Underground Duchy - How to Play - Root

[@KrystianMajewski]

23:41 Impressive custom meeple!

[@ChessQuestionMark]

Glad to see you're better NitroGuy, you're my favorite root player there is and Duchy is my favorite faction of all time, keep killin it!

[@nitrorev]

That's so kind of you to say. I'm doing great now and hoping to get back into the thick of it!

[@thebuzz567]

Omg I bought this expansion litteraly 2 hours ago to play this evening. You couldn't have dropped this at a better time for me

[@nitrorev]

That is great timing, indeed! This is the faction that got some of my friends really into Root after being lukewarm on the base game for awhile. Enjoy!

[@pFe1FF]

23:40 Marquise doesn't like the move

[@chiikahda394]

Yes! A new video to watch!

[@nitrorev]

Thank you! I'm finally back from my long hiatus. Going to try to keep up a more regular pace now.

[@SaniFakhouri]

Well done NitroRev! Glad to see you back at it with the Root videos. Couple of cute additional interactions (from a strict Rules perspective): 1. When playing as the Duchy you want to be really, REALLY careful of crafting items when the Lord of the Hundreds (the red Rats) are about. With the Rat's Looters ability and their faction's natural tendency to battle multiple times with their Commands + Prowess, the Rats may be able to whittle you down to your tunnel + buildings and then use their Looters to yank an item from you while dealing a single undefended hit (which would force the Duchy player to lose single instances of their buildings, causing Price of Failure to trigger multiple times). Deadly! Fortunately, this doesn't work if you don't have any items crafted, since the Lord of the Hundreds can only declare Looters against a target that has at least one item in their Crafted Items area of their board. 2. Of course, the Lizard's ability to Sanctify your buildings is remarkably dangerous, since that'll trigger Price of Failure. Fortunately, a Duchy that invest heavily in Markets will be able to potentially overdraw and dump a bunch of cards that differ from the suit your buildings in, making it harder for the Lizards to make the Outcast match. 3. When you dig, you don't need to send any warriors into the clearing you dig in (it is 'up to' 4 warriors, after all). Sometimes it's just fine for the Duchy to dig a tiny bit of dirt somewhere for Minister Sway purposes, or to get the Baron of Dirt online, without committing your very valuable and precious forces anywhere else on the board.

[@nitrorev]

Thanks for the awesome tips. I had just recorded a short covering the dig trick but the looters double PoF is definitely on the docket for a short now that I've covered both factions.

[@jerrywhoomst1116]

My favorite faction to play on the digital game, just ordered the expansion with the physical version I'm excited.

[@justsomeguy3983]

these vids are so helpful, everything is explained so well and the timestamps are supes helpful when in game and you have a question about a rule. keep up the good work!

[@nitrorev]

Thanks! Glad the timestamps are helpful, I always do it because I like things organized but I'm glad others actually find them useful too!

[@40rods]

I'm so excited for these guys to come out on digital, desperately need another high reach faction in the mix with the 6 available now. Though, with the digital root schedule I suppose I've got another year to go :/

[@nitrorev]

I hear ya! I'm mostly excited about having the moles in digital because they're literally the faction I'm worst at. Having them on the app will allow me to play many many games to get more practice at knowing how to pilot them better.

[@vintom3825]

You finally come back

[@nitrorev]

A lot happened in my life all at the same time (moving, gatherings, COVID) but now I'm back at it!

[@blakhand6847]

Loved your factions guide videos. I was great help to understand how they work. Best videos by far that I have watched for root. Plus it made it clear which expansion I should go for. Please make guides for the base game factions too. I am sure many of us new players would love it too. Thank you.

[@gilles_jobin]

Un grand merci pour vos explications très très claires !

[@michael_3.3]

Yay, welcome back :)

[@blake6533]

Amazing game. I love all factions

[@warrenlee3603]

Such a clear and thorough summary !! Thanks

[@obedabbo1]

Great video!

[@nitrorev]

Thanks Obed!

[@TheMasterOfByGames]

A wild marquise the cat has appeared.

[@tilmannetfuse7949]

great content - thanks a lot :)

[@Pokephantom]

Welcome back

[@nitrorev]

Great to be back!

[@bokajon]

Thanks for this excellent tutorial buddy!!

[@TheMasterOfByGames]

The price of failure is applied when the Lizard Cult use Sanctify?

