SpiritWars Strategy Guide
by Xerin

Advanced Strategies

Playing the game as silver is entirely different from gold. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, which you will need to master in order to win consistently.

Gold gets to move and attack second. Usually, it is easier to play as gold than silver. But there is still a lot of strategy involved for the gold player.

The most obvious advantage of gold is the ability to use second move archers. This allows you to move your archer away from any threat, and still do damage to that spirit. In a more general sense, being able to move any spirit out of danger is a significant boon to moving second.

Gold also allows you to swarm spirits. Let's say your opponent has a Forest Dragon (isn't that artwork disgusting, by the way? ;). This spirit is extremely difficult to defeat, with a defense of 6 and the ability to heal itself. A much easier task for gold, than silver. By swarming the Forest Dragon with enough combat power to do 6 damage, you can take the spirit out before it can heal itself.

Gold also has the advantage where defenders are concerned. When someone is within range of a defender, move right next to him. If he tries to attack something, you can block with your defender, and subsequently get a free attack against him with that spirit you moved next to him. This is especially effective when you have strategically placed the defender outside of your opponent's vision, so he doesn't even know the defender is there!

Always remember that you don't have to defend when one of your spirits is attacked. If your spirit is going to die from the attack, you might as well defend. But if not, it could be in your best interest to choose not to defend, and wait until it is your turn to attack. Choose your battles! Sometimes a veteran Silver player will try to lure you into responding to the first attack against your spirit. Don't fall for it...if there is another spirit you want to bring down, wait until your attack phase to do it.

One more noteworthy advantage of Gold. In case of a tie, where both castles reach 0 at the same time, Gold automatically wins. For example, if you have an Eye for an Eye (which does 3 damage to both castles), you can use that to win the game, assuming both of you have 3 or fewer castle points left.

Enter Silver. Definitely a more difficult turn order to master, but silver is still effective in its own right.

Because silver moves first, you have to be careful of placing your spirits at risk. Don't let your opponent use the swarming technique discussed above. One of the best ways to prevent this is to advance your combat spirits together. They can watch one another's back that way.

Use first move to your advantage. It allows you to claim choice homelands terrain before your opponent can get to it. Silver grants you first dibs on any strategic hex on the map. For example, there may be a narrow pass which only allows one spirit to pass through at a time. By claiming that pass first, you can effectively defend it against your opponent. Imagine placing that Forest Dragon above in such a key location. Your opponent would be unable to swarm you, and you could take out one spirit after another, healing each turn!

With first move, you can also pin your enemy down, or drive him back into a corner. Often this is the only way to effectively deal with those pesky second move archers.

Silver allows you to cast spells and use any special abilities before your opponent can do so. Often this will make the difference in who wins or loses the game. For example, let's say you and your opponent both have an Armasi Assassin, which can do 2 damage to any spirit. This allows you to use your Assassin to take out your opponent's Assassin before he is able to pose a threat.

First attack is also an important advantage of Silver. You may be surrounded by the enemy, but you get to choose who goes down with you. This is especially important where castle attacks are concerned. All you have to do is get your spirit to your enemy's castle, and unless he has a defender, you are guaranteed of being able to damage his castle.

For these reasons, speed and vision are especially important for Silver. Take the offensive where possible, and overwhelm your opponent's castle with those first attack spirits, before he can build up a big enough defense to keep you away. Spirits that can move on the turn you summon them, and with a range greater than 1, are Silver's best friend. You also want good vision, to forewarn you of second move archers and swarming attacks by your opponent.

I have found black to be an effective first move color as well, due to the resurrection ability of many of its spirits. You can afford to push ahead with your forces without too much concern about them getting picked off, as long as you have the energy to resurrect them when they die.

Remember the value of a good lure. Always be aware of what your opponent can see on the map, and use that to your advantage. I like to put a spirit out as bait for my opponent, and only when he moves in for the kill does he learn that I have an archer planted behind the bait to take him out.

If you do this once or twice, it can give you an additional advantage by allowing you to bluff. On more than one occasion, an opponent has allowed me to advance without moving adjacent to my spirits, out of fear that I had an archer in the wings. There really wasn't an archer, but he didn't know that, and was unwilling to take the risk. Muhahahaha!