The Scourge - War Pack Review

Warpack Reviews!

I wasn't going to do this, I really wasn't. As I said back in my Chime of Eons introduction, I didn't consider myself a good enough player to be assessing cards strategically and placing a value on them, which is why I was going to stick to rating the fluff instead.

Another cardgamedb poster was going to take on these articles, but they have - for reasons entirely outside of anyone's blame or control - not been created.

So I'm stepping up to the plater here as a collater of reviews.

What we have here are the opinions of five reviewers of The Scourge War pack. This time round we're looking purely at the cards in terms of how great they are in gameplay terms.

For these reviews, fluffiness is irrelevant. Indeed, how fun, stylish, beautiful or enjoyable a card is, is simply not relevant.

This series is about the Tournament Playability of these cards. The opinions are as to whether these are cards you will use when you want to win tournaments.

The rating scale as follows was offered to reviewers:

0 - Worthless - Straight in the binder, will never emerge for this game's life cycle.
1- V 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.

By eligible, I mean decks of that faction for loyal cards, and also decks of allied factions for non-loyal cards.

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

For Signature cards, rate them 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.

For this round, I wasn't going to be offering my own opinions. But hey I can't resist - someone on the internet may be wrong and in need of correction!

A Technical Note:
While it seems my article-posting privileges remain in place, I've not been able to contact the site admin, and technical problems remain with the popup links for anything but the core set.
For that reason, no pop up links in this article. Sorry!
Do check out the database though, which has images and full text for all cards.








Synopsis

From the scores, a % rating has been calculated, where 100% is 5/5 by every reviewer and 0% is 0/5 by every reviewer.

The cards, and their rankings were as follows:

1) Klaivex Warleader 93%
2) The Plaguefather's Banner 90%
3) Kauyon Strike 87%
3) Dakka Dakka Dakka! 87%
5) Inquisitorial Fortress 83%
5) Bork'an Recruits 83%
7) Vile Laboratory 77%
8) Iron Guard Recruits 70%
8) Ku'gath Plaguefather 70%
10) Ku'gath's Nurglings 63%
11) Fetid Haze 60%
12) Kustom Field Generator 57%
12) Fenrisian Wolf 57%
14) Black Guardians 50%
15) Morkai Rune Priest 40%
15) Attack Squig Herd 40%
17) Soul Seizure 37%
17) Bladed Lotus Rifle 37%
17) Death From Above 37%
20) Dome of Crystal Seers 33%
21) Dozer Blade 33%
22) Blacksun Filter 23%

Overall Pack Rating: 60.6%
For fun, you may want to compare this with the result of The Scourge Elimination Thread in the forum.

For extra fun, you may want to bookmark this page, come back to it in a year's time, and mock the reviewers for being completely wrong, or congratulate them for being totally right.


The Reviews

Ku'gath Plaguefather

4/5 - Kingsley
Ku'gath is an extremely powerful individual combatant, but he doesn't provide the same support to the rest of the deck that Zarathur does and relies somewhat on combos to get his best results, making him not a clear-cut choice for Chaos players. I like how the two Chaos decks lend themselves to very different styles of play and will be interested to see how they perform.

3/5 - Majeestat
I like this guy a lot and I find him far more interesting than Zarathur. Though he's not as strong and versatile as him at a first glance, the correct deck with a proper engine to have his ability available at all times should push him forward.
Due to his masochistic nature, Ku'Gath feels more comfortable with Orks as allies, while picking skirmishes and favoring games of attrition.
Problems can arise if you don't find key cards like Ork Kannon, as your enemy will simply ignore your warlord. Not like that is a bad thing on its own, but it may leave you feeling like he's just a 1 ATK blank warlord. Future nurgle toys and monsters should fix this issue.

3/5 - Korvus
He's an effective nuisance in smaller battles where the enemy is eventually forced to attack him but doesn't have enough firepower to bring him down quickly. As the game escalates, the enemy will play around his ability and fetid haze by leaving him for last in big battles, or take him out quickly, making him way less useful.
His squad as a whole seems fun but a little less competitive than Zarathur.

3/5 - Steinerp
I think he has potential. Self healing and killing at once is valuable, but only if he gets damaged. There are ways of doing this and once rolling it has a lot of potential but for now I see him as an average war leader.

FedericoFasullo 4/5
Unfortunately Chaos is not one of the top tier factions so it's hard to say how this WL will effect the meta. But it's a really decent WL. His effect cures him and deal one unshieldable damage, which is huge. Your opponent will do as much as he/she can to avoid hitting him so it'll be hard to trigger and his attack of only 1 makes him really balanced (wounded is good, healty is bad). His signiture is strong and solid, beware.

4/5 - Asklepios
Already I like this guy more than Zarathur. Sure, his damage output is lower, but he also deals out moved damage, which is unshieldable and not can be placed without being an attack. Most importantly though, he's massively resilient, and unlike Zarathur can be sent out alone and still be a potent fighting force. His signature cards support him well.
Chaos decks as a whole aren't top tier right now, but I'm judging this card just by himself and his sig cards.

Fetid Haze

4/5 - Kingsley
This event can potentially produce a massive swing - in the best-case scenario, you play it while Ku'gath has six damage on him (or seven with Banner), healing your Warlord completely while blasting the enemy army with six indirect damage. However, it also costs three and is relatively inflexible, which means it's not quite as amazing as it seems initially. This rating could easily change to either a 3 or a 5 based on the results of further testing.

