It’s that special preview time again, when after months and countless hours of hard work and design, when we can finally pull the curtain back on the newest REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat expansion! REDLINE: Battle of Neom!
Before we dive into the story behind the set’s creation, it is only proper to introduce the team members at Saving Throw Studios who helped to build the set and make it a reality.
Stephen Huda – Efreet designs and miniatures
Once again, Mr. Huda has knocked out a ton of super sweet efreet designs for REDLINE and our Battle of Neom set. With experience working with Catalyst Game Labs and Iron Wind Metals, Stephen made twelve new efreets for Neom across 3 different factions, Neom has a sizable mercenary component, and they all look great.
I’m sure it’s quite difficult for Stephen to pick his favorite new design from the set, as it would be like picking a favorite child. But if I had to bet, I’d put my money on this terrifying new Crimson Pact of Mars efreet. I mean, he liked this beast so much he created a massive articulated 3d printed version of it!
Quite the conversation piece!
Being able to work with Stephen and bring life to his amazing designs has always been on of the best parts of working on REDLINE and the latest batch of efreets to add to the family do not disappoint!
Charlie Norin – Graphic design
Making REDLINE: Battle of Neom was a much easier process thanks to much of the groundwork laid by Charlie way back during development of the REDLINE Core Set. Charlie not only created all the card frames for REDLINE and many of the symbols used during gameplay, but also an online card creator that allows us to quickly and easily design and prototype new cards. Though it took a lot of work on the front end to get these systems in place, now that we have them, creating new REDLINE experiences is a breeze and we owe Charlie so much as a result of his forward thinking and dedication to the project.
Ben Edwards – Editing
As we all have become more reliant on spell checkers to hide our grammar deficiencies, I am so thankful to have Ben on the team to catch and fix so many of my typos and mistakes. Because of this, Ben probably gets worked more than any other member of the team since my mistakes are never in short supply. Luckily, Ben has experience in working with other companies and games such as Fantasy Flight and Dungeons and Dragons so I never feel too bad that I am giving him more than he can handle! Ben is also a game designer in his own right and according to rumors, is working on a top secret project at the moment. What is is though, who can say?
Cameron Dueker – Battle of Neom Design and Team Lead
As for me, I worked to help design and playtest Battle of Neom along with anything else that needed to be done to get the new set off the ground. It takes a tremendous amount of work to make an expansion like Battle of Neom, which equates to busy weeknights and weekends full of grinding as there is always something that needs to be done to get the set completed. Be it creating new cards or writing articles for redlinegame.com. Luckily, it is honestly a joy to be able to combine work with play while designing Battle of Neom. The set was a lot of fun because not only does Neom expand the gameplay of REDLINE, but its story which you shall soon see.
Life After Siege
Though Battle of Neom is only our second REDLINE expansion, the story behind its creation differs a bit from our previous set, REDLINE Siege.
As I’ve stated before, REDLINE Siege was very much a continuation of ideas from the development of the REDLINE Core Set. A lot of the mechanics and cards from Siege came from the design of the Core Set, but were cut due to space and simplicity restraints. We were very mindful of cramming too much into REDLINE too soon and so ideas like mine counters, firebase counters and the strategy card type would have to wait to get their time in the sun with their own set in Siege.
Once we got REDLINE Siege out of our system we for the first time had a truly blank slate on where to take the game next.
Destination Neom
The first step in designing the new set was to figure out where it should take place and what kind of story it would tell. REDLINE Siege is a great expansion with a ton of great new cards to play with, but as the continuation of the Core Set it didn’t really add more to the game setting or story. The United Nations of Earth and the Crimson Pact of Mars were still slugging it out in Siege just as they were in the Core Set, just with new cards.
Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.
With our next set we wanted to explore the world of REDLINE we had created in an exciting way. So we came up with a lot of new ideas on where we could possible take things. Maybe it would be cool to place a set on Mars with a focus on what efreet battles on the red planet and the CPM home turf would look like? Perhaps a set built around efreet pilot school to learn more about the training behind each faction? A few players even suggested a REDLINE prequel that takes place in the early days and important battles of the Solar War.
While a REDLINE prequel (too soon! lol) is intriguing from a design challenge standpoint, we did like the idea of a set focused entirely on one giant and climatic efreet battle. When players were first introduced to REDLINE in the Core Set, the year is 2060 and the Solar War has already been fought for twelve years! And though the conflict was in a relative stalemate at that time, we liked the idea of shaking things up with a massive battle. Something that would go down in the history books for the game for years to come.
Once we had the idea to build the set around a massive battle, the next logical question was where would it take place? Again we had a lot of ideas on possible locations but rather quickly settled on Neom as the setting we wanted.
There are a number of reasons for this.
