Dropzone Commander Two Player Starter Set by Hawk Wargames

   Well this set just looks great, I have watched a couple of the unboxing videos on the set and it really does have everything you need to start playing. Not pictured is a 4x3 play mat that is also included in the set. The release date is September 28 and the retail price is $90 but I have already seen online retailers selling pre orders for $76. The two armies look great and we are dying to get our hands on a copy and do a review. Dropzone Commander has really started to take off and if you have not checked out Hawk Wargames and Dropzone Commander I highly suggest you do. Nick from Blackheart Gaming was at GENCON 2013 and he was able to get a look at their new units and the new box set. We are definitely looking at getting into DZC as it is referred to. We will have some pictures from GENCON and we will be updating everyone on some X-Wing games, and DUST tactics games in a few days. We also picked up Warlord Game's Hail Cesar so keep an eye and check out Dropzone Commander...


Rob

TIE Interceptor: First Impressions

TIE Interceptor

 

 

 

So I got three games in with my TIE Interceptors this weekend and without turning this into a Battle Report, I’m just going to quickly highlight some of the pros and cons of this ship. To start off I was unable able to use every version so my findings will be based off of my experience with Thurr Phennir, Soontir Fel and a Sabre Squadron Pilot.

 

Pros

1.       Maneuverability

2.       Firepower

3.       Actions

4.       Agility

 

 

1.       Maneuverability

This basic function is an extremely important aspect of the X-Wing Miniatures Game. The unique dial system of movement lends to the playability and unknown factor. The TIE Interceptor as with the basic TIE Fighter is very maneuverable and I enjoyed the speed and tight turns that were very useful for outmaneuvering the enemy and getting behind them. The TIE Interceptor did not let down in this category and its maneuver options are one of the attractive features of this ship.

2.       Firepower

The big difference between the TIE Interceptor and other TIE variants is the firepower. The TIE Interceptor has three attack dice and rivals the X-Wing in firepower. The higher attack value was the most notable difference that I recognized which most players would easily see on the card. When I was playing I noticed that being able to maneuver and bear down with the increased firepower was very beneficial and it is the deciding factor for me when I consider the TIE Interceptor in my list.

 

3.       Actions

The TIE Interceptor has four actions in its action bar. The actions are: barrel roll, focus, evade and the new boost action. I won’t dissect each action but I will say that the ability to pick between four actions was very helpful and the boost actions quickly developed into me getting into range one to utilize the higher attack and get off four shots. This was extremely effective when it was combined with Thurr Phennir who can then barrel roll or boost out of a firing arc. The actions helped out immensely and they combined with the firepower and maneuver to make a very deadly ship.

4.       Agility

 

Having three agility was a great defense to the enemy firepower and it repeatedly proved useful and blocked the enemy attacks. The high agility was  great and it really helped this ship survive throughout the fights.

 

Cons

1.       Shields (lack of)

2.       Options for attachments

3.       Points

 

1.       Shields

 

As with most other TIE ships excluding the TIE Advanced version the Interceptor has no shields and relies on its agility to spare it damage. The lack of shields was not as noticeable since the agility value was three. I knew coming into the game that there were no shields and this was not the big negative factor that I worried about.

 

 

2.       Options for attachments

 

The TIE Interceptor has very few options and some of the cheaper versions have no options at all. This does limit the amount of customization but with the new upgrade cards like stealth device, engine upgrades and shield upgrades you don’t need as many upgrade icons on your ships. The options are limited though so prepare for some pretty standard combinations.

 

3.       Points

 

The point cost is higher than the TIE fighter which is expected but the named characters start getting into the high 20 point range and with some upgrades they can even exceed 30 points for a ship that has three hull with no shields. The points are one of my cons that I am not too worried about because the damage output that the Interceptor provided was well worth the points.

