War Chest: Shock Tactics PREORDER (Sep 25)

War Chest: Shock Tactics is an expansion for War Chest that adds four new units built around disruption, morale, and forcing the opposing commander to reconsider otherwise comfortable plans. War Drummers, Pitch Throwers, Raiders, and Rearguard join the unit pool, while three familiar units return in reworked form as Heavy Cavalry, Vanguard, and Warlord. If the base game has reached the point where both players can spot the obvious strong move, Shock Tactics is designed to make that move less obvious.

Make the Opponent Question the Board

War Chest already rewards reading the battlefield several turns ahead. Shock Tactics adds units whose value is not limited to occupying a hex or winning a straightforward attack.

Some pressure morale. Some interfere with positioning and expectations. Others reinterpret unit concepts from the original game. The common thread is disruption: these are tools for changing how the opposing player evaluates the battlefield.

How the Game Works

War Chest is required to play. Shuffle the new units into the normal drafting pool and build armies using the same bag-building and tactical control system as the base game.

Four completely new units are included: Pitch Thrower, Rearguard, Raider, and War Drummer. Their abilities add new ways to influence enemy behavior and support your own formation.

Shock Tactics also includes revised Unit cards for Heavy Cavalry, Vanguard, and Warlord, reworking familiar ideas for use alongside the new expansion units.

The underlying War Chest remains unchanged: draw coins from your bag, use them to deploy, maneuver, attack, reinforce, and control key locations on the hex map. What changes is the tactical vocabulary available when choosing your army.

Why You’ll Love It

• Adds four new unit types without replacing the clean tactical structure of War Chest.
• Emphasizes disruption and morale rather than simply adding units with larger attacks.
• Reworked versions of three familiar units provide another reason to revisit older army combinations.
• Best suited to War Chest players who already know the system and want new positional problems to solve.

Game Details

🧩 Players: 2–4 with War Chest
⏱️ Playtime: 30–60 minutes with the base game
🎂 Age: 14+
🗂️ Genre: War Chest expansion, abstract tactical wargame, bag building, area control, grid movement
🎯 Complexity: Medium; it uses the familiar War Chest rules while adding units aimed at experienced tactical players
🔁 Replayability: Excellent as an expansion because the new units can be mixed with the existing War Chest roster in many army combinations
🎮 Great for fans of: War Chest players who want more army variety, disruptive unit powers, bag-building strategy, and abstract tactical games with high interaction

What's in the Box

• 20 Unit Coins for the New Units
• 7 Unit Cards: 4 New Units and 3 Reworked Units
• 16 Faction Control Markers
• 1 Rulebook