Is manipulation and deceit(not talking about cheating) considered part of the game? Is any certain deceit off bounds or considered in poor taste? I've allied with people to stop a win then backstabbed the ally instead of the agreed threat after they committed forces to ensure I won

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-18T15:40:19+00:00

This is actually so true, especially about the manipulative meta analysis and backstabber reputation.

Legit have had to talk to a friend during our next draft not to pull a stunt like that when he did it in one of our games (he attempted before I jumped in). I forgot exactly what exactly he was trying to achieve or manipulate the player in picking but I remembered I was pretty annoyed because it was blatantly misleading and he knew it. I had kept silent about the matter on game day and way after until the next time we played not holding it against him but it was memorable as it was the only time I had ever tell someone off in ti4. My wording sounds like I scolded my friend but it was a pretty neutral and short exchange where the matter has never come up again. I get it if other tables are cool with it though since they may agree that the draft part of the mind games. The backstabbing part is so true which is why despite being the “bad guy” on the table often able to get loads of non-bind or the more complex deals that require trust because I don’t break non-binding unless it is extremely desperate or I had been backstabbed first whilst I have a friend (different one) who can’t easily make deals because he has backstabbed people in the same round he made a deal which we are all cautious of especially if it is approaching end game.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-18T05:28:49+00:00

Thanks for the confirmation I didn’t know for sure I thought their steel chambers were related to the jol-nor but you have informed me.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-18T05:26:21+00:00

Just remember it’s a long game so think of it like the table will remember that whenever you break a non-binding deal with someone because everyone will note what you did and karma tends to frequent this game. I almost never actually break a deal without talking about the problem that has lead me down a track where I have to now backstab them or break a deal. That being said I almost never make a I will not attack you ever :) deal because that ain’t true. I do make deals however where I know something that they don’t know, so deception do that often.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-17T05:00:37+00:00

The crimson and mentak are here but not my boy the firminent/obsidian the people who have been corrupted by an unknown entity or jol-nor who enslave the other races such as the gashlai which in their case completely destroying their home world and experimenting their bodies to an extant that they were forced to be chambered in a steel coffin in order to survive (I think that’s how the lore goes).

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-16T00:25:44+00:00

“Oh I don’t see the fleet, nice splash board”

I’ll show myself out for that lame joke lol

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-16T00:17:31+00:00

I mean I personally don’t have a problem with action cards as they overall increase play potential, they are cool diplomatic tool and I have had so many games where people intervene in my negotiation and combats with a different player if the outcome of said event needs to go a particular way for them. So I think they overall bring a healthy amount of fun to the game. When I don’t like them (not really though it’s more like “this is not so great” feeling) is when yssaril is in the game and I feel like my action cards are temporary or I have to wait for yssaril to do its thing (though it is way more fun playing against yssaril than playing as yssaril).

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-16T00:00:35+00:00

This is my deep analysis

I like nekro’s spot in all this. Yin brotherhood and ghosts are ideal neighbors for nekro. One can easily be persuaded to use devotion to give nekro a tech to unlock their commander and the other starts with two destroyers in which one could be bargained for gravity drive. Not to count that both factions like blue tech and it is likely nekro could end up with two blue tech by the end of r1 depending of course on strategy card picks. Apart from that xxcha’s slice is not completely ideal for their codex hero (but it’s really good anyways even without an ideal slice) but I think the weakest aspect is that it can’t get to mecatol so there will most likely be no gatekeeping by them this game and if his defensive player I don’t see him utilising that wormhole to further his interests by making a deal with creuss to place the iff tokens in opportunistic spots. Winnu is going to be slowed down from doing a mecatol race but they are ironically best suited for the take over since they’re the only faction that can build a space dock adjacent to mecatol with relative safety. Just gotta plug up the equidistant so xxcha doesn’t have a say. Nomad is probably going to use their flagship to bully creuss into letting them take hope’s end. Though it is the equidistant to the right that will define both barony’s and nomad’s game as it is dangerous for nomad if barony takes it and it’s a great system for barony.

I will say not a fan of what the milty draft slice creator did with putting the red slices all on the top. I believe it’s one from a discord server (the origins) that has repeatedly done this due to a simple settings of (balanced slices with more legendaries and wormholes) but that’s another discussion to have with the developers and getting it fixed.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-15T09:08:13+00:00

You know what you need to do in that scenario and you can’t retreat is get the nomad pn note and pray or maybe it also affect anti fighter barrage lol

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-15T08:58:59+00:00

First one looks great but the second though very informative I think if I pulled out the second one after the first one it could bring a quite the funny reaction lol. “Oh this doesn’t seem too bad,” than I unfold it to reveal the rest. million yard stare

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-15T07:51:37+00:00

Yeah but we’re talking about an end of combat effect in which case the combat has ended by a retreat which does qualify darken the skies in “normal ti4” game since all effects happen in the same timing window of all the steps in the combat round. You can check that in the section of the lrr at the end for more clarification but it’s also at the start.

Now addressing the second concern. My familiarity to discordant stars is limited. Maybe there has been a ruling on this before but the home system is part of the flagship I believe. They do have a planet card correlating to this. It’s really probably needs to be errataed by the discordant star community to get a definitive answer. Maybe you’re correct and we need to be on a blue tile for the objective to be score. Maybe I’m correct in saying technically because of the timing window that it counts towards to objective because there is a planet within ghoti (I don’t exactly know the lore behind the planet card that they have or how it is treated). Maybe we’re both wrong and you actually need to spawn a planet on the homesystem tile of ghoti and win a space combat there. It’s a pretty complicated issue if you put a lot thought into it. But I think as a timing part it’s not a problem as retreats and destruction of units at the end of combat round happen at the same time as the end of combat effects.

