Wingspan: Oceania's Australia board changes the meta significantly. The food scarcity on the Australia side creates different bird valuation. Nectar as a wild food source that cannot be hoarded changes planning horizons. Birds that generate extra food become more valuable when the Australia habitat restricts standard food generation.

The bird pool from Oceania includes proportionally more birds with activated brown powers than the base set. This shifts the value calculation for forest habitat birds, which in the base set trend toward cached resources and tucking. Oceania introduces more immediate activation value in the forest.

For experienced Wingspan players, mixing Oceania and European expansion birds with the base set creates the most varied card pool. Each expansion emphasizes different mechanical territory, so mixing them exposes the full design space.