GTM #126 - Dust Tactics

1947. The Second World War rages on. Unfathomable artillery machines march across the globe, leaving a wake of destruction. In Antarctica, a secret research base forms the center of a covert battle between Allied and Axis forces. Allied intelligence believes the base must be wrested from the Axis, while the Axis forges ahead to secure vital resources from what lies within.

This is the setting of Dust Tactics, based on the graphic novels by Paolo Parente.  Dust Tactics is a miniatures board game featuring 30 figures, 2 heroes, 4 mechs, and more.  In Dust Tactics you take the side of the Axis or the Allies, in this case Germany and the United States (future releases will introduce the Soviets and other players in the war).  The game is played on a series of reversible tile grids that allows for easy modular game-play and variation.  The set also comes with several “tank traps” and ammo crates that can provide cover to the infantry troops.

Each side has 15 individual troops, each of which is custom sculpted, and no two are alike. If you want to take out the enemy with the flame-thrower, you know exactly which one to go for.  You can also easily identify those carrying larger mortars that might pose danger to your mechs.  And speaking of the mechs, they are the powerhouses of your army.  Each side has two in the base game, each of which has different weaponry.  Overall, one is better up close, carrying flame-throwers or several smaller arms, while the other sports larger barrel long-range weapons, and a few smaller arms to defend itself with up close.

The heroes in the game, Captain Joseph Brown and Sigrid Von Thaler, hail straight from the Dust Wars comic series, and bring a lot of variety to the game. They can cut out on their own as brazen heroes, or join up with other units to augment their abilities.  Heroes and some basic characters in your armies also have special traits that help you in defeating your opponents. Among the most important of these are the mech squads with “Self Repair” allowing the mech driver and engineers to patch up the vehicle during battle and keep it up and firing as long as possible.  And as you might imagine, combining a figure with the trait “Sniper” and one with the trait “Spotter” can make for all sorts of fun.

Every figure in Dust Tactics comes base-coated in either green or gray, making for easy side recognition, and it saves time for you painters who want to get started customizing your army right away. The box also features a great number of decals for the mechs, so if you aren’t a painter, you can still have a nicely decorated army to bring to the field!

Featuring a 24-page, highly illustrated, full-color rulebook, Dust Tactics also comes with the campaign book “Operation: Blue Thunder” which tells of the Allied assault on the Axis base. Each mission takes the Allies further into the base, from recon of the outside, to securing the elevator, and eventually an escape. As mentioned above, all the surface tiles are modular and reversible (indoor on one side and outdoor on the reverse), allowing you to recreate the entire assault, or set up your own missions.  The campaign book also features an in-depth look at each mech and the various units in the battle.

Dust Tactics releases this fall from Alderac Entertainment Group and Dust Studio.  The first expansion, Artillery Strike, will soon follow featuring new heavy artillery mechs and command groups to add even more strategies. 

Todd Rowland is the Senior Brand Manager for Alderac Entertainment Group. When Dust Tactics releases the Japanese divisions, he’s totally painting a Lion Clan mon on the mechs.