Lords of War: Orcs versus Dwarves Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Description
• Objective
• Box Contents
• Card Anatomy
  • Class
  • Rank
• Setup
• Gameplay
• Phase 1: Deploy a Unit
• First Round
• Phase 2: Resolve Combat
• Elimination
• Elimination Cases
• Eliminating the Enemy General
• One-on-One Combat Example
• Two-on-One Combat Example
• Artillery Units
• Artillery Attack Example
• Combined Attack Example
• Phase 3: Reinforce
• Next Player's Turn
• End of Game
• Additional Rules
• Special Unit Rules
  • Artillery
  • Support Units
  • Cavalry
  • Berserkers
• Mobile Units
• Variants
• A) Battle Without Borders
• B) Game Length
• C) Personalizing Your Army
• D) Building a Mercenary Army
• E) Play for 3 Players
• F) Play for 4 or 6 Players
• Tactical Tips

Game Description

Lords of War: Orcs versus Dwarves is a unique card game for two players, in which each player commands a fantastical race, standing up to fierce battle against the army led by their rival. Each round, players play new units onto the board, trying to use them to eliminate key figures from the opponent's army, and thereby reach for the eternal glory of the victor!

Objective

The winner is the player who is first to eliminate 4 Commander units OR 20 units of any kind from the opponent's army.

Box Contents

Each core set of Lords of War: Orcs versus Dwarves contains:

• two army decks — each consisting of 36 cards, also referred to as units,
• a paper board,
• an instruction sheet.

Card Anatomy

Every unit that appears in the game is described by two traits: rank and class.

A card shows: attack arrows (pointing in the directions the unit can deal damage), an attack value next to each arrow, an artillery attack template and artillery attack value (for units with a ranged/artillery attack), a class icon, a rank icon, a defense value, and the unit's name (printed on a banner so that it faces the player who controls it).

Class

• Infantry
• Cavalry
• Spearmen
• Artillery
• Berserkers

Rank

• Recruit
• Private
• Veteran
• Elite
• Specialist
• Commander
• General

Setup

1. Each player chooses the army they will command during the game. If the players cannot come to an agreement, armies should be assigned randomly.
2. In any manner, e.g. by a coin flip, the players must determine which of them will be Player 1 and which will be Player 2.
3. The players lay the board out between them so that each has its shorter edge in front of them. While laying out the board, pay attention that Player 1 has the printed digit 1 on the board facing their side, and Player 2 the digit 2.
4. Each player searches their deck for their General (the card with the rank symbol for General) and sets it aside temporarily.
5. Each player thoroughly shuffles their remaining cards and sets them down beside the board as a face-down deck.
6. Each player draws 5 cards from their deck into their hand, without revealing them to their opponent (they may of course look at them themselves). They then add their General to their hand — these six cards form the player's "hand."

Gameplay

A game of Lords of War: Orcs versus Dwarves consists of a series of player turns, in which they play new units onto the board, trying to eliminate the opponent's units while simultaneously protecting their own. Each player's turn consists of the following three phases, played in the given order:

1. Deploy a Unit
2. Resolve Combat
3. Reinforce

After Phase 3 ends, the current player's turn ends, and the turn passes to the other player.

Phase 1: Deploy a Unit

In the first phase of their turn, the player chooses one unit from their hand and places it face up on any empty space on the board, placing it so that the deployed unit's name faces toward them.

While playing a card, the player must follow these rules:

• The new unit must be placed on a space adjacent, by edge or by corner, to at least one enemy unit on the board. In addition, after being placed, the player's unit must engage at least one enemy unit in combat (at least one attack arrow of the deployed unit must point toward the corner or edge of an enemy unit on the board). This is called the "Mandatory Engagement Rule."

Most units should be deployed so that they engage enemy units in combat. If at least one attack arrow of the player's unit points at the corner or edge of an enemy unit, then the player's unit engages the enemy unit in combat. The more attack arrows a card has, the greater its flexibility in deployment on the board. The higher the attack value, the stronger the unit.

