Fantasy Flight Games

The Land Endures

Published 11 January 2019 | Runewars Miniatures

The Land Endures

Organized Play for Runewars Miniatures Game Has Come to a Close

In the almost-forgotten language of the Elder Kings, Terrinoth means the “Land of Steel.” It is a land that knew the terror of the Uthuk Y’llan, the dread march of Waiqar Sumarion’s undead legions, and the chill shadows of dragonlords soaring overhead.
–A letter from Thedric Calanor

Terrinoth is an ancient land—one of epic magic and terrible monsters, noble heroes and daemonic hordes. Its hillsides have been scarred by countless battles, each of which has helped to shape a new age, and now we come to the end of yet another of these ages with the end of Runewars Miniatures Game Organized Play.

Ending the game's Organized Play program was not a decision that we made lightly. We love the setting. We admire the game's themes and mechanics. And we deeply appreciate all the dedication that you—the fans—have brought to this game. Runewars Miniatures Game players have consistently been among the most invested and enthusiastic of all participants in our Organized Play programs.

Unfortunately, the numbers simply do not allow us to continue the program, and we are ending it immediately. There will be no further Seasonal Kits nor Store Championships, and we will be in contact with 2018 World Champion Justin Hare and 2017 World Champion Ben Fox to work through the adjustment to their World Championship prizes.

A Word of Thanks from the Developers

The development of Runewars Miniatures Game has been a labor of love for us, and we have been thrilled to see that reflected in the spirit of the game's community.

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all of the passionate and talented individuals who have contributed to the game, and especially to the community members and playtesters who dedicated their time and energy to its growth.

–The Runewars Miniatures Game Team

The Magic Endures

Just as the runebound shards of Timmoran's Orb of the Sky retained their magic and were used to power spells and artifacts throughout the ages, so do the armies of Runewars Miniatures Game continue to promise riveting battles for you and your friends.

We thank you all for your support for the game and its Organized Play, and we wish you many thrilling games for years to come.

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The View from the Top

Published 6 November 2018 | A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

The View from the Top

Results from the 2018 November World Championships

All hail the new World Champions!

After four days of clever planning, skillful duels, and furious battles, the 2018 November World Championships have come to a close. From Wednesday through Sunday, hundreds of talented players converged on the Fantasy Flight Games Center from across the world to compete in hundreds upon hundreds of matches.

In the end, even though the crowd was loaded with talent—and dozens of contests were decided only at the very last moment—three players rose to the top, claiming the World Champion titles for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and Runewars Miniatures Game.

2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Champion — Lennart Paga (Germany)
2018 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game World Champion — Erik Baalhuis (The Netherlands)
2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Champion — Justin Hare (United States)

Today, we're happy to celebrate these champions and their success by sharing their World Champion lists along with some of the event's highlights and statistics.

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

The numbers suggested that we should have expected someone playing either House Targaryen or House Stark to win the 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Championship and claim the Iron Throne. They were the two most heavily represented Houses on the tournament's Day 1A Swiss rounds, two of the three most heavily represented Houses on Day 1B, and then, again, the two most heavily represented Houses heading into the Day 2 elimination rounds.

Lennart Paga, however, had other plans. He played House Martell and plotted his way through the field, relying upon his Banner of the Wolf and Flea Bottom to overthrow the tournament's top Stark and Targaryen players and win the title of 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Champion!

Flea Bottom featured prominently in Lennart's deck. Though the location was Restricted with the last FAQ update, it proved well worth its inclusion in Lennart's deck, as he was running a heavy contingent of characters whom he could use Flea Bottom to bring into play and whom then allowed him to trigger potent "enters play" Reactions or whom he could sacrifice—as with Bran Stark—to limit his opponent's options.

Lennart's Martell deck is a true example of clever design, and it is now available for download.

World Champion Lists

Although Lennart's cunning use of Flea Bottom helped carry him to the 2018 World Championship, he was by no means the only player in the Top 16 who felt the card retained its importance, even while restricted. Of the 16 top players, 9 of them included the location in their deck, making it easily the most popular Top 16 restricted card.

Meanwhile, the top Day 2 agenda, Fealty, took a spill as the event headed into the Top 16.

Only one Top 16 player was using the agenda, and though The Wars to Come unsurprisingly rose to prominence (with 5 players), the prominence of Banner of the Wolf may have been a surprise. Lennart wasn't the only player to use the agenda. Three of the Top 16 players found tremendous value in courting the Starks.

You can still find the video of Lennart's victory archived at www.Twitch.TV/FFGLive.

2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Championship Top 16

NAME	HOUSE	AGENDA
1. James Waumsley	Stark	Fealty
2. Matthew Ley	Targaryen	House with the Red Door
3. Gilles Molina	Baratheon	Banner of the Wolf
4. Daryl Webber	The Night's Watch	The Wars to Come
6. Tamás Albeck	The Night's Watch	The Wars to Come
7. Adam Huang	Stark	The Lord of the Crossing
8. Even Songjerd	Baratheon	Banner of the Rose, Alliance, Trading With Qohor
9. Franke Roders	Tyrell	Banner of the Dragon, Alliance, Trading With Qohor
17. Michael Arroyo	Greyjoy	The Wars to Come
18. Shannon Donley	Martell	The Wars to Come
19. Chris Thompson	Targaryen	The Lord of the Crossing
20. Lennart Paga	Martell	Banner of the Wolf
21. Neil Kimball	Lannister	Banner of the Dragon
22. Brad Emon	Targaryen	The House With The Red Door
37. Robert Mixer	Martell	The Wars to Come
42. Kevin Shannon	Targaryen	Banner of the Wolf

Note: The players' seeding was determined upon their qualification for the Day 2 elimination rounds.

Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game

After a year that saw the Scorpion Clan dominate most Organized Play events for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, Erik Baalhuis strode confidently into the heart of Scorpion territory and—with the Emperor's attention fully devoted to the contest—outdueled Scorpion Johnny Shen in the final match of the 2018 Winter Court World Championship. For his victory, Erik was honored with the title of Shogun.

Erik played multiple games on the weekend's livestream, and his play throughout was marked by a patience that suited his Crane deck perfectly. He leaned into the Crane's strengths with a good number of reactive, controlling cards, including Mirumoto's Fury, his choice of Restricted card—a choice which notably set him outside the trends set by most other Day 2 qualifiers.

In several games, Erik's keen use of Mirumoto's Fury allowed him to bank fate for later use—and to play any of the 8 characters in his conflict deck, often bringing a character like Menacing Iron Warrior into play with three or four additional fate to make the Warrior a threat for future rounds. As a result, players who mistook Erik's patience for a lack of options were quick to find their mistakes punished.

You can find Erik's livestreamed matches archived on our Twitch.TV channel, and you review the exquisite balance of Erik's Crane deck for yourself. It is now available for download.

World Champion Lists

Although Erik's impactful choice of Mirumoto's Fury set him apart from most Day 2 contenders, he was by no means the only player to spend his influence on support from the Dragon Clan. Fully thirty percent of all Day 2 players splashed Dragon Clan cards into their decks, and that was on top of the 14% of all players who were playing Dragon Clan decks in the first place.

As one might expect, the Scorpion Clan also crept into the Top 16 in good numbers… and there are rumors that clan may have stopped short of ultimate victory simply to avoid the extra scrutiny. If this is true, one can only wonder: Are we likely to see the Scorpion back to their scheming ways throughout the next year of Organized Play?

2018 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game World Championship Top 16

NAME	CLAN	INFLUENCED	ROLE
6. Pablo Pintor Espinosa	Crab	Dragon	Keeper of Earth
7. Erik Baalhuis	Crane	Dragon	Seeker of Air
10. Christopher Pottorf	Dragon	Crane	Seeker of Fire
11. Marc Payment	Scorpion	Crane	Keeper of Earth
18. Travis McDaniel	Phoenix	Dragon	Seeker of Air
25. Andrew Case	Scorpion	Dragon	Seeker of Void
32. Johnny Shen	Scorpion	Dragon	Seeker of Void
34. Jose Luis Saenz	Phoenix	Dragon	Seeker of Air
35. Luiz Bretas	Dragon	Crab	Seeker of Fire
37. Brad Emon	Crane	Dragon	Seeker of Air
41. Zachary Devine	Scorpion	Dragon	Seeker of Void
46. Davis Kingsley	Dragon	Crab	Seeker of Fire
49. Ronny Szutu	Crane	Scorpion	Seeker of Air
61. Aaron Frede	Dragon	Crab	Seeker of Fire
76. Daniel Trujillo	Dragon	Crab	Seeker of Fire
77. Samuel Benies	Scorpion	Phoenix	Keeper of Earth

Note: The players' seeding was determined upon their qualification for the Day 2 elimination rounds.

Runewars Miniatures Game

The 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship began brightly with an array of armies that saw good representation from all four factions and heroes both old and new. The Daqan Lords dominated the early proceedings, having won the loyalty of 35% of all participants, and the Daqan leaders Kari Wraithstalker and Baron Zachareth tied for the second most popular heroes at the event, right behind Waiqar's stalwart knight, the vampire Lord Vorun'thul.

But as the day wore on and the battlefields grew slick with blood, it was the brutal Uthuk Y'llan who dominated the 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championships. Their forces drew upon their Ynfernael strength to run rampant across Terrinoth's most important battlefields. Of the event's Top 4 players, three of them had tied their fates to those of the Ynfernael hordes, and two of them made the finals, crushing the last of Waiqar's forcs along the way.

In the end, it was Justin Hare who fought with the most ferocity, battling past Jennifer Bedell to claim the title of 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Champion!

Arguably the most notable difference between Justin's army and the one that Jennifer played was the fact that Justin ran just one hero—Ravos the Everhungry—while Jennifer ran Ravos alongside the witch Kethra A'laak. This left Justin with more points to spend on his infantry, and he committed 68 of those points to a full tray of Berserkers loaded with Tempered Steel, Frontline Spined Thresher, Warsprinter, and Aggressive Shrieker.

Justin spent the rest of his points on Spined Threshers, while Jennifer had gone all-in on the Spined Threshers, herself, including no fewer than four Spined Threshers units in her army.

Justin's army list is now available for download.

World Champion Lists

You can still find the video of Justin seizing his victory in our archives at Twitch.TV/FFGLive.

Notably, Justin wasn't the only champion among the Runewars players in attendance at the 2018 November World Championships. We also celebrated the dedication and talent with which players customized their armies. Judges awarded prizes in two categories—Best Painted Figure and Best Painted Army.

Thomas Paterson was the winner of the Best Painted Figure prize with his Carrion Lancer.

Curtis Chandler claimed the Best Painted Army prize with his Waiqar forces.

A Study in Excellence

Once again, we want to congratulate our new World Champions and give our thanks to everyone who attended the 2018 November World Championships. Your enthusiasm, skill, and sportsmanship were fantastic all weekend long, and we look forward to seeing many of you at the 2019 World Championships.

In the meantime, you'll find much of the action archived (for now) on Twitch.TV/FFGLive, and you can start along your journey to next year's World Champonships by watching the stream, downloading the World Champioship lists, and getting a better sense of how these games are played at the very highest levels!

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The copyrightable portions of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition is © 2015 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Licensed by George R.R. Martin. The names, descriptions, and depictions applied to this game are derived from works copyrighted by George R.R. Martin, and may not be used or reused without his permission. A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition, its expansion titles, Living Card Game, LCG, the LCG logo and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved to their respective owners.

Drive the Horde

Published 1 November 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Drive the Horde

Three Uthuk Y'llan Expansions for Runewars Miniatures Game Are Now Available

Order your own copies of these expansions at your local retailer or online through our website today!

The twisted blessings of the Ynfernael come in many forms. Some among the Uthuk Y’llan are gifted with powers over the many terrible creatures that haunt the Ru Darklands. Others follow a more subtle art of battle, delivering death from afar with piercing arrows and venom from the most dangerous serpents. Still others consume every scrap of power and demonic essence they can, growing huge and bloated with a monstrous strength to match their terrible size.

Now, the ranks of your horde can teem with even more unspeakable horrors. A new champion leads the Uthuk out of the Darklands while two new units join the march on the Aymhelin. The Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar Hero Expansion, Viper Legion Unit Expansion, and Obscenes Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game are available now!

