My first 7th Edition game and what I thought.

[Lord Hanaur]

Kay that was funny.

So I got my first taste of 7th Edition and will be putting some information on my blog very soon and a batrep is coming.  But let me just share my few first impressions.

1.  We played a Maelstrom Mission which uses the objective cards and it was FUN.  Seems you can basically play normal missions like we're all used to OR choose to play Maelstrom Missions which use the cards/Mission objectives.  It's cool to be scoring and raging across the battlefield to carry out the orders of High Command.  As Matt put it "Take Hamburger Hill...  No we dont need Hamburger Hill...  Of wait...TAKE HAMBURGER HILL!".  

2.  the rules are very much cleaned up.  I really like the clarity of the rules and the way they are laid out.  Though I have not been able yet to read through it all, referencing things was easy as pie.  And having the rules ONLY in the one much smaller to carry book?  EXCELLENT.

3.  The whole "Leadership test vs. snap fire" at end of phase when your vehicle gets a penetrating hit annoyed me a little.  Its an extra roll that I thought didn't add much since that reaction was already covered by the vehicle damage chart in 6E, but now its its own little event.  okay fine.  But it seems odd to add that extra roll in there.  Creates another bit of book keeping to do during the game as well.  

4.  Armies with more Psykers are simply GOING to get their powers off, barring bad luck on their part, much like you expected in other Editions of the game.  The small chance of stoppingthem if you're not heavily Psyker oriented isn't great so after gettign kinda barraged by Psyker powers in this game, I would say the EFFECT of Psykers isn't hugely different unless you're in games where both sides are supremely active, psychically speaking.  I think that the fact that you have to take LD checks for 25% casualties  in yet another phase is really the only TRULY significant change.  That part I don't know if I'm excited about it.  I will read more on that and see, but I think the added possibility of additional LD checks is the only thing i dont like.  I'd prefer if the Psyker phase didn't cause the added check.

ALSO big was that Psykers cannot manifest ANYTHING from inside a vehicle EXCEPT Witchfire powers!  Nothing.  And since the Movement phase comes before the Psyker phase, Elkdar are going to have to get OUT in order to cast their voodoo on skimmers and themselves or their units.  and once out, no guarantee that they will get their powers off.  So thats pretty big and I like that change.  Definitely makes Psyker powers a less cowardly kind of thing.

5.  Night Fighting is now just Stealth for everyone.  no distance or any of that muck.  COOL!

6.  Each weapon can only kill what IT is in range of.  I like it.

7.  No more 3D6 charge crap.  YES!  Just -2 to charge distances unless you're exempt as Cavalry and Beasts are.

8.  Smash got nerfed.  Meh.  I didn't really see why that would be an important rule to change, but now Smash just allows one attack.

9.  Barrage no longer pins.  LAME.  I think this was the standout as far as disappointments go.  I pretty much loved everything about this game tonight and I had no barrages in my list.   but just finding OUT that it no longer pinned was a serious bummer (I wanted to be pinned by Wyverns dang it!).

My overall impression was extremely positive.

[Kingpin]

Seconded. I have played two games now and really enjoyed them both. My psykers this game actually did stuff. My first game they did jack. I have yet to play a "normal" mission with everything being scoring now. That is next on my list. But the new mission cards are a lot of fun.

[Threejacks]

  Sounds good!

 

 Yeah I need to make changes to my AM list now wiith the new Psyker rule while in transports..cant Divination my Stromlord while riding in it doh!

[Lord Hanaur]

Yeah there's a lot of small things that changed and got tightened way up.  Balance is returned to the force!

[InfestedKerrigan]

So does the embarked psyker limitation apply to Open Top vehicles, too?

[VonVilkee]

So does the embarked psyker limitation apply to Open Top vehicles, too?

Yep no exception for open topped that I have seen

[Lord Hanaur]

So does the embarked psyker limitation apply to Open Top vehicles, too?

Yup

[Threejacks]

 I wonder...does an embarked Psyker add his deny bonus to any deny rolls made defending the vehicle hes on?

[AbusePuppy]

No, only if he has a Psychic Hood. Being embarked on a vehicle does not make you part of that vehicle's unit.

[Lord Hanaur]

Correct. The transport is its own unit of troops. Those w Psychic pilot rule are kinda cool though.

[Lord Hanaur]

So another great game of Maelstrom missions.  Lord, i may never go back to regular ones! 

 

I'm being fecetious, but I love how it feels to be trying to gain points rather than BEAT someone.  I obviouslyt understand that you beat them by doing the points thing but its just kinda different when you're not just trying to be highly effective at extinction vs. the fun of tryingto stay alive and keep yer head down while trying to get here and there.  the battle fields look infinitely more interesting and its like you're on a field of battle desperately trying to reach hills or ammo depots or whatever in the middle of battles so vast that your Company of Heroes can never grasp the full significance of the tasks...just that should you fail, the entire war could be lost!

 

Anyways, Maelstrom Missions for the win.

 

Also read a LOT more in the book.  there are some pretty serious changes that have big import.  They are numerous, too numerous for here I think so blog it is.  But a few of my new finds:

 

1.  Flyers that have Hover can hover when they come on from reserve, but not from Ongoing Reserve (in which case they must zoom).

2.  Its really easy to forget your Psyker phase.  Lol.  I forgot mine twice last game.

3.  theres a lot less incentive to shirk a challenge.  Whereas before, challenges contained the damage BBG's could do to you, now they cant.  they just tear YOU up, and then keep tearing up your buddies.  In game terms, once he slays the challenger, the rest of his attacks simply redirect to the unit.  All a character is good for in challenges is to take as much punishment as he can stand. 

