Resources, not to be confused with "Currencies" (which are used to buy different things) or "Items" (which are anything that can be bought, like Cards, Decks, etc.), encompasses all the different "Energy Sources" during a match in The Horus Heresy: Legions.
Energy could be called, in a sense, the "currency" needed to play cards (or pull out effects and abilities) during a Battle. Almost everything cost an amount of Energy (even "0" spent counts for game mechanics), thus, understanding how to spend it, and manipulate it, is fundamental for any victory.
The "regular" Energy is shared, in the same way, by all Players, Decks, and Battle Modes. You will always start with 1, gain 1 each turn, and end with the maximum of 10. Of course, certain cards or other elements might change how much you gain/have in any given turn, but at a base, this is the default system.
The other, more "specialized" types of Energy, come from specific Factions which will have more support for, or play around with, said Energy. While it might be some cases when you'll gain this special Energy and are not from the original Faction (you're using the Blackshields Faction and manage to get a card that gives you Psychic Energy, for example), it is highly unlikely that you'll get to use that Energy in a meaningful way (but not necessarily impossible).
All Factions have at least a couple of cards, or abilities, that manipulate your Energy and let you build Decks with this being the main goal (Archetypes like Midrange/Tempo), while some thrive on it (the Emperor's Children are the best at this).
Types of Energy[]
There are (currently) four types of Energy Resources:
● Energy (Xe)[]
The one shared by all Factions, and the main cost of any card (and in general, abilities).
The max amount any Player can get will always be 10.
● Psychic Energy (Xpe)[]
Only generated naturally by the Thousand Sons Faction (but there are ways for other Factions to do so) through the "Psyker" Trait. This Energy is used for the triggering of the "Focus" Trait, and to pay for specific abilities that required it.
As long as you play with a TS Warlord you'll gain 1pe every time your turn starts, and the max amount any Player can get is infinite (if the match keeps going by whatever reason, there's no cap for this energy).
● Plasma Energy (Xre)[]
Only generated naturally by the Knight Houses Faction (but there are ways for other Factions to do so) through the "Reactor" Trait. This Energy is used for paying "Weapons" abilities, and some Units abilities in general.
As long as you play with a KH Warlord you'll gain 1re every time your turn starts, and the max amount any Player can get is infinite (if the match keeps going by whatever reason, there's no cap for this energy).
● Offering (Xoe)[]
Offering is the most unique of the Resources, as it can ONLY be generated by the Word Bearers Faction through their Warlords (thus, no other Faction can get this Energy) and you don't spend it (the amount can only increase) but use the minimum required for the effect of "Offering" to trigger. Unlike the others, you gain 1oe when a troop dies during your turn (from any Player), which means that could be scenarios when you don't get any during a match.
The max amount any Player can get is, relative, infinite (if the match keeps going by whatever reason, and at least one Player can keep summoning Troops for you to kill) but otherwise the cap comes from the total amount of Troops any Player have in their Decks at the time.
Curve[]
When building a Deck, it's very important to pay attention to the amount of Energy the cards you place in it cost, and how that cost will jump from one card to another, so that you will always have the same cost of Energy as your Energy available at that turn (a 3 cost card at 3e, a 4 cost card at 4e, etc). This is called "the Curve of a Deck", or just "Energy Curve", and is one of the most fundamental mechanics any Player needs to master to reach high-level competitive play.
Without taking into account what might happen in any individual match, the Curve will, almost always, guarantee that you will be able to play the "best" card for that cost at that moment. This is why most long-time Players will recommend not to put many high cost cards (or many too low cost) without building from the start a "focused" idea of what your Deck will try to do.
High cost Troops might be powerful and hard to remove, but if your Deck only have those type of cards, you rarely reach "late-game" when you can play them (and most likely only one at a time) before your opponent just defeat you first, or set their board without worrying about you. On the other hand, if you only play with very low cost cards, you MIGHT wither down your opponent with "a thousand cuts" (if lucky enough), but more times than not, you'll empty your hand in two to three turns and become exposed, without solutions, for your enemy to take advantage. Only the most "finitely -tuned" Decks, with a defined Archetype (Control and Aggro, respectively) and under the hands of an experienced Player, will work in these ways, but even so, the correct Energy Curve is always in place.
If you want to know more on how to build on Curve, check our "Deck Building Guide" for more info.
Energy Advantage[]
When starting a match, both Players begin with 1e and gain +1e every time their turn starts. The first to play Player (1sttp), and as long as an Energy manipulation card hasn't been used, will always have 1 "more" than the second to play Player (2dntp) in any given turn, till reaching the max of 10. This is called the "Energy advantage" (and the reason why Initiative is such an important mechanic), and why the 2dntp starts the match with one more card and the Counterattack Tactic (as to mitigate the advantage).
Some Balance Patches will change the Initiative of specific Warlords and leave you thinking "What's the difference?", but in truth, those Warlords play styles change massively if going 1st, as they can set their winning condition much faster. On the other hand, the opposite is also truth for others, as going 2nd will be much better for them.
This, in the broadest of terms, means that the 1sttp "sets" the game rhythm while the 2dntp "reacts" to it, at least till late game when both have the same amount of Energy at the same time (and the advantage doesn't apply anymore).
Of course, with correct "reacting", is easily to change which Player is controlling the rhythm, but let's use a very simple example for understanding it better:
-In this example, both Players have 10 life points left, 5 Energy and the same Troop in hand (a 6e cost with 8 Attack)-
- 1sttp turn starts, gain 1e, plays the Troop, ends turn.
- 2dntp turn starts, gain 1e, plays the Troop, ends turn.
- 1sttp turn starts, gain 1e, attack with the Warlord and the Troop, kills the enemy, win.
As stated, this is an oversimplified example and hardly what will happen in any given match, but the core of the idea stands. The 1sttp will always have the "initial" advantage under the same rules against the 2dntp , both because it will always reach the necessary Energy for anything first, and because the Troops it plays will be able to attack before the opponent ones does.
Now, why would the 2ndtp be "reacting" to the first? Let's use the previous example, but change some things:
-In this one, both Players have 10 life points left and 5 Energy. Both have the same Troop (6e 8 attack one), but the 2dntp also have a Tactic that puts in the board two Troops with Front Line (with 1/3 stats) that cost 6e-
- 1sttp turn starts, gain 1e, plays the Troop, ends turn.
- 2dntp turn starts, gain 1e, plays the Tactic, ends turn.
- 1sttp turn starts, gain 1e, attack with the Troop, kills one of the Troops, ends turn.
- 2dntp turn starts, gain 1e, plays the Troop, ends turn.
- 1sttp turn starts, gain 1e, attack with the Troop, kills one of the Troops, ends turn.
- 2dntp turn starts, gain 1e, attack with the Warlord and the Troop, kills the enemy, win.
By effectively controlling what the 1sttp Player could do, and reacting to him rather than just playing "the strongest card" available at that time, the 2dntp Player won the match.
Of course, the cards in question any Player brings will completely determinate what will happen, but understanding this basic principle will let you make better plays as your Player career goes on, because you'll know which Faction is better suited for going first or second (the unrelenting assault of the World Eaters is ideal for going first, while the controlling nature of the Alpha Legion makes them stronger when going second, for example), and what to do if the reverse happens.
