SantoriniPowerPegasus

Introduction

As the winged horse, Pegasus can fly to avoid the mundane procedures of climbing stair by stair. However, this is often not enough to achieve victory quickly...

God Power

Your workers may move up more than one level but cannot win doing so.

Category

Player move

Explanation

In order to win you have to move up, hence moving from a level 3 to a level 3 does not trigger a win. You only win by moving from a level 2 to a level 3.

Game Strategies

Early Game

Pegasus should aim for an uneven board and the reason is quite simple: he “does not care” about the height of each square but the opponent does, so if he has two move from a level 2 to a level 0 and return to that level 2 in the next turn, that won’t be a problem but it might be for the opponent.

So a natural early strategy for Pegasus is to build over the opponent’s levels 1, creating levels 2s (it would be ideal if they are adjacent). The opponent is not able to move to these levels 2, giving Pegasus an early advantage (of course this will only happen if the opponent builds carelessly).

Mid Game

One of Pegasus goals for this stage is to avoid areas with the same height (in an extreme case, if the whole board has level 2, Pegasus has no ability). Moreover, Pegasus should try to use his workers, together with levels 2 (or 3) as barriers to get a better position.

When you are facing Pegasus, you realize that he has many defensive resources and it will take a while before you can finally break him. “Forcing” him down of a level 2 can mean almost nothing (since he can probably move right back up in the next turn) and he also can jump to levels 3, preventing the opponent from moving to that square. However, most of the time the second option should be avoided. Having this worker on top of a level 3 with the single goal of preventing the opponent from winning is bad because your worker is tied to that square and he can only move if he builds in the square just left.

Late Game

Pegasus is much weaker when the game reaches a late phase, especially if the opponent has already reached the level 2. There won’t be so many level irregularities and the opponent will have a more active position than he did before. If Pegasus is still playing at this phase, it means that he defended well and that the opponent was a little passive. Pegasus is probably not favored in the rest of the game and he will most likely lose.

Specific Matchup

Apollo

After you tried and failed to defeat Apollo many times, you figured that maybe, due to the fact that Apollo can’t reach level 2s, Pegasus could be a possible counter. You shouldn’t get your hopes up though because Apollo will still have no problem dealing with the horse. He just has to make sure that Pegasus doesn’t build levels 2s, which he can easily accomplish by swapping workers.

Athena

Although Athena is a very strong power (and probably stronger in this matchup), Pegasus can counter her ability by not only being able to move up easily but also by being able to move up several levels in the same turn.

Clio

It could be a decent try but if Clio stands her ground and controls the center, there is very little Pegasus can do.

Eris

We are aware that Eris is in general a stronger power than Pegasus, but against Pegasus she is not effective. The reason behind this is simply because Pegasus can move up two levels (while Eris controlling Pegasus cannot), so Pegasus might choose to stay on the ground. Moreover, if Eris moves Pegasus to the ground floor, he will easily move right back up.

Graeae

Building level 2s against Graeae is especially effective as she will have a lot of trouble getting back in the game. Graeae must be careful and avoid building in the center, at least in an early stage of the game. If Pegasus is able to create central towers, this will reduce Graeae’s mobility and the position will favor Pegasus.

Hades

It is only useful for Pegasus to use his ability to move from the ground level to a level 2 (he can move to level 3, but that worker won’t be able to trigger a win).

Hephaestus

Hephaestus is a very powerful god since he can get to level 2 quickly, leaving the opponent in the ground level out of play. Against Pegasus, this won’t work and Hephaestus is severely weakened. The chances for both gods are good, and it is probably Pegasus who will have an easier time.

Hera

Although Pegasus can easily leave Hera on the ground level, it is quite hard to create any real winning threats. So if Hera stays close to the center, Pegasus will have a very tough time and it won’t be long until Hera climbs to a better position.

Heracles

It can be tough for a hero to defeat Pegasus. This is because most heroes are just mortals until they use their power. Being a mortal against Pegasus is pretty bad because we will just build levels 2 and create very soon a very active position. At the end of the day, Pegasus stands better in this matchup.

Hermes

It will take a bit of talent (a good player will most likely manage to do this), but if Hermes is able to hold on for a few turns and build his way to an uniform level 2 board, Pegasus won’t stand a chance.

Hippolyta

One of Hippolyta’s strengths is to have the opponent tied to the ground just by simply building levels 2s. Against Pegasus that won’t just work and it will even be Pegasus deploying that strategy on Hippolyta’s male worker.

Hypnus

Pegasus is also pretty good against Hypnus, since he can control the height of his workers quite easily. Still, he has to move both workers to levels 2 before he can win, but won’t be much of a problem. There is another factor Pegasus has to take into consideration. Moving to level 3 (by jumping more than one level) means that, for the rest of the game, Pegasus will at all times only be able to win with a single worker.

Iris

This provides a well balanced matchup and I’m sure you will have fun with it.

Limus

Limus is one of the strongest powers of the game and the fact that it isn’t clear how to win this matchup with her adds value to Pegasus. By being able to move up several levels, it is hard for Limus to create an out of reach threat which Pegasus cannot defend, and this will give him hope through the rest of the game.

Medusa

Although it might seem that Pegasus will have an easy game, he still needs to be very careful. For example, if Medusa is able to isolate herself (on a higher level island), she will most likely win.

Persephone

In this matchup, Pegasus might wish that in certain moves he didn’t have an ability. Against Persephone, if you can move up, you must do it. In the specific case of Pegasus, he might be able to move up to levels 2 (from levels 0) or to levels 3 due to his ability, and that can be many times undesirable. Persephone can draw Pegasus to a corner and then it might not be easy for Pegasus to escape (a normal power could move from a level 1 to a level 0, build a level 2 in the square they left, and move on with their life; for Pegaus it isn’t so easy to change his route).

Poseidon

Who would have thought that this combination would provide such a balanced matchup? Poseidon can build several times hence create multiple threats, so how can Pegasus cope with this? By moving up more than one level (moving up to levels 3 will be especially useful in this matchup), it is hard for Poseidon to hide and create a deciding attack. Pegasus will be able to defend most of the threats of Poseidon, he just has to stay close. In this matchup, Pegasus should try to “force” both of Poseidon’s workers to at least a level 1 so that he loses his power. One way to do this is by building in the center. In that scenario Poseidon will have to ask himself if he prefers to keep his power with worstly positioned workers or if he calls Pegasus’s bluff.

Siren

Pegasus doesn’t mind being pushed from a level 2 to the ground level, so should he be scared of Siren? I’m afraid the answer is yes! It is amazing that even with these characteristics, Pegasus will still face a tough time against the singing siren.

Zeus

I consider this matchup to be one of the most balanced. It is hard for both powers to make progress but probably Zeus will have a more interesting game. However, if Zeus is ever drawn to the ground level, it could be the perfect time for Pegasus to shine.

Conclusion

As good as it might seem to be able to move up several levels in just a single move, you will often find that this is not enough. Although Pegasus can start an early attack, most opponents will be able to equalize after a considerable amount of turns. When they equalize (in terms of blocks’ height), Pegasus’s options to create a winning attack are severely affected. Nevertheless, Pegasus is a good defender and the opponent will have to create a few domes before they can win. Sadly just defending hardly gets you somewhere so Pegasus should, as much as possible, try to keep the opponent on the ground.

Tier ranking: B