In the previous article, we covered the Production phase of each Season and saw the differences between Summer and Winter. In this final installment, we’ll explore the Propaganda phase of the Season and conclude with some strategic thoughts for how each faction can maximize their chances of victory.

Hope is born in [the people’s] hearts, and let us remember that if exasperation often drives men to revolt, it is always hope, the hope of victory, which makes revolutions. – Peter Kropotkin

The Propaganda Phase

After the Actions phase, when each faction has played three Action cards, they effectively get one final action through the Propaganda phase. Each faction has four different options to choose from in Propaganda, and while there are similarities, each faction has a unique decision to make.

All factions have the option of drawing two Objective cards, which may cause them to move their Claim on the map, and if they have more than two Objective cards they will be forced to discard down to two (and take the bonuses from any discarded Objectives). Since Objective cards are only ever drawn automatically at the very start of the game, this Propaganda option is a key way to replenish or update your Objectives.

The other Propaganda option that all factions enjoy is to return Exhausted Commanders to their hand. Since Support Commanders get exhausted and disappear from players’ hands for two entire Seasons, this option can be absolutely vital if a player is expecting to be involved in numerous Combats in the following Season. At times, even Returning one specific Exhausted Commander to your hand could be the difference in the game.

The other two options available during Propaganda vary according to the faction, but generally one is considered a long-term option, increasing Foreign Aid or upgrading your Armored Train for example, while the other option is more short-term focused, like receiving troops and/or resources immediately. And while the Anarchists have the option to add Agitation to any two territories, the other factions all have one option which includes removing one Agitation or Nationalism from one of their territories. Whether to do so or not could be the difference that completes an Objective, or denies someone else an Objective, which illustrates that it’s entirely possible for the game to end during the Propaganda phase if someone scores game-winning Victory Points.

Strategic Considerations

Anarchists: Although you start the game with very few territories and troops, you have the ability to multiply rapidly by spreading Agitation, allowing you to activate those territories and even seize them. Yet, you must be able to defend your gains, which means acquiring firepower. Will you trade with the Bolsheviks, which means less Agitation in red Hammer territories, or attempt to conquer Hammers for yourself and try to hold onto them? Karetnik has a very powerful ability in treating Agitation as firepower, but it’s primarily useful in Supporting your own territories in defense, which means exhausting Karetnik. Since you only have two Commanders (all other factions have three), this is a big sacrifice.

Bolsheviks: Your advantage is your ability to produce greater numbers of troops and firepower than your enemies. However, your great weakness is your poverty of food, particularly in the Winter. You must feed your Hammers one way or another – conquering Sickle provinces, trading with the Anarchists, or through both Kamenev’s and Tukhachevsky’s Commander abilities. How quickly to invest in your Armored Train weapon will be a key question, since it means sacrificing more immediately useful firepower. And because all three enemy factions surround your valuable terrain and are not likely to leave you unbothered, knowing when best to surrender certain Combats without exhausting a Commander takes courage. Hopefully, by convincingly bluffing, you can make your enemies overcommit and waste their resources, while you save yours for the battles that really matter.

New Nations: You have control of the Sea, which gives you mobility between all coastal areas through both your Mobilize and Sea Command actions. Yet, your small army has a lot of valuable high-producing territory to defend. Building up Nationalism in a few strategic territories will give you a Combat advantage and improve your ability to add troops over the long term. But if you are put under pressure by the Anarchists and Bolsheviks, will you spread your focus and resources to try to keep what you have? If you can prolong the game, it may pay off to invest in Foreign Aid, but on the other hand, if you can find the right moment to go on the offensive, you may be able to score a Heroic Objective and end the game early.

White Army: Your advantage is offensive – your Commanders have strong Attack abilities, and whenever you conquer a territory, you gain a Terror, a currency only you can spend on your turn. If you can successfully keep your wave of aggression flowing, the Terror will fuel your economy, build your Foreign Aid, and effectively give you extra actions by removing any bothersome Agitation or Nationalism. Will you gradually chip away at the Bolshevik’s Sickle territories to grind down their industry, or concentrate for one great assault on Moscow or Petrograd? Fishing out the Bolshevik Armored Train is a key consideration – Denikin cancels its effect if you are Attacking a Bolshevik territory, a potentially enormous swing if you can get the reds to commit that train at exactly the right moment.

Thanks for reading this six-part preview of Hammer and Sickle: Hunger and Utopia in the Russian Civil War. We hope you have found it illuminating and entertaining!

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Previous Articles:

The Four Factions of Hammer and Sickle

How to Win Hammer and Sickle

Events and Actions in Hammer and Sickle

Combat in Hammer and Sickle

The Hammer and Sickle Economy