by JordanLewis1
Here's a game report on Engineers, a faction that is apparently weak on Fjords, but which I believe has untapped potential.In the 24 Fjords Fire&Ice Ladder games (the most reliable subset of high-level matches), Engineers were selected only 3 times (Dwarves were selected 5 times, and Dragonlords, who I will continue to claim are mostly a garbage faction, were selected 11 times...). Kin's series of 8 1250+ games also had only 1 Engineer pick, vs. 3 Dwarves. Some of this may be players liking that Dwarves are finally playable again, but in my view, Engineers should be better overall and more frequently viable than Dwarves on this board too.
This brings me to this game against Kin and Sprockitz, two of the better Fjords players around. This was by no measure a "big win" - I had good fortune, and it came down to Halflings deciding who between Mermaids and I to beat on distance scoring for me to edge out a 1 point win. BUT, I believe it is good evidence for my basic rules for playing Engineers:
1. Always take ACT6 if available
2. Never turn down leech
I took Act6 4 times, including the 1st action of the game, and the 1st action of the last round as a pure block.
I'm watching several Fjords games with Engineers players, often in the 1000-1250 rating range, getting trapped on the sides of the board, whose plight may have been avoided with more intense focus on leech, shipping, and act6. Let this game be one more piece of evidence of the principle: with Engineers there's almost more ways to turn income into points, and only through heavy investment will you be able to compete with strong players in the crucial endgame.
Anyway, here's a few key moments that show what kind of strategy I believe Engineers should take on Fjords:
1st action: ACT6
It hurts to burn down to 6 with a high-power faction, but both spades would have been gone if I waited even one turn, and I would have been stuck with 2 buildings in rd1. Mermaids would claim F3 with Bon1+Act5 (or right away if they had started E4), and also possibly F8. It would have been very tough to dig my way out of that situation.
Rd2-3: Fast expansion with shipping, and a fortunate Act6
I used bon4 (temporary shipping) primarily to afford ACT6 in rd1, knowing I'd need permanent shipping in rd2/3 anyway. With one shipping, Engineers have multiple ways to get 2 dwellings for 1 spade:
G4-F3 gives D1
E8-F8 gives F9
F6-H6 gives I6
D1-B4 gives A5
D1-C3 gives E2 & C1
These areas also give free dwellings for 2 shipping (D1 to E2 & C1, F9 to C9, F6 to I6).
It was unexpected that all my western town hex options (H3, E3, E4, F4) were taken in the early game, but at least I had the resources to find another town later. I was prepared to use C9 to go the long way around the east island, but Dragonlords were too concerned with their economy to afford a double-dig cutoff at D4/C6, and so I happily punched through the island this way.
rd4: Being allowed safe passage through the North
This is where it can be hard to distinguish between "good strategy" and "good fortune". I will definitely say that Dragonlords could have blocked my northern connection at B5, and Halflings and Halflings both had chances to hurt me by taking B4. However, I also believe my strong economy (6w & 7pw income) established a deterrent to aggression. I could afford an emergency triple dig of c4 to secure connection. And once you have enough resources to threaten multiple hexes, you often get your first choice anyway, as aggression towards you wouldn't be as effective.
With my 3rd ACT6 of the game, I built on B5 because that ensured connection to D1, even though it left B4+A4+A3 as a viable option for Halflings. I thought from Halflings' perspective, why spend the 3 workers you could be using towards endgame scoring if it's doesn't really hurt Engineers anymore? I'm not sure if Kin had the same thought process, but luckily I got B4 and got
rd5-6: Almost too many resources
By middle rd5, I can comfortably build all 15 dwellings, trading posts and temples. I had spent 17 VPs on leech, only declining 1 time when it meant overflowing on power. You would think, "that HAS to be over-investing"...and maybe you'd be right. But even if not every leech quite paid for itself, each essentially provided insurance - "at worst this cost 1/2 VP, but once opponents' games are basically over it's very clear how to convert resources into points, and possibly produce a big swing in endgame scoring. Here's some ways I spent the extra resources:
- SA in rd5 for FAV12 (8vp) and opening up trading post #7 and dwelling #16.
- Act6 to block Mermaids' blue A7. This wasn't by itself enough to stop them from reaching A11 to win distance scoring (and the game), but I was also prepared to spend my extra 4w and 4p on blocking digs. Ultimately, Mermaids had a heck of an endgame economy which allowed them to advance dig at the end, and it took Halflings snatching G9 to stop Mermaids from getting to A11 and beating both of us.
- 4 priests and Fav6 for last-minute cult points while everyone else is pretty much passed.
Finally, I'll acknowledge that Engineers on Fjords are still a riskier pick than, say, Nomads or Mermaids, and should generally be avoided in uber-aggressive games such as those with Yetis and Dragonlords. But if you have the guts to pick them early, you have a good shot at ACT6, and from there, anything is possible!