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

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

So excited to get this published! See the "Important Note" below and, as always, Happy Gaming! Greg IMPORTANT NOTE: This video was filmed and edited before the recent rules update. I have a few thoughts about the extra blight on the Healthy Island card that I felt were worth mentioning in the context of "strongest spirits": 1. Because the extra blight helps all spirits, I don't think the updated rules change all that much from the perspective of how I'd rank the different spirits relative to each other - in other words, I'd be slow to change the rankings in this video because ALL of the spirits are helped; 2. That said, perhaps the extra blight does help three "types" of spirits a bit more than others: a. "brinksmanship spirits" whose mechanics intrinsically require/use blight (e.g., Wildfire and Vengeance); b. slow-developing spirits who now have an extra turn to get set up before having to deal with the nastier effects of the event cards (e.g., Serpent, Wildfire, Memory, Earth, etc.); and c. spirits who rely on fear victories to a great extent (e.g., Bringer and Shroud); 3. The change makes level 5 and 6 adversaries a lot more realistic for more of the spirits true solo and I’m a big fan of that; and 4. I really appreciate the thorough explanation for why the blight change was made - and I really respect Reuss for stepping out there and making a change like this to make the game better reflect designer intent. :)

[@sputang]

What rules update?

[@Konkytonk]

@@sputang would like to know as well

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey! Here's the official link :) : querki.net/u/darker/spirit-island-faq/#!.9v5kfpu

[@ragnar3434]

I'm laying out Spirit Island next time I get a chance because I need to see what this does for Shroud. Maybe this means I don't have to devote my first two turns to making unnerving pall work! And if I don't have to do that, maybe I can spend that time being more aggressive, which might mean I can push through Shroud's godawful early game a little faster. This could be so good!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@ragnar3434 Let me know how it goes!! :)

[@Kentchangar]

You should do a Top 10 Spirits for coop. I'm REALLY interested in how the list would differ.

[@qwerty2qwerto]

I think Spread of Rampant Green would be even higher, considering how good Gift of Proliferation is when used on some of the slower-build spirits

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey - thanks for the recommendation! I'll consider it, but I'm always a little worried about getting "off-brand" too often. And, yes, the list would differ a bit. (Qwerty is right about Rampant Green being higher of course. :) ) In the end though, while I would guess that there would be a lot of leapfrogging, with the exception of Finder, I really can't think of a single spirit whose position in my personal rankings would change all that much (i.e., more than 4-5 spots). Strong true solo spirits tend to be really strong at all other player counts!

[@Kentchangar]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Yes, but supports like Green and maybe Fractured will certainly be higher. :) JUSTICE FOR SUPPORT CLASSES!!! :P

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

No doubt! And that’s a good call with Fractured Days - he’s probably another spirit along with Finder that would get a substantial boost in the rankings.

[@emilydivis6369]

Another thing to consider would be the size of the map. Spirits that take a long time to spread their influence and spirits that can move great distances in a short time will feel different in a coop game versus solo

[@gooberva]

Great video, I really appreciate your love and enthusiasm for this game, it's very contagious. I'm mostly a true solo player and just got Jagged Earth, this makes me really excited to play through the new spirits and encourages me to keep at true solo recognizing that all hope is not lost. And you really peaked my interest in getting Branch and Claw, but but but maybe I'm going to wait a wee bit yet for that (well try at least).

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey gooberva! Thanks for this really nice and thoughtful comment! :) As for Branch & Claw, I hope you don't mind me saying this...but, if you've already got Jagged Earth, I would encourage you to get Branch & Claw when you can. Jagged Earth builds on ALL of the Branch & Claw content, so you'll already know all the rules, and this way you'll have all complete set of the event, fear, and power cards. And Fangs and Keeper are both really great spirits! :)

[@jaycey4316]

I love how different players have different preferences with this game! my least favorite spirits were higher up for you and some of my favorites were not super high for you. My personal favorite atm is Shroud and Many minds my least favorites are Wildfire and Stone largely because im not super comfortable with blight adding to the board yet!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Jaycey! I completely agree with this! Having taught this game to several people, I have genuinely never played a game that can feel so different player-to-player based on natural playing style and personality as Spirit Island. I taught a lot of people this game and it was pretty cool watching my friends "not get" one spirit, but then just crush with another spirit right off the bat because the mechanics just made sense to them - and it's not always easy to predict!

