Final Gambit Warpack Review

As usual I would like to thank like to thank the reviewers that submitted their initial reviews in an extremely timely fashion, the rest of this week is busy so I appreciate the flexibility in getting this out in a timely manner.

Added to the regular mix are a couple of new reviewers from the Grim Darkness of Distant Russia. New blood is always welcome, if you are interested in submitting a review in the future let me know. Overall this pack score about average although there is some real disagreement on cards so check out Asklepios's year in a review next year to see who was right (or even better don't because everyone looks bad usually).

I will also take a minute to get on my soapbox and encourage everyone to report all the games you play at 40kconquest.blogspot.com. The more people we have reporting games, the more accurate it is. You can also go there to see stats on games others have reported to see if anything we say in these reviews turn out to be true or not.

Ratings

The rating scale as follows was offered to reviewers:

1- Very poor - Very bad for the foreseeable future, but may become a usable card one day in the meta.
2- Bad - Not a good card to play generally, but may have its role in some very specific deck builds. Not likely to be seen in a tourney winning deck.
3- Average - Will make some tourney winning decks, but not in every deck it is eligible for. Think hard before including.
4- Strong - Almost certainly a strong include for almost every deck that is eligible to include it.
5- Excellent - A definite auto-include of exceptional strength.

For Warlord cards, we use other Warlords as point of comparison, and account for their signature cards in their strength.

For Signature cards, they are rated in isolation, as if they were a Loyal card you could choose to include or not, but at the fixed number of cards required by the Squad.

Also note, that in terms of multiples included, a card does not have to be a 3x to be a 5/5 auto-include. Some cards are clearly designed to be included fewer times, and cannot be rated less strong because of this.

Synopsis

Ymgarl Factor 4.71
Talyesin’s Spiders 4.29
Bolster the Defense 4.29
Warp Rift 4.29
Path of the Leader 4.00
Hallucinogen Grenade 3.83
Autarch Powersword 3.71
Genestealer Harvester 3.71
Talyesin’s Warlocks 3.57
Flayed Skull Slaver 3.43
Average 3.30
Talyesin Fharenal 3.29
Painboy Tent 3.29
Raiding Portal 3.29
Nesting Chamber 3.29
Reliquary Techmarine 3.00
Kroot Hunter 3.00
Imperial Rally Point 2.71
Wisdom of the Serpent 2.67
Leman Russ Conqueror 2.57
Corpulent Ork 2.57
Crypt of Saint Camila 2.43
Frenzied Bloodthirster 2.29
War of Ideas 1.71


Reviews
Talyesin Fharenal

Asklepios- 2/5
Fragility and lack of access to defensive effects combined with an ability that requires a warlord to be in the thick of major battles is a recipe for game loss. Also, the psyker cardbase is currently insufficient to support this warlord. Talyesin is one of the worst warlords to date.

Steinerp- 3/5
Not only does he suffer from not being Eldorath, he has to be at the fight and for a non-fighty warlord that isn’t good. He might be fun to play and combo up if you like that sort of thing but I doubt you will see a single copy of him at worlds this year. Give him a decent warlock or two in the upcoming sets and he might see play. If nothing else he will play very different than the other Eldar which is a good thing.

Kingsley - 4/5
Talyesin is conditionally quite good, turning weaker units into powerhouses. However, in order to really benefit from her ability you need to set up some bigger battles than you might otherwise like. We'll have to see how Taleysin does - my initial sense is that she is decent but will suffer a little from having to put combos together, and will ultimately end up in a "tier 1.5" position.

Corvus – 3/5
Better than Eldorath? Probably not. She pulls ahead in big fights but needs to be personally involved to use her ability. Without Baharroth's or Eldorath's defensive options, she's the most vulnerable to being bloodied. Her ability is strong enough to bring some backbench Warriors and Psykers into the limelight, so at least her deck and play style should be unique.

Kaloo – 3/5
Nothing special here. Granted, it’s not hard to build a deck that only consists of Warriors and Psykers, but all that happens is that the warlord gets targeted instead with hardly any “keep me alive” tricks to use. Stick to Eldorath, although she’s still better than Baharroth

xRAVEx-4/5
So eldar got their own updated Straken! I like Talyesin's squad much more than Straken's and hope she will get more love, but actually the need to present in battle to enable the ability is a huge drawback

NecRus888-4/5 A combat eldar warlord. Look forward to playing her deck. She requires many cards and card combinations at key planets for maximum effectiveness.

Talyesin's Spiders

Asklepios- 3/5
Movement abilities are good, but the stats are inadequate for general purposes: dependent on the warlord ability for performance, and that has risks.

Steinerp – 4/5
Serves as an ok capper with good stats until needed in the fight, however even when needed in the fight he isn’t that impressive becoming a warlock destructor if fully powered. Not bad, but not anything to right home about

Kingsley - 5/5
Above the curve stats and a good ability to boot? Sounds like an excellent unit!

Corvus – 4/5
Above-average stats for its cost and an ability that's very strong when you do get to use it.

