Swatters Playtest 3

I got a quick mid-week game in with COM last Wednesday, so we played the “Surrounded” mission.  The Marines/Eldar set up in the middle of a 4×4′ table with a larger force of bugs equally divided on the four table edges.

The Marines/Eldar also got an emplaced weapon as part of the scenario set up but  I forgot to put it on the table before the above photo was taken.  It features in the later snaps (for all the good that it did).

The emplacement is still missing and the Alien queen really should have her base painted: it looks awful.

The scenario specified the 4×4′ battlefield.  Therefore the bugs were able to close quite rapidly.  Some decent reaction fire from the marines whittled their numbers down a bit, but a run of poor activation rolls meant that the marines became bug chow pretty fast.

The Alien queen (with the embarrassingly unfinished base) flinches a little from incoming fire while the mauled xenomorphs prepare to slice up the eldar guardians.

The marine units got to fire a couple of times, but recurring activation problems meant that a lot of bug units had an easy time getting in close.

“Tough” units (such as the “Colossal” trygon above) are particularly hard to dent in this system.  The marine power armour troops (represented by wraithguard) are very hard to shift when using rank and file bugs.  As such they tend to be a must-have unit in games, even though they are pricey.  In this game the Power Armour troopers again showed their worth by hanging around for longer than any other marine unit.

I set up the marines in a silly fashion.  I should have concentrated them a bit more on one side or the other in the hope that they could take advantage of numbers to squish the bugs piecemeal.  Memories of a previous game where the marines set up so close that they got over run in quick succession meant that I spread my troops out in an ineffectual fashion.  They paid for my poor generalship with their tiny metal and plastic lives.

This game wasnt a drag or anything and it played out very quickly, but it ended up being a bit of a dice fest rather than a narrative generating battle like the Save the Miners game last week.

In Swatters the bugs can move very fast and forcing the marines to set up less than two feet away makes some of the engagement a forgone conclusion, which is a bit unsatisfying.  The activation system can always throw a spanner into plans of course (a good thing as it encourages maneuvering and gives more chance for narrative and the like) but I think that I would like to try this scenario out another time with the bugs coming in from either end of a 6′ table instead: I think that it could be more fun that way.

Swatters Playtest 1

Inspired by what Mikko at dawnofthelead has been doing with his “Utopia” campaign, last week I contacted Ganesha Games to find out when their dedicated bug-hunt rule set “Swatters” was due to be released.  Ganesha told me that the rules were close to finished but required some further playtesting.  I volunteered to get involved in the process as it sounded like fun and had a playtest copy of the rules within a day or so.

COM and TM were available to get involved in a couple of games last Saturday, so my bugs were unearthed and reinforced by some xenos from COMs hive.  My Iacon Eldar did their best Colonial Marine impersonations and we got a couple of games played.

The first game that we played (shown in the photos above and below) was the standard Meeting Engagement scenario using forces of about 1100pts each on a 6×4′ table.  Swatters is a squad based battle game rather than the skirmish sized games that Ganesha is known for.  Being a Ganesha game Swatters is a lot more streamlined than many similar games, which appeals to me a lot.

One aspect of the rules is that five man/bug squads, objectives, spawn points etc are all arranged on individual CDs for numerous reasons, both in terms of game mechanics and for simplicity when it comes to moving large numbers of figures around.  As I only had a little lead up time to this game I didnt get around to texturing the CDs to match the table before the game, so the photos are a bit uglier than usual.

The next playtest session (planned for next weekend with MT (not to be confused with TM)) will take place using properly textured CD bases with a bit of luck.

I played Meeting Engagement with TM.  I set up the terrain according to the rules in the scenario, but couldnt help but add a few more bits of terrain, as it seemed a little too open.  As it happened the bugs got wiped out before they even made contact with the Eldar, although not all of that was due to the open terrain.

It was TMs first Ganesha game and he picked up the basics fast so the game only took about an hour or so.

