Announcing the Sixth War Pack in the Warlord Cycle

“Fetch me another plaything. This one seems to have broken.”
   –Urien Rakarth

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Descendants of Isha, the sixth War Pack in the Warlord cycle for Warhammer 40,000: Conquest!

Draw upon the power of the galaxy’s ancient races in the Descendants of Isha War Pack! Long ago, there was only one race of the Eldar people, but their depravity quickly led to Chaos. Now, you may walk the path of asceticism and self-denial with the Eldar or revel in unlimited excess and devour souls with the Dark Eldar. Whichever faction you embrace, however, you’ll find new options in this War Pack!

Descendants of Isha contains two new warlords, one Eldar and one Dark Eldar, each with an eight-card signature squad, alongside forty-two other cards (three copies each of fourteen distinct cards). Each of the other factions in Warhammer 40,000: Conquest finds useful tricks and tactics in this expansion. You may clear entire planets of enemies with a deadly Space Wolves tank, fire the devastating Artillery of the Astra Militarum, or transform your opponents into Squigs with the uncontrollable psychic power of the Orks. In Descendants of Isha, the Warlord cycle comes to a triumphant conclusion, challenging you to find victory as the battle for the Traxis sector reaches new heights!

Master of Torture

In Descendants of Isha, the Dark Eldar gain a new warlord and a new style of play in Urien Rakarth (Descendants of Isha, 116). This warlord is a Haemonculus, completely dedicated to the study and perfection of torture, which is reflected by Urien Rakarth’s ability. While he is hale, the cost for you to play any Torture event is reduced by one, while the cost for you to play each non-Torture event is increased by one! By building a deck filled with Torture events, you can take advantage of Urien Rakarth’s cost reduction to subject your opponent to unending torture. What’s more, Urien begins the game with eight cards in hand, one more than most warlords, enabling him to compile punishing amounts of Torture events in his hand before the game even begins.

Urien Rakarth also breaks away from the established structure of a signature squad. Most warlords up to this point have possessed a signature squad consisting of four units, two events, one support, and one attachment. Urien shows where his true power lies by including four copies of his event, Rakarth’s Experimentations (Descendants of Isha, 118). This event bears the Torture trait, and can be played at any point as an Action, allowing you to name a card type: unit, support, attachment, or event. Then, your opponent must either discard one card of that type from his hand or deal one damage to his warlord. By strategically torturing your opponent, you can either strip him of his most useful cards, or quickly rack up the damage on your opponent’s warlord, making him susceptible to hard-hitting Dark Eldar units.

Urien Rakarth draws more power from his assistants: Twisted Wracks (Descendants of Isha, 117). There are two copies of this army unit in the signature squad, and with a strong attack and health, they’re a great deal for only two resources. What’s more, they give you a secondary option for using your Torture cards. As an Action, you may discard a Torture card from your hand to ready the Twisted Wracks, enabling the unit to potentially strike twice (or even more) in a single combat round. Whether you play Torture events against your opponent or use them to fuel your Twisted Wracks, their power cannot be underestimated.

You’ll double the effectiveness of your Torture events with the inclusion of the Ichor Gauntlet (Descendants of Isha, 119). This attachment is attached directly to Urien Rakarth, and it bears a potent Reaction that reads, “After you play a Torture event card, exhaust attached warlord to copy its effects. You may choose new targets.” With this attachment, Rakarth’s Experimentations and any other Torture events in your deck are twice as effective, inviting you to torture your opponent into submission as quickly as possible.

Torture can quickly crush your opponent’s options, reducing his hand of cards to nothingness. Urien’s Oubliette (Descendants of Isha, 120) gives you the opportunity to manipulate your opponent’s deck as well as his hand. While Urien’s Oubliette is in play, your opponent must play with the top card of his deck revealed. Not only does this give you an intimate knowledge of every card in your opponent’s hand, you can also exhaust Urien’s Oubliette to discard the top card of each player’s deck or have each player draw a card. Moderating exactly which cards go to your opponent’s hand and which go to his discard pile gives you a crucial advantage in the battle for the Traxis sector.

Choose Your Path

The Eldar race has split in two. The Dark Eldar revel in excess, devouring souls to escape the clutches of She Who Thirsts, while the Eldar choose to deny their impulses and follow a different path. Both factions receive a powerful new warlord in Descendants of Isha, the final War Pack in the Warlord cycle for Warhammer 40,000: Conquest! Stay tuned for a preview of the Descendants of Isha War Pack in which we’ll preview the Eldar warlord and his unique signature squad.

Choose which side you will fight for, and look for Descendants of Isha at your local retailer in the first quarter of 2014!

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