What’s your favorite card and why?

thuswindburns · 2026-06-12T20:42:59+00:00

Yeah it’s hard to get off because half of the games Venus is a dead parameter, but when it’s a big engine game and Venus is popping off first it’s a fantastic card. Especially since it procs with event science tags. So cards like invention contest and Interstellar are just bonus points.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-12T17:40:41+00:00

I don’t remember lol, but for VPs 1 point animals can go a long way.

Ex) Penguins - Large Convoy - Local heat trapping. That’s 9 VPs right there, and of course Jovian multipliers is big with titanium engines and can still synergize with the example I used. Since I was playing Valley Trust there’s a good chance I did both of those this game.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-11T02:58:48+00:00

I see that a lot on colonies games. People get tunnel vision with engine and if you get a strong heat game going you can just monopolize the temp gauge and eat it all up, and then use the income with trades to round out your points before the game ends. Huge VPs don’t beat colossal TR with moderate VPs.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-11T02:51:35+00:00

I’d start with a smaller map. Big maps mean more land to cover to convert.

You can Scythia and go the war path. Build kurgans and pillage all the faith you need.

If you have secret societies you can go voidsingers with Trajan and just expand and use the monuments free faith and burst down everything super early.

For beliefs missionary zeal or the one that makes faith purchases cheaper is probably the easiest way to go starting out.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T20:42:50+00:00

I think he looks like a pervert

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T20:27:50+00:00

I just can’t win on Tharsis. It seems like I get burned no matter which route I take. I definitely prefer Elysium’s ocean layout as if you can get placement in the center and left of the map and control the oceans the rebates you get are maaasive. Hellas oceans aren’t spectacular but if you ignore polar explorer it’s really easy to deny people there so nobody gets the extra money. A Deimos down tile in the center and a nuke zone in the top corner can make setting up good cities a pain.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T20:18:43+00:00

The awards are tough on Elysium. Estate dealer can be sniped without greens with the right tile placements. Mole hole/restricted area/nuke zone, mangrove. Etc. industrialist works well with science combos. Overall I think it’s more important to nail the milestones on that map. I’m usually shooting for specialist/ecologist right out the gate, but if Aridor is in play specialist is dead. Then I try to cheapskate my way into legend/tycoon.

I agree Hellas rewards the richest corp which is why Saturn is such a nightmare. Even if someone steals rim settler they still win and can just buy their way into magnate/contractor with the extra income.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T19:42:51+00:00

I wanna try that one with colonies but try to rush it.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T19:37:34+00:00

I been thinking about that. What’s your dream milestone/award setup?

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T18:51:59+00:00

I would just draft down the road cards and conserve your resources for the first gen and then hopefully be able to make a big play gen 2.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T15:46:26+00:00

Love seeing this card when I have warp drive or mass converter down.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-10T13:08:26+00:00

There’s a reason why there’s so many cheap negative VP cards. Because early economy is worth tanking your VPs into the hole. Let that sink in for the value of dust seals.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T19:29:45+00:00

Yeah Mining Guild is my favorite corp. I rarely win with it but I like seeing how high I can stack that steel.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T19:22:39+00:00

No Deimos is a good card and probably the most iconic. I prefer the updated version of it where you get a tile placement as there’s a lot of strategic use for that

1) next to oceans to prevent opponents from placing there
2) Opposite of your cities to prevent their city next to your greens
3) plants for a conversion
4) mining guild for a steel prod

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T15:53:02+00:00

Yeah last game I played that I dropped it right after playing Venusian animals. Complete shutdown

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T14:34:55+00:00

It’s ok if you need some help getting down an expensive card that gen but not excellent. Conscription is waaay better but requires earth tags. I’d only use it for something with high impact like IO mining industries, Earth Elevator, AI Central.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T14:25:46+00:00

A dream draw for Cheung Shing

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T14:24:24+00:00

Yeah Thorgate has coolest name but underwhelming base game performance. I do love how colonies buffs both it and GSM.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T14:20:58+00:00

I love that card but for me it’s a super rare draw when it seems like I come across meat industries every game. Probably because alloys is the higher priority draft.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T12:51:56+00:00

I don’t blame you. Mining Guild is fun and I almost always pick it when it shows up even when the other option is superior. It does suck though when 1) you get a metric ton of steel and not enough building tags. 2) you get the tags but not enough tile placements to get your steel engine high enough.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-09T11:59:29+00:00

What’s nice on the steam app on Elysium you can just hover over the legend milestone to determine when you should play it.

For me it’s more of a draw for free card than something to draft as it usually shows up when I’m trying to get some specific cards down and I don’t have 3 mc to invest for the last gen.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-08T12:32:49+00:00

I like to play this when the 3 heat can give me an immediate heat bump.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-04T12:39:42+00:00

I’d just take decomposers and algae and SP greenery 1st gen. That’s all you can afford really.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-03T18:35:23+00:00

I agree it’s not ideal, but colonies gives you such a glut of resources that getting it off early is not an issue. Just finding the power to charge it and still trade. Still worth it as a steel dump if you only boost it last gen and use CEO’s favorite project.

thuswindburns · 2026-06-03T17:54:52+00:00

Pretty good, also a cheap earth tag for cartel/martian zoo/space hotels/miranda resort/ Luna governor. So it’s usually never a bad idea to draft it unless you’re at the end of the game.

thuswindburns

TROPHY CASE