Dear New Player,
The following is a list of terms that might be used when people talk about WH40K Conquest. Not all of them are needed and not everybody uses them, while others only use a few. A lot of them came from Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer 40K, other LCG's, poker, and the internet. The large majority pre-date the publication of WH40K Conquest and equally apply across lots of card-based games, not just this game. This majority were found throughout the internet before being collated and edited into a single list. Some people made suggestions and asked for changes to make the listed meanings more accurate.
It is precisely for these reasons that there was some debate as to whether the list was truly necessary. Some felt it was too long, could easily be found elsewhere, and that some parts were unnecessary. Another view was that it was too soon to make such a list, as WH40K Conquest had only just started. The game had not had a chance to develop its own terminology and should be allowed to do so in its own time. This is an over-simplification of many different viewpoints, possibly including people who agreed but did not feel the need to reply. These views are perfectly true. Nearly everything contained here could be found elsewhere and was originally intended for lots of other games.
However, there will hopefully be many new players joining the game who have never played anything like it before and are completely unfamiliar with how it should be played. This list is intended for you. Knowing these things will not guarantee victory or give you any kind of advantage over others. It's just here to help you get over any initial culture-shock or uncertainty. Please bare in mind one important caution: The older this list becomes, the more dated it will become. The meaning of terms may alter with time. Many players will have new or better ideas that will enter common usage, replacing older ones. Eventually, parts of this list will become obsolete.
If, at any time, someone says something confusing that you do not understand, don't hesitate to ask them what they mean. It is no reflection on you if you do not know the meaning of something you have never heard before.
Good luck and keep playing.
7th Planet Strategy - Denial strategy dependent on the flop. Aims to deny the opponent winning their third planet icon or killing your Warlord. You win the game by winning the last planet, the third victory condition.
Accelerant - Any card that moves unused cards into play from a player's deck, hand, or Token Cards.
Action - Distinct from Reactions, Combat Actions, etc. A voluntary card ability that may only be played at the end of the Command Phase, before or after each battle, or at the beginning of the Headquarters Phase.
Adeptus Astartes - AKA: Astartes. Imperium name for any kind of Space Marines.
Aggro - Short for "Aggressive". A deck that concentrates on killing the most important units that the opponent has in play. Aggro aims to win by removing the tools by which an opponent can win the game: that is, its units.
Aggro-Control - An aggressive style combining elements of an aggro deck and a control deck. It still seeks to win the game early but also seeks to control an opponents most important cards.
AGoT - A Game of Thrones. Usually refers to the LCG version, started by FFG in 2008, although it can also refer to the earlier CCG version, started by FFG in 2002.
Alpha Strike - A final all-out attack, using every unit in play, intended to immediately win the game. Either a tactic of last resort or one that has an absolute certainty of success. The term comes from the tabletop wargame BattleTech and describes firing every forward-mounted weapon at the enemy simultaneously.
AM - Astra Militarum.
Analysis Paralysis - Over-thinking a situation so that no decision or action is ever taken.
Answer Card - The opposite of a threat. Answer cards are used to counter one or more threats. A deck built mainly around Answer Cards is a Control Deck.
AoE - Area of Effect. Deals damage equal to the Area Effect value, given in brackets next to the keyword.
Archetype - AKA: Deck Archetype. Your decks general c lassification, such as aggro, combo, and control.
Aristocrat - Any card that requires sacrificing a friendly card in order for its card ability to be activated.
Astra Militarum - The best supports in the game (Rockcrete Bunker provides protection, Catachan Output provides attack), with search capability to get them out, and one of the great fun units in Infantry Conscripts that gets more lethal with every support you get out. This faction plays a slightly longer game to build up its capability. The warlord provides a trait riff (soldiers and warriors) that, when combined with a ton of small soldier and warrior units, plus effects which spawn a ton of Guardsman tokens, plus card draw effects … provides one of the best swarm decks in the game. And swarm decks are great at winning the command war, which then spawns more. It’s also blessed with some solid events that beef up your swarm - look out for Preemptive Barrage especially (where your units strike first) and keep that on hand to win the key battles. It’s a good faction for keeping your opponent guessing because it can be used a number of ways.
Bang or Bucks - Whether a player is going to concentrate on using Army Cards or gaining resources.
Barn - Short for "Barnacle". Usually negative. Refers to any player who follows around much better players, hoping to benefit from their experience, success, or social status.
Bastion - AKA: Bunkering, Digging-In. When you: 1/. work out which planet your opponent needs to win the game. 2/. mass your units there. 3/. allow the opponent to win prior planets but destroys any of your opponents incursions beyond that. 4/. board wipe and/or win the rest with your superior economy.
Beardy - Powergamers taking advantage of holes in the rules to win the game. Doing something that is not illegal according to the letter of the rules, but is unsporting according to the spirit of the game. When GW published the 2nd Edition of Reaper in 1981, the wargames market was dominated by older historical wargamers with beards They played purely to win by twisting, bending, and breaking the rules. These gamers came to be known as "longbeards" by new players, taken from Tolkien in reference to the older players Dwarf-like age and beards. Their unfair and unsporting playing style therefore became known as "beardy gaming".
Big Ass - AKA: Big Butt. Army card with less Attack Value, but more Hit Points, making it suited to defence.
Blind Decks - Quick-play Fun Decks. Each player selects any Warlord of their choice. They then take turns selecting upto two Factions, placing all the non-Warlord cards in the same pile as their opponent. Players may also include all the Neutral cards, if they wish. Each player takes turns shuffling the resulting deck so that it is completely randomised. Both players are dealt fifty cards each, putting the unseen remainder to one side. Players may take five minutes to examine the contents of their new deck, before beginning a game.
Board Sweeper - AKA: Board Wipe. A card which removes all units at one or more named locations.
Bolt - Any attack that dealt three or more damage tokens to a target.
Bomb - Any card powerful enough to change the course of the game on its own.
