40k Conquest Fundamentals: Faction Identities

Conquest features a wide range of factions to choose from, and those factions can play very differently from one another. This article seeks to provide an overview of the different factions' strengths and weaknesses, what their warlords are suited for, and what the cards one should be most wary of are from each faction. Without further ado, let's get to it!

Space Marines

Strengths: Space Marines have some of the best combat units in the game, coupled with a ton of great combat tricks (most of which only work on SM units). While their combat tricks cover a wide range of scenarios, one special focus of Space Marine tricks is playing units in the middle of battle. This property makes it difficult to count Space Marines out, since a Space Marine player with cards and resources available could well have reinforcements incoming.

Weaknesses: The main Space Marine weakness is a relatively weak command presence. Most Space Marine units only have one command icon, and Marines have only one one-for-one and no two-for-two units whatsoever. As a result, most Space Marine decks use allied and/or neutral units to help them compete on command - which means fielding units that don't benefit from all those SM-only combat tricks.

Warlords: Both Cato Sicarius and Ragnar Blackmane are in the "top tier". They are balanced warlords who, with the help of allied command units, can play a very flexible game, either playing aggressively with combat units and early tricks or playing a longer game with allied command options. Ragnar has several elements that make him a strong candidate for playing a hunt-based game; Cato's warlord ability helps mitigate the Space Marine command weakness.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Drop Pod Assault, Indomitable, Crushing Blow, Eager Recruit. Note that while several of these cards are nonloyal, most Space Marine combat tricks don't make the cut in non-Space Marine decks, since they only affect Marine units and not those of the parent faction. Primal Howl is also worth mentioning as a way to get additional cards, especially when playing aggressively.

Astra Militarum:

Strengths: The Astra Militarum features cheap, weak units which have strong effects when they leave play, paired with powerful Vehicle units for the late game. They also have some of the best Support options in the game and a wider array of two-shield cards than most. Astra decks are notable for featuring both several ways to threaten the opposing warlord and a very strong way to punish the opponent for not having their warlord in big fights (The Emperor's Warrant).

Weaknesses: It can be hard for Astra Militarum decks to "win the midgame", since they generally lack solid 2-3 cost combat units. Further, neither Warlord option for Astra Militarum is very popular - Straken is widely considered weak, while Coteaz is combo-heavy. Luckily, both of these weaknesses look like they will be mitigated in the upcoming Planetfall cycle!

Warlords: Colonel Straken features a strong signature squad and a generally balanced approach, but is widely considered to have among the worst warlord abilities in the game. Torquemada Coteaz is more of a combo deck - he can set up crazy amounts of damage with the right combinations of cards, but is vulnerable to being overwhelmed before he gets a chance to set up.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Preemptive Barrage, The Emperor's Warrant, Elysian Assault Team, Suppressive Fire. Note that Suppressive Fire in particular finds its way into many IG-allied decks as a solid means of controlling big threats.

Orks:

Strengths: Orks have many units that are extremely efficient for their cost. It is hard to be more "cost for stats" efficient than with the Orks, and the upcoming Gorzod looks like he will take this to the next level! Further, like Astra Militarum, Orks have some very strong support options available to them.

Weaknesses: Like Space Marines, Orks have a generally weak command presence; unlike Space Marines, Orks are almost totally devoid of efficient combat tricks and have few surprises to offer. This "unsubtlety" makes Ork decks somewhat unpopular, since you can generally predict what an Ork player is going to be able to do in any given fight.

Warlords: Nazdreg focuses on leveraging the high HP of Ork units by providing all other Orks at his planet Brutal. Old Zogwort, on the other hand, has a very unusual dynamic where he generates a large number of Snotling tokens, but destroys them at the end of the turn, swarming the enemy with disposable units. Both Ork warlords lend themselves to aggressive play.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Battle Cry... and that's basically it? I wasn't kidding when I said Orks more or less don't have combat tricks - while Squiggify has a potentially powerful effect, its high cost usually means that it gets used as a two-shield card. Some Ork supports, like Tellyporta Pad, can provide interesting and powerful mid-combat moves, but the fact that they must be played out beforehand limit their surprise value.

Chaos:

Strengths: Chaos features powerful direct damage/"burn" abilities. Further, Chaos has the best "heavy hitters" in the game by a fair bit right now - not only are its Elite units strong, many of them are Daemon units which can be discounted and sometimes buffed by sacrificing your weaker Cultists. Chaos also has access to a lot of alternative economy with its Cultist sacrifices, especially if combined with Ammo Depot from an Ork alliance.

Weaknesses: Chaos tends to be low on staying power, with several units being "glass cannons" - while they hit very hard, if the opponent can weather those hits and keep fighting, Chaos will quickly find themselves unable to keep up. Chaos warlords also tend to be extremely weak when bloodied, so hunt decks can be a bit of a problem.

Warlords: The two Chaos warlords play extremely differently - Zarathur buffs all your damage dealing abilities at his planet, while Ku'gath Plaguefather is just a huge tank that can fight whole armies on his own (with the right Events for support).

Surprises to Watch Out For: Tzeentch's Firestorm, Warpstorm, Infernal Gateway or Fetid Haze depending on which warlord you're playing against. Also, while not a "surprise" per se, Slaanesh's Temptation can be a very nasty thing to run up against, especially during initial deployment!

