Wallguards: Vow of Victory

Vow of Victory: expansion or standalone game?

Vow of Victory is an optional expansion for Garphill Games’ upcoming Wallguards of the East Empire. It is not a standalone board game: you need the base game to use its Mercenaries, siege additions and dice. Both products are scheduled to begin crowdfunding together on 10 November 2026.

What changes? You choose three of 12 new Mercenary units for each game, creating new setup variety. The expansion also adds siege-related elements and purple dice that can produce a high result but are more likely to roll a blank. Garphill describes it as extra depth and variability for players who expect to return to Wallguards repeatedly—not necessary content removed from the base box.

The campaign starts tomorrow relative to this 9 November 2026 update. No verified pledge amount, campaign end date or physical delivery date has been announced by the publisher in the reviewed materials.

Wallguards and Vow of Victory release date tracker

A campaign launch is not a retail release. The original game and its expansion are being offered together, but details of production timing and fulfillment still need the campaign’s official schedule.

Last verified: 9 November 2026. Next check: 10–11 November 2026 to record launch-day reward levels, taxes and shipping, production dates and any designer rule previews. Avoid interpreting a database’s “2027” label as a guaranteed delivery month.

How Wallguards of the East Empire works

The base game is a 1–4-player, 60–90-minute card-driven strategy game by Shem Phillips and S J Macdonald, illustrated by Mihajlo Dimitrievski. Players defend Byzantine Constantinople in 821 AD, during the rebellion of Thomas the Slav against Emperor Michael II.

You play cards to take actions, typically also placing cards in one of four Battlefields above your player board. A Battlefield holding five or more cards triggers a defence. The player’s strength is evaluated: successful defence awards a Defector, while failure brings an Ally to aid the defence.

The game ends when either the Defector or Ally draw pile is depleted. Players score Victory Points for their warriors, Siege and Technician developments, Barracks improvements and the defense of the walls. That is the announced base-game structure; final timing details should be checked against the rulebook when it becomes available.

How the 12 Mercenaries work

The expansion contains 12 powerful Mercenary units, but only three are used in a given game. This allows different sets of special units to appear between sessions and changes the opportunities available without requiring all 12 to be managed at once.

Because the official announcement does not publish each Mercenary’s cost, card text and activation timing, it is premature to rank individual units or describe fixed combos. A sensible expectation—not a confirmed game rule—is that different combinations will reward different approaches to the game’s four Battlefields, warfare and card decisions.

For learning games, leave the expansion out until players understand the base card-action sequence. Once your group knows when Battlefields resolve, Mercenary variety becomes easier to evaluate.

Purple dice: higher ceiling, greater risk

Garphill confirms purple dice can show up to 5 Strength but are more likely to roll a blank than the alternative dice. That creates a straightforward risk-and-reward decision: choose a chance at more power, knowing the roll is less dependable.

The publisher has not yet revealed an exact face distribution or expected Strength value in the announcement, so we should not claim one colour is mathematically superior. Risk preference can also change depending on what your Battlefield needs to win a defence.

Example of the trade-off: when a defence requires a large result, the chance of a five may be tempting; when you only need a modest amount of reliable Strength, the possibility of a blank could be more costly. This is a strategic illustration, not a simulation of an unpublished dice table.

What new siege options are included?

Vow of Victory includes new siege content. In the base game, building up Siege and Technicians contributes to the defence and final scoring. The expansion aims to give repeat players more possible approaches to those systems.

However, Garphill has not yet provided a complete list of the new siege pieces, exact card effects, costs, scoring changes or interactions with Mercenaries in the official announcement. Avoid treating unverified component imagery as a finalized rules reference.

The campaign’s eventual component list and official rulebook will provide a stronger basis for a dedicated how-to-play guide. Until then, the confirmed change is simply that siege options expand.

Wallguards base game vs Vow of Victory

Any unannounced differences belong in the “unknown” category rather than being inferred from the expansion’s theme.

Should you buy Vow of Victory at launch?

Start with Wallguards alone if you’re new to Garphill’s larger strategy games, uncertain whether it will suit your group, or prefer to learn one system at a time. Garphill explicitly says the base game is complete and the expansion is optional.

Consider adding Vow of Victory if you know you enjoy Garphill’s trilogy games and their expansions, expect to play Wallguards ten or more times, and appreciate different combinations of special units between sessions. Those are the use cases Garphill specifically identifies.

Cost decision: the exact Kickstarter prices are not yet published in the material reviewed. Any shipping savings from bundling must be calculated using the final campaign country table and pledge manager; the publisher expects bundled shipping to be convenient, but the total depends on where you live.

Where does Wallguards fit in Garphill’s trilogies?

Wallguards begins the new East Empire line after Garphill’s earlier North Sea, West Kingdom and South Tigris trilogies. The designers are familiar: Shem Phillips and S J Macdonald have collaborated extensively on Garphill’s more complex strategy games, with the distinctive illustration style of Mihajlo Dimitrievski.

That shared creative lineage is useful context, but Wallguards is a new title with its own Battlefields system. No rule says that owners of Architects of the West Kingdom, Paladins of the West Kingdom or Wayfarers of the South Tigris can combine components with Wallguards.

Thematically, Wallguards focuses on defending Constantinople amid Byzantine conflict. It is competitive VP play, not a fully cooperative siege game.

Wallguards: Vow of Victory FAQ

Is Vow of Victory included in Wallguards?

No. It is a separately offered optional expansion, launching on Kickstarter with the base game.

Do I need Vow of Victory to play Wallguards?

No. Garphill explicitly says the base game is a complete experience.

How many Mercenaries does the expansion add?

Twelve new Mercenary units, with only three selected for each game.

What do purple dice do?

They can produce as much as 5 Strength, but are more likely to show a blank. Exact probabilities are not yet documented in the publisher announcement.

Does it change the siege system?

It adds new siege options; the exact new effects and costs await final rules.

When does the Kickstarter launch?

10 November 2026, confirmed by Garphill.

When will Wallguards ship?

No reliable reward-specific backer delivery month was confirmed from the available official announcement as of 9 November 2026.

What does the expansion cost?

No verified launch-day pledge price is available yet. Check the Kickstarter on 10 November.

How many people can play Wallguards?

The publisher lists 1–4 players for the base game, with 60–90 minutes expected.

When does the game end?

When the Defector or Ally draw pile runs out. The highest total Victory Points wins.

What happens when a Battlefield fills?

At five or more cards, it triggers a defence. Winning grants a Defector; losing brings an Ally.

Why release an expansion with the base game?

Garphill says Vow of Victory was designed after Wallguards’ development was complete and is intended to provide optional replay variety, not content cut from the base game.

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Official sources and editorial verification

Publisher: Garphill Games’ 5 November 2026 Vow of Victory announcement; Garphill’s 15 September 2026 Wallguards announcement and gameplay preview; official Shem Phillips Kickstarter campaign.

Contemporary cross-checks: Backseat Gamer, 5 November 2026; Megalopolis, 8 November 2026.

Last checked: 9 November 2026. This is an independent preview, not a hands-on review or a claim the campaign has launched. We distinguish confirmed game mechanisms from release, pledge and shipping details that are not yet public. The header art is an original generic fortress illustration; no Garphill game artwork is reproduced. Editorial policy and corrections.