The Comm Guild Maelstrom's Edge

- by Iain Wilson

Continuing my homebrew unit updates, I have now revised my Broken units from V1!




As with the Epirian and Karist units, these units are converted from assorted Maelstrom's Edge parts, or modified models from other games. To duplicate them, you can find the original modeling articles by following the links below, or you can choose to use whichever other appropriate models you have to hand. Note that as these are unofficial rules, you should ensure that you discuss it with your opponent before using them, to make sure they're familiar with and ok with them!

Download the rules PDF from the V2 Trial Rules page here, and check the links below for the original modeling articles for each unit!



Gnolti Longhorn - an older, wiser Gnolti in a command role.
Gnolti Berserker - a rampaging Gnolti driven into a frenzy by the madness of war.
Pa'ku Heavy Mortar - an alternate rules page for the Pa'ku Artillery unit, adding a heavy mortar option.
Skyboarders - Rabble troops equipped with hoverboards.
Jet Pa'ku - A gun-toting, boostpack-wearing Pa'ku, originally just built for the fun of it, but I couldn't resist giving it rules!
Attack Buggy - a light assault vehicle made from a Mantic Marauder vehicle.
Broken Raider - This one I don't have a conversion built for - these rules were originally put together for the V1 Trial Transport rules article. Feel free to use whatever light truck or buggy models seem like a good fit!




To build your own force of ramshackle, kit-bashed doom, grab some Broken models or STL files from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

- by Iain Wilson

Following on from my Epirian Foundation update last week, I have now also revised my homebrew Karists from V1. This was a much smaller job, as I hadn't actually created as many Karist units, and that's clearly a terrible oversight that needs to be rectified! As such, along with updating the existing units, I have also added in a couple of extras from conversions that I had made that I hadn't created rules for yet.




As with the Epirians, these units are all converted from assorted Maelstrom's Edge parts, or modified models from other games. To duplicate them, you can find the original modeling articles by following the links below, or you can choose to use whichever other appropriate models you have to hand. Note that as these are unofficial rules, you should ensure that you discuss it with your opponent before using them, to make sure they're familiar with and ok with them!

Kaddar Militant - a variation on the usual Kaddar Nova, with a more warlike focus.
Reaper Cadre - stealthy Karist Troopers equipped with a longrifle variant of the pulse carbine.
Predator Attack Vehicle - an anti-grav support vehicle based on a Warhammer 40K Genestealer cult buggy.
Raptor Assault Skimmer - a transport vehicle based on a Gates of Antares Freeborn skimmer.
Angel Gloomstalker - a Juvenile Angel variant converted from the plastic Mature Angel kit.




Download the rules PDF from the V2 Trial Rules page here!



I've also made a couple of tweaks to the Epirian rules posted last week. The SecDef Ironhide has had its Inorganic designator swapped to Armored, Sentinel bots can now all take Shock weapons, and I realised as I was working on the Karists that I already had a unit named 'Reapers', so the newly christened 'SecDef Reaper Team' has now been re-re-named the 'SecDef Wrecker Team'. You can grab the revised rules pages on the V2 Trial Rules page linked above.

To build your own force of over-zealous, kit-bashed doom, grab some Karist models from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

- by Iain Wilson

With the release of the updated Beta seeing the V2 rules in their more or less final state, this seemed like a good time to get caught up with my assorted homebrew units created originally for the V1 ruleset. To begin with, I have worked through my Epirian creations, compiling them into a PDF for easy reference.




These units are all converted from assorted Maelstrom's Edge parts, or modified models from other games. To duplicate them, you can find the original modeling articles by following the links below, or you can choose to use whichever other appropriate models you have to hand. Note that as these are unofficial rules, you should ensure that you discuss it with your opponent before using them, to make sure they're familiar with and ok with them!

