Edchopps Moving Castle

As you may know if you listen to our podcast I have been starting a PHR army, because they are super techy cool. It helps that they are awesome cool looking. But what I'd like to talk about today is the evolution so far of my PHR experiment i.e. my lists what I intended, and what has occurred.

Creating A Monster: The Foundations

The CD rack of terror - it has the entire Nickelback back catalogue stored within it

You may have read in my last post that I have been using a despoiler with my new Scourge list. Not only are they as fast as a Condor for dropping off your nine tanks, they are robust with 5DP, and take serious names with their E11 gun (I can add a Sabre to the list enemies it has felled in the field of battle after its last outing!). What's not to like? Well they don't fit in every army for a start, and are rather expensive at 102 points with the gun. These issues shadow in comparison however to the real problem with the Despoiler. The model.

OB Podcast Episode 2.5: Flaming Useful

As promised here is the second installation of this Decembers podcast! The team talk about our current feelings towards flame weapons, and the use of them in the current meta. We also chat about why you just don't see too many of them knocking about as well.

The Advent Calendar So Far

Legionnaire

Christmas is within touching distance people, and do you how I can be sure? It's got nothing to do with the incessant terrible holiday adverts on TV (according to Coca Cola holidays are coming?), or the mass of stressed shoppers lining our streets, running about like a scared herd of deer. No, it is because we are halfway though the Hawk advent calendar!

The Conundrum of Resistance troops

As you may have gathered, I have been thinking a lot about troops in DzC recently. I've discussed CQB and how different squads can take it and dish it out. Today I want to talk about what you take in a typical 1500 point clash game, how it differs from faction to faction and person to person. 

Using the constraints of a 1500 clash army might sound a bit limiting, but it is the standard tournament points limit and also a game lasts about 2 - 2.5 hours which is ideal for a games club evening. 

Christmas Wish lists

For all of you in podcast land (and those who are not) we talked about Christmas wish lists in episode 2 of the podcast. 

Happy Christmas from the Resistance....

The basic premise was 

"What should you get on top of the starter set to have a 1000 point army? and how much will it cost me?"

The Fun Has Finally Started

Believe it or not, this rush did one point of damage that turn

Readers of my last Scourge related post may remember the struggles I have been having with the wibbly jelly men. The change over from Shaltari has been choppy and a little hard to swallow at times (much like swimming with an open mouth in the Thames).

It is good news this time around though, as I am finally getting the hang of them! I have made a few tweaks to list the list, one of which is dropping in a Despoiler (I'll talk about this bad boy of violence in a bit), and the army as a whole plays much more smoothly. When I say smoothly, I mean as smooth as a hammer to the face- it packs punch in abundance.

OB Podcast Episode 2: Dropping about the Christmas Tree

Many Yule tide greetings to you, citizens of the audio variety! We are happy to bring you the second in our new podcast series, and due to the time of season it is a festive special! In this episode we cover news (including official Hawk info) and our latest hobby projects. It doesn't sound that festive I hear you say? Well, we have included 1000 point 'Christmas lists' for new starters looking to get into the game, including army lists and actual money costs of the lists. For the veterans of the game it is still worth listening too, as we run through some finer points of the units.

Laying The Grid.

So I put up a post recently on the Dropzone Commander Community page on Facebook.
It was a bit popular.

CQB Squad Analysis Part 2: Aarrgghh my brain is melting!

There might be some kind of Shaltari gate shenanigans going on here!

Welcome to the mind melting! 
If you haven't read part 1 it might be worth doing - here

I part 1 we looked at the effectiveness of CQB against different squads and how survivable they were (not only in CQB but in a building after a CQB). You may have noticed that I didn't rank the squads, this is because you can't just rank them on how good they are at taking a hit on 1 man/woman/thing. 

CQB Squad Analysis Part 1: The easy bit

This is how I imagine Destroyers in CQB
(I may have used this before, but I can't find where, so screw it. you can have it again!)

