Monday Discussion – Heavy Infantry Army Building

There is now an increase of the use of heavier infantry. These guys have armor 3 and carry some weapons unable to be carried by the armor 2 infantry. Today I’d like to discuss army building using these heavy soldiers and why to not over use them and balance your army out. Number one thing is I would recommend using a heavy armored hero to go with the squad(s) to add extra support and wounds.

While heavy soldiers seem to be better in terms with the game, they cost more than the regular armor 2 guys. It’s ok to take an all heavy army but note that you will be outnumbered by a horde of guys who can still take you down in a single shot.  The ratio per heavy/average soldier is 3:5. If you play 40k this army type is similar to an all terminator army. While all terminator’s can be effective you just cannot bring an average army to the table and expect to win. Some recommendations for an all heavy army are to bring more walkers than you would for a lighter army. You could bring the light walkers and they would help each other out with support. Balance out the types of heavy infantry. Don’t just bring tank hunters. Bring an balance number of guys. If you have an odd number of units bring an extra anti infantry over anti tank. While the anti tank is more effective against tanks remember you’re outnumbered by infantry.

Another army building strategy is mixing armor value in an army. This might be more effective than the all heavy army or at least easier for army building. Again keep the same strategies for army building. Balance yourself for infantry and vehicle damage. Best thing might be to use the heavy ones for specialist squad to take out tanks or have a purpose while the lighter ones are for infantry and general purpose or vice versa. You should have only a few squads of heavies to help out.  I would think about them as a elite or heavy support choice in terms of 40k.

Discussion Monday

So today I thought I would discuss last week’s release of Operation Seelowe's rulebook. In this rulebook there is a ton of background story to it and how Sigrid and some other assassinated Hitler. Also they discuss the creation of the Zombies and Gorillas.

So the biggest change is that the tournament points are now replacing the AP. This allows for more balance between units as the game gets more complicated.

The next thing they changed is Range C weapons, which is what my FAQ has already mentioned. The C stands for Combat and allows people to know which weapons are combat weapons and which weapons only have range 1 like a 45 ACP.

They also redid the rules for Charge and Damage Resilient. Charge does not get an extra square but allows you to move twice and use all your range 1 or C weapons. Damage Resilient does work with Flamethrowers and happens immediately when wounded. If you’re a current or previous 40k player it’s basically Feel No Pain without limitations.

Another new rule is Reactive Fire. This rule is compared to Overwatch for AT-43 or Necromunda. It a model crosses LOS of your model you can shoot at it before it goes behind cover. The only difference from previous games is that you don’t have to declare it previous turn and you have to roll a dice to activate it. It has its draw backs. 1 if you get a miss on the roll that unit is unusable for the rest of the turn. 2 that unit that shoots can only shoot nothing else for the rest of the turn. Also no sustain fire as this is a quick shot. Also character or units can have advance reactive fire ability that allows them to roll 2 dice instead of 1 and can have superior reactive fire allows them to role 3 dice instead of 1.

A new weapon type is introduced in the rulebook. Phaser Weapons. Now when I read it first thing I thought was Star Trek, but the weapon description is a big plasma weapon. It hurls balls of energy at the opponent. It like the plasma weapons in the Halo video-game series. The damage is unpredictable but can be super heavy. You roll for X and Y and the X is how many shot the Y is how much damage the shot does.

New scenery was added to the game “Structures” they basically rules for 1 level buildings and discusses what happens when your models are in one. The nice advantage is that when inside units shooting into your building have a lot of obstruction of your units’ and gives them hard cover. Also discusses that vehicles can only enter certain building that are big enough to allow a vehicles to fit.

Heroes with Heroic Attack ability basically make them ably to attack and be invincible for 1 turn.

Scout Vehicles allows a vehicle to movie 2 more squares at the beginning of the game.

Wiedberbeleben Serum is a ability only a hero can have the allows the Hero to basically be a vampire when it attacks in combat they can gain life loss.

