Check Spirit Island Base Game Price on Amazon
If you’re searching for info on Spirit Island spirits, you’re probably either trying to figure out which spirit to play next, wondering if certain spirits are actually good, or maybe you’re new to the game and don’t want to pick something impossible to play. I get it – with over 20 spirits across different expansions, it’s honestly overwhelming.
I’ve spent way too many hours playing Spirit Island (my game group meets weekly), and I’m breaking down every spirit in this guide. We’ll cover which Spirit Island spirits are best for beginners, which ones dominate at high difficulty, and yeah, I’m ranking them in a tier list because everyone loves arguing about tier lists.
What Are Spirit Island Spirits Anyway?
Spirit Island is a cooperative board game where you play as powerful spirits defending an island from colonizing invaders. Each spirit has completely different abilities, growth patterns, and playstyles. Unlike most co-op games where characters feel similar, Spirit Island spirits are wildly different from each other.
Some spirits like Lightning’s Swift Strike blow everything up with raw damage. Others like Ocean’s Hungry Grasp literally drown invaders by pushing them into the sea. Then there’s weird ones like Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares that don’t do any damage at all – they just mess with people’s heads and generate fear.
The spirit you choose completely changes how you play the game. That’s what makes Spirit Island spirits so interesting, but also why picking the right one matters.
All Spirit Island Spirits by Expansion
Before we dive into rankings, here’s what you’re working with:
Base Game Spirits:
- Lightning’s Swift Strike
- River Surges in Sunlight
- Vital Strength of the Earth
- Shadows Flicker Like Flame
- Thunderspeaker
- A Spread of Rampant Green
- Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares
- Ocean’s Hungry Grasp
Branch & Claw Expansion:
- Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds
- Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves
Jagged Earth Expansion:
- Stone’s Unyielding Defiance
- Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island
- Heart of the Wildfire
- Lure of the Deep Wilderness
- Many Minds Move as One
- Finder of Paths Unseen
- Fractured Days Split the Sky
- Starlight Seeks Its Form
- Vengeance as a Burning Plague
- Downpour Drenches the World
Nature Incarnate:
- Relentless Gaze of the Sun
- Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot
- Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine
- Wounded Waters Bleeding
Horizons of Spirit Island:
- Shroud of Silent Mist
- Exploratory Nature of Lightning
- Rising Heat of Stone and Sand
- Sun-Bright Whirlwind
- Towering Roots of the Jungle
Yeah, that’s a lot. You don’t need all the expansions to enjoy the game, but more Spirit Island spirits means more variety and replayability.
Check Spirit Island Base Game Price on Amazon
Spirit Island Spirits Complexity Guide
The game rates each spirit by complexity from Low to Very High. Here’s what that actually means:
Low Complexity (Good for beginners):
- Lightning’s Swift Strike
- River Surges in Sunlight
- Vital Strength of the Earth
- Shadows Flicker Like Flame
Moderate Complexity:
- Thunderspeaker
- A Spread of Rampant Green
- Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds
- Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves
- Stone’s Unyielding Defiance
High Complexity:
- Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares
- Ocean’s Hungry Grasp
- Heart of the Wildfire
- Many Minds Move as One
- Most Jagged Earth spirits
Very High Complexity:
- Fractured Days Split the Sky
- Starlight Seeks Its Form
- Some Nature Incarnate spirits
Don’t let “high complexity” scare you off if you’ve played a few games. It usually just means the spirit has weird mechanics that break normal rules, not that it’s mathematically difficult.
The Spirit Island Spirits Tier List
Okay, here’s my controversial take. This tier list assumes you’re playing at moderate-to-high difficulty with random spirits (not perfect combos). Player count matters a ton, but I’m basing this on 2-3 players since that’s the sweet spot.
Important: Even C-tier Spirit Island spirits are good. This game is incredibly well-balanced. The difference between tiers is consistency and how often you feel like you’re struggling versus dominating.
S-Tier: The Absolute Units
Ocean’s Hungry Grasp Ocean is stupid strong if you understand how to play it. The special rule letting you drown invaders for energy creates this insane engine where you’re basically getting free power cards every turn. Yeah, you’re stuck on coasts, but every board has coasts, and you can push stuff into the ocean from pretty far away. The consistency is unreal – I’ve never seen Ocean lose a game when played well.
Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds Keeper is probably the most versatile spirit in the game. The presence track gives you everything – energy, card plays, and perfect elements for major powers. You can go damage, you can go defense, you can support – Keeper does it all. It’s not flashy, but it just wins consistently at any difficulty.
