Update to the Dust Warfare player aids page.

by Jason

Just a quick note to let you know that I've updated the Dust Warfare player aide resource page to add the updated list of unit cards and the vendor Ironheart Artisans, who makes some cool dice and tokens usable in your games of Dust Warfare.

Check it out!

How To Customize Your Unit Cards!

Hi everyone! So in getting ready for the tournament in Ohio, I decided that I too should jump on the band wagon and get some unit cards printed up. Jason got me interested in this when I saw his. They eliminate the going back and forth through the rulebook and expansions looking for your stats. So why not? Jason also convinced me that I needed to make custom cards since my units are heavily converted, and my opponent may or may not know what exactly he or she is fighting against.

Want to know how I did it? It's uber-simple...

The Good, The Bad, and then my Army - A 40k Battle Report

Yeah, that's right. JRock is playing some 40K and writing about it. After the Indy Open a friend of many years asked if I'd be interested in a game some time at his house. "Sure", I said. After the headache of the tournament, I was happy for some relaxed gaming. So John Lay and I scheduled the game which pitted his corrupted Sisters of Slaneesh VS. my Genestealer Cult!

Custom Vehicle Damage Tokens for Dust Warfare

"NO! YOU'VE SUPPRESSED MY BOYFRIEND! BUT WAIT, I SUDDENLY FIND YOU STRANGELY ATTRACTIVE..."

So, what tokens do you use for your Dust Warfare Army? Are you a purist going with the tokens from the Core Rule Book? Did you go with generic tokens or gems? Or did you up the ante with custom resin tokens?

My Illegal Dust Army

So, like my comrades here at Indy40k, I too have been drawn to the game of Dust Warfare. If you haven't at least checked it out, you really should. But that being said, I'd like to show off my Dust Axis Army which by Fantasy Flight Games Tournament rules is officially - ILLEGAL! (Cue low brass)

The Return of Air Cav?

When the SSU was first released, the obvious focus of the force was the helicopters. While cool looking, the promise of an air cavalry force was quite a letdown - little to no anti-tank, very difficult to consistently deliver infantry to a target, and expensive. I tried several times to come up with a good force based around an air cav force, but with little success.

Enter the Hades unit upgrades and the new FAQ update, and it looks like SSU air cav may have a new lease on life. In particular, the FAQ has updated the 'Air Cavalry' special rule to allow infantry units to disembark from high or low altitude. Additionally, the unit may disembark and have another action after the helicopter has activated. So, imagine a unit of Fakeyli in a transport helicopter - first turn move 36" across the table, drop off the unit next to a target, and attack with a bucketload of dice at a target. Nasty, eh? However, that next turn that unit of Fakeyli will be pounded by a lot of return fire. Enter 'Grizzled Veterans' unit upgrade from the Hades book and a hero. 'Grizzled Veterans' says that the unit doesn't take suppression until they remove a model due to casualties. So, if that unit of Fakeyli included, say, Yakov - they would have to take 4 wounds before they would take a suppression. Hopefully, that will be long enough for them to wreak havoc in the opponents lines...

Additionally, with Icarus landing soon -- and both Axis and Allies getting aircraft of their own -- it looks like anti-air is about to be much more important. Another advantage of the SSU helis is that they are good against both infantry and aircraft. Toss in one or two attack helis to assist and make target priority harder, and it looks like air cav might be coming back. :)

Here are a couple lists incorporating these ideas:

 One with Yakov, Red Yana, 3 helis and 6 widowmaker rifles for suppression:

Dust Warfare - Force Builder
Faction: SSU ( 300 / 300 )

--- Heroes
Red Yana (22)
--- Political Platoon (197)
Upgrade: Cavalry Platoon (5)
Command Section: "The Drakoni" Commissar Squad (25)
1st Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
3rd Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
Support: MIL MI-47D "Death Rain" (45)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)

--- Defense Platoon (81)
Command Section: Yakov (21, Hero)
1st Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)

Another with Yakov, 4 helis, and 2 widowmakers for suppression:

Dust Warfare - Force Builder
Faction: SSU ( 300 / 300 )

--- Political Platoon (214)
Upgrade: Cavalry Platoon (5)
Command Section: "The Drakoni" Commissar Squad (25)
1st Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
3rd Section: "Chinese Volunteers" SSU Auxiliary Attack Squad (15)
Support: MIL MI-47D "Death Rain" (45)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)

--- Defense Platoon (86)
Command Section: Yakov (21, Hero)
1st Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Support: MIL MI-47D "Death Rain" (45)

Overall, I think that the first list is a little better - it's a little worse against vehicles and aircraft, but has much better ability to apply suppression, and both of the Fakyeli units have attached heroes. It's worth noting that Red Yana's 'Fighting Spirit' can't be used on the turn they disembark from the heli - it requires a move action, and disembarking is explicitly listed as not a move action. Both look good, and seem like they could be fun alternatives to some of the existing SSU builds.

Any thoughts?

Pre-made Gaming Aids - Mechanical Warhorse product review

by Jason

As a gamer, would you rather build your own gaming aids or do you prefer to buy ready-made products?  I typically prefer to make my own gaming aids, from custom objective markers to a variety of wrecked vehicle templates to match what vehicles I may come across.  As I get older, and my hobby time grows smaller, I'm gaining a greater appreciation for cool-looking gaming aids that I don't have to build and paint myself.