All units have been give the new points and the scenarios have been updated to show points instead of AP. 4 Unknown Heroes have been listed on the sheet and the Loth is now a legal model for the game.

Discussion Monday - Command Squad

So today I thought I would discuss how the command squad works because I've gotten some question asked to me and I've emailed some questions. I've played this squad about 10 times and I think I got the legist of how they work. First you declare that you are going to activate the squad. Then declare which order you are going to use and roll a dice if the order requires one. The orders requiring a dice roll are as follows: Officer's Get Moving You Bunch of Monkeys!, Mechanic's Field Repair and Medic's Come On Guys; We're Going Back Out There. The ones that don't is Radioman's Artillery Strike (because it is an ability not an order but still requires 1 action), Mechanic's Makeshift Repair and Medic's Get Up, It Ain't That Bad. So if you are using an order that requires a dice roll then roll the dice and on a hit the order can be used. Remember to use your other action before these orders. So you can Move and Order, Shoot and Order, or Not Move and Order. The 2 orders that do not require a dice roll can be used in the following. Move and Order, Order and Move, Shoot and Order, Order and Shoot, Order and Artillery Strike. You also do not have to issue and order if you do not want to and the unit would act like any other unit just declare this before you roll for anything.

Orders

Officer
Get Moving You Bunch of Monkeys! Before the roll when ordering the order declare which unit you are going to use it on. When you are done with your first action the Command Squad is deactivated and the other unit is activated as normal.

Radioman
He does not have a order but his Artillery Strike ability allows him to make a walker with indirect fire as long as he has line of sight to fire in this turn. Both units are used in this turn so remember that the walker cannot be used after the ability. Remember the walker cannot use any other action but Fire this turn. This also means you cannot reload and fire when the artillery strike is called.

Mechanic
Makeshift Repair requires no dice and allows you to add 1 HP to a Walker. The Walker cannot be destroyed and has to be in the adjacent square next to the Command Squad.
Field Repair is pretty nice it allows you to call out a destroyed walker. This can only be used once, when succussfully rolled. When this order is issued the Command Squad is deactivated and the walker is activated and enters the table like it did when the game started and only enters from your deployment zone. The walker has full wounds and ammo.

Medic
Get Up, It Ain’t That Bad requires no dice and allows you to add 1 HP to a Hero or Squad. The Hero or Squad cannot be destroyed and has to be in the adjacent square next to the Command Squad.
Come On Guys; We’re Going Back Out There is just like the Field Repair it allows you to call out a destroyed squad. This can only be used once, when succussfully rolled. When this order is issued the Command Squad is deactivated and the squad is activated and enters the table like it did when the game started and only enters from your deployment zone. The squad has full wounds and ammo.

Weapon Specialist
Has no orders but has a Victory MG.

Discussion - Making homemade units

So today I wanted to discuss what factor I use to determine what the stats are for making a card. I base all my stats off of the sherman do to its stats being the closest to the Pounder. Its 75mm cannon's stats are only 1 less than the Pounder's 17pdr. With that being said I configure a basic stat chart for tanks on how to calculate them all. As for weapons just play test them and don't go extreme on the unit. Just because they are your unit doesn't mean it has to be a god on the board. My tanks I try to make a standard. Unless they are suppose to be warmachines or gods like the German Landkreuzers or Superman.
The calc chart is Here.

Discussion Monday – Army Building with Operation First Strike Models

Today’s discussion is the 2 heroes for Operation First Strike Johnny and Stephan. These 2 are extras I would add to your army. First Johnny I would take his badass ability make you have unlimited UGLs or Demo Charges. You can put him with a BBQ Squad and allow them to just go on a fast frenzy of taking out walkers. While Johnny can be pretty useful Stephan can be just as useful. Give him to a Recon Grenadier squad and they have an anti tank weapon with them using his flamer and can double their movement in a single turn. I would never trade Joe or Sigrid for these 2 heroes but I would add a second hero if I needed to.