Lure of the Deep Wilderness Lure is a beast. You generate fear like crazy, you move stuff around the board at will, and the special rule about drowning invaders in wetlands is hilarious. Pair it with any spirit that can push and you’re golden. My only complaint is it takes a turn or two to get rolling.
A-Tier: Extremely Strong
Lightning’s Swift Strike The beginner spirit that’s actually just great. Lightning deletes problems with pure damage. Town and city in the same spot? Dead. The downside is you’re energy-hungry and sometimes you whiff on getting the right cards, but most games Lightning is a reliable carry.
Finder of Paths Unseen Finder is weird but amazing. You can show up anywhere on the board instantly, fix problems, then disappear. Great for supporting weaker spirits or covering multiple boards. Takes practice to pilot well but absolutely dominates once you understand the movement tricks.
Many Minds Move as One The beast spirit that makes your animal friends fight for you. Many Minds is great at stalling and generating fear, though you need teammates who can actually kill stuff since you’re not doing much damage yourself. Incredibly consistent though.
Thunderspeaker Solid damage, solid fear generation, moves Dahan around like chess pieces. Thunderspeaker was top-tier before Jagged Earth added more spirits, and it’s still extremely reliable. Not the flashiest, but you’ll win a lot.
A Spread of Rampant Green Green grows presence everywhere and then just suffocates invaders with defense and plant tokens. The catch is you’re slow early game and if things spiral out of control before you spread, you’re screwed. But if you survive to mid-game, you become unstoppable.
B-Tier: Strong and Reliable
Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares Here’s where things get spicy. Bringer does ZERO damage. Everything that would do damage instead pushes invaders and generates fear. This sounds terrible until you realize fear wins games, and Bringer generates more fear than any other spirit. Problem is, one wrong blight cascade and you’re toast. High skill ceiling but very rewarding.
Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves Fangs is explosive and fun as hell. You make beast tokens and murder everything. The problem? If you get unlucky with early blight in your lands or don’t draw beast cards, you’re playing catch-up all game. When it works, it’s S-tier. When it doesn’t, it’s rough.
Stone’s Unyielding Defiance Stone is the ultimate defensive wall. Insane amounts of defense, decent fear, but pretty slow to get going. Great in multiplayer when someone else can handle offense. I’ve never lost with Stone but I’ve also never felt like the MVP.
Heart of the Wildfire Wildfire does ridiculous amounts of damage by adding blight to the board yourself (yeah, really). High risk, high reward. If you know what you’re doing, it’s A-tier easy. If you’re new, you’ll accidentally lose the game yourself.
Starlight Seeks Its Form Probably the most flexible spirit in the game – you literally reconfigure your entire power set every turn. This is amazing for experienced players who can adapt on the fly. For newer players, it’s overwhelming decision paralysis.
Vengeance as a Burning Plague Revenge spirit that gets stronger when your lands are blighted. Super thematic, pretty strong, but you’re actively hoping things go wrong which feels weird. Solid B-tier that can jump to A with the right adversary.
C-Tier: Good But Situational
River Surges in Sunlight River is a beginner spirit that’s honestly just okay. Drowning invaders is nice, moving presence is unique, but you’re always energy starved and your damage output is weak. Great for learning the game, not great for winning hard difficulties.
Vital Strength of the Earth Vital is the defensive beginner spirit. Tons of defense, but that’s about it. You’re basically hoping your teammates carry while you prevent blights. Feels bad when you can’t contribute to actually winning.
Shadows Flicker Like Flame Shadows has this cool “repeat powers” mechanic that sounds awesome. In practice, you’re fighting for energy and card plays constantly. It’s not bad, just requires perfect card draw luck to feel powerful.
Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island Serpent is slow as molasses. You literally don’t wake up for the first few turns. Late game it’s strong but getting there is painful, especially at high difficulties when you need early presence.
Downpour Drenches the World Water spirit with flooding mechanics. It’s fine. Nothing special, nothing terrible. Feels like a B-tier spirit that somehow ends up struggling more often than it should.
D-Tier: Needs Specific Setups
Fractured Days Split the Sky Time manipulation spirit that’s incredibly complex. Can do broken things if you master it, but the learning curve is brutal and one mistake cascades into disaster. Cool concept, frustrating execution.
Most other spirits don’t hit D-tier because the game is well-designed. Even “weak” Spirit Island spirits can win with the right strategy.
Best Spirit Island Spirits for Beginners
Starting Spirit Island can be rough. Here are the spirits you should actually play first:
#1: Lightning’s Swift Strike Just play Lightning. You blast stuff, generate fear, and actually contribute to winning. The special rule is simple, the strategy is obvious, and you’ll have fun. This is the correct first spirit.
