What an awesomely weird card effect!

Going to take some thought on its uses here: my immediate thought was that it was similar to Superiority, but you don't have to keep back a resource for it, but the more I think about it, the stranger it becomes.

Best use, make your HQ train's hammers count.
Can also cancel the effect of Eldorath foresighting around , in regard to command.

Trades 1 Card for 1/1 or 2/0. Also takes those away from the opponent.

Best use, make your HQ train's hammers count.

Only relevant if your warlord is knelt or you both went to the same planet. Far too situational as a card.

Exactly my thoughts. It also counters things like the Wraithknight, Syren, and an eager Captain Markis, but those are such fringe cases that it's just not worth it. Similarly, the only "exhaust your warlord" effects that I can think of that the factions with access to this card can use are Muster the Guard (Starblaze only) and Know No Fear (which will probably empty your HQ of units, making this irrelevant)

Love the art though!!!  That guy must be somebody important in the Imperium since he has all those Space Marines backing him up, but the real give away was the cane!

Maybe we'll see some Tau support or Warlord that lets you discount Tau by putting them into play exhausted. That'd give this card a role. Something like:

Shas'o Jank

Tau Warlord

Forced Interrupt: When you deploy an Army Unit, reduce its cost by 2 to a minimum of 0. Then, exhaust that unit.

Barring something like that, this card has almost no value.

I hope in the next cycle the Tau will receive the same attention as AM, because they still need a lot of help. 

I hope in the next cycle the Tau will receive the same attention as AM, because they still need a lot of help. 

Planetfall cycle was poor for Tau, but they are far from needing help. A faction with Recon Drones, Gun Drones, strong command game and Space Marines or Eldar as allies can't be bad.

Similarly, the only "exhaust your warlord" effects that I can think of that the factions with access to this card can use are Muster the Guard (Starblaze only) and Know No Fear (which will probably empty your HQ of units, making this irrelevant)

Oh I don't know, there's always Tense Negotiations which is one of the better Exhaust your warlord effects

I like War of Ideas but I'd probably only run it in decks where I'm running Tense Negotiations but I can see this being super nice to have in that kind of deck.

I like War of Ideas but I'd probably only run it in decks where I'm running Tense Negotiations but I can see this being super nice to have in that kind of deck.

I think I'm missing something, but as Tense Negotiations is always used after command struggles, I don't see how it interacts with War of Ideas at all (other than maybe getting you the extra resource / card, in those rare corner cases where it's useful).

Also, is it just me, or do are the people that bother to click the star ratings on the db extremely optimistic?  This card is a solid 1-star in my opinion, but it's showing as a 4-star.  It's like an anti-Corvus effect.

Oh I don't know, there's always Tense Negotiations which is one of the better Exhaust your warlord effects

 

I like War of Ideas but I'd probably only run it in decks where I'm running Tense Negotiations but I can see this being super nice to have in that kind of deck.

As estyles has said already, Tense Negotiations can't be played until you're actually at a planet, which would be after you've committed and, hence, after the usability window for this card.

 

Also, is it just me, or do are the people that bother to click the star ratings on the db extremely optimistic?  This card is a solid 1-star in my opinion, but it's showing as a 4-star.  It's like an anti-Corvus effect.

I think most people just simply don't bother using the rating system, so those that do have a bias towards rating the cards that they like. Either that, or we have a forum full of secret trolls

Not only that, but War of Ideas both only works for army units, and only effects command icons (not the ''Golden Hammer' from the Warlord). So exhausting for a legal effect like Know No Fear still wouldn't work.

Not only that, but War of Ideas both only works for army units, and only effects command icons (not the ''Golden Hammer' from the Warlord). So exhausting for a legal effect like Know No Fear still wouldn't work.

I was moreso referring to the fact that if you use a warlord exhaustion effect you lose the golden hammer, and hence may need this card to guarantee the command win at a planet (assuming no enemy warlord) using your HQ train. Clearly, these cases are far too fringe to ever be realistically worthwhile

Wow, fleepa0, I think you are right!

Looks like we all (except you) misread this card - I surely did, but I believe also most of my fellow reviewers did as well.

Mind boggling indeed!

Still not sure it's enough to make it a worthy card though, but might be good for Mavros!

Bump - look at fleepa0's post above.

I want to say no because that sounds crazy. But FFG are usually pretty good about 'at this planet' qualifiers...

Doesn't seem right. The card refers to a command struggle resolving at a planet - so I think "that command struggle" must refer to that command struggle at that planet. To get fleepa0's result it would need to say something like "all command struggles in this Command phase". The rule book clearly provides that there are numerous command struggles in one Command phase, rather than them all being referred to collectively as 'the command struggle'.

I dont see how you can find that interpretation out of the card. 

The way i read it is very simple, you count the hammers of the exhausted units, regardless of where they are at a single command struggle on a single planet.

This way it is quite a useful card, probably useless first turn, unless playing vs eldorath, but on later turns can help a lot with the command game for tau.

I misread the card, and fleepa0 is right. I assumed the card read "exhausted army units you control at that planet" but it clearly doesn't.

The intent has always been clear - that is, win command once using your exhausted units - what I was mistaken about is that the exhausted units can count their icons for a single struggle regardless of their location.

And it wasn't just me. At least Asklepios, Kingsley, Kaloo and xRAVEx gave the same erroneous interpretation in their review (all of them mentioning this being useful only when WLs commit to the same planet), and none had corrected them until now - so I guess many just didn't catch the mistake.

I think you're right, since the wording is similar to that of the Air Caste Courier, which certainly makes it stronger than I initially gave it credit. It allows you to first planet bully and still win command elsewhere, which is cool. Still not sure if it's worth running since all three races have access to better events, but it's much more interesting nevertheless.

​Yeah nevermind. See below

I misread the card, and fleepa0 is right. I assumed the card read "exhausted army units you control at that planet" but it clearly doesn't.

It doesn't need to. Remember that the Golden Rule states that when a card contradicts the rules, you follow the card. The corollary to that is when the card does not contradict the rules, you follow the rules. This card does not contradict the basic rule of resolving command struggles that only units at that planet count -- it only contradicts the basic rule that only ready units contribute to command.

Essentially, the argument that the card does not limit the effect to exhausted units at the planet (although the rules do) takes a, "The card doesn't say you can't, so you can" approach. But the game is set up exactly the opposite through the Golden Rule - i.e., "The card doesn't say you can, so you can't."

OK, so I was mistaken in thinking we were mistaken.

Bottom line, the card still sucks.

Thanks for the clarification, ktom!

Edit: it's a pity, since I really wanted Fleepa0 to be right.