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I just got an idea to tie Aeronautica Imperialis: the Horus Heresy with an actual Age of Darkness 30k game proper, wanted to run it by you guys. We've been playing a lot of AI, it's fun, fast, yet has a lot of depth to it, and I just took a look at the Astartes planes and they're actually really good. Yes, I know, PLASTIC THUNDERHAWKS, but guess what, they're genuinely competitive imho against all the other Bombers in the game, and they offer a different playstyle. So what do I mean by Astartes planes being really good? Well, unlike other factions imho, they're so balanced that there are no clear winners or losers in the Astartes air force; I believe you can pick your Astartes Fighters and Bombers based on looks alone, just remember boys before toys and leave upgrades for spare points at the end, and you'd got a competitive list with its own strategy. To contrast, the Tau Aeronautica list that I've been playing since the start, there's clearly 1 best plane for its points (it's the Tiger Shark with the Railguns/Lascannon equivalents). There's a lot of potential interest in our meta (i.e. everyone wants an excuse to buy a Plastic Thunderhawk or 2) and I think it meaningfully ties with AoD/30k. Here's my idea: before a major AoD/30k game, we play a AI:HH game, the winner of which will get Initiative/starting turn for the actual AoD/30k game. The game mechanic idea is this: HH ver. 1.0, 6th and 7th ed (actually most editions of 40k), 1st turn advantage counts for a lot, and it's just the luck of a dice roll instead of actual strategic considerations. If we turn that into something we gotta earn, that'd be kinda fun. But isn't 1st turn advantage very important in AI? Not at all, if anything, it's whoever shoots 1st in Turn 2 (when our little Epic-scale planes finally get within range of each other) matters, and then we still roll for initiative every subsequent turn. In HH ver. 2.0, 1st turn advantage is mitigated slightly with Reactions, but can still count for quite a bit. The narrative idea is as follows. Before hell on Earth, it's war in the Heavens, the opposing Legions are fighting for aerial superiority. They're trying to clear the air space for the ground troops, so whoever wins the aerial battle kinda gives that 1st turn advantage to the Brothers on the ground. It's like they're clearing the landing zone or whatever. TL;DR - what do you think of using a game of AI:HH to determine 1st turn initiative in AoD/30k please? Not married to the idea. Is it meaningful? Is it too big an advantage or disadvantage? Is it not enough to warrant a 30 to 45-minute game of AI:HH? Maybe not for every game, but perhaps like a major 2 vs. 2 battle or something, I dunno. Thanks in advance for your ideas.

Saw this on WarCom, thought it was one of the best schemes in the article and warranted reposting here:

As the title says there's an Aeronautica Imperialis Tournament at Warhammer World in Nottingham in January, myself and a couple of friends are going to be heading up for it and I was wondering if any of you fine fellows will be there too? Ticket Link here Rules Pack here It's going to be my first AI Tournament although I've played in plenty of other tournaments for other systems, does anyone have any tips as far as competitive AI goes and if there's much of a "meta" to be aware of? Rik

Air War Scelapa Prologue 971.M30 - Scelapa, Dread Clouds, Yiaxes Sector, Ultima Segmentum Following orders derived from XIXth Legion command, the 22nd Grand Company (Tactical), supported by the 289th Falkan Grenadiers and 72nd Heavy Fighter Wing, along with select forces from Legio Ferrax, preemptively deploy to the Imperial frontier world of Scelapa to ward the civilian populace against the encroaching tide of Waaagh! Gargunz. This particular Ork enemy, as demarcated by numerous Legion records, has followed a pattern of large scale attack-and-fade strategies, and the Primarch Haedran has devised a plan to to cut off Gargunz Skyscreama's advance and decapitate the enemy leadership in a bait-and-flank maneuver. Scelapa, positioned adjacent to the direction of Skyscreama's advance, is the crux upon which this scheme rests. To the men and women stationed on and above Scelapa, such high strategies are worlds away. There is only to imminent and unavoidable green tide that will soon arrive at their door. For Captain Perrus Nimeon, from his position of system command onboard the XIXth Legion heavy cruiser Scarlet Covenant, this means an inevitable air campaign against the formidable Air Waaagh! of Gargunz Skyskreama's notorious Nite Ridas, the greenskin's preeminent air combat unit, equipped with baffling radar-cloaking and night-flying technologies wrought in fetid xenos laboratories. The air defense will rely on dead reckoning and regular reconnaissance to detect raids. Random encounters will result in knife-fighting and close range engagement. The 22nd Grand Company (Tactical) is far from helpless. Operating from their duty station onboard the Covenant, 3rd Ordinal's premier fighter outfit, the 11th Strike Squadron, the "Rebeleventh", drills incessantly in orbit and planetside, skirmishing in mock asymmetrical combat to prepare for the Nite Ridas' offensive. Alongside them, providing long-range patrol and reconnaissance duties, are the newly minted 72th Heavy Fighter Wing, the "Sept-Duece", in fledgling Thunderbolts. In the coming war, the pilots and crews of these units know their actions with dictate the fate of Scelapa, the Segmentum, and the Great Crusade Dramatis Personae Scelapa Air War - The Defenders - Haedran Durendal* The Clearch Primarch, XIXth Legiones Astartes "Cardinal Guard" Perrus Nimeon Captain, 22nd Grand Company (Tactical), 5th Cohort "Star Warriors", 3rd Ordinal, XIXth Legiones Astartes "Cardinal Guard" Titus "Late" Laterno Captain, 11th Strike Squadron "Rebeleventh", 3rd Ordinal, XIXth Legiones Astartes "Cardinal Guard" Georgea "RAGs" Myteon Flight Colonel, 72nd Heavy Fighter Wing "Sept-Duece", Tactical Air Command, Falkan Expeditionary Air Forces, Falkis - The Aggressors - Gargunz Skyskreama* Warboss and Flyboss-in-Cheefz, Waaagh! Gargunz [COGNOMEN UNKNOWN] Ground Forces Warboss, [uNIT COGNOMEN UNKNOWN], Waaagh! Gargunz Loffa Grotsnipa Flyboss, Nite Ridas Stelff Skwadron, Waaagh! Gargunz *Though not present at the engagement, marked individuals provided limited strategic command.