Fantasy Flight Games

A Hero to Serve The Imperial Throne

A Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game spotlight

Many mighty heroes, powerful wizards and great leaders have influenced the history of the Empire. Their names are passed on from one generation to the next in myths and legends, sung by wandering minstrels at the courts of the Counts, or recited to grandchildren at bedtime. These stories form the core of the Empire’s identity as a nation.
    –Warhammer: The Empire, “Heroes of the Empire”

Each Battle Pack thus far released for The Capital Cycle has introduced a new Hero to the raging conflicts of Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game, and each has offered its race new tactical advantages.

From playing units for free and attacking from zones other than the battlefield to destroying Fortifications and returning developments to their owners’ hands, the Heroes of The Capital Cycle work well both as the centerpieces of decks built around them and as powerful agents who lend their individual strength and abilities to decks with other focuses.

The Imperial Throne continues this theme, introducing Werner Ludenhof (The Imperial Throne, 104), a bold and industrious Hero willing to undertake the most perilous of quests in the name of the Empire.

Cards when you need them

A true man and trusted agent of the Empire, Werner Ludenhof specializes in uncovering his enemies’ secrets and in discovering key tactical information. For just three resources and three loyalty cost (meaning he’ll rarely see play on the first turn, but may often see play on the second), Werner Ludenhof offers three power while questing. This astonishing ratio of power to resource cost makes Werner Ludenhof a Hero you’ll likely want to play early each game, in order to best accelerate your card draw. Thus, if you play him in your deck, you’ll likely want to include a full three copies.

The many trials of Werner Ludenhof

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever needed to play a unit to your quest zone that you had intended to assign to a quest, only to draw your quest a turn too late, you’ll appreciate Werner Ludenhof’s unique ability to move onto a quest you control.

Normally, to assign a unit to a quest, you must first play the quest, then play the unit to the unoccupied quest. This means the order of the draw takes on a good degree of importance. You must draw and play the quest before the unit you wish to play to it. Certainly, you can draw another unit and play the second unit to the quest instead of the one you’d hoped to play, but if you’re in danger of wearing through your draw deck, you may not want the extra power in your quest zone. Or you may simply need the second unit’s power and hit points to bolster another zone, leaving you with no unit to assign to the quest.

Werner Ludenhof gives you a small degree of freedom from this standard order of play. Furthermore, he can move between quests. You could play him to a quest such as Forges of Nuln (Redemption of a Mage, 67) to lower the cost of your support cards and then shift him onto Protect the Empire (Arcane Fire, 5) when you need him to defend one of your zones. In fact, if Werner Ludenhof is anywhere on the table, he can simply take an action to Protect the Empire, moving from any zone onto the quest to lend his strength to the Empire’s defense.

Destined for glory

As The Imperial Throne heralds the climactic conclusion of The Capital Cycle, we start to look forward to The Bloodquest Cycle, where Werner Ludenhof is likely to shine. Given the cycle’s focus on quests and the powerful new Artefacts and other material rewards for completed quests, units like Werner Ludenhof, who excel in the quest zone, are likely to see a lot of play. Each player will have to choose whether he wants the ability to take a mulligan or if he wants his units to undertake a Heroic Task (Rising Dawn, 20) in order to gain immediate access to any one card set aside from his deck. Werner Ludenhof may not provide the answer, but he’ll certainly factor into the decision.

Look for Werner Ludenhof to ride to the Empire’s defense when The Imperial Throne releases later this month. Until then, share your comments on this and other Battle Packs from The Capital Cycle in our community forums.

Categories: Game News

A Taste of Adventure

Preview the new Tannhauser novel, Rising Sun, Falling Shadows

Taki looked up to see two more soldiers in brown uniforms and caps glaring at him with pistols raised. “Teiryuu!” There were soldiers everywhere these days, now that Japan was at war. An invasion force had struck China weeks ago; with the conquered northeastern city of Tianjin as a base, Japanese forces were making great strides in spite of heavy Chinese resistance.
     “Teiryuu!” repeated the soldiers. “Teiryuu!” The word meant “halt,” but of course Taki meant to do no such thing.
     Taki’s mind raced. What could he say to these men? The evidence of what had happened was laid out around him—signs of a struggle plus two unconscious soldiers, one with a hairpin stuck in his eye. No amount of fast-talking was going to get him out of this mess.
      -Robert Jeschonek, Rising Sun, Falling Shadows

Join the race to stop the army of the Shogunate from discovering a weapon so powerful it could determine the outcome of the long-waged Great War. In the first Tannhäuser novel, Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, Robert Jeschonek brings John MacNeal, Hoax, Tala, and other characters from the board game to brilliant life.

A tale of horror and heroism

In the midst of perpetual war, a far-eastern warrior sect with a shadowy agenda has set out toward the evergreen peninsula of Kamchatka. Can Union Major John McNeal and the elite soldiers of the 42nd Marines stop their sinister plot before it’s too late? And what terrible powers lie hidden in the verdant wilderness? The race is on to discover ancient secrets that could finally bring the Great War to its climactic end!

Robert Jeschonek sets the scene with an action-packed first chapter (pdf, 92KB), which is now available for download.

Jump into the middle of a stealthy fight, and get acquainted with a few of the Union’s most skilled heroes. Beware! After reading this chapter, you will be craving even more Tannhäuser action.

Enjoy this exhilarating Rising Sun, Falling Shadows preview, and check back for more previews and future news regarding this tantalizing novel. Pre-order your copy at your local retailer or through the iBookstore (this novel will also be available on other digital devices).
 

Categories: Game News

An Update on Star Wars: The Card Game

Important information regarding the upcoming Living Card Game

In August, we announced the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Card Game, a Living Card Game® based on the original Star Wars trilogy. Today, we would like to share an update on its development.

Fantasy Flight Games’ current catalog of LCGs® offers a variety of exceptional and unique gameplay experiences, with the LCG® format among our most successful publishing categories. With this in mind, we want to make sure that Star Wars: The Card Game features a truly groundbreaking LCG® play experience.