Discussion Monday – Army Building with Operation Cyclone Models Part 1

So today I am going to discuss army building with the new Expansions. Set aside the basics I discussed in the previous army building I would choose some of the newer walkers over the previous ones. The ones I would choose over the other is I would choose the Mickey over the Hot Dog, Bot Hunters and Panzer Killers over the Gunners and Battle Grenadiers, and depending on the points the MG squad and the Command Squad. So let’s discuss the first of the expansions, the Cyclone box. It comes with 2 Heroes, depending on which faction you choose is which one you can have in your force. I personally still like Joe over Rosie, his 4 dice for seizing the initiative. She is nice to use in your force she can repair a tank once per game and she has a 1/4 Bazooka. I just see Joe being more important. I would take her when I can afford 2 heroes. Manfred is a little different when choosing over Sigrid. They both I would say are equals in choosing. His assault and unlimited Panzerfaust can come in handy, while she has berserk and a laser pistol. When choosing these 2 I think I would go with Manfred because he’s cheaper, can damage Vehicles and once per game can make him and an entire squad more double. For the vehicles it’s a little harder to pick each one is so unique to use. When using the command squad I would pick Lothars and Steel Rains over Hot Dogs and Luthors. I would never choose a Steel Rain or Lothar over a Pounder or Ludwig. It all depends on your strategy though. Whether you want to move quickly to attack your opponent or wait for them to come to you. Defenders I would take Pounders, Hot Dogs, and Steel Rains, Attackers I would take Pounders, Steel Rains, and Mickeys. For the troops I would definitely choose the 2 Missile Launcher squads over the 1. They are only 1 or 2 points more than the other and they get 2 Missile Launchers instead of 1. Part 2 will discuss the command squads and the sniper squads when they are released.

Discussion Monday – Upcoming Operation SeeLowe

So today I thought I would discuss Operation SeeLowe. It consists on Fast Walkers, a Space Marine and I Zombie Gorilla. The 4 new walkers coming out look amazing a lot different than any other walkers we have seen before for either side. For the axis they have 2 walkers the Heinrich and the Hermann. The Heinrich has 4 canons mounted to it while the Hermann has a huge laser cannon attached to it. I can only imagine what that thing will do to tanks and infantry. The allies have the Wildfire and the Honey. The Wildfire has similar armaments as the Heinrich. The Honey has 2 phaser weapons. Who knows what these are going to do but I would assume something awesome. Next on the list are OZZ 117 and Markus. OZZ 117 is a space marine looking Hero. He has a Flamer and a Rocket Punch aka Powerfist. It is a combat weapon with 1/2 on tanks. He has move 2 and Jump which I am not sure why he would need Jump unless armor 3 cannot fit through small spaces. Markus on the other hand is a brute. His fist do the same damage as OZZ. He has charge and 6 wounds that’s going to take a lot to get rid of him. Both of these Heroes have armor 3 which reduces some weapons damage to only 1 or 2 damage per shot. So far Operation SeeLowe looking really interesting and I can’t wait to see more.

Discussion Monday – Transporting your Dust Tactics Box and/or Army

So today I thought I would discuss some different ways of transporting your Dust Tactics models. First is the obvious leave it in the box and carry the box everywhere. The Pros to it is that you already have the box since you bought the game, you can easily categorize it and all your stuff easily fits in it. The cons are there is no way to expand the box, it’s a big and awkward box with no handles, it has no way to organize, and it is made of cardboard easily breakable. I still carry my stuff in this box but I too and suffering from some of these problems as I buy more guys it gets heavily and less room in the box. Another way to carry your men is a tool box or tackle box. You can easily get this at Walmart or Home Improvement Store. The Pros to this is it has handles, it’s made of sturdy plastic, can be made in various sizes to fix all your guys. The Cons to a tool box is that they are they can be expensive because of the size you would need for the models and room to expand, they way a ton by themselves, and not a lot of ability to organize in it. Another is getting a miniature game case. These are made from usually Sobol or Battlefoam. The Pros to these they are light weight, can easily organize, protects models from each other and outside materials, has handles, are in various sizes, allows room to expand, can get them custom made. The cons to this is that they are very expensive including carrying case a cheaper foam set is the pluck foam rather than using the custom foam. Battlefoam themselves make foam designed for Dust Tactics if you are looking to pay the price.

