Terraforming Mars - Turmoil Corporations Tierlist

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In my fifth installment of my Terraforming Mars corporations tier list series, I rank all the Turmoil corps and also talk about all other corps' performance within the Turmoil expansion.
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Tier List Playlist: • Terraforming Mars - Pr...
Intro: (0:00​)
Changes to previous Corps: (0:​47)
Astrodrill: (1:52​)
Factorum: (3:59​)
Lakefront Resorts: (6:00​)
Mons Insurance: (6:43​)
Pharmacy Union: (8:07​)
Philares: (9:37​)
Pristar: (10:42​)
Septem Tribus: (10:47​)
Terralabs Research: (13:09​)
Utopia Invest: (14:10​)
Outro: (8:19)

[@marsexpert4276]

Hey guys, I forgot to talk about Ecoline. I wanted to move them up one tier due to the introduction of the Greens and the lower concentration of plant destroying cards when playing with all expansions. Also, there seem to be two versions of Astrodrill, one with 35 and one with 38 MC. This does not influence my rating though. Hope you had a great New Year’s Eve. Best of luck for 2022 :)

[@yolopukki567]

Great tier list! I have just a few notes on Septem Tribus, I think they are very strong. If you get prelude donation (or even loan, which I never play otherwise), you have a 12 mc production from gen 0. This is of course assuming that you move your free delegate to the previously emptied party every gen, but still. On top of that, many very strong cards in Turmoil have restricuons that you must have two delegates there, meaning that you can just move your free delegate there and play the card. Then you can buy the 6th delegate and continue as before. High A tier for me!

[@yolopukki567]

Edit: it would actually be 7 money production, since you "surrender" your free delegate each gen to go to the emptied party. And in the mid/late game ypu can prioritize getting elected chairman with the help of all the random grey delegates. It's still in your interest to become chairman, as the strategy remains the same

[@marsexpert4276]

Thanks! Yes, if you get the right preludes, Septem Tribus has an insane economy from the get go and basically 1 influence at least every gen. But there are many starting hands which just do not fit this corp, e.g. if you DON'T have Donation or anything similar and a lot of good cards that you want to keep and that hinder you from buying a lot of delegates immediately. And then you also have to give up economic potential to get more flexible with winning elections or not getting wrecked by the global events... I just think this corp has a lot of downsides for the economic potential it grants.

[@robertlagerqvist2114]

Great list! Very interesting to hear your reasoning :)

[@picivyvortac2641]

This expansion is criminally underrated.

[@picivyvortac2641]

Pharmacy union is one of my favorites. It's not the best, but it is such a fun little mini game.

[@marsexpert4276]

I agree! Turmoil is really fun and adds a lot of replayability:)

[@picivyvortac2641]

@@marsexpert4276 I think it's the influence rule. I think that is one step too complex. I think if it just said "party chair gets X instead" it would have saved this expansion in most peoples minds. The influence function isn't crazy complicated. I just think that on top of everything else this, and other expansions add, it's just one step too far. I kind of wish that each party gave a unique standard action or effect for an existing one and when people used that action it put a neutral delegate into that party and one in an opposition party. This could be in the card so not super complex. It would just make it more dynamic I think.

[@iTyero_]

Really enjoyed this series of videos. I largely agree with you on most these sections. There are a few I think are being underrated though: Polyphemus - This corp rewards players for understanding card value and playing efficiently (not over buying). The extra 2MC per card stings, but I feel that’s very much offset by the crazy start of 65 total MC AND 5 MC production. Ecoline - Plant production is powerful. It gives TR, post game points, board control, and is linked to a handful of awards/milestones. Recyclon - Again, plant production is great. If you have a steady feed of microbes, you’ll basically be getting free plant production every time you play a building tag. Celestic - This corp benefits from colonies expansion, but also there are just some really powerful floater cards. If Celestic gets their hands on those, they can have some crazy engines (most of the time point engines, like with Floating Habs). And drawing two floater cards help a lot. Plus they always have an award/milestone suited for them in play. I’m a little lower on Inventrix and Utopia. But surprised at how many of these we are really close on!

