GAME CONCEPTS: TACTICS CARDS

Motherland Pack forces raise the flag after taking over an Ironclaw government building.

While the Units on the Battlefield are the core of a World War Zoo Army, battle plans and command resources behind the scenes are absolutely vital to victory. For this reason, each Player creates a deck of 6 TACTICS CARDS before the game begins, which complement their strategy and help direct the play style of their Army

At the beginning of each Round, Players will select a Tactics Card in secret. These cards may provide broad Army-wide buffs or allow them to single out one of their Units to gain a key Ability or Effect. Once both players have chosen their Tactics Card, they reveal them simultaneously.

TACTICAL EDGE

The effects of Tactics Cards apply for the duration of the current Round and may confer benefits like bonus movement (great for the beginning of the game), Attack bonuses, or even artillery attacks or airstrikes.

Each faction in the game has their own unique set of Tactics Cards which lean into that faction’s play style. Sunstrike Armada, for example, prioritizes aggression and melee combat. Their Tactics Cards lean on melee synergies and reward the Player for getting into their opponent’s Territory. Ironclaw Legion, on the other hand, has cards which complement its preference for longer range shooting, making Units harder to hit while boosting its own ranged attacks.

Tactics Card breakdown:
1. Card Name 2. Faction Icon 3. Initiative value 4. Play Phase

TAKE THE INITIATIVE

Aside from its rules text, each Tactics Card also has an INITIATIVE value in the lower left corner. Players compare these values to one another, and the player with the LOWER number has Initiative for that Round. If there is a tie, the player who did not have Initiative previously gains the Initiative.

Initiative determines which order Units move (respecting Size Order) during the Movement Phase. While larger Units in size order always go before smaller Units, having Initiative during each portion of the Movement Phase can afford certain benefits. When units get into close range combat, the ability to perform an Assault with all Units of a given Size at once can allow you to heap damage on an opposing Unit and kill it before they have time to react. That said, activating first during the Movement Phase is in some situations could be seen as a disadvantage, depending on the Battlefield conditions, and a player with Initiative may attempt to utilize things like the GAMBIT Support Effect to act outside of Size Order. The real benefit of having Initiative comes instead in the subsequent phase.

During the Action Phase, Units perform their Actions in pure alternating Activations. In this instance, being able to get the first shot off can make a huge difference, as you might be able to Suppress or even Destroy something before it has the opportunity to shoot back.

BUILDING THE DECK

Tactics Cards are selected at the same time a Player builds their Army. Each Tactics Deck MUST include 6 cards: 2x of each Initiative value (e.g. 1,1,2,2,3,3). While each faction has their own set of custom Tactics Cards, there is also the option to select “generic” Tactics Cards in any faction, allowing players to mix and match based on their game plan.

A Wildfront Player building their Tactics Deck might start out with faction-specie cards but then swap out for generic Tactics cards based on their particular game plan. Note that there are two cards each with Initiative values 1, 2, and 3.

In general, the strength of the effects on a Tactics Card is the inverse of the card’s Initiative value, with lower numbers more likely to win you the Initiative on the next bearing comparatively lower power effects, with high Initiative numbers being stronger but less likely to award Initiative.

The final added effect of Tactics Cards is that by seeing how many of them have been played by each player, you automatically track what Round of the game you are in. Since there are 5 Rounds in a Battle sized game and only 4 in a Firefight, you will end up with 1 and 2 cards left in-hand at the end of the game, respectively.