Air Strike! review
Evening chaps, picked up Air Strike! and Close Quarters(CQ) at vapnartak the other week and had a bit of a peruse and a play through of the new rules.
Today is the turn of Air Strike! (AS) to go under the lens.
Overall this book feels vastly more fleshed out as a ruleset than CQ. CQ felt more like a series of suggestions with some fleet lists chucked in whereas AS is a rules redux, Mig Alley/Korea, and ground attack all rolled into one. Basically, a new player could pick up AS, a squadron box, 3rd party measuring gear and be away without touching the core box.
As seen in the pictures, the first few pages show the consolidation of the 3 separate books from the starter into one book. It cleanly collects all the info into one spot and clarifies a few bits along the way including turrets, traits, firepower, cards and such. It also gives some alternative options for managing cards too.
The most contentious part here is the optional "heavy fighters" rule which has already been discussed at the Ready Room on facebook and at the tournament at Vapnartak too. It feels a bit of a "nerf" in some regards without a reduction in cost to offset it. It resulted in a total lack of twin engine planes at the event which isn't surprising as none of them are cheap to start with without a nerf on top. It does make them simpler in a way for new players so there is that. the base rules are clarified in here anyway so there are "official" and "optional" available for both camps!
What was a nice surprise was seeing the Mig Alley (Korean war jet expansion) stuff thrown in for good measure too. It also gives some jet stats for late WW2 use with the 3rd party models available from armaments in miniature Just in case you want something to give an opponent's me262's something nearer a fair fight!
From there we're into the real meat of the book; the eagerly anticipated ground attack rules.
There are a good variety of target cards included on glossy and durable cardstock on the inner edges of the cover (front and back). These are extra sheets so won't damage the book by cutting them out either which is a lovely touch. These work equally well for folk who don't want to use 3D terrain or as equivalent "squadron cards" for the relevant pieces for players that do, so that they can use them to track chits/damage etc without over-cluttering the playing space with tokens.
The varying targets all have different traits which gives them some nice replaability. There's a nice interplay between the opponents too as one can choose to add more targets which increases the ease in someways but adds to the challenge in others. Its another nice touch that serves to keep both players invested in the set up. The other thing that I wasn't expecting are types of terrain; hills, urban, low/flat etc are present if players wish and can give some meaning to different types of mat bought or represented on-table with cards/3d stuff etc. It adds another dimension which makes the board a damn site more interesting than just seeing clouds or barrage balloons down.
As you can imagine, the attacker doesn't get it all his way, the defender is armed with suites of flak guns and the rules cover off flak reacting to dive bombers and also pitching disruptive shells up at heavy bombers too!
Types of ground attack are diverse; as well as level bombing en-masse as seen heavily in the blitz and the retribution on germany and its allies, Dive bombing and torpedo bombing are also covered. Torpedo bombers also have a suite of targets to attack too so I'll be getting good use out of my 1:700 scale shipping!!
There's a lovely large breakdown of doctrines per theatre and era for the main belligerents which should settle a few arguments before they've started!
The book then gets into full swing with the redux of the mission book from the core with some of the other missions that have dripped out like "transport hunt" and the brand spanking new ones to integrate all the new ground attack stuff into.
There are suggestions on bomber use too which comes in handy, but are deliberately left vague with an eye that most people aren't going to procure a large dedicated fleet of 1:200 scale bombers given that most available are imports and 3rd party produced! Some player agreement before the game starts is a good idea here and it might take a game or two to get the ratios down, especially as there's a big difference between taking on SB2's and B17's!! there's a set of photocopiable cards at the end few pages to catch people up who've missed a few expansions but these aren't printed in the same way as the target markers and will result in a dead page if cut-out.
All in all, this is a cracking redux-come-expansion and is a must-have for anyone who's enjoying BRS.
The depth that is added by getting your bombers to target vs the defenders whilst the flak comes up thick and fast is massively welcome for those who've been dogfighting only since release.
Enjoy guys!!
Today is the turn of Air Strike! (AS) to go under the lens.
Overall this book feels vastly more fleshed out as a ruleset than CQ. CQ felt more like a series of suggestions with some fleet lists chucked in whereas AS is a rules redux, Mig Alley/Korea, and ground attack all rolled into one. Basically, a new player could pick up AS, a squadron box, 3rd party measuring gear and be away without touching the core box.
As seen in the pictures, the first few pages show the consolidation of the 3 separate books from the starter into one book. It cleanly collects all the info into one spot and clarifies a few bits along the way including turrets, traits, firepower, cards and such. It also gives some alternative options for managing cards too.
The most contentious part here is the optional "heavy fighters" rule which has already been discussed at the Ready Room on facebook and at the tournament at Vapnartak too. It feels a bit of a "nerf" in some regards without a reduction in cost to offset it. It resulted in a total lack of twin engine planes at the event which isn't surprising as none of them are cheap to start with without a nerf on top. It does make them simpler in a way for new players so there is that. the base rules are clarified in here anyway so there are "official" and "optional" available for both camps!
There are a good variety of target cards included on glossy and durable cardstock on the inner edges of the cover (front and back). These are extra sheets so won't damage the book by cutting them out either which is a lovely touch. These work equally well for folk who don't want to use 3D terrain or as equivalent "squadron cards" for the relevant pieces for players that do, so that they can use them to track chits/damage etc without over-cluttering the playing space with tokens.
The varying targets all have different traits which gives them some nice replaability. There's a nice interplay between the opponents too as one can choose to add more targets which increases the ease in someways but adds to the challenge in others. Its another nice touch that serves to keep both players invested in the set up. The other thing that I wasn't expecting are types of terrain; hills, urban, low/flat etc are present if players wish and can give some meaning to different types of mat bought or represented on-table with cards/3d stuff etc. It adds another dimension which makes the board a damn site more interesting than just seeing clouds or barrage balloons down.
Types of ground attack are diverse; as well as level bombing en-masse as seen heavily in the blitz and the retribution on germany and its allies, Dive bombing and torpedo bombing are also covered. Torpedo bombers also have a suite of targets to attack too so I'll be getting good use out of my 1:700 scale shipping!!
Strangely for warlord; they've actually included an official suggestion for matched/competitive play right in the rulebook. Whilst TO's will obviously make their own formats up in time, an "official" format is most welcome and gives a cracking framework for pick-up games too.
There are suggestions on bomber use too which comes in handy, but are deliberately left vague with an eye that most people aren't going to procure a large dedicated fleet of 1:200 scale bombers given that most available are imports and 3rd party produced! Some player agreement before the game starts is a good idea here and it might take a game or two to get the ratios down, especially as there's a big difference between taking on SB2's and B17's!! there's a set of photocopiable cards at the end few pages to catch people up who've missed a few expansions but these aren't printed in the same way as the target markers and will result in a dead page if cut-out.
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| They're also double sided with a different trait on the back, best for copying if needs be! |
The depth that is added by getting your bombers to target vs the defenders whilst the flak comes up thick and fast is massively welcome for those who've been dogfighting only since release.
Enjoy guys!!
You haven't posted an update in 17 months.
ReplyDeleteDid you stop playing BRS..?