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Hello there!
Well I recieved my Maelstroms edge stuff a couple of weeks ago and have since now played 6 games against my brother and nephew and I have to say I am a huge fan already and really hope it keeps developing.
Between the three of us we have won two games each and are looking to break the tie. We found the rules to be easy enough to follow, starting with small forces at 60 pts to get use to the basic mechanics of it and gradually added an extra unit that had more complex rules each game.
Now me and my brother are usually very fussy about rule sets for games moving from one to another or house ruling as we always found something lacking. With Maelstroms edge we have had a blast playing the rules as is. We have not played 40k in a long time so found it easy to grasp the different mechanics of the gameplay which have a simple complexity to them, which I found really engaging. I didn't use the reference sheets at first but had no problem with the rulebook and the sheets do help now I have them as quick reference. I also went through the play guide on the website, to check if we was doing the rules properly and I was happy to find we were, only missing out some small minor details but that will be corrected in the next games now I am aware of it. The guide however is very useful and I would certainly recommend it to beginners to help grasp the gameplay mechanics.
I am a big fan of the more shooting focused mechanic and not simply killing the opponents outright but needing to manoeuvre to destroy them, setting up to cause them to flee or simply rendering them useless through submission. This I think took a lot of getting used to not because there is anything wrong with it but because I have not played a game in which you had to be so tactical to get results. Most are very straight forward but I feel this one really causes you to think carefully with the alternate activations, suppression affecting units and who has priority.
Combat I know has been hit or miss in other peoples views and while I am a fan of the more ranged focus I found the close combat mechanics to be, as has been said easy to resolve once you are use to shooting and such, there is very little difference. It is quick and brutal and I like the fact you do not get sucked into a huge melee, that can last for turns at a time. It reminds me of a squads desperate last ditch attempt to force units off objectives or caught off guard. If however you have the more specialised combat units though it is much more effective. My contractors live in fear of the Angel and souped up close combat Nova.
The army building aspect of Maelstrom is also very inclusive. I feel it gives just enough customisation without becoming a chore of army list writing. Simply having the cards as useful reference and taking any upgrades as desired. It is quick to make an army or multiples to try out different combinations and factions. The 8 unit maximum is a good inclusion as it keeps the armies manageable. Having numerous small units or fewer but bigger sized squads or a happy medium. It gives the impression of a large force still, even if it requires less miniatures then a lot of similar games. Reinforcements and reserves is also very helpful in case you make a mistake it is somewhat of a safety buffer and allows you to still recover and go for the win, but still at a price as you have to bid with command points.
This is the first game where I feel objectives matter and force you to go after them to get the win. With primary secondary and faction objectives there is no reason to not go after them, because if you don't and your opponent does it will be game over in no time. An example is of my second game against my nephew where I stayed back and fired in a gun line formation safe behind cover. He took heavy casualties and I was confident of the win, but by turn 5 he had accumulated all the points he needed just by manoeuvring to the objectives and winning with a huge margin of 14 to 4 because I was content to stay back thinking I was ahead gunning men down indiscriminately. I won't be making that mistake again.
At present I am still working on finishing my Maelstroms table, terrain and miniatures but so far couldn't be happier with the gameplay. I haven't had this much fun on the table top in years.
I hope this has been helpful. It is just my own musings on the game, but I thought I should let others know as I would really like for this game to take off and spread. It has real good potential including the fluff, which I was very impressed with especially as I don't take much interest in it for most games but this is something which I can imagine and relate to in a sense. I feel it could really develop and expand into something amazing and would only be to glad to see that happen.
Now if you will excuse me I have some bot repairs to perform. We have had reports of Karist activity on the borders.
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