Over at Anything But Ones, enrgie has posted more 400 AP action from a recent Axis vs Allies game, in which his Axis faced an Allies jump list (every unit had jetpacks).
The Axis list is included in the article, and lots of photos are included as always.
From July 1st, Dust World Coalition will become the new organised play organisation for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare.
Managed by the Dust Devils International (DDI), the DWC is the Official Social and Competitive Play organization for all of Paolo Parente’s Dust Games: Dust Tactics, Dust Warfare, and Dust: The Boardgame. The Dust Devils pride themselves on fair play, fun events, and a passion for drawing new players and hobbyists to Paolo Parente’s World of Dust. We proudly sponsor Recon (Recruitment and Demos), Campaigns (Competitive League Play), and Offensives (Hierarchical Tournaments), culminating each year in our World-Class Event — Dust World Expo.
In short, this initiative puts Dust organised play into the hands of players. Check out the press release for more information on how DWC will be structured. Thanks to TTGN for the heads-up.
Yesterday, in the Flames of War forums, John-Paul Brisigotti, CEO of Battlefront Group, posted more information (login required) on how Dust releases will be handled by Battlefront.
Having agreed to let the information flow from FFG and Paolo over the weekend we have not put up anything further until now.
All our retailers have been contacted with some starting information so here it is for all of you.
The BF Group is distributing the DUST range from 1st June onwards. There are no planned changes to supply agreements or pricing for the range so you should see nothing different happening as a buyer of the range.
Wave 8 will become public very soon and we will start solicitation through the exsiting FFG stockists as well as the retail stores we service directly. All existing FFG stockists are able to conitinue getting stock from us for future releases so there is no reason that supply will be effected at all.
FFG will continue to sell the current range until stocks are delpleted, probably towards the end of this year.
BF will sell the core game and new waves starting to ship in July and add to the range as FFG stock runs out.
BF will take over the website in June so expect to see some new things there.
FFG has events planned in the US over the summer that will continue and we will then take them over from Gencon.
Basically we are working closely with Paolo and FFG so that this transition works on every level as we both want DUST to continue to flourish.
Nothing being made by BF is impacted by this deal as the manufacturing of the range is being handled by Paolo’s factory exactly as it has been from the start so the DUST range does not stop us making any tanks or terrain for FOW or any other brand we have.
More information will come out directly on the DUST site but we will keep the community informed through all of our channels.
John-Paul
It seems that the handover from FFG to BF will be pretty smooth. Of particular note is that new models are headed our way in July, and that pricing will stay the same in the short term (although Dust Studio has already said that there will be a price increase at some point this year). You might also start to see Dust in stores that hadn’t stocked it before, especially those that already stock Flames of War.
FFG has updated the Dust items on the the Upcoming Releases page. The P-48 Pelican aircraft and Heavy Support Walker for the Allies, and the BR 47 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform and Heavy Weapons Team for the SSU are all “Shipping Now” and have an expected release date of May 16.
These are the last of the Icarus models to be released and, indeed, the final batch of new Dust models to be released through FFG.
Iron Joe Galka has posted an article on Dust War about the recent announcement of Battlefront taking on Dust duties from FFG.
There are some conflicting reports whether Battlefront is taking over the ruleset for D:W, but information that I have received from trustworthy sources state that they will. The other option seems to be that Paolo Parente’s Dust-Studios will be taking over the ruleset – Olivier Zamfirescu posted in the official Dust Tactics group on Facebook, but didn’t really address either point.
The agreement with Battlefront kicks in on June 1st, and it seems Dust players are in for interesting times ahead!
After yesterday’s news that Battlefront Miniatures will be the new distributor and marketer of Dust Warfare and Dust Tactics, Paolo Parente and Olivier Zamifirescu of Dust Studio have both contributed more information on the move.
First up, Olivier posted some reassurance on the official Dust Facebook group, which I reposted to Google+ (for people not on Facebook):
Onto details now:
Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare miniatures are not going to change scale. Period. We have a TON of things planned, and as Paolo mentioned a few weeks ago we are already working on the miniatures that will be released in 2015… And I still have a pretty good idea of what’s happening after that. So no worries here. You’re stuck with us FOR YEARS.Also as Paolo said recently, 15 mm (1/100 scale) is something we both love. Do we want to do something in this scale? Yes. When? I don’t know. What shape / form / etc? No idea yet.
