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Richese Reforged: From Slag to Steel

Ask any veteran of Dune what they liked about the Richese expansion, and their answer would always mention one thing “No-Fields”. The hidden force tokens that cloak Richese’s shipments brought tension and mystery to the battle wheel. But this was nothing compared to the ability of the Richese to sell unique cards, suddenly turning the tables and reversing the fortunes of inevitability. Ask those same players what they disliked, and the list comes quickly: weak overall power level, narrow use of their abilities, and above all the infamous Stone Burner, a game-warping card that turned Richese into a faction that simply waited for its moment.

In practice, Richese were rarely feared. Their only strategy was to use Stone Burner and ally with someone else to deliver the killing blow. It made them a mid-to-late game faction, but not one that could win on their own. They were spectators in a contact sport and without Stone Burner, they sat on the side lines watching ever one else play. At the Landsraad, our goal has always been balance: every faction should have a competitive chance to win, so that games are decided by skill, timing, and daring, not by whether a player had the one card that makes their faction viable.

The Richese Reforged began by overhauling their deck. Ten special cards was far too limiting, resulting in nearly the same order of sales every game. By expanding the deck to fifteen, and by editing or replacing several entries — most importantly swapping out the Stone Burner for the first expansion’s Artillery Strike — we gave Richese a real arsenal. Now they have a mix of battle cards, disruption tools, and utility effects that create variety from game to game. [A full breakdown of the cards is posted separately.]

Next we addressed the No-Fields. In the old design, Richese were stuck in a “three/five loop,” forced into predictable shipments that undermined the very mystery the mechanic promised. The reforged version adds a value-two token, allows them to ship No-Fields alongside forces, and crucially, lets them have multiple in play at once. With the game beginning with a No-Field already hidden in the Polar Sink, battles almost always carry the threat of concealed Richese strength. Opponents can still calculate the possibilities — there are only four tokens, after all — but now the tension is real, and only Richese themselves know exactly what is lurking.

We asked ourselves what we liked about Richese’s Advanced Ability. Originally Richese had the “Black Market” ability that let them auction a card from their hand, but in practice it rarely paid off. To replace it, we created Disrupted Supply Chain, an ability they use every turn to peek at the bottom of the Treachery Deck and slip a card into the auction row in the order they choose. Instead of a trick for a few spice, they now receive guaranteed information and influence in the auction. This ability combined with their face up auction allows the Richese to subtly influence the flow of the game, directing others to suit their purposes.

We also removed their most problematic ally ability — handing a winning card to an ally at the last second — since it broke the Computation pillar of Dune [Four Pillars of Dune]. In its place, their “Ultimate Karama” has been streamlined: no longer does it require extra spice to use, which made it clunky and often unplayable. Without Stone Burner in the mix, there’s no reason for the extra tax, and the result is a faction whose Ultimate ability now functions as it should: a dramatic, game-shaping tool, whether pulled out turn one to intimidate, or mid-game to swing a battle.

The Reforged Richese have been play-tested rigorously among strangers and friends, proving them an equal to the Classic six and Ix. We have logged over a hundred game with Reforged Richese, plunging them into the fire each time they needed to be honed. Every player’s critique was thoroughly debated. The end result is a faction transformed. Richese still sells cards face-up, still hide behind No-Fields, still meddle with the flow of Treachery, but they are no longer a one-shot waiting game. They are a true contender, capable of holding their own on the savage sands of Dune.

Richese Reforged Resources