 

 

 

Nuts and Bolts

 

 

So from my opinion, I absolutely love the TIE Interceptor and Thurr Phennir with Veteran Instincts was just awesome. He would move, then boost to range one, shoot then barrel roll or boost out of a firing arc. This tactic proved very effective and he claimed many rebel pilots. The damage output combined with the maneuverability of the TIE chassis made a very capable ship that offset the points and usual glass hammer moniker that is attributed to the TIE series of fighters. My next problem is convincing the guys form Blackheart to keep letting me play as the Imperials, somehow I am the default Rebel Player. So those are some basic takeaways that I had with my Interceptors, hope everyone enjoys.

 

What Tactics Articles Do You Want?

We are planning on writing up some articles and Battle Reports but we want to hear from you on what games you are interested learning more about. Right now there are a few out there that have caught many gamers and we are going to try and get some articles on the popular games. Before we get going we want to make sure we do articles that you want. So here are some games that we are considering reviewing or doing articles on:


Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures

Dust Tactics

Bolt Action

We play plenty of other games and if you have questions or want us to review something let us know.



Rob

X Wing Miniatures Wave 2 restocked !

Well we have been waiting a while to get our hands on these and I know there has been plenty of unboxing videos and battle reports following the Wave 2 ships but Fantasy Flight Games has been a little slow on getting product out there. Some were selling for 30$ or more because of the lack of stock. Today some online retailers got restocked and if you are fortunate you may find some for retail price or less. I thought I would let everyone know considering how hard it is to find these ships. The Firespray and Millennium Falcon are a little easier to find but the TIE Interceptor has been very elusive followed by the A-Wing. We will be posting a battle report soon on some of our X-Wing games. Good Luck picking them up and get them while you can.


Bob

Empress SAS

Here are some more pictures of the Empress miniatures. The top picture shows the British SAS team of 4. The bottom picture has one of the SAS team painted in MultiCam. Both of these pictures were simply taken from a Google search and are not from Black Heart Gaming. We did get some of the SAS models and we will be painting some of them soon. Four of them are primed and we are trying a few different primers to get some nice colors. We do plan on using them as proxy models for our future game for play testing but we thought we would show off some of the quality of Empress Miniatures on the site. I like the basic look of the top picture but I have to say that I a very impressed by the MultiCam effect that the second picture has and since our game will feature a time line of approximately 2050, we could incorporate both types of clothing. I hope you enjoy the pictures and if anyone has questions or comments feel free to post them.

Bob

Dust Tactics New Unit Preview

Armor 4 NCO Command Squad for the SSU

 

 

So for those of you that have played Dust Tactics these guys are quite impressive. They have a wide variety of weapons although mainly anti-infantry weapons, they do have a little anti-air with the Dual DSHK. The NCO Command squad rules are pretty good and having recently played in the 2013 Regional Tournament I used the Allied NCO Command squad and the NCO rules were very helpful. I will say that the armor 4 value on these fallen heroes is really going to make them hard to kill. The damage output is good and the cost doesn't seem to high when you have these considerations.

 

From a hobby standpoint, these models look great in my opinion and are a welcome to the Dust Tactics community. The pre-primed models are of course easy to paint and the low cost of a box is a nice addition. So here are the final armor 4 units that the SSU have added to their inventory and we will be writing a review of them and some hypothetical tactics that may be used prior to their release. Well, good gaming and if you have questions or comments feel free to post.

 

Bob

 

Empress Insurgents !

Here are a couple of pictures of some painted insurgents from Empress Miniatures. Nick from Black Heart Gaming painted these guys up for some upcoming play testing of our future tabletop game. The insurgents have some reinforcements coming and Nick will be finishing off his full squad of guys soon enough. The miniatures are quite detailed and the weapons are very accurate. We have invested in Empress Miniatures Kickstarter and those models will be here around Christmas, so we will also preview those. We picked up about 40 models from Empress and we will continue showing everyone the level of detail that have and how much we like them. If you need some modern models you should check these guys out.