Cardboard Corner: Review of Warhammer 40,000 Conquest: The Card Game

In ten years, I have unintentionally become something of an expandable card game connoisseur. Such experiences ping the endorphin radar in my mind—again and again and again... My poor wallet. I own more than a dozen and have played twice that, old and new. One observation I've had is that newer expandable games have learned from their forebears. Rather than settling for what is, many have eliminated design issues while offering fresh experiences. One standout modern experience is Warhammer 40,000 Conquest: The Card Game (2015).

Conquest does the near impossible: it encapsulates a massive universe of Warhammer lore in a hour of combat and planetary takeover. A two-player only game, each person chooses the warlord/faction they want to play (of which there are seven available in the core box), builds a deck of 50+ cards, shuffles, and goes to war. Arrayed in a line between the players are five planets, each with one of three different symbols. The first player to win three symbols of the same type or defeat their opponent's warlord, wins. That is the high-level view. Now, one level deeper.

On their turn, players deploy army units to the planets from their hands of cards, secretly deploy their warlord, engage in command struggles, and engage in bloody combat, all before starting a new round. Army units must be paid for in order to deploy, which is controlled by resources. Resource are automatically earned at the start of each round, and additional resources and cards can be earned by winning command struggles at the different planets. Command struggles are abstract in nature (comparing command icons between units at a planet), however, combat is not. Players take turns attacking their opponent's army units at the same planet until are all exhausted. They stand up, and fight again until one side has retreated or no units remain for one player. The player with army units still alive wins the battle, wins the planet, and moves one step closer to their winning condition of three symbols of the same type. If your opponent's warlord is at the same planet, it's also possible during combat to attack them. If a player's warlord loses all their health, the opposing player wins.

This see-saw tension between the two win conditions: fighting over planetary objectives and killing the opponent's warlord, is the strongest aspect of Conquest. It prevents the game from devolving into a punch-fest. You punch, now I punch, now you punch, and we see who is left standing—which is what a lot of expandable card games boil down to. Instead, players must try to get inside their opponent's head and outguess them regarding intentions. He will probably send his warlord to Planet X, so I should attack Planet Y, which will allow me to... This makes for a satisfying decision space.

Another major aspect which makes Conquest highly unique is the 'warlord wheel'. As stated, players take turns deploying army units face up to the different planets. The information is known to everyone as it unfolds. This allows players to make assumptions about where their opponent is likely setting up to to win command struggles or combat. But the deployment of warlords, the final step in the deployment process, is something unknown—simultaneous, in fact. Each player has a dial with numbers 1-5 on it. They secretly select a number, which identifies the planet they will send their warlord to, then simultaneously reveal. The warlords are then deployed to the planets chosen. Interesting thoughts go through the head during selection. You have two red planets, so probably you'll go for the third red planet at 2. But will you? Will you zag instead of zigging? Given warlords do not have tons of health, the poker aspect of the warlord wheel makes for excitement and tension.

In the intro I stated that modern expandable card game have learned from the lessons of games of old. Conquest certainly has when it comes to resources and card draw. Not a random aspect of card shuffle, players automatically take four resources and draw two cards at the start of every turn. On top of this, additional resources and cards can be earned during the command struggle. In other words, players can go with the minimum and attempt to capture three planets or kill the opponent's warlord as quick as possible, or they can play the long game and slowly build a pool of cards and resources by deploying to planets effectively. Or they play in the middle. Regardless, the deterministic manner in which players can depend on having resources and cards makes for a more balanced, satisfying gameplay experience than those more dependent on randomness/luck.

But what about the implementation of lore?!?! How has Warhammer been implemented in Conquest? I'm far from a Warhammer expert. I have a layman's knowledge, at best. What I can say is that each of the seven different factions in the box play uniquely. They offer players a variety of ways to navigate the game to arrive at win conditions. Orks are straight-up aggro, using any damage they take as an opportunity to do additional damage back. Space Marines fight head on, have sturdy units, and are able to bring additional units to the battlefield during combat. Tau are weak at first, but with army attachments become super-powered. The Astra Militarum can field a lot of low cost but weak units, and can eventually overwhelm in sheer grunt numbers. Chaos have big, heavy hitters but at high costs; keeping them alive is paramount. Dark Eldar focus on removing the opponent's resources and cards—annoying to play against but fun to play. Eldar are the control faction in the game; they use cards to counter opponent's deployment, events, support, etc. (Note: Tyranids and Necrons are also available but sold separately.) Again, I have no idea how these approaches to gameplay relate to the lore. I can only say players are given a great variety of ways to play, which is satisfying.

One further point I would add regarding lore is that each faction's identity is captured in the character of a warlord. Each has unique powers, which both gives the player something to relate to, but also a concept around which to build a deck of cards, thereby furthering the thematic bond—at least potentially.

Problems with the game are the same as most Fantasy Flight Games living card games: cards in the base box are enough for fun casual games, but that's it. If players want a more competitive, balanced game, then they need to purchase an additional core set.

Warhammer: Conquest unfortunately died two years after it was released. FFG lost the Warhammer license, and the game's community died thereafter—mostly; there is still a small but diehard community creating new content and playing. This is truly unfortunate, at least in the world of expandable card games. The structure and flow of the game are sturdy and empowering and game play is engaging and fun. The poker aspect of where players send their warlords is tense and the decision space beyond simply deploying army units and mathing out the battle is also tactical. If interested, Conquest is still available for near-standard prices from a limited number of retailers as well as the secondary market.