[@QBG]

Starlight is my go-to spirit for when I'm struggling to beat a high-level adversary with other spirits and I just want to win. I've found it to be the most consistent solo spirit, despite its randomized nature. Being able to draft a major on turn one and have it up and running with the threshold hit by turn three or four is insanely powerful, especially in solo play where there's only four fear to earn between fear cards.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the great comment, QBG! My low ranking of Starlight was one of the things I got slammed the most about with this video - and for good reason! I have definitely warmed up to Starlight quite a bit with more plays!

[@QBG]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I assumed that I'd never even play the "Very High" complexity spirits. Little did I know that I'd take to Starlight like a fish to water.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@QBG That’s awesome! It’s a very cool spirit. 🙂

[@AzureIV]

I got to try Many Minds after this video.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Do it! 🙂

[@Maltedmilk]

Just started playing spirit island. I was in disbelief when that you rated thunderspeaker so highly for solo play. But after playing a round (although easy difficulty setting) with that spirit I completely understand. So powerful

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Andrew! I've been in enough online Spirit Island groups to know that this is a pretty common experience with Thunderspeaker. When she clicks, she really clicks!! :) Thanks for the comment!

[@marcodavi777]

Ocean and bringer were also the spirits that made spirit island click for me. Ocean also had the nice side effect of giving me strong theme, with the high/low tide

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Marco! Oh yeah - the visual of Ocean's mechanics are so great as the spirit moves on and off the shores. :) Bringer actually took me a lot longer to "get it", but now I love what Bringer brings to the table!

[@johnboi3933]

Great video! And honestly a pretty surprising list. I loved it.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, John! I appreciate the comment! (And I'm still chuckling about your Finder comment on Facebook. :) )

[@ozzyfrom7067]

Future guest on KSP???

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I got a notification about this comment and then couldn’t find it (I thought it was on another thread 🙂)! I’d be down for it, John, if you ever had a idea of something that might be good to collaborate on - if so, just PM me on Facebook or use the email you can find on the main page of this channel. Either way, I’m generally not much of a podcast guy but I love seeing all the positive energy around KSP - I plan to check it out soon!

[@spazticdrummer7]

Best part of this video is you acting out Trickster 🤣🤣🤣 In all seriousness this is my favorite place to go to watch SI content. The majority of my games are solo, and the majority of my solo games are true solo games. I'm just now getting into JE content (unfortunately only on TTS at the moment), and my current "Spirit learning plan" for each JE Spirit is to play some games on my own first and then jump over to Solo Playthroughs to get an even better understanding of the Spirit. The only Spirit I was surprised about was Downpour, although I might be biased since I did a "campaign" with it against Scotland where I built up to level 6 using Downpour. In solo, if you let the coasts go a bit at the beginning and clear out the inland then you can essentially turn the game into a "coast only" game by spamming Undesireable Deluge to isolate the Coasts (with appropriate sacred site placement) I'm really glad you're not sleeping on Fangs though (I see a lot of posts on BGG putting Fangs on the weaker end of things, and it makes me so sad). Looking forward to further SI content, keep up the great work!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Aaron! Thanks for the really nice and thoughtful comment! Yeah - my approach in the Downpour video was off and things always play out a little different during live playthroughs - plus I was still wrapping my end around Russia at the time. I do want to take another look at him know that I have a much more comprehensive understanding of the Jagged Earth mechanics. As for Fangs, I just love how Fangs can gain control of the island early and they can usually find a way to stay on top of the invaders throughout - they’re so good! Again, thanks for the comment!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh, and that Trickster impersonation is the result of years of acting classes finally paying off!! 🤣

[@boardgametime3727]

Wow really great vid. Thank you!! 😊 Love your calm style. The new blight rule is really huge for solo play, I’m loving it. xD

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Board Game Time! And that blight rule is pretty crazy! I played a coop game tonight with a friend via Zoom and, even then, adding that extra blight felt a little bit like cheating. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon though. :)

[@amansparekh]

@@SoloPlaythroughs what is this blight rule?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Add exactly one blight to the blighted island card at the beginning of the game. So, that means there is 3 blight total for a 1-board game, 5 blight total in a 2-board game, etc. This change was made to balance the amount of “usable blight” across all player counts.

[@brettspieleiq2384]

I love that you like Rampant Green - it's my favorite spirit, no matter if I play solo or not.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Green’s pretty awesome! And I have a Green playthrough against Level 5 Russia publishing on Wednesday! 🙂

[@brettspieleiq2384]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I'm looking forward to it!