Discussion Monday – Tactics for Achievements for Operation First Strike

So I have played a couple of Dust Tactics League Nights at Groovy Geckos and I thought today I would discuss the achievements in the league. First of all keep track of all the achievements you complete per game and tell your TO at the end of every game to sign off that achievement. If you table someone you pretty much got at least 10 achievements.

Sniper is a little hard to get because you need to get him in the open and you need to overkill him. Recommend the Steel Rain and unleash all the missiles at once.

Fresh Blood can be easy just bring someone you know that would like to learn to play.

Overwhelm pretty easy just pump enough fire power into one squad and you get it.

Tactician FFG told my TO this one is only given to the Attacker never the Defender.

Anti Armor Expert is pretty simple kill all the vehicles first usually people will only get to take 2-4.

Completist hardest one but no strategy, get all the achievements.

No Prisoners has happened quite often in my store just table someone.

Tank Killers kill a vehicle pretty simple just pump enough fire power.

Hardened Leader is one of the ones you would think it would be easy but it can be hard if you take an all or nothing attack kind of thing.

Tank Commander is the same as above.

Defender of Freedom  is pretty simple just win using Allies.

Iron Cross Recipient is the same as above.

Civil Rivalry is pretty simple as above just play an opponent of the same faction and win.

Seasoned Veteran is pretty simple too. Show up to all of the event dates and get it.

Sticky Bomb pretty simple kill a vehicle with a tank, flamer, or bot hunter squad in one shot.

Attrition is again table someone.

Call to Arms is pretty hard same as No Prisoners but have 2 squads so you can get these 2 at the same time.

Surgical Strike is pretty hard especially if he is behind cover or in a squad you would have to pull something out your butt to get this or cheat with your opponent.

Heavy Weapons sounds pretty simple but can be super hard at the same time.

Unseen Enemy is basically sit your hero away from the battle and let him survive 8 turns.

Master Artillery Officer hasn’t come yet since command squads have not come out. But just have a bunch of command squads and a bunch of artillery.

Lieutenant General same as tactician haven’t a clue why it is put twice.

Discussion Monday – Allie Army Building for Tournaments and Game Leagues

So today I thought I would discuss army building, since there has been some time for people to get units that are coming out and people are acquiring more than one box of dust tactics.

I went to a tournament a couple of weeks ago and it was 150pts and I brought Joe 2 recon squads 1 bot hunter and 2 pounders.  What did I learn by playing this? I should have taken the BBQ squad instead of the 2 recon squads. They would have brought a faster paste to my army and allowed me to win certain games. I played Destruction and I was 1 tile away from winning and even though I tabled my opponent I didn’t win the game. The only negative to my using the BBQ Squad would be that I have 2 troops instead of 3 and the recon squads took a look of fire power so my Bot Hunters and Walkers could do their job. If it was 200pts I wouldn’t have worried because I would have added a squad of The Gunners and a BBQ Squad.

There are some other options that probably wouldn’t be as affective would be 13 squads of Recon Boys and Joe or 5 Pounders.

There are a couple of things I would think of in this game.

1) Mobility – If you need to claim an objective you want to be as fast as possible otherwise you will never get there.  That is where the BBQ squad and models with fast and assault come in handy.

2) Fire Power – Your probably want an equal squad of anti tank and anti infantry. This is a tough one to make because almost every squad is one or the other. Things to consider would be using The Gunners rather than the Bot Hunters against a large infantry army. Those grenade launchers can add extra against troops.

3) Balance – You don’t want to focus on one type and have your opponent be the complete opposite and beat you every time you face him. Try combining as much as possible a good tool to go by is look at the starter box 1 hero 3 troops and 2 walkers. That way you can have a little bit of everything in the army.