(3/5) – Majestaat:
Rather expensive and virtually unusable out of its single shield if Ku'Gath isn't receiving damage (though this event can be played on any Nurgle unit, it's only worth on Ku'Gath so far). Hence, it will be via your own effects (ex: Nurglings) that you will get a chance to use this to big effect. Though conditional, the effects will be huge and make your warlord almost indestructible.
It's like Warpstorm, except it doesn't damage your units (and in fact heals one!), but you will need to manage your shields properly so your warlord doesn't die while trying to use this.

3/5 - Korvus
Combines with Ku'gath's ability to turn him into an incredibly unattractive target. Shifting 4-6 damage from one side of the board to the other seems very much worth the cost.

2/5 - Steinerp
Costs a lot and Ku’gath already does a decent job of healing himself.

FedericoFasullo 3/5
Overpriced events need to be really strong to be played, this is one of them but you don't always find a real situation to trigger it as its full potential. A little bit random and situational, it could be an ace or a dead draw. Good luck.

3/5 - Asklepios
Any card that can turn a battle on its own is worthwhile, even if it has high cost, and there's an instant synergy with the Warlord it comes with. Still, that cost IS rather high, and there aren't a lot of good Nurgle targets otherwise right now. Another shield would have been nice too. All in all, an important card in the signature squad, but with some weaknesses.

Ku'gath's Nurglings

3/5 - Kingsley
This is a decent unit that has a Forced Reaction that empowers Ku'gath to do his thing and makes it annoying for enemies to move to his planet. Note that it hits your units too, though-- even hitting itself - and that it can thus be a rather dangerous card to have in your warlord's group. If misused, this card is an outright liability for you to play, though it does have a high upside in the right situation.

3/5 – Majestaat
As with their father, I really like these nasty little guys. They can be insanely powerful on the latter stages of the game. Smart positioning will make them incredibly threatening, especially when there are 2 or more Nurglings at a single key planet.
I can't rate them higher because your won't always be able to wait for the perfect chance to deploy them and they're, by nature, a double-edged blade. I do think they're rather difficult to grasp though, and if I could test more, I believe they could make a 4/5.

3/5 - Korvus
The ability will definitely lead to some interesting tactical play with both armies trying to circumvent unnecessary damage without giving up key planets.

3/5 - Steinerp
The restricted ruling on what constitutes a move hurts this card, but it slows down the field for those tricky wind riders and mobile units.

FedericoFasullo 4/5
Wiewer discretion is advised. I'm literally in love with this card. It's this kind of cards that give me erections. Such complication. Such design. Such dangerous effect. Such headacheness. It'll be a difficult card to use and to manage to make it works but in the hands of a good player this card will make a lot of mess. Please, read how it works before building a Ku'gath's deck.

3/5 - Asklepios
2 cost and a command icon instantly makes this halfway decent for a signature squad unit, as it brings down the resource curve of units in a deck as a whole. I'm a big fan of 2 costed sig units. That said, its ability has the potential to hurt you as much as your opponent. A canny opponent can engineer events to make sure that committing to their planet is painful for you at a time when you really have to. On the other hand, you can do the same to them,
As a lesser effect, also helps lock out Mobile a little (though most Mobile units that come into battle can take a point or two of damage).

The Plaguefather’s Banner

5/5 - Kingsley
This card has instantly dethroned Tallassarian Tempest Blade for best signature attachment in the game. With this equipped, an injured Ku'gath essentially has two Armorbane damage to distribute anywhere in addition to his normal attack, and he heals to boot. Incredibly powerful - with this equipped and a few events in hand you can solo entire armies.

(5/5) – Majestaat:
3 shields, cheap and a very powerful effect. With the extra HP and additional trigger on his ability, Ku'Gath becomes a dueling monster, capable of dealing with most other warlords and even crush small armies single-handedly, effectively becoming a 5/5 warlord in my book.
Remember that moved damage can't be shielded, so you will essentially be dealing 1 shieldable damage + 2 unshieldable damage that can be spread across different targets. CRAZY strong. Might as well think of this like pseudo-AoE 1 that heals 2 in the process.

3/5 - Korvus
Seems great on Ku'gath. The price and effect mean this will be deployed far more often than it's used as a shield, which is a step in the right direction for signature attachments.

4/5 - Steinerp
Finally a useful 3 shield card. Good cost, good ability, always has a target in Ku’gath. Only problem is the same that Ku’gath has. If he isn’t hurt it doesn’t work.

FedericoFasullo 5/5
Signature attachments with their 3 shields are just stupidly good and most of the times broken. You won't always need to attach it to the warlord because I saw in the few tests that my opponent avoid to attack Ku'gath and try to kill him in the less sequence of attacks.

Asklepios - 5/5
There's a habit in this game to design signature cards that are 1x, and are overpowered for their cost. I don't like this, as it makes for a high variance game. We've all, I'm sure, faced a Turn 1 Khymera Den or Talassarian Tempest Blade. Now here's another one off to curse the sight of.
Played onto the Warlord, it makes him both a death dealing machine and almost impossible to put down. Can you do 8HP damage in one round? If not, be prepared to feel the pain.


Vile Laboratory

4/5 - Kingsley
Moving units is a very powerful effect, and this has good synergy with Ku'gath's Nurglings and can even be used to stall deployment. However, opponent's choice effects are always a bit weaker than they first appear, preventing it from making it to 5/5.

(5/5) – Majestaat:
Like most signature supports, this one is a gamechanger. Moving effects have proved to be extremely strong in this game, and this one is reusable. From messing with command to thinning the enemy ranks at a target planet, this card does it all. The real fun starts when you have a couple Nurglings in play, making the choices for your opponent much more painful, literally.