In “Space Demon Omelettes” ten units of bugs line up opposite three units of Eldar (marines). The other CDs scattered around the table are either Spawn points or Egg markers. Despite the fact that I used painted models for the spawn and egg markers the reflective surfaces on the CDs look awful. They will be covered up by the next game.

The next scenario that was played was “Space Demon Omelettes”, with TM playing the bugs again and COM playing his first Ganesha game as the Eldar/Humans.  The scenario involves a raid on a 4×4′ bug nest to smash up some eggs.  The bugs have access to a lot of cheap drones that are absolutely terrible in combat, but numerous.

Bugs on the baseline. This photo would look significantly cooler if the CDs were camouflaged a bit.

Each side has a dice pool in Swatters that can be used to either buff shooting (for the marine side) or close combat (for the bugs).  The bugs can also use dice to generate reinforcements that spawn either on their table edge or at areas specified by the scenario.  From what I have seen so far the reinforcements for a standard game will amount to roughly one base of pretty decent troops per game.  In this game however the reinforcements were limited to the very poor Drone troop type, although TM did generate quite a number of them right in the marines faces, as seen below.

Eight bases of drones (the blueish Termagants) emerge from the spawn points in the first turn of the game.

Given the option to use the dice to buff attacks or to generate more figures TM went with the more figures option, as he had done in the first game too.  I find it hard to imagine a game where I wouldnt go for the reinforcements in preference to be honest, although in this scenario the drones generate more easily than regular reinforcements do, so its definitely the way to go for Space Demon Omelettes I reckon.  A few more games will have to be played to see if I think that the bug close combat buffs are worth it or not.

At this point we figured that the marines (the three units on the dark CDs in the photo above) were in trouble.  Despite one of the units being comprised of nasty “Power Armour” troops (the Dire Avengers with the retro paint jobs in the middle) we figured that they might not have been able to bring their strengths to bear.

We neednt have worried.  A quick look at the rules for drones showed us that they are absolutely woeful and COM spent the next few turns killing forty of them for the loss of one marine.  The only problem with it being open season on drones was that the significantly more dangerous Queen and her entourage were closing in.

In the end the drones did their job by dying in droves while engaged with the marines while the more dangerous bugs came up behind them.  The Marines gave decent account of themselves but once the properly scary bugs hit them they fell apart.

It was a fun game, marred visually by the big ugly CDs.  I enjoyed played a game with a higher figure count for a change and bug hunts have a lot of appeal to any Aliens fan of my vintage.

A couple of the game mechanics regarding the basing of the figures worked quite well.  I am looking forward to trying out some different units and putting the rules through their paces further next weekend with MT.

The CDs will be less ugly next time too.

Space Hulk Weekend: Part 2

MT's Harlequins

This Space Hulk report continues from last time which can be found here.

Last thing on Saturday evening we decided to play one more scenario.  Unfortunately this turned out to be a mistake as mission eight appears to be nearly impossible for the Genestealers to win and quite a dull scenario.

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Mission VIII: Escape Route

Escape Route Set Up

 

The game was a washout in favour of the Marines, over in a couple of turns.  After looking at the mission afterwards it appears that the only way for the ‘stealers to have a chance is to pile as many as possible in the single corridor at the end.  While this may give the ‘stealer player a chance it makes for a dull game.  I wont be playing this mission again in a hurry.

The mission ended in a Marine victory for MT.

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First thing on Sunday morning we skipped missions nine and ten.  We knew that we were unlikely to get more than two games played and we wanted to play the scenarios with the Broodlord, now that we had got the hang of the Librarian rules.

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Mission XI: Unknown Lifeforms

Unknown Lifeforms Set Up

This mission looks nigh on impossible for the Marines on paper.  With only five bodies to cover the many junctions it looks like an almost guaranteed ‘stealer win.  Granted, one of the Marines is Librarian Calistarius but even he has limitations (attacking him in the side or rear is a pretty reliable way to take him out of the picture).  The Broodlord is available for the first time in this scenario too. 