First of all, Neom is an actual real world city being planned and built as we speak in Saudi Arabia on the coast of the Red Sea. Designed to be a model of city planning for the future, Neom fit right at home with the real world aesthetic we tried to build into the world of REDLINE as a way to keep it relatable to players. Today, Neom is designed to be a fantastically advanced city for the future, but by 2060 it very well could be the basis for many of the advanced urban areas common in REDLINE’s present day.
Second, being in the Middle East, Neom happens to be smack dab in the middle of REDLINE’s absent BRIMEA faction. Lore wise, BRazil, India and the Middle Eastern Alliance were a group of technologically advanced nations who tried to stay neutral in the growing competitions born from the space based economy of the 2030s and 40s. Sick and weary of war, the BRIMEA nations simply up and left the Earth one day on secret spaceships they had developed using new faster than light technology in the Exodus of 2059. In so doing, they left a lot of their technology and infrastructure behind, which is also what the CPM and UNE players often fight over when playing REDLINE. By the time Battle of Neom takes place, the former super city has largely been abandoned and is a shadow of its former self, lightly populated, in decay, and recently occupied by the forces of the United Nations of Earth (UNE).
So perfect a fit is Neom for REDLINE’s story that we actually had included the city as an original mission card players could fight over in the Core Set very early in its design. However, we didnt want the scale of the missions players fight for to represent entire massive cities on their own and so changed them to show smaller locations and objectives of importance instead. It would change the game’s scope quite a bit for a player to send a squad of efreets to attack New York one turn and then Neom on the next for example!
Now we had an opportunity to not only bring Neom back to REDLINE, but also build an entire set around it!
Tell Me A Story
Once Neom became ground zero for the next big battle of the Solar War, we also wanted to build an engaging story behind that conflict. Remember, as I mentioned earlier, the REDLINE Core Set and Siege take place during a time of relative stalemate during the Solar War in the year 2060. Now with Neom we are moving a year forward in time to 2061 as we set a grand stage for the coming fight.
So just how did we get to the Battle of Neom?
By 2060, the forces of the Crimson Pact of Mars (CPM) have had eight years to establish and fortify themselves on their new Martian home after having lost control of their lands on Earth. Being forced to rebuild not only a new home and life, but their armed forces simultaneously has caused tremendous strain and sacrifice on their people, yet they still fight.
Meanwhile, the UNE has been thrust into the unexpected position as the sole superpower left on Earth. And as such, the responsibility of aiding and securing, some would argue occupying, the millions of displaced populations left behind from the BRIMEA exodus and fall of CPM governments has stretched its forces to breaking point across the globe.
Though the UNE is in no position to invade Mars and finally end the Solar War, it is a constant fear many CPM commanders live with every day. Knowing the CPM does not yet have the capability to repel a full blown invasion, General Dimitry Koskof, a feared veteran of the Solar War, comes up with a master plan to trap the UNE and stave off any plans of invasion of his people for the foreseeable future.
His obsession? A surprise attack aimed to force a decisive battle at the city of Neom.
Lightly defended by UNE garrison troops, Koskof knows any attempt made at Neom would force the UNE to commit forces to a fight they are unprepared for while also taking precious time to deploy. Unwilling to allow the CPM to gain a foothold again on Earth, the UNE would be committed to fight among the densely constructed superscrapers and narrow confines of the abandoned utopia’s streets, all seemingly designed to negate the UNE’s advantages in airpower and artillery. Once the city is secured, all his CPM forces need do is dig in and defend every intersection and district to exact the bloodiest toll possible on the city’s rescuers. Even if defeated, Koskof is willing to sacrifice his troops to the last, fully aware that the embarrassment of a Neom in flames combined with the degradation of UNE forces in the coming battle would ensure a free Mars for years to come.
Opponents of the plan, dubbed Operation Immortal, call the attack out as reckless. Neom holds absolutely zero strategic value they argue. And even if it could be held, the CPM cannot absorb the estimated efreet losses such an attack would bring, even if mercenary soldiers are enlisted to aid in the fight. However, any counter arguments are overruled by the leaders of the CPM and the attack is green lit to procced with the highest priority. Koskof is given full command, but General Fen “Red Swan” Park, one of the most outspoken critics of Immortal, is assigned as his subordinate in an unspoken acknowledgement of the risks involved.
The stage has been set.
The battle plans have been drawn.
The efreets are ready to deploy.
The Battle of Neom is soon at hand!
All there is left to do for today’s article is share a special preview card of the man behind the madness. The mastermind behind the Battle of Neom, CPM General Dimitry Koskof!
With our second expansion, Battle of Neom aims to not only advance the REDLINE story in a meaningful way, but also expand upon that story with an assortment of new cards and gameplay mechanics closely tied to the themes and setting of it.
We’re excited to share what we have in store with REDLINE: Battle of Neom in the coming weeks as we get closer to our Kickstarter launch! So be sure to follow along with our latest expansion so you don’t miss the latest news and updates as they are announced!
Will you save Neom?
Or destroy it?