Aeronautica Imperialis: Wings of Vengeance

I put Wings of Vengeance on the table for a first test drive, even though the painting was not completely finished — shame on me, but the brushes caught fire immediately afterwards. We began with a simple 100-point dogfight, essentially using the contents of the box, with no scenarios, objectives, or anti-aircraft guns. As is often the case with GW starter boxes, the two sides do not necessarily make for ideally balanced forces, but the package gives a very clear taste of what the game has to offer.

At its core, this is a tactical aerial-combat game where manoeuvres and positioning matter far more than charging straight at the opponent. If you play headlong and face-to-face, expecting the dice to settle the matter, you will quickly find yourself in a hard game of volumetric six fishing: you throw buckets and hope for sixes. On our first outing, Imperial firepower at mid-range was devastating, and that can very easily put off anyone unprepared for that punishment.

Once you accept that the challenge is getting close without being torn apart by quad autocannons, though, the game opens up. You hunt for the right moment, wait for the other player's mistake, and take risks with break-up rolls for excessive speed or with stalling in order to get behind them. Dogfights are not decided simply by how much dakka you have, but by who reads the positions better and exploits the window that opens.

My first impression was very positive. The game has depth, and the prospect of a campaign is exactly why we carried on painting with such enthusiasm. Cost is also a major advantage: for roughly 100 euros, you can sort yourself out with an army, which is quite welcome for GW miniatures.

Updated session

Two more dogfights using Taros Air War confirmed my original impression: beneath the super-yolo dicefest there is real skill and considerable depth, especially once scenarios and the particularities of each faction reach the table. The second game, with more balanced lists and a scenario, was pure adrenaline.

At the same time, the balance problem became very clear. Some aircraft are noticeably better than others for their points. For fully competitive play, that pushes players toward particular lists; if only one player does it, the other simply disappears from the map. My positive opinion has not changed, but I will now pay much closer attention to force composition. And now that I am painting the Tau from the expansion too, autumn is set to be hot and full of dakka.