2/5 - Korvus
It won't often push a big combat unit out of a fight since they tend to show up later in the game, where there will be plenty of smaller opposing units to shield them from the effect. It should do a reasonable job of messing with an opponent's orderly command struggle lines, but doesn't seem terribly exciting.

4/5 - Steinerp
Probably the best card in the set as with most of the support signature locations. Even if it gives your opponent a choice, it is a choice they don’t want to make.

FedericoFasullo 4/5
Really nice. Messing with opponents deploy is something that goes beyond the pain in the ass. Prepare your anuses my friends.

4/5 - Asklepios
Another 1x power card, though not as good as the banner. You can do a lot with this though: Deploy Action means on the turn you play it, that's 2 deploy turns taken for 2 resources and 1 card, which is a good start. Use it to get Syren Zyth'lex out of the way, or to make that Vicious Bloodletter a problem for next turn. Use it to mess up command math and battle math. That you choose the target planet but that the opponent chooses the target unit and destination planet weakens it slightly, but you can control that to some degree, forcing choices by targeting single units (or units with venhicle buddies) at 1st or last planet.

Other Cards

Attack Squig Herd

3/5 - Kingsley
This card doesn't do anything but fight, but its fighting stats are quite good for the price. In many respects this is a better version of Goff Nob - while it doesn't have the same combo potential or the advantageous Elite trait, 4 attack and 6 attack are not very different, and Attack Squig Herd is cheaper.

(2/5) – Majestaat:
When I'm paying this much I expect a powerful ability and at least one command icon. This is just a ball of stats that isn't even particularly impressive. While it's high HP enables it to make good use of brutal from Nazdreg, I would still prefer to play something else for this much.

2/5 - Korvus
More appealing than Goff Nob. Its high HP certainly synergizes with Nazdreg. But you don't really see big, expensive, ability-deprived units in good decks, and with good reason.

3/5 - Steinerp
I like him, but orks already have a bunch of big units that cost a lot. He will make decks.

FedericoFasullo 0/5
Have you ever tried to think about something that could be really useless? A not sharp knife. A sharp spoon. An ejector seat on an helicopter. This card.

2/5 - Asklepios
4 cost is an interesting slot for orks in that they have a lot of 3-4/5 quality there, from repeatable support destruction, to a big hitter with a little splash damage, and so on. The flaw of this card, in my opinion, is the ready availability of Assault Valkyrie in this cost slot, which is as resilient and as good with Nazdreg, but has a command icon. The only role I can see for this where this is better is in mono-Ork, and I don't believe the card pool is yet ready to support that. If this were an Eldar or DE card, we'd likely rate it higher. As an Ork card, there's better options around.

Black Guardians

3/5 - Kingsley
These stats are great for the price, but the lack of an icon really hurts. On the other hand, Black Guardians has good synergy with Empower and can be quite difficult for similarly priced units to deal with. Even some Warlords have to worry about going after this guy thanks to his high toughness. Overall, I think this is a solid unit to play to shore up a battleground or threaten a first planet that you're not too concerned with.

(3/5) – Majestaat:
Eldar have strong enough command to make this a decent unit despite its lack of icons. Beefy combat-oriented unit to help winning planets without necessarily having to play the long control game. If anything, they round Eldar's arsenal up a bit.

3/5 - Korvus
A beefy unit for its cost, in a faction sorely lacking in the bovine department. There are lots of examples of cheap command-less units that help round out the fighting abilities of other decks - Eager Recruit, Sybarite Marksman, and Goff Boys - and while this card isn't quite as good as any of those it's still passable.

2/5 - Steinerp
That a 2/4 is considered a fighting upgrade for eldar is a sad thing. Eldar win with command and a couple of good fighters. This guy gives them volume but with what we have seen that isn’t what they need. The 0 command is the killer for me

FedericoFasullo 1/5
My team of scientists is working on a project to manage to give this unit command icons. I'll tell you as soon as we will have some positive responses to tests.

3/5 - Asklepios
A tough one to call, as Eldar really do suffer from hitting power, and the key to their wins is often to turn card and resource advantage into battlefield strength. This gives one more option of doing so, though I'd treat it in the same way you treat other command-less troops: not counting it towards your 30 core command-bearing units in deck. This makes it a hard pick to take, as Eldar decks are rapidly filling up with quality events, and they are well positioned for good cards from allied decks. Right now, I see it as an option for Eldar, but not a top one. I'd personally use the card slot for an Archon's Terror instead!

Blacksun Filter

3/5 - Kingsley
You can attach this with Shadowsun when an enemy commits to the same planet to get a guaranteed +1 resource, and you can play it normally to stall deployment and perhaps gain a resource later. Both of these are cool effects and this strikes me as a solid utility card. It also turns on Squadron Redployment.

(1/5) – Majestaat:
What can I say? Best case scenario is one player rushing and always commiting to the first planet, so you attach it to one of the warlord's escorts and you may get a decent amount of money. But 90% or more of the time, I doubt this will generate more than 1 resource.

1/5 - Korvus
The synergies for attachments that exist in Tau don't quite excuse this card's existence. There's no way to consistently get resources out of it, the resource payoff isn't that great even if you do get it, and you should always have better attachments to freeroll with Shadowsun.

1/5 - Steinerp
I don’t see using this card any time soon. You will be lucky if you get two resources out of it due to either missing warlords or being dead.

FedericoFasullo 1/5
Not needed. Too fragile. Way too conditional: you have to attach it to a unit that you hope it'll survive an encounter against the enemy warlord and then commit this unit again against the same warlord. Just for two resources.
This card also need a flavour text: "Tau's technicians immediately regretted having developeded a really good vision filter with such high resolution in the very first encounter of Ku'gath".

