Continuing our loose narrative of games, the Crimson Fists and Orks clashed again. This time around we did something interesting with the Strategy Cards and Missions.
After setting up the board with both High Ground and Take & Hold in mind, we secretly chose missions. The week before I took a look at the 25 Strategy Cards (we removed Virus Outbreak) and divided them into 5 different subsets, each one themed. I then took the seven missions and tied two of the subsets to each mission.
The idea would be you secretly choose a mission and then draw from the ten cards tied to it. We kept missions secret until after both armies were deployed (but Strategy Cards which impacted Strategy Rating were played before deployment as normal).
It worked out pretty well, though I think next time we'll change how we draw the cards. This time we combined the two subdecks, next time we'll try drawing from each subdeck once.
The strategy deck is broken up into five categories as follows:
Uncommon Valor and Blind Luck:
Look Out, Sir!, Saved!, Insane Courage, Ultimate Sacrifice, Last Gasp
Cunning Plans and Gambits:
Surprise Assault, Forced March, Reinforcements, Flank March, Ambush
-The theme of this deck revolves around manipulating units, either preventing them from moving quickly or outmaneuvering them.
Off Table Support:
Crack Shot, Strafing Run, Bombing Run, Covering Fire, Barrage
-The theme here is about outside elements impacting the game. Crack Shot may seem somewhat out of place here but I feel like it fits with the others pretty well.
Mayhem and Mischief:
Minefield, Booby Traps, Special Issue, Sabotage, Malfunction
-I thought that these cards went well together as a theme.
Subtlety and Cunning:
Craven Cowardice, Traitor, Delayed, Brilliant Strategy, Divine Inspiration
-This deck is about outwitting your opponent.
I then tried to imagine what each mission would go with the decks and this is what I came up with.
Dawn Raid:
Cunning Plans and Gambits, Uncommon Valor and Blind Luck
-Dawn Raid is a mission that can represent trying to get past the front lines of your enemy or it can be about getting past your enemy to get back to your own lines. It pushes the player to move towards the enemy and I felt that these two decks would support a player who chose this mission.
Take and Hold:
Subtlety and Cunning, Off Table Support
-Take and Hold is one of two missions that target specific points on the table. It's a "big" mission and I liked the idea of bombers and fighters dropping in and attacking ground targets. I thought that the leadership qualities of the other deck were appropriate, too.
High Ground:
Cunning Plans and Gambits, Off Table Support
-This mission was a later addition to the missions from the main set. I like it a lot, especially since I never played it back when 2nd edition came out. I liked the maneuvering cards for this mission because it rewards a player who is spreading out and like Take & Hold it's a "big" mission so bombers and fighters should be involved.
Guerrilla War:
Mayhem and Mischief, Cunning Plans and Gambits
-Guerrilla War is an odd mission, one that can be harder to play than others. I felt like the maneuvering cards and the area denial cards like Booby Traps and Minefield would help the player get close to their opponent.
Engage and Destroy:
Off Table Support, Mischief and Mayhem
-Engage & Destroy is one of the "easier" missions to play, it rewards a player for doing things they'd normally do in a game. It's another "big" mission so Off Table Support felt right. I also liked the annihilation factor of the mission, so cards like Minefield felt appropriate as well.
Witch Hunt/Assassins:
Subtlety and Cunning, Uncommon Valor and Blind Luck.
-Orks technically can't play these missions. I don't understand it, killing the other warboss seems pretty straightforward to me but apparently Orks are too dense for that (but figuring out that higher ground is good is something they seem to have no problem with!). When it came time to assign decks I decided to combine Witch Hunt with Assassins, They're very similar missions, so I felt like they would probably share similar strategies tied to them.
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