New player here. I tried a game as the Jol-Nar and stumbled badly out of the gate. We had theTI3 rules but no expansions, will be adding those in the future.

So, Jol-Nar have nice tech, but only begin with 2 ground forces, making their initial resource grab lag behind their opponents.

Additionally, Moving carriers back to the homeworld to grab a second round of ground forces then go out again really sucks up valuable moves, plus since it activates the system, you can't build that turn outside of strategy card options or some of the rare effects that "unactivate" a system.

This second issue I hit is not unique to the Jol-Nar.

What do you vets do to keep up the expansion and not fall behind? Because I was never able to make a comeback and placed last out of our 4.

I did get to start with a dreadnaught, but given the -1 to hit and lower resource pool, felt that was better used as a deterrent than to try and lead an early assault (I had a wormhole right off my homeworld and two players with on the other side of it, one Sol the other one I forget but got a +1 to combat rolls).

There are plenty of guides out there to tell you of how to play certain races.

But here is my understanding of how to play Jol nar. But I do not play them alot.

Jol nar player goal is Warsuns. Once Jol nar puts a Warsun down, many players takes Jol nar off the target list.

If Jol nar empire is resource poor and will likely never get enough trade goods and resources to buy a Warsun, then Jol nar is researching Assault cannons and Type IV drives and building Dreads. 3 Dreads with Assault cannons has about the same firepower as a Warsun.

1. So first thing as a Jol nar player….decide what you trying to reseach to. Warsuns or Dreads with Assault cannons.

2. Jolnar first goal is to get 2 spacedocks on his best double system as fast as possible.

Until that first Warsun is built you will need lots of cannon fodder because the Jol nar fleet is going to take more hits then a normal fleet. Jol nar has a big production capacity problem so he cannot build lots of fighters. The only way to solve it is getting both Space docks built.

Then if Jol nar gets the Production strategy card, Jolnar spams fighters with Production and activates the system again ans spams more fighters. With that much cannon fodder, many players will get discouraged and leave Jolnar alone.

The big thing to remember about Jol nar reseach ability is not that Jolnar can get a second tech but Jol nar only needs to spend a strategy counter for a tech.

Jolnar needs to take the resources he saved to buy more cannon fodder.

3. Once you get Warsun tech, build that Warsun, even if it cost you everything. It deters players. Then outfit that Warsun with a big enough fleet to protect it.

When you get two Warsuns, put both Warsuns together, so you can smash through any fleet. One Warsun fleet is not enough because of the counter attacks.

4. Your 3 Trade contract is for buying peace. If you must, you may have to trade the 3 for a 1 to buy peace at that border.

5. Move your 2 pds out to your best double planet. You will be buying Deep space cannons, Graviton negator for pds rerolls and more pds, since they are the only cheap unit that can hit something. 6 pds shots with rerolls and 6 more pds shots for the counter attack is a good deterrence.

6pds with rerolls is about the only thing that will deter players from coming through a wormhole next to your homeworld. If players start targeting your pds with action cards, they are definitely are going to attack you. It is a warning sign. Many players will tip their hand that way because they want to avoid those hits.

As far as your Expansion and ground troop problems. Get stasis capsules and build Crusiers. 2 Crusiers and 2 ground troops will get the far planets. Your Carriers will get the close planets and hard to take planets.

A production trick…..final turn, activate the space dock and build all ground troops. Pass. Then when that skipping Yssaril player finally decides to do Production strategy card, build 1 Carrier and 2 Cruisers. Next turn you will start with plenty of ground troops and ships to carry them. The counters you saved can be put into the command pool for next turn's expansion.

Another production trick … but only do it if you have peace. Get Nano tech as fast as possible. Then any planet you get is in the refreshed state. It pays for the tech. This tech protects your Warsuns and Dreads from action cards and any planet you take in a war will pay for your losses.

A nasty expansion trick….Send 1 carrier with 1 pds and 5 ground troops across the top of Mecatol Rex to grab a nice planet. The pds prevents bombardment and the 5 ground troops will take a long time to die. You will lose the carrier immediately and eventually the ground troops. But the planet will pay for your losses and the pds will be taking pop shots at the other player's ships. It will greatly disrupt that players game plans since he will devote the next 3 turns to trying to figure out how to dig you out and he will lose the use of that planet for those turns. If you get the tech, Gen Synthesis, your ground troops get +1 to hit and have a chance to return to your homeworld.

Where are the strategy guides? I looked around but couldn't find any. Mind you, my search-fu is very weak. I have never in over 15 years found anything searching on any web forum.

Thanks for the tips. On the expansion tip, when you say "over the top of mercatol rex" you mean one in the first ring surrounding it, actually land on Mercatol Rex?

Also, on the building a carrier and 2 cruisers, Jol Nar start with 2 carriers, and with only 2 ground troops, I usually leave one in system and send the other with 1 PDS and 2 ground units to the best adjacent planet. So I won't be able to build a third carrier. Is that not a good move?

Khamya9 said:

You need to always include…..twilight imperium 3 in any searches about this game.

Try….twilight imperium 3 Jol nar strategy

Khamya9 said:

What I mean is…1st turn, move the carrier with 1 pds and 5 ground troops to a planet next to Mecatol Rex. 2nd turn, move the carrier into Mecatol Rex and into a nice planet on the other side of Mecatol Rex. The Red Custodians do not block movement. Most players never expect this.

To stop someone from doing this to you, place a ship at Mecatol Rex. If you do not land ground troops at Mecatol Rex, no ship combat occurs with the Custodian fighters.

Khamya9 said:

Get Stasis Capsules and build Cruisers for long range expansions. For many races this is a standard move.

I do not play Jol nar much but here is what I would do. It also depends alot on the strategy card you have.

1. Move the Dread, 2 ground troops, 1 carrier, 2pds to capture 2 planets.

2. Build 1 Crusier, 2 ground troops for Production secondary

3. Move 1 Crusier, 1 ground troops out to capture 1 planet.

4. Activate your system to build 1 Crusier, 4 ground troops.

Next turn

Carrier has 3 ground troops and Cruiser has 1 ground troop to capture planets. The other ships can continue expanding outward.

Build both Space docks at your best system if you have enough resources. Get XRD so your carriers can move back fast.

Next turn

Your double space docks can fill your Carriers full of fighters and ground troops.

Organize your fleets. If they are out of position or have a bad fleet mix, you will get attacked.

Get your fleet supply up to 5 or 6. If you get attacked and have a fleet supply of 2 or 3, you are in big trouble.

Then race to get Warsun tech and build that Warsun.

Here is one:

http://gameknight.com/?page_id=545

Thanks Archangelion, that's a very helpful link!