As with most Events, Army units and many other cards in Conquest LCG, offense is the better defence.

When this card first was spoiled I was a bit more optimistic about it. However with Tense Negotiations and Nullify allready heavily competing into the Eldar deck for cheap Event spots I'd say the both of them are way more effective as this card as there generally isn't much to gain when one Commits to a planet only to not win the battle trigger.

I can however see it's somewhat limited defensive use and it can be used for fun for sure. So this is a clear:

2/5

The main reason I cannot rate this card any higher is due to the fact that the factions who can use this allready have ways to not go into combats they do not want to enter, this in the form of Mobile, Events and Support cards who allow for this. A multitude of effects that allow you to run generally do not add up to a game being one, mainly due to the fact that HQ units Commit from HQ to a planet exhausted.

When your opponent pulls in a unit for 4-5 attack armorbane and you just sit there looking at your poor little warlord about to go poof, that's when this card is good.

Don't know if I like it. Probably a meta call, but it's a great answer against all the ambush and movement tricks that can bloody or severely injure your Warlord.

The event helps in the choke game more than the battle to win planets. It's more about resource management than anything else.

Say I have a survivalist and a Void Pirate at Planet #4. You've stacked 2-3 command icons of your own there, so we're either deadlocked, or you're winning command. Either way, they are doing effectively nothing for me. So I send my warlord to Planet #4 (hopefully winning the command and getting the bonus that round), pull the units back to HQ, then, next round, send them along with my warlord somewhere new (getting their bonuses even though they are exhausted). Combine this sort of thing with Starbane/Foresight or Baharroth/Mobile and you are able to reposition your resource/command units (which usually do NOT have mobile and/or other ways of moving themselves) without mucking up your warlord's combat positioning.

If you really want a combat use for this card, it's a hell of a way to retreat an exhausted warlord at will. So you can use the "exhaust your warlord to..." events in Deploy with impunity, or you can attack with your warlord, then immediately bring it back to HQ (instead of holding your breath that it won't be bloodied before the end of the combat round).

Long story short, it's a mistake to only think, "This is a defensive card, and a pretty limited one at that."

Don't know if I like it. Probably a meta call, but it's a great answer against all the ambush and movement tricks that can bloody or severely injure your Warlord.

Id say the better awnser to Ambush and Events still would be Nullify or Tense Negotiations or Gift of Isha or Empower or either for 2 Shields etc. Long story short engaging in potential Combats that might destroy or bloody units is allready part of the game and of all the games played since 2014 Ive never felt the need for this.

I suppose it depends on how people tend to play those cards in your area. In my experience players using ambush and movement type powers wait until your warlord is tapped, which takes out tense negotiation and possibly nullify. A two shield card is handy, but depends a little on what they're trying to hit you with. Using your own ambush is decent, but once again it depends on who is going to be acting next. Bringing back a wraith guard will help you kill the ambushed enemy, sure, but potentially not before it has a chance to attack you.

I agree the card might have trouble finding room in most decks though. It would have been nice in chaos to help Zarathur get out of town when he needs to, especially since they tend to lack the shielding power of other factions.

"I committed wrong! Oh no! Time to retreat!"

-Don't commit wrong.

1/5

"I committed wrong! Oh no! Time to retreat!"

 

-Don't commit wrong.

 

1/5

Or "I'm going to take this planet" Whoopsie Staging ground ork WL hugger and Snakebite thug. Time to leave.

Also could be: last battle of the game, I need to get my HQ units into Planet 1 to win there, but he has initiative and I have a bloodied warlord. I'll commit, and get the bloodied warlord back to HQ.

Also could be: let me get to that planet, retain initiative, bloody their warlord, then get the hell away from that Land Raider with Rally the Charge on it.

Also could be: let me make my ranged strikes, then retreat those guys now so he can't kill them.

Also could be: lets get Wraithguard's  4 Armorbane on Cato, then jump out of there before he can chop it down with his Tempest Blade and get a resource out of it.

Pretty limited tactical applications, for sure, and my testing of this card says that its basically not worthwhile. However, its not just about committing wrong.

Don't forget the bluff aspect of deploying decent-command/combat-threatening units to a planet to encourage your opponent to commit his Warlord there, commit yours there, then bring your unit out of the line of fire after you've won command, then Mobile away with Baharroth or just return to HQ with Eldorath to protect him.  Tricking your opponent to commiting where you want him is always useful.

Yeah, could also be a good way to rescue precious units from planet 1 with Baharroth, as you say, if they then present a threat you can't deal with. If your well stocked planet 2 has a tonne of weenie fighters, then just in the deploy after the opponent responds with a Gleeful Plaguebeast, it could be a way to get all those weenies back to HQ before Plaguebeast damages them, and Baharroth could then shift up to 2.

Only problem with most of these plays is that they only mitigate pain for yourself rather than providing a direct advantage. Thats hard to justify including even when this card has no resource cost.

Yeah, could also be a good way to rescue precious units from planet 1 with Baharroth, as you say, if they then present a threat you can't deal with. If your well stocked planet 2 has a tonne of weenie fighters, then just in the deploy after the opponent responds with a Gleeful Plaguebeast, it could be a way to get all those weenies back to HQ before Plaguebeast damages them, and Baharroth could then shift up to 2.

 

Only problem with most of these plays is that they only mitigate pain for yourself rather than providing a direct advantage. Thats hard to justify including even when this card has no resource cost.

I'm not sure what you mean here? How can you Seer's Exodus away from Plaguebeast before it hits you with its forced reaction?

I'm not sure what you mean here? How can you Seer's Exodus away from Plaguebeast before it hits you with its forced reaction?

You would use it during the command phase action window. After all planet's command phases had been resolved.

Yeah, beat me to it. Though I'd probably keep Baharroth there, take the damage on him, then mobile away for the battle ability next door.

RRG, p. 10: "Mobile - After the combat phase begins, each unit with the Mobile keyword may move to an adjacent faceup planet. This occurs before any reactions to the beginning of the phase."

Forced Reactions are still reactions, so you can Mobile away from the Plague Beast before it hits anything.

Right you are!

So, how are people finding this card now, after a little testing?

perfect card for Aun'shi who can move himself or other etheral back to the planet by Orbital City action. in some cases this can allow us to attack ranged twice or even 3 times with Sanctuary in play, so it can be also some kind of offensive card