War Chest FAQ
114 questions players ask · Updated Nov 8, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and winning
- How many control markers do I need on the board to win?
- Can I take control of my opponent's starting locations?
- What happens if neither player can finish, or a player runs out of options? Can the game be drawn?
- How many coins does each unit have, and where is the count listed?
- In the advanced drafted setup, who takes the Initiative Marker?
Drawing coins and the bag
- When do I draw my next hand: when I play my last coin, or at the start of the next round?
- What do I do if my bag has fewer than three coins when I draw?
- What happens when I have only one or two coins in total between hand, bag and discard?
- When I refill the bag mid-round, does the coin I just played go back in?
Hidden information and table etiquette
Deploy, bolster and recruit
- Can I have more than one unit of the same type on the board?
- Can I deploy both Footmen with a single action?
- Where can I deploy, and what if all my controlled locations are occupied?
- When I recruit, can I take any coin from my supply, and must it match the coin I discarded?
- Is a unit with only one coin left still worth using?
Initiative, passing and the Royal Coin
Moving, controlling and attacking
- When a unit loses a coin in an attack, does the coin return to the supply?
- If a bolstered unit attacks a bolstered unit, how many coins does each side lose?
- After my unit destroys an enemy, does it move into the vacated space?
- If I move a unit onto an enemy-controlled location, do I take control?
- Can a unit move into or through a hex that holds another unit, friendly or enemy?
- Can I attack my own unit to remove it and redeploy it?
- Can I use a unit's plain move, attack or control instead of its tactic?
- What does bold text on a Unit Card mean?
Pikeman, Berserker and attack triggers
- When does the Pikeman remove a coin from its attacker?
- What happens when a Knight or Royal Guard attacks a Pikeman?
- If two single-coin Footmen attack a bolstered Pikeman, how does it resolve?
- Who wins when a Swordsman attacks a Pikeman, and does the Swordsman still move?
- If a Pikeman destroys the attacker, does the attacker's "after" attribute (Swordsman, Warrior Priest, Berserker, Bannerman) still trigger?
- When a bolstered Berserker attacks a Pikeman, what resolves first and where do coins go?
- What does a Berserker's extra maneuver cost, and where does that coin go?
- Can a Berserker pay a coin for an extra maneuver and still attack a Knight?
- If a Bannerman attacks a bolstered Pikeman and loses its last coin, can it still push?
Archer, Lancer, Cavalry and Crossbowman
- Which units cannot make a normal attack?
- Does an Archer or Lancer need to be bolstered to hit a Knight with its tactic?
- Can the Lancer use its tactic to move without attacking?
- How does the Cavalry tactic work, and can it be used next to an enemy?
- Can the Light Cavalry move just one space?
- Can the Crossbowman attack an adjacent unit, and can the Archer?
- Can the Crossbowman shoot along a line that crosses a hex corner?
Footman, Scout and Mercenary
- If I use the Footman tactic with two Footmen on the board, must I maneuver both?
- Are the two Footman maneuvers simultaneous?
- Can the Footman tactic be chained to give unlimited maneuvers?
- Where can the Scout deploy?
- Can the Scout deploy onto an empty location the opponent controls?
- How does the Mercenary's free maneuver work?
Marshall, Ensign and Warrior Priest
- Can the Marshall order an Archer, Lancer or other tactic-only attacker to attack?
- Do Warrior Priest, Swordsman and Berserker attributes trigger after a Marshall-granted attack?
- How far do Marshall and Ensign reach, and does anything block them?
- Does a Berserker's ability trigger after an Ensign moves it?
- Can the Ensign trigger the Swordsman's move-after-attack?
- Can the Marshall or Ensign activate both Footmen at once?
- Is the Warrior Priest's draw mandatory?
- What can I do with the coin the Warrior Priest draws?
- Can a drawn Warrior Priest coin trigger another draw?
- Does the Warrior Priest's attribute trigger when it moves?
- What if the Warrior Priest triggers when my bag is empty?
Royal Guard
Four-player games
- In a four-player game, can I show my teammate my coins or tell them what I hold?
- How many control markers does a team need in four-player, and who owns them?
- In four-player, does Recruit help my teammate, and can tactics target a teammate's units?
- Who decides what a teammate's unit does when my Ensign or Marshall activates it?
- How do the initiative flips work in a four-player drafted game?
War Chest: NobilityExpansion
- If the Sacrifice decree removes the attacker's last coin, does its after-attack attribute still trigger?
- If a unit uses Sacrifice to attack a Pikeman, how many coins does the attacker lose?
- Does a coin removed by Sacrifice go to the discard pile or out of the game?
- When Sacrifice involves a Royal Guard, which coin is removed?
- How does the Redeploy decree work on a bolstered unit, and where do the coins go?
- Can the Earl control a location and then proclaim a decree such as Redeploy?
- What can the Herald's free maneuver be, and does it help my teammate?
- Where can the Guard decree be used in a team game?
- How does the Bishop's tactic work, and who moves or attacks afterwards?
- If the Bishop's tactic or an Enlist decree recruits a Mercenary, when does the Mercenary move?
- How does the Spy decree work with empty hands, hidden draws and teammates?
- How does the Bannerman's push work?
- Do the Bannerman and Berserker trigger when another unit moves them?
- What exactly does the Royal Guard 2.0 tactic do?
- Can a decree that targets a "friendly unit" affect a teammate's unit?
- Do the Nobility hexagonal control markers replace the base ones?
War Chest: SiegeExpansion
- Does the Sapper have a Siege Tactic, and must it be bolstered?
- Do the Fortification tokens come out without the Sapper, and do destroyed forts come back?
- Where and when can the Sapper build a Fortification?
- Can ranged tactic attackers (Archer, Trebuchet) attack a Fortification?
- If a unit stands in a Fortification, what does an attack hit, and does the Pikeman still punish the attacker?
- Can I attack my own Fortification?
- Which units can enter a location with a Fortification?
- When is bolster checked for a Siege Tactic with two attacks?
- Can ranged units shoot over a Fortification?
- How does the Trebuchet's Siege Tactic handle units in between, and can it hit a Bishop?
- How does the War Wagon behave?
- Can I play the Siege units (War Wagon, Trebuchet, Siege Tower) without Fortifications?
- Does a unit sit on top of the Fortification or under it?
- Can the Bannerman use its ability if a Fortification is involved, and what resolves first?
- Does standing on a Fortification bolster a Siege unit?
War Chest: Shock TacticsExpansion
- When a unit is shocked, which coins go to the discard pile?
- Can the Warlord shock itself?
- With the Warlord's tactic, who is shocked, and can the maneuver be a tactic?
- Does the Vanguard need to be bolstered to use its tactic?
- Can the Raider's tactic use a bolstered coin from another unit?
- Can the Pitch Thrower shock a unit only one space away?
War Chest: NightfallExpansion
- Does the Assassin's coin removal happen if its attack destroys the Assassin?
- When the Assassin attacks a poisoned unit, how many coins are removed?
- How is poison removed?
- Can a unit be poisoned twice?
- Can an unpoisoned Footman's tactic maneuver a poisoned Footman?
- How do I get rid of a Decoy token that is in my bag?