Maelstrom's Edge V2 - Suppression
Posted on Thursday Sept 04, 2025 at 05:00pm in Gaming
As units come under fire, their ability to function effectively on the battlefield can be degraded. In games of Maelstrom's Edge, this is represented by Suppression. In the original rulebook, Suppression was supposed to determine whether your unit could behave normally or was forced to carry out a couple of set actions. In practice, though, most units were able to carry around a lot of suppression without it actually affecting them, and as pretty as they were, it was fiddly to move around all of those suppression markers. In Maelstrom's Edge V2, we wanted Suppression to have more of a direct impact on units without railroading them into specific behaviour, so players always kept control over their forces. Read on to see how this worked out!
In Maelstrom's Edge V2, a unit’s suppression level starts at level 0, and can be raised to a maximum of 6. Various in-game effects cause a unit's suppression level to increase, but the most common is enemy units shooting at them - being hit by incoming fire will raise the unit's suppression level by one point, and if the unit suffers any casualties from that attack their suppression level goes up an additional point. Many units also have abilities that will either raise an enemy units' suppression level, or will raise their own suppression level in exchange for some benefit - Artarian Remnant battlesuits, for example, have an Overcharge ability that allows them to perform extra actions while building up waste heat in their systems, represented as an increase in their suppression level.
In V1, suppression was marked with cardboard 'blast' tokens, as there was no specific upper limit to how many a unit could wind up carrying around. In V2, with the change to 6 suppression levels, the easiest way to keep track is with dice - you just have to make sure you can tell your suppression dice apart from the dice you're rolling for attacks! For some other alternatives, Iain put together an article a while back showing some different suppression marker ideas, which you can find here.
While a unit is suppressed, their ability to function effectively on the battlefield is degraded. The unit's SKL (Skill, used for making attacks) is reduced by -1 for each suppression level it currently has, and if this lowers their SKL far enough they also start to reduce the number of shots they can make. The suppressed unit's ability to make use of available cover is also impacted, with the value of their cover reduced by -1 for each suppression level, meaning it will block fewer incoming shots. Units can attempt to 'shake off' a level of suppression at the end of their activation by testing against their WP (Willpower). Alternatively, if they are in cover and did not shoot during their activation they can instead 'regroup' to lower their suppression back down to 0.
A wise commander should always keep their units' suppression under control. Along with the reduction in their shooting and cover, once they reach the maximum level (6), things get worse! Anytime a unit which is at suppression level 6 is required to further raise its suppression level, a model in the unit instead suffers an automatic injury. So even if you have a tough time inflicting direct damage on an enemy, you can eventually whittle them down if you can throw enough bullets at them! To assist in this, attacking units can opt for a Suppressive Fire action instead of regular shooting. Suppressive Fire represents your troops hosing an area with firepower rather precise, well-aimed attacks. It doesn't cause any direct damage but has the potential to raise the target's suppression level much faster than regular shooting, although some weapons are better at suppressive fire than others.
The Maelstrom's Edge V2 rulebook is available to order from the 15th of September. Watch this space for more news!
If you have any thoughts on the new rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group, or start up a thread in the Maelstrom's Edge section on the Dakka Dakka forums. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how everyone's forces stack up in the new rules!
In Maelstrom's Edge V2, a unit’s suppression level starts at level 0, and can be raised to a maximum of 6. Various in-game effects cause a unit's suppression level to increase, but the most common is enemy units shooting at them - being hit by incoming fire will raise the unit's suppression level by one point, and if the unit suffers any casualties from that attack their suppression level goes up an additional point. Many units also have abilities that will either raise an enemy units' suppression level, or will raise their own suppression level in exchange for some benefit - Artarian Remnant battlesuits, for example, have an Overcharge ability that allows them to perform extra actions while building up waste heat in their systems, represented as an increase in their suppression level.
In V1, suppression was marked with cardboard 'blast' tokens, as there was no specific upper limit to how many a unit could wind up carrying around. In V2, with the change to 6 suppression levels, the easiest way to keep track is with dice - you just have to make sure you can tell your suppression dice apart from the dice you're rolling for attacks! For some other alternatives, Iain put together an article a while back showing some different suppression marker ideas, which you can find here.
While a unit is suppressed, their ability to function effectively on the battlefield is degraded. The unit's SKL (Skill, used for making attacks) is reduced by -1 for each suppression level it currently has, and if this lowers their SKL far enough they also start to reduce the number of shots they can make. The suppressed unit's ability to make use of available cover is also impacted, with the value of their cover reduced by -1 for each suppression level, meaning it will block fewer incoming shots. Units can attempt to 'shake off' a level of suppression at the end of their activation by testing against their WP (Willpower). Alternatively, if they are in cover and did not shoot during their activation they can instead 'regroup' to lower their suppression back down to 0.
A wise commander should always keep their units' suppression under control. Along with the reduction in their shooting and cover, once they reach the maximum level (6), things get worse! Anytime a unit which is at suppression level 6 is required to further raise its suppression level, a model in the unit instead suffers an automatic injury. So even if you have a tough time inflicting direct damage on an enemy, you can eventually whittle them down if you can throw enough bullets at them! To assist in this, attacking units can opt for a Suppressive Fire action instead of regular shooting. Suppressive Fire represents your troops hosing an area with firepower rather precise, well-aimed attacks. It doesn't cause any direct damage but has the potential to raise the target's suppression level much faster than regular shooting, although some weapons are better at suppressive fire than others.
The Maelstrom's Edge V2 rulebook is available to order from the 15th of September. Watch this space for more news!
If you have any thoughts on the new rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group, or start up a thread in the Maelstrom's Edge section on the Dakka Dakka forums. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how everyone's forces stack up in the new rules!
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