Unit Inspection: SSU KV47 Walker

Reverse engineered from captured Axis technology, the SSU have simplified the German design keeping only the necessary systems for its operation making for a simpler, more reliable, and easier to mass produce medium walker that has become the core of the SSU’s armored divisions and symbol of the bloc’s determination.  The KV47 is highly modifiable to suit the role of whatever the field commander need it to be. In this Unit Inspection, I will only talk about the KV47-A, KV47-B, and KV47-C models also known as Nadya, Natasha, and Natalya.

Unit Inspection: Allies/Axis Snipers

The sniper is like the finger of death and feared by every soldier no matter which bloc they fight for.  Chances are a sniper will kill many more men than common soldier with their precision, long-ranged shots.  When it comes to the Allies and Axis forces, their sniper teams are mechanically they same.  For this reason, this Unit Inspection with look at both at the same time.

Unit Inspection: Allies “The Hammers” Heavy Ranger Assualt Squad

Outfitted in the experimental XM-18-22 aerial assault power armor and equipped with a pair of armor pounding rocket punches, the Heavy Ranger Assault Squad better known as simply, “The Hammers” are threat to any enemy their jump jet rocket packs can get them to.  Only the difficulties of acquiring this very limited Allied tech makes them a rare sight on the battlefield.  Their Jump special ability combined with their 12″ move make them a highly mobile and dangerous foe.  They are also most likely an Allies player’s first Soldier 3 squad as they are only avaible in the Dust Tactics Revised Core Set at the moment.

Field Maneuvers: Building a Dust Warfare Army List

In war gaming in general and in Dust Warfare specifically, how you construct you army is a solo mini-game or puzzle unto itself especially with the platoon force organization.  Now that Dust Warfare has four campaign books (3 phyiscal, 1 pdf) in addition to the core rule book and there are more than a hundred units across the three blocs. Not only that, the game will only continue to add more units and possibly additional blocs. In this article, I will go over how I construct my armies for play in Dust Warfare.  I hope it will get you some insight on how to build your own.

Unit Inspection: SSU Battle Squad “Frontoviki”

The Frontoviki or the veterans are one of what I consider the three backbone soldier units of the SSU (Fakyeli, Frontoviki, and Ohotniki).  Where as the Fakyeli are the close range powerhouses and the Ohotniki are the long range squad armed with sniper rifles, the Frontoviki bridge the range gap with a couple of machine guns that equal the common small arms ranges of the Allies and Axis.  They are squad that feels more like those found in the Allies and Axis such as each bloc’s Battle Squad compared to the other SSU soldier units.

Unit Inspection: Axis Heavy Recon Grenadiers

Equipped with thicker, heavier armor than the Allies own XM-18-22 assault armor, the Heavy Recon Grenadiers are an imposing Schwer armor squad ranging ahead of the rest of the Axis elite. Armed with the MG 44 Zwei machine gun made famous by hero Laura Walter, they are to be feared by soldiers and aircraft alike that find themselves in their sights.

Unit Inspection: Allies M1 Series Light Walker

These machines of war are built for speed.  They quickly and easily cover ground no wheeled or even tracked vehicle could travel to deliver both war tested weapons as well as the newer phaser tech the eggheads came up with.  In addition to their speed and firepower is the relative affordability they lend as they are both cheaper and faster to mass produce than many of the Allies heavier walkers.

Why Play Dust Warfare (or more specifically why I play Dust Warfare)

It is my impression that miniature war gaming is growing in popularity or at very least diversifying in the number of different gamers play.  Though that could just be me getting into the hobby.  Anyways, there are a number of miniature war games out there to choose from in addition to Dust Warfare.  Like I mentioned in my first article on Clash at Zverograd, I always wanted to get into miniature war gaming.  I always enjoyed the tactical elements of tabletop role-playing games.  Even back before 3rd edition D&D came out, the groups I played with always used miniatures to play out combats back in 2nd ed AD&D.  It just seemed like the natural way to play.  However, even though I was vaguely aware of miniature war gaming as most local gaming stores had the beautiful gaming tables with handcrafted terrain that made our battle mat marked combat makes in D&D look so very amateurish, I didn’t serious consider it until a few years ago.  I think the main reason was the sheer number of options that I became aware of increased as well as my confidence to paint miniatures from board games that had them to a level that looked pretty good by non-minis painters. They still aren’t anything to brag about, but I think they look okay.  Before I decided on Dust Warfare, I looked at Warhammer 40,000 (of course), Warmachine, Infinity, Dropzone Commander, Robotech RPG Tactics, and Wild West Exodus before deciding on Dust Warfare. What I liked about Dust Warfare compared these games was the rules set, the factions (read: blocs), miniatures themselves, the price point, and a number of other factors such as the fact that Fantasy Flight Games was publishing it also helped as their customer service has always helped me out with problems with their board games.

Unit Inpsection: SSU MIL MI-47 Attack Helicopter

Flying overhead dropping tanks of napalm or 250kg bombs or striking at a distance with either rocket pods or 50mm autocannons, the MIL MI-47 Attack Helicopter delivers serious damage to the SSU’s enemies both on the ground and in the air.  Being more maneuverable than anything the other blocs fly, allow these choppers to survive the air superiority found with the Allies and Axis aircraft.  Just keep these rotatory-wing machines of death at high altitude enjoy the look of terror form the opposition.

Just wanted to take a moment of the aesthetic look of the SSU helicopter here.  I know they are many players that don’t like the stubby look of Dust aircraft particularly the choppers.  I myself find I wouldn’t have missed if a half inch would have been taken off the height of the body.  However, I think once you have them and get used to their appearance they are not all that bad.

Unit Inspection: SSU Rifle Squad “Ohotniki”

Also known as the Hunters, this squad is armed with a couple of Widowmaker sniper rifles.  While the men in this unit aren’t as well trained as true snipers, they can provide a SSU force the needed range to fend off the Motherland’s many enemies.