As far as I was concerned, when Mantic brought out the Deadzone Kickstarter I was not going to get involved. One, because I just couldnt afford it at the time and two, because I was starting to get disheartened by Kickstarters. The majority I have backed or considered backing have ended up being delayed, having quality issues or other such problems.
But then the old tinternet started throwing up info and pictures of peoples KS pledges arriving. The stuff didnt look to bad (apart from the typical Mantic mold lines) so I took a plunge. I found a cheap starter set with Ltd Ed Metal Survivor miniature and a whole Rebel force was obtained cheap via fleabay.
Two extra terrain sets ordered cheap also and I have a good Christmas "Me" pressie before some KS backers actually have actually received theirs and it didnt cost me lots either.
Deadzone is a fairly straight forward game with the dicepool mechanic and versus rolls. The game is played on a 3"x3" gridded mat and you don't need a measuring tape! While I was initially sceptical about this, as I found Dust Tactics too abstract and boardgamey, the way it works in practice pretty much combines the best of both worlds and it plays quickly while still retaining the importance of terrain and positioning. Of course, you can expand on this and play on four mats put together, or six mats - some of the recently revealed stuff (like a mortar!) are specifically aimed for larger games. But the core game is played on a small board, crammed with terrain and with the recommended 70 point Strike teams you are normally done within the hour.
The terrain is another big draw, and it's actually the reason I had a look at Deadzone in the first place. I wanted to see if the terrain would be suitable for Infinity/Judge Dredd/Necromunda. Well, basically it's suitable for pretty much anything considering it's modular and you can build what the hell you want with it!
Is it the best looking terrain available? No. There is a lot of really nice stuff out there and more is being produced everyday in the form of MDF stuff. But, it's not bad looking, its reasonally cheap and it's solid looking sci-fi terrain that could be used to create any kind of battlefield.
As this is supposed to be my Christmas Present, I have left the majority sealed, but I have started building/cleaning and converting my Rebs.
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| Rebel Humans |
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| Judwan medic, Kraaw Warrior, Grogan with huge cannon |
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| Converted Slyph Leader and 2 Zee Scavengers |
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| Teraton brawler, Sorak and 2 Yndji
These are some really nice models, all multi part Restic. The MOLD LINES are just hideous though. Taken me ages to clean up each model and no doubt will still find some lines once I prime them for painting. But for the cost they are cheap.
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So another project, more miniatures, and another admittance that I am a gaming lead/plastic crack addict!!!
I am finding it very hard to assemble the enforcers! But I know it will come out OK in the end. I am glad you have gotten involved and it will be great to see your Rebels painted up.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to starting them in the new year mate.
DeleteYou may have been fortunate to skip the kickstarter. Mine arrived in a box with no packing peanuts and everything except one set of terrain sprues and the mousepad grid loose outside of the actual deadzone box. Several damaged miniatures, a damaged rulebook and they only sent everyone 6 dice (considering bonuses add or subtract dice and you have to roll off, this is really annoying)
ReplyDeleteI really like the rules though - clean and fast with lots of areas for strategy and tactics.
Yeh I'm hearing a lot of people have had issues with missing items and packaging. Everything was in my box and perfect! Don't regret missing the KS.
DeleteI shall probably have a bash with this at some point next year. I quite like the terrain but this time of year the spare cash gets spent on the kids first.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to playing about with the terrain. I'm lucky my wife has a damn good Civil Servant job and sorts all the kids stuff. This was my little festive indulgence ( but still got as a bargain)
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