Ben and I played a quick game of Hordes during lunch, using 25 point armies, and with a few new things on both sides.
I ran:
Archdomina Makeda
- Basilisk Krea
- Molik Karn
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
- Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt)
Agonizer
Totem Hunter
I was eager to get my newly assembled Basilisk and Swamp Gobbers on the table, and they provide me a good amount of ranged defense, in case Ben ran with more shooting elements.
Ben, however, took:
Hoarluk Doomshaper
- Dire Troll Mauler
- Earthborn Dire Troll
- Mulg the Ancient
Ben obviously went for a rather direct approach to his army design, but that sure is a lot of 'beat-down' packed into 3 packages.
The first turn, Ben and I moved into position. I put Savagery on Molik Karn and Defender's Ward onto my Swordsmen, Ben used Transmute for Mulg and the Mauler, giving them +2 ARM due to proximity to obstacles.
On the second turn, I started with the offense. I used my Krea (on my left) to paralyze his Mauler, preventing it from charging. I sent the Swordsmen up so that they were out of the Mauler's charge range, but still in Mulg's. Molik Karn (on my far right) flew into Ben's Earthborn, but some bad rolls (an 8 on 4 dice) caused only minor damage. Molik used Fate Weaver to get away, behind a Swamp Gobber cloud, to keep him safe.
Ben went on the offensive. Mulg charged in, killing two Praetorians and a Swamp Gobber, before struggling with rolls to hit anything else. The Earthborn trampled forward into the newly created void, and managed to land two swings onto Makeda, but she transferred one, and stayed alive.
With two heavy trolls in among my forces, my immediate goals were clear. The Swordsmen surrounded Mulg, taking small amounts of damage off him, Makeda took some small chunks out of the Earthborn, and the Totem Hunter ran up to put some more damage on Mulg. Then Molik Karn went into action. Swing, side-step, swing, side-step dropped the Earthborn, and with the 5 Fury I had available (due to Affinity with Makeda), he finished off Mulg as well.
Ben was left with only a single Dire Troll Mauler and Doomshaper, and briefly considered conceding. Instead, he decided to take a shot for victory. He moved up into the Swamp Gobber, and declared a double-handed throw (boosting to hit). He chose Makeda as a target, again boosting to hit, and knocking her down. A few Primal Rages later, Makeda was dead, and Ben was again victorious.
I made a few really dumb mistakes. I forgot to use my feat on the turn I had planned to (prior to Mulg charging), which probably wouldn't have made a difference overall, but certainly would've been nice to help have more bodies. I also cast Carnage at one point, and completely forgot that I had used it. Those are silly mistakes that there's no excuse for. I also really need to be more careful with the warlock. Makeda could've side-stepped away easily, and been happily out of danger (she'd have been out of range for Primal Rage, at the least). Overall though, the game was very close, and several times the overall momentum changed. I have a few new toys I can use, and I phase them in, I should start seeing some improved results.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Battle Report: Combat Commander: Stalingrad, Scenario 35- Spartakovka Salient
The next wargame played by Rob and me at PrezCon was a scenario from Combat Commander: Stalingrad. The eventual goal for the convention was to break this out and actually give the campaign system a shot, but to start we needed to just play a game to get the rules for the system back in our head.
We chose to play the first scenario of the Stalingrad battle pack, Spartakovka Salient, which depicts elements of the German 16th Panzer Division fighting through some rear-line Russian units in an attempt to get to the Volga River (which I didn't check, but I'm pretty sure they succeeded at). This scenario is different for this pack, since it's the only one that doesn't use any of the new Stalingrad special rules (rubble, the urban sniper, etc) since they aren't in the city quite yet.
I was playing the Germans, and Rob was the Russians. The Russians have fewer and poorer troops, whereas the Germans get reinforcements who are fairly elite. Since Objective W was an open objective, we both knew that exiting squads off the opposing side would be worth double victory points. I drew chit F for my secret objective, which listed that Objective #2 (the one on the far side of the board, to the right) would be worth 2 VPs. Rob drew one as well.
We did our set up, Rob first.
Setup:
After Rob's setup, I began mine (also seen above) and formulated my plan for the battle. Given that units exiting off the map were worth double, and given the superior quality of my troops, that needed to be my goal. I'd lock Rob's main force (which you can see in the above picture) down with significantly fewer units, and advance the rest off of the board, claiming Objective #2 along the way. Each squad leaving would be worth 4 victory points, plus I'd get the squads back the next turn. Can't argue with that.
Of course, the wrinkle in my plan is that Rob is listed as the scenario defender. That means he gets a LOT of extra abilities through the cards to hinder me. Mines, wire, and all sorts of tricky things would be thrown at me to slow me down.
