The Pattern & Tableau
War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time
Weave skill icons into a five-slot Pattern that powers your actions, sways missions, and scores at the end.
What the Pattern is
Your Pattern is a tableau you build along the top of your player board. Over a game you grow it by tying in the threads of iconic characters — the Allies you bring to your cause — whose talents span five skill fields, such as intrigue, combat, and the One Power. As the diary puts it: you can win battles, take over a continent, even win the Last Battle itself, but it all starts in the Pattern.
The five skill slots
- Build
- Allies (and other story moments) add skill icons across the five slots. Even the card you play each turn adds its skill for that turn — so pairing the right card with the right action earns extra bonuses.
- Bonus at 3
- Each of the five skills is tied to one action. Hold three icons of a skill and that action gains its bonus effect.
- Lock
- Once a slot reaches three icons you are locked in — that action can anchor your strategy no matter what cards you draw. Just don't overcommit to one skill.
- Score
- At endgame, having more icons in a skill than your opponent wins that skill. Hero Mode rewards each individual skill; Epic Mode rewards spread (most icons across the most skills).
The Weave action & missions
One action has an especially close relationship to the Pattern: the Weave. Each mission shows two skill icons. To influence it, the card you play that turn must share one of those skills — then you add your full value of that skill from your Pattern (the played card counts too). As your Pattern grows you can exert huge influence on missions that match your skills.
In Epic Mode each Chapter ends with a Wheel Turn: same rules as Weave, but it advances your Wheel Track instead of a mission. You advance one space for each icon of the card's skill you hold — a strong Pattern means a big Wheel boost, which in turn shapes the levels your heroes gain or the Forsaken you free.
Growing your Pattern
The primary engine is the Ally action — building your coalition and investing in your future — but Allies aren't the only path; several achievements and story moments also develop your skills. For the Shadow, growth begins in their player deck via The Weakening Seals: a cycle of five different cards, each setting a goal whose reward feeds the Pattern.