Enemy units can engage the player's unit in combat, blocking some of its abilities in the process. If at least one attack arrow of the enemy unit points at the corner or edge of the player's unit, then the player's unit is engaged in combat by the enemy unit.

• If the player deploys a support unit (Spearmen or Artillery), they may place it in accordance with the "Mandatory Engagement Rule" OR they may place it on any empty space adjacent to a friendly unit on the board. In that case, the deployed unit does not need to be adjacent to any enemy unit, and if it is adjacent, it does not need to engage it in combat.
• If there are no enemy units on the board, the player may choose any unit from their hand, not only Spearmen or Artillery, and place it on any free space adjacent to a friendly unit.
• If at the start of the player's turn there are no units at all on the board, the player may place their card on any space.

Exception: If the player cannot deploy any card in accordance with the above rules, they choose any card from their hand and place it on the board so that it is adjacent to an enemy unit. They then show the opponent the cards in their hand, thereby proving that they could not make a move under the normal rules.

Example: The Dwarf player already has a Raider unit on the board. It is currently the Orc player's turn. The Orc player decides to play their Ravager. They must follow the "Mandatory Engagement Rule," so they are allowed to place it in any of the following positions:

The Orc Ravager cannot be placed behind the Dwarf Raider, nor to its right side, because that would break the "Mandatory Engagement Rule," since none of the Ravager's attack arrows would point at the enemy Dwarf Raider's cards — that is, the Ravager would not engage the enemy in combat.

First Round

During their first turn, a player must place their first card on the board, on the space marked with the digit 1 (Player 1) or 2 (Player 2). Starting with subsequent turns, players deploy cards according to the normal rules.

IMPORTANT: During their turn (including the first), a player may play any of their units. There is never an obligation to play the General, nor Commanders.

Phase 2: Resolve Combat

After placing a card on the board, both players check whether, as a result of direct attack, artillery attack, or a combination of both, any units have been eliminated.

All units on the board fight SIMULTANEOUSLY in ALL directions. This means that regardless of whose turn it is, all units of both players on the board fight each other, which can result in the elimination of units on either side. Therefore, after placing a new unit on the board, all values (including artillery attack values) must be checked to determine whether any units have been eliminated.

Ordinary units deal damage to all enemy units indicated by their attack arrows. The amount of damage dealt is shown on the given attack arrow.

Elimination

A unit is eliminated when the total sum of all attack values of all enemy cards it is engaged in combat with and/or artillery units attacking it, is greater than its defense value.

If the combined attack value of all attackers is equal to or lower than the unit's defense value, then nothing happens, and the defending card remains on the board.

Eliminated units are not removed from the board until the effects of all combats have been resolved. The player collects the eliminated enemy units in a pile beside the board, placing them there face up, thereby tracking the number of eliminated units needed to achieve victory.

Note: Friendly units never deal damage to each other.

Elimination Cases

Placing a unit on the board may cause one, or even several, of the situations below. Each of them is consistent with the rules of the game:

• the simultaneous elimination of one or several enemy units — whether by a single unit, or in combination with other friendly units already on the board;
• the simultaneous elimination of the played unit and any number of enemy units. Such a move is referred to as a suicide move;
• the immediate elimination of the played unit without the elimination of any enemy units.

Eliminating the Enemy General

A player who eliminates the enemy General immediately takes an extra turn, after replenishing their hand to six cards. Killing the enemy General is the only case that interrupts the normal player order.

If both Generals are eliminated simultaneously, then neither player receives an extra turn.

One-on-One Combat Example

The Orc player has just played an Orc Slayer (OS), which engages in combat with the Dwarf Raider (DR) and the Thresher (DT).

1. The Orc Slayer eliminated the Dwarf Raider it was fighting, because its attack value ("5") is higher than the Raider's defense value ("4").
2. The Orc Slayer did NOT eliminate the Dwarf Thresher it is fighting, because its attack value ("3") is NOT higher than the Thresher's defense value ("3").
3. The Orc Slayer, having a defense value of "2," was NOT eliminated by the Dwarf Raider, because that unit's attack value toward it is "1."
4. The Dwarf Raider is removed from the board and set aside on the opponent's pile of eliminated cards.

