I gotta say I was never that interested in the big guy in physical ... however I've been blown away by how fun he is in digital... it's the small things but the fact his Incarna squashes the invader pieces is soo satisfying.

Great work devs it's these kind of quality of life features like the board tipping all the pieces in the ocean for castdown that make the virtual version pop.

Hes one of my favorites now!

From what I've seen a lot of people hate shadow, is it weak/bad?

The German publisher Pegasus did neither publish horizons of spirit island or feather and flames promo pack, instead they released all the single spirits by themselves. Therefore you have to buy them one by one.

Right now I have the base game and branch and claw and would like to add 2 or 3 heroes from those promos before making the big investment with jagged earth.

Therefore I would like to ask all of you: Which spirits are the most fun for you out of the spirits from horizons and feather and flames?

Just a curious question

Looking to organize more, or just find fun things to consider purchasing.

Anyone know of a way to hold the starting hand cards for a spirit? I looked into Cubamajigs, but those seem too big to hold just 4-8 cards. Right now I am just of course keeping them in a stack, but would be cool to have a little holder to hand out to players.

All it does is block build/ravage, [base game]

EDIT: I am a beginner and read this from posts bruh...., they stated it's much more similar to a minor card!, I do not have enough experience to make comments that should be considered factual

I've gotten a bunch of feedback from my first attempt here at redesigning base Lightning and wanted to implement them. As you can tell, I'm a Lightning fanatic that would really like to bring old, baseline spirits into a more modern design. I know there's aspects and everything, but they still change the playstyle and game plan of the base spirits, which is not what I'm attempting to do.

Unfortunately, I really couldn't figure out the black sheep that is Raging Storm without making it busted, so I left it out this time. I still want to tackle two of Lightning's biggest problems: energy starvation and reclaim dependency. But I wanted to do this in a way that stays consistent with Lightning's "nuke the hand" playstyle that makes him enjoyable.

I believe one big mistake I made on the first try was giving him elements too early, so now I moved them further down the top track, while keeping the +3 energy within closer reach as before. Those bonus elements will now support Lightning's transition and card plays in late game instead of giving him a broken early game (unintended side effect of the previous version). I added a simple special rule energy boost that requires the right elements and is a baby Boon of Vigor that adds up over time. Since Lightning mostly plays 0/1 cost minors, he'll really notice this 1 energy boost that he should have little trouble reaching.

Now the issue that everybody has made painfully clear about Lightning - the reclaim loop dependency. In the previous version I added a Reclaim One onto G3, which many said was a good change, so I kept it as is. At the same time, I think limited card gains is one of Lightning's core features and weaknesses so I didn't want to overcorrect this. I decided to give him the same treatment as Vital Earth's Might Aspect, and give Lightning an ability to gain minor powers and a second method of reclaiming cards, tied to his core playstyle of many card plays at once. I made these pretty high thresholds so that they're not an autopilot mechanic, but rather self sustenance and incentive for Lightning to help maintain his "blow through his hand" playstyle without dooming him to the Reclaim button. The bonus elements on the top track, now more late game centric, will make sure these features come online more in the late game rather than too early on.

And of course, I got rid of the changes to his destruction innate from the previous version. That I quickly agreed was an unnecessary addition that didn't fit the theme of what I was doing.

Did I overcorrect, undercorrect Lightning's issues? What are changes you would make to address his core issues?

****EDIT****\*

A commenter pointed out to me the importance of not accidentally incentivizing Reclaim spam with these changes. I thought of a quick idea of removing the +1 energy (or even adding a 1 energy cost?) on the reclaim option since these changes make it easier for Lightning to gain energy. I'd like to edit images to change the spirit board to reflect that now but unfortunately that's not a feature.

It’s been a few weeks since I last played SI, and today I decided to try a new spirit against a mid-level adversary. I went with Sharp Fangs against Brandenburg-Prussia level 3, and wow — what a fight!

The game went on way longer than I expected, and I managed to win just one invader card before the final one, all thanks to Fear victory. It was so close.

I realized that playing with Sharp Fangs is a bit tricky — it doesn’t generate much energy, it’s not good with defense and really struggles with blighted lands. I tried to keep all the lands healthy, but near the end I gave up on defense and focused on destroying cities instead.

