SantoriniPowerNemesis

Introduction

As the goddess of retribution, Nemesis can turn the tide all of a sudden. When she is on the edge of losing, she can put herself into a bad position, then swap places with her opponent, leaving opponents at her used disadvantage. Still, how to best serve this dish of cold?

God Power

At the end of your turn, if none of an opponent's workers neighbor yours, you may force both of your workers to spaces occupied by two of an opponent's workers, and vice versa.

Category

Opponent forcing

Explanation

First of all, we say that a Nemesis' worker is marked if there is one opponent's worker neighboring that worker and that a Nemesis' worker is free if there is no opponent's worker neighboring that worker. Normally, Nemesis wants both her workers to be free so that she can use her power (she is able to use her power if both of her workers are free at the end of her turn). Nemesis should realize the situations in which she can and cannot use her power.

Situations in which Nemesis can use her power (condition at the start of the turn):

• If both of Nemesis' workers are free.
• If one of Nemesis' workers is free (even if the other worker is marked by all of the opponent's workers).

Situations in which Nemesis cannot use her power (condition at the start of the turn):

• If both of Nemesis' workers are marked (this is the most common situation). Nemesis can only move one worker, so there is no way to end the turn with both of her workers free.
• If one of Nemesis workers standing in the perimeter is marked by an opponent's worker which is outside of the perimeter and is standing in the square between C3 and Nemesis (for example (N,O) = (A1,B1), (A1,B2), (A2,B2), (A3,B3)). In this case, Nemesis won't be able to break free from that worker.

Secondly, you should note that a Nemesis worker trapped by domes (although it seems bad for Nemesis) can be very dangerous for the opponent. That trapped worker will never be marked and so Nemesis just needs to get the other worker free if she wants to use her power. Moreover, it is much harder for the opponent to mark a specific worker. If Nemesis uses her power, the opponent is left with a trapped worker!! In particular, if Nemesis traps both of her workers, she can use the power and then the opponent will be completely trapped. This can be a neat strategy with Nemesis! For example, consider the game Nemesis vs Harpies (godlike).

Game Strategy

Early Game

In general, Nemesis should try to run away from the opponent in every single move (have both workers free). Otherwise, it can be very complicated to use her power. In order to facilitate this, Nemesis should try to build in the perimeter (but I would avoid the corner squares such as A1).

Mid Game

Leaving workers in the ground is normally bad, and with Nemesis the case is the same, except if she uses her power, in which case it can be good. If Nemesis is at ground level, she can still “force” the opponent into a bad position by moving away. If the opponent does not follow her, she will use her power. If the opponent follows her, he might have to move down.

Notice that it might not be easy to create winning threats against Nemesis (the opponent will normally only be able to do it when both of Nemesis’ workers are marked) since if Nemesis can use her power in the next turn, she will be the one with the winning threats.

Don’t let this happen to you: If the opponent is able to trap one of Nemesis’ workers with his own worker and play a 1vs1, then Nemesis is playing with no ability and she will most likely be lost. For example, consider the opponent in B2, Nemesis in A2 and domes in A3, B1 and B3.

Late Game

If the board is being covered by domes, this can be good or bad for Nemesis. If the domes are being uniformly placed (for example, only the first row covered by domes), this will be very bad for Nemesis since she has less squares to run away to. If the domes are not uniform in the board (for example, domes in B1, A2, C3), then Nemsis can probably use this to her advantage as it is much harder for the opponent to mark Nemesis. For example, if Nemesis is in B2 with domes in B1 and A2, at any moment she can move to A1 (this is why I prefer that Nemesis doesn’t build in the corners) and use her power (if the other opponent is free) so that the opponent gets forced to the corner.

Specific Matchup

Ares

Ares is a strong but especially annoying power. This game might take a while, but Ares will have a tough job converting the game.

Athena

Athena is very strong, but playing against Nemesis is quite different because Nemesis might be able to go up by using her ability. This will provide a fun game and the stronger player should control Nemesis.

Circe

Nemesis is very weak against Circe since she can only use her ability on rare situations.

Domers

As already stated before, trapping a Nemesis’ worker with domes can backfire as that trapped worker will not be marked and Nemesis just needs to get the other worker free and she will trap the opponent (Selene will cry if this happens).

Eros

It is very hard to play this matchup with Eros. If Nemesis plays with workers on opposite sides of the board then Eros has two choices. Either he sticks close to Nemesis and he won’t be able to connect his workers or he tries to connect his workers, in which case Nemesis will most likely be able to use her power to separate Eros.

Europa & Talus

The token can restrict Nemesis’ mobility but it can also make it harder for E&T to mark Nemesis. Overall, this is a balanced matchup.

More than 2 workers (Gaea, Graeae, Moerae and Proteus)

These gods are good against Nemesis because it is easier to mark Nemesis. If Nemesis gets to use her ability, only two of the opponent’s workers will be forced (so at least one will stay in the same square).

Harpies

This is actually a very interesting matchup! At first, it might seem that Harpies forcing Nemesis to the perimeter is good in the sense that it is easier to mark Nemesis but in fact Nemesis can use the Harpies’ ability to break free more easily. If you’re struggling against Harpies, Nemesis can be your salvation.

Hera

Hera can create winning threats without worrying (that much) that Nemesis swaps workers. Anyway, Nemesis has very good chances in this matchup.

Hippolyta

It is hard to run away with Nemesis and even if you can, if Hippolyta is attacking with her female worker, Nemesis might change into a position which is not that good...

Odysseus

Odysseus is the strongest hero and arguably one of the strongest powers of the game. Playing against him is always very stressful but Nemesis makes it harder for him to use his power effectively since forcing Nemesis to the corners can result in Nemesis being able to use her power in the next turn and Odysseus will be the one going to the corner.

Pan

As we already know, Pan’s goal is quite different. In particular, if Nemesis has both workers in a level 2, she will most likely not be able to swap workers without giving the game to Pan. This is an interesting game but I would still favor Nemesis.

Persephone

Building in the corners is effective for Persephone. Nemesis will have to move up there, and it will be very easy to mark her.

Poseidon

I bet you didn’t see this coming! Yes, Nemesis can win against Poseidon and this is why this game is so amazing.

Forcers (e.g. Apollo, Charon, Dionysus, Eris, Minotaur, Scylla, Siren)

The powers which can force/control Nemesis’ workers are usually very good against Nemesis as it is harder for Nemesis to get both of her workers free. Apollo, Charon and Minotaur would gain the upper hand, but Nemesis can hope for a balanced matchup against Dionysus, Eris, Scylla and Siren.

Urania

Watch out for Nemesis! Playing only on the perimeter makes it very easy for Nemesis to use her power.

Conclusion

Nemesis adds an interesting dynamic to the game creating a sort of hide-and-seek game. Nemesis might ignore the opponent's threats just by running away and the opponent will have to follow her, otherwise, Nemesis will steal the threats. In general, Nemesis is not that strong as the opponent can follow her and still follow through with his plan, but this will not be an easy task.

Tier ranking: B