What should I buy after my first Cthulhu Wars faction expansion?
Buy a second faction pack if your group wants more sides to draft, or buy a universal add-on like a Great Old One pack, High Priests, or Cosmic Terrors if you want new options every faction can use. Available faction packs run $59.99; the universal add-ons run $24.99 to $39.99 and don't lock you into a new playstyle.
That's the short version. You've got the O4 core box, one faction expansion is already on the shelf, and now you're staring at a collection page with dozens of boxes and no obvious next step. This guide walks through the real fork in the road: another faction versus a universal pack, plus what to do if your table has outgrown four players.
Cthulhu Wars has built up a large community track record since its original release, with player ratings, session reports, and expansion discussion collected on its BoardGameGeek listing, a useful spot to see how other collectors have sequenced their own expansion purchases before you commit to one.
Should my next purchase be another faction or something everyone can use?
This is the actual decision, more than any specific product name. A faction expansion adds a brand-new playable side, complete with its own unit stack, spellbook, and win path. Nobody else at the table benefits from it directly until someone picks it up and plays it. A Great Old One pack works differently: it drops a neutral, colossal figure into the shared pool, and any faction, including the one your group already loves, can recruit it once it's summoned.
If your group already argues about who gets to play the favorite faction, a second faction pack solves a real problem: more seats at the table without repeats. If your group is still finding its footing, a universal pack gives everyone new toys without forcing anyone to learn a whole new side. Either path is defensible. The mismatch to avoid is buying a second faction nobody at your table wants to learn yet, when a cheaper universal pack would have gotten more use.
Which faction expansion should I buy second?
Short answer: whichever currently-listed faction fits the play style your group hasn't tried. Every Cthulhu Wars faction draws its name and figure from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, though Petersen Games remixes and expands on that source material in its own way; the List of Cthulhu Mythos deities on Wikipedia is a handy reference if a faction's namesake sounds unfamiliar. As of this writing, five faction expansions are listed in stock on the Petersen Games site, each $59.99:
- Opener of the Way: built around Yog-Sothoth. The first expansion faction Sandy designed, and still a fan favorite for its tricks and abilities.
- Sleeper: built around Tsathoggua, the God of Entropy. Known for traps and tricks that slow opponents down rather than racing them.
- Windwalker: unusual in that it's built around two Great Old Ones instead of one, gods of the freezing dark of outer space.
- Bubastis: built around Bastet, one of the more distinct additions to the roster on the shelf.
- The Daemon Sultan: widely described as the strangest faction in the whole game, built around the dreaded Daemon Sultan itself.
Two other faction packs, Tcho-Tchos and Ancients, are part of the wider Cthulhu Wars line but were listed out of stock at the time of writing. Don't build your next purchase around either until they're back; check the Cthulhu Wars Expansions collection for current availability before you plan around a specific box.
One thing worth knowing before you shop: the Yellow Sign, tied to Hastur, is not a fifth faction expansion. It ships in the O4 core box alongside Great Cthulhu, Crawling Chaos, and the Black Goat. If you're comparing a want-list against the collection page, that's one line you can cross off before you spend anything.
What if you're not ready to commit to a second faction yet?
Three packs give you new options without asking your group to learn a new side. Each works across every faction you already own, including the one you just added.
Great Old One Pack 1 is $39.99 and adds five neutral Great Old Ones: Abhoth, Chaugnar Faugn, Cthugha, Mother Hydra, and Yig. Each comes with its own spellbook and can be recruited by any faction at the table once summoned, first-come-first-served. A period review of the pack on RPG.net called it "the big bully expansion," noting that each Great Old One "opens up new strategic possibilities" for whichever faction gets there first, a dynamic that still holds in the O4 edition. None of the five belong to a single faction's roster; that's the whole point of the pack.
High Priests O4 runs $24.99 and is the cheapest way to upgrade every faction you own at once, since it includes high priests for all factions (Bubastis excluded, since that faction doesn't use them). At under $25, it's an easy add regardless of which faction pack you bought first.
Cosmic Terrors is $29.99 and adds three miniatures classified as Terrors, a unit type separate from both factions and Great Old Ones: the Great Race of Yith, the Dhole, and Quachil Uttaus. Like the Great Old One pack, none of these belong to one faction. They're neutral pieces that widen what's possible on the board without asking anyone to draft a new side.
What if your table has outgrown four players?
Fix this before you buy anything else. A new faction or Great Old One pack doesn't help if there's no room on the map to use it. The core O4 box plays 2 to 4 players out of the box, expandable up to 8 with the right map.
The 6-8 Player Map Pack O4 is $99.99 and bundles all the 6-8 player maps, including Shaggai, in one purchase. It's the priciest single item in this guide, but it's also the one purchase that opens up every other expansion for a bigger table at once. If you already own the base Shaggai Map expansion and only need that one map to scale up, the standalone 6-8 Player Shaggai Map runs $29.99, though it only works as an add-on to a Shaggai Map you already own, not on its own.
How much should you budget for your second purchase?
Three tiers cover most collectors. Under $30 gets you either Cosmic Terrors or the 6-8 Player Shaggai Map (if you already own the base Shaggai map). Around $30 to $40 gets you Great Old One Pack 1, the single best value if you want a pack every faction can use. $59.99 gets you a second full faction, if your group is ready for one.
Budget isn't the only variable, but it's a fast way to break a tie. A group of two or three regular players who already have a favorite faction locked in gets more mileage out of Great Old One Pack 1 or High Priests than a second faction that might sit unplayed. A group that keeps growing, on the other hand, is better off saving toward the map pack before spending on anything else. Either way, don't guess at price; verify current pricing and stock on the product page before checkout, since both can shift.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a faction expansion and a Great Old One pack?
A faction expansion adds a whole new playable side, with its own units, spellbook, and win path. A Great Old One pack adds a neutral, colossal figure that any faction can recruit once summoned. One changes who you can play as; the other changes what every faction can fight over.
Is the Yellow Sign an expansion I need to buy separately?
No. The Yellow Sign, tied to Hastur, is one of the four core factions already in the O4 Edition box, alongside Great Cthulhu, Crawling Chaos, and the Black Goat. Nothing extra to buy there.
Which Cthulhu Wars faction packs are in stock right now?
As of this writing, Opener of the Way, Sleeper, Windwalker, Bubastis, and The Daemon Sultan are listed in stock at $59.99 each. Stock changes, so check the collection page before ordering.
What's inside Great Old One Pack 1, and does it work with every faction?
Great Old One Pack 1 is $39.99 and includes Abhoth, Chaugnar Faugn, Cthugha, Mother Hydra, and Yig. All five are neutral Great Old Ones, and any faction can recruit them once summoned, rather than belonging to one faction's roster.
Do I need extra maps to add a fifth or sixth player?
Yes. The 6-8 Player Map Pack O4 ($99.99) covers the full range up to 8 players, including Shaggai. The standalone 6-8 Player Shaggai Map ($29.99) only works if you already own the base Shaggai Map expansion.
Ready to pick your next box? Browse the full Cthulhu Wars Expansions collection for current stock, pricing, and everything from faction packs to Great Old One packs and player maps. In-stock orders process within 48 hours, with US delivery through USPS Ground Advantage typically taking 2 to 5 business days after that; exact shipping rates are calculated at checkout.
0 comments