#2: River Surges in Sunlight If Lightning’s aggression isn’t your style, try River. You’ll learn about positioning, drowning mechanics, and presence movement. It’s weaker than Lightning but teaches good fundamentals.
#3: Vital Strength of the Earth The defensive option. Play this if you want to focus on stopping blights while your teammates handle offense. You’ll learn defense mechanics and feel useful even if you’re not killing things.
Skip These as a Beginner:
- Bringer of Dreams (no damage is confusing)
- Ocean’s Hungry Grasp (complex energy economy)
- Fractured Days (you’ll hate the game)
- Starlight Seeks Its Form (decision overload)
Spirit Island Spirits Combos That Dominate
Some Spirit Island spirits just work perfectly together:
Ocean + Any Push Spirit: Ocean drowns stuff, teammates push stuff into the ocean. Infinite value loop that breaks the game.
Bringer + Sharp Fangs: Bringer generates fear and pushes invaders, Fangs kills everything. Covers each other’s weaknesses perfectly.
Keeper + Literally Anyone: Keeper is so flexible it combos with everything.
Many Minds + Thunderspeaker: Beast tokens and Dahan working together for maximum damage with minimal energy investment.
Green + Stone: Green spreads everywhere and defends, Stone adds more defense. You basically can’t lose unless you get horrifically unlucky.
Which Spirit Island Expansion Should You Buy?
If you’re loving Spirit Island spirits and want more, here’s my buying guide:
Branch & Claw – Get this first. Two excellent spirits (Keeper is S-tier), plus it adds events and tokens that make the base game better. Essential expansion.
Check Branch & Claw Price on Amazon
Jagged Earth – The massive expansion with 10 new spirits. Absolutely worth it if you’re hooked on the game. Some of the best Spirit Island spirits are in here (Lure, Finder, Many Minds).
Check Jagged Earth Price on Amazon
Nature Incarnate – Four new spirits and higher difficulty adversaries. Get this after Jagged Earth if you want even more variety.
Check Nature Incarnate Price on Amazon
Horizons of Spirit Island – Standalone smaller game with simpler spirits. Good if you want a lighter Spirit Island experience or need a travel version.
Check Horizons Price on Amazon
Common Questions About Spirit Island Spirits
How many Spirit Island spirits are there total? Over 30 spirits across all expansions. The base game has 8, Branch & Claw adds 2, Jagged Earth adds 10, Nature Incarnate adds 4, and Horizons adds 5 new ones.
Can you play Spirit Island solo? Absolutely. Many people prefer it solo, though some Spirit Island spirits (especially support-focused ones) are harder to pilot alone. Ocean and Lightning are great for solo.
What’s the best spirit for high difficulty? Ocean and Keeper are consistently ranked best for beating level 6+ adversaries. They have the tools to handle anything.
Are older spirits still good after new expansions? Mostly yes. Lightning, Ocean, Keeper, and Green are still top-tier. Some spirits like Thunderspeaker dropped a bit but are still very playable.
How long does it take to learn a new spirit? Expect 1-2 games to understand the basics, 5+ games to master the strategy. Complex spirits like Fractured Days might take 10+ games.
Do I need expansions to enjoy Spirit Island? No. The base game is excellent and has enough Spirit Island spirits for tons of replay value. Expansions just add more variety when you’re ready.
Which spirit has the coolest theme? Totally subjective, but Bringer of Dreams (psychological warfare), Vengeance (revenge spirit), and Serpent (sleeping giant) are fan favorites for theme.
My Honest Take on Spirit Island Spirits
Look, Spirit Island is genuinely one of the best co-op games out there, and the Spirit Island spirits are a huge reason why. The variety is insane – you can play 50 games and still discover new strategies with spirits you thought you understood.
The tier list I made? Take it with a grain of salt. Player skill, adversary choice, and your group’s playstyle matter way more than tier rankings. I’ve seen “bad” spirits dominate and “good” spirits struggle based purely on who’s playing them and what adversary you’re facing.
If you’re new to Spirit Island, just grab the base game and try different spirits until you find your style. Like blowing stuff up? Play Lightning or Wildfire. Prefer tactical positioning? Try River or Ocean. Want to feel like a puppet master? Bringer or Finder are your jam.
The beauty of Spirit Island spirits is there’s legitimately something for everyone. Just don’t start with Fractured Days. Seriously. You’ll thank me later.
Ready to Start Playing?
Spirit Island is one of those games that rewards repeated plays. Each spirit feels like learning a new game, and the strategic depth is incredible once you get past the learning curve.
Start your Spirit Island collection:
Buy Spirit Island Base Game on Amazon
Grab Jagged Earth for 10 More Spirits
Or check out more top-rated cooperative board games if you’re still deciding.
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