Sunday 18 August 2013

Super Dungeon Explore - Forgotten King!

Soda Pop Gen Con

Gen Con has seen the major hobby hitters announce a wave of new releases and Soda Pop were no different, announcing the latest expansion for Super Dungeon Explore - 'Forgotten King'...

Soda Pop Gen Con
Coming to a table top near you in 2014
Soda Pop Gen Con
Some interesting looking heroes - A funky looking Centaur and a cheeky lil' lady with what looks to be a sniper rifle...?! 
Soda Pop Gen Con
The baddies have what appears to be a plant / veggie theme to them...
Soda Pop Gen Con
The big baddie in the top left looks a little bit like a horned sorcerer...?
And that's no mistakin' a 10ft bunny with a giant axe!
Soda Pop Gen Con
Soda Pop also carried limited numbers of a new SDE hero - Nyan Nyan...
Soda Pop Gen Con
...And here she is in the display case alongside Relic Knights inspired Candy n' Cola

And let's round things off by showing the other reason why eager young hobby nuts were flocking round Soda Pop's Gen Con stand...

Soda Pop Gen Con
...Their new limited edition Gnome...

Until next time ;)


Battle Line - Game Review

Battle Line Game Review Rules Cards

Me and the lads meet up once a week for a spot of gamin' in the garage. We chew the fat, eat and drink til' we're merry and try to cram in as much gaming as we can before the inevitable return to our loved ones and the realities of the 9 - 5...

With game time at a premium, the last year has seen a notable change in the types of games we've played, switching focus from tabletop mini war-games, to board games and CCC's.

This is nothing new - Recent years have seen the traditional and recognised stereotypes within the hobby world begin to blur, with gamers of all ages and experience becoming more open to the possibilities on offer. Our club day bears testament to this, with over twenty different game systems being played at any one time, seeing 40k, Bolt Action and Magic the Gathering players all vying for table space...

Battle Line Game Review Rules Cards
'Magic The Twatting Gathering?!!
Get out you soppy great wizard's sleeve!!!'

I love MTG by the way. Anyway, back to the post in hand...

I stumbled upon this game in a local charity shop and knew very little about it at the time. But it bore the legendary Reiner Knizia's name so I knew it must have some pedigree...

In Battle Line the object of the game is to play cards to create formations that are used to capture flags for victory. These 9 flags or 'strategic objectives' are laid out in a row across the middle of the table, with the two opposing generals attempting to win by capturing either 3 adjacent flags or 5 flags in any order.


Battle Line Game Review Rules Cards

From a starting 'Troop Deck' of 60 cards, each player is dealt 7 cards with which to start building their formations. These cards are in 6 'suits' or colours and are numbered from 1 - 10. If you've ever played any Texas Hold'em Poker you'll be right at home with the differing types of unit formations you can muster...

Having randomly determined who'll go first, the players alternate the following turn sequence: 


1.) Play a troop card next to one of the 9 flags
2.) Check to see if a player can successfully claim a flag  
3.) Draw a card from either the Troop deck or the tactics deck (more on that in a minute), to ensure your hand maintains 7 cards
4.) When both decks run out, no further cards can be drawn, but play continues
5.) Flags are won by formations of Troop cards played adjacent to the flags

Troop formations start to take hold...

...And flags are seized...

With the battle at tipping point, I counter Olly's all conquering wedge (three in, top right)
by playing the 'Mud' tactics card... Mwahahaha!

The Tactics cards. These can be real game changers and lead to victory where once all was lost and throw a real spanner in the works for your opponent. There are 10 Tactics cards and players are free to pick up from this deck instead of picking up from the Troops deck. There are however some conditions to follow:

1.) A player can hold any number of Tactics cards in his hand upto his maximum of seven
2.) A player may never play more than one Tactics card more than his opponent has played
3.) There are three types of Tactics cards: Morale Tactics (Leader, Companion Calvary, Shield Bearers) which are played in formations in place of Troop cards. Environment Tactics (Fog, Mud) which affect a single, unclaimed flag. Guile Tactics (Scout, Redeploy, Deserter, Traitor) which are placed face up on the player’s own side next to the Tactics deck...