Add to Your Pack

After being raised by a monstrous caecilian in the heart of the Darklands, Th’Uk Tar has returned to drive his pack to war. When he throws back his head and howls to the sky, packs of flesh rippers and monstrous spined threshers bound forward, eager to slay at his command. Now he longs to add the strange and wondrous creatures that dwell within the Aymhelin to his pack, for he knows that all beasts who face him will submit or be consumed.

Whether he enters the battle on his own or accompanied by his caecilian companion Gorgemaw, the Beastmaster is a true terror to behold, letting his presence be felt from the very beginning of a fight. Without Gorgemaw, he is a powerful calvary unit, bringing a non-unique allied unit to heel, removing that unit from its former position then redeploying it within Range 1 after deployment. When he rides alongside the caecilian, however, Th’Uk Tar becomes a towering siege unit, driving his followers forward with his Tyrant’s Lash.

The Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar Hero Expansion contains two new miniatures and unit cards for Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar to lead your locust swarm in either form, along with one command tool, a collection of tokens, a new terrain piece, an objective card, and a deployment card to further customize your battles. Finally, this expansion includes thirteen upgrade cards to increase Th’Uk Tar’s effectiveness in battle, with or without Gorgemaw.

A Toxic Brotherhood

Most of the unspeakable horrors that make up the ranks of the Uthuk Y’llan rely on brutal power and peerless dominance to destroy those who would stand in the way of the horde. There are some, though, that prefer to use cunning ambushes and devious toxins to slay thousands. To them, a bow and quiver of poisoned arrows are efficient instruments of death, delivering a quick death rather than glorying in pointless tests of strength.

The archers of the Viper Legion provide vital ranged support to the rest of your Uthuk Y’llan, raining arrows down on your enemies. Far from simply dealing damage, however, the members of the Viper Legion are adept at using all manner of tricks to spread disorder. If they exercise the Aim of the Serpent during a ranged attack, for example, you can replace one bane token on the defender with another that better suits your plans.

The Viper Legion Unit Expansion puts eight archers at your command and lets you choose what skills they use from five upgrade cards. You’ll also find a command tool in this expansion, along with two movement trays and a collection of tokens—everything you need to sow the seeds of chaos across the battlefield.

A Foul Hunger

Even amongst the bloodthirsty Uthuk Y’llan, most warlords and tribal chiefs are cautious about welcoming an obscene into their ranks. The demonic power infused in their limbs and veins may give the obscene a monstrous strength to equal their size, but the hunger within their guts is never sated and they tend to look at their comrades with greedy, starving gazes.

You can harness this hunger to your advantage with the Obscenes Unit Expansion. The two miniatures found in this expansion are a horror on the battlefield, tearing flesh, devouring enemies whole, and paralyzing prey with the tainted, blight-filled spittle that drips from their teeth. They can always use a skill action to force an engaged enemy to perform a speed-one shift, drawing them even closer to the obscene's slavering maw.

In addition to its two miniatures, this expansion also contains two unit cards, two movement trays, two command tools, a collection of tokens, and eight upgrade cards to customize and strengthen your Locust Swarm.

Greater Ferocity

Whether driven forward by the lash of bone whips, the desire to sow chaos, or an insatiable hunger for power, the Uthuk march forth. With these troops under your command, no force in Terrinoth will be able to stand in your way.

Order your copy of the Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar Hero Expansion (RWM33), Viper Legion Unit Expansion (RWM36), and Obscenes Unit Expansion (RWM37) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website!

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Allies of the Aymhelin

Published 18 October 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Allies of the Aymhelin

Two Latari Expansions for Runewars Miniatures Game Are Now Available

Order your own copy of the Prince Faolan Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

The four great factions of Terrinoth take to the battlefield in Runewars Miniatures Game! In the southern reaches of the realm, the Aymhelin, the greatest forest in all of Mennara, guards those who reside beneath the boughs of giant trees whose ivory trunks stretch to the sky. Here, the insular Latari Elves have lived for centuries, peaceful but ever-vigilant of the Ru that borders their territory to the east.

Now, fires burn in the Darklands once again and the Latari must call upon old allies to confront the renewed threat of the Locust Swarm. An exiled prince returns and old allies renew their oaths as the warhorns herald the coming darkness once more. The Prince Faolan Hero Expansion and the Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion are on sale now at your local retailer or online through our website!

The Exiled Prince

Long ago, Prince Faolan was a young, rash military leader known for bold strategies. But when his lack of foresight led to the death of a beloved family member, he left the Latari army behind to protect his people in a self-imposed exile. Now, Prince Faolan defends the frontier of the Aymhelin against all he sees as enemies. Increasingly, this includes any trespassers on Elven lands, whether wandering orc tribes or armed merchant caravans. Though some decry his hard-hearted tactics, others see him as a brave warrior who selflessly protects those under his charge.

As Prince Faolan enters the fray in Runewars Miniatures Game, he brings the tactical expertise of a military master combined with the grace of the Empyrean. When the prince performs a speed-three march, he can choose to instead perform three speed-one marches. While this choice cancels his modifier, he can combine use his second unit card ability to modify each march with a turn, wheel, or charge, ensuring that modifier or no, Prince Faolan is a host unto himself.

With his return to the Latari, Prince Faolan also brings a new modifier that only he can currently use: the die enhance. When a unit performs an attack action with the die enhance modifier, you'll roll an additional die of the indicated color. In this case, Faolan’s die enhance features a red stance and a blue die, allowing him to roll an additional blue die during his melees!

The Prince Faolan Hero Expansion includes two unpainted miniatures, one of the Prince astride his cyrssaerele mount and one alone, as well as his command tool and unit card, a collection of tokens, and six available upgrade cards. In addition to everything you need to add Faolan to your elven army, you will also gain a new terrain piece, objective card, and deployment card to bring new tactical challenges to your battles in Terrinoth. No matter what obstacles the fight presents, Prince Faolan will be ready to face them head on with a staunch sense of duty that can only spring from one who understands both the art of war and its cost.

The Ancient Wardens

When the Aymhelin Forest was torn apart by war between the Fae and Dimora, the Latari Elves combined their forces with the Ventala Skirmishers to beat back the threat and defend their shared home. In the ages since, the two races have lived in peace, with the Ventala offering their services as scouts and warriors when the need arises. Their knowledge of the Aymhelin’s innumerable winding trails and their skills with the javelin make them invaluable allies to the Latari, surrounding their enemies and attacking from the shadows of the trees before their enemies are even aware of the threat.

The Ventala Skirmishers are master hunters, and they're never surprised by the counter maneuvers of their prey. When they perform a march, they can decrease their speed or turn aside to avoid a clash that they are unprepared for. But the Ventala Skirmishers' true strength comes when they dance just out of reach of their enemy. Similar to Prince Faolan’s ability to add a blue die with his command tool, the Ventala Skirmishers can also add a blue die when they execute a ranged attack, as long as their target is close enough to their javelins. To ensure that their opponents remain within this striking distance, the Skirmishers can use a skill action to throw their Bolo Nets, keeping their enemies tied down as they struggle to withstand the Skirmishers’ vicious spears.

The Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion provides everything you need to add these powerful cavalry to your ranks, including four miniatures, one unit card and command tool, a collection of tokens, and twelve available upgrade cards. As true defenders of the Aymhelin who have resided in the forest since before recorded history, the Skirmishers can use their link to the natural environment that surrounds them to boost their defense with the Hedge Shroud upgrade. With these masters of the forest on your side, any who would dare to threaten your territory will be forced to think twice. There are greater dangers than a few elves hidden in the shadows of the trees.

Renew the Alliance

The Ynfernael locusts of the Uthuk Y’llan stir for the first time in centuries and far to the north, the dead refuse to lay quiet in the foul swamps of the Mistlands. The mortals of the Land of Steel cannot be trusted to hold back these threats, and with new additions to their ranks like the Baron of Carthridge, perhaps they cannot be trusted at all. The time has come to renew old friendships and stand united against the threats to the Aymhelin. Add Prince Faolan and the Ventala Skirmishers to your Latari army and protect your ancestral home!

Pick up your copy of the Prince Faolan Hero Expansion (RWM34) and Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion (RWM35) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website!

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Change of Heart?

Published 5 October 2018 | Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Change of Heart?

Developer Michael Gernes on Character Evolution

Is evil born, or is it made? Can one who was once a villain see the error of their ways and become a force for good?

These are some of the questions that developers have sought to answer concerning the divisive ruler of Carthridge, Baron Zachareth. While he was once a powerful opponent the players struggled to defeat, he now fights alongside the Daqan Lords, defending Terrinoth from the evil that grows in the Mistlands. While those in the Land of Steel are still wary of the Baron, few can argue with his effectiveness as both a leader and a warrior. How is such change possible?

Today, developer Michael Gernes gives us insight into the process of translating characters between games by examining how Baron Zachareth evolved from his first appearance in Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition to his latest incarnation in Runewars Miniatures Game!

Michael Gernes on Bringing Baron Zachareth to Runewars Miniatures Game

My favorite part of my work with Runewars Miniatures Game has been the chance to pull back the curtain on Terrinoth and the greater world of Mennara, especially regarding its storied history and competing power groups. We've been excited to add Baron Zachareth to the game since its earliest days, and he's a great example of the opportunity we've had as a team to build on the foundation of our previous games.

Baron Zachareth was originally introduced as a key villain in Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition. His depiction as both a charismatic and influential Daqan noble and a secret wielder of dark powers caught the attention of Runewars designer Andrew Fischer and myself. While the events in Descent represent one possible destiny for Zachareth, they're also a great window into a mirror aspect of Daqan culture.

The Daqan Lords are a proud civilization that celebrates virtues like courage, heroism, and pride. These values have helped them stand against the great Darknesses, but they have caused the Daqan to stumble due to the negative side of those traits: unchecked ambition and hubris. Terrinoth is also a feudal society, so although the barons sit in council together as peers, their ties to the greater kingdom are often weaker than their regional interests.

A character like Zachareth captures these contradictions: his noble allies view him as a masterful leader who cares about Terrinoth's security, but Zachareth's interests (and those of his barony) clearly come first. This distinguishes him from more selfless, quintessentially Daqan characters like Kari Wraithstalker and Lord Hawthorne. While they are noble defenders of the realm, Zachareth is a schemer.

Zachareth's history with arcane power and dark artifacts further sets him apart from other Daqan heroes. It also helps to personify two of the signature magical traditions of Terrinoth: the runelore of the Greyhaven mages and the dark wizardry of Nerekhall. The influence of magic is an essential part of the Daqan Lords’ history and military power, as exemplified in Runewars Miniatures Game by the Rune Golems that march in the Daqan hosts. Zachareth’s imposing runic mount, Backbreaker, only reinforces these ties to Terrinoth’s magic.

We wanted to represent each of these themes through Baron Zachareth’s game mechanics, especially his divided loyalties. Like all heroes, Zachareth is a powerful unit on the battlefield, but his strengths should feel unique, especially from the other Daqan heroes. Early on we decided that Zachareth’s central mechanic would be his condition cards: Savior of Carthridge and Betrayer of Carthridge. This gave us a great way to put the decision into players’ hands over which path to walk. As an additional thematic benefit, this underscores Zachareth’s plotting nature by keeping opponents uncertain about his intentions!

We wanted to make Baron Zachareth’s cards represent his choice between using his powers to support his allies or drawing their strength for his own ends. We also worked to make him feel like a character whose magical studies gave him an affinity for commanding Rune Golems. The concept of vitality, our first new boon token, came out of this. Inspiration tokens help units store morale, but I wanted a way to directly boost a unit’s resiliency. This would be helpful for any unit, but it works best with units that have high defense and low wound values. Vitality tokens became one of the defining new mechanics for Zachareth, representing both his studies into rune shards and the animating forces of life. Zachareth’s Runic Augmentation ability felt like a natural combination of theme and mechanic.

We even wanted Zachareth’s dial to feel like the moves of a cunning warrior-mage. For this reason, he has march and shift options in both blue and green stances and can combine his ranged attack with several green movement modifiers. Zachareth can also always call on his white skill modifier. There is a tradeoff for this versatility, however: Zachareth only has one melee action, at initiative four. Todd Michlitsch created this dial layout early on and I think it excellently captured the baron’s character.

As with other heroes our team has designed, the goal for Zachareth’s upgrades was to give players lots of choices to customize his abilities. We also wanted to use these upgrades to reinforce and explore different aspects of his character. Unique upgrades lent themselves to this especially well, and I felt Zachareth’s unique upgrades should reflect his reliance on magic and secrecy.

