For a start, there are three new allied factions in the mix which you can now seek aid from. These factions hate each other and don’t trust you much either: so it takes time to get them onboard. You can now use agents from these factions within your own squads, which are especially useful when starting out with a group of rookies. The Reapers are expert marksmen, employing advanced stealth and ambush techniques. The Skirmishers are defectors from advent: still physically changed but now free to walk their own path. Finally, the Templars are psionic assassins and my personal favorite of the bunch: using some incredibly clever skills these wildcards can change the direction of a battle. At the start of each month Advent still have their dark events but now we have our own of sorts. You can gain trust with each faction leader in various ways and this, in turn, will open up slots in which you can insert bonus cards. These will give you various boons in the game which are most welcome considering what you're up against.

One of the first new rooms you should create is the Resistance Ring, which will allow you to communicate with the faction leaders and send troops on covert missions. These will always have a direct goal, such as resources, finding facilities or tracking down the Chosen themselves. The fact that you must add soldiers from your own ranks makes you take pause; do you want to be without your best sniper for fives days? These covert operations can also give the participants new stat improvements so there is an added incentive: risk reward at its best. However, troops can also come back injured or even get ambushed by the Chosen; which starts a frantic escape mission.



Boss Tactics



One of the biggest additions are of course the Chosen themselves: three elite and specialised assassins who work directly for the Elders. As you play the game these three characters will be on you every step of the way. They can appear in any mission within a certain area of the Geosphere and once they do; it takes a concerted effort to bring them down.

The developers at Firaxis have clearly been loving the Nemesis system employed in Shadow of Mordor because the Chosen learn from each fight they have with you. Indeed, the longer you leave them running around, the more knowledge they gain and will even gain new skills by leveling up. The first time I fought the Assassin he dazed my Grenadier and then in the next turn extracted tactical information from him right under my nose: cheeky bastard. If a Chosen manages to fill this knowledge bar they can eventually shoot the Avenger down, triggering a very difficult mission in which you are the target. Needless to say, if the commander is stolen that is game over and the campaign ends. Even in the Geosphere, you are not safe with your income being damaged or supplies being stolen.

The end goal is for the hunters to become the hunted: culminating with a very challenging mission where you must confront the Chosen in its own lair. Fighting these unique enemies in any situation is exhilarating and fun. If you do manage to bring one to heel, you will also be able to research and then use their devastating weapons.