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The Zone Mortalis rules are decent enough, the tiles are the problem: too expensive. To properly play ZM you need at least three to four of those sets, a whopping £360,--!

No other nation in the world has endured as much punishment. No other bloc has suffered as many casualties, destroyed lands, or plundered resources. But now it’s 1947, and with this new year comes a new dawn. This is the year of the SSU, the Red Tide that will engulf the whole world.
-Operation “Zverograd” rulebook

As the arrival of Operation “Zverograd” nears, Dust Tactics players no doubt want to know more about this new campaign expansion. Throughout a series of previews over the coming weeks, you can explore all of the exciting new features of this operation, starting with a closer look at Koshka and her walker “Grand’ma.” This pairing represents the first hero for the SSU and also the first hero that pilots a walker in Dust Tactics.

The bravest of warriors
SMERSH agent Captain Koshka Rudinova is a legendary figure in the SSU. Joining the Red Cadets at the tender age of 15, she has been promoted to a position where she commands her own regiment. Adept in close combat, and also skilled with ranged weapons, Koshka has unnaturally fine piloting skills when operating “Grand’ma.” While rumors of a romantic involvement between Koshka and a certain Allied captain remain persistent, the fact remains that Koshka is one of the finest soldiers in the SSU army.

“Grand’ma” is a standard KV47 Walker that has been modified to Koshka’s specifications. Instead of the usual twin weapon configuration, “Grand’ma” is equipped with a VK-916 Howitzer and a Sulfur Jet, giving the vehicle flexibility in any combat situation. Another feature of this walker is the familiar Assault ability, which temporarily increases its speed, a useful addition whether attacking at close range, or just maneuvering into an optimal firing location.

While piloting “Grand’ma,” Koshka has many options on how to attack the enemy. In particular, her Fighting Spirit ability allows her to, once per game and only after moving, treat hits as misses and misses as hits. A player must declare they are using this ability before making an attack roll. For example, when she uses Fighting Spirit, she treats one hit and three miss results as three hits and one miss. Obviously this is a most valuable ability, but she can only use it while piloting her walker, so you’ll want to make sure you use this powerful ability before it’s too late.

Should “Grand’ma” be destroyed during a game, Koshka carries on by herself. Armed with a Grenade Pistol that ignores cover values, she can still prove to be a thorn in the opponent’s side.



Koshka is a potent first hero for the SSU forces, and soon she will be able to lead an entire SSU battle force. Check back regularly for more previews of the newest Dust Tactics campaign expansion Operation “Zverograd” and the other upcoming SSU releases. Operation “Zverograd” and the SSU expansions Airborne Transport, KV47 Walker, SSU Close Combat Squad, SSU Battle Squad, and SSU Command Squad will be released simultaneously in the second quarter, so be sure to pre-order these items from your retailer so you can field your own SSU army.

Don’t forget to submit your walker creations to the Dust Tactics Walker Conversion Contest. The lucky winners of this contest will have their creation made into a production model available from www.dust-models.com!

This omnibus edition includes three full novels as well as five short stories by Jonathan Green featuring the mysterious bounty hunter Nathan Creed and a novella by Simon Jowett.

Fleshworks - Lucien Soulban:Uriah Storm faces a small problem in getting hold of new bio-implants – their previous owners are still alive.
Back From the Dead - Nick Kyme: A deadly plague and a desperate girl cause problems for former enforcer Erik Bane.
Outlander - Matt Keefe: sees religious zealots flock to a mysterious stranger – but can they trust his motives?
Bad Spirits – Jonathan Green: Bounty hunter Nathan Creed tracks a monstrous creature that has decimated a ratskin camp. What could this monster be and what are its origins?
Mama’s Boys – Jonathan Green: Hunting the scavvy cannibal Django Kaynn, Nathan Creed finds himself beset by mutants eager to recapture the twisted killer.
Boyz in the Hive – Jonathan Green: Nathan Creed faces his most dangerous foe yet: a savage greenskinned ork that has escaped from an uphive zoo.
Firestarter – Jonathan Green: Nathan Creed tangles with a fearsome mutant with power over fire – but the mutant’s power is rapidly growing out of control…
Bad Medicine – Jonathan Green: The Death Walker, terror of the Underhive, is on the prowl. His target? Nathan Creed.
Descent – Simon Jowett: Seeking a haul that will make them rich and hunted by pirates, spiders and worse, the crew of the sump submarine Queequeg struggle for survival.