Discussion Monday – Allie Army Building for Tournaments and Game Leagues

So today I thought I would discuss army building, since there has been some time for people to get units that are coming out and people are acquiring more than one box of dust tactics.

I went to a tournament a couple of weeks ago and it was 150pts and I brought Joe 2 recon squads 1 bot hunter and 2 pounders.  What did I learn by playing this? I should have taken the BBQ squad instead of the 2 recon squads. They would have brought a faster paste to my army and allowed me to win certain games. I played Destruction and I was 1 tile away from winning and even though I tabled my opponent I didn’t win the game. The only negative to my using the BBQ Squad would be that I have 2 troops instead of 3 and the recon squads took a look of fire power so my Bot Hunters and Walkers could do their job. If it was 200pts I wouldn’t have worried because I would have added a squad of The Gunners and a BBQ Squad.

There are some other options that probably wouldn’t be as affective would be 13 squads of Recon Boys and Joe or 5 Pounders.

There are a couple of things I would think of in this game.

1) Mobility – If you need to claim an objective you want to be as fast as possible otherwise you will never get there.  That is where the BBQ squad and models with fast and assault come in handy.

2) Fire Power – Your probably want an equal squad of anti tank and anti infantry. This is a tough one to make because almost every squad is one or the other. Things to consider would be using The Gunners rather than the Bot Hunters against a large infantry army. Those grenade launchers can add extra against troops.

3) Balance – You don’t want to focus on one type and have your opponent be the complete opposite and beat you every time you face him. Try combining as much as possible a good tool to go by is look at the starter box 1 hero 3 troops and 2 walkers. That way you can have a little bit of everything in the army.

Discussion Spot

Something I am not sure if people have noticed but I have a discussion section on here. It's for people to talk about Dust and what nots. Link is on the bar.

Discussion Monday – Dust Strategy Board Game

So today I thought I would discuss the other Dust game the “Dust Strategy Board Game”. This game came out before Dust Tactics has the same theme but is like Axis and Allies meets Risk and Stratego with some other rules add. The purpose is to gain mineral deposits to gain more units. The objective is to build up an army and conquer your opponents’ capitals and/or gain 70 victory points. The game has a bit of an RTS feel to it also due to all units cost points and you need to harvest these points. You can build land, sea, and air units to help you win your game. There are also cards these cards can help you win a battle or give you a special ability. These abilities can vary depending on the unit it’s being used on.  They also have neutral cities that have their own militia to defend from attack. If you like Dust Tactics and games like Risk I’d recommend picking up this game.

This game could also be easily used for a Dust Tactics campaign using the board game and a campaign rulebook like Warhammer 40ks campaign rules or something alike. You can make it to where each unit you build is represented by a unit on the board. You could start in areas only where the dust tactics map has you located. I currently am in the process of making one and will be posted on a future Thursday for rules and fun. A home rule map may need to be made due to the fact that currently Dust Tactics takes place in Antarctica and there is no Antarctica on the board also could make more spaces for a more exciting longer campaign.

Discussion Monday – Dust Wars Comic

So I got the 2 other issues of Dust Wars the other day and decided to read them. It is pretty interesting because it shows Russia and Allies teaming up and not as enemies like in the actual WWII. This comic is a bit more PG friendly that Paolo Parente’s Dust. It has a little bit of blood and gore but nothing risqué as the other comic. It’s about mostly Bazooka Joe, Mickey a mechanic that’s working on building the robots for the allies, and a Russia pink hair female captain, Captain Koshka who is in love with Joe. This is when Joe and her first meet. You find out Joe was a bit of a prankster and a gambler. He was a cook for the secret military base in Europe. Mean while Mickey is trying to develop a walker for the Allies under secret while Joe tries to find out himself what she’s up to. While that is happening Koshka is patrolling a city when she gets attacked by a Gunther. It takes about 5 or 6 of the Russia walkers to take it out. Later Joe gets in trouble with the bases commander for gambling with the bases money, and is sent on patrol.  While on patrol Joe and Mickey are ambushed by Koshka who thinks they are Axis. They both find out they’re one the same side when it come to Sigrid and the Axis and they both  team up and ambush Sigrid’s convoy and stop her.

