These are very good strategy tips! I've played so many games of Wingspan but still get distracted by end-of-round goals and bonus cards instead of focusing on my engine. Now with the Oceania expansion strategies change quite a bit. There's not so much egg-spamming anymore because more birds can be played with nectar.
I haven't picked that expansion up yet, but it's definitely on the list. Now that you have Oceania, do you ever find that you go back to the base game?
@@LegendaryTactics Actually I haven't played basegame only in a while. The new player boards could be used there as well. To introduce new players I'd rather play the basegame - but with new end-of-round bonuses mixed in for more variation.
Naming the top birds is fine, I guess, but let's not forget that there are hundreds of cards in the deck, and the odds of drawing one of those top birds is very, very slim. Sure, if it happens to happen and you also happen to be the first player of the round, then all is well. But it's not a viable strategy to bet on that happening. I would spend less time focusing on the "top birds" if were you. Let's face the fact that in most games, you're more likely to not get any very good birds. It would be much more useful to talk about what you can do with the lousy hand you got, to maximize points from that, rather than speculate what you can do if you somehow by random chance happen to get extremely lucky with the draws.
Great video. On board game arena a lot of the better players use the option to have the powerful bird cards removed (basically all of your recommended round 1 cards are removed, no ravens, etc.). Would be great to see an advanced strategy video with that culled deck. To my eye the Wood Duck becomes one of the most powerful remaining round 1 cards, along with the crows
I suppose those round 4 birds would be best to play, but I find that you rarely want to play birds in round 4. -2 eggs to play an 8 point bird with no powers is really 6 points. Taking the lay eggs action in round 4 instead should be gaining you a lot more than that. The only time I'd bother is to try and reach bonuses that will make it the better action point-wise.
Exactly. If you can get the bird down which also hits end of round bonus and your personal goal, you can pull double digit point rounds turn after turn.
It depends, it’s usually best to try and collect some high point birds that do your bonus card during the game and play them during the end. For example even in round 1 I would always take a Puffin if it shows up because of how powerful it is late game. Playing it is usually a 15 point turn or more if it contributes to round end of your current bonus card. Puffin, wood stork, roseate spoonbill, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron are much better than the birds he listed for round 4 imo, they also tend to hit good bonus cards by themselves. But 8~9 point birds are also super valuable if they can do a bonus card or round end goal. There’s also the fact that whether or not you manage to get a powerful egg setup falls down to luck of the draw as everyone is competing for the same birds. Raven / Killdeer setups in particular don’t make insane points by themselves, they make insane points by getting resources that allow you to play theses high point bonus card birds. It also changes in European expansion, but that’s not really in scope. You can never scoff at a 9 point bird tho.
@@motherlove8366 To expand a bit on the excellent points you've made, Often I will have neglected the wetlands until late game, so I might be playing one of those cards into a single egg slot. It's a nice combo to play a great egret, and another high score wetland bird somewhere in round 4, then just spam the eggs.
@@motherlove8366 what makes this game so great is that 'IT DEPENDS"......on end round goals rules, what other players are doing, what they have set up......there seems to be guides, but you need to be able to switch strategies at the right time
Chihuahuan Raven, Common Raven, Franklin's Gull, and Killdeer are overpowered... If you play the game on BoardgameArena, or, the physical game, I advice to remove them as that balances the game. So of course, if you include them, those are "favourites", but it makes the game to easy to win.
Fair point. You have to be careful with them, that they don't overstay their welcome and prevent you from getting other synergies locked into a particular habitat.
Possible Mistake @ 4:26 (or else i have been reading these kinds of cards wrong) Red-Bellied Woodpecker (the narrator shows this card, but references the "Acorn Woodpecker" card - which is confusing) "Gain 1 wheat from birdfeeder (if available) and cache it on this card." Narrator tells us we can use this wheat to pay for another bird. By my reading that is INCORRECT. According to the card description, the wheat must be cached on the card for end of game scoring and not used in any other capacity. Anyone want to weigh in on this?
When we played the physical card game, that is exactly how we played the bird. I.e. you must cache the wheat on the bird. However the card reads that you "MAY" cache it on the bird and the digital game also gives you the choice of either caching the food or adding it to your supply. So it is important to read carefully if a bird only caches or can also add to your supply OR only adds to the supply.
Got this game as an early Christmas present and it took me two weeks to learn to beat the automa. Now I'm looking to be more consistent, so thanks for this guide!
What are your strats for beating the automa? I’ve been playing for a couple of days and the bot always seems to get more cards. However I do try to focus on end of round goals , but I still end up taking a L.
@@primnav2058 I have to confess that I basically ignore the automa. This is probably bad advice, but I just focus on the cards I have and what benefits me. I don't really care what the automa's score is in the end, so I just play the best board I can with the cards I'm given. I should definitely spend more time looking at the inner workings of the automa though.
