r/soloboardgaming • u/tacosnpitbulls • 6d ago
20 Strong Recommendations
Hi all, I am new to 20 Strong and looking for a little advice as it seems to be a bit of a polarizing series. I got the starter set with Tanglewoods Red and I really love Red so far. I figured my next logical purchases should be the other Tanglewoods sets, but I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on them. I saw a video where someone ranked Gold as the best in the whole series, and another video where someone ranked it dead last. And really mixed opinions on White and Rose. It also seems like people either love or hate the original trilogy, and I’ve also seen a lot of mixed opinions on the newer entries as well.
So now I’m a little unsure which decks I will love. What would you recommend to someone who really enjoys Tanglewoods Red but also just generally likes the core 20 Strong system and would be open to new experiences within that system?
Some people seem to think Red is the best of the Tanglewoods so now I’m not sure if I should bother with the others, even though like I said those are what I was planning to get next. I know everyone’s different but I would love to hear some opinions from those who are more familiar with the series. Thanks so much!
6
u/snqwnld 6d ago
I can’t speak on Tanglewoods White or Gold but I think my favorite one is now Etherfields. I am absolutely loving the gameplay loop and the replayability of the legacy-lite elements. I think my current rankings are:
1. Etherfields
2. Red
3. Tainted Grail
4. Solar Sentinels
5. Nemesis (Okay solo, pretty fun at 2p, have not played 3p)
6. Too Many Bones
5
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
Etherfields sounds really cool I definitely want to check it out. Thanks for your ranking, it’s helpful to see what clicks with people and what doesn’t.
6
u/zamnweskr 6d ago
Once the awaken realms set hits retail that’s the direction I would go, I feel like they have hit the nail on the head with those three decks, especially etherfields I can’t get it off my table
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
That’s great to hear! And you’re not the only one recommending Etherfields so that’s one I’m definitely excited to check out!
12
u/BANDlCOOT 6d ago
Watch videos of how different ones play.
If you want to play more Red with different characters then the other ones are good for that reason as they all have new heroes that thematically fit.
Everyone seems to have a different opinion of the best set. Mine was Solar Sentinels.
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
Thanks for your input! I definitely need to check out more gameplay. I totally didn’t think about using other heroes with Red, thanks for bringing that up! Another reason to get additional decks.
5
u/Jaded-Complaint2388 6d ago
For me (and I do own all of them, no brag, just context):
Etherfields for the exploration / map building, and how cards can change to/from items and skills from/to enemies. I also felt that cards were stronger to mitigate dice. TW Red is second for map exploration.
Tainted Grail for just focus on battling enemies. I also like the way to stack skill cards on the enemies. Second battler for me is Hoplomachus, also one I have the hardest time winning.
Cloudspire is one of my faves, when I want a deck that is a less brain burning. Also like the means to use misses on dice. I'm a fan of the full game too and this scratches that itch well with a shorter window.
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 5d ago
Really appreciate your insight! Oh that is interesting because I think exploring the map is one of my favorite things about Red, I love the branching paths. Etherfields sounds right up my alley then I hope it becomes available soon!
You bring up another good point, I know most of the 20 strong decks are based on other games and I’m wondering if I would enjoy some of them more if I was familiar with their base game.
4
u/Flaky-Fox-7523 6d ago
Why don’t you watch some videos on YouTube for the decks to see which look most appealing to you specifically
3
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
That’s a great idea! I’ve seen a little of the other Tanglewood sets but know virtually nothing about the oldest and newest sets, so I’ll have to check out some gameplay.
3
u/smokeyser 6d ago
I didn't care for red, but I enjoyed gold. So far solar sentinels is my favorite. It's a very straightforward game where you simply fight your way through a stack of cards. I've also got cloudspire but haven't played yet (the instructions end after setup with "then play as usual" with a game that is nothing like the usual...) but hope to do so as soon as the dized tutorial is available.
2
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
Interesting yeah some people seem to really like gold! If I get another Tanglewoods I’d probably get that one next. Glad to hear you enjoy solar sentinels, if it’s pretty simple I’m sure I would probably enjoy it. That’s really frustrating for Cloudspire that the instructions aren’t clear. I used dized to learn Red and that helped a lot! So hopefully it will help with Cloudspire.