CQB is like Marmite, some people love it and actively seek it out, some hate it and avoid at all costs! 
In Dropzone Commander CQB is quite a unique part of the game; DzC is a game of few dice rolls, but when a CQB happens you need large hands for the hoards of dice needed. It also does away with the standard roll to hit and roll to wound. It is streamlined for efficiency and I must say, I really like how it works. 

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover

Cracking book, but who commissioned this cover?
It looks like a theatrical version of Star Wars.

Not many sayings in this world are as true the title to this post. For instance:

'Don't go out with wet hair, you'll catch your death.' False.

'Often, less is more.' This is clearly not true. I would argue my new TV with you.

'A carpenter is known by his chips.' I don't even really understand this one, but I would think a carpenter would be known through work on house fixtures and storage ideas, rather than their work with potatoes.

Character Building: The lists

The Cave Breaker, Jocasta Caine and Arthur J Wade

For those of you who made it to the end of our (super long) podcast, you may remember that we had a section called Character Building. In this feature we each made a 2000 point list using a famous commander from Reconquest: Phase 1, in a battle format. The main change to a clash format is the addition of a seventh battlegroup, and being able to add an extra squad here or there too.

Welcome to the new world...

Mind = Blown

We told you something was coming, so the hot news off the press from Orbital Bombardment is.......drum roll please........

There's something big coming...........

Team Orbital Bombardment have been working on something. Something big. Something scary. Something wonderful..................

On Wed 5th November, we will be able to share it with everyone............until then, you will have to be content with a quick synopses of how Critical Engagement: Assault on Atlantia went.

The return of the UCM

Critical Engagement is looming fast, and even though I have started a new army (Shaltari) I just can't bring myself to take an unpainted army to the tournament. 
So I'm going to take my UCM.......... with a little bit of difference. 

I wonder if these guys need a 2+ to make an attack run???

I'm bringing the sexy back and having Archangels. 
With the new Forward Air Controllers rule, it should help with the reliability. Also whisper it.........no Ferrum!

The Scourge Sweet Spot

How many Prowlers does it take to destroy a Mining Drill? Ten apparently!

Dropzone sometimes giveth, and sometimes it taketh away(eth). As it has been well documented on this very blog in the past, I have always wanted to play a Scourge army with a vast horde of Prowlers. The idea of two dozen little crabs running amok through the streets of Eden Prime filled my heart with joy, and made me giggle in delight. The army I had in mind was never built to be ultra competitive, but to at least be moderately challenging to play against and with and be as fun as a bouncy castle. However...

CE: Assault On Atlantia

It has taken a little while, but here is the rules pack to CE: AoA!  To reiterate my earlier post, this will be a one day, 1500 point clash tournament with three games from the Hawk tournament pack. It will be on Saturday 1st November and tickets are a meagre £10.

Critical Engagement: Assault On Atlantia rules pack link

If you are interested or have any questions leave a comment below, or (preferably) pop an email over to us at obteamdzc@gmail.com. You can also PM myself via the Hawk Forum.

Total Domination

In this article, I want to talk about something I've been trying to figure out an answer to. Maybe whilst writing this, it will become clearer.........who knows.

Why do Shaltari seem to dominate the tournament scene? 

Is it only in England? I'm not sure - I think our friends in Sweden and the US have the same or similar problem. Shaltari keep winning tournaments. 
Don't get me wrong, the Shaltari are certainly not a "point and click" army. You can't just cobble together a force and expect to win your games. They take time to learn and master, but in the hands of a tactically good gamer with some experience they can be a very potent force. 

Using All My Resistance To Wait

mMm Shiny

My plan for armies for a long while now has been: Shaltari (tournament awesomeness) > Scourge (fun and general sillyness) > Resistance (art project time). My Shaltari were more or less finished when I first put this plan about, and I had just started my Scourge army. Although I am now two-thirds into having the models I need for my Circus Of Legs, I made the critical error of picking up a Resistance starter set at Invasion.