In order to balance things out the marines have one Power Field Generator each.  These can be thrown into spaces which then become impassable.  Genestealers can overload the generators by spending 6 APs in one go while adjacent, twice.  The combination of the use of the PFGs, Broodlord and Librarian, combined with some very lucky and very unlucky timing for various events made this game probably my favourite of the weekend.

Marines advance trusting their flanks to the PFGs (top right)

The eponymous unknown lifeform shows up and is rapidly cut down by Librarian Storm Bolter fire.

Pressure builds as Calistarius tries to catch a moment to back into the objective room and take the sample.

Calistarius makes some small progress backing down the corridor as Brother Leon and Sgt Lorenzo try to buy him more time...

The Librarians luck runs out (it takes him 6APs to kill one 'stealer) and he is overrun at the doorstep of victory.

 

The games ends with another Genestealer win for MT.

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Mission XII: Pitfall

Pitfall Set Up

 

Pitfall is an unusual scenario that is played using two maps, each representing adjacent floors in the hulk.  Basically, the ‘stealers come into play on the bottom floor and tend to pop out to attack the Marines from underneath.

The survivors of the assault on the Sin of Damnation head for the exit (a disposal chute).

Calistarius sprints for the chute and leaps into it, leaving his battle brothers to their own devices. They all died.

 

Victory conditions for this scenario are funny.  If no Marines get to the chute then the ‘stealers win.  If any Marines make it then that number is used to modify a D6 roll-off between the players to see who wins.  MT rolled a “1″ giving a total of “2″ due to the escaped Librarian.  I rolled a “1″ and so it was determined that the Marines won.  I didnt even manage/need to get the Broodlord in play.  Harrumph.

The game ended with a Marine victory for MT.

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Mission twelve played faster than we had expected and so we decided to have one more game, finally getting around to using MTs Harlequins that hadnt managed to get to the table yet.

The Harlequins rules are first ed rules.  As there is so much in common with first and third ed we decided to play using third ed rules as we had enjoyed them quite a lot for the weekend.  In essence all that this really changed for the Harlequins was to reduce the maximum sustained fire increment to +1 (to get the weapons in line with sustained fire applying in Overwatch).

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Harlequin Mission I: Into the Darkness

The Harlequins advance into the clutches of the Genestealers.Before the Harlequins can even establish a beachhead they take casualties.

Still under pressure, the Harlequins still get a tiny bit of breathing space.

The Troupe Leader (yellow) uses his Harlequins Kiss on his opponent, while his squad die all around him.

The Death Jester is the only Eldar still alive...

...yet he outdoes his entire squad in a massive display of violence... delivered with Harlequin panache.

The Jester is on borrowed time: there are just too many for him, despite his hi-jinks.

The Jesters soul melds with the Laughing God. Death has a name... and its name is "Genestealer".

The game ended in a Genestealer win for me.

The Harlequins made a few big boo-boos early on in this game.  We also decided that the five starting blips which begin one in each room could be looked at and placed by the ‘stealer player.  In retrospect maybe random placement would have been better as it was a bit harsh with 6 ‘stealers in striking range early on.  Then again, if the lead Harlequin had been in either Defensive Stance or Guard the story could have been quite different.  I am looking forward to giving the Harlequins another run out next time.

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After that long session of 3rd ed Space Hulk I am happy to say that I quite enjoy the 3rd ed rules, possibly even more than 1st ed.  The slightly more efficient Terminator fire makes the game feel a little more like the fluff which is cool, although it provides even less of an incentive to play the Genestealers.  On the other hand, I quite enjoyed playing the Genestealers over the weekend.  There are plenty of decisions to make while using them too.

Space Hulk Weekend: Part 1

Space Hulk Weekend

I finally painted up the figures from my 1st and 2nd edition Space Hulk last year.  With the release of the new 3rd edition I wanted to have a full on Space Hulk weekend.  Long term gaming co-conspirator MT agreed to meet up last weekend and we went from there.

