A Look at Space Hulk: Death Angel - The Card Game

[@davidk6269]

Yes! Thank you, Daniel for reviewing Space Hulk: Death Angel. This game captures the desperation and frenzy of the Space Hulk board game in this abstract card game. It is a brutal, thematic experience that needs to be played to be appreciated. ; )

[@noreasternbrewmaster8705]

Let me give you the Cliff Notes version of Friman's guide. Tony Claims Tania's Heart. Prioritize Tongues, then Claws, then Tails, then Heads Xeno cards. They are more likely to shift in that order. Never use a support token for offense, only defense. Always have flank coverage supporting engaged Marines, and if you view the Event card, never send it to the bottom of the deck. Knowledge is power even in the event of a Psychic Assault. That's really it, and I win about 70% of my games. The guide though is a labor of love and goes into team synergies, strengths, etc. When he says he wins 90%, I absolutely believe it. Great game.

[@noreasternbrewmaster8705]

Oh, and Orange Terrain is more likely to spawn a Xeno than Red.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Thanks for this! This is great. :).

[@Nano2020]

Well, that's surprising 😅 Author of the guide speaking here. I don't remember ever writing half of what the OP said here 😅 I certainly didn't write to not use support tokens on offense, I didn't advice to ever keep Psychic Assault, and Orange terrains have more probabilities of getting a major spawn than a minor spawn, but overall they have less chances of receiving any spawn (60%) than a Red terrain (80%).
Concerning my win rate, I'm far from an ultimate gamer, I'm just devoted to the game and play it a lot 😉 If people don't believe it, well there's always my playthroughs (also linked in BGG). Thanks for the review and praising for the guide!

[@VictorSteiner]

@@Nano2020it‘s a piece of art!

[@chrisesposito5530]

It can't be overstated how brilliantly this simple card game captures the theme and feel of the Space Hulk boardgame. I have everything for it and would love to get extra dice just in case something happens to mine.

[@bryanlane679]

Stumbling across this a year late, as I've recently dusted this off to play with my son. Great video! Just a note on action selection - you don't play all 3 and only then replenish, you just can't play the action you used the previous round (i.e. you're always choosing between the 2 cards you didn't just play; think of it like every card has a 1 round cooldown on it). For expansions, there was 4: The mission pack, as you showed; a tyranid enemy pack that replaces the genestealer deck with a tyranid deck (a lot of these units have special abilities), as well as some new end bosses; and 2 marine packs - one small one that adds 2 new combat teams, and the deathwing marine pack that adds 6 new combat teams.

[@RememberRaven]

A good game to pull out for a random solo break. And yeah, I'm more in the below 10% range on mission success.

[@johnpritchard7591]

Love this game, I was so delighted during lockdown when I actually won my first game!

[@TheTurtledreams]

Here is the link to the Guide:
docs.google.com/document/d/11jRBj-lOyVJw1C66VdgVH6F-w5YfAcMu/edit
And the link was posted by "Nano" here:
boardgamegeek.com/thread/2758581/strategy-guide-missing-has-anyone-got-copy

[@jean-sebastienh.8789]

What an incredible game! Pack such a punch in a small box! Thx for makin me open it and play it!!! Never won yet, but still having a blast everytime I play! This damned dice! Not even a 6 on it!! Thx for the review!

[@BloodyCactus]

I bought this when it was new from ffg... and all I remember was how brutal it was! Its very interesting that they never rethemed it.

[@danroberts007]

I've been purging a lot of board games recently, but I did hang onto this one... I haven't played it in many years, but having watched this now, I think I'll give it another try. Thanks for putting this video out there! :-D

[@bernardgodfrey3499]

A classic that met it's demise too early. Luckily managed to pick this up about seven years ago for 25 euros and am pleased to say it still resides in the collection. I would love to find the expansions that give it even more diversity, but they are rarer than a dodo turning up in the backyard. Such a small box containing a game that one session never resembles the next.

[@jackspinoza]

I love this game! Seminal game for me, perhaps the game that got me into board games. It's so difficult though!

[@VictorSteiner]

There‘s an I think 200+ pages strategy guide on BGG from a guy who claims a 90 % win rate that is REALLY good ans goes super deep.

[@hariszark7396]

Now, that takes me about a decade or more back....
Oh, the memories...the curses on that hellish die....😆
Great little game. I have played only solo with 6 marines.
A massacre most of the times.
I wouldn't bother with "strategy" tips or guides. I like the surprise and the feeling of accomplishment when I win.
I'm imagining this game with miniatures or paper figures on standies. That would make it even greater.
Not that hard to make....
I also have made my own couple of custom characters with my knowledge of photoshop.
You can make a whole new missions and events by your own if you don't want to wait for a reprint or new release.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Probably the most cursed die in all of gaming. :)

[@zdelorean]

I miss this FFG. Wish they still put out a wider variety of games and this is coming from someone that has been all in on Marvel Champions. I'm still an FFG fanboy and glad I kept my copy of this game even though I have not been able to track down the expansions for a decent price.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Yep. This was the golden age of FFG, for sure.