Kaloo – 5/5
Probably the best part about this warlord. A 2 cost 1/2/3 is already good value and its ability is quite strong. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that jumping into a planet without a Warrior would cause the Psyker’s attack to be boosted, due to damage being assigned after a defender is declared

xRAVEx-5/5
it has better stats than 1/2/2, it has the warrior trait to benefit from some eldar cards, it has the moving ability, which allows it to participate in several battles per turn without bike or Plannum, and due to its ability it's a very bad target for Terror

NecRus888-4/5
Very strong with Talyesin, and extremely mobile. A good unit, but only 2 in the squad.

Talyesin's Warlock

Asklepios- 3/5
Again, an incredible combat action, but wholly mediocre stats for cost. 2Hp for 2 cost is asking for trouble.

Steinerp- 3/5
Pretty good ability if you have card advantage but fairly expensive. Better than the spiders but not by enough to earn a 4. At least this makes a second playable psyker for Talysein

Kingsley - 4/5
Unlike the Spiders, the Warlocks have stats that are actually a bit below the curve - however, their strong ability makes up for it. Unit cards in hand are normally useless during fights, so converting them to potential swings is fairly solid. Overall a solid unit, especially keeping in mind that Talyesin's ability can make these guys a bit less fragile than they seem.

Corvus – 3/5
Some warlords are getting similar stats for 1 resource. The ability would be great if they weren't so fragile. Thankfully Warriors are the easy part of the equation to come by for Taleysin's ability, so turning them into more respectable 4/3s should be fairly common.

Kaloo – 4/5
Stats are mediocre for the cost, but the ability is potentially powerful, aided by the high number of warriors that are likely to be in the deck and Eldar’s generally good command game. It’s also 1 of 3 actually good Psyker cards…

xRAVEx-4/4
For 2 they'd been awesome. For 3 it's OK. In order to trigger the ability you should have enough units in hand (and I consider more units in the deck, then usually, which is complicated for eldar with all these awesome events) and ways to protect warlock from death, as with 2hp he's really thin. So I consider the best way to use it is to get it in battle via jetbike, when most opponent units are already exhausted. There should be also a nice hobby with Gift of Isha, but I consider, that it's OK only for Eldritch Corsair. The rest Eldar warriors are so-so

NecRus888-4/4
Very strong with Talyesin as well, and synergetic with her event. Again, a good unit, but only 2 in the squad.

Wisdom of the Serpent

Asklepios- 4/5
One of the few good reasons to lile Talyesin, this card can quickly generate card advantage and/or draw control. The only downside is the slow timing, as an HQ action won't contribute to deploy delays, or give you any real benefit on the turn you play this.

Steinerp- 4/5
Card draw is always good and 1 cost is reasonable even if it fails most of the time. I suspect you will be looking for psykers as they are rarer and since they are rare the odds of finding one will decrease. Odds go way up with Dome of the Crystal Seer but now you are looking at two cards that have to be found and 2 resources before you get payback.

Kingsley - 3/5
This card gives you some nice additional draw, but only conditionally - the odds of a hit aren't too great under normal circumstances when searching only three cards. Interestingly, Dome of the Crystal Seers makes this far better.

Corvus – 3/5
You'll have to break out the hypergeometric calculator and run your own numbers for your Warrior and Psyker count, but as an illustration: With 17 Warriors and 9 Pskyers you're initially 73% and 46% to hit. These numbers aren't great, but they can improve based on what you've already drawn, and if you need to deploy a specific trait you're still digging closer to finding it even when Wisdom fails to hit a card.

xRAVEx-1/5 I think it's a crap. I can imagine only 1 situation, when you need it - when you' have few units in hand. The possibility of putting your shields and combat tricks to the bottom of the deck is frustrating.

NecRus888-1/5 Utter rubbish in my opinion. Extra cards are required for succss, but it'd be difficult to find spots for them in the deck.

Path of the Leader

Asklepios- 4/5
A choice of two weak effects, and one medium strength effect does not make one strong card. However, 0-cost and freedom to play this in any phase redeem this card.

Steinerp- 3/5
Versatility is this cards main strength. The effects are all weak but the options are there for a good player to find the best use. I suspect that the the +1R will be the most common usage despite the general belief that a card is worth 1.5-2 resources.

Kingsley - 4/5
I'm always fond of versatile cards (hence why I love this game so much), and Path of the Leader is one of the most versatile there is, providing either a small attack boost for a Warrior, a small resource gain, or a Squadron Redeployment-like move for one of your Psykers. None of these effects are amazing on their own, but combined they offer a lot of potential.

Corvus – 3/5
One of these things is not like the other. Moving a Pskyer out of harm's way or into a fight is worth a card. The other modes are... less appealing, but the versatility means it's never a dead card, which is nice.

Kaloo – 5/5
Diversity! The fact that all of the effects are OK are balanced by the toolboxy “answer for everything” approach it gives, which is really useful

xRAVEx-5/5 event cards have only 2 options - effect or shield. This one has 4 options! Flexibility is the 2nd name of Eldar. Which is more important - it doesn't look like there is only 1 preferred way of playing it. I consider that we'll see all the possible effects of this event

NecRus888-5/5 A wonderful and flexible event.