The game we showed off at Gen Con 2011 would have been a strong addition to our LCG® catalog. However, as we were making the final touches to the product, we came to the realization that while it was a good game, it simply was not the greatest, most engaging game experience that FFG could deliver. So, we made a difficult decision and went back to the drawing board on the Star Wars: The Card Game design.

How will this affect the release date?

We are currently expecting to publish Star Wars: The Card Game worldwide just before the 2012 holidays. That said, it can be difficult to predict when the creative process will end, so this date should be taken as an estimate.

While we are disappointed that our original estimated release date will not be met, we are sure that our players would agree that our decision to delay Star Wars: The Card Game was the best one. We are absolutely confident that with the extra time this affords us, Star Wars: The Card Game will become one of FFG’s greatest products ever.

Categories: Game News

Heroes in The Redhorn Gate, Part One

A spotlight on the heroes of The Lord of The Rings: The Card Game

Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build. He led the way, and Aragorn followed him. Slowly they moved off, and were soon toiling heavily. In places the snow was breast-high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking.
    Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others. “The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running over grass and leaf, or over snow – an Elf.”

   –The Fellowship of the Ring

With the completion of the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle and the release of Khazad-dûm, players now have far more heroes from which to choose as they build their fellowships, but how do you decide which to include? Are there any hard and fast rules about the best ways to combine heroes from different spheres? Have you ever wondered why The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game limits players to three heroes in the first place?

Let’s start by addressing the last of these questions first. While it’s true that players can choose to run fewer than three heroes, it’s generally not advised.

The rule of three

A two-hero fellowship (or even a solitary hero) may be able to make progress toward the quest for a period of time, while slipping beneath the notice of any enemies in the staging area, but eventually the mounting threats of locations and enemies are likely to catch up to a small party. The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is intentionally balanced for three heroes.

The game’s designer, Nate French, explains:

Three is a really strong number for game design. It presents possibilities for different approaches to games that can appeal to different types of players. When you play a game, having to focus on three options can lead you to a balanced approach that works like a tripod leaning equally upon all three sides (a tri-sphere deck, with one hero from each of three different spheres), or you may take a split focus between a major sphere with support from a minor sphere (a deck with two Spirit heroes, and one Tactics hero, for instance). Still another option exists, and you can focus all your efforts on a single point of interest (a focused, monosphere deck).

Having only two options for heroes would be too limiting in possibilities; it creates situations that are all an either/or or a perfect mix. Four options, on the other hand, would start to enter the territory of allowing players to do “everything” right out of the gate, which would lessen the meaning and impact of selecting heroes in the first place.

Another nice aspect of having three heroes in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is that you have three major points of focus each turn: questing, defending, and attacking. With three heroes, your hero base can cover the three main points of the game. With four options, you would start getting to the point where you’re trying to spin too many plates at once. Card games are filled with constantly shifting rules as cards enter and leave play, and adding another multiplier can just prove overwhelming.

Split or focused spheres?

Nate offers both a nice definition of the challenges The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game offers fellowships and a similarly succinct definition of the various approaches players may take to building their fellowships. Each turn players need to divide their fellowship’s attentions between questing, defending, and attacking, and as they consider how best to meet those demands, players can choose to combine two or three spheres of influence, or rely upon the strengths of a single sphere.

Of course, your concerns for deck construction will be slightly different if you’re building for solitary play than if you’re building for multiplayer games. In multiplayer games, players can split the game’s three main tasks (questing, defending, and attacking) between the two decks, so that one player may be responsible for questing while the other may do the dirty work of defending and attacking. In solitary play, however, one fellowship must balance all three tasks.

Many players have long noted they’ve met with greater success when running at least two spheres, whether split between multiple players or combining heroes from different spheres in a solitary deck. This is because the spheres each excel at different aspects of the game (and different tasks). While there are no hard and fast rules about combining the spheres of influence, strong decks must have plans built into them to commit Willpower to the quest, defend and destroy enemies, draw cards, generate resources, and survive the nastiest Treachery cards the encounter deck can throw at them.

Typically, Spirit cards provide high Willpower and efficient means of canceling Treachery effects, Lore cards provide excellent card draw, Leadership provides resource acceleration, and Tactics provides you the means of surviving and quickly defeating even the nastiest enemies. If you draw upon the strongest and most appropriate cards for your deck’s theme from two or three of these spheres, you can gain the traditional benefits of both (or all three) spheres, and you may be able to focus your deck even more keenly than if you hewed to just one sphere.

Ploughmen to plough, otters to swim

While a deck’s “personality” may be most clearly expressed in a multiplayer game, even single-player decks can express dramatically different approaches to the game, starting with their selection of heroes.

QUESTER: Dúnhere (Core Set, 9), Éowyn (Core Set, 7), Theodred (Core Set, 2)
Starting threat: 24

A quester focuses on committing as much Willpower as possible to the quest, while facing as little resistance as possible. Éowyn and Théodred quest each turn, while Dúnhere skirmishes enemies in the staging area. Cards that reduce threat, such as The Galadhrim’s Greeting (Core Set, 46) and Gandalf (Core Set, 73), are key to the success of this deck as they allow Dúnhere to attack without ever first having to face an attack.

FIGHTER: Éowyn, Gimli (Core Set, 4), Legolas (Core Set, 5)
Starting threat: 29

Unlike the quester, the fighter doesn’t shy away from getting down and dirty in combat. While Éowyn focuses on the quest, Gimli can take some hits and gets stronger for them. Legolas rewards you for fighting by adding progress tokens each time he helps defeat an enemy. An Unexpected Courage (Core Set, 57) on Gimli makes him a formidable combatant, and a couple copies of Blade of Gondolin (Core Set, 39) make felling foes even more rewarding.

SAGE: Beravor (Core Set, 12), Bifur (Khazad-dûm, 2), Bilbo (The Hunt for Gollum, 1)
Starting threat: 26

Knowledge is power, and knowledge in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is best represented by the cards and options in your hand. This focused trio of Lore heroes provides tremendous card draw, and you can add to it with Gléowine (Core Set, 62). The Lore sphere features a great number of cards to reduce the threat in the staging area and can convert card draw into Willpower via Protector of Lorien (Core Set, 70), but you’ll probably want to include some Songs to splash cards from other spheres.