Although the new edition comes with lovely miniatures that I must get around to painting some time, we were not going to let that stop us from playing with the painted older Bugs and Iron Men terminators that I already have ready to go.  As we both have a few other “real-life” things going on at the moment we didnt commit to having a whole lot extra finished by the weekend either (normally I use deadlines for gaming meets to help me achieve goals in terms of figures painted, scenery made etc).  With that in mind MT painted up the dead Blood Angel Terminator and I painted the C.A.T. and the relic chalice. Very achievable.

Finally, although it would have been nice to get all of the 12 Space Hulk scenarios printed in the 3rd edition played in one weekend we decided to skip a few to ensure that we could get to play the scenarios with the Broodlord/Librarian/other interesting stuff.   In addition we hoped that we might be able to squeeze in a game using the Eldar Harlequins that MT painted up six months ago with 1st edition Space Hulk in mind.  The scenarios that we skipped were either too similar to other scenarios that we wanted to play or were scenarios that either or both of us has played before too often (Missions 1 and 2 in particular).

  

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Mission III: Rescue

Mission III: Rescue

The mission involves getting the Cyber Altered Task (C.A.T.)-unit from Squad Lorenzo into the hands of Squad Gideon which starts on the other side of the map.

Sgt Lorenzo on C.A.T. detail

Sgt Lorenzo and Brother Zael try to hold back the xeno tide.

Note the C.A.T. on the right.

 

The mission ended in a Marine victory for MT.

I dont remember that much detail about playing this scenario, probably because my opponent won it

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Mission V: Decoy

 

Decoy Set Up

Decoy involves two terminator squads that start in close proximity making their way across the map to an exit point.  In theory at least.

The Iron Men deploy efficiently.

The good guys get butchered.

The mission ended in a Genestealer victory for MT.

Sergeant Gideon (the guy with the thunder hammer and storm shield in the bottom right above) managed to get killed upon first contact with the enemy, despite being on Guard.

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Mission VI: Alarm Call

Alarm Call Set Up

In Alarm Call a squad of Terminators have been incapacitated by a Broodlord psychic attack.  Librarian Calistarius and lightning claw armed Claudio are sent to investigate.

Librarian Calistarius resuscitates a comrade while Sgt Lorenzo blasts 'stealers.

Marines adopt standard overwatch doctrine and mutter a prayer to the Emperor..

The intensity of the alien attack increases and Calistarius is cut down.

The mission ended in a Genestealer victory for me.

This game involved the largest amount of ‘stealers on the board at once.  Whichever side that I am playing I get a kick out of lots of bugs in play.  Obviously however, if I am playing Genestealers and about to win I enjoy it that much more.

It was also the first game using the Librarian, which although potentially good at runing the timer out due to the options that he provides, turns out to be fun to play.  He is very powerful though, potentially too powerful perhaps.  He isnt unstoppable however, he has weaknesses.

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Mission VII: The Artefact

Artefact Set Up

The Artefact concerns a valiant raid deep into the hulk to recover a relic said to have been used by Sanguinius himself.  This is a big deal if you are a Blood Angel Terminator.

After blowing a series of doors off their mountings while on the move down the corridor, Calistarius spots his goal.

With Brother Claudio on rearguard duty the Librarian runs into the relic room...

 

...grabs the relic, runs back and hands off to Brother Claudio...

...who reverentially carries it the length of the board and back to Space Marine controlled areas.

 The mission ended in a Terminator victory for me.

The scenario worked out as a little lacklustre for MT this time around.  The Marines deployed in textbook fashion and managed to hold the line well by and large.  This was my first game with the Librarian and he lived up the hype, Psychic Blasts and Force Walls making him the centre of attention for most of the game.

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Tune in next time for the last few scenarios, plus some Harlequin games.

 

Tyranid Warriors and other bugs

Expanding on from the Space Hulk project I decided to paint a few other bug figures in the same style.  I hope to use these in Advanced Space Crusade some time but really I mostly painted them for fun.

Tyranid Warrior

Tyranid Warrior

Tyranid Warrior

Tyranid Warrior

The figures below are from Void I think.  Three of these guys should be ample for my purposes.