I begin the game by moving up on the right, into the woods, with a few squads plus a leader. My mortar takes a shot up the road into the woods, and I get a Time! trigger, but the shot has no effect. Turns in Combat Commander, for those who have never played, are determined by these Time! triggers- many random events happen during the game because of various triggers, as we'll see. Regardless, a Time! trigger in this scenario is a huge help to the defender (Rob) who not only gets a victory point, but also gets the game closer to ending (the game potentially ends any time after turn 7).
Rob tries to take a few shots at me, but doesn't accomplish anything. He decides to send a Russian squad down the road to the right of the lake, to try to make me hesitant to advance around and off the map. I Op Fire at him and manage to break him, however.
On my turn, I shoot at the broken squad in the open, killing it (and giving me 2 Victory Points).
Rob and I then take turns discarding cards (instead of playing cards during your turn, you have the option to discard a few cards with the hopes of getting a better hand- if one person discards, it's not generally a bad idea for the other player to do so as well, since he is basically given a free turn), but Rob plays an action once I discard to get some reinforcements- rolls, and gets another Militia squad (big help there). He then continues to shoot at me, but again accomplishes nothing.
I'm saddled with a hand of Command Confusions and Artillery Request/Denied cards... which are worthless in this scenario since we have no radios. I discard again.
Rob's shooting finally gets some results, as he breaks my closest German leader. With no Recover card in my hand, I have to just hope I stay lucky enough to keep him there (without a leader, it's hard to move my Germans in groups).
We trade a turn of me moving and him shooting to no effect, then on my turn, I finally some useful orders for once. I advance a Rifle Squad into melee with the Russian squad closest to me. Rob uses a Hidden Mines action which ends up breaking me, and I respond with two Ambush actions to kill his squad, followed by a No Quarter action to get some extra victory points. Can't complain about getting Victory Points!
Rob begins opening fire into my broken squad and leader, hoping for some kills, and succeeds in killing the broken Rifle squad. Some shooting also suppresses my Weapon team with the mortar (which has been rolling 4s all game for shooting, by the way). The leader recovers on my turn, and I begin moving them up the right, towards Objective #2 and freedom.
I believe Rob ran out of cards here, which is a free Time! trigger, much to my chagrin.
He follows this up by breaking my Weapon team, but isn't sure what to do about my guys on the right. I follow this up by bringing on my reinforcements- a bunch of elite squads to help deliver the hurt to the Russians! I work on moving my entire army up, but Rob uses some Hidden Wire actions to shut down my movement towards the top of the map (guess he was sure what to do ;) ). Rob doesn't accomplish anything on his turn, and I move out of the wire, and up some more.
Rob moves a leader, and I take a shot, drawing a 5 for my attack roll, which I use the Initiative card to re-draw, and get a 4 instead. Rob of course grabs a 12 for the defense roll, which is another Time! trigger for him. Sigh.
After several rounds of us shooting at each other, I do manage to break one of his squads in the woods to the left, but he manages to Rout it out of there and into safety (and eventually recovers).
I also, over the course of a few rounds, move point blank to his lone squad on Objective #2, and advance into it, killing the squad, and claiming the objective. My shooting also breaks another Russian squad. Rob isn't exactly idle, but his shooting isn't doing a whole lot (breaking or suppressing my weapon team a few times, but I keep recovering). He doesn't want to move out of the building, since it's an objective, and he doesn't know what mine is, and he can't really get the guys out of the woods on my left because I'll take chunks out of them as they try. He's just stuck waiting until I get things off the board, and trying to recover from that.
After drawing through my deck (another Time! trigger), I oblige him. My two squads and 1-command leader exit the board, giving me 12 Victory Points, finally moving the VP marker to my side of the track (oh yeah- the VP marker starts on the 11 space on the Russian side of the track ;) ). These squads will come back on as reinforcements next time there's a Time! trigger. Some of my shooting then causes a Walking Wounded Event! which lets me bring back a squad. I now have a lot of guys on the board, and coming on.
Rob figures that I might have the Objective #2 chit, so moves back to reclaim it, and again continues to shoot at me, without effect. I then discard cards again, and Rob again plays the action to give him a reinforcement roll, this time getting an Assault squad with a Flamethrower.
We don't wait long for it to influence the game. Rob sends him into melee with the adjacent German squad, and we tie on the combat draws, wiping everything out (a net gain of like 4 Victory Points, I think). On top of that, Rob's next shot gives us another Time! trigger, bringing the game closer to the end.
I focus on moving things up and around, but groan as I draw 4 Recover cards when I refill my hand. That slows me down for a turn as I discard them.
