The Marauders Rebuild
The Storm Zone is ALWAYS busy. A maelstrom of war and villainy, invasion and expansion. And within this we have the Marauders, the space age equivalent of pirates of old. With Firestorm Armada 2.0 we improved a host of things for the core fleets and alliance nations, and we then turned our attention to the Marauder models and statistics.

We can now re-visit the Marauders sometime after the events of the supplement where they were first introduced. The tides of war involving these inhabitants of the Rift have altered the state of affairs in the region (see the original Marauders of the Rift supplement for details) – new alliances have been forged, and the Rift factions are now pushing their way into the wider Storm Zone.

The Syndicate have moved to completely control the former Rift Traders League, bringing it closer to the Terran Alliance. This has been aided by the presumptive loss of the singular Supermax-89 whilst on Syndicate enforcement duties in the Rift. Nevertheless, their new-found bonds with the Terrans have given them access to several old Reformer-class stations…

OmniDyne, on the other hand, has increasingly solicited the Corsairs aid to further its aims in the Rift and beyond, tying them to its corporate yolk with weapons, munitions and easy plunder.

You may be wondering why we combined the former factions in this way. The answer is that we wanted to ensure that existing models still had a place in our games, but as a part of more rounded fleets with simpler build options. Moving forward we will be releasing Patrol Fleet compliant versions of key Marauder factions.

We also looked to make sure the Marauders fitted into the background of the wider FA galaxy and were given more of an identity. Consolidating and allying them with the existing Zenian League and Kurak Alliance factions allowed this without detracting from their inherent nature as rogues and pirates.

Meanwhile, the Oroshan will be further fleshed out to receive Patrol Fleet legal builds (in addition to Battle Fleet builds available with the Armageddon Dreadnought). They will continue to provide mercenary support to any in the Storm Zone who can pay their fee.

Finally, we have completely revisited the Pathogen, ensuring that they have both a unique feel and play style, plus long-term durability in the game. They have received several new rules, enabling players to convert all matter they find into the next level of life.

Overall, we’ve moved the Marauders from the side-lines firmly into the mainstream of the Firestorm Armada Galaxy, and we expect Armageddon Dreadnoughts, Phantom Battleships and Brigand Cruisers to be spotted with many more fleets in the future!

Follow this link to download the new 2.0 compatible Marauders statistics:
Marauders and Mercenaries – 17-08-2014