Hi All,

First off, this is my first post here at FFG having lurked on the forums for the past few days. I've been impressed so far by the politeness and good manners of so many of the posters and the quality and impartiality of the advice given. It's all very un-Internet

My wife bought me a copy of the original core set as an anniversary present recently and despite not having had the chance to play even one game so far, she's now hassling me about what I want for Christmas and I'd appreciate your advice. What I do know is that I want to expand my allied and axis armies in parallel, that I like the original card terrain tiles over the poster maps included with the revised core set, and that my approach to expanding my armies is more driven by a need to collect rather than to build the most effective army lists.

The plan I'm considering is to buy the expansions in the order that they've been released. I'd start off with Operation Cyclone, The Boss, Kommandotrupp, Special Ops Rangers and Special Ops Grenadiers for Christmas, treat myself to a Wildfire/Honey or two and a Heinrich/Herman or two in the new year, and add Operation Seelöwe, Gorillas, Zombies, Grim Reapers and Tank Busters for my birthday. That would bring me up to date with Dust Tactics circa August 2011.

This would (my opinion not backed up by any real knowledge or experience) steadily broaden the tactical possibilities of the game and serve to introduce rules such as command squads, indirect fire, structures, and new skills at a pace that allowed me and my opponents to integrate them steadily without becoming overwhelmed. It does however mean that I'd trail behind the state of the art for some time until I eventually caught up although I'm not sure that would put me at any real disadvantage unless I started with players outside of my own little group.

Can anyone see any problems with this approach?

Thanks in advance,

Wernher.

Welcome to the madness.

Unless you already own it, the Revised Core Set is actually a good add-on to have from a collector point of view: it includes a light walker, a hero, and two very characterful squads for each army. The poster maps... well, you can always keep them stored in the box!

Regarding campaign expansions, Operation Cyclone is high on the priority list (two heroes and some nice tiles), and you have hit the squad/light walker list right away; don't forget though to add some medium walkers for artillery role, and you could even go for two extra medium walker tanks for each side (Lothar + Loth for the Axis and Steel Rain + Mickey for the Allies), especially if you're inclined to buy the revised cards pack.

Don't forget the Heavy Walkers too, they look nice, and the soon-to-come Operation Cerberus that will include 3D buildings.

Your idea is the approach I've been taking, and I fully support it. My partner in gaming actually went and bought the Revised Set at the same time when we ordered the heavy troops, apes and zombies, and I kinda regret it. I would have preferred to wait a little longer before adding all the new troops from the Revised Set.

Anyway, I think going in batches, in the order in which they were released is a great way to keep the game fresh, ever expanding, and progressing slowly in complexity so that you don't get overwhelmed.

Thanks for the advice guys.

In the end, I took the plunge and ordered Operation Cyclone and the HQ and Special Ops units. I still had my doubts as I clicked the "pay" button but at the end of the day, I'll probably end up with at least one of everything so it won't matter in the long run.

My next purchase will probably be the updated unit cards as I'm using the revised rules from the get-go.

Thanks again.

The revised point costs are listed by FFG, so you can use the new point values with old units even if you don't have the revised cards yet...

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/dust-tactics/support/army-planning-sheet-web.pdf

Cheers Wombat.

On reflection, I may just do a sticker job.

Always happy to help out a rocket scientist... =)