[@eMpTy0911]

Very cool video and a nice list. Personally I'd put River a lot higher, as it is very consistant. You mentioned a lack of damage potential but River can destroy pretty much everything in a land just with its unique powers. Only England 5+ will stop this very powerful Spirit.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for this great comment! Yeah - you're the second person to specifically suggest that I undervalue River and I'm totally here for that conversation! My biggest issue with River was always that I felt it was hard to consistently grow into the necessary card plays/energy to be able to start unlocking the higher levels of that innate without getting into a doomed cycle of reclaiming cards every round. But it's admittedly been a while, so I'll be sure to revisit! Thanks again!

[@Iamwrongbut]

@@SoloPlaythroughs yeah you’ve gotta revisit it, it’s so strong against everyone except England. Because of its wash away card that pushes three towns/explorers and its innate that can also push 3 towns/explorers, once you start hitting that level of the innate you can prevent builds everywhere until you get to stage 3 invader cards. So, you focus on growing and getting to your last level of your innate until stage 3, and then you group everything up in one land and hit it with the 2 damage to each invader innate and absolutely destroy them. Plus, you have a card that does one damage that can kill a city in that land too. Gotta be in my top 5 for solo play because of that.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@Iamwrongbut Awesome! I'm excited to dust River off soon and give them another look!

[@justinvamp15]

I totally agree on Many Minds, even in 2 player he just controls the board in a way that makes me feel almost bad for the invaders 😂

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

LOL - I totally get that! The invaders are just like this incompetent assortment of ants who don't have a chance against the deluge of birds and animals tearing them apart and thwarting their every plan. It's all very sad!! :)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Nice list, I did well with Earth and River in my solo intro games but then I’m playing easy difficulties!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Luke! Earth does start to struggle at higher difficulties. However, if you look at the comments, you’ll see i was dragged pretty hard for undervaluing River. I have since seen the error in my ways! 🤣 There’s a certain way to approach River that makes them a beast against all adversaries except England. It can start to feel a bit “on rails” if you do it a few times, but it’s generally really fun!

[@mike9139]

YOU ARE AWESOME! ❤❤❤ I'm working on a solo playthrough with shadows flicker like flames and am against level 6 Brandenburg and am getting destroyed! I am still new to spirit island 😂 I'm having fun with it! Lol

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Level 6 anyone is no joke and taking on Brandenburg at that pace is nutso! Two friends and I managed to pull off a three-spirit win against Level 6 but Downpour and Hearth Vigil had to keep their boards under control until I had a BEASTLY late game with Fangs. Was pretty awesome. :)

[@Speedyolrac]

I am Glad Shadows is getting less hate. It is not as bad as people keep saying it is. One of my Favorites. The Jagged Earth aspect cards really help it along. Starlight takes many many plays to get it and know which builds are great vs which adversary. Love the Mist is some love, very tricky in a solo game. Love to see a top 10 spirits you enjoy, even though you kinda have done it here.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for this great comment! Yeah, those aspect cards were kind of a revelation for me with Shadows - part of me just needed something (anything!) to make him more interesting for me. And that seems like great advice on Starlight, which is one of the three spirits I’ve been most told in comments that I’m undervaluing (the other two being River and Keeper). Meanwhile, Mists is so fun to play! A top 10 of who I enjoy would be interesting for the future, but perhaps a little too redundant to do in the near future. Off the top of my head, it’d be something like this (in descending order): Fangs, Lure, Wildfire, Vengeance, Trickster, Shroud, Stone, Keeper, Serpent, Thunderspeaker. 🙂

[@FredrikM]

This game is so good, I would probably put Volcano in the top 5 since it's so freaking flexible letting you sacrifice as many presence as you want and even move them around and resurrecting them. Can be a little daunting if mountains are in awkward areas but I really love it.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - mountain can definitely be higher! Along with like a half dozen other spirits... At some point, I’m gonna need to figure out what spirits I’m lowering though. 🤣 Thanks for the comment!

[@FredrikM]

@@SoloPlaythroughs That sure is part of why I love this game so much. Trickster is problably in bottom 5 for me and I see why cause the randomness element really throws me off. But I'm glad you found success with it! Currently learning about stones which I also cast aside as mediocre and I feel like I'm about to find a new favorite with it.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

With Trickster, he's just one of those spirits that always seems to find a way for me. And I'm also just a sucker for fast strife! :) Meanwhile, Stone is just ridiculous. You'll have more blight on the board than you're used to, so he does require a bit of mental reframing. But, wow that spirit can do some really cool things!