I wanted Greyhaven Runelore to reflect the idea of Zachareth empowering himself and Backbreaker with runecraft to fight better in melees. Giving them an armor-penetrating ability and inflicting panic through Impact fit their appearance and set Zachareth’s fighting style apart from other heroes. Then Nerekhall Training was a natural counterpoint that emphasized Zachareth’s ranged attack and the dark nature of his magical bolts. The ability to inflict banes is rare for Daqan units, but it felt right on theme for Zachareth.

The effect on Lord of Subterfuge came out of a desire for Zachareth to have a utility card that represented his cloak-and-dagger style of command, enabling him to gaze into the intentions of his enemies and adjust an ally’s plans. Runewars Miniatures Game rewards players for predicting their opponent’s moves, and having the chance to access this information and react accordingly makes a player more unpredictable. However, Zachareth has to take on additional risks by coming fairly close to enemy units in order to use this ability.

Champion cards are the other crucial half of a hero’s upgrade design. The option to have heroes lead elite units is both visually and thematically important in Runewars Miniatures Game. For the sake of balance and components, this often means focusing on one ability for the hero to share with their unit. We wanted Zachareth’s champion cards to be useful for both ranged and melee-focused units. It’s a new capability for Daqan heroes, and Zachareth is a leader with no problem directing a ruthless hail by elite crossbowmen. When he joins a unit, his dice effect offers wider versatility, especially with increasing the chance to trigger surge abilities.

Finally, we felt that Zachareth’s artifact card should be a nod to the prize he coveted in Descent: Journeys in the Dark Seond Edition, which brought us to the Shard of the Shadow Rune. This card represents the portion of the Shadow Rune that Zachareth owns, tempting him to darker deeds. We wanted this to be the first Daqan artifact to represent the ambiguous sides of Terrinoth's past and present, rewarding acts of destruction with greater power.

In the end, Baron Zachareth has become a favorite character of mine when playing Daqan armies. Sometimes, it’s just fun to be the anti-hero!

We hope you enjoy playing with Baron Zachareth as much as we did in bringing him to Runewars Miniatures Game!

Savior or Betrayer

Thanks, Michael!

Do you believe that Baron Zachareth is capable of redemption, or will temptation draw him back down the path of darkness? There are no clear answers, but whether his intentions are noble or dishonorable, you can be sure that he will lead the Daqan forces with a tact unmatched in Mennara. Recruit Baron Zachareth to your cause and witness the warlock’s full power!

You can add Baron Zachareth to your Daqan army in Runewars Miniatures Game with the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion (RWM32) here! Or, if you wish to see his origins in the Terrinoth universe, you can pick up your own copy of Descent: Journeys in the Dark (DJ01) here!

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The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2012 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

Taste for Flesh

Published 1 October 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Taste for Flesh

Preview the Obscenes Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Obscenes Unit Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

When Llovar first revealed the truth of the Ynfernael to the Loth K’har, he gifted them a small taste of what it meant to be a demon. The power of the dark realm twisted the tribesmen into something more than human—something unnatural. Their skin hardened into a thick hide split with spikes, their muscles toughened with demonic strength, and their eyes glowed red with the glory of the Ynfernael.

The Uthuk Y’llan accepted these gifts, and some grasped for more power with a hunger unlike anything seen before. The Ynfernael fed their desires, but at a terrible cost. These chosen few can tap into incredible power, but only as long as they feed constantly. Now, as Terrinoth goes to war, the ground shakes with the approach of these Obscenes: grotesquely swollen tribesmen wielding massive clubs and the momentum of their dreadful bulk.

Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at these brutes found in the Obscenes Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

A Clawing Hunger

After their first binge on the power of the Ynfernael, the Obscenes were filled with an insatiable emptiness. They proceeded to ravage the land, feeding endlessly until their bodies became huge and bloated. It would seem difficult for the Obscenes to charge into battle, but their hunger motivates them to monstrous feats. In Runewars Miniatures Game, the Obscenes are arguably more mobile than their demonic allies, the Spined Threshers, with a command tool that features an additional march icon on their action dial and multiple marches that can cover long distances. With these monstrous tribesmen at your command, you can execute speed-four charges as early as initiative six if the runes fall in your favor.

In battle, the Obscenes are a horror, paralyzing soldiers with the tainted, blight-filled spittle that drips from their jaws, then devouring enemies whole or ripping larger opponents apart with oversized bone scythes until they are bite-sized morsels. When they are engaged in a melee, the Obscenes have a variety of options, whether they wish to rally and remove banes, add surges, or simply increase the number of hits they inflict. What's more, with their white skill modifier, the Obscenes have the ability to strike an enemy at initiative five, and then force them to shift away and disengage. With any luck, you'll be able to charge first in the next round and capture the Obscenes' meal before it has a chance to run away.

Obscenes are reviled by their enemies, both for their shocking appetite for the offal of the battlefield and for the ghastly ichor they bleed when wounded. Their Ynfernael Blood allows them to endure what would be poison to others and potentially even turn it to their advantage. When an Obscene bears this upgrade, your opponent cannot spend blight tokens to remove dice from an Obscene’s attack. Rather, they can only spend the blight token to force a reroll of the Obscene's attack dice. This increased risk can be a punishing obstacle for your opponent, especially if you're facing off against the forces of Waiqar the Undying, whose Carrion Lancers specialize in inflicting and harnessing blights. Your undead opponent will be forced to reshape their strategy, lest they aid you in your quest to consume every living thing on the battlefield, including their soldiers.

Gluttonous Giants

The Obscenes Unit Expansion provides you with everything you need to add these grotesque creatures to your locust swarm, including two miniatures and siege movement trays, as well as a collection of tokens and eight upgrade cards to further bolster the creatures’ strengths. As each Obscene is powerful enough to stand as its own unit, this expansion includes two unit cards and command tools. Even with the terrible potential that comes with having a one-man siege unit, most Uthuk warlords are cautious of adding these grotesque warriors to their ranks. The hunger that burns within them can never be sated, and Obscenes tend to look at their comrades and even their superiors with starving gazes. As you can imagine, Obscenes are infamous for their Odious Appetite. After another unit at Range 1 suffers a wound, whether it's an enemy or an ally, the Obscenes can feast on the flesh of the fallen and recover their own wounds.

The Flesh Rippers suffer a wound at the hands of the Carrion Lancer, allowing the Obscenes to heal one wound!

Still, when an Obscene does join a troop of screaming Berserkers or Viper Legion archers, this hunger and ever-present danger can be turned into an advantage. A Front Line Obscene is not only able to grant their unit Protected 1 with the sheer mass of their bloated forms, they can also inflict blights on their enemies so long as they have at least one wound or empty slot in their trays. With such power emanating from a single source, it is easy to see why Uthuk commaders are willing to overlook the screams and sounds of ripping flesh that occasionally arise in the middle of the night from the direction of an Obscene’s tent.

Feast on Your Foes

With the great armies of Terrinoth marching to war, a banquet has been set before the foulest of the Uthuk Y’llan’s forces. Gorge on the power of darkness and consume the flesh of your enemies with a monstrous hunger that only the Ynfernael can muster!

Pre-order your copy of the Obscenes Unit Expansion (RWM37) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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"I Play to Win" Is a Lie

Published 28 September 2018 | Star Wars: Armada

"I Play to Win" Is a Lie

A Designer Journal from Nate French

Are games meant to be won? If not, why do we play games that have strong competitive scenes? In today's Designer Journal, designer Nate French takes a look at the nature of competition and suggests some alternative ways of thinking about winning.

It is helpful from time to time for those of us in the competitive gaming community to reflect on our own relationships with gaming and competition. What can we do to ensure that our hobby of competing with one another through gaming brings out the best in our selves, rather than the worst?

This designer journal is one of my own recent attempts to wrestle with such a question.

The statement “I play to win” has been used to rationalize and justify a fair bit of behavior that runs the gamut from off-putting to questionable to unethical and downright evil. As a competitive gamer who’s had some success in various arenas in the past, such a mindset has never been one that I have been completely at peace with.

“Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.”

This overused quote and idea is often attributed to Vince Lombardi, but it is believed the original speaker was UCLA Bruins coach Red Sanders. Regardless of where it originated, it is frequently embraced by high-level competitors to focus on the supposed ultimate goal (winning) and to motivate them to do what they need to do in order to win.

It shouldn’t be difficult to see how such a belief is unhealthy, and leads to many evils, great and small, in the world of competition. Unfortunately, such an idea is deeply engrained in our culture, and countless competitors find strength and reassurance in an “I play to win” approach to their sport or game.

I should know, I’ve been there myself. Winning is seductive, and easy to fall in love with. As you win more, it feeds back into your identity as a so-called “winner.” Losers, on the other hand, are often derided: the very term is frequently used as an insult. But seeing winning as “the only thing”—the point, the end that justifies all means in any type of competition—is a mistake, a dire mistake that we must continually guard ourselves against believing. This task, I feel, is one of our deepest imperatives as competitive gamers.

Making the task somewhat easier, I’ve found, is this: while the “play to win” attitude cloaks itself in the guise of strength, when you really dig in to the idea you begin to realize that it comes from a place of weakness.

The Trap

The biggest self-defeating trap in the “play to win” mentality is this: winning is a result, and we don’t get better at games by following results-oriented thinking. This is a concept I came across while studying poker, but the idea can transfer to any form of competition.

What is results-oriented thinking? Basically, it’s judging the quality of your decisions (and your decision-making process) based on outcomes rather than judging the quality of those decisions on logic or objective analysis.

Why is this type of thinking a bad thing? Ultimately, it’s because competitors don’t truly have any control over the outcome—the only thing we competitors can control is the quality of our decisions, and the outcomes take care of themselves.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a few examples from different types of games.

It’s easiest to see this in perfect information games, as they do the least to hide the connection between our decisions and our results. Consider a simple game like Tic-Tac-Toe. If both players play perfectly, the game inevitably ends in a draw. Put another way, you can only win a game of Tic-Tac-Toe if your opponent makes a mistake. As there is nothing (within the rules) that a player can do to “force” their opponent to make a mistake, winning this game is entirely reliant on a factor that I, as a competitor, have no control over. I can only play perfectly, and hope my opponent messes up.

“But Tic-Tac-Toe is a simple game with a known solution. What about a more complex, unsolved game, such as Chess?” you might ask. While it is true that—as of this writing—Chess remains an unsolved game, this does not grant a competitor any additional agency in forcing a desired result. If both sides play perfectly, the outcome (currently unknown, but it will either be a draw, a win for black, or a win for white) is inevitable, and it is only through imperfect play by one player or the other that other outcomes can be achieved.

Let’s now move our consideration to other types of games with variance and hidden information. In a broad sense, each of these devices serves to disguise the ways in which player error determines a game’s outcome.

Variance is easiest to see. Imagine you make a play that, 99 times out of 100, is going to win you the game… and then the fated dice roll the one result that defeats you, throwing the win away. Curses! Even in such extreme cases, a truly results-oriented player would believe they made the wrong decision or, if they were on the other side of the improbable roll, believe they played the game perfectly. And either of these conclusions would be an obvious impediment to their development as a player.

Hidden information (such as the hole cards in Texas Hold’em, or a player’s hand in a customizable card game) also serves to disguise the concept of “perfect” play, in that it demands competitors evaluate and analyze their play against all possible (or likely) holdings, and then choose optimal lines against the various possibilities an opponent could be sitting on.

With such games, it’s very possible to make a correct play (correct against the possible range of cards the opponent could have) that in a particular instance turns out to lose the game (because they happen to have, against the odds, the one card in their deck that could beat your play). It’s also possible to blunder (make a play which would be wrong against their likely holding the vast majority of the time) that turns out in this particular instance to win the game because your opponent didn’t happen to have any of the dozens of likely outs that could have defeated your play. Such outcomes are not examples of superior or inferior play, they’re simply another case of running up against the wrong (or right) side of variance.

Once variance and hidden information enter the picture, it’s possible to make terrible decisions and still win, and it’s also possible to make good decisions and still lose. Or, as co-host Andrew Brokos of the Thinking Poker podcast once suggested, “the end result of you winning the pot does not change the fact that the way you played the hand was a complete disaster.”

