We now say that the driver (or a dedicated gunner) can fire one of the vehicle’s guns even when passengers are not on board!
Alessio Cavatore brings some insight into some of the key changes everyone is eager to find out more about as Bolt Action Second Edition is mere weeks away from hitting your table tops!
Bolt Action Second Edition Pre-Orders are being shipped now! The Mail Order picking team are working around the clock to get orders ready for the next round of Shipping, beginning Monday 12th September, so order early and get some Bolt Action 2nd Edition action on your battlefields real soon!
Alessio: As we played Bolt Action, we observed a couple of areas of the rules that, while not perceived as problems by the majority of gamers, we found could be improved upon. And of course this new edition is the perfect place to make those tweaks. We tested many of them, at length, and in some cases we decided to leave things well alone! In some other cases, however, we found that some of these tweaks make the game even more fun and interesting. I will not list all of these little changes in this article, but rather I’ll just give you a few examples that I find are the coolest…
Armed transports
Armed transports were OK, but a little passive, not being able to fire their own guns when empty… well, we now say that the driver (or a dedicated gunner) can fire one of the vehicle’s guns even when passengers are not on board – now these models are an active part of your force for the entire game! Jon Russell of the Warlord Demo Team over in the US can tell us more:
Historical
Jon: I am glad this made it into the new edition of Bolt Action. Everywhere I have gone to play, demo or run a Tournament I was always asked about or got input, both good and bad, about this rule. I think it would be safe to say this was the Number 1 gripe of Bolt Action I encountered in all of my game related travels. I even would get this question asked in emails and other social media sources. A few individuals who will remain nameless (you know who you are!) even went to great lengths with historical documentation showing me how motor pools would have trained stand by gunners waiting to go out on convoy duty or to man the guns of any vehicles flowing through their respect service and repair centres.
Tactics
A lot of the tried and tested tactics still work, but now there is a little “extra” there for you to use. There is currently nothing like advancing a loaded transport, fire its weapon into an enemy unit, and next order dice dismount the troops and give them a leisurely stroll out of the vehicle offering your enemy a hot lead sandwich! But now with this new rule, the next turn if the dice gods are on your side, you can hit the target unit for a third time with barrage steel from your armed transport. Giving you the chance to pile on a 3rd pin marker before you decide to use the next order dice to assault and finish off the weakened enemy section. I guess you could say you are definitely getting more BANG for your BUCK!
The reverse is true as well. Now your armed transport can cover your “advancing in another direction” troops to help them escape the attentions of your enemy. The unit can then pile into your stationary vehicle, it didn’t move but it fired its weapon, and this just might cause your pursuers to think twice before continuing their chase of your retreating squad.
And of course the armed transport is now even more vital in redirecting your attack to a different flank or route. They can rush back and forth ferrying your troops with guns blazing giving you more of a punch to precisely where you need this rolling machine gun nest to deliver its lead spray of doom and hard charging troopers!
Still a transport
But even though your vehicle can shoot back it is still classed as a transport. So what, you may ask? Well, it means it still must stay close to friendlies. The rule still applies about empty transports. If an unoccupied transport ever ends its turn closer to an enemy unit it is removed from the playing table.
Alessio: So there you have our first peek behind the curtains at the revised rules for Bolt Action 2nd Edition. We look forward to all of your inputs and discussions on the topic of armed transports. Keep your eyes peeled on the Warlord Games Bolt Action facebook page for the most up to date news and more!
Next installment we answer all the questions about the …wait for it… HE Template!
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
Craig Nixon