The rule whereby you can only play one more tactics card than your opponent is what lifts this game into strategy heaven. With Tactics cards having potential to be so disruptive, you will often find yourself holding these cards back just to prevent your opponent from wrecking your carefully laid plans. Players will meticulously plan exactly what formations and tactics to play because you may never get the chance to play another one if your opponent refuses to let you…

Battle Line is one of the most engrossing, tactical games I've ever played. At it's heart, it's simple core mechanics make it very easy to teach to new players. But as they get the grasp of the game and how and then best to co-ordinate their use of tactics cards, both new and old players alike will be battling each other with a depth of strategic thinking the game initially belies.

If you get the opportunity to play this game or can grab a copy from eBay (or a charity shop!), I strongly urge you to do so. If needs be, park any minor hobby pre-conceptions to one side for a bit – Sure, it may lack the slick cutting edge design of more recent board and card game productions, but when a game is this elegant, accessible and engrossing, who cares?
  

Cheers ;)

Saturday 17 August 2013

X-Wing - New Ships and New Scale! - FFG Gen Con Announcement


x wing wave 4

Get ready to change your under-crackers... FFG have announced a new scale of ship and a new set of rule formats for X-Wing...

  - Available early 2014
  - Tantive IV Blockade Runner and Rebel Transport
  - New set of ship upgrade and pilot cards, including Porkins
  - New 'Epic' tournament format
  - New 'Cinematic' play mode

x wing wave 4
x wing wave 4
x wing wave 4
x wing wave 4
x wing wave 4
x wing wave 4
x wing wave 4

Team Covenant's Gencon videos ...

Large scale ships - first look:

Interview with FFG's Jason Beaudion and Steve Kimball:



Roll on 2014 ;)


Friday 2 August 2013

X Wing Battle Report & Tactics - Twin Falcon List


The various X-Wing forums have made many a mention of the list commonly know as 'Han Shoots First'. And it's clear that it's resilience and it's ability to churn out attack dice have made it both a tough cookie to beat and a successful contender on the tournament scene.

But I've always felt the 42pts spent on the two Rookie X-Wing Pilots would be better spent by taking another YT-1300. Certainly an all your eggs in one basket approach. But a basket strong enough to carry both of Jabba's balls and still have room for a couple of Jawas...

Of course, the twin Falcon / YT-1300 list isn't necessarily a new idea. But whilst the lists I've seen take understandable advantage of the 'Han + Gunner' combo, they've failed to really unlock the opportunity of powerful synergies between both ships...

16 hull, 10 shields and 6 x 360o attack dice, base. A match made in heaven?

Let's take a look at the proposed list, starting with Han:


Coming in at a combined 53pts, Han's core ability to re-roll his attack dice if the first roll stinks is augmented by the Gunner's ability to subsequently re-roll if none of these attacks hit home. Which in turn can be re-rolled by Han... Clearly, the odds are stacked in Han's favour and along with the fact that he'll usually be shooting first with his pilot skill of 9 with a 360firing arc, will mean most targets are in for a rough ride.

And whilst the first part of this combo isn't unique, as we'll see next with Chewbacca, this list is primarily all about flying the two ships in close formation at all times, specifically within range band 1. This ensures the Swarm Tactics ability confers Han's pilot skill of 9 to Chewbacca and helps to maintain that punishing fire superiority...


Coming in at 46pts, Chewbacca's core ability of never feeling the effects of a critical hit is partnered with Draw Their Fire. Ensuring that as long as the ladz stay within that crucial range band 1, Chewbacca can soak up the crits Han may receive... Assuming the enemy has already successfully chewed through the Falcon's five shields...