What are our takeaways from these considerations of various types of games? Essentially, we as competitors don’t have as much control over our results as we’d initially believe. If a game is not decided by bad (or good!) luck, it was decided by a mistake (or series of mistakes) made by one of the competitors. Just as we cannot control luck, we cannot control whether or not our opponents make mistakes. All we can do then, as competitors, is eliminate as many mistakes as possible from our own play, and be prepared to capitalize on the mistakes our opponents do make.

A more profound way of thinking about this is the realization that at the heart of all competitive gaming—in which we strive to control the sole thing we have any control over, by eliminating mistakes from our own play—we are only competing against ourselves.

This casts our opponents in a completely different light—they are no longer our enemies or adversaries that we must defeat and crush and overcome at any cost, but rather our allies, a mirror against which we can measure ourselves in our effort to grow and improve at our chosen game. And this realization, more than anything else, might change the way we treat those opponents—in victory and defeat.

Nate French is the longest-tenured member in the card game department, and serves as a mentor and coach for the team. More often than not, he’s working on a project he can’t say anything about… yet! In his spare time he is an avid poker player and enjoys reading, writing, sports, (older) heavy metal, and talking about LeBron.

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Fragments of Power

Published 26 September 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Fragments of Power

See the Prizes of the 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championships

“Runes,” Astarra said to herself. She let the word hang in the air. The markings on her grandmother’s stone were no mere frivolous artistic endeavor. They held meaning, defined the stone’s power.

The Orb of the Sky was the most powerful artifact that Terrinoth had ever seen. Created by the wizard Timmorran and also destroyed by him, when he realized that he had been betrayed by his friend Waiqar, who sought the artifact for its power, planning to use it to bend others to his will.

When the orb was destroyed, its fragments were scattered across the world, rendering it almost unthinkable that anyone could ever recover them all and harness their combined power. Still, the shards had power of their own, and that power drew others to them. The dragonlords gathered as many as they could and bound runes to them, dedicating their powers toward specific tasks.

Some of these shards might increase the strength of a weapon or a suit of armor. Others might give life to powerful golems. And yet others might be dedicated to tasks long since forgotten, disappeared after the dragonlords' defeat.

This November 1 – 4, at the 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship, Terrinoth's greatest generals will discover a wealth of these runebound shards—and battle for them!

Taking place at the Fantasy Flight Games Center in Roseville, MN, the World Championships are the pinnacle of Runewars Miniatures Game Organized Play. The event is a showcase for the game's greatest players, strongest armies, and most effective tactics. It's a chance for top artists to present their painted miniatures. And it's a chance for Terrinoth's generals to claim their share of powerful treasures!

Participation

Each player who enters the battles of the 2018 World Championships will claim a participation prize package consisting of a commemorative T-shirt, a set of acrylic maneuver templates, and a set of five extended art cards: Rank Discipline, Master-Crafted Weapons, Fortuna’s Dice, Metered March, and Trumpets.

Each participant will also have the opportunity to earn tickets to redeem for prizes from the event's prize wall, including a frosted plastic version of Ardus Ix'Erebus.

Bounty Prize

In 2018, Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship attendees will find Terrinoth a land of many bounties—including the bounty prizes they'll claim for each of their wins. Each time a World Championships participant leads his or her forces to victory, that player will claim a set of five condition tokens.

This means that over the course of the tournament's five Swiss rounds, a superior general could win as many as five sets of these tokens!

Top in Faction

The stakes at the 2018 World Championships are high enough that no army can afford to ignore them. Accordingly, the Daqan Lords, Waiqar's undying legions, the Latari Elves, and the Uthuk Y'llan will all need guidance, and each faction will acknoweldge its greatest general with a special reward—an acrylic range ruler with a white and gold pattern to match the maneuver templates.

Top 16

The Top 16 generals will find their victories rewarded with powerful shards—marked with runes and invested with the ability to serve as dice. Each of the Top 16 players will claim two sets of these custom dice.

Top 4

Terrinoth's Top 4 generals will earn custom mediallions to help them rally their strength and charge forward into their final battles.

Additionally, each of these talented generals will receive an art print featuring the Uthuk Y'llan and Ravos the Everhungry, powerfully depicted by Jordan Kerbow.

Finalist

In addition to all the other prizes the 2018 Runner-Up wins during the Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship, he or she will claim a Finalist plaque adorned with an image of Prince Faolan of the Latari Elves.

World Champion

Finally, at the end of the tournament, one dominant champion will emerge victorious, having seized all manner of rune shards and driven all foes back from his or her borders. This inspiring leader will earn the title of World Champion, claiming also the array of prizes that accompany the title.

These prizes include a World Champion trophy, a wooden maneuver template tray with a map of Terrinoth engraved on its surface, flight and lodging for the 2019 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championships, and the Greatest Prize in Gaming—a chance to work with the game's developers to inspire the design of a future card!

Painting Contest

Just as Terrinoth's greatest commanders will be recognized for their valor and audacity on the battlefield, so will the factions honor their greatest artisans for their contributions.

The 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship will recognize the most outstanding work in each of its Painting Contest's two categories: Best Painted Figure and Best Painted Army. The winners will receive plaques to commemorate the contributions they made to their armies' morale.

Power at the Ready

The shards of the Orb of Sky offer power to those who wield them. But to claim their power, you must first win the shards. To win the shards, you must fight for them.

The battlegrounds have been set. The armies of Terrinoth are on their move. The 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship is fast approaching. Will you be there to lead your forces to victory?

A very limited number of seats are still available. Register now to join the battle and stake your claim for Terrinoth's greatest prizes!

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Return of the Exile

Published 25 September 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Return of the Exile

Previewing the Prince Faolan Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Prince Faolan Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

Since their exile to Mennara, the Eolam have faced a difficult decision. Do they turn inward, ignoring the outside world as they work toward redemption, or do they embrace their new world and defend it, striking down evil wherever it appears to prove that they are worthy to ascend to the Empyrean once more?

For some among the Latari’s ranks, this is no choice at all. Their culture must be protected if they are ever to regain their former grace. The son of King Aanir, Prince Faolan, is one such individual. He values the lives of his people above any antiquated alliances. Now, as old threats return and the four great factions go to war, he will do whatever it takes to ensure that his people stay safe, no matter what the cost to Terrinoth may be.

Today, we're proud to offer you a closer look at the Prince Faolan Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

Headstrong Youth

Prince Faolan was already a brilliant strategist and accomplished military leader when the shadows of dragon wings fell across Terrinoth in the Third Darkness. While some Latari withdrew into hiding, the elven prince led his warriors in a valiant defense of the Aymhelin, allowing the army of dragon hybrids to breach the forest’s borders, then picking off their ranks from the safety of the trees. But Faolan’s confidence grew to arrogance and he fell into the trap of the Dragonlord Baalesh, putting the capital city of Lithelin at risk.

While Faolan eventually broke the siege of the city, the cost was great. The prince’s father perished in the fight, and in the following months Faolan’s guilt consumed him. If not for his rash strategies, he would have a father and his people would have a king. For years, Prince Faolan lived in self-imposed exile, roaming the Aymhelin Forest and slaying any who dared to trespass. But now, he has heard that his uncle has opened the Aymhelin to all of Terrinoth, in defiance of the tradition set forth by his father. Faolan has seen what the peoples of Menarra are capable of and now a dark thought weighs on his mind—would not the Latari be safer under his own leadership than that of his uncle?

Though it has been many years since his greatest victories, Prince Faolan has lost none of his martial mastery. Whether he is leading his allies into battle standing stoic and alone, or fighting shoulder to shoulder with his fellow soldiers, Prince Faolan is able to use his years of combat training among the tangled roots of the Aymhelin to increase the mobility of his allies. When the Prince is acting alone, you may equip him with the Etharyon of the Ailatar upgrade. This unique upgrade lets Faolan use a skill action to order an ally to reform or shift. While this may not seem particularly impressive compared to the innate maneuverability of the Latari, you have the chance to turn this everyday action into a maddening maneuver by further modifying the shift action with a turn.

If, however, you use Prince Faolan as a figure upgrade in either your infantry or cavalry , he can still increase his allies’ mobility by modifying his unit’s first march with either a turn, wheel, or charge, giving the lithe Leonx or the deadly Darnati Warriors access to wheels or even inviting you to create a rare wheeling charge. By executing these shocking maneuvers, your enemy will fight an uphill battle trying to tie your units down. The battlefield becomes your playground as you run circles around your opponent and always remain one step ahead of the competition.

Princely Valor

The Prince Faolan Hero Expansion gives you everything you need to bring the long-exiled prince into the fold of your elven army, including a miniature of Faolan alone and one of him astride Sorisal, the grand-hatchling of his father’s cyrssaerele mount, who has acted as his only companion for many years of roaming. In addition to the miniatures themselves, you will also find the prince’s unit card and command tool, a new terrain piece, objective, and deployment card, as well as a collection of tokens, and six available upgrade cards to customize and strengthen your elven army.

Witnessing his father’s demise has ingrained the prince with both a sense of guilt and of duty. As he inspires confidence in his troops, the Valor of the Fallen instills Prince Faolan himself with the Steadfast [Fear] keyword and lets him inspire an ally if he has faith in his own cause. But Faolan has more reasons to desire this guiding light than simple bane removal. In battle, whenever a counterattack threatens his warriors, Faolan is there to stand against it, moonblade sword in hand. Whenever the line threatens to break, Faolan inspires his warriors with new vigor. When wielding The Spirit Sword , Faolan can spend two surges to receive an inspiration token during a melee, which he can then spend while defending to remove an enemy’s dice icon! This noble’s mastery over motivation rivals even the Daqan Lords, though Faolan himself would scoff at the comparison. But in these times of strife, the only way to earn victory is to learn from your rivals.

Returning Home

The wars of Terrinoth continue to rage without end, and with the threats of the locust horde moving closer to Lithelin each day, it may be that those currently leading the Latari are ineffective and unready for war. This cannot stand. Restore Prince Faolan to the leadership of the Latari hosts and let him lead your people to glory and grace once more!

Pre-order your copy of the Prince Faolan Hero Expansion (RWM34) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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Heroes and Villains

Published 20 September 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Heroes and Villains

The Lord Vorun'thul and Baron Zachareth Hero Expansions Are Now Available

Order your own copy of the Lord Vorun'thul Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

Since the sun first shone on Runewars Miniatures Game, the forces of the Daqan Lords and Waiqar the Undying have been at odds. From the cursed thirteenth barony, the dead rise from their graves to harass the living. But the lords of Terrinoth will not stand idle. The most cunning among their ranks has argued for a full invasion of the Mistlands for some time, and as Waiqar grows stronger with each passing day, now is the time to act.

No matter which side of the conflict you fall on, today you gain the skilled leadership of a hero who will do whatever it takes to earn victory, even if it means surrendering to the darkest part of themselves. The Lord Vorun'thul Hero Expansion and Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game are on sale now at your local retailer or online through our website!

Lord of Bilehall

When vampires emerge from the Mistlands, they inspire terror in the mortals of Terrinoth, but this fear is also tinged with awe. These immortal, unaging, and nigh-unkillable creatures can transform and transfix their victims with a single look. The most infamous of this brood are the ancient Lords of Bilehall, proud warriors who have sworn their loyalty to Waiqar the Undying.

Among their ranks is the once-honorable Lord Vorun’thul, who is split in both mind and spirit by the dark power that has twisted him over the centuries. Over the course of the battle, Lord Vorun’thul can use a skill action to transform between the elegant swordsman and the ferocious beast, switching both his miniature and his unit card with a new set of skills and abilities. While each of Vorun’thul’s forms have their own strengths, you can balance the lord’s abilities by equipping him with his Dimodian Blades. As a melee action, he may use this upgrade to draw upon the power of the runes, gaining Precise and Lethal based on the energy at his disposal.

The Lord Vorun’thul Hero Expansion includes two unpainted, easily assembled miniatures of the cursed lord, as well as their corresponding unit cards, one command tool, a collection of tokens, a new terrain piece, and six available upgrade cards to further bolster Vorun’thul’s strength. If the cursed lord gives in to the Thirst of Bilehall, he can feast upon the blood of his victim to recover his own strength, discarding a wound or a bane, or readying an upgrade. While this dark power does bestow great power, even Vorun'thul must question— what will become of him when the darkness is all that remains?