@@primnav2058 i still feel like a noob, but i keep an eye on all the options for points especially end of round goals and my own personal goal. If i can balance those, while getting a good engine going in two of my habitats, i know im in a good spot to win. But somwtimes the cards just don't love me, so im working on being able to make the most out of any card draw because i think there are a lot of abilities im still figuring out how to make the most of. I think for me, if i can get a Killdeer, Raven, or a lorikeet (OCE expansion) in the first round, i will be set for the game. Otherwise i try to limit moves that i dont get points to only one, so if i need to spend three turns trying to get food or eggs to play a card, im a few turns behind in points. I hope that makes sense. Im still learning!
Thanks for these. After playing a whole lot since watching your first strat guide, it's nice to see I'm on the right track, and I haven't missed anything obvious so far. Early killdeer, franklin's gull, or a raven are "woo hoo, I'm off to a great start. Can I set a new personal best?" birds. I've been playing 4 or 5 player easy AI games. Happy to score >60, have only once scored 101. Can you explain a bit how the automata differs from the AI opponents? A real nice combo for starting hand, if it shows up is a scavenger and cheap "play another card into same habitat" forest bird, with a low cost grassland. can get you to 2 in the forest, and one in the grass within your first 3 turns. Best kind of luck sees one of the opponents play a bird that gives you a draw card somewhere in those 3 turns. Then you might be able to get that bird played by turn 5, provided it only costs 2 food.
Yeah, it sure feels good to crack 100. You're killing it! We just posted a 120 point challenge and we're in the middle of editing a 130 point challenge (base game). ruclips.net/video/i1kZvMvhNek/видео.html&ab_channel=LegendaryTactics. Let us know how you do on that. I love the idea of looking at AI vs Automa. We'll have to put a video together on that. Thanks for suggesting it. Thanks for taking the time to share your strategies here as well. We appreciate building a big library of ideas.
Well, maybe view more Later(* We use THE Cardboard/ Cards/ Version((all Expansions, “Through”One Draw Card Pile, & Nectar, &* occasionally a DUET Round, or using **FAN PACK Cards , only…..…. Interestingly, our Children play the Electronic version ….!😊
You can’t use eggs off the raven to gain food. Card specifically says discard 1 egg from any of your other birds. So if you only have eggs on the raven. NO FOOD FOR YOU. Lol
I have Beat player that have had both the raven and crow. So to play without them means your a weak player. Yes you are at a disadvantage but still not hard to overcome.
These are very good strategy tips! I've played so many games of Wingspan but still get distracted by end-of-round goals and bonus cards instead of focusing on my engine. Now with the Oceania expansion strategies change quite a bit. There's not so much egg-spamming anymore because more birds can be played with nectar.
I haven't picked that expansion up yet, but it's definitely on the list. Now that you have Oceania, do you ever find that you go back to the base game?
@@LegendaryTactics
Actually I haven't played basegame only in a while. The new player boards could be used there as well. To introduce new players I'd rather play the basegame - but with new end-of-round bonuses mixed in for more variation.
Naming the top birds is fine, I guess, but let's not forget that there are hundreds of cards in the deck, and the odds of drawing one of those top birds is very, very slim. Sure, if it happens to happen and you also happen to be the first player of the round, then all is well. But it's not a viable strategy to bet on that happening. I would spend less time focusing on the "top birds" if were you. Let's face the fact that in most games, you're more likely to not get any very good birds. It would be much more useful to talk about what you can do with the lousy hand you got, to maximize points from that, rather than speculate what you can do if you somehow by random chance happen to get extremely lucky with the draws.
Great video. On board game arena a lot of the better players use the option to have the powerful bird cards removed (basically all of your recommended round 1 cards are removed, no ravens, etc.). Would be great to see an advanced strategy video with that culled deck. To my eye the Wood Duck becomes one of the most powerful remaining round 1 cards, along with the crows
That's definitely the way to go if you're playing competively.
I suppose those round 4 birds would be best to play, but I find that you rarely want to play birds in round 4.
-2 eggs to play an 8 point bird with no powers is really 6 points. Taking the lay eggs action in round 4 instead should be gaining you a lot more than that.
The only time I'd bother is to try and reach bonuses that will make it the better action point-wise.
Exactly. If you can get the bird down which also hits end of round bonus and your personal goal, you can pull double digit point rounds turn after turn.
It depends, it’s usually best to try and collect some high point birds that do your bonus card during the game and play them during the end.
For example even in round 1 I would always take a Puffin if it shows up because of how powerful it is late game. Playing it is usually a 15 point turn or more if it contributes to round end of your current bonus card.
Puffin, wood stork, roseate spoonbill, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron are much better than the birds he listed for round 4 imo, they also tend to hit good bonus cards by themselves. But 8~9 point birds are also super valuable if they can do a bonus card or round end goal.
There’s also the fact that whether or not you manage to get a powerful egg setup falls down to luck of the draw as everyone is competing for the same birds. Raven / Killdeer setups in particular don’t make insane points by themselves, they make insane points by getting resources that allow you to play theses high point bonus card birds.
It also changes in European expansion, but that’s not really in scope. You can never scoff at a 9 point bird tho.
@@motherlove8366 To expand a bit on the excellent points you've made, Often I will have neglected the wetlands until late game, so I might be playing one of those cards into a single egg slot. It's a nice combo to play a great egret, and another high score wetland bird somewhere in round 4, then just spam the eggs.
