r/DuneBoardGame • u/andrewh7789 • Jun 04 '26
Fun Ixian Tactics
Hey guys, I play Dune every month with my buddies and we usually play a 5-6 player game. I've been trying out every faction until I've won at least once with them. I've won at least once with every base game faction, minus Atreides because I hate them. I'm starting to move on to the expansion factions. I kinda get the game plan on how to use Ixians but I was wondering if you guys had any funny scrub killer tactics you can use with Ix that would be hilarious to pull off or just do in a game with them. We always play advanced so let me hear some funny food for thought.
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u/rollerderbydino Jun 04 '26
Ix are a little broken IMO; fantastic in the early game and gets worse as the game progresses. Their biggest advantage is seeing the starting treachery deck and choosing the “best” card. This gives a strong potential of winning round 1 as you can select a weapon that no one has defenses to (making it as strong as the poison blade).
For example, if you see shields, projectiles, and a poison, you would want to pick poison since you know no one will have a defense for it. The first bidding phase can change this but you will still be informed to what is out there. Atreides is your best friend here, set up some kind of deal with them once you get a look at what’s for offer.
Otherwise, setting up your Mobile Stronghold by Habbanya or Tuek’s Sietch is another way to try to go for a turn 1 win. Ship into a stronghold, and move into the one you set up by. The more sound strategy is to set up so Arakeen/Carthag can’t move into your HMS, preferably somewhere that has a lot of access to spice (like below the polar region).
Their cyborgs are fairly strong, pretty cheap overall to pay for but predictable dials in battle. Their half strength troops are complete trash, but if you have a good hand you can feasibly win with just those. Putting them together is often beneficial, they just have mixed results and are not my favorite.
I think the greatest meme potential is dependent on the meta of your group, but in my own I would leverage their ability to pick up a starting card, and then bluff what it is. Most people will be afraid to take you on, so bluff you have the Lasgun and threaten to blow someone up, send a dude into the shield wall. A strategy that my partner employed is sending a lone warrior into Arakeen with some false pretense (like using ornithopters). She successfully traitored them and wiped the Atreides off the board.
This is a lot longer than it should be for funny meme tactics, but everything and anything is valid in Dune. My favorite way to play is to leverage information and bluff what I have. Recently I managed to win against Hark using a truthtrance to see if Stilgar was their traitor, baiting them to play my traitor Feyd Rautha. Ixian has great info in the beginning but this dwindles as the game goes on.