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Brawnen

Faction Details & Unit Overview

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Brawnen

Color: #acb2be 3 heroes, 6 minions, 2 spires 6 fortress advancements 1 strategy

Description

Brawnen Faction Overview

Industrious and strong race of giants. They burn through Source fast, focusing on raw power. Their "forsaken" units are oversized, very powerful, but less intelligent. When playing as the Brawnen, your Source costs for both advancements and spires are high, but the means to generate this necessary resource are also plentiful.

The Brawnen are teeming with hard-hitting minions that may be permanently promoted using fortress advancements. What you lack in mobility and flight, you make up for with strong defenses and ranged attacks.

Minions and Heroes

Brawnen minions are promoted through fortress advancements. Once the advancement for a specific minion type is purchased, all minions of that type are promoted permanently. Flip these units to their promoted side. They can no longer be selected for deployment on their basic side.

In Wave 1, Brawnen may select any hero for deployment rather than just their starting hero. They must pay CP as normal and may still only select one hero for the wave.

Spires

Brawnen start with access to the dispatch platform and drilling outpost spires. Purchase the Smelter 1 – Brawnen Steel fortress advancement to gain the ability to construct siege tower and lance launcher spires.

Additional Rules

Brawnen start the game with the forsaken die in their fortress.

Fortress Advancements

6 advancements

Source Drill

Level 1 - Drilling Refinements

Gain +3 Source during each Income Phase.

3 Source
Level 2 - Deep Drill

Drilling outpost spires can be constructed on any non–path hex within your influence.

4 Source
Level 3 - Drilling Storehouse

Your Source capacity is now 30.

3 Source

Assembly

Level 1 - Source Shields

All aegis minions are permanently promoted.

5 Source
Level 2 - Workshop Quarters

All architect minions are permanently promoted.

4 Source
Level 3 - Construction Yard

Gain the assembly die. Assembly Die: Once per wave. During the Build Phase, you may roll this die as a build option. You may add the rolled upgrade to the bottom of one of your spires, ignoring upgrade capacity. +1 Fortification (2 sides) +1 Range (2 sides) +1 Attack (2 sides)

3 Source

Stronghold

Level 1 - Forsaken Artillery

Gain the artillery die. After it is rolled, remove this die and this advancement, even if no unit or spire is impacted. Advancements 2 and 3 may still be used if this advancement is removed, but they cannot be purchased. Artillery Die: May be used at the start of your turn during the Onslaught Phase. Roll this die once and state if the result will be used as the # range or the # impact of this die. Roll again and use the second roll for the other designation. You may select a unit or spire within # range of your fortress gate and either deal # impact in damage to it (if a unit) or remove # impact in upgrades from the bottom of it (if a spire).

4 Source
Level 2 - Gate Dispatches

Your fortress now deals 3 damage when retaliating against non–adjacent units.

4 Source
Level 3 - Gate Spikes

Your fortress now deals 3 damage when retaliating against adjacent units.

4 Source

Honor Pit

Level 1 - Battleborn Arena Games

All battleborn minions are permanently promoted.

4 Source
Level 2 - Better Targets

All dispatch minions are permanently promoted.

4 Source
Level 3 - Pit Expansion

All forsaken minions are permanently promoted. When rolling the forsaken die, you may choose to reroll it, applying the second result instead. Forsaken Die: Before each forsaken minion moves, you must roll this die and apply the result. Unit cannot move this turn (2 sides) Unit cannot attack this turn (2 sides) No effect (2 sides)

4 Source

Gateport

Level 1 - Market Buyout

After the last player's turn during the Market Phase, you may take an additional turn.

3 Source
Level 2 - Enforce Demands

At the start of your turn during the Market Phase, you may discard all market options and refill the market.

3 Source

Smelter

Level 1 - Brawnen Steel

Siege tower and lance launcher spires can now be constructed.

6 Source
Level 2 - Source Bombs

The source siege minion is permanently promoted.

3 Source

Units in this Faction

11 units

Hero 3 units

Awsh
Awsh (x1)
Drang
Drang (x1)
Kram the Mighty
Kram the Mighty (x1)

Minion 6 units

Aegis
Aegis (x2)
Architect
Architect (x2)
Battleborn
Battleborn (x3)
Dispatch
Dispatch (x2)
Forsaken
Forsaken (x2)
Source Siege
Source Siege (x1)

Spire 2 units

Dispatch Platform
Dispatch Platform (x4)
Drilling Outpost
Drilling Outpost (x4)

Top Strategies

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Turtle's Guide to the Brawnen

By dustin.hendrickson 1 votes Dec 6, 2025
Faction Overview: The Brawnen are the “standard” faction within Cloudspire. They harbor simple, yet effective talents and heroes in order to be deceptively powerful despite a relative lac... Read more...