Gravehold remains the last bastion of The World That Was. As the otherworldly incursions from the creatures known only as The Nameless intensify, a cadre of strange survivors emerge from the void itself. Will they be Gravehold's salvation, or its undoing?  

War Eternal is a standalone game compatible with the cooperative deck-building game Aeon's End. Players struggle to defend Gravehold from The Nameless and their hordes using unique abilities, powerful spells, and an all new cast of dynamic characters. Featuring a number of innovative mechanisms, including a variable turn order system that simulates the chaos of an attack and deck management rules that require careful planning, War Eternal can be played alone or combined with other Aeon's End content for a game experience like no other. 

One change that you’ll notice right away in War Eternal and the Second Edition of Aeon’s End is the new graphic design – we substantially changed the way the cards look.  Gone are the dark borders and brown backgrounds, and the look of the new cards is dramatically brighter and more appealing.  We also made significant improvements to the components – rounded corners on play mats, thicker breach tokens, a more functional insert, and more practical box size.  We’re very proud of all the strong ratings and reviews the game was getting, and really listened to and took action to make the game look as good as it played.

The best expansions do not substantially alter a game; they add more of what you already love. We made a conscious decision to limit the number of new mechanisms in War Eternal – if you are familiar with Aeon’s End, you can jump right into the new content.  And as a standalone game, War Eternal is a good starting point, as well.  The goal of both games are the same: breach mages must defeat a powerful nemesis while protecting the last known city of Gravehold, as well as their allies. Each nemesis is entirely different, approaching the game in a unique manner. Players must adapt, overcome, and, most importantly, cooperate in order to defeat The Nameless.

That said, there are some significant changes in direction within War Eternal. To begin, the new mages offer more complexity in decision making and potential for synergy than their predecessors. A number of the new mages implement a mini-game of sorts that will certainly engage and challenge players on a higher level.  We also brought back Mist, one of the mages from Aeon’s End. Her time in the void has altered her into a new, otherworldly form, and now features similar yet unique cards and abilities from her prior incarnation.

This increased complexity carries over to the gems, spells, and relics the players will purchase throughout the game. In War Eternal, we introduce a number of new and simple mechanisms that reward strategy and commitment. ‘Celestial Spire’ and ‘Conclave Scroll’ both reward players for buying out their respective market stacks, offering a bonus ability to bolster your allies. This is just one of the many, many examples of the extremely high level of cooperative play the game features.

Not only have the mages evolved, so, too, have their nemesis and minioncounterparts. Each new nemeses featured in War Eternal introduces new ways in which they continue their pursuit of the complete annihilation of Gravehold and everyone within it.  As an example, ‘The Hollow Crown’ has a single hit point, but has corrupted an enclave of mages, each with their own unique Blood Magic ability. To harm the Crown, the players must first defeat the acolytes. But, they must also manage how they do so, as the acolyte(s) with the lowest health will be the first to use their powers against them. The new tools the players have will be paramount in fighting back the dark from the void.

The Gate Witch is another of the four all-new nemeses the mages will face. Manipulating time and space, the Witch shuffles back in a nemesis turn order card each time it unleashes the keyword mechanism that denotes the special attack of each of The Nameless. Unlike the other nemeses, the players will not be able to outlast this foe, as they have cards that shuffle back into the nemesis deck later in the game. The mages MUST destroy the Witch, lest they be destroyed themselves.

If you have yet to play Aeon’s End, we encourage that you do. Reviewers and gamers alike have loved the extreme amount of care and thought that has gone into this very thoroughly designed and developed experience. War Eternal does what any good expansion should do by simply offering more of what you already love. As a standalone expansion, it’s playable out of the box, with a tutorial system that’ll have you up and defending Gravehold in a matter of minutes. A mix of familiar mechanisms and new concepts in the genre of deckbuilding, we’re confident that players, both new and old, will keep this game in their collection for years to come!