UNITS, HERO’S, AND DELAYS

I think one of the greatest aspects of Dust Tactics is the ability for any unit to equally kick, and suck, ass… My very first time playing was against another inexperienced player. We played Scenario 1 of Operation Blue Thunder. My Pounder Assault Walker and Gunner Squad were eliminated almost immediately. The BBQ squad defeated the entire opposing force single handed, though not without heavy casualties. Recently, I have had a serious lack of success with the BBQ squads… Chances are they get wiped out by continual laser fire, or blown to hell by Panzer Walkers before they ever have a chance to be effective. That is probably what I love most about this game. The ability to have a seriously kick ass selection of units, but the luck of initiative and the roll of the dice can eliminate everything before there is ever a chance to be effective or follow thru with a planned strategy.

 

  Hard to believe with the roll of a few dice, all that's left is the green guys in the upper right vs. all those grey dudes... Hope is bleak...

 Yes... All that was left of the BBQ Squad at the end of the game. Tough Mo' Fo's won the hole thing for me...

 

I have been hearing some back and forth for some of the units being released in summer. Sounds like the Axis are getting some short range, but potentially powerful units… From what I’ve heard, I’m thinking something like a BBQ Squad on crystal methamphetamine x 10. I think the Apes will be toughness 3, like the associated hero Markus. I am very intrigued to see the zombie units and their attack & defense and the correlating hero. The Allies have some flying units coming that I am very anxious to use in combat. Looks like primarily an Anti-Infantry squad and an Anti-Tank squad. Both fly and I hear will have a movement of 2. I would guess they both have a toughness of 3, since the correlating hero from the Seelowe expansion, Ozz117 is toughness 3. Linking either squad up with Ozz117 will be horrific for the enemy since he has a flamethrower, a rocket punch, and the Heroic Attack ability. I hope these new squads do a lot to help balance the armies between the Axis and Allies.

I really like the hero’s so far as well… Bazooka Joe gets you that extra initiative die and can get in through cover and do some damage, especially linked with a BBQ Squad. I originally thought Sigrid Von Thaler was rather lame and useless, however, after her and a pack of Laser Grenadiers wiped out 2 separate BBQ Squads and their attached hero’s, I quickly gained some serious respect for her abilities. I’ve had little success with Rosie so far, but I think her potential will improve once I get some Bot Hunters to link her up with and Assault Walkers with higher HP values… The thought of instantly healing an Assault Walker with 6 or 7 HP is a nice one indeed. Manfred seems to be a bit of a bad ass as well. His Assault special ability, 5 HP, and Unlimited Panzerfaust make him one tough hombre. I can definitely see how linking Manfred with Panzer Killers will make for a messy altercation with any Assault Walker.

And now for some griping… Unfortunately I placed an order with miniaturemarket.com about a month ago. Everything looked good since there were so many choices to buy from. I know some of the items said “Preorder”, however there was an available inventory amount for everything… So I see available inventory with a value well above 0, and I tend to think there is available inventory to purchase. But that’s what I get for being a reader… Apparently those values meant nothing and now I have to wait until Seelowe is release for EVERYTHING on that order. Boss Squad, Special Ops Rangers, BBQ Squad, Recon Boys, Medium Walker set, Light Walker set, and Operation Seelowe. Kind of a bummer, but at least when Seelowe is released I will have a nice selection of Allied units. Since Seelowe isn’t being release till the 31^st of July (per Amazon.com), I have quite the wait ahead of me. Though some supplemental purchasing will be done when new units are released… After all who doesn’t want 2 artillery units with 3 indirect fire options, 3 BBQ Squads, a couple Bot Hunters, 2 Snipers, and a couple Light Walkers??