The artwork is top notch like the other comic series and the story it good for background knowledge of the heroes, especially Joe.

Discussion Monday - Game League Kit

So I got a glimpse when the store I go to, Groovy Geckos, got the Dust Tactics Game Night Kit. Inside is a bunch of cool stuff. It comes with 8 Allie badges these are just normal patches that have the Allie symbol on them and the dust tactics logo. I think these are for runners up or something in the league.

It also comes with an Allie and Axis pin. These pins are suppose to be for the winners or MVPs. It says that are to be used for special Dust Tactics events or something and instant access to FFGs games day for Dust in Minnesota which for me is really far away and prob not going. If they have a east coast games day maybe.

The main prize is the 2 special characters in the game night kit, Johnny One Eye and Stephan. Both have some interesting things to add to the game. Stephan is a Axis character with a flamer and the assault ability. This means he can double his movement once per game and flame you to death.

Johnny One Eye is a very interesting character at the time. He has a HMG and the ability Badass (literally). The store owner called FFG trying to find out what this ability is and they said they don’t even know and they have been getting calls from a bunch of stores wondering what it is. They told him they don’t know, but it will be in the Operation Cyclone rulebook in the expansion box. So that might be a reason to spend the $40 to get the box so we can have new abilities for more models.

Something the store owner gave to me a head of time to keep was the “Achievements” sheet this sheet has about 30 Achievements each one varies on points and has different objectives. Like for example one is in one game kill all of your opponent’s troops. This is nice it allows people to have more of an objective each night and also makes it to wear just because you win all your matches don’t mean you won in the end. The points vary from 3 to 10.

The last thing he got was the Dust Tactics poster. It has Sigrid in her robot on the front and rules on how to run the league or a tournament on the back.

He told me that FFG told him anyone can buy this just it has to be ordered from a store with a B2B account with FFG. So if you live out in the middle of know where you might be out of luck but I remember seeing it on some of the forums about college clubs or a local store that doesn’t want to participate in it, if they have an account just tell them to order it for you.

Discussion Monday - Operation Cyclone

So the end of this month starts the release of Operation Cyclone. With it brings artillery weapons, command squads, new heroes, snipers and spotters, and new tiles. I would like to talk about the expansion’s box sets that have come out so far.

The first is the Operation Cyclone box itself. In it comes new tiles that are amphibious landing crafts, 2 new heroes, addition crates and tank traps, and new rule and scenario books. I think it’s a bit pricy at $40 I would think like $30-35 for what you get, but it’s not my decision to set the prices. The 2 heroes look really neat one is Master Sergeant Rosie Donovan who is said to have designed the first walkers for the Allies. I think she’s pretty neat models with the little girl carrying a big gun.  She also has Tank Head which allows her to repair and restart walkers in mid battle. The other model is Manfred Kreuzer he is the one whom discovered the alien spacecraft in Antarctica. He gives his squad assault which allows them to move 2x in one turn and assault a unit in available. Instead of going with 2 heroes with rockets they gave him a smaller Panzerfaust which can still deal big damage to a walker.

The next release is the command squads. Both of them are the same and come with every member of a command squad (Officer, Mechanic, Medic, and Radioman). These tie into the Operation Blue Thunder box more than the Operation Cyclone. They have a special rule call Artillery Strike which improves artillery weapons accuracy. Other than that they do all the normal rules in Blue Thunder for a command squad and a MG. These are the reasonable price $15.

Another release is the Walker packs. These boxes come with 4 different configurations in the Allies Box and 3 in the Axis box. Both boxes are $25 which seems reasonable to me being that it’s a big object. I compared it to the Warhammer 40k Dreadnought and you get probably just as much plastic in the box and its half the price and you get 3 configurations. The dreadnought give you 2 on each arm. There is only one reason why there are 4 in the Allies. It’s because the one configuration with a mortar gun is the same as the mortar with missiles just without the missile attachment. This is where my article on how to magnetize walkers comes in handy so you can swap out configurations with any walker.

