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AICN TABLETOP: CALL OF CTHULHU! DARK HERESY SCHEDULE! STAR WARS IMPERIAL ENTANGLEMENTS! AND SPACE HULK..CONFIRMED???
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
CALL OF CTHULHU: THE CARD GAME
Okay, this one is definitely interesting. FFG has been picking up old collectable card games and taking the C out of CCG. They began with GAME OF THRONES and have now moved on to the mid 90’s era Lovecraftian post-Magic game CALL OF CTHULHU. Personally, I’ve been really intrigued by how they’ve handled this. As much as I used to LOVE CCGs, eventually I grew weary of the constant feederbar mentality of having to keep purchasing card to remain competitive. Add in constant new releases and issues with new cards conflicting with old cards and you ended up with a scene that was restricting or banning outright older cards to make way for the new ones. And I got kind of burnt on that.
So here comes FFG applying the old ideas to the newer games. They’re rereleasing these old games as box sets, with all the cards you need to play. THEN they subsequently release expansion packs which further expand the game – which can either be played as a straight up expansion or instead as you would a CCG by combining all the sets and making your own decks.
The biggest selling point of this game for me, outside of my obvious affection for all things Lovecraftian, was the fact that this is a straight up 2 player game. One of the problems with a lot of board games is that they are designed to be either 3-6 player games or party games. While you can play a game like Descent or Talisman with 2 people, it’s just not the same. So most often they sit on the shelf until we have friends over. But a game like this I can play with my wife when we’re in a gaming mood. And the limited, pre-built decks means she doesn’t have to feel like I’m building her deck for her. We’re simply playing the game as it is balanced.
The CoC starter box contains two decks worth, plus some extra for some variety. Already FFG has released 3 of their ASYLUM PACKS, themed expansions with all new cards that tell stories from the classic Mythos tales. But if you can find some of the old cards (or you still have some lying around) they are compatible with the new system – you just need to sleeve your cards to obscure the back (they have new backs.) If you’re a Lovecraft fan and you enjoy CCGs, this is definitely worth a look.
SPACE HULK
Okay, last week I told you there was a rumor going around that Games Workshop was revamping and reissuing their classic gateway drug of a board game SPACE HULK for relaunch later this year. After I posted that I got a call from Bigred over at Bell of Lost Souls who had a nugget of info for me. He’d made a few calls and told me without a doubt, IT IS HAPPENING. Sources that are always 100% confirmed that it will be dropping later this year. So I made a few calls of my own. And those calls told me the same thing. Here’s what we know:
-No one has a solid release date, which is par for the course this far out with GW. What we do know is that it is planned for Q3 – or August/September/October.
-GW is no longer in love with the Blood Angels. We’ve got a shitty micro codex that while cool when it came out pales, in comparison to Codex marines. Odds are it will either be A) a popular codex chapter B) Blood Ravens in hopes of drawing in fans of Dawn of War II or C) Dark Angels Deathwing in order to allow players an already playable army in 40K (I’ve actually heard this is a possibility.)
-The new plastic terminators are cheap and easy to assemble. They’re also readily convertible – I picked up 10 of the Black Reach terminators, the metal Thunder hammer/storm shield conversion pack and the TH/SH upgrade sprue from the close combat box and built myself 10 CC termies with only a little additional clipping. Odds are good that they’ll be just like the BRTs, but with different iconography.
-While there’s no price point yet, GW is known for making cheap starter sets. With the ability to field up to three squads of 10 terminators in the current codex, it will be entirely possible to build a fully functional, full sized army from two Black Reach Starter sets (or like most folks are doing, buying one and trading online/with a friend – orks for marines) and SPACE HULK. I imagine you’ll be able to run about 1500pts for somewhere around $100 if you’re smart about it.
If you’ve never played the original, you have no idea how excited the rest of us are. The premise is pretty simple – a giant floating ghostship is adrift in space and filled with aliens known as Tyranids (nids for short.) The Space Marines have sent in their Terminator Suit wearing marines to clean them out. Alien swarms, tight corridors and heavy duty weaponry. It’s a lot of fun. I’ll have more on this as it develops.
DARK HERESY RELEASE SCHEDULE
Hey! You got your FFG in my GW. No! You got your GW in my FFG! I know, let’s try it. Recently GW decided to turn over their RPG games to FFG to release while they focused solely upon their miniature based games. FFG started out first reprinting the books and are now finally releasing their own material – new books! I’ll have a copy of the next book CREATURES ANATHEMA shortly, which by all accounts is a fantastic monster manual that like a lot of the D&D MMs make for great reading even if you’re not playing the game. A lot of old school favorites make appearances as well as some new friends. Or so I’m told.
Anyhow, last night FFG released a PDF of their release schedule in a cool format with some fluffy reading for you 40K fans. Neat stuff hinting at what the books will contain. You can find it here. But for those of you who want to skip the foreplay and just get into it:
-Creatures Anathema Available Q1 2009
-The Radical’s Handbook Available Q2 2009
-The Haarlock’s Legacy Trilogy Part 1: Tattered Fates (Q1 2009), Part 2: Damned Cities (Q2 2009), Part 3: Dead Stars (Q3 2009)
-Ascension Available Q4 2009
So no big Q3 release for Dark Heresy, but something new every 3 months or so regardless. And a complete adventure path this year.