0/5 - Asklepios
No, this one is straight in the binder, and the worst card of the pack. It's not a free resource, no matter how you play it, as it costs you a card play and a card slot. Play it on your own unit, and you can't rely on it triggering recurrently. If that unit gets sniped, you're then 1 card down, 1 resource up., which isn't great. Play it on your opponent's unit in their HQ, and the resource is guaranteed, but if you don't go on to kill that unit, you lose whatever battle they're moving their Warlord to. Again not great. Barring a card that lets you force enemy warlord commitment (and that would be very bad card design) this will never be playable.
There's a small synergy with Shadowsun, but that deck is full of better cards.


Bladed Lotus Rifle

3/5 - Kingsley
Like Starcannon, this is a good card without many good targets. It has a nice combo with Kabalite Strike Force to create a unit that either has a strong single-target ranged attack or else a ranged AoE, but the only other Kabalite unit in the game at present (Sybarite Marksman) is already Ranged. Future Kabalite units may empower this card further.

(1/5) – Majestaat:
Bonus to cost ratio is poor. Gaining ranged is very limited on its own, and out of all eligible targets only one is worthy. It will take some time for this to get anywhere near decent.

2/5 - Korvus
It's bad, but at least it's trying to fulfill a purpose. Kabalite Strike Forces might become necessary as anti-token safeguards, and this is one of only two ways to get Ranged Area Effect in the game. And if you also just need more big ranged units in a DE/E deck that's commited to hitting first, this might just make the cut. Maybe.

2/5 - Steinerp
Ranged AOE’s are good but this card isn’t. Maybe after a few more Kabilites come out.

FedericoFasullo 2/5
Meh. I'm bored. This cards needs more Dakka. Let's talk about Dakka Dakka Dakka! That card is good.

1/5 - Asklepios
At present, there is exactly ONE unit in the card pool that you will get both the +1 attack and the Ranged on, and in that circumstance you're probably just after the Ranged to get Ranged AOE 1. This card will be useless for a while, barring a flush of Kabalites of value entering the meta. I suspect we are waiting till next cycle, when I expect we'll see Asdrubael Vect with a Signature Squad of Kabalites. At that time, we'll reassess this card.

Bork'an Recruits

4/5 - Kingsley
Two for a 2/2 with an icon is pretty much enough to make you a 3/5 card already (it's the Grizzly Bears of Conquest), and this unit packs quite a good ability to boot. I think this card will be a staple in Tau and Tau-allied decks for some time to come, and think it's pretty close to being a 5/5 card - however, the effect is not flashy or surprising in the way that cards like Klaivex Warleader can be, and this card will soon have close equivalents in other factions, preventing it from being a true standout.

(4/5) – Majestaat:
They're cheap and have appropiate stats. Were they blank, they would still be close to a 3. Thanks to their text, they can be a minor contribution to your command phase until a warlord shows up to snipe or guarantee victory at that planet. If they get to strike at least once during the game, I would say they paid for their price.

4/5 - Korvus
An unassuming but competitively priced unit. It will attack for 4 more often than not without requiring any special effort on your part, and units under 2 cost that can both contribute to command and fight are just always good.

4/5 - Steinerp
I like these guys and can’t wait for the eldar to get theirs. A nice flexible unit that is cheap and useful in multiple phases.

FedericoFasullo 5/5
Not loyal, that means we will see a lot of people using it. I give it 5 stars because I always loved cheap and strong unit. This is something you would really love to see when you are in trouble. A potential 4/2 dude with a command icon is always good.

4/5 - Asklepios
A probable 3x include, as they're powerful and economical. May not make every Space Marine deck with Tau allies though, as those decks aren't lacking for firepower and tend to use the Tau for command support and Rifles.

Dakka Dakka Dakka!

4/5 - Kingsley
Despite initial excitement, this card is actually not that great. Exhausting your Warlord during deployment is a serious cost, and while it can bring a big upside sometimes, I've found that this is disadvantageous to play in most games. On the other hand, it's still a two shield card, and the effect can be a game-winner. Overall, I think this should probably make it into all Ork decks at 3x, but it's not as good as people were hoping.

(5/5) - Majeestat
One of the most commented cards in this pack, and with good reason. Orks were in need of a second 2-shields card. Good to see it arrived early. Then you have a powerful effect that becomes even more powerful in the current meta (dominance of cheap, fragile cappers to snowball through command). Not only does it wreck popular command units like Void Pirate and even most token units, it will trigger brutal on your greenskins and also activate the extra command from Bad Dok.
Do remember you have to exhaust your warlord though, so be careful when commiting.

5/5 - Korvus
That's a lot of dakka. The ability to obliterate all of your opponent's tokens and fragile command units is just amazing. 2 shields and the synergy with Brutal and Bad Doc is icing on the cake. This card is a big step towards greater competitive relevance for Orks.

4/5 - Steinerp
This card has a lot going for it. Only downside is that it negates snotling builds which I like. That said I still put a couple in my snotling deck. Say goodbye to all those annoying pirates, traders, guardians, etc. Also fuels your brutal.

FedericoFasullo 4/5
WOOT! DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA! I was very excited when this card was spoiled but I've played it in a few games and... well it's not as shiny as it seems. Exausting your WL it's really a pain, and also a dangerous move against Blackmane (yeah...). With its high cost it's hard to use it to flip the table on your side. It has 2 shields so it's an autoinclude at the moment. Not very suited for Old Zogwort. Still I'm giving DDD 4 stars out of 5 because I believe that smart people will be better than me to embrace the potential of this card.
Needs more dakka!


