Oceania Storm Forecast: US, ANZAC & Weather

Hello, Commanders!

Spoiler season has officially rolled in, bringing with it new cards from Oceania Storm, a look at the Forecast keyword, and a battlefield shaped by shifting weather conditions. Today, we’re turning our attention toward the Pacific, with new reveals for the United States and ANZAC. We’re also unveiling Storm cards for the very first time, as Gale weather conditions make landfall with devastating force.

For the video briefing, check out the full forecast below. Otherwise, read on.

https://youtu.be/KW7fNRprOWg

The United States

From Guadalcanal to Okinawa, American forces fought across some of the harshest battlefields of the Second World War. Vast island chains, relentless jungle terrain, tropical downpours, and an enemy determined to contest every landing turned the Pacific into a brutal war of endurance and adaptation.

In Oceania Storm, the United States leans into infantry tactics, Veteran synergies, and Forecast support. We’ve already seen examples with cards like Duck, 6th Marine Regiment, and US Weather Bureau. Today, two more cards join the campaign.

Kingfisher

Forecast after this unit attacks the enemy HQ.

The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was the main shipboard observation seaplane used by the US Navy during WWII. First flown in 1938, it was a compact floatplane that could be launched by catapult from battleships and cruisers, then recovered from the sea by crane. A total of 1,519 Kingfishers were built. The aircraft was not fast, and its 450-horsepower engine gave it only modest performance. Its strength was reliability and usefulness. Kingfishers spotted gunfire for warships, scouted ahead of fleets, searched coastal waters, and supported shore bombardments. They could also carry small bombs or depth charges, and were armed with one fixed machine gun for the pilot, and another on a flexible mount for the observer. The Kingfisher became especially valuable in air-sea rescue. In 1942, one helped recover Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew after weeks adrift in the Pacific. In 1944, Lieutenant John A. Burns used a Kingfisher near Truk Lagoon to rescue downed airmen and taxi them to the submarine USS Tang. The US Coast Guard also used 76 Kingfishers for reconnaissance, anti-submarine patrol, and rescue missions.

In KARDS, Kingfisher triggers Forecast whenever it attacks the enemy HQ. Keep it airborne and keep the missions coming, and you’ll steadily shape the weather rolling across the battlefield.

Surprise Engagement

Costs 2 less if Rain was played this turn. Destroy a random enemy unit. Draw the top unit of your deck.

The Battle of the Driniumor River was one of the most brutal surprise infantry assaults of the New Guinea campaign. In 1944, US forces near Aitape were pushing westward while also guarding airfields and supply lines. Across the river stood elements of the Japanese 18th Army, already weakened by hunger and disease but still capable of a dangerous attack. In July 1944, Japanese infantry crossed the Driniumor at night and struck the forward positions of the US 32nd Infantry Division. The attack achieved surprise in several sectors. Outposts were overrun, communications broke down, and small groups of American infantry had to fight in isolation in thick jungle. For a time, the fighting became a confused struggle of patrol clashes, ambushes, and desperate local defenses. The Americans recovered by using artillery, mortars, and air support to break up Japanese attacks, then launched counterattacks to restore the line. As the battle continued, the Japanese offensive lost strength. The fighting around the Driniumor river showed how quickly a quiet jungle front could erupt into a brutal infantry battle at close range.

Surprise Engagement captures that sudden violence. It destroys a random enemy unit and draws the top unit from your deck - but if Rain was played this turn, it costs 2 less. Forecast sets the conditions. Surprise Engagement delivers the ambush.

ANZAC

Australian and New Zealand forces fought across multiple theatres of the Second World War - from the deserts of North Africa to the mountains of Greece and the jungles of New Guinea. Operating far from major supply networks, ANZAC troops built a reputation for resilience, improvisation, and adapting to whatever conditions the war threw at them.

In KARDS, that flexibility takes shape through positioning mechanics. Many ANZAC cards reward careful placement, triggering bonuses based on the leftmost or rightmost position in your hand or on the battlefield. Forecast and Veteran synergies also run throughout the roster, alongside a healthy streak of unpredictability befitting troops fighting under ever-changing Pacific skies. We’ve already seen cards like The ANZAC Spirit, RAAF Hurricane Trop and 6th Brigade NZ, now let’s take a look at two more deploying in June.

Matilda Frog

Ambush, Heavy Armor 1. Deals double damage to infantry and HQ. Units to the left of this unit have +2 attack.

