Are you ready for the second round? Skirmish mode returns in a new 1-week event starting tomorrow, Friday the 3rd at 9 am UTC! The upcoming event will also be the first time you can try the mode after a series of changes to the rules, available cards and rewards.
Keep reading for a refresher of what Skirmish mode is all about and a detailed view of all the changes.
What is Skirmish mode?
Skirmish mode is a high-speed way to experience the best of Warpforge in snappy and exciting matches. In a Skirmish match, players interact in the same way they would during a Classic match, but the rules have been tailored for shorter games that are action-packed from turn one. Most of the ruleset has been kept from the original event:
- 12-card decks. You will be able to create and save Skirmish decks in your collection.
- Maximum of 4 Legendaries (not counting the Warlord)
- Warlords have 10 less starting Health
- Players gain 2 Maximum Energy every turn
- Overtime starts sooner, on the second player’s 5th turn
- Maximum hand size reduced to 8
- No Offence cards. The Defence card is random. No mulligan. Straight into the action!
After analyzing the data and player feedback from the last Skirmish event, the new one will soon go live together with a series of changes.
Reserved energy
During the first Skirmish event, second players took the advantage with an average win rate 10% higher. The energy disparity affected the matches more than desired and made deck-building a bit awkward. First players would only have access to odd energy values, and second players would only see even energy values. In the end, if, for example, your deck was full of even costs and you went first, your cards could feel a bit clunky and awkward, and many turns would end with unspent energy.
To address this, we are introducing a new mechanic to Skirmish matches: Reserved energy. Now, any time a player ends their turn with unspent energy, they will get to save exactly 1 point of energy for their next turn. When your turn begins, if you have energy in reserve, you will automatically get an additional point of energy to use during that turn. Both players will now start at 3 energy, but the second player will have access to 1 Reserved energy.
Better rewards
Skirmish is about to get legendary! The reward earned by reaching 100 victories during the event has been changed to a random Legendary card. Claim victories in quick, fast-paced matches and earn progress through the reward track on your way to crystals, booster packs and your Legendary card!
Each event’s reward track is separated from the rest, so if you took part in the previous event, you will still be able to give your best in the new event and claim all rewards in the new track.
Banned cards
During the first event, some Warlords and strategies became a bit too dominant. This time around, we will be banning some cards from play in the Skirmish mode event in an attempt to diminish their prevalence. If one of your decks contains a banned card, you will be notified and will need to change it before entering the battlefield. Banned cards will be clearly marked in your collection while building Skirmish decks.
The second event will test the effectiveness of a ban list, trying to keep it as short as possible. At the start of the event, these cards will not be available to play with in Skirmish decks:
Sautekh Dynasty
- Self-Destruction
Genestealer Cults
- Roaming Outriders
Dark Angels
- Secret Agenda
Emperor’s Children
- Exquisite Swordsmanship
- Infractor Obsessionist
Can I complete missions in Skirmish mode?
As a reminder, yes! In fact, Skirmish mode will let you complete many of your daily missions and challenges faster than before. Skulls earned in Skirmish mode will count towards your daily challenge, and the faster games and smaller deck size will help you blast through your daily missions!
Skulls are claimed at the same values as in Classic mode. The crystals you earn at the end of every Skirmish match are a bit less than in Classic mode, adjusted to the lower match length of the new game mode.
Round 2 begins soon
The new event will go live tomorrow! Please note that there might still be some bumps in the road. Some features, like replays, may not behave perfectly, and you won’t yet be able to challenge friends or Alliance members to Skirmishes (but that is a feature update we’re working on). Do let us know if you come across any of these issues through our in-game support channels so that they’re fixed in the next iteration of the game mode.
Are you ready to fight faster and harder than ever? You will be able to enter the Skirmish in almost no time!