PROTECTOR: Boromir (The Dead Marshes, 95), Eleanor (Core Set, 8), Frodo (Conflict at the Carrock, 25)
Starting threat: 25

This fellowship plays its low starting threat against the optional threat increases it can trigger from Boromir and Frodo to gain extra actions. As with the quester, the protector benefits tremendously from cards that reduce threat, allowing Boromir to quest, defend, and attack every turn. Cards you play to boost Boromir, such as Blade of Gondolin and The Favor of the Lady (Core Set, 55), provide tremendous rewards as he can use them all every turn.

JACK OF ALL TRADES: Aragorn (Core Set, 1), Beravor, Frodo
Starting threat: 29

Starting with three spheres, this fellowship can do a little bit of everything. Aragorn allows you to play Steward of Gondor (Core Set, 26) to accelerate your resources, while Beravor accelerates your card draw. You’ll have a lot of options in your hand every turn, and Aragorn and Frodo provide you with action advantage. Aragorn can pay resources to ready himself after committing to the quest, and Frodo can serve as a “defender” even while exhausted, absorbing damage as threat in times of need.

Looking ahead

Are you wondering how these archetypes may change with the release of The Redhorn Gate and the subsequent Adventure Packs from the Dwarrowdelf cycle? Next week, Part Two of this series takes a look at the impact Secrecy is likely to have upon your starting fellowships. Then, in two weeks, Part Three takes a closer look at multiplayer roles and the new hero from The Redhorn Gate!

Categories: Game News

Get Ready to Party

The rules for Cosmic Alliance, the Cosmic Encounter expansion, are online

Unlikely alliances are forming throughout the galaxy, and fantastic new aliens have arrived to be part of them. Can these unexpected partnerships last? If they do, how will they change the epic struggle for interstellar control? Choose your sides quickly, for those unable to work well with others may soon find themselves wandering the Cosmos alone.

In December, we announced Cosmic Alliance, the upcoming third expansion for Cosmic Encounter. This new addition to the beloved game of galactic politics brings 20 alien races, both original and classic, exploding onto your tabletop. Players will now give in to the demands of the Extortionist, be baffled by the puzzle of the Schizoid, and have their vision split by the Crystal!

How to win friends and influence aliens

So far, we’ve previewed the charismatic General, the multi-talented Cyborg, the pint-sized Pygmy, the toxic Poison, and the vampiric Sting. Today, we’re pleased to present the rules for Cosmic Alliance (pdf, 996 KB), now available on our support page.

Download the rules today, then head to your local retailer to place your pre-order. The party is about to begin, so be ready when Cosmic Alliance invades tabletops later this quarter!

Categories: Game News

Energize!

A closer look at energy cards in Wiz-War, plus the video!

On Wednesday, we heralded the triumphant return of Wiz-War! Now available at your local retailer and on our webstore, this classic board game of magical mayhem for 2-4 players pits wily wizards against each other in an underground maze and a magical melee. Players race to score two points by stealing rivals’ treasures or casting the knock-out spells to fell their foes.

Fuel your fantasy

At the root of all this wild and zany wizardry is energy. Not just the energy the players bring to their imaginative combinations of spells, but the energy cards that make up a good portion of each spell deck.

The rules of Wiz-War (available on the game’s support page) indicate two uses for energy cards: An energy card may be used to boost a wizard’s movement during his turn, or it may be used along with a spell to boost that spell’s effects.

Zoom!

While wizards weave magic that accelerates their progress toward your treasures, it may behoove you to move more swiftly through the sorcerous labyrinth.

Normally, the active player may move his wizard up to three squares. However, you can discard an energy card from your hand to move an additional number of squares up to the energy card’s value.

The yellow wizard races past the red wizard’s line of sight and expends five energy to rush all the way to his rival’s unguarded treasure!

Whether you seek to round a corner and gain Line of Sight to target your most terrific spells at nearby rivals or simply to hasten your heroic capture of an opponent’s treasure, the timely expenditure of magical energy may give you just the boost you need to succeed!

Supercharge your spells

Energy cards may also be played in conjunction with spells. Played this way, your energy cards can provide any number of effects.

A spell’s energy defaults to one, but you can choose, when you play a spell, to discard an energy card to fuel the spell. If so, you replace the spell’s energy value with that of the energy card discarded.

Some spells, like Add, indicate an energy value at the center of their bottom row. These spells may be cast for their normal effects, or they may be discarded for their energy value. Notice the Temporary duration symbol circled on Featherweight. Without an energy card to boost this spell, its energy is only one. Its player will place one energy token on the card when it’s played, and its duration will soon expire. A player may discard an energy card when playing a Temporary spell to increase its duration.

Flame on!

Sometimes, you may wish to use energy for your instant spells, like fueling the flaming fury of your Fire Darts to blast multiple combatants or fell a single foe.

The blue mage needs to stop the green wizard from stealing his treasure and wishes, also, to force his way past the red wizard. Meanwhile, he’s concerned about the yellow wizard’s ominous approach… He opens his door, casts Fire Darts, and expends an energy card with a value of three to fire three darts, targeting one at each of his foes!

More or less temporary

Other times, you may wish to extend the duration of one of your temporary spells, such as Golem Form, one of the game’s magnificent new mutations.

After the blue mage concludes his attack and movement, he finds himself surrounded by three stung mages! He transforms into a golem, expending an energy card with a value of five to ensure the mighty mutation spell lasts long enough to keep him safe.

While a wizard assuming golem form may stride more slowly through the subterranean labyrinth, he becomes almost impervious to harm, doubles the damage he deals with his powerful punches, and can lift treasures so easily, he needn’t end his turn to do so.

Want to see more? Watch the video teaser trailer (QuickTime, 12.4 MB) for a high-octane peek at the game’s fantastic themes and components!

Know when to hold them

In short, energy cards aren’t dead cards when you draw them. Rather, they’re the basic building blocks that fuel your most confounding combinations of sorcerous potential! To win the Wiz-War, you’ve got to know when to keep them in your hand, know when to fold them into your spells, and know when to use them to run!

