Privateer Press Announces Warcaster – A New Sci-Fi Minis Game
Privateer Press is going into the infinite horizons of the future with a newly announced sci-fi miniatures game, inspired by Warmachine, but in space.
Warcaster is a new game that takes place in the distant future, where humanity and other species, have moved on from a single world in the ancient past, discovering a galaxy full of magical energy that allows special soldiers, named “Warcasters” because of the ancient legends of the heroes who once led people away from a dying world, to lead armies against each other to do battle and create cool special effects that can be replicated via a cool tabletop miniatures game that plays with around 20-30 models per side.
It’s a lot like Warmachine, but in space. The gist of it seems to be that it’s the distant future of the Iron Kingdoms. Caen, a dying world beset by a strange invading force (hey lookin’ at you Infernals) led many people to escape the calamity by fleeing through arcane gates that led to a whole other galaxy where they have since spread and prospered. The result: a sci-fi miniatures game where you can see a whole lot of the terminology you’re familiar with from Warmachine baked into the game and reinterpreted.
Instead of the Iron Kingdoms you have the Ironstar Alliance, a giant conglomerate of corporations and bureaucracies that are stable and secure at the cost of draconian rules and enforcement, while outcasts and outsiders from the Alliance go to the Marcher Worlds–which is where you’ll find scavengers and bandits and pirates and so on who use Mercenary Warjacks. And the whole thing takes place in the Cyriss galaxy. Here’s the announcement video.
For the most part, you’ll find the same things you expect. There are still Warjacks and troopers–but there are a few big differences. For one, the Warcaster is no longer a person on the table–no more caster killing on turn one and ending the game. Instead the Warcaster is the commander of the army flying somewhere safely in a battleship far removed from the battlefield below. You’ll still assign focus–here called Arc, short for Arcanessence, to power and coordinate your army, while also unleashing effects called Cyphers, which are basically your spells.
Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika is a high-speed hobby miniatures game for two players who each take on the role of a powerful Warcaster in command of a formidable battle force. Players assemble and customize a force of 20–30 models and fight a scenario-driven battle using dice and cards to control their mighty units and to cast epic cyphers. The game is played using an alternating-activation turn sequence with a round tracker that governs scoring opportunities and the duration of ongoing effects. Players take turns activating units one at a time and using their rack of cyphers, reality-warping spells that can be used to enhance their troops and warjacks or to devastate their opponent’s forces.
While the Warcaster is not physically present on the battlefield, their presence is always felt. A Warcaster coordinates and supports their forces from a sophisticated command and control center called a rack, located aboard a massive battle carrier that transports the Warcaster’s troops and warjacks. In the game, the rack is represented by a deck of cards—the spell-like cyphers—that players customize prior to the game based on the powers and abilities they wish to wield as a Warcaster.
It’s alternate activation instead of I-Go-You-Go, which makes for a more dynamic game. Also worth pointing out, models that are killed return to your battlefield reserve, allowing you to deploy them later. Games of Warcaster won’t be plagued by attrition. At last, a game where you can get tabled turn one and still keep playing.
Here’s a look at the images we’ve seen so far. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the story as it develops, so check back for more.
What do you think of the news? Let us know in the comments!
