Last year Deadzone saw a few changes and additions. Perhaps the most exciting development was the launch of the GCPS Faction Starter and Faction Booster. These brave soldiers are humanity’s main defence against alien threats in a potentially hostile galaxy. Along with the GCPS we also took the opportunity to introduce some new units to the Asterians (Marionette Drones) and release a new Asterian Faction Starter.

We also re-configured our Battlezones line of sci-fi scenery to ensure each set had a specific theme for your gaming table, e.g. a forgotten factory or ruined city. We’ll be introducing more Battlezones sets this week, so stay tuned to the blog for more details.

Moving on to 2018 and we’ve got some very exciting things planned for Deadzone, which will ensure the game stays fresh and encourages new players to create their own strike team. But what are they?

DEADZONE: OUTBREAK
Perhaps the most exciting release for Deadzone is a new supplement – Deadzone: Outbreak. A little like the Clash of Kings supplement for Kings of War, this will bring together a wealth of great content:

Tips for running tournaments and leagues
New equipment/weapons for your strike team
Updated and new scenarios for tournament play
Updated faction lists that include the latest changes from the errata
The faction lists in particular will be extremely useful as it means all the updated factions will be in one place, so there’s no need to flick between the original rulebook and the errata. The Rules Committee is already hard at work on the content and it is going to be released in June.

However, that’s not all the book will introduce…

THE NAMELESS!
That’s right, The Nameless are coming to Deadzone. Along with their own Star Saga expansion The Nameless will become an official faction in Deadzone and their stats will appear in Outbreak.



A new Faction Starter will be released that includes the Minions from the Star Saga expansion, along with some brand new miniatures that will ensure they’re an effective faction. So expect to see a vehicle-like Nameless miniature and more.

We’ll also be working on the background of the Nameless to explain why they’re heading into space and trying to colonise new planets. A lot of this background will be expanded as part of…

DEADZONE SUMMER CAMPAIGN
After last year’s successful Kings of War campaign, in 2018 we’ll be turning our attention to the stars with a Deadzone summer campaign. This is currently planned to start in July.

The focus will be on the Nameless arriving on a planet to try and colonise it. However, the best laid plans of tentacled creatures always go wrong and the other factions arrive to cause problems! For example, the Forge Fathers are there to get the Nameless’ mysterious tech, the GCPS want to monetize any Nameless resources, Marauders are there because, well they like fighting, and so on…

Currently the plan is that each week will focus on a new city as the various factions work their way around the planet causing all kinds of havoc. The campaign will incorporate any new scenarios and equipment that are introduced in Deadzone: Outbreak too. We will be creating a special website where people can upload their results and follow the progress of the campaign. Stay tuned for more details.

In 2018, we’ll be releasing expansions to the Star Saga core game. The first of these will focus around one of the most popular factions in our Warpath universe – the Nameless.

These be-tentacled humanoids will be engaging in combat for the first time in the Terror in the Deep Expansion, as well as getting their own faction list in Deadzone. In a similar vein to our Dungeon Saga Expansions, this new expansion will include a few new mercenaries, new minions and new bosses, all with a fun campaign to play though.

The Terror in the Deep features 8 new Nameless minions, 2 new bosses – The Terror and the Blight – and 2 brand new mercenaries – So Hin the Asterian Kalyshi and Ota Sora the Matsudan Warrior.

This will build on the contents of the core game, and you’ll be able to field your old mercenaries in these new missions, too. This isn’t the only expansion we have planned for Star Saga, so keep an eye out for more!

There will also be the Character Creator and Mission Creator Expansions. These allow you to create your own mercenaries and scenarios for use in games of Star Saga, giving you a near-endless scope for gameplay and creating your own narratives. And, of course, Kickstarter backers will be getting the rest of their pledges, which includes the Veer-myn and Rebs expansions months before they hit retail.