Categories: Game News

Foundations of Stone

Announcing the fifth Dwarrowdelf Adventure Pack for The Lord of the Rings

“Something has crept, or been driven out of dark waters under the mountains. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.”
    –Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Foundations of Stone, the fifth Adventure Pack in the Dwarrowdelf cycle for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game!

Deeper into the Dwarrowdelf

In the Dwarrowdelf cycle, several of Middle-earth’s heroes escort Arwen Undómiel safely to Rivendell. There, Elrond expresses his concern about the increased Orc activity the heroes noted through The Redhorn Gate and on the Road to Rivendell. He requests the heroes search the Misty Mountains for the cause of the region’s increased Orcish presence, and their search leads them first to the Doors of Durin, where they must battle The Watcher in the Water. Only after they manage to survive the perilous combat do the heroes enter Moria and wander The Long Dark.

Onward and deeper, they press into the mines of Moria. Hazards slow their movement and threaten their health. Orcs confront them at every turn, but with little sign of true leadership or organization. Still, the heroes feel they are ever closing in upon the true source of the Orcish activity. Their search leads them deeper and deeper, down into Moria’s Foundations of Stone.

Trapped!

The new scenario in Foundations of Stone traps the heroes in treacherous underground currents, washing them into the dark waters where the nameless things lair. Older and fouler than Orcs, they will test your heroes to the utmost limits of their resilience. Confronted by an Elder Nameless Thing (Foundations of Stone, 126), washed into the dark, watery recesses of Middle-earth, and with no one to rely upon but themselves, will your heroes survive the trials they face below the Dwarrowdelf’s Foundations of Stone?

Relics lost beneath the mountains

While heroes face all-new dangers and quest mechanics in Foundations of Stone, they find unexpected treasures far beneath the mountains. A pair of powerful Artifacts show up in the least likely of places–the encounter deck–that can give your heroes the edge they need to survive their battles with nameless things. Dwarf characters, especially, will take heart from the discovery of these items, including Durin’s Helm (Foundations of Stone, 120).

Discover Dwarven Artifacts, face the terrifying nameless things, and move closer to the root of the increased Orcish presence within the Misty Mountains when you travel beneath Moria’s Foundations of Stone.

Look for this thrilling Adventure Pack to arrive at retailers everywhere in the second quarter of 2012. Until then, join the conversations about this and other chapters in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game on our community forums.

Categories: Game News

Clarifications for Wiz-War

The Wiz-War FAQ is now available for download

With brilliant flashes of light and sulfurous bursts of smoke, four mighty mages enter a subterranean labyrinth. Armed with an arsenal of spells, each seeks to steal treasures or rout his rivals en route to winning their contest of wizardly wits. But in a shifting maze made of mortar and magic, one needs to find clarity amid the chaos…

Wiz-War, the classic board game of magical mayhem for 2-4 players, is now available at your local retailer and online on our webstore. In conjunction with the game’s release, we’re making available the first FAQ to address your questions and clarify the game.

The Wiz-War FAQ (pdf, 554 KB) is now available on the game’s support page. Offering clarifications to better help players understand the rulebook, version 1.0 of the Wiz-War FAQ clarifies concerns about Line of Sight rules, item tokens, game board design, and movement rules.

Head to the Wiz-War support page to downloaded the FAQ and dispel your confusion. Then brush up on your cantrips, young mage. The Wiz-War has begun!

Categories: Game News

The Terror That is Written and Bound

A Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game spotlight by guest writer Marius Hartland

All the tribes made medicine against Yig when the corn harvest came. They gave him some corn, and danced in proper regalia to the sound of whistle, rattle, and drum. They kept the drums pounding to drive Yig away, and called down the aid of Tiráwa, whose children men are, even as the snakes are Yig’s children.
    –H.P. Lovecraft, The Curse of Yig

While you plan your strategy, you can look at your game as a straight line, from Point A to Point B, traveled at whatever tempo your deck can manage. It’s a simple picture: You start at the beginning, you know your goal, and you try to reach it as fast as possible. However, in Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, things often become a little more involved. Dealing with multi-dimensional beings means your actual strategy may hit a series of curves, and you have to find the shortest road through multidimensional space.

Sometimes, your strategy wants you to focus–focus all your efforts towards a single story, focus building up one large domain, or concentrate on winning the struggles associated with one particular icon. Other times, you’ll plan to spread out in order to take multiple stories at once, using multiple domains and fielding an eclectic mixture of icons on the table to deal with a wide variety of threats.

And while you consider icons, there is yet another dimension to take into account. While a character normally has a defined amount of any particular icon, some characters take this concept right out of the Euclidian geometry of your standard strategical matrix and force you to reconsider their effectiveness when they add what are called “Booster Icons.”

Multi-dimensional challenges

Booster Icons are the large struggle icons featured in the text area of a card. While they don’t actually help the character win at the associated struggle, Booster Icons add extra struggles to the story, making those icons more relevant to your characters. They’re even better when the character is really good at the struggle he is boosting; otherwise the Booster Icons may backfire.

This brings us to Lucas Corn (Written and Bound, 10) who forces your opponent to answer the question, “Can I deal with three Terror struggles in a row while my opponent’s character has three Terror icons?” And Lucas Corn forces this question for free. That’s rather powerful, especially when fighting decks that are low on Terror icons themselves and don’t have much access to Willpower. He can even enter play on turn one, and if you also play The Enchanted Wood (In Memory of Day, 37), you force your opponent to address these new concerns without the intrinsic protection Terror icons normally provide.

Scarecrow scares the characters away

Sure, your opponent can decide that Lucas Corn’s mere presence is too problematic and pitch a character from his hand to shuffle him back into the deck. However, in this case, Lucas becomes a form of pre-emptive character removal, which is also good. You know Lucas Corn will be back to haunt your opponent, eventually, and later can come quite a bit earlier when you have a Summoning Circle (Terror of the Tides, 74) at your disposal. The zero in his cost means that just exhausting the Circle is enough to bring him back, at which point your opponent can try get rid of him again. But if your opponent enters that race, he’ll probably run out of characters faster than you can activate the Circle. Eventually, your opponent will have to deal with Mr. Corn.