STAR WARS IMPERIAL ENTANGLEMENTS
I should have some of these coming my way very shortly, but Wizards of the Coast sent over a few pics of the set that are showing up around the net today. The miniatures set seems to be covering the Post ESB era, and I know I recognize a few of these below. I’ll be picking some up for my upcoming Star Wars Saga Edition campaign.
Ahhh….now some of those take me back to my childhood. Raise your hand if you ever had like two or three of those crappy Bespin guards? I know I did. And I loved them. Good times.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
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Please
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but I love the simplicity of WEG's D6 Star Wars. It kept things moving fast and loose.
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I really like the dark tone of the Dark Heresy universe, but I dont really like all the Chaos. I really LOVE the system of the classes and the advancement system.
I wonder if they would ever make a cool generic system that strips out all the demons and stuff from the sci fi. -
Space Solomon Grundy?
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I like the concept of it, but my friend the W40K fanatic was upset that you couldn't be a space marine.
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you are a complete jackass.
In 2 months, they'll discontinue the entire product line, pull all related materials from all store shelves, and that will be the end of it. Too many times, Games Workshop has 'relaunched' a product and then in 2 month's time, it was like it never happened - they remove it from stores, their website, and all catalogs leaving you with a shoebox of partially completed 'armies' that will never be used because there's nobody else that even knows it existed. If its not WH4K or WHFSB, it is the tabletop wargame equivalent of a traveling snake-oil salesmen. -
...but it sure smells good!
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I spent a couple of Gen Cons playing little else. Mythos was the bomb. I ran a deck built on Lovecraft's Dreamlands stories. Fun stuff.
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I used to be an Epic player (now 40k) and know exactly what you mean. GW releases a sweet Epic box set and promptly drops the entire line like within 9 months. Granted, this is an expensive hobby and you can't expect them to pump good money after bad but there is something to be said for the asshole move of leaving people hanging.Now, what's with the rumor of 40k Squats?And Massa...did you ever get those army screenshots? Hook us up man!And speaking of no love for Blood Angels, is it me or does freaking everybody play Dark Angels? I was actually about to work up a Dark Angel army but now I hesitate as it looks like everybody fields them. Anybody else notice this?
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It's not the same as the Chaosum's Mythos game, it's FFG's own creation and the LCG is a branch off from the CCG of 5 years ago. It's a very good game system and has lots of characters & Things from the books. The core set is kinda a rip off at $40 for what you get, but you can find it for $25 or so online and it's worth that.
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Oops, read that wrong.
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I used this game to introduce my friends to miniatures gaming. It's easy enough but strategic enough to make the game really fun. I can't wait...
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While I share the disappointment over GW's "fire and forget" strategy with its satellite games, some of them are extremely good. My gaming group is starting up our umpteenth Mordheim campaign (one of the best satellite games they ever made), and half of us are using converted warbands using WHFBs minis to make thematic bands. We've also got Man o War sitting on a shelf waiting to be played again too. A GREAT game. Personally, I can't wait to play Space Hulk! It's one of the few that I haven't had the opportunity to play, and everyone is always talking about how great the original was...
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I got Assault on Black Reach about a month ago. Have already played two games with the admittedly small army I've put together so far. Now I'm hooked. Need cheap minis. Need. Them. Bad. Don't wind up like this (pointing toward self) boys and girls. I once had a life. Now I'm a wretched shell of a man. Warhammer 40K truly is like crystal meth. Once you start, you cannot *stop*.
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Someone once said here that 40k is as expensive as scuba diving. Not far from the truth. But, you can find decent deals on eBay; I haven't purchased any figs but I have done much transacting there and have had no trouble. As Massa said, people are selling BR in halves, portions, just Orks, just SM, just rulebook and templates, etc. $90 battle forces going for a bit over half that. Be cautious tho, many items are older versions and sometimes the old versions can be quite cheesy (compare the current Nid Carnifex with the first version back in the day. ugh...MAJOR difference).
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There are a LOT of great 2-player games already out there... Blue Moon City, Lord Of The Rings: The Confrontation, Twilight Struggle... there's life beyond roll & move games.
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For the casual gamers who read this column, you might consider explaining what some of the titles and abbreviations you're using actually refer to.
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It wasn't perfect, but you could teach it to someone in five minutes. It was very fast, very loose, very cinematic. The rules didn't get in the way of the game. I really miss it.
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One thing that's always irked me about these articles is the fact that you don't include links for further reading. I don't fault you for not including photos of the products to help illustrate exactly what you're talking about or what's included in any specific box set, but the least you could do is provide links to the company sites for the products. I mean, I'm assuming these companies have official websites, and those sites have promo photos and more detailed information about the products, yes? Help us out.
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called? Ogre or Troll or something like that?
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d6 Stars Wars one of my groups most fun campaigns besides Talislanta. You're right about it being flawed but fun. I was not crazy about the rules for force powers, but it did make sense within the context of the OT.
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Most places can order a good portion of non mainstream GW products. Perhaps it would be better if the Jackass poster would go back to making knuckle children. It would probably be more satisfing for them and make the gene pool more productive.
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