Void bug

Void Bug rear

Void Bug Brood

The figure below is a huge Arachnid Warrior from Starship Troopers.  I am a big fan of the first Starship Troopers movie but I am not sure what to do with these figures: they take up huge amounts of table space and cant really be put on bases.  Troublesome really.  Anyway, I painted one to match the rest of my bugs.

Arachnid Warrior

Genestealer Hybrids

 

The second part of the genestealer side of the Space Hulk project was to assemble and paint 26 of the ‘stealer hybrid figures.  They are very old GW plastics that leave a lot to be desired really.  At least as they are all uniform they are easy to tell apart from the purestrains when in play: this is a good thing.

The hybrids all got the same paint job as the purestrains with the addition of a bronze-y gold to their weapons and a couple of browns on their belts etc.  The goal was group functionality rather than individual brilliance.  The only exception to this was the Magus: Brother Joseph.  He had a little more time spent on him, but nothing inordinate.

 

Brother Joseph: Magus

Joes back.

I got the magus second hand from a friend.  For some reason earlier in the figures history some bright spark had chosen to drill several holes into the figure with a powerdrill.  No, I dont know why either.

In covered the holes on the front with the pair of knives across his belt.  I covered two of the holes on his back with two Foundry machine pistols.  That still left the hole in the middle of his coat between his legs. Rather than go to the trouble of filling that with green stuff or something I decided to leave it.  If it bothers you then pretend its a hole from  a laser blast or something

Hybrid with Autocannon

 

Autocannon Hybrid from behind.

 

Hybrid Brood

Genestealer Purestrains and Patriarch

 

More of my Space Hulk project, this time the Genestealers.

Purestrain Genestealer

As there are so many genestealers (I had 26 or so to paint plus the same number again of hybrids) I wanted to paint them as quickly as possible.  Individual brilliance was not required.

As I intend to convert Space Hulk to an “Aliens” setting at some point (the miniatures are bought and assembled so it is just a matter of time) I took a look at the Horrorclix Aliens that I have for that.  As I intend to use the ‘stealers to make up the numbers when using the Xenomorphs I decided to use the colour scheme that those figures have on the ‘stealers too.  I have used this scheme for all of my Bug related figures.

So the figures are sprayed black, drybrushed a dark blue or blue/purple all over (I used a few different shades for variety), the claws and heads are painted black again, the claws are given a quick, harsh silver highlight and the head is given a gloss varnish.  I painted the tongue (and sometimes the eyes) with a bright green just to give the figures a little lift.  They look good on the table en masse which is what I was looking for.

Genestealer Brood

 

The Patriarch (retconned to be a “Broodlord” these days) is a figure that I originally painted way back in 1990 or so.  I wanted to repaint it to match the new guys but I dont really like the figure.  Still, I wasnt going to buy a new Broodlord.  The  figure and the new paint job are both tolerable and functional.

Genestealer Patriarch

 

He has a lighter scheme than the rest of his brood, to suggest his age. It sort of works.

Face Huggers and Chest Bursters

Chest Bursters and Face Huggers

 Figures for a planned minor re-theme of Space Hulk.  The three face-huggers on the left are Necromunda Ripperjacks.  The three ‘huggers in the middle are Skaven tails and zombie hands.  The chest bursters on the right are Tyranid Rippers: maybe a little on the big side as chest bursters go but close enough.  Xenomorphs included for scale. 

Alexis the Emasculator

Alexis, bug/human hybrid queen

A human/alien hybrid, Alexis has managed to gain control over a large portion of the hive alien menace that threatens civilised space. She is cunning and cruel and with the numberless hordes of bugs that she controls should never be underestimated.

Alexis is loosely based on the Sarah Kerrigan character from the Starcraft PC game.  Playing as the bugs in figure games tends to be a little faceless.  As a human bug hybrid Alexis is intended to put a face on the bugs.  Admittedly it is a bit of a ridiculous face. Still, she is definitely in the Saturday morning cartoon eeevil villian tradition and so,  I am quite pleased with how goofy she looks.

Any similarity to Joan Rivers is intentional