Introduction

As the one behind the Greek’s victory by proposing to make the Trojan Horse, Odysseus’s banishment to the corners can be used to erase a lot of effort. Although once per game sounds like a large restriction, it remains no less deadly if well-timed.

Hero Power

Once per game at the start of your turn, force to unoccupied corner spaces any number of opponent workers that neighbor your workers.

Category

Opponent forcing

Explaination

For an opponent’s worker to be forced, there must be at least one unoccupied corner left and the target must be adjacent to one of your workers.

Game Strategies

Early Game

The first thing that you need to understand is that there are four available corners to which Odysseus can force the opponent. This means that if there is a dome in a corner, Odysseus only has three corners to force the opponent and is consequently weaker. If all corners are domed, Odysseus doesn’t even have a power. With this in mind, it is often the case that the opponent will try to provoke domes in the corners and Odysseus must pay special attention (or does he?) to domers and good builders.

Odysseus should try to stay close to the opponent so that he has the possibility to use his power at any move (note that if Odysseus starts his turn without neighboring none of the opponent’s workers, he cannot use his power). In that sense, he should try to stay in the center, since it is easier to stay close to the opponent.

Odysseus should try to build close to the corners so that he can use them once he uses his power. If the opponent starts overbuilding a specific corner to create a dome and reduce the possibilities of Odysseus, it will usually backfire as this time for Odysseus to create a mating attack and win in another corner, or even use that overbuilt corner.

Mid Game

Odysseus just has to wait for the right moment to use his power. This moment might be even when there are only two builds in a corner which he will use. He just needs to make sure that he pushes the opponent far away and they don’t have time to come back and defend.

Late Game

The majority of the games will end before the late game since Odysseus’ power is so aggressive.

Specific Matchup

Apollo

Apollo is known for being one of the strongest powers of the game. But against Odysseus he is completely demolished. Both powers like to keep close to the opponent, but Odysseus will be the first to benefit from this, and when he finally uses his power, Apollo will be too far away to defend.

Asteria

Asteria has a concrete plan: dome as many corners and as soon as she can. For the corners that she cannot dome, it might be good to build a level 1 there so that if she is forced there, she can use her power in the following turn.

Atalanta

You might think that if Odysseus uses his power to push Atalanta away, she can just use her power next to defend the attack of Odysseus. While this might be true, it is also true that she will be left in a much worse position than Odysseus. Don’t fool yourself, Atalanta doesn’t stand a chance in this matchup.

Atlas

In this matchup, the starting power can make the difference. If Atlas starts, he can start by doming one corner and he is just three corners away from mortalizing Odysseus. You might think that Atlas has a simple plan. Dome all corners. While the first two corners can be dommed in two turns, the third one will take two turns. In this case, Odysseus needs to make use of the two remaining corners and try to create a winning attack before he loses his power.

Bellerophon

The fact that can easily threaten to win in a corner (by building a L3 in a corner and a L1 adjacent), might force Odysseus to dome a corner, which is of course bad for him. However, this might backfire for Bellerophon as Odysseus might force him to a different corner and use that one to win.

Charybdis

In this case, forcing Charybdis to a corner doesn’t necessarily mean that she will be out of the game. By carefully using her whirlpools, Odysseus will have a hard time in this matchup. Nevertheless, Charybdis cannot be careless with the whirlpool placement as Odysseus might use his power at any moment to get Charybdis away from her whirlpools, which we know is pretty bad for her.

Clio

The only feasible plan for Clio would be to use the coins to create two domes in the corners. Sadly, the third coin cannot be placed in a corner. In this scenario, even with only two available corners, Odysseus will win easily.

Harpies

This matchup is a bit trickier for Odysseus as it is not trivial to stick close to Harpies (due to their ability). However, a player who knows how to face Harpies will still have the upper hand in this matchup, though it might be trickier than usual.

Heracles

Odysseus needs to watch out for domers, which is the case of Heracles. While Heracles can use his power to dome two corners, this is probably not the best use for his power (unless there is one corner already domed).

One plan that Odysseus needs to watch out for is Heracles trapping one of his workers in the corners. In this case Heracles should still be careful, as if Odysseus can force the other Heracles’ worker to that same corner, Heracles just trapped himself.

Hydra

Don’t forget that Odysseus can force any number of (neighboring) opponent’s workers to the corners. This means that there could be a scenario in which Odysseus forced four workers, one to each corner. But that would probably not benefit him. Don’t forget that Hydra is just a mortal (exaggeration…) with several workers. This means that if Odysseus forces Hydra far away, she will not be able to defend a winning threat.

Nemesis

This is an interesting one because if Odysseus uses his power to put Nemesis in a terrible position, she just might play the Uno reverse card and suddenly she is winning. With that in mind, it is usually the case that Odysseus will only force one of Nemesis’ workers to a corner, keeping the other close to him, preventing Nemesis from using her power. The best try for Nemesis in this matchup is trying to dome the corners and keep trying to run away from Odysseus. It might sound counter intuitive, but once again Odysseus has an easier challenge in this matchup.

Polyphemus

This matchup is similar to the one with Atalanta in the sense that you might think that if Odysseus uses his power, Polyphemus can reply by using his power to defend (and maybe still attack). Once again, while this might be true, Polyphemus will probably be the one left with the worst position after both heroes have used their power.

One other plan for Polyphemus could be to use his domes in the corners to weaken Odysseus, but this will be too slow.

It will be very unlikely that Polyphemus gets this one.

Selene

Unlike Atlas, Selene has a harder time to dome the corners. This will be enough for Odysseus to win with no much trouble.

Siren

If Odysseus goes for an attack in a corner which Siren can defend, it will probably not work. So Odysseus has a more complex task in this game. However, this will still be very tough for Siren.

Terpsichore

Once again, Odysseus can play against such a strong power. Not only can he play against it, but he will likely win.

Triton

It will be very tough, but it can be done with Triton. The very good mobility helps him to defend from very far away. Moreover, the corners are usually a very good friend of Triton, which will also make the task of Odysseus a bit more difficult.

Urania

If Odysseus forces Urania to a corner, she will probably say thank you…

Conclusion

Odysseus might be the strongest power of the game! It is just very hard to defend his threats and you might be lost without even noticing. As seen above, there are not many powers that can counter his ability and even generally very strong powers will have a hard time.

Tier ranking: S