Friday, September 17, 2021

Tips for TI4: The Empyrean


 I remember when I first read this race, I didn't think they were that powerful....then I saw them in action in one our games. 

First off, unlike every other player, Nebula's do not stop their movement. You can also move through or allow others to move through your ships in space if you wish. Something that NO tech will allow you to do in the game. 2 players can't even agree to do that on their own. They MUST fight if their two armies cross paths. 

You also have 2 species specific promissory notes  which would be very attractive to any player to obtain. 

Their commander allows you to reclaim your command token if ever another player enters into the same space. So essentially you are getting an extra action for anyone who attacks or moves past you (potentially) 

Their hero allows you to place and explore extra frontier tokens from the supply to all ships located on "space" tiles only. 

The frontier tokens as more powerful than the planet ones and require a special tech to be able to research them. A tech that this race begins the game with. 

Strategy? Explore every square part of space, acquiring excellent bonuses along the way before anyone else can claim the technology. Win the game through negotiation, since you won't be perceived as that big of a threat.  

Also, dark shards are the most coveted in the game since they count as "wild cards" to obtain relics. Combine this strategy with exploring planets and you may end the game with a record amount of Relic cards, which are the most powerful ones to obtain in the game. (most times you only can get one or at the max 2) It wouldn't surprise me if this race was able to collect 4 or more during the game. 

I think everyone would underestimate this race until it was too late and suffer the consequences. I remember my nephew got them and figured out the strategy about halfway through the game. He could have one if only there had been one more round in which to score. That's when I realized how good they really were. 


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