Autarch Powersword

Asklepios- 4/5
Setting up combos is part of this, but the real joy comes from having +1/+1 that you can place pretty much freely. Flexibility seems to be Fharenal's byword, and this suits that playstyle well. A recursion trick of some sort would have pushed this to 5/5.

Steinerp-4/5
Cheap and activates the warlord ability. However it has to go an army unit for that to happen and army units die even if they get a couple extra HP. Turning the warlord into a 3/7 isn’t a bad deal either.

Kingsley - 4/5
This is one of my favorite signature attachments because it's one of the only ones where there's a real choice about whether to equip it to your warlord or to a normal unit. The Powersword can either go on Talyesin herself (turning her into an impressive 3/7) or on one of her units, where it provides the same stat boost and also enables Talyesin's trait synergies. Overall a very interesting card, though not as much raw power as some others.

Corvus – 3/5
It's fine on your warlord and fine on an army unit if you know Taleysin will be there to make him even bigger. A 5/6 Warlock Destructor sounds pretty appealing.

Kaloo – 4/5
Boosting your warlord to a 3/7 is just generally good, and certainly aids her survivability. The rest of the text probably won’t see play, however

xRAVEx-4/5 a very solid card. It buffs both ATK and HP of your WL. Or if attached to an army unit, it enables all the WL's abilities and also allows to play shuriken catapult for a fatality!

NecRus888-2/5 Can't win battles, but gives a boost to Talyesin or helps with collecting a combo of units/traiits at a key planet.

Reliquary Techmarine

Asklepios- 3/5
The stats and ability don't justify it displacing any other 3-cost unit in Ragnar or Cato decks, even with that +1 card icon that Cato so craves. However, in Black Templar decks it widens the possibility space for other trait-based combos, so will see a place.

Steinerp-3/5
I’m a bit confused about the assault cannon grafted onto the marines arm. I wish I could take that on the tabletop. Ok stats but there are better 3 cost marines out there and doesn’t further the black Templar theme.

Kingsley - 4/5
This is basically a Seer of Deceit with marginally worse stats but significantly better synergies. I suspect that this will see a fair bit of play even in the very competitive SM three-drop slot, especially in Mavros decks with Black Templars synergy.

Corvus – 2/5
Seer of Deceit hasn't really impressed, and this guy competes with lots of good 3 cost Space Marine units. At that price point only hitting for 2 and having no impactful combat ability is really lackluster.

Kaloo – 3/5
Fair solid stats but not the best drop pod target. Still, Cato and Mavros can get some use out of this guy, but what this is replacing is another, much bigger, question.

xRAVEx-2/5 SMs have amazing 3-drops, and this one isn't better, than any of them. So it's justified only in Mavros. It'd be much better, if it had a resource bonus instead of card. though with 4 hp it should be resistant to warlord snipe

NecRus888-4/5 A solid addition to the Black Templars theme. Good stats along with +1 card bonus. Can be pinged by Mavros to become 4/2 a-la Honored Librarian.

Crypt of Saint Camila

Asklepios- 3/5
If this card had come out at the end of the Warlord cycle I'd rave about it: it's a non-Limited discount-for-3ish that costs 4: that's decently efficient. However, the meta has become loaded with support control, and that makes a 4-cost support a massive liability, just as likely to wreck your economy as carry it.

Steinerp- 2/5
Free guys are good but 4 cost isn’t. It is worth testing but I doubt it will make the cut. It doesn’t even let the most common 4 cost marine unit (Imp. Fist Devesators trigger) as it puts them into play rather than deploy for free.

Kingsley - 3/5
Like the Cathedral of Saint Camilla from the last pack, this support offers a very powerful effect but is unique, expensive and vulnerable to destruction - and like the Cathedral, I think this needs testing to see if it will make the grade. In some respects this can be considered the biggest and craziest "reducer" of all, but I'm not at all sure that it will pan out - could be great, could be terrible.

Corvus – 2/5
At the moment my Space Marine decks are working fine, so I'm not really in the market for ways to instantly lose to enemy support destruction. As tempting as the discounts seem if this gets used for 3 or more turns, that's probably less likely to happen than you think given that you need relevant blue planets and the right units in hand. This card could be very time sensitive, since you probably want it out on turn 1 or 2, and early in the game even the small economic hit from playing this into a 3 cost unit is often costing you a command struggle somewhere.

Kaloo – 4/5
Another cost reducer! This one has the biggest potential payoff to date but is similarly hugely susceptible to destruction effects, especially with the Location trait. Worth a 1-of space in most decks, but also should be played carefully against certain decks

xRAVEx-1/5 In the current Meta quite every deck has some tool for support removal, so paying 4r for a support with delayed effect is too risky. Though, I have to admit, that this card lets you avoid effects of Syren and Slaanesh Temptation

NecRus888-2/5 An impressive ability but limited in scope is balanced by a high cost. If the opponent destroys your Crypt, it's going to be painful. I doubt it will see play with all current anti-support cards. May be a good card for Colony Shield Generator's protection.

Leman Russ Conqueror

Asklepios- 3/5
Gorzod has another great option about, and this being a tank, Grigory Maksim will be happy too. Like most elites, this is a card you'll consider as part of a deck where it fits, rather than just dropping it in for quality reasons.