Bombo - A card combo which seems to work at first glance, but either fails in practice or is invalid under the rules. Bombo's are more often created for experimental purposes and/or humour value.
Bounce Card - Any card with a card ability that returns one or more cards to the player's hand.
Brewing - The process of designing decks, especially Rogue Decks.
Broad - Increasing the number of non-Unique playsets with less than the 3-card maximum. Increases the variety of cards in your deck, but means they will be drawn less frequently.
Broken - AKA: Over. Pronounced, Buh-Roken! A card, combination, or deck regarded as overly powerful and (often) hated by its opponents. To break a deck is to create an exceptionally game-winning deck with abnormal power. To break a card is to exploit a situation or card combination in which a normal card becomes almost unbeatable.
Buff - Most often applied to cards temporarily added, such as for a single phase or round, to another card to make it stronger, tougher, etc. Term also used when adding an Attachment card to any single unit.
Bugs - WH40K slang for any kind of Tyranid, as in, "They're bugs. Nobody likes them". Possibly taken from the popular science-fiction movie, Starship Troopers.
Burning Cards - AKA: Deck Thinning, Mill. Deliberately moving unused cards to the Discard Pile, either from your deck or your hand, to increase the chances of drawing good cards. Also includes using Shield cards.
Capping - The strategy of seeking to win more Command Struggles than your opponent, by placing more Command Icons at each planet than your opponent. Needs cards with a good Command Icon to Cost ratio.
Capping Control Deck - A deck which focuses on Capping as a way to win the game, by starving your opponent of all resources while acquiring as many as possible for yourself.
Card Advantage - Refers to which player has drawn more cards than an opponent. Also refers to which one is using their cards more efficiently than their opponent. Card advantage can be the key to victory.
Card Pool - The cards legally available to players when building their deck, according to the published rules of a tournament format. This may be anything from "all cards ever printed" to “one core set only”.
Casual Deck - A deck which is not considered a tournament quality deck. One that has not been thoroughly tested, but is still functional and will play with reasonable consistency.
CCG - AKA: TCG (Trading Card Game). Collectible/Customisable Card Game like MTG and Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Chaos - The home of the Elite units! Chaos has the best collection of high end (4-6 cost) units in the game (most of which are given the Elite trait). The hardest part here is pre-game, choosing which to exclude because you want them all. Let me point out 2 though. Vicious Bloodletter has the best Area Effect capability in the game, whipping out 3 damage to each enemy unit at its planet, cutting a swathe through any enemy swarm. For the end-game, after Vicious Bloodletter has done its job, Virulent Plague Squad gets +1ATK for each unit in your opponent’s discard pile. It’s a nice 1-2. The warlord is battle hungry as well, adding a damage to each attack. There’s a neutral card called Fall Back which works superbly for this faction - when an Elite dies, put him straight back into play at your HQ. Chaos packs a real punch if it can just hold its weight in the command war to begin with.
Cheese - AKA: Cheesey, Cheezy. Any unfair, unbalanced, or overpowered tactic or unit being used to legally win or help win the game. So called because doing so is perceived by some to be a cheesy way to win.
Choke - Originally called Mana-Hosing in MTG. Card Choke means removing a card from your opponent's hand or control. Resource Choke does the same to an opponent's resources, choking their economy.
CoC - Call of Cthulhu. Usually refers to the LCG, started by FFG in 2008, although it can also refer to the earlier CCG version, started by FFG in 2004.
Combo - Short for "Combination". Using more than one card together whose combined effect is powerful enough to gain a significant or game-winning advantage over an opponent. Combo decks are entirely built around protecting these specific cards while seeking to tutor or dig for them during the game. Combo tends to beat aggro because the combo player can finish his combo before the aggro player has finished fighting.
Committed - AKA: All-In, Commit. Poker terms for when a player has used far too many cards and resources in trying to achieve something, but cannot stop because the cost in lost tempo and resources would lead to defeat. They must therefore see the situation through to the end.
Control Card - R efers to ways in which players use cards to control the game. Any card designed to help a player control other cards in the game, by destroying an opponent's useful cards, preventing them from being played, or invalidating them if they are played.
Control Deck - A deck designed to gain a decisive advantage using cards to hinder the opponents win condition, by controlling the opponent's ability to play. Seeks to control out-of-play areas (deck, hand, etc.), using tricks such as counters, movement tricks, removal cards, and exhaust shenanigans. A control deck makes sacrifices in speed in order to consolidate his strategy of voiding the opponent's game.
Core Set - The minimum number of cards necessary for two people to be able build a deck each. A second core set is necessary to be able to play at club level, but will mean wasting 87 surplus cards. A third core set is necessary to be able to play at tournament level, but will mean wasting an additional 103 surplus cards. You will, of course, own 512 cards. These figures do not include Token Cards.
Counters - AKA: ECM (Electronic Counter-Measures). Cards that prevent other cards affecting the game.
Crunch - The card mathematics, game mechanics, and how well they both enable the theme.
Crusader Army - Any deck that allies together the Space Marines and the Tau in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Crusader aggro deck commanded by Ragnar Blackmane.").
CSM - Chaos Space Marines.
Dakka - Ork name for any kind of fast firing weapon, the noise weapons make, and the act of firing them.
Dark Eldar - The quiet but deadly faction. Its warlord looks weak. Its units look weak. Its events look expensive. But it provides some of the most potent control decks in the game. It starts by focusing purely on the command war, building up a war-chest of cards and resources, conceding as many early planets as it can afford. Inevitably, by winning early planets, your opponent will start building up units at HQ. Help him along with some events, and units like Black Heart Ravager. With Flying (takes half damage) and a deck full of events to provide shields, BHR can take on 6 units and win a battle singlehandedly - but more importantly its effect allows it to rout a unit back to HQ if he damages it. With lots of units back at HQ, you spring out Doom (borrowed from Eldar) and boom they’re gone. Dark Eldar also has some of the best defensive cards in the game - Suffering (-2 ATK) effectively eliminates a unit for the rest of the game, Twisted Laboratory kills keywords and effects at will, Raid steals resources from your opponent. There’s been any number of games where by mid-game I’ve had 15+ cards, 10+ resources, and my opponent has none of either, and I haven’t won a single planet yet. But I can’t lose. This faction was definitely the most interesting to work out.
