Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares/Antistone's Opening

Category:Guide Return to Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares

For most spirits, I tend to focus on playing more cards. However, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares seems like they really want to go major instead: they have good energy generation, easy access to major powers, and a "reclaim one" growth option to play one repeatedly...whereas it takes 3 presence placements to earn a single card play.

Due to early power-gaining, this opening is a bit more nebulous than some.

-Turn 1-

Cards
Dreams of the Dahan (gather Dahan or fear) Predatory Nightmares (2 nightmare damage, push Dahan)

You may substitute your minor if you wish.

If you don't, you trigger the first part of Spirits May Yet Dream (reveal a fear card) thanks to the air element you revealed on your presence track, and also the second level of Night Terrors (for +2 fear, provided you have a presence in any land with invaders). Knowing which fear cards are coming up can be rather powerful, especially for the ones that add defense.

Predatory Nightmares should try to push a town that's about to ravage; in a perfect world, you push some Dahan to a more useful location but leave 1 to kill the remaining explorer.

Dreams of the Dahan can gather Dahan to set up either (or sometimes both) of your powers for next turn.

-Turn 2-

Cards
Dread Apparitions (fear -> defense, 1 fear) Call on Midnight's Dreams (fear or a major power)

The order you resolve powers is important here.

First, use Dread Apparitions in a location you want to defend. (It's range 1, but use it from range 0.)

Then, use your innate Night Terrors to cause 2 fear in that land (that's why the zero range). This will bring your defense up to 3.

At any point, use Spirits May Yet Dream to reveal a fear card.

Last, use Call on Midnight's Dreams to learn a major power. Ideally, you forget Call on Midnight's Dreams to use the major power immediately. (This causes you to lose the elements from Call, which is why this is last.)

You may want to use some of your Dahan movement from the previous turn to group them up for extra energy...though if you've played this opening as described, just 2 Dahan will leave you with 5 energy, which is enough to cast 86% of major powers.

Unfortunately, casting a new power mid-turn is kind of a crapshoot. Many major powers are best when you plan around them and/or have special targeting requirements (such as a sacred site at close range, or presence in a specific terrain type) that you may not meet so early and without warning.

If you get something that is good to cast right now, forget Call and cast it. If not, don't blow a bunch of energy on a marginal benefit (though you may still want to forget Call for the energy boost).

-Turn 3-

Growth and Cards
If you got a good major power and cast it last round, you can probably (depending on energy) use your Reclaim One growth option to cast it again alongside your minor power from round 1 (or whatever card you have left). If both those cards have moon elements, then placing presence from your top track will get you a third moon and trigger the second part of Spirits May Yet Dream (one spirit gains an element they already have at least one of), which is pretty good.

If you got a major power that was good but couldn't cast it effectively last round, you may be able to set yourself up to cast it now (e.g. by placing presence in a suitable location, or grabbing more energy).

If you didn't get a good major power, you may want to choose the (presence + gain a power) growth option for another chance.

Variants

If you need to spread out more on turn 1, you can swap your growth order for a longer-range presence placement. You lose the option to play your new minor on turn 1, but you have more flexibility in presence placement.

If you do that, then on turn 2, you have the option to make a second sacred site at long range from your first one. This can help with targeting major powers (roughly 1/4 require a sacred site). However, if you're going to be using the "reclaim one" growth option, it's nice to have some lands that are not already sacred so that you can upgrade them with the range-0 presence placement.

Remarks

If you can get up to the "any" element on your top track, that plus your 3-moon innate will make it possible to reach the elemental thresholds on a much wider range of major powers. (Though there's still many that would be hard to hit.)