“Your naiveté amuses me, child. There is no Fate. There is only the Will of Tzeentch."
–Verial Jenneque, Sorceress of Q’Sal

Tzeentch, the Chaos God of Change, weaves the unfathomable strands of Fate from his Impossible Labyrinth deep within the warp. For the innumerable masses, Fate is a cruel and arbitrary force...but for the Tzeentch’s chosen few, it is a path to ultimate power.

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of The Tome of Fate, a supplement for Black Crusade! The first of four books delving into the darkest secrets of the Ruinous Powers, The Tome of Fate presents invaluable information on the Lord of Lies. In its pages, players will learn of his dark servants, both daemonic and mortal, and how his influence is felt across the Screaming Vortex. With new weapons and psychic powers to aid them, Heretics can go forth across that unholy stretch of stars and beyond into the depths of the fallen Imperium, ready to challenge Fate and make it their own.

A force to be feared...or studied

What is Fate? For many Heretics, Fate is what they have fought against their entire lives. It was cruel Fate that led xenos raiders to burn their family to broken cinders, capricious Fate that caused their lesser sibling to gain the family title instead of themselves, uncaring Fate that led the Inquisition to mistakenly torture them as a traitor and thus make them one. Fate has made them into Heretics, and thus they hate it as much as they hate the Imperium itself.

Others with a greater knowledge and appreciation of the True Mysteries know that Fate is never random or meaningless, no blind series of happenstance or coincidence. There is a Grand Scheme to all things, and thus a Grand Schemer. That Schemer is the Chaos Power known as Tzeentch. Those following this god strive to know his ways, and thus the hidden threads that bind all things to his will in the vast tapestry that is Fate itself. Such an effort is surely futile, for no mortal mind can possibly comprehend such infinite complexity, but even small glimmers of the Will of Tzeentch allow for more power than could be imagined. To gain such power, many Heretics are willing to risk all, including madness or mutation, for they know that either they must control their Fate, or Fate will control them.

Sorcery, change, and lies

The Tome of Fate introduces four new Tzeentch-centric Heretic Archetypes, as well as foul daemons, arcane weaponry, mighty daemon engines, and vile minions for followers of the Master of Fate. Players of all alignments will also gain potent new psychic powers and daemonic rites to fuel their struggle against the hated Imperium. The fallen forges of the Hollows, the mutants of Dread Korvaska, and the ancient Necrons awakening from within the Pillars of Eternity: these and other secrets of the Screaming Vortex shall stand revealed. All this and more lies within The Tome of Fate, including a dangerous new adventure on the sorcerous world of Q’Sal!

Do you possess the force of will to stand among Tzeentch’s chosen? Check back in the coming weeks as we preview The Tome of Fate, and look for it on store shelves in the second quarter of 2012!

So, a question on the Finecast. I was told by my local gaming store that, as result of the switch to Finecast resin models, GW was no longer manufacturing any of their pewter models at all, to include their runs that haven't been converted to plastic or Finecast yet. Does this mean that they're simply selling off remaining stock with the ones remaining on the website, and that the pewter models will be unavailable as soon as they happen to run out?

Hm, alright. I think the guy I was talking to was wrong, he said that GW wasn't manufacturing any pewter minis as it stands right now.

He was actually using it as an excuse as to why there were no 40k blisters on his wall except a handful of Finecast ones. rolleyes