Two-on-One Combat Example

The Orc player has just played an Orc Ravager (OR), which engages the Dwarf Raider (DR) in combat.

1. The Orc Ravager and the Goblin Piercer (GP) jointly eliminate the Dwarf Raider. The Goblin Piercer's attack value toward it is "4," while the Ravager's is "5." The combined attack value of both units is "9," i.e. more than the Dwarf Raider's defense value (4).
2. The Orc Ravager, having a defense value of "3," was NOT eliminated by the attacking Dwarf Raider, whose attack strength toward it is "2."
3. The Goblin Piercer, having a defense value of "3," was NOT eliminated by the attacking Dwarf Raider, whose attack strength toward it is "1."
4. The Dwarf Raider is removed from the board and set aside on the opponent's pile of eliminated cards.

Artillery Units

Artillery units (class icon: Artillery) have an attack template and an artillery attack value. The artillery attack template found on the card shows the spaces that the unit can attack once deployed on the board. For example, the Orc Catapult (card C), according to its template, can attack one of the nine spaces in front of itself. Those spaces are marked gray in Figure 1.

The artillery attack value is the amount of damage dealt to one enemy unit with each artillery unit's shot. The Orc Catapult shown deals 4 points of artillery damage.

Shown alongside is the Dwarf Axe-Thrower, which is an artillery unit that attacks behind itself. The Axe-Thrower (card A), according to its template, can attack one of the 6 spaces found on the board behind it, as marked using the gray spaces in Figure 2. The Axe-Thrower deals 3 points of artillery damage.

Artillery Attack Example

The Orc player has just placed an Orc Catapult (OC) (a support unit) on the board, placing it on the space adjacent to the Goblin Piercer (GP) (exactly behind it).

1. The Goblin Piercer does not engage the Dwarf Thresher (DT) in combat, so it does not attack it.
2. The Dwarf Thresher does not engage the Goblin Piercer in combat, so it does not attack it.
3. The Orc Catapult eliminated the Dwarf Thresher, because it fires at it using an artillery attack with a value of "4," greater than the Thresher's defense value ("3").
4. The Dwarf Thresher is removed from the board and set aside on the opponent's pile of eliminated units.

Combined Attack Example

The Orc player has just placed an Orc Catapult (OC) (a support unit) on the board, placing it on the space adjacent to their Orc Slayer (OS).

1. The Orc Slayer and the Orc Catapult together eliminated the Dwarf Raider (DR). The Orc Slayer engages it in combat, with an attack strength of "3," while the Orc Catapult deals artillery damage of "4." The total value of this combined attack is "7," i.e. more than the Dwarf Raider's defense value ("4").
2. The Dwarf Raider has no attack arrows pointing at the Orc Slayer, so it does not attack it.
3. The Dwarf Raider is removed from the board and set aside on the opponent's pile of eliminated units.

Phase 3: Reinforce

After deploying the chosen unit onto the board and checking whether any units have been eliminated, the player finishes their turn by replenishing their hand to six cards.

To replenish their hand, the player chooses whether to draw a card from the top of their face-down deck (of course without showing it to the opponent), or instead to "recall" a unit from the board.

For a unit to be recalled from the board to hand, it must meet the following conditions:

1. It is not engaged in combat by an enemy unit (none of the enemy card's attack arrows point at the edge or corner of this card).
2. It was not played this turn.
3. It did not take part in combat that resulted in the elimination of an enemy unit (this also applies to artillery units).

If a unit meets all three of the above conditions, the player may recall it from the board and return it to their hand, replenishing their hand to six cards in this way.

Next Player's Turn

After one player finishes all 3 phases of their turn, the other player begins their turn, likewise carrying out 3 phases in order:

Phase 1 – Deploy: Play a unit from hand onto the board.

Phase 2 – Resolve Combat: Check whether any units have been eliminated by direct attack, artillery attack, or a combination of both.

Phase 3 – Reinforce: Replenish the number of cards in hand to six.

Players continue playing their turns in this way until one of them achieves victory.