DBG - Deck Building Game. Any game mechanism in which players begin the game with a pre-determined set of cards, before adding to and changing them over the course of the game.
DE - Dark Eldar.
Dead Card - AKA: Dead Draw. Any card that cannot be usefully played once drawn or has simply become irrelevant in the current game.
Death Ball - Trading blow for blow in a war of attrition.
Decking - The strategy of causing an opponent to run out of cards in their draw deck, causing them to lose the game. This term is also an official WH40K Conquest rule on p.4 of the Learn To Play guide.
Denial - A deliberate stalemate strategy of matching your opponent's Command Icons to prevent them winning any Command Struggles, but still seeking to win by other means such as a direct attack.
Digger Card - A less powerful Tutor Card. It "digs" into your deck by a specified number or cards and then buries the unused cards at the bottom of your deck. Has the added bonus of moving other cards closer to the top, making it an excellent way of getting through your deck quickly to find a specific card.
Disruption - The elements of a deck that stop, delay, or hinder an opponent. Common methods include counters, forced discards, and removals. Disruption is a cornerstone of Control Decks.
Downstream/Upstream - Downstream is a higher planet number, upstream is a lower planet number.
Draw-Go - Any stagnant gameplay by both players. Often takes place when both players are being forced to wait for the other one to make a mistake, because neither side has the cards needed to win the game.
Drop - Any card ability that can move one or more units from another planet into an existing battle.
Durdle - Deliberately playing defensively by relying on cards with plenty of Hit Points.
Eat - When one card is sacrificed so that a card ability can be activated or a card be strengthened.
ECG - AKA: XCG. Expandable Card Game. Non-trademarked term for any non-FFG Living Card Game, including recent rivals to WH40K Conquest such as Doomtown: Reloaded.
eep - Admission of accidental error, usually from not properly reading the cards or the rules.
Efficiency - Deploying the most successful cards for the lowest possible cost in time and resources.
Egg Card - Any card whose card ability allows them to draw cards or gain resources.
Eldar - The quiet but not quite as deadly faction. Its warlord looks weak. Its units look weak. Its effects are great. All of which sounds familiar. A warlord’s ability sets the tone for the whole faction given it’s always in the game and generates a battle wherever it goes. Here the faction tries to sneak into battles exhausting the opponent’s best units, and then sucker punching them with the excellent Starbane’s Council which gets additional attack strength when whacking an exhausted unit. It also tries to steal advantage through mobility, ducking and weaving, being selective with battles - niggling away at the board and negating the best your opponent can throw at you with some of the best events in the game. This will be another one requiring effort to build and play well.
Elven Army - Any deck that allies together the Eldar and Dark Eldar in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "An Elven combo deck commanded by Packmaster Kith.").
Emperor, The - AKA: The God-Emperor of Mankind, Space Jesus. Founder of the Imperium, now in a type of death-like stasis. The most powerful human psychic in history, protecting humanity from the Gods of Chaos.
Engine - Any card or combination of cards whose card abilities generates repeating actions or resources for more than one turn. Engines most often feature in Combo Decks.
Experimental Deck - AKA: Test Deck. An original deck which runs against conventional wisdom by "attacking the meta" with an unusual usage or combination of cards. Not to be confused with Casual or Fun Decks.
Fanatics in Space - WH40K slang for any kind of Imperium forces, especially the Space Marines.
Fatty - The cards with the highest Attack Value and Hit Points in the deck. The opposite of a Weenie.
FFG - Fantasy Flight Games, publisher of LCG's including Warhammer 40,000: Conquest.
Fish 'eads - Ork name for the Tau.
Fizzle - 1/. When a combo fails to take effect as planned. 2/. When an Event Card has almost no effect due to lack of targets. 3/. When a card must be played even though its card ability cannot be used.
FLGS - Friendly Local Game Shop/Store. People meet face-to-face in tournaments and competitions to play WH40K Conquest. FLGS's organise these events, but they can only continue to exist if people buy all their stuff from them. Amazon and eBay don't organise events. Only the FLGS's organise them. So buy all your stuff from a FLGS or there will be no-one left willing to play games.
Flop - AKA: River, Planet Array. The term originates from Poker. In WH40K Conquest, it means the line of faceup planets down the middle of the table, not any facedown ones.
Fluff - The game's theme as represented by each card's art and any flavour text.
Focus - Concentrating more than three damage on a single target, from more than one card.
Foil - AKA: Hose. A card, strategy or deck that is designed to stop a specific other card, strategy or deck. As a classic example, MTG had a lot of cards that were utterly devastating against decks of a single colour, but were otherwise useless. In the metagame, the idea is that you might want to include foil cards or strategies that are good against the dominant deck, but are bad against all others.
For The Win - AKA: FTW. An expression of humour when a game is unexpectedly won by an unlikely card. The worse the winning card, the more likely the phrase will be used.
Format - AKA: Tournament Format. Constructed formats allow players to build their deck from a specified card pool, before arriving at the tournament. Limited formats involve building decks during the tournament within a specified time limit. There are also many casual formats with their own rules.
Frankenstein Army - Any deck that combines together the Necrons and any other Faction in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Frankenstein control deck commanded by Eldorath Starbane.").
Friday Night Magic - AKA: FNM. Casual MTG events open to anyone and held at local FLGS. Intended to encourage new players to meet with existing players and jointly compete for small prizes.
Fun Deck - AKA: Silly Deck, Theme Deck. A deck that is well-known to be flawed or weak, but is built around a fun theme or interesting combo. Played for enjoyment but without any realistic expectation of winning.
