As alluded to in the last article, there are no changes to the basic dogfighting rules from those that have grown familiar in the last 20+ years, just additions.  The Zero! rules with errata incorporated formed the basis.  A few concepts introduced in C3i magazine and Squadron Pack #1 have been included, as have the rules for jets, but the mechanics remain exactly the same.

The only significant change is the introduction of four new types of Action card:

Chop Throttle – A Blue card that responds to an In My Sights, itself, and under certain circumstances a Full Throttle.  The last is particularly important, as more aircraft are rated for extra Boost now and thus start with Full Throttle markers (see below).

Clouds – A White card that is something like a defensive equivalent of the Half Loop.  When played successfully as an action, it immediately restores its Element to Neutral.  It also takes the Element out of play until that Element’s next Altitude Phase, during which time it can neither attack nor be attacked while it’s “in the clouds.”  As a response, it counters an Out of the Sun and another Clouds.

In My Sights (Cockpit Hit) – A Red 1-Burst card that not only inflicts 1 Hit on the target, but also reduces its Performance or Wingman Offense by 1 (or knocks a Medium or Heavy Bomber out of formation).

In My Sights (Engine Hit) – A Red 2-Burst card that destroys a single-engined target, but inflicts just 6 Hits on a multi-engined aircraft.

Other than descriptions and explanations of the new cards, the only change in the rules necessitated by their inclusion is a revision of the Disengagement Table.

These cards are included in an expanded 110-card deck that has been carefully crafted to retain as closely as possible the same color and type proportions as the older 80-card decks.  Actually, that’s not strictly correct:  WBY will include two 110-card decks!  The two decks will be functionally identical, but will have different backs (one Axis and one Allied).  We’ve done this for three reasons.  First, giving each side its own deck eliminates the luck factor of one side getting the preponderance of the best cards.  Anyone who has played in one of the tournaments at AvalonCon, WBC, or Hanford in the past knows this can skew the results and lead to unseemly whining.  Second, giving each side its own, larger deck greatly reduces the need for reshuffling during a mission.  And third, the different backs make for easy sorting when one side’s card inadvertently ends up in the other side’s discard pile (as sometimes happened when Mike Lam and I first started giving each side its own deck at conventions).

The cards themselves will be the usual high quality we’ve come to expect from GMT.  They will be slightly wider (2.5 x 3.5”), and will include appropriate symbols on cards that cannot be played by Wingmen or when loaded.

Four additional concepts have been added to the rules, none of which will be new to followers of GMT’s Down in Flames Series:

Ceiling – First appearing in primitive form with the Ju52 in the C3i Malta campaign, the Ceiling rules limiting the maximum altitude at which aircraft may fly are codified and expanded to all aircraft, including some having their Ceiling reduced when Damaged.

Power Boost – Originally published by Toby Pilling in C3i magazine to differentiate the Bf109G from the Bf109F and formalized in Squadron Pack #1, this rule extends the same benefit to all forms of injected power augmentation (methanol-water, alcohol-water, and nitrous oxide) and is renamed accordingly.

Heavy Guns – Published in Squadron Pack #1 to better depict single large-caliber, slow-firing weapons with limited ammunition, this rule has been simplified.

Turret Fighters – Included in the C3i Dunkirk campaign to depict the Boulton-Paul Defiant, this rule has been modified and expanded to account for more circumstances where Turret Fighters may be employed.  Sorry, this does not mean the Blackburn Roc will soon appear.

And that’s it!  Next time I’ll address the changes to the Campaign rules from those previously published, which are rather more extensive.

Previous Article in the Series: Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Next Article in the Series: Into the Wild Blue Yonder: Campaign Rules, Part 1

Author: Chris Janiec