Dear MechWarrior Players, Envoys, and Venues,

MechWarrior has some of the most dedicated fans of any game line in the industry, and WizKids deeply values those fans. It’s for our fans that we have kept MechWarrior events running as long as we have─eight months past the release of the latest MechWarrior product. However, monthly WizKids-supported MechWarrior events will be ending at stores in July, and culminating in August with the MechWarrior Championships at GenCon. We want to level with you and tell you why supported MechWarrior events are ending for now:

1) We are simply out of prizes in sufficient quantity. For North America alone, it takes one set of 750-1100 individual, usually identical figures or cards to support each of the 3-4 MechWarrior events each month. The last set of “new” prize support created for MechWarrior was eight months ago, the six Wolf’s Dragoon LE ’Mechs. You may have noticed we’ve had to reuse some old kits recently and stretch things in various ways to have all the events covered. There’s essentially nothing left in our warehouse in sufficient quantity.
2) We can’t create new prize support without a new product. When the sculpting, painting, tooling, and production lines for a set are designed, we can turn some quantity of that set into LE prizes. OP material cannot be generated without being attached to a set - this has always been true, and for all of our lines. As no new MechWarrior sets have been created, we have been unable to generate new prize support.

WizKids believes it is worth supporting fans, even when we are not currently producing new products. Some companies immediately cut OP to save money. But we love MechWarrior as much as you do, and we wanted to keep the MechWarrior tournament experience going as long as possible.

That being said, there are still many awesome MechWarrior things to look forward to:
1) The MechWarrior Championship at GenCon from August 14th-17th. This is going to be the culmination of MechWarrior events in North America and across the world. There is going to be a great set of events at Gen Con this year, and we hope everyone who loves MechWarrior can make it. All of the storyline events for the past several months have been building up to this Championship event. There will be several side events, causal gaming space, and we will have some fantastic MechWarrior figures to use as prizes at all levels. More details will be coming in early July!
2) Venue-supported and casual MechWarrior events will still be available. BattleMasters can still schedule MechWarrior events on our site and have the results recorded and tracked. I have heard from a few BattleMasters that are already planning some extensive campaigns at their venue, and I encourage our other BattleMasters to do so as well.
3) Solaris VII Campaign Pack available on the WizKids website. All the materials from this action pack, including the new rally cards, will be freely available to download starting next month.
4) Honoring 2007 Solaris VII winners from GenCon. Last year’s six winners from Gen Con’s Solaris VII events will be receiving customized ’Mechs and a customized trophy, along with their own pilot cards that will be able to be downloaded and played by anyone in casual events. A feature article showcasing them and their ’Mechs will be posted on the website once the process is completed in a few months.

March 2008 Storyline Scenario

New Neighbors
Clan Wolf’s path of destruction seems to be leading them directly towards Prefecture X and the prize of Terra. As they prepare to set up apparent bases on planet Lipton, Republic loyalists will need to do everything in their power to evict the would-be squatters. Are the Wolves actually looking to break the Iron Curtain, or is it just a rest stop on their way to a more sinister destination?

Objective: Each player aims to defeat the other.
Battleforce Size/Composition: Two-player game; 450-point build total; three orders per turn. Each player’s battleforce must contain at least one infantry with the foot speed mode. Faction pride cards may not be used. Determine the first player per the MechWarrior: Age of Destruction rules; the first player then decides if he or she wishes to represent Clan Wolf or the Republic of the Sphere supporters.

Rules Sets: MechWarrior®: Age of Destruction, Firepower, Annihilation, Domination, Vanguard, Wolf Strike, and Battleforce.

Time Limit: 50 minutes

Preparing the Battlefield: Each player may only place one piece of terrain. This terrain piece must be placed within 12? of either deployment zone. For this scenario, no planetary condition cards or mission cards may be played.

Special Rules:
1) If You Build It…: If the Clan Wolf player has an infantry with the foot speed mode that is not in base contact with an opposing unit, that unit can attempt to build an encampment. To build an encampment, the Clan Wolf player rolls 3d6 and adds the infantry’s attack value. If the attack result is equal to or greater than 17, place a B6 terrain piece in base contact with the infantry. This terrain piece must be 12? away from either deployment zone, 3? away from any other edge of the battlefield, and 2? away from any other terrain piece or encampment. If an encampment cannot be placed in such a way that meets these criteria, the encampment cannot be placed. After placing the encampment, place a d6 on the encampment, with 6 showing on the die. Only one encampment can be built per turn.

2) …They Will Come: The Republic of the Sphere supporter player may attempt to destroy an encampment by making a close or ranged combat attack against it. When making a close combat attack, a unit’s front arc must be in base contact with any part of the encampment. When making a ranged combat attack, a unit must be able to draw a line of fire to any part of the encampment. No gear, pilot abilities or special equipment may be used when attacking an encampment. If the attack result is equal to or greater than 19, the attack succeeds. Subtract the amount of damage dealt from the number showing on the encampment’s d6 and adjust the d6. If this would cause a zero or negative number, remove the encampment; it has been destroyed.

3) But Will They Stay?: If the Clan Wolf player built at least two encampments during the course of the game, that player gets 25 points towards VC2 for each encampment remaining on the battlefield when the game ends. The Republic of the Sphere supporter player gets 10 points towards VC2 for each encampment they destroy.

Victory Conditions: Use MechWarrior: Age of Destruction victory conditions with the exception outlined in the special rule 3.