Aeronautica Imperialis (AI for short) portrays the vicious, high-speed dance of death that plays itself out above battlefields the length and breadth of the 40K universe.  Published by Forgeworld in an excellent hardback rulebook, the game delivers an experience unique amongst the current GW games in that it focuses almost solely on aerial combat.  AI operates on the same scale as epic, meaning all the models are much smaller than those used in WH40K.  Cast from resin, their small size does not mean they lack detail; quite the opposite in fact.  As might be expected, the game rules are quite different from WH40K, focusing more on fluid movement and educated guesswork.  All said and done the game looks very interesting, and well worth the money if high-stakes aerial combat is your thing!

The Book

The book itself is in the usual Forgeworld format; an A4 hardback jam-packed full of ‘action’ photos, coloured schematics and blueprint diagrams.   The book is of excellent quality, being well written, superbly illustrated and having more than enough fluff for the fluff addicts!   It’ll provide a good read (or look at the pretty pictures if you’re anything like me!) to everyone who is into 40K.  Following is an overview of the book contents:

Page 1-5: Contents, forward etc.
Page 6-18: Rules section
Page 20-33:  Squadron lists and aircraft data sheets, basically a small codex for each of the current factions available to play in AI.
Page 34-147: Fluff section, covering all the aircraft available in the game with ‘action’ photos, schematics, colour schemes and written information detailing how the aircraft operates, its role and other such information.  This section takes up most of the book and is a really great read.
Page 148-165: Scenarios, featuring reenactments of numerous important air battles that have occurred in the 40K universe.  These include some taken from the previous Imperial Armour 3 book and other 40K literature.  Also included in this section are the campaign rules, which add several things, including the use of ‘ace’ pilots in your squadron.
Page 166+: Support materials such as appendices and hreference sheets.

The Rules

The rules for AI have some similarities with those of Battlefleet Gothic.  Movement is a constant fluid affair, there are special orders you can give pilots and shooting is affected to varying degrees by range.  There are many differences between the two games however, such as the maneuvering system and the fact that in AI you can crash into the ground!  Perhaps the most striking difference between AI and most other GW games is that both players move, maneuver, shoot and do everything else in the same turn.  Every action is carried out in initiative order, which is determined by a D6 roll at the beginning of the turn.  The turn is split up into several phases as per usual, including the movement, shooting and end phases.

During the movement phase you must move all your aircraft.  The only exceptions to this are VTOL aircraft (such as vultures) and aircraft that have landed.  Movement distance can be altered by applying engine power (thrust) to change your speed.  At one point in your movement you must use a maneuver card, which will have been chosen before any movement takes place.  These maneuver cards vary from complex turns and spirals to flying straight on, and can alter you aircrafts’ altitude.  The fact you have to choose all you aircrafts’ maneuver cards before you (or your opponent) move any aircraft adds an element of forward thinking and luck to the game.  Movement is carried out in initiative order, meaning that if player A had the initiative that turn, he would move one aircraft, then player B would move one, then player A would move another and so on.  Be careful how you move your aircraft however; you don’t want to stall their engines or cause them to crash into the sides of hills!

The shooting phase proceeds in the same initiative type order that is used in the movement phase.  Each aircraft gets to unleash its weaponry, with extra shooting bonuses for successfully tailing enemy aircraft.  Range has an effect on shooting in AI, with the general rule being that the further you are from the target the less effective your shooting will be.  There are several types of shooting, such as air-to-air, air-to-ground strafing runs and high-level bombing.  Each of these types of shooting has different rules giving each a distinctive flavour.  Air-to-air shooting covers the fast paced and deadly dance of death that is a dogfight, and requires that you be fairly close to your target (in both range and altitude terms).  Strafing runs require that you be very close to the ground and expose you to lethal anti-aircraft fire from ground defences.  Alternatively you can drop bombs from high up by carrying out high-level bombing runs.  This type of attack isn’t very precise though, as bombs can drift and damage structures other than your intended target.

The end phase is where you work out things like disengaging (carried out by flying off the table edge, or up off the top of the table into orbit!) and carry out other book keeping activities.  All in all the rules provide a fast paced, enjoyable gaming experience that emphasizes forward thinking and educated guesswork for success

The Factions

There are six separate factions available to the AI player.  Each of these has different strengths and weaknesses depending on who they are.  For example the Eldar have the fastest, most maneuverable aircraft.  As might be expected the Imperial Navy and Space Marines can freely mix aircraft from each other’s squadrons.  Below are a few details on each of the separate air forces.

The Imperial Navy has the largest variety of aircraft, enabling them to deploy a force well suited to any role.  The Lightning can perform exceptional maneuvers whilst the Thunderbolt is heavily armed and durable.  Marauder bombers provide high-level saturation bombing whilst the Marauder destroyers descend for low level strafing and attack runs. The Imperium also has access to VTOL craft in the form of the Vulture and Valkyrie, a good number of ground defenses and some non-combatant craft like the Arvus Lighter.  A good all round squadron.

Space Marines make an appearance in Aeronautica Imperialis inside the venerable ceramite hulls of the Thunderhawk Gunship and the Thunderhawk Transporter.  These gunships are very powerful, with numerous hit points and multiple weapons systems – and Turbo-lasers!  Whilst they have no fighters to speak of, Space Marines can be taken with an Imperial Navy squadron and add a hard edge of pilot experience and Marine durability to the fight.  As you might expect, the Thunderhawk’s main strength is its ability to land troops through the most solid defense, and they have a strong air-to-ground capacity.

The foul servants of the dark gods take to the skies in wickedly nimble aircraft known as Hell Claws and Hell Talons.  These aircraft are fast and heavily armed, but are quite fragile.  Each craft can level an impressive display of firepower in the forward arc, and use it to good effect to claim yet more souls for their loathsome masters.  No ground defenses to speak of, but that just leaves you more points to spend on aircraft.  FOR THE DARK GODS!

Its time for WAAAGH from above!  The Orks take to the skies in the infamous Fighta and Fighta-Bomma!  Whilst they are not overly maneuverable or efficient, each can carry various payloads and pack a mighty punch in the forward arc.  To let an Ork Fighta tail you is to invite certain doom with the staccato rattle of quad ‘Eavy Shootas!  A good range of ground defenses rounds out the Ork Air WAAAGH nicely.  But what could be more deadly, brutal and utterly hilarious than a Grot Bomb?  One of the best things about the Ork air WAAAGH, grot bombs are taken as payloads on other Ork aircraft and zoom toward certain death when launched – brilliant!

The greater good have a large selection of aircraft, second only to the Imperial Navy for choice.  From the sleek Barracuda fighter through to the gargantuan Manta dropship, the Tau have an aircraft for every role.  Roughly comparable to the Imperial Navy, the Air Caste does indeed do its part for the greater good.  As well as good aircraft, the Tau have access to one of the best anti-aircraft ground defenses in the game – the Skyray Gunship.  The only things the Tau force lacks are high-level bombers, but the potent seeker missiles carried in their bomb bays compensate this for.

Insanely fast, impossibly agile, the Eldar speed into combat in aircraft hated and feared by the pilots of other races.  As you would expect, Eldar aircraft put those of other races to shame; with their largest aircraft as maneuverable as Imperial fighters.  To counterbalance this, they are rather expensive and lack any high-level ground attack capability at all.  From the lethal maneuverability of the Nighthawk to the potent grace of the Vampire Hunter, the Eldar Skyhost is a force to be feared in the dogfights of the 40k universe.

The Squadron

The ‘army’ you collect for AI is hreferred to as a squadron.  A squadron can be any size and can contain any mix of fighters, bombers, landing craft and ground defenses you wish it to.  Each faction must adhere to its own squadron list, with the sole exception of the Imperial Navy and Space Marines, who can mix into a single squadron.  Most aircraft start at around 15-20 points and can be upgraded with additional payloads, but some are far more expensive then this.  The largest one-off engagements in the book suggest playing with 200 points worth of aircraft, so you should be able to play almost every scenario after collecting around ten aircraft.  You may need more aircraft to play a campaign however.

The Models

The models themselves are highly detailed resin multi-piece sets.  As is usual, Forgeworld have done a stunning job on making these things look fantastic, but still have some trouble with their quality control.  As has been previously mentioned, the models are on the same scale are those used in Epic Armageddon, meaning transport and storage should also be a doddle!  Each model comes with a special AI base, which has fire arcs printed onto it, and speed & altitude dials built into the sides.  All in all I would say the models are very impressive, and look really nice when painted.

So ends my brief intro to AI.  I hope this article has answered any questions you had about the game and perhaps persuaded you to give AI a try.  Feel free to PM me with any further questions or post a thread in the ‘Other 40K Games’ forum on LO.  Also, be sure to head over to the Forgeworld website (www.forgeworld.co.uk) and take a peak yourself.

Cheers,
Rich.