Solo Playthroughs' Top 10 FUN True Solo Spirits in Spirit Island!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Always a blast to put one of these together. In the end, the takeaway for me remains that there are A LOT of awesome spirits in Spirit Island. :) Happy Gaming! Greg

[@danielmarlett1421]

Oh, your #24 is my #1. This is going well... Lol. *Edit* redeemed with your Grinning Trickster placement. He is so fun.

[@rambler209]

I can understand River being 24. Having a "solved" play pattern really means that playing them doesn't have enough decision points to make them enjoyable for me either.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

You are not alone, Daniel! But glad to see I reached some level of redemption. :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

A "'solved' play pattern" is such a good phrase, Rollin! I'll try to remember to give you a shoutout whenever I invariably steal it. ;)

[@Hansi251]

For me Lightning also counts ist as solved, if we define solved as card plays are clear and drafts mainly focus on elements. At least if you follow Kalens guide, which seems very effective even on high difficulties.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I can see there being arguments for other spirits being solved. This is part of the reason I don't read "guides" - I love the discovery process with games! :)

[@synthastro]

Woo thanks for the shout out! I know pure talent when I see it! I hope others will see the same and the channel will continue to grow, here is to many more years supporting you! Great picks here!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, David!

[@shawnmckenzie8699]

Nice list. Some of my favourites are in your top 10: Trickster, Vengeance, Shroud.

[@RyuBateson218]

You are a crazy person. Nice top 3.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Shawn! Yeah - those three definitely make for some wild and memorable games. Meanwhile, Pascal, aren't we all to some extent!? :)

[@justinvamp15]

I can't wait for you to start making Nature Incarnate content! I think they are going to be some of your favorite spirits, not to mention SO. MANY. ASPECTS!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Justin! I’m looking forward to exploring NI a bit. Not gonna lie though - the aspects are the thing I’m least interested in. While I have put all the previously existing aspects on the channel, variations of the same spirits have never really appealed to me much.

[@justinvamp15]

@SoloPlaythroughs Totally makes sense, when I got NI I played all the new ones 2 or 3 times before starting the aspects... some of them are significant changes that make much bigger impacts than the existing aspects, such as Deeps Ocean (my favorite) and Locus Serpent (although Locus is cooler in multiplayer). Definitely the coolest aspects came in NI

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - I’ve heard good things. I have a couple of friends who are really excited about the aspects so I’m sure I’ll be playing with them a lot sooner rather than later.

[@mike9139]

YOU ARE AWESOME! ❤❤❤

[@openmoose]

ha! I'm so glad that my fav. made it in the top ten!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

What's up, Moose! Sorry I couldn't make your fave #1 for you. ;)

[@Dyskresiac]

When I first tried spirit Island I tried Lightning, Then River, Then Earth. I was... meh. OCEANS though.... specifically Oceans + Bringer? THAT'S when it clicked. It's an OP Combo, and they're high complexity spirits, but it just WORKS. And you see how that theme plays into it. Everything comes together, and even going back to Lightning River and Earth later I enjoyed way more than I did the first few times around because I understood the game.

[@Dyskresiac]

Also: My Top 3 true Solo are Fangs, Volcano, and Wildfire. So damn, real close.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Seems we've had wildly similar experiences, Andrew - thanks for sharing! And I love that Top 3. :)

[@Hansi251]

The only two spirits I do have completely different opinion on are Trickster (just dont like the style, but I love the wording of his abilities) and Fractured, who is definitely in my top 3, even tho he seems even better in 2 player. Thanks for the list! Would love to see a game with your number 1.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, Johannes! I would totally understand someone who wants to swap Trickster and Fractured, as I really do admire so much of Fractured's design. Trickster just appeals to the part of me that loves chaos. :)

[@QBG]

My Top 3: Downpour - I play a build that focuses on repeating Unbearable Deluge instead of relying on Rain and Mud to defend, which allows for effective Dahan counter-attacks while generating Fear and Isolating lands. Later on you can Isolate half the board in one turn with Dark Skies/Deluge repeats, or use Foundations Sink repeats to clear out stacks of buildings. Starlight - Being able to draft a major on turn one and have it thresholded and repeatable by turn three is insanely strong. That doesn't always happen, and it's not always an optimal major, but the variety keeps Starlight feeling fresh every game. And if you get tired of majors, minor builds that trigger a bunch of your innates every turn are just as fun (although not quite as strong in my experience). Trickster - For a spirit that's supposed to exemplify #random, Trickster sure does offer a ton of control through handing out Strife like Halloween candy. I can't remember ever having Let's See What Happens do anything that was genuinely ruinous, but the sheer numbers advantage of having an extra card effect almost every turn definitely sticks out in my mind.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for this comment, QBG! Love the Trickster love, and Starlight is getting a lot of "votes" in the comments so far. :)

[@johnathankokoski]

Fun video! I have such a hard time using Finder (and sometimes Many Minds) effectively at all. My favorites line up pretty closely except I’d have Starlight somewhere in the top 3.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Johnathan! Starlight in the Top 3 makes a lot of sense to me; for some reason I just like the brand of chaos that Trickster brings more than the brand of possibilities that Starlight brings. As for Finder and Many Minds, Finder's biggest problem is often the additional loss conditions of the adveraries, but he plays a lot like River at the highest levels. Many Minds is just really strong, so you probably just need to get a few more games in with them!

