Cloudspire Faction Expansion Guide: Shada, Griege, and Graft
By Chip Theory Games | Published: 2026-10-13
Category: Buying Guides
Compare Cloudspire's Shada, Griege, and Graft faction expansions by playstyle and table impact so you can pick the right one for your group.
Quick answer
If you want terrain-driven area control, start with the Shada faction expansion. If you prefer flexible, upgrade-heavy play, choose the Griege. If you want a slow, consuming presence that changes how the table fights, pick the Graft. Buy the Thick Health and Source Chips upgrade only after you have a faction you love and want smoother tracking.
How the three faction expansions differ at the table
Cloudspire faction expansions do not just add new minis; they change how you approach terrain, economy, and attrition. The Shada reward you for fighting on specific ground, turning map features into weaponized advantages. The Griege lean on an evolution pit that promotes units on the move and can consume mercenaries to boost unit strength, so your board state is always shifting. The Graft spread like a blight, and with Source reserves dwindling, other factions must coordinate to defeat the Nucleus and its parasitic worms. That means the Graft often plays as a slow, inevitable pressure rather than a burst strike.
Match the faction to your group's habits
Think about how your regular opponents react to pressure. If they love building up and defending a corner, Shada's terrain bonuses will force them to contest spaces they usually ignore. If your group enjoys combo turns and incremental upgrades, Griege's evolution pit gives you a clear engine to improve units mid-move. If your table gets frustrated by a single player snowballing, the Graft's consuming spread can become a political target, which is either a feature or a bug depending on your group. None of these expansions include new terrain or base-game components beyond what is listed, so you still need the Cloudspire base game to use them.
Upgrade chips: when they are worth adding
The Thick Health and Source Chips upgrade is a quality-of-life purchase, not a new faction. It gives you four sets of tracker chips that work as dials for Health and Source during a standard game. If you already find the base game's tracking fiddly or you play with players who bump the table, these thicker chips reduce accidental changes. Buy them alongside a faction expansion only if you are already committed to Cloudspire; otherwise, put your budget toward a faction first.
Decision rules for buying a Cloudspire faction expansion
- You want the most direct battlefield impact: Choose Shada if your group fights over terrain and you want bonuses that reward positioning on specific ground. Best first faction for players who like map control.
- You want engine-building and flexibility: Choose Griege if you enjoy promoting units on the move and using mercenaries as fuel for strength. Best for players who like incremental upgrades and adaptable turns.
- You want a slow, consuming threat: Choose Graft if you want a movable feastress and a faction that forces the table to coordinate against you. Best for players who enjoy political pressure and attrition.
- You want smoother tracking, not a new faction: Add the Thick Health and Source Chips upgrade only after you have a faction you already enjoy playing. Buy this second, not first.
Faction and upgrade facts
- Cloudspire: The Shada Faction Expansion: The shada are an elemental race convinced of their dominion over the Source, and they take advantage of terrain differences like no faction before them, benefiting from special abilities on that terrain. If your group underuses terrain or you enjoy area control, Shada turns the map into a resource you can exploit every turn.
- Cloudspire: The Griege Faction Expansion: The griege use an evolution pit to promote units on the move or consume mercenaries to bolster unit strength. This suits players who like flexible, upgrade-driven turns and do not mind managing a shifting board state.
- Cloudspire: The Graft Faction Expansion: The Graft is an environmental blight that spreads across Ankar and consumes everything in its path, and it features a movable 'feastress' thanks to Nucleus. The movable feastress gives the Graft a unique positional threat, but it also makes you a visible target for the whole table.
- Cloudspire: Thick Health and Source Chips: These extra-thick chips make for excellent dials when tracking Health and Source, and four sets of tracker chips cover any standard game of Cloudspire. Pick this up if you want less bookkeeping and fewer bumped trackers during play, especially with four players.
Who should buy which expansion
Best for
- Players who already own the Cloudspire base game and want a faction that changes terrain play
- Groups that enjoy asymmetric factions and are willing to learn new unit rules
- Solo or two-player sessions where a single faction's engine can shine
Not for
- New players who do not yet own the Cloudspire base game
- Groups that prefer symmetrical, low-rules-overhead skirmish games
- Buyers looking for a complete standalone game rather than an expansion
