Axis & Allies Miniatures Set 3: Contested Skies

Nice! :-D

The bad part is having to wait until March…I cant wait to see the new units…

Thanks for the head’s up.

Bring on the forward observers.  Its about time we will be able to fire over mountains.  One thing though,  how will the planes work.  For speclations sake are they going to release a “air” map for dog fights.  Probably not but this is going to be an awesome addition.  I wonder if the point amounts will be raised by 100.

$9.25 per box from http://www.gameoutfitter.com/Browse_dept_items.asp/categ_id/222/parent_ids/1,198/Name/AA_The_Eastern_Front_(Set_II)_Boosters

I would reccmmend saving up and buying a case though.  I got a case of set 2 and I got 12 boosters with no doubles on the rares.

Thanks for the set 3 link!

This is going to be very interesting!  But I’m kinda glad we have to wait as well, I still haven’t even gotten all my Set II.

I’m happy to have the planes for the aesthetics alone…I’m not putting too much faith in recreating authentic aerial battles with these minis…it will probably be something similar to Magic where flying units have advantages over ground-based units. Possibly throw in some extra ground units like those 88s to take out the air support.

I do agree that $15 is way to high for boosters…like i said before, there are very little stores in the Miami area, but the best I have found is 4 boosters for $45…a buy 3 get 1 free deal. I had been out of the gaming loop for a bit, but I was expecting a $9.99 price tag like older Wizkids games…

even though i know that it is not Wizards way of selling their products…it would be great if they sold Army packs that consisted of a fixed army…a balanced 200pt army for $12-15 bucks with a army strategy guide and a special map or so…then add on with boosters.

I’m not sure I like the plane thing.  The maps are not designed for air combat.  One beautifull thing about this game is that it’s simple.  I thiink bringing the planes into it will destroy this simplicity.

I hope I’m wrong !

I just hope the planes will not be too powerfull.

Like other people here I don’t really like the way Wizard are selling the minis.  I know they are selling stuff to make money but this is way too much money oriented.  But this game is so damn great !!

My 2 cents

I would like to make a suggestion concerning air units’ involvement.

Maybe have Set 3 include maps with one side water, one side land.  The water side will be used for strictly dogfights obviously.  When it comes to using planes on the land side, I was thinking of having planes’ stat cards having two build point values.  One would be it’s point value in the dogfight setting, while the other would be if you just wanted to make one air strike with that plane.  I realize that this might not be the most realistic idea, but it just seems that if you allowed airplanes to run amok in future sets, then ground units will lose their effectiveness.  One way to counter this last point could be to have AA guns able to cover say, a three-to-five hex radius around the gun?  :|

I know also that the official word says nothing about bombers.  I was just thinking that when it comes to dogfights, maybe have one side being the escorting side, and the other side being the intercepting side.  If the escorting side loses a certain percentage of their bombers period, then they lose.

Just throwing a few ideas out there…

I don’t see how planes can be incorporated into the game other than a brief strafing run or bombing.  It will be interesting to see how they do it.  If a tank can move 5 spaces in a turn then a plane would have to move like 50 in one turn.  Its not like they could opt to move a few hexes or not at all or even turn on a dime.  If the planes are to have dogfights at all, then its hard to imagine it taking place on anything except a seperate and scaled-down map, which would basically make it a seperate game and detract from the ground fight.  If nothing else, they’ll be nice for collecting.

Good point Mal.  In terms of their land involvement, planes can just do bombing runs, etc. and not mess up the scale of the game.

With the dogfights I was referring to, you’re right:  No, planes could not move realistically if the hexes were still only 100 meters across.  For the dogfights, maybe insert a rule that says “When fighting with only planes, use the water side of the map, and take each hex to represent 1000 meters across.”  Or you could use a different number, if you wish…  :-)

I have a feeling (actually, more like a hope) that the plane aspect of the game is going to be alot like the Flames of War miniature game: you place the planes on the hex you want them to come in on and they do a strafing run, all the while dodging enemy AA flak (I agree that the AA guns will probably have a several hex area of defense) and then they’re off the board until next time. I hope that, like FoW, there’s a dice roll to see if air support is available that turn to your part of the battlefield…

Just my two cents on the topic.