And oh my, how they shine...

Invasion September 2014 – Zombiestates Account

The tribe moves in!

Hello friendly people of our niche corner of the internet! Actually, it never ceases to amaze me just how lovely Dropzoners are... I've digressed already:

Hello once more!

Critical Engagement: Assault on Atlantia

Re-load your guns and double check your dropships fuel, as we are happy to present our second one day, 1500 point clash tournament of the year on Saturday 1st November! There will be three games, and we will be using the tournament pack Hawk have produced. The venue will be in Tolworth, South-West London, and if this doesn't excite you already the tickets are only £10!

Orbital Bombardment unleashed; Invasion deemed a success!

This is what faced us when we entered......

Invasion was AWESOME!
Here is a round-up of the weekend, some lovely pictures and some results thrown in too.
When we turned up, we were greeted not by smiling faces - but by a mahoosive Ares. The thing is about 600mm tall (that's 2 foot in old money). It is amazingly detailed and painted exceptionally well.

Preparing for Invasion

Good day assorted peoples of the Dropzoning variety! I bring you greetings, fair tidings, and Invasion!

September has crept up something fierce this year, and this weekend Hawk will be hosting their biannual tournament and open weekend. It combines Invasion, a two day 1500 point tournament, and a decent sized display of brand new models, current models, and potentially new exciting info for the next big things (last year we had artwork featured in Reconquest, and the original drawings of the spaceship displayed at Salute, not to mention a few Resistance goodies)! The OB team managed to rock out with our socks out last year, and picked up 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th place, as well as the team award (Skullsword even won the raffle, jammy git). Although we are of course hoping to do as well this time round, but we are certainly taking nothing for granted!

Here are the lists we will each be bringing to the party, and a brief explanation of how it will work. Well, should work...

SKULLSWORDS MIND TINGLING THOUGHTS!

Hi there fello dropzoners, 

I though it was time to give some tips and advice for the PHR when facing certain forces or specific models. Also some ideas on deployment. 

On killing things, and making it snappy

I often find that I'm behind on things. Now, this isn’t always a bad thing in life, and for me as for many others it’s not that we haven’t done things yet, it’s just that we haven’t got there yet.

This is all by way of say I’m still playing with the army I started out with i.e basic wave 1 Shaltari, and apart from the odd won blister and one or two jaguars I haven’t really added much more. Still got the Kukris, still got no firstborns, and Tomahawks are always in my list*.

This makes me feel more than a tad fraudulent, given that I and others helped play test the units in the first place. Almost like I know a hidden weakness to them that I haven’t as yet divulged but will use to my advantage in tournaments.** hahahha. Ahem.

Are Scourge the hardest army to win with?

Hello fellow zoners. Today I will be talking about the difficulties of winning with the Scourge. 
I am normally found around a DzC board using my UCM, but decided a while back that I wanted a 2nd army, the Scourge. I have slowly been building my army based on the models I like and how I think the Scourge play. I probably now have around 2000+ points!

Don't give me problems. Give me Solutions!!

Now as the title suggests, I am finding the Scourge a difficult army to win with (don't worry - I'm still winning games, it's just a lot harder to do).  
The Scourge problems hinge around the low armour and ridiculously short range weaponry, but I knew all that when I bought into the army. So what's my problem? 

Critical Engagement: Mega Mikes Scourge

Critical Engagement (CE) is now resigned to history. Poets will write sonnets, there will be slow and brooding laments and joyous victory songs telling of courageous feats of valour! 

Believe it!!

Below is my recap of the day from the Scourge perspective, I will go through my list and go through my games and how I did. I thoroughly enjoyed myself; when is it ever not fun to have 3 games of DzC in a day?! 

Breaking Down The Resistance

R-Day approaches!

