Review of Badger's Commandos

Blurb from the publisher: 'Dauntless allied warriors.

Armed with a variety of lethal Blevin's steam guns, these brave soldiers form the bulk of the Allied Forces opposing the Black Sun and remain a mobile, formidable and ferocious fighting force.'

What you get: Your EUR 41,51 or USD 43,93 or GBP 34,99 will buy you a boxed set of Badger's Commandos, one of the boxed sets for the Achtung! Cthulhu Skirmish wargame line. The set contains 10 highly detailed 28 mm metal miniatures, namely 8 Commandos with Blevin Rifles and 2 Commandos with Blevin Carbines.

All miniatures require some minor assembly, as they are made of three or four parts (torso, arms, backpack) and their plastic base. There are four sets of two with identical postures (three in a movement-like motion and one kneeling) and two miniatures which are practically standing yet which have different faces and gear.

The strong points: In many ways Badger's Commandos are similar to the Black Sun Troopers. They are the backbone of the Allied Forces and are extremely likely to be found in any Allied configuration. In contrast however to their occult Nazi counterparts, they do not exude a lack of humanity, nor a mechanical precision in their postures. Were it not for their incredible weaponry with tangles of cords leading to their backpacks, they would have looked great in any real WWII theatre. Their facial features are exquisite, moustaches and mutton chops included. Extra bonus for the standing soldier wearing a kilt. If you are fighting occult Nazis you got balls, and if you got them, you gotta flaunt them.

I haven't finished treating every single miniature in the bunch (that would have stalled the review), but up to now they behaved very well to my clumsy cleaning, cutting, priming, partial gluing and partial painting (with all the intermediary steps).

The weak points: First, the standard caveat that accompanies all my wargaming reviews. This is a non-autonomous product; one needs at least the Core Rulebook (purchased alone or inside the Commander's Set) in order to play, and potentially even the Rise Of The Black Sun Campaign. One will also need additional miniatures that need to be cleaned, glued, primed, painted, shaded and what have you, in order to enjoy the game in its full glory.

Just like the Deep One War Party, this is a complex set. This isn't so much due to filing but due to the cables and cords that come out of each weapon. Be attentive and you are unlikely to face a problem.

As I wrote in the review of the Commander's Set, the game is built around the force entries on the main rulebook. The miniatures in the set come alone, without any cards with their stats and abilities like they do in other games. In other words, either you will have to somehow prepare before each battle (maybe by making your own cards), or there will be an insane amount of page-flipping during the game, and especially while one is learning it.

Conclusion: Badger's Commandos are not only a beautiful set; they are also an extremely useful set, seeing how heavily they will be utilized in the Allied forces. The fact that they are the only Allied set available for the time being speaks for itself. I can't imagine someone investing into the Allies and not owning a couple of these.

For more info on Badger's Commandos and Acthung! Cthulhu Skirmish overall, visit the Modiphius Entertainment website at http://www.modiphius.com.

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