Scythe: An In-Depth Tutorial on Factions

[@willfreedan944]

Working timestamps: Crimea 2:13 Saxony 12:35 Polonia 20:55 Nordic 32:26 Rusviet 43:34 Albion 56:23 Togawa 1:06:56

[@eliasbjrnevik2755]

Legend

[@AK-xn6ds]

This is my favorite video on your channel

[@liamwacey807]

One of. The better Scythe instructional videos. Sound quality was good and it was well structured. I did have a chuckle about the statement "very few boards have mechs costing 4 metal" when discussing Rusviet, because the board on screen at that time had 4 metal mechs haha. It speaks to the power of Rusviet though, because even with that board you could get a mech on turn 3 by going produce produce trade, and build a mech right away. Thanks for the overview!

[@NewoNZ]

This was a great video. I hope you find the time to make one on the player mats and further strategy as you suggested at the end of your video.

[@CarloRizzante]

Best strategy overview on Scythe and factions I've seen so far. Thank you! I can't find the other video you referred at the end of this one, though.

[@bsimelane]

This is awesome. Thank you. I’m looking to use Scythe in teaching Strategic thinking in Business Schools and this has been one of the best resources for me.

[@LiphSlavik]

Man, I just played a 7 players boardgame scythe and I wished had seen your vid. Great video!

[@willkennedydrumming]

wow, very nice in depth video :) thank you for that. I started to play this game with friends and now I'm trying to go more in depth in terms of strategies. This game is so crazy, I love it and want to play it more.

[@zerothehero2579]

Great video. Waiting for the next ones

[@ES-yc1tp]

Nice video. I'm new to this game and I find it a little bit overwhelming but it is very cool.

[@FujiBou]

Great video! Super underrated and well done, it really helped affirm some opinions I had about some combinations I was dealt-nordic/agricultural in particular felt really awkward

[@navidnazarzade4493]

Thanks for the nice and instructive video! Looking forward to watching the next one, hopefully about the strategies for each player mat.

[@RuNacken]

I just played my first game (physical) with some players who knew the game. I had the Rusviet faction and ended up second. I just found this video, and after viewing your comments on Rusviet, I feel almost bad, since I didn't realise I was so OP :) I was too scared of the incrementing costs of producing when getting the extra workers, so instead I just raced to the factory. I got a great enlist/upgrade card, but in hindsight, I was a bit too occupied with getting there first. Awesome game. And awesome video!

[@elijobin2909]

Best tutorial I’ve seen

[@troy6795]

Excellent work. Thanks for this.

[@Al0neStillAlive]

Absolutely awesome video. Looking to get into this game and I feel like I now understand what I need to about the factions and how to play out the early game with all factions.

[@calebjmurray]

This was a great video, thanks.

[@ElZorro85]

Very good video. Thanks!

[@Cyfkycdrycvkb]

This was great. Will you produce an in-depth guide to the player mat?

[@vipergecko03]

@Alysa Wieder 🤣

[@klb1113]

I'm just learning the game, and this is really nice!. Too bad you didn't get around to the others (maybe you still will????), as this was a really outstanding overview of things. Hope you do more!

[@mastervel7210]

🍻 Very Well Done !!

[@jdbell3]

Hey. Hey. This is a good video! You should do more!

[@charleskonz3273]

What an awesome im depth guide did those starting out - played a few times years ago; loved it and am considering purchasing to host my own game nights Question: you mentioned errata and nerfs, specifically for Rusviet... where are those found? I don't assume a living rules reference comes with the game?

[@ImaRamblingman]

Sadly in the online version of Scythe I have found that quite often the game gets confused and will not let you use rally in the way described in the video. It shows it as a valid move but does not allow it to occur. I have therefore taken to not using the Albion faction.

[@diyrealestate8479]

Is there a card pattern that makes the society’s more even at the start? Like if you give a weak faction the best resource mat or start the factions in someone’s else’s starting spots? Example- is there a way to even the play for green if they went head to head with red? By changing starting spots and hand pick mats?

[@alekskostov3551]

Loved it! More, please?!

[@evanporch7455]

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

[@dnaseb9214]

Rusviet has a mountain in their home area, you can easily teleport in as Saxony

[@strixt]

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

[@dnaseb9214]

@@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

[@shawnpolluch3510]

As someone who just bought the gam and watched this to understand the factions. Should I be worried about the balance of the game because of russviet ? I play a lot of root and they printed updated boards for balance. Has scythe done any updated balance with later editions or with expansions?

[@starbournehero771]

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

[@jakobpavlin6946]

Great vid! Can you pls make a vid for Rise of feneris factions?

[@evanporch7455]

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!

[@johntchai79]

Hi there, thanks for the video. Do you have a link for the Discord server?

[@Nanniiii39]

where are the other video?

[@preacherpritt1013]

Great Video but you didn't do the other strategy videos 😢 I need all the help I can get.

[@doublestarships646]

Whoa make more videos!

[@korchaguin85]

What happened with the second video about player mats??

[@evanporch7455]

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

[@kristijan1985]

'Expansions are not but the game is absolutely excellent' did I heard it right?

[@evanporch7455]

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.

[@kristijan1985]

@@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

[@gam8859]

Hey, I loved your video, really helped me re-evaluate how I was playing. I was curious, nearing late game for togawa would you say it is a viable strategy to start using shinobi to spread across the board? I've been working on an economy build up and then late game burst for Togawa, but I find getting power and popularity to be a real challenge. I've just recently been able to start playing a lot.

[@evanporch7455]

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.

[@Fogshaper]

kinda makes me sad that you mention a lot of future videos but those videos have never been released :(

[@vipergecko03]

Where the rest of the videos?

[@ethanbarton]

I can sense you find Rusviet OP

[@ETiDeQuenVesSendo]

I have this is not a free mod in tts. Can I join games?

[@evanporch7455]

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.

[@Tubalcain422]

Why did they make a game where a group of equally matched players solely depend on what faction you get to determine who wins? How is that even fun?

[@evanporch7455]

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.