We all know Objective Cards are part of the game of Scythe, but do we understand their importance? I have to admit, my first year of owning the tabletop version of Scythe, Objectives were just a side note. In all my games I treated them as a novelty, like an optional side quest to the main storyline. As such, sometimes I wouldn’t even pay attention to what they were, and if I did achieve one, it usually was by accident.
Fast forward three years, and now I find myself addicted to all the facets of Scythe. Most importantly, the strategy behind the facets. As such, I have a totally different outlook on many parts of the game, and one of the big ones is Objective Cards.
So, in this never ending quest to discover amazing strategies within the game of Scythe, I sought strategic help. I teamed up with five of the top Scythe Digital Edition players: AxlPrototype, Dankynugz, FOMOF, JoyDivision, and Mr. Der – three of whom are recent Discord Tournament winners. With their strategies in mind, we covered a lot of ground for the most optimal Objective Card play. So, without further delay, let’s dig in!
Objective Cards are Vital.
As mentioned previously, in my early years of playing Scythe, Objectives seemed frivolous. They existed, but since they didn’t directly apply to my bottom line of getting mechs and resources, they essentially didn’t matter.
However, the more I played and had game strategies revealed to me, the more I realized the early errors of my playstyle. As all competitive players agree, Objective Cards are vital to keeping an edge over your opponents and getting to your 6th Star as quickly as possible.
Because of the nature of Scythe, almost all Stars require at least an average of four turns to achieve. Meanwhile the Combat and Objective Stars can be achieved in one turn. Regardless of whether a player is rushing or stalling, being able to shave off three turns and finish the game before our opponents gives that player a huge advantage.
Additionally, Objectives are important for the replayability of Scythe. Many players agree that if it weren’t for the variances of Objectives, the game would lose a lot of its savor after so many games. As such, Scythe finds itself with not only some prestigious gaming awards, but also a very loyal following.
Objective Card Difficulty Tiers.
There are 27 overall Objective Cards (23 standard and 4 promotional) in the game of Scythe. With so many options, a lot of variances develop based on a variety of factors. In fact, as much as I hate to admit it, there’s really no way for us to cover every single instance of utilizing Objective Cards. Essentially, every factor of the game comes into play from what faction a player has, to their player mat, to what other factions are in play, and so on. And in the end, the options seem exponential.
Because of this, we’ve streamlined Objective Cards into tiers to give a sense of what are the most and least favorable Objectives to get and why. Now, this isn’t to say that top-tier Objectives are the absolute best while bottom-tier are the worst. As we’ll cover later on, a lot of an Objective’s value is situational from game to game and player to player. Suffice it to say, this list is merely a guide to the overall favorability of each Objective.
Also good to keep in mind, just because an Objective is easy to complete doesn’t necessarily mean it’s best for a player’s situation.
A-Tier Objective Cards.
Originally I had planned to only have four tiers of ranking for Objective Cards. However, one stood out as so much better than all the others that I had no choice but to add a fifth. As such, you may find A-Tier to be a lonely single Objective spot. But this Objective is almost without any argument, the very best.
Foundations of the Empire.
Of all other Objective Cards, this one is the easiest to complete. At any point in the game, we just need to have six units (Character, Mechs, Workers, and/or Buildings) on a single hex. And that’s it. Most players accomplish this in the process of getting their workers out, and as such, it’s one of the few Objectives that can be completed early game. For example, Rusviet with their Relentless faction ability, can complete this as early as Round 3.
The only challenge of Foundations of the Empire is it’s difficulty to complete later in the game. As the game goes on, a typical player will want to spread out to acquire more territory, so the later the game is going, the harder having six units on a hex becomes. As such, it can pigeon-hole us into completing it early on, which then alerts our opponents to keep a closer eye on us. But you won’t hear anyone complaining about getting it.
B-Tier Objective Cards.
These Objectives are generally considered the best to get. As such, they have the most likely potential to be completed during Move action sequences which align with getting Combat Stars and territory expansion. Better yet, some of these Objectives sync up seamlessly to a player’s regular sequences without the player having to use a specific action to complete. Though no Objective is a guarantee, these are the ones that give us the least resistance.
Higher Ground Advantage.