[@marsexpert4276]

I agree that I placed Ecoline a bit too low probably, unsure about the others tho. What I do know is that I will at some point remake the prelude and corporation tier lists! I have learned a lot about the game since then and would rank many corps very differently now.

[@iTyero_]

I feel you there. There’s so much to explore and discover with this game, no matter how many games I play I feel like I’m constantly learning! Look forward to future videos, great stuff

[@JLH111176]

1 event in turmoil removes an ocean from the board makes lakefront 10 guaranteed mc S+

[@marsexpert4276]

Yeah in that case, Lakefront is even stronger!

[@Zgf72]

Love these videos, as my friends and I are playing this game more and more and I intend on getting at least most of the expansions (not sure on turmoil yet). Are the remaining corps I see at the bottom of your screen the community made ones?

[@marsexpert4276]

Thanks :) Turmoil is the only expansion I consider as optional. The new gameplay mechanics are kinda complicated and the global events add a factor of randomness. But if you want insane replayability and strategic depth, Turmoil is great! The remaining corps are made by the community, yes :) I haven't played with them yet though.

[@pi_xi]

Mons Insurance is better, when you play with drafting.The Mons Insurance player usually will draft the bad cards away, even if they will not keep them. That limits their options a little, but it is still a strong corporation with a good income advantage.

[@markvanyo6010]

And with 2 player

[@ryanhimmelblau534]

What do you think of Terralabs' play-style of allowing you to keep every card that comes to hand without consequence. I've found it lets you be very reactive to opponents actions if they play a card that messes with your plans. Any kept cards can simply be converted back to ME through an action with no net loss. This also allows you to keep cards in the draft that you normally wouldn't that can open up interesting combos later. It still really relies on drawing some ME prod preludes or cards in the opening hand to make up for the low initial capital, but it can be fun nonetheless. Lastly when playing on the default map, it almost guarantees Planner. I might rate it B or C tier due to the reliance on early game ME prod cards in order to be viable.

[@marsexpert4276]

Don't get me wrong, Terralabs' ability is very strong! As you said, it allows you to play very reactively and basically guarantees Planner. But keep in mind: not every card you see in the draft is good. Your opponents won't pass you A-tier cards all the time and you only really save money on the cards you buy and then also play, so it's not like you're saving 8MC every gen. Also, the starting capital is just so atrocious that in my opinion, this corp is straight up unusable in base game. You can't do anything gen 1 and because of that, you'll start gen 2 with 20-25MC at most, again not enough to make any significant plays. But yeah, if you're playing with Preludes and get some good ones, for example Allied Bank and Donation, you can have a very good game with this corp! All in all, I could be convinced to give this corp a C ranking, but personally I'm not a big fan. But that's the beauty of Terraforming Mars. Your favourite corp might be my least favourite and vice versa and still: you can win with every corp if you get a bit lucky and play your cards right :)

[@pi_xi]

Starting with one Terraform value less is also good for Red party. You can later switch to Mars First, Unity or Greens, depending on the cards you got.

[@1989Brolly1989]

What are those remainin utiered corporations that you left ?

[@marsexpert4276]

Fan-made corporations. I've never played with them, so I didn't feel confident to rate them. But I've got a new series where I react to fan-made cards and eventually I'll cover these ones as well :)

[@1989Brolly1989]

@@marsexpert4276 thanks :) i really enjoy the game, and can't wait for the next expansions :)

[@darthhaggis9252]

Pristar is excellent to me

[@marsexpert4276]

I love the corp!

[@JulianRWR1]

I have yet to lose a game with terralabs. The card advantage you get throughout the game is ridiculous. My friends asked me to stop picking it.

[@marsexpert4276]

Maybe I haven't played it often enough and sure...when playing with all expansions, games tend to go longer so one missed gen is nothing compared to the money you'll end up saving on buying cards. But I feel like there are much much stronger corps.