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A FAST AND FURIOUS MINIATURES BATTLE GAME

Those of you who know what I am talking about, please bear with me while I explain this game to all the newcomers. Okay, people, what we have here is an epic battle between the forces of Humanity against the Evil Dark Soul who wishes to eliminate humanity from the solar system.
Basically you've got your humans that have plundered mother Earth, and are now living on the other planets. You can blame the corporations for all the trouble we're in, okay? They messed up the Earth, and they left all of us behind. There are five corporations that sort of represent some of the basic nationalities. You've got Mishima, Imperial, Bauhaus, Cybertronic, and Capitol. Then, you have what is sort of like the Roman Catholic church at the time of the inquisition, the Brotherhood. You then have the United Nations type of organization, the Cartel. The Brotherhood and the Cartel are not Corporations.
Now, you need some badguys, right? Well, these are represented by the Dark Legion. The Dark Legion serves the Dark Soul who wants to take over this dimension. He is served by five apostles who represent different of the Dark Symmetry. You have, Ilian, Muahwije, Semai, Algeroth, and Demnogonis.

I'll describe the basic descriptions of the armies of the corporations and the Dark Legion below:

Capitol

Capitol has the air supremacy in this game, and it is represented by airborne infantry and the ability to call in airstrikes. Personally, I like Capitol a lot because of the airborne ability and their special forces. The special forces of Capitol include the Sunset Strikers, Martian Banshees, Sea Lions, Free Marines, Dog Soldiers, Admiral Colby's Guard, Barking Spiders, and the Desert Scorpions. They each have their uses, and some of them can be deployed hidden or waiting. This allows your special forces to engage the enemy close to their deployment zone, and have your infantry either get deployed by chopper, or have them come up as late reinforcements. I have just started playing these guys, so I don't have that many tactics for them.

Tips on using Captiol

Heavy Infantry are just as good as Special Forces. Don't believe me? Look at their stats; MW is the same as the Free Marines. In the future, I'll be taking some HI so that I can balance my costs a little.
Free Marine snipers rock! Get a hero with a laser sight and the SR-50, and watch your opponent stay away from the areas covered by this deadly trooper. Hidden and waiting go really well with Free Marine snipers.
Use the Air Deployment and Special Forces abilities to your advantage. Capitol is great at taking control of the board early in the game. You can set up your Free Marines in a forward position and have them covered and reinforced by Heavy Infantry or a well placed FM sniper (with laser sights, of course).
You should be able to make a significant kill the first turn or two, because of your great positioning. After that, you'll probably be outnumbered and outgunned. Have your forward positions fall back and try to lull your enemy into chasing you into your more numerous infantry units.
The airstrikes are okay, but only against low armored troops. If you do decide to take airstrikes, ensure your ability to hit by taking a Banshee Hero. He has the highest LD score outside of personalities. Plus, you can have him fly up and get great LOS to enemy units. Just don't get shot down.
The Great Greys and other flying vehicles look to be crap, as they have a hard time hitting targets, while making great targets themselves. I'd vote to save your money and points on some better pewter, like infantry and special forces.
AP grenades are your friends against Cybertronic and other high armored troops. Grenade launchers can help, but they add cost. Use those at your own discretion.
Worried about Mishima and their CC troops? You've got some special forces that are better in the Sunset Strikers. Want to specialize? Give your SS hero a Cybernetic Power Arm.
Sick and tired of troops that hide all the time? Take some of those Dog Soldiers, and watch your enemies appear before your eyes! Woof, Woof!
Airborne Rangers are your version of the Blitzers, so you can get some late game reinforcements from them.
Desert Scorpions are kind of like the Free Marines, except they have silenced M-50's. They're also immune to panic.
Colby's Guard are some really mean guys. They're chock full of special abilites, but their shotguns limit their ranges.
Barking Spyders have gas grenades that can even hurt the cyberboys. They look pretty cool from their troop description. I'll have to try these guys out next time.
Your Special Forces can add the finishing touches on your army, make sure you carefully choose which one you are going to field. Sea Lions aren't worth taking unless you're really going to fight in rough terrain or in the jungle. Free Marines are awesome, but they can panic; don't get too cocky with them.
I've seen a game between Capitol and Imperial last 15 minutes! I'm not kidding. When you use the airstrikes on the right troops and you have your Free Marines deploy at the edge of the opponent's deployment zone, the battle can go rather quickly! Capitol won, by the way, if I didn't make myself clear.

Bauhaus

Bauhaus has the Reliability special ability that enables them to keep going after they fumble while shooting. This must come in handy for the really unlucky people out there. They can also take initiative by using their "The moment has come" ability once per game. I haven't played these guys at all becaus I hate their miniatures, but I might in the future just because I'm bored. Their basic grunts are the Hussars, the Etoiles Mortant are their close combat troops, and then you've got the Venutian Rangers in the basic book. From the other compendiums, there are the Blitzers, Dragoons, and the numerous Orders like the Wolves, Spiders, etc. All I can say with these guys is to stay out of CC because you are gonna get killed. They are excellent marksmen, so just dig in, and pick people off while you have your blitzers parachute in and cause a lot of hell.