Well, I have a few ideas actually, but they are just that: ideas. In my twisted mind only. Yet.
Will this one day mean the end of the 30 mm (1/48 scale)? NO. We have so many things we want to share with you. We are always trying to increase the quality of our miniatures and are not done trying. Believe me the last thing we want to do is to stop.
Meanwhile, over at Front Toward Enemy, Jeremiah got in touch with Paolo to ask a couple of questions about the move.
FTE: Could you please clarify Dust Studios relationship with FFG and will your relationship with Battlefront be any different? I.e. Did you make everything and FFG just handled Marketing and Distribution, or did they have a hand in the manufacturing of Dust T/W?
Paolo:The relationship should be very clear, Dust Studio owns the IP, designs and manufactures.
Battlefront now and FFG before market/distribute the products.
Warfare is a licensed product entirely made by FFG (the only ones capable of shooting pictures of Snow Camouflaged Walkers on a field of GREEN GRASS). Battlefront will take over it, and maybe they will just use Vincent Fontaine`s Wonderful Pictures…
Thanks to Olivier and Paolo for being so accessible at what must be an incredibly busy time for them.
Dust Studio announced today that publishing and distribution of Dust Warfare and Dust Tactics will transfer from Fantasy Flight Games to Battlefront Miniatures, producers of Flames of War, as of June 1st, 2013.
“Dust has had a wonderful few years, during which we have seen the game’s community grow exponentially,” said Dust creator Paolo Parente. “Both Dust Studio and Fantasy Flight Games have evolved significantly during our relationship, and we now mutually feel that we are both better served by moving in new directions. Christian (CEO of Fantasy Flight Games) and I have known each other for many years, and I can say that this decision is a truly amicable one.”
Added John-Paul Brisigotti, CEO of Battlefront Group, “we are very excited by the Dust universe, and although it is a first for us to be distributing a product other than our own, the fit with our business model made this partnership something we could not resist. During the last few years, we have been moving into new avenues to expand the breadth of products the group offers, and we see DUST as another one of these ranges.”
“We’ve been fortunate to distribute Dust Tactics since its debut at GEN CON 2010, and we’re very proud of our development work on Dust Warfare,” said Christian T. Petersen, CEO of Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). “The last year, however, as FFG experienced phenomenal growth across many of our publishing categories, it became clear that Paolo and the Dust games would be better served by a partner who specializes in the unique business of miniature games. We’re confident that Paolo’s partner choice in Battlefront Miniatures is a
strong one, and we wish nothing but the best to them, to Paolo, and to the fantastic Dust fan community.”Starting June 1st, Battlefront Miniatures will begin soliciting and distributing all new products for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare. FFG will ship all of its previously solicited new products prior to that date, and FFG will continue to exclusively sell all current Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare items while its inventories last. While FFG will support the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare regionals events in May and June 2013, all future marketing and organized play for the games will be handled by Battlefront Miniatures, including the scheduled GEN CON 2013 tournaments.
This is a move that, apparently, has been in the works for some time, and it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out over the next few months. Naturally, some people will be a bit jumpy about the move, but I’m optimistic about Dust’s future.
What do you think about the move? Post in the comments and let us know!
Gamers’ Vault in Montreal, Canada, will host the Dust Warfare Montreal Regionals tournament on Sunday, May 26th. It’ll be a 300 AP event, and first prize, as always, will be entry into Worlds 2013 (and the chance to represent the area!). Of course, participation isn’t restricted to just local players, so why not make it a road trip?
Entry costs CAD$15 for store members, and CAD$20 for everyone else. Registration will be at 12pm and the first round will kick off at 1pm. Check out the Gamers’ Vault site for contact details and the address. Thanks to Guru for the heads-up in the FFG forums.
OldHat has revisited another army list over at Dust War, this time the Chainsaws and Molotovs list for the SSU. However, it seems that molotovs (and, indeed, chainsaws) are out of fashion among SSU high command, and pincers are the new black.
While this new list sports less chainsaws, it does however have some nasty new tricks I think might make it viable. In fact, the new changes may well make it a viable option – certainly not the most competitive, but at least able to handle an all-comer style environment more favorably than its predecessors.
Have a nose at the list over at Dust War. Would you run it?
