Thunderspeaker

Spirit Overview — Framing

Wiki-printed playstyle note:

Has a keen interest in where the Dahan are - partly because so many of its starting powers work through them partly because its Presence can move along with them. When picking new Power Cards, it will often want to take good Dahan-centric Powers, but it can also branch out into other areas.

Strategic framing [VERIFY: enhance with play experience].

Starting Setup

Put 2 Presence on your starting board: 1 in each of the 2 lands with the most Dahan.

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: energy1, air, energy2, fire, sun, energy3
• Card-play track: card1, card2, card2, card3, reclaim1, card3, card4

Core Mechanics & Special Rules

Special Rule

ALLY OF THE DAHAN Your Presence may move with Dahan. (Whenever a Dahan moves from 1 of your lands to another land, you may move 1 Presence along with it.) SWORN TO VICTORY After a Ravage Action destroys 1 or more Dahan, for each Dahan Destroyed, Destroy 1 of your Presence within Range 1.

Innate: GATHER THE WARRIORS

• Speed: slow · Range: 1 · Target: any

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	4 Air	This Power may be Fast.
2	1 Animal	Gather up to 1 Dahan per Air you have. Push up to 1 Dahan per Sun you have.

Innate: LEAD THE FURIOUS ASSAULT

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

Level	Thresholds	Effect
1	4 Air	This Power may be Fast.
2	2 Sun + 1 Fire	Destroy 1 Town for every 2 Dahan in target land.
3	4 Sun + 3 Fire	Destroy 1 City for every 3 Dahan in target land.

Unique Cards (all, Wiki-verified)

Manifestation of Power and Glory

• 3 Energy · Slow · Range 0 · Land with Dahan · Sun, Fire, Air
• 1 Fear . Each Dahan deals Damage equal to the number of your Presence in target land.

Sudden Ambush

• 2 Energy · Fast · Range 1 · Any Land · Fire, Air, Animal
• You may Gather 1 Dahan . Each Dahan Destroys 1 Explorer .

Voice of Thunder

• 0 Energy · Slow · Range 1 · Any Land · Sun, Air
• Push up to 4 Dahan . OR If Invaders are present, 2 Fear .

Words of Warning

• 1 Energy · Fast · Range 1 · Land with Dahan · Sun, Air, Animal
• Defend 3. During Ravage, Dahan in target land deal Damage simultaneously with Invaders.

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):

• Manifestation of Power and Glory
• Sudden Ambush
• Voice of Thunder
• Words of Warning

Top 10 Minor Draft Picks (from full pool)

#	Card	Cost	Speed	Elements	Effect (truncated)	Why this pick
1	Purifying Flame	1	Slow	Sun, Fire, Air, Plant	1 Damage per Blight. If target land is a Mountain or Sands, you may instead Remove 1 Blig…	elements air+fire+sun → 11.1
2	Twilight Fog Brings Madness	0	Slow	Sun, Moon, Air, Water	Add 1 Strife. Push 1 Dahan . Each remaining Dahan takes 1 Damage.	elements air+sun → 9.6
3	Birds Cry Warning	1	Fast	Sun, Air, Animal	The next time Dahan would be Destroyed in target land, Destroy 2 fewer Dahan. OR Push…	elements air+animal+sun → 10.2
4	Call to Guard	0	Fast	Sun, Air, Earth	Gather up to 1 Dahan . Then, if Dahan are present, either: Defend 1 per Dahan. OR Afte…	elements air+sun → 9.6
5	Call to Isolation	0	Fast	Sun, Air, Animal	Push 1 Explorer /Town per Dahan. OR Push 1 Dahan .	elements air+animal+sun → 10.2
6	Fire in the Sky	1	Fast	Sun, Fire, Air	2 Fear . Add 1 Strife.	elements air+fire+sun → 11.1
7	Spur on with Words of Fire	1	Fast	Sun, Fire, Air	If you target a Spirit other than yourself, they gain +1 Energy. Target Spirit may immedi…	elements air+fire+sun → 11.1
8	Enticing Splendor	0	Fast	Sun, Air, Plant	Gather 1 Explorer /Town. OR Gather up to 2 Dahan .	elements air+sun → 9.6
9	Delusions of Danger	1	Fast	Sun, Moon, Air	Push 1 Explorer . OR 2 Fear .	elements air+sun → 9.6
10	Call to Migrate	1	Slow	Fire, Air, Animal	Gather up to 3 Dahan . Push up to 3 Dahan .	elements air+animal+fire → 9.3

Top 5 Major Draft Picks (from full pool)

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 on your starting board: 1 in each of the 2 lands with the most Dahan.
• 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); gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted)); gain1p (Gain 1 Power Card (Minor unless otherwise noted))
• G2: Thunder2 ((spirit-specific: Thunder2 — consult spirit panel)); Thunder1 ((spirit-specific: Thunder1 — consult spirit panel))
• G3: addpresence1 (Place 1 Presence from a track (Range 1)); energy4 (+4 Energy this turn (growth effect))

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 · air · energy2 · fire · sun · energy3 — income as slots reveal: 1 → air → 2 → fire → sun → 3

Card-play track

card1 · card2 · card2 · card3 · reclaim1 · card3 · card4 — CP as slots reveal: 1 → 2 → 2 → 3 → reclaim1 → 3 → 4

Innate Powers

• GATHER THE WARRIORS (Speed: Slow · Range: 1 · Target: any)
  • L1 — 4 Air: This Power may be Fast.
  • L2 — 1 Animal: Gather up to 1 Dahan per Air you have. Push up to 1 Dahan per Sun you have.
• LEAD THE FURIOUS ASSAULT (Speed: Slow · Range: 0 · Target: any)
  • L1 — 4 Air: This Power may be Fast.
  • L2 — 2 Sun + 1 Fire: Destroy 1 Town for every 2 Dahan in target land.
  • L3 — 4 Sun + 3 Fire: Destroy 1 City for every 3 Dahan in target land.

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: Sun ×1, Fire ×1, Air ×2, Animal ×2

Unique Power Cards

Card	Cost	Speed	Range	Target	Elements	Effect
Manifestation of Power and Glory	3	Slow	0	Land with Dahan	sun, fire, air	1 Fear . Each Dahan deals Damage equal to the number of your Presence in target land.
Sudden Ambush	2	Fast	1	Any Land	fire, air, animal	You may Gather 1 Dahan . Each Dahan Destroys 1 Explorer .
Voice of Thunder	0	Slow	1	Any Land	sun, air	Push up to 4 Dahan . OR If Invaders are present, 2 Fear .
Words of Warning	1	Fast	1	Land with Dahan	sun, air, animal	Defend 3. During Ravage, Dahan in target land deal Damage simultaneously with Invaders.

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 Thunderspeaker’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 Thunderspeaker: 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 Thunderspeaker: 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 Thunderspeaker: 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 Thunderspeaker: 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 Thunderspeaker: 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 Thunderspeaker: 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.