Steinerp- 3/5
Of the imperial elites, this can make a case for being the best, that said it doesn’t have a lot of competition and the guard are one of the factions least prepared to do elites at this time. For now this is an average Gorzod card.

Kingsley - 3/5
Amazing in protracted fights and decent in shorter ones, this seems like a solid option, especially for Worr and Gorzod. While the stats aren't great for the price (same as the 1 cheaper Land Raider), the ability means you don't have to stick with those stats for long - and does the opponent really want to focus on a 7 HP unit to prevent it from being powerful in later rounds?

Corvus – 2/5
He is inexcusably weak in the first round of combat. While there are a few ways to ready him mid-combat and to move him from one planet to another, none of them seem very consistent or worth building a deck around. I'd rather have a 6 ATK tank without the reaction, and even then I probably wouldn't play it.

Kaloo – 3/5
It’s basically a Land Raider that costs 1 more but with a different ability. Granted, the ability stacks on itself so in a long fight it can reach >9000 attack, but after 6 it stops mattering. The biggest issue is; will it even reach the second (or third) combat round to justify its cost? The answer most of the time is no, irrespective of the high hp. Grigory, at least, will get some good use out of him, as will Gorzod to a lesser extent, but it’s not quite enough for its cost, especially as a Y’varn drop compared to other elites. Still, at least it’s not a Basilisk ….

xRAVEx-2/5
As it's non loyal, Gorzod can and will loot it. For 5 it's much more attractive. Another obvious warlord for this card is Maxim. But he already has core leman Russ, which is cheaper, and has more hammers, 1 more atk, but 1 less HP. So I doubt he can include both.

NecRus888-2/5
Not necessary for the current warlords, but could be interesting with Maksim. Boost its attack and use Inspirational Fervor to hunt down enemy warlord for maximum fun!

Bolster the Defence

Asklepios- 4/5
AM don't lack for good 2-shielders, and this will work especially well for the upcoming support-based warlord, tricking expensive supports into play as a surprise and at a discount.

Steinerp- 5/5
Unlike elites, Guard have supports and bringing them out as an ambush play is huge, even more so when it comes out for free. Don’t have support in hand, it is still a 2 shielder.

Kingsley - 4/5
Another strong AM two-shielder, this one helps you put supports that might otherwise clog your hand to use sooner - and if you can't do that, it's still two shields. Very solid if a bit situational.

Corvus – 5/5
A 2 shield card that doubles as a 1-2 resource discount when needed is already great. The ability to ambush in a Catachan Outpost, Inquisitorial Fortress or Forward Barracks mid-combat is a nice added bonus.

Kaloo – 4/5
Really good card, hampered mostly by the lack of space in AM decks. It’s a good card for keeping the cost of an already cheap deck down, whilst simultaneously fueling the Ammo Depot, but its efficiency relies on taking a bunch of 2+ costed supports, which can be tough to fit in. Regardless, it’s a good free double shield, hard to dislike.

xRAVEx-3/5
A card with 2 shields is never bad (cough... doom siren...). An ability to put a support into play during the battle is cool and IMO thematic for AM, but currently I can see its usage with Inquisitorial fortress, troop transport and forward barracks. The more combat supports are released, the better the event.

NecRus888-5/5
Zero cost and two shields make it already quite solid. But it also turns Inquisitorial Fortress and other excellent AM supports into events. Deploying a surprising Forward Barracks mid battle is priceless.

Imperial Rally Point

Asklepios- 3/5
Like Muster the Guard, this card will appeal to a certain class of players who love it when a plan comes together, and will let recall bias blind them to the mathematical failings of this approach. One shield is the nail in the coffin here: this deck will be in themed mono-AM decks with too many units, and nowhere else.

Steinerp - 2/5
A Muster the Guard that doesn’t cost you your warlord is appealing, however it also doesn’t let you spread your command out everywhere. I can see it for that final big battle but that is about it. I’ll pass

Kingsley - 2/5
While I like the fluff and theory behind this one, the fact that it reduces to a minimum of 1 really weakens the effect, since many of the units AM decks are playing these days are one-drops. That said, if you need to set up for a big battle and have several mid-sized units you want to play, this can offer a big economic boon, and without even being Limited!

Corvus – 3/5
I'm usually not interested in dumping all my army units onto one planet, and many of AM's most efficient units already cost 1. Inspirational Fervor shores up some of this card's weaknesses, and it may be possible to snowball planet 1 beyond your opponent's reach with it, so I'm hedging with a middling rating because I'm very uncertain about its value.

Kaloo – 3/5
Not bad, not good. Starts paying for itself after the second unit and does not have the limited issue of the Imperial Bunker, but similarly leaves you wide open to Exterminatus/Warpstorm. Good with Inspirational Fervour, probably best in Starblaze (with an enclave)

xRAVEx-3/5
A great economy card. It's neither limited, nor unique, so you can have several in play. It's too complicated to counter (declare the crusade). The best card for comparison is Muster the guard. The only benefit of MtG is that it allows you to get discounted units at all planets, while rallying point only at a peculiar planet. But it doesn't require warlord's exhaustion, and the effect can last several turns. The issue is that most am units are rather cheap, so most times you don't need this discount. So for the current warlords it's a 2/5. But for upcoming Grigory Maxim it's 5/5.

