Testing the Crusade

I plan to run a Tale in 2022, and am considering using the crusade rules. Thus when some local gaming friends expressed an interest in the system, I saw an opportunity to test it out and see how well balanced it would be for our use in our tale, given several of the participants live nowhere near the other half of us. 

I wanted to use this to add some new models to an army so it had to be a half completed project. The Blood Axes would have started as a more balanced well rounded army, but I want to look at the new Kommando kit before I decide exactly what to do with them. The Snakebites were already earmarked for the Tale. So that left me with Freebootaz.

The new rules for freebootaz practically make them a clan in their own right so I want to expand them. But I would be taking an army that was half of a doubles force. I provided the firepower whilst my teammate did the objective grabbing and fighting part. Now they're still orks, they don't suck at fighting... but my starting painted force was 2 units of 10 flash gits, 2 battlewagons with killkannons, and kaptin badruk. However when I read the ork crusade rules and found the hilarious fact that they challenge each other for the leadership, I format badruk, as my leader AND a named character, being unable to advance... but being sufficiently able to put down most challengers in a shootout. Therefore I would be in the difficult position of having a leadership fight EVERY game until he was usurped, all my lesser characters picking up injuries in the meantime. It sounded a poor idea so I benched him and started with a converted Big Mek with Shock Attack Gun. 

I've played my first two missions with them. In the first, a khorne warband charged across the table towards my stationary gunline. That didn't end well for khorne. 

The second game my dark eldar opponent gave me the task of advancing and seizing ground... cunning little shit. He tabled me but, seeing the writing on the wall, I had played the mission and focused on burning the objectives (it was a sabotage mission) so while he had 2 turns left, he couldn't score enough to beat me. Normally a tabling gives you a couple turns to take objectives unopposed, and if he'd been the attacker he could have burned objectives at his leisure. However as the defender he couldn't repair objectives, so could only score the one at game end, giving me a posthumous points victory.

So far I've picked up a couple of battle traits on my units, and am slowly learning once again how 40k works. We think we've got the basics down of gameplay, and the book-keeping required for crusade, but I do need to take a bigger look at scenery rules, as I know we are barely scratching the surface of those so far.

I will say, I HOPE the system proves to be balanced and I can find a way to work it into the Tale, as GW have put a lot of thought and effort into giving characterful crusade rules to the factions I've seen so far, and I want to see more. From archons who plot their rise to power whilst dodging the assassins blade, to orks fighting for leadership while others loot the battlefield for enemy tanks to fix a bigger gun onto an existing vehicle, they fit the fluff of the armies so well!

As for the freebootaz, I plan to add the new boys as troops, along with new deffkoptas. Might try a couple megatrack scrapjets. And plan to mobilise the entire force in transports. Could probably do with a couple more characters, once my warlord has levelled up a bit (I want some breathing room) Watch this space for updates.