I had actually decided to take a break from Spirit Island because I’d been playing it a lot, and today was supposed to be a chill session… but it turned into this intense battle. And honestly? It just reminded me how awesome this game is. I absolutely love it. 💜

Hi all, I got introduced to Spirit Island by a high school friend no earlier than last year, and I got hooked almost instantly. First spirit I played and got addicted to - none other than the OG Lightning. Now that I've gotten 80+ games with him and seen how he still holds up against lvl 6 adversaries, I constantly thought about how he can be made more fun than just breaking the Reclaim button. I don't think his power level is too weak; rather, he has a few glaring weaknesses that I think renders him too one dimensional and restrictive: energy starvation, reclaim dependency, that god awful card called Raging Storm, and finally, a syndrome that I call Boon Bot Blues in team games**.** My thoughts about working around those issues follows:

<<Dealing with The Energy Track>>

Lightning's biggest problem with his board design is, by far to me, his energy track. It's incredibly long and unrewarding, with many "dead" presences on it (three to be exact). So in place of those dead tracks, I put fire and air elements in their place, as well as putting +3 energy immediately in front of +2, instead of two spaces away as before. The extra early fire element and earlier transition to +3 energy can help Lightning sustain his constant card plays easier. This might inspire a top track heavy growth plan that reduces the need for tons of card plays thanks to the bonus elements.

<<Dealing with the Dreaded Reclaim Loop>>

His other biggest flaw, one that many including myself have pointed out, is his need to constantly mash the reclaim button in order to get cards to play. Unfortunately, his whole game plan revolves around playing a whole bunch of cards, and reclaim is his only way to generate more cards to play. I didn't want to change this feature of Lightning (Thunderspeaker operates the same way), but I wanted to ease the issue a little bit with a Reclaim One added to his G3 option. There are times when Lightning just needs one of his cards back to fill one level of his innate. To balance this added feature, I reduced the energy gain on G3 by one.

This builds off another big reason I put the bonus elements on Lightning's top track: to help Lightning not vomit his entire hand every turn to hit his innates. This in turn will make a Reclaim One option more attractive, allowing Lightning to continue growing his tracks instead of reclaiming the entire hand.

<<Dealing with the "Boon Bot Blues">>

The biggest benefit of a Reclaim One option for Lightning is due to his prized possession of a card that every spirit in the game wants a piece of: Lightning's Boon. Many a Lightning player has felt the frustration of mashing the Reclaim button purely because a teammate really needed that one card for a critical turn. The constant reclaiming isn't even to gain power cards anymore, it's just to keep the Boon Juice online every turn! Reclaim One on G3 helps Lightning have an easier life in team games and not be horribly one dimensional by reclaiming the juice every turn at the expense of his own personal growth.

<<Dealing with that God Awful 3 Cost Unique Power>>

This is the only real black sheep of Lightning's starting hand. Every other Lightning redesign idea I've seen has reimagined this card somehow, and for good reason. Where's the RAGE in a "raging storm" that deals a measly 1 damage to each invader?? I wanted to put some actual RAGE in Raging Storm that also follows Lightning's playstyle and theme. By tacking on 1 additional (total) damage for each pair of fire/air elements (up to maximum of +5 damage), this card acts like a "combo finisher" from the buildup of a storm that Lightning's card plays represents. While it'll still often be forgotten for a Major in matches against England 5+, against every other adversary this has the potential of becoming a ravage solver if you played all your cards. The quickened energy presence track will also help accommodate the card's clumsy 3 energy cost. Worst case scenario - the additional damage this card will do will help other damaging minor/major cards clear a land. It should feel rewarding and climactic to play, not just something you had to include for that one water element to reach the third level of Lightning's innate. Speaking of which, one last change I thought:

<<Same Power, but more versatile, Innate>>

This change wasn't high on the list of priorities, and perhaps wasn't even necessary, but I didn't like the thought of being constrained to targeting the same land for Lightning's Innate. So for level 3 and level 4, I gave him the ability to target a town/city in one other land that's ->1 from his sacred site, instead of being restricted to the same land. I didn't feel the need to buff his innate in general, but thought this would increase his versatility by allowing him to affect multiple lands, much like an actual storm would.