4/5 - Asklepios
Playing orks? You'll probably run three of these, as between 2 shields and a potentially game swinging effect, its a strong include.
Not playing orks? Don't adjust your deck because this card exists - orks are too weak in the meta right now to worry about.
The cost here is the big thing though - not so much the 2 resources, but the exhaust warlord cost, that will likely cost you a command struggle, leave you one strike short on round 1, and most importantly prevent you retreating as a strike on round 1. But what about playing this janky combo to untap him, I hear you say? No. You can't rely on combos. Nice when they happen, but with Orks in particular you're not looking at good odds of building any combo over the first few turns. Combos are for Eldar and Tau.
But still, despite the cost and effect itself being not as good as people think it is, this is probably now the Orkish 2-shielder of choice, with most ork decks likely carrying 3 of this, and 1-3 Battle Cry.

Death From Above

2/5 - Kingsley
This card can be used to play a Soaring Falcon or Vile Raider cheaply, though at the cost of an extra card and a limited deployment. I think this is a little too combo-y to see much play right now.

(2/5) – Majestaat:
With units gaining the elite trait at 5-cost, this card will be able to play up to 4-cost units. Being optimistic, you save 2 resources in that best case scenario (Vile Raider and the future Vectored Vyper Squad, I guess). You're forced to deploy at the last planet though, which I hate in a game that revolves around positioning. Sure, the unit is mobile and can eventually join the battlefield, but that can take a while. Hopefully, it will win several command struggles in the proccess.
Once again, a card that depends on receiving more support: mobile units in this case.

1/5 - Korvus
At the moment, Vile Raider is the only moderately interesting target. Hopefully some others get printed, as the idea of a scary unit that slowly but surely side-hops its way towards a fight while contesting command along the way entertains me.

2/5 - Steinerp
Get back to me next year when Eldar have a better fleet. Right now this is for raiders and falcons and the cost reduction isn’t worth forcing me to drop them on the last planet.

FedericoFasullo 2/5
Really useless at the moment. I don't know if it'll ever see play. Let's imagine that Eldar's faction has some good unit to deploy with this event, will people spare a precious slot in his/hers deck to include this card? I'm not convinced in single-use-resource-providing cards unless they are really good. This card is way too balanced to be strong and when the cardpool will be more big there will also be more good events.

2/5 - Asklepios
This is a strong effect, providing a sizeable tempo boost to your economy. It might cost you a card to save 1-3 resources, but that's not the point: its that you can get more battle strength on the last turn, or deploy more command on any other turn.
So why 2/5? Because there aren't enough good targets for it, and at present you can't easily tutor mobile cards to your hand. However lets not kid ourselves: the odds of there being a Mobile sig squad for the Eldar Warlord of this cycle must be well over 90% by now, and at that stage we'll be thinking about including this card.

Dome of Crystal Seers

2/5 - Kingsley
This card has great synergy with Earth Caste Technician (as if that card needed to be better!) and Swordwind Farseer, and will perhaps become even better if more search effects come out. However, right now it's relatively situational and still a Support.

(3/5) – Majestaat:
Wait until we get a couple extra search effects and we will be seeing decks built around this to always have the perfect answer to the situation at hand, and that can get their combos running sooner. I might be unfair to other cards with lack of synergy to which I have given a 2, but from experience in other card games, I know this kind of engine is very effective when put to practice, so I'm inclined to rate it higher.
The only question is: how long will it take for it to be really usable?

1/5 - Korvus
Outstanding, as far as examples of cards that simply aren't worth a deck slot are concerned.

2/5 - Steinerp
Eldar have lots of search but with 50 card decks, you should be finding what you are looking for most of the time anyways. If you make a deck full of silver bullets in the future maybe but for now, just let the seers predict the future from your extra box.

FedericoFasullo 0/5
Nice art! This Elichev seems a good guy, let him make drawings for good cards!

2/5 - Asklepios
Do the math in the hypergeometric calculator, and you'll see that one copy of this card makes your search a lot stronger, and 2 copies makes it incredible.
The downside, unfortunately, is a dearth of search effects for Eldar right now. Earth Caste Technician, Swordwind Farseer. However, this is the building block of a new Eldar deckstyle that is tutoring heavy, and which in a skilled deckbuilder's hands will be really really good. Its not how many cards you draw, but which ones.
Watch this space, and this card may become a strong include in the near future.

Dozer Blade

3/5 - Kingsley
Right now, I think this is similar to Starcannon or Bladed Lotus Rifle in that it's a good card with only one really good target (Assault Valkyrie), but it could easily prove strong in the future. The best bet is probably an Ork/AM deck with both Assault Valkyrie and Rugged Killa Kans.

(2/5) – Majestaat:
Free stats, what's not to like? As was the case with the Eldar Starcannon, the issue here is lack of good targets. It's pretty amazing with Assault Valkyries, and decent with the Leman Russ. The Hellhound is not worth running at all in my opinion.
But as more vehicles (hopefully cheaper ones) are revealed and released, this will keep rising in value.

1/5 - Korvus
Cute in conjunction with Flying, but otherwise terrible. This pack alone has two new ways to manhandle (Inquisitorial Fortress) or murder (Klaivex Warleader) your biggest unit, so why waste time and deck space trying to make him bigger?

1/5 - Steinerp
I just don’t see it outside of Valkaries and who puts a dozer blade on a plane?

FedericoFasullo 2/5
A little bit vanilla. Playing a random card with 2 shields will be a better use of deck's slots.

1/5 - Asklepios
Are you going to run a pure vehicle deck? No? Then this card is worse than a card with 2 shields, which will essentially do the same thing but better for you, barring a few circumstances (like Armourbane against you, Brutal for you, Flying and so on). It does have 0 resource cost, however, so somewhere down the line there may be an AM "resilience" deck that uses this and other damage reduction / HP boosting cards. I doubt it will be tourney worthy though.

