So I'm getting frustrated with
GW in several ways - the animation crackdown, the rules bloat/obsolescence cycle, new Kill Team requiring two expensive books just to play, etc. etc. So I'm going to take a break from giving them any money and I took a serious look at alternatives and I'm really rather liking Beyond the Gates of Antares by Warlord Games. For those unfamiliar with the game, it's based off the Bolt Action rules, and features the following:
1.) Random unit activation in the form of order dice - both players dice are put into the same bag, one die per unit. You draw a die, and one unit of that side gets to act.
2.) Rolls are on a
D10 and there's a hit roll and a resist roll - both can be modified in various ways.
3.) Morale is actually impactful, as it reduces many of your rolls to the point where you'll actually want to rally units and suppressing units is a viable tactic.
4.) Smaller unit sizes and game sizes than
40k - a lot of units are 5 models with the option to go to 8, and those 5 dudes are 100-150 points in a game geared towards 1000-2000 point play. So no real 'horde' armies and it's infantry focused, so no huge vehicles either - though there are transports and gunships available.
5.) The rules are confined a main starter rulebook and currently 3 expansion books, which are only required if you use the expansion units. Army lists are available for free as PDFs.
As to the setting, basically the star Antares is actually a giant series of wormhole gates that seems to cross both space and time. It's the only method of FTL (they can do sublight interstellar if necessary) and humanity has spread across millions of gates and re-engineered itself in many ways (so almost all the 'alien' factions are actually modified humans). Technology is very advanced and relies heavily on nanotech and AI assistance. This isn't the grimdark future, though there's plenty of evil and callousness to promote warfare. You're not getting the deep rich lore of 30 years of
40k books, but that's fine, I'm more about the minis and painting than the lore anyhow.
The minis are pretty much true 28mm scale. For comparison:
Each faction has at least one main-line troop unit in plastic, the rest being metal and larger stuff being resin with metal components. Price wise, it's a good chunk cheaper than
GW. For example, a box of C3 Strike Team comes with 10 dudes, 4 spotter drones and 2 C3D1 Light Support Drones for 50USD direct from Warlord, probably cheaper at retail. Army starters are 90 USD from Warlord (note I picked up several from retailers at 70CAD, so shop around) and seem to float around 700-800 points of minis. Vehicles and artillery sit around the 45USD mark.
So I decided to buy one of the starter kits - the smallest of the two, called Strike on Kar'a Nine. It comes with the rulebook (to my surprise, hardbound), a box worth of C3 Strike Team (above) and a box and a half of Algoryn Armored Infantry (15 dudes and 3 drones) for 90
CAD (Warlord recently switched their pricing for NA to USD only, so now it's 62.50USD). Shipping was a bit expensive but Warlord throws in a free box of plastic minis (your choice!) to cover shipping, so I got an extra box of C3 Strike Team thrown in. Also included are 2x3 Order Dice, regular
RPG dice, game templates and morale counters, some cardboard maps and terrain pieces. Pretty damn good value for a hardcover rulebook, 34 minis and all the extras. Basically if you were thinking about buying the rulebook you might as well buy Strike on Kar'a Nine just to get the templates and morale counters and you've gotten a bunch of free minis.
So, on to the painting blog side of this blog, I've finished painting (but not basing) the Concord side of the box set (bought separately this is 36USD direct from Warlord).
This is a minimum of 388 points as shown.
I really like these minis. While smaller than a space marine (especially a primaris), they have the same clean aesthetic. Build-wise, they're plastic with the legs being 1 piece, the torso 2, with an arm holding a gun (and its corresponding arm close on the sprue, so minimal instructions needed) and a separate head. Not a great variety of weapons, but all these guys have plasma weapons and those drones are carrying light plasma cannons - the Concord is pretty high tech when it comes to equipment. Mold-line wise they're as good as
GW (small easy to clean lines).
Painting them, I airbrushed them Stynylrez blue primer followed by Vajello Model Color Light Turquoise. A wash of thinned Citadel Terradon Turquoise followed, then some clean-up with the Light Turquoise again, finishing with an edge highlight of Vajello Model Color Blue Green. Some Contrast Black Templar for the visors and a grey edge highlight plus some Reaper Orange Brown and Marigold Yellow for sensors/lights and such. Just for ease of play, some white banding was added to the heavy weapons guy and squad leaders (front and back) to make them easy to locate on the table. So maybe about 1 hour per guy.
Next up, the Algoryn side of the box, and then on to other stuff I have bought.