Controlling three Mountain territories at the end of our turn to complete leaves us a lot of flexibility. With the exception of Polania, all factions have a Mountain territory in their base hexes. Additionally it takes a move action to complete, which can easily be combined with combats, Encounters, or worker spread.
Underworld Advantage.
Similar to “Higher Ground,” Underworld Advantage is flexible and synergizes with our Move action. However, because all Tunnels are linked, this Objective could be considered easier as it treats six linked hexes as equally adjacent. As such, acquiring Underworld Advantage typically takes only a single Move action.
Northern Advantage.
Super flexible to complete at any point in the game and it synergizes with our Move action. Additionally, there are two Tundras with Tunnels on them, giving a slight edge to this Objective over most other “advantage” based ones.
Population Advantage.
Similar to the other “advantage” type Objectives, for this one we need to be on Villages. As with the others, it synergizes with our Move action and has the flexibility to complete at any time. In addition to that, there are nine Village hexes in the game which is more than any other type. Because of this, Population has the “advantage” (oh yes, I definitely did that) over some of the other “advantage” types.
Get Rich or Cry Trying.
Getting to 20 Coin in hand isn’t always easy, but it can almost always be done if a player tries. But this isn’t why it’s a B-Tier Objective. Its best attribute is its ability to be held until the final rounds of the game. Meaning, as long as we still have 20 Coin, we can complete this one at the end of any turn. What’s important here is the strategic value of not allowing our opponents to know we have our Objective Star in hand.
Additionally, getting up to 20 Coin doesn’t take any additional turns in our strategy sequences. And it also sets us up for achieving a fairly high score. The only drawback in my opinion is having to be frugal with our Encounters and ensuring we’re using high paying bottom row actions to help us get there.
Diversify Production.
At first glance, this Objective seems kind of like a pain to deal with. It’s flexible enough to complete any time in a game and it’s still based on our Move action; however, it’s five different hex types that have to be occupied by at least one worker. That might seem like more of an issue than most players would want to deal with.
On the other hand, it seriously benefits our worker spread to get more territories. As such, it doesn’t hinder our game as much as it forces us to plan our own expansion, which also helps our end game score. Additionally, it’s sort of like a wild card for the hex occupation types of Objectives.
Consider all base hexes already start with three different terrain types; and all of them, with the exception of Albion, have access to the other two types within a single Move action. Therefore, it’s actually overall easier for any faction to complete than the other “advantage” hex occupation Objectives. This is because it’s limitations are far more flexible to only a single of each terrain type as opposed to multiples.
Lastly, as a side note, it’s also a lot more difficult for opponents to predict and block.
C-Tier Objective Cards.
Generally speaking, these aren’t the best Objectives to get, but they’re still good. Unlike A and B-Tier, these can take players a bit out of their typical sequences. Some take more planning or effort, while others involve a player taking an additional turn to complete.
Harvest Advantage.
Similar to it’s brothers in B-Tier, Harvest Advantage has the flexibility of being able to complete any time in a game. As well, it syncs up with our Move action.
However, it loses its edge because it’s less reliable to complete for every faction at the table. The reasoning for this is two-fold. For one, only four factions start with a Farm hex in their base territories. This means the other three factions are already at a disadvantage (save Rusviet who has two adjacent right outside of their base).
Second, there are only seven Farm hexes on the entire board. Of all other terrain types, only Farms and Forests have the least amount with seven. Not only that, but as mentioned, two of those hexes are shoved in the top right corner between Rusviet and Nordic. Which means, if Rusviet is in our game, they’re probably occupying those by the time we can get out to them.
Send One Back as a Warning.
At first glance, I used to think this Objective was super easy. Just kick a worker from a hex? Doesn’t even have to be in combat? Sure thing!
However, more often than not I discovered that the “… and still have at least 7 Power” part was actually pretty tough. This means we either have to go out of our way to Bolster some Power or have a player mat who’s engine supports bolstering. Or, if we want to be risky, hope to find some Power through an Encounter or an Enlist action. All that to say, there are some variables to overcome.
Additionally, there seems to be a sweet spot as far as time frame within a game to pull this Objective off. With some exceptions, it appears as though this Objective can’t be completed early in the game, and definitely will struggle for most factions in the late game once combats have been happening. As such, it’s still an overall good Objective, but it lacks the flexibility to be a great Objective.