[@ericb5966]

Totally agree with Many Minds at #1! I just love how it can move the beasts 2 lands instead of 1... and so easy to defend a land each turn. I've had nail biting games against some tough adversaries when I pulled an event card that did 2 damage per beast..... and it absolutely felt like hitting the board game lottery. I think I'd rank Volcano and Lightning just a tad higher.. but overall I agree, good list!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Eric! Thanks for the comment! Yeah - Many Minds is just flat out effective. As for Volcano and Lightning, I'm looking forward to getting more experience with Volcano as I prepare for the live playthrough on the 27th and, while I love Lightning, I just couldn't see putting it above any of the 14 above them. So many great spirits! Thanks for the comment! :)

[@number3729]

Did you check out the errata on starting blight in the forums? I wonder if it will change your solo spirit rankings. Another video might be in order ;)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey number! Check my pinned comment, as I mention some thoughts on the subject. 🙂 It’s definitely big news for the game!

[@optimusprim0]

Great list, like peasant I think Ocean is possibly stronger than Thunderspeaker. But I’ve done the majority of my play on the app so I don’t know how he fares against the adversaries from JE and promo pack 2. Or if the power decks get too diluted. Through Branch and claw, he can be better than 50/50 against all of the level 6 adversaries, safe for maybe Sweden. But shockingly high against England 6. I love fangs and I thought you may have put him too high. I still think it’s possible, but he torches Sweden and France, and it took me like 4 runs, but recently I beat England 6 without drawing a major… or reavealing a top track presence. I watched another top 10 list before this one and I agreed with a fair amount they said but they thought Fangs was a dud and was the only spirit they put in the lowest tier… Thank you so much, this gives a lot of insight, I have the physical game (minus the promos unfortunately) and I’m not near familiar enough with the spirits because I’m awful at enforcing the rules playing solo live. Have a small group now, and I really appreciate the insight! I’ll be going through your archives, and giving lots of likes :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Anthony! I agree in a large part, as there's a lot of interchangeability between numbers 3 through 7, as you can make a strong argument for all 5 of those spirits to be ahead of the others. And Fangs if my favorite spirit, so he probably gets a little more bump than he should, and it does seem like he's starting to get some of the love he deserves. I'll actually be publishing a Fangs playthrough v. Level 6 France tomorrow!

[@peasantsgameutopia]

Great list, great execution! Glad to see Green getting some love. Ocean should be higher than TS :) Some surprises on this list for sure! #1 was a big surprise to me. I'll give them another go soon!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey peasant! Thanks for the comment here (as on Twitter)! Ocean ahead of Thunderspeaker, eh? It's definitely not the craziest idea. :) I give Thunderspeaker the edge because I find her more consistent, but I absolutely spent my earliest days with this game enamored with how powerful Ocean can be with the right Major Power or two! As for Many Minds, check it out - I never expected it to be so effective when I first started playing it and I wasn't joking when I said I found it boring because of how good it was!

[@peasantsgameutopia]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I find TS tricky to play well at high difficulty - I think even a relatively inexperienced player could win at difficulty 10 with Ocean after a few games (and some reflection). Possibly Ocean is easier in base game to solo as you only need a few draws to almost guarantee useful Majors like Land Thrashes, or to stumble across Reaching Grasp in the Minor deck. I will make my next JE playthrough (Sunday hopefully!) a Many Minds playthrough. I tend to think of this spirit often - near where I'm living at the moment there's a massive cloud of rooks :D

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@peasantsgameutopia Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. I personally found myself beating higher level adversaries with Ocean a while before Thunderspeaker stole my heart. :) And that's cool about feeling like you are living in the shadows of Many Minds - my occasional walks in nature have gotten a lot more fun since I started playing this game as I find myself thinking about the different spirits as well!

[@nicholasliu5788]

Hmm I feel like Downpour can take any adversary though. It can destroy buildings to deal with Habsburg and England, they have Isolates to deal with Scotland, it can push explorers/Dahan + defend + isolate lands to avoid towns appearing after ravages add blight (and reliably remove blight) for Sweden, it can play/repeat lots of minors to deal with the little problems Prussia pose (and, if lucky, negate an entire turn of explores with an isolate or two), it can deal with explorers and towns to deal with France (and either isolate explorer sources and prevent Triangle Trade through isolate), and probably only really struggles with Russia (but even then should be ok), and maybe Prussia with bad card draws. Downpour's starting cards and innates deal with a lot of adversaries.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Nicholas! Thanks for the great comment. You are not the first to say that I have Downpour too low and I've definitely come around on Downpour since I made this video. The 4 I was most told that I was ranked too low were Downpour, River, Keeper, and Starlight. :)

