The New ITC Missions and You

So if you haven’t heard, there are new ITC missions that have had some tweaks to make the gaming experience better and more balanced.  Let’s dive in a bit and discuss the changes and what the missions look like now.

The Missions

Mission 1

Primary: Emperor’s Will (Dawn of War)

Secondary: Maelstrom (Hold 1, Hold 2, Linebreaker, Destroy, Destroy, 3 Yours None Theirs Deployment)

Tertiary: Big Game Hunter, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord.

Mission 2

Primary: The Relic (Hammer and Anvil)

Secondary: Maelstrom (Hold 1, Hold 2, Linebreaker, Destroy, Destroy, 3 Yours None Theirs Deployment)

Tertiary: First Strike, Table Quarters, Slay the Warlord.

Mission 3

Primary: Purge The Alien (Vanguard Strike)

Secondary: Maelstrom (Hold 1, Hold 2, Hold 3, More Units More than 12”, Linebreaker, 3 Yours None Theirs Deployment)

Tertiary: Slay the Warlord, King of the Hill, First Strike

Mission 4

Primary: The Scouring (Hammer and Anvil) – FA units killed added to this.

Secondary: Maelstrom (Hold 1, Hold 2, Hold 3, Destroy, Destroy, Destroy)

Tertiary: Big Game Hunter, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord

Mission 5

Primary: Big Guns Never Tire (Vanguard Strike) – Heavy units killed added to this.

Secondary: Maelstrom (Hold Enemy 1, Hold Enemy 2, Hold Your 1, Hold Your 2, Destroy, Destroy)

Tertiary: Ground Control, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord

Mission 6

Primary: Crusade (Dawn of War)

Secondary: Maelstrom (Hold 1, Hold 2, Destroy, Destroy, Linebreaker, 3 Yours None of Theirs Deployment)

Tertiary: First Blood, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord

Conclusion: There aren’t a ton of changes in the core structure of the missions this year. Purge The Alien was changed a bit more to swing towards killing stuff again which is nice to see. It was funny that Battle Co still had the upper hand to score the Mealstrom and more Tertiary before the changes. I think Kill Points should have more of a focus in certain missions as killing stuff is a lot of fun, but deathstars make that not as much so.

Big Changes To Maelstrom

Roll 3 Pick 2

The biggest changes this year is in how the Maelstroms are generated and scored. This year for Maelstroms you roll three dice and pick two! I think that is a great change as I remember quite clearly at LVO when I rolled the dreaded Maelstrom 6 – 3 of yours and none of theirs in deployment – like 5 out of six turns. It was awesome. This should allow for more variety of lists as you won’t feel the pressure to go MSU to ensure that you can have a chance at every aspect of the ITC missions. More choice is good!

Score at the Beginning of Your Turn

Another huge change is in how you score your Maelstrom. Instead of scoring at the bottom of the game turn, you score at the beginning of your player turn, then generate new missions. This gives players going first a chance to counter their opponents Maelstrom moves and allow for a lot more reaction in games, which should make them a lot more fun and dynamic.

Score 3 Maelstrom a Turn!

Another new aspect to the Maelstrom in the missions is that if you generate destroy a unit twice or hold 2 objectives you can go for 3 points. If you destroy 3 units you get 3 points and if you hold three objectives you score 3 points. It’s a cool gambit that allows a player to vie for a shot at tying up or winning the Maelstrom if needed.

Ties

One small thing to point out is that Ties for the Primary or Maelstrom are now worth 2 points to each player, not 0. While the net result is the same, getting more battle points for ties should shake up some pairings and final standings at a tournament.

Lords of War

Another big change to the ITC missions is how LOW bonus points are scored. They used to be added to the Maelstrom score with 3 points being 1 Maelstrom point. This made Knights and such a certain gamble on the table.

Now, when you take 3 hull points off of a Knight or other Gargantuan creature you use those to satisfy a Destroy a Unit maelstrom objective, or count is as a kill point for Purge the Alien. So if you take 3 hull points off of a Knight, but didn’t roll Destroy a Unit during, say, The Relic, you wouldn’t get that point. This is a good middle ground I think.

Initial Game Play Thoughts

Having played a few games of the new system, I really like the changes. While they seem small, they have a big impact on the flow of the game. It puts a lot of choices and options in the players hand and makes for a more dynamic game. Keeping things fresh is always a good idea and these changes will surely keep the game from being stale.

For a complete rundown of the guidelines, be sure to check out the 2016 Scenario Guidelines document.