https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/blood-red-skies/products/blood-red-skies-the-battle-of-midway-starter-set
Hi everyone. Had a bit of time spare so I've had a closer
look at what we know is in the Battle of Midway Starter set for Blood Red Skies, now on pre order (see the link above) and compared it to what was
in the original Battle of Britain one, which is now out of print. This is based just on
info from old youtube unboxings, pics shown on line, information passed to me
by Bothans etc etc. I should stress I have not seen the "real" thing so there may well be some errors here. Don't shoot me
The main components are the same - 12 planes, six a side,
with bases and pilot discs, though of course the planes are different - Zeros
and Wildcats instead of Spitfires and Me109s. The models are also a different
material, with "Warlord Resin" replacing "bendy" soft-ish
plastic. Like the original release these are pre coloured, this time blue and white, so in theory you can play out of the box with your 11 year old, if you have one. We've not seen the models in the flesh yet but first pics look
promising so I'm calling that an upgrade.
The original card markers and measuring tools are replaced
with plastic ones which we've already seen in the Airfix version of the game.
Given the questionable value of the original measuring stick, this is certainly
another upgrade.
The card punchboards for clouds etc are there - at least
as far as can be seen from the pics we've seen, and instead of the three double
sided twin engine card bomber markers in the BoB set we now get six single
engine ones, a change needed due to the nature of the Battle of Midway. Looking
at the pictures there are also some card ships which I am presuming are for use
as target markers - something missing from the BoB starter set.
The dice also look to be the same as in the BoB set, though this time you get twelve instead of the ten?? (cant remember) in the BoB set. Twelve is actually the maximum number of dice you will roll if you are playing Midway - dodging a deflection shot with an Ace in a Zero, so it makes some sense and if so shows a nice understanding of the rules mechanisms.
The play sheet also looks to be the same , which is good as the original is brilliant and easy to follow. The packaging pics suggests you get two, though the component list on the website says one. I would guess the website is wrong here.
Another "upgrade" is the aircraft data cards. In
the BoB set you got three - one each of Spitfire II and Me109E and then a
double sided one with a Blenheim on one side and a Do17Z on the other. In the
new Midway set there are six cards covering F4F, SBD and TBD, and A6M2, B5N and
D3A.
The rulebooks are similar but not identical - there are no major rule changes
however the wording has been clarified in a couple of places, and the three BoB booklets has been combined into one more substantial book. The section on multi engine planes seems to have been removed, but for Midway that mostly makes a lot of sense. The scenarios are different however. Both still have 5 scenarios
and the first three are pretty much reskins of ones that appeared in the BoB
rules. This is a good idea as the scenarios are really teaching tools to set
players up. The difference is in the last two scenarios in the Midway booklet
which both have strikes against ship targets, plus some basic rules to handle
attacking ships and AA. It should be noted these are NOT the same rules as in
Air Strike, but rather a simplified set to allow players to try it out - if you
want the full Air Strike package, you will need to buy Air Strike. I suppose the same applies if you want to use multi engine planes, though there are none in the Midway scenarios. The Midway booklet has a lot more background and historical information too, which is welcome.
Theatre Cards. For the established players this is where it
gets interesting. In the BoB set we got nine different Theatre Cards. Midway
gives us twice as many (18). I've done a lot of sleuthing and staring at blown up pics of the set and I think we have seven that appear in the BoB set and
ten (10) new ones. OK I've not checked but some of these may have appeared in
Squadron sets , but it is certainly ten more than in the BoB set. I'm not sure
but it looks like Home Advantage is NOT in the Midway set - which makes perfect
sense. I'm assuming Numbers is in there too but don't know. I'm classing this
as a big upgrade
Doctrine Cards. Again in a similar manner to Theatre Cards,
we are seeing a bunch of new cards. The BoB starter set had seven Doctrines.
Midway has seventeen (17). Only five of these seem to be common to both sets,
leaving twelve "new" doctrines in Midway. Defensive Tactics and Low Altitude
Performance seem to be absent as far as I can tell. Again, I think this is a
big upgrade.
Ace Skill Cards. Something had to give. I'm not seeing any
Ace skill cards in the Midway set. There were seven in the BoB set. How much of
a loss is this is really up to you and if you play un-named or home brewed
Aces.
Lastly - stickers. Yup the bloody useless sticker sheet makes a return. I know this does make sense if you are expecting to play with your 11 year old but it was one of the less welcome components of the old set. However Warlord also include waterslide decals, so those of us who want to paint our models can use them too. Another bonus.
So looking at all that how do I feel about the Starter Set?
To some extent it depends on how long you have been in the game.
If you are just looking to start or don't have the old BoB
starter this really is a no brainer - get it!
For completists and tournament players who want every
Theatre and Doctrine card, again, it looks good.
If you already have all the Wildcats and A6M2s you need, or
are not interested in the slightest in the Pacific then it is less of a gimme,
but I still think an attractive package and I will be getting one.
Street Date is said to be late October - whispers about the 23rd
Cheers