[@jayplays568]

Great video. There were two surprises for me. The lesser of the two was how low River was, but the biggest surprise was how low Keeper was, I really expected him to be higher (although I have only played one of the JE spirits so far). My only play of a JE spirit was with... you guessed it, Many Minds. I chose that first because of the similarities to Sharp Fangs in how it uses beasts. I am hoping to play it a bit more at the weekend, but initial thoughts are "very strong!". On your Lure comments: given how highly you rate that spirit, it would be awesome to get another playthrough on the channel as I think you said the previous one didn't really showcase its true potential. Also, I am so excited to try Trickster after seeing this video...

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey NB! River and Keeper are the two spirits about which I have gotten the most comments about me undervaluing, so it seems like you are onto something! :) And yeah, in a way, the fact that I won that game with Lure despite some things going VERY wrong is a testament to how strong he is, but I do want to get a second playthrough on the channel relatively soon that allows his mechanics to shine a bit more. And go play with Trickster - that dude is so fun!

[@Fkellog]

Played the original spirit island only (beating level 6 adversaries with a friend of mine); Thunderspeaker defenitely is our pick as strongest for the base version of the game!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

She’s so good! While I was still learning the game, I actually didn’t like her so much, especially since I didn’t immediately connect with her thematically. But when I started taking on the higher level adversaries, things started to click for me - and, wowza, she’s so fun to play!

[@carolinacremasta277]

There's a serpent slumbering behind your wall! :D

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Perhaps! 🤣

[@Marky-by4zv]

I dont own spirit island. I have never played it. But i think i know more about the game than some who do own it because of your episodes. Thank you

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I totally get this, cris! Dr. D, I think cris is referring to (a) people who buy games but don't actually play them, and (b) people who play games but who don't get hung up on knowing all the rules. So, it can definitely happen. :) Now, knowing it more than people who play and study it, not as likely! But I'm glad to know that these vids interest you despite not owning the game, cris - hopefully you can pick up a copy soon!

[@Marky-by4zv]

@Dr. D i think there are some who own it but never played it.

[@buckcherry2564]

I main Starlight and mostly run solo games. I rarely struggle too much, but I agree it can start slow and you often find yourself planning for turn 3-4 and taking some early hits that you just have to learn to accept. I would compare it to going from playing a fast power strategy to learning to play all slow powers. You take hits, but then you are suddenly playing a turn ahead with all better powers. My second most played is Fractured and again, I am comfortable solo, but it really shines in multiplayer for sure! Under your "as compared to others", yeah...I think I have to agree, MANY other spirits are MUCH easier to solo. If someone reading this likes fractured, it is not impossible to solo with him at all, just more work.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, Buck! Yeah - my undervaluing of Starlight as a true solo spirit was something that was frequently touched upon in comments. Both the spirits you touch upon are such great and unique additions to the game, which I appreciate even more now that I have found myself generally disliking many of the new spirits released after Jagged Earth.

[@alexhughes4683]

I've only played Many Minds a few times, but I've always enjoyed them. After being stuck on Scotland 6 a few times, I tried out Many Minds. Complete fear victory on my first attempt. The fact that the "Beasts Prowl" event has no fear cap is absolutely ridiculous. It let me pull out two and a half fear cards with zero effort. Definitely a spirit that needs to be played carefully, since I ended up without a single direct damage by the end of the game.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Alex! Sounds like Many Minds to me! It's a Top 5 fear generator combined with a elite defense and control abilities - AND an additional unique card. It's crazy strong. I'm glad they exist but I don't play them too much either. :) Congrats on the Scotland 6 victory!

[@jaydeestrong]

I understand that this was recorded before considering the +1 blight change/errata, I think that change should be enough to put wildfire to top 10 😊

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - that would be a strong possibility. Wildfire AND Vengeance for that matter. But I also think the change helps Memory (my #10) AND Serpent (my #8) a lot, too. And I still think Green is stronger than both of them. The reality is that my play style was already pretty aggressive and I got pretty good at navigating blighted island situations anyway, so I'm guessing I already had Wildfire higher than many would have even before the rule change. But I'm sure to be thinking about this one for a while to come... :) Thanks for the comment!