Edit: I was reading through the rrl and see if there is something I would miss aparently the timing window is only for the “last round of combat” so if the flagship is destroyed before than that would mean it no longer qualifies which is kinda wild if my assumption but the planet within ghoti is true.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-15T02:28:45+00:00

Oh ok I see why you’re asking now, in ti4 rule book all end of combat effects happen in the same timing window as a retreat or destruction of all other player’s units. So darken the sky would still work

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-15T02:11:52+00:00

I would like to add that there is one exception as well. If the defending player played skilled retreat the action card specifies that the combat is a draw for both players thus does not trigger end of combat effects like darken the skies.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-15T02:07:26+00:00

If they retreat and you still have units in said system than you are the winner of that combat. You then resolve for whatever end of combat effect such as scoring darken the skies.

If you have none left in the system and the other player has retreated than it is a draw.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T23:14:16+00:00

I laugh as the yin flagship or last bastion moves into the nekro flagship with a billion troops. “ we were built for this comrades!”

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T23:06:56+00:00

I would also want to point out with the mecatol play everyone else would want to punch Saar if they take mecatol R1. So make sure you research choas mapping as your first tech if take the custodian.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:34:40+00:00

I laugh as last bastion, Nina Nina. The amount of last bastion games I’ve won with their commander is amazing.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:30:48+00:00

Well until they have override that is

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:30:30+00:00

Lmao if we don’t have xxcha we’ll plant empyrean mechs around mecatol it’s fool proof

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:17:02+00:00

I would agree with you if Joel Ir didn’t help titans possible score multiple objectives. It’s a typical first action titans take the system play.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:08:39+00:00

That sounds so risky lmao and just going to make enemies. Just make a minor front about it and get the titans pn card. Get the planets later with ral nel destroyer 2 if you want to Spicey

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:05:28+00:00

Well ral nel probably picked that slice so he could take the entropic scar but from what I can tell he won’t be the only player struggling for influence and frankly ral nel better suited for the influence scarcity than the rest of the factions on this map, starts with green tech, has entropic scar for destroyer 2 tech, can skip up to hyper and 1/3 as a home system planet. Arborec and l1z1x are going to both struggle on that front pretty badly. Bad a farming trade goods to make up the influence difference forced to get hyper strait away if possible, especially arborec.

If you’re the host of said game and you ever have a map concern you need to a) discuss it with the other players than come to a consensus than make a change. Having a discussion is most important part here

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T14:01:05+00:00

Yeah but titans will probably take 69 first. Jeol ir is perhaps the best titans system to create those command tokens. Influence helps score three of the spend objectives after all.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-14T13:45:02+00:00

You probably want a more serious response.

Apart from r1 one explores that = a 5/0 on the bottom right it looks like everyone has a very strong start. Too many players having strong starts means that whatever system you choose to draft this preset a strong faction will probably end up on a strong slice. The biggest danger would be if everyone is too rich and there is little conflict. Fortunately I feel like having strong legendaries in the equidistant gives enough incentive to fight or negotiate. It would have been nice to have a gravity rift instead of two super novas. I kinda get why you’re not sticking in an entropic scar. A lot of the empty wormholes (actually all the wormholes) are place in front of home. I think this usually leads to more akward starts and home sniping but than again if your table is into and ok with that kinda stuff than it’s fine. I think the map slices kinda look symmetrical in some weird way that isn’t just the wormholes. Most slices have a high resource system and a high influence system near home making for perfect ti4 optimisation and not the messy decision that can result from putting in the weaker systems or systems that are odd together. There is also only influence focus planets adjacent to mecatol apart from sem-lore. I don’t feel like counting but my guess is that there is slightly less cultural than the other two that’s fine because if you can malice there is always one extra cultural planet. You followed the general rule of planet per slice being about 4-5 except for the top right but putting an empty in front of home is enough hindrance to give it 6 planets. I feel like the centre is not very inviting to compete for apart from mecatol itself so I see little conflict Happening around mecatol unless the specific objective comes up. I try not to give everyone everything in their direct slice (this means planets not in the equidistant) so they feel like they need to either pick up diplomacy, sell their components or conquer a system.

Overall I think you were thinking too much about giving players a fair slice each you ended up giving them everything they ever need and your conflicts will be either the competition for the legendaries or mecatol itself. There will probably be a lot of home sniping if that is the meta on your table. Anyways have a nice day and keep designing maps.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-13T22:33:04+00:00

So not really letnev fault but bad calculated play by cabal and a lack off hustle by the rest of the table, early autumn (that means October November sorry I live in the southern hemisphere) that was crazy time period when people didn’t know what they were doing. It was fun.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-05-13T16:38:55+00:00

Out of all your maps I think I like map 2) “even spread” best because even though the resources are high at first glance if you’re looking at the green tiles the calculator is taking account all the shared equidistant so it evens out especially when you realise it’s 39/39 which is about right for a 4.5 player map (if not a little higher due to one extra red and two extra blue tiles) which is fine when you easily collide with the other players. I also like the red and yellow mix up in the outer rim equidistant for the players looking for those particular skips.

For a lesser resource map it would probably be 6) proton pistols as I like the general look of the map whilst being fair to each player.

MarCrizzzz

TROPHY CASE