Mishima

Ah, these guys were the ones that got me into this game. It's too bad that I don't have my own army, as I was initially embraced by the Dark Symmetry and served Algeroth for a time. I have studied up on these guys because they are the most challenging to use and to win with. You really have to use their Banzai ability to get into close bombat. The Mishima weapons are pitifully weak, and their armor is remarkably low. This equates to using all cover and avoiding wide open spaces. At their disposal, the Mishima have the Ashigaru, Samurai, Hatamoto, Shadow Walkers, Deathbringers, Combat Warheads, Suicide Warheads, Demon Hunters, Lord Moya's Guard, Shinobi, Crimson Devils, and Tiger Dragons. The warheads are Mishima's attempt at robotic soldiers. The Combat Warhead is a soldier, while the Suicide is a walking bomb. The Suicides are great at drawing your enemy's attention while you infiltrate with your Samurai and Tiger Dragons. You should let your Combats cover your butt, though. The Shinobi are particularly nice because of their low cost and ability to teleport. It would be a good idea to split up your squads into the smallest possible numbers so that you'll have more squads then your opponent. When he's done activating, there's nothing better than to have a couple of squads left to cause some havoc.

Tips on using Mishima:

Hatamoto are woefully underarmed, have low stats and are overpriced. If you must use them, keep their squad sizes down to the minimum, but be careful; as squad sizes decrease, their chances of being broken increase. There are better alternatives to the Hatamoto.
Crimson Devils are good because they don't panic. They've got okay stats and are better armed. Actually, their stats make them pretty good for cover fire upon further review. The figs don't look too good, though. These guys also cause fear, but there are too many troops out there that are immune to panic nowadays.
Tiger Dragons are a good replacement for the Hatamoto.
The Meka is overpriced with pathetic weapons.
Teleporting Shinobi cover ground really well.
The Deathbringer has been finally fixed, and does not need LOS to use his Shadow Charge and Shadow Walk. Hooray! Now he's a major pain in the ass again!

Imperial

Imperial benefits from having the biggest troop variety out of all the corporations. Their special forces do not rout, and they can also seize the initiative as well. Their regular troops are the Regulars/Trenchers, and their special forces are quite extensive. The best known special forces are the Blood Berets and the Wolfbanes. There are other beret units as there are other Wolfbanes. I don't play these guys either, but my roomate does and they look like they may be a little trouble.

Cybertronic

The cold, the grim, and the misunderstood. These guys can be pretty tough, everyone. While they don't have a lot of troops to choose from, what they do have is very effective. Starting with the troops from the Rulebook, there are the Chasseurs, the Cuirrasers, Eradicator Death Droids, TA6500's, Enhanced Chasseurs, Machinators, Chemmimen, Scorpions, Shock Troopers, and Mirrormen. These guys have got some really good armor, so if you're fighting against them, you either need to aim or get harder hitting weapons. If you've got a hand to hand army like Mishima, you've gotta do some waiting and let the terrain be your best friend. The Chasseurs by themselves are pretty effective as they have 28 armor. Pair them up with those really quick machinators and your got a good one-two punch that can shoot and slice it up. The shock troopers can be annoying because it's so hard to see them, and when you do see them, it's usually right before you get blinded by a flash grenade. There go your wait actions. The Death Droid can be pretty mean, but they are big, wait, GIANT, targets. The AI's are nice and they are pretty funny when they start running amok and shooting their own numbers. This is a great army for beginners because they are so straight-forward. You've got armor to spare, so you can afford to move quickly up the battlefield to some great positions. The Machinators can keep people tied up in hand to hand, while the Shock troops can sit their and make sure that nobody is sitting there waiting for you to come after them.

Tips on using Cybertronic:

The basic chasseur is an awesome bargain. These guys should make up a big part of your army. At 28 armor, who wouldn't take them?
Shock Troops are a pain in the ass, to your opponent. While they're lightly armed, they can be a pain with their combat reflexes.
The Chemmiman is your version of the Free Marine sniper. Deployed hidden and waiting, and MKII grenade launchers with explosion templates, are you kidding? This guy can be a beast.
Machinators are evil; exploit them. These guys are damn fast, just don't take the heavily armed one with you. Watch your opponent sweat as you pin him down with heavy fire from your chasseur squad, as you advance with the Machinators on his location.
Mirrormen are even more evil than Machinators! They're also pretty quick and are hard to spot.

Brotherhood

My brother liked how these guys looked, and that's all it took to make him a brotherhood player. These guys have a lot of hand to hand troops like the Fury Elite Guard, and the Sacred Warriors who aren't as good as the fury. They're fun to use because you can use the Art to your advantage. The new troops in Casualties of War are pretty good, too. One that stands out is the Pilgrim Executioner. It's too bad I'm too busy painting these guys, or else I'd have more to say about them. Here's what I do like, AP grenades on Nemesis handguns!