Baron of Carthridge

Baron Zachareth has been called a hero, a warmonger, a maverick, a warlock, and myriad other names across the twelve baronies. While few can agree on his true nature, even fewer can deny the effectiveness of his methods. The people dwelling in his home barony of Carthridge are grateful for his powerful leadership and proven defense of the region. They would gladly follow him into battle, and with the encroaching threats of the Mistlands, this loyalty may soon be tested.

Zachareth has been a divisive figure across Terrinoth for many years, and as such, the way that you choose to use his skills—whether you see him as a hero or a villain—is entirely up to you. Once per game, you have the power to give Zachareth one of two conditions, each of which can define your strategy: Savior of Carthridge allows Baron Zachareth to strengthen others, while Betrayer of Carthridge lets him harm his allies in order to strengthen himself. The former asks Zachareth to suffer a stun token in order to give an ally a vitality token (which may act as an additional health). Meanwhile, the latter condition inflicts a stun token on an ally to gain one of these powerful new tokens for Zachareth himself.

The Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion includes two unpainted, easily assembled miniatures—one of Zachareth alone and one astride his loyal runebeast, Backbreaker—as well as his unit card and command tool, a new terrain piece, a collection of tokens, two condition cards, and six upgrade cards to ensure that all in the Land of Steel will either respect or fear the Baron of Carthridge. No matter his true role, when he takes to the battlefield, Baron Zachareth is undeniably a Lord of Subterfuge. With this upgrade, Zachareth can draw on the power of stable energy runes to look at his enemies' command tools, then order one of his allies to change their plans for the round. While the noble barons of the Daqan may frown upon the use of such dishonorable methods, when you are faced with the forces of the undead, you may find it preferable to remain alive.

All Is Fair in War

Both of these commanders are famous for their ruthlessness, using underhanded intrigues and animalistic ferocity to turn the battle to their favor. You may wish to believe that all is good and noble, but in these times of war, you can no longer afford scruples. Embrace the call of the darkness, add a new hero to your ranks, and complete your conquest!

Pick up your copy of the Lord Vorun’thul Hero Expansion (RWM31) and Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion (RWM32) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website!

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Twisted Fearmonger

Published 19 September 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Twisted Fearmonger

Previewing the Beastmaster Th'Uk Tar Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Beastmaster Th'Uk Tar Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

From his infancy, Th’Uk Tar’s parents knew that he was destined for great and terrible deeds. He was born to an ancient Uthuk tribe, and the moment his mother saw his hooked legs and razor-sharp fangs, she gave thanks to her Ynfernael masters and took the child to the heart of the Ru Darklands, where he was left to grow hard and strong in the inhospitable wastes or die. For three days, the child was left to the mercy of the elements and the creatures of the Ru. But he did not whimper or cry. He simply stared at the world around him, watching. Waiting.

On the fourth day, a caecilian discovered the babe beneath the spines of a bloodthorn bush, and rather than devour him, the creature took the child away and raised it as its own. Years later, Th’Uk Tar returned to the village from whence he came, accompanied by the caecilian and a pack of flesh rippers, all loyal to their bonded master. Now, as the four great factions of Terrinoth clash, he prepares to lead his new pack to war.

Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at the Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

The Lone Tyrant

The Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar Hero Expansion provides you with everything you need to add the merciless master to your ranks, including two miniatures and unit cards so that you may send either form of the hero to lead your locust swarm, as well as one command tool, a collection of tokens, a new terrain piece, an objective card, and a deployment card to further customize your battles. In addition to these implements, you will also gain an incredible thirteen upgrade cards for Th’Uk Tar to increase his effectiveness on the battlefield, whether he is fighting alone or alongside Gorgemaw.

When he stands alone to lead the beasts of the Ru onto the battlefield, Th’Uk Tar can greatly increase the maneuverability of Flesh Rippers and Spined Threshers. Before the battle even begins, Th’Uk Tar can use his skills as a tactical leader of the Uthuk to call the beasts to heel, drawing any non-unique ally close to him, even if they have already deployed. This offers your Uthuk horde an unprecedented ability to adjust your battle plans once you have seen your enemy’s positioning. Then, once the bloodshed begins in earnest, Thu’Uk Tar can use his twin whips (made from the spines of two Flesh Rippers he deemed too weak) to lash at enemies and allies alike, forcing all to bend before his will. As a skill action, Th’Uk Tar may lash a non-unique ally within range of his whips, forcing them to suffer one wound and allowing them to reform or shift.

You can further hone Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar’s unit card ability by equipping him with the Fearmonger's Whip, which uses his enemy’s fear to give him the Lethal keyword, or with the Tyrant's Lash. This vicious technique allows the Uthuk Hero to treat his front edge as touching the front edge of all nearby enemies in his side firing arcs, rather than just his front firing arc. Additionally, as a skill action, where Th’Uk Tar can normally only punish his allies to force them to move, this upgrade lets him whip an ally to have them discard all their banes, for a small blood price.

Never Bet Against a Caecilian

While Th’Uk Tar is an undeniable threat in his own right, a Beastmaster of the Ru is never respected without a truly monstrous ally to strike fear into the hearts of those who would threaten his authority. In the case of this Uthuk hero, he is often accompanied by the very beast that raised him, Gorgemaw. Should you choose to send these two into battle together, Th’Uk Tar and Gorgemaw have their own unit card with costs, keywords, and abilities distinct from those of Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar. For example, while Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar can increase the mobility of his allies, Gorgemaw can increase the mobility of Th’Uk Tar himself, allowing him to easily modify his march or shift actions without even using his command tool. By relying on his connection with the beasts who have mastered the inhospitable lands of the Ru, Th’Uk Tar can rival the agility of even the Latari’s mighty Leonx, which the Beastmaster hopes to soon add to his pack.

Even when Th’Uk Tar does not bear his vicious whips, enemies would be fools to step too close to him and Gorgemaw with the caecilian’s Thrashing Tail that can cause two damage to each nearby enemy when he performs a reform action. This upgrade can be further synergized with Whirling Sinew which allows the creature to perform a reform action after he uses his unit card ability to perform a melee action while not engaged. For the ultimate devastating blow, Th’Uk Tar and Gorgemaw can dial in two melees into their command tool while unengaged to attack a nearby enemy, reform and deal two more damage, and then execute the entire attack a second time!

Now, Th’Uk Tar drives his new pack to war. As he stalks across the field, Gorgemaw is never far from his side. When he howls, packs of flesh rippers and spined threshers bound forward, eager to slay at his command, and the Uthuk have learned to fear his lash, preferring to fall to their enemies’ spears than suffer Th’Uk Tar’s wrath. As the Beastmaster marches out of the Darklands, his gaze is fixed on the Aymhelin. The brave Latari will cower before the might of the Uthuk and once their people have been wiped from the world, their once-loyal animals will be added to Th’Uk Tar’s pack, increasing his power until none can stand against him!

Ruthlessness of the Ru

Th’Uk Tar has seen the full terror of the Ru Darklands and he has not only survived, he has thrived. Now, he will proudly lead his monsters into battle on your behalf, showing all of Terrinoth the full power of the Uthuk Y’llan. When the cruel Beastmaster unleashes his pack, all will submit to his will or be consumed!

Pre-order your copy of the Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar Hero Expansion (RWM33) at your local retailer today or online through our website here!

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Brotherhood of Kul

Published 17 September 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Brotherhood of Kul

Previewing the Viper Legion Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Viper Legion Unit Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

The land of Terrinoth is thrown into chaos in Runewars Miniatures Game! In the broken steppes of the Ru Darklands, the locust hordes of the Uthuk Y’llan rise up to seek revenge. After a thousand years of gathering their strength in secret, their army is nearly ready to take to the field, filled with berserkers, demons, and countless deadly creatures that thrive in the unforgiving Ru. But there is one band of warriors among the swarm that practices a subtler, but no less deadly form of warfare.

The archers of the Viper Legion practice Hgri’ech, roughly translated as “hero-living,” where they devote themselves to embodying the ideal set long ago by Kul the Serpent, who killed thousands though his use of ambushes and mastery of poisons. These warriors hope to honor Kul by continuing his life’s work, and as Terrinoth goes to war, there are countless enemies waiting to be sacrificed.

Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at the Viper Legion Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

The Path of Hgri’ech

In any Uthuk army, Viper Legion archers can provide ranged support to your Uthuk Y’llan, allowing you to ambush your opponent with unprecedented proficiency. Their arrows are tipped with sorcerous poisons blessed by the Blood Coven, and the Viper Legion archers are natural raiders, training in the treacherous Darklands where they test their hunting skills on vicious beasts and hapless travelers alike. In order to survive in the wastes, the Viper Legion must be ready to adapt on the fly, able to spring away from danger. As such, their command tool features more maneuverability than many of their Uthuk brethren, with three blue march actions in the middle of the round and two green shift actions to help them navigate amid tight terrain.

But where the Viper Legion really shines is with their attack actions. Similar to the Latari’s Deepwood Archers, the Viper Legion can launch a ranged attack at initiative five, but if the two even meet face to face in melee combat, the elves will be instantly remorseful. Every aspiring member of the Viper Legion crafts their own longbow, fitting it with jagged spikes or the teeth of wasteland beasts so that the bow may be used in close combat should the need arise. With these dual-purpose weapons in hand, these Uthuk warriors can strike earlier their Latari rivals with a melee action at initiative eight, and they are much more likely to find hit icons on the red die they roll in melee combat.

Bought in Blood

In the Viper Legion Unit Expansion, you will find a full unit of eight archers that you can customize in the colors of your Uthuk army or to reflect the sect your archers hail from. The Viper Children, for example, proudly protect a sacred ravine filled with vipers, which they believe to be Kul’s final resting place. Meanwhile, hunters of the Ash Walkers favor cunning and concealment as they slink across the Ru and the mysterious Scions of the Lotus brew their own venom and consume it in sacred rites to inoculate themselves against its effects.

In addition to the figures themselves, this expansion also provides you with two movement trays, a command tool and a collection of tokens, and five upgrade cards to strengthen your archers’ serpentine skills. You can add a Viper Trapmaster to your ranks, allowing you to set traps on the battlefield and spring banes upon your enemies. Otherwise, you may choose to bring the wisdom of the Blood Sisters to your Viper Legion if you train them in the use of Ritual Venom. Before activating your Viper Legion, this upgrade allows you to offer your own blood in sacrifice, suffering wounds to gain access to the same number of bane tokens of your choice. Once you have paid your blood price, you may freely inflict one of these banes on your target during a melee or ranged attack! This low-cost upgrade makes your Viper Legion masters of manipulating the battlefield, forcing your opponent to fight on your terms.

For example, the Viper Legion could have Ritual Venom equipped when they face the noble Daqan Lords. In the first round, there are three natural energy runes on the field. Much of the Daqan’s strength lies in their Oathsworn Cavalry, the powerful vanguard that can ride down opponents across great distances. Upon seeing this threat, the Viper Legion decides to suffer three wounds, sacrificing three of their archers, to gain access to three immobilize tokens. The moment the Viper Legion is within range of the cavalry, they may use ranged attacks to spend these tokens and force the cavalry to a full halt, potentially tying them down for nearly half the battle. Best of all, Ritual Venom does not replace the Viper Legion’s attack—rather, it adds to it, meaning that the archers can spend up to three turns raining deadly arrows on the Oathsworn Cavalry while they are unable to escape.

The Viper Strikes

After centuries of secrecy, the time has finally come for the Uthuk to proudly return to the battlefield. With each drop of blood you spill, you will honor the memory of Kul the Serpent and bring your spirit closer to the Uthuk hero. Add the Viper Legion to your ranks and rain death upon your enemies from the skies!

Pre-order your copy of the Viper Legion Unit Expansion (RWM36) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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Oath of Horn and Branch

Published 10 September 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Oath of Horn and Branch

Preview the Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

The woods of the Aymhelin are deep, ranging even wider than maps would suggest, and there are beings within far older than humanity itself. All fiercely guard the forests from outside intrusion, and now, as the threat to the great forest grows, more of its denizens fight alongside the Latari to preserve their homes. Among these, the hooved nomadic hunters known as the Ventala are unyielding warriors in battle, using their short-range javelins and razor-sharp knives to strike down the enemies of the Aymhelin and defend their land.

Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at the Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game, now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

Allied for a Greater Cause

While the Loremasters of the Latari have their theories and songs on the matter, the exact origins of the Ventala are for other races to wonder. For themselves, they simply assume that they have always been a part of the Aymhelin. When the two races first encountered one another, tensions between the Ventala and the Latari simmered for generations. But when their beloved Aymhelin became a battlefield for the Fae and Dimora, the two joined forces to push back the common threat. Since then, the two have fought side by side to defend the Aymhelin.

This sense of camaraderie shines through in the twelve upgrade cards included in the Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion, none of which are exclusive to the hooved skirmishers. Nearly any of your Latari allies can engage in some cooperative hunting if they have trained with the Warden of Horn and Branch. As a skill action, you may use this upgrade to set your sights on an enemy and roll one blue dice for each Ventala ally who is close enough to your target. For each surge you roll, your enemy suffers two damage! This means that you can use the Latari’s allegiance with the skirmishers to execute a dangerous ranged attack, even if the unit who bears the upgrade can't launch ranged attacks on their own.

For example, the Darnati Warriors may have Warden of Horn and Branch equipped when they face off against Lord Vorun'thul and the Deathborn Legion. The swordsmen, who do not have a ranged attack on their command tool, use their skill action to send in three of their Ventala allies to surround the vampire lord. As each of these units are within Range 3 of Lord Vorun'thul, the Darnati Warriors roll three blue dice. Through a small stroke of luck, they find three surges, causing Vorun'thul to suffer a total of six damage! Through their combined powers, the Latari and Ventala will ensure that the Aymhelin remains protected and pure from the corruption that plagues the rest of Terrinoth.

A Storm of Spears

In times of peace, the Ventala live humbly, relying on the bounty of the Aymhelin. Every season, each tightly-knit clan coordinates with their neighbors to determine the routes and hunting grounds best suited for each group’s needs to ensure that they do not spoil the forest with overhunting. But in times of war, these hooved warriors use their hunting skills and knowledge of the Aymhelin’s hidden trails to track their enemies and attack from the shadows of the trees. With their natural brawn and carved spears, they are ready to contend with even the most highly-trained Daqan cavalry, using their speed and strength to harass more distant enemies with javelins.

The Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion provides everything you need to add a full unit of these skilled soldiers to your Latari army, including four masterfully sculpted figures and two cavalry movement trays to house them. In addition, you will also find one unit card and command tool, a collection of tokens, and twelve upgrade cards to further customize your army of forest defenders. Among these, you gain a new training upgrade to highlight the Latari’s mastery of ranged attacks, whether it be with the bow or the javelin.

Historically, your ranged units are limited to your front arc, forcing you to reform your ranged units to attack different targets. Flank Fire allows your Ventala Skirmishers, or many other ranged units in your Latari army, to perform ranged attacks using their side firing arcs, making it easier to launch your assault without sacrificing speed or maneuverability. This upgrade is absolutely lethal in the hands of the Ventala Skirmishers—their command tool features a green ranged attack modifier that can be paired with your choice of a reform, shift, or two different march actions!

Furthermore, when you use this upgrade, your threat is readjusted along with your firing arc, becoming equal to your number of ranks. While it is rare in Terrinoth to see cavalry with a threat greater than two, Flank Fire sets up the Ventala Skirmishers to stand toe to toe with even the Daqan's Oathsworn Cavalry. With a touch of tact, you can run circles around your enemy and attack without ever putting your soldiers at risk from enemy fire.

Bonds of Brotherhood

The Ventala have proudly stood alongside the Latari for centuries, and in the face of such great adversity, their friendship will not falter now. Add the Ventala Skirmishers to the ranks of your Elven army and strike back against your enemies with javelin and spear!

Pre-order your copy of the Ventala Skirmishers Unit Expansion (RWM35) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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2018 November World Championships

Published 29 August 2018 | A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

2018 November World Championships

Compete Against the World's Best Players from November 1st – 4th

Run swiftly through the moonlit fields of Rokugan. Ride your dragon across the Seven Kingdoms. Traverse the battlefields of Terrinoth, raising the dead and adding them to your army. Time is short, and you have places you need to be… The 2018 November World Championships are fast approaching!

This November 1st – 4th, hundreds of the world's greatest samurai, lords, ladies, knights, barons, and Y'nfernael warlords will converge at the Fantasy Flight Games Center in Roseville, MN to compete in the World Champrionships for three of our Organized Play games:

The pinnacle of Organized Play for these games, the 2018 November World Championships offer top-level competition, camaraderie, and excitement. Each year, we see new legends forged. We see new decks and armies transform the meta. We follow new stories. And we reveal some of the year's most coveted prizes—including The Greatest Prize in Gaming, the chance to work with your game's developers to inspire the design of a future card.

Registration opens September 8th, and the weekend's event schedules are available for download. So call up your carpool buddies, check on airfare, claim your reserved seats, set your alarm for the September 8th registration, and start making your plans.

Registration for the 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship opens Saturday, September 8th at 12:00 PM.
Registration for the 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Championship opens Saturday, September 8th at 1:00 PM.
- Day 1A registration.
- Day 1B registration.
Registration for the 2018 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game World Championship opens Saturday, September 8th at 2:00 PM.
- Day 1A registration.
- Day 1B registration.

All listed times are CDT (UTC-0500).

For now, you can find more information about registration alongside the World Championship details for your favorite game in the sections below. We look forward to seeing you in November!

Registration Details

Here, you will find step-by-step application instructions, a World Championships application timeline, and several important notes about your application and registration.

Reserved Seats

Regional Champions, National Champions, North American Champions, European Champions, Hatamotos, Kotei Qualifiers, World Champions, and other players with reserved seats should use this form. Submissions due September 9th, 2018 by 11:59 PM CDT.

General Registrants
1) General registrants (without reserved seats) should use this ticketing portal. Registration is $75.
2) We are staggering the registration windows for the three World Championship events:

Registration for the 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Championship opens at 1:00 PM CDT (UTC-0500) on Saturday, September 8th.
- Day 1A registration.
- Day 1B registration.
Registration for the 2018 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game World Championship opens at 2:00 PM CDT (UTC-0500) on Saturday, September 8th.
- Day 1A registration.
- Day 1B registration.
Registration for the 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship opens at 12:00 PM CDT (UTC-0500) on Saturday, September 8th.

3) Registration is $75. If you wish to register for multiple World Championship tournaments, you must register for each World Championship tournament separately.
4) If your World Championship event features multiple Day 1 events, you may only register for one of them.
5) Your World Championship ticket gains you access to any and all of the weekend's side events.
6) Registration is first-come / first-served. Seating is limited.
7) Any unclaimed reserved seats will be made available to the public on October 1st at 12:00 PM CDT. These will also be first-come / first-served.
8) All registration will be complete by October 1st. There is no waitlist or on-site registration for this event.

Press and Media

Media applications are due September 16th by 12:00 PM CDT.

Worlds Application Timeline

August 29 — Pre-qualified players may begin to claim their reserved seats.
September 8 — 12:00 PM CDT. Registration opens for the 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship.
September 8 — 1:00 PM CDT. Registration opens for the 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game World Championship.
September 8 — 2:00 PM CDT. Registration opens for the 2018 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game World Championship.
September 9 — 11:50 PM CDT Deadline for players with reserved seats to claim them.
September 16 — 11:59 PM CDT. Press application deadline.
October 1 — 12:00 PM CDT. Any unclaimed reserved seats are made available on a first-come / first-served basis.
October 1 — All registration will be complete. There is no waitlist or on-site registration for this event.

Follow @FFGOP on Twitter for updates throughout the process.

Important Notes

All applications must be submitted and received through the forms we provide.
Limit 1 application per person.
You may not exchange the event ticket for one game for the event ticket for another game.
Tickets and reserved seats are specific to their game (and day).
Tickets are non-refundable. All seats purchased are subject to the Code of Conduct and venue policies, which may be amended at the sole discretion of Fantasy Flight Games at any time.
Please provide an accurate email address, and be sure to check spam folders and filters for emails before contacting OrganizedPlay@FantasyFlightGames.com with any questions.

2018 Winter Court World Championship

Sharpen your blades and open your eyes—the 2018 Winter Court World Championship for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game is being held deep in Scorpion territory.

Throughout the year, Scorpion courtiers have insinuated themselves into every aspect of the Imperial court. They have kept the Emperor informed, and their samurai have won countless battles in tournaments around the world. As a result, the Emperor has granted the Scorpions the honor of hosting his Winter Court, and participating samurai will find the Fantasy Flight Games Center draped in the Scorpion clan colors and mon.

That doesn't mean, however, that the Scorpion are guaranteed to walk away with the ultimate prize. Every clan is sure to send its greatest champions, and only one of them can be named Shogun at the end of the event.

While only one player will claim the title of Shogun, everyone who participates will claim a prize package that includes a Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game T-shirt, a four-card binder, and an alternate art copy of Backhanded Compliment . You'll sweeten your prizes with each battle you win, and if you can conquer all your fellow samurai to become Shogun, you'll earn the chance to make an important story choice and win The Greatest Prize in Gaming, the chance to work with the game's developers to inspire a future card.

Look for more information about the World Championship story choice and prizes in the weeks to come.

Of course, since the Emperor's Winter Court isn't entirely a matter of high-stakes conflicts, you can enjoy yourself in some Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game side events, as well. There's a Hatamoto Challenge and Proving Grounds tournament, and you'll even find a number of Multiplayer Beta Sessions.

Start making your plans by downloading the Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game event schedule (pdf, 157 KB). Then mark your calendar for registration on September 8th at 2:00 PM CDT (UTC-0500).

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

Runewars Miniatures Game

Last year, the Latari Elves emerged from their forest shortly before the World Championships and surprised their foes on the field of battle, conquering all. Will they hold fast against their enemies' retaliatory strikes in 2018? Will we see the Uthuk Y'llan—the game's newest faction—batter their rivals with Ynfernael strength and ferocity? Or will we see the noble Daqan Lords or fallen soldiers of Waiqar's undead army rally and seize the day?

The hills and forests and valleys of Terrinoth tremble once more with the thunderous footfalls of mounted cavalry. The 2018 World Championships are the pinnacle of Runewars Miniatures Game Organized Play, and only the greatest of commanders will seize the day!

But while, ultimately, only one player will remaining standing amid the devastation—while only one player can claim the championship—everyone participating in the 2018 World Championship will walk away richer for their participation. The 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship participation prizes include a T-shirt, a set of maneuver templates, and extended art cards: Master-Crafted Weapons, Fortuna’s Dice, Metered March, and Trumpets.

Throughout the tournament, you'll have the opportunity to claim other prizes, as well, including—if you can rise to the top—The Greatest Prize in Gaming, the chance for the World Champion to work with the game's developers to inspire the design of a future card.

We'll have more information about the Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship prizes in the coming weeks.

World Championship attendees will also find ways to enjoy Terrinoth outside of the World Championship tournament. A Team Battle promises to deliver new and memorable experiences, and a Painting Contest affords you a chance both to display your best craftwork and to appreciate how other players have interpreted their Runewars armies.

Download the Runewars Miniatures Game World Championship event schedule now (pdf, 4.3 MB). Then be sure to set aside time for registration—September 8th at 12:00 PM CDT (UTC-0500).

The Best Is Yet to Come

Over the past several years, the November World Championships have seen top-level competition, innovative deck and army designs, and daring tactical gambles. We've seen champions forge their legends. And we've seen thrilling stories of good sportsmanship and camaraderie.

What will we see this November? Be sure to keep your eyes open for more Organized Play news as we get ready for all the World Championship action. We'll have a look at the prizes and the story choice the Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Shogun will have to make. We'll also take a look at the games' current metagames and delve into some of the information the fans at home might want to know in order to better appreciate the plays they see on Twitch.

Don't miss your chance to be a part of the 2018 November World Championships. Claim your reserved seat, or mark your calendar. Registration opens September 8th!

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Defend the Pass

Published 20 August 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Defend the Pass

See the Prizes for Runewars Miniatures Game 2018 Season Three Organized Play

"Place me at the head of a mustered Army of the Realm, my peers, and I will venture forth to eradicate the traitor in the Mistlands and the undead with him."
–Baron Zachareth

One of the most divisive characters in all of Terrinoth arrives to the Runewars Miniatures Game Organized Play in 2018 Season Three!

