Blood Red Skies: Off We Go into MiG Alley

By Mitch Reed

Many of you probably know all about the upcoming Bolt Action Korea book from . The new book moves Bolt Action into a new conflict which also expands the game considerably. Not to be ignored the folk at Warlord are also bringing Blood Red Skies into this new era with its MiG Alley expansion due out in August. I have been playing with the jets for some time now I just love them. The air war over Korea was a much different affair than five years earlier in the Second World War. This new war was the first time both combatants were equipped with jet propulsion aircraft and we saw jet versus jet combat. The speed at which these jets flew outpaced everything seen before. In a short time, all propeller aircraft were rendered obsolete for air superiority missions.

MiG Alley was the most northwestern part of North Korea that butted against the Chinese border. For years the F-86 Sabres and Communist MiG-15 aircraft dueled in the skies to control the airspace over the theater. The Communist MiGs were not only piloted by North Korean airmen but also Chinese, Russian and some other Warsaw Pact airman who looked to gain combat experience in the first major hot conflict of the Cold War.

The MiG Alley box set is not a stand-alone game. It is an expansion that introduces the first jets into the game system. The box comes with two F-86 Sabre and two MiG15bis aircraft, data cards for the Mig-15, F-86E and F models, and four new cards for the game. You also get decals for the jets.

My preference for decals is for those from
The first big rule addition is the always active trait “Jet” which gives the aircraft the ability to gain one level of advantage when activated if no enemy planes are within 9”.  Jet also limits other aircraft from gaining advantage with a Pilot Action if they are within 9” of a Jet.

This also prevents other jets from gaining advantage, so in a fight with just the MiG’s and Sabres’ neither of them can gain advantage as a Pilot Action.

This changes the tactics you will use in an all jet fight. Since these jets move so fast (14” for the Sabre and 13” for the MiG) you will end up making a lot of slashing attacks moving away afterwards to re-gain advantage and taking another pass. You will also need to use the Tailing rule to push enemy jets to a disadvantaged state to shoot them down. I know many folks will complain about this and may feel it nerfs the advantage jets should have in the game; however, it is a great rule that simulates not only how the jets performed but also how they were used in combat. The actual trait on the aircraft card is called Jet 2, so when late WWII jets come in the game the later period jets will have an advantage over them.The other trait applies to only the MiG and it’s called Rough Ride which simulates the lack of G-suits for the Communist side. With Rough Ride, if you burn advantage you can only shoot as a Pilot Action if you pass a Maneuver Test. Since this is a negative trait it is always in effect.
The other new Card is called Buzz Saw, and makes any successful attack within 3” become a critical hit. This is only available to the Sabre. The MiG gets the Heavy Hitter trait which is already in the game. The last card is called “Decompression Issues” which forces the other player to take a maneuver test in order to take a Pilot Action if they burn advantage to dive.

I have had a lot of time to play (even with my son seen above) with the new jets and let the rules sink in and they really work for the game. Experienced BRS gamers who will play battles between MiG’s and Sabre’s will notice how much the jet game is different from what they played with piston-powered aircraft. Once you start to develop new tactics for the jets you will really fall in love with the MiG Alley expansion.

I have been playing a lot of battles with my ten MiG’s vs my ten Sabre’s () and have been having a blast with it. I enjoy the jets so much I really may just play with them and let my prop planes collect dust for a while.

I can already hear the comments that gamers will have about this expansion. Where are the other jets such as the US Navy Panther, British Meteor and Vampire? While I have no idea what WLG’s plans are I can say that when one thinks of MiG Alley those jets just do not come to mind. There were other jets in the war but the MiG and Sabre were the two best and most iconic fighters of the war.

The other comment is the one every new game has which is the “I can’t wait for…” statement. These gamers are already looking for the next generation of jets and conflicts like the Arab-Israeli wars or Vietnam.

While I do not know what WLG plans to do in the future, I feel that the BRS game engine does not lend itself to that later period. Blood Red Skies is a dogfight game and a good one at that. But when you look at later wars; weapons such as air to air missiles and electronic warfare really changed how the air war was conducted.

I have been waiting for this expansion for some time now and the reason why I stuck with this game is because of it. I have a feeling that this expansion will be liked by current BRS gamers but loved by the new gamers what will be drawn to the Blood Red Skies.