[@marcodavi777]

I keep hearing how good/fun trickster is, and I keep playing it, but as you said, it is not clicking for me, atm is my least favorite spirit. I like aggressive spirits, heart, ocean and bringer (somehow I consider it aggressive, not in damage ofc) are my favorite, but some spirits I did not play enough (all the defensive spirits I probably once or twice only, just don't enjoy the waiting game). My "weird" one is probably the frog, given how much it plays like ocean in reserve but how I don't like it nearly as much, I guess what really works with ocean (for me) is the tide feeling

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Love that list, Marco! And I can definitely see the relative unplanned chaos of Trickster not working for a lot of players. And I agree about Lure - I love the sense of it that is like Ocean, but Ocean is just a cooler experience to play because of the tide management. :)

[@joshb4613]

Yeah, Spirit Island is the game I'd choose if I were stuck on an island and could only take one game. It has it all. It's meaty, highly replayable and in some ways, beautifully compact. Well, there are solo games that have a smaller footprint like you've featured on this channel (eg: Friday, Baseball Highlights 2045, and even the space game you featured recently). But Spirit Island just ticks all the right boxes for me. One-handed is great, two handed is great, anything more is too much for solo, but that's ok. Oh, and a game never outlasts its welcome. Sure, I don't mind the occasional long game, but Spirit Island is a game that can be wrapped up in an hour or so, depending on difficulty and the challenging decisions that need to be made. I'll comment more on this actual video later, but for now, I just wanted to get that brief thought out there.

[@joshb4613]

Shocked with Shadows Flicker Like Flame. I was on the same page as you on a video some time back I think where that Spirit just did nothing for me. I didn't 'get' it. And I could never get the right start with the spirit, always feeling stupidly weak from the beginning and subsequently having no fun.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

What's up, Josh!? Hope Australia is treating you well these days. :) Yeah, Shadows is a bit of a shock considering where I started with him. I think the fact that I detested him so much is part of why I like him so much now; when the strength of his playstyle started to click with me, it just made me that much happier than it would have with a spirit who I was more lukewarm about. And I totally agree with all your comments about some of the great parts of this game, including footprint to time of play!

[@mrsamtheman80]

Wow, really surprised by #1 given what his cousin got rated! A bit of jealousy from elements of your favorite being adapted by another spirit? Or rather I guess I am not surprised he is high…but rather that his cousin is so low! Great list, thank you!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! This is a great point, Sam! I do think that part of my boredom with Many Minds is how much I love the flavor and mechanics of Fangs. If I’m pushing a bunch of paw prints around the board, I want to be mauling some jerks!! 🤣

[@andrewplassard4278]

I never really got the criticism of Ocean’s fear. It’s less about the raw amount and more about the difficulty of hitting the innate. For ocean the preference tends to be on the right innate. The third level of the left innate is hit a lot less than the third of Bringer’s.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

This is a fair counter, Andrew, and I appreciate you sharing it. I think it just feels a little weird to me to have an innate for ocean that is solely about fear generation, making an already strong spirit that much stronger in a way that feels a little out of place when you consider that no one else does this except for Bringer, the other High complexity spirit in the base game. So perhaps I would have just preferred a different innate more than I am saying the current innate is broken in any way.

[@andrewplassard4278]

@@SoloPlaythroughs totally makes sense. I also somewhat remember Ted saying something about Ocean being overpowered so that aligns with what you’re saying. It feels like the fear spirits are all designed with some sort secondary thing (except Mist maybe?). Bringer is fear + control, so is Shadows, Ocean and Fangs are fear + offense, Minds is fear + defense. It feels like the issue is ocean has such another good thing it does (tide minigame, opening ocean space into play) that it isn’t thought of as a fear spirit. Also you could argue that the fear-ness of the spirit isn’t as well built into the power set and the innate sort of patches over it. The theme of the fear of drowning in the ocean and its raw power always resonated with me though. Such a cool spirit overall.

[@celestialspark5697]

Ocean's fear generation has been said by one of the lead designers to be above curve specifically because of tier 2 of the left innate + Grasping Tide's 2 fear. You're right that the third level of the left innate is somewhat hard to hit.

