-tier — Range-2 from Sacred Site; skips Builds.
- 0-cost cards are king. Starting 0E is tight.
- Sacred Site placement drives Sweltering Exhaustion reach. Plan inland coverage.
- In multi-spirit, give Gift of Searing Heat to the right ally — amplified by Blistering Heat.
Possible Openings
Shared starting state
- 2 Presence in highest Sands.
- 4 Uniques in hand.
- 0 Energy, 1 Card Play.
Opening A — Standard G3 🟨 (default)
T1 · Growth: G3 + Minor (Fire priority — ~93% hit rate by 4 drafts). T1 · Play: Call on Herders + any; hits innate L1 (2F/2A).
T2 · Growth: G3 + Minor. T2 · Play: Aim for tier-2 (F3/E2 → 2 Damage).
T3 · Growth: G3 + Minor, or swap to G2 bot/bot for 4 plays.
T4 · Growth: G1 Reclaim + Minor.
Opening B — Fast Tempo 🟥
Skip G3 for early Minor spam; faster board presence.
Opening C — Early Major 🟥
Grab a Major by T3 on big Energy gain — Earth-rich presence makes this cheap.
Opening Decision
- Default Opening A — most consistent.
- Opening B / C for experienced players.
Card Priority Ratings
Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (Fire + Earth)
| # | Card | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyroclastic Friction | Fire + Earth |
| 2 | Dry Wood | 0-cost Fire |
| 3 | Visions of Fiery Doom | Moon + Fire |
| 4 | Rain of Blood | Moon + Fire + Water |
| 5 | Quicken the Earth’s Struggles | 0-cost Earth |
| 6 | Pull Beneath the Hungry Earth | 0-cost Moon + Earth |
| 7 | Call of the Dahan Ways | Earth-feeder |
| 8 | Sap Their Strength | Earth + Moon |
| 9 | Elemental Boon | 0-cost Sun/Moon/Fire/Air |
| 10 | Drift Down to Rest | 0-cost Air + Plant |
Top 5 Major Draft Picks
| # | Card | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyroclastic Flow | Fire + Earth multi-land |
| 2 | Volcanic Eruption | Late-game closer |
| 3 | Tigers Hunting | Cheap Fire |
| 4 | Infinite Vitality | Fire + Plant |
| 5 | Pillar of Living Flame | Fire + board-wide |
Adversary Matchup Matrix
| Adversary | Rating | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Brandenburg-Prussia | ★★★★☆ | Blistering Heat −1 HP means Town dies to L1 innate |
| England | ★★★☆☆ | Place Sacred Sites inland to block Builds via Sweltering |
| Sweden | ★★★☆☆ | [VERIFY] |
| Others | ★★★☆☆ | [VERIFY] |
Board / Map Configuration
Best: G (5 adjacent starting positions from highest-Sands — ideal G3 range). H mid — workable.
Common Mistakes
- Overspending Energy. 0-cost cards are king.
- Accepting 1 Damage from Gift of Searing Heat — always have a Defend or presence-safe target.
- Sacred Site placement ignoring Sweltering Exhaustion’s range-2 reach. Plan inland coverage.
- Pushing AND killing the same Explorer — wasted tempo.
Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)
- Finder of Paths Unseen — shared interest in tall problem lands + skip effects.
- Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares — Blistering Heat’s lower-HP mobs die easier to fear-kill Fear cards.
- Lightning — makes slow innate Fast.
- Weaker with pure defenders — Heat wants Invaders alive long enough to Sacred-Site them.
Source Notes
- Mechanics:
data/references/wiki/rising-heat-of-stone-and-sand.json(Wiki-parsed 2026-04-23). - Openings: taurunti Standard G3 + BGG 2955905.