This final part of my Angels of Death Codex supplement review will take a look at the Altar of War scenarios detailed in the book. These provide six mission for fighting with your Space Marine army and give a nice change to the regular Eternal War or Maelstrom missions you have no doubt played quite a few times in the main rulebook.
Hammer Blow
This scenario represents a lightning attack by the space marines on the enemy forces. The marine player has to force his way into the enemy deployment zone, while the defender must rebuff the attack.
This scenario uses three objectives; one in the centre of the board, one in the centre of the enemy table edge and the last one placed anywhere in the enemy deployment zone by the Space Marine player.
The defender deploys first anywhere in his table half. The space marine player gets the first turn and enters play from the opposite table edge on the first turn. Units can Outflank (if they have the rule) and Space Marine units can deep strike on the first turn.
Players score 3 pts for each objective held at the end of the game. Secondary objectives are Slay the Warlord and a bonus point for whichever player kills the most units during the game. In addition, all space marine infantry units get Objective Secured.
I like this mission. It promises to be a very bloody affair and forces the Space Marine player to be very aggressive if they want to win the game as all the objectives are in the enemy deployment zone, but gain the benefit of access to more Objective Secured units.
Angels of Death
This scenario represents the Space Marines striking at the enemy command structure, trying to cause as much damage as possible, with more valuable units being worth more victory points.
The defender sets up his forces in a central square, with units having to be deployed at least 6" away from each other (so no camping in the centre). The Space Marine player's forces enter the table from any side on turn 1, with units allowed to deep strike.
The winner of the scenario is determined by kill points, with HQ units worth 3 points and non-troops units worth 2 points. This means it is worth trying to take out your opponent's elite units as they are worth more reward.
There are some additional rules for the scenario, giving the Space Marine player's units Fear and allowing deep striking units not to scatter on turn 1. The defender also gets Stubborn and Move through cover.
I like this scenario too. It's a variation of Purge the Alien that has greater rewards for tackling the tougher units in your opponent's army. As with many of these scenarios, the Marine player's forces do not begin on the table, so you will want a hard hitting and fast force that can fire on the move.
Here I Shall Die
This scenario represents a small marine force disrupting the enemy supply lines, ready to sell their lives awaiting reinforcements.
In this scenario, the Space Marine player is the defender and sets up a single objective and deploys his forces in the centre of the board. What I like about this scenario is that it uses alternating deployment of units between the players as was common in previous editions of 40k, a nice throwback to a simpler time!
The mission is kill points, with the objective being worth 5 victory points, so well worth grabbing if you can. The deployment zones in this scenario are quite small, so a first turn charge is entirely likely. Any unit within range of the objective gets the Zealot rule, so a unit controlling it will not give it up easily.
I imagine this will be a very bloody and hard fought scenario, with most of the action taking place in the centre of the board.
Slayer of Kings
This scenario sees the players deploy in Hammer and Anvil deployment, but only 18" apart. The objective of the scenario is for the Space Marine player to kill the enemy HQ units, while the defender has to keep them alive.
If playing this scenario, I would recommend the defender takes at least two HQ units to make the game more interesting. This is one of the simplest scenarios, but could prove to be a lot of fun (and a White Scars Hunting Force would love it).
Emperor's Fist
This scenario uses three objectives placed along the central diagonal line; one in the centre of the board and one in the centre of the two opposite table quarters. The players deploy in the opposite table quarters (another nice throwback).
Only fast attack units may be deployed at the start of the game, all other units are held in reserve, but vehicle reserves may be rolled from turn 1 (with reserves arriving on a 4+).
Each objective is worth 3 points at the end of the game, as well as various secondary objectives.
This scenario reminds me of some of the older 40k missions where only selected units were deployed at the start of the game, with the rest arriving as the game progressed. Army selection will be important for this mission and you may need to play another if your opponent has no vehicles or fast attack units, as they will automatically lose the game on turn 1.
Willing Sacrifice
This scenario uses three objectives; one in the centre of the board and each player places one objective in their opponent's deployment zone.
The Space Marine player must keep at least half their army in reserve, so will be outnumbered by their opponent. In addition, the Space Marine player only starts to roll for reserves from turn 3, but gets +1 to the rolls and all reserves turn up at once. In addition, all reserve units gain Outflank.
The objectives are worth 3 points each and the player that kills the most enemy units gains another point.
This is an interesting scenario, the Marine player will be seriously outnumbered for at least two turns of the game and could be wiped out before the reserves arrive. However, should the vanguard force survive, the Marine reserves will arrive in force and will be in a good position to survive until the end of the game to grab the objectives. I think I would like to try out this scenario, it should provide a good test for a player in both army selection and during the game.
Overall
I like the new scenarios that are provided, they should make a good change from the regular missions. I'm not sure how balanced they will be, only playing them will give any indication of that.
Hopefully, I will be able to test the missions out in the coming weeks.
