Sun-Bright Whirlwind
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 + BGG thread 2907137. 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 3 · Control 5 · Fear 1 · Defense 1 · Utility 3 |
| Primary Elements | Air (all tiers) · Sun (scaling) · Minor Moon/Earth |
| Special Rules | A Stiff Wind at Their Backs (Growth-placement Pushes 1 Explorer/Dahan) |
| Aspects | None |
| HoSI | Yes |
| Wiki Guides | taurunti Standard + BGG 2907137 |
Spirit Overview — Framing
Sun-Bright Whirlwind is an Explorer-control and tempo-utility spirit — the ur-anti-Explore build. A Stiff Wind at Their Backs pushes 1 Explorer/Dahan from any land where you add presence during Growth — a free board-wipe each turn.
Wiki-printed playstyle note:
Explorer-control specialist. Weakness: struggles vs. Towns/Cities.
Teaching role: placement-as-attack; “prevent the Build” timing.
Starting Setup
Put 3 Presence on your starting board: 1 in the highest-numbered Sands, 2 in the lowest-numbered Mountain.
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 (R1) + +4 Energy | Energy spike |
| G3 | Gain 1 Power Card + Add Presence (R4) | Card + far-reach spread |
Presence Tracks
- Energy:
energy1 → energy2 → sun → energy3 → energy4air → energy6 - CP:
card1 → card2 → card3 → airX → card4 → card5sun
Starting income: 1 Energy, 1 Card Play.
Core Mechanics & Special Rules
Special Rule: A Stiff Wind at Their Backs
After you Add Presence during Growth, Push up to 1 Explorer/Dahan from that land.
Free Push per Growth-placement. The Wiki literally warns players to announce this (fires in Spirit Phase, not as a Fast power).
Innate: Violent Windstorms
- Speed: Slow · Range: 1 · Target: Any
| Level | Thresholds | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1  Sun + 2  Air | Push up to 1 Explorer. |
| 2 | 2 Sun + 3 Air | 1 Fear. Push up to 2 Explorer/Town. |
| 3 | 2 Sun + 4 Air | For each Invader Pushed by this Power, 1 Damage in the land it was Pushed to. |
| 4 | 3 Sun + 5 Air | 4 Damage (in target land). |
L3 is the payoff — cascades into T2 pushes for damage.
Unique Cards (all 4, Wiki-verified names)
- Tempest of Leaves and Branches
- Scatter to the Winds
- Exaltation of the Incandescent Sky
- Gift of the Sunlit Air (shared HoSI unique) — ally Fast-conversion utility.
Key Strategic Principles
- Air at 2× the rate of Sun. Cheapest Air-element Minor beats situationally-better non-Air Minors.
- Stiff Wind fires in Spirit Phase, not as Fast power. Announce to table.
- Underplay T3/T4 — plan Energy forward for T5 power spike.
- T5 is the big turn — need 2 Sun + 3 Air in card-plays to reach L3 innate.
- Don’t try to solo kill Towns/Cities — Whirlwind is an Explorer specialist.
Possible Openings
Shared starting state
- 3 Presence (1 Sands + 2 Mountain).
- 4 Uniques in hand.
- 0 Energy, 1 Card Play.
Opening A — taurunti Standard 🟨
T1 · Growth: G3 bot + cheapest Air Minor → Gift of Sunlit Air target.
- Every Growth-add also Pushes.
T2 · Growth: G2 bot. T2 · Play: Drop Gift of Wind + Scatter to the Winds + Tempest.
T3 · Growth: Reclaim. T3 · Play: Underplay — save plays for T5.
T4 · Growth: G3 bot + Minor. T4 · Play: 2 additional cards.
T5 · Growth: G3 if enough energy (tier-4 goal: 4 Damage in target land); G2 for max plays. T5 · Play: Big turn. 2 Sun + 3 Air in card-plays → tier-3 innate.
T6+ · Growth: Reclaim + adapt.
Opening Decision
- Default Opening A — consistent T5 power spike.
Card Priority Ratings
Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (Air > Sun)
| # | Card | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call to Migrate | 0-cost Air + Animal |
| 2 | Drift Down to Rest | 0-cost Air + Sun + Plant |
| 3 | Strange Tales of the Sky | Air + Moon |
| 4 | Travel Unsuspected | Air + Water |
| 5 | Bats Scout for Raids | Air + Moon + Animal |
| 6 | Entrancing Apparitions | Moon + Air |
| 7 | Gift of Constancy | Sun + Plant + Animal |
| 8 | Song of Sanctity | 0-cost Sun + Plant |
| 9 | Unrelenting Growth | 0-cost Sun + Plant |
| 10 | Elemental Boon | 0-cost four-element flex |
Top 5 Major Draft Picks
| # | Card | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrap in Wings of Sunlight | Sun + Air |
| 2 | Sky Stretches to Shore | Sun + Moon + Air |
| 3 | Terrifying Nightmares | Moon + Air |
| 4 | Instruments of Their Own Ruin | Fire + Air + Animal |
| 5 | Trees Radiate Ancient Sanctity | Sun + multi-land Defend |
Adversary Matchup Matrix
| Adversary | Rating | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Brandenburg-Prussia | ★★★★☆ | Explore-heavy — Whirlwind shines |
| Russia | ★★★☆☆ | Explore-heavy |
| Sweden | ★★☆☆☆ | Coast-heavy — fewer inland Explores to push |
| France-Plantation | ★★★☆☆ | Coast-heavy |
| Others | ★★★☆☆ | [VERIFY] |
Board / Map Configuration
Boards with connected Sands/Mountain clusters. G excellent, H workable.
Common Mistakes
- Using Stiff Wind as a Fast Push power. Fires in Spirit Phase; new players mis-time it.
- Over-spending T3/T4 instead of underplaying toward T5. Plan energy forward.
- Drafting Sun-heavy cards ignoring Air. Air is the scarce resource.
- Trying to solo kill Towns/Cities. Partner with a heavy-hitter.
Synergy Partners (Multiplayer)
- Volcano — Whirlwind Push-into-land + Volcano damage ticks.
- Ocean’s Hungry Grasp — Push Explorers into coastline for drowning.
- Lightning — shared Air, speeds up Slow innate.
- Any Major-reliant spirit — Gift of Sunlit Air / Wind-Sped Steps ally amps.
- Avoid pairing with another Explorer-killer — redundant.
Source Notes
- Mechanics:
data/references/wiki/sun-bright-whirlwind.json(Wiki-parsed 2026-04-23). - Openings: taurunti Standard + BGG 2907137.