Conclusion to the Deadzone Summer Campaign

What a fantastic six weeks we’ve had for the Deadzone campaign. With almost 1,500 games played since the website launched on August 20^th, it’s been our most successful online campaign ever! It’s been great to see the Deadzone community so engaged and getting involved. We’ve enjoyed reading the battle reports, looking at your various hobby projects and hearing about your games.

All this has proved what an incredibly vibrant and dedicated community this is – and we want to say thanks to everyone that took part. Even if it was just one game, or a hobby project update, it all helped to make the campaign feel exciting and vibrant.

So, what’s next? Well, firstly we’ll give you an update on the various narrative strands from the campaign…

NAMELESS

At the heart of the Battle for Starfall was the Ul-Ug’urub’s cause to bring down the GCPS. If their incursion into GCPS went well, more would flock to their cause. If the mission went badly, the Federation back on their home worlds would have cause to stamp them out.

Following the campaign, the Nameless didn’t win the overall fight for Starfall but they came extremely close and had enough victories to rally other Nameless sects to their cause. The Federation’s effort to keep the Nameless as a peaceful race teeters on the brink. We can expect the Ul-Ug’urub to become more aggressive and expansionist in the future. Other, powerful Nameless creatures will be drawn to their banner.

OVERALL PLANET CONTROL

With the Nameless causing chaos on Starfall, it meant the Plague could run rampant. While the GCPS were getting ripped to piece by Ogres or shot by Riflemen, the Plague were able to infect more victims. As a result by the end of the campaign, they controlled two locations but were close to dominating in other areas too.  In the end their victory came down to the amount of games won by Plague in stores, which gave them bonus points… so it pays to play at your local shop!

The Nameless themselves seem remarkably resistant so it’s likely these two factions will continue to fight for what remains of Starfall, while others make their desperate escape. With the Plague infection so prevalent on Starfall new strains are likely to appear, which will create new victims of this awful blight. Expect to see new Plague victims in future deadzones.

BEST OVERALL FACTION

Despite not taking overall control of the planet, the GCPS came out on top in terms of the most overall victories and performance. They managed to hold two locations at the end of the campaign and performed consistently well throughout… thanks to some very dedicated GCPS players.

Based on their performance in the campaign, it looks like the GCPS might need some more help with dealing with these various alien threats – perhaps they could do with a little scientific advice from the boffins at the Mazon Labs?

CONCLUSION

Now we’re going to be diving deep into the data to spot any trends or weaknesses for each faction. The good news is that thanks to your incredible support there will be another Command Protocols supplement. While Outbreak looked to balance the main factions, Command Protocols: 2019 will balance the mercenaries to ensure they’re tournament ready, expand on the weather rules introduced in the Battle for Starfall, introduce at least one new unit for every faction and [redacted], which should be a really exciting way to shake up your games of Deadzone.

What’s more, based on the fantastic response to the Battle for Starfall, we’re already planning next year’s campaign. Based on your feedback, it will be slightly shorter, and we’ll try to hold it earlier in the year – possibly around July. The next campaign will focus more on the prospect of corporations and factions trying to earn profit or cause unrest across GCPS space, rather than deciding the fate of a particular planet. We’ll have more details early in the New Year.

And, sadly, that’s the end of the Battle for Starfall. The website will remain up for a while, so you can continue to submit hobby projects and share tips.  Thanks again for all your support for Deadzone and we can’t wait for 2019 #deadzoneislife