Horus Heresy (card game)

Infobox_Game | subject_name= Horus Heresy Trading Card Game
image_link=
image_caption=
designer= Luke Peterschmidt and Ryan Miller
publisher= Sabertooth Games
players= 2
ages= 12+
setup_time=
playing_time= Approx 30 min
complexity=
strategy=
random_chance= Some
skills= Card playing
Arithmetic
Basic Reading Ability
footnotes=
bggid=8863

"Horus Heresy" is a collectible card game by Sabertooth Games set in the fictional "Warhammer 40,000" universe. The card game attempts to recreate the struggle between the Loyalist forces of the Emperor of Mankind and the Traitor forces of Warmaster Horus, during the time known as the Horus Heresy.

Gameplay overview

A single game of Horus Heresy features two commanders and their respective fleets struggling over control of a planet. The attacker and defender fight for control of three sectors which are deemed key to winning the planet. The game ends if either player captures two sectors, or after four complete turns have elapsed. In the case of neither player capturing two sectors within the allotted play period, whoever has won more sectors (i.e. a single sector while the opponent has none), or the most valuable sector (in the case of each player having won a single sector), wins the game.

At the start of each full turn, players deploy one card face up to each unclaimed sector. Players then draw a hand of six cards and alternate deploying cards face down to an unclaimed sector, one a time. The goal here is to make sure that each sector has the needed assortment of troops and other cards to ensure victory over the opponent. One sector can be heavily reinforced, but this will leave another sector vulnerable, so considerable strategy is needed when choosing what to deploy where. Following deployment, the attacking player chooses a sector to contest, and after resolution of that battle, the defending player chooses a different sector to contest (if in fact another remains unclaimed). Each battle may end in one player winning that sector, or neither player winning that sector, but either way, after the two battles, the turn ends and a new turn begins (with additional deployments).

Card types

Cards in Horus Heresy are broken down into four different types:

* Units - The majority of cards are of this type, and depict infantry units or vehicles which will do battle on the ground to take control of a sector.

* Assets - Asset cards represent anything on the battlefield other than troops or units. This includes things such as the presence of an important leader, or the effect of having a command post in the vicinity.

* Ships - Orbiting high above the planet, ship cards signify the fleet's battleships and transports which can directly or indirectly assist the battle on the ground.

* Sectors - Sectors are the key portions of the planet over which the battles rage. Sector cards have information about the number of troops required to capture them, as well as any special abilities or effects of the area. These cards are never part of the play deck and are only used during game setup.

All cards other than sector cards are either affiliated with one of the two factions or are unaligned. Loyalist cards feature the Emperor's Eagle, while Traitor cards feature the Eye of Horus. Unaligned cards, representing units or assets usable by either side, include a set of scales. Loyalist and Traitor cards may not be mixed together in the same play deck, since a deck represents a given side in the conflict.

Card rarity

As with many of the games produced by Sabertooth Games, each card has rarity information printed on the card in order to help determine how rare a given card is. The rarity is denoted by the number of small dots appearing at the bottom of the card, according to the following

External links

*Sabertooth Games' [http://www.sabertoothgames.com/horus/index.asp Horus Heresy homepage]
*bgg|8863|Horus Heresy