After having other box sets from Planetstrike impress me I decided to pick up the Skyshield box. That was probably an uncommon choice as I've noticed that if there is any one of the new models that isn't selling it's the Skyshield. A shop may be repeatedly out of Bastions or Aegis Defense lines while nevertheless having a lonely pile of landing pads collecting dust. Is that because it's just the most expensive of the models or just because it's not that interesting?
The box itself is the same size as the bastion and contains about as much plastic. The pad comes in four basic sections, each having one forth of the pad itself and one of the supporting pillars. The individual parts are for the most part nicely molded and missing any large amounts of flash. You will have to smooth down the edges were they once attached to the sprue, but beyond that there isn't too much work required to clean the model.
The Skyshield goes together pretty well wtih each part fitting together without too much trouble. The one exception are the shields themselves that lie on the sides. They moved up and down to show if the pad's force shield is activated or not. The joints have a tendency to catch against the pad foundation. If you aren't careful flexing them before the glue has a chance to set that may pop the joint right out. Of course, you have to test the joints to make sure they move correctly when putting the thing together. So, I suggest doing so carefully and once you are sure everything is okay leave the shields in the up position to dry.
The shield is about a foot and a half across, thus giving it enough space to hold a valklyrie or most any other landing craft you may ever want to use. Likewise, the detail on the model is quite good, if somewhat repetitive. I haven't yet painted mine, but the process should be straightforward. The details will drybrush up well while the application of washes in the cracks should allow the seperate designs to "pop" out and be easy to see. All-in-all it should paint up without undue effort and make for a nice piece of terrain.
Yet, is it a worthwhile piece? In the Planetstrike rules the Skyshield is a landing pad the defender can use to bring in reinforcements. It has an armor of 13 and only cares about hits that destroy it outright. If the shields are up those on the pad receive a 4+ invulnerable save while if they are down disembarking models can make a full move no matter how far their transport traveled that turn.
Those rules aren't too bad, but here is one that I don't like -- when climbing off the pad a unit must make a difficult terrain test. That means that even if the unit appears on the first turn it will in practice take at least four turns to get anywhere important. That seems rather long to me. Then there is the question of why you would bother with the pad at all. Why not just drop your troops directly where they are needed rather than make them go through the local airport?
I suspect that the Skyshield will often be used in ways its designers perhaps did not originally intend. For instance, imagine a Imperial Guard heavy weapon team perched on the pad using its invulnerable save to protect themselves from fire. In fact, there is no listed limit for the amount of units that can be on the pad at the same time. Accordingly, a player could stick a bunch of units on the shield. There is no way to dump a vehicle on it, but any infantry squad works.
Overall, the rules for the Skyshield seem pretty meager and provide -- regardless of the worth of the model itself -- a disincentive to purchase the box set. That's too bad since the model is pretty nice in my opinion. I'd like to see more extensive rules for the shield to make it more useful. First off, take away the terrain test for climbing off. Then bestow bonuses for reserves using the pad to encourage its use. For example, the owner can name one unit to come in automatically from reserves as long as it lands on the shield. You could extend this to vehicles (it's assumed it came in on some appropriately sized transport that came and went so quickly no one really "saw" it) to further reward players who use the pad.
It the model worth it? I think so even if used merely as a piece of terrain -- let's face it, a landing pad is a cool addition to any gaming table. As far as Planetstrike goes its usefulness is more suspect. You can take one since it's free, but don't expect a lot of transports to actual use it. Instead, think of the shield as a building that comes with a bonus force field to help protect the infantry in it.
I've added a new page to the left called "Qucikie Games Workshop Links" where I've put links to various interesting datasheets and downloads relating to GW games. It's the sort of stuff you can find with a little bit of effort, but why do even that if you can just have a convenient one-stop listing? As more stuff becomes available or is pointed out to me I'll add more links. Enjoy!
Note: You can now click on the pictures to see larger versions
I had a lot of fun at Origins and in the process learned a lot about running large events. I also happened to be in a 95,000 point Apocalypse conflict and I learned a lot during it as well.
