Introduction
Having played many, many Death Race scenarios I was keen to get my newly purchased war rig on to the table. The first expansion for Gaslands is all about war rigs so this seemed the perfect choice and we agreed to play the first scenario. The Riggers choose a faction-specific war rig (I went with Slime for the all round rams) and get 60 cans worth of escorts, while the Gangers get 120 cans worth of vehicles to try and stop the rig with. We set up a wasteland with plenty of scattered terrain to keep things interesting, and the rig came rumbling down the centre.
Sneaky Gits
Before play begins the Gangers get two place two terrain pieces as road blocks. In a very sneaky tactical ploy they placed them in the way of two of the escorts, forcing them to take detours and get left behind the rig. This proved to make a significant difference.A Rig Runs Through It
The rig went thundering down, aware that speed was its best ally against the swarm of Gangers facing it. It worked the gears hard, working it's way up to top speed at 4th with minimal hazard tokens. Unfortunately, it finished just out of range of the devastating mini gun turret. The plan was to ram the rocky ground lying in the way and cross that rather than risk all the hazards generated from articulating (turning) the vehicle.
Rockets, Rockets Everywhere
The Gangers' monster truck threw itself into high gear, its fat tyres having no problem negotiating the boggy ground beneath. Racing up to the rig it unleashed a spread of rockets with devastating accuracy. Four hits with two of them sixes meant six hits suffered overall, the rig managing to evade only one. At 20 hull points this wasn't as damaging as the tally of hazard tokens added by each rocket. The rig failed its flip check, smashing ahead before shuddering to a halt and back into first gear. The Ganger swarm descended, more rockets ripping into its hull reducing it down to three in next to no time.
Counterattack
Desperate to save their rig, the Rigger escort flew ahead to the rescue. The bike, loaded with grenades, raced into the fight and collided with a ganger head on. The ensuing explosion severely damaging the Ganger jeep but also claiming more of the precious few remaining rig hull points. The two other Riggers got close enough to tangle with the Gangers, with a Ganger buggy filled with molotovs unleashed a volley and set one of them on fire. Sadly the rig's single remaining hull point was claimed and the glorious beast was felled in a cloud of smoke, dust and sparks.
Conclusion
Rockets are amazing! Outrunning the escort is bad. Rigs struggle to manage hazard tokens and if they wipe out that's half your force unable to activate and shoot. I possibly should have taken the Warden rig with its ability to pass hazard tokens on to friendly and enemy vehicles. Gaslands definitely remains one of my favourite games.
