Fury of the Bear has recently been spotted being put on a boat bound for the Fantasy Flight’s offices. Shortly this long-awaited expansion will hit store shelves and the Motherland will need stalwart defenders. Today we are going to take a look at one of the major additions to the Tide of Iron experience: the combined Strategy deck.

In addition to new Strategy decks, Fury of the Bear also introduces a new type of shared Strategy deck called the combined Strategy deck. This deck consists of nation specific cards, as opposed to only neutral Strategy cards in normal shared Strategy decks.

As Tide of Iron players know, Strategy cards provide some optional versatility that can help tilt the battle in your favor. These cards offer unique abilities that can alter the course of the battle. Whether you want to call in reinforcements or order an air strike, Strategy cards are essential to any aspiring war general.

Depending on which scenario you are playing, each nation will either have access to their own Strategy decks or have access to a shared Strategy deck, consisting of “neutral” cards that either nation can use. In Fury of the Bear this is expanded by the combined Strategy deck.

Unlike the normal previous Strategy decks, the combined Strategy deck contains nation specific cards that can only be claimed by the nation it is affiliated with, as well as neutral cards that can be used by either side (50% neutral cards, 25% Soviet specific, 25% German specific, to be exact). The nation specific cards are denoted by the nation’s icon on the card.

(A German Strategy card with a Subversion symbol - lower left - and a Soviet Strategy card without one)

During setup, the top card of the combined Strategy deck is revealed and placed faceup on top of the deck. If, for example, this card is a nation specific card for the Germans, only the German player would be able to draw this card. If this top card is later drawn or Subverted (see below), then the next card is revealed and placed faceup on the top of the deck.

The introduction of a combined Strategy deck opens the door to counter intelligence. Subversion, as we mentioned above, allows players to discard a Strategy card that belongs to their opponent. Players can subvert Strategy cards in the general play area or in their opponent’s HQ. This is a powerful ability that can dismantle your enemy’s plans. Here is a quick example of how Subversion works:

This combined Strategy deck provides more options and a level of unpredictability to your games, and with Subversion your enemy will never know what hit them.

Use this intel wisely, as the invasion will begin soon!