40K: Stronghold Assault Teaser
Not all battles in the 40K universe are fair – Games Workshop teases the asymmetrical narrative game-play of Stronghold Assault!
Games Workshop has been focusing a lot on the rules, stats and faction teasers. Most of these have been pretty high-level summaries that apply for all types of games. Today, GW is showing off a little something special for all you Narrative Gamers out there.
Stronghold Assault pits two (or more) players in different roles. In a typical Matched Play game each side has the same objectives, this is not the case in Stronghold Assault. Each side play as either the attacker or the defender and will have their own objectives to complete. And if you haven’t guessed, those different objectives are typically at odds with each other.
via Warhammer Community
“In the new Warhammer 40,000, there are advanced rules to help represent these types of games. These games are quite different from a standard game in a few regards: for a start, players take on opposing roles. In a matched play game, both players will be trying to achieve the same thing, but in Stronghold Assault, the defender is trying to hold his own territory against a numerically superior attacking force, so there are different objectives for each side. This is represented both in the way the battlefield is set up and with mission-special rules. There are new Stratagems for example, and they are different for attackers and defenders:”
We can see from both of these special stratagems players will get some pretty unique advantages. For the Attacker, that extra 1 to all wound rolls can really do a number on those tough fortifications (more on that below). It can actually dramatically increase your chance to wound for basic weapons from 1/6th to 1/3!
For the defenders, it sounds like Bunkers and Fortresses might offer some protection in the short term, but if they get destroyed it’s going to STING! Normally you lose a model on a 1,2, or 3 but Escape Hatch up your survival rate by only slaying models on a 1. Not too shabby!
“Speaking of buildings, these are a big part of Stronghold Assault too, and some, like the Fortress of Redemption, can also show up in other games of Warhammer 40,000 as part of a player’s army. These fortified structures use the same profile system as everyone else in Warhammer 40,000, though as you’d expect, they (usually) don’t move. Generally, dedicated battlefield structures will be Toughness 10, have over a dozen wounds and a 3+ save, so they take some considerable effort to completely destroy, as you might imagine!”
Big forts aren’t goin anywhere! To top it off they sound pretty beefy, too! Toughness 10 with a bunch of wounds a 3+ save means that attackers will need to dedicate some firepower to drop those buildings. However, if they are shooting at a fort, they aren’t trying to take out your units. Or maybe they are just trying to crack that tough outer shell to get to the gooey insides…
Read The Full Article HERE
Stronghold Assault sounds like fun, different way to play Narrative Games. Who doesn’t want to recreate that Starship Troopers scene? Or the defense of the Emperor’s Palace or Terra? Or the Battles of Armageddon! Or…well, you get the idea. Plus, it’s a great excuse to bust out all those fancy fortifications for your games. I’m looking forward to it – now if only my Tyranids could get some more terrain love.
What epic battles are you looking forward to recreate with Stronghold Assault? Let us know in the comments below!
