Star Wars Imperial Assault – What’s in the box?

The subtitle for this post being “Damn my IG sentinels look small now”

A large, well wrapped package arrived today, which is release day for the product.

The speed of arrival, and the process leading up to purchase such as an email to say it was about to appear on the shop and so on is exemplary of the awesome service I’ve had from Ben at http://www.gamessesh.com/ – he's a relatively new online vendor for stuff like FFG products and RPG’s etc, he's also carrying some of the awesome otherworld miniatures and a range of X wing stuff, check him out if you haven't already (BTW standard disclaimer he hasn't paid me to say this etc etc, he’s just a good indie retailer)

 

On to the product – wot a big box! opening it reveals the usual FFG “buy moar” leaflets and some rulebooks

 

A quickstart, a campaign book, a rulebook and a skirmish rulebook. – like dust this has both structured campaign play and skirmish for scrapping.

The other gubbins!

Dice look suitably complex to scratch my gamrbrain itch. My inner Nerd is satiated.

 

Campaign character cards. Yes that’s a Wookie. and yes, a Bothan. I assume He’s a spy. and that at some point he’ll die. apparently that’s what they do.

  

This box also comes with a Skywalker family twofer. (spoilers) and represents our first look here at the minis. they are a more firm resin/plastic mix than any FFG I’ve handled before such as Mansions of madness, and I hear it’s inline with the Dust plastic/resin compound. it feels firm yet flexible, I’ll let you know how it paints going forward.

 

This is huge. once I start work on it I’ll post it next to a sentinel. it will win.

 

The remainder of the minis in the box.

Transdoshans. really like the character on these, a little sad there weren't two sculpts, but still, lovely characterful guys.

Stormtroopers. oh yeah. and nine of them. co-incidentally that’s exactly how many of the original plastic toy Stormtrooper figures I had till some little scrote nicked them out of my desk at school. still haven't let go of that one.

“combat engineers” – emplaced weapons

Imperial guard. no, the other ones.

Officers

Probulator.

Wookie/General

Smuggler/Jedi

Bothan/Trooper

These character models are nicely sculpted and should paint up well. the poses are nice (cept the general) and dynamic – communicate the character well.

Okay, so no, it’s not a cheap box, but it’s full of goodness, and its STAR WARS. moreover it opens up possibilities like campaign play that spread across X wing and this – in both narrative and skirmish mode..

Anyhoo, that’s a Christmas present to myself – I should get a game or two of this in over the festive period and who knows, maybe some painting.

Where have you been?

Well, as I cautioned you all, I ran out of content, and work is crazy (again) with a higher workload than I should have, coupled with not feeling great, its meant I've been more inclined to veg in front of a video game or crappy TV show than head up to the desk and paint in the scant hours of free time I have had.

there have however been gaming development, which I hope to share with you here sporadically over the coming weeks as I can find the time to create write ups..

Also, this happened.

Oh Dear.

Oh Dear oh Dear.

No, really now..

Oh.

So that’s two starter sets, an X wing, a Y-Wing, Two B-wings, an A-Wing, a TIE fighter, TIE Advanced, TIE interceptor and 2x TIE bombers.

Oh.

Star Wars – X Wing the miniatures game-  really rather a good game, lovely little miniatures, which lets face it is why we’re all here, and they come painted. and they are actually quite good. dont get me wrong, my future does hold some repaints, and the creation of asteroids and wreckage etc. but its that perfect game sales model. low buy in, little needed, but a whole hell of a lot of WANT.

So that’s happening, I still have Cadians on the bench, and Elysians, and a new squad too, I’ll post them soon(tm) I also managed a few games, but write ups either wont be forthcoming or will have to be sans pics cos the shots I have are suffering from “Kitchenus too dingius” and are therefore pants.

I shall endeavour to update you next weekend as to how things are developing on the old workbench. Till then,. Fly casual.

Battle – Elysian Drop Troops Vs Tau empire 1850

 

A game was played a few weekends ago, and I might be heading for some kind of record for games played in a year!

We rolled up the mission and deployment, we got the relic hunt mission, with a single, movable objective worth 3 points, pretty much making it a purge the alien mission, but with an extra 3 pts on the table if you had the objective.

