Target games: Softbound rules addition, 96 pages.

Another month and another Warzone compendium at last. It seems like forever as passed since I reviewed the last compendium Beasts of War and I was looking forward to the latest offering with great anticipation. Well I wasn’t disappointed. The new compendium is by far the thickest and best of all three and hold loads of new rules, Trooptypes and Personalities.

As with the last compendium Casualties of War is filled with dozens of full color photographs and artwork, and as always, it is up to the very high standard that the company as set itself. The forces of all the Corporations and Dark Legions are covered and updated, and there is even a reference section which tells you at a glance just what weapons a model should be armed with, as well as a quick reference sheet at the back of the book that is long overdue.

Two of the main expansions in Casualties of War are the Imperial Wolfbanes and the Trenchers. The Wolfbanes are given a great deal of attention and focus on the different types of troops and squads found among the ranks of these near barbaric warriors is excellent. From the Headhunters to the Mourning Wolves, each clan is covered in great detail and rules for the new weapons that they use are clear and to the point. The Mourning Wolves for example are made up entirely of the widows and lovers of Wolfbanes who have fallen in battle. They band together and carry on the fights left them by their dear departed ones. Armed with vicious looking foot long claws and bolas made from iron, the Mourning Wolves strike fear into the hearts of there enemies as they charge head long in to the fray.

Other Wolfbanes include the Bereserker’s, the War Hounds, the Pathfinders, and the youngest of the clans the Wolfbairne who are yet to earn their claws in battle. The Wolfbanes come across as a futuristic version of William Wallace (Braveheart) and Highlander, and I am sure that both movies played a great part in the influence of the games designer’s.

The Trenchers are the Imperials front line troops. They are well trained and equipped and are often more than a match for any enemy. The 32^nd Trench Battalion is one of the toughest fighting forces in the Warzone universe. They are used to fighting against overwhelming odds and in the roughest of conditions. They take their history like a lot of the Corporations in the game from real life and the shades of WW1 are very clear in the structure and dress of these troops. Although they are not an elite branch of the Imperial war machine like the Blood Berets, they are none the less a formidable foe in battle and are totally loyal to their cause and Her Imperial Serenity. There are special rules for fighting in trenches covered in the book and if you use these with an Imperial force you should take some Trenchers as they start the game with 9" of trench for them to use.

Other Imperial troops are covered including the ‘Hurricane Walkers’. These are large walking platforms that stalk the battlefield and can be armed in a variety of ways. They are a recent addition to the ranks of the Imperials and were originally designed by the House Fieldhausen, a Bauhaus house of nobility that defected to join the Imperials. These walkers are more than a match for the Meka of the Mishima Corporation and will make an excellent focal point on the battlefield when the miniatures are released.

Bauhaus gets a good deal of coverage with the attention being focused on the different Orders that predominate the Corporations society.

Nikodemus’ Sacred Crusaders covers the Brotherhood troops assigned to work with one of the universes most feared mortal men, Archinquisitor Salvatore Nikodemus. These men and women are the best troops in the fight against the Dark Legions ever approaching presence and Nikodemus is the right hand man to the Cardinal himself.

Mishima gets an expanded look at the forces of Lord Moya’s Guard. This elite force trains to fight in the myriad of tunnel networks that litter the planet Venus, often spending months at a time under the planets surface and away from the light of the sun. every member of Moya’s Guard must spend at least one month in a small locked room devoid of all light, before they can attain the rank they seek. Moya himself went through this test of strength and willpower and holds the record of sixty seven days in the small claustrophobic space before he had to emerge.

Dark Legion isn’t left out either. Making her appearance for the first time in Warzone is a character taken from the very successful comic book Golgotha comes the lady herself. This is one of the meanest looking characters in the Warzone universe and she is a very powerful and sultry looking foe. Rumor has it that she was once a Valkyrie one of the Brotherhoods elite band of female warriors, and that she fell during the first encounters with the Dark Legion. She is a very tall and imposing looking creature and she has the ability to inspire lust in any male model who sees her, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Sexy, yet powerful she strides the battle fields looking for glory. Also from the same comic book we find Erwin Stahler. Once a powerful noble in the Bauhaus empire, Stahler is now a minion of the Dark Legion and a follower of Algeroth. Stats for Stahler both in his normal human guise and his true form are given.

The final character taken from the Golgotha comic book is Jake Kramer. Kramer is a Capital veteran and armed to the teeth. His exploits along side of Mitch Hunter were chronicled in the comic book and this large ungainly looking individual has a skill and speed that belays his frame.

The rest of the book covers the other Corporations and Dark Legion adding new troop types and personalities to the list of each of these armies, some of which are taken from the card games based around the Mutant Chronicles universe. There is also a revised section on the Art and Dark Symmetry, and ever spell that’s appeared in the games history is covered here for quick access.

Rules at the back of the compendium cover how to play Warzone in a Tournament, and League play, plus how to spend experience for surviving characters. All this an some clarification’s of previous rules and amendments make the Casualties of War a must buy product for any Warzone or come to think of it Mutant Chronicles player. The only thing I found wrong in the entire book was the stats for the Bauhaus Marshal’s horse where missing, an easily overlooked mistake. All in all this is my favorite of all the expansions of Warzone so far and I am eagerly looking forward to the next compendium.

 My many thanks go to Roger and all at Gamecraft for supplying me with the compendium.

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