NecRus888-3/5
A good card. Cheap, doesn't get removed as Slaanesh's Temptation. Not needed for Worr, but maybe useful for Maksim.

Corpulent Ork

Asklepios- 3/5
3 for 2/1/5 isn't great stats, as Soaring Falcon's low popularity attests to, and the ability - while clearly designed to synergise with Goes Fasta - just isn't worth paying that cost for that statline. Still, big HP values are Nazdreg-friendly and Smasha-friendly, so likely there's a place for him in some Nazdreg decks.

Steinerp- 2/5
Weird statline, 3 cost. Does have hit points but orks already have that. The saving grace for this guy is his 2 command hammers. However if used as a capper his ability is pointless as the battle will only be active if the opposing warlord is there most of the time.

Kingsley - 2/5
This card is there to enable Goes Fasta, but Goes Fasta isn't really impressive enough to justify putting these stats in your deck IMO.

Corvus – 2/5
You'd need to be playing Gorzod to have enough Goes Fasta units, and he has much better 3 cost units. As tempting as having your cake and eating it too may be when it comes to Goes Fasta and initiative, this guy does nothing when you don't have initiative and nothing when you don't have Fasta units at the same planet. Given that he doesn't stand on his own merits, I'll pass.

Kaloo – 3/5
Interesting card that mitigates the weakness of Goes Fasta’ that is also a somewhat decent command unit, especially with the Painboy Tent out, but not enough in its own right. Makes a pure Goes Fasta’ Nazdreg deck look somewhat appealing

xRAVEx-2/5
Currently his ability just enables Goes Fasta specialization even if you have the initiative. So it's natural synergy with Gorzod's vagons. But for 3 Gorzod can play Valkyrie, which is way better. Due to the high HP it should be cool for Nazdreg and/or Smasha decks, but the cost is high

NecRus888-4/5 This unit not also makes use of Goes Fasta! but also has very solid stats. A good addition to Nazdreg's deck. Two hammers and a solid body for Smasha Gun shenanigans.

Painboy Tent

Asklepios- 2/5
Alt-command is now a thing! I love the idea of this card, and it will go very well with both Nazdreg and Zogwort, as well as Ork Kannon and Smashas. However, 2-cost supports are always really tough to fit in, and it's not clear whether trying to make this work will hurt a deck more than it helps it.

Steinerp- 2/5
As with many of the cards in this set, it is interesting but ultimately gets a low score as I don’t see the cost (both in terms of deck construction and playing) being worth it. Maybe someone will make a Dakka Dakka Dakka ork choke deck work but without putting a lot of thought into it, I find that unlikely.

Kingsley - 3/5
Painboy Tent needs multiple other cards to set it up, but can be very effective in the right situation - most notably with Dakka Dakka Dakka, Smasha Gun Battery, and similar widespread damage effects. However, the fact that it is limited to Ork units restricts its effectiveness somewhat.

Corvus – 3/5
Turning a whole bunch of 1 command units into 2 command units can be an amazing command swing in many common board states. Making sure all your Ork units are damaged requires a dedicated deck with cards like Smasha Gun Battery and Dakka. This is essentially a combo card and time will tell if it plays smoothly.

Kaloo – 5/5
Nazdreg’s happy. Zogwort’s intrigued. Gorzod couldn’t care less. Definite min 1-of outside of Gorzod

xRAVEx-3/5
For almost 2 cycles orks had problems with economy. Recently they got Scrap Nabba, who boosted the economy. Now they get the tent, that should help with command significantly. But there are several drawbacks. First, it's only for orks. So not for Gorzod. Secondly, it requires damaged units. So without Smasha or DDD (ork kannon is worse here, but also applicable) tent is useless. Finally, it has maximum impact in swarm decks, as the more damaged units, the more hammers you get. And orks are not that swarmy (especially if you can't use shootas and other 1 HP units)

NecRus888-5/5
A must have card! Orks will never lose command. Good synergy with Dakka Dakka Dakka.

Frenzied Bloodthirster

Asklepios- 4/5
This is going to be a divisive card. 2/8/8 is big stats, but 10 is over the odds for those stats. On the other hand, the Bloodthirst condition isn't too arduous to trigger, and with all those keywords in place, its basically an "I win" switch for that planet... unless you get routed, or Klaivexed, of course. I reckon you should add a cheeky single copy to your Zarathur deck. Go ooooon...

Steinerp- 2/5
It gets the extra point because I like the art. If you want a giant monster take a heldrake. This is immune to Archon Terror but bloodthirst is probably the worst of the specializations and other than Yvarn, you’ll never get this guy out. (Not counting a cultist, deamon summoning deck that works 1 time in 5)

Kingsley - 2/5
So this is a big monster that is immune to several key events (most notably Archon's Terror), and gains many powerful abilities during combat rounds where units die. Seems great, but the price tag of 10 is a major obstacle. Heldrake costs less and performs a very similar role, though it isn't immune to Terror.