Woodland Advantage.
Just like “Harvest Advantage,” Woodland Advantage struggles with similar issues. In this Objective’s case, only two factions start with a Forest territory in their base hexes. Worse, Togawa is two Move actions from getting to one with a worker and Albion is three. Additionally, and similarly to the Farm hex issues, there are only seven Forest hexes on the board. Two of those are adjacent and crowded into the lower left corner where only Saxony has easy access to them.
Regardless of that, it’s still an “advantage” based occupation Objective, and has the benefits of flexibility of completing anytime in game as well as being part of our Move action. Yet it seems to be the most difficult of all the “advantage” based Objectives.
Divide and Conquer.
As far as territory occupying Objectives go, Divide and Conquer is good in that it works with our Move action and has the flexibility of being completed anytime during a game. As well, it only requires two hexes from us, which is definitely on the low end.
However, it has some big limitations. First, it stalls all rush strategies to the Factory for at least two rounds. That, and once a player gets a Factory Card, this Objective is obsolete. These factors make it inflexible. Second, the Factory is surrounded by three Lake hexes and only three factions have abilities that allow them to move onto a Lake. This means the four other factions have to maneuver through Tunnels to flank or will have to use an additional Move action to cross over the Factory with a mech.
Shore up the Shore.
This gem is a territory occupying Objective, so it has the flexibility of being part of our Move action as well as it doesn’t have any restrictions as to when it can be completed. Additionally, it encourages our worker spread to five hexes, which certainly helps our end game score.
Unfortunately, it does have some bigger setbacks. Although there are seven Lake hexes on the board, only five of them have five or more hexes surrounding them. Of those, three are at the center of the board and only one of them doesn’t require dealing with rivers or holding the Factory to complete. The one relief being all applicable Lake hexes have Tunnels adjacent to them which makes for some ease of movement.
Establish a Human Shield.
We only need to occupy a single territory with this one! It works with our Move action and it doesn’t have any limitations as to the time of the game it can be completed. That all seems pretty solid.
Aside from that, we have to get five workers on the same hex. The downside to this is it both limits our worker spread and also suggests our production phase be completed. Additionally, there is no Village hex adjacent to the Factory, so we can’t Produce action this one into being.
One plus is that it puts our workers central to the board for future worker spread and prevents opponents in need of their Popularity from overtaking that zone.
D-Tier Objective Cards.
Alright, these aren’t the worst Objectives we can get, but they’re hovering just above that. Most players would probably avoid these for other options as they take a lot of planning or are very circumstantial. Most of these also have very limited flexibility and generally force players to have to utilize a specific time in the game to complete. And in some cases, if that window is missed, they become obsolete.
King of the Hill.
This used to be my favorite Objective to get in my first year of playing. Back then, games with my friends went over Round 25 regularly and building up a ton of Power was part of all my strategies. But the longer I’ve played, the more I’ve had to come to realize this Objective is really tough and sensitive to a lot of nuances in each game.
While controlling the Factory with the highest Power seems pretty legit, getting to that point is the challenge. Most importantly, we have to read what all other factions in the game are doing. If our opponents aren’t focused on bolstering, we want to rush to the Factory while everyone’s Power is still low enough to easily beat. If other factions are rapidly growing in Power, we have to bide our time and conserve our Power while staying in reach of, or keeping control of the Factory.
None of these are game ending issues in and of themselves. But in circumstances where we have to conserve our Power, we also have to avoid anything but the easiest combats. That or we have to race building up Power and engage in combats to intentionally drain our opponents below us. Again, none of this is impossible, but look at all the effort and additional turns that have to go into it.
Machine Over Muscle.
Here we have an Objective that some players like while others despise. Just the same, some factions and/or player mats have the ability to accomplish this with little hindrance to their games. Yet overall, and in a general sense, Machine Over Muscle is considered less than ideal.
The biggest difficulty is navigating around its limitations without derailing our game. For instance, unless we have a three worker strategy up our sleeve, our plan will have to be to rush to the Factory. Along with that, it seriously limits what mech(s) we deploy first as we have to focus our efforts on making haste. This means Speed Mechs and Riverwalk or Lake hopping mechs first.
Of course, these issues aren’t typically enough to ruin a game for a player, but they can be enough to slow a player’s turn progression. As such, it’s generally an Objective players avoid.
