Horizon Wars: Midnight Dark

Horizon Wars: Midnight Dark is a miniature agnostic skirmish ruleset that can be used for any small scale miniatures. The setting is near to far future and although there is a written history Mr Robey Jenkins said that people are free to come up with your own background and the reason why there is conflict. I really liked the original Horizon Wars rules and also the licensed Hardwar rules made by Strato Minis. Here was the review I did for the first edition of Horizon Wars.

    So using any miniature you want is one of the big draws for me. People who have been playing miniatures for a while probably have some small scale miniatures for a game that doesn't get played very much anymore. Games like Games Workshop 40k Epic or Battlefleet Gothic, Spartan Games' Dystopian Wars/Firestorm Armada/Planetfall, Gear Kreig/Heavy Gear, Dropzone Commander, Battletech, All Quiet on the Martian Front, Wizards collectable Axis and Allies minis...the list goes on. Even Lego! The Horizon Wars: Midnight Dark rules works well from 2mm up to 15mm. There are also three small scale miniatures coming out from three big companies: GW Legion Imperialis, Mantic Epic Warpath, and Warcradle Dystopian Wars. In the pictures below are a few that I have in that scale and some that are space combat based.

    I've primarily used my old Wizkids Mechwarrior plastic miniatures to use with the Horizon Wars system. They are a perfect scale, around 12mm, and provide variety. I also bought a lot of them on clearance from several online warehouse stores about 15 years ago. Repainting them is also easy to do. Some examples of my United Faction are Infantry, Vehicles/Special Units, and Mechs/Aircraft. Most of the different units I have painted for my United faction are shown in the picture below.

There are still only four stats for each unit: Agility (A), Defense (D), Firepower (F), and Movement (M). You can still react to enemy model actions, which is one of the highlights of this game for me as it adds to tactical decision-making both for the initiator and the potential reactor. 

Weapons still have unlimited range and still used d12s. Range is measured, agility stat added, and cover level added to get the target number. Attacker rolls d12s equal their Firepower stat, target rolls dice equal to their Defense stat and removes attacker's dice for each one that matches, attacker combines remaining as they wish to equal or exceed the target number, and every group of dice that equal or exceed is a hit. Target allocates hits to their stats as they see fit as damage and the same hits are allocated to fatigue, reducing that unit's effectiveness. There is more, like taking a recover action to reduce damage (not fatigue), but you get the basics.

This new edition of the game also cleans up parts of the original rules and adds some interesting changes:

    -New fatigue mechanic linked to damage taken, order tokens that cannot be placed, and units getting exhausted. 

    -Reduced the amount of critical results when rolling a 12 result to only one. 

    -Upgrades have been expanded and updated.

    -Air units, missions, and solo play rules have been updated.

    -New leadership, hero, defense, utility, and mech pilot upgrades.

    -New unit quality upgrades (green, untested, veteran, elite).

    -More, more, more!

    Another great thing about the game is cost. Once you get the rulebook you can start with cardstock paper chits, dollar store toys and blocks, used toys, or whatever you have around. Then you can pick up miniatures cheaply as you go to replace or expand your army. 

I recommend getting this new edition and trying out Horizon Wars: Midnight Dark. It is available from Wargames Vault here.