Blunt instruments and bags of tricks

Lucas Corn’s skill of zero is somewhat risky. A Shotgun Blast (Core Set, 16) can take him out for free. Then again, he’s also free for Unspeakable Resurrection (Core Set, 119). The fact he’s aligned to Shub-Niggurath means it’s easy for him to be reborn time and again in the Shadowed Woods (Core Set, 133)… once again, for free.

While his lack of skill also means he can’t claim success tokens on his own, he makes an excellent support character for the rest of your ghouls, monsters, and cultists. If all else fails, you can consecrate an Altar of the Blessed (Core Set, 135) to provide him just enough skill to matter.

In the end, you can find plenty of tricks for a character who’s free to play, even if those tricks may simply force your opponent into a bind as he chooses whether to confront the newfound terror or to buy him off and send him back to whatever dimension from whence he came.

Thanks, Marius!

Look for Lucas Corn to terrify investigators, faculty, and cultists alike when he seeks the secrets of Written and Bound.

Categories: Game News

The Rules for Rex are Now Online

Download them today, and prepare to decide the fate of a galaxy

Aboveground, even greater dangers lurked. In their region of the city, Sol patrols were to be most feared, but a thousand things could get one killed in the new Mecatol. Gangs of looters that would kill first and steal later. Packs of flying ruvar birds that, driven mad by the poisoned rains and desperate for food, had become feral and savage things. And there was the endless Sol bombings. While the explosions could kill one well enough, they left behind a broken landscape almost as deadly.
     – Rex: Final Days of an Empire

A sudden and unexpected attack has left Mecatol Rex, the galactic seat of power, in disarray. Now, the city’s ambitious factions have begun their diplomatic and military maneuvering, each hoping to seize authority when the dust settles. Through negotiation and guile, one great race will decide the fate of the galaxy... but who will it be?

A Guide to Mecatol City

The rules for Rex (12.7 MB), the board game of negotiation and warfare for 3–6 players, are now available for download from our support page! Set 3,000 years before the events of Twilight Imperium, Rex tells the fateful story of once-proud Mecatol City in the months and years following the death of the last Lazax emperor.

Rex is based on a game system originally designed by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, and Peter Olotka (Cosmic Encounter) and redeveloped for a new audience through the collaborative efforts of Christian T. Petersen (Twilight Imperium, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game), John Goodenough (Tide of Iron), and Corey Konieczka (Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, Runewars). This engaging game presents players with compelling asymmetrical racial abilities, as well as a myriad of opportunities for diplomacy and deception.

Download the rules today, then head to your local retailer to place your pre-order!

Categories: Game News

United in Their Trial by Combat

An A Game of Thrones: The Card Game spotlight

“Come south with me, and I’ll teach you how to laugh again,” the king promised. “You helped me win this damnable throne, now help me hold it. We were meant to rule together. If Lyanna had lived, we should have been brothers, bound by blood as well as affection. Well, it is not too late.”
    –Robert Baratheon to Eddard Stark

Together, Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark led a war that won a crown. Close as brothers, they stood together in battles, seized the Iron Throne, and threw down an insurgency. However, the game of thrones is not fought on the battlefields alone, and the alliance between the two great houses, Baratheon and Stark, frayed and tattered as the result of myriad plots and intrigues.

The underhanded and shadowy work that split these two great houses led directly toward their precipitous downfalls. Isolated armies find themselves beset on multiple sides, and even the most cunning general knows the value of an alliance in a Trial by Combat.

A United Cause

Trial by Combat introduces three new events to A Game of Thrones: The Card Game that each offer tremendous rewards, but at no less a price than the expenditure of a power from your House card. These events illustrate the thematic ties between the Great Houses, enhance traditional house strengths, share those strengths across houses, and force players to make careful measurements of the tactical advantages the events may provide versus the loss of a power, and the step backward from victory.

Houses Baratheon and Stark gain strength by reuniting their efforts with A United Cause (Trial by Combat, 97). Perhaps the subtlest of the three dual-affiliation events in Trial by Combat, A United Cause combines Baratheon’s character retrieval with Stark’s search abilities. In a Baratheon deck, the character retrieval is nothing new, and likely not worth the loss of a power. Likewise, in a Stark deck, while the search ability is still welcome, the cost of a power appears a hefty drawback, especially when compared to cards like To Be a Wolf (Sacred Bonds, 44).

But when you have A United Cause, House Baratheon suddenly benefits from Stark’s search, offsetting their traditional weakness in card draw. House Stark suddenly gains Baratheon’s character retrieval, which opens up some interesting combinations, not the least of which is the ability to play Lucas Blackwood (Gates of the Citadel, 1) multiple times in a deck running The Siege of Winterfell (Lords of Winter, 48).

The character retrieval from A United Cause can even provide a key defensive advantage against a Targaryen deck running Rhaenys’s Hill (The Battle of Blackwater Bay, 112). Combined with Benjen Stark (Core Set, 135), A United Cause allows you to empty your entire dead pile multiple times, ensuring that even if your favorite characters don’t stay alive, they at least don’t stay dead.

The best of both houses

Each of the three dual-affiliation events in Trial by Combat gives one of the Great Houses the strategic use of an ability traditionally belonging to another house. The loss of a power may prove a considerable drawback, but it will hardly prove enough of a cost to prevent these events from making a splash in the A Game of Thrones: The Card Game community once the Chapter Pack hits retail shelves later this month.

Categories: Game News

The Accursed Dead

Announcing the third Warhammer: Invasion Battle Pack in The Bloodquest Cycle

“However many ye send to stoppe me, foolysh priest, I shalle send upon ye the same tally of corpses and more. I warn ye now, ye may find them ille upon the eye, and yet they will be most familiar to ye.”
    –Excerpt from a parchment signed in blood by Valdrek the Crimson

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Accursed Dead, the third bone-chilling Battle Pack in The Bloodquest Cycle for Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game!