Fenrisian Wolf

2/5 - Kingsley
This card has the advantage of giving you "super first strike," with its ability resolving even before Ranged units. Unfortunately, it has numerous antisynergies that make it rather weak IMO. You can't use it with AoE, the effect isn't an attack so it doesn't work with Fury of Sicarius or Catachan Outpost, and you can't use it to attack warlords or tokens. I think this card probably should have cost one resource, but it still wouldn't be great then - I currently consider it to grant an ability somewhat worse than Ranged, and Rokkit Launcha is a decent but not amazing card at one cost for actual Ranged. Might see play if Ranged units become much more prevalent in the meta, but right now give this one a miss.

(3/5) – Majestaat:
This is the ideal pet when you absolutely need to strike first and are being pressured by ranged units. Furthermore, since it't not wargear you can even attach it to big, mean fellow like the Ultramarines Dreadnought.
Then you have bad things like the cost, the fact it can only target army units and this being an effect instead of an attack, so you can't combine it with, say, AoE. It would also be screwed by cards like Communications Relay or Land Raider. On the bright side, it bypasses Honored Librarian's text, Indomitable and Repulsor Impact Field.

3/5 - Korvus
I have trouble seeing how I would fit this card into a deck, but on the occasions that it craterizes a choice ranged or expensive unit it will have paid for itself, so I would consider it playable.

3/5 - Steinerp
Gives a different ranged option. I don’t think this goes in decks right now, but as defenses get better over time, having a non-attack will increase in value, just like Ku’gath.

FedericoFasullo 3/5
Not strong strong, but playable. Acting before ranged can twist the esit of some battles. With a two resources cost I feel it like an overpriced card but if it had had only 1 resources as cost it'd been too broken (compared to Rokkit Launcha). If you play against it's something to be worried about but not a real threat like an Ion Rifle on a Librarian.

3/5 - Asklepios
There's potential here for play out of Shadowsun decks, in a "Tau With Dogs" style deck, as a combination of cards like Ambush Platform and Even the Odds will make it usable, even if you can't use Shadowsun's ability to deploy it. But hey, we run 3x Gun Drone, don't we? For Space Marine and AM decks, I'm far less convinced, and even for most Shadowsun decks you won't include it. Still, Tau with Dogs is by no means a bad deck!

Inquisitorial Fortress

4/5 - Kingsley
This card has a slightly better version of the Archon's Terror effect, and Archon's Terror is one of the best cards in the game. The only reason this isn't a 5/5 is that supports are generally a fair bit weaker than events - they're more predictable and can't be used to shield. This card is perhaps the strongest argument for running Enginseer Augur, as getting it mid-battle is extremely strong.

(5/5) – Majestaat:
Worse than Archon's Terror? Yes. Is that enough to make it less than a 5/5? No.
It's telegraphed, yes, but it also conditions how your opponent will play, so you can still take advantage of that until you really need to blow this for its practical effect.
A stronger control tool than Suppressive Fire, this is a perfect way to deal with those big units with AoE or Repulsor Impact Field that can't be defeated through damage without paying a huge cost.

4/5 - Korvus
Has downsides compared to Archon's Terror, since you broadcast your intentions to your opponent, you can't bluff having it, and you can't spend that turn's command resources to play it. On the other hand, I can't overstate how useful it can be to send unique units like Veteran Brother Maxxos packing, you can use it pre-command struggle, Enginseer Augur searches for it, and Archon's Terror is really good.

3/5 - Steinerp
I don’t know that this will make the Imp Guard support location slot cut. They need some units too. That said the ability is good and the increased flexibility in timing makes up for the broadcasting of intent.

FedericoFasullo 4/5
Really good. Routing stuff is always good, furthermore this card is not a combat action like Archon's terror, which means you can use it BEFORE command struggle. It cannot be countered by Nullify but it suffers Squig bombin'. I feel we will see this card a lot in AM decks.
There's another thing: the psychological threat of a Sword of Damocles. You just have to place it on the field and watch your opponent struggles thinking about when you will use it. This card make a lot of pressure on struggles and combat and can easily twist the esit of a single turn.

5/5 - Asklepios
Archon's Terror is a 5/5 card. This card is equally good.
On the downside: Telegraphed. You don't get the Event synergy thing that DE do. Can be Support-hated. You have to spend resources in deploy phase, so don't get to spend the resources gained in this command phase. No shield.
On the upside: Effects command phase. You DO get the Support synergy thing that AM do. Can target Unique units. Can't be Nullified. Won't get discarded from your hand if its in play. Uses up a deploy turn.
While there's more ups than downs, telegraphing is a big thing. Some might say that any DE that holds 2 resources back can be expected to have an Archon's Terror, but thats not always true.
Even so, add three of these to your AM decks now. Thank goodness its a loyal card, or we'd now be looking at 6/7 factions throwing out rout effects.

Iron Guard Recruits

5/5 - Kingsley
This card is a game-changer. It isn't particularly exciting, but every two-for-two unit (two cost two icons) is very powerful, and this side of the alliance wheel has previously been quite constrained as to what they can field in that regard. This card represents a considerable buff to command capabilities for both Astra Militarum and Astra Militarum-allied decks.

(4/5) – Majestaat:
Numerically worse than Sanctioned Psyker, and sadly lacks the soldier trait to be buffed by Straken. Still, it's 2 resources for 2 command icons and enough HP to survive Sicarius' Chosen or Dakka Dakka Dakka!
AM (not to say their allies as well) was in need of some command boost, making this a godsend. And hey, nothing stops you from playing both these guys and the Psykers for big pressure.
That aside, it's also a cheap body for AM's sacrifice effects and you may always get to do some big damage with Catachan Outpost when getting sniped.