The last release is the Sniper Teams. These boxes come with one 2 man squad of snipers and one 2 man squad of spotters. The price is $15 which seems a little over pricy for 4 models compared to the 5 models you get in any other box for $15. I think it’s just they wanted to make all the box an easy number rather than be like 40k and have everything its own individual price. This is easy for us as the consumer and them as the supplier. Snipers are nice they can pick out individual models in a unit. So if their rocket guy is getting close to being able to shoot your walker then you can snipe him out of the squad. Spotters are useful also they allow a squad to hit on blanks instead of hits like fighting spirit. This can be useful when trying to finish off a tank or getting the upper hand on a squad to squad battle.

My only thing about this expansion is I wish they would also put out a big box so people who want to get everything can get in all at once. I like the smaller boxes also so I can get just extra stuff for myself to boost my army but I really like big boxes.

Monday's Discussion - Thought About Upcoming Expansions

Everyone knows that the expansions have been released of what they are somewhat. Here is my predictions:

Operation Cyclone - Artillery Strike

It has already been announced. It looks like what it says a bunch of artillery stuff. With the 2 new mechs having artillery shots and the commend squad having artillery strike. The only thing that comes to mind is a bunch of explosive stuff. The new tiles are landing craft this should be pretty neat to use

Operation Paperclip - Blurhreuz Attacks

This one I predict to be out this year in summer between June and September. It is a bit more World War Wierd. This is the zombies and the gorillas. Maybe some werewolves and vampire who knows, but the game will change with these extras to the game. It says it will take place on a castle so that will be interesting for tiles and terrain. Also maybe we’ll see a glimpse of the Russian models.

Operation Seelow - Battle for Britain

This hopefully will be at the end of this year. It will also hopefully have a lot of Russian stuff and introduce the factions other countries units like British for Allies, and Japanese for Axis. It will be a tech boost too so a lot of new walkers and weapons will be in the game.

Operation Downfall - Vrill Invasion

This will be the beginning next year. It will be the full invasion of the Vrill the rest of the Aliens of the one Axis found. This will probably be more tech for the other factions to battle the aliens, because think about it, it’s WWII would the tech we had then be able to even put a dent in the Alien's Armor.

Operation Harpoon - Air Strike

Dog fights and other neat stuff with aircrafts. There will be bombing runs and airplane fighting. Also to be able to stop these there will be AA guns to shoot them out of the sky. The aircrafts will have to be constantly moving they will never be able to stay in one place.

I also don’t think this will be the end of the game I think there will be more and they haven’t released them to the public.

Discussion Mondays

Using Other Games' In Dust Tactics

Some people have been using other company's games' models as part of Dust. My thoughts about it are go ahead the more models you can add to the table will make the game more exciting and play differently. Now there are some things you need to thing about when playing with these models.

1) Does this model relate to the WWII look? I've been seeing people use AT-43 models and while they look great most of the models are very sci-fi so be aware of that.

2) Something you won't see as a card I make will be a Superman one. Why? Because it would be like got slapping the Nazis. He's way too powerful to be in the Dust universe.

3) Use the same scale or slightly smaller. The models need to be the closest scale otherwise they won’t look right next to each other. Dust figures are 35mm and the vehicles are 1/48th scale. You may be also able to use 28mm hero scale models like Warhammer scale.

I’m just saying don’t go overboard on models and making rules for them. You want to have fun on both sides not just one side. Making the game balance is very important for the game. When I create these cards I make a counter balance, by either making an equal or bumping up the points. I also don’t make the units be gods on the table. At 10+points the superheroes may be overpowered compared to the other units but you can get 4 squads for one hero. Have fun creating new units and expanding the Dust universe.

