Cloudspire Hero's Bounty vs Base Game Factions: What Changes

Quick answer

Hero's Bounty is not a new faction—it's a 35-card events and relics pack that plugs into the first seven Cloudspire factions. If you already own the base game and want more tactical variety without learning a new army, it's a cheap, low-friction add. If you're still learning your first faction, skip it until the base matchups feel familiar.

Cloudspire's base game gives you distinct factions with fixed rules, fixed units, and a fixed rhythm. Hero's Bounty doesn't replace any of that. It adds 35 new events and relics tied to the first seven factions, which means the base game you already know stays intact—but the decisions inside it shift.

That distinction matters when you're deciding what to buy next. A faction expansion like The Graft changes what you play. Hero's Bounty changes what happens while you play it. Here's how the two compare on the table.

What Hero's Bounty actually adds to the base game

The expansion compiles every stretch goal unlocked during Cloudspire's second Kickstarter campaign into one pack: 35 events and relics spread across the first seven factions. Events and relics appear on the floating isles during The Joining War, and any tactician can discover and use them.

In practice, that means your existing faction list doesn't grow—your decision space does. You'll see new options appear mid-match that reward map awareness and timing, not just raw unit strength.

• Check the event and relic pool before your first game with it so you're not reading cards cold mid-match.

Hero's Bounty vs a faction expansion like The Graft

The Graft Faction Expansion is the opposite kind of purchase. It adds an environmental blight faction that spreads across Ankar, built around a movable "feastress" thanks to the Nucleus, which both enjoys advantages and suffers pitfalls from being a dual-purpose piece. That's a new army with new rules to learn.

Hero's Bounty asks nothing new of you mechanically. You keep playing the factions you already know, but the events and relics create different pressure points. If you want novelty in your matchups without a teaching session, Hero's Bounty is the lighter lift. If you want a genuinely different opponent, The Graft is the one that changes the matchup.

• Hero's Bounty: same factions, new mid-game decisions.
• The Graft: new faction, new rules, new learning curve.

How the two purchases change the same game night

With Hero's Bounty in play, your base faction matchup plays out mostly the same until an event or relic hits the table. That's when players who read the board well pull ahead. It rewards players who already understand their faction's strengths and can pivot.

With The Graft, the entire table has to adjust. The Graft spreads and consumes, Source reserves dwindle, and other factions have to coordinate to stop the Nucleus. That's a heavier, more narrative experience—and it's less forgiving if your group is still learning the base rules.

• Hero's Bounty is easier to slot into an existing group's routine.
• The Graft is better for a group that wants a shared problem to solve.

Trade-offs to weigh before you buy

• Variety vs learning curve: Hero's Bounty adds 35 events and relics across the first seven factions without new faction rules. The Graft adds a whole faction with its own spread-and-consume mechanics and a movable feastress. Pick Hero's Bounty if you want variety without teaching; pick The Graft if you want a new opponent.
• Matchup impact vs table impact: Hero's Bounty changes decisions inside existing matchups. The Graft changes the whole table's priorities because other factions must coordinate against the Nucleus. Hero's Bounty is the smaller footprint on game night.
• Cost vs content type: Hero's Bounty is a compact events-and-relics pack. The Graft is a full faction expansion with a different scope of content. Compare what you actually want more of: new decisions or a new army.

Catalog facts that decide the comparison

• Cloudspire: Hero's Bounty: 35 new events and relics tied to the first seven Cloudspire factions, compiling every stretch goal from Cloudspire's second Kickstarter campaign. It expands the base game's decision space without adding a faction to learn, so it fits groups that already know the base matchups.
• Cloudspire: The Graft Faction Expansion: The Graft is a spreading environmental blight faction with a movable "feastress" via the Nucleus, which enjoys advantages and suffers pitfalls from being a dual-purpose piece. It's a full new opponent with new rules, so it changes the matchup itself rather than layering onto existing ones.

Which one fits your table

Best for

• Players who already know the base game factions and want more tactical decisions without learning a new army
• Groups that want a low-friction way to refresh existing Cloudspire matchups

Not for

• New players still learning their first faction—get the base matchups down first
• Groups specifically looking for a brand-new opponent, who should look at a faction expansion like The Graft instead

Hero's Bounty and The Graft solve different problems. Hero's Bounty deepens the factions you already play; The Graft gives you someone new to play against. Buy the one that matches the gap at your table.