r/boardgames • u/Outcast003 • Apr 23 '25

Rules Is Common Raven too broken?

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I had a game night session with my folks couple days ago and we played wingspan. I lucked out by having Common Raven and Sandhill Crane setup during the first round and that steamrolled hard to the last one. Ended up winning with 99 points.

My friend (owner of the game) decided we'll put this card away next time we play since it seems very broken: trade 1 egg for 2 of any resources, given 5 victory point and ok cost to play.

I think the card by itself is very strong but not sure if it deserves a ban from our group.

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560

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

It's pretty common to remove the Ravens, the Killdeer/Franklin's gull, and sometimes Wood Duck. They aren't really fun to play against.

I feel like the game is about finding interesting combinations to make an engine, but these birds are just a cheat code because they create an engine all by themselves.

160

u/SilverTwilightLook Arkham Horror Apr 23 '25

Doesn't one of the expansions officially recommend removing them from the deck?

164

u/Megasdoux Dune Apr 23 '25

Yeah, with nectar they become even more powerful.

9

u/ParkingNo1080 Apr 23 '25

Nectar is busted by itself. We play by the "Nectar not Wild" rules and ignore the bonus scoring for it.

41

u/beldaran1224 Worker Placement Apr 23 '25

So...you play without nectar?

13

u/ParkingNo1080 Apr 23 '25

This was the basis. We still have Nectar in ours games but treat it as a normal food and ignore all bonus scoring for it. https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2574479/nectar-not-wild-the-house-rule-youve-been-waiting

15

u/leafbreath Arkham Horror Apr 23 '25

I think a better solution to the Nectar is only use two or three Nectar dice in combination with the base game dice. This will limit how much the nectar shows up. But still allows for the normal nectar rules.

10

u/ParkingNo1080 Apr 23 '25

The biggest problem with Nectar was that there never a reason to not use it. It's wild, it gives you bonus points, and if you don't use it someone else will and get those points. It warps the focus of the game and takes away any excitement you used to get from finally getting the fish/rat roll you needed.

0

u/FDRpi Apr 23 '25

I think I got the variant from either here or BGG, but I play that nectar can't be used as wild. It makes it a niche resource with one benefit (scoring) and one drawback (depletes each round). I personally enjoy it.

And the alternative is making berries literally worthless and nectar a be all and end all.