Matched Play

In a matched play game, the consummate commander is able to consider their strategy for every battle and select the appropriate operatives that complement it. A matched roster is a list of the operatives available to you for a matched play game. Rather than specifying just one specific kill team, however, a matched roster gives you a pool of operatives to choose from when selecting your kill team before a mission. This allows you to deploy the operatives that are best suited to engaging a particular enemy and scoring you victory points in a particular mission. A matched roster is constructed as follows:

• All operatives must have at least one faction keyword in common.
• You can include a maximum of twenty operatives.
• If an operative has any wargear options, these must be selected when they are added to your roster.
• You must be able to deploy a minimum of one kill team from your roster.
• Operatives that have the same selectable keyword (e.g. <CHAPTER>) must have the same keyword chosen (e.g. DARK ANGELS).

1. Your name.
2. The faction keyword that all your operatives have in common.
3. The selected keyword of your operatives that have a selectable keyword.
4. Your list of operatives, specified by their type.
5. Notes for your operatives, e.g. any weapon options you have selected.
6. Notes for your kill team, e.g. requirements for a Tac Op.

Blank Matched Roster:

To play a matched play game, each player must have a matched roster. A matched play game is then completed by following the sequence below:

1. Determine Mission

The players determine which mission they will play. First, the players must select a mission pack, such as the one presented here. They must then select a mission from that pack, either by agreeing which one to use, or by randomly determining which one to use.

2. Read Mission Briefing

Each mission has a briefing that will detail the mission rules, mission objectives and a map detailing drop zones and where to set up objective markers. The players should familiarise themselves with this information before proceeding, as it will detail key rules for the mission and how victory can be achieved.

3. Determine Killzone

The players determine which Killzone is in use, either by agreeing which one to use, or by rolling off and the winner decides. The players then set up its gameboard.

4. Set Up Objective Markers

The players set up objective markers in the locations specified by the mission map.

5. Set Up the Killzone

The players set up terrain features. This is done by following the guidelines here, or by following the configuration specified by the mission (if any). When setting up a terrain feature, the players should agree on the terrain traits of each part of it. If players are using terrain features in the configuration specified by the killzone, these terrain traits will be specified.

8. Select Tac Ops

Each player secretly builds a six-card Tac Ops deck. Up to three of their cards can be their faction’s Tac Ops as specified in their faction’s army list. The remaining Tac Ops in their deck must be from their kill team’s archetype. If the Kill Team has more than one archetype, the player must select one of their archetypes to use.

Each player shuffles their six-card deck, then determines which Tac Ops they have for the battle in secret. To do so, they draw two cards from their deck, select one and discard the other. They repeat this process until three Tac Ops cards have been selected. They do not need to declare which Tac Ops they have selected.

9. Select Equipment

Each player selects up to ten points worth of equipment from their faction army list to equip operatives from their kill team with for the battle, following all rules specified in that equipment list. Once both players have selected their equipment, they should reveal it to their opponent. After each game, all equipment is returned and an operative is no longer equipped with it.

10. Set Up Barricades

The players alternate setting up barricades, one at a time, starting with the Defender, until the players have set up two barricades each. Each time a player sets up a barricade, it must be within of their drop zone and not on a terrain feature (unless it has the Insignificant trait).

11. Set Up Operatives

The Defender sets up all of their operatives first. Then the Attacker sets up all of their operatives. When a player sets up an operative, it must be wholly within their drop zone and must be given an Engage or Conceal order.

12. Scouting

Each player secretly selects one of the pre-game scouting options. Each option will provide the player with an additional benefit, however it will affect who has initiative in the first turning point. A player selects a scouting option by secretly putting a number of D6 into their hand that corresponds to the number of the option they would like to select. For example, if a player would like to select the Recon option, they would put three D6 into their hand. Once both players have selected, they reveal the number of D6 in their hand simultaneously. They then resolve their selection starting with the Defender. The scouting options are as follows:

13. Begin the Battle

The first Turning Point of the battle begins. In the first Initiative phase, initiative for the first Turning Point is determined based on the players’ choices in the Scouting step:

• If one player selected Fortify and the other selected Infiltrate, the former decides who has the initiative.
• If one player selected Infiltrate and the other selected Recon, the former decides who has the initiative.
• If one player selected Recon and the other selected Fortify, the former decides who has the initiative.
• If both players selected the same, the Attacker decides who has the initiative.

14. End the Battle

The battle ends after four Turning Points have been completed. If one player has no operatives remaining in the killzone, the other player continues to play out each remaining Turning Point until the battle ends.

15. Determine Victor

At the end of the battle, the player with the most victory points is the winner of the game. If players are tied, the game is a draw.

• Each player can score a maximum of 12 victory points from the mission objective.
• Each player can score a maximum of 2 victory points from each Tac Op, therefore a player's Tac Ops are worth 6 victory points in total.
• If every operative on a player's matched roster was painted to a Battle Ready standard, that player scores 2 victory points.
• In total, each player can score a maximum of 20 victory points from the game.