[@buckcherry2564]

lol, my mains in a row 11-13

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Kept them clustered for you! 🙂

[@buckcherry2564]

@@SoloPlaythroughs haha, I actually agree with the snake and time placement given your premise (true solo), dispite my extreme bias towards Fractured being a top 3 for me on theme and shinanigains alone. Time is just so team focused and Snake is fun solo, but relatively "solved" and not too permissive of deviations. Starlight, I'd push back on, but have to definately give allowances for the "you are playing with chance more than focused planning" effect. It is certainly reactionary(you tend to play the power decks more than the spirit), but its versatility let's me play the same familiar spirit in a dozen different ways and remain challenged even with "optimal builds" tailored to my adversaries/scenario, because it has the jack of all trades problem. All that said, I actually found myself agreeing with your logic and choices for most of the spirits.👍

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Appreciate the comment! One of the early reasons I grew to love this game was watching my friends connect with spirits in different ways. Everyone has those one or two spirits that just get from the first turn and the one or two they struggle with - and it’s generally hard to predict. 🙂

[@Kentchangar]

For me Personally (although more for Multiplayer, less solo) Bottom 5 1. Wildfire: I just cannot get Wildfire to work. 2. Shifting Memory: For the reasons you said: it's not fun to depend on Majors for win. And playing 2 cards for most of the game is also not fun 3. Base Earth: Low card plays and very weak. Might Earth is fun, though. 4. Shadows: Just too weak and not distinct enough. Foreboding Shadows is way better 5. Mist: Keeping invaders alive is just too frustrating Honorable Mention: Vengeance: Also very reliant on Majors since his disease thing doesn't work (and it looks like fun if it did work.) Top 5 Honorable Mention: Serpent: Early game support and Late game destruction 5. Many Minds: Beat Manipulation and freedom to go either majors or only minors is awesome. 4. Downpour: Defend and reapeats are the man! Man. 3. Starlight: Having and playing so many cards is great 2. Thunderspeaker: Dahan manipulation and forward planning is just fun 1. Fractured Days: It does depend on Majors somewhat, but giving other people slips is so much fun! Number one surprised I like: Grinning Trickster: despite me despising luck in games, I like Trickster, go figure.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I love this, Daniel! Thanks for sharing, and I think I can see the influence of coop play; I actually enjoy the high complexity spirits when playing coop a lot more than when playing true solo. As for Vengeance, I actually think the disease thing works really well...at times at least. ;)

[@Kentchangar]

@@SoloPlaythroughs The problem is most likely that we don't know how to play him properly. I've seen one guy (who is a playtester and play like 100 games a month - his words, not mine) play him very well but he didn't disease almost at all. He replaced the disease creating card on turn 1 or 2 with a Major.

[@celestialspark5697]

@@Kentchangar You realize Vengeance places disease any time its presence is destroyed (unless it's a spirit action destroying it)? You often place 6-8 disease in a game from this between invader blight, blight card effects, and events.

[@Kentchangar]

@@celestialspark5697 Yes, but his left innate can only be used if disease is there and you cannot play the card that pushes disease every turn.

[@celestialspark5697]

@@Kentchangar Vengeance generally should have about 4 valid target lands on its board by turn 4 of the game (1 initial disease, at least 2 from invaders destroying its presence, 1 from playing Fetid Breath turn 1) and only adds more disease from there; it also never has to remove disease and can just take 1 fear to let towns build that it can easily destroy in blighted lands or move with Plaguebearers. I'm not sure how you're finding a shortage of targets for its powers; there are generally plenty of buildings to destroy after its slow start. You generally clear some of the lands that blighted early and use Plaguebearers when those lands get explored/built in again to move disease into remaining problem lands so you can skip ravages there. Your card drafts help fill in any gaps, and the spirit can aggressively grow to 3 energy/3 plays to threshold majors since its special rules and innates are so strong later in the game, generally destroying at least 2 towns a turn from innate powers alone even at the first tier of each. In a multi-board game, it can try to grow into problem lands on other boards before they ravage to get disease and presence there in exchange for having other spirits handle small problems on its board without taking blight.

[@robertdascoli949]

Shadows in the top 5?

[@derekott1870]

That's the beauty of the game! I like Shadows also, but probably not top 5 for me.

[@Iamwrongbut]

Yeah the base spirit to me is the worst in the game. Haha Also Earth is a close second and is absolutely no fun to play and that was way higher in his list than expected

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comments, Robert, Derek, and metallica! The funny thing is that part of me agrees that have Shadows so high is weird...but I've just grown to enjoy the challenge he presents so much as I've learned to win more with him. Setting up a "dahan take no damage" rataliation while exhibiting control and treating yourself as if you were everywhere there is dahan just somehow started to click with me in a way that I enjoyed. :)