Preview

Today we have a special podcast for you. We sit down with Jon Russell from Warlord Games and we ask him all about the new Epic Battles for Black Powder.

By Tom Gall

The Flames of War Late War series continues with the latest book Bagration German. This is force is the mirror to the . Battlefront has slated the book, command cards, unit cards are more for a January release. Already if you look at the Battlefront site, you’ll see a .

Will this book make up for the Russian advances contained in the Bagration Soviet book? Is there a new meta ahead?  Will Hetzers Hetz? What surprises await? Let’s dive and see what Bagration German offers for you!

By John Stafford and Jim Baldrighi

Greetings fellow gamers! I’m John Stafford, co-designer of’s new World War II boardgame D-Day and Beyond (DDAB). Back in October of 2019, my co-designer Jim Baldrighi and I sat down in my basement to play the old Avalon Hill classic boardgame, D-Day. We played over the course of two evenings and enjoyed the game enough to swap sides and play again.

Afterward, as we usually do, we sat back with an adult beverage and discussed what we liked about the game and what we didn’t, and what new or improved game mechanics we would employ to make it a more enjoyable or historically accurate experience. Jim and I use such games to make “keep or sell” decisions regarding our collections, so this discussion eventually comes down to three questions: “Did we like the game enough to keep it?”, “Does it need an upgrade?”, and closely related to the second question, “Was it fun enough to redesign it to our satisfaction?”DDAB is the result of three “yes” answers.

Not too long ago we came to you with a lot of information about the book from Well, the Soviets are still in the spotlight but now we are looking at their WWIII forces for Team Yankee and this book is one I am very excited about. The Soviets get some great upgrades much as we have seen with the British and the USA and as a Soviet player, I now have some great lists to combat these upgraded NATO forces.

Just a few weeks ago I told you all about the new from . Some of the new models contained in that kit was the Soviet T-80 tank and the BMP-3 Armored Personnel Carrier. As the humidity lowered here at the NDNG headquarters I was able to finally head outside and spray a base coat on these new models and attempt as the worst painter on staff to paint these vehicles and give you my thoughts on how these new vehicles may play in Team Yankee.

By Mitch Reed

There is no doubt that Battlefront is trying to grow the popularity of and this will help us bring new players into the game. The new box comes with everything you need to play the game except for a tape measure.

It includes 16 vehicles for you to get a great feel for the game. Over the last few months I have seen numerous posts made by potential Team Yankee players that seem to ask the same question; “where does one start”, this new box set gives them a great starting point and will act as an amazing gateway into this game.

As a Soviet player with tons of models, I have been patiently waiting for the Soviet Bagration book for . After getting a good look at this book, I will be making a lot of lists. Two songs I have found to match the energy and sheer amount of awesome coming out of this new Soviet Late War extravaganza have been my inspiration. The first one is Energia by The second is . Listen at your own risk. You may become a Communist.

By Preston Jacob

Komerades! The long-awaited Soviet entrance to late war is finally here! With the upcoming release of the Bagration Soviet book. Soviet players are finally getting their first late-war book outside of Fortress Europe.

This covers the campaign in the east during 1944 as the Soviet army pushed the Germans back towards the west, taking back the land and territories claimed by the Wehrmacht from 1941 to 1943. As everyone knows, there was a serious big gun arms race between Germany and the Soviet Union, and we finally get to see some of the big guns seen in the Eastern front make their debut in this book, along with some command cards to upgrade them!

I’m sure players are excited for all the units and formations in the book, but I know I always look forward to the command cards as they open up more options for units and lists. Without further adieu, let’s get started!

By Mitch Reed

For those of you who have felt that we here at NDNG were fanboys for , this article will show you how wrong you are. I hate this book and I plan to tell you why in detail. Something to keep in mind as you read on, I do not play Soviets in , but I have played against them for over a decade now.

Over the last year, as Late War was being upgraded to V4 standards, I  did not think very much about the Soviet lists I may face, since everything was based on D-Day or models from your Mid War collection. Now the Soviet Bagration book is here and I plead with the Soviet readers to skip this book.

Can one get excited for a new book that has very little new models in it? Well if it is the new D-Day Waffen SS book from there is a lot to be excited about if you are a player who likes to play the SS. Do not let the lack of new models throw you off, this book adds so much flavor for the German D-Day forces you will never notice it.

After I built what I claimed was my only army for Flames of War almost a decade ago (Canadians) I soon found myself building an opposing force to play against them. I selected the Waffen SS because even decades after the war they hold an odd fascination for me as I try to wrap my head about how they existed as a separate force based on the Nazi party as opposed to the national army.

The SS also seemed to be everywhere during the war and one of the first lists I really loved to play was the SS Wiking Division that fought on the Eastern front. Now this force is available for Normandy as Battlefronts closes the Late War chapter for the invasion of France.