Which Cthulhu Wars expansion should you buy first?
If you just picked up the Cthulhu Wars O4 Edition and you're staring at the expansion catalog wondering where to start, the answer depends on one thing: what do you actually want from your first add-on? More players at the table, more faction variety, or bigger board presence? Each goal has a clear answer, and this guide walks you through the decision without making you read every product page first.
Quick answer: most new owners should start with a faction expansion. A faction pack gives you a complete new player position, a distinct playstyle, and more miniatures on the table. That's the most immediate upgrade to your game. If you already have enough players and want more strategic texture, go with Great Old One Pack 1 instead.
What kinds of Cthulhu Wars expansions are there?
Three main categories. Understanding them takes maybe two minutes and makes the rest of this guide obvious.
Faction expansions each add one complete new Great Old One faction: a full set of miniatures, a faction spellbook, unique units, and their own victory condition. Think of each one as a new player's "starter set" that slots into the core game. The O4 Edition ships with 4 factions (Great Cthulhu, Crawling Chaos, Black Goat, and Yellow Sign). Every faction expansion beyond those four adds one more seat at the table.
Great Old One packs work differently. These aren't factions. They're powerful cross-faction entities — colossal miniatures that any faction can recruit during the game. They add strategic depth and serious table presence without requiring an additional player. There are four GOO Packs, each covering a different slice of the Lovecraftian pantheon.
Map board expansions replace or extend the play surface. The core game comes with one map. Expansion maps are designed for higher player counts or specific scenarios. These are generally a third or fourth purchase, not a first one — you want the factions to fill the seats before you upsize the board.
Should you start with a faction expansion or a Great Old One pack?
Depends on your table situation. Faction expansion first if you have 5 or 6 people who want to play. Great Old One pack first if you're consistently playing with 3 or 4 and want to deepen those games rather than expand them.
The case for a faction expansion first: Cthulhu Wars is an asymmetric game. Every faction plays completely differently. Adding a fifth or sixth faction doesn't just add a seat — it changes every game you play, because the faction matchup affects the whole board. BoardGameGeek's Cthulhu Wars entry rates it as one of the stronger asymmetric designs in the hobby, and the asymmetry depends entirely on who's sitting across the table. More factions mean more combinations and fewer repeated dynamics.
The case for a GOO pack first: if your group is locked at 3 or 4 players, a fifth faction just sits in the box. Great Old Ones add something different: shared board entities that every faction is competing over, which generates new decisions without needing another body at the table. GOO Pack 1 has the most entities of any pack (five of them), so it's the strongest value per dollar for that goal.
Which faction expansion should you buy first?
Pick the one whose theme grabs you. That's actually not a flippant answer.
Cthulhu Wars has enough faction expansion options that the "optimal" first pick shifts depending on your group. But faction identity and theme matters in practice because it affects who actually wants to play that faction. A group that leans into the cosmic dread side of the mythos will get more table time out of the Windwalker (Ithaqua) faction than a group that wants chaotic swarm play.
A few orientations by playstyle:
- Coldly aggressive territorial play: Windwalker. Ithaqua's faction controls the Arctic territory and builds a brutal gate-denial game. It's mechanically distinct from the four core factions and popular as a first expansion pick among players who already know those four well.
- Swarm and sacrifice mechanics: The Ancients. A faction centered on generating and spending cultist-scale units in ways the core factions don't replicate.
- Deep One mythos lean: The Tcho-Tcho or similar ocean-adjacent factions reward groups who want more of the sea-creature corner of the Lovecraft world.
- Pure collector motivation: Buy whichever sculpt gets you most excited. The miniatures are the centerpiece. If the figure on the box makes you want to put it on the table, that's the right faction expansion to own first.
The hobby press at Dicebreaker and the wider tabletop community consistently note that Cthulhu Wars' faction design is one of its defining strengths. More factions don't dilute that — they multiply it.
What if you want more replayability without more players?
Great Old One Pack 1. Full stop.
Five entities: Abhoth, Chaugnar Faugn, Cthugha, Mother Hydra, and Yig. Each arrives as a colossal figure with its own spellbook and distinct ability set. Because any faction can recruit any Great Old One, they ripple through the game in ways that a new faction alone doesn't — every player is potentially going after the same shared entities, which changes board priorities across the whole game.
The GOO Packs work as a layer on top of whatever factions you already own. You don't need a new player to get value from them. That makes Pack 1 a genuinely strong first purchase if your group is already comfortable with the core game and wants new decisions rather than new seats.
Pack 2 (Atlach-Nacha, Bokrug, Father Dagon, Ghatanothoa) is an easy second purchase after Pack 1. Father Dagon and Mother Hydra pair thematically, which makes running both packs together feel intentional rather than additive.
When do map board expansions make sense?
Once you're regularly playing with 5 or 6 players. The core map is designed for 2 to 4 players. Seat five or six at it and the board can feel compressed. Expansion maps are built to handle those player counts with more territory and adjusted gate distribution.
Buy map boards after you have the faction expansions to fill the seats. There's no good reason to upsize the board before you have the players and factions to use it.
Recommended first purchase by goal
Here's the short version if you want to skip straight to the decision:
- I want more players at the table: buy a faction expansion that matches your group's theme interest. Windwalker is a common first pick for its distinct mechanic.
- I want more replayability with my current group: buy Great Old One Pack 1. Five cross-faction entities, immediate compatibility with every faction you own.
- I love a specific corner of the mythos: look at the faction expansion whose Great Old One matches that theme. The sculpt is the hook; the mechanics will reward you too.
- I want the biggest immediate upgrade to the game: a faction expansion, because it changes every game by changing who's at the table and which faction matchup you're playing against.
All Cthulhu Wars expansions are compatible with the O4 Edition. In-stock orders from Petersen Games process within 48 hours (2 business days, Monday through Friday). US shipping via USPS Ground Advantage takes 2 to 5 business days. Rates are calculated at checkout.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best first Cthulhu Wars expansion to buy?
For most players, a faction expansion is the right starting point. Each faction pack adds a complete new player position with its own miniatures, spellbook, and strategy. If you have enough players for the core game already and want more depth in those sessions, Great Old One Pack 1 (five cross-faction entities) is the strongest alternative first purchase.
Do Cthulhu Wars expansions require a specific edition?
Most expansions work with both Onslaught 3 and the current O4 Edition. Check the individual product page for any compatibility notes, particularly for map board expansions, which can have edition-specific differences.
How many players does a faction expansion add?
One player slot per faction expansion. The O4 Edition core supports up to 4 players. Adding faction expansions lets you seat 5 or 6, with each new faction bringing a completely distinct playstyle and strategy to the game.
What is a Great Old One pack and do I need one?
Great Old One packs add cross-faction entity miniatures that any player's faction can recruit during the game. They don't add player seats. If you want more strategic texture and table presence without changing your player count, a GOO pack is a strong buy. GOO Pack 1 is the most popular starting point with five entities.
Do I need a map expansion to use other Cthulhu Wars expansions?
No. Faction expansions and Great Old One packs play on the core game's included map. Map board expansions are designed for higher player counts or scenario-specific play and are generally a later purchase once you have extra factions filling the seats.
Browse the full Cthulhu Wars collection at Petersen Games to see current availability on all faction expansions, GOO Packs, and map boards. Check the O4 Edition product page for current pricing before purchasing (reference price $249.00 at time of writing; prices may change).
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