The game had the more or less standard format of Imperials vs. Aliens, although in this case since we had a lot more of the former than the latter we needed a few of us to switch sides. This time that included me. So, I setup on one end of the long game table facing down a straightforward Space Marine army and an Imperial Guard Tank company brimming over with super-heavy tanks and one Armorcast Reaver Titan. Fortunately, a teammate took out the Titan, but I faced most of the remaining super-heavies alone.
Facing them I had four super-heavies of my own – two Shadowswords and two Baneblades. Stupidly I had left my Stormlord at home (doh!), but given its anti-infantry armament its absence wasn’t as critical as it could have been. I also had my own Titan (an Armorcast Warhound I bought way back when the model was new) to anchor my portion of the battle line. Likewise, I possessed an Eldar Scorpion (the role of which was being played by an old Tempest), but I decided to flank march it, my two land raiders, and a handful of infantry.
With all this I had my legion of terminators, a few squads of allied Eldar, two assassins, and an Inquisitor in a Valkyrie. I kept the terminators in reserve to have them available whenever needed up and down the line. As it happened I later brought all of them in on my section of the board anyway to secure objectives. Arguably they might have been more useful down at the other end where our allied Tyranids and Orks were getting slaughtered (entirely because they were two large infantry forces trying to destroy Titans and tanks), but the terminators weren’t really meant to kill things so much as to hold territory. In this they did pretty well as when the game was over I managed to grab the two objectives nearest me.
My flanking force came in from the nearest end of the table. It was worth only perhaps 2000 points, a total that might sound impressive until you remember that they represented less than 3% of the forces playing. However, they did a good job of bogging down my nearest opponent. He couldn’t just wander past without facing serious flank fire and thus had to devote troops to take me down. My forces were tough enough to stick it out for the most part, giving as good as they received. The upshot is that it kept the enemy just far enough away for me to secure the nearest objective counter.
In doing this I learned that the Thunderfire Cannon is a better unit that I had originally thought. It might not be able to ignore the armor of Space Marines, but its 5” templates could still bomb entire squads at a time. Likewise, its 60” range meant I had my choice of a wide range of enemy units, thereby guaranteeing that there was always a relevant target within reach. All-in-all I am now a good deal more enthusiastic about the Cannon (if I can only find my White Dwarf with that Apocalypse Thunderfire Cannon formation….)
The highlight of the game had to be my duel against the opposing line of super-heavies. In particular, one spectacular firing from a Shadowsword of mine ended up producing three sixes in a row and destroying an enemy SS in single shot! Beyond that we spent most of the game slowly crippling each other’s tanks, although thanks to a backfield assault from one of my allies our side ultimately managed to get the best of the deal.
This duel taught me the value of ShadowSwords in an Apocalypse game. I was initially a bit unenthused with them when compared to Baneblades if for no other reason the latter has so much more to shoot! Yet, the Strength D Volcano Cannon on the ‘Sword is an especially handy weapon to have when facing super-heavies and Titans. All you have to do is hit and you’re rolling on the damage table. While Baneblades may be better against infantry hordes the Shadowsword is definitely a superior choice when facing the big stuff.
Not all my units did well – take my homemade Lightning fighter. I did get some positive reviews for my on-the-cheap conversion, but as an actual military unit the thing couldn’t hit the broad side of a Baneblade. In my first turn I shot two missiles at a single target only to roll snake eyes. I then followed up by missing with my twin-linked lascannons the rest of the game! Thus, in the end my fighter accomplished little more than take in the sights. At least the difficulty of hitting a zooming flyer meant it made it through without so much as a scratch.
One of the enemy players showed up with a whole air force of Forge World flyers and man were they impressive to see. Not so impressive that I’d be willing to pay the hundreds of dollars to have the same thing, but impressive enough for me to look into doing other conversions. A Marauder Bomber would be especially nice to have for the next game.