Reconquest Day (to be known as R-Day from here on in) is quickly approaching, and I can hear the saliva dripping from your gaping maws, creating disgusting saliva rivers of anticipation, which flow into the extraordinarily unhygienic sea of excitement! We have been treated to snippets of info that have been released by various peoples of the interwebs, who happen to have the book already (most namely, Hawk's Talons and other, less wordy blogs than ours).

Well we here at OB happen to be part of the lucky and vocal collective who have their grubby paws on it! In this post I won't be talking about the book so much (which, besides a few layout issues with wording in the history, is beautiful and excellent), but how you can expect the Resistance to play.

Critical Engagement The photos.

I could use an obscure 1940s noir reference here, but I won't because I'm better than that. 

So after a busy few weeks (Cough nearly a month) I finally get round to writing up the blog post in which I talk about our Tournament. Plus show you some photos taken by myself.

Short Story: The Return

To celebrate the release of the Resistance, I thought I would do something a little different, and have decided to share with you a short that I have penned. The guys at Hawk seemed to enjoy it, so I hope you do too!

On The Cusp Of The Future

It's almost time!

Being a blog solely dedicated to Dropzone Commander, I imagine you guys and gals out there have been wondering why we haven't been going bat crap crazy over all the new Resistance models on the horizon. Well, I can assure you we have. I actually saw Skullsword back flip with joy on release of one of the sneak peaks (I say back flip. I really mean fall backwards in a premeditated fashion, into a chair. Alright, he sat in a chair in a fit of joy). We have all been waiting patiently since Salute, where we were lucky enough to see things first hand, for these packets of resin beauty to be released!

You see, the reason for the lack of posts regarding these rebels, is simply because I personally don't like to deal in speculation. I would rather wait a little while, correlate what information I have, and shoot it into your faces out of my knowledge cannon! As we now have renders or pictures of all (I presume all) the units, I have collected everything together for your eye joy!

An Engagement to Remember

Disclaimer: This may or may not have happened at CE. I just love the picture. 

Although I sit here, drowning in a sea of phlegm, bile, and tissues, I find that all I can think about still is Dropzone. As such my zoner pals, I have decided to remove the Cloak of Self-Pity (as heavy as it is) and bring you a tale of adventure from Critical Engagement!

Critical Engagement 2014 – The Results

'We were so close, and it could have been so different.'

Charles Fenn, Admiral of the UCMS Retribution, sat in his large, leather console chair, leaning forward on his desk with his elbows. Two fingers from each hand were massaging his temples, as he sought to find clarity and a route forward from the mess Orofino had turned out to be. The plans had been sound, and the Generals sent efficient and talented, but the alien turned out to be stronger than anticipated. Fenn remained motionless as his clerk, Randall, sought to gain his attention by clearing his throat. He closed his eyes momentarily, before leaning back into his chair, which creaked with age.

Impromptu Annihilation – Part 1

Oh, wait, this is happening? ARGGH!

Being Children of The Game, I am sure you will all agree with me that our hobby takes time. I am sure you will also agree with me, that finding time for it can be difficult, especially as you get older and have more 'responsibilities'. In the spirit of this, every Tuesday we make time to run our club at a local school hall, which Sgt Slaughter has connections with.

So this being said, you can imagine our annoyance this week when we discovered that the school had decided to put on an 'impromptu' play. I say 'impromptu' as we hadn't been told about it, so I am assuming they had obviously just decided to pop up a set and let a group of suspiciously well choreographed kids sing and dance on the stage. This fiasco left 30 odd unhappy geeks pottering around outside, mumbling to each other about the price of magic cards and whether they should put on their own play, with lazers, and tanks and milkshakes (geek moans are hard to filter, so I tend to just hear what I want).

I hear you ask, what's the point Zombie? Well, as it happened Sgt Slaughter has enough room for a 8” x 4” board at his barracks, so the OB team went round and played a filthy 2,250 point, 3 v 3. That's the point!

