Lost Patrol: Crypt Hunters Inspired Change

So GW came out with a new one box game called Crypt Hunters which bits the Fantasy Ultra Knight type guys against ghosts.  It uses the same hex style map structure as Lost Patrol and many other similarities.  It is not totally a reskin as they changed the Stats on the models and how they attacks are resolved but it is very similar.  It is not a bad value for the game as it has like 14 GW models for like 45 dollars including the game when the models sell separately for 55 dollars.

While the games are different, there was one change I saw that I thought could be applied immediately to Lost Patrol and totally change the way it played for the better.  This is a change to the turn structure.  In Lost Patrol second edition, the Scouts move and then new tiles are added or removed based on what they can now see.  This creates a problem that whenever a new tile is placed that is not straight to add another tile this becomes a possible spawn location.  This makes it very easy to spawn 3 genestealers directly next to a Scout every turn which means even optimally positioned Scouts are likely losing a scout half the tile.  Quickly it becomes roll a 6 or die as you lose your support and get isolated.

In Crypt Hunters, the new tile placement is at the start of the turn.  So the turn starts with placing new tiles, then the Knights move, then tiles are removed, then the ghosts act.  So if this is used in Lost Patrol, the new tiles are placed, then the scouts can move.  They get to decide if they push forward into new tiles which prevent spawning on those tiles or do they fight the stealers.  After removing the tiles which can no longer be seen after moving 2 tiles, the stealer player now needs to think about whether he wants to spawn models or move models after the progressing Scouts.  It is much harder to just stop the scouts as you cannot just drop 3 right in front of their path almost every time like before.  The stealers are more likely chasing the scouts through the jungle and using their movement across paths. 

I tried a game with these rules and while the scouts still lost, the Sergeant would have seen the dropship at the start of the next turn and it would have been in movement range if he could make two bramble moves.  I left all the carnage from the mission in the above picture.  You can see how the stealers followed the Scouts and then had to finish him off using a cross path attack.  If the curve had not been so tight, our scout Sergeant might have made it home.