Hello - I've played a few games with a friend of mine and we haven't found any clarification regarding attacks made against the warlord. Is the warlord really just another unit you can attack like any other? We ask because this seems to leave the Warlord open to being killed easily in the late game, and makes routing him a standard practice of play. So I want to know if there is a special order to attacking the warlord we may have overlooked in the rules/errata or if we really just have to focus on using the warlord in a more hit/run fashion.

Thank you!

A Warlord can be attacked like any other unit (though many effect cannot target a Warlord because they say "non-Warlord unit", "army unit" or even "non-unique unit"). You have to use the option to retreat (instead of attacking or at the end of a combat round) if you find your Warlord too vulnerable.

Alright, thank you! We were fairly certain of this as it wasn't detailed very well either. I have a few other questions and I'm unsure if I should ask them here or if I should start a new topic. Oh well, if anyone reads this maybe I'll get lucky! Essentially I wanted to know why you'd commit your warlord anywhere but the first planet? This is because as I understand it, you can't claim other planets (other than the first) and units you put on the 2/3/4/etc planets will go to hq, which means the bulk of your army becomes the HQ force pretty much always. So since your aiming to win only 3 planets, and 2/3 times it can be done with the first three in a row, why would you bother sending the bulk of your army anywhere else?

I love this game, but I'm trying to sort out the tactica and intended interpretation of the rules to ensure I'm playing this right.

Thank you again!

Essentially I wanted to know why you'd commit your warlord anywhere but the first planet?

To win command at planets other than #1. To force a battle at a planet with a particularly useful Battle ability. To set up armies at planets other than #1 you want to collect in order to help win the battle when that planet does become #1. Reasons like that.

and units you put on the 2/3/4/etc planets will go to hq, which means the bulk of your army becomes the HQ force pretty much always.

You may be misinterpreting something in the rules here. If there is no battle at a planet, units will not return to the HQ. When there is a battle at a planet other than the first planet (because a warlord went somewhere other than planet #1), only the WARLORD returns to HQ at the end of the battle (said another way, if the planet stays on the board, all the non-warlord units stay at that planet). All other units stay at the planet. So, for example, if you can give up Planet #1, you might want to send your warlord to Planet #2. You force a battle there (after the battle at Planet #1 is over) and, after you win it, leave all your units (other than the warlord) there. That means that next round, when that planet becomes Planet #1, all your units are already there - and will start the battle ready, instead of exhausted having just come from the HQ.

So since your aiming to win only 3 planets, and 2/3 times it can be done with the first three in a row, why would you bother sending the bulk of your army anywhere else?

Some decks do follow a strategy of "swarm the first planet." But others take advantage of the resources, cards an abilities of the other planets to control the tone of the game, essentially letting their opponent burn themselves out with overly aggressive game play and only bothering to win the planets they need for the win. The game is flexible and allows for a couple of different approaches and strategies to winning planets, hunting warlords and controlling the board through command.

Alright, thank you! We were fairly certain of this as it wasn't detailed very well either. I have a few other questions and I'm unsure if I should ask them here or if I should start a new topic. Oh well, if anyone reads this maybe I'll get lucky! Essentially I wanted to know why you'd commit your warlord anywhere but the first planet? This is because as I understand it, you can't claim other planets (other than the first) and units you put on the 2/3/4/etc planets will go to hq, which means the bulk of your army becomes the HQ force pretty much always. So since your aiming to win only 3 planets, and 2/3 times it can be done with the first three in a row, why would you bother sending the bulk of your army anywhere else?

I love this game, but I'm trying to sort out the tactica and intended interpretation of the rules to ensure I'm playing this right.

Thank you again!

There are a lot of reasons why you might want to deploy a warlord to a planet somewhere other than the first planet, for as many different reasons as there are warlords, since each potentially plays differently when paired with the card abilities of his signature supports/units/events.

It is uncommon for HQ units that commit to a non first planet to return to the HQ with your warlord, as it requires specific card effects or a specific set of circumstances in the Battle phase to allow them to do so as a retreat.

The strategy you use will depend as much on your deck as your opponents deck and how the planets flop when revealed.

This has been very enlightening for me! I appreciate the great answers to my questions! I did misinterpret the rules as always having to remove the units from planets other than planet #1. So to clarify, a battle ALWAYS occurs at planet #1, BUT you can force another battle at a different planet if your Warlord goes there instead.

What if there are units from both forces at a secondary planet but no warlord? They both abstain from fighting and muster their forces until the Warlord arrives or it becomes the first planet?

Again thanks for the help!

Correct. There is only a battle at a planet if it is the first planet, or if there is at least 1 warlord there. If there are units from both sides, but no warlord, at a planet other than Planet #1, they just stare at each other menacingly across the lines without any shots being fired. If it's Planet #1, they fight, whether a warlord shows up or not.

What if there are units from both forces at a secondary planet but no warlord? They both abstain from fighting and muster their forces until the Warlord arrives or it becomes the first planet?

Correct, though there are cards and effects which can create exceptions, The Tyranid Warrior Prime Synapse unit and the signature support for Barzhul, or the ever so enjoyable Aun'shi combos to initiate battles on multiple planets for example although in the later case its an effect of the warlord being present at the start of multiple battle phases.

Note that all of these "exceptions" are card effects. They are not special rules that need to be learned or remembered.

The card's text, when active, tells you to do something different than the rules normally allow for. Any rules question/answer carries the implicit understanding, "Unless a card effect tells you to do something different."

although in the later case its an effect of the warlord being present at the start of multiple battle phases.

(Nitpicky technicality: there is only the one battle/combat phase. The warlord is just able, through a card effect, to move around and be present when planets further down the line are checked for whether a battle happens during the phase.)

Thank you for all of these clarifications! I'm going to peruse the forums for deckbuilding advice as well, at this point I'm debating on where to start with warlord packs as it's getting time to expand.