On Resisting change. Or not...

As a Shaltari player I have a certain arrogance about my army. It doesn’t win every time, and if you manage to hit it, it hurts. A lot.*

But thankfully that doesn’t happen all that much since I’m nippy as an excitable puppy you’ve fed red-bull to, and have a forcefield that means a third of your gunners may as well have done stormtrooper training for all the good they do. Factor in some good command cards with a set of guns that put Arnie to shame and we’re on to a winner. I don’t know what the stats are like, but it seems Shaltari have been leading or in the top few spots of most tournaments recently as players get more used to the shenanigans and gates (see Zombiestate’s posts for more info on bamboozling and crushing your opponents). 

Myth Busters: UCM have no Demolisher

PHR wedding in Vegas?

There is a theory, that if you want a building removed, you need PHR or Scourge with their abundance of high energy demolisher (D) weapons. People have been lining the streets and shouting from the rooftops for UCM to have some form of D weapon so that they too, can contribute to the urban renewal......

........but why? UCM have everything they need (and shhh don't tell anyone, but they do it better than PHR and Scourge).

The Unloved Army

Praetorian Snipers new combat gear?

A while back, Edchop did an article on unloved UCM units. These are units that have fallen out of favour or perhaps never really in favour (Scimitars, I'm looking at you!).
I decided to put together an army of "unloved" as I was playing against a newbie. The newbie in question is a long time wargamer called Alex. He has had a couple of games of Dropzone and this was to be his first proper 1500 point game.

It's A Load Of Old Rubble, Really.

I hope they were insured...

If your games tend to be anything like ours, the local cradle world building contractors look on them with greedy eyes. The average loss of buildings in our 1500 point games tends to be about three, though if Sgt Slaughter is using his PHR this always at least doubles!

Now, this post isn't about building demolition; I think the rule is fine, and is a viable tactic. Unless you're using six Katanas and an Eagle, in which case you can just bugger off. No, this post is in regards to what is meant to be left on the battlefield after the building is removed: Rubble!

Critical Engagement 2014: Rules Pack and Mission Booklet

The picture above is fairly self-explanatory, but for those of you who are a little slow of mind...

We have finally finished tweaking the details, and the rules pack and mission booklet for Critical Engagement 2014 are ready for you guys to enjoy! All details for the tourney are included in the Rules Pack, and the three unique missions which will be being played are in the Mission Booklet. Simply click on the links below to view:

Critical Engagement 2014 Rules Pack

Critical Engagement 2014 Mission Booklet

We would like as much feedback as possible regarding the missions, so please feel free to comment below. If you have any questions in regards to the missions, or the tournament in general, you can email Dan or Mike at obteamdzc@gmail.com.

It is also worth noting that there are only 20 spaces available, so act fast!

Critical Engagement 2014 - 1500 point tournament

Frequenters of our blog, we are excited to announce our very first Dropzone Commander tournament! It will be a one day, 1500 point singles event, on Saturday 19th July, and will have three awards to win; Master Commander, Best Painted Army, and Best Sportsman. We are also happy to announce that the lovely chaps at Hawk Wargames will be backing us with prize support!

For the event we have penned three brand new missions, based for the most part on the rule book missions. The event itself will be hosted in Tolworth, London, and all entries will be £10. All money raised from the tournament will be donated to charity.

Getting Started: Shaltari Deployment Part 2

It's deployment time.

Heeelllooooooooooo! Time for more Shaltari goodness. Prepare to be inundated with information which will you fill your mind chasm's with deploymental goodness! Let's get it on...

Getting Started: Shaltari Deployment Part 1

Good day fellow, er... Droplodites? Dropzonites? Dropzonians? Dropzonians will do for now! It is tactica-o-clock again, and this time I will be looking into the finer points of Shaltari deployment. I have mentioned many a time in the past, just how tricky it can be to get things right when using our spinney friends, so I am here to help as best I can!

