Introduction

Hades is said to be strong for beginners. However, I can tell you that he is one of the weakest powers in the game! Let’s see why this is the case…

God Power

Opponent workers cannot move down.

Category

Opponent blocking

Explanation

This is only a restriction to moving, so workers can be forced down, even for opponents (this applies to games with 2 forcers and Hades, e.g. Apollo v.s. Minotaur v.s. Hades).

Game Strategies

Early Game

Although Hades might seem very good at first, don’t forget that the goal of the game is to move up, not to move down. Although sometimes you want to move down, if this is the ONLY restriction that the other power poses, then that power isn’t that strong. My first advice is that you only play with Hades in very specific matchups or if you are facing a weak opponent and you want to make things fairer.

It is very appealing to “force” your opponent to move up early on, because that implies that that worker will be more restricted for the rest of the game. However, this is tricky in the sense that by allowing your opponent to move up, you could be throwing the game.

Middle Game

If the opponent moves up too early, Hades can try to create an “island” in a distant area of the board. What I mean by an island is a set of blocks which is separated from the playing area by lower levels. Since the access to the island is made of lower levels, it is impossible for the opponent to go to that area (unless he builds a bridge). The problem with this strategy is that the opponent has a power and that might just be enough to win without having to defend the island.

Late Game

If Hades wants to win, then the game will probably reach a late stage of the game (Middle or Late) and this is an indicator of how weak Hades is. There are a lot of matchups in which Hades stands just no chance, but there might be some powers which are actually much weaker against Hades and it is against those which Hades can give it a try.

Specific Matchup

Athena

Athena can use her power at most 4 times and it seems like Hades could defeat her. But just 4 times is more than enough for Athena to win, so don’t get your hopes up.

Domers (Atlas and Selene)

Doming squares is tricky because these gods can run out of squares. Thus, in this matchup, both these gods will not place as many domes as they would like to, and that’s what makes this a reasonable matchup. In this one, Hades can try to force Atlas/Selene to move up to level 1 (for example by building in the center). From there, it will be much harder to move.

Bia

Bia’s ability depends a lot on her movement, and a level 1 Bia against Hades is much much weaker. In this matchup, Hades actually has an edge, he just has to make sure that Bia moves up early on.

Chronus

Chronus is even weaker than Hades, so this game is quite playable for Hades.

Circe

This is an interesting matchup since the side who holds Hades’ power can move down but as soon as they lose Hades’ ability, they can no longer move down. It is probably easier to play with Circe in the long run since if Hades separates his workers for just one move, it might be tricky to connect them again.

Dionysus

Although the god of wine is still stronger, Hades can hope for a different result in this matchup.

Eros

It is tricky to play with Eros, since if he decides to move up to a level one, Hades might “force” him to a level 2 and then Eros can say goodbye to his power. This matchup has to be played very carefully and it is probably even Hades who holds an advantage.

Iris

Iris’ ability is much weaker without being able to move down. Hades can play this matchup with a victory in mind.

Maenads

Just like against Bia, it is much tricker for Maenads to use her ability if she cannot move down. I would probably pick Hades in this matchup.

Pegasus

Although it might look that Pegasus can only use his ability once with each worker (moving from a level 0 to a level 2/3), it is still enough to beat Hades. Pegasus can build several levels 2, and then move up when the right time comes.

Persephone

Which god in the couple is stronger? Persephone is not that strong so it is actually possible for Hades to win.

Triton

Although Triton is still stronger, it is amazing how one of the weakest powers of the game can actually face one of the strongest. Like I said, Triton is stronger, but he has to be very careful as moving up in the wrong moment can cost him the game.

Zeus

As with Athena and Pegasus, the number of times Zeus can use his power is restricted to a small number (6 at most). Anyway, this matchup is still favorable for Zeus.

Conclusion

Although Hades seems very strong at first, it is in fact Hades the one who has many difficulties playing. Therefore, the stronger player should control Hades and only in a very specific number of matchups can Hades hope for a win.

Tier ranking: D