Hailed by some as the Savior of Carthridge and reviled by others as the Betrayer of Carthridge, Baron Zachareth is easily one of the most powerful and notorious of all Daqan Lords. His mastery of both swordplay and sorcery appears to be matched only by his ambition, and he has already shown himself willing to experiment with magic in ways that other scholars and sorcerers deem exceedingly rash and dangerous.

But the magical secrets Zachareth has uncovered may end up giving the Daqan the strength they need to stand against Waiqar's undead hordes, the bloodthirsty Uthuk Y'llan, and all the other evils they may face.

In 2018 Season Three, you'll find Zachareth ready to lead whatever Army of the Realm you muster, and then hold the nearest pass against the incoming hordes.

The Spoils of War

The 2018 Season Three Challenge Kit for Runewars Miniatures Game contains 54 Core Prize Cards, 10 Elite Prize Cards, and 10 Elite Prize Sets intended to support three Strategic Encounter Tournaments or Runewars Miniatures Game leagues. One copy of each different Core Prize Card, Elite Prize Card, and Elite Prize Set are intended for the event organizer to keep or distribute at their discretion. The rest of these prizes, however, are yours to claim on the field of battle!

Core Prize Cards

The 2018 Season Three Challenge Kit is designed to support up to eight players in three different Strategic Encounters or Runewars Miniatures Game leagues and comes with eight Core Prize Objective Cards and eight Core Prize Deployment Cards for each event.

Elite Prize Cards

At each of the season's Strategic Encounters, or in each of its leagues, you'll have the chance claim an Elite Prize Card or Elite Prize Set. To do so, you'll need to win both rounds of your event or paint your figures well enough to win the associated Painting Award.

Alternatively, you might just win an Elite Prize Card or Elite Prize Set at random. Each of your achievements is tracked alongside the achievements of each other attendee. These are all assigned numbers on the event's Encounter Guide, and at the end of each event, your organizer will use these numbers to distribute the event's remaining Elite Prizes at random.

Either way, if you manage to claim a copy of the season's Elite Prize Card, you'll be able to add Baron Zachareth to your army with larger-than-life extended art!

Elite Prize Sets

Of course, if you'd rather crush the Daqan Lords than support them, you might trample over Baron Zachareth in favor of one of the season's Elite Prize Sets. In this case, you'd find a set of five acrylic Panic tokens, such as you'd assign to your enemies with your Wraiths' Corruption Rune or Unhallowed Wind.

Do Something Extraordinary

War is coming. As the ravaging hordes draw ever nearer, will you place your faith in established traditions? Or will you, like Baron Zachareth, seek new ways to strengthen yourself and your armies?

No matter your decision, you'll have plenty of chances to put your theories to the test during the battles of 2018 Season Three Organized Play. Take advantage of your opportunity to get involved and win custom prizes. Talk to your favorite local retailer today!

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Lord of Subterfuge

Published 15 August 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Lord of Subterfuge

Previewing the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

In the Land of Steel, the armies of the Daqan Lords are known for their honor and nobility. Yet even among their own ranks, there stand a few figures who challenge the traditions of chivalry. While some would call such rejection of tradition innovative, others see it as dangerous. Baron Zachareth of Cathridge is feared on the battlefield for his devious stratagems and arcane mastery, while at council his true ambitions remain hidden behind his charismatic presence and silver tongue.

Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at this divisive figure by previewing the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

Master of the Battle

Baron Zachareth is a complicated figure in the Land of Steel. While he is beloved by his subjects in Carthridge, others across Terrinoth have been wary of the lord ever since he first assumed power under dubious circumstances. Now, he occupies an uneasy seat of power among the Daqan Lords—his comrades struggle to maintain peace as the rash baron demands action.

Baron Zachareth maintains that a full attack from the thirteenth barony is imminent and the only way to defend Terrinoth is to strike first. As the leader of Carthridge, which borders the Mistlands, he volunteers to lead this campaign himself.

Zachareth's martial training is reflected on his command tool, which offers the baron a full range of blue movement action at initiatives between two and seven. You can use the warrior to charge as early as initiative two if your enemy wanders too close, letting you get the drop on your opponent and strike before the enemy unit can launch a counterattack.

Baron Zachareth’s introduction to Runewars Miniatures Game also brings additional ranged support to the Daqan Lords with a green ranged attack action that falls towards the middle of the round. Unusually, as this attack relies on magic rather than a physical weapon, it does not slow Zachareth down—this attack may be paired with either a march, shift, or reform action to keep him mobile. Alternatively, you can increase the effectiveness of your attack with a white hit modifier. However you choose to use Zachareth’s skills, as a sniper or a bulwark, you are sure find his raw strength and ability to inspire his followers indispensable when you lead your army to war.

Master of Magic

The Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion offers everything you need to add the hero of Cathridge to your Daqan army, including two unpainted figures—one of Zachareth alone and one paired with his noble rune-steed. If you can offer the baron a chance to achieve his ambition, he will gladly cast off the colors of Carthridge in favor of those of your Daqan army. As for the rune-steed, his coloring is determined by which type of magic you infuse him with. Legend has it that the energy used to bring these stone creatures to life also affects their temperament. Rune creatures infused with ice are stoic, while those awakened by lightning are naturally clever. But perhaps the most appropriate choice for Baron Zachareth’s companion would be the fire rune, which imbues the creature with a powerful will and aggressive nature.

In addition to the lord and steed, you will find two condition cards and six upgrade cards to strengthen your noble army no matter how you choose to use the baron’s skills to your advantage. On the battlefield, Baron Zachareth uses his unmatched knowledge of ancient runes and arcane lore to empower his allies and destroy his foes. He can use his mastery over the element of fire, gained by years of Nerekhall Training, to increase the deadliness of his ranged attacks, replacing one of his red dice with a white die. However, by choosing this path, Zachareth must dedicate much of his focus to controlling his magic. Thus, when Zachareth is engaged in a melee, he must replace one of his white dice with a red die.

Whether he chooses to focus on melee or ranged attacks, Baron Zachareth can embrace his role as a morally ambiguous leader of the Daqan by using a Shard of the Shadow Rune. This artifact lends Zachareth’s vitality to any Daqan warrior who can wield it, allowing them to heal their wounds or rally if they destroy one of their enemy’s trays. While this does encourage the Daqan to embrace a certain brutality on the battlefield, when you are set against the locusts of the Ru or the undead legions of Waiqar himself, this is no time to be timid.

Pride of Carthridge

Another lord of Terrinoth may be content to sit idle, but you cannot ignore the threat of the thirteenth barony any longer! Recruit Baron Zachareth to your cause and proudly lead the Daqan into the heart of the Mistlands!

Pre-order your copy of the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion (RWM32) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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Divided Soul

Published 6 August 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Divided Soul

Previewing the Lord Vorun'thul Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Lord Vornu'thul Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

As Terrinoth goes to war in Runewars Miniatures Game, Waiqar the Undying calls upon his most skilled and loyal lords to lead the skeletal forces of his Deathborn Legion. Lord Vorun’thul has had hundreds of years to prove his dedication to his dread master and hone his skills with every instrument of war, preparing himself to face almost any enemy. The few who survive battle with the infamous vampire lord recount the terrifying grace of a swordsmen who cleaves his enemies in two with a single blow. But the remnants of battles that leave no survivors tell a different tale, where courtly grace is abandoned for animalistic savagery. Gruesome remains, sundered armor, and nightmarish claw marks are the only witnesses to the horrors wrought by the cursed Lord of Bilehall.

Today, Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to offer you a closer look at the Lord Vorun’thul Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

The Thirst of Bilehall

The men and women of Terrinoth fear all that resides in the Mistlands, but in rare cases, that fear is tinged with fascination. The immortal vampires inspire awe within their prey, and none do so more than the cursed Lord Vorun’thul. Able to transfix with a single look, this servant of Waiqar was once a renowned defender of the land with unquestionable honor. Now, he joins the ranks of the Deathborn Legion, afflicted by the curse of the vampire, which gifts him with immeasurable power and curses him with unending life.

When he is surrounded by the carnage of battle, Lord Vorun’thul may give in to the darkness and use a skill action to change forms, shifting between the honorable lord and the monster that he cannot accept as part of himself. While he is Vorun’thul the Cursed, the lord becomes both Brutal and Lethal, and loses part of his reason, unable to perform green actions or modifiers. Only a complete disengagement from the bloodshed, no matter how brief, can return him to his former self, and even then the transformation takes its toll as he becomes stunned. But no matter how Vorun’thul appears before his opponents, when the vampire takes to the battlefield, enemies of Waiqar are sure to feel the icy shiver of fear running down their spine.

A Blessing and a Curse

The Lord Vorun’thul Hero Expansion provides you with everything you need to add the vampiric lord to your Deathborn Legion, including two unpainted, easily assembled miniatures, one for each of Lord Vorun’thul’s forms and their matching unit cards, as well as a selection of six upgrade cards to highlight both the honorable and the monstrous sides of the lord.

While Lord Vorun’thul is deadly in his own right, able to stand alone and face an entire Daqan army without fear, centuries of experience as a military leader have taught him that no war can be won by a single man. Rather, it is the ability of a superior to lead his troops that will determine victory from defeat, and sometimes the best way to inspire your ranks is to walk among them. When you use Lord Vorun'thul as a figure upgrade in your infantry, you may replace one of your dice with a white die during a melee. But beyond this, the vampire lord also has the ability to control the minds of his enemies. All he needs is the ability to see them.

As a skill action, Lord Vorun’thul may force an enemy within range to shift in any direction he chooses. If you place Vorun’thul among the ranks of your Reanimates, you can use this ability to draw in your chosen victim when you're ready to strike, provide support to a nearby unit and keep them from becoming overwhelmed, or simply keep your infantrymen protected by forcing your opponent to keep their distance!

But if the airs and graces of a courtly lord do not appeal to your more bloodthirsty sensibilities, you may instead choose to unleash the beast by using Vorun'thul the Cursed as either a heavy or siege figure upgrade. Similar to infantry upgrade, Vorun’thul’s heavy upgrade enables you to replace one of your dice with a white die during melees. However, where Lord Vorun'thul has a unique skill ability, his more terrifying and bestial form has the simple but devastating Brutal 1 keyword.

For the low cost of eight points, you can increase the threat of your Reanimates and make them nearly unstoppable as they march across Terrinoth. Or for twelve points, the blood-crazed warrior may rampage alongside the thirteenth barony's most deadly creatures, tearing Waiqar's enemies to shreds. While there may be none in the Deathborn Legion who currently dare to stand alongside the vampiric beast, there is no telling what else may be hidden in the mists. Whichever version of Vorun’thul you send into battle, you can be sure that the blood of your enemies will flow freely as the Lord of Bilehall surrenders to his thirst and embraces the dark power within.

Hunt for Blood

Waiqar the Undying rises again to claim Terrinoth, and with him comes the renewed force of the thirteenth barony and his loyal servants. Step into the mists, embrace the glory of undeath, and discover the true power of the Lord of Bilehall!

Pre-order your copy of the Lord Vorun’thul Hero Expansion (RWM31) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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Master the Battlefield

Published 2 August 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Master the Battlefield

Four Unit Expansions for Runewars Miniatures Game Are Now Available

Order your own copy of the Darnati Warrior Unit Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

The great factions of Terrinoth take to the battlefield in Runewars Miniatures Game! In the heart of the twelve baronies, the Daqan Lords use the tactical prowess of their noble knights to defend the realm. To the north, the forces of Waiqar the Undying rise from the mists, exploiting their enemies' fear for their advantage. In the southern reaches, the Latari leave the safety of the Aymhelin, calling upon their master warriors to defend their ancient home. And in the Ru Steppes, the Uthuk Y’llan come back from the edge of extinction with a vengeance, using blood magic to gain the blessing of the Ynfernael as they go to war.

No matter which faction you align with, no matter who you believe is worthy to rule Terrinoth, today you gain new soldiers to aid your cause! Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce that the Darnati Warriors Unit Expansion, Wraiths Unit Expansion, Outland Scouts Unit Expansion, and Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion are on sale now at your local retailer and online through our website!

The Latari’s Swordsmen

The elusive and enigmatic Darnati Warriors share a unique bond with their moonstone blades, using them as an extension of the self as they whirl across the battlefield in a deadly dance. Using a powerful collection of three blue dice when they strike, these swordsmen maneuver the battlefield with the agility of a Leonx to engage enemies and dispatch them. Those who have witnessed their lethal precision and grace cannot deny the sheer effectiveness of their methods, but wielding such power takes its toll on the warrior, and after rerolls in a melee, the Darnati Warriors must remove one die. Still, this is a small price to pay for the controlled strength that can only come from centuries of training.

