Examples of Play
So, we've talked at length about what Planetstrike is, but a picture tells a thousand words, so we thought we'd highlight how games of Planetstrike work by walking you through the first turn of a game of Planetstrike. We join our game as the Imperial Guard of Adam Troke, prepare to repel the invasion force of Wade Pryce's Chaos Space Marines. This game is being fought using the Planetfall scenario, although there are five other scenarios included in the Planetstrike supplement to choose from. The winner of this game is the player who controls the most objectives - in this case, the Imperial Bastions.
The Imperial Guard have opted for a very defensive formation with their terrain set-up. A host of bastions form a protective ring in the centre of the board, fenced in by an Imperial Aegis defence line. Across the defensive compound there are enough interceptor guns to give the Chaos Space Marines pause for thought, and Adam has deliberately packed his Guardsmen into the centre of the structure. Although this means he's likely to get pounded by the firestorm before the first turn, it also increases the chances that Wade will suffer from 'mishaps' if he tries to Deep Strike into the heart of the action.
Firestorm
Every invasion in Planetstrike is preceded by an immense bombardment intended to shatter the resolve of the defenders (and hopefully destroy an Imperial bastion and a few defenders into the bargain). The attacker gets D6 bombardments, plus one for each objective. Since there are four bastions, each an objective, that's a total of D6+3. Wade duly rolls a 5 and unleashes a terrifying 8 bombardments.
Each attack is a single large blast marker that can be targeted anywhere on the table. Each is an ordnance attack using the large blast marker, a Strength of 9 and an AP of 3. They also cause Pinning tests! Unsurprisingly, Adam suffers some horrendous casualties as Guardsmen are blasted apart and one of his Imperial bastions is reduced to rubble in the carnage.
Attacker Deploys
With the blasts of the firestorm still ringing in the defender's ears, the Chaos Space Marines attack. Each unit in the attacking army arrives on the score of a 3+ on the first turn. Whole squads of Chaos Space Marines, Terminators and Obliterators arrive alarmingly close to the beleaguered defenders. This early stage of the game can test the resolve of any defender, however it doesn't all go the way of the attackers. Interceptor guns mounted on bastions can retaliate as the attacker deploys his unit. As Wade's Chaos Space Marines make planet fall, Adam's interceptor guns manage to injure a Daemon Prince and kill a handful of Chaos Space Marines. Wade's daring Deep Strike attempts also delay one of his squads of Chaos Space Marines when they are forced to roll on the Deep Strike Mishap table.
Any attacking units, such as Wade's Chaos Space Marine Predators, that cannot enter play by Deep Strike are able to drive on from Wade's chosen drop zone.
Attackers open Fire
Having landed into the heart of the enemy, Wade's Chaos Space Marines are now in the perfect position to unleash hell on the waiting defenders. One of the factors that makes the attackers so deadly in the first turn of a Planetstrike game is that they can deploy so as to take advantage of exposed side and rear armour on vehicles or unleash their flamers on exposed troops. Wade's Shooting phase is explosively violent and Adam loses swathes of Guardsmen, a Command Squad and a Leman Russ. Wade also loosed the combi-weapons from his Terminator Squad against one of Adam's bastions, but failed to cause any lasting damage.
Attackers Assault
The Assault phase is often where the killing gets done in a game of Planetstrike, as models armed with specialised demolitions equipment move in against bunkers, or scramble into the ruins to deal with the defenders cowering within. One of the things in Planetstrike that marks apart Deep Strike specialists is that any unit that has the Deep Strike special rule may assault in the turn that it arrives. Wade's Chaos Terminators take full advantage of this, damaging a second Imperial Bastion with their chainfists. Adam also loses another squad to Wade's relentless advance.
As Wade's first turn draws to a close, it would be easy to believe the defenders had been crushed beyond recovery. Already their casualties were mounting up and Adam had witnessed two of his mighty bastions reduced to molten slag and rubble. But Planetstrike is a curious beast, and the counterattack was about to begin.