Spirit Spotlight: Shadows Flicker Like Flame

"The Dahan say, 'If the long shadows of sunset stretching beside you being to shift and flicker like tongues of hungry fire, do not run. That will only feed your fear, and whet the shadows' appetite.'
This spirit invokes an instinctive fear in humans, perhaps because it doesn't think at all like humans do - it's more alien-minded than most. Until a few generations ago, the Dahan careful propitiated it only at a distance, steering as clear as they could. But during the Years of The Relentless Sun, it shaded large swaths of the Island, averting catastrophe; since then, many Dahan have been willing to carefully - and cautiously - heed its words, feeling they have a debt they out to try to replay."
Chris Burton (Game Development Manager at Greater Than Games) talks strategy and gives insights into the various playstyles of the spirits of Spirit Island.
Check out Spirit Island: store.greaterthangames.com/sp...

[@luctekz]

Yes! Thank you for making more of these Spirit Spotlights videos! I love Spirit Island and these spotlights are great!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

These videos are great, the faster you can bring them out the better. Shadows is underrated but I quite like him and with Madness in solo he's amazing.

[@Rufiy0]

Man I love these videos, it's like watching a nature documentary, please do make more of these!

[@Panda-dr2cb]

Please GtG may I have some more of these? They are so great!!

[@charliethemagpie523]

God, I completely agree about its first-turn growth. I love getting new cards asap - but if I want to play them, I've gotta have the energy to do it!

[@oguzcanoguz5977]

The second passive in the aspect card might be the single most underwhelming passive in the entire game, which is very unfortunate since Shadow is usually the least popular spirit in the game to play.

[@hudeduge9240]

Agreed, a more interesting take may have been +1 fear whenever a presence is destroyed or moved from a region with invaders.

[@TheRagingwerepanda]

Love the series and this spirit in particular. Sometimes it feels a little weaker than other spirits when facing off against higher tier adversaries but the control and fear aspects are pretty fun. Glad you pointed out the correct opening. It took me a few games to find that and until that time, my enjoyment of the spirit fluctuated wildly as I struggled to figure out what I was doing wrong.

[@Planerary]

Thank you for continuing to make these videos, they're awesome!

[@dannyboyjenkins]

Get so excited when you release another one. Thank you!

[@isaacrobinson4759]

Yay, my favorite spirit! Love what the new Aspects bring to it.

[@Woogachaka42]

Thanks for more of these! I'd love to eventually have one for each spirit (though that is quite a task)!

[@wesleyjudson599]

This is a really fun video series. It actually inspired me to create a sort of module for an RPG using Spirit Island as the setting.

[@dannyboyjenkins]

Great work again Chris! I know there is already a 'How To Play: Spirit Island' video on the channel from a few years back, but is there any possibility of making another one in this Spirit Spotlight style? Just 5-10 minutes covering the basics for people new to the game.

[@IssacW841T]

Yes! I love this series.

[@Pit1993x]

I have real soft spot for this spirit. I used it in my 3rd game overall which was my first game playing against an adversary. Was playing solo with Shadows and Bringer, was playing both for the first time and it was a really fun game and also how they interacted thematically. It was a challenge because I didn't really have a heavy hitter to clean up stuff but I ended up winning. Still a fun memory. ^^

[@Yacovo]

Thanks for the video

[@toddshearer7061]

Very cool. Thank you

[@lucasscheper8783]

Thx and well done :)

[@bradybennett5352]

I saw the notification for this video pop up this morning and it was torture trying to get through work today knowing it was waiting to be watched. 🤣 Another great video! Thank you for your continued effort!

[@spiritofconfusion4460]

These are great

[@Chaosmancer7]

Shadows is always the spirit I struggle with the most. I wonder if it has all been that first turn move. I'll have to try it out the next time I can get the game to the table.

[@BlitkriegsAndCoffee]

Sadly, Shadows ended up being the weakest spirit in the game. * Its starting track numbers are the lowest in the game, with 0(!) starting energy and only 1 card play. This is nuts considering 3 of its 4 starting cards costing energy, and hamstrings you into growth 3 as your only starting option. * To make matters worse, it has among the slowest growth rates in the game. While most spirits have a 111 or 021 set of growth options, Shadows is stuck on a 011 set, meaning it takes ~6 turns before it make it to 3 energy and 3 card plays. * The range on its spells was clearly nerfed before release. The range 0 spells combined with the need for a sacred site for the innate and slow growth create major headaches when trying to use your spells. This is in addition to having no innate defensive tools, meaning your presence is often in lands that blight. Your special ability requiring energy is just the cherry on top for a spirit thats early game is already incredibly weak. * The level 1 innate requiring you to gather an explorer rather than making it optional often screws you over when trying to use the lvl 2 innate. (gathering a 3rd and thereby leaving one behind) Even then, its not realistic to get the lvl 2 innate off before turn 5 or so anyway with your slow growth and triple moon requirements. * Shadows is one of the only beginner spirits that cannot unlock its lvl 3 innate with its core cards. * Moon + Fire is among the weakest combinations for minors and majors in the game. * The focus on explorers does not scale well with difficulty, with most adversaries able to bypass your single explorer elimination as they level up. The only real selling point for the spirit is the huge Dahan bomb it can put together with Favors Called Due and Concealing Shadows, but this is at the mercy of the board setup. It also feels like the spirit just lacks any identity. The intended goal of luring explorers into the wilderness before picking them off just doesn't shine through. Lure Into The Deep Wilderness feels very much like the 'fixed' version of this spirit to me. If you are going to use him, the Aspects are strongly recommended.

[@amansparekh]

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