A Wolf Among the Sheep.
While this Objective may be on the easier side of the “less than ideal” divider line, it’s still a bit of a pain to manage. Of course, getting one worker, one mech, and our character on a single hex falls under a single Move action in most cases. But it’s getting the five or more resources on the same hex that throws a wrench in our plans.
I don’t know about most of you, but with the exception of one or two faction / mat combinations, I typically don’t have more than four resources on any hex at any given time. It’s like a beacon saying “steal this” to our opponents. As such, it means we’re either trading or producing in excess of what we’re immediately using.
In addition to that, the effort of consolidating resources onto a single hex isn’t typically part of any player’s action sequences. In fact, it likely takes all or most of a Move action, which takes away from more important uses for our movement.
Create a Permanent Foothold.
Alright, I’m with most of you on this one. First look, “zero mechs?!” Okay, this is garbage. Additionally, I’m not fond of using the Build action because it always seems like the least beneficial bottom row action on most player mats. The only reasonable thing about it seems to be getting 7 Popularity. Otherwise, it looks like a headache and almost completely limits everything we want our Scythe game to be. Which of course is mechs!
So, now that we got that out of the way, let’s consider this without getting emotional. First, it doesn’t mean “no mechs for the entire game.” Once we Build three structures and reach 7 Popularity, we’re done and free to do as we please. Second, as we established, there are multiple ways to get our Popularity up; and getting Tier-2 Popularity is a big benefit to our end game. Lastly, there’s at least three easily accessible hexes in every faction’s base area. This means we have all the space necessary to put structures on without the need of a mech.
On the other hand, I have to be the devil’s advocate and throw more shade on this Objective. First, only two factions have a Forest territory in their base hexes. Meanwhile, Togawa and Albion aren’t restricted by rivers to a Forest hex, but only Togawa is within two Move action’s reach. So ideally, they and the other factions have to settle on Trade. Also, no Build cost is lower than three Lumber on any player mat to start the game. All but one can be discounted by upgrades down to at least two Lumber, but that means additional trading for the factions that also don’t have a Tundra hex to Produce Oil on.
Our Guest Strategists on “Create a Permanent Foothold.”
Aside from that, even really good players have differing opinions on it:
Mr. Der says, “I love going for this Objective. It’s not as unreasonable as it seems to be. I’ve done it with every faction and every player mat. The most recent one was with Industrial Crimea, and I actually won that game in 15 turns.”
While JoyDivision says, “(This) should never be attempted for any reason other than pure pride and/or masochism.”
All that to say, it generally seems to fall into the “less than ideal” category of Objectives. But you be the judge and decide the next time you get it if you want to give it a try.
Technological Breakthrough.
I’d consider this one on the easier end of the bad Objectives. On one hand, for most player mats, it doesn’t tank their engine by holding off on the Upgrade action. Some play styles can manage a game without upgrading pretty well. Additionally, with a concentrated effort, most faction/mat combinations can get to the Factory by the mid game.
On the other hand, it puts constraints on our playing style. If we want to Upgrade, we have to make a rush to the Factory. We also have to eschew any upgrades from Encounters we receive. If we don’t care about upgrading, we still have to have a plan for moving to the Factory during the game. Even more limiting, it has to be our character that makes it to the Factory, unlike other Objectives that require we only occupy the Factory with a single unit.
Achieve Tactical Mastery.
Getting a Combat Star is possible in almost every game for every faction. Getting 8 or more Combat Cards isn’t. While I can appreciate this for forcing us to Enlist at least once, which is of a greater long term benefit, it has a lot of variable hangups in any given game.
For example, how many Combat Cards a faction starts with. While Saxony starts with four, Albion and Crimea start with zero. Also, getting Combat Cards primarily involves enlisting the Enlist action. While Encounters might give us some, an enlistment bonus will give us two, and a lost combat will give us one; we’re entirely dependent on our neighbors enlisting to get most of our Combat Cards.
In addition to that, we have to conserve our cards during our necessary combat for our Star. Meaning, we have to have enough Combat Cards to bluff and enough Power to win with. And if that’s not enough, we’re also limited to mid to late game to complete it due to the nature of getting Combat Cards and our single combat victory.