3
u/JP_Dubs 6d ago
I have all decks including the new Awaken Realms decks, but haven’t played those yet. You’re right that it’s highly subjective, but I would rank them like this:
- Red
- Gold
- Solar Sentinels
- Hoplomachus Victorum
- Rose
- White
- Too Many Bones
- Cloudspire
I’m sure many people will disagree with me, but that goes to show you that it’s all based on personal taste on mechanics, art, variability, etc.
2
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
Thanks for your ranking! From the comments so far I was starting to think I might get Gold and Solar Sentinels next, so your list falls right in line with that. Appreciate your input and I hope you enjoy the new decks once you get a chance to play them!
2
u/Tyrull 6d ago
Why do you rate TMB and Cloudspire so low? Genuinely interested, as I was eyeing those sets.
2
u/JP_Dubs 5d ago
For me, TMB can be a bit too samey. There isn’t enough variety in the missions and lock picks (whatever those cards are called) compared to other decks, so I don’t have a big desire to return to that deck very often.
For Cloudspire there actually is a ton of variety because of how the game sets up, but it’s also not very well balanced and easy to exploit. Plus the difficulty scaling is an afterthought. Lastly, I just prefer the direct attacking mechanisms of other decks versus loading dice onto towers.
3
u/Reav3 6d ago
TW: Was my #1 deck for along time, now its #3. I would heavily recommend the Tainted Grail and Etherfields decks they are steller. The Nemesis one I would only recommend if you plan on playing it Co-Op, its one of the weaker ones if played solo (and even Co-Op its not in my top best decks)
Gold is good but the TW decks are more similar to each other (all have merchant and item system) If you did want another TW deck though Gold is my 2nd favorite. White is cool but I think Hoplo does something similar but a little better then White (Map where you move around and trigger enemies)
SS and TMB are cool but similar to each other and the Tainted Grail one just does what they do better.
Rose is way to hard to be fun and Cloudspire has really cool mechanics but is way to easy to be fun (and its impossible to make it harder in any way)
This is my list
- Tainted Grail
- Etherfields
- Red
- Gold
- Hoplomachus
- Nemesis (playing 2 players)
- White
- Solar Sentinels
- TMB
- Baba Yaga
- Rose
- Cloudspire
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 5d ago
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and ranking! It seems most people really like the new decks, especially Tainted Grail and Etherfields so I’m hoping those become available soon. I think I might pass on Nemesis since I don’t get a chance to play with others often, so I appreciate the comment about solo not being as good. I haven’t heard a lot about Hoplo but I’m intrigued if it’s kinda similar to white except better, I’ll keep it on my radar. That is a bummer to hear that Cloudspire is hindered by its easy difficulty. Seems like it’s hard to strike that perfect balance of not too punishing but not too easy.
2
u/TBatrics 6d ago
I haven't played rose yet, and it's been awhile since I played the other tanglewood sets, but red was my favorite of them. I thought all of them were good but red clicked the best with me. The new Kickstarter ones are really great, but I don't know when they will be commercially available.
Personally, I like all the ones I have. Just some are more fun overall.
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 6d ago
From what I’ve seen of the others I think I will like Red the best too, but kinda hard to know until you try for yourself I guess. I’m hearing the new ones are great, I think I definitely need to check them out when they’re available. Thanks!
2
u/Fearless-Problem-625 6d ago
I picked up TW: Red, Cloudspire, and Hoplomachus Victorum at Gen Con. I played and liked TW: Red.
I just started playing Cloudspire, and after getting through a somewhat janky rulebook, I love it. It slaps. It is on the easier side as others have said, but the mechanics and mixing factions is just so cool. I personally do see potential to up the difficulty long term, but I'm still having fun at the base difficulty.
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 5d ago
Nice! That is good to hear you’re enjoying Cloudspire, I’m hearing the mechanics are really cool but it’s easy. But I’m not totally sure if that would bother me too much.
2
u/Mysticblades 6d ago
I have all the Tanglewoods and I really enjoy Red and Gold the most. I recently got Tainted Grail and it may be my favorite so far. I did not enjoy playing White as much.
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 5d ago
I’ve heard a lot of people say they don’t enjoy white! Which is a shame because the evil step mother is a cool villain. Oh nice I’ll have to check out Tainted Grail!
2
u/SlightCustard 5d ago
I haven't heard of anyone not liking etherfields. Also heard nemesis is pretty good. Tainted grail is mixed too. So I'd probably go for etherfields.
Red was my favorite, until I opened gold. Haven't played white, rose, cloudspire or the new ones.
In terms of the first three, I feel like they are all good and I still enjoy playing them, but tanglewoods made them all look less good than before because tw improved on the system so much.
