Neuroshima Hex! 3.0: Desert Tribes Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Tactical Advice
• Special Rules
  • Freezing
  • Dancer
  • Drift
  • Contracts
  • Vulture
  • Control Takeover
  • Hideout
  • Taking back the markers after the Battle
  • FAQ
• Components
• New Rules
  • Foundation tiles
  • Reveal
  • Hide
• Unit Features
  • Ambush
  • Bond with Wilderness
  • Dodge
  • Trailblazer
  • Thrower
• Deck Description
• Units
  • HQ (1)
  • Scalpel (1)
  • Coyote (2)
  • Dust Arrow (2)
  • Younglings (2)
  • Shaman (3)
  • Nomad (2)
  • Rattlesnake (1)
  • Maggot Clan Warrior (3)
  • Fletcher (2)
  • Hideout (1)
  • Officer (2)
  • Scout (2)

Tactical Advice

The Desert Tribes' HQ attacks by using its Thrower and attacks only 2 hexes when placed in the corner, but 6 hexes when placed in the center. You must decide wisely whether you want to play offensively or defensively. In the corner it is easier to protect the HQ, but at the center you can boost your Coyotes and prepare for a quick escape. You just have to Hide an adjacent unit and Move onto it. In every game, the most important hexes are those from which you may attack the Enemy HQ by using Throwers. Once they are occupied by the enemy, the offensive potential of the Desert Tribes becomes limited. It is also important to prevent escape of the enemy HQ (e.g., by using a Bola).

When playing against the Desert Tribes, try to Melee attack the enemy HQ with at least 2 units. Also remember to defend your HQ from Throwers by controlling the key hexes. Placing your own units on the enemy Foundation tiles is a great way to prevent them from being revealed, as long as your units survive the whole battle.

Special Rules

Freezing

Freezing markers placed on Desert Tribes units do not block Hiding. Once a unit is hidden, these markers are returned to the supply. If there are also markers on the unit that prevent it from Hiding, that unit cannot Hide.

Dancer

Mirage and Self Defense deal 1 Wound to an Object instead of destroying it. Bola markers prevent movement of the Object, but the Dance may be resolved as usual. Each Object gets 1 Wound for each Bola marker on it during the Dance. Then the Bola markers are returned to the supply. If during the Dance, an Object rotates but does not move, it does not suffer any Wounds and the markers are not returned to the supply.

Drift

Before resolving Drift, each unit gets 1 Wound for each Bola marker on it. Then the Bola markers are returned to the supply.

Contracts

Contracts must be paid before revealing Hidden Desert Tribes units.

Vulture

A unit with a Bola marker and Scavenger feature may not Move, but may Rotate as usual. Bola markers do not influence the Flying feature.

(The sheet refers to a Scavenger feature; it is not defined on this sheet.)

Control Takeover

Units Taken Over are no longer considered to be Desert Tribes units, so they may not Hide nor resolve Ambush features. An Enemy unit with the Dodge feature uses the Desert Tribes' Dodge markers.

Hideout

If the Hideout is destroyed at the same moment as the connected unit, and it ignores Wounds by using the Dodge feature, this feature is resolved as usual.

Taking back the markers after the Battle

Bola and Dodge markers are taken back from the board at the end of the Battle in the same moment as the Mephisto's Incubator markers and Iron Gang's Ranged Net.

FAQ

Due to the amount of available armies and their unique rules, we are unable to fit all the correlations between them in the rulebook. In case of any doubts about the rules, check the FAQ on our website portalgames.pl/en/

Components

35 Desert Tribes tiles, 2 Desert Tribes markers, 3 Dodge markers, 11 Foundation markers, 2 Bola markers, 1 replacement tile, rulebook.

(The sheet's customer-service boilerplate about assembly and missing parts is omitted.)

New Rules

Foundation tiles

Foundation tiles are a type of tile possessed by some Armies. A Foundation tile may only be placed on an empty hex. Once it is placed, any unit (friendly or enemy) can be placed or moved onto (or be Pushed onto, etc.) a Foundation tile. Foundation tiles are not considered units, and they cannot be moved, Pushed, Netted, Taken Over, etc. They can only be destroyed by Instant Action tiles (Sniper, Grenade, Air Strike, Small Bomb, etc.). If there is a unit on the Foundation tile and the hex is attacked with an Immediate token (i.e., Grenade, Bomb, Sniper), then the attacker chooses which tile (the Foundation or the unit on it) is attacked. Foundation tiles do not block lines of fire: it is possible to attack over them. For the purpose of Battles resolved by a fully occupied board, a hex with only a Foundation tile is not considered an occupied hex.

Reveal

The Desert Tribes' Foundation tiles may only be revealed (flipped back over) during Battle. They must be flipped directly before each Initiative phase during the Battle and may be immediately rotated. Effects resolved before Initiative phases (i.e., Acid Thrower, Explosives, etc.) are resolved before flipping the Desert Tribes' Foundation tiles. Foundation tiles may only be flipped back over if there are no units on them. If there was any marker placed on the Foundation tile, it is returned to the appropriate supply when flipped.

Note! Flipping the Foundation tiles is obligatory directly before each Initiative phase (even if there is no unit with a given Initiative at that moment on the board)!

