01 Nov CROM Mechanics Teaser #10 – Fate Cards Part 4

This week’s Fate Cards are focused on bringing wounded or lost units back into the fight. Be sure to read Part 1 if you want to see how Fate Cards are used in the game.

Reinforcements (Circle of Iron)

Reinforcements allows you to take an eliminated unit, place a new copy of it on your starting edge, and immediately activate it. At first this seems extremely powerful, but there are a few things a warlord must be wary of. This new unit may also be destroyed, potentially granting the foe an extra victory Point. There are only six turns in a standard game before Victory Points are totaled, so depending on when a unit is destroyed it may be the fifth or final turn before reinforcements arrive. This can make it difficult to get them into the action in time to have an effect.

If you’re holding the card you may try being very aggressive with a unit, and if it’s destroyed early the downside is a Victory Point for a foe. But maybe you can bring reinforcements early enough to gain the upper hand – assuming the unit did enough damage before it was eliminated. Consider sending your fast cavalry deep into enemy territory to take out those archers that might otherwise spend the entire game harassing your troops.

New Life (Legion of Set)

Compared to the Circle of Iron’s Reinforcements, New Life seems less powerful-but it has several deceptive advantages. Playing it allows you to restore a single figure to one Wound, and unlike Reinforcements if it’s played in reaction to the unit’s destruction it returns immediately where it was. Otherwise it starts on the edge of the map, with no immediate activation.

The biggest difference is that this “un-destroys” a unit, so the opponent gains no extra Victory Point if the unit is slain again, or no Victory Point at all if the unit survives to the end of the battle! If used with Akivasha, her special ability allows her to recover Wounds, potentially bringing her back up to full strength from the brink of destruction.

It’s a gamble. The most likely use of this card is to reinforce a multi-figure Warrior unit, giving them a boost in attack power at a critical point. However, you might also use it to save a monster or hero that got killed by a lucky Counterstrike.

The differences between these two cards are subtle but important. You’ll want to understand how best to use your own cards and also to be aware of what cards your opponent might be holding in reserve.