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It's been seven long years of fighting for the Emperor (and Chaos when the mood calls for it) in 40k. But now, my days as a Chapter Master (and the Mad King of Adumar) are nearing their end. I'm getting slightly bored with playing the same game over and over again. That, and Games Workshop is starting to piss me off to the point where I don't even want to support them anymore (but that's for another thread at another time). So, I'm branching out. A friend has me interested in getting X-Wing, I'm going to support the Maelstrom's Edge kickstarter once I get paid again, and I'm building up an army from Dreamforge Games for whenever they decide to finally make their game Iron Core (and to use as an Imperial Guard army in case the 40k mood ever strikes again).

Then I saw Warpath and Deadzone. And these two I'm not 100% sure about yet.

The models look fantastic, and the game appears interesting from what Mantic Games' website has shown. But I don't know if I should invest in this game as well. I like the idea of a skirmish game, and I still enjoy playing larger games like 40k. But I don't want to spend $100 on a starter set for a game I'm not going to like.

So, can you guys tell me a little more about both games? What are they like and how they play, pros and cons, etc. Give me a good reason to invest in these games.

Thanks in advance!

Can't speak for Warpath, but Deadzone is a really fun game. Once you get them better organised than the current books, the rules are pretty easy to learn and remember.

Not having to measure saves so much hassle, and in my experience the use of cubes instead of a tape measure is a major cut off point for getting tabletop gaming friends to try the game.

A game round has multiple turns in it, and in each turn you can activate up to your command limit in minis (each mini can be activated once per round), but if you have less unactivated minis on the board than your opponent you can pass a turn, and force your opponent to move instead. The player who finishes their round first gets to go first next round. Gets quite tactical.

Line of sight is dead simple and clear cut - if you can see any part of the model or base from your guy, you can shoot at it. That's it. If you can see all of the target totally exposed, which doesn't happen often, you just get an extra attack die.

Speaking of die, unlike 40k the numbers always remain the same - if your stat says you hit on a 4+, then no matter what else is happening, you will always hit on a 4+, nothing changes that. Special rules, terrain and effects just add or subtract the number of dice you get to roll to make those hits, from a base of 3 d8. I've found ot monumentally easier and quicker to use and remember compared to the byzantine interacting and ever changing charts of 40k.

The factions are all different, and the different and secret missions along with the modular terrain make for great replayability. It also has a campaign mode ala Necromunda, but without the balance issues, which is being revamped to make it more fun as we speak.

Some cons would be the material - a lot of people dislike restic for minis. Personally I don't have a huge problem with it, and find that it actually works out better than HIPS for bigger beasties. The cubes can also be a con too if you prefer measuring.

The other thing is that every Deadzone mini is potentially a Warpath mini - you don't have to play Warpath at all if you don't want to, but the option to expand your Deadzone force is there if you ever want it.

There's supposed to be an alpha of the new Warpath rules at Mantic Open Day on the 16th, we'll know more then.

Well, it depends. I can really only speak for DZ, which is a pretty good game... but theya recently had a kickstarter, so it might be worth waiting for retail, at least if you want to play veermyn or enforcer pathfinders. If plague and mainline enforcers are more interesting to you, it might be worth buying the starter though. Pretty good value for money.

Warpath is currently on life support, and everyone is basically waiting for a kickstarter featuring it. Might be worth waiting for that one as well.

Though I can't speak for Deadzone, I can say that Warpath is quite fun and fast paced, and it lends itself well to both Skirmish Level and large scale games, and it's closer to a 40K style of game than Deadzone, but with much of the complexity removed, it might be worth playing a test game to see if you like it though.

I have been eyeing up both recently myself. I read a 40k batrep which used Warpath rules for an Armageddon sized game. They said it was more fun than usual 40k, but almost half the time to play. I have read through the rules for Warpath and have found the Version 1.0 definitely better than Version 2.0 if I remember correctly. Also the rules are currently free, so download them and check it out.

In regards to Deadzone, I have bought it, built the amazing terrain, but none of the minis. I don't particularly like the models, especially the enforcers. I have to hand it to GW, the SM models are just beautiful enforcer stand ins! I can never turn down the 40k art, just some of the best out there.

Anyway, I have read through the Deadzone rules, watched a few videos and have to say I am impressed. I can see the game getting dull, but that is probably only due to the small nature of it, and I am sure that it would take a few years to get tired of it.

I see Warpath as being my replacement of 40k, although I will still use the 40k models. I am still sticking around for 7th edition 40k, but we shall see where GW takes it in 8th before I fully commit to jumping off the GW plank.

Well, I think you guys sold me. I'll be picking up the starter set for Deadzone this weekend. Warpath, I might wait on for a little while.

Thanks again, guys!