Corvus – 1/5
Putting situational Armorbane and Brutal on an 8 ATK, 10 cost unit is the designers' delicately subtle way of saying that this one's here for the fun factor. Its immunities don't extend to Fury of Sicarius or Klaivex, and they certainly aren't enough to make it better than Black Legion Heldrake in a deck where you're in the market for a stupidly big Chaos unit.

Kaloo – 3/5
Adequately silly elite. Would be a 2/5 if it was for the immunity to most of the best events in the game making its main point of entry (Y’varn) a safe bet, whilst playing it conventionally with a warlord that can solo units (Ku’gath) will still somewhat guarantee some results. Brutal seems completely pointless, however, when you’re already doing 8 Armorbane

xRAVEx-3/5
Personally I adore this card. This is highly thematical, its art is amazing and it just represents everything one can expect from an elite chaos daemon. There is only one unit with the same cost in the game, it's Trygon, and it's way worse, than Bloodthirster. I want to rate it higher, but due to the cost it'll be played only via YVarn or in a very rare situation, when you have Promises of glory and a lot of resources

NecRus888-1/5
Seems to be a fun unit for casual play. Such abilities and stats are not required in competitive play. Being "Immune to Power events" is very food.

Warp Rift

Asklepios- 5/5
This is one of the strongest and most disruptive cards we've ever seen in Chaos, and yes, I know about Sowing Chaos and Slaanesh's Temptation. Two shields, one cost, a game effect that could easily change the outcome of a game... its pretty amazing.

Steinerp- 4/5
This is a card I want to play with more and will likely become a 5/5. It has everything going for it, good traits, powerful ability, 2 shields, ok cost. The question will be how often do the planets line up. I suspect a lot.

Kingsley - 4/5
Warp Rift, while less surprising and unpredictable as Declare the Crusade, can still be a giant wrench in the opponent's plans, and it offers two shields for times when the situational factors don't quite line up. I suspect this will see a lot of play.

Corvus – 4/5
Probably my favorite card in the cycle. It's potentially powerful while also being versatile and mechanically interesting. It's a fun way to pull the rug out from under your opponent, whether it's by messing with his planet icon abilities, moving a game-winning planet to your army, moving a game-winning planet away from his, or moving Slaanesh's Temptation over to some nasty Heretek Inventor-filled planet where he can't afford to fight.

Kaloo – 5/5
Now this is more like it. Very good card that’s also a double shield. Opponent trying to dodge your Sowing Chaos? That’s cute…

xRAVEx-4/5 Low cost and 2 shields mean that this card is highly expected to see play. The effect is also nice. It can ruin your opponent's plan, it can switch your elite's planet to blue, so that you can teleport it later.

NecRus888-4/5 Two shields, good cost, Tzeentch trait make it an interesting card already. Being able to exchange planets could make you life easier or make winning much harder for your opponent. It's not clear what happens to cards attached to exchangeв planets.

Flayed Skull Slaver

Asklepios- 3/5
3 for 1/2/3 needs great ability text, and +2R isn't good enough. However, Morn's discount makes this card as efficient as Skrap Nabba (which is an effective, solid card) and the Raiding Portal combo isn't too hard to set up: commit this unit to where Morn was going anyway, then double up on the resource bonus with Portal.

Steinerp -4/5
On its own the card isn’t great but with Morn’s discount and Raiding portal giving you 4 bonus resources a turn this card becomes great. A 5/5 that only loses a point because it does require other combo pieces. But this is a great piece.

Kingsley - 4/5
A fantastic unit for Morn and a solid unit for many other decks as well.

Corvus – 3/5
This has the downside of almost being required to be deployed to a red planet, which isn't quite as true with Morn's other units. Morn is always hungry for more resources, though, so when it works it should be a fine addition to her deck.

Kaloo – 4/5
Best alternate economy unit in the game, assuming you’re playing it in Morn, slightly above average otherwise. Not strictly for Morn, but clearly best played with her. Probably the only DE card to give a boost to Urien this cycle…
xRAVEx-3/5 Very solid in Morn, quite mediocre in any other wl. Still better, than his Tau colleague

NecRus888-3/5 Not necessary for Dark Eldars, but maybe useful with Eldar or Chaos as a tougher equivalent of Skrap Naba

Raiding Portal

Asklepios- 3/5
Cards that help win command struggles are good. Cards that give movement abilities are good. The downside here is that its only really efficiently usable for Morn, and Morn's natural commitment position is further down the planet array, which is anergistic with this effect. Add 1 copy to Morn, leave it off the other warlords.

Steinerp – 5/5
Movement and command wins = good. Great with the flayed skull. Most of the time it will move cappers down the line but it doesn’t have to. If you are going into the final battle, that one last unit may be the turning point.

Kingsley - 4/5
This card is potentially amazing for Morn and Kabalites in general, especially if it means that the Flayed Skull Slaver triggers its ability multiple times. While dependent on the planet flop and order, I suspect this will make quite an impression under the right circumstances.

Corvus – 2/5
Moving units to red planets doesn't seem that useful since you're already likely to have a big presence there. This card also opens you up to a lot of counterplay from your opponent since he gets to choose where he snipes command with his warlord. Altogether too finicky to see play.