2/5 - Korvus
This just isn't a very interesting statline, and suffers by comparison with every soon-to-be-mentioned card. Incubus Warrior replaced Chaos Fanatics in my Chaos decks a while ago and I've never looked back. If you just want a resilient 2 command unit get Sanctioned Psyker, but even then the rest of your deck had better be doing some very interesting things to account for how much you're overpaying for a slightly better Recon Drone.

2/5 - Steinerp
I have been bad talking the Eldar Survivalist (to some degree) in the Eldar elimination thread because it costs two. This card suffers the same. Command focused cards really need to 1 or 2 costed.

FedericoFasullo 4/5
Strong and boring. There's very few to say about it. You have to put it in your deck. And it's not loyal.

4/5 - Asklepios
The equivalent card is Chaos Fanatics, but the true point of comparison is actually Sanctioned Psyker - both are non-Loyal AM with 2 command for 2 cost with no useful traits.
This is a 3x include in most decks that can include it because 2 command for 2 cost is really good. Its only the Sanctioned Psyker's existence that stops it being auto-include, For example, in a Nazdreg deck, you might feel 4 HP synergises better with his Warlord ability. Generally though, many AM decks will be including 3 of both of the 2-command 2-costers, and the fact that they have access to both is going to help boost them into meta relevance.

Kauyon Strike

5/5 - Kingsley
This is basically a binder card until next month, but will almost inevitably be a 5/5 autoinclude in Aun'Shi decks, so I may as well give it that rating now.

(5/5) – Majestaat:
This should be replacing Repulsor Impact Field in Aun'Shi decks. 2 shields, cheap and a mind-blowing effect. Reposition your ethereals to get all those neat bonuses for your units or save them from certain death if they won't get to strike. More importantly, force another battle with Aun'Shi. Sure, command phase and its rewards are over, but you should get to trigger another planet's ability according to your needs. This will see a lot of play.

4/5 - Korvus
The Ethereals deck just got a lot more interesting. This synergizes so well with every card in Aun'shi's squad. You can use this to start a second battle with Aun'shi himself, bring an Aun'ui Prelate back for a second swing and buff, and just to occasionally pull units out of harm's way. I predict Aun'shi players will be happy to see this card every time they draw it.

4/5 - Steinerp
The Ethereal deck is going to be good once it comes out. I can’t think of any way to untap the ethereal right now which is unfortunate but this card is still solid. Even if not used at the active planet this sets you up for next turn. Two shields is just a bonus.

FedericoFasullo 3/5
A good card in a tematic deck is a bad card in a generic deck. A really strong effect if you play a lot of Ethereal units but, I'm sorry, we have to wait until Ethereals will be a strong theme.
I would like to tell a sad story: in A game of Thrones LCG we have the Lannister faction with the Clansmen subtheme. Well. Clansmen suck. That's it.

5/5 - Asklepios
It'd be insane to think of this as anything but a "pseudo-signature" card for Aun'shi. Its 3x for him, 0x for Shadowsun. It can let you create a new battle with your Ethereal Warlord, or swing him back from HQ after he forced-retreats, or to run from a battle early, or to flee from battle before it even begins. All that amazing flexibility, plus 2-shields? Add in Homing Beacon as well from the last pack as another pseudo-signature card, and Aun'shi is looking amazing out of the gate.

Klaivex Warleader

5/5 - Kingsley
This card is quite expensive, but it is such a huge gamechanger in battle that it still makes 5/5. Playing this will often mean that you kill one unit immediately, swing to kill another unit, and then have a strong body for the rest of the fight. The fact that it can then go on to lock down command on its planet is icing. I think basically every Dark Eldar deck should play this at 3x for the foreseeable future.

(5/5) – Majestaat:
Wow, just wow. ATK and HP are somewhat low for its cost. Two command icons, ambush and a very strong reaction more than make up for that. Honestly, this is one of the best if not the best 4-cost unit in the game. Drop him mid-battle to destroy the biggest enemy threat (even Heldrakes will go down easily!), then proceed to destroy another unit with its 3 ATK. If he survives the battle, he's even a powerful command unit for the rest of the game and a decent combatant. I have absolutely no complaint with this card, unless I'm on the receiving end.

5/5 - Korvus
*The* premier unit in the game until further notice. Fury of Sicarius is already a 5/5, and for only 2 more resources you get a less restrictive kill and a mid-sized ambush unit packed into a single card. Insane value.

5/5 - Steinerp
I’ve got nothing bad to say about this guy other than if you ambush him you don’t get the benefit of his 2 command icons. But this is as good a unit as you will find.

FedericoFasullo 3/5
Really good. Cannot give him more than 3 stars because the state of this game really penalyze cards that cost more than 3 resources. Expensive cards can be easily got killed/routed/exausted wich shift this game to an abuse of cost 3 units which are less precious but still effective. Don't forget that you need to save 4 resources (or save a less amount but then you need to be sure to gain the ramaining coins during the struggle) to play it, it means that your deploy phase will be a little weak, which means your struggle also will be a little weak. Strong, deadly but hard to drive.

5/5 - Asklepios
If you're not running 3 of these, do so. Sure, it competes for the same price slot as those wonderful Wild Riders, but this guy is even better. Its efficiency: on the turn you ambush him, he kills a unit with his ability, then likely another with his attack value. It's flexibility: if you prefer 2 command this turn to that ability, you can choose to deploy him normally (seriously though, don't).
Crucially, this is a card that turns DE card advantage into game win. The best card we've seen since... since... Archon's Palace.
Man, DE are in a really good place right now.

