Card Game Review: War for Edadh

I was sent a copy of War for Edadh recently, a new game by WarriorElite. One morning, my wife sent me an email at work, informing me a box from England had arrived. Everyone’s good friend, Ed Healy, had set me up with WarriorElite to review this game, and I had completely forgotten it was coming in. So I was very excited when it arrived.
War for Edadh (pronounced Eh-dath): The Beginning is a strategy card game with a rich backstory and beautifully detailed cards. This is something that stood out to me right away: the production values on these cards are top notch. They’re gorgeous.

The two players are each in control of a warband of heroes, armed with spears, bows, and in the case of the Huaos-Dzaa (the more advanced military organization), guns and blunderbusses. The other faction, the Angueth, remind me very much of the Na’vi from Avatar.

There is no dice or randomness to the game at all. The game is resolved with cards you have in your hands at all times, which you play through choosing the correct card at the correct time, trying to figure out which card your enemy might play.

There’s a lot of information on the cards. A lot. But if you begin with the “apprentice” rules, you should be fine, as most of the numbers on the card are ignored. The cards are a little busy with numbers and symbols, as you can see on the right. As you advance in levels of play, more of the cards rules will be played, as well as more cards from the set, but it comes in increments, allowing you to fully learn and utilize the rules to their full potential.
The attack cards you play are ingenious. They are numbered 1-12, and high card wins, and you have all cards in your hands at all times (no drawing cards). You would naturally assume you’d want to keep playing your high cards, but that’s where knowing your opponent comes into play. The lower cards have the ability to convert to higher cards when played against certain other cards. That may sound confusing, but let me give you an example: Say you play a 12, and your opponent plays a 1. You would think you’d have one, if not for the text on the card stating that the 1 is actually a 14 vs. 12.

Like I said before, the cards do look a little busy, and the thin, non-bolded text can be difficult to read (so be sure to play in a well-lit area). But the game is a fantastic simulation of two armies doing battle against one another.

More advanced games can implement all kinds of types of terrain, impeding and aiding armies.

There are due to be more expansions out soon. The current expansion is The Art of Conflict, introducing more cavalry and such. Later expansions promise to introduce naval conflict, sieges, and possibly even a roleplaying game!

I did end up losing to my wife, me playing the Huaos-Dzza, and her playing the Angueth. There is quite a lot of strategy involved, deciding what cards to play at the right time. You learn your opponent, determining what they’re going to do next.

This game is definitely worth checking out and picking up. I know I’ll be picking up any further expansions WarriorElite puts out.

And I’m really looking forward to that RPG.