Hey there, thanks for linking the strategy wiki on Boardgame Arena (And again thank you for fixing all the typos). First of all this an amazing piece. This is as comprehensive as it can get in a ten minute video, it should be a great help for anyone who has played this a few times but is totally struggeling with getting the grip on BR. Spread this as much as possible :) Some additional comments: 1.) On ending the first age: Besides locking down a region (plus: Units are rather save; you can bet on quests/future Ragnarok. Minus: You are rather inflexible on the board) there are 2 further ways to go: - ending the age in Yggdrasil when you are sure that you are the first active player there in the next age - being split as much on the board as possible with warriors if you can take advantage of lost battles (of which you can be sure if you leave age 1 with trickery or Blessing). 2.) On Rage: While having enough rage is important and I feel it is the first steps for all beginners to max rage to 12 and get as much horns as necessary so they can make the most out of their clan, I more and more feel that the hidden sleeper is axes. Sneeking in as much axes as possible is powerful. While at first this might only look reasonable for a prowess setup, maxed axes basically turn every battle you win into a quest. They also allow you to out tempo a suicide ship player in age 3. But again, this only works if you know that your gameplan allows you to miss out on a rage point. 3.) The big three: I think the most defining cards are the three big age 1 clan upgrades (Frigga's Charm, Frigga's succor, Loki's Blessing). They are so insanely good for your long term gameplay (as each of them allows you to go for a playstyle without maxing rage). I would even go so far as to say that each of them will produce an own power ranking list for age 2 (For example, I feel every 2 rage upgrade in the seconde age - besides Valkyrie and warriors - becomes a first pick with charm. Hate drafting inspiration/eminence for one rage is worth it more often than not. Similary, the age 2 warrior upgrade actually becomes playable with succor if you leave age 1 with a dead leader and/or dwarf). The +5 and trickery are super powerful cards, but I would always prefer the big three upgrades as they make your longterm gameplay super flexible and are always worth the costs and tempo loss in age 1. 4.) Power Ranking Ask ten players and I guess you will get 10 totally different rankings (like for example I am on the same page as you are regarding fire giant, but I know that there are some among the better players who have this very high on their drafting agenda. Similarly, it looks like I am basically the only person who has a deep love for Loki's backstab). Maybe the terminology "first pick" is a bit deceiving. Especially in age 2 they are very battle card heavy. In my view, going maxing stats + quests is seldom enough to win the game. So unless you want to bank on getting the right card in the age 3 lottery, there should be some gameplay with Odin's Inspiration/Loki's eminence/ships/Tyr's Prowess. But again, this is an insanely good video and I just wanted to add some further comments.
I love these additional comments. I am often guilty of finding a certain playstyle and repeating it to climb ranks (in any game). The great thing about Blood Rage is there are many different strategies to win and your strategy can and likely should change each age depending on your draft. And yes, the card rankings will change depending on your start and personal preferences. I think most people would agree that the good cards are good and the bad cards are bad which is the main takeaway I want people to have. I felt like something was missing from my guide and I think this comment goes a long way towards fixing that, thank you!
I has the entire big three today: Loki’s blessing, frigga ´s charm and frigga ´s succor (and betrayal of Loki). I ended up wasting rage points in Age 1. Then on ages 2 and 3 I still felt that these cheap improvements did not yield much benefits. I ended up fourth player in a 5 player game. I felt like I should havé drafted big monsters in order to do something with all that rage.
@@timmaddams1093 I did not enjoy 4p because there are 2 copies of that annoying Loki card in age 1 - not to mention the addition of Loki's Blessing which is the most annoying thing to play against ever!
Easy my favorite board game ever.Easy to learn yet so many strategies and i just like how all clans start the same and how game progres they all get their unique flavor with diferent upgrades!
I personally rate quests higher, getting 2 of them is something I always try for, even 3 quests could be great. Between being able to outwait your opponent, denying your opponent quest cards, and being able to direct the clan stat gain, I always prioritize them after picking up the important first pick cards (like charm). Also, every age has a region that has 2 quest cards. I think those are extra valuable because getting them together is great. It is also one of the few ways to prevent odins throne from breaking the game. 2 fight/2 upgrade/2 quest feels like a balanced setup for me. Frigga's succor is a first pick for me, being able to deploy troops efficiently is nice. The biggest benefit however is the ability to quickly fill up a region. If someone puts a soldier in a 3 village province, you can instantly fill it up and outnumber them. I would rate the volkur witch and ice giant a bit higher, not because their power is good, but because a 3/4 power unit that only takes up 1 village and only requires 1 horns is pretty great. Whether its odins tide clearing you out, or wanting as much power as possible for the yggdrasil fight, they are pretty nice. Same with the fire giant, his invade is strong, but a 4 strength monster is good in its own right. If youre the strongest after age 1, you can pick the dark elf so you can invade into yggdrasil, so you can do that turn 1 of age 2, then pillage in turn 2 and move all your stuff in. Saves you a march and it gets you +3 for the middle fight. Just be sure you have a burner card for the inevitable heimdall watch.