Dark Eldar:

Strengths: Dark Eldar focus on "choke" effects oriented on starving the opponent of the cards and resources they need to win. As a result, when Dark Eldar get into a strong position, they can be very difficult to escape from. They also feature two very strong combat tricks that can help them win battles, and the swarms that DE can generate can in many respects be overwhelming.

Weaknesses: Almost every good Dark Eldar unit has low HP - as a result, Dark Eldar are very weak to Area Effect attacks and to mass damage abilities such as Gleeful Plague Beast. Further, while choke effects can be very powerful, the Dark Eldar tend to be a lot better at preventing the opponent from gaining cards/resources than they are at actually winning command themselves.

Warlords: The Dark Eldar warlords are on very different sides of the spectrum - Packmaster Kith is widely considered among the best warlords in the game, while Urien Rakarth is almost unambiguously the worst. Kith can play either an aggressive early game or a longer-term choke/command-oriented one, while Urien needs to play both choke and hunt at the same time to be truly effective - a difficult combination to achieve.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Dark Eldar only really have two big combat tricks, but they're both huge powerhouses - Archon's Terror is one of the best removal effects in the game and sees widespread play in both Dark Eldar and anyone allying with Dark Eldar, while Klaivex Warleader is even better - perhaps the only card in the game to be widely considered broken. They also have the economic trick Raid - while inefficient, this card can sometimes provide big swings by enabling (or disabling) other tricks.

Eldar:

Strengths: Eldar have great control options. They are the only faction to have access to a "counterspell" type effect, they can greatly punish overinvestments in certain planets with cards like Mighty Wraithknight and Doom, and they feature strong command options paired with some solid midrange units.

Weaknesses: The main weakness of Eldar is that they have very few good combat units for less than 3 resources - the exception being the very strong Warlock Destructor, though even he will end up costing 3 or more if you keep him in play for more than a turn. Further, Eldar lack strong AoE options and therefore can be quite vulnerable to swarms.

Warlords: Eldorath Starbane is the more popular of the two Eldar warlords and is generally considered among the best warlords in the game. He offers excellent control options for both command and combat, and while he's best suited for a long game he's no slouch in an aggressive spread either. Baharroth offers a truly excellent set of command options, but has less ability to shift into a more aggressive playstyle if the situation demands it.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Nullify, Gift of Isha, Foretell. Many (most?) Eldar decks ally with Dark Eldar to bring in the powerful Archon's Terror and provide even more of a control focus. Foresight and Superiority can also provide surprise swings during the command phase.

Tau:

Strengths: Tau have lots of strong attachments and like playing efficient weenies and then loading them up with said attachments, turning them into powerhouses. They have excellent command options, including the incredible Recon Drone (perhaps the best card in the game), and have many powerful and versatile units. Tau also have tools to get a lot of mileage out of Ranged units - via upgrading their attack value, readying them to shoot again, or even granting Area Effect.

Weaknesses: Tau's attachment focus can be vulnerable to removal effects taking out multiple cards at once. Further, if you find yourself not drawing attachments, many of your tricks don't function either - meaning that Tau can be a little less consistent than other factions as well.

Warlords: Tau have perhaps the two most different warlords of any faction, even more so than Chaos - Shadowsun focuses on efficiency and attachment recursion, while Aun'shi has himself and all his units at the same planet gain Armorbane, which lets them ignore shields completely! However, Aun'shi and many of his units also have to retreat back to HQ after making any attack, so they end up being in trouble versus opponents with a lot of staying power.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Deception, Ambush Platform, For the Tau'va, Kauyon Strike (for Aun'shi only)


Tyranids:

Strengths: Tyranids begin with both a warlord and a Synapse unit, which has its own dial and acts as a secondary Warlord with more limited abilities. Even though the Tyranids start with only six cards and resources, the Synapse unit is very powerful indeed and tends to make up for this. Tyranids also have both powerful horde options and some truly scary big monsters, and their attachments can be used on even their strongest units - unlike most factions, who can't play their best attachments on their best units.

Weaknesses: Tyranids have fewer command options than most, and the fact that they cannot play allied cards or even neutral units means that the opponent faces less uncertainty as to what options the Tyranid player might have available.

Warlords: Tyranids have two warlords - The Swarmlord, who plays a longer game focused on building up Termagant tokens into an unstoppable lategame horde, and Old One Eye, who is more flexible, able either to attack aggressively or wait and play the long game with his health regeneration.

Note that the Synapse choice also plays a big impact on how a Tyranid deck is structured, however! Broadly speaking, Stalking Lictor provides a big boost in command, Savage Warrior Prime provides a big boost in combat, and the remaining three Synapse options provide more versatility with their utility effects.

Surprises to Watch Out For: Dark Cunning, Ferocious Strength/Indescribable Horror (depending on warlord), Clogged with Corpses (usually Swarmlord only). While not Tyranid cards proper, No Mercy and Fall Back! are both exceptionally well-suited to Tyranid decks thanks to their synergy with the Synapse mechanic - Synapse units are unique and Elites, so they can be used to trigger No Mercy without endangering your warlord and can be saved from danger with Fall Back!

One special note is that Tyranids are also the easiest faction for new players to get into the game with - you can buy a single core set and a single copy of The Great Devourer and have everything you need to make competitive Tyranid decks right out of the gate, and you don't need to worry about choosing an ally or even most neutral cards. Throw in two or three copies of Promotion and No Mercy, fill the rest of the deck with Nids, and you're good to go!