We went for quite a sparse terrain layout, it being a desert planet and all, and rolled the corners deployment you see above.

My opponent won the roll and chose the far edge in the picture, leaving me with the bottom right as pictured.

We used one of my old tiki head statues as the objective and placed it in the centre of the table amidst the wreckage of the vehicle that was presumably transporting it.

      

 

My Forces:

Elysian 93rd Recon Regiment,

Command squad with valk, bodyguards, sniper and hvy bolter, ground scanner and MoTF

Elysians vets with plasma and valkyrie with rocket pods

Elysians vets with Grenade launchers and valkyrie with rocket pods

Elysians vets with flamers and shotguns

3x lascannon tarantuals

3 drop sentinels with multimeltas

2 tauros venators with tllc

Vulture gunship with punishers

Avenger strike fighter

 

 

My Foe:

Shadowsun,

Commander with bodyguards, plasma rifles,

xv9 with fusion cascades

riptide

2x piranahs with fusion

a squad of kroot

two hammerheads

broadside

stealth team with fusion

The deployment, I put down 1 valk with troops in it (the plasma) and the empty CC valk, along with the CC squad already in place – this turned out to be a mistake. I also deployed the venators into cover. everything else would deep strike.

 

My foe deployed his hammerheads and broadside, along with the devilfish and piranahs, he infiltrated the stealth team. in reserve were the xv9 and the riptide.

Some of the opening moves, after I failed to seize, my opponent came for me, his piranah taking a hull point from the valk

 

His stealth team successfully splitting fire to hit my venator for a hull point, and decimate my CC squad with his burst cannon.

Making good use of my orders, i responded by pinning the stealth team

The avenger glanced a hammerhead into defeat.

And the valkyrie deprived a piranha of a hull point, don't underestimate multilasers.

The venators proved their worth by taking down the piranhas, but the opening exchanges were quite balanced.

Once reserves started to appear, things started to turn, as the Motf held back the tau.

 

Deep striking MM took some hull points from the second hammerhead

and the veterans with shotguns and flamers took out the kroot in a single round of inspired shooting.

 

This hole had a deep striking riptide in it briefly.

Tau fire warriors disembarked to shoot at deep striking tarantulas and sentinels who were pressing the attack.

sentinels fell to the weight of pulse rifle fire.

 

veterans close in on the objective.

  

The avenger strafed the enemy positions

 

The last Tau standing, sadly he didn't survive the drive-by.

 

wit victory close, the brave men of the 93rd close in on the relic tech. 

As the game drew to a close the last Tau unit standing took a punisher to the face. all I needed to wound was not to rolls 1’s

 

Yhatzee.

It was a very good game, but on reflection I may have over-tweaked the list, it was a little on the brutal side, but I also think part of that is that I've tailored the list to my preferred style, which is fast moving and mobile with a good amount of DSing units.

My opponent acquitted himself well, and if I'm honest about the only things I would have done differently in his shoes were to focus fire form the railguns until a target was dead, and to press the attack more with the troops and devilsih, there were some unlucky rolls on his part, and vice versa.

All in all though I was very happy with the list, and will certainly play it again mainly to see if this was a fluke, or if it will consistently perform this well.

Elysian Veterans with Shotguns

 

And flamers!

readers I present more of the gentlemen of the Elysian 93rd recon regiment.

Butch and sundance here are often the guys called on the run out ahead and plant the demo. The sarge says its cos butch is good with explosives, but Sundance thinks its just cos he doesn't like them very much.

 

The Elysians flamers are lovely, but there isn't a model for a heavy flamer. the guy in the left here is my conversion, using the tempestus scions flamer. in comparison, I think it passes as a heavy version of what the two “normals” are carrying

 

Sergeant Winters and his faithful Voxman. winters likes to keep a shotgun handy. for close encounters.

The remaining airborne infantrymen.

This squad has no valkyrie as they use grav insertions from high altitude ( they deepstrike)

They are such a joy to build and paint, even with the dislike the resin has for sticking together, and all the fiddly bits. the fact that a hairdryer makes them malleable and posable means you really can individualise them.

 

I have three squads of Elysian vets now, and a command squad. I don't need any more.

I don't need any more.

I don't need any more.

I don't need any more.