Planetfall Achieved! Thoughts On The Game So Far

Directorate Wraith Leviathan on the Hobby Table

Grettings all. SeerK here to talk Firestorm Planetfall.  With Adepticon over and my move finished, the local crew has been able to really start playing Firestorm Planetfall.  We have been getting in several weekly games and so far we have been liking it.  There have been a few hiccups though and we do have some critiques of the game.

I am not going to go into an in depth overview of Planetfall.  If you are reading this I am going to assume you have at least read the rules and have maybe even gotten a few games in.  Myself and the rest of the "Michigan Crew" have been and will be recording with Firebase Delta in the coming weeks doing a complete walk through of the game including the basics of the game, Army Building and some tactics.  Today I wanted to address a couple things I have noticed and some stuff brought up by our local game group.



First off I want to say that I do love the game.  The game play is fast and brutal and the models look fantastic.  The rules are free to download as are the force lists.  There is just one thing that has been nagging me. As I started playing I lost the first couple of games I played.  This is pretty normal when you are learning a new system and feeling out your army.The Relthoza have had a pretty sharp learning curve and I was a little frustrated with them.  The combination of learning an army and the rule set can be very challenging and off putting to some, but like a good soldier you carry on.  Once you have the basics down and really start learning the rules set you can move on to really dig into your army and learn how it plays.  You can learn how it interacts with the rules and what tactics work best.

This last bit is where our group is now.  We are getting a pretty firm handle on the rules and now have moved into the stage were we are setting up complex rule interactions and seeing if the rule set survives the scrutiny of seasoned competitive war gamers.  So far it has weathered the flak we have thrown.  My main issue at the moment is that a couple of the armies feel very incomplete and there is some power level issues.  Namely the Dindrenzi.  The latest update to the rules and the FAQ have scaled back the Dindrenzi a bit, but they still sit above the rest of the armies. In the hands of a capable commander they can really run a table.  I know a couple players have been very frustrated with the Dindrenzi which has translated into a frustration with the game itself.  After my first 4 games I was frustrated as well.  I felt as if my army was lacking something. It felt incomplete.

The ORBATS or army lists do not have all the rules for  the different types of Helix's , that is they only have rules for the models that are currently available.  This is kind of a two edged sword for me.  It is very related to marketing and model releases for sure.  They might even still be play testing the rules for the numerous Helix's still to be released.  It is just a little frustrating for me to not be able to see the rules for my whole army.  Spartan Rules are living rule sets, that is they do updates and fixes to the actual rules documents eventually rather than just relying exclusively on a FAQ.

This allows them to drop in the new Helix's pretty easily.  The main point of frustration goes back to the army feeling incomplete.  I have a core helix, a heavy support helix and a Ba'Kash  helix available to me.  That's it until the Leviathan comes out in a couple weeks. Until the Heavy Helix came out I was having a hard time with my army.  I didn't have the range to take out the several armies and my forces were getting slaughtered close in  despite my slightly superior numbers.  Part of it was the fact I was new to the game and still learning.  Part of it was also lack of helix choices.

When the heavy Helix came out it added quite a bit to my Relth.  I was even able to claim victory against Spellduckwrongs Dindrenzi.  The game is young and we are still figuring things out, but it would be nice to be able to see my entire army.  well thats my 2 cents.  Planetfall is a great game and if you have been curious about it check it out.  My own opinion is not a reflection of the game itself, because quite frankly its the best 10 mm scale game I have ever played.

The system is very tight.  close combat and line of site is handled very nicely and it is easy to understand and make determinations.  As I said before the Michigan crew will be contributing to Firebase Delta in the coming weeks and months as we break down the game and then break down the armies.  stay tuned here and over at Firebase Delta.


Thats all for now.  I am going to be talking more about my Relthoza,  both in space and on the ground.  I am also going to talk tournaments and discuss what we would like to see in the future.

Until next time Crush the Alliance and as always......

REMEMBER DRAMOS!!!!!!