Rob has decided to start trying to get the game over. He shoots, but fires as many individual low strength shots as he can in order to increase the chances of either of us drawing Time! triggers. He doesn't get any yet- but does manage to draw another objective chit. Realizing I'm going to be pressed for time, I move up quickly (dropping some smoke next to me to help protect me from shooting), but shoot and break another Russian squad. Rob responds on his turn by playing a Recover card... unfortunately the Event drawn ends up killing the Russian before the roll could've recovered him.
I finally make it up to Objective #2, and have a move order in my hand to blow the game open next turn. However, Rob finally gets lucky- his shooting brings up a Time! trigger, and we are now at the point where we roll for the game end. It doesn't happen yet though. However, my Defense roll brings up ANOTHER Time! trigger, and this time the game does end. I never got a chance to move those guys off :(.
Ah well, we move onto figuring out the final score. Due to casualties and the turn I moved units off the board before, the victory point marker was at 1 on his side. My objective chit gave me 2 victory points for control of Objective #2. Rob's objective chits were L and J, which were 3 Victory Points for Objective #4 (controlled by me), and 2 Victory Points for Objective #5 (controlled by him). That means we ended with a net score of 2 Victory Points for me- a very narrow win!
This scenario has a very different feel than any I've played with Combat Commander so far, and it was certainly a good time. Rob's shooting wasn't very effective, and a lot of that was due to poor luck. He had several good turns of fortune though, so it probably evened out. Overall, my luck was good as well. Rob thinks that his main mistake was setting up too far forward. I don't know if it would've helped, but it may have. I mean, he was close to winning as is- one or two more things going his way may have done it. Had the game gone another turn, I would've ended up with a pretty significant win.
Hopefully we'll get a campaign started one of these days. Just another thing to add to the to-do list.
We chose to play the first scenario of the Stalingrad battle pack, Spartakovka Salient, which depicts elements of the German 16th Panzer Division fighting through some rear-line Russian units in an attempt to get to the Volga River (which I didn't check, but I'm pretty sure they succeeded at). This scenario is different for this pack, since it's the only one that doesn't use any of the new Stalingrad special rules (rubble, the urban sniper, etc) since they aren't in the city quite yet.
I was playing the Germans, and Rob was the Russians. The Russians have fewer and poorer troops, whereas the Germans get reinforcements who are fairly elite. Since Objective W was an open objective, we both knew that exiting squads off the opposing side would be worth double victory points. I drew chit F for my secret objective, which listed that Objective #2 (the one on the far side of the board, to the right) would be worth 2 VPs. Rob drew one as well.
We did our set up, Rob first.
Setup:
After Rob's setup, I began mine (also seen above) and formulated my plan for the battle. Given that units exiting off the map were worth double, and given the superior quality of my troops, that needed to be my goal. I'd lock Rob's main force (which you can see in the above picture) down with significantly fewer units, and advance the rest off of the board, claiming Objective #2 along the way. Each squad leaving would be worth 4 victory points, plus I'd get the squads back the next turn. Can't argue with that.
Of course, the wrinkle in my plan is that Rob is listed as the scenario defender. That means he gets a LOT of extra abilities through the cards to hinder me. Mines, wire, and all sorts of tricky things would be thrown at me to slow me down.
I begin the game by moving up on the right, into the woods, with a few squads plus a leader. My mortar takes a shot up the road into the woods, and I get a Time! trigger, but the shot has no effect. Turns in Combat Commander, for those who have never played, are determined by these Time! triggers- many random events happen during the game because of various triggers, as we'll see. Regardless, a Time! trigger in this scenario is a huge help to the defender (Rob) who not only gets a victory point, but also gets the game closer to ending (the game potentially ends any time after turn 7).
Rob tries to take a few shots at me, but doesn't accomplish anything. He decides to send a Russian squad down the road to the right of the lake, to try to make me hesitant to advance around and off the map. I Op Fire at him and manage to break him, however.
On my turn, I shoot at the broken squad in the open, killing it (and giving me 2 Victory Points).
Rob and I then take turns discarding cards (instead of playing cards during your turn, you have the option to discard a few cards with the hopes of getting a better hand- if one person discards, it's not generally a bad idea for the other player to do so as well, since he is basically given a free turn), but Rob plays an action once I discard to get some reinforcements- rolls, and gets another Militia squad (big help there). He then continues to shoot at me, but again accomplishes nothing.
I'm saddled with a hand of Command Confusions and Artillery Request/Denied cards... which are worthless in this scenario since we have no radios. I discard again.
Rob's shooting finally gets some results, as he breaks my closest German leader. With no Recover card in my hand, I have to just hope I stay lucky enough to keep him there (without a leader, it's hard to move my Germans in groups).