Garrison - Any Army cards that remain positioned at a planet after the Headquarters Phase.
Gas - From, "adding gas(oline) to the fire". A hand of good cards is called having lots of gas, meaning power. Drawing the best cards is called drawing gas. Having few resources means you've almost run out of gas.
GenCon - Short for "Geneva Convention". The most famous games fair in the world. First held in 1968 by Gary Gygax at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. Moved to the Indiana Convention Centre in 2003. In 1968 there were 100 visitors. By 2014 there were almost 57,000 visitors.
GG - Short for "Good Game". Used as a polite term for "I win/lose" when a game has finished. Saying "GG" to your opponent before you win a game is considered to be very impolite.
Go Deep - To play a strategy that is exceptionally ambitious, risky, and/or unlikely to win.
Gothic, High - AKA: Tech. The sacred language of mankind, developed during the Dark Age of Technology. Practically unintelligible to most people in the WH40K universe. The equivalent of using Latin in the Middle Ages. Represented as Latinised-English.
Gothic, Low - AKA: Imperial Gothic. The everyday language of the Imperium. Represented as British English with Asian and German influences.
Greenskins - WH40K slang for Orks and, by extension, any kind of Orkoid.
GW - Games Workshop (estd. 1975). The original inventors of Warhammer and holders of the copyright.
Hail Mary - Any desperate last chance being taken to win the game when facing certain defeat.
Hammers - Command Icons.
Hate - 1/. Altering the composition of your deck to make it more efficient at attacking a specific opponent's deck. 2/. A card or effect that foils a specific card type. The availability and prevalence of various Types of Hate card will often determine the shape of the metagame.
Heretics in Space - AKA: Scum, Warspawn. WH40K slang for any kind of Chaos Space Marines, and sometimes for other fallen humans, too.
Highlander Deck - A deck containing no more than a single copy of each card. The term is taken from the title of the movie and refers to its catch-phrase, "There can be only one!"
Hoser - Any deck or style that is naturally powerful in opposition to a different specific deck or style.
Hull - Associated with the term, "Barn". A Hull is a player who attracts many less skilled players than himself.
Humies - Ork name for any kind of Human.
Hunt - A deck or strategy intended to kill the opponent's Warlord before they can achieve a planet-based win.
IG - Imperial Guard. Older term for Astra Militarum. Originally called the "Army" in 1st Edition WH40K. Changed to Imperial Guard in the 2nd Edition and to Astra Militarum in the 7th Edition.
IMO - Internet slang for, "In My Opinion".
Imperium (of Mankind), The - The galactic empire that has united the majority of humanity for the last 10,000 years. The largest and most powerful political entity in the galaxy, consisting of at least a million worlds and trillions of humans, dispersed across most of the Milky Way. The Imperium is under constant attack by Xenos and Heretics. It is defended by the Emperor, the Inquisition, the Space Marines, and the Astra Militarum.
Imperium Army - Any deck that combines together the Astra Militarum and the Space Marines in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "An Imperium aggro-deck commanded by Colonel Straken.").
Infernal Army - Any deck that combines together Chaos and the Dark Elves in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, control, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "An Infernal combo-deck commanded by Zarathur, High Sorcerer.").
IP - Intellectual Property. Refers to the whole legally-protected franchise of a setting or universe, such as WH40K, Warhammer Fantasy, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc., including any spin-offs and subsidiaries.
Jank - AKA: Pile. Internet slang for something worthless or useless. In MTG, it means something unplayable and/or completely lacking in synergy. Only works in extremely unlikely situations or situations that require a lot of set up. Used in casual conversation to describe a deck which succeeds at doing something as inefficiently as possible. Cards with cool abilities that are difficult to use are considered jank, as any deck constructed around them is handicapped by the inability to easily use the card. Inefficient cards are not jank. A high-cost card with 0 power and 1 HP, and no card ability, is garbage, not janky.
Jedi Mind Trick - Any players action, body-language, or tell, etc. used to legitimately and legally distract or misdirect an opponents attention and perhaps make a mistake. A widely used but unsporting strategy.
Johnny Player - Player profile identified by Mark Rosewater, MTG R&D: A gamer who treats gaming as a form of self-expression. He plays for the mental challenge and wants to win with style on his terms. Playing games is an opportunity for Johnny to show off his creativity. As such, it's important to Johnny that he's using his own deck. Johnny is therefore characterised by his tendency to build complex and creative decks. He likes to find interesting combinations of cards that can win the game or give him an advantage. Johnny may be a player who seeks cards widely reputed as bad and tries to break them. Johnny is happiest when his decks work and he wins his way. For him, one in many wins leaves him happy, if that win is on his own terms. Johnnies see Timmies as simplistic and Spikes as uptight and unoriginal.
LCG - Living Card Game. Published by FFG. A core game of cards, monthly packs of additional pre-defined cards, and organised play programs, including casual year-round leagues to premiere level tournaments.
Leapfrog - A strategy where you only commit units to planets that will be the First Planet when you are expected to have the Initiative Token during the game.
Lexicanum - The most well-known community-created online encyclopedia for Warhammer 40,000. The wiki is restricted to official canon materials only.
Lightning Rod - AKA: Boltbait. Cards that are so potentially dangerous to your opponent that he must immediately attempt to remove or destroy them as soon as they are played.
Lockdown - When a player uses card combos to make it difficult or impossible for the opponent to mount an effective defence. The lockdown player wins before the other player can break out. Some decks specialise in lockdown strategies, using an arsenal of locks to secure swift victory. Decks often incorporate the tools to break out of the most common locks, thereby reducing the effectiveness of most lockdown cards.
Lore - The official fluff, background, and overall storyline.
LotR - Lord of the Rings. Refers to the co-operative LCG, started by FFG in 2011.
LTP - The official 16-page Learn To Play book that comes with the game.
Lucksack - A consistently lucky person, usually said in a slightly resentful or jealous tone.