Discussions

Thoughts about tournament play

When it comes to tournament I’ve won a bunch in Warhammer 40k. The thing about it is though people like to go by the book in that game. It’s very straight forward will you mess up you don’t get a mulligan. The biggest is the people who strictly enforce the rules during the game. Dust Tactics isn’t that way though. Since it is one unit at a time it is easier to remember what the unit’s special abilities are, and what weapons they have. The rules for the game are very simple and have no loop holes you are either doing this or you not there is no it does not say I can but it doesn’t say I can’t. A couple of things come to mind when playing in a tournament for Dust Tactics or when playing any game for that matter.

1) Don’t be the person everyone hates to play. If you are strict with rules maybe you need to either not play this game or go through anger management.

2) If someone for gets something and right before your turn remembers allow him to go back and do it.

3) Do not try to make loop holes in this game. It is very straight forward with rules and how things follow in the game. If you are a tournament runner use common sense and don’t allow this to happen. If someone finds a rule to exploit pull them to the side and tell them you do it again you can leave.

4) This game is a fast paced game does not take forever to make one turn. You have 1 unit to move that’s it and you can either shoot or not. In 40k you cannot premeasure but in this anyone can count. So while you opponent is moving his one unit make you decision then.

5) Thing that comes to mind is the 5^th page of the Warmachine rulebook you don’t know it read it. It basically says don’t cheat, bring you game, don’t be a wuss.

6) Don’t be a poor sport when losing. Yea this is a brutal game and you will lose units really quickly, but I’ve learned that the game can be turned around easily.

7) When your opponent is removing models and he accidentally removes his heavy weapon or specific model he forgot to keep on the board let him put it back. Wound allocations do not apply to this game so there for he probably over looked the model.

8) Sportsmanship is a big thing in games like this. So if someone forgets the rules remind them.

9) When facing people new to the game go easy. Yes, you can win but don’t make it that they never want to play this game again.

10) Lastly have fun. It’s just the game. Win or lose you should be happy about the game you just played.

Buying extras for Dust Tactics

Extra Things Dust Tactics Players May Want To Buy

If you have played or plan on playing something you may want to by to help your gaming experience. First some new dice if you already have dice you are good but don’t use the dice in the box they are pretty bad. Mine the symbol is off and can unbalance the dice, the hit marker sides are bumped which causes an even less chance of landing on a hit. The dice can just be regular 6 sided dice or actual custom dice and the hit sides are just 1 and 6. Also if you didn’t buy the big box and are buying individual units then you need dice. I was told eventually Fantasy Flight and Dust Games will make decent dice. If you decide to get custom dice or a newer box with corrected dice get a container to put them in, if you plan on keeping them in the box. Otherwise they will get all over the place in the box and you can lose them.  

I got custom dice done at Chessex.com they were $2 a dice up to 25 or $1.50 a dice 26 and over.

Another thing you might want to get is a cheap wall laser leveler. I bought mine at Home Depot for $15. It helps with determining line of sight.

Dry Erase Markers will be nice also for marking the cards with limited ammo. These are cheap at Walmart or Target.

You may want to give yourself a better visual and buy 1/48^th Scale History Scenery. This will be explained further in depth in later article.

Optional Things That You Might Need

If you didn’t buy the big box you may want to buy large foam core board(s) you need 33” x 33” worth of board or enough to make 9 11”x11” squares. This will be shown in an article later in the blog.

Also if you would like to magnetize the robots you should buy 1/8” x 1/16” (for guns and accessories) and 3/8” x 1/16” (for torsos and turrets) rare earth magnets. I found these magnets work well for these models. This will be for magnetizing you robots to customize them and have interchangeable weapons. This too will also be explained further in depth in later article.

I found ebay the cheapest for these I got 200 of each for no more than $20 including shipping.

If you’re like me you will want to paint you models so you will need paints. Paints and painting will be discussed later.

Things You Don’t Need To Buy

One thing you don’t need to buy is a measuring tape there is no measuring for this game. At least not yet.

Codexes or rulebooks since PDFs are only of the rulebook and the stats come with the models.