The Darnati Warriors Unit Expansion includes eight unpainted figures for you to customize in the colors of your Elven host, as well as five upgrade cards to further bolster your forces. The warrior themselves can receive a dizzying variety of upgrades which increases with their unit size as the Darnati draw from the knowledge of their brothers. With powerful upgrades like Lay of the Land and Moment of Inspiration, when these masters unite their powers beneath the banners of the Latari, nothing can stand in the way of their victory.

Waiqar’s Spectral Terrors

Every barony of Terrinoth has its share of ghost stories. While exact details of the creatures that haunt children’s nightmares remain unclear, it is known that a terror more ancient than Waiqar himself lurks within the Mistlands. Now, as the undead commander leads his forces to war, his necromancers are tasked with bending these dark forces to his will. Able to move through walls and other terrain as if they were immaterial, these elusive creatures can line up flank attacks with terrifying ease, stepping in and out of our plane of existence at will.

The Wraiths Unit Expansion comes with four unpainted miniatures to add to the ranks of your Deathborn Legion, as well as five upgrade cards and a new condition card to strike fear into the hearts of your enemies. An enemy bearing the Mark of Vengeance does not stand a chance against the Wraiths’ Undying Hate as they may replace one of their attack dice with a powerful white die. Hunted by the undead, even the most stalwart soldier will feel the icy sting of fear in their hearts before turning tail or foolishly facing the vengeful spirits.

The Daqan’s Fearless Vanguard

While they may not march alongside the shining knights of the baronies with their colorful banners and noble chivalry, the Outland Scouts are some of the most skilled and valued soldiers in the Daqan army. Even the hero Kari Wraithstalker is rumored to have come from among their ranks. Their unique Scout keyword allows them to deploy after all other units have been placed, performing any blue action to gain an early advantage on the battlefield. This unprecedented ability to read your opponent’s intentions and respond gives you an edge from the very outset of battle, and this may prove invaluable in the course of your conquests.

The Outland Scouts Unit Expansion offers you a full command of eight unpainted figures which you can paint in the colors of your Daqan host or in the proud coat of arms of the far-flung villages the scouts hail from. Additionally, this expansion gives you five upgrade cards to strengthen your noble army. For example, the Seasoned Pathfinder upgrade lets you take the Scouts’ ability one step further, emerging out of terrain in the middle of the battlefield and reforming to perfectly line up a flank before your enemy has a chance to respond.

The Uthuk's Deadly Champion

The cunning Kethra A’laak is one of the most talented and vicious sisters of the Blood Coven. Now that the Uthuk Y’llan join the battle for Terrinoth, the witch sees her chance to claim true power over not only the locust swarm, but the entire realm. In her ambition, she will happily sacrifice her allies if it means that her enemies will suffer from her dark magic. With the blessings of the Ynfernael upon her, Kethra is ready to soak the ground with blood for her demonic overlords.

The Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion provides you with two unpainted miniatures, one of Kethra alone and one of Kethra riding upon her trusted Flesh Ripper, Hurokk. This expansion also includes six upgrade cards to bestow dark blessings on your locust horde and a new type of condition card: Unnatural Growths. These twisted spines erupt from beneath the skin of tainted Uthuk warriors, turning their bodies into razor-like weapons that slice through any who attack them in melee combat. When Kethra leads the Uthuk into battle, all the world will kneel before her or burn.

Join the Ranks

The time of peace is over. Now, all must either join the fight or watch as their people are erased from the world. Will you swear your allegiance to the righteous Daqan, the malevolent forces of Waiqar, the proud Latari, or the depraved Uthuk Y’llan? Discover your place in the fate of Terrinoth and take command in the wars to come!

Pick up your copy of the Darnati Warriors Unit Expansion (RWM24), Wraiths Unit Expansion (RWM25), Outland Scouts Unit Expansion (RWM27), and Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion (RWM29) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website!

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Ynfernael Mistress

Published 24 July 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Ynfernael Mistress

Previewing the Kethra A'laak Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Kethra A'laak Hero Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

As the Empyrean blesses all that is good and pure in magic, so the Ynfernael empowers that which is corrupt and dark. Such evil power is difficult to control, but deep in the Ru Darklands, many tribesmen of the Uthuk Y’llan offer themselves to the forces of the Ynfernael, destroying themselves in pursuit of power. But there are a select few among the accursed people who can bend this wicked magic to their will, including the witches of the Blood Coven and the most honored among their ranks, Kethra A’laak.

The witch is considered to be the most ruthless of the Blood Coven, and while her loyalty is sworn to her sister, a dangerous ambition burns within her and she knows she is destined for more. Now, as the locust swarm of the Uthuk Y’llan goes to war, command over all of Terrinoth is within her reach. Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at the Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game, available for pre-order now at your local retailer or online through our website!

Twisted Corruption

Kethra A’laak dreams of conquest and glory, desiring power beyond even what her status in the coven can provide. She is prepared to strike down any who stand against her, even if the whole of Mennara set itself in her path. When she is participating in a melee, Kethra A’laak rolls two white dice, a power only matched in force and consistency by Waiqar the Undying’s loyal soldier Ardus Ix’Erebus. This, combined with her Brutal 1 and Precise 1 keywords, is sure to spread fear in the hearts of any who must face her on the battlefield.

But Kethra A’laak’s true power comes from the magic she is able to imbue into her allies before the battle even begins. Beyond the sheer force of the sorceress herself, the Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion adds a new layer of savagery to your strategy by introducing a new condition to Runewars Miniatures Game. After the deployment stage of setup, Kethra can use her Twist Bone ability to imbue any of her Uthuk allies with her dark magic, causing Unnatural Growths to erupt from their skins. These razor-sharp spines turn a warrior’s very body into a weapon, dealing two damage to any who attack them in a melee. This ability mirrors Kethra’s own melee ability, but without the need to spend a surge. After all, Kethra still thinks of herself as a leader within the army of the Uthuk Y’llan, meaning she is at her strongest when those who rely on her are free to wreak as much havoc as possible.

Demonic Priestess

The Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion includes two beautiful yet monstrous figures; one of Kethra alone and one of her astride her bonded Flesh Ripper, Hurokk, whom she summoned early in her mystic teachings by offering the souls of her rivals to the Ynfernael, along with her pledge of service to the demonic powers. In addition to the sorceress herself, this expansion also offers you one new terrain piece, a new objective and deployment card, two condition cards, a collection of tokens, and six upgrade cards to elevate the power of your Uthuk army.

When you send Kethra A'laak into the heart of your locust swarm, using her as a figure upgrade in your Uthuk infantry, you can replace any one of your unit’s dice with a white die during a melee. Then, she still has access to the skill action detailed on her unit card, using the blood of her allies to cast dark magic that damages any enemy who comes too close.

Otherwise, you may simply choose to deploy the wandering witch as her own unit, fortifying her to stand against even the strongest soldiers of the Daqan. When Kethra A’laak wears her Kingsbone Armor, which increases her defense by one, her enemy suffers two damage any time that she collides with the rival force. Unlike the player-favorite Bull Pennon upgrade, this damage occurs regardless of whether the sorceress is the one impacting another unit or the one being collided with. If you combine this upgrade with the Shield of Margath, a copy of which is also included in this expansion, you can turn your blood sorceress into a one-woman war machine, tearing through your enemy’s ranks and sacrificing their bodies to the Ynfernael to increase her own standing in the dark forces’ favor.

Flames of Ambition

As the army of the Uthuk Y’llan sets its sights on Terrinoth, Kethra A’laak’s eyes are on the throne. For now, she plays the role of an obedient, if willful, sister of the Blood Coven, but Kethra knows her time will soon come. She shall settle for nothing less than absolute rule, and if she rules over a land of ash and smoke, so be it.

Pre-order your copy of the Kethra A’laak Hero Expansion (RWM29) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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Scouting the Battlefield

Published 13 July 2018 | Runewars Miniatures

Scouting the Battlefield

Previewing the Outland Scouts of Runewars Miniatures Game

Order your own copy of the Outland Scouts Unit Expansion at your local retailer or online through our website today!

Across Mennara, the armies of the Daqan are famous for their chivalry, bright banners, and shining armor. Yet there are some among their ranks who hail from more humble origins, yet are no less vital to the battalions of the twelve baronies. The Daqan’s expert pathfinders, known as the Outland Scouts, are more at home among the forbidding wilds of the realm than in winding city streets. Still, many governments employ them in the vanguards of their armies for their incomparable skills as hunters and trackers. As ancient threats arise in the Mistlands and the Ru Darklands, these talents will prove invaluable as the Scouts spearhead legions into enemy territory.

Today, Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to offer you a closer look at the Outland Scouts Unit Expansion for Runewars Miniatures Game, available for pre-order now at your local retailer or online through our website!

Band of Brothers

The Outland Scouts were first organized after the War of Ten Brothers, when a squabble between the heirs of the Baron of Otrin threatened to throw all of Terrinoth into chaos. The troops of the Free Cities managed to restore peace at the time, but it became clear that the wilds needed greater recognition and protection. For two centuries since, the Outland Scouts have patrolled the wilds of Terrinoth, repelling the eldritch threats of the mists and protecting the far-spread villages that lay beyond the reach of the larger cities.

While such scouts are often solitary travelers, they are known to band together in small, closely knit groups and to proudly answer the call of duty when the need arises. When they join the ranks of the Daqan Lords, these scouts bear their own keyword, which they use to scan the battlefield before the fight begins and then move to where they are needed most. The Outland Scouts deploy after all other units have already been deployed to the battlefield. Then, once they are sent out, they may perform any blue action and matching modifier. For the Scouts, this provides them with a wide variety of movement options, even allowing them to immediately perform a speed-3 march—something they would normally only be able to accomplish fairly late in the round.

If you choose to recruit a four-tray unit of Outland Scouts, you can take their ability one step further with Seasoned Pathfinder. This Champion upgrade lets your scouts take the lay of the land, deploying after the first round has already past, emerging from any terrain on the battlefield and immediately performing a reform action. With this, you can perfectly line up to charge an enemy’s flank, send aid to an outnumbered ally, or surround an unsuspecting enemy to launch a coordinated assault. With this unprecedented ability to read the battlefield and adjust your strategy accordingly, you will see that knowledge truly is power.

Hold the Line

The Outland Scouts Unit Expansion provides you with a full set of eight easily assembled, unpainted miniatures that you can customize in the colors of your vanguard, as well as two movement trays, one command tool, a collection of tokens, and five upgrade cards to strengthen your Daqan army. When you face off against the undead legions of Waiqar the Undying, you can ensure that your troops are prepared for anything with a Coiled Stance. If you strike before your enemy in a melee, you gain Lethal 1 for the attack. But even if your opponent has a greater speed, you are prepared with Protected 1 to weather their onslaught, provided you have not already acted during the round. What's more, unlike Seasoned Pathfinder, this upgrade is not restricted to your Scouts—rather, this Training can be taught to nearly any soldier in your Daqan army.

For a truly potent combination, you can call upon the famed Hero of Rothfeld, Kari Wraithstalker, and use her as a figure upgrade as you send your scouts to the heart of the battle. In addition to her fearless, ruthless nature, which gives your Outland Scouts an additional blue die during attacks, Kari’s influence lets you spend surges to deal extra damage to a second enemy within range. Considering that the Outland Scouts have the option to dial in a surge modifier to match their melee action, the addition of Kari can practically guarantee that they will dole out hits to at least one enemy during their attacks. In a battle where every moment and every decision counts, this team-up may be exactly what you need to give your army the edge. With the fate of the realm at stake, now is the time to use every soldier at your disposal, no matter how misanthropic they may be.

The Happy Few

When the Daqan Lords summon their warriors to defend Terrinoth from the encroaching darkness, all must answer the call of duty. While they may not be found marching in military parades, the Outland Scouts will stamp out the dangers that threaten their homes. By using every piece of their knowledge, craftsmanship, and military lore, they will ensure that the baronies stand tall for centuries to come. Add the Outland Scouts to your ranks and protect your people from what lies within the mists!

Pre-order your copy of the Outland Scouts Unit Expansion (RWM27) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

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