@@motherlove8366 what makes this game so great is that 'IT DEPENDS"......on end round goals rules, what other players are doing, what they have set up......there seems to be guides, but you need to be able to switch strategies at the right time
Chihuahuan Raven, Common Raven, Franklin's Gull, and Killdeer are overpowered... If you play the game on BoardgameArena, or, the physical game, I advice to remove them as that balances the game. So of course, if you include them, those are "favourites", but it makes the game to easy to win.
So all I need to do is only get S tier birds and I will win
😂
It's not a bad approach :)
:)
Tbh I don't like the migrating birds past round one, especially not 3-food ones. I think their only good use is getting 3rd column actions early
Fair point. You have to be careful with them, that they don't overstay their welcome and prevent you from getting other synergies locked into a particular habitat.
Possible Mistake @ 4:26 (or else i have been reading these kinds of cards wrong) Red-Bellied Woodpecker (the narrator shows this card, but references the "Acorn Woodpecker" card - which is confusing) "Gain 1 wheat from birdfeeder (if available) and cache it on this card." Narrator tells us we can use this wheat to pay for another bird. By my reading that is INCORRECT. According to the card description, the wheat must be cached on the card for end of game scoring and not used in any other capacity. Anyone want to weigh in on this?
When we played the physical card game, that is exactly how we played the bird. I.e. you must cache the wheat on the bird. However the card reads that you "MAY" cache it on the bird and the digital game also gives you the choice of either caching the food or adding it to your supply. So it is important to read carefully if a bird only caches or can also add to your supply OR only adds to the supply.
@@JeffreyM641 thank you so much for that clarification! makes me wonder how many other cards i've been mis-reading... hum.. >doik
Don't worry - it happens to the best of us!
Thank you for "flying in" to clarify things!
Got this game as an early Christmas present and it took me two weeks to learn to beat the automa. Now I'm looking to be more consistent, so thanks for this guide!
No problem! Have you cracked 100 points against the automa yet?
@@LegendaryTactics NOOOOO! Still trying. Got a good 90 so, getting there!
What are your strats for beating the automa? I’ve been playing for a couple of days and the bot always seems to get more cards. However I do try to focus on end of round goals , but I still end up taking a L.
@@primnav2058 I have to confess that I basically ignore the automa. This is probably bad advice, but I just focus on the cards I have and what benefits me. I don't really care what the automa's score is in the end, so I just play the best board I can with the cards I'm given. I should definitely spend more time looking at the inner workings of the automa though.
@@primnav2058 i still feel like a noob, but i keep an eye on all the options for points especially end of round goals and my own personal goal. If i can balance those, while getting a good engine going in two of my habitats, i know im in a good spot to win. But somwtimes the cards just don't love me, so im working on being able to make the most out of any card draw because i think there are a lot of abilities im still figuring out how to make the most of.
I think for me, if i can get a Killdeer, Raven, or a lorikeet (OCE expansion) in the first round, i will be set for the game. Otherwise i try to limit moves that i dont get points to only one, so if i need to spend three turns trying to get food or eggs to play a card, im a few turns behind in points. I hope that makes sense. Im still learning!
Maybe I should go look at a more basic guide bc I'm here just like, yea those cards you mention sounds great. But what if you just don't get them??
Thanks for these. After playing a whole lot since watching your first strat guide, it's nice to see I'm on the right track, and I haven't missed anything obvious so far. Early killdeer, franklin's gull, or a raven are "woo hoo, I'm off to a great start. Can I set a new personal best?" birds. I've been playing 4 or 5 player easy AI games. Happy to score >60, have only once scored 101. Can you explain a bit how the automata differs from the AI opponents? A real nice combo for starting hand, if it shows up is a scavenger and cheap "play another card into same habitat" forest bird, with a low cost grassland. can get you to 2 in the forest, and one in the grass within your first 3 turns. Best kind of luck sees one of the opponents play a bird that gives you a draw card somewhere in those 3 turns. Then you might be able to get that bird played by turn 5, provided it only costs 2 food.
Yeah, it sure feels good to crack 100. You're killing it! We just posted a 120 point challenge and we're in the middle of editing a 130 point challenge (base game). ruclips.net/video/i1kZvMvhNek/видео.html&ab_channel=LegendaryTactics. Let us know how you do on that. I love the idea of looking at AI vs Automa. We'll have to put a video together on that. Thanks for suggesting it. Thanks for taking the time to share your strategies here as well. We appreciate building a big library of ideas.
Well, maybe view more Later(* We use THE Cardboard/ Cards/ Version((all Expansions, “Through”One Draw Card Pile, & Nectar, &* occasionally a DUET Round, or using **FAN PACK Cards , only…..…. Interestingly, our Children play the Electronic version ….!😊
You can’t use eggs off the raven to gain food. Card specifically says discard 1 egg from any of your other birds. So if you only have eggs on the raven. NO FOOD FOR YOU. Lol
Wish you would have omitted ravens completely. We never play with them. I even argue the crow is OP in the original.
Here here. Correct on both counts.
I have Beat player that have had both the raven and crow. So to play without them means your a weak player. Yes you are at a disadvantage but still not hard to overcome.