We trade a turn of me moving and him shooting to no effect, then on my turn, I finally some useful orders for once. I advance a Rifle Squad into melee with the Russian squad closest to me. Rob uses a Hidden Mines action which ends up breaking me, and I respond with two Ambush actions to kill his squad, followed by a No Quarter action to get some extra victory points. Can't complain about getting Victory Points!
Rob begins opening fire into my broken squad and leader, hoping for some kills, and succeeds in killing the broken Rifle squad. Some shooting also suppresses my Weapon team with the mortar (which has been rolling 4s all game for shooting, by the way). The leader recovers on my turn, and I begin moving them up the right, towards Objective #2 and freedom.
I believe Rob ran out of cards here, which is a free Time! trigger, much to my chagrin.
He follows this up by breaking my Weapon team, but isn't sure what to do about my guys on the right. I follow this up by bringing on my reinforcements- a bunch of elite squads to help deliver the hurt to the Russians! I work on moving my entire army up, but Rob uses some Hidden Wire actions to shut down my movement towards the top of the map (guess he was sure what to do ;) ). Rob doesn't accomplish anything on his turn, and I move out of the wire, and up some more.
Rob moves a leader, and I take a shot, drawing a 5 for my attack roll, which I use the Initiative card to re-draw, and get a 4 instead. Rob of course grabs a 12 for the defense roll, which is another Time! trigger for him. Sigh.
After several rounds of us shooting at each other, I do manage to break one of his squads in the woods to the left, but he manages to Rout it out of there and into safety (and eventually recovers).
I also, over the course of a few rounds, move point blank to his lone squad on Objective #2, and advance into it, killing the squad, and claiming the objective. My shooting also breaks another Russian squad. Rob isn't exactly idle, but his shooting isn't doing a whole lot (breaking or suppressing my weapon team a few times, but I keep recovering). He doesn't want to move out of the building, since it's an objective, and he doesn't know what mine is, and he can't really get the guys out of the woods on my left because I'll take chunks out of them as they try. He's just stuck waiting until I get things off the board, and trying to recover from that.
After drawing through my deck (another Time! trigger), I oblige him. My two squads and 1-command leader exit the board, giving me 12 Victory Points, finally moving the VP marker to my side of the track (oh yeah- the VP marker starts on the 11 space on the Russian side of the track ;) ). These squads will come back on as reinforcements next time there's a Time! trigger. Some of my shooting then causes a Walking Wounded Event! which lets me bring back a squad. I now have a lot of guys on the board, and coming on.
Rob figures that I might have the Objective #2 chit, so moves back to reclaim it, and again continues to shoot at me, without effect. I then discard cards again, and Rob again plays the action to give him a reinforcement roll, this time getting an Assault squad with a Flamethrower.
We don't wait long for it to influence the game. Rob sends him into melee with the adjacent German squad, and we tie on the combat draws, wiping everything out (a net gain of like 4 Victory Points, I think). On top of that, Rob's next shot gives us another Time! trigger, bringing the game closer to the end.
I focus on moving things up and around, but groan as I draw 4 Recover cards when I refill my hand. That slows me down for a turn as I discard them.
Rob has decided to start trying to get the game over. He shoots, but fires as many individual low strength shots as he can in order to increase the chances of either of us drawing Time! triggers. He doesn't get any yet- but does manage to draw another objective chit. Realizing I'm going to be pressed for time, I move up quickly (dropping some smoke next to me to help protect me from shooting), but shoot and break another Russian squad. Rob responds on his turn by playing a Recover card... unfortunately the Event drawn ends up killing the Russian before the roll could've recovered him.
I finally make it up to Objective #2, and have a move order in my hand to blow the game open next turn. However, Rob finally gets lucky- his shooting brings up a Time! trigger, and we are now at the point where we roll for the game end. It doesn't happen yet though. However, my Defense roll brings up ANOTHER Time! trigger, and this time the game does end. I never got a chance to move those guys off :(.
Ah well, we move onto figuring out the final score. Due to casualties and the turn I moved units off the board before, the victory point marker was at 1 on his side. My objective chit gave me 2 victory points for control of Objective #2. Rob's objective chits were L and J, which were 3 Victory Points for Objective #4 (controlled by me), and 2 Victory Points for Objective #5 (controlled by him). That means we ended with a net score of 2 Victory Points for me- a very narrow win!
This scenario has a very different feel than any I've played with Combat Commander so far, and it was certainly a good time. Rob's shooting wasn't very effective, and a lot of that was due to poor luck. He had several good turns of fortune though, so it probably evened out. Overall, my luck was good as well. Rob thinks that his main mistake was setting up too far forward. I don't know if it would've helped, but it may have. I mean, he was close to winning as is- one or two more things going his way may have done it. Had the game gone another turn, I would've ended up with a pