Scythe: In-Depth Nordic Agricultural Faction Strategy Guide
Summary:
This tutorial provides in-depth strategies for playing the Nordic Agricultural faction in the Scythe board game, acknowledging it's often considered a weaker combination. It outlines several approaches to maximize success, focusing on resource management, worker placement, and achieving objectives without relying heavily on combat. The strategies include:
- A non-aggressive "meckless" approach that prioritizes coin generation and upgrading.
- Utilizing the Village Tunnel for early resource advantage and board spread.
- A Right Village strategy that focuses on rapid mech deployment and worker production.
- An Encounter Village strategy, ideal when surrounded by aggressive opponents, aiming for quick mech deployment and efficient bottom-row actions to secure multiple stars.
The video emphasizes adapting to the game state and making the most of encounters, as Nordic Agricultural often requires luck to offset its inherent disadvantages.
Scythe board showing Nordic starting position [ 00:01:00 ]
Introduction to Nordic Agricultural [00:00:00]
The presenter admits that the Nordic Agricultural faction in Scythe is generally not a strong combination and can be challenging to play. However, the video aims to provide strategies to play this faction effectively, especially in online scenarios or when dealt this faction in a tabletop game.
Meckless Nordic Strategy (Non-Combat Focused) [00:00:38][00:00:52]
This strategy focuses on generating a significant amount of coin without engaging in combat, making it suitable for games with non-aggressive players due to its inherent vulnerability.
- Early Game Setup (Rounds 1-6)
- Round 1 [00:01:12]: Trade for 2 oil.
- Round 2 [00:01:21]: Move a worker to the village and the character one space towards an encounter. Upgrade the move and build actions.
- Round 3 [00:01:36]: Produce 1 worker and 1 oil.
- Round 4 [00:01:40]: Trade for 1 food and 1 oil to prepare for future enlist actions.
- Round 5 [00:01:52]: Produce 2 workers and 1 oil.
- Round 6 [00:02:04]: Move 1 worker to the farm and 2 different workers to the wood space. Upgrade the produce and build actions.
- Mid Game Development (Rounds 7-12)
Nordic board state in Round 7, Meckless Strategy [ 00:02:50 ] - Round 7 [00:02:25]: Produce 1 food, 2 wood, and 1 oil. Build a monument on the farm, aiming for a straight-line bonus. The character on the encounter should aim to benefit from three encounters for 4 coins.
- Round 8 [00:03:04]: Move the character to the encounter, a village worker to the forest, and a forest worker to the tundra. Gain 1 popularity from the encounter. Upgrade bolster and enlist.
- Round 9 [00:03:37]: Produce 1 food, 2 wood, and 2 oil. Build a mill on the forest. Gain 1 coin. Upgrade the coin and enlist options.
- Round 11 [00:04:05]: Perform the first enlist action, choosing popularity to aid in combat card acquisition.
Nordic board state in Round 12, Armory built in Meckless Strategy [ 00:04:49 ] - Round 12 [00:04:36]: Produce 1 food, 3 wood, and 2 oil. Build an armory on the timber, which should fulfill the "Create a Permanent Foothold" objective.
- Late Game Push (Rounds 13-18)
- Round 13 [00:04:59]: Bolster to enlist, specifically taking the power enlist and gaining power.
- Round 14 [00:05:24]: Move workers to villages (one worker to the river, others to villages), strategically carrying wood to discourage opponents like Saxony from taking the space. Upgrade popularity and deploy actions.
- Round 15 [00:06:12]: Bolster to enlist, taking combat cards which contributes to popularity.
Nordic board state in Round 16, Meckless Strategy, with worker star achieved [ 00:06:41 ] - Round 16 [00:06:39]: Produce to earn the worker star (1 wood, 2 oil). Build the mine as the last structure to maintain flexibility for potential tunnel objectives later.
- Round 17 [00:07:08]: Move units to mine tunnel spaces to gain spread and additional points if needed.
- Round 18 [00:07:42]: Bolster to achieve the power star, then spend food to secure the final enlist star, completing the 6th star.
- Strategy Outcome
- This strategy resulted in 99 coins in 18 rounds, resembling a solitaire game without direct interaction. It's considered a viable approach when drawing the Nordic Agricultural faction, especially if aiming for a less aggressive playstyle.
Scoreboard summary showing 99 coins after 18 rounds in the Meckless Strategy [ 00:08:07 ]
- This strategy resulted in 99 coins in 18 rounds, resembling a solitaire game without direct interaction. It's considered a viable approach when drawing the Nordic Agricultural faction, especially if aiming for a less aggressive playstyle.
Choosing a Village for Nordic Agricultural [00:08:31]
Nordic Agricultural has four potential villages to utilize: the one to the left of the base, to the right of the base, the village tunnel, and the village encounter.
- Left Village Strategy: The presenter explicitly states that going to the left village "sucks" and advises against it due to poor strategic outcomes.
Scythe game board highlighting the starting point for the Left Village [ 00:08:57 ]
Village Tunnel Strategy [00:09:10][00:09:30]
This is presented as a favorite Nordic Agricultural opening, especially useful when an aggressive Tagawa or Saxony is not expected to interfere with the village tunnel.
- Early Game Setup (Rounds 1-4)
- Round 1 [00:09:39]: Trade for 2 oil.
- Round 2 [00:09:44]: Move a worker to the tundra tunnel and the character one spot out. Upgrade move and deploy.
- Round 3 [00:09:56]: Produce 2 oil.
- Round 4 [00:10:00]: Move a worker to the village tunnel, another worker to the mountain, and the character to the mountain. Aim to get food from the encounter. Upgrade bolster and enlist.