Excellent points on all the cards! I will just add, in 4 player games completing 3 quests can be easy if you get the same one multiple times. It's a bit dicier in 3 player games where there's only 1 of each available. Most of my experience is in 3 player games which is probably why I rate them slightly lower than they should be!
Solis guide. I've always rated the sea monster fairly high because it allows you to double score on the sacrifice techs later. It also allows for a great tempo play of serpent => leader => pillage => pillage. That said having your rage stolen is definitely an issue so wants to be combined with low rage cards for the rest, ie mostly quests and combat cards.
It is interesting, because with the extra battle cards it's likely you won't need the extra strength that Sea Serpent gives. Very handy for locking down 2 quest regions though. The ship upgrades are the definite upside and why I will still sometimes pick it, just not as much as most other cards.
@@NoWondersTV This is the fun and intriguing thing... you basically could review almost all of the cards and re-evaluate them with several player counts/hands drafted and find new things to the game after xxx games. Since i hope as many people as possible stumble upon your guide, here is an example on the joy that you can find in this game just by looking at the serpent: - Serpent is tempo wise the strongest board presence you can get in vanilla blood rage (6 strength in turn two). It is therefor rightfully among the highest cost cards in age 1. - If you play serpent for tempo/won battles, she is kept in check by Trickery grinding you down. - If you take charm/trickery, serpent all of a sudden gets a tech card that you can play later in age 1 to break quest majorities or setup up ship play with later upgrades. - Serpent is a really good setup for age 2 if you are going for board presence as she is save from the fire giant AoE and saves some headache when you are preparing for age 2. - in later ages, you will have yet another unit for Ragnarok regions, which can give you additional 6 / 8 glory when you draft inspiration. Now lets look at the player counts: At 3 players, serpent for tempo play can be ok. There is one trickery, but it should not grind you down before you have done some quests/pillages. At 4 players, serpent for tempo can be rather risky if two Trickery players jump on you and grind you down. At 5 players, snake actually give you yet another intriguing decission: Usually, loosing snake in age 1 can be quite risky as it requires you to spend 3 rage in the next age. There is of course the combo of charm + serpent + age 2 ship upgrade, which lets you invade for 1 rage. Betting on this is rather risky at 4 players, as chances are high that the age 2 ship is drafted before you see it. However, 5 players introduces the second copy of ship upgrades, which highly increases the chances that you will get the ship upgrade in age 2 on draft hand one or two. So going for quests in the Ragnarok region + loosing serpent with the age 1 ship upgrade is less risky and makes a sacrifical ship strategy possible in age 1, if you want to take the risk for the age 2 draft. And all of a sudden we have just stumbled upon another playstyle that does not force you to max rage as much as possible (which is always a good thing).
in our playgroup it always goes like this: if someone has put the leader to an rage-region, you will never get it for free, never. Its always a battle because the stat is so much more value than horns or axes
I think Rage is generally regarded as the most important stat. It's cool how playgroups develop their own metas. Placing a warrior near someone's leader is pretty common online, but I rarely see leader vs leader fights early.
@@NoWondersTV And then you can take all played cards back to your hand with Tyr's Prowess. If you can keep one from the 2nd age, and also get Primacy to play first, that gives you superb control over battles in the 3rd age - especially protection against losing your cards to Heimdall's Watch or Loki's Poison. Just turned a game this way that started out with someone else getting two uncontested Ygg pillages.
@@MichaelBomholt He mentioned combining Prowess in age 3 with Thor's Primacy. This in fact trumps Loki's Poison (Primacy cancels out text on battle cards). So he is right; this package is very strong vs. all the age 3 battle cards that are going for value (Judgement, Watch, Poison... even tide or backstab if one of those cards got taken from age 2 to age 3).
Hey there, thanks for linking the strategy wiki on Boardgame Arena (And again thank you for fixing all the typos).
