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SantoriniPowerPrometheus

2026-08-20T06:11:05Z

Westmalletripel: Spelling, etc

[[Image:Prometheus.png]]
==Introduction==
Building before and after moving. It seems attractive. However, for beginners, it may not be useful as it seems when playing with this Titan. This god power has a limit of not moving up, so you can’t directly win on level-2 with this power. Bad news for that. However, if Prometheus is allowed to move up when he uses his power, he will definitely be banned from this game. Why so? He is already super strong now! As the writer of this full guide, one of the gods that I don’t want to be against in Santorini is Prometheus, he is both simply decent and multifaceted. He is invulnerable to most of the common winning strategies, like Corner-L, and he has so many winning possibilities as long as he is on a level 2, because he can just do what Demeter can do. Moreover, he can be a brutal builder like Hephaestus, turning a level 1 to a tower in no time. What’s more. He can dome your level-2s like Hestia by building twice on it, while Hestia cannot do this on perimeter space. Playing against him is an utter trouble.

===God Power===
During your turn, if your worker does not move up, it may build both before and after moving.

===Category===
Player build

===Explanation===
This power starts before the move stage. Your worker may choose to build an additional block first, if you do, you forfeit to move up.

==Game Strategies==
===Early Game===
Once I have thought of a guaranteed level-2 start strategy by Prometheus, while I find no solution to that. Assume first mover Prometheus, build two level-1’s at the corner like Demeter. This is a guaranteed level-1. Next, move up to a level-1 and build a level-2. If no one blocks you, move up. If someone applies level-3 blocking on you, build behind yourself, and move to the new block, then build on the old block. What?

Here, you can see Prometheus being unstoppable to move up to a level-2. You just need to keep doing what is mentioned above and finally corner up your safe level-2, or two-way level-2’s. I can’t really find a solution for this. Thus, the key to destroying this plan should be the god power. For god that without an aggressive power, it can never stop Prometheus from doing so (Chronus: Somebody’s calling me?). Thus, Prometheus could win in the early game. After moving up to a level-2, simply use your power to create more level-2’s so as to corner up your winning position.

===Mid Game===
Here, we will move on to the later stage of the game. However, the following guide of Prometheus is based on the case that the gods against Prometheus can do something on him in the early game. Some good examples are Pegasus or Atlas. If you are using, um… yea… Chronus, I don’t think you can reach the mid-game.

Assume you are in an advantageous position, you should have won since Prometheus is like Hephaestus. Simply build up the area and your opponent can never go up, so you can easily corner up the winning position later by building a two-way tower like Demeter. This part is uninteresting.

In other situations where you need to be aggressive, while defending your opponent’s move. You may try to use domers strategy, by doming the level-2’s of the opponent by your god power, and expand your area of level-2’s like Hephaestus. Moreover, for your defense move, if your opponent creates some dangerous level-2’s like Corner-L, simply place a worker at the corner. Prometheus can build without moving using his power, so he is invulnerable to corner-L! That’s why in the intro I said Prometheus is so bothering. You will feel very hard to corner up a winning position against him.

However, other than the common aggressive strategy applied by Demeter or Hephaestus, Prometheus has his own aggressive strategy in the mid-game. Here we will give some example:

[[Image:Prometheus-1.png]]

As Prometheus being the first mover, his winning move might be unclear to a beginner, but some good players should spot his winning move here. Build at D3, then move to D3 and build at E4. Thus, one playing against Prometheus requires to be super careful. As long as he is on a level-2, he can create some winning tower in no-time, even if he is standing on an alone tower. This is what Demeter and Hephaestus can’t do! For Prometheus, try to move to the area of level-1’s so that you could have more aggressive possibilities. By keeping this aggressive momentum, you may finally corner up a winning position by your opponent doming your level-3’s.

===Late Game===
The late game investigation of Prometheus is actually quite similar to Demeter and Hephaestus. I would not talk much here since it is quite repetitive. However, I do think that when countering Prometheus in the late game, forcing his worker to move down is always a good choice. Like Hermes, when Prometheus moves up, he loses his chance to use his power. Unlike Demeter and Hephaestus, where a must-win situation can be easily created by moving from a level-1 to a level-2. Thus conversely, Prometheus should have a planful build such that he doesn’t need to fall for defending, which is actually simple for him. For example sometimes, you may use your first build to smoothen the levels, and use the second build to defend. Using this strategy, you will be less likely to fall too much in the late game, and hopefully win the game.

==Specific Matchup==
===Demeter===
This is a classic matchup, where both gods can build twice, and Prometheus seems to have larger constraints. However, Prometheus in fact does better in defending, since he can simply stand at some corner and defend by his power of building without moving. In most of this matchup, I realized that having Demeter to move up to a level-2 in the early game is inevitable. As a Prometheus, simply try to stick with Demeter on some level-1. In this case, packed along with your crazy defensive power, you can defend all Demeter’s aggressive towers by your power. Keep in mind for two points. First, you can defend by the first build without moving, in this case, make sure you have some smoothened level around you so your move won’t force you to move down. Secondly, you can defend two-way towers better than Demeter, since your two builds are more distant. A fair and super fun match.

===Chronus===
The early game strategy from Prometheus can be easily applied on Chronus to reach level-2. However, Chronus can exploit this strategy and create 5 complete towers easily. Beware that if Chronus try to dome the level-3 and let Prometheus move up, Prometheus may easily extend the area of level-2 and create two-way towers. Thus, before Chronus try to dome level-3, try to have one worker stick with Prometheus on some level-1, so that Prometheus cannot easily corner up the winning position by extending level-2s. From this, we should realize that it may not be the best for Prometheus to use that mentioned strategy to reach a level-2, when facing Chronus.

===Scylla===
Prometheus biggest drawback is to move up. He loses his power when he moves up. As we know, Scylla can easily pull you down a level, and Prometheus needs to walk up Santorini slowly again.

==Conclusion==
As I said in the article, Prometheus is definitely a powerful god. However, since its build occurs before moving, playing with or against Prometheus requires a specific moveset and strategy. Common winning strategy like Corner-L does not threaten him, and two-way towers from Demeter or even Graeae (distant two-way towers) may not yield a guaranteed win. Thus, the counterintuition might make him not a good god for beginners. However, upon deep investigation and learning of him, you can quickly show his both aggressive and defensive sides powerfully. And definitely, his tier ranking is impressive. :)

Tier Ranking: A

Unlike Demeter, Prometheus is not as easy to use for a beginner. However if you are more experienced in Santorini, as long as your Prometheus is on a level-2, it is as dangerous as Pan. Moreover, as an opponent you need a planful build to prevent Prometheus from doming your winning position. Hence, choosing Prometheus is always a good choice after some investigation on him.

SantoriniPowerHermes

2026-08-19T15:15:45Z

Westmalletripel: /* Builders (esp. Demeter) */ level -'s becomes level 2s

[[Image:Hermes.png]]
==Introduction==
Though having quick feet, Hermes do not have a strong muscle for his feet to jump easily. I thought he was one of the overpowered gods when I was on the first few days playing Santorini. However, the moving constraint is really a great limit. You cannot walk up straight to a tower from the ground, or you can’t ground yourself and move far away from the level-2 in hope of doming a dangerous tower. Most importantly, unlike other movers Artemis and Triton, you can only move up as long as you are next to a higher level in the start of the turn. Thus, Hermes is in fact vulnerable to be grounded. As long as Hermes is in a disadvantageous position, his opponent can easily ground him and achieve victory.

Anyway, Hermes does have his advantage. The most valuable part of Hermes is that as long as both of his workers do not move up or down, they can both move and either of them builds. Thus, if Hermes is in an advantageous position, he can use worker-block well, by adjusting the position of his worker to corner up the winning position. Moreover, he can build without moving. It also means that Hermes is invulnerable to corner-L strategy, since he can simply stand at the corner of the L-sign and be the protector of the corner winning position. With this, we will try to establish some useful strategy that Hermes may use. Be ready to show his speedy nature in the whole game?

===God Power===
In your turn, if your workers do not move up or down, they may each move any number of times (even zero), and then either builds.

===Category===
Player move

===Explaination===
This only happens during your move stage. If you choose not to move up or down, each of your workers may keep moving, even back to the same space (unlike Artemis). Therefore, after you have moved the second time of your workers, you can no longer go up or go down. If you have moved up or moved down in the first move, you immediately need to build with your moved worker, since it means you do not activate your power so you just follow the game rule. Moreover, if you activate the power, you can choose which worker to build. Therefore, you can move with worker A and build by worker B instead.

==Game Strategies==
===Early Game===
What you might want to do is start blocking every level-1 they place. This is easy since Hermes can move anywhere. His limit is that he can’t move up or down and then move unlimited times. However, beware of worker’s block since Hermes is not a pusher like Minotaur and Apollo. Those level-2’s might become obstacles for Hermes to continue blocking. There is a cool thing about Hermes, which has been mentioned above, he can build without moving. That is pretty cool. If your opponent’s building plan is bad, you may be able to keep blocking until it gets down to the last few spaces. Then there is no way for them to get up, so they are trapped and lose due to not being able to move. Recall that Hermes can build without move, so he wouldn’t get stuck in this case.

However, a good building plan could actually ruin Hermes level-2 blocking strategy, so this strategy usually doesn’t last long. Yet, this is still favorable to Hermes mid-game, which will be mentioned later.

A more safe early game strategy is instead moving up one of your workers first, and extending the area of level-1’s such that you can utilize your power to move infinitely on the same level. Keep another worker on the ground for defensive purposes, to level-3 block other’s level-2, such that you gain some chance to extend the area of level-1’s. With correct planning, this strategy should bring at least one of your workers to level-2’s. If not, Hermes would have a very hard time in the mid-game and late-game.

===Mid Game===
As aforementioned, Hermes needs to do well in the early game. He has a huge moving-up constraint, so he will have a hard time if he fails to move up in the early game. The superior opponent may simply ground you forever and easily corner up a winning position.

Thus, the disadvantageous position of Hermes in mid-game seems uninteresting to investigate. We will instead move on to the 50:50 and advantageous position of him. The 50:50 position of Hermes is one of his workers sticking with the opponent, while one of them is below for defensive purposes. In this case, try to always stand next to your opponent to avoid any workers block and the possibility to create some aggressive tower.

In the following examples, we will show how complicated using Hermes is. We need to be careful on how moving up affects our aggressive and defensive possibilities, and the final position of Hermes at the end of the turn.

[[Image:Hermes-1.png]]

As we know that every level-1 can become a tower by Hephaestus in no time, but due to the positioning of the grounded Hermes, he can swift through to dome any tower other than C3 and E3. Thus, in this case, the level-1 Hermes can move up to E3 or E4 since the defensive job can totally be done by the grounded Hermes. Moreover, this moving up will threaten Hephaestus to move closer to you since you may grab the winning chance at E5, the corner. For the grounded Hermes, he can move up with no cost since moving up instead opens up more possibility of defense, from 23 spaces to 25 spaces now (which is the whole board). These two move-ups will open up both room for defense and attack.

Thus, using Hermes requires to study the possibility of your move in the three different levels. Like in the above example, level-1 is a better platform for Hermes to defend, so Hermes should move up to level-1 instead of being grounded. However, beware of workers' blocks. In the above example if Hermes are on level-1 and level-2, Hephaestus workers locating at D2 and E2 may in fact corner up a winning position. Thus, Hermes at level-1 should quickly build at D1 for defensive purposes. This move allows Hermes to be swifter on the same level.

Other than the above mentioned, Hermes should be careful of his final position. Using the similar example as shown,

[[Image:Hermes-2.png]]

As Hermes as a first mover, we know that Hephaestus can move the level-1 worker to D2 and build a tower at E1 in the next turn. This is now not defendable by the grounded Hermes due to the additional level-1 at D1. Thus, the grounded Hermes should move to C1 or C2 at the end of the turn. If you choose to move to C1, you can actually still move the level-2 Hermes and build by him, which keeps your aggressive momentum.

To conclude, the mid-game of Hermes is in fact how to extend your evenly distributed area, while being careful of your final position of Hermes. Better not having several areas of focus but one main area of level-1’s or level-2’s would be super favourable to Hermes power. Conversely, the opponent of Hermes should create some unevenness on the board, such as using level-2’s to corner up winning positions from a level-1 Hermes. Check that both examples given by me are in fact favorable for the movements of Hermes, consisting of a big area of level-1’s.

===Late Game===
Like Artemis, as a mover, the late game with many domes could be hard for Hermes. The existence of domes may destroy the evenly distributed area. It may become inevitable for Hermes to move up or down. Again, if you successfully create a big area of level-2’s here, you possibly win since you can easily corner up a winning position by moving both workers. Moreover, Hermes in fact is very good at using dome to corner up winning positions. Check the following example, it is a very common strategy by Hermes:

[[Image:Hermes-3.png]]

In the given set up, Hermes can simply stand there and keep building at A1, and finally secure a win. Yea, this is exactly the power of building without moving mentioned in the intro of Hermes. This power is super useful during your set up to top Santorini.

Defensively, again, Hermes should be careful with his final position, to prevent your opponent from cornering up the winning position. Defensive jobs should be easy as long as there are large areas of level-2’s. Thus, the counter of Hermes and late game is easy: Try to build some tower that forces Hermes to move down. It then wastes Hermes one turn to come back and may easily win the game.

==Specific Matchup==
===Builders (esp. Demeter)===
There is a specific strategy to counter Hermes, namely level-1 blocking. You can use level 1s to block Hermes from reaching your area of focus. If Hermes comes to those level 1s in the next turn, simply build them up to level 2s. This job can be easily done by Demeter. Demeter can quickly fill the board to become very uneven.

===Movers (esp. Triton, Artemis)===
Other movers do not have move up constraints, so Hermes would be slower to move up to the area of level 2s. In this case, try not to apply level-2 blocking in the early game. Instead, you may simply use your grounded Hermes to defend all towers, while moving up with your other workers. This strategy is ok since Triton and Artemis are not good builders, where they cannot build two-way towers for guaranteed win.

===Domers (e.g. Atlas, Selene)===
Atlas is speedier to dome compared with Selene since he can dome with both workers. With correct positioning of the domes, unevenness can be introduced to the board and disallow Hermes from swifting through the board. However, those domes may easily help Hermes to corner up winning positions using his power of building without moving.

==Conclusion==
Using Hermes requires a good planning of the board set up to utilize his speedy nature. By playing more using Hermes, one should realize that building without moving is really super powerful and usually secure a win for Hermes. However, you need to be super careful on every position at the end of the turn, and especially every move up. It is not easy for a beginner.

To counter him, it is not easy though. There are too many possibilities for Hermes’ moving and building options. Thus, the opponent of Hermes also requires to be super careful, to prevent a surprise win by moving both workers or none of them.

Tier ranking: C.

A sad tier rank but it is still strong, especially when against a beginner, who cannot easily figure out all possibilities by Hermes, and lose the game surprisingly. When Hermes is fighting a careful opponent, he might have a hard time as the way to counter him is quite clear and solid. (Create more level differences!)

SantoriniPowerIris

2026-08-19T09:50:51Z

Westmalletripel: levels 3 becomes level 3s

[[Image:Iris.jpeg|140px]]
==Introduction==
As the goddess of the rainbow, Iris can pull off wins all of a sudden. Therefore, most people think that she is overpowered. However, she actually does not work quite well against some gods. So how should we overcome this problem?

===God Power===
If there is a worker neighboring your worker and the space on the other side of it is unoccupied, your worker may move to that space regardless of its level.

===Category===
Player move

===Explanation===
First of all, let us use the following terminology: When Iris jumps two squares from A to B by jumping over C, we call A the initial square, B the final square, and C the bridge (making the connection between A and B).

After playing some games with/against Iris, you should ask yourself the following question: “What are the ideal squares for Iris?, Is there any difference?”. Consider the following boards. The first, contains the number of squares to which Iris can jump using her ability and the second, the number of squares from which Iris can jump using her ability.

For a given square, number of squares to which Iris can jump using her ability:

[[Image:Iris-1.jpeg]]

For a given square, number of squares from which Iris can jump using her ability (using the given square as the “bridge”):

[[Image:Iris-2.jpeg]]

As we can already see from the previous tables, the center is the best square for Iris to have a worker and then the other central squares. So what happens if a dome is built in the central square C3? The previous tables would turn respectively into:

[[Image:Iris-3.jpeg]]

And you see how this central dome weakens almost every single square for Iris. Similarly, domes on other central squares (squares outside of the perimeter), will weaken Iris, but not as much as a dome in the exact center of the board.

Another aspect to take into consideration is the distribution of level 3s. Iris appreciates the presence of several level 3s, and the explanation for this fact is quite simple. Most of the time, only she can make use of them, especially if both player’s workers are close to the ground. For example, consider the following simple example in which Iris wins “out of nowhere”.

[[Image:Iris-4.jpeg|800px]]

Iris plays b3-d3, build E2(3), creating two winning threats. There was only a level 3 in the board, but that was enough to create a surprising double attack. Now imagine if the board contains lots of level 3s…
From this example, we can point out two facts: Iris is happy with having level 3s all over the board, while the opponent should avoid them.

The last I would like to mention is a very good defensive resource Iris can use sometimes. Whenever Iris gets stuck in the ground, she might be able to move up next to the opponent by using a straight line formation. Consider the following example:

[[Image:Iris-5.jpeg|800px]]

It seems that Iris is cut out from the game but she can defend the top left corner by moving c3-b3. With this move, the B3 worker is threatening to move up to B5 (in particular, the opponent cannot afford to build a level 3 in B5 this turn). Moreover, the B2 worker can jump (using the B3 worker as the bridge) to B4 in case the opponent’s B4 worker moves. This means that Iris will sucessfully move up to a level 2.

==Game Strategy==
===Early Game===
It is common for Iris to start with a central worker in C3, using it as a bridge. Then, building in the corners might not be a bad idea since a level 3 in the corner can be used as a winning threat for Iris and might be hard for the opponent to defend. However, Iris cannot stick to this only strategy of creating level 3s and expecting to jump directly over there, otherwise she might possibly get stuck in the ground for the rest of the game.

===Mid Game===
While trying to create level 3 winning threats, if the opponent is defending carefully you are probably starting to realize that that plan of moving directly from a level 0 to a level 3 is easier said than done. Moreover, the opponent is also finding it difficult to create winning threats such that Iris cannot defend, since she has access to a lot of squares and some of them which are far away.

===Late Game===
The best quality is her defensive skills and ability to reach a lot of squares, preventing the opponent from creating their own winning threats. In the endgame, Iris is an annoying opponent, especially if there are no central domes (otherwise it is easier to dodge her).

==Specific Matchup==
===Artemis===
This is a balanced matchup and it is definitely worth a try. Artemis seems stronger at first, but Iris can use her ability to create dangerous threats.

===Asteria===
Although Asteria is stronger than Iris (placing domes is great against Iris), Iris might be able to reach the endgame and Asteria could be left with no good moves.

===Circe===
Iris usually prefers to play with her workers close by, and against Circe that’s exactly what you want to do. So there is not such a great problem for Iris to keep her workers close and she should hold an advantage in this matchup.

===Clio===
Clio’s coins are very strong in this matchup, especially if placed in the center of the board. Not only Iris cannot visit the coins (as usual), but she also cannot jump over the coins.

===Dionysus===
Both gods like the presence of level 3s, so this is an interesting combination. Although it might be easier to play with Dionysus, a good player with Iris can win for sure.

===Eros===
Since Iris can defend very well, it is not easy for Eros to create winning threats such that Iris is not able to defend. Moreover, if Iris creates level 3s, she might be able to use them before Eros does. In conclusion, Iris is superior in this universe.

===Graeae===
The three sisters have to cover the whole board and pay attention to every level 2, which can turn into a level 3. If Graeae is experienced, she will have no problem winning this game.

===Hades===
Iris is one of the few opponents which Hades can face (however, this doesn’t mean that Iris is as weak as Hades). This is because once Iris moves up, her moves are a lot more restricted, so she must choose carefully when to move up. This still won’t be an easy task for Hades, but you can hope for a win to either side.

===Harpies===
Iris will probably be able to use level 3s first than Harpies, but that might not be such an easy task because Harpies can force Iris to undesirable squares. Iris must be controlled by a very experienced player and even like that Harpies can still emerge victorious.

===Hera===
This matchup will be almost hopeless for Iris. Hera can control the center of the board and that way it will be very difficult for Iris to do anything effective.

===Pan===
You get a leveled game by offering this combination. Pan will have to create a few domes before he can try to move up to a level 2, otherwise Iris will most likely be able to defend.

===Persephone===
This matchup is trickier than it seems at first since it might be the case that Iris’s ability hurts her. Since Iris has to move up whenever she can, this also applies to jumps over other workers. Persephone might use this fact to drag Iris to a corner and even to trap her (imagine if Iris jumps to the corner [because she has to move up] but then she does not have anywhere to build).

===Poseidon===
Poseidon won’t have his usual “easy win”, but Iris is still no match for Poseidon.

==Conclusion==
Iris has a very cool ability which is to be able to win by moving from the ground level to level 3 (one of the few powers that can do this). Moreover, she also has access to squares two squares away (by jumping over workers) and this is a very good defensive resource. I would even say that Iris is stronger by her defensive quality than by her attacking qualities and this is why she is not such a strong power as it initially appears. She can do well against all tier B or lower powers, but when they have a higher tier, things get more complicated.

Tier ranking: B

SantoriniPowerAtlas

2026-08-17T10:20:08Z

Westmalletripel: /* Explaination */

[[Image:Atlas.png]]
==Introduction==
Atlas could be a joke for newbies as some newbies will just keep building domes and finally trap themselves, or someone will just keep building domes and forget to move up for winning. However, it is actually a very formidable god to play against. In early game, as long as one of his workers stays at the center, he can go wherever to block your moving by a dome. When you think you are securing a win in a corner, he just builds a dome from the ground level and blocks your innocent worker. You can simply win by blocking both of the opponent’s workers using Atlas. Moreover, there is a special winning strategy for Atlas, it is to dome one of your workers on an alone island. That means no one can go and block your win. In the following review, we would focus on the normal strategy of Atlas.

===God Power===
In your build stage, (instead of your normal build), your worker may build a dome at any level.

===Category===
Player build

===Explanation===
I don't think this explanation is not clear enough. To me, Selene’s and Morpheus power mentioned the sentence “instead of your normal build”, but this isn’t mentioned in Atlas’s power. However, both of Atlas and Selene’s powers are alternative builds. That means if you activate the power, you cannot normally build, but you build with the description instead. Moreover, “at any level” means you can simply place a dome on ground, level-1, level-2 or level-3.

==Game Strategies==
===Early Game===
Atlas is neither a good builder nor a good mover. If you want to simply keep building and moving up without any interaction with your opponent, Atlas could be a bad choice. Thus in the early game, you should always have at least one worker around your opponent (and at best only one). If the opponent is already on level-1, you can ignore the level-1 they recently built. It would not be a big threat and you should grab this chance to move up another worker. Yet, try to dome the level-2 your opponent builds. The reason behind is, doming a level-2 is simply wasting your opponent two building turns, but doming a level-1 is actually using your own single turn to waste one turn of your opponent.

Moreover, keep an eye on the cornered worker, Atlas can easily trap a cornered worker by doming ONLY 3 SPACES. With this corner-blocking skill, your smart opponent would try to keep away from corners. Thus, Atlas is actually the best user of corner-winning strategy. Your opponent would be less willing to reach a corner to block your way.

===Mid Game===
It depends on the situation of the game, if you are on the disadvantageous position, where both of your workers are still on ground level, try to block the way of your opponent’s level-2 worker. You may be able to force him to move down by blocking all other possible routes, and so the game will be back to a situation like the early game. If you are in a 50-50 situation, try to keep one of your workers around the opponent’s mover, not letting them build more level-2 and hence they may just need to move down to create a new platform for winning. During these blocking, remember to keep the momentum of your other worker to move up! Do not let your workers both on the ground in the late game! If you are in an advantageous position, Atlas’s skill could easily secure your win. You can dome all opponent’s ways to block your win and corner-up your winning position.

===Late Game===
If both of your workers are still on ground level… GG, since your opponent could easily use level-2 to corner up their winning position. If at least one of your workers stays with the opponent, Atlas skill could become handy here. In late game, sometimes our moves are confined by the “MUST move and build” rule. Some moves in the late game would force us to build a level-3 for the opponent and guarantee a loss. Atlas will not encounter this problem because he can simply build a dome instead of a level-3. In the late game, try to use domes to force your opponent to make some unwanted moves.

===Another Amazing Strategy===
Now this is a different strategy, but this is what I like to do and for me, I always win doing this. If you do this correctly, no one will be able to beat you. What I do is pretty much only build domes. For me, since Atlas is not a good builder, there is no point in building normal blocks because that wastes his power. I like to win by trapping both opponents so they can’t move anywhere. The way I do this is start by doming one of the corners. Then, from there, I build one or two more domes in a line on the perimeter spaces from that corner. The reason I like to start at the corners is because I don’t want to put all of these domes down and then have a bunch of little spots where opponents can sneak into and I can’t block them. So, once I get 2 or 3 in a row from the corner on a perimeter space, I start doing that from another corner. As said before, don’t dome a level 1 unless it is a necessity.

Now, only dome level 2’s. This will give you time at the beginning of the game to build on perimeter spaces. It is very important to keep as many domes as possible at first on the perimeter spaces. If a level 2 is in the middle, if possible, don’t even dome it. Wait until they either build a level 3 or you have to because they will block you otherwise. Once an opponent worker moves into a perimeter space, try not to let them out. You can do this by moving one of your workers adjacent to the opponent worker in the perimeter spaces, then if there is an open middle space that that worker can access, dome it so the worker has to stay in perimeter spaces. Keep following that worker until you trap them by not letting them into the middle and eventually closing off all ends. Then, when you move away, dome where you just left so they can’t escape.

I like to try and trap 1 opponent early game so I don’t have to worry about 2 later on. Then, just focus on doming the outside of the space that is left, until there are 4 spaces left. When it is your turn, dome one of the spaces. No one can move anymore, but since it is their turn, you win.

==Specific Matchup==
===Good builders (e.g. Demeter, Terpsichore, Castor & Pollux, Prometheus, Hestia, Morpheus, Poseidon)===
A good player should never corner yourself against Atlas, hence your winning position is usually in the inner space instead. Demeter and Hestia are good builders even in the inner space. Recall the level-2 blocking strategy from Atlas? Atlas cannot perform this strategy well on Demeter because Demeter can simply set up a two-way for herself to move up to level-2.

For Atlas, facing this two-way situation, think deeper and dome the level-2 that favours your opponent more. For example, Demeter moves up to a level-1 E2 and builds two level-2 on E1 and E3. Blocking E3 would be a good choice since Demeter would then move up to a corner space if she really wants to move up, which then makes her vulnerable to corner-trapping. Do not try to ignore the opponent’s mover. You are never faster than a good builder.

===Urania===
Atlas cannot easily block her but may block himself instead. Urania is not vulnerable to corner-trapping and pausing the momentum of Urania would be a very hard work for Atlas.
For Atlas, use your domes wisely. Be more careful for the position of your worker. Always keeping a worker at the center may help you to block all possible routes for Urania to move up. A ridiculous strategy could come handy: block every perimeter space and Urania’s power would become useless.

===Chronus===
Chronus would be overwhelmed by Atlas's ability. When using Chronus against Atlas, just play as if you do not have any power, since Atlas can simply build domes everywhere, shutting down the possibilities to build 5 complete towers on the board. I don’t really recommend this matchup in tournament setup. Avoid it.

===Zeus===
Matchup against Zeus could be quite different. It is hard to block Zeus from going to level-2, so the level-2 blocking strategy by Atlas is no longer useful.

For Atlas, as you can’t really block Zeus from moving up to level-2, you can just let Zeus stay on level-2. However, it is still useful to dome a level-2 or a level-3 as it is using a single turn to destroy what your opponent has done in several turns.

==Conclusion==
Atlas’ domes should never be a joke, but a nightmare to your opponent. Keep your worker at the best position so that you can block every of your opponent’s best moves. Remember that his ability is useful in all stages of the game, so you need to be very careful on every dome to be created.

Tier ranking: B.

Atlas is useful on most of the matchup and there is no perfect counter on Atlas. Choosing Atlas from the two gods available is never a bad choice for you!