All this to say, it’s not impossible to complete, and in rare cases it works really well with our faction/mat combination. But generally, it’s a lot of effort to plan and has the potential to fall flat on its face before being completed.
Become a Despised Warmonger.
This Objective Card looks really cool; er … hot, I guess. But art aside, it’s a tough one to accomplish in a general sense. One thing that immediately sticks out is that there’s no way to dependably get enough Power without the Bolster action. That alone changes a lot in a player’s strategy as they have to adjust to whatever their bottom row action for Bolster is if they want to make the most of their turn sequences.
Not to mention, getting up to 13 Power takes some time. That means we’re limited to completing this Objective mid to late game. Add in the additional constraint of having to be conservative with our Power for Produce actions as well as combat, and we’re starting to feel a bit claustrophobic.
Aside from Power, getting below three Popularity and having two mechs isn’t incredibly difficult, but they do create more limitations. And on some player mats, like the Engineering mat, trying to complete this Objective and run a solid game seems like it’ll be far more difficult than it’s worth.
F-Tier Objective Cards.
Finally, we get to the proverbial car wrecks of Objective Cards. No one seems to want to get these and yet, you’re still reading this just to see how bad they are, amirite? Overall, most players consider these the worst possible cards and will pick their second option over them – unless it’s another on this list. This isn’t to say these Objectives are impossible to complete. I’ve seen many of them happen in competitive games, and sometimes even in cases where the player who completes them wins. It just doesn’t happen very often.
Roll Up Your Sleeves with the Common Man.
Right away we start with what is arguably the very worst Objective in Scythe. At first glance, it’s easy to miss why it’s so bad, so let me walk us through it.
First, we need $2 or less. Now early game, this isn’t at all an issue as most player mats can find ways to spend 2 – 5 Coin. But then we throw in that we need at least four workers. Okay, so we use a Move action to get our workers to our Village hex. Next turn, Produce action and boom, four workers. But then we need seven Popularity! Well, the highest Popularity starting player mat is Agricultural with four, but even then we need to Enlist for the Popularity bonus and either Trade for one Popularity or get it from an Encounter. All this while trying to keep ourselves from gaining any Coin.
I don’t know about you, but that seems like a complete headache. Certainly, on rare occasions it can likely be completed, possibly without even causing a penalty; especially if a player gets a pay $2 for 3 Popularity option on an Encounter. But that sounds like a stars aligning sort of situation that would be better off happening by accident than intentionally.
Stockpile for the Winter.
This Objective seems uncannily cruel. Isn’t it hard enough to have 9 resources on a single hex, let alone needing one of each type? Of course, the issue isn’t whether or not it can be done, because it definitely can. But as the terribly misquoted Ian Malcolm line goes, “You were so preoccupied with the idea that you could, that you didn’t even consider if you should.” Nailed it.
Okay, let’s say we’re going to try to complete this Objective. Our most realistic route still takes us 3 Rounds:
- 8 worker Produce action on two or more hexes.
- Move action to consolidate to a single hex.
- Trade action to fill in the missing resource(s).
Or if the heavens part and we somehow have Factory Card #8 (Trade: 1 Combat Card for any 3 resources), it’s still 2 Rounds:
- 8 worker Produce action on two or more hexes.
- Factory Card Trade to fill in missing resource(s) and Factory Move action.
But then, what do we do with all those resources? For them not to go to waste, this then needs to be happening early to mid game.
So, the end result comes down to “is it worth derailing early game engine building?” Generally speaking, the answer is probably no.
Hedge Your Bets.
In the realm of worst Objective Cards, this one seems more straightforward than some of the others. In truth, it’s just wanting us to complete each bottom row action once. While this derails most strategies a turn or two that’s not the end of the world when the alternative is four additional turns to complete a different bottom row action for a Star. The pain is having enough of the leftover resources. In a streamlined game, we’re trying to avoid wasted turns, Produce actions and Trades. And this Objective seems to encourage the opposite.
If it were to be done, the best chances would be through a lucky Encounter or Factory Card #8 again. But then, it’s almost better that it happens by accident than by intention.
Balanced Workforce.
Okay, so this one is not at all easy to pull off; but it can, and has happened. But it’s really only feasible in the very early game and most optimal with the Militant or Patriotic mats and Albion, Polania, or Togawa as the faction. At that point, it’s a matter of producing and trading back and forth for four Rounds.
However; it’s in this tier to talk about how bad it is. As such, for almost every other of the 41 circumstances, it’s not worth a player’s time. The biggest setback to completing it comes down to the delay to establishing a player’s engine. The simplest consideration comes down to; if it takes four or more turns out of sequence to complete, you’re better off getting a different bottom row action for a Star.
Become a Beloved Pacifist.
As much as we all enjoy Scythe for the peace it brings, for this Objective, pacifism doesn’t seem to pay off. Aside from the tough limitations, the biggest obstacle is getting to 13 Popularity in the current average of competitive game length. In fact, it seems almost impossible.
Mr. Der states, “It can be completed with the right kind of Encounters and bottom row action strategy. I think the fastest I’ve ever gotten this Objective is in 13 turns. But it requires a really weird play style; like Trading for 2 Popularity then using the Build action on the Patriotic player mat.”
I’ve only ever completed it in my early tabletop Scythe days with friends, and those were 25+ Round games. So, I’m guessing the math adds up and it’s next to impossible or totally not worth the effort.
Monopolize the Market.
All things considered, this is a “least worst of” scenario in comparison to other F-Tier Objective Cards. For example, it can be completed in an 8 worker Produce action, plus a Trade action if needed. In comparison to “Stockpile for the Winter,” it only needs to be a single resource type and it doesn’t have to be on a single hex.
But it still takes a considerable effort to either plan such a large Produce action or to find alternate methods. As such, it tends to prevent our worker spread until late game, which may inhibit a player’s strategy.
All that to say, it’s not the worst, but it typically isn’t really worth it.
Build Local Infrastructure.
I think we can say that this one is the less desirable brother to “Create a Permanent Foothold.” While this Objective doesn’t limit our Deploy action, it instead forces us to move away from our base before using the Build action.
What’s tough about that is, most factions build in the early game to get the most benefits. And when the two most optimal hexes (those next to our base) are taken away, it suddenly makes the Build action worthless until a player leaves their base peninsula. As such, we have to establish an engine to get mechs, just to get out of our base, just to establish an engine to Build. Lots of work.
Objective Cards & Faction / Mat Synergy.
In Scythe, we love to see synergy. Creating functional turn by turn compatibilities make the game immensely fun and rewarding. Such is the same with Objective Cards and their ability to synergize with certain factions and/or player mats. However; it could easily take another entire article just to investigate the nuances behind that, so below are some of the highlights of the best and worst synergies we could think up.
Albion vs. Objective Cards.
Clan Albion has a tough time with a lot of Objectives, primarily due to their limited mobility. Because of this, most occupy territory type Objectives such as “Harvest Advantage” become much tougher than planning a single Move action. As such, Albion functions much better with Objectives that can be completed with little to no movement.
Repeating an example above, Albion has a better chance to complete F-Tier Objective “Balanced Workforce,” then most other factions. Though, this might only be of benefit to them with the Militant or Patriotic mats as both can complete the Objective in the first 4 Rounds of the game.
Additionally, Albion has a tough road with any Factory based Objectives. Things like “King of the Hill” and “Machine Over Muscle” force the Mean Green to change a great deal of their strategy in order to complete. Even worse, Objectives like “Divide and Conquer” are even more difficult as they remove the immediate benefit of getting a Factory Card until the Objective is completed.
Crimea vs. Objective Cards.
Crimea is one of the more fortunate factions in the game. As such, not a whole lot will phase them when faced with even the worst Objectives. However, at least one Objective falls even further on the less favorable scale for them.
“Achieve Tactical Mastery” can be especially difficult for the Crimean Khanate. Because of Crimea’s Coercion ability, players are going to have a tough time taking advantage of their faction ability while simultaneously saving up enough Combat Cards to complete. In addition, Crimea starts with zero Combat Cards; so from zero to eight while using them as a resource isn’t the most feasible.
Nordic vs. Objective Cards.
The Nordic Kingdoms are a land of Mountain, Tundra, and Forest. As such, they tend to have an unequaled affinity for the Build and Upgrade actions. Additionally, and unlike many other factions, Nordic player mat combinations have a few mechless or late game mech strategies that make “Create a Permanent Foothold” and “Build Local Infrastructure” at least one tier higher for them.