End of Game

The game ends immediately when one player manages to eliminate 4 Commander units OR 20 units of any kind from the opponent's army. For the purposes of the victory conditions, the General is counted as one of the Commander cards.

Additional Rules

Special Unit Rules

Artillery

Artillery units, marked with the Artillery symbol, have an attack template and an artillery attack value printed on their cards.

Units of this kind can shoot enemies from a greater distance, and it is generally better to play them behind friendly units, which will avoid them being engaged in combat by opponents and will allow effective use of artillery weapons.

Artillery may make an artillery attack in the same turn in which it is deployed onto the board, and, once it is already on the board, it may make such an attack during every turn of the player controlling it (but not during the opponent's turn!).

Artillery units may fire over any units and do not need a clear line of fire to the opponent they are firing at.

Artillery units cannot fire if they are engaged in combat by enemy units (an attack arrow of an adjacent enemy unit points at them).

An artillery unit can fire if its attack arrows point at an enemy unit or units (the artillery engages them in combat), as long as it is not itself engaged in combat by any adjacent enemy unit.

Artillery units that, in the same turn, could attack normally as well as by means of an artillery attack, may perform only one of these actions. Artillery may never attack friendly units.

An artillery unit may always fire at only one enemy unit (chosen by the player controlling that artillery), but several friendly artillery units may fire at the same enemy in one turn.

Support Units

All Spearmen units and Artillery units are support units. A support unit does not need to be deployed immediately into combat, but can instead be placed adjacent to a friendly unit. Support units can be used to occupy a space on the board, thereby preventing enemy units from being placed there, or preventing friendly units from being attacked from a particular direction.

Cavalry

(We suggest skipping this rule during your first games, and applying it once players are already familiar with the basic rules of the game.)

Cavalry cards are played in the normal way, but during the reinforce phase, players may always recall their cavalry units, as part of reinforcement, as long as an enemy Spearman is not engaging them in combat. This means that if a cavalry unit is engaged in combat by a unit of another class (including another cavalry unit), it can still be recalled to hand.

Note: No card may be recalled during the same turn in which it was played.

Berserkers

(We suggest skipping this rule during your first games, and applying it once players are already familiar with the basic rules of the game.)

If a berserker eliminates an enemy card (or helps eliminate it) and is not engaged in combat by any other enemy card, it then moves onto the space vacated by the eliminated card. It does not matter whether the berserker is also engaging some other enemy unit in combat.

This move is mandatory — the berserker must move if it took part in eliminating an enemy unit. If, as part of the same attack, the berserker eliminates more than one unit, the player controlling it may choose which space the berserker moves onto.

After making the move, combat must be resolved again. In this way, berserker units are able to eliminate several units in the same turn, but this can also lead to their own death.

Mobile Units

Mobile units are those that have at least one movement arrow.

A mobile unit may be moved at any point during the turn of the player controlling it, but may only do so when it is not engaged in combat by an enemy unit. It does not matter whether that mobile unit engages some enemy unit in combat. The player is not required to move their mobile units.

A mobile unit may move only once per turn. A mobile unit always moves one space in the direction indicated by any one of its movement arrows. A moving unit may only move onto an empty space.

Note: A mobile unit that has just been deployed may move in that same turn, provided it is not engaged in combat. Mobile units that eliminated an enemy card may still move, provided that in that turn they have not yet moved and are not engaged in combat. After making the move, combat must be resolved again, which may result in additional eliminations.

Variants

If you'd like to try new ways of playing, we suggest testing one of the variants below, or even creating your own army perfectly suited to your playing style!

A) Battle Without Borders

Play proceeds according to the normal rules, but during play, board edges should be ignored (you may even play without any board at all). This way, play opens up entirely new possibilities and challenges even for the most experienced players.

B) Game Length

To shorten or lengthen the game, both players may jointly agree on the number of units and/or Commanders that must be eliminated to achieve victory.

C) Personalizing Your Army

Each ready-made deck consists of the following number of units of each rank:

• 1 General
• 5 Commanders
• 4 Specialists
• 4 Elite
• 6 Veterans
• 8 Privates
• 8 Recruits

To personalize their army, a player may take any card from their deck and replace it with any other card of the same rank, taken from another deck of the same race.

