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Scythe tips and tricks?
Hello! I'm an avid fan of the board game Scythe and I've played quite a few games now. While everything seems very well balanced and thought out, no one in my group has ever managed a win using the Saxony faction. Some have come close, but never enough to beat Rusivet and Crimea (the usual victors). If there are some other Scythe fans here, what are your tips and tricks besides focusing on combat?
Some info on our general playstyle:
- Most people go for all their enlist actions
- Factions always have a star or two from combat in the end
- Everyone wants their factory card, all the time
Thanks!
EDIT: I'm going to play a game this evening, will report back on what went on.
EDIT #2: It turns out Saxony wasn't played becuase we used the expansion factions. Coupled with airships, I don't think I can explain it all!
Some notes on each faction, especially the mech/hero powers:
Saxony:
Crimea
Polania:
Nordic:
Rusviet
I would say that one of the most important aspects of Scythe is that the game rules force you to plan several turns ahead and create favorable executions for yourself. This means that the best way to disrupt other players is often as simple as forcing them to make turns they didn't intend to make as to delay their optimized strategy or throw them off. You may already have noticed that when the opposite happens, when a player is left to their own devices for a long time, they tend to get ahead very quickly.
The last part of your comment is actually really helpful. A few of our games have had a snowballing player and I couldn't exactly put my finger on what was making them win. I'll try to disrupt evenly so that no one gets particularily ahead.
All in all, if I'm understanding correctly, you play Saxony like you would any other faction and go for military power in the end to get your way?
It really varies from game to game, given the fact that your moves card is also random each time. I wouldn't say Saxony needs to "go for the military power to get your way", rather Saxony should use the peculiarities of their powers to mess with the decision process of the other factions (and you can apply that to each faction individually).
The funny thing about combat in Scythe is that you can win without making gains, because your point expenditure offsets whatever small advantage you get, but for Saxony every win is a star and stars are worth the most in the end-game calculations. You don't have to use that to gain points, but you should make other players aware of it, because then every single mech you put down is a potential headache for them.
I'm a beginner myself, having played 10 or so matches, and just once with more than 2 players. I'm not sure my tips would work very well with more than 2 players.
All of these are great tips bit I have one commentary: do not underestimate the double move. Once you unlock mech speed with the factory move you can suddenly zip workers and goods across the map in the blink of an eye.
But doesn't Saxony's unique faction ability go against growing popularity? Because from what I understood, you should be extra agressive, deploy all mechs and go to town with combat in order to place all your stars before anyone gets to popularity tier 2 or 3. However, that's proven to be just short of winner-material.
I agree that encounters are very useful, but with every mat occupied, you get 2 or 3 at most which means chasing them is a very short-term strategy.
If it's proven to not work; try something else. :-)
You may be right. As I said I've yet to try the game with more than 3 players. I agree that holding the factory at game end is probably worthwhile, since it counts as 3 territories, but the factory cards don't really seem worth the hassle to me. Try to hold back next time you play and let your friends spend all their power fighting each other over the factory. Then swoop in near the end and try to hold it for the scoring.
Saxony's faction ability doesn't necessarily go against growing popularity, remember that you only lose popularity if you chase off workers, if you just fight mechs or characters you're always going to either get a star or a combat card. More to the point: building the monument can help you gain both popularity and military power at the same time.
I've played about 7 or so matches so far so here are my own tips: