Howdy ranchers!
I figure since the 2nd edition has been out for awhile now that it would be fun to discuss how the additions, enhancements and changes in the 2nd edition have affected some of the strategies of the game. This is all anecdotal evidence from my perspective based on a few play-throughs at home and online, as well as observing a decent amount of matches of some great players.
To outline this, I’ll break down each 2nd edition change as it affects main strategies and fringe strategies that have been discussed here on these forums in the past. Again; emphasis on the fact that everything you read below is only based on my experiences and observations, and not gospel by any means. The meta of the game is always evolving and there’s plenty of room for debate! For each 2nd edition adjustment, I’ve used a sliding scale between -3 to +3 to summarize how I feel each strategy was affected as a whole. The rule for this completely arbitrary point system is that points are given to (or taken from) a strategy if the change feels more impactful than the default impact it has on the other strategies. For example; all strategies benefit from having a starting exchange token, but does a certain strategy benefit more than another with the token? If so, a point is given. In some cases, I’ve added half a point for small but still significant impacts.
Strategies mentioned in this post:
Cowboys - 1st edition Strategy Reference
Builders - 1st edition Strategy Reference
Engineers - 1st edition Strategy Reference
Station Masters - 1st edition Strategy Reference
Trashing Masters - 1st edition Strategy Reference
Hazard Masters - 1st edition Strategy Reference
Note: Forgive the low-quality imagery as I was left to screenshot low-resolution 2nd edition rulebook images, since there are no good images online of an empty game board. Anyway, let’s get to it!
Board Changes
Kansas City to Kans-Less-Pretty
Summary :
Without confirmation from <PERSON> himself, it’s been circulated that delivering multiple times to Kansas City in competitive play was never his intention for the game. 118
The 2nd edition attempts to mitigate this by decreasing the monetary reward of a Kansas City delivery by -$2 and increasing monetary rewards elsewhere (like the early bandit path bandits). This does seem to have shifted the meta slightly away from a 2nd Kansas City delivery, but an initial Kansas City delivery is still pretty much required to win in competitive play, as it’s not only about the monetary reward of Kansas City, but also the benefit of omitting an extra stop on the loop for income elsewhere. If anything, there at least seems to be more potential to win with a single Kansas City delivery than the de-facto 1st edition standard two Kansas City deliveries that used to be common in competitive matches. This area is being explored in games I’m witnessing and playing.
Points:
Neutral for all
You Delivered to Wichita?!
Summary :
Spoiler alert: Still nobody delivers to Wichita…because it no longer exists! I believe this change has two-fold consequences. First, it helps to slightly decrease the urge of a 2nd Kansas City delivery (mentioned previously) by providing another low-delivery option that doesn’t punish players. The previous -1 VP punishment between Wichita and Colorado Springs put players in an awkward position at the end of their 2nd loop; where it’s not worth delivering to Colorado Springs from the $3 train-crossing cost, it’s not worth delivering to Wichita because it’s sandwiched in-between punishments, and Topeka was best kept as a late game insurance policy for a no-consequence delivery. That left player with little incentive to not deliver to Kansas City twice early on. Now, the city has flipped from a consequence to a reward with the capture of an exchange token between 4 and 6. These exchange tokens are inherently valuable to almost all strategies, and it’s not a bad consolation prize for two small deliveries between St Louis (4) and Bloomington (6) when in a low delivery bind.
Points:
Builders +0.5 - The removal of the 4/6 punishment is a valuable respite to the builder who sacrifices cows and certificates early in order to build up their personal tile empire resulting in early game low and slow deliveries.
Engineers +0.5 - The addition of the exchange token is a valuable respite to the engineer who also necessitates low deliveries, and can utilize the token to help manage their hand to maximize their engineer worker player board bonuses.
Bandits… So Hot Right Now
Summary :
6 of the 9 lackluster teepee slots of old have been bandit-boosted by either $3, $2 or $1. 629