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After a hiatus from 40k since 7th came out, a group of us a thinking of playing again. One of the things we are looking at is what missions to play. I thought i'd hit you guys up and see what people enjoyed playing and why. So what are your thoughts?

100% the new maelstrom missions, always seems to be a unique challenge in game that requires you to focus both on fire power and mobility.

I like Maelstrom as I like moving models around and would like to play it more but my gaming group almost exclusively plays Eternal War as it's less random.

There's only a certain amount of times where you think 'screw this, I'm done playing against Tau gunline in a mission where turns 1-4 don't matter'.

I really want to try BAO format, which combine the two missions. They seem like a lot of fun and fair for both sides.

95% Maelstrom. But, there are a lot of very fun, very not competitive missions in Altar of War, including a few that have respawning units. A few tweaks and they make for amazingly fun games using 750pts on a small table. I often use the Black Legion version to try out new armies in both a defensive and offensive role, see what works better against my established armies.

Step 1: Go out and buy 2$ notecards.

Step 2: Expertly save 50$ in GW super-fancy extra luxury card product by writing down the Maelstrom objectives and Psychic powers on them.

Step 3: Realize that you're smarter than GW's rules writing staff and rule that you immediately re-draw an objective card that it is impossible for your army to achieve for whatever reason.

Step 4: Never have to play against Gunlines, super duper extra pumped up Death Stars and superheavy lists and feel like you dont have any way to win again.

Maelstrom is random. Yes. But let's be honest, 40k is a game where you sit down and randomly determine what table half you put your dudes down on to randomly determine the objective before you determine who shoots and chops who randomly to determine a victor at random. Sometimes you randomly use psychic powers you randomly determined at the game's start and you cause damage that you look up on a random table.

In a game where movement is random if your guys want to run, are you really going to be that miffed that your commander is receiving his orders from a speak-n-spell?

The_Scotsman sums up the perfect four steps.
I like rolling for missions, so there is a chance that Eternal War of Altar of War missions come up, but Maelstrom definitely is my favourite. The Altar of War missions have some very interesting alternate set ups too.

I don't play rulebook missions any more. I've downloaded all the GT mission packets I can find. Now instead of maelstrom or eternal war, we ask "LVO, NOVA or BAO?" Less random than maelstrom, more tactical than eternal war.

I've played a few Maelstrom missions, and a lot of Eternal War.

I find the Maelstrom Missions are an interesting diversion from what I consider "proper" 40k. I understand that some people enjoy Maelstrom for its merits, but I don't particularly find them to be as satisfying to play. Kind of like eating fast food. It'll fill you up, and sometimes that's what you're in the mood for, but it's just empty calories, and you'll want something nutritious shortly thereafter.

If you don't get rotgut, or something.

People make a good point, that randomly determining the random randomness of a random occurrence if you randomly roll random random-random is becoming a part of 40k. Maelstrom makes it worse, for myself. I enjoy a game where multi-turn plans can be formed and executed, instead of... "Run across the board to sit there for a turn... now run back and grab something in your own deployment zone. Now kill things in 10 combats. Oops, you lose because your opponent kept generating the objectives he's sat on all game, with cast 6 psychic powers for d6+6 VP... and he's rocking 20 units of Grey Knights. Too bad you didn't randomly determine better objectives. Even though you played magnificently, and your opponent couldn't open a doorknob with two hands and an instruction manual, you lost 4 points to 16.

So, yeah. I like Eternal War, as it holds the last vestiges of multi-turn, clear objective gaming.

Eternal War is more balanced, But everyone plays mealstorm here, because it gives edge to fast moving armies that can msu. But even those games are house ruled, with different draw and discard and flat 2 and 4 VP instead of the d3-d6.

Personally I like EW and Maelstrom equally, but I'm very interested in trying out the BAO missions. They seem to mitigate the poorer elements of both systems and retain the good parts.

Our players here prefer maelstrom mission.
I like EW more since those missions are more predictable.

I was initially put off by the randomness of the maelstrom missions but there seems to be a good amount of support for them, so we'll give them a shot. I'd prefer to see a blend of the two brb mission types where you still get points for standard objectives, but use the cards as bonus points.

I appreciate all the input.

 Maelstrom808 wrote:
I was initially put off by the randomness of the maelstrom missions but there seems to be a good amount of support for them, so we'll give them a shot. I'd prefer to see a blend of the two brb mission types where you still get points for standard objectives, but use the cards as bonus points.

I appreciate all the input.

I for one have enjoyed the maelstrom missions as well. Its enabled my Dark Angles Ravenwing army to play and win often. Higher toughness with Mobility and Speed with a Combined Arms detachment means that often I can score those secure objective X card easily enough and give me an edge out in victory points. The trick is in smaller games avoiding being tabled. My last game I had Sammael truboboosting all over the place to avoid death, but I won 13 VP's to 3 as a result.

MarsNZ wrote:
Personally I like EW and Maelstrom equally, but I'm very interested in trying out the BAO missions. They seem to mitigate the poorer elements of both systems and retain the good parts.

Next game?

Anything but The Relic

The folks who I usually play with roll for Eternal War or Malestrom. It tends to balance out that way makes people not choose armies that are far superior in one format vs. the other. Seems like that makes for better matchups in both. I like the Malestrom ones better personally so i hope for that roll each time.

Only Maelstrom missions. They are helluva more fun than Eternal War, which we've played a lot anyway.