In this guide I will bring up a few key points, and discuss the importance of each one. It's time to prepare your note pads kids!

Mayhem 2014

Let the games (and the funk) begin!

Some of you may be shocked and amazed to hear, that it is not only Dropzone that your friendly OB team play! In fact, before the first rumblings of Hawk producing our much loved masterpiece were heard, our club were very much Warhammer players!

Yes, that may be a dirty word to some now, but never the less most off us continue to play the flawed masterpiece. Why do I bring this up on a DzC blog you may ask? Well, I thought it worth sharing the a few pictures of our Biannual tournament which has just passed, the Mayhem!

To Prowl Or Not To Prowl?

We're coming for your women and pancakes!

So far my journey in the Dropzone universe has been limited to the Shaltari. Since we first started playing as a club, the rainbow hedgehogs have been my army of choice, due to a mixture of limited finance, love of the models and the stubbornness to want to master them. I now stand on the edge of change though, and although I love my Shaltari I am thoroughly looking forward to it!

The Scourge present a whole new style for me play with; I play my Shaltari mostly on the counter, coiled like a Cobra ready to strike at the first weakness. Scourge however are the polar opposite, and play like a cheese-grater to the face (this metaphor may not be as poetic as the first, but I'm sure you'll agree it fits).

It's Orbital Monorail Laser time!

This needs no explanation

A little earlier this week the much anticipated rules scenario rules for the Monorail and Orbital laser terrain packs were released, so I thought I would take a little time to go over them and give my thoughts! We were one of the lucky ones who were at Salute, and picked up a Monorail for the club. It is almost fully painted now (I've popped some pics below), and we have been chomping at the bit to use it!

Battered and Knackered: How to.

AA has no respect for a fresh paint job. 

Lets face it, war makes everyone involved a little smelly, a little dirty and often leaves nasty chips. But all too often we leave our models painted in stunning and pristine fresh off the line schemes. Sometimes though you just want to add a bit of grit. Here's my tutorial on how I do mine.

Yo ho ho green Scourge

Mega Mike here, and I'm taking a break from UCM for a bit (I say that, but I'll probably still be playing them loads - they are just too fun to put down) to concentrate on Scourge.
A few of the Orbital Bombardment team will be high-tailing it to Croyden this Saturday for Heroes and Legends Dropzone Commander tournament. SkullSword will be testing out his Smurf Blue UCM and Edchopp with be bringing the pain with his red UCM. I want to see these to fight - Red vs Blue!! I will be taking my newly developed Scourge and guess what, they are green!  

That's my sweetcorn eating days over!

I have been playing Scourge for about a month now and they are a completely different animal to the UCM. It is an understatement to call them fast, but with it they are fragile, so so fragile. You know if you get hit something invariably dies. Staying out of sight is absolutely crucial to staying alive (ha, ha, ha, ha, staying alive, staying alive.....sorry couldn't resist)

UCM: Jack of all trades; Masters of WIN

Me again, popping up to say hi and delivering the third part of my UCM tactica. In case you missed parts 1 and 2 they are here;

Part 1: UCM Getting Started
Part 2: Expanding from the UCM starter

Pass me the PHR can opener

This time I will be focusing on battle-group synergy and list building. I will get on to deployment strategies later. Now obviously it is all based on my gaming experience and how I play, which is quite aggressively. Sometimes I try to be cautious, but it just doesn't suit me. 

How much is too much? - Conclusion

Too many ducks, or just enough?

Finally, my long journey to find the answer to my demanding question has come! Can you spam units and still be competitive in Dropzone? To briefly recap, I love this game due to it's balance, and have been on a mission to see if it is possible to 'break' it by spamming a strong unit.

Since my last post on this topic, I have played out two games against a UCM and PHR army with some interesting results. Let's remind ourselves of my army list again: