Horizons of Spirit Island

Games Spirit Island
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We have confirmed front and back panels for Sun-Bright Whirlwind

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Let the musings continue!

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Well, the most notable thing that jumps out to me is that Whirlwind’s :presence: Tracks have :sun: and :wind: on them, while none of the original four Low Complexity Spirits had any Elements (or other effects) on their :presence: Tracks.

Everything else looks pretty normal.

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Obviously we don’t know their starting cards yet, but I’m thinking it’s a case of “get to 2 card plays first, then work energy until you can afford 3 card plays.”

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hilariously, I saw that and went, “Ooh! I can take this to TTS and try it out!”

Completely forgetting you also need unique powers to play, not just a Spirit board. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Well, it would be rough, but you could try to make a random starting hand out of some of these cards.

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Which is the shortened name you think will stick? “Sun-Bright” or “Whirlwind”? Obviously “Wind Kitty” is gonna be the nickname.

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I’ve been using Whirlwind, because it’s actually a noun, although I must admit that Sun-Bright does sound somewhat more evocative.

Obviously.

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Yeah, agreed. That is interesting.

The thing that stuck out most to me was actually that the back side of the panel is much more explicit than previous panels about suggesting strategies to use with this spirit. It’s fitting for a more accessible format, without changing any of the rules

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Yeah, I like that as a marker of “this is designed to help people get into the game”. :slight_smile: I think it’s quite a good design choice.

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It appears that Target didn’t want to wait until October to release Horizons:

And it appears that Wiki editor @Sipricy has gotten ahold of a copy and added all of the Spirits to the Wiki: Category:Horizons of Spirit Island - Spirit Island Wiki

Well, what does everyone think of these five new Spirits?

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Oh, it’s been out there for a few weeks, listed as “Sold out”. Once in a while it sends a notification to folks that there’s something available, but then it isn’t when we actually go check. :unamused: Been kinda annoying, but I never expected to be able to order it until October, so it’s not that big of a deal. :blush:

Having playtested them, they are a lot of fun! :smiley: I’ll be using this as my new demo set to introduce people to the game, to be honest.

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Just waiting for it to actually be in stock.

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I love every single one of these. Each one has some way in which it feels pleasantly broken, for one. (Defend 8 and 9 on unique powers???)

I adore the lore for Rising Heat. :smiley: And fascinating that one of them has two Gifts!

I’m going to try and mock up some boards and test a few of these out on my stream tonight. :slight_smile:

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My first impressions of the new Spirits, based on their Wiki pages. (Which I guess I’ll hide because they could be considered spoilers?)

General Thoughts
Firstly, I’ll note that the five Spirits nicely fit into different roles without much overlap: Rising Heat and Teeth Lurk are both Offense, Whirlwind is Control, Eyes Watch is Defense, and Fathomless Mud is a jack-of-all-trades.

I noticed that the Spirits come with Power Progressions, which is a thing that I wasn’t at all expecting yet is completely obvious in hindsight. That’s a good choice, as choosing Power cards to gain can often be a tough choice for new players. Although I also notice that some of the Powers overlap with the Core Game’s Low-Complexity Spirits’ Power Progressions, but that will likely not be a problem.

I really don’t think that putting “You start with your 4 Unique Powers and 0 Energy.” in all of the Setup sections on each Spirit Panel is at all necessary. It is a rule that is (presumably) very clearly spelled out in the rulebook.

And I really, really do not like all the reminder text on the Spirit Panels and Unique Power Cards. I, personally, would find them very distracting, annoying, and completely unnecessary.

A couple of notably egregious examples:

Of course it’s required, because it doesn’t say that it’s optional.

What a Power is is clearly defined in the rulebook, and furthermore, it’s incredibly obvious that Power Cards and Innate Powers are both considered Powers.

And yes, I do realize that these reminders are likely fairly helpful to new players, which is the entire point of Horizons. They just simply seem superfluous to me, a long-time player. Nonetheless, I completely understand GTG’s and Eric’s decision to add them, and I absolutely respect that decision and their judgment.

I only hope that after the Target deal expires, GTG will release a pack of these Spirits without the reminder text for veteran players.

And, despite my above misgivings, I want to be clear that I still think all these Spirits look really cool.

Spirit-Specific Thoughts

  • Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot looks very offensive, but only in its own lands. Territorial Aggression and Gift of Furious Might look particularly silly.
    • Combos: Serpent or Fractured Days giving repeats or extra plays would allow Teeth to make the most of Territorial Aggression, while Wildfire’s Flame’s Fury would probably make Teeth’s damage output completely ridiculous. And Finder moving Teeth’s :presence: about would likely be advantageous.
    • Lore: I like this Spirit’s backstory of being a teeny tiny Spirit that managed to bite a chunk out of Ember-Eyed Behemoth. I wonder if giving power to other Spirits will be Behemoth’s gimmick?
  • Sun-Bright Whirlwind’s A Stiff Wind at Their Backs looks quite useful for stopping Builds. Interestingly, Whirlwind has two Spirit-targeting Uniques, as mentioned by @TakeWalker. Also, Tempest of Leaves & Branches’s text is absurdly overwrought: “Choose up to 5 different Invaders (in target land). 1 Damage to each of them.” It could just say, “1 Damage to up to 5 different Invaders,” but I guess that the audiences that this box is being marketed at can’t parse that?
    • Combos: A Stiff Wind at Their Backs combined with Wildfire’s Blazing Presence could potentially go a long way towards stopping Builds just during Growth!
    • Lore: This Spirit’s personality reminds me somewhat of Lightning’s Swift Strike. Weather buddies!
  • Eyes Watch from the Trees is focused on :dahan: and :defendsi:, and I can’t believe it’s taken this long to have a Spirit whose schtick that is. Sure, there’s been Spirits who’ve been good at one or the other, or semi-competent at both, but not one whose whole thing is both. Also, all of this Spirit’s Power and Rule names are neat and evocative . . . except for Mischief and Sabotage and Mysterious Abductions. How can a bunch of eyes hiding in trees really cause much mischief or abduct anyone?
    • Combos: Thunderspeaker and Finder (for :dahan: stuff), and Vital Strength and Trickster (for :defendsi: and :strife:) would all make good teammates.
    • Lore: I feel like it would get along with Grinning Trickster. Alternatively, it and Shroud of Silent Mists could really freak out some Invaders.
  • Rising Heat of Stone and Sand’s Special Rule Blistering Heat is both quite evocative and looks very powerful. Overall, the theme on this Spirit looks great.
    • Combos: Any damage-heavy Spirits would probably work well with Rising Heat, such as Wildfire, Volcano, or Vengeance (lizard buddies!). And A Spread of Rampant Green’s ability to accelerate Heat’s :presence:-placement to create more :sacredsite: would likely be appreciated.
    • Lore: I agree with @TakeWalker that Heat’s lore is fantastic. Particularly this bit: “Even after centuries, the Spirit remains a bit unclear on why living things get so unhappy about fatal desiccation, but the Dahan make such pleasant patterns across its sands that it’s happy to forbear.”
  • Fathomless Mud of the Swamp looks like a balanced generalist, with a nice mix of offense, defense, and :fear:.
    • Combos: Offer No Firm Foundations looks like it would make Mud work well with :explorer:-focused Spirits, like Shadows Flicker Like Flame and Sun-Bright Whirlwind.
    • Lore: It seems like there are quite a few Spirits that make travelling Spirit Island difficult, including Downpour, Shroud, and this Spirit.

Overall, although I do have a number of stylistic nitpicks, I am very excited for these Spirits! : )
:animal: :sun: :water:
:plant: :fire:

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This is exactly the line I was talking about. :smiley:

And I tell you what, though so far I’ve only played Teeth, I am very thankful for that damage reminder, especially on its innate, because I have definitely forgotten it multiple times already. XD

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:presence: Which Horizons Spirit are you most excited for?
  • :animal: Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot
  • :wind: Sun-Bright Whirlwind
  • :plant: Eyes Watch from the Trees
  • :fire: Rising Heat of Stone and Sand
  • :water: Fathomless Mud of the Swamp

0 voters

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Also, it appears that the Spirits’ arts have been added to the Wiki.

Desert Lizard’s Spirit Panel art looks oddly CGI to me. Is this just me, or does anyone else see it too?
Rising Heat of Stone and Sand

Additionally, Mud Otter’s panel art looks surprisingly menacing, but in a cute way. : )
Mud Otter

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It’s that way in all of its art. (Take a look at the cover for a good example.) It seems like it’s meant to show the heat coming off of it, like the waves of heat you might see coming off of a hot surface?

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Well, it looks like Eyes and Whirlwind are quite ahead albeit tied in the polls.

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