Kaloo – 4/5
This is a Morn card and has been rated as such. Pretty cool card that makes a decent command game a lot better. Combined with Archon’s Palace just starts to get silly, and it breaths a new lease of life into the 1 cost 0 command Kabalites. The main issue is the potential lack of red icons given you’ve probably already got units winning command there

xRAVEx-3/5
The main drawback of kabalites is lack of hammers. This support helps to mitigate this issue a bit. It also adds the mobility, which is always cool. A fun combo - with this support a slaver can give you bonus resources several times. So it's easier to get a lot of resources for Klaivex. That's why it's not completely useless for non-morn warlords

NecRus888-2/5
Too many conditions must be met for this combo to be successful. And it's not always beneficial to move your units downstream.

Hallucinogen Grenade

Asklepios- 4/5
It's a weird and warped reflection of Emperor's Warrant, in the same way Inq Fortress is a reflection of Archon's Terror. Control options are strong, even if telegraphed and limited in targets, though this card is too focused on beating down single targets. 2 shields saves it from a lower rating.

Steinerp- 4/5
Takes an enemy unit out of the fight for a turn and possibly kills it. Combines a number of very good cards in an interesting way without being overly powerful. Limitations are manageable but real.

Kingsley - 4/5
Morn's cup runneth over! This is a very solid combat trick that also has two shields. What's not to like?

Corvus – 4/5
It exhausts! It does damage! It's two shields! The downsides are that you have to pay in the deploy phase, it's a 'combat trick' that only affects one planet, and your opponent may be able to mess with the carrier unit if you don't use it right away or don't have initiative. In a vacuum I'd vastly prefer Emperor's Warrant but this is what Morn gets and she'll be happy for it.

xRAVEx-3/5 5/5 for morn, 2/5 for the rest.
Cool control trick, but telegraphed. Again, Morn only

NecRus888-2/5
A solid control attachment with two shields. Don't like a Kabalite only limitation and "printed ATK" in the text. And it have to be an event, but not an attachment!

Kroot Hunter

Asklepios- 3/5
I see this as a Mystic Warden, but with a different drawback (+1R surcharge on non-red planets, as opposed to forced sacrifice). The context is different, though it opens more options for Starblaze staging ground decks, and benefits from being in a faction that has enough command to accomodate it. Like Mystic Warden, this is a card you add deliberately and with care, not just because.

Steinerp -4/5
I’m not a huge fan of Mystic Warden and this is basically a Tau Mystic Warden that doesn’t kill itself but is only deployable at red planets. The drawback of red only to be free is less than the drawback on Warden earning it the extra point. However this card isn’t as good as many other 4’s.

Kingsley - 4/5
In most situations this is a 0 cost 2/2 with no downside, which is very solid (compare Mystic Warden, which sees a fair bit of play). The main concern I have with this is that most Tau and Tau-allied decks care about cards more than resources, so I'm not sure how much this resource efficiency appeals.

Corvus – 3/5
A 'free' body might be useful in the right deck, although most of my Tau decks have so many cheap units that resources are rarely the bottleneck.

Kaloo – 4/5
Mystic Warden without the downside? Yes please. Do I have space for it? Ah…

xRAVEx-2/5
Well, it can be a body for shadowsun's attachments, it can be an armorbane hitter for aunshi. It's like mystic warden without forced reaction. But still I consider it won't find the room in Tau, but will be used by Nahumekh

NecRus888-1/5
A free Scout for red plants. Necrons will love it. Others don't need it.

War of Ideas

Asklepios- 1/5
I love how clever this card's design is! Sadly, I doubt its usefulness. Generally speaking, at the time of commitment, the only exhausted army units you have are the ones coming from HQ, and a good portion of the time you're winning command at that planet anyway. Command-phase Mind War aside, there's little application for this card other than winning command in a warlord vs warlord commitment, and Superiority or a small unit will do that just as well without being so limited in scope. When Tau have got access to so many 1-for-1s, there seems like little reason to ever use this card. Which is a shame, because it is so very clever.

Steinerp- 2/5
This card needs more testing before I can give it a solid rating. Switching one command struggle can make the difference between a win and a loss. But does it justify a card slot? I doubt it.

Kingsley - 2/5
This is a slightly better but significantly more situational Superiority. I don't think this is really good enough to be worth the slot unless we see a lot more exhaust effects during deployment, as right now the only real situation this is likely to matter in is when both players commit to the same planet. As much as it pains me to say it, I would play Superiority over this.

Corvus – 2/5
Shadowsun decks tend to intentionally bring a lot of exhausted units to fights later in the game because of For the Tau'va. Even so, this card won't make the cut because Shadowsun has almost no room for cards that aren't units or attachments in her deck, while signature cards and For the Tau'va take up most of the remaining slots. Other warlords might have room for it but have way less need of the effect.

Kaloo – 1/5
Only useful in situations where both warlords commit to the same planet, and a few other fringe cases (Syren, Wraithknight, over-zealous Markis etc). Keep in the binders

xRAVEx-1/5
It works only with warlord train, so in order to lose command, you should have also opponent's wl. Both Tau and eldar already have strong command units, so this event looks like an overkill. But for sm it may find the room.

NecRus888-3/5
I adore free events. Can't really help myself! A very good effect and non-loyal as well. Can be a pain for Eldorath. But won't see much play.

Genestealer Harvester

Asklepios- 4/5
Okay, so its just an Eldar Survivalist that gains an attack value but has annoying infestation conditions, so strictly worse than that rarely used card, right? Well, no, context is everything: Tyranids at present really lack command presence at 1-2 cost, and that inflates the value of this card by a rank or two.

Steinerp- 4/5
It is a genestealer and a command unit, that is good enough for me. The resource bonus is gravy on top. This set gives Omega everything he needs to compete. So I want to give them all 5’s but individually they are 4’s.

Kingsley - 4/5
So, it's a 2 cost 1/2/2 with a great ability and Genestealer trait synergy to boot? Excellent card, the only reason it doesn't get a 5/5 is because not all Tyranid decks have the infest to support this.

Corvus – 4/5
Solid even if his bonuses are often offline. The best infesting cards are other 2 cost units, and chances are you'll want to spread them out. Still, units tend to clump together as the game goes on or get caught in your warlord train, and I expect the average number of cards/resources gained by Harvester in Omega decks, and perhaps other Tyranid warlords, will make them very cost-effective.

Kaloo – 4/5
Great economy card that’s also an ok fighter, when ambushed. The only issue is the difficulty of getting planets infested during the deployment phase to actually benefit from their ability, especially since they are below average otherwise

xRAVEx-2/5 Currently infestation is critical for Omega only, so this card will be included only in Omega decks. 2r for 1/2/2 is common and no one loves such units. The ability is useful, but conditional, because if you lose command, it's just a vanilla unit, which is meh

NecRus888-4/5 A useful unit, synergetic with Tyranids' themes in this cycle: genestealers, infest, resources.

Nesting Chamber

Asklepios- 1/5
On the upside, Omega himself is a Genestealer, so he can count as one of two units. On the downside, support cards are telegraphed, the infestation is coming after you've played at least one stealer out of your hand, and 1-cost is 1 too high.

Steinerp- 5/5
Ok, this card earns its 5 on its own. Omega + a unit=infested planet is exactly what he needed. Clears up a lot of deck space as well as the bad infestation techinques are no longer needed.

Kingsley - 4/5
Probably the best infestation option available for Omega. I suspect this will replace Spore Chimney for many decks - the fact that Omega himself is a Genestealer unit means that you can trigger this quite easily to get planets ready for Ambush.

Corvus – 3/5
Not an inherently strong card, but good enough to see play in Omega because it works very well with her game plan. All you need is a single Genestealer army unit and your warlord to turn on all your ambush tricks at the planet you've chosen for your fight.

Kaloo – 4/5
This is an Omega card and has been rated as such. Something he desperately needed that will provide a boost whilst also not being overwhelming

xRAVEx -2/5
It's useless for SL and OOE, no doubt. For Omega it's better, but still not the card that is the ultimate solver of infestation issue. In order to trigger it you need either 2 genestealers, or 1 AND a predictable WL commit. But as an Omega player you'd better ambush all the genestealers you have. Also, if you use Omega to trigger it, you're able to infest only in the end of command phase, meaning you don't get bonuses from harvesters/venomthrope

NecRus888-4/5
Cheap and effective. Omega dances a happy dance! No limitations for phases, therefore Omega will always count.

Ymgarl Factor

Asklepios- 5/5
Regeneration is no longer the best attachment in the Tyranid card pool. Look at this beast: 2 shields is a great start, something bug-lovers really needed on a quality card. But then that effect: you can pump attack or HP, and you can do so multiple times! Hell, you can even use it for deploy delays if you want. For sure, it'll be expensive to run this card over time, but when it comes to decisive endgame moves, this is going to be hard to beat.

Steinerp- 4/5
This will eat resources but it can be ambushed in and is a good 2 shielder which nids have been needing.

Kingsley - 5/5
The strong 2-shield card Nids have been longing for! This can be ambushed in with Omega, and while it is expensive to pump a unit up much, it can provide for huge swings. Since Nids already love No Mercy, I suspect this will lead to many a warlord bloody. I think this will be a 3x in Omega decks forever and will replace Heavy Venom Cannon for most other Tyranid decks as well.

Corvus – 4/5
Omega wants it if only because it has the Genestealer trait and two shields, retroactively making Genestealer Brood much better. The card text is pretty boring – anyone remember Haemonculus Tormentor from the core set? - but every once in a while you'll have a resource surplus and ambushing it in may be worthwhile.

Kaloo – 5/5
Slightly more playable double shield than the Heavy Venom Cannon and Spore Burst. That alone warrants a high rating. It’s also posing, saying “have you got the Y-factor?” …

xRAVEx-5/5
Finally nids' dream came true - a 2-shields card, that is awesome not only as shields. Of course it's better in Omega due to the trait, but it's cool even for the rest tyranid WLs.

NecRus888-5/5
A crazy good attachment. Can be ambushed with Omega. No limitations by traits or times of use. Can be a bane of many inexperienced warlords. And finally two shields! We can now safely drop HVC from our decks.