Alright, you have heard the rumors, you have seen snippets of the game. UK Games Expo was last weekend and there is a ton of new information available on Armored Clash. But I hear you asking what the Dystopian Age is and why you should care? Buckle up Dorothy, get ready to exit Kansas towards an alternative 1800s.
So, the Dystopian Age is, when Armored Clash is released in a 3 part window. First you have Wild West Exodus, which is the 28-32 mm skirmish games on 3×3 (90 x 90 cm) boards in towns and other parts of the alternative Wild West. Then there is the naval combat game called Dystopian Wars, where you have airships, boats and titanic robots battling it out over sea. Now that Armored Clash is coming out, the Dystopian Age is taking the fight to the dry lands of planet earth.
The main thread through all 3 games, is that there is no conventional power but steam power, insane electrical devices and even stranger alien devices. There are different factions throughout each game, and it seems that the factions of Armored Clash and Dystopian Wars will be shared.
Wild West Exodus has the wargame and skirmish scale, the massive ships of Dystopian Wars are roughly 1:1200, and it looks like Armored Clash will be 10mm epic scale, which is 1:160.
Armored Clash Rules Snippets
Yes, we know, you weren’t here for the fancy introduction to the Dystopian Age, but for the saucy details that we know already. We already saw a couple of rules and besides that, the models and some speculations are making rounds as well. Let’s talk about the snippets first.
- The game is played with special designed D6’s and has an alternate activation system;
- Attacks will use a combat rating system. Better rating means better re-rolls;
- Not every weapon is fired separately. There are stats for light, heavy and airborne targets;
- Armored Clash will use a card system for command and conquest;
- Troops have discipline, which they can use to hold ground.
The AC models so far
The demo’s held at UKGE this weekend were between the Crown and the Empire. This means these factions will at least be among the first to being released. There were a couple of hints on the Facebook page about the Commonwealth being next. Let’s not speculate about the future yet. More on that later in another coverage.
First off, there is the Empire Tanks.
They redefine the term: “great balls of fire” as we see a main cannon in the front and two sponson turrets on each side. Having a tank thread all round the tank, could indicate they are fast and highly maneuverable.
Next up is the Command Behemoth for the Crown.
Assuming Armored Clash give us multiple options to make the models, just like the weapon options for Dystopian Wars, you can also make an artillery Behemoth out of the set.
Of course there are many more pictures, but these were the best ones we could find.
The map size of Armored Clash
From what we have seen on the demo’s and in other YouTube vids, we could see a rather small table. Again, speculation, but my guess is that it will be played on a 6×4, just like Dystopian Wars. My guess is as good as yours, but that would be the most logical size. Also, it’s purely based on the amount of models on bases and sizes of command carriers.
In the picture below, we see one of the play tables. On the right side we see the Empire carrier of some sorts. What you can also see on the pics is the tokens, a couple more models and the datasheets of each model. There wasn’t a more perfect way to show off that terrain! You can see that in the top left of the pic.
Some Speculations/ Extras
- New campaign book with rules for landing vessels, due next month;
- AC won’t affect DW, but nothing was said about WWX;
- As far as we know, there are NO 2 Player Starters. Bigger one-player sets have popped up more than often on the channels. Bigger than the DW 1 player starters.
- Armored Clash will have encounter levels.
- There are no turn templates and uses different counters than DW.
That’s all folks!
This is what we know thus far. Much more will become public, so I advise checking the Facebook pages. Many thanks to Koen Cambré for giving me his sheets that he collected about AC. Thank him by checking out his YT Channel.
And once we have more info on the commercial part of AC, you can find it in our shop, so stay tuned and onto next week for more Bloggotron wargaming and hobby fun!
Special thanks to Scott Webster @ The Markov Dossier for the Pictures.
