My First 15mm Army Plans...

[davicusprime]

So I've been poking around the net looking at models and I have settled into building an Army based on Rebel Miniatures' Sahadeen models.

The background for the army is loosely based on the Bandit types from the Badlands of Terra Nova in the Heavy Gear Universe. Basically meant to be hit and Run style raiders with a strong focus on lowtech infantry, fast scout vehicles for fire support (Rebel's Gila model) and Light Mechs because who doesn't want mechs? ;D

As I put together the profiles in gruntomatic, I'll post the resulting cards. In the meantime, what advice can you give me for finding mech and transport models that have that desert rat look?

-DavicusPrime

[zephyr40k]

This is funny. I just discovered Gruntz yesterday and have spent the past 30 hours in a frenzy of learning about it and trying to decide what my first 15mm scifi army will be. After much research, I found the Rebel Minis' Sahadeen models and thought "yeah, there we go. These guys are pretty unique. That's what I'll base my army around." Looks like the Sahadeen are more popular than I thought.

Well, I'm looking for desert-tech vehicles and mechas as well, so I suppose we're in this together. I was thinkking Khursan Miniatures' Iguana APC was pretty cool desert-like. Also I saw somewhere, maybe on 15mm.co.uk, some 'arid planet warriors' that looked pretty cool. I'll try to find them again and post a link here.

[RuneCaster_Aris]

Welcome to the game guys.

So here is some advise for your first army:

- Decide how you want your army to handle BEFORE you make cards. Range, Close Quarters, Mech heavy, Grunt heavy, etc.
- Get to know the rules that apply to that army, especially in the Perkz and Modz department.
- From experience, you don;t need to take one transport per squad to be effective (unlike other table tops). Try playing with 1 for every 2 squads, and remember that transports aren't dedicated so you can shuttle people around as you please.
- Remember that if you make an army, paint it, field it, and it sucks, you just need to mod the cards, not buy a whole new force.
- It also doesn't hurt to get advice on your army/cards on the forums before you buy minis, that way you don't feel like you wasted money on a tank when you really needed a mech/ASV/Specialist.

[inrepose]

Welcome to the new players. Thanks for signing up. I always find that GZG is a great place to look for miniatures or also try Critical Mass Games. Both are in the UK but have a great track record with international shipping.

[davicusprime]

Aug 6, 2013 19:14:00 GMT -5 RuneCaster_Aris said:

Welcome to the game guys.

Thanks!

So here is some advise for your first army:

- Decide how you want your army to handle BEFORE you make cards. Range, Close Quarters, Mech heavy, Grunt heavy, etc.
- Get to know the rules that apply to that army, especially in the Perkz and Modz department.

This is my first dive into the world of 15mm and I'm not used to having such freedom to bring models from any source. Not being confined to a defined faction is forcing me to create things whole cloth. Normally I pick a faction I can get behind due to theme and look. For Grutz I've tossed out the faction thing and just started checking out model ranges from every supplier I could find. The Sahadeen were the ones that caught my eye.

I then created (stole) a concept around their look: Desert Rat/Badland Raiders ala the various factions based in the equitorial badlands in Heavy Gear's setting. A force of scavengers, using the terrain and hit and run tactics to protect themselves and/or for capturing resources they need to keep their people alive.

This will be a mixed force of Grunts focused more on ranged fire than assault backed by fast vehicular units and light/Medium Mechs. All vehicles and mechs must be hardy and easy to maintain as well as being capable of covering soft and rough terrain quickly.

- From experience, you don;t need to take one transport per squad to be effective (unlike other table tops). Try playing with 1 for every 2 squads, and remember that transports aren't dedicated so you can shuttle people around as you please.

Thanks for that reminder... Must remember this isn't 40K For my theme, I've been looking for models that are more like re-purposed transport trucks for Troop transport. One of the models Inrepose has in some of his videos have the right look, I think it was a critical mass games model.

- Remember that if you make an army, paint it, field it, and it sucks, you just need to mod the cards, not buy a whole new force.
- It also doesn't hurt to get advice on your army/cards on the forums before you buy minis, that way you don't feel like you wasted money on a tank when you really needed a mech/ASV/Specialist.

That is yet another new freedom this game allows. Don't like the stats? Make new ones!

My son and I were trying to work out the rules for grunt squads using some of his legos as playing pieces. I whipped up some cards on gruntomatic for his "Greys" and a squad of my Sahadeen. I gave the greys force fields and lasers as "disintegrators" vs. My Sahadeen using assault rifles and a missile launcher. I was beginning to think I made the Greys a bit too potent. I was only able to drop the shield on one of the greys with a missile and then picked him off with the rifles before they waxed my whole squad. Next time I'll be trading the ML for a SAW and see how that plays out.

Stat wise, I made the Sahadeen as lightly armored (soak 11) but reasonably hard to hit (Guard 12). I gave them Melt Away to represent their ability to blend in with the terrain and shift position unexpectedly. Most of their man portable weapons will be conventional projectile and missile weapons. However, their Mechs and vehicles have the power plants to support energy weapons.

The Greys I whipped up for my son were Guard 12, Soak 10 (being naked and all) but with force fields and lasers, making them quite difficult to take down with light arms and making hits pretty lethal.

When I can afford to put in another order, the greys will get some of their own tripod mechs to add to the mix.

Thanks for the advise.

-DavicusPrime

[RuneCaster_Aris]

Another thing I would advise, (occured to me over lunch) Is play with what you feel comfortable points wise.

For example, When Papabees and I play, our forces seem to play with higher stats than the average, which obviously means more hits scored, but less models on the table. It's not a huge deal but if you're playing with your son, and he's your only opponent, it's something to consider.

As to buying models, one of the best things about this game is it's cheap. Aside from the mini producers you've seen, Matchbox brand die-cast tanks/planes fit nicely for light tanks/full sized 15mm planes, and cost only a few bucks.

[davicusprime]

For now, we're starting small and adding in units as we figure out the rules. Until I get the rules down and get a feel for the way the game plays on the 4.5' x 4.5' table I have available, I probably won't know what size game will become the norm.

My first purchase has been an assortment of Sahadeen infantry, A Gila Dune Buggy and a Viper Mech, all from Rebel Mini's. That will let me try out the vehicle and infantry rules and should give me enough models to try out several unit load outs. I'm guessing that'll put me in the 150-200pts range. Based on the cards I've whipped up so far.

I let my son (10 yrs old) pick some models for himself and he chose the greys on a whim. So, while we're learning the rules, it'll be Martians vs. The Desert Rats.

I'm planning to introduce this game to my primary opponent next month, but I want to have a handle on the rules before that. Until then, my son is my fellow rule testing guinea pig.

-DavicusPrime

[RuneCaster_Aris]

4x4 is a really solid board all the way up to 500pt games in my experience.

For martians, keep an eye on AlienDungeon.com, they will be launching All Quiet on the Martian Front towards December, which has amazing 15mm tripods.

[davicusprime]

Thanks for the tip on more Tripod Options!

Sahadeen ideas: I'm wanting my army to look like a bunch of irregulars. So I don't want too many of the exact same vehicle model in the mix. I want multiple mechs of various shapes and sizes to represent this too.

I'm looking at the mechs available from Rebel Mini's and I'm liking the look of both the Vipers and HAMRs to represent light Mechs. I'm looking at mechs that are in the same height range but with a more "spindly" look to represent faster Scout mechs. Anyone have some leads on something in that fits that description?

-DavicusPrime