Kustom Field Generator

3/5 - Kingsley
Redistributing damage among your units can be a great way to save units and optimize Brutal. However, this is an expensive and situational Support in a faction that already really wants to run two other Supports (Ork Kannon and Tellyporta Pad), so I'm not sure if it will end up making the cut.

(4/5) – Majestaat:
This one is so powerful in mono or mostly mono Ork. You get to choose how you want damage to be assigned, getting to keep your important units alive for longer and gaining the maximum possible bonus from brutal. Also, and mainly, a life insurance for your warlord.
Feels rather situational though, and it's somewhat costly, so I doubt I would ever run more than 1, and most definitely would never go with 3.

3/5 - Korvus
Expensive supports that require some setup before they actually do anything, like this card and Ambush Platform, are always a little suspect. The upside here is depriving your opponent a killing blow while charging your Brutal units for a big riposte (Orks are all about ripostes. That and patinandos.), which could be worthwhile in the right deck.

2/5 - Steinerp
I get the theory, I just think it costs a bit much and is situationally useful.

FedericoFasullo 3/5
A very nice card. Well balanced and fits just right the Ork's theme, the cost is a little bit hard to afford and that makes it not really overpowered. It'll be more usefull with the next Ork's warlord.

2/5 - Asklepios
Currently a subtle trap card, as it more or less demands commitment to almost mono-ork to be worthwhile, and building that deck results in running clunkers like Bad Dok. Give it two more warpacks though, and expect mono-ork to be a thing, and this card to be 1-2x.

Morkai Rune Priest

2/5 - Kingsley
I think this card really needed improved stats or a second command icon to be strong. As it stands, it compares unfavorably to other four-cost units like Daring Assault Squad or even Tankbusta Bommaz. It's possible that more Space Wolves synergy will redeem this, or that the effect will be intimidating enough to be worth including at 1-2x, but right now this card doesn't impress me much at all.

(2/5) – Majestaat:
Stats don't impress me and the reaction will be a double-edged blade until SM get a build heavy on Space Wolves. Curiously enough, I think the Psyker trait is what will make this guy shine in the future. But for now, I wouldn't consider this guy for a serious deck, he just doesn't suit my tastes.

2/5 - Korvus
I expect more from a unit in this price range. I don't see the interrupt doing that much damage over the course of the average game, and the synergy with Ragnar's Warcamp will matter too infrequently. Right now my Ragnar and Cato decks have 2 Daring Assault Squads rounding out the top of their cost curve and I can't fathom this lightweight replacing them.

3/5 - Steinerp
Another space wolf which is what Ragnar needs. Not a super ability but nothing to scoff at. More anti-movement shenanigans.

FedericoFasullo 2/5
Overpriced. It will be really sad when this card will be killed by a Klayvex.

1/5 - Asklepios
Four for 1/3/4 is ok if you have a great ability. When you have an ability that is double-edged, easy for your opponent to deactivate (by killing or routing or blanking that unit, or by shielding for 1), and that is forced we're looking at a weak card for 4 already. Put that card in Space Marines, who frankly have all their quality concentrated in the 3-4 cost range and every copy you're taking of this is weakening your deck in some other way. Even if we get a deck that is all Space Wolves, its likely the compromises you'll make to build that deck weaken it overall.

Soul Seizure

2/5 (for now) - Kingsley
The upside of this ability is huge, but this card is also very expensive and relies on synergy with uncommonly-played cards to be effective. I suspect this will not see much play until Urien Rakarth hits the scene, at which point it may well prove pretty awesome.

(2/5) – Majestaat:
So many conditions... incredibly high cost (even for Urien, who is miles away), then you require a worthy unit to be in your opponent's discard pile, and also a bunch of torture cards in your own discard pile. At least it's an action and you can choose any planet for deploy.
Although this can indeed win a battle by itself, it simply requires too big a setup. I guess Urien decks will squeeze 1 in, maybe? That might not be too bad, as it has a shield anyway.

1/5 - Korvus
The fact that this card is utterly unplayable outside of an Urien deck cleverly conceals the fact that it's also utterly unplayable inside one. It's bad in your opening hand, bad during the turns that you try to fill both discard piles, bad on the frequent occasions where the best target is some 2-3 cost chump, and bad because the torture-heavy deck that runs it is just going to lose command and get its teeth kicked in before its fancy tricks come to bear.

3/5 - Steinerp
This card is going to be only in Urien decks but should be powerful there. The cost might still be one high however. Biggest downside is that like with Doom this is a late game card so seeing in your opening hand is unfortunate and if you are running three, not too unlikely to happen.

FedericoFasullo 1/5
It'd have been nicer if it'd costed a little less. Even with Urien (which I'll tell how much he sucks in the future) it's still way too expensive. Not enough cards to combo with Soul Seizure at the moment.

2/5 - Asklepios
Its the dark mirror to Gift of Isha, which is itself a 5/5 card. However, Gift is 5/5 because its the primary means for that faction to win combats, because it costs 2 and has 2 shields, and because you're in control of what sort of units you end up with. Also, resurrection is an endgame play, and in all likelihood bloodying Urien is going to be a high priority, so expect to pay 5 rather than 4 for this.
One thing I can say for this card over Isha is that while both are "Action" rather than committed to a phase, Isha isn't really, as the unit leaves play at the end of phase. That means you get a lot more freedom of timing with this card: you can kill something in battle then get it back, or use it to get a command win, and so on.
With Urien, I might include a single copy for the glorious surprise value, but then, I might not.