A few weeks ago we announced that the brutal close-quarters warfare of Boarding Actions was returning to the world of Warhammer 40,000, and it’s time to look at one of the main features: the missions. Previously, a vast array of missions were spread out across the Arks of Omen books, and some didn’t play too nicely with the new edition’s rules. They’ve all now been updated and collected in one place, allowing for radically different objectives and mission rules every time you play.
In fact, there are a whopping 54 missions in this book alone, with shifting battlefields, narrative challenges, and multiplayer battles for up to four players all included. Here are a few of our favourites.
Hull Breach
Symmetric Mission
The first category of missions in Boarding Actions are called Symmetric Missions, designed to offer competitively minded players an equal battlefield where each side has the same rooms, hatchways, objectives, and mission rules. Just because these are the most balanced ways to play Boarding Actions, however, doesn’t mean they aren’t without their quirks – and that’s why we love Hull Breach in particular.
While both sides scuffle for control of some valuable datacores, the creaking structure of the ship can buckle and expose one of its compartments to the void, which is predictably hazardous for all involved. Not knowing when or where the breach will occur forces players to plan for the worst even as they scramble for objectives, and can twist the fortunes of an otherwise dominating player in moments.
Take the Teleportarium
Campaign Mission
Boarding Actions contains the full rules for the The Rock Besieged campaign first seen in Arks of Omen: Vashtorr, which charts the Arkifane’s assault on the home of the Dark Angels. This campaign of linked missions can be played between any factions, and has the results of some missions affect the rules of others while offering unique gameplay experiences inspired by the events of the book.
Take the Teleportarium shakes things up by splitting apart the two boards that usually make up a Boarding Actions battlefield. While a fight for the Critical objective – worth 15 Victory Points – in the Enginarium takes place, units stranded on the Teleportarium side must clear enough space within the arcane structure to warp reinforcements over to their embattled comrades. It’s a real tactical brain-teaser as losing any one side completely will be disastrous, but once units have warped out of the Teleportarium, they can never return…
Get the Codes Out
Breaching Operation Mission
Some missions make use of the Killzone Upgrade: Soulshackle set to add breakable walls and hatchway jammers to the mix, giving players the ability to strike from unexpected places and hinder their opponent’s plans. Weakened Walls can be broken either by having troops latch breaching charges onto the wall, shooting it with especially powerful ranged weapons, or having an absolute legend with at least Toughness 5 and Wounds 3 (calling all Terminators) bulldoze right through it with a charge move.
These walls are critical in Get the Codes Out, an asymmetric mission which tasks one side with a headlong dash to the Comms Zone while their opponent tries to slaughter every last one of them. The rules themselves are simple – just get three chosen units to the end intact – but the ability for people to block off doors and smash through walls makes every go-around a chaotic scrum from start to finish.
Dark Voices
Multiplayer Mission
Why play with just two people when you can play with four? Boarding Actions contains 12 missions specifically designed for three or four players, and few are as packed with mayhem and mirth as Dark Voices. Here, sinister whispers are beckoning your Warlord into a Safe Zone in the centre of the battlefield, with just one problem – everyone else’s Warlords are also descending on the same point, and only one may stand when the dust settles.
Defying the voice causes constant damage to your champion, so there’s really nothing else for it but to throw them into the melee. In our experience, some devious deals between players are a great way to pick off the most imposing warlords first, but don’t get distracted – objectives still litter the battlefield, and a cunning withdrawal might just win you the war as everyone else bloodies themselves in the middle.
Fire up those boarding torpedoes, as Warhammer 40,000: Boarding Actions is available to pre-order from tomorrow. For more up-to-the-minute information on all things Warhammer, sign up to our newsletter.