Saga at Salute - New Crescent and the Cross

I was looking forward to seeing the new "Crescent and the Cross" expansion for Saga at "Salute 2014" in London. I was not to be disappointed!

Alex Buchel and the team at Studio Tomahawk were there to show off their new Crusades expansion for the Dark Age wargame, Saga. They also had a fantastic Siege table to show off their painting and modelling skills.

Here are some images taken at the show... enjoy...

Camels are new to Saga! Apparently they are pretty good too!

Talking to Alex I could see that a lot of playtesting had been done with each of the new Factions to Saga. Firstly they were tested against all the other existing factions and then secondly against each other to balance them out completely. At this point you come out with two interesting and unique factions that do not unbalance the game as a whole but add a whole new dimension to the game. I have to say I am really looking forward to this new direction to Saga.

Here are some images of the new battleboards...

As you can see from the picture above the layout and design of the new Battleboards is very different to what we have already seen from Studio Tomahawk and Gripping Beast. 

For the Crusaders and Saracens, the left hand battleboard abilities are now at the top of the sheet. The other abilities are now at the bottom of the board. Otherwise, apart from the quirks of the Crusader board, the format seems to look the same. 

Each ability still has a cost, a phase it is played in and a description of the effect. Without the rules for the faction it is hard to say too much more about the special abilities of each new faction. Having read the ones on these boards I think you can expect some interesting games!

I was very impressed with the work that the Studio Tomahawk team had put into their new Saga offering and also the work that had gone into the display for the Salute show.

Although the new supplement will not be available from Gripping Beast until May 2014 I am sure it will make a great contribution to the Saga wargame hobby and deserves much success.

-- Mike