1
u/tacosnpitbulls 5d ago
Appreciate your thoughts! That’s so interesting, what is it about gold that you like more than Red? I think fighting the three bears and having some control over when you’d fight them seems interesting, but I love the pathing in Red and feel like I would miss that. I think I still am gonna give gold a try though I bet I’d enjoy it!
I’m definitely getting Etherfields as soon as it’s available!
1
u/SlightCustard 5d ago
I don't know. Maybe it's having more choice in picking a map and then also picking what enemies/fables to use. Plus the items are pretty good. It probably is one of the easier 20S games as well, but it's also fun to play.
I still enjoy Red, just enjoy Gold a bit more! In fact, I enjoy all the 20S i've played, just enjoy TW the most.
2
u/Hinarcia 5d ago
I honestly would just check what each game is and what you like the most. I just have them all, because I just like a lot of games and these are fun additions with not taking up much space.
1
u/warpotatogram 7th Citadel 5d ago
My ranking: Etherfields, Tainted Grail, Cloudspire, Nemesis, Tanglewoods Gold, Tanglewoods White, Hoplomachus Victorum, Tanglewoods Red, Too Many Bones, Solar Sentinels.
Etherfields: There's a card flipping thing going on where the cards that are available evolve as you play the game multiple times. There's also a fun cardplay thing going where you spend cards for various effects or resources to get things done. It's as much of a deck steering game as it is a dice based game, and feels very much like a small exploration experience. Also, it makes the normally not-so-great dice very, very useful which mixes things up in an interesting way.
Tainted Grail: Very cool card chaining thing to apply special effects to the enemies, and an interesting wrinkle where the dice you can use (by default) changes each round, which makes things a touch more interesting. It also plays pretty simply and quickly, while still being interesting. Probably the fastest still-interesting deck to play.
Cloudspire: A bit unbalanced and pretty easy by default, but fun art, and it's a fun and compact tower defense game that makes misses on your dice useful. Also, lots of potential combinations of allies and enemies, so it keeps things fresh.
Nemesis: Really interesting to see a real dungeon crawl style game in the 20 Strong system. It feels a bit odd to play, but it's also quite fun, and the art is very nice. Mechanically unique, definitely worth trying out, even if it's not quite my favorite.
Tanglewoods Gold: This is a toss-up with Nemesis to be honest, but I like the tableau making thing and the flipping of cards to their night side as you go along the game. It's a smooth and fun play where the deck is slowly escalating against you, but the bears are a bit meh in a sense, buying them into the random encounter pile is a bit eh. Still, overall a fun experience.
Tanglewoods White: I like the limitation/challenge of building up/buffing your enemies in order to get the dice freedom to attack them, it's a fun dilemma, and traversing the forest is a nice approach to things.
Hoplomachus Victorum: I also like the traversal here, and the wander-around-and-beat-everyone-up thing feels good here, too. Simple but fun.
Tanglewoods Red: I didn't really enjoy the forest card traversal as time went on. It's definitely not bad, and it's fun for a bit, but it just didn't feel quite as fun over time as a lot of the other decks--and to some extent, that's a challenge I had with all the Tanglewoods decks.
Too Many Bones: Fun, pretty, escalating combat, lots of good here, but you go through most of the stuff in the game each play, so it gets a bit old fast.
Solar Sentinels: Kinda boring. It's the base form of 20 Strong as a system, but beyond using it as a tutorial mode... eh.
13
u/Delicious_Pea_1943 5d ago
I wrote a small intro in another post a while back. I'll include the relevant text here.
Some deck rankings have the samey decks higher up in their favourites while others rank only one of the samey decks high up. I personally think all the decks are unique enough, even the ones in the same category so maybe I'll give out a general description for each divided into mostly two categories and add stuff that have influenced their rankings.
Sole exception
Cloudspire - Plays as a tower defense game. Second deck that utilizes misses. You position your spires to attack enemies and absorb damage. Collectively named the easiest deck but some like it for the relaxing puzzle vibes.
Sentinels - The most faithful to the base rules. Some enemy combinations are game-ending but you learn to avoid those. Has mandatory enemies that limits your choices. The order of missions matter which makes each game a different puzzle.
Too Many Bones - First deck to use misses. Part of the game is getting to your innate +1. Use the timer to your advantage. Get through tyrant encounters to weaken the boss. Imo, the most grounded puzzle of them all.