First of all this an amazing piece. This is as comprehensive as it can get in a ten minute video, it should be a great help for anyone who has played this a few times but is totally struggeling with getting the grip on BR. Spread this as much as possible :)
Some additional comments:
1.) On ending the first age:
Besides locking down a region (plus: Units are rather save; you can bet on quests/future Ragnarok. Minus: You are rather inflexible on the board) there are 2 further ways to go:
- ending the age in Yggdrasil when you are sure that you are the first active player there in the next age
- being split as much on the board as possible with warriors if you can take advantage of lost battles (of which you can be sure if you leave age 1 with trickery or Blessing).
2.) On Rage:
While having enough rage is important and I feel it is the first steps for all beginners to max rage to 12 and get as much horns as necessary so they can make the most out of their clan, I more and more feel that the hidden sleeper is axes. Sneeking in as much axes as possible is powerful. While at first this might only look reasonable for a prowess setup, maxed axes basically turn every battle you win into a quest. They also allow you to out tempo a suicide ship player in age 3.
But again, this only works if you know that your gameplan allows you to miss out on a rage point.
3.) The big three:
I think the most defining cards are the three big age 1 clan upgrades (Frigga's Charm, Frigga's succor, Loki's Blessing). They are so insanely good for your long term gameplay (as each of them allows you to go for a playstyle without maxing rage). I would even go so far as to say that each of them will produce an own power ranking list for age 2 (For example, I feel every 2 rage upgrade in the seconde age - besides Valkyrie and warriors - becomes a first pick with charm. Hate drafting inspiration/eminence for one rage is worth it more often than not. Similary, the age 2 warrior upgrade actually becomes playable with succor if you leave age 1 with a dead leader and/or dwarf).
The +5 and trickery are super powerful cards, but I would always prefer the big three upgrades as they make your longterm gameplay super flexible and are always worth the costs and tempo loss in age 1.
4.) Power Ranking
Ask ten players and I guess you will get 10 totally different rankings (like for example I am on the same page as you are regarding fire giant, but I know that there are some among the better players who have this very high on their drafting agenda. Similarly, it looks like I am basically the only person who has a deep love for Loki's backstab).
Maybe the terminology "first pick" is a bit deceiving. Especially in age 2 they are very battle card heavy.
In my view, going maxing stats + quests is seldom enough to win the game. So unless you want to bank on getting the right card in the age 3 lottery, there should be some gameplay with Odin's Inspiration/Loki's eminence/ships/Tyr's Prowess.
But again, this is an insanely good video and I just wanted to add some further comments.
I love these additional comments. I am often guilty of finding a certain playstyle and repeating it to climb ranks (in any game). The great thing about Blood Rage is there are many different strategies to win and your strategy can and likely should change each age depending on your draft. And yes, the card rankings will change depending on your start and personal preferences. I think most people would agree that the good cards are good and the bad cards are bad which is the main takeaway I want people to have.
I felt like something was missing from my guide and I think this comment goes a long way towards fixing that, thank you!
I has the entire big three today: Loki’s blessing, frigga ´s charm and frigga ´s succor (and betrayal of Loki). I ended up wasting rage points in Age 1. Then on ages 2 and 3 I still felt that these cheap improvements did not yield much benefits. I ended up fourth player in a 5 player game. I felt like I should havé drafted big monsters in order to do something with all that rage.
Just about to start playing blood rage, so pleased to find a video by Sam!
Enjoy your journey! Player count matters a lot in this game. I will say most of my experience has been at 3p.
@@NoWondersTV I'm playing 4 player!
@@timmaddams1093 I did not enjoy 4p because there are 2 copies of that annoying Loki card in age 1 - not to mention the addition of Loki's Blessing which is the most annoying thing to play against ever!
Easy my favorite board game ever.Easy to learn yet so many strategies and i just like how all clans start the same and how game progres they all get their unique flavor with diferent upgrades!
I personally rate quests higher, getting 2 of them is something I always try for, even 3 quests could be great. Between being able to outwait your opponent, denying your opponent quest cards, and being able to direct the clan stat gain, I always prioritize them after picking up the important first pick cards (like charm). Also, every age has a region that has 2 quest cards. I think those are extra valuable because getting them together is great. It is also one of the few ways to prevent odins throne from breaking the game. 2 fight/2 upgrade/2 quest feels like a balanced setup for me.
Frigga's succor is a first pick for me, being able to deploy troops efficiently is nice. The biggest benefit however is the ability to quickly fill up a region. If someone puts a soldier in a 3 village province, you can instantly fill it up and outnumber them.
