‘Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines’ Board Game Review
Well, well, well, what have we here? Another expansion for the already vast and quite confusing Dune: Imperium universe. This time, it’s Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines which you’ll see omits the word “Uprising” from its title, and yet almost anyone who is familiar with the Dune: Imperium series will already know that Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines is more of an expansion for Dune: Imperium – Uprising than it is for Dune: Imperium and yet at the same time, this new expansion is completely compatible with all the existing content for both the original Dune: Imperium and Dune: Imperium – Uprising. Confused? Me too, to be honest – and that’s why I have long since mothballed my copy of Dune: Imperium to focus on the cleaner, more streamlined experience of Dune: Imperium – Uprising.
Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines complicates this somewhat. I was expecting an expansion for Dune: Imperium – Uprising sooner or later, and this new box introduces a lot of content – some of which is brand new, and some of which simply reintroduces ideas from other, existing expansions or adds to it depending on whether you’re playing with it or not. In terms of raw content, there’s quite a lot here – specifically Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines contains 9 new leaders, 2 new conflict cards, 18 new intrigue cards and 32 new imperium cards. There are also new contracts and tech tiles, plus new elements for both solo play and team games (introduced by Dune: Imperium – Uprising). Finally, you’ll also find some niche components for specific leaders – such as a deck of specific intrigue cards for the Peter De Vries leader or a navigation deck for the Steersman leader.
Perhaps the largest addition to gameplay that comes from Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines is the introduction of Sardaukar commanders, who are bundled in the box as either plastic models or large wooden cubes. This means that players who prefer all wooden pieces are catered for, as are those who have invested in the large and expensive Deluxe Upgrade Pack. When purchased from one of several spaces that allow it, the hiring of a Sardaukar infantryman comes with a choice of bonus tile that affects every conflict that has a Sardaukar commander in it – adding a massive upgrade to conflicts and a huge amount of variability.
If you already have Dune: Imperium – Uprising, then you have probably noticed that the number and variety of leaders is quite low. With the addition of Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines and its nine new leaders – including Chaani, Duncan Idaho, Peter De Vries, Esmar Tuek and Steersman Y’Rkoon – Dune: Imperium – Uprising is transformed. Now, rather than the relatively simple and more vanilla leaders, players have some incredible variety including a few characters that require an advanced understanding of the game. Take Esmar Tuek for example, who comes with his own additional board space, or Peter De Vries with his own intrigue deck. Steersman Y’Rkoon is perhaps the most complex, with a deck of navigation cards that the player places in order during setup, and must fulfill as the game goes on to gain various bonuses.
Technology tiles also make a return (having first appeared in Dune: Imperium – Rise of Ix). If you already have this expansion, then you’re essentially adding more tiles into the mix and then deciding whether you want to use the old rules or the new ones for how to get them (sigh), but let’s assume you go with the new rules, or that like me, you simply don’t have the older expansion. In Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines technology tiles function as they did – allowing a player to invest in a permanent upgrade (or a powerful single-use one) that benefits them quite a bit. In the past, these could be hard to get and expensive, but now, a player can take a technology tile whenever they visit a green board space, and if they have a High Council seat, they also get a one solari discount. These minor changes reflect the “new” way to access these tiles that I referred to above, and whilst only small changes mechanically, they change the game a lot (for the better.)
The 32 new Imperium cards are also very welcome – and in general, I always like having more variety among the cards I can draw from. I have occasionally wondered whether any (very serious) Dune: Imperium players out there have ever curated the “best of” Imperium deck, drawing cards from both base games and all four expansions, but that’s certainly not something I am going to do. As it stands, if I assume you have just Dune: Imperium – Uprising and Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines then you’ll have a really good, tight deck of Imperium cards that has quite a bit of variety, whilst also allowing the game to stay focussed on its most fun core mechanics. Over three or four games you’ll definitely find that cards recur fairly often, but in a game as complex and strategic as Dune: Imperium – Uprising you actually need that to be the case.
In summarising Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines, I need to be a bit careful about how I wrap up. Viewed purely as an expansion for Dune: Imperium – Uprising, Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines is a success. It adds a number of elements that strictly improve the base game experience, including the new leaders, the Sardaukar, the technology tiles (and rules) and the extra bits and bobs. It’s more of what you love, a few bits that refine and add to the core experience and nothing that will cause controversy or problems in gameplay. On the other hand, I can’t speak firsthand about how Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines affects Dune: Imperium as a base experience. I think it’s reasonable to say that you’d want at least one or two of the other expansions to make it work, and in integrating it, you’d have to accommodate a lot of edge-case rules. That said, you could just cherry-pick the leaders, the Sardaukar and the new imperium cards and be quite happy.
Overall, Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines is a good expansion for Dune: Imperium – Uprising and possibly a questionable one for Dune: Imperium. Nonetheless, it gets the seal of approval from me even as I try to keep my Dune: Imperium experience straightforward and clutter-free. There’s kind of “too much” Dune: Imperium now, but if you ask me, Dune: Imperium – Uprising plus Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines is just right.