-=Grim=-

@djensen:

That does sound like a good rule for aircraft. Are there any rules for air superiority in Flames of War?

Absolutely. There’s even rules for friendly fire! It’s a royal pain in the rear when your friend gets to use your own planes against you. :) The air combat aspect of FoW is pretty detailed for so minor a part in the game (compared to tanks, infantry and big guns). My favorite part is that you get to pay points based not on what planes you use (it’s an abstract system, so all planes- thus far - use the same two stats of “bomber” and “fighter”) but how sporadic support is. Certain armies pay less for better support (like early war Germany), while others are stuck with very sporadic support (Late War Germany).

I hope the Contested Skies rules set does something similiar. I’d rather not have planes flying around the board now.  :-o

-=Grim=-

And now we wonder why the Thread is locked??? :-o :|

GG

Aircraft Deployment
After the movement phase and before the assault phase there are now two new phases: the flight phase and the airstrike phase. Unlike most other units, Aircraft don’t get placed on the battle map during deployment, and they don’t move around. Instead, they are placed during the flight phase and then removed from the battle map at the end of the turn. As a reminder that they don’t move around the battle map, Aircraft have an “A” on their stat cards where the speed value should be.

Extended Sequence of Play
A. Initiative phase (both players)
B. First player’s movement phase
C. Second player’s movement phase
D. First player’s flight phase
E. Second player’s flight phase
F. First player’s airstrike phase
G. Second player’s airstrike phase
H. First player’s assault phase
I. Second player’s assault phase
J. Casualty phase (both players)
K. End of turn (remove Aircraft)

Flight Phase: During your flight phase, you can place your Aircraft anywhere on the board. Aircraft with face-up Disrupted counters can’t be placed—you’ll have to wait until the disruption wears off first.

Airstrike Phase: During your airstrike phase, you can attack with each of your Aircraft. Hits scored in the airstrike phase are considered to be simultaneous with hits scored from normal attacks during the assault phase.

Assault Phase: Soldiers and Vehicles may attack Aircraft during the assault phase.

• The first hit counter received by each of your opponent’s Aircraft during your airstrike or assault phase is a face-down Disrupted counter.
• The second hit counter received by an Aircraft is a face-down Destroyed counter.

Casualty Phase: In the casualty phase, both players apply the effects of damage dealt by enemy fire in the airstrike and assault phases. Take these steps in the following order.

1. Remove current face-up Disrupted counters, including those from disrupted Aircraft that are off the battle map. Don’t remove existing Damaged counters.
2. Flip over new hit counters.
3. If a unit has a Destroyed counter, it’s destroyed. Remove it from the battle map.
4. If a Vehicle has a single Damaged counter, it’s now damaged.
5. If a unit has a Disrupted counter, it’s now disrupted.

End of Turn: At the end of the turn, remove your surviving Aircraft from the battle map. You won’t be able to place disrupted Aircraft during your next flight phase—you’ll have to wait until the disruption wears off first.

Aircraft Combat

Attacks Against Aircraft: When attacking an Aircraft, units use their anti-Soldier attack values, but get a –1 penalty on each attack die.

Hit Counters on Aircraft: An Aircraft that receives two simultaneous hits gets a face-down Destroyed counter, just like a Soldier.

Terrain: Aircraft never have cover. Terrain does not block line of sight to or from an Aircraft.

Facing: Like Soldiers, Aircraft have no facing.

Defensive Fire: Aircraft can’t make defensive-fire attacks against Soldiers or Vehicles that move between hexes adjacent to the Aircraft.

Stacking: Aircraft do not count toward the normal limit of four units in a hex. However, there is a limit of one Aircraft in a hex.

Antiair
Some units in the Contested Skies set are better at shooting down Aircraft than others. Units with the antiair ability do not suffer the usual –1 penalty on each attack die when attacking Aircraft.

In addition, if an Aircraft is placed in a hex adjacent to a unit with the antiair ability, then the Aircraft provokes a defensive-fire attack from that unit. Other than the condition that provokes it, this attack is a normal defensive-fire attack.

And, the new pictures are up.  Why is there another freaking Sherman?? The 232 is nice, but the LAST thing we need is another Sherman….at least one in American markings.

That is probably a Sherman 105 or Sherman Firefly…