Verikas crouched under the shade of a large boulder to inspect the spoils of his duel. His winnings were hard won; his foe had been quick and muscular, and that damnable rodent kept getting in the way... but already Verikas’ wounds were closing, and he could feel his dark master’s power surging through him once again. Nearby, a carrion bird landed, drawn by the smell of death, but it gave Verikas a confused sideways glance and flew off, complaining loudly. Opening the blood-spattered satchel, his eyes gleamed with an unnatural blue light. “I’ve found it,” he muttered. Had his lips not rotted away years before, Verikas the Dead would have been smiling. “My master will be most pleased...”

Welcome to the second preview for the upcoming board game of conquest, adventure, and fantasy empire, Runewars! Last time, we took a look at the mysterious and cunning Latari Elves, we broke down the various parts of a Faction Sheet, and we discovered the significance of resource gathering in a Faction’s ability to generate units, Influence Tokens, and Tactic Cards. If you haven’t read that preview, you should do that first.

Today, we’ll catch a glimpse at another exciting faction set to storm the lands of Mennara this winter: the vile undead armies of Waiqar the Undying. We’ll also check out Runewars’ innovative card-based combat system, and we’ll see how the all-important Tactic Cards have the potential to affect the outcome of the game.

Before greed filled his heart and foul necromancy twisted his soul, Waiqar was among the most respected generals in Mennara, and he was a great friend to its people. But it was in response to his betrayal that the wise scholars of Terrinoth spread the Dragon Runes across Mennara, and Waiqar the Undying has since been single-minded in his pursuit of their power.

The Faction Sheet of Waiqar the Undying, lord of the undead. Click the above image to enlarge.

In battle, Waiqar the Undying commands legions of animated dead, including monstrous Skeleton Archers, wicked Necromancers, and fearsome Dark Knights. His unholy control over them gives him expanded tactical options in combat, and as you can see from the Faction Sheet above, the undead begin the game with three Tactic Cards. These cards add options in combat that can surprise unwary opponents, and if played cleverly, Tactic Cards can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Battle Cry can bolster the attack strength of your armies, while Summon Lightning can be used to draw an overconfident enemy into a costly mistake.

Tactic Cards aren’t only about battle, however. Many of them, in fact, affect the more diplomatic or economic aspects of the game.

With Establish Trade Route, you can grab a much-needed resource when you need it... as long as you’re willing to similarly benefit one of your opponents.

We’ve demonstrated that Tactic Cards can be vital to your plans both in and out of battle, but how does battle work in the first place? How do you know how powerful a given unit will be in combat?

First, take another look at the units available in Waiqar the Undying’s army. As we established in our last preview, the numbers on the far right side represent Initiative. When combat occurs, it takes place over five rounds; all of the “Initiative one” units attack, followed by the “Initiative two” units, and so on. It is therefore possible that your formidable (but slow) Dark Knights never see any action, if your weaker (but faster) Skeleton Archers wipe out the competition early.

What about the other elements of a unit’s description? First, each unit has a combat ability represented by a shape; a triangle, circle, rectangle, or hexagon can be found near the portrait of each unit (also, these shapes are the bases for the game’s plastic figures). These four shapes are the cornerstone of Runewars’ innovative card-based combat system.

When any number of Skeleton Archers attacks, the player controlling them draws a Fate Card from the appropriate deck. Fate Cards serve as a sort of all-purpose randomizer, and are used in battle, hero duels, diplomacy, and even setup! Take a look at the fate card to the right; if a Skeleton Archer were to draw this as his combat card, we would look at the quadrant of the card that shows a triangle (the upper left, since that is the shape associated with the unit in question). There, you can see an icon indicating that one point of damage has been inflicted.

Had the triangle corner been blank, this would indicate a miss by the Skeleton Archers. The triangle corner might also have revealed a flag icon that routs an opposing unit, taking them out of play (but not killing them) temporarily, or an orb icon that triggers the Skeleton Archer’s special ability, Mortal Strike. These special abilities are yet another way that each faction displays its unique play style; Waiqar the Undying’s Necromancers, for example, can raise Reanimates quickly, and overwhelm opponents with hordes of shambling undead!

Keep checking back! Mennara is a vast realm, full of many perils. In future previews, we’ll look at the two remaining factions. We’ll also see the terrifying neutral forces that roam the land, as well as how they can be tamed through diplomacy!

Runewars is an epic board game of conquest, adventure, and fantasy empires. Two to four players raise armies, gather resources, and race to collect the elusive and powerful dragon runes in the high-fantasy universe of Runebound.