Hammer Blow
This scenario represents a lightning attack by the space marines on the enemy forces. The marine player has to force his way into the enemy deployment zone, while the defender must rebuff the attack.
This scenario uses three objectives; one in the centre of the board, one in the centre of the enemy table edge and the last one placed anywhere in the enemy deployment zone by the Space Marine player.
The defender deploys first anywhere in his table half. The space marine player gets the first turn and enters play from the opposite table edge on the first turn. Units can Outflank (if they have the rule) and Space Marine units can deep strike on the first turn.
Players score 3 pts for each objective held at the end of the game. Secondary objectives are Slay the Warlord and a bonus point for whichever player kills the most units during the game. In addition, all space marine infantry units get Objective Secured.
I like this mission. It promises to be a very bloody affair and forces the Space Marine player to be very aggressive if they want to win the game as all the objectives are in the enemy deployment zone, but gain the benefit of access to more Objective Secured units.
Angels of Death
This scenario represents the Space Marines striking at the enemy command structure, trying to cause as much damage as possible, with more valuable units being worth more victory points.
The defender sets up his forces in a central square, with units having to be deployed at least 6" away from each other (so no camping in the centre). The Space Marine player's forces enter the table from any side on turn 1, with units allowed to deep strike.
The winner of the scenario is determined by kill points, with HQ units worth 3 points and non-troops units worth 2 points. This means it is worth trying to take out your opponent's elite units as they are worth more reward.
There are some additional rules for the scenario, giving the Space Marine player's units Fear and allowing deep striking units not to scatter on turn 1. The defender also gets Stubborn and Move through cover.
I like this scenario too. It's a variation of Purge the Alien that has greater rewards for tackling the tougher units in your opponent's army. As with many of these scenarios, the Marine player's forces do not begin on the table, so you will want a hard hitting and fast force that can fire on the move.
Here I Shall Die
This scenario represents a small marine force disrupting the enemy supply lines, ready to sell their lives awaiting reinforcements.
In this scenario, the Space Marine player is the defender and sets up a single objective and deploys his forces in the centre of the board. What I like about this scenario is that it uses alternating deployment of units between the players as was common in previous editions of 40k, a nice throwback to a simpler time!
The mission is kill points, with the objective being worth 5 victory points, so well worth grabbing if you can. The deployment zones in this scenario are quite small, so a first turn charge is entirely likely. Any unit within range of the objective gets the Zealot rule, so a unit controlling it will not give it up easily.
I imagine this will be a very bloody and hard fought scenario, with most of the action taking place in the centre of the board.
Slayer of Kings
This scenario sees the players deploy in Hammer and Anvil deployment, but only 18" apart. The objective of the scenario is for the Space Marine player to kill the enemy HQ units, while the defender has to keep them alive.
If playing this scenario, I would recommend the defender takes at least two HQ units to make the game more interesting. This is one of the simplest scenarios, but could prove to be a lot of fun (and a White Scars Hunting Force would love it).
Emperor's Fist
This scenario uses three objectives placed along the central diagonal line; one in the centre of the board and one in the centre of the two opposite table quarters. The players deploy in the opposite table quarters (another nice throwback).
Only fast attack units may be deployed at the start of the game, all other units are held in reserve, but vehicle reserves may be rolled from turn 1 (with reserves arriving on a 4+).
Each objective is worth 3 points at the end of the game, as well as various secondary objectives.
This scenario reminds me of some of the older 40k missions where only selected units were deployed at the start of the game, with the rest arriving as the game progressed. Army selection will be important for this mission and you may need to play another if your opponent has no vehicles or fast attack units, as they will automatically lose the game on turn 1.
Willing Sacrifice
This scenario uses three objectives; one in the centre of the board and each player places one objective in their opponent's deployment zone.
The Space Marine player must keep at least half their army in reserve, so will be outnumbered by their opponent. In addition, the Space Marine player only starts to roll for reserves from turn 3, but gets +1 to the rolls and all reserves turn up at once. In addition, all reserve units gain Outflank.
The objectives are worth 3 points each and the player that kills the most enemy units gains another point.
This is an interesting scenario, the Marine player will be seriously outnumbered for at least two turns of the game and could be wiped out before the reserves arrive. However, should the vanguard force survive, the Marine reserves will arrive in force and will be in a good position to survive until the end of the game to grab the objectives. I think I would like to try out this scenario, it should provide a good test for a player in both army selection and during the game.
Overall
I like the new scenarios that are provided, they should make a good change from the regular missions. I'm not sure how balanced they will be, only playing them will give any indication of that.
Hopefully, I will be able to test the missions out in the coming weeks.
If I knew I was going to be the enemy Player in Slayer of Kings, I don't think I'd be able to resist doing some ludicrous WolfStar+Librarius Conclave list with like 13 HQs, just to run the total score up as high as possible :D
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