Reply: Spirit Island:: General:: Re: Should I get all expansions?

by Pmeckels

nosewhoknows wrote:

-and last but not least, should I get branch and claw after getting jagged earth?

This is the one to put at the bottom of the list, IMO. Not because anything is wrong with it; but rather, much oif its value is redundant with _Jagged Earth_.

So, buy _Branch & Claw_ only to get 2 more Spirits, 4 more Scenarios, 1 more Adversary, and some extra cards to add to various decks.
All of which is worth it, but is not crucial the way I consider _Jagged Earth_ to be crucial.

I respectfully disagree on the amount of redundancy, and would put Branch and Claw higher on the list for that reason.

Branch and Claw and Nature Incarnate both bring a good number of additional events and blight cards. I call them equal on this point.

Each adds one new adversary. Though Salzburg (Habsburg Mining) is generally considered better than France because it's less swingy. A little bad luck with France can hit the alternate loss condition, which is really a feel-bad and anti-climactic moment (rather than a hard-fought defeat, which can be disappointing but not in the same way).

Branch and Claw adds a bunch of Minor Powers and Major Powers. Nature Incarnate adds a fair number of Majors and replaces one Minor. Since the power draws are really the non-selected variability within the game, I put a high value here. Keeps things more vibrant even when playing a similar game set-up.

There are a lot of new Spirits (including Aspects/variants) in Nature Incarnate. There are only two in Branch & Claw. This is the major case to be made for NI first. But with the large number that are available, until you're far out on the curve of playing the game you have plenty of options already between the base game and Jagged Earth. So it's a question of if there's a Spirit or Aspect which really speaks to you for how much this matters.