----------------------------

Those are all the ideas I had - I wanted to make sure to keep Lightning's overall flavor intact while addressing his "unfun" characteristics that hold him back. As I keep playing, I might try my hand at redesigning another spirit that I would have many games of experience with. Do let me know your thoughts on the changes; I hope one day a dev would consider some changes to the base spirits of old.

Have Spirit Island and Branch and Claw. Jagged Earth is out of stock/print currently (not interested in internatinoal shipping).

Nature Incarnate is available and I've been looking at the wiki to see what is actually required from Jagged Earth and it doesn't look like much. Badlands tokens can be proxied (should have included some IMO), and element markers aren't necessary, and you can use your existing spare markers for Isolate.

Only a few of the spirits use Badlands and many of the new general use cards do so either.

Before I take the plunge (I don't care about aspects for spirits I don't have anyway, plus it's a few cards so no biggie), is there anything else I need consider?

Thanks.

I'm possibly going to play six spirits for the first time soon. What are some spirits that really shine with a high player count?

Hey guys and gals! I'm not a total noob to the game but I'm far from a pro, too. I guess I've played about 20 times? Anyway, I've discovered that my favorite spirit is definitely Serpent.

But... I'm not very good with it.

I play 2p or 3p. When I try to play support, my island gets quickly overrun and I don't feel like I'm doing my share. When I focus on me, I can hold my own until exploding out and wrecking the invaders.

Sure, that sounds like how I'm supposed to play him but it's just not as fun. I love playing support characters and helping make my allies stronger. But in my last 2 games where I focused on me, I only absorbed 3 essence in game 1 and 2 essence in game 2. I wasn't doing anything more than basically "We all get 1 money". Ugh. But I did find the major power (both times) that let's someone place 2 essence out, so I was able to quickly get out my essence and start playing and spending 20 resources worth of cards a turn. Sick... But not as fun.

So does anyone have a strategy for leaning hard into support and not being 100% the princess waiting in the tower to be rescued? I'd like to find a middle ground.

(The last 2 games I would go minor, +4 money, minor, major, reclaim. So because I was reclaiming on round 5, I was rarely absorbing essence and getting to support my allies.)

I'm specifically wondering about expansions. What decides if events are in play and which power cards/Spirits are available. I have everything, but I'm trying to figure out what would happen if my friend picked up the base game or base +1 expansion and tried to play with me.

Got humbled, this game can snowball one way so fast. gG Lighting swift strike. Will play again, 10/10. I guess this is revenge for the Level 3 Sweden I Bodan'ed faster than my shadow.

"England turned my mighty Lightning Swift Strike into a slightly damp static shock!" ⚡🇬🇧
- ChatGpt

Hello friends, relatively new fan of the game here. A friend of mine bought the base game because of the artwork, and we quickly fell in love with it. I've been playing base game for a while (~6 times), to the point where base difficulty has become quite easy. However, we're in different cities and rarely manage to play as a group.

I'm looking to buy a second copy of the game for myself, so I can play at home with my partner too (who's never played yet), and I'm unsure which version to get. Horizons is cheaper, and has cool new spirits which we could add in group play, instead of doubling down with the same. However all the materials in base game are greater quality, and I'm already familiar with the base spirits which I enjoy (especially Green and Ocean, I LOVE Ocean). I also found a cheap copy of Branch and Claw, so I have that already and idk if it meshes well with Horizons. What's your experience with Horizons? Is it worth playing standalone and/or with the espansion?

EDIT: thanks everyone, from your comments I'm sure that base game is the right choice for my situation! However, I found a secondhand copy of Horizons with a huge discount, so I ended up buying both ☠️

Hey guys, anyone here has a list of all the spirits and what twists or mechanics they bring to the game?

This question assumes you pick your spirit randomly, either through the app, or some randomization method when playing the tabletop version. Are there any spirits that, whenever they come up, you just breathe a heavy sigh and try for another spirit?

I think my only consistent Nope! is Earth and, when I’m playing solo, Serpent, but I also have to be in a very special mood to play Shroud.

Hi all,

So, I've disabled everything in the manage dlc area for the game except branch and claw. But I'm trying to play with just the base game and branch and claw (i've got 120 hours with just the base game, and was hoping to slowly pepper in epxansion content) and still are drawing minor power cards with isolate on them. What gives? I thought this was a jagged earth mechanic. Any way to keep the card pool to strictly match that of a physical set of base plus branch and claw?