Hey, everyone! I hope you’re all safe and healthy out there, and possibly even getting loads of painting done at home! Today, I want to take a moment to discuss Steamroller 2020 with you—specifically how the current situation of things will be affecting its release.
Before 2020 got ….weird…the plan was to be hosting a Steamroller CID this month. Right now, in fact! But things did get weird, and here we are, so we’ve got to approach the change responsibly. This means postponing the Steamroller CID, the release of Steamroller 2020, and the Active Duty Roster update until everything is back to normal.
We need to be in a position where everyone is safe and feels comfortable going to their local game stores to participate in a CID before we can host one. And, like most of you, I hope this is sooner rather than later.
Now, all that said, let me try to bring the mood up with a bit of good news. While I can’t share everything changing in Steamroller 2020, I can mention a couple of fun things you can expect to see when the CID finally does launch.
First off would be the scenarios. The feedback we’ve received thus far on Steamroller 2019 has been fantastic, and this year we’ve made several small but important tweaks to the scenarios you know from the current packet.
Of the current six scenarios, only Anarchy is being replaced completely. Three other scenarios—King of the Hill, Bunkers, and Spread the Net—will all undergo changes, while Invasion and Recon II (now just called Recon 2020) will remain as they are.
For anyone who has played a fair amount of SR 2019, I think you’ll like the changes coming to those three tweaked scenarios, such as Bunkers losing its middle flag or Spread the Net gaining objectives in the rectangular zones.
As for Anarchy’s replacement…well, it looks a bit wild at first glance, but the gameplay of it is fun and challenging. Take a quick peek at this playtest build of “Split Decision.”
You might have noticed that all six scenarios now include objectives. This is another part of SR2020: the objective update. Again, based on feedback we’ve received, we’re reworking several of the existing objectives to try and ensure each objective is a viable option depending on the army you’re playing and playing against.
Only Fuel Cache, Dugout, and Observatory are remaining the same. Armory is being upgraded to give one of a model’s weapons Damage Type: Magical for an entire round, and Stockpile and Treasure Chest are both being replaced by completely new objectives.
By far, though, one of the upcoming changes in SR2020 that has me the most excited is the introduction of Steamroller terrain. That’s right, we’ve talked about it for some time now, and it’s finally on its way. Steamroller terrain introduces new terrain features for use in Steamroller games that are used in addition to the standard types you are already using such as forests, obstacles, water, hil—er, rubble, and so on.
An EO is welcome to use as much or as little of the new Steamroller Terrain as they wish, and our plan is to slowly rotate in new types of terrain over the years without invalidating any pieces you decide to build for yourself.
A big part of designing SR terrain from a rules perspective was ensuring that each piece we introduced was just as easy to use and understand as core terrain. We aren’t looking to add anything too over the top; that’s better reserved for narrative events and leagues.
For example, check out a couple of the Steamroller terrain types we’ve been testing:
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Crater
A Crater is treated as a trench template except it is irregularly shaped and often circular. Craters should not be larger than 5” in diameter.
Unlike trenches, Craters cannot be placed in contact with other Craters and must follow the normal rules for restricted terrain.
Terrain Type: Restricted
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Tall Grass
Tall Grass is rough terrain that provides concealment to small- and medium-based models completely within its perimeter. These terrain features should be approximately the same size as most forests.
Terrain Type: Unrestricted
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As you can see, these aren’t terribly difficult to understand rules-wise, but they do add an interesting new dynamic to tournament play.
We’ll keep you updated on the delay of Steamroller 2020 CID and its eventual launch in the future. Just remember: it’s a delay, not a cancelation. We’ll get there together!
Until then, be well and stay safe.
