Not going to bother posting the spoiler because...well..you know.

Anyway, just a bit of good news to let W:I fans in the Minneapolis area know that this great expansion has hit shelves finally. Got my packs today. Looks like James did a great job, from what I can see. Empire wins the biggest prize followed closely by Chaos and Dwarves. Good stuff.

Mining Tunnels begs to differ with your power assessment.

That said, I agree that Empire does get some really nice stuff out of this BP.

So you think Mining Tunnels are over OR under-powered then?

I think that Mining Tunnels are really very good indeed. Probably the third best support in the game (Warpstone Excavation and Contested Village being #1 and #2).

Sadly I'll have to wait till next week

Yeah, Mining Tunnels is pretty insane. You're more or less developing every turn as Dwarves, meaning MT is like a two-hammer card for two.

cyberfunk said:

I love that card and it's pretty strong...But it's not a real card advantage. It's more about "cycling". Anyway, one of the best cards.

Mining Tunnels is more than likely the best card in the set. I'm not sure that it "replaces" Keystone Forge like a lot of people are suggesting though. I like the Forges quite a bit personally. I'd try anything I could to play them "in addition" to the Forges, especially in a deck with 3x Dwarven Cannon Crew.

Empire REALLY got hooked up in this pack. The new building is very good as well as pretty much all the other Empire cards. For that reason, I'd rank them as the #1 gainer in the set. Dwarves would have to be second just based off of the Tunnels. I think it's good that they're really giving Order some good cards rather than continually buffing Destruction. I already liked Empire more than most, but now I REALLY like them.

- SF

I definitely agree that the Empire support and "flash" counterstrike guy both seem very good.

I have not had luck with Empire up to this point mostly because however you built it, it relied on casting an early Judgement to have any chance against the rush archetypes. Maybe it will be different now - it'll be interesting to see.

I definitely like the "Flash" guy and there really isn't a reason to not play him in any Empire deck, but the annoying thing is that you're also playing Warpstone Excavation and if your opponent in smart, they'll attack any zone that has a Warpstone so your dude can't counterstrike them. While that is probably a mild nuisance, it's still an issue I have with the dude.

I actually really like the Banner as it's not unique and is a pretty big boost to Empire as they have no issue pumping out characters, they're just all really small. Now you have a legit way to pump them. Granted, it makes the guy you put it on a pretty hefty target for removal, but again it's a pretty legit boost.

- SF

If you have either quest that lets you defend anywhere, he could be played in the QZ to defend any zone.

Periculum said:

This is abslutely true, but then we're playing with High Elves, and probably a lot of them, so our deck is completely different from a "standard" Empire deck. Empire doesn't particularly play well with others (with the exception of a few Dwarf cards). Also, Dragonmage is a better dude for those quests anyway.

- SF

cyberfunk said:

I wouldn't say that you're developing every turn, though. Only as needed, really...

ShubFan27 said:

The Banner is ok but I like Helblaster Volley Gun a lot more. It's cheaper and a single unit can be a big threat with that thing. Obviously it requires developing the battlefield but that lets you play Burn It Down and Troll Slayers.

I like a lot the legionnaire too and I think It will suddenly go in my Empire deck: Reiksguard guys + him is a lot of defense, difficult to deal with (and usually I don't run Warpstones in my Empire deck, 'cause it "stops" the movements.

The Legionnaires are definitely one of the better Empire units. Reiksguard Knights were already pretty good for three, and the extra loyalty shouldn't be a problem by turn two or three when you want to play them. And being able to run six CS units makes it much harder to sidestep them.

I agree that Empire still probably needs Judgment to win. With the Griffons, and the Dericksburg Forge, and Protect the Empire, I'm thinking that Shrine to Taal and City Gates may not be worth it anymore. It was always a bit fragile, and tended to require that you leave zones lightly defended. And the Pistoliers are pretty dorky when they haven't visited the Shrine. If Pistoliers are out and Griffon Legionnaires are in, I'm not sure where that leaves Warpstones... probably still out, but I'm not sure.

Hellblasters are pretty cool, but in mono-Empire it usually ends up being kind of a one-shot damage boost that you have to play prior to combat. If you're heavily splashing Dwarves or Hight Elves, you can put it on big guys or the Swordmasters to make it a consistent threat. Without the splash, I don't think the guns are enough to get you away from an 8-9 card Judgment suite.

It seems like FFG have this archetype in mind that involves a bunch of throwaway meatshields with Ulric's Fury and Sigmar's Intervention, then Greatswords and the Banner to generate some offense, but I don't really see that happening. Intervention is probably still playable, but the Griffons and Protect the Empire are stealing its role to some extent.

In any case, Empire and Dwarves are head and shoulders above everybody else. Dwarves' "other" card is a Savage Marauder that isn't blank. They have a lot of 3-barrel guys, but still.

The Chaos cards are OK; I especially like that Scheming Cultists can do their thing anywhere and combo with Chozen of Tzeentch. Baying Gor seems like it doesn't play well with Warpstone Meteor or Deathmaster; without that extra loyalty, it would be worth it for the turn one play, but as is I cant see a use for them. The other corruption-themed cards don't seem quite good enough, but might improve with time.

I've already moved away from the Judgement cards and I'm really enjoying it. Now that I don't focus on playing that card, I have room for much more. I'm winning many more games than I ever did based around judgement and the biggest reason why is the cannon provides that real power that Empire doesn't get much elsewhere.