[@nitrorev]

Yep! Anytime Duchy lose 1 or more buildings

[@JAMman]

Welcome back nitro! Hey quick question, where does it say you can't travel between tunnel tokens? Or is it illegal because it doesn't say you can in the law?

[@LeafAxeProductions]

I believe it is because the tunnels are not adjacent to each other, rather they are adjacent only to the burrow. so you'd have to move from tunnel A into burrow to then move to tunnel B

[@nitrorev]

LeafAxeProduction answered correctly. Tunnels do not make the clearings adjacent to each other. They only make the clearings adjacent to the burrow.

[@JAMman]

@@LeafAxeProductions thank you!

[@JAMman]

@@nitrorev ty sir

[@guacamolen]

Really would have loved to see this before I played the Duchy yesterday and got stomped I to the ground...

[@thatdude1966]

just wondering if you could do a video on vagabound ? we tried playing with 2 and there was some intresting interaction when they worked together 😄

[@AxillaryPower2]

I've only played a handful of games, but every time the Duchy has been in, they've won. Is this normal? Does everyone need to focus them like an archenemy right out of the gate? What's some counterplay advice, because they've always had an overwhelming advantage whenever I've seen them.

[@nitrorev]

They are indeed a strong faction but like the Lord of the Hundreds, can be dealt with early and be less of a problem. If you let them place buildings and don't attack them, they can be hard to stop. Don't be afraid to hit the moles early, it's almost always a good idea unless the player is totally new. I'll put together a short on countering the Dutchy soon since a lot of people have the same question.

[@baeinthebay1888]

hey nitrorev, whats worse? price of failure of fear of the faithful?

[@nitrorev]

I'd rather not start a religious war in the comments section 😅

[@austinfurgason3634]

Thanks a bunch I’m playing on the app and couldn’t figure out why if I had four cards in my hand I couldn’t play a lord. So the card counting towards to sway of minister must correspond to a clearing with a mole in it. That’s what I was trying to figure out 😀

[@nitrorev]

The clearing must have a mole piece, meaning a warrior, tunnel or building, any will do.

[@gaborlaszlofekete9640]

Wait, does it say MOVE your tunnel when all 3 are on the map? Does that mean you can MOVE one of your tunnels to the clearing where the cats' keep is? Because you said in one of your videos that the keep only prevents enemy players PLACING tokens and meeples there, but MOVING is still legal. And using the tunnel is also counts as MOVING, but I'm not sure in this particular situation since technically you pick up your figures from the burrow and place them onto the map, but retreating is definitely legal. Or is there something in the lawbook against it?

[@nitrorev]

No you cannot use the dog action in the keep. I may have mispoken when I said you could move the tunnel because the law says that if all 3 are on the map, you may first remove one of the existing tunnels. Therefore dog is always a place action so you may not dig at the keep. Also, the burrow is another clearing and moving warriors from the burrow to a clearing with a tunnel is still moving even though you are picking them up. Don't think about the difference of move/place on what your hand is doing, rather just look at how it's written in the law. Dig says place the tunnel and move up to 4 warriors from the burrow. And because the burrow is just another clearing (although it's special) moving from the burrow to a tunnel clearing is still a regular move action.

[@Maraffler]

Hi, are you still planning to make the how-to videos for the first 4 basic factions? I would love to send beginner players your videos in advance so they can get an idea of the factions beforehand :)

[@nitrorev]

Hey, I'm glad to hear you're liking my videos. The channel is kinda on hiatus for the moment as I'm dealing with some life stuff but I'd like to do the base game rules and base 4 factions at some point for sure. The next expansion is going to be announced in October and Root will once again be in the spotlight so I'll definitely try to make some more videos around then.

[@Maraffler]

@@nitrorev Thank you for your reply and good luck with all the things you have to master in your private life. I can very well understand that these things take precedence :)

[@WARDOG325]

Hey nitro, what brand of card sleeves do you use? I've been looking online and was overwhelmed with how many brands there are and don't know wich to choose from lol

[@nitrorev]

I just ordered some cheap penny sleeves because I needed a whole lot of them and they were inexpensive. I just bought some higher quality sleeves for the Hireling cards and depending how they look on camera I may change out all the existing sleeves for nicer ones but man it's a lot of work to unsleeve and resleeve the 100+ cards in the game so I may not bother.

