Just wanted to take the time to tell you all about an excellent new game that I will be playing with my friend the Critz here in the next few weeks: Firestorm Armada by Spartan Games.
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| FIRE EVERYTHING!!! |
Backstory:
This game has an excellent fluff to it. A bunch of humans spread out, the outer planets fell left out of the core worlds in politics and government, they rebel, and badaboom you get the two main factions: the Dindrenzi Federation and the Terran Alliance. The game itself takes place with a giant war breaking out on the borders of these two powerhouses, dragging all of their allies into the war as well. On one side you get the Zenian League - a power hungry group gathered under the Dindrenzi to include spiderlike aliens called the Relthoza and a conglomerate of supercompanies called the Directorate. Against these forces you have the Kurak Alliance made up of the Terrans, lizard-like Sorylians, and the Aquans (who have suspiciously Calamari looking ships).
Models:
Painting and assembly required.
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| Dindrenzi Ship |
As you can see, the models for Firestorm Armada are quite fantastic. The majority of ships are approximately 3 inches long, with the longest being almost 6 inches long. Spartan games continues to increase their reputation for making high quality models with their fleets. Models are cast in either resin or metal. I really love the look of the different fleets, with the exception of the terrans, but that is a personal bias.
My fleet will be RSN - Rense System Navy - which is actually a support fleet to the Dindrenzi. My friend will be playing as the Dindrenzi themselves, and is extremely excited to begin.
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| Directorate Ships |
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| Sorylian Ships |
Game Play:
The mechanics of the game are great. They utilize the Spartan Games exploding dice mechanic, where 6's are counted as 2 hits and allow you to roll another dice, which could potentially lead to ridiculous amounts of damage depending on your luck. The rules are simple but allow for tactical flexibility with different tactics including boarding, tactical withdraws, linking fire with ships in squadron, and much more. I love the rules, and will post links to the Spartan Games page to download the rules, as well as links to a battle report or two to help see the game in action.
Cost:
This is the important factor for me. I want to be able to enjoy games and still afford to eat at the end of the month. This is one of the reasons I don't buy GW anymore even though they have great games. Firestorm Armada is great because the models are so much cheaper in comparison to other companies. You can buy a starter fleet, which comes with a whooping 6 frigates, 3 Cruisers, a battleship, lamented tokens, stat cards, and flight bases for $70 on their website, or cheaper on third party sites like amazon. However, the real kicker is the Spartan Games MegaBundle set. Want 2 box sets for you and your friend? $60 per person. Want FOUR box sets? $49 per person. The Spartan MegaBundles really aim to help people play and get there armies going. And then, with additions to your fleets, your looking at spending around $20-25 on most additions - carriers being the exception and pushing $30. However, compare this to Games-Workshop's policy of 90% of their boxes being a standard $35, and their big kits ranging from $60-115, and you've got a deal breaker.
Support:
This game is growing everyday. But at the same time you can literally go onto the forums at Spartan games and talk to the design team. You can find people constantly buying into the game, and there are big names in the tabletop gaming world that are starting to adopt the game - Miniwargaming being one of the biggest. It is growing everyday and will only continue to do so as time goes on.
Overall:
Overall I cannot wait to sink my modeling teeth into this game. Having played tabletops for almost a decade, it is really going to be nice to get away from "The Giants" and Warmachine and play something that is a really awesome concept, with fantastic models, and a great and growing community. I hope to see more of you playing Firestorm Armada in the future! I know that we will be posting pictures and even video up on the blog here of our experiences with Firestorm in the coming weeks and months. Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!
Links:
Firestorm Armada Rules Download - http://www.spartangames.co.uk/resources/downloads
Battlereport - http://youtu.be/cZAWaeBfvRA
General Information - http://www.spartangames.co.uk/products/firestorm-armada
Great Firestorm Armada Site - http://theblackocean.com/
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| The RSN cometh... |
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| A nice fleet someone is working on... |
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| Never forget! Never Surrender! |
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| Activate Fold-Space Drive.... See you on the other side |
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