I would rate the volkur witch and ice giant a bit higher, not because their power is good, but because a 3/4 power unit that only takes up 1 village and only requires 1 horns is pretty great. Whether its odins tide clearing you out, or wanting as much power as possible for the yggdrasil fight, they are pretty nice. Same with the fire giant, his invade is strong, but a 4 strength monster is good in its own right.
If youre the strongest after age 1, you can pick the dark elf so you can invade into yggdrasil, so you can do that turn 1 of age 2, then pillage in turn 2 and move all your stuff in. Saves you a march and it gets you +3 for the middle fight. Just be sure you have a burner card for the inevitable heimdall watch.
Excellent points on all the cards! I will just add, in 4 player games completing 3 quests can be easy if you get the same one multiple times. It's a bit dicier in 3 player games where there's only 1 of each available. Most of my experience is in 3 player games which is probably why I rate them slightly lower than they should be!
Solis guide. I've always rated the sea monster fairly high because it allows you to double score on the sacrifice techs later. It also allows for a great tempo play of serpent => leader => pillage => pillage. That said having your rage stolen is definitely an issue so wants to be combined with low rage cards for the rest, ie mostly quests and combat cards.
It is interesting, because with the extra battle cards it's likely you won't need the extra strength that Sea Serpent gives. Very handy for locking down 2 quest regions though. The ship upgrades are the definite upside and why I will still sometimes pick it, just not as much as most other cards.
@@NoWondersTV This is the fun and intriguing thing... you basically could review almost all of the cards and re-evaluate them with several player counts/hands drafted and find new things to the game after xxx games. Since i hope as many people as possible stumble upon your guide, here is an example on the joy that you can find in this game just by looking at the serpent:
- Serpent is tempo wise the strongest board presence you can get in vanilla blood rage (6 strength in turn two). It is therefor rightfully among the highest cost cards in age 1.
- If you play serpent for tempo/won battles, she is kept in check by Trickery grinding you down.
- If you take charm/trickery, serpent all of a sudden gets a tech card that you can play later in age 1 to break quest majorities or setup up ship play with later upgrades.
- Serpent is a really good setup for age 2 if you are going for board presence as she is save from the fire giant AoE and saves some headache when you are preparing for age 2.
- in later ages, you will have yet another unit for Ragnarok regions, which can give you additional 6 / 8 glory when you draft inspiration.
Now lets look at the player counts:
At 3 players, serpent for tempo play can be ok. There is one trickery, but it should not grind you down before you have done some quests/pillages.
At 4 players, serpent for tempo can be rather risky if two Trickery players jump on you and grind you down.
At 5 players, snake actually give you yet another intriguing decission:
Usually, loosing snake in age 1 can be quite risky as it requires you to spend 3 rage in the next age. There is of course the combo of charm + serpent + age 2 ship upgrade, which lets you invade for 1 rage. Betting on this is rather risky at 4 players, as chances are high that the age 2 ship is drafted before you see it.
However, 5 players introduces the second copy of ship upgrades, which highly increases the chances that you will get the ship upgrade in age 2 on draft hand one or two.
So going for quests in the Ragnarok region + loosing serpent with the age 1 ship upgrade is less risky and makes a sacrifical ship strategy possible in age 1, if you want to take the risk for the age 2 draft. And all of a sudden we have just stumbled upon another playstyle that does not force you to max rage as much as possible (which is always a good thing).
@@jurgiwurgihurga9685 Wonderful analysis yet again!
in our playgroup it always goes like this: if someone has put the leader to an rage-region, you will never get it for free, never. Its always a battle because the stat is so much more value than horns or axes
I think Rage is generally regarded as the most important stat. It's cool how playgroups develop their own metas. Placing a warrior near someone's leader is pretty common online, but I rarely see leader vs leader fights early.
You can stack Heimdalls Eye? Wtf
You can indeed!
@@NoWondersTV And then you can take all played cards back to your hand with Tyr's Prowess.
If you can keep one from the 2nd age, and also get Primacy to play first, that gives you superb control over battles in the 3rd age - especially protection against losing your cards to Heimdall's Watch or Loki's Poison.
Just turned a game this way that started out with someone else getting two uncontested Ygg pillages.
@@ViolosD2I Amazing combo!
@@ViolosD2I Loki's Poison trumps Tyr's Prowess
@@MichaelBomholt He mentioned combining Prowess in age 3 with Thor's Primacy. This in fact trumps Loki's Poison (Primacy cancels out text on battle cards). So he is right; this package is very strong vs. all the age 3 battle cards that are going for value (Judgement, Watch, Poison... even tide or backstab if one of those cards got taken from age 2 to age 3).