At-43 plays very differently than other table top games currently on the market. The turn is dictated by what is called the activation order. Each unit gets a card and each player places the cards face down infront of them. Each player takes turns revealing the next card in the order and then moving shooting and resolving close combat with that unit.

This opens up a large amount of strategy since the order units activate becomes important. If a unit is destroyed before it gets to activate the player must still reveal that card. There are ways a player can manipulate their activation order by spending Leadership Points (LP). Leadership points are spent activating units without an officer, manipulating the activation order, assigning combat drills and using special abilities.

A player can manipulate their own activation order in the following ways.

• For 2 LP they may delay their activation essentially passing on their next activation, you may not delay twice in a row.
• For 2 LP on the activation following a delay the player may choose to activate the next 2 cards in their activation order.
• For 1 LP the player may move the card they are about to activate anywhere in the existing order and then reveal the following card.

These open up a lot of strategy with respect to the order of units. Double activation allows 2 units to act before the opponent gets the chance to move, repair, or activate abilities. It costs a fair number of LP to do this but it can be very powerful when executed correctly. Being able to move the upcoming card in your activation is also helpful. For instance if you realize you made a mistake in your activation order, or the unit that is coming up was destroyed and you dont want your opponent to act twice in a row and potentially inflict even more damage unanswered.

The strategic options in at-43 are great and this is what makes it such a fun game to play. Other table top games play like checkers, at-43 is more like chess.

For more details on the rules of At-43 you can download them at the at-43 website.

UPDATE: With the release of Operation frostbite, if you have two units that use the same card you may choose which one to activate when the card comes up. The units must have the same special weapons and officer rank for this rule to apply.

I recently picked up a Karman army and have been having a ton of fun with Guru Lucius leading a unit of 4 Kaptars. Lucius gives the unit he is leading stealth when they are in cover and given the take cover drill. This gives the usually fragile kaptars a lot more room to step out and fire all their weapons. The other benefit is that Lucius comes with 2 drum guns listed separately on his profile. This gives his unit the possibility of firing at 3 different targets with the split fire combat drill. This is extremely helpful when dealing with a UNA morningstar list as they are able to field a large number of smaller sized infantry units and if you’re lucky they’ll have left the triple lens helmets at home.

I am not totally sold on using diamond over a king buggy though. The flamers seem to be much more useful at clearing out infantry and for AFV killing, nothing beats the jungle buggy. Then again I usually run a Nova list so having a hero in an afv seems like a bit of a waste if they are anything less than a Saint.

The release of Operation Frostbite brought some new neutral units that could be called on. One of which being MedTec. They are owned by the ONI corporation and are doctors for hire. I have play tested this unit and found them to be extremely useful in certain situations.

First the basics. MedTec units consist of a container, 2 low walls and 3 MedTec specialists. The units deployment is slightly different from the rest of its army. When MedTec comes onto the battlefield it must set up its container after its first movement (after any possible over-watch as well). The container must be set up within the control range of the MedTec unit so this gives it a deployment range of 30 cm (20 from rush movement + 10 for deploying the container at max control range).  For most missions this is plenty.

The benefits of MedTec are that for any unit that contributes to controlling its container the MedTec may use its three medics to heal those units or themselves. The benefits of having three extra medics should be obvious especially when coupled with long range weapons. If it is possible to get this unit within 10 of a mission objective it would help make that objective extremely difficult to capture.

In addition to the 3 medics available to MedTec, they also get the field hospital ability. This allows an active unit that is contributing to the control of the MedTec container to bring a fighter back to life, regardless of where or when they were killed.

For 75 points this can be an invaluable unit to have for certain missions regardless if you are attacking or defending. It helps keep your troops alive and can bring back that special weapon that got sniped by accident last turn. It also helps create more tactical opportunities since it is deployable cover. I’ve found this unit to be well worth its point cost and have had a ton of fun playing with it.

I enjoy playing the Therians but do have a small problem with how Babylon Zero works. For those that haven’t encountered this unit yet be thankful. Essentially it gets 4 nucleus cannon 2.0 sniper shots while still being able to move. This means that in one turn it can pretty much kill any AFV on the board. read more »

Overview

The UNA are the most advanced human faction. They possess powerful technologies and are ideologically opposed to the Red Blok. They use their superior range and technology to their advantage, they annihilate enemy afvs with their missiles without having to expose themselves to retaliatory fire.

Play Style

The UNA are a very versatile force able to deal with most any threat thrown their way. They fight best at longer ranges where their high accuracy really shines. Equipped with laser guns, and missile launchers they are able to put a lot of hurt on enemy. Their TacArms are able to designate targets that can be engaged with indirect fire weapons like mortars, grenade launchers and missiles without requiring any line of sight to the target.

Advantages

• Laser designation with TacArms
• Missiles that hit on a 3+ with unlimited range
• TacArms ungroundable
• high accuracy

Disadvantages

• only 2 special weapons per infantry unit
• lower maximum unit size
• lower afv armour

Overview

Fighting for Justice Equity and Unity the Red Blok seek to fight against those that oppose those values. Each soldier is dedicated to bettering the collective which has been striving for their goal for over a century.

Play Style

The Red Blok combine very heavily armoured AFV’s with large numbers of ground troops. They are a faction that is constantly moving towards the enemy due to their limited effective range. Once the Red Blok guns are within their effective range though they have the potential to unleash an enormous amount of damage. They have many tricks up their sleeves to slow the enemy down and need to use all of them to be effective.

Strengths

• Highly armoured AFVs
• High damage potential of infantry units
• Effective snipers
• Disruption reduces the LP available to their opponent each turn
• Large numbers of troops lets them take and hold strategic positions easily

Weaknesses

• Inaccurate weapons forcing them to advance on the enemy
• Difficulty taking down very heavy AFV’s (Type 3 for example)
• Infantry has lighter armour compared to the other factions

Overview

The Therians are a species that wishes to bend the universe to their will. They are extremely technologically advanced and are ruthless in crushing anyone that attempts to get in the way.

Play Style

The Therian commanders known as overseers have access to routines that they can execute during battle. These routines provide many abilities from being able to re roll failed damage tests to summoning AFV’s out of thin air. All Therian infantry are also equipped with strong melee weapons so they can more than handle themselves in a close quarter battle. Their melee only, Grim Golems are invisible to the enemy and are ideal for charging towards the enemy. All Therian units are very fast and can take strategic positions faster than most of their opponents.  Don’t think that the Therian army is incapable of shooting though. They can also be very effective from a distance. They are a very flexible army and there is hardly a situation they cannot handle.

Strengths

• Summon AFV’s during battle
• Higher armor values
• 3 special weapons in a max size unit

Weaknesses

• very few 2 damage weapons
• routines are LP dependent
• no medics or engineers (though there is a repair routine)