The Weapons Engineer upgrade enables Chewbacca to maintain two target locks for every one target lock spent. Granted, at 3pts, Marksmanship would probably provide a more potent attacking capability but would also mean sacrificing Draw Their Fire in that all important elite pilot skills slot. What Weapons Engineer does do is enable Chewbacca to keep up the target lock re-roll pressure by 'dominoing' this effect across multiple targets and thus into subsequent game phases. And with large swarm / large number of attack dice enemy formations potentially being the counter to this list, this ability will certainly help to ensure enemy ships begin to be as wary of Chewbacca's sustained attacking capability as they will be of Han's deadly accurate fire...


So, two ships down and 99pts spent quicker than a Stormtrooper on weekend shore leave...

Let's do a quick summary of the lists key strengths:

  - Pilot skill 9 all round
  - High combined fire output with numerous re-roll opportunities
  - 360o arc of fire
  - High shield / hull rating with ability to negate critical hits

That's a lot to like.

As mentioned earlier, for the list to fully benefit from it's assigned upgrades, there is still the consideration for both ships to stay within RB1. Clearly, this presents very little problem when travelling in straight lines but when it comes to banking or turning, it's critical that the ships don't overlap and cause one of the team to lose his action. To help with this, you could always try delaying having to turn in the first place! As the game starts, you needn't be in rush to close space between you and your opponent. Let them come to you and when the point comes that you cross each other's paths, you can always just keep moving steadily straight ahead, safe in the knowledge your 360o fire arc will do the rest. When of course you do eventually need to make that turn, don't forget that the ship on the outside will have to make a wider and longer sweeping turn than the ship on the inside...

This may look obvious now...

Finally, it's worth remembering that the risk of losing your action occurs when the ships' bases overlap and not the actual models themselves. In this case, base one of your ships on one peg and the other on a two peg flight stand, so if things get a little tight, the models can overlap without any awkward model bumping.

There is of course still the little matter of asteroids to consider... o_O

Well, I'd be interested in hearing what you think of the list, what you might tweak and what may improve it. Don't get me wrong, I know the 'Twin Falcon' list isn't everyone's cup of tea and is a particularly beardy list as far as X-Wing lists go. And I for one hold the belief that to put two identical Falcon models on the table would be sacrilege to the name of the great ship! (That's partially why I created the YT-1300 freighter that is the Albion Star)

With all that said, how does the list actually fair in combat? Well, I was granted the opportunity to test the list's metal when I played me ol' buddy Pete at last month's club day. Critically, I wouldn't be in for an easy ride as I would be facing Pete's undefeated, tournament winning Sabre Squadron, led by Baron Soontir Fel...



Set up would see me place my YT-1300s in the left hand corner with a view to making a steady advance towards the center of the board, with an eventual horse shoe turn as I passed the board's half way point. The Sabre Squadron set up in the opposite corner... sharpening their, err...sabres!



As the ships closed the distance, Han and Chewie began their left hand turn only for Baron Soontir Fel to break formation and attempt to face them down head on! After a fierce exchange of RB1 fire, Fel exploded in a ball of flames and Han and Chewie punched the air with delight! One down, three to go...

Carnage ensues as both sides roll dice like they're going out of fashion...

But whilst Han and Cheewie were happy they'd manged to remove a major threat so early in the game, they were becoming increasingly concerned at the fact that their ships were now close enough to resemble humping turtles and were in serious risk of falling foul of the overlapping rule! If only I'd remembered my handy cut out and keep turning guide, I wouldn't have made such a ridiculous choice of non-complimentary turning arcs... ;)

The rest of Sabre Squadron flies round in a wide arc...

... And again cuts in to charge the Falcon head on...

With Sabre Squadron looking to open up with everything they'd got and try to put at least some sort of hurt on the Rebel ships, they knew they'd have to first weather another punishing round of pilot skill 9 fire from Han and Cheewie. And with target locks and gunner re-rolls in full effect, the un-relenting weight of fire resulted in another Sabre dude being blown to smithereens before he'd even had chance to pull his trigger...