[@sethwiese3389]

My personal top 5 in order is 1.fangs 2.keeper 3.thunderspeaker 4.trickster 5.ocean

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Great list, Seth! I always especially appreciate some love for Fangs. 🙂

[@Codeman90]

Very cool video! I haven't been playing for too long, a few months I guess, just before Jagged Earth was released. In my opinion I would rank Vengeance higher and drop shifting memories from my personal top 10. I have played quite a few games with Vengeance and his damage potential is just too awesome to ignore, also potential to get some benefit from Event cards. As for Shifting Memories I feel like there is risk in not getting a good enough Major and then can really hurt since Shifting Memories doesn't have particularly strong unique power cards. But that's just my perspective, cool video and nice channel!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Codeman! Thanks for this great, nice, and thoughtful comment! The line between Vengeance and Shifting is pretty thin for me and it admittedly got even thinner with the new rules (while I think the extra blight helps both of them a lot, it seems pretty clear that it will generally help Vengeance a little more). You're absolutely right that a bad Major Power draw or two early is crippling to Shifting but his energy growth option makes it such that it'll be hard for that to happen too often IMO. In the end, I think ranking these two in comparison to each other might have more to do with playstyle and personal preference than any objective standard of expected win rates though. :)

[@Iamwrongbut]

Love the video! Been waiting for you to make this forever!! Definitely lived up to expectations in quality... ...but I am still confounded on how highly you think of Fangs for solo play 😅 I wish I could play him well solo but unless I play against either France of Prussia at lower levels, I feel like I have no chance. As much hate as Shroud gets, I’d personally choose it over Fangs against any adversary 😂 Couldn’t agree more with your #1 pick though.

[@Iamwrongbut]

Would love to see you play a level 5 or 6 adversary with fangs at some point to get more of a feel for his strength. I may just be playing him wrong!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

As always, thanks for some great comments! Yeah, I love me some Fangs! He just clicks for me, but you are not alone in thinking I might overvalue him a bit. The Many Minds at #1 conversation has been super interesting but I haven’t seen much push back on that other than a strong suggestion that I undervalue Keeper (which is definitely possible). 🙂

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

And, yes, I’ll be getting to Level 5/6 adversaries soon - and Fangs will be one of the first to get back on the channel. 🙂

[@daugarten]

Thanks for the content on my favorite game. That said, my two cents: You can probably cut all the disclaimers at the start of any future tier list videos. All the hemming and hawing to start the video off... makes me very disinterested in the rest of the video. I say make your claim right from the start, and state them proud! Getting right into the tier list with no delay will maintain my interest a lot more than a wealth of excuses to get started. If you have to explain yourself, save it for after! People will disagree with your tier list no matter what excuses you give them - you might even get more engagement if you leave them out :)

[@daugarten]

@Dr. D I’m just offering some constructive criticism in as positive a way I can. He can take it or leave it :) I know that when I create something and show it to people, that I look for the same kind of input and differing perspectives. Helps us grow!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey daugarten, I really do appreciate the feedback. (And, Dr. D, I appreciate your point as well, but I think daugarten's intent to be constructive was pretty clear!) I've done enough of these Top 10s to feel like some disclaimers have helped hedge off some unwelcome comments while fostering an environment in which genuine, interesting, and healthy disagreement about rankings can happen in the comments. But, while you are absolutely right that people are going to disagree no matter what my final list is, you also may be right that it might benefit me to shorten any opening disclaimers down a bit in future Top 10s - I'll definitely consider the advice for next time! Either way, thanks for getting through that opening part and for taking the time to write this comment!

[@ragnar3434]

I spent this entire video reminding myself that this is aimed at higher difficulties, so my experiences at level 3-4 aren't always going to be relevant. Seems pretty fair though. I wish you were wrong about Shroud, but I've had the same experience you did. I still love it though. I feel like Shroud is to Shadows as Stone is to Earth, in that it's the stronger, meaner, stranger and higher complexity version of the other spirit. As for Volcano, I think there are two ways to play it, the one that looks aggressively for chances to play growth 2 for a huge explosion, and the gameplan that forsakes the big explosion in favor of abusing the hell out of the incredibly strong growth 3. In solo, I've landed pretty firmly on the latter. Sometimes I'll strain for a quick 4-shot eruption in the mid- to late-game if the circumstances are right, but I try to delay that as long as possible because you often need to dedicate a growth phase to stacking up your mountain with growth 2. SO I guess what I'm saying is, I'm looking forward to your Volcano video for the interview but also because I want to see how similar our styles are.

