Nota: I play for fun so don't expect critical nitpicking or pointing out powerful exploits. Also don't ask for exact wordings, point values or anything else sensitive. You have been warned.
"Er.... Boss? Remember on Borsk when da sky caught fire and we saw them cometfings with da Emperor's Boyz in 'em? Well, here they come again...."
- Grudley, assistant Grot to Big Mek Ognutz
Introduction
Meet the latest 40k expansion: Planetstrike! A supplement that puts a heavy focus on attack and defend scenarios where attackers drop from orbit on wings of fire into the ferrocrete maws of the defender! As the back of the book aptly puts it Planetstrike is a game of glorious invasion and desperate last stands.
The game and rules
In just ten easy steps you'll be running a game of Planetstrike:
1. Determine attacker and defender, which is a nobrainer really. One player acts as the invader while the defender has to do everything possible to stop them at any cost.
2. Choose forces, as mentioned before both the attacker and defender have custom organization charts:
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The attacker can load up on elites and fast attack while the defender has extra troops and heavy support at his disposal. This approach lends itself perfectly to building themed armies of say monstrous creatures or a terminator assault force pitted against an armoured company or clanking horde of Dreads and Kans.
3. Select a mission, the players select one of the six missions provided. More on those later.
4. Prepare the battlefield, here is where the oddness really sets in! The defender deploys ALL terrain in any manner as he desires. The attacker has no say in any of this. This includes defences, bunkers and other fortifications, which do not cost anything for the defender to use. Yikes! But again, the book hints at common sense paired with a sense of adventure.
5. Determine objectives, again this is one for the defender as he decides which terrain features count as objectives for the game. It is advised to go with an odd number of objectives, as to avoid ties.
Important rule: All models can contest objectives now, not just troops. More importantly it is stated here that if both sides contest an objective the attacker automatically counts as being in possession of it at the end of the game. regardless of being outnumbered or whatnot.
6. Attacker prepares invasion, meaning that the attacker chooses which table edge will be his dropzone for his reserves to arrive from and to prepare the troops in question that will drop into the action.
7. Determine stratagems, more on these below.
8. Defender deploys troops, anywhere on the board and the defender may keep as many units in reserve as he likes.
9. Attacker launchers Firestorm, incoming! The attacker bombards the defender with D6+number of objectives templates before the start of the game. These scatter as normal with no BS modifier and is generally used to thin the enemy ranks, destroy Bastions and generally churn open ground into a pockmarked crater scape.
10. Launch the Planetstrike! The attacker takes the first turn and things start off properly.
New buildings
No supplement would be complete without its special releases with smashing rules.
The Bastion: An AV 14 bunker with BS2 heavy bolters built into each facing that can each fire at a different target. A single infantry squad of any size can occupy it. Bastions are the most likely objective of the game in most cases, as the attacker must either occupy or destroy it in order to win. The rules for the Bastion are crisp, clear and to the point.
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Comms relay: The Bastion kit comes with a comms relay that can be used by any player that has an unengaged model within 2" to re-roll a failed reserves roll.
Interceptor guns: Both the Bastion kit and Aegis defence line also come with an Interceptor gun, which are automated weapons designed to shoot down incoming attackers and craft. The Bastion has the Icarus Lascannon with a jacked up range (96") and the Aegis has the Quad-gun, which is basically an Exterminator autocannon array. The amount of guns that a defender can deploy is equal to the amount of objectives. Interceptor guns be mounted on Bastions and count as automated defences or they can be deployed in the field and operated by infantry of your own. What makes the Interceptor guns so special is their ability to forego their own shooting to shoot in the enemy movement phase at deep-striking enemies, this representing the weapons raking the incoming troops with lethal fire.
Aegis defence line: A simple line of pre-fab barricades that give troops sheltering behind is a 4+ cover save. Troops that go to ground behind its walls gain +2 to their cover save.
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Skyshield landing pad: An AV13 structure that allows for skimmers and flyers to land on it. The landing pad has two modes: shielded and unfurled. Shielded means that the blast shields are up and that the refractor field is online. This confers a 4+ invulnerable save to all models sheltering on it and vehicles may still land on it and embard/disembark passengers. Unfurled means that the refractor field is switched off, but it makes it easier for vehicles to land on it and allow its passengers to disembark, regardless of how fast the vehicle moved that turn.
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INDOMITABLE FORTRESSES: A catch-all phrase for large structures that are made up of three parts: two bunkers and a tower. It comes with a lascannon turret, heavy bolter and a missile silo. This entry is more given as an example what can be done when looking for a hobby project, the primary example given a the Fortress of Redemption manned by Dark Angels.
Missions
Six missions are provided that can be played as a small campaign to take over a world.
1. Planetfall: the basic invasion mission given at the start of the book
2. Desperate Assault: the attacker must expand his beachhead at all costs while the defender must try and hold out as long as possible
3. Seize and Destroy: the attacker must try and seize an important emplacement behind enemy lines
4. Stranglehold: a particular quadrant is essential to victory, seize all objectives there
5. Forlorn Hope: the attacker must plant a sacred standard on an enemy objective while the defender must do everything possible to cast it down
6. Planetquake: the war is so brutal and total that the planet itself is starting to crack, taking with it the fortifications of the defender.
Stratagems
Unlike Apocalypse and Cities of Death stratagems in Planetstrike are assigned in a different manner. Here Stratagems are bought with Stratagem points, which are calculated by simply counting all objectives on the table. Three objectives equals three points to spend on stratagems. Some are cheap at only one point while others cost three or in one rare case, even four points.
Stratagems are generally split into two categories: Defence and Attack, defence being the list of defender stratagems and attack being the ones the attacker can use. It is for the most part pretty run of the mill, with the defender being able to lay lines, upgrade Bastions or play some dirty tricks. The attacker can call on subterfuge, chemical attacks, Gremlin curses that befuddle electronics, orbital laser fire and even a meteor strike.
Most armies will also have a custom stratagem to call their own that touches on their background and adds a nice touch to the game. Space Marines have "Death from Above" which is tailored towards drop pod assault lists while the Orks can call on the "Unstoppable Waaagh!" to keep things rolling for them. Sadly absent from the list are both Inquisition armies and Chaos Daemons, other than that each army has a single stratagem, with the Imperium having two bonus stratagems seeing as they are one of the prime victims in these games.
In the end the stratagems are there to make the games more interesting, to help crack the defenders uber-fortress and to bring a little more spice to the games.
Hobby
Not much here sadly, though there are some nice battle examples, some studio made alien bastions and some glimpses at what can be done with the Bastion kit.
Final verdict
Planetstrike promises to be a lot of fun, along the same lines as Apocalypse really. The first games can be a bit chaotic but practice makes perfect as they say and the tricky stratagems take some getting used to. But in the end the hobby is about having fun and Planetstrike offers a tasty bit of spice and variety to regular games of 40k or an excellent opener to a campaign between several players.