So Brent (from BOLS) has challenged us to write articles about possibilities for expanding the 40k scenario options under 6th edition. My personal preference for this is to simply expand the current 3x3 scenario table into a massive 6x6 scenario table. I'm going to take a few pages from the 8th ed Fantasy scenarios to come up with three new deployment schemes and three new objective schemes.
Deployment
1 - Battle for the Pass
Each player chooses a short board edge. Deployment zones are 12" from the center (so that the armies begin 24" apart). Units that aren't jump infantry cannot outflank because the long board edges are cliff faces.
2 - Meeting Engagement
The players choose opposite corners. Deployment zones are 6" from the center line (between the two unchosen corners). Before each player deploys, they must roll 1d6 for each character and unit, on a roll of 1 the unit is not deployed and may move onto the board from the long board edge on the first turn of the game (Because the long board edge is 'the players board edge' for all purposes).
3 - Dawn Attack
Each player chooses a long board edge. The deployment zones are 12" from the center and each deployment zone is broken into three sections by the following chart. Units are deployed one at a time by rolling on the chart below and placing the unit completely within the indicated section of the deployment zone.
1: Left Flank - 18" from the left edge of the board.
2: Right Flank - 18" from the right edge of the board.
3-5: Center - the remaining portion of the deployment zone.
6: Anywhere - anywhere in the deployment zone.
In addition, the first turn of this battle uses the night fighting rules.
Mission
1 - Bloodbath
Place a single objective in the center of the board. The player who controls the objective at the end of the game gets +3 kill points. The player with the most kill points is the winner.
2 - Extraction
Each player places an objective in their deployment zone. The first player to move the objective that began the game in their opponent's deployment zone into their deployment zone wins. If a unit controls their objective at the beginning of their controller's turn, the objective may 'join' the unit. Once an objective has 'joined' a unit, the unit loses any movement special rules and can only move and assault 6" each turn (and can still run). The game ends when one objective has been moved into its controller's deployment zone or by random game length. If the game ends by random game length, the distance between each objective and its controller's board edge is measured, the player with the shortest distance is the victor. (If this explanation didn't make much sense, it's basically capture the flag. Hopefully that helps.)
3 - Assassination
When an army contains no HQ choices, the army breaks and is defeated. If neither army is out of HQ choices at the end of the game, the result is a draw.
So these are just some of my ideas for expanding the scenarios. With a 6x6 table, there would be a total of 36 different combinations, making for a lot of fresh and interesting 40k. If anybody tries out any of these, let me know. I'll probably try some out next weekend, if I've got anything interesting to report about it, I'll add an addendum.
