Back in September, we announced a new Dust Tactics expansion named Operation “Cerberus.” In this third campaign expansion, the Axis forces have launched a massive invasion of Southern England. Gigantic walkers lumber through the streets as armored troops entrench themselves into the rubble and prepare for close-quarter urban warfare.
One of the additions in Operation “Cerberus” is rules for multilevel structures. This is an exciting development for Dust Tactics as buildings add a whole new measure of strategy to the game. Moreover, the rules governing structures are intuitive, and you will be mowing down enemies from the rooftops in no time.
Gaining the upper hand
Squads taking position in a building gain a huge strategic advantage. In general, units inside buildings have a better line of sight to enemies, and have a significant amount of protection from incoming fire, since units inside a building count as being in heavy cover to units outside of the building. These benefits alone are enough to make lightly armored troop gravitate towards the safety a large structure can provide. 
In fact, there are even more rewards for occupying buildings in Dust Tactics. Units shooting out of a building get to ignore height when calculating range. For example, a squad of Death Dealers on the third floor of a building with range 4 weapons can target a unit four spaces away and on the ground, even though they are technically more than four spaces away when accounting for height. 
Also, a unit in a building higher than ground level counts as being an additional space away from troops outside the building. For instance, if a unit of Heavy Laser Grenadiers wants to return fire at the Death Dealers from the previous example, they would have to be within three spaces (Schwer Laser-Werfer is a range 4 weapon) because of the one space penalty for shooting at targets higher than ground level. As these examples illustrate, controlling multi-level buildings is quite important in Dust Tactics.
Considering close combat
Units in buildings also have some protection from close combat units. Since range C weapons cannot be used to attack a squad higher or lower than the attacking squad, close combat units are forced to get onto the same level as their target, giving defenders occupying higher levels of structures ample opportunity to mow the enemy down as they approach. This means your Allied squads now have a way to protect themselves from those punchy Axis Zombie and Gorilla squads
To make battles even more intense, Operation “Cerberus” contains rules for fighting inside of buildings. Units inside of buildings can engage with units on levels that are one floor higher or lower than they are. Troops can fire blindly through walls, floors, and ceilings in hopes of delivering damage to units that are holed up inside the structure.
Operation “Cerberus” delivers rules for using multilevel structures are straight-forward, fast-paced, and create an added level of strategy. What’s even better, it comes with the amazing set of interlocking pieces with over 60 parts that can be used to assemble a host of different buildings in all kinds of shapes and sizes. This set is sure to be a hit with Dust Tactics players and will have you engaging in urban warfare in no time.
Multilevel buildings are but one of the exciting new features of Operation “Cerberus.” In our next preview, we will take a look at the heroes of this expansion. Until then, keep checking in for more information about the upcoming Dust Tactics expansion, and prepare for the battle over the English shores that starts later this quarter.
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