Konstantin Moor, Veteran Bot Handler - a unique Commander accompanied by two custom drones.
Sentinel Bot Unit - a robotic replacement for the standard Contractor unit.
Warden - a boostpack-equipped Epirian solo character.
Contractor Truck - a light transport vehicle for moving your Contractors about.
Scorpion Drone - a modified Spider Drone with a nastier bite.
Thunderbolt Sentry Drone - an automated weapon drone built from the PDC Gaming gun carriage model.
SecDef FA90 Reconnaissance Walker - a scout vehicle adding firepower and advance intel for SecDef forces.
SecDef Reaper Team - Originally just called the SecDef Heavy Team, updated with a better name and more options.
SecDef ATV16 “Ironhide” Transport - an armored SecDef transport converted from a Miniature Scenery Tactical Response Vehicle.

The Thunderbolt Sentry Drone and Warden already had V2 Beta rules published. This document updates them to V2.1, adding a Micro Drone equipment option to the Warden and including the rules entry for the Thunderbolt's Rotating Mount, which was left off the original page.

Download the PDF here!





To build your own force of kit-bashed doom, grab some Epirian models from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

You can get a head start on the upcoming 2nd edition of the Maelstrom's Edge rules by downloading a PDF version of the updated Beta rules documents below!




Grab your copy now!!

- by Iain Wilson

Back in 2016, I converted up a model using some spare parts that came to be called an 'Epirian Warden' - a clingfire-toting, flightpack-equipped veteran of the frontier. I also created an unofficial rules card to go with him, for use in V1. Well, following on from the Thunderbolt Sentry Drone a few weeks ago, I have now updated the Warden's rules to suit V2!




You can check out the original Warden conversion article here for ideas on how to build your own, although as an unofficial model you should feel free to build yours however you think appropriate.



You can download the updated rules page for the Epirian Warden along with the Maelstroms' Edge V2 Beta rules from the website here!



To build your own soldier of trailblazing doom, grab some conversion fodder from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

- by Iain Wilson

Alongside the slowly expanding Maelstrom's Edge model range and associated rules, we have from time to time released additional unofficial rules to accompany conversions or kitbashes of models borrowed from other ranges. When we tracked down the PDC Gaming gun carriage and added it to the webstore, we also released some rules to use it in your Epirian force as a Thunderbolt Sentry Drone. This week, we have updated the Thunderbolt rules for use in Maelstrom's Edge V2!




Thunderbolt Sentry Drones add some heavy firepower to Epirian forces, trundling around the battlefield and laying waste to enemy units with a range of different heavy weapons.



You can download the updated rules page for the Thunderbolt Sentry Drone along with the Maelstroms' Edge V2 Beta rules from the website here!

The Thunderbolt is a vehicle, and follows the rules for Large Models. Note that the section on page 27 of the Beta Rules entitled 'DIRECTIONAL MOVEMENT' has been removed from the final version of the V2 rules, so this section should be ignored.



To pick up your own gun carriage of superheavy doom, head over to the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here! You will find the gun carriage in the 'Terrain & Accessories' section.

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

Over the last little while, we've been running through a series of articles looking at different aspects of the V2 rules for Maelstrom's Edge. This week, we're casting our eyes towards the Line of Sight rules!

In order to shoot at an enemy, a unit generally needs to be able to see it. Maelstrom's Edge uses simple rules to establish whether or not an enemy is a valid target. Read on for details!



CHECKING LINE OF SIGHT

Maelstrom's Edge uses a model's eye view for determining line of sight. This means checking from behind and just above the model to check if they could see their target. If you can see any part of the enemy unit, then you have line of sight to them. For units of more than one model, line of sight is only checked from the squad leader, as they direct the shooting of the rest of the unit. This helps to speed up gameplay - having to check from each individual model in the unit can get a little tedious. If the squad leader can see the enemy, then the whole unit has line of sight.


A Broken Sniper draws a bead on a squad of Epirian SecDef troops.

WIDE OPEN SHOTS

Generally on a battlefield, troops aren't actually just standing around in funky action poses waiting for their turn to move. With this in mind, Maelstrom's Edge assumes that models are making use of whatever cover is around them, and this is factored in to the Skill and Evasion stats that are used to resolve shooting attacks. (Check out the Sample Unit Activation article for more details on how that works!)