[@Michael.Virtus]

4:15 - You are mistaken that part. As stated in the description above, these groupings are only for the Deathwing expansion. Not for the default Space Marines. The Deathwing expansion consists of 6 completely different teams. And the rules state that you play with Deathwing marines OR Default marines and not mix them. So if you have the Deathwing expansion pack you can use these groupings for a difficulty scale (according to Nano - the guide author).
P.S.
From a lore perspective... the original Space Hulk game (as well as this card reincarnation) is played by the Blood Angels chapter of Space Marines. The Deathwing is the name of the 1st Company of the Dark Angels chapter of Space Marines. They are different chapter and is not likely to be deployed on the same battlefield as the Blood Angels (not completely impossible but very unlikely). That's why they should not be mixed together in the game too. However nothing stop us as owners of the game to mix them for the fun of it.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Thanks for pointing out the mistake! But from what I've played those groupings do indeed change the difficulty level, so maybe it's a lucky mistake that works!

[@Nano2020]

Well I wrote the guide and I'm color blind but I'm still surprised that you mistook "light green" for "yellow"... 😆 You got lucky with the error anyway, because other configurations would give you a very different result than the one stated. Have fun experimenting with them!

[@wishmeheaven]

Thank you for another great video.
My copy was in perfect condition until I accidentally sat on it.
ADHD is a dangerous thing and the new look of this priceless box hurts 😞
Luckily, the content itself has managed to survive the sudden short pressure and my stupidity, and remain in perfect condition.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Oh no! That sucks. ;)

[@pyriellofas4842]

the list with the difficuilty is only for the deathwing expansion.

[@kurtthecat3995]

I was lucky enough to be at Barnes and Noble many years ago when they were getting rid of this game for 9.00. Then I purchased one of the expansions for 10.00 at a game store.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Best Investment ever! ;)

[@dnfsdnfs]

This game is so brutal. Maybe I am wrong but is this the most difficult game all time?

[@TheDungeonDive]

It’s up there. At least in terms of strategy games.

[@KabukiKid]

It's a sin that this game is brutally out of print. Thankfully, I got it when it was available, but I did miss out on a couple of the small expansions (mission packs)... I don't see getting those anytime soon, since they are crazy expensive when they are available. This one definitely needs a retheme so more people can enjoy this great game again.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Those expansions are insanely expensive. So not worth it.

[@citruesilver]

I was lucky and bought the expansions which were print to order back then. They are pretty nice but worth the ridiculous prices asked for them atm.

[@jmppodcast]

There's a lot of fan made expansions on bgg. Decent stuff at no cost.

[@Naruga]

Now I regret not grabbing that second hand copy I saw in a recycle shop in Akihabara a while back. Edit - Did you ever play the old Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels? I remember wanting that game so bad as a kid then forgetting it existed until right now lol.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Was that an expansion or a standalone game?

[@Naruga]

@@TheDungeonDive It was the 3D0/PSX game. It may have come out on other systems not sure. Was first person and strategic and harddddd. I remember the atmosphere of the screenshots looked so cool.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Ah! Yes. I played it. Was way too slow for me. :) Played in on PSX.

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

Did you ever play SH the computer game. Back in the days of DOS it existed. It was in real time.

[@wishmeheaven]

How do you like Games Workshop's Space Hulk? (..Third/Forth edition..?)

[@TheDungeonDive]

It's on my top 50.

[@FaisalAli-jh2gu]

I managed to get a sealed copy of the game two months ago and tell now I don't have the courage to open it because I consider it the rarest game in my collection

[@TheDungeonDive]

Right now you have a sealed cardboard box, not a game. :)

[@FaisalAli-jh2gu]

@@TheDungeonDive Well said Mr. Daniel, thanks for the push.

[@hariszark7396]

Games are made for playing my friend.
Unless you are a "collector" that has as a job to buy and sell rare things after several years just put it on your table and enjoy it the way it should be.
Just my opinion.

[@davidwillems9904]

Do you have a link for that crazy guide? It looks like it's not on the BGG site anymore.

[@TheDungeonDive]

It’s in one of the threads. Just found it a couple days ago, but don’t have the link. The creator posted a link to his google so.

[@golinskyy]

what about shadow of brimestone playthrough ?

[@TheDungeonDive]

I don’t really do let’s play videos. I don’t enjoy doing them because all that ever happens is people point out mistakes I make. Not fun. You’ll just have to enjoy my 30 part SOB video series. ;)

[@goodjessehobbies]

Own. Love it.

[@bagger245]

Yeah you're about it being the progenitor for warhammer quest acg

[@carlwoods4564]

Was tempted to buy this, but the price is astronomical. I just dont understand why Games Workshop release or licence great games to be made. Then stop backing them or stop production. Surely as a company its in their interest to sell their products 🤔

[@TheDungeonDive]

This is on FFG. FFG could make another version but they aren’t. As far as GW goes, I love that they constantly move on to new things and don’t run their board games into the ground. Make a game, sell it, move on to something else. I wish more companies did this.

[@carlwoods4564]

@@TheDungeonDive I wonder why FFG arent doing it. You have got a point. I remember GW when it first started, I would collect the lead Citadel minatures in the 80s over here in the UK. Maybe GW should be more careful who they give licence too. Warhammer Quest is another example that could/should have had more expansions, development etc.

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

GW sells the usage of a license for a set time. After that, it can't be produced or sold.
If the time is up, FFG can't do anything else with it.
I have the core box and at least 1 expansion.

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

Also GW reviews and limits expansions. If FFG didn't license for more expansions, they can't make them.
GW licenses are expensive.

[@carlwoods4564]

@@BbBb-zx6sx GW seem to be very short sighted. It doesnt make sense to me.

[@gorgogrottan]

Yikes, it seems that if you can even find this game to begin with you really have to pay up

[@TheDungeonDive]

Yes. It is unfortunate.