Sabre Squadron fly past and align themselves for another attack run...

After their first turning disaster, Han and Cheewie spend the next two turns giving
synchronised turning another go... This time with slightly better results... 

With the subsequent demise of another Imperial Pilot, the last surviving member of Sabre Squadron said his prayers and waited for the inevitable... The Imperial boyz had done everything they could to lay the hurt on Han and Cheewie but it was clear that they were ultimately outmatched both in attack and defense - The Sabre Squadron's key asset of high maneuverability counted for little in the face of the Rebel's 360o arc of fire.

But whilst this had been a comfortable win for the Rebels, it was clear there was still a lot of work to be done in the maneuvering department and something tells me that those Imperials are only going to come back harder and stronger in the future...


Until next time ;)



Thursday 1 August 2013

Heroclix - The Return!

Hulk
General Ross corners the Hulk. What a helm...

Those of you with long memories will remember this post way back when about Heroclix.

In the intervening months, I've slowly added a few more clix to the collection. I'll be painfully honest, It's not been for the gaming...

This is despite the fact that the ever welcoming lads from the Brighton Heroclix crew are at the Gambit Games Club day each month. Always there to provide advice and walk first timers through the rules of the game... I really need to take them up on their offer.

I think primarily, the reason I've been buying clix is to sate the collector in me. Keen to have a little plastic representative of all those classic heroes and villains from my days of Marvel comic fandom. And to be honest with you, that's been the main steer for my purchases. I'm not fussed (at this stage of non-gaming) by dial stats or triggering 'team abilities'. I'm basically collecting mini sculpts that just so happen to be Heroclix. That said, there is a loose collection of self imposed purchasing 'rules'...

         1.) Buy the best looking sculpt avaialable for each charachter, regardles of dial ability
         2.) Only buy figures from the 'Modern Age' i.e. with the 'oreo cookie' style dial
         3.) Keep an eye out for interesting or uniquely different figures that stand out from the crowd (This may mean breaking rule 2...)

Rule number one is pretty straightforward. I've seen some pretty horrendous sculpts (and even worse paint jobs) on early examples of Heroclix figures and even if it's a character I'd like to tick off the collection (i.e. Dr Doom), I won't consider it if looks like it's been made by someone who's had an utter disregard for the subject at hand. Heathens.

Equally, I'll look to buy what I consider to be a great sculpt of a particular character, regardless of whether the figures' in-game dial isn't the most powerful and / or rare. The 'mid-swing' Spiderman pictured below being a good example...

Rule number two basically supports rule number one. With the larger base style representative of figures released in what Wizkids call the Heroclix 'Modern Age', as opposed to the 'Golden Age'. That said, rule two can sometimes be overridden by rule three if the figure is just down right different, interesting or unique. Goliath being a fair example...

Anyway. Enough of my (potentially knob like) Heroclix purchasing nonsense! Let's have a look at the newest editions to the collection...

Avengers Assemble
Avengers Assemble...
Antman
... along with the diminutive yet highly charged Wasp and the unlikely to be well endowed, Antman... 
Mysterio
The Lizard fails to be amused as Mysterio drops yet another one of his 'gas bombs'...
Future Foundation
The Future Foundation...
Marvel Goliath
Storm prepares to cook Goliath a cheese toastie using nothing but her bare hands...
The Thing
Three Things are better than one...
Hobgoblin
Great sculpt!
Demogoblin
The demon-bound Demogoblin...
Spiderman
This Spidey has a converted stand using a taller GW flying base peg...
Kraven
Kraven. Because Milk Matters
Magneto
Magneto brings the power...
Shocker
...While Shocker does his best to keep up...
Heroclix collection
Everyone say cheeeeesseee!

Until next time ;)
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