In The Accursed Dead, the Undead and the forces of Destruction gain unprecedented necromantic prowess. Even the forces of Order gain new control over players’ discard piles and the fallen units therein. Additionally, three of the Old World’s races set off on bold new quests to disrupt their opponent’s plans, the Dark Elves conduct bold raids, the Orcs gain early card draw, and an adventurous legend lends his strength to the Empire’s cause.

The dread horrors of Sylvania

The lands of Sylvania are nearly uninhabitable, ruled by blood-thirsty Vampires Counts and forsaken by the gods. It is here that one might find Drakehhof Castle (The Accursed Dead, 56)… were one so inclined to search for it. Hidden deep within Sylvania’s lonesome moorlands, haunted forests, and craggy hills, Drakenhof Castle is home to a particularly resilient host of undead.

The forces of Destruction count a number of powerful undead among their ranks, including the ferocious Blood Dragon Knight (Legends, 53) and the unpredictable Swarm of Bats (Legends, 52), both of which are better suited to attack your opponent’s capital than to linger about your kingdom zone or undertake laborious quests. As they attack, the Dark Magic woven at Drakenhof Castle can ensure they emerge from their battles, able to attack again another day.

Whether you use its ability to prevent damage to your units or just manipulate your opponent’s discard pile, Drakenhof Castle is just one of the cards from The Accursed Dead that offers you significant new control over players’ discard piles.

The dead will walk

Undertake clever new quests, equip your legends and Heroes with a game-changing new Artefact, and find new ways to move cards out of your discard pile with The Accursed Dead.

The dead will walk when this Battle Pack releases in the second quarter of 2012!

Categories: Game News

Prepare for the Challenge of Your Life

The Infinity Gauntlet, A Marvel HeroClix Tournament, continues Feb 15th

“I now hold omnipotence. What should I do with such almighty power? The answer to that is actually quite simple: Anything I want. Anything. I am incapable of error. Any result that displeases me I can simply reverse. There is nothing I need to worry on, for I am Thanos. And Thanos is supreme. Supreme."
     –Thanos, the “Mad Titan” The Infinity Gauntlet #1 (1991)

Join us at the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm for the Infinity Gauntlet, a Marvel HeroClix Organized Play series!

What is the Infinity Gauntlet series?

The Infinity Gauntlet is an unprecedented 8-month series, and the FFGEC is the premiere location to catch all the action. The program is built around the story of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Each month, players will gather at the Event Center to compete for coveted Limited Edition figures, culminating with winners receiving Thanos atop his Shrine to Death. What’s more, each player will be given a “gem-less” Infinity Gauntlet object just for showing up to the first event!

Each month thereafter, players will be awarded participation prizes in the form of colored Gems. Each colored Gem attaches to the Infinity Gauntlet and unlocks a special power. After month seven, each player should have a gauntlet with six gems... and be ready for the final showdown with Thanos at his Shrine.

How do I participate?

Simply show up to the FFG Event Center on Wednesday, February 15th from 7pm to 10pm!

• Participation is free of charge, but you must purchase the required Boosters.
• The format for this "Month Two" event is a 600 point, Modern-Constructed event utilizing at least 300 points of figures from Hulk and/or Superman.
• In-Betweener LE Figures will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and Fellowship players.
• Soul Gem 3D objects will be awarded as participation prizes.
• Remember: Throughout the rest of the month (on the “off Wednesdays”) you’re invited to come to the Event Center at 7pm and test your mettle in non-official 300 point challenges.
• To find out which Wednesdays will offer the official Infinity Gauntlet events, check the Event Center calendar frequently.

Where can I find more information?

To learn more, call or visit the Event Center. You can also check out the official Infinity Gauntlet website, where you can see prizes, rules, and more.

Steel your resolve and prepare to do battle for the greatest weapon of them all. Do you have what it takes to assemble and control the Infinity Gauntlet itself? Can you safeguard reality or will you rule with impunity? Only you can decide!

Categories: Game News

Prepare for the Challenge of Your Life

The Infinity Gauntlet, A Marvel HeroClix Tournament, continues Feb 15th

“I now hold omnipotence. What should I do with such almighty power? The answer to that is actually quite simple: Anything I want. Anything. I am incapable of error. Any result that displeases me I can simply reverse. There is nothing I need to worry on, for I am Thanos. And Thanos is supreme. Supreme."
     –Thanos, the “Mad Titan” The Infinity Gauntlet #1 (1991)

Join us at the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm for the Infinity Gauntlet, a Marvel HeroClix Organized Play series!

What is the Infinity Gauntlet series?

The Infinity Gauntlet is an unprecedented 8-month series, and the FFGEC is the premiere location to catch all the action. The program is built around the story of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Each month, players will gather at the Event Center to compete for coveted Limited Edition figures, culminating with winners receiving Thanos atop his Shrine to Death. What’s more, each player will be given a “gem-less” Infinity Gauntlet object just for showing up to the first event!

Each month thereafter, players will be awarded participation prizes in the form of colored Gems. Each colored Gem attaches to the Infinity Gauntlet and unlocks a special power. After month seven, each player should have a gauntlet with six gems... and be ready for the final showdown with Thanos at his Shrine.

How do I participate?

Simply show up to the FFG Event Center on Wednesday, February 15th from 7pm to 10pm!

• Participation is free of charge, but you must purchase the required Boosters.
• The format for this "Month Two" event is a 600 point, Modern-Constructed event utilizing at least 300 points of figures from Hulk and/or Superman.
• In-Betweener LE Figures will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and Fellowship players.
• Soul Gem 3D objects will be awarded as participation prizes.
• Remember: Throughout the rest of the month (on the “off Wednesdays”) you’re invited to come to the Event Center at 7pm and test your mettle in non-official 300 point challenges.
• To find out which Wednesdays will offer the official Infinity Gauntlet events, check the Event Center calendar frequently.

Where can I find more information?

To learn more, call or visit the Event Center. You can also check out the official Infinity Gauntlet website, where you can see prizes, rules, and more.

Steel your resolve and prepare to do battle for the greatest weapon of them all. Do you have what it takes to assemble and control the Infinity Gauntlet itself? Can you safeguard reality or will you rule with impunity? Only you can decide!