Additionally, because of Nordic’s Swim faction ability, their workers can achieve both “Underworld Advantage” and “Northern Advantage” really early in a game and without deploying a mech.
Polania vs. Objective Cards.
For the Republic of Polania, a big faction strategy is getting to Encounters, which means getting out of their base quickly. Because of this, and their unusual ability to reach the Factory earlier than most other factions, most Factory Objectives don’t hinder them as they do other factions.
Objectives like “Machine Over Muscle” and “Technological Breakthrough” are far more achievable if a player is rushing the Factory as Polania. In fact, most Polania and player mat combinations can hit the Factory between Rounds 5 – 8. In such cases, these Objectives actually become almost a natural part of Polania’s strategy.
Rusviet vs. Objective Cards.
Rusviet is already considered the most advantageous faction in the game. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they have some advantages on Objective Cards as well.
“Monopolize the Market” becomes a great Objective as Rusviet and could arguably be considered A-Tier for Rusviet Mechanical because the best strategy for that combination involves over-producing Food. Though “Stockpile for the Winter” is still not favorable, as Rusveit it could be considered at least C-Tier as during their typical strategies, all it could take is adding in a Trade action to complete.
Additionally, all Factory based Objectives move up at least one tier as Rusviet due to their Township Mech ability. With that, Objective Cards like “King of the Hill”, “Technological Breakthrough”, “Machine Over Muscle”, “Divide and Conquer”, and “Establish a Human Shield” can essentially be completed in a single Move action.
Saxony vs. Objective Cards.
The Saxony Empire has the advantage of being able to complete both of their Objectives instead of just one per game. Because of this, it’s always more beneficial for players to really consider trying to get both. Additionally, because Saxony also gets unlimited Combat Star potential, they favor the Move action, which also favors a lot of Objectives. All that to say, Saxony already has some built in synergy with Objective Cards.
But other than that, Saxony only has a moderate bit of advantage on “Achieve Tactical Mastery” as they start the game with four Combat Cards. Now, it’s frequently not easy to Enlist with Saxony; however, getting a single enlistment for the Enlist action and Combat card bonus, can almost guarantee this Objective for them. As such, for Saxony Militant, this Objective would likely be considered B-Tier as it fits right into that strategy.
On the other hand, “Harvest Advantage” is tougher for Saxony to complete. This is because the only easily accessible Farms are the Tunnel Farm and the two above Rusviet’s starting hexes.
Togawa vs. Objective Cards.
The Togawa Shogunate also has a tough time with a lot of movement based Objectives. Due to the lack of a Speed Mech in their arsenal, they find themselves forever stunted to the single hex movement.
However, for them “Create a Permanent Foothold” and “Build Local Infrastructure” are more possible with strategies that focus on their Build Star and late mech deployments. Since a Forest hex is adjacent to their Village hex, it’s certainly a more viable option than for many other factions.
Power based Objectives such as “Become a Despised Warmonger,” and “King of the Hill” are also closer within grasp thanks to their Ronin Mech ability. As with “King of the Hill,” this is also beneficial as it encourages their movement to the Factory.
Objective Card Strategies.
For every game of Scythe, it’s important to consider our Objective Cards before starting. Because the value of completion is a Star, we have to consider first whether or not any of our Objectives can be completed; and then, if completing one is faster than an alternative Star.
Winning with Objective Cards.
Ideally, we want to use an Objective for one of our six Stars. The reasoning simply comes down to streamlining our game to end quickly while we are in or close to taking the lead. Objectives that fit into our turn sequences like most A and B-Tiers also gain us the benefit of not slowing our game down to achieve this. The alternative to that is finding other methods to earn a different Star, which often ends up being up to four additional turns to achieve.
For example, Albion Agricultural focuses on getting Enlist, Power, Worker, Objective and two Combat Stars. However, if an Objective isn’t possible, they would likely have to fall back to getting their Mech Star which would take at least 3 additional Rounds. As such, a player would have to consider if it would be worth going that route or if the Objective can be done faster.
Winning without Objective Cards.
