Desert, Decks, and Allied Cooperation in Days of the Fox

By Corey Konieczka

In our previous Days of the Fox preview articles, we discussed the British forces and anti-tank guns. In this preview, we will be discussing the effects of the desert on Tide of Iron, the use of Strategy decks, and the Americans’ involvement in the scenarios.

Desert

Since all of the scenarios included in Days of the Fox take place North Africa, the new desert map boards will see plenty of action. These boards feature stunning new artwork, configurations, and terrain types.

The biggest impact of the desert map boards is the new terrain types.

• Dunes: This terrain type blocks line of sight and slows down movement (especially for vehicles).
• Crevasse: This impassible terrain type represents fissures, chasms, and canyons, which can put a halt to a poorly planned assault.
• Dirt Road: Dirt roads function almost the same as standard roads, but they cost 1/2 a movement point (instead of 1/3) for units with the Effective on Roads ability.

In addition to these new features, the lack of forests on the map boards makes the terrain more open than on the Tide of Iron boards. This openness leads to long lines of sight and fire, which make vehicles even more effective in the North African campaign.

In addition to being terrain itself, the desert can also affect game play with the new Desert Tactics Strategy deck.

Strategy Decks

Days of the Fox contains five new Strategy decks, including Desert Tactics, Disruption, German Air Support, British Reinforcements, and Morale II. Each of these decks features new services that players can take advantage of, such as the Counter Assault card found in the Morale II deck.

Another new element introduced in Days of the Fox is the use of shared Strategy decks. These rules allow both sides to draw from a common deck (such as Desert Tactics) in certain scenarios. This mechanic adds a new level of strategy and can lead to such tactics as drawing cards from a shared deck to prevent the opposition from getting them.

Allied Forces

Although most of the scenarios focus on the British forces, the Americans do appear some. New rules for Allied forces appear in the rulebook, stating how the Allied forces work together, as well as any restrictions applying to them.

One scenario in particular features German forces entrenched in a small town amidst American and British forces. Although surrounded and outnumbered, the Germans hold defensible territory with bunkers, possess anti-tank guns, and have access to German air support. This scenario plays great as a three-player scenario.

In addition to all of the discussed components, Days of the Fox also features new specialization tokens, Operations cards, map overlays and more. We hope that you enjoyed our previews, and we look forward to sending Days of the Fox to a table near you!