Meat Shield - AKA: Ablative Hit Points, Bodyguard. General gaming slang originally applied in WH40K to models that aren't that useful in themselves but have to be killed in order to get through to more important comrades. Now refers to any unit being used to soak-up damage that would otherwise have been suffered by a more-important unit. In WH40K Conquest, the game mechanics currently mean that only the Fire Warrior Elite card qualifies as a Meat Shield, but the term might also apply to any unit with the Bodyguard Trait and any unit accompanying the Honored Librarian.
Melvin Subtype - Secondary player profile identified by Mark Rosewater, MTG R&D: Melvin is a sub-type who is interested in the game in a way that does not have to include actually playing it. Melvin is the mechanics-guy, who appreciates cards with interesting special effects and strong synergy. Melvins see thematic constraints as pointless. They might still care about what's written on the cards, they might completely ignore it. Either way, they are more focussed on the mechanics of each card. Melvin is more concerned with appreciation for each cards function than winning.
Meta(game) - Literally, "a game outside the game". 1/. The established decks and strategies that are deemed strongest and most played across the local or wider community. 2/. How others make decisions in a game based on their previous decisions, including outside information that influences in-game decisions.
Milling Strategy - Forcing an opponent to burn cards until they either use-up all their best cards, are forced to ration card-draws to the Headquarters Phase, or lose the game because their deck had no more cards.
Minority Deck - AKA: Heroes Deck. A deck that has been deliberately designed with the cards matching the Warlord's Faction are in the minority, while the Ally and Neutral cards are in the majority.
Mirror - AKA: Mirror Match. Playing against a deck which is either identical or almost identical to your own.
Misplay - To make an unforced error or poor decision. Not to be confused with being outplayed.
Mobility - The ability to move a card from one planet to another, as a result of a card ability.
Modded - 1/. Customising a netdeck. 2/. Internet slang for h aving a post deleted by a Moderator.
Mono (Deck) - A single-Faction deck, entirely lacking in Splash. May still use Neutral cards. Often thought of with pride as a show of loyalty to that colour or faction.
MTG - AKA: Magic. Magic: The Gathering. The original CCG owned by WotC and first published in 1993.
MVP - Most Valuable Player. A real-life honour given to the best player(s) in a specific sports team, league, or contest. Also used by WH40K Conquest players when talking about their best-performing card, usually after having won a game. Sometimes used by a player when boasting about their deckbuild before a game begins.
Nerfed - The developers of Ultima Online once reduced the power of swords in combat. Players complained it was like fighting with nerf bats. Term now applies to anything rendered obsolete, ineffective or less effective by an official change in the rules or game system . Players will also use the term against any badly-written, confusing or unclear game turn or rule, regardless of whether it has been changed.
Netdeck - Any deck that has been copied from the internet or published tournament listing. Netdecking does not necessarily indicate a lack of skill. Many successful players re-use successful strategies engineered by other players rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. These players also optimise their netdecks for their local meta in order to maximise their advantage. Netdecking is most common among Spike players.
Newbie - General slang for a new player who is full of questions, struggling to learn the rules and understand how all these cards work together. It is also implied that they are being over-enthusiastic.
Nids - Short for Tyranids.
Nidzilla - Any super-large and monstrously threatening Tyranid.
Nidzilla Army - Any Tyranid Purity deck. At the time of writing, the promised Tyranid Expansion box is expected to be a stand-alone Faction that will entirely exclude any allies or neutral cards.
Nonbo - A disadvantageous combo.
Noob - General slang for a player who refuses to learn the rules or from their mistakes. It is also implied that they are being deliberately stubborn, difficult, and obnoxious.
NPE - Negative Play Experience. Often used to lose slowly when defeat is inevitable. Considered bad form in casual games, but is a legitimate strategy in competitive play where tournaments impose a time constraint.
Nuts, The - AKA: God Draw, God Hand. The luckiest, most powerful and efficient hand or draw of cards any player could possibly wish for or expect to receive.
OCTGN - Pronounced, "Octagon". Online Card and Tabletop Gaming Network. A windows-based virtual table top with an integrated player lobby and chat system that is used to play online games of WH40K Conquest.
OP - 1/. Internet slang for, " Original Poster". 2/. Over-Powered. See, 'Broken' .
Orks - Great thematic flavour, where the warlord gives all units Brutal (get +1ATK for each damage on it) and a bunch of effects that allow you to apply damage to your own units to schizophrenically beef them up and get closer to dying at the same time. Look for the signature squad combo of Cybork Body on Nazdreg’s Flash Gitz with a Rokkit Launcha (first strike, can acquire a damage to strike again this round, and add 1 to its ATK value for each damage on it when it’s with its warlord!). It’s a faction for those who like living on the edge. The Tellyporta Pad makes it hard for opponents to judge what units to put at the first planet - if they under-commit, you can move there and smack it, and if they over-commit, you can set up for next turn. Other than that, it’s pretty vanilla.
Out - A poker term representing a solution to a problem or a way for a losing player to get back into the game. Also refers to the cards needed by the player in order to get out of their predicament.
Outplay - To come out better than an opponent would have otherwise expected through a combination of actions, often leading to an advantageous situation.
Panzies - Ork name for any kind of Eldar.
Ping - Dealing 1 point of damage, including by non-combat means.
Pirate Army - Any illegal deck that combines together two Factions, not connected on the Alignment Wheel, in any combination. A Pirate Army may be used in casual play as a Fun Deck, providing that the opponent has agreed. It may never be used in Tournament or Competition play. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, control, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Pirate aggro-deck commanded by Commander Shadowsun.").
Playset - The maximum number of copies for a single card that can be legally used in a players deck.
Powergamer - A killjoy. Anyone who plays to win, regardless of the personal cost, and despite being no fun.
Punt - An extremely bad play or the act of making such a play.
Purity Army - Any deck that only includes cards from the same Faction as the Warlord card. All other cards are excluded, including any Neutral cards. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, control, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Purity control-deck commanded by Captain Cato Sicarius.").
