Intelligence Report – Armies of the British Commonwealth: New Zealand

We’re onto the home stretch of our look at the National Special Rules found in Armies of the British Commonwealth, and today it’s the turn of the Land of the Long White Cloud – New Zealand! Let’s see what the Kiwis are bringing to the Bolt Action party!

New Zealand, as a small nation far removed from the brunt of the fighting, could well have been forgiven for sitting out of the Second World War. However, New Zealand would prove to be an enthusiastic and energetic contributor to the Commonwealth and Allied war effort, supplying huge quantities of food to a starving Britain alongside 140,000 troops. These fighting men, though few in number, proved to be determined and dependable, and frequently punched above their weight in combat. This set of National Special Rules aims to represent this character – and here’s how:

The cornerstone of any New Zealand force is Steadfast Under Fire. This is absolutely huge for survivability in the face of heavy firepower, making your infantry significantly more likely to obey orders (as they accrue fewer pins) and giving them a very good chance indeed of weathering a lethal blast from a flamethrower at least partially intact. It’s also particularly useful for troops taking cover while holding objectives – heavy weapons will have to wipe the whole squad out, rather than relying on stacking pins!

Alongside this, New Zealand forces share the Aggressive Patrolling rule with their Antipodean cousins in Australia. Representing both the prowess and tendencies of New Zealand troops and the rivalry between the two nations, it gives you great board control opportunities with your Infiltrators, allowing you excellent flexibility of deployment. If you want to get up close and personal, New Zealand has you covered too, with…

Ka mate! Ka ora! allows you to field entire armies themed around the legendary Māori 28th Battalion, giving your units additional close quarters ferocity, courtesy of Tough Fighters and an improved version of Fanatics that persists even when a unit is reduced to a single man! Māori troops can form a hard core of assault troops for any force, or fielded en masse for a truly terrifying army that isn’t afraid to get stuck in.

These rules make New Zealand a great choice for commanders wanting a force that is equally comfortable going forward with violent intent, or digging in to resist until the bitter end, opening up plenty of interesting playstyles. With a good roster of Standard Commonwealth Units, including the elite vehicles of the LRDG, and unique new units (spoiler alert: Yes. We made rules for it. Yes, the other one too. -ed.), there’s something for everyone in this list.