Categories: Game News

Wiz-War is Now on Sale

Preview the magic with our video teaser trailer, then summon your copy today!

Deep underground in a magical maze, mages race through shifting corridors, casting spells and testing their wiles as they seek to steal their rivals’ treasures. Why? Wiz-War has begun!

You can now find Fantasy Flight Games’ inspired new version of this classic board game of magical mayhem on sale at your favorite local retailer and online on our webstore.

Mages in a maze

In Wiz-War two to four players assume the roles of rival mages seeking to win an esteemed magical competition. You score points by snagging rivals’ treasures and hauling them back to your base, or by blasting your foes with the final, telling blows that fell them. The first to score two points wins. Of course, if you’re the last wizard standing, victory is yours.

Interactions as involved as your imagination

While all wizards who enter the labyrinth can recite their cantrips backward and forward, it takes a malleable imagination to master the myriad combinations of incantations the game can yield. Spells each belong to one of four types–attacks, counters, items, and neutrals. Each spell also belongs to one of seven schools of magic which the players combine to form a spell deck. From this assortment of arcane invocations, you can weave sorcerous strategies to assail your foes.

Mixing the schools of magic in your spell deck allows you constant discovery of new interactions between different spells and schools of magic. Fire magic can destroy magic stones, but a well-timed flood can put out the sparks of flame before they consume precious items.

Will you focus on the mastery of form and eat through walls to create shortcuts to your opponents’ treasures, or will you pour your energy into pure boom and blast your opponents to bits? You’ll need to keep an open mind to respond to your rivals machinations. Flexibility and adaptability are also hallmarks of true magical prowess.

Gaze into my crystal ball

Get ready to Zot! Sneak a glimpse at the themes and components of Wiz-War in the new video trailer.

Click to view the video teaser trailer (QuickTime, 12.4 MB). Also available on the FFG Media Player and YouTube.

Ka-Bong!

Launch into a world of wild wizardry with the magical mayhem of Wiz-War. This classic board game is now on sale at your local retailer and on our webstore. Summon your copy today!

Categories: Game News

Hunter, or Hunted?

A preview of The Koronus Bestiary, an upcoming Rogue Trader supplement

“You think those Orks were bad? Wait till you land on Burnscour, or some of the other worlds out here. You’ll be wishing it was just greenskins coming after you."
     –Arch-Militant Pel Lakken

In December, Fantasy Flight Game announced the upcoming release of The Koronus Bestiary, a supplement for Rogue Trader. This comprehensive tome features art and descriptions for a range of foes, including Shadowkith, Thornmaws, Void Krakens, and others... plus a Xenos Generator that allows players to create alien species as varied and dangerous as they can imagine!

As we mentioned in that announcement, each chapter of The Koronus Bestiary focuses on one type of alien threat. Chapter one examines some of the most dangerous beasts of the Expanse, while chapter two covers the sinister threats posed by sentient xenos. Next, chapter three presents vile warp spawn that prey on the souls of humanity, and chapter four gives players the tools to invent their own formidable enemies. Today, we’re pleased to begin our series of previews with a look at chapter one, and a so-called mindless beast that proves that instinct can be every bit as deadly as intellect.

Danger surrounds you

The Koronus Expanse is home to a great many worlds that have been settled by humans, to various degrees of civilisation. As it is technically beyond the Imperium, it exists in a lawless state where the only rule is what bolter and lance can establish, and property is held for only as long as it can be aggressively defended. Xenos races roam freely, preying on humanity and denying its rightful destiny to rule the void. This is an extremely dangerous region, yet for a Rogue Trader its open nature makes it ripe for exploitation and profit.

Those who would make their means in the Expanse must deal with more than just these threats, however. The Expanse is filled with all manner of bestial creatures, and while these do not present the same kind of dangers as hostile xenos, they are no less hazardous. Each poses new perils for Explorers, as unique as the world it occupies. Many also offer tremendous potential for profit and glory, often of a personal nature impossible when dealing with merchant trading or combat in the void.

Death from above

Even to seasoned hunters, however, some planets may be more trouble than they’re worth. Burnscour is a hellish world on which the very environment is actively hostile. Today, we invite you to download a preview of one of Burnscour’s most formidable predators: the Terrorax. This hunter epitomizes stealth and patience, waiting in the dense jungle canopy for the opportune moment to strike.

Know your enemy. Download our preview of the Terrorax (pdf, 1.4 MB), and look for more on The Koronus Bestiary in the coming weeks. Then, look for it at your local retailer later this quarter.

Categories: Game News

The Final Chapter

The Chaos Commandment, an adventure for Dark Heresy, is on sale

“There are some who say that you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar, but in my line of work I’ve never found that to be the case."
      –Explicator Hieronymous Voss

A conspiracy at the highest levels of the Calixian Church has finally come to fruition, and the sector rests on the edge of interstellar upheaval. Can you and your fellow Acolytes prevent this coming apocalypse?

The Chaos Commandment, an adventure for Dark Heresy, is now on sale at your local retailer and through our webstore! The final chapter in The Apostasy Gambit trilogy (and also playable as a standalone adventure), this epic story pits a small band of Acolytes against an ancient and powerful threat.

The exciting conclusion

For more on this exciting adventure, we turn to Dark Heresy’s lead developer:

Throughout The Apostasy Gambit, Inquisitorial Acolytes have been combating the Maledictor’s Hand, an apocalyptic conspiracy deeply-rooted within the Imperial Church. The goal of this conspiracy is to throw down the ruling nobility and cleanse the Calixis Sector of these “sinners” by fomenting a holy war that will cleanse the debased black heart of the Sector with sacred fire. The Chaos Commandment concludes this trilogy, which began in Black Sepulchre and continued in The Church of the Damned, and the ending will be truly apocalyptic! 

This adventure will present challenges of all types and levels to players. They will lead armoured assaults against enemy installations, conduct investigations against powerful individuals, and even fight for their lives out in the cold dark of space. The players will see everything from huge firefights involving masses of troops, to smaller but no less deadly attacks of only handfuls of Acolytes (or even single characters) fighting for their lives against truly horrific foes. 