Of course, nothing is better than having a Titan on the field. In this game we had two Reaver Titans and at least three Warhounds on the board. It makes me wish I could time travel back fifteen years and splurge on some of the old, but still great Armorcast models. Having just the Warhound is nice, but more would be better.
Regardless, the game was a lot of fun. While we may not have broken the Apocalypse point record we did attract a lot of attention and there are already new volunteers lined up for next year’s game. I think we can guarantee breaking the 200,000 point barrier if not (much) more. Here’s looking forward to Origins 2010!
Here is the just released GW teaser model for all the Space Wolf stuff coming out in October. Enjoy.
At the Apocalypse game we helped run at Origins I used this new old model of mine for the first time -- an old Armorcast Tempest:
In this case I used the rules for the Eldar Scorpion (which is really just the Forge World version of the Tempest) instead of the Bell of Lost Souls' Lords of Battle because they are a bit better although the tank then costs more. It's strength D weapons were awesome against my local opponent's tanks.
I got the Tempest off Ebay a while back for about $65. The paint job is my own.
As any self-respecting 40K fan already knows Games Workshop just released Planetstrike, their new expansion book. With it comes a number of new building models. The question is whether or not the rules and/or models are any good.
What’s Good
The first thing that hits you when flipping through the Planetstrike book is that it enjoys the same great production value common to GW products. The rulebook includes extensive rules, lots of great and inspirational pictures, and loads of source material. At just $25 the book is worth picking up just for the reading value.
The rules are presented in a straightforward manner, although they are a bit “thick” (that is, make sure to read carefully or else you are bound to miss something). The “Organizing a Battle” section goes step-by-step into everything you need to run a basic game of Planetstrike – setting up each side, choosing stratagems, and all the special rules involved.
The basic rules are both what is good and bad (more on the second below) with the book. Unlike most similar GW efforts there are no points values for anything. So, for instance, it is not the case that a defender buys his fortifications or even that he receives fewer troops in exchange. Instead, you choose the type and number of the fortifications you like. They are balanced out by giving the attacker various advantages. For example, a wide range of attacking units may now Deep Strike while those that already have the ability can land and assault in the same turn. Likewise, the attacker receives a preliminary bombardment while being able to fill his force chart with more non-troop units if he wishes. In fact, he doesn’t have to take any troops at all, which is okay as in Planetstrike any unit – even if it only has one lone soul left! – can claim objectives. The book also includes a number of different missions that tinker with the basic rules of Planetstrike to provide new experiences.
An important part of the rules are stratagems – Planetstrike comes with eleven pages of them! These are split up into various groups, some which can be picked by anyone, some just by the attacker or defender, and some only by specific armies. Both sides receive one stratagem “point” for every objective on the table, you can only buy a certain stratagem once, and there are many that cost more than one “point”. Examples of attacker stratagems include “Dawn Assault” where the game uses the Night Fight rules and “Planetquake Bomb” where every non-vehicle unit (both sides!) must test for pinning and all bastions take a strength 10 hit!
As nice as the book may be arguably the models are even better. The three primary new Planetstrike box sets are the Aegis Defense Line (only $20!), the Bastion ($30), and the Skyshield Landing Pad ($40). I’ve bought examples of the first two and they are excellent so I assume the Pad is as well. The Aegis comes with a bunch of defense emplacements – units using them get a 4+ cover save or a whopping 2+ if they go to ground – and a quad autocannon in a mount. The Bastion has two primary sections, one of which has defense guns on each side, and a mounted super lascannon (same boom, greater range) to go on top.
What’s really nice about these first two sets is that they are in many ways interchangeable. The gun mounts for either can be freely exchanged, meaning you can place quad autocannons on top of your bastions and lascannons down with the troops. The bastions are also modular allowing you to easily combine multiple sets into larger and larger structures. For example, you could build a tower six levels high or a high wall across the entire battlefield. The modeling possibilities are quite extensive.