Hide

Desert Tribes have an HQ-independent Army feature:

Once per turn, the Desert Tribes may Hide any 1 of their own non-Netted units (except for the HQ) by flipping it to its reverse side. A unit may not Hide if there is any marker on it (i.e., Wound, Poison, Ranged Net, etc.) or if it is on a Foundation tile. For all purposes, the Hidden unit is considered as a Desert Tribes Foundation tile. If there is another unit on a Hidden unit, place a Foundation marker on it as a reminder.

Unit Features

(The printed sheet gives no heading for the feature glossary; the entries below are grouped under this heading for reference.)

Ambush

Some of the Desert Tribes' units have a new type of feature: Ambush.

When Hiding a unit with an Ambush feature, before flipping it, you may resolve the Ambush feature. If the unit cannot Hide, the Ambush may not be resolved. Ambushes are only resolved before flipping them.

• Bola: When the Bola feature is activated, place the Bola marker on the first enemy unit in the direction indicated by the Bola Thrower. Units with a Bola marker on them may not be moved (by any effect). At the end of the Battle, all Bola markers are returned to the supply. Activating a Bola is not considered an attack.
• Sting: Resolve a chosen attack of the Hiding unit. All positive and negative effects must be resolved when the Sting is activated.
• Bug: Before flipping a unit with a Bug feature, choose a hex with any unit and no Foundation tile. Hide that unit with a Bug feature and slide it below this unit.

Bond with Wilderness

A unit with Bond with Wilderness may Move (and/or rotate) once per turn from any hex adjacent to a friendly HQ to any unoccupied hex adjacent to a friendly HQ (same or another).

Dodge

When a unit with Dodge receives any Wounds from a single source, they must ignore it (along with all the additional effects—i.e., Paralyze, etc.) and place a Dodge marker on it. If there was already a Dodge marker on the unit, the second marker may not be placed, and the Wounds are inflicted as usual. If the unit receives Wounds from different sources at the same time, its owner decides which source is ignored. Dodge does not let you ignore effects that don't inflict Wounds (i.e., Poison, etc.). When a unit is Netted, its Dodge feature is ignored. At the end of the Battle, all the Dodge markers are returned to the supply. The Dodge feature has no effect outside of Battle.

Trailblazer

A unit with Trailblazer gets +1 Initiative and +1 Strength in attacks when it's on a Foundation tile. When the unit is Netted, its Trailblazer feature is ignored.

Thrower

When a unit with Thrower attacks, it only hits an enemy unit 1 hex away in the line of fire indicated by the tip of the hex, regardless of whether the target is obscured by another unit or not. If a Thrower hits Armor it protects in the usual way. The Strength of a Thrower attack is not increased by effects that increase the Strength of basic Ranged attacks.

Deck Description

The Desert Tribes are able to hide their units to create Foundation tiles and use them in a variety of ways. Some units gain additional advantages when hiding, while others gain Strength from Foundation tiles. With four Move tiles as well as two Mirages, the Army has an above-average ability to manipulate the placement of units on the board. The disadvantages of the Army are that the units have few attack directions, they have low attack values, a lack of Netters, and a poor HQ defense when several enemy units attack it with Melee.

Units

The number after each tile name is the number of tiles of that type in the deck, as given on the printed sheet (key: "X – number of tiles").

HQ (1)

• Special feature – Self Defense: Special attack. During its Initiative phase, the HQ destroys 1 adjacent enemy unit, except for an HQ or Objects. This attack has no direction.
• Ranged attacks.
• Thrower.

Scalpel (1)

• Melee attacks.
• Ranged attack.
• Thrower.

Coyote (2)

• Melee attacks.
• Bond with Wilderness.

Dust Arrow (2)

• Trailblazer.
• Ranged attack.
• Thrower.

Younglings (2)

• Dodge.
• Ranged attacks.
• Thrower.

Shaman (3)

• Melee attacks.
• Trailblazer.

Nomad (2)

• Ambush – Bola.
• Ranged attack.

Rattlesnake (1)

• Ambush – Sting.
• Melee attack.

Maggot Clan Warrior (3)

• Ambush – Bug.
• Melee attacks.
• Armor.

Fletcher (2)

• Connected friendly units gain +1 Strength in Ranged attacks.
• Connected friendly units gain +1 Strength in Ranged attacks with the Thrower feature.

Hideout (1)

• Connected friendly unit (except for HQ) gains the Dodge feature.

Officer (2)

• Connected friendly units gain +1 Strength in Melee attacks.

Scout (2)

• Connected friendly units gain +1 Initiative.

Battle (5)

• Start a Battle. After Battle, the player's turn ends. This tile cannot be used to start a Battle if any player drew their last tile.

Move (4)

• Move a friendly unit to an adjacent, unoccupied hex and/or Rotate it freely in any direction.

Mirage (2)

Resolves one of the two following actions:

• Destroy a chosen enemy unit (except for an HQ and Object) on your Foundation tile. It is not considered an attack. Medic may protect against this destruction as usual.
• Pull an enemy unit onto your adjacent Foundation tile (including Objects and HQs). The Pulled unit may not Rotate.