Played a first game of One Page Rules to test out the system and we liked it!
It feels very refreshing and different from 40k in a very good way, though you have to be ready to have to shift your game plan as units perform somewhat different than what you are used to expect from 40k.
Overall, here are some key takeaways:
- The alternating activation system worked smooth and changed the entire table top play. The ability to counter play and always have a tough choice that can be punished by opponent is a lot of fun in itself.
- Everything is so deadly! Combat and shooting resolve at a brisk pace with no rerolls and a simple attack + defense roll. It makes the game flow way better and we could get more gameplay in on the same time. This is a big win for me as we play casually and this makes it possible to play an evening game on a weekday.
- Not having to deal with the power creep inherent with balancing a game for a company that wants to sell the latest plastic is refreshing. Sure there is imbalance and optimal units vs meme units, but it feels like that is driven by the natural ebb and flow of balance instead of "newest models win more" that I feel on 40k a lot of times.
It was also a chance to test my big OPR unit cards, and they made the game so much smoother!
In any case, we are super interested to try more. Below you'll find some scattered notes from our game. Not a full battle report by any means, but some impressions from our first explorations with the system.
We played using the cards from my Mission Card Deck, we drafted a cool mission where the Demons had to destroy 3 objectives that the space wolves had to defend, with the space wolves deploying in the center of the table and pushing the demon deployment way out to the table edges!
Using my Industrial terrain set we managed to create a fun looking battlefield
The demon army consisted of a unit of pink horrors and lots of Exalted Flamers, with two Chaos Spawn to beef them up
Bear in mind we are using a lot of house rules for the composition of these armies
Bear in mind we are using a lot of house rules for the composition of these armies
Space wolves had a single squad of Bloodclaws, some Fenrisian Wolves, a Rune Priest and a Dreadnought as support
Bear in mind we are using a lot of house rules for the composition of these armies
Bear in mind we are using a lot of house rules for the composition of these armies
Bloodclaw were deadly in melee, killing everything they touched with little fallback with their high defense due to Power Armor
The Rune Priest managed to down an Exalted Flamer, but felt somewhat limited as they are not the power multiplier they are in traditional 40k
The Dreadnought, on the other hand, was a menace with accurate long-range firepower and incredible resilience to damage!
The Pink warriors (and all demons in general) felt very utilitarian with the Ambush rule allowing them to come exactly where they are needed and overwhelming the defenders, but they felt very weak in combat compared to the fury of the Space Wolves
Fenrisian Wolves were surprisingly effective in melee, dishing out incredible damage with some extremely long threat range!
The Exalted Flamers felt a bit lackluster in their shooting compared to regular 40k, maybe the fact I used Champions of Change to make up their profile was a bad choice that I'll need to revisit
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