Tips on using Brotherhood:

If you can only use one aspect, try to pick the one that helps you, instead of hurting your opponent. There are so many troops out there that have an immunity to Art, so you're better off augmenting yourself. Heal your troops and buff out your guys.
Fury Elite have good armor, but remember, they're still CC troops, so you'll need some backup from your troopers (basic or Elite).
There are some awsome troops from Dark Eden, so you'll have to go pick up that book to see what I'm talking about. Hint, there's some four-armed menace and a new sniper rifle in there.

Cartel

Not too much for the guys in suits, aside from the fact that you can bring in at least two corporations or you can field a squad of Cartel agents. People think they're cheesy, but I haven't played them, yet, so I don't know. I do like the suits, and the best model from the Cartel has to be the Combat Medic. he keeps you plugging along...

Tips on using Cartel:

Always take a medic with every squad you have. It'll help you in the long run, when atricion starts setting in. You'll be glad you brought one when your troops, especially your heavy gunner or squad leader gets taken down.

Dark Legion

Big, burly guys who are though as shit, and have many wounds. I'd say that about sums them up. Oh yeah, don't forget about the Dark Symmetry and all that nasty Necrotechnology.

Algeroth

Oooh, my favorite. Just one look at the Razide made me a heretic. Algeroth's little guys like the undead legionnaires can't shoot for shit, but you can sure scare your opponent with your numbers! Hell, their guns cost more than they do! Praetorian Stalkers are fast and are well armored. You can buy them as individuals or as a matching pair. Deadly and scary. To your opponent, that is... The Ezoghoul is pretty much cannon fodder because he always seems to draw way more attention than his pathetic stats and abilites merit. Go figure, he's a giant model. Another giant model is the Mercurian Maculator. Whoa, this guy looks pretty crazed, and he regenerates wounds. Talk about a pain in the ass. Just when you think you hurt him, he can heal up like you didn't even shoot at him. He's balanced by that pathetic Attachia hand cannon. Want more big guys? Meet the Biogiant and the Praetorian Behemoth. Big and ugly seems to be the motif around here. You've got big monsters, but you've also got some crazy-ass heretical humans. These are the Secret Kohorts. Oooh, these guys are cool.

Tips for Algeroth Forces

Sacristans (from Beasts of War) are a much better bargain than Necromutants, so you might want to check them out. Also, they can use some Corporate weaponry
Razides with Necrobionic Eyes make the best snipers! Think about it, The Nazgaroth has no maximum range and causes all of that damage! People might start calling you cheese. Actually, they'll call you cheese when you do the following:
Praetorian Stalkers can be bought as squads and individuals! try to imagine the look on your opponent's face when he faces an all Stalker army! It's not really in the spirit of the role playing game which Warzone is based on, but then again, you're not role playing.

Illian

She's the big sister, and she's the best as using the Dark Symmetry. Her troops are a little sparce compared to Algeroth, but then again, all of the Dark Legions are small compared to the big guy. The Templars are okay, but the wheeled ones are the meanest. Man, these guys can beam down and cause you some grief. There's also the the Hellfire Cart for all of those good little templars who want to get upgraded into a super wheel chair. Then there's the Children of Ilian and the Scion of Ilian who caused so much grief on the Warzone forum. They were bitching about this little guy who had like, four wounds.

Muahwije

This guy's a crazy one, he is. Mister insanity himself, who's got some of the best legionnaires in the whole game. The screamers only have to duck behind cover and wail and wail. It got so bad that Target had to come up with new rules for them. The Zenithian Soulslayer is now available as an individual in addition to being a squad leader and being led by a Slaughtermaster. There is also the Doomsday Proclaimer who looks to be a cool figure, if not a cool troop. He hovers and has twin shotguns that he can fire as one action.

Semai

Why this tricky bastard was also a target of much ado. Okay, you've got this bad ass assassin, the Callistonian Intruder. Then, you have the heretic legionnaires which can now hide and spot, I believe. There are heretics who lead the legionnaires, and then there are the new guys, the Callistonian Sundancer, and the Metropolitan Prophet. The Met' is the guy that caused an uproar with all the corporation players. He used to be able to burst out of their troops, but now, you're only allowed to let him burst out of yours. Eh, he's still good, I think. The bad part is, you can't arm him; he takes the weapons of whoever he explodes.

Demnogonis

Disgusting little shit! That's what this guy is. He's got the only troops that smell so bad, they can make you panic! His troops consist of the Blessed Legionnaires, Curators, Last Ritesmen, and a couple of other troops from the Casualties of War compendium. This is a pretty weak apostle to use by himself, because the Blessed have a really crappy special ability, and the other troops are not that good. The only cool thing I like about this guy are his weapons. The thought of guns that spew out body parts just makes me laugh.

Other Warzone Sites on the Web:

Target Games the creators of Warzone have a web page with a Warzone Forum and pictures of their miniatures. If you have a question, there is a Q&A column on the page as well.
The Warzone Web Board Here's a placeto read comments and questions about Warzone.
Terrain Making Do you want to see how to make some great looking terrain and gaming tables?
The Ratnest This is a great Warzone page with lots of links to other Warzone pages.

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