Svyatoslav from the Spellscape Miniatures blog has been hard at work producing some Dust unboxing videos, mainly of older releases. Unboxings usually focus on newer models, so it’s nice to see some veteran units get the unboxing treatment. The videos are slightly unusual in that they all feature Russian music, even for non-SSU units!
Svyatoslav is also an excellent painter, as shown by this Grenadier X showcase on his blog. Be sure to check out the Axis hero group shot further down in that post.
Dust Devils Canada is a Facebook group that was set up to bring the Canadian Dust Warfare community together. Groups like this are a great way to get in touch with other local players (relatively speaking!) and arrange games, as well as just hang out and chat.
There are quite a few Dust Warfare groups on Facebook, including the official Dust group and Dust Warfare UK. If you don’t have a Facebook account, it might be worth signing up for one just to take part in them!
Anything But Ones has been busy lately with Dust batreps, and a new one has gone up recounting a recent Axis vs Allies battle. enrgie decided to throw both a Königsluther and a freshly-painted Fledermaus III into a 400 AP list, together with a dual sniper team setup.
400 AP seems to open up interesting new avenues for Dust Warfare list building. Have a look at how the match went and if the Axis could beat Punisher and co.
A new video has gone up on the UF YouTube channel, in which I have a flick through Campaign Book Icarus, the latest campaign book for Dust Warfare. I don’t like to post spoilers, but I’ll make an exception: I really like it!
Let me know your thoughts on the video or the book in the video’s comments. Also, if you’d like to be notified when the next video is out, please consider hitting the Subscribe button over on YouTube. Thanks!
At Dust War, OldHat has posted a theorycrafting article which looks at a way to get multiple P-48 Pelicans, the new Allied aircraft from Campaign Book Icarus, on to the table.
That being said, this list struck me from the get-go as a rather unkind approach to the air war – total domination. Well, more correctly “Air Supremacy”, I suppose. The list uses this wonderful little upgrade to get itself not one, two, or three, but four attack aircraft on the table. A feat no other army can currently do! So now the Allies will rule the skies, as befits their fluff.
As of today the Pelican isn’t out yet (it’s still “on the boat”), but the article is worth a read anyway. The Pelican is definitely more than a match for the SSU and Axis aircraft!
Gamers On Games has posted the third and final part of their 400 AP video batrep, featuring a game between the SSU and the Allies. It was a long game, and a close one too, but the end was finally in sight for one of the factions.
Who walked away as the winner? You’ll have to watch to find out!
At Anything But Ones, enrgie has posted another great battle report recounting a three-way battle between two Axis armies and one SSU army. The fight was won in a pretty unexpected way!
As usual, lots of photos are included to illustrate the action.
Jester’s Playhouse in Northfield, NJ, will host the New Jersey Dust Warfare Regionals tournament on Saturday, May 11. First prize is, of course, entry into Worlds 2013, and other prizes include suppression tokens and dog tags. The action kicks off at 2pm.
The AP limit isn’t stated, but as it’s a Regionals event it’ll probably be 300 AP. Head over to the Jester’s Playhouse website for the address and contact information.
Campaign Book Icarus is out now in the UK, and should be available everywhere else in the world. The book is an excellent addition to any Dust Warfare player’s collection with new unit stats, new scenarios and a new battle builder.
If you’re going to be deploying Allied or Axis aircraft, you’ll need Icarus. Why not grab a copy with your Pelican or Horten?
Front Toward Enemy has posted details of which units will appear as part of the Dust Kickstarter stretch goal for Heroes of Normandie, the new game from Devil Pig Games. Only Axis and Allies units will be included, because only the WW2 Axis and Allies are in HoN at present. But if the Russians show up in the game, SSU units might appear with them!
The kickstarter hit the Dust stretch goal on April 13 and, as I type, currently stands at £87,000 (about $132,000) raised with 4 days to go.
TableTop Game & Hobby, located in the Kansas City metro area, will hold a day of Dust gaming on Saturday, May 25th. The event will start at 2pm and will run until 9pm when the store closes.
The day will be run in association with the 435th Dust Warfare Club and should be a fun a day for old and new players alike. If you’re in the area and have been itching to try Dust Warfare, why not go along? Thanks to Luxfan for the heads-up in the FFG forums.