There are some points where getting an Objective completed is more detrimental than other options to gain a Star. An example of such could be the unfortunate draw of getting two F-Tier Objective Cards. In such cases, the best a player can do is be flexible enough to consider how to minimize their losses and figure out what alternate methods are available to them. All while knowing at what point trying to complete an Objective would cripple all hopes of winning a game.
Changing Star Strategies.
Take for example the Rusviet Innovative rush strategy. It has the potential to win a game between Rounds 12 – 14 if it gets an Objective that’s favorable; but it’s a very low coin generating strategy. Therefore, if it gets say, “Get Rich or Cry Trying” and “Become a Beloved Pacifist,” suddenly it’s hopes to get six Stars quickly while still leading in score start to fade.
The next best Star option for them might be to get the Power Star instead; however, without an early Enlist on Upgrades and neighbors upgrading often, that’s likely to fall flat on its face. Then that player finds themselves adding in some turns using the Bolster action – which then slows the entire engine down and burns coins. And just like that, the premise of the strategy is worthless.
The only other option is hoping for a really solid Factory Card. But if that doesn’t happen, the player may have a fiery start, but will fizzle out and lose more and more points as the game goes beyond Round 14.
In such a case, a player would actually have to embrace changing their strategy early on from a rush game to an economy game. Likely one that involves using the Upgrade or Build action to fill in the missing Stars and gain more coin. A tough change, but one that’s more likely to allow a player to still win.
Suicide Strategy.
A final thought in such cases is a player can opt to force an opponent to end the game. Not everyone who wins gets their 6th Star. As such, if a player has the score advantage and is missing their Objective Star, they can always lose a combat to another Faction who only needs a Combat Star to win. This is called a “Suicide Strategy,” and oftentimes it may be the difference between winning and losing.
Objective Card House Rules.
Along with many other variables in Scythe, there are some house rule options our guest strategists suggest using when having the flexibility of playing the tabletop version of Scythe. Though these aren’t entirely necessary, for a lot of players they may add a level of balance and fun to the game.
Mulligan Down to one Objective.
In the rare times a player gets two bad Objective Cards (typically two F-Tiers), they have the option to discard their Objective Cards and draw one more from the top of the deck. From that point, they keep the Objective, whether it’s good or bad. This allows a small opportunity for players not to have to abandon their whole game strategy to replace the Objective Star.
Foundations of the Empire Nerf.
Since getting “Foundations of the Empire” coincides with getting the Worker Star so often it’s almost like a two for one deal on Stars. As such, the suggested addition to the rule is amending the text to needing one of each unit on a hex (character, building, mech, and worker).
Get Rich or Cry Trying Nerf.
Because $20 can be done by almost any faction and player mat, there’s a suggested edit to increase the amount of coin in hand to $25.
Roll Up Your Sleeves with the Common Man Amendment.
Because sacrificing coin in any game is almost always a terrible idea, there is a suggestion to increase the rule from $2 or less to $5 or less. As such, it would no longer be the absolute worst Objective in the game.
Objective Card Draft.
Instead of starting the game with two random cards, players would start with three random Objective Cards. They would then choose one and pass the other two clockwise to their neighbor. From that they would choose another and pass the final card to their neighbors. With three cards in hand again, players would pick two to keep and discard the remaining one.
Objective Card Overview.
Well, this about wraps up our exceedingly long article on Objective Cards and the strategies surrounding them. Remember, Objective Cards are vital to winning efficiently; however, a player has to know when they get Objectives that aren’t possible to succeed with. Knowing what’s feasible to pull off in a game makes all the difference between running solid strategies and stalling out with a loss of momentum.
I hope this has been informative and helps boost your game play. If you’re new to Scythe or are looking to brush up on some general strategy, visit our Quick Tips & Strategy section. Additionally, if you’re looking to get into Scythe you can find the tabletop version at Stonemaier Games. If you’d prefer the Digital Edition, you can find it on Steam. Both options are well worth it!
Lastly, if you’re looking for more in depth strategies or particular faction / mat combinations, check out our Strategy Section. As always, feel free to leave a comment below with any thoughts or successes you’ve had with this!
Thank you so much to my guest strategists for all their help and input. These strategies wouldn’t be fully developed without their contributions!
Happy gaming!
- Norman
- Guest Strategists: AxlPrototype, Dankynugz, FOMOF, JoyDivision, and Mr. Der.