There are around a dozen Root expansions to really kick up the already intense warfare waging in the forest. If you want to add more factions, Vagabonds, or throw in a solitaire or co-op mode, then one of these expansions will pick your fancy.
The Marauder Expansion for Root is the best for a few reasons, although it is a little more complicated and can be a challenge for those who aren’t familiar with the game. Two new factions are brought into play, the ravenous Lord of the Hundreds and the stalwart Keepers in Iron.
The Lord of the Hundreds are concerned with ravaging the board and gaining items, like the Vagabond. They offer a purely aggressive and greedy approach to Root that can prove fun for the militaristic. The Keepers in Iron are a devout order who are concerned with finding lost relics in forest clearings. They are highly complex, but have great scoring potential.
The Marauder Expansion also adds four Hirelings, which are independent sub-factions mimicking the four main Root factions. Players can use them for their abilities, and they cause so much havoc and choice that they revolutionize how Root is played.
The Riverfolk Expansion was the first Root expansion, and adds another two factions. The zealous Lizard Cult and the mercantile Riverfolk Company. It also throws in an extra Vagabond figure, for double Vagabond play.
The Lizard Cult are a tricky faction to play. They only get to act in clearings of the dominant card type that was discarded last round, although they can convert enemy warriors and buildings for their cause. The Riverfolk Company are a joyous faction to have on the table as they can traverse rivers and can sell items and warriors to other players. Their commercial nature makes them less of a perceived threat, allowing for great gains.
Both of these factions are incredibly interesting and throw in stranger mixes and dynamics into Root, making this a must-have for Root players.
The Underworld Expansion adds yet another two factions to Root as well as two new maps. The imperial Great Underground Duchy and the sly Corvid Conspiracy are sure to erupt chaos on the board.
Playing the Corvid Conspiracy is a hard task. As you lay down plots and run around the board (ignoring rule) concocting secret plans, you must convince the other players that you’re not as much of a threat as you are, or else your plots will be targeted and exposed by them. Unlike the Corvid Conspiracy, the Grand Duchy are a versatile and defensive faction that need to place buildings around the map to convince their ministers it’s worth moving above ground. Their burrow feature allows them to pop up around the map and hold new positions.
Although the Grand Duchy are a solid Root faction, the Corvid Conspiracy are not exactly a fan favorite due to how difficult it is to win with them.
The Root Marauder Hirelings Pack and Hireling Box not only adds six Hirelings tied to The Marauder Expansion, but also is purpose built to store all the Hirelings from all other Hireling Expansions for Root.
As aforementioned, Root Hirelings represent independent bands of creatures tied to main factions that can change how Root is played. Alongside the two Hireling stand-ins for the Keepers in Iron and Lord of the Hundreds, there are also two neutral Hirelings that are always available in every game.
Considering that this box doubles as a Hireling storage, it’s worth prioritising purchasing this Root expansion above the others.
The Riverfolk Hirelings Pack for Root adds new Hirelings associated with the two factions from The Riverfolk Expansion.
Alongside the Riverfolk Hirelings are the Bandit Gangs/Highway Bandits, a neutral Hireling team that can be integrated into any game.
Considering that the Riverfolk factions are so incredibly popular, it’s likely that most players will want their respective Hirelings, giving this expansion a home just under the Marauder Hirelings.
To finish off the Hireling expansions, we’ve finally got the Underworld Hirelings Pack. As you know by now, this pack contains Hirelings that represent the two Underworld Root factions and a third neutral Hireling group.
Although the ranking is fair for this expansion, it could be wiser to purchase this Hireling Pack for a taste of the Corvid Conspiracy and the Grand Duchy without having to purchase the more expensive Underworld Expansion.
Considering you can’t use a Hireling if their respective faction is in play, you could augment your games with these Hirelings if you’ve yet to purchase the Underworld Expansion as no one can get in the way of putting these on the board.
The Exiles and Partisans Deck for Root adds a whole new deck of cards to not integrate with the default deck, but to replace it.
If you’re getting tired and want to shake up the game fundamentally, you can use this deck, with more interesting, specific, and exciting cards. The cards here allow players to take on new special powers, although these could lead to unique vulnerabilities.
Although The Exiles and Partisans Deck isn’t necessary by any means, I can see it being used a lot more by regular audiences than the expansions below.
The Clockwork Expansion for Root adds AI versions of the four primary factions to act as stand-in players. The bots here all simulate their respective faction pretty well, and even if you don’t think they do, they still provide an interesting and dynamic challenge.
Instead of using the AI factions as regular factions, you can instead turn Root into a cooperative game, where multiple players go against one or two bot factions.
The Clockwork Faction does a good job at bringing solo and cooperative play to Root alongside throwing in an extra player, although this will only be interesting to some audiences of players.
The Clockwork Expansion 2 adds mechanical AI versions of all four factions from The Underworld Expansion and The Riverfolk Expansion, allowing for even more cursed combinations for solo, coop, or competitive play.
Alongside the four new robotic factions, The Clockwork Expansion 2 also comes with trait cards for the four mechanical factions in the previous Clockwork Expansion.
I’ve ranked this expansion lower than its predecessor as it requires the base expansions from the respective AI players to work, and it’s a little more complicated, meaning only select audiences will wish to play with it.
The Landmarks Pack for Root is a small cherry on top should you have everything else you want. Although it does add content to the game, it’s marginal and doesn’t really change the game too much, or at least not dramatically.
Six new landmarks will hit the board, offering small bonuses to whoever rules or is on the same clearing as them. Throwing in a little spice to your Root games, especially with the right landmarks and faction combinations, can lead to exciting new stories and engaging gameplay.
For the most part, however, they’re not too interesting and should really be the last thing you get to complement your Root experience.
Realistically, The Vagabond Pack doesn’t hold up to any of the other Root expansions. It may add three new Vagabonds and seven new meeples to represent the Vagabond, but none of these three new Vagabonds are that special.
The fan-favorite Vagabond isn’t even a part of this pack, meaning you’re only going to want to get this Root expansion if you’re a huge fan of one of these middle-of-the-line characters.
As it’s so specific, I can’t recommend this expansion above any of the others.
Root The Homeland Expansion
The Homeland Expansion, releasing October 2024, adds two new factions, two new maps, and some other extra “goodies” that are currently unconfirmed. It’s looking like this expansion could be one of the best yet thanks to how unique it is, although until it’s out, I can’t rank it fairly.
The Twilight Council, a faction of bats, want to end the fighting. Instead of battling, these winged diplomats will host assemblies where players can attend to try and get what they want without bloodshed. The Lilypad Diaspora are a faction of frogs who want to integrate with the woodland. In a unique twist, they will introduce a new suit, the frog suit, to the clearings, changing Root on its head.
All details here are subject to change, but it’s looking real exciting.
Phew! That’s a lot of expansions. Now that you know how you can improve your Root experience, the hard part is choosing which to get next.
