Root Riverfolk Expansion – The Lizard Cult Review

More Root is always a good thing, in my opinion, so when the Leder Games sent over the Riverfolk expansion for the game, I knew I had to check it out! With two brand new factions to play – who doesn’t want to play as the Lizards or the Riverfolk Company – a new Vagabond, and a few other goodies, is this a worthwhile expansion to grab? Let’s take a look!

Like the Woodland Alliance, the Lizard Cult is looking to scoop up the allegiances of each clearing, and pops in and out of the various clearings quickly. Even when enemies build up things within a clearing, the Lizards can come in and quickly transform whatever that might be – a roost for example – and turn it into a garden. Pretty slick, and honestly, pretty quick!

I found the Lizard Cult to be one of the harder factions to play in Root, and a solid understanding of Root and the mechanics is probably a good idea before taking this faction for a game. The key here is maximizing your card draw, which can be done by building multiple gardens of different types, or aligning with the mice to get extra free actions each turn. Cycling through the deck for the Lizards is important as you’ll want to get specific cards into your hand to really begin manipulating the board and begin executing your winning strategy.

On top of the card play, the Lizards want gardens all over the board – regardless of what else may be present, the Lizard Cult rules a clearing if they have a garden there – that’s pretty sweet, but also makes the faction an easy target for others. We never said playing this faction was easy!

Playing as the Lizards can be challenging as you’ll need to do two things to create a path to victory. Scoring points early on is vital. The Lizards can score points quickly, but do so by accumulating them each and every turn, based on their gardens in play. The thing is, going really hard early also makes you a prime target for other players, so making sure to have a good number of warriors on the board to defend your precious gardens is essential. For many Root factions, I’ve found that a slow buildup can a) often go undetected by others; and b) can get you setup for big point scoring turns late that other players might not see coming.

Everyone sees the Lizard Cult coming, and I mean everyone.

Veteran players, I think, will excel the most here. Knowing how to cycle cards, when to use cards, and how to defend your various clearings will be key to victory. While not an easy faction to master, it’s a worthwhile addition to the Root franchise. While it’s not a must own faction in my opinion, it also doesn’t exist for the sole reason of bleeding you dry of your precious money! This is highly recommended, though, for veterans of the game looking for a new challenge.