Ragequit - To abruptly leave or abandon a game in anger.
Ranged - C ards exhaust after using their "Ranged" ability during each battle's single ranged combat phase. Exhausted ranged cards are only readied with all other non-ranged cards at the end of each round of combat. They then act like any non-ranged unit and cannot use their "Ranged" ability for the remainder of the battle.
Raw Dog - Playing a card that could have gained a greater advantage if it had been played at a different time.
Reanimate - AKA: Recursion. Any card that allows you to reuse one or more cards that have already been played. Enables a player to return one or more cards from their discard pile to their deck or hand.
Removal Card - Any card whose card ability will remove a single opposing unit.
Removal Card, Mass - Any card whose card ability will remove more than one opposing unit, often all cards of one type.
Removal Card, Spot - Any card whose card ability will remove a single specific type of opposing unit.
Reset - A card which has mass removal as its effect. If a card could potentially remove an indefinite number of targets (e.g. removing or damaging "all units at X" rather than damaging "three units") it is a reset. A Hard Reset clears the entire game board of all other cards. These cards have yet to appear in WH40K Conquest. A Soft Reset applies to just a specific subset of the game board, such as cards of a certain type, or cards at a planet. The current examples are the Doom, Exterminatus, and Warpstorm cards.
Response Strategy - Any strategy that seeks to neutralise a specific threat. Responsive cards form the strategic base for any Control deck. They are considered to be reactive Answers or Disruptions.
Retcon - RETroactive CONtinuity. Adding more information and new products without invalidating the already accumulated back-story or theme.
Rogue Deck - A deck which does not seem to follow the trends of a particular meta. Rogue decks are often built by Johnny players. They are generally not expected to successfully compete with other decks. However, rogue decks often gain the advantage of surprise against conventional meta. All successful decks began as Rogue decks before they were netdecked and became widely recognised.
RRG - The official 32-page Rules Reference Guide that comes with the game.
RTFC - Abbreviation for, "Read The F-ing/Full Card". Most common response to questions that would have been easily answered by paying closer attention to the text on the card in question.
Rush - A strategy that seeks to reach a pre-chosen victory condition in the fastest possible time: that is, in as few turns as possible. A Rush deck generally sacrifices staying power for front-loaded strength, so if it fails to efficiently attain its win condition in the first few turns it will struggle to win at all.
Saintly Army - Any deck that combines together the Eldar and the Tau in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, control, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Saintly aggro-deck commanded by Commander Shadowsun.").
Saruman Army - Any deck that combines together the Astra Militarum and the Orks in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, control, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Saruman combo-deck commanded by Old Zogwort.").
Sauron Army - Any deck that combines together Chaos and the Orks in any combination. Players may describe their deck according to its Army name, its type (aggro, combo, control, etc.), and which Warlord is commanding (e.g. "A Sauron control-deck commanded by Ku'gath Plaguefather.").
Scoop - To concede a game. Named after the first action taken after being defeated, gathering together one's cards from the table. Sometimes called entering one's "Scoop Phase".
Scouting - When a player tries to find out what an opponent has included in their deck, usually by spying on an opponent's cards while they play other people. Scouting is considered unfair by the wider community.
Scrub - Any player who keeps making bad choices, either during deck construction or gameplay. Usually, this is someone who is inexperienced with tournaments. The term, "Scrubbed Out", can also be used to describe an experienced player who made one of more significant errors during a game or tournament.
Sequencing - Tactic, not slang. The most efficient order of cards being played during the Deployment and Combat Phases, to maximise a players Card Advantage during their turn.
Shatterpause - When you play a card that is so devastating, your opponent just sits in silence for a second before reacting.
Shuffle/Cut - There is an etiquette to shuffling cards in tournaments. The order of cards in all decks are required to be randomised immediately before a game begins. Players cannot riffle decks of sleeve-protected LCG or CCG cards. Nor would they want to risk damaging much more important and valuable cards than ordinary playing cards. Players more commonly thoroughly overhand shuffle, from the front and back into the middle of the deck. The deck is then pile shuffled, before repeating the overhand and then pile shuffling process a number of times. Pile shuffling means dealing the deck into seven piles. All the piles are then stacked on top of each other in alternate order (e.g. 1,3,5,7,2,4,6 and then 2,4,6,1,3,5,7). Lastly, when all the shuffling is finished, the player invites his opponent to cut the deck.
Silver Bullet - AKA: Magic Bullet. Tied to the idea of Foiling. A card or effect that acts as a solution for a specific problem. Comes from the idea that silver bullets are the only thing that can kill a werewolf, therefore you will die if you don't have one. Strategic deckbuilders look for cards that can act as a silver bullet to multiple problems: e.g. Nullify acting as a Silver Bullet to decks that depend upon a key event, or Archon's Terror acting as a Silver Bullet against a big Ranged unit or big AoE attacker.
Skirmisher Deck - A deck which focuses on fighting several smaller battles, using mobile units, instead of one decisive battle. Ideally, the opponent cannot predict where you will strike next. The opponent therefore over-commits to each planet to avoid being overpowered. A skirmisher deck tends to be more mobile but less directly powerful, relying on outmanoeuvring and out-positioning the opponent to gain advantage.
SM - Space Marine.
Small Ass - AKA: Small Butt. Army card with more Attack Value, but less Hit Points, making it suited to attack. Less commonly used than it's twin term, "Big Ass".
SMurfs - Player slang for Space Marines. Based on the first two letters of "Smurfs" matching the acronym for "Space Marines". Refers to the blue colour shared by the body armour of the Ultramarines and the blue skin colour of the Smurfs.
Sniping - 1/. When a solitary Warlord is committed to a downstream planet where the opponent would otherwise win the Command Struggle. 2/. To destroy a Capping Unit using a solitary Warlord. 3/. To deny your opponent any bonuses he would gain from any Neutral Allies (Pirates, Traders etc.).
Snowball - A strategy of always massing every unit at the First Planet, regardless of who has the initiative. The command struggle on other planets is either ignored or reduced to contests of denial, not victory. The winning cards are then moved to the next First Planet, during the Commitment Phase. The mass of units grows with each victory. Sometimes a planet can't help you win so you skip it and build-up at the next one. This strategy lacks staying power for the long-game. It is highly vulnerable to Doom and Warpstorm.
Soviet Deck - Any deck that uses all its Faction's Mobility, has an overwhelming majority of Army cards, and lots of Command Icons. It has almost no tail. Only non-Army cards in use are either ones that can reduce Resource costs or are Resource Engines. Typically used in a Rush strategy.
Space Commies - AKA: Bluies. WH40K slang for any kind of Tau.
Space Elves - AKA: Pointy Ears. WH40K slang for any kind of Eldar and, by extension, the Dark Eldar.
Space Marines - Seemingly everyone’s favourite to start with. There are lots of great-value mid-sized units that riff off each other, good search capabilities to get them out, and good supports. But it’s the warlord himself that fuels it all - it gains you a resource each time it knocks off an enemy unit at his planet, providing key economic advantage. With some great attachments that protect it, he can usually fearlessly stride into any battle … and does.
Speed Bump - A weenie being used to block a larger attacker, holding it off for at least one turn.
Spike Player - Player profile identified by Mark Rosewater, MTG R&D: Previously called the Tournament Player. Spike is characterised by his competitive and aggressive nature. Spike plays to win. Spike will play whatever deck wins the most games. Spike will netdeck and borrow other players' decks. Spike wants the adrenaline rush of competition. Spike enjoys the stimulation of outplaying the opponent and the glory of victory. Spike's cards are effective, designed to secure a fast and effective victory over opponents. Spike will be unhappy if he loses only one game out of many that he feels he should have won. Spikes see Timmies as rookies and Johnnies as eccentric and annoying.
Splash - A term used in deck construction. Refers to the small number of cards in your deck whose Faction is different from that of your Warlord.
Spread - Dealing damage to more than one target at the same time . Typically, this will be an Area of Effect.
Square - Any unit whose Attack Value and Hit Points are the same. A square is equally strong in attack or defence. You don't have to use it quickly like a small-ass, but you don't want to durdle behind it like a big-ass.
Swarm - AKA: Breeding, Spawn, Weenie Deck. Any deck which seeks to overwhelm the opponent by breeding or spawning a swarm of weenies and flooding the board with them.
Swingy - Applied to any card whose effect has a high degree of variance. The card's design could result in it either having very large or a very small to no effect on the game state, depending on the luck of timing and circumstance. It is implied that luck rather than skill determines the success of this card in play.
Swiss - The early rounds in a tournament before the cut. Swiss refers to a scoring and pairing system that allows large-scale tournaments to be played in a relatively short period of time. Pairings in the first round are random, but are then made according to score group with weak players paired against stronger players. At the end of a pre-set number of rounds, the top scoring 4, 8, or 16 players enter the knock-out rounds.
SWLCG - AKA: SW. Star Wars. Refers to the science-fiction LCG, started by FFG in 2012.
SWtCG - Star Wars: The Trading Card Game. A CCG produced by WotC in 2002. Created by game designer Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. Put on indefinite hold in late 2005.
Synergy - The positive interactions between individual cards that makes the whole deck much more powerful. A deck is said to have good synergy if it contains lots of useful card interactions. Even a deck full of bad cards can still have good synergy. The more synergistic a deck, the more likely it will win a game.
Table Flip - To angrily knock-over the game table when overcome by aggravation, frustration, and madness. Don't do it. It sounds funny but it will get you a lifetime ban right before the police or security are called.
Tap, Tapping - AKA: Kneel. This term is trademarked by WotC for MTG, but is still used informally by players when playing similar games. All other games officially call the same thing, Exhaust.
Tapped Out - When a player has run out of resources and is unable to pay for any more cards or actions.
Tau - This is the faction I had the most fun with. Its thematic hook is enhanced units, as you’d expect, with lots of great attachments plus effects that allow you to find them and get them out cheaply. There are some interesting mid-cost units with nice effects that will surprise you as to how effective they are, and it provides the best bodyguard unit in the game, Fire Warrior Elite (you can force your opponent to attack this first), which almost inevitably ends up getting borrowed by decks from both neighbouring factions. Another special card I look for is Gun Drones - it can be played as either a simple unit (bleh) or an attachment that provides Area Effect (2)! You just live for the day when you can get all three of these onto some super unit, protected by Fire Warrior Elite, and prance into battle with Area Effect (6)!!! Anyway, when TAU can put out its best stuff, it’s impressive and fun.
Team Small Child - The younger participants in a tournament who are generally less than 16 years old. It is considered shaming to "Lose to Team Small Child", unless you yourself are a member.
Tech - Any innovative use of a card or strategy that is different from the local meta. Tech often tries to throw other strategies off-balance by changing how a deck or combo usually works. Tech is generally researched in secret to prevent competitors from learning what tricks will be used. Tech has usually already been proved to be especially strong against a commonly used deck or strategy expected to appear in a tournament.
Tempo-Based - A deck/strategy which attempts to use the tempo gained from an advantageous position to win the game. Your opponent is kept under pressure using cheap cards, temporarily providing a better position, instead of expensive cards that provide a permanent solution.
Threat - Any card which, if not successfully met with an Answer, can lead to winning the game. Most decks built around threats are aggro decks, but can also include some combo decks.
Tier 1 Deck - Considered among the strongest decks in the current meta, and a contender for tournament victory. They have minimal weaknesses, are reliably consistent and perform well against the majority of the field, barring a few mishaps. They allow an inexperienced player to over-perform compared to their skill level.
Tier 1.5 Deck - The pocket-battleship of tiered decks. Specifically tailored to beat a common type of Tier 1 Deck, but suffers more losses than a Tier 1 Deck.