[@typektypowy]

This made me actually consider buying the expansion Are the corvids next?

[@nitrorev]

Already covered the Corvids 😁

[@typektypowy]

@@nitrorev lol you did 😅 tanks for you awsome work

[@alvarocreator8784]

Anyone knows if there are other duchy strategies apart from smol mole, pump & dump or banker, thanks

[@nitrorev]

Swole Mole, Money Moles, Mole Mart, Sway and Pray

[@Nevakanezah_]

@@nitrorev note: mole mart == "banker", as does money moles iirc. Sway n pray == P&D, for people who wanted a PG-rated name

[@alvarocreator8784]

@@Nevakanezah_ Sway and pray and Pump and Dump are the same?

[@krosUrgewalt]

Enjoyed your Root content! Face reveal when

[@nitrorev]

Thanks so much. I'm thinking of doing some more stream-style content soon. If you're curious, I appeared as a commentator in a semi finals Root game during the Winter Tournament over on Guerric Samples Games KZbin. You can see my face there (there's a playlist of my tournament appearances in my channel)

[@Reggie1408]

Yes! More Root!

[@lLordHassan]

Thank you! One simple question… i can use my ministers once every turn right?

[@nitrorev]

Yes, you can use all your Swayed Ministers every turn but only during step 2 of daylight. This means you take the minister actions after your 2 free actions and before swaying ministers.

[@popgas3821]

23:38 ypur cat just want to play as the Marquis, c'mon 😂. I really want to break this faction as it currently struggling in our group. Thanks!

[@nitrorev]

Thanks! Moles are really strong but they can get hit hard by losing buildings. Try limiting your buildings and make sure to sway EVERY turn. That way you build up an action economy without the threat of having them removed. Don't underestimate the power of the recruit action.

[@popgas3821]

@@nitrorev duly noted on this. My previous plays were usually anchored on greedy builds and that simply leads me to "turmoil" 😂 if I don't maneuver my warriors properly. Gradual play might still be the best. Thanks!

[@lovesliverwind]

Sorry in getting confused that the effect of banker is to spend cards to score points of the same suit but will I need to rule the clearing of that suit to score points or as long as the suit has my warrior

[@nitrorev]

No worries. Banker has absolutely no connection to your pieces on the map. You could be completely board wiped and still banker your whole hand of 5 cards for 5 points provided they were all the same suit (or a mix of bird cards and a single suit).

[@lovesliverwind]

@@nitrorev oh I see thank you as I was confused whether I need to have duchy pieces to be able to use that card effect haha

[@PeeWee1476]

I just popped this open last night and the set up for the Duchy seems to run counter to how you set it up? The board says to set up the Duchy diagonally opposite from the Keep. What gives?

[@nitrorev]

I'm only teaching Advanced setup (using the card I held up at 3:46) which allows you to set up anywhere that's not adjacent to an enemy homeland. It's sort of my subtle way of nudging the community towards migrating completely over to Advanced Setup because it's much better and more fun than standard setup.

[@PeeWee1476]

@@nitrorev That makes sense. Thank you so much for replying! Good video btw!

[@axeldegiorgis2064]

Hello, Thanks for the great content 👌 What about if you lose 2 buildings in 1 fight, do you trigger price of failure twice or only once ? Thanks

[@nitrorev]

If 2 buildings are removed in the same instance, Price of Failure triggers just once. I really wish I had emphasized this in the video so I made a short about it after the fact. Good question.

[@axeldegiorgis2064]

@@nitrorev Thanks a lot, that's what I thought but I wanted to make sure ;)

[@LeDinoRigolo]

Why did I see the castle in the center of the map. Is it not suppose to be in a corner ? And why there are 2 warriors in some clearing ?

[@nitrorev]

Advanced setup allows cats to set up the keep outside the corners AND gives extra warriors to give more early game defense. Makes the whole game so much better because all factions have more freedom of starting position.

[@A_Beech_Boi]

Glad to see you back, you gotten your hand on a copy of the new expansion?

[@nitrorev]

Not yet 😭 I called all the game stores in my area and nobody has an extra copy kicking around. Might need to wait until retail before I can cover the expansion in greater depth. At least there's still plenty to talk about in the existing Root content.

