Warhammer 40K: Boarding Actions Return With New Mission Updates
Boarding Actions are getting some love from Games Workshop. Grab your squads and battle in 40k close-quarters style!
As a supplemental part of the Arks of Omen at the tail end of 9th edition, Boarding Actions kind of showed up late to the party. That said, GW designed the rules to be compatible with 10th so it technically never went out of date with the jump from 9th to 10th. However the game mode needed some attention as some of the missions didn’t “play nice” with the new edition. That’s what GW is aiming to tweak and it’s doing that with a new book.
“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.”
Boarding Action Mission Previews
To kick things off, GW has arrange the Boarding Actions Missions into different buckets. In the preview we see Symmetric Missions, Campaign Missions, Breaching Operation Missions, and Multiplayer Missions. There’s examples of each type with a breakdown of what each mission is designed for.
Symmetric Missions
These missions have been designed to be, well, symmetrical. They are geared for more competitive minded players and games. Each side of the battlefield has the same setup with “rooms, hatchways, objectives, and mission rules.” But just because the board is basically mirrored doesn’t mean that they don’t come with out challenges. The example mission used is Hull Breach and you can see it has it’s own little quirks.
Campaign Missions
The Boarding Actions book has all the rules from The Rock Besieged campaign from the Arks of Omen: Vashtorr book. So if you don’t have that book for reference, you’re good to go now with this new supplement. The Campaign missions inside allow for players to play a series of linked missions. These missions can be used by any factions so don’t feel like you’re locked in to using the Arks of Omen factions only. As campaign missions these quite literally play into one another. The results of one mission will have impacts down the line — just like you’d expect in a campaign.
The example mission is Teleportarium and it offers up some unique tactical challenges. Do you go for the 15 VPs in the critical objective room or do you hold some forces in the Teleportarium? Decisions, decisions…
Breaching Operation Missions
The Breaching Operations use some of the rules/terrain from the Killzone Upgrade: Soulshackle to great effect. Those breakaway walls and hatchways add another tactical level to the gameplay. These missions will change things up as the players will be able to tear through the terrain to attack from different angles. If you’re a fan of the terrain of the board really changing then these missions are worth checking out.
The example mission is Get The Codes Out. Will you follow the hallways to victory or carve your own path?
Multiplayer Missions
And finally, we have Multiplayer Missions. There are 12 missions in the book that support games for three or four players! Personally, I would like to see if there are ways to expand that further with even more players by adding more boards…but maybe that’s an experiment for another day. The example mission for this one is Dark Voices. This one brings in the Bloody Murder…
With all these revamped rules and new missions to try Boarding Actions is shaping up to be a nice diversion from your standard 40k games. If you’re looking for some vicious close-quarters combat then be sure to snag a copy of Boarding Actions coming soon!
Check your corners and clear your rooms…it’s gonna be brutal.