The Matilda “Frog” was an Australian flamethrower version of the British Matilda II infantry tank, developed for jungle warfare in the Pacific. In 1943, the Australian Army asked for a tank-mounted flame weapon, and Major A.E. Miller helped shape the final design. A prototype was completed in 1944, and production of 25 units was approved. The first tank was ready by July 1944 and was demonstrated to General Thomas Blamey at Monegeetta Proving Grounds. The Frog replaced the Matilda’s 2-pounder gun with a flame projector hidden inside a tube, so the tank still looked much like a normal gun tank. Its fuel and pressure system were carried inside the vehicle rather than in a trailer. The turret held an 80-gallon fuel tank and pressure equipment, which left room for only one man there. Extra fuel tanks could be fitted inside and outside the hull. The flamethrower could fire about 90 yards, but needed around 30 seconds to build pressure between shots. Matilda Frogs were used on Borneo, where they proved effective against fortified Japanese positions.

In KARDS, Matilda Frog deals double damage to infantry and HQs while boosting the attack of units positioned to its left. Put it in the right place, and suddenly your frontline becomes far more dangerous.

Z Special Unit

Deal 5 damage to a unit. If played from left-most in hand, your HQ gains +5 defense.

Z Special Unit was a joint Allied special forces unit formed in 1942 to operate behind Japanese lines in Southeast Asia. Although most were Australian, it also included British, Dutch, New Zealander, Timorese, and Indonesian members. Its missions included reconnaissance, sabotage, raids, intelligence gathering, and guerrilla operations, often in areas controlled by Japanese forces. Teams were inserted by submarine, parachute, or small landing craft, and the unit carried out a total of 81 covert operations in the South West Pacific during its service.Training was spread across secret sites in Australia, including Refuge Bay near Sydney, Fraser Island, Garden Island, and the Z Experimental Station near Cairns. Men learned small boat handling, demolition, close combat, parachuting, jungle warfare, and how to survive with limited support. The unit’s best known success was Operation Jaywick in 1943, when 14 commandos reached Singapore Harbour aboard MV Krait, a captured Japanese fishing vessel, and used folding kayaks to place limpet mines on Japanese ships. The raid sank or badly damaged several of them. A later raid, Operation Rimau, ended in disaster, with all 23 commandos killed or executed after capture. Z Special Unit was disbanded after the war, but its methods influenced later Australian special forces.

In KARDS, Z Special Unit strikes suddenly and disappears just as fast. The card deals damage to a target unit, and if it’s the leftmost card in your hand when played, your HQ gains +5 defense.

Forecast: Storm Arrives

If you’ve been following the spoiler season, you already know that the new Forecast mechanic is at the heart of Oceania Storm. Today, we unveil details of the Storm weather cards it can create.

Forecast can be triggered in several ways. Most commonly, it activates when you play specific cards, but some units, like Kingfisher, can trigger it through actions such as attacking the enemy HQ.

When Forecast activates, you’re first presented with three weather types: Blue Skies, Mist, and Gale. Choosing one immediately reveals the incoming weather to the opponent, as the selected weather type can be seen by your opponent.

Each weather type corresponds to a specific weather category and battlefield role:

• Blue Skies leads to Sunny weather cards, focused on aggression, momentum, and offensive pressure through effects like unit buffs and Blitz.

• Mist leads to Rain weather cards, centered around control, sustain, and battlefield manipulation through healing, disruption, and defensive utility.

• Gale leads to Storm weather cards, built around destruction and removal with direct damage, retreats, and punishing area effects.

Once you’ve chosen your weather type, Forecast brings up three weather tiers: one costing 2 kredits, one costing 4 kredits, and one costing 6 kredits. The exact cards you’re presented with are randomized from a set pool, but you will always receive a choice of one from each different kredit tier. Each weather type contains nine possible cards in total - three variants for each kredit tier - creating 27 different weather cards across the entire system.

You then select one of the three presented weather cards. Note, that the chosen card does not immediately enter your hand. All options disappear after selection, and your opponent cannot see which specific weather card you chose.

At the beginning of your next turn, the selected weather card is added to your hand without counting as your normal draw for the round. If your hand is already full, the card is discarded just like a regular overdraw.

Forecast can be triggered multiple times during the same turn, allowing you to prepare several future weather operations at once. However, no matter how many weather cards you stockpile, only one weather card can be played per turn. Timing your forecast matters just as much as choosing the weather itself.

You’ve already seen what Sunny and Rain can do. Now it’s time for Storm to make landfall.

Thunderstorm - Deal 5 damage to a random enemy unit.

Tropical Storm - Retreat a target unit, then destroy a random enemy unit.

Cyclone - Deal 2 damage to all enemies.

Storm is where Forecast stops being support infrastructure and starts becoming a weapon in its own right. Cyclone punishes wide fronts, Tropical Storm disrupts positioning and momentum, while Thunderstorm delivers sudden destruction straight from the clouds above.

The weather in Oceania Storm isn’t just background atmosphere. It’s another front in the war.

Oceania Storm arrives June 11th. More dispatches from the front are on the way.