The Not Good
Given how excellent the Planetstrike book and the associated model sets are it is rather shocking to realize just how basic – in my opinion – a mistake Games Workshop made in designing the rules. The error can be reduced down to a single statement: None of the new models come with point values.
At first this may not sound like much of a sin. After all, the scenario rules (theoretically) take care of any force imbalances by giving the attacker a slew of advantages. However, this “user friendly” version of setting up a game comes with a lot of potential drawbacks, problems that assigning points values could have addressed (if not solved). After all, Warhammer 40K is a game built on the concept that everything has a points value which in turn can be used to properly contrast and compare the combat effectiveness of various units. For that reason alone it is odd that GW decided to chuck the idea out an air lock. Why fix something that ain’t broke?
As a result of this decision Planetstrike sets itself up for abuse. The application of defense structures within the game is quite vague, allowing the defender to potentially take as many as he wants. This is partially balanced out by the rule that bastions always count as objectives (therefore giving the attacker more pregame firestorm barrages), but a sly defender could pick his fortifications with care and get around this.
I realize that Planetstrike was written in the spirit of “just have fun” and if one player wants to make sure no one has any he can do so regardless of the rules. However, in my experience most disagreements between players are a matter of misunderstandings, not deliberate attempts to ruin the game. So, for instance, the defender may show up with a truck load of fortifications based purely on the expectation such is the “established” way for him to be victorious. Likewise, an attacker with different expectations may bristle at the presence of more than a few sets of fortifications. Without points values to help make sure each side has a fair amount of stuff hard feelings are a constant danger.
The lack of points for fortifications also makes it nigh impossible to mix and match the new sets with regular 40K games and, most especially, Apocalypse. Having bastions and defense lines is a natural addition to the latter (forgeworld even has rules for fortifications in Apocalypse), but even in regular 40K pickup games a player could spice things up by replacing a tank with a bastion or including a few stationary defense guns. Without listed points values you can’t really do this – and, frankly, “just make things up” is a poor way to resolve this sort of issue.
This problem also makes it hard to take up the suggestion given in Planetstrike to build extensive fortresses (something that the bastion kit itself encourages). The rules for using large fortifications are vague at best and a bit clunky even if you discount the points value issue. For instance, a one level tower is just as robust a structure as a ten level tower. Technically speaking each is just single building requiring just one good hit to bring down. You can mitigate this by building horizontally (different horizontal sections of the same fortress count as different “buildings” for purposes of the rules), but shouldn’t going vertical be just as valid a game option? Should I be punished because my conception of an imposing structure is more tall than wide? Likewise, there are stats given for different guns that could come with a fortress, but no real standards for their use. Is taking a bastion with a missile silo really just as fair as one with a heavy bolter?
If nothing else you’d expect having point values to help with sales. Why restrict a whole range of new sets to just one narrow range of possible applications when you can instead provide a new experience for the game as a whole?
A related issue is that to properly play Planetstrike you really do need for at least one player to pay out for fortifications. A defender without any is pretty much dead meat and the Planetstrike format assumes there is always an attacker and a defender. This requirement may sound utterly natural, but consider this – while Apocalypse encourages players to collect super-heavy tanks it doesn’t actually require that they do in order to play. You can have a perfectly enjoyable Apoc battle with everyone using only units you would see in a standard game of 40K. By comparison, Planetstrike insists that you spring for those super-heavies – or, in this case, for fortifications. Likewise, there are no real rules for playing with more than two players, although it wouldn’t be too hard to just wing it.
The Sum Total
I like the book and especially the new fortification models far too much to give Planetstrike a bad review. The game has a lot of potential. I am just mystified by the decision to exclude point totals. It suggests that the expansion was hurried into production or that the designers were just lazy and didn’t want to worry about balancing point values. It’s a decision that needlessly increases the chance of arguments and limits the uses of the models.
My recommendation therefore is to buy the game, but keep in mind that issues of debate can easily pop up.
Here are pictures of the two top scoring armies for painting.
From the winner Allen Bount:
Pictures of the runner-up army from David Talbott:
More to come...