[@A_Beech_Boi]

Damn that is rough! I really hope you somehow find one before it is available for retail 😭 But you are right, there is still plenty of content to make in the base game and two expansions

[@karlschook440]

Quick question from the beginning of the video: don't cat keeps start off in a map corner?

[@nitrorev]

Not under Advanced setup rules. Now cats get to start anywhere they want!!! And did you notice there were 2 cats in all the clearings with buildings? The cats now start with more warriors than they used to which is wonderful. Learn more about Advanced Setup from my earlier video on the topic.

[@zacharyadler4071]

I wonder if I can get some clarification on a rule with the burrow. It specifies that enemies can't enter the burrow, but I don't see a concrete definition of "enter" in the law of root or underworld expansion rulebook. Notably it doesn't say enemies can't move into the burrow, so I assume enter means either moving OR recruiting into it. So then if a non-duchy player has ownership of the Vault Keepers hirelings and there is a vault in the same clearing as a tunnel, would they not be able to place a vault and a warrior in the burrow?

[@nitrorev]

Sorry this took so long to respond to. With Root you must always go by the Law of Root, the player boards are just there to help. The Law (6th printing) says "non-duchy pieces cannot be placed in or moved into the Burrow". Hirelings are non-duchy pieces (even when controlled by the duchy player) and the term "enter" is not used in the law definition. Hope that clears it up for you.

[@zacharyadler4071]

@@nitrorev Ohh that does help, thanks!

[@jamesbond-ic6qx]

A real-life Marquise de Cat has appeared 23:38.

[@tomekmaleni]

Can you make a video covering popular Moles strategies like smol mole?

[@nitrorev]

I would love to but the thing is, Moles are actually my worst faction. I know the rules but don't really have a sense of the rhythm of the faction, when is strategy A better than strategy B. I'd like to play them a lot more before I can speak confidently about how to win with them.

[@OliverToal]

In two player games with my group, the Dutchy have ALWAYS won. The closest game so far has been 30 - 28 vs. Cats.

[@nitrorev]

Duchy require some early punching and at 2 players that's extra important. If you can cripple your opponent early in a 2 player game, there's no downside whereas in multiplayer, it's not a good idea to preemptively ruin somebody's game because you may need them later. It's part of why I don't play much 2 player Root though Hirelings and Bots help with this to be sure.

[@Nevakanezah_]

> 1 month is a long hiatus Good thing no one checks my upload schedule

[@nitrorev]

New video when!?!!

[@Nevakanezah_]

@@nitrorev When it's done, and not a moment sooner

[@XxDainBramagedxX]

Get that cat a character board

[@yans2107]

hireling rules part 2 ? Please :)

[@nitrorev]

It may take awhile yet because I'm trying to find a copy of Marauder Expansion. I missed the Kickstarter and now can't find any leftovers in my area.

[@gabrielhortig9794]

wait, what if you lose a lot of buildings and have no crowns left at all.... how do you continue scoring? destroying other player`s buildings?

[@nitrorev]

I'm confused by your question. You only lose crowns of the swayed minister. The only way you have zero crowns left is if you've swayed all 9 ministers and therefore all 9 crowns are either on the minister cards or removed from the game due to losing a building. I can safely say I've never ever seen all 9 ministers swayed or all 9 crowns removed. You can only sway 1 minister per turn therefore it would take at least 9 turns to sway all 9 ministers and have all the crowns removed. Even if you remove all 9 crowns, there are still plenty of ways to score points. Battling enemy buildings and tokens like you mentioned but also crafting items and even the lord ministers themselves give you points so there's no lack of scoring for the Dutchy. Trust me.

[@gabrielhortig9794]

@@nitrorev hahaha sorry for confusing you, but your reply answered what I wanted. Thank you! I just got this expansion and I wanted to know as much as I can before explaining this to my friends.

[@michaelvaldivia2262]

Strategy guideeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@nitrorev]

Haha, I am not strong enough of a moles player to do that. Maybe once Moles come out on the digital app, I'll be able to play them enough to get more perspective on how to pilot them well. At this point I've played cats and birds hundreds of times but moles maybe less than 5 times so I'm definitely not enough of an expert to make a strategy guide.

[@erikabreu5309]

Ra R RRra- Mouse! 😂😅

[@Eidenhoek]

Suede ministers are soft.