Dropzone Commander - Game 1 - awesomesauce!

Team UCM - Fu#k YEAH!

  Ok, so I played my first game of Dropzone commander(DZC) using the starter box, and all I can say is... Fu#k Yeah!.  Great game.

  Is it 40k, with all the myriad choice and such, nope.  Is it pure, balls to the wall, good fun, oh heck yeah!

  My friend Mark and I played with the starter rules, and we were immediately struck by the tactical choices offered up on turn 1.  I know, I know, amateurs talk about tactics, professionals talk about logistics, but get this... this scale of game HAS logistics!!!!!  You can "play real war" here and not feel like you are just futzing around with tailored battle lists.  You actually have to try to win this game!
 
  DZC has a great blend of the old, but totally relevant game style, of teeth and tail.  True strategists know that every army, regardless of era is judged by it's ratio of teeth (fighting men/armor/equipment) to tail (support/AA/logistics/transport).  If you can effectively support the fighting formation in the field, you will win the engagement.  We kicked ass in the desert campaign (Iraq '90-'91) not just because our equipment was better (it was markedly so), but because we could pick the exact time and place of the battles to be fought.  DZC gives you that feeling.  You can choose the strategy, and then the tactics to win the engagement, and ultimately the war.

  DZC has all the trimmings to make it an incredibly fun miniatures game, both for the new gamer and for the students of war.  You have choices to make every single turn, and your choices make  difference on the field, and in the outcome of the game.  Yes, the dice dictate the outcome, but you can, for your part, determine when the dice matter and how much so.  There is not a lot of games like that, and I think major props should be given to the design team at Hawk for their design methodology.  You have a winner here, guys!  (or, in my case... where do I send my money... Just take my money!!)

  And yes, that's another great part of the game.  After this first play of the game, I can see how the units interact, and I know that buying a certain unit is NOT going to guarantee me a win.  There are no death stars here.   You may buy a cool unit, but if you can't figure out how to use it correctly, you just wasted $20...  I love it!

  Oh, and if this glowing review sounds too good to be true... get this... I LOST!  I lost the game 2VP to 1VP.  We had to call it a turn early, but we could see that it would not be a tie, and therefore KP would not be a factor.  Imagine the crap I would be saying if I had won????

  So yes, folks, if you are looking for a GREAT, easy and fun alternative game to play, you need to RUN, not walk to get a copy of Dropzone Commander.  You'll love it.  Provided of course, that you can think and actually understand war and battle.  If you're one of the asshole WAAC 40k players,  then you won't be able to figure out why spending $700 on models didn't win you the game.  (But you're just an asshat anyhow, so it's no big deal.  Crawl back into your deathstar, asshat cave and die, the gaming community does not need you.)

Photos follow.  I must admit, I was too drawn into the game to take enough pics for a proper BATREP.  Sorry.

  Deployment.  I kept my AA and Infantry on their dropships, praying that his AA would not make me pay for my boldness.  I got lucky and feinted with my armor onto the left flank.  

Damn!  He got the initiative and deployed into the building before I could even disembark.  It was going to be ugly if he  found the objective quickly.  (By the way, objectives have to be found, not stumbled upon.  In our game, there were three coconuts to find (I just came back from Hawaii, give us a break!!!))

  His infantry is in the building, mine is barely deployed.  I am a full turn behind in reaction.  Only my tanks are doing well, and that is pure luck of the rolling so far!

  Ahhh, the AA is now in the fray, and exacting a terrible price in scourge forces!  We shall overcome the inhuman invaders!!

 

   Damnit, how did he get that far.  Fracking Scourge!!!  After a terribly deadly, yet successful CQB, I held the center building.  Giving up on the farthest objective cost me dearly though, as he got it off the board, and I could not take control of the objectives before turn 6 to contest the VPs and force the game to KP totals.  So, the UCM lost by the slimmest of margins, but we shall return, and one day reclaim HOLY TERRA (help me, Space Marines!!! - LOL)

  Seriously, if you are looking for a very challenging, fun and easy to play epic level game, play DZC.  You'll love it!!!!