Quick Decisions and Chasing Spice
Dune “Conquest” is all about quick decisions and actions. One of the main ways this version of Dune differs from classic Dune is the fact that players can’t win on turns 1 and 2. But it also differs in that if no player controls three strongholds at the end of turn 5, the player with the most spice wins. This means that going after spice throughout the game is critical. The first two turns should be about trying to get as much of the spice on the board as possible. It’s also a good time to find out if any of your leaders are safe or traitors. While someone can always choose to not reveal they have your traitor, they typically don’t bother to wait for a more important battle later. Spice is used to buy market cards, revive forces and leaders, and ship forces to the planet. Therefore, stockpiling spice isn’t easy. The Fremen faction never has to pay for shipping, and the Imperium faction gets paid when others buy Market cards. Going after spice is even more important for Atreides and Harkonnen. Trying to control strongholds isn’t important until turn 3, so most factions should try to avoid battles in strongholds until then.
– Jack Reda