2018 (Warpath) Reinforcements

We’ve already put plans into place for the releases coming next year, which will ensure that there’s plenty more coming for Warpath in 2018! Firstly, we’ll be doing a full release for the GCPS – great to turn your Deadzone Strike Team into an army! There will be separate releases for each of the units including GCPS Marines, Heavy Weapons Teams and Ranger Specialists. You’ll also see the arrival of two new Hard Plastic Vehicle kits – the GCPS Mule and Hornet. The Mule is a land based transport, not unlike a Jeep or Humvee, which can carry 10 GCPS infantry safely into combat and support them with its own mounted weaponry. The Hornet is a dropship, capable of vertical take off and landing – swiftly redeploying troops across the battlefield. A common tactic used by GCPS commanders is to air drop squads of heavily armed rangers from Hornets. These vehicles are widely used by not only the GCPS, but can also be found in Plague and Marauder forces, too.

Later in the year we’ll be reinforcing the armies with more units. We’ll be bringing back the Forge Father Urban Pattern Iron Ancestor – renamed the Hellermal in the current rules – by putting it through our new in-house resin casting. We’ll also be releasing some of the units that were featured in the Kickstarter, including the Veer-Myn Tangle, and even a few new miniatures that have never been seen before!

On top of this, there are more Hard Plastic vehicles on the way. Namely the massive Asterian Chira Transport/Chroma Force Platform and Plague variants of the Mule and Hornet.

 judgedoug wrote:
Dreadball 2 received in the USA (east coast)! I am really, really happy by the quality of the components. The models seem much crisper than my Star Saga models. The board is sturdy and looks great. The book seems hefty enough to survive abuse, especially the pages. Very, very pleased with my pledge!

 DaveC wrote:
Mantic use resin miniatures for their painted pieces as they are normally painted before production starts.

There has been no images of the Nameless production miniatures yet. I hope they stick with plain grey for them but they will probably be coloured plastic. They say it's the same formula plastic but adding the colour seems to soften the plastic a bit - detail is the same although both the blue and red doesn't show the detail as well as the light grey.

 pancakeonions wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:
Dreadball 2 received in the USA (east coast)! I am really, really happy by the quality of the components. The models seem much crisper than my Star Saga models. The board is sturdy and looks great. The book seems hefty enough to survive abuse, especially the pages. Very, very pleased with my pledge!

That's excellent to hear, mine is probably (hopefully) en route! I understand that the cards are not included in the pledge (per a recent KS update, I think), so we can't actually play yet, right?

 BrookM wrote:
Any word on the Mule and Hornet?

Test shots and Vehicle Update
So, as some of you might have noticed, we were showing off the GCPS Mule at our recent Open Day. We’ve since received test shots for the outstanding vehicles, so we've put these under the studio camera so that you guys can get a better look!



These are Test Shots we’ve had back from the manufacturers and although there are amendments to be made (as always) we think you’ll agree that the details have come out really well! These will look a bit odd, as the plastic may vary in colour and there may be errors on this first run. Worry not, for we've already gone back with corrections.



Shown above is the GCPS Mule (with a Drakkar for scale). We have also received components for the Plague variety, but only enough to build one to show off. These two kits share some components, but are mostly made from completely different parts.



Next up we have the GCPS Hornet. This is a large kit - large enough to feasibly carry the troop compartment, or a Mule. The turbines can be left unglued to rotate and both side doors open too!



And of course, here it is next to a Drakkar for scale. Like the Mule, we've also had test components for the Plague variant, too.



Last, but not least there is the beast that is the Asterian Chroma (which can also be built as a Chira). This is the largest kit we've ever made, especially in hard plastic. It dwarfs the Drakkar (pun intended) and everything else!



The Chroma mounts larger versions of the weapons of the other Asterian platforms, as you can see here. The gun will slot in place without glue, able to freely rotate without falling off.



As the manufacturers make amendments to the tools, we're entering into the last leg of the process before mass production. Once we're satisfied with the finished models, we'll push the button and have production dates (and therefore shipping dates) for your vehicles. We are sorry for the delay, but the wait is almost over!

 kodos wrote:
Is the collectors rulebook worth the launch bundleiv?

 kodos wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkL9gHpXrGo&app=desktop

 kodos wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkL9gHpXrGo&app=desktop