Tier 2 Deck - Decent but less consistent than Tier 1 Decks. It's considered threatening, but has a weakness and struggles against the prevalent meta. A strong player can still do well in a tournament with a Tier 2 Deck.
Tier 3 Deck - Has a large weakness or multiple smaller weaknesses, and has a low chance of doing well at a tournament. It may lack synergy or was only intended as a fun or casual deck. It may be chosen due to a preference for its play style. The owning player may be hoping that his opponents won't play well against it because they have not faced it before.
Tilt - An angry or disgruntled state of mind following a serious mistake that might lose the game. "Going on Tilt" will often cause a player to make even more mistakes, making their problems worse.
Tim - A unit that uses its card ability, instead of its Attack Value or AoE, to deal a small amount of direct damage as an action.
Timmy Player - Player profile identified by Mark Rosewater, MTG R&D: Timmy wants to experience something and is most associated with playing for fun. Timmy plays because he enjoys the feeling he gets when he plays. What that feeling is will vary from Timmy to Timmy. He is motivated by large, exciting plays, using big, dramatic cards. He is also the most social player, enjoying the human interaction that playing the game provides. A stereotypical Timmy is usually a younger player with a simple (yet fun for him) deck. Timmy does not care whether he wins or loses, he simply wants to have fun playing really big effects. Timmies see Johnnies as too focused on certain combos and Spikes too bent on winning.
TLDR - Internet slang for, "Too Long, Didn't Read".
Top-Down - Describes a method of design that builds a deck to fit around a pre-determined theme or concept, rather than the other way round.
Topdeck - AKA: Mise, Rip. Considered exceptionally lucky. The act of drawing the exact card needed at exactly the moment it is needed. The chances of a topdeck are dependant on the number of cards left in the deck, but tournament players rely on tutors or burning cards to achieve a topdeck. Topdecking can also refer to the illegal action of a player sneaking a look at the top of his deck when others aren't looking his way.
Topdeck Hero - Any player who won their game following more than one topdeck. The word is less frequently used to describe anyone who had to topdeck in order to win their game. Topdeck Hero's are often thought to be more lucky than skilful as they are seen as needing to topdeck in order to win games.
Tournament Quality Deck - AKA: Serious Deck. A deck considered to be an acceptable standard for winning a tournament or at least do better than the majority of the field. The opposite of a Fun or Casual deck.
Tourney - Tournament.
TR - Tournament Rules. First published online as a PDF in October, 2014.
Trick - AKA: Shenanigans. Any combination of cards used to achieve a particular effect.
True Control - A consistent deck or strategy often criticised for being slow at winning. It achieves victory through minimising risks, mass removals, counters, and cards too difficult to answer at the time they are played. Your opponent can do NOTHING except be bored to tears, when successfully played.
Tutor Card - The term originated from the MTG card, Demonic Tutor. Allows a player to search their deck or discard pile for a specified type of card and move it to another location, usually their hand.
Vanilla - Any card that lacks a card ability. Limited to attacking, blocking, or being used as a sacrifice.
Vanilla, French - Any vanilla card that has a Trait.
Voltron - AKA: Eggs in one Basket, Tower. A single unit stacked with more than one attachment and intended to win the game on its own. Usually the deck build will be geared around getting this super-enhanced superstar into play and protecting it from attack.
Vorthos Subtype - Secondary player profile identified by Matt Cavotta in the article Snack Time With Vorthos: Vorthos is interested in the game in a way that does not have to include actually playing it. Vorthos is the flavour-guy. Vorthos is primarily interested in the fluff, setting, background, story, etc., as much as the game itself. Vorthos is more concerned with appreciation for each cards theme than winning. Vorthos' concerns are mostly about creative consistency and continuity. Vorthos applies a keen retcon to the past and evaluates cards according to how they make him feel.
W:I - Warhammer: Invasion. Refers to the fantasy LCG, started by FFG in 2009.
Waaagh! - Originally spelt, Waaargh! Ork concept to describe four different states: 1/. A gathering of Orks generates a psychic field which allows Orks to instinctively recognise who is "bigga" and therefore in charge. 2/. A rare mass migration when all the Orks stop fighting amongst themselves and band together against other races. 3/. The name for the massive horde of Orks gathered under a single Warboss. 4/. The near-universal war-cry of the Orks in battle.
War Pack - A small sixty-card expansion pack. Released once a month in annual cycles of upto six packs. This means you will receive an additional 360 cards per year, excluding occasional Expansion Boxes.
Weenie - The cards with the lowest Cost, Attack Value and Hit Points in the deck. Also refers to all Token Cards. The opposite of a Fatty.
WFB - AKA: WFBG (Warhamer Fantasy Battle Games). Warhamer Fantasy Battles.
WH40K - AKA: 40K. Warhammer 40,000.
WH40K Conquest - AKA: Conquest, WH40KC, 40K Conquest. Warhammer 40,000: Conquest.
Win Condition - AKA: Wincon. The established methods by which particular tricks, combos, and cards within a deck are expected to be used in order to win a game against other specific types of decks.
Windmill - The triumphant motion made when a player uses an outlandishly powerful card that demolishes their opponent's strategy. By extension, may refer to any event so fortunate as to be just cause for performing this motion. Consists of raising the card high in the air before slowly lowering it to the table at the end of an outstretched arm, thereby producing the windmill effect. Sometimes seen as bad sportsmanship.
WotC - Wizards of the Coast, owners of MTG and D&D. Considered by some the great Sauron to FFG's Fellowship. Many in the gaming community are currently not talking to WotC after the last straw that was 4th Edition D&D. They have instead run-off to live in sin with the much younger Pathfinder RPG, although WotC still hopes to reconcile by offering them 5th Edition D&D.
Xenos - Collective name used by the Imperium to refer to any kind of Alien or Outsider.
Zombie Space Robots - WH40K slang for any kind of Necrons.