Star Belly Geek's Diskwars Pages

Buying Diskwars

What should you buy and where's the best place to buy it? That's actually a pretty involved set of questions.

Where to buy

For where you should buy, I recommend first going by your local game stores. They'll promote the game well if they've got customers looking for it, and might sponsor a Garrison if there's interest. Check there first.

However, local stores aren't always accomodating and don't always have the product we want. If you're looking at this web site, you've got another good resource at your fingertips: ordering online. I've bought Diskwars from Boulder Games and highly recommend them. They discount games heavily, and shipping isn't much, especially on Diskwars. Funagain Games is more modern and offers more of a gamer community on its site. Once again, they discount their games and don't overcharge for shipping. The Slipperykarst actively supports Diskwars in particular, and so deserves some mention. They're a brick-and-mortar store with an Internet store-front, so they can't afford to discount games as much as the previous two, but they do offer free shipping. Finally, if you want to find a particular disk or flat, try eBay auctions - there are always quite a number of active Diskwars items there (the link above right goes right to the list of Diskwars items).

What to buy

Now, what should you buy? Well, that depends. If you're a completist, you'll need to spend quite a large amount of money on disks, and be willing to trade both locally and through the Internet. You can buy a dozen of each expansion and not even come close to having every disk. I'm currently trying to maintain 8 of the 10 armies and it's a pretty involved proposition.

Most people should, instead, pick one to three of the armies and try to put together playable groups for them. If you have several friends who will play with you, each of you should focus on one army so that the expense will be shared - and you'll have someone with whom to trade. If you just want to be able to pull out the game occasionally, the best bet is to pick one good army, one evil army and the Dwarves, and build those up. That way, two players will certainly be able to get a fun game. For most armies, buying a Basic box and one expansion (other than Wastelands packs) will give you a good mix of units for about a US$20 investment (less if you order online). Eight of the armies also appear in Legions (US$25 each box), and you can use those sets either to give you a great start in two armies or to split with a friend, giving each of you a good starting army and some money left over for an expansion box. You can then add Wastelands expansions (US$5), which are made up entirely of random boxes. Waiqar's Path and Broken Shadows only have 2 fixed flats each, and no flats of counters, so they're a good investment as well.

I discuss the armies in more detail on the Armies pages, but here's an overview on what to buy:

Acolytes get some decent units in their fixed flats, but the best units are all random. Couple that with the playing challenge offered by this faction, and you've got a recipe for frustration for new players. Most should only go for Acolyte armies if they are willing to spend and trade and want a real puzzle every time they start a game. Acolytes don't appear in Legions, further limiting your starting ability. I recommend basic boxes, Waiqar's Path and Wastelands packs for Acolyte players - there's nothing in Moon Over Thelgrim that you need and can't trade for.

Dragonkin are great right out of the basic box, and the expansions only improved them. You can play with what you get, and you won't feel bad after buying an extra box or two, since more of the basic units is only better. You should be aware that there are Good and Evil dragons, and you won't be able to play with both in the same army. My recommendations for basic buys: Evil players should start with either the Dragon/Mahkim Legions box or a Basic box with a Moon Over Thelgrim expansion, then season with Wastelands and consider picking up a Waiqar's Path box for the shot at random disks and trade fodder. Good players should get the Waiqar's Path dragon box and a Moon Over Thelgrim expansion, then add some Wastelands. Either way, definitely a high-return army for those who only want to develop one.

Dwarves are also really good right out of the box. Almost too good. Don't buy more than one of the Moon Over Thelgrim expansion, though - it's too easy to get too many of those fixed disks, and no one will trade for them. Pick up a Legions box or a Basic box, add a Waiqar's Path or Moon Over Thelgrim box, then stop and think. Wastelands offers a new dimension to the faction (that of evil) but isn't at all necessary to play. The unique disks are mostly random, but you'll probably be able to trade for those you don't have after buying a couple of boxes. Dwarves are the thrifty person's army, and supplement all other collections well. People who are considering developing two armies should consider Dwarves as the fall-back, if only because it's so easy to build them up while you're thinking about your other army.

Elves are also pretty good on their fixed flats, and their random disks are fairly common, so new players will get bang for their bucks here. If you hate dropping missiles, don't bother with the faction, but otherwise consider doing the standard purchase - one Basic or Legions box, and at least one expansion, being prepared to trade for some of the Unique disks. If you don't play Undead, but have a little money, buying the Legions box gives you some great trade fodder.

Knights aren't a bad faction. They just aren't great. Some of the disks one needs to make them really effective are random. In the Moon Over Thelgrim boxes, you get several disks you might not use with one that is really good. This is an easy faction to get conflicted about - you'll like the theme but hate how hard it is to get the units you want. Caveat emptor. I recommend a Legions box (instead of a Basic set) and a Waiqar's Path box, then see if you can get Warhorses (a fix disk) and a Standard Bearer (random) from Moon Over Thelgrim, and King Falladir (random) from the Basic set.

K'Ryth are not recommended for casual players. All of their disks are only available on random flats. That means that you have to buy a lot of boxes to put together an effective faction. K'Ryth only come in the Wastelands and Waiqar's Path. Only pursue K'Ryth if you're planning to buy a lot of boxes anyway and have another faction or two that you're working on.

Mahkim only have fixed flats in Legions, but they're pretty good. They have random disks in Moon Over Thelgrim, Wastelands and Waiqar's Path. You'll have to buy a lot or trade at a small disadvantage to get the best random disks, so, like K'Ryth, they probably aren't for the one-army player.

Orcs are another faction that's good right out of the box. One of each set is nice, and more of each set are even nicer. The random disks are neat but not necessary to effective play. If you don't mind their tusky grins and unsubtle body odor, Orcs could be right for anyone, serious or casual. I highly recommend the Legions box, after which the Basic boxes are useful only for random disks. Moon Over Thelgrim has some nice disks (mostly random, again), and Waiqar's Path and Wastelands support repeat purchases pretty well.

The Undead have lots of good fixed-flat disks and an enormous variety of things scattered among the random flats. There's little frustration, though, as each new disk only gives you more possibilities. Buy as few or as many as you can afford, trade a little, and Undead can be a lot of fun. Buying the Legions box gives you some great stuff, and makes Moon Over Thelgrim much less attractive as a separate purchase - but you'll want to trade for Vhass Frothan, and still may some Basic boxes.

Uthuk are like Knights. They're decent with what they have, but you'll wish you had more of the randomly available disks in all the sets. If you think you'll like the playing style dictated by the Uthuk mix of units, go for it, but be prepared to trade hard if you want Servants of Yllan and Llovar's Elite Guard. Start with Legions, then concentrate on Wastelands, Waiqar's Path and Moon Over Thelgrim, looking primarily to trade for the useful disks in the Basic boxes (Da'Roul Bonesplicer and the Servants of Yllan).