[@ragnar3434]

Isaac's description of the dev process for Shroud is a slight bummer. They _nerfed_ it. I know why and I'm sure this version is the most fun, but it makes me wonder if there's a file on somebody's computer somewhere with a version of Shroud that's a bit more dependable. I hear Shroud gets a lot stronger with support from another spirit. I can imagine, and I want to try it one of these days.

[@jaydeestrong]

Probably because in higher level difficulty, you need to take care of a threat almost every round or at least way more often than 3 to 4

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I really like this comment. As I've mostly come around to playing Shroud like Bringer, I find the comparison of Shroud to Shadows really interesting! Don't get me wrong - Shroud can kick some ass and, when he does, it's awesome. But I just don't think his expected win rate will ever get him to the top half of a list like this for me. As JF indicated, at the higher levels, there are so many threats, it's hard to have a spirit who is strongest when he is merely hurting invaders as opposed to wiping them out entirely.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

From what I have garnered from Reuss' interviews, the original spirit that Shroud descended from was actually a combination of Shroud and Trickster! That original spirit has to just be insane! :)

[@ragnar3434]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Oh man, did it drop a lot of strife tokens? That would have been great. What interview was this?

[@stevethomas9320]

Ocean's Hungry Grasp sucks in solo. It isn't a guarantee that you will get the powers you need to reach the inlands. Otherwise once the invaders reach the inlands you're done.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Strong disagree but, yes, you might get unlucky with card draws at times…which can happen with almost any spirit. The Major Power deck has a high percentage of cards with the necessary range.

[@Amuny666]

I was like; "Ok, yeah make sense. Might be debatable, but understandable." I then I saw Downpour at 17 and went "REEEEEEEEE". But your explanation kind of admit you might have been putting him lower than he should ;) Also surprised to see Vengeance so high, most people rate him rather low. Same for Sharp Fangs. His limitations with blight can really get overwhelming fast. Many Minds was also slightly surprising to me. I might be the one to have to give a shot there. But I usually play 2 handed, so I guess I might value fear-intensive spirits less than you do here.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Amuny! Love this comment, so thanks for sharing! Someone else mentioned that my approach to Downpour might be off, so I’ve definitely got to take another look at some point. As for Vengeance and Fangs, they just speak to me! 🙂

[@amansparekh]

My strongest spirits (not ordered): stone, lure, trickster, ocean, thunderspeaker

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

That’s a pretty awesome 5!

[@Brian0033]

River is very powerful as a solo spirit against adversaries that don't cheat out cities in some way. What you do is you take all of your problems (cities and towns) and put them all in one box (a single land) and then you hit that box with a hammer (its innate power at max). Eventually its doing that max innate every turn

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for sharing this, Brian! And yeah - I was pretty loudly told I was wrong about River in comments here, as well as on Reddit. 🤣 River, Downpour, Keeper, and Starlight were the ones I was most told I was undervaluing, and I’ve since found that feedback to be fairly accurate (unsurprisingly). I address this specifically as it relates to River in my most recent River video. 🙂

[@drlizb]

Which expansion has your top picks? (Which expansion should a solo player purchase first?)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Dr. Liz! Great question. In general, I don’t love expansions but there are a few that I highly recommend: 1. Mage Knight - Lost Legion is a must, followed by Krang and then Tezla 2. Spirit Island - Branch and Claw is essential IMO, and Jagged Earth and the promo spirits are also both great 3. Arkham LCG - anything up to and including The Forgotten Age cycle is very much worth it 4. Dawn of the Zeds: 3rd - The first two expansion packs add some very important characters - not convinced Rumors and Rails is worth it but it’s pretty cheap 5. Too Many Bones - Splice & Dice is nice, and you will probably want 40 Days of Daelore (I ordered mine but haven’t gotten it yet) 6. Return to Dark Tower - the game is far less engaging without the Alliances expansion 7. Cthulhu: DMD - The Yog Sothoth and Dark Goat of the Woods expansion are both good for variety 8. Scythe - Invaders from Afar is great - wouldn’t say the same about Wind Gambit and actively dislike Rise of Fenris -- That’s really it from my list on this video!

[@mbalazs3544]

Earth is on one may faws just buy big powers and discard its old hand its broken powerful

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey M! Yeah - I can see that. His energy production is pretty intense when you get into the mid-game. But you are somewhat dependent on getting the right power cards to hit those innate thresholds. 🙂 For that reason, I still put Earth at the lower end of the spectrum for me personally.

