Climbing Brandenburg-Prussia in Spirit Island

Welcome to Level 4. You have beaten an adversary at its base level. Now you climb. The three core adversaries each have six levels above the base, and each level is a new lesson in what the Invaders can do. Brandenburg-Prussia is the rulebook’s recommended first adversary, and the best one to climb first.

Its levels mostly change setup and the Invader Deck, so there are few new rules to remember during play. The rulebook sums up its theme: speed. The Invaders do everything sooner, and the two-terrain cards arrive before your Spirits are ready.

Base level

No extra loss condition.

Escalation, Land Rush: on each board with a Town or City, add 1 Town to a land without a Town. This happens each time a Stage II card with the Escalation flag is revealed.

Land Rush puts a new Town on every board that has buildings, usually in a land you thought was safe. Watch where it can land, and remember that a new Town is also a new source for Explore.

The levels

Every level includes the ones below it. The Difficulty numbers come from the core rulebook’s chart; the names, rules, and Fear Card splits come from the adversary panel.

The deck, level by level

Write each deck as stage numbers, top to bottom. The base game deck is 111 2222 33333, 12 cards.

The loss turn follows from the deck: card 1 is revealed during setup, so a deck of N cards runs out on turn N. Our Invader Deck lesson explains the timing.

Two things jump out:

• The early Stage III card. From level 2 on, a two-terrain card comes right after Stage I. At level 2 it is revealed on turn 3, Builds on turn 4, and Ravages on turn 5, in four lands per board at once.
• At level 6, the very first card is Stage III. The setup Explore hits two terrains, they Build on turn 1 and Ravage on turn 2. There is no quiet opening at all.

Meanwhile the Fear Deck grows. At level 6 the Fear Deck holds 12 cards, not 9, with 4 in each group instead of 3, so every Terror Level takes one more card to reach.

How to beat it

Grow fast, early. The rulebook says Brandenburg-Prussia is notably harder for Spirits that need a long time to develop. Favor Growth that adds Presence and raises your Energy and Card Plays in the first three turns. Delay Major Powers you cannot play soon.

Prepare for the early Stage III. From level 2, know which turn the two-terrain card is revealed. The turn before it Ravages, have Defend, Damage, or Dahan ready in the right terrains. Count the Dahan math for those lands in advance.

Use Fast Start’s Towns. Level 1 puts a Town in land 3 of every board. Those Towns Ravage for 2 Damage the first time their terrain comes up, and they are Explore sources from turn one. They are also your first chance at Fear. Plan to destroy them early.

Watch the turn limit. At level 4 and above, the game is two or more turns shorter than usual. Set your target turn from the endgame lesson early, and lean toward Terror Level victories over clearing the Island.

Choose Spirits that start strong. Spirits with good Fast Powers in their starting hand, or that grow Presence quickly, suit this adversary. Lightning’s Swift Strike, which can use some Slow Powers as if they were Fast, is a natural fit for the tempo.

Climbing plan

The rulebook suggests raising Difficulty 1 at a time, or by 2 if you win so easily the Blight Card never flips. With Brandenburg-Prussia, the jumps are uneven: level 2 is Difficulty 4, level 3 is 6. If level 2 feels hard, play it until it does not, then move up.

At level 6, the rulebook’s chart puts it at Difficulty 10, the top of the core box. Beating it is a real milestone.