- Mid-Game Actions (Rounds 5-11)
Nordic board state in Round 6, Village Tunnel Strategy, with an encounter [ 00:11:23 ] - Round 5 [00:10:45]: Bolster into an enlist (e.g., coin enlist) and gain combat cards, while being mindful of aggressive neighbors.
- Round 6 [00:11:29]: Produce (to enable mech creation after a trade).
- Round 7 [00:11:49]: If no combat occurs, use accumulated food for enlist.
- Round 9 [00:12:12]: Deploy a second mech (a speed mech) and guard metal resources.
- Round 10 [00:12:36]: Produce again. Move the character to the factory, potentially securing the "Foundations of the Empire" objective.
- Round 11 [00:12:52]: Move the character to the factory and spread workers to a farm and a tunnel farm, guarding essential metal resources.
- Factory Card Importance
Scythe factory card choices for the player in the Village Tunnel Strategy [ 00:13:55 ] - The strategy emphasizes hoping for a factory card that aids in finishing enlist actions or building structures to secure a second bottom-row action (either buildings or enlists). This is crucial for completing objectives such as combat stars, mech stars, worker stars, and the final bottom row action.
- Strategy Outcome: By round 12, the player should have spread out across the board with a decent coin count, transitioning into a "stall game" to jump ahead in points without letting opponents finish. This strategy, while potentially slow and susceptible to aggression, can be effective if the factory card is favorable.
Nordic board state in Round 12, Village Tunnel Strategy, showing spread [ 00:15:03 ]
Right Village Strategy [00:15:41][00:15:45]
This strategy focuses on moving to the right village quickly to establish a presence.
- Early Game Setup (Rounds 1-6)
- Round 1 [00:15:50]: Trade 2 oil.
- Round 2 [00:15:56]: Move the character to the right village and a worker to the mountain. Upgrade move and deploy.
- Round 3 [00:16:12]: Produce to get 3 workers. Trade for a speed mech.
- Round 4 [00:16:27]: Produce again.
Nordic board state in Round 6, Right Village Strategy, with character movement [ 00:16:47 ] - Round 6 [00:16:36]: Move to an encounter and dismiss it, as the strategy is not heavily encounter-dependent.
- Mid-Game Actions (Rounds 7-10)
- Round 7 [00:17:19]: Produce 2 oil and achieve the worker star. Upgrade to gain 2 metal and place a seaworthy mech.
- Round 9 [00:17:36]: Move the character to the factory, 6 workers to a farm, and 1 worker to a new spot.
Scythe factory card choices for the player in the Right Village Strategy [ 00:17:59 ] - Factory Card Decisions [00:17:49]: If the factory card doesn't provide valuable enlist or popularity bonuses, the player might need to choose between gaining power, coins, or upgrading to fulfill objectives. The video notes a lack of a "good" factory card can complicate this strategy.
Nordic board state in Round 10, Right Village Strategy, with produced resources [ 00:18:34 ] - Round 10 [00:18:27]: Produce 6 food and 1 metal.
- Strategy Outcome: This strategy can face trouble if favorable factory cards are not drawn, highlighting the element of luck in Nordic Agricultural play.
Encounter Village Strategy [00:18:55][00:19:23]
This is a desperate strategy used when aggressive factions like Albion, Rusviet, Tagawa, or Saxony make other village locations unsafe. The goal is to quickly secure the encounter village with a mech.
- Early Game Setup (Rounds 1-4)
- Round 1 [00:19:39]: Trade for 2 oil.
Nordic board state in Round 3, Encounter Village Strategy, showing initial moves [ 00:20:00 ] - Round 2 [00:19:48]: Move the character to the mountain and a worker to the tunnel. Upgrade move and deploy.
- Round 3 [00:20:04]: Produce. Trade for 2 metal.
- Round 4 [00:20:16]: Place a mech on the tundra. Move the character to the mountain and an extra oil worker to the village, keeping one worker at the starting location.
- Round 1 [00:19:39]: Trade for 2 oil.
- Encounter and Production [00:20:40]
Nordic board state in Round 5, Encounter Village Strategy, after engaging an encounter [ 00:20:54 ] - Engage with the encounter, hoping for a beneficial outcome (e.g., popularity).
- The strategy outlines a pattern of producing workers (3, then 4, then 8) and trading for mechs, ensuring worker count aligns with mech deploys.
Nordic board state in Round 7, Encounter Village Strategy, with workers and combat cards [ 00:21:38 ]
- Factory Card and Finish [00:22:09]
Scythe factory card choices in the Encounter Village Strategy, highlighting a 'jackpot' card [ 00:22:11 ] - The video shows a "jackpot" factory card that allows the player to gain enlist, enabling a quick completion of multiple bottom-row actions (produce workers, enlist, deploy) while moving units.
Nordic board state in Round 9, Encounter Village Strategy, showing rapid deployment [ 00:22:46 ]
- The video shows a "jackpot" factory card that allows the player to gain enlist, enabling a quick completion of multiple bottom-row actions (produce workers, enlist, deploy) while moving units.
- Strategy Outcome: With good factory cards, this strategy can allow the player to finish the game in approximately 15 to 16 turns by efficiently gaining mech stars, worker stars, enlist stars, two combat stars, and an objective.
Conclusion [00:23:14]
The presenter acknowledges that not all strategies presented are equally strong, and some games with Nordic Agricultural may be unwinnable. However, these in-depth tutorials aim to provide players with the best possible chance to succeed with this challenging faction. The video concludes by stating that weaker combinations often lead to more interesting and challenging games.