[@KingNothing1st]

It makes me sad that Jagged Earth is virtually impossible to come across these days :/ my playgroup and I have only recently started playing the base game and we'd like to get the expansions, but they're unavailable everywhere :( Sad Days For Eager Gamer vs Production Companies is unwinnable

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey King! Sorry to hear that. :( Greater Than Games has generally been great about restocking things pretty regularly but it seems like every company is really struggling with some of the global dynamics in manufacturing and shipping. I would honestly recommend getting B&C first for balancing reasons with the Power Cards decks and the Event Deck (even if the Event Cards are generally more punishing in B&C than in Jagged Earth!). I'm not sure if it will help, but I know that the BGG Marketplace has several listings of B&C in various countries. Adding B&C to the game is really when the game started to leave the "games I like" category and become something more important to me. If you can get B&C now, Jagged Earth should be there for when you are ready for just more of everything that the game has to offer. :)

[@KingNothing1st]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Oh wow, that was a very well thought out answer, thank you! I will very much make an effort to pick up Branch & Claw, hopefully it's not too difficult to obtain, but even if it is, the base game still has a ton to offer :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Any time! And no doubt about the base game. I played it with only the base game until I beat each of the original 3 adversaries on level 6 at least once. Took me dozens of games, especially because of England!!

[@KingNothing1st]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I'm too spooked to try a level 6 adversary at this point, I'm still trying to figure out what powers to get with what spirits, among other things, but I'll get there!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh yeah - take your time and enjoy it! I got there very slowly: one level at a time and one adversary at a time as I rotated through the 8 spirits in the base game. :)

[@mazen.k9839]

Keep the comments coming. Boardgames, solo playthrough. Comment and like coz why not

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the kind words and support, Mazen! :)

[@danielmarlett1421]

Disagree about River. I think he is fantastic solo but I am biased as he is my favorite. He only struggles against a lot of Cities. Anything with two health or less is doomed once you open up his track

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Daniel - thanks for sharing your thoughts on River! Fortunately, I’ve already been forced to see the light here - and I’ve publicly submitted a couple “I was wrong about River” statements. 🤣 River, Starlight, Keeper, and Downpour were the 4 spirits that I was most often told I had underrated and, so far, the comments have proven extremely accurate as I went back and revisited these spirits. If you go the Spirit Island playlist, I published a recent playthrough of River in the Despicable Theft scenario that you might enjoy. 🙂 Thanks again!

[@danielmarlett1421]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I'm still getting my feet wet with Jagged Earth so you have a better overall perspective than I do. I just play River a lot and was caught off guard to see him so low. Fantastic videos.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - it was admittedly a case of me having just not played River in a while and never learning a more optimal strategy with the spirit. But their beast mode was quite fun to see for myself. 🙂 Not sure how high River goes for me now, but it definitely seems to be the strongest low complexity spirit by quite a bit. And thanks - glad you like the videos!

[@danielmarlett1421]

@@SoloPlaythroughs With the Travel aspect he gets way stronger. I just started playing around with it and it feels like cheating.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I’ll have to check it out!

[@jakobvarsson840]

Interesting

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Read the other comments and it gets really interesting indeed! 🤣 At some point I’m gonna have to update this list but this is still a fairly accurate list for my personal playstyle. A few spirits that I would move up for sure but none that I’m ready to move down!

[@robertdascoli949]

Lightning not in the top 10? Heresy!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! If it makes you feel better, I've got 6 Jagged Earth spirits, both Branch & Claw spirits, and both of the original promo spirits ahead of him... Think of him as being number 5! :)

[@sparklinglatte1]

bringer 14 better than starlight? LOL rip starlight-kun ;w;

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah, this video has generated a lot of great feedback about an apparent need for me to revisit Starlight. I’m excited to take another look at them soon! That said, don’t sleep on my friend Bringer as a great solo spirit - I hear doing so might bring on dreams and nightmares! 🤣

[@KShadow1776]

Wtf is wrong with your wall?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! I take it you haven’t been in a lot of refinished basements in city rowhomes. The wall by the stairs is literally just rock and cement from the original foundation that has been painted over. Framing out drywall there would have made the staircase extremely narrow. Never dawned on me how weird that might look to some people until now! 🤣

[@forcechanneltocomment512]

It's .. >P

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Force, I'm not sure if I'm missing a joke here. But, just in case, the Jagged Earth expansion comes with a new adversary, The Tsardom of Russia. So, there is now both a Russia and a Prussia. :)

[@forcechanneltocomment512]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I see, my mistake :D