Send ripples across the sector

All this leads up to the conflict against the true power behind the conspiracy, which has been manipulating events and people across the Sector. As this is the grand finale to the trilogy, players can expect a foe that will exceptionally terrifying and powerful. Will the players find it in time, and even if they do will they have the strength and will to confront it? 

Make no mistake, the outcomes of this adventure will send ripples across the Sector and through future Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay books, and players will know their actions either saved the Sector (for awhile at least), or let it collapse. So grab your bolter and Inquisitorial Rosette, and get ready to fight! 

Prepare to stand against the greatest threat the Calixis Sector has ever seen! Head to your local retailer for your copy of The Chaos Commandment today.

Categories: Game News

New Digital Novels on the Horizon

Our upcoming novels are available for pre-order on the iBookstore

The Lies of Solace and Rising Sun, Falling Shadows are now available for pre-order on the iBookstore! If you are a fan of Lovecraftian stories of suspense and mystery or tales of horror and heroism in the Great War, place your order now, and then read these thrilling novels on your digital device the day they are released.

Want to know more?

In The Lies of Solace, the second novel in The Lord of Nightmares Trilogy, three strangers struggle to save the ones they love from a nightmarish future. Haunted by visions, Jacqueline Fine sets out to stop her dreams from becoming reality. Meanwhile, an Arkham doctor tries to save his daughter from the grasp of an enigmatic cult, and a troubled man searches for clues as to why his fiancée has suddenly stopped communicating with him. Can these protagonists overcome their sorrow and pain, or will they surrender to their grief and accept the grim consequences that await them? Uncover more terrible secrets in John French’s novel set in the Arkham Horror universe. 

The first Tannhäuser novel, Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, features Union Major John MacNeal and the daring soldiers of the 42nd Marines as they race to uncover a malevolent plot hatched by the forces of the Shogunate. At the same time, “The Daimyo” Iroh Minamoto, with the aid of the power-hungry, occult-obsessed Reich, sets out with a task force to awaken an ancient power in the heart of an active volcano. This desperate operation could determine the outcome of the Great War! Robert Jeschonek brings many of your favorite Tannhäuser personalities to life in this action-packed novel based on the board game. 

If you are ready for a new adventure on your digital device, pre-order The Lies of Solace today, or immerse yourself in the riveting Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, both of which are available for pre-order on the iBookstore.

Comments? Visit our main article.

Please note that electronic copies of The Lies of Solace are exempt from the promo card offer; this offer is only available to customers who purchase the paperback version of the novel.

Categories: Game News

New Digital Novels on the Horizon

Our upcoming novels are available for pre-order on the iBookstore

The Lies of Solace and Rising Sun, Falling Shadows are now available for pre-order on the iBookstore! If you are a fan of Lovecraftian stories of suspense and mystery or tales of horror and heroism in the Great War, place your order now, and then read these thrilling novels on your digital device the day they are released.

Want to know more?

In The Lies of Solace, the second novel in The Lord of Nightmares Trilogy, three strangers struggle to save the ones they love from a nightmarish future. Haunted by visions, Jacqueline Fine sets out to stop her dreams from becoming reality. Meanwhile, an Arkham doctor tries to save his daughter from the grasp of an enigmatic cult, and a troubled man searches for clues as to why his fiancée has suddenly stopped communicating with him. Can these protagonists overcome their sorrow and pain, or will they surrender to their grief and accept the grim consequences that await them? Uncover more terrible secrets in John French’s novel set in the Arkham Horror universe. 

The first Tannhäuser novel, Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, features Union Major John MacNeal and the daring soldiers of the 42nd Marines as they race to uncover a malevolent plot hatched by the forces of the Shogunate. At the same time, “The Daimyo” Iroh Minamoto, with the aid of the power-hungry, occult-obsessed Reich, sets out with a task force to awaken an ancient power in the heart of an active volcano. This desperate operation could determine the outcome of the Great War! Robert Jeschonek brings many of your favorite Tannhäuser personalities to life in this action-packed novel based on the board game. 

If you are ready for a new adventure on your digital device, pre-order The Lies of Solace today, or immerse yourself in the riveting Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, both of which are available for pre-order on the iBookstore.

Comments? Visit our main article.

Please note that electronic copies of The Lies of Solace are exempt from the promo card offer; this offer is only available to customers who purchase the paperback version of the novel.

Categories: Game News

New Digital Novels on the Horizon

Our upcoming novels are available for pre-order on the iBookstore

The Lies of Solace and Rising Sun, Falling Shadows are now available for pre-order on the iBookstore! If you are a fan of Lovecraftian stories of suspense and mystery or tales of horror and heroism in the Great War, place your order now, and then read these thrilling novels on your digital device the day they are released.

Want to know more?

In The Lies of Solace, the second novel in The Lord of Nightmares Trilogy, three strangers struggle to save the ones they love from a nightmarish future. Haunted by visions, Jacqueline Fine sets out to stop her dreams from becoming reality. Meanwhile, an Arkham doctor tries to save his daughter from the grasp of an enigmatic cult, and a troubled man searches for clues as to why his fiancée has suddenly stopped communicating with him. Can these protagonists overcome their sorrow and pain, or will they surrender to their grief and accept the grim consequences that await them? Uncover more terrible secrets in John French’s novel set in the Arkham Horror universe. 

The first Tannhäuser novel, Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, features Union Major John MacNeal and the daring soldiers of the 42nd Marines as they race to uncover a malevolent plot hatched by the forces of the Shogunate. At the same time, “The Daimyo” Iroh Minamoto, with the aid of the power-hungry, occult-obsessed Reich, sets out with a task force to awaken an ancient power in the heart of an active volcano. This desperate operation could determine the outcome of the Great War! Robert Jeschonek brings many of your favorite Tannhäuser personalities to life in this action-packed novel based on the board game. 

If you are ready for a new adventure on your digital device, pre-order The Lies of Solace today, or immerse yourself in the riveting Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, both of which are available for pre-order on the iBookstore.

Please note that electronic copies of The Lies of Solace are exempt from the promo card offer; this offer is only available to customers who purchase the paperback version of the novel.
 

Categories: Game News