Overview

Dark Millennium is a collectible card game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, published by Sabertooth Games in 2005. It succeeded the Horus Heresy CCG and uses the same basic rules system. Two players act as commanders, each controlling an armada fighting for control of a planet in the Pyrus sector. One player is designated the attacker and the other the defender, but both fight for control of three key sectors. The game continues until a player captures two sectors or four complete turns elapse. The game is now defunct along with Sabertooth Games.

Components

• Starter decks (preconstructed decks for each faction)
• Booster packs for deck customization
• Sector cards (3 sectors to fight over)
• Command/resource markers
• Rules booklet

Setup

1. Each player constructs a deck representing their Warhammer 40K faction.
2. Place three sector cards between the players – these are the contested areas.
3. Determine who is the attacker and who is the defender.
4. Each player draws their starting hand.
5. Set up command point and resource trackers.

Turn Structure

Each turn:

1. Command Phase: Generate command points (resources) for the turn.
2. Deploy Phase: Play unit, vehicle, and support cards from your hand by spending command points.
3. Battle Phase: Assign units to contest the three sectors. Resolve combat at each sector.
4. Capture Phase: Check if either player has captured a sector (having more strength there after combat).
5. End Phase: Discard, draw, and resolve end-of-turn effects.

Actions

Deploying Forces

• Spend command points to play cards from your hand – infantry squads, vehicles, heroes, and support assets.
• Each card has a deployment cost and combat statistics.

Sector Battles

• Assign your deployed units to one of the three contested sectors.
• Combat is resolved in each sector, comparing total strength and applying special abilities.
• The player with greater strength after combat claims progress toward capturing that sector.

Special Abilities

• Faction-specific abilities reflect the unique nature of each Warhammer 40K army (Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, Chaos, etc.).
• Hero cards provide powerful abilities and bonuses.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• Capture Two Sectors: The first player to capture two of the three sectors wins immediately.
• Four-Turn Limit: If neither player has captured two sectors after four complete turns, the player controlling the most sectors wins. Ties are broken by total remaining strength.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Warhammer 40K Factions: Multiple factions are represented in the card pool, each with distinct play styles and abilities.
• Attacker/Defender Asymmetry: The attacker and defender may have different rules for deployment or sector control in some variants.
• Based on Horus Heresy CCG: Shares the core rules system with its predecessor, so players familiar with Horus Heresy will recognize the mechanics.
• Defunct Game: No longer in production or supported; the card pool is fixed.
• Sector Importance: Some sectors may be worth more strategically, forcing players to make tough allocation decisions.

Player Reference

Turn: Command → Deploy → Battle (3 sectors) → Capture check → End

Win: Capture 2 of 3 sectors, or control the most sectors after 4 turns

Key Mechanic: Allocating limited forces across 3 contested sectors

Setting: Warhammer 40,000 universe; multiple faction decks