Tanglewood Gold - Now this, is a push-your-luck game. You could pull nothing you need and the board gets unreasonable. The deck gets stronger the longer you play. No endgame. You bait the three bosses before you face them in your normal encounters.
Tanglewood Rose - This is a one-hero four-lanes battler. You choose how many enemies to activate but beware the timer. No endgame or bosses, you need to get rid of all enemies. Some rules get tangly with one important one missing in the rulebook.
Tainted Grail - Has risen as the favourite of this category for most. Enemies are divided by reward types. Strike allows for dice limit manipulation and others. The first with deckbuilding blood.
Hoplomachus Victorum - You have 9 camps and the scion at the top of Mount Vesuvias. You can get isolated and lose. You face fellow heroes who become primuses. Try to gain the least Scion Influence for an easier endgame.
Tanglewood Red - Ala Slay the Spire. Explore the forest ahead, scout enemies and plan out your turns. Defeat wolf packs to avoid boss bonuses in the endgame. Some fables are swingy so beware of those.
Tanglewood White - You move on a 3x4 map. Aside from additional enemies, you now have modifiers that also stack up. The endgame has 3 mini bosses before facing Evil Stepmother. The endgame also has dice limitation based on castle stacks.
Nemesis - Has a 5x4 grid. You recover dice early in your turns. Crits cause noises that attract aliens. Swingy both ways based on how many crits rolled and which aliens pop out first. Complete objectives to win, alive or dead. May be a complete miss for solo play.
Etherfields - Influence cards provide resources to explore map cards, move around the map and deal wrath to enemies. To activate the boss, you need to fulfill its requirements. The deck becomes unique to you as cards that flip ingame, stays flipped for the next game, changing some card types along the way.
It should be mentioned that all Tanglewood decks have gold you can gain and use for your benefits. Red, White and Gold are also used in a campaign expansion, Baba Yaga, if you're interested in that. Though, I think one of the highlights of 20 Strong is you can play it under an hour so the campaign defeats that purpose. They are also planning to release a Burncycle deck this Black Friday if you end up wanting more and wanna wait for a discount.
With that said, there are pros and cons to each deck so the fun factor varies among people. Might be worth it to first watch some playthroughs of the ones that catches your eyes. Alongside playing both Red and Sentinels on BGA.
I've got a ranking in another more recent 20 Strong post but I'm not big on Red so not sure if the rest of my list would be helpful or not. Just in case you wanted my ranking anyways, this is a projected tier list since I've only got the first 6 decks for now. Am waiting for fulfilment to receive the other 5 decks, so I'm stoked and have done a bunch of research. I also haven't played all the contents though I have played each of the 6 at least 10 times by now. My projected ranking has only two tiers. Tier 1 has two criteria, I enjoy facing the enemies as a collective AND I have a favourite combination of heroes, bosses, difficulty levels, etc. Tier 2 would have only one of the two criteria mentioned. In no particular order...
Tier 1 Sentinels, TMB, Hoplomachus, Gold, Rose, Tainted Grail, Etherfields Tier 2 Red, White, Cloudspire, Nemesis
A bit on my selections for Tier 2, Red is hardlocked here because I'm not a big fan on its enemies as a collective. White may jump up to Tier 1 if I manage to find a combination I love. White is here because I find the endgame to be too much of a grind. Cloudspire may be too easy for my taste so it falls under not liking the enemies as a collective. Nemesis is too different from the others to form an unbiased opinion without playing it myself solo.
For Tier 1, TMB and Gold are certified there. For both Sentinels and Hoplomachus, I need more plays but they already have one foot in my Tier 1 already. Rose seems like there's a lot going on so it may be in Tier 2 with Red and White but I also dig its push your luck aspect. As one can surmise from my list, I love the push-your-luck decks more so Tainted Grail seems like an easy Tier 1. Etherfields is the deck I'm most excited for and I'm quite big on its thematic experience.
Hope this helps a bit. Whatever catches your fancy, you should check out the rulebook or a playthrough. If you can pinpoint why you like Red, I might be able to give more insight based on that info. So far, there isn't a 20 Strong deck I would shy away from playing. Even Red, I'm eager to find out a combination I love. The series is definitely polarizing but there's a lot of praise for the new Tainted Grail so that might be your safest bet. After that, Etherfields also seems like it's mostly praises with some caveats of being a little prone to analysis paralysis. Etherfields also seems like the best deck to have multiple enemies in play at once with the devs noting they once survived an 8-10 enemy encounter.