4.  Watching and playing several games now, I have to say: Psykers are tamer.  Dangerous as always yes, but not like they were in 6E.  Many fewer powers are getting off.  Pretty satisfying when you put the jack move on a Psykers mojo.

5.  NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGE  thus far was they opened up the game to unlimited reserves.  Well you KNOW I like that!

5.  OMG...RAMMING is really powerful now and people will do it way more.  Gooooood times.. v

[AbusePuppy]

#1 isn't actually a change.

 

With regards to #3, yeah, challenges are no longer a protected hidey-spot/damage limiter. I think I prefer that, overall.

 

Low-level psykers will get more powers off, mid-range psyker armies will get fewer total off, high-end psyker armies will rule the phase with impunity. Generating 20+ dice is pretty trivial for many armies.

 

Ramming is pretty boss for Russes and other big tanks now, yeah. Don't park a tank within 6" of them.

[winterman]

Did I miss something with ramming?  It seemed pretty tame considering the new damage chart but I admit to not reading it very closely.  I saw all the new bonuses to the Strength of the hit, but still not getting what makes it powerful.  Maybe I will reread it when I get home.

[fluger]

It's more streamlined.  A Leman Russ will always cause a s10 hit no matter how far it moved.  That's pretty awesome for dealing with buildings or drop pods or whatever else.

 

It's half facing, +1 if it is a tank, and then +2 if it is heavy or super heavy.  14/2=6+1+2 = 10.  

[winterman]

But it still can at best cause a hull point and a non-explode result on the pen chart?  I guess being auto hit that ain't too shabby.

[Lord Hanaur]

Ramming for the win!  I was so elated when i saw it.  I literally felt my heart leap.  I LOVE tank shocking and bashing into things.  WHY oh WHy did i never take up orks.  Lol.

 

7th Edition lets me do so many more things.  it reins in the magnitude of Deathstar dominance (but you certainly will still find it to be possible to make them. for sure) and if you choose to play a Maelstrom Msision...and you don't have to...  It is its own kind of RAMMING FUN.  Play normal missions?  sure.  Those are better for tournies.   Play Alter of War?  Love most of them.  Echoes of War missions for telling Race vs. Race stories is very cool.  Kinda like getting to play the Ardennes scenario, the Battle of the Bulge or the Normandy Invasion all over again, only no real blood and senseless sadness!  Whuuuuuuuuuuut?!  Awesome right?

 

So there's Missions for every gamers taste; and as long as the opponent is there to play with you instead of play you (if you know what I mean) you're golden.  

 

I really do think that for actual competitive play, the normal missions are probably going to be the way to go but the idea of tertiary objectives is well known to most people on this forum and the cards can provide ideas for TO's to include that element too.  or not.  their choice.  no one is going to mutiny if there's a tertiary objective in my experience.

 

So since the rules themselves are so much more awesome, the play experience, regardless of mission should be good.  I dont predict the dire things that some do.  the end isn't nigh.  im just jazzed.  Really am.

[dashneeb]

I played my first game of 7th the other day, and we played a Maelstrom mission as well.  I have to say that overall I was very pleased.  While the game looked one-sided at times, it was actually fairly close, as my opponent decided at one point it would be better to eliminate my units and win with me being 100% dead, than to try and contest the mission points, because he had fallen far behind.  And then, my army was nearly wiped, but I hung on in the end and got some help from the dice.

 

The only thing that I don't like on the cards is that they have 3 different flavors of "secure objective X", and there's really no rhyme or reason for it other than whatever silly flavor text they have at the bottom.  Also, the complaining of that someone could get a bunch of VP's on the first turn and slant things, I found to be very not the case.  Since the most numerous are "secure objective X" and they're only worth 1 point each.  The ones where you can score multiple are actually fairly tough, the easiest would be anything on first turn, and it's all dependent on placement which is control X objectives and control more than twice your opponent, if I remember right.

 

So far I really, really, really enjoy the cards a lot.  They make it a lot more interesting and the mission evolves quite a bit.

[Lord Hanaur]

New blog is up on 7th Edition.

 

Dashneeb, Im happy to hear you had fun playing Maelstrom missions.  I think for casual games they are kind of suddenly my "go to" option.  I'll probably stuill practice for tournies using the Eternal War missions but man...  maelstrom...  Cant say it enough times.

[dashneeb]

On your blog, about overwatch.  I didn't notice one change that I thought I read mentioned.  Did I read it correctly hat you can no longer fire template weaponry in overwatch?  That would be a pretty significant change if you ask me.

[Steel Angel]

templates nvr could, but flamers still have wall of death.

[pretre]

  Did I read it correctly hat you can no longer fire template weaponry in overwatch? 

 

templates nvr could, but flamers still have wall of death.

That's kind of incorrect.

Templates could never snap fire, but could always Overwatch because of WoD.

[Steel Angel]

But only flamers get wall of death ,Not Blast templates. so not all templates can WoD.

 

 

Revision review:I see they changed the name no long a blast template, it's a blast marker now.

[AbusePuppy]

It's been called the blast marker for at least two editions prior to this, though many people call it a template.

[Steel Angel]

I'm old stop picking on me. lol

[Lord Hanaur]

the Templates thing is big news.  I find it very cool that you can give those orks some of their own medicine when thye try the old Burna boyz trick.