The best strategy for collecting soil

Winning comes first

Only the winner collects soil, and troops are what win. An island on Soil makes no troops, so every island you switch is a little less attack and a little less defence. A match lost with a full pool of soil pays you nothing for it.

Treat soil as a bonus on top of a winning position, not a replacement for it. Claim your neighbouring islands with Army first, and switch islands to Soil only once they are safe.

Which islands to switch

Switch islands that are far from the rivals and have no rival island linked to them. A rival needs a link to attack, so a back-line island with only friendly neighbours can sit on Soil for the whole match without risk. Keep front-line islands, the ones next to a rival, on Army so they can hold and reinforce.

Larger islands produce more, so a large safe island is the best soil island. If the only large island is on the front line, two safe small islands on Soil are better than one risky large one.

Half is the safe compromise: the island still grows troops, slowly, and still makes soil. It suits an island that might be needed for defence later.

Timing

Soil is made by the second, so an island switched early makes more than one switched late. The best time is right after you have claimed an island and it has no rival link. Matches last at most about 13 minutes, so an island that makes soil for the whole match matters more than ten minutes of farming at the end.

When a rival starts to approach, switch the threatened island back to Army. Switching back costs nothing but a short wait, and the soil already made stays in your pool. Remember the change is not instant: troops only start growing from the moment of the switch.

How much is worth it

The payout has a ceiling per match. A single island of ordinary size on Soil for the whole match makes roughly twenty units, so two or three safe islands are enough to reach it. More soil islands than that are wasted: put the extra ones back on Army and use them to win faster.

Upgrade production in the Improve page. It raises how much every island makes, whether troops or soil, so it helps both plans. Soil can also be bought in the shop, but it costs ocoin, so only the match payout is worth planning around.

A simple plan

Claim the nearby free islands on Army. Once your front is steady, find the islands with no rival link and switch them to Soil, the biggest first. Keep the front line on Army and use Half on islands that might be needed. Win the match, and collect the soil of every player.