Scythe: An In-Depth Tutorial on Factions 

Legend

@Alysa Wieder 🤣

No, they can only go to mountains under their *control.*

@@strixt oh you are right....that is a shame, thou Togawa can still invade easily From all the games I played Crimea seems to be the most op, especially when the ai plays them in digital edition, if they dont win, they are no 2 every game, no exceptions, no idea how the ai does it

I'll keep that in mind. I don't have a ton of time to contribute, but thanks for the suggestion and I'm glad you liked it!

If only I had the time. I know there are players on the discord who have been posting play throughs from the digital edition.

I don't think shinobi is a great way to spread, because you need to have already been at that place in order to use shinobi. This is one of the most significant weaknesses of togawa, imo., and i think it is why they were given the strongest starting position for economy style play. When playing togawa you really need to be mixing some moves into your economy to develop a board state (and hopefully get a factory card for mobility). You then rely on this board state to get into the late game and hold more than just a few territories by games end.

I consider IFA to be part of the base game. WInd Gambit adds some fun spice occasionally, would recommend it if you love the game. I don't play with it every time, but it's great for a mix up. Some of the resolution tiles in wind gambit should just be disgarded, given circumstance, but most are fun. I'll admit I have very little experience with Fenris, only helped with some playtesting. I think it is a bold idea they went for, and people will enjoy it, especially dedicated groups that want some legacy-lite elements. The new factions can add some spice and the PVE option that can be added is a decent adaptation. I think the specialized star tracks & mech mods can be used to really balance the game if you've realized some of the imbalance that exists. I don't disagree with Jamie about stopping after 3 expansions, but of course I wouldn't mind seeing mild "booster packs" like new faction boards or player mats, just like they've done with encounters. I don't particularly like the way they did the modular board, it creates some significant imbalance when played, and there are certainly more balanced ways to create a balanced modular board (and ones with more variety). Anyway, i've rambled a lot. The expansions are great if you are an enthusiast, the expansion factions in Invaders from Afar are unique and *mostly* balanced to the point of being essentially part of the base game.

@@evanporch7455 thanks for the detailed reply, I bought the game around 2 months ago and I really like it and my friends as well. I wasn't playing board games for years (just catan occasionally and a little starcraft risk) and wasn't monitoring the scene at all. I saw the thematic of the game and that is it ranked well and immediately went for it. The game absolutely blew my mind and dragged me into the board gaming (again) lol. The problem is that there is a really huge number of good games outside and there is more to come (backed a few KS projects), so too many games available. Regarding Scythe itself, I've ordered IFA and WG, they are on the way and I will probably buy RoF soon :) I will probably find some joy in them :) Cheers,Kris

One thing that players do is randomly generate a number of board combinations, and then bid end game points to determine the factions. Just starting out, you should be fine as you and your gaming group get comfortable with the feel of running the different combinations, but as you get more confident and in tune with what seems particularly powerful in your group, maybe try out bidding

Life happened. Still plan on getting around to it at some point, but I've not had time, despite quarantine.

This is very not true for scythe. Due to the random nature of faction and player mat, as well as combat cards you get, and then increased by the encounters you get and the actions your opponents take, no two games end up being the same. Sure, some factions have some significant strengths, which when played to their optimal, can be hard to overcome, most of the time this is not the case. You can find success with every faction/player mat combination in the game, provided you adjust your strategy appropriately. On the digital edition, it has become a strategy to simply end the game as fast as possible, often in about 13 turns, regardless of popularity or power cost, and this strategy works. It can be countered by increasing popularity and spreading while still maintaining adequate economy. Even still, aggression against players at the right times in the right context, while it might cost you more than it costs them, will set them back and grant you the extra turns necessary to set yourself up for the win. It certainly does not come down to who gets what faction 99% of the time.

Yeah, in Tabletop Simulator it is a DLC, but worth it if you enjoy the game. The discord is very active, and there should be a link available in the mod (which is called Scythe: Rise of Fenris). They run tournaments which have been getting very popular.