Example: The Orc player would like to have an artillery unit, so they remove two Orc Ravagers (rank: Veteran) from their deck and replace them with two Orc Catapults (rank: Veteran) taken from another set.

By exchanging units of the same rank, a player may exchange any number of cards in their deck.

Building your own army lets you discover different ways of fighting your opponent and lets you create your own personal playing style.

D) Building a Mercenary Army

Don't like an army made up of only one race? Using this same method of exchanging cards of the same rank, you can personalize your army even further by removing certain units from it and replacing them with cards of the same rank, but from other armies!

Example: The Orc player would like to have better artillery units than Goblin Saboteurs, so they remove two Orc War Boars (rank: Elite) and replace them with two Lizardmen Crossbowmen (rank: Elite).

E) Play for 3 Players

During a three-player game, one player faces off against a team made up of two opponents.

The players decide amongst themselves, in any way they like, who will play as the single-player side (Player 1). The other two players (Player 2 and Player 3) form the two-player team. Each team receives one separate, complete deck.

Player 1 draws one extra card at the start of the game. They therefore start the game with 7 cards in hand (6 from the deck plus the General). Players 2 and 3 each receive 3 cards, and then place their General between them.

Players take their turns in the following order: Player 1, Player 2, Player 1, Player 3, Player 1, Player 2, etc.

Play proceeds normally, as in a two-player game, with the following exceptions:

• If a member of the two-player team chooses to play the General, then at the end of their turn they do not draw a card, nor do they recall any unit.
• If a member of the two-player team wants to recall the General, they must return it to their own hand.
• Units from the same team add their attack values together and attack jointly.
• Support units may be placed adjacent to any unit belonging to their team.
• Artillery units may fire one shot during each turn taken by their team.
• Members of the same team may recall units belonging to their teammate.
• Units from the same team never attack each other.
• The team that is first to eliminate 4 Commander units OR 20 units of any kind belonging to the opposing team wins.

F) Play for 4 or 6 Players

If you own several copies of Lords of War: Orcs versus Dwarves, you can try your hand at a game for 4 or 6 players.

In this variant, the board is not used. Instead, players play the game on a flat surface, onto which they lay out their cards.

Players are divided into two teams. Players 1, 3, and 5 form one team, and Players 2, 4, and 6 form the other.

Each player receives their own separate, complete deck.

At the start of the game, Player 1 and Player 2 (each from an opposing team) each place one unit on the table, so that there is one column of space between the cards, with the cards laid out in two adjacent rows (as normal). Then Player 3 and Player 4 also place their cards, so that they end up one column apart, and in a different row than any card already on the table. During a six-player game, Player 5 and Player 6 lay out their cards using the same principle.

Play proceeds normally, with the following exceptions:

• Players take their turns in the following order: Player 1, Player 2, Player 3, Player 4, Player 5, Player 6, Player 1, Player 2, etc.
• Units from the same team add their attack values together and attack jointly.
• Support units may be placed adjacent to any unit belonging to their team.
• Artillery units may fire one shot during each turn taken by their team.
• Members of the same team may not recall units belonging to their teammates, unless the teammates are playing the same race. Players may never recall a teammate's General.
• Units from the same team never attack each other.
• 4 players: The team that is first to eliminate 7 Commander units OR 30 units of any kind belonging to the opposing team wins.
• 6 players: The team that is first to eliminate 9 Commander units OR 50 units of any kind belonging to the opposing team wins.

Tactical Tips

Players should try to deploy their artillery units so that friendly units protect them from being attacked from behind, while making skillful use of their weapons' range.

Don't play weaker units without a larger purpose, since they will be quickly eliminated. A weaker unit is best deployed so that it engages a stronger enemy unit from its weaker side, where that unit has no attack arrow. This will prevent that enemy unit from being recalled, and will make it easier to eliminate.

A weaker unit can also be used to deal the finishing blow to a stronger enemy unit. It's worth doing this even if it would be a suicide move, when as a result of such a play you eliminate a stronger unit or a Commander.