Root: The Marauders - Should You Back It?

Root is back. And back in a big way with The Marauders expansion, bringing two new factions to the table and a host of hirelings to flesh out your game. But with nothing exclusive, is it worth tying up your money for a year? Do you like Root that much? And what about that Clockwork 2 expansion? Should you back it?

TimeStamps:
0:00:00 - Introduction
0:01:01 - What is Root?
0:03:07 - Root Starts Expanding
0:04:45 - Root: The Marauders Overview
0:06:15 - Pledge Levels
0:10:15 - Should You Back It?
0:15:40 - Wrapping Up

[hellboy]

Is* one of those games that goes beyond being "good or bad". A work of art in itself. All in with Root. Waiting for news of the new modular map too.

[LordoftheBoard]

Okay. Alex, way to nice. Those last couple words of the video just made my day! Thanks a ton, and I was awaiting this video.

I am a Leder Fanboy. So as you can assume I backed all in. Now for the Hirelings pack at 50... 6 Hirelings and a box to store all the Hirelings. I’m not sure if it’s a good deal - but if you want to improve 2 player root I think it’s worth it if that makes sense. These Hirelings change the game drastically to give more crunch and weight to the lower player counts. So more options means more replayablity. That’s my take. Once again thank you for the shoutout! Love your work and this video is well done :)

[dementedpenguinx]

Would love to hear more of your thoughts on what you don't like about Root.

[cesarpim]

When you say that Root is "scripted" makes me think "are we talking about the same Root?" I hate scripted games and Root to me is amongst the least scripted game I've ever played. Even when me and my friends play the same factions there's so much different stuff going on that the game sessions are sooo different!! I feel such freedom in the decision making that really rewards my creativity. Maybe Root just isn't a good match for you and you play it in some strange way that I can't imagine how..

[ShelfClutter]

Interesting. I thought Leder would be offering more value here. Historically the KS prices were actually below what retail prices were at the time (or they would be throwing in some free stuff).
I'm not super interested in root after playing vast but I was interested to see what Leder would do here.
Thanks!!

[MerrillWhiteKalEl]

Count me as part of their following. I love this game. I also love the quality of their components. To me Root is a win and an instant back. My wife does not like Risk or other area control games, but she will play Root.

[derekbowen]

I love Root, and I am backing (mostly just to secure a copy of the new factions), but the $50 MSRP for 6 hirelings doesn't add up to me. Looking at the rest of the page, 3 hirelings have a $20 MSRP, and 2 full factions + 4 hirelings have a $50 MSRP, so both of those retail components (included in the base pledge) seem to offer hirelings at a lower MSRP.
The clockwork is weird for me. On one hand it turns Root into a really good solo experience (something that frankly shouldn't be possible), but the clockwork bots are offered much cheaper through the digital version (which takes much less time to solo too). So, while they were amazing, the digital version killed them for solo play, and the hirelings seem to be replacing them for 2 player games, which makes me feel like the main reason to get them would be just to complete the collection.

[Cecekcz]

Unmentioned interesting thing about the Lord of the Hundreds is that he’s the first faction since Vagabond to make use of items. Thats my favourite aspect.

[darkstormita]

Here in europe they sell root at a mich higher cost than in America, so from actual perspective i think buy maruader expansion is the best thing here(at least in italy, like the underworld cost 60 dollars, vagabond and the exiles 15 each, the core game cost at least 70 dollars, from my perspective the ks is great in italy)

[biznesstime]

One more thing to consider, is the "guarantee" of getting the new expansion relatively quickly.
I've found that historically later expansions for most games have smaller retail print runs and can be harder to get. Which in turn results in having to turn to the secondary market and jacked up prices.
Not sure if it will hold true for Root because of its popularity, but if a large portion of the serious Root community is already backing the KS, is there as much reason to have as big a retail roll out for the newest expansion?

[RiHa_Games]

Maybe its already mentioned, but from the preview video and kickstarter description it seems that hirelings can come with quite a few meeples, so probably that the costs of the hireling expansion

[successfulgeek]

My biggest challenge, I only own the core game and don't want to expand on it too much, but this set improves the 2p mode so it very much interests me... And it is money that could be put towards Bloodstone. I love Root though it doesn't see as much play because needing more players, this could get it to the table more...

[michaeljoyce]

We liked root but haven't played it enough to say we love it. We have a pile of games that we just find to be more fun to get to the table. Hard to jump in on this one...

[ghstrdio]

I was hoping for an all in option to buy everything the game has. I haven't been able to find a copy of the base game

[rasin]

big question!: I am german and got the main game and the expansions in that language. I know that this expansion will eventually be translated but can I expect the higher pledge levels to be sold seperately afterwards too? Or do you think there will not be another chance to get it. I really really want those things you get if you pledge 80Dollars.

[pabgondia]

Maybe it's a stupid question, but can I back it for a spanish copy of the game or just English? Didn't get it at the KS information...

[koonfasa]

I like those trees. Can you get those trees? I want those trees.

Clockwork is just AI for each faction so you can enjoy solo against w hitch ever ones you have. That’s what I think most people intend to do, but more likely it’ll end up sitting on the shelf for years unopened, and be part of the set completion meta-game.

[Renegade_KT]

I'm surprised that you did not cover the shipping cost (or did I miss it). They have a link to a google doc about it on their campaign page ;). I'm skipping this one, because even tho the expansion looks super good, I still need to play more games of Root with my group before adding more stuff. I already own the base game + Riverfolk expansion and I did not even played every faction yet. I'm also not entirely sure about the hirelings and landmarks, so I'll have to watch Lord of the board video about it ;).

[blacksheep]

I'm at the point with Root where I probably should sell it on; it just doesn't get played enough, and it's a game that really rewards repeated play rather than basically teaching it from scratch each time. But the new expansion is exactly what we thought the game needed the last time we played, between the hirelings and the new high-reach factions.

However...they're not doing UK-friendly shipping, and that takes the KS from expensive to overpriced. A pledge that Germany gets for £65 is likely to cost UK backers £98, and note that Germany and the UK have basically the same VAT rate. So unless that gets sorted, this is a retail buy for me assuming I still own Root in a year.

[mrbaudolino]

Hi Alex, great video, after watching through the entirety of it I'm still not sure if it is worth the $52US shipping cost to Peru, any suggestions? Do you recommend me backing it (I love Root, btw)?