Sometimes, though, a unit will be caught completely in the open, and this can give an attacking enemy a boost to their shooting. Attacking units gain a +2 bonus to their Skill for that round of shooting if their target is completely visible, without being even partially obscured by intervening terrain or other models. This Wide Open Shot bonus can be negated by certain unit actions, however - units that are On The Move or Taking Cover will not confer the bonus. (See the Unit Actions article for details on what those actions do for your units!)


A Karist Alessi Novitiate gets a little caught up in the moment and breaks cover.

TAKING COVER

As mentioned above, units are generally assumed to be making use of whatever cover is available as they move. They also have the option of using the Taking Cover status action to maximise this protection by huddling up against obstacles or going prone in more open ground. This doesn't affect line of sight or attack resolution, but does give them a bonus to their defense before rolling for armor. We'll go into this in more detail in a future article.


A Remnant Longshot takes cover on the roof, waiting patiently for a target to present itself.



Check out the Beta version of the V2 rules, which you can download from the Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. The Beta rules documents contain all of the rules for playing V2 games, but keep in mind that these are just 'preview' documents - some rules may be revised based on feedback, and the final layout including background material for the factions and the Maelstrom's Edge universe, artwork and other 'flavor' material is missing.

If you have any thoughts on the new rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group, or start up a thread in the Maelstrom's Edge section on the Dakka Dakka forums. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how everyone's forces stack up in the new rules!

- by Iain Wilson

With the V2 rules (which you can grab for free right now in their Beta format!) updating all of the existing factions, it seemed like a good time to revisit my homebrew 'Imperial Marine' faction list, to give those old marines some new tricks to bring to tables on the Edge.




I have fleshed the original units out a little by adding in some extra options here and there, and reworked some rules and equipment to work better within the new rules system. It doesn't include rules for every available model option out there, but should give more than enough variety to put together some reasonably varied forces comprised of whichever suitable power armored panhuman models you may have sitting around.



You can find the new unit sheets as a PDF document in the V2 Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. Note that these rules are intended as just a fun way to use some of your non-Maelstrom's Edge models in your games. The Imperial Marine faction is not a 'canon' part of the Maelstrom's Edge background, nor are the rules an official part of the game, so you should only use them with your opponent's consent. These rules also aren't as thoroughly tested yet as the other faction rules, so feel free to kick the tyres and get back to me if you find any oddities, or find anything that you think isn't working quite right!



While you're there, get started with the V2 rules by downloading the Beta rulebook from the Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. The Beta rules documents contain all of the rules for playing V2 games, but keep in mind that these are just 'preview' documents - some rules may be revised based on feedback, and the final layout including background material for the factions and the Maelstrom's Edge universe, artwork and other 'flavor' material is missing.



If you have any thoughts on the Beta rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group, or start up a thread in the Maelstrom's Edge section on the Dakka Dakka forums. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how everyone's forces stack up in the new rules!

Imperial Marine models shown in this article are from Games Workshop, Anvil Industry and Bluebird Toys.

A little while back, we shared a run-down of the different actions available to units in the second edition of the Maelstrom's Edge rules. (If you missed it, you can find it here!)

This week, we thought it might be helpful to expand on this a little by walking through a couple of unit activations, showing how these actions actually work on the table. For this example, we have an Epirian SecDef Field Commander facing off against an Artarian Remnant Nimbus Pathfinder. In the midst of battle, they have just caught site of each other through the ...err ... trees? and shenanigans ensue.



The Remnant player has Priority (meaning they activate a unit first) and chooses to use a Move action to advance through the trees to bring the Field Commander into short range (6") for the Nimbus' arc splitter. They then use their Status action to Aim, applying a +2 bonus to the Nimbus' SKL stat.



The arc splitter has SHO 3, which means it rolls three dice to shoot, and it receives an additional shot for being at short range. Rolling four dice, the Remnant player needs to equal or beat the Field Commander's EVS of 4. They roll a 1, two 2s and a 4.

The Nimbus has SKL 4 with the bonus from aiming increasing this to 6. This allows them to adjust the rolls by up to 6 points. They flip the 2s up to 4s, but don't have enough points remaining to get the final roll up to a 4, so this one remains a miss.



The Epirian player now needs to roll to see if their armor blocks the three successful hits. They need to equal or beat the PEN of the arc splitter, which is 3. Rolling three dice, they roll a 2, a 3 and a 4. The Field Commander's AV of 4 allows them to flip the failing 2 up to a successful roll, which means all three shots are blocked.

While the Field Commander doesn't take any damage, being hit by enemy fire raises his Suppression Level, putting him on Level 1 (Marked in the pick below with the orange die.



It's now the Epirian player's turn to activate a unit. They use a Move action to shuffle the Field Commander over behind the shipping crate, and uses a Takes Cover action, which will give him some extra defense against any further enemy shooting until he activates next.



Normally, regular models can only fire a single weapon per activation, but the Field Commander's Advanced Machine Assistance allows him to cut loose with all of his weapons at once. His two LM14 machine guns each have SHO 3, while his cluster missile launcher is an area of effect weapon, granting him SHO 2 against the single model Nimbus unit. Grabbing two black dice for the missiles and six white dice for the machine guns, the Epirian player rolls five 2s, two 5s and a 6. Needing to equal or exceed the Pathfinder's EVS of 4, they use the Field Commander's SKL of 4 to flip two of the 2s up to 4s.



Both Epirian weapons have the same PEN 4, but the 6 is a Critical Hit, requiring a roll of 6 to block. Rolling the dice from the successful hits, the Remnant player gets a 2, a 3, a 4 and a 5, and a 2 on the Critical hit. They use the Pathfinder's AV 4 to flip the regular 2 and the 3 up to 4s, but don't have enough points left to block the Critical Hit.

This means the Pathfinder suffers a single injury, which would be enough to kill a lesser warrior. Remnant Champions, boosted by their Lorican Combat Armor, are capable of shrugging off significant damage, and even the comparatively light armored Pathfinder has FOR 5, meaning it needs to suffer 5 injuries to be removed as a casualty. It does however raise its Suppression Level by 2 - 1 for the successful hits, and another because it suffered an injury.



Play would then continue on to the next unit, or the next turn if all units on both sides have now activated.



Check out the Beta version of the V2 rules, which you can download from the Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. The Beta rules documents contain all of the rules for playing V2 games, but keep in mind that these are just 'preview' documents - some rules may be revised based on feedback, and the final layout including background material for the factions and the Maelstrom's Edge universe, artwork and other 'flavor' material is missing.

If you have any thoughts on the new rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group, or start up a thread in the Maelstrom's Edge section on the Dakka Dakka forums. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how everyone's forces stack up in the new rules!

It's been a long time coming, but the Battlescribe data files for Maelstrom's Edge have just had a massive update!



If you're not familiar with Battlescribe, it's an application for building army lists, used for a wide range of different miniatures games. You download the data files for the games you play, and then use those files to create rosters which can be saved and printed. Battlescribe validates your lists and provides profiles and rules summaries for the units you have selected. You can download the Battlescribe app at https://battlescribe.net, and once installed use the 'Manage Data' button to select the Maelstrom's Edge data repository.



This new update for the Maelstrom's Edge data repository (v.5.0.0) adds the Artarian Remnant faction, and brings the other factions all up to date with all currently available units.



If you're just getting started with Maelstrom's Edge, you can pick up the rulebook in PDF form for free from the Maelstrom's Edge website here, or pick up the print version in the Battle for Zycanthus starter set, available along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge range from the webstore here! Free shipping applies to qualifying orders - check your cart for details.

If you have any questions on Maelstrom's Edge gameplay or anything else about the game, background or miniatures range, feel free to pop in to the Comm Guild Facebook group here.

This month, the forces of the Artarian Remnant assemble to storm the battlefields of the Edge, with the release of rules cards for the Militus battlesuit!

With a wide array of different gear and weapons available to them, the Militus is the most widespread of the suit types in use by Remnant champions. The suit classes that can be built straight from the plastic Militus kit are represented on five rules cards - two different command options, and three different troop options, which you can now find in the Remnant section of the online Force List.



Faction Abilities

All Militus suit types have the 'Aerial Insertion' rule, to represent the fire team deploying from orbit. What makes them truly special compared to other armies, though, is the 'Crowd Favorites' rule. Combat is an extreme sport for Lorican Champions, and fire teams broadcast their exploits back to adoring fans on the vast ships of the Remnant Fleets, who in turn convey their support to their chosen Champions in the form of Favor.

While Remnant forces receive Command Points each turn for any Command models in play, they also gain an additional point for every 3 Lorican Champions currently on the table. This represents the Champions being boosted by the support of the watching crowds back in the fleet. These Command Points can then be used by the Champions to Overcharge their suits, allowing them to move faster, buff their weapons, or improve their defensive abilities, at the expense of generating heat. Heat is represented by additional Suppression, and can be dispersed through the use of Venting systems.





Militus Warrior

The most common Militus class is the Warrior. A Core choice in a Remnant detachment, the Militus Warrior wields powerful ranged or melee weapons on its arms. It can be equipped with a field generator backpack, and also has access to a third, shoulder-mounted weapon or an assortment of support equipment.

Note: We will be releasing a resin upgrade pack which will include all of the support equipment options, but we have included these options on the cards for now to let you try them out!



Militus Warrior Prime

Experienced Lorican champions may eventually wind up commanding fire teams in combat, and bear the rank of 'Prime' to show their status. The Warrior Prime's 'Counterattack' ability gives his units a boost when retaliating against enemy fire.



Militus Skyrunner

The Skyrunner eschews the protection of a field generator, or the extra firepower of a shoulder mounted weapon in favour of the mobility boost provided by a Lorican Boostpack. While more limited in options than other Militus classes, the Skyrunner serves as a handy Vanguard option for capturing territory and getting the drop on slower enemy units.

A Skyrunner Prime retains the mobility of their class, and can use their enhanced view of the battlefield to better co-ordinate the movement of their units with the 'Mobile Strike' ability.



Militus Dominator

A more specialised class like the Skyrunner, the Dominator trades in support options in favour of overwhelming firepower. While they lack the ability to take the heavier weaponry available to larger Brutus class suits, Dominators opt for twin ranged weapons on their shoulders to maximise their ability to rain punishing fire on their opponents.

So, What's Next?

Well, as we mentioned, there will be a resin upgrade pack coming, with an array of different support options and some special parts to customise your Primes.



Of course, the Militus isn't the only weapon in the Remnant arsenal, and many Lorican Champions take to the field in the heavier Brutus or super-light Nimbus suits. Both of these will be added to the force with resin models later this year.

In the meantime, though, the multiple variants of Militus suit give you plenty of options for building different forces and taking on the less-well-equipped and considerably squishier factions opposing them on the Maelstrom's Edge!

The Militus kit is available now, along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range in the webstore here.

You can see the unit cards in the online Force Listing section here, and you can also find a downloadable, printable version in the 'Rules' section of the website here!

Happy Gaming!

We're hard at work on a second edition rulebook for Maelstrom's Edge, and over the coming months will be showcasing changes and refinements, and asking for feedback on different directions for the rules. One of the bigger changes we're implementing involves the number of dice rolled by models in Close Quarters attacks.

In the current Maelstrom's Edge rules, unless you have a melee weapon with a specified SHO value, the number of dice you roll for Close Quarters attacks is determined by a neat little formula that uses the model's EVS, MAS and FOR stats. While this provides some nice granularity, and allows for a large model's CQ ability to be reduced as it takes damage, it's also a little awkward to calculate on the fly. As a result, it's the one thing in the V1 rules that, going by player feedback, is almost universally disliked by players. We've taken that feedback on board for V2, and will be changing model statlines to include a shiny, new Close Quarters Attacks (CQA) characteristic!





This entirely replaces the current formula - No more algebra in the middle of the game, you just look at the CQA stat, and roll that many dice! This does mean that large models no longer lose shots as they are wounded, but this will be accounted for elsewhere, with their ability to use multiple weapons being affected instead.

You can join in on the discussion of the new rules, and download a copy of the current draft rules for V2, in the development thread on the DakkaDakka forums here. You can also post any feedback in the Comm Guild Facebook group here.

If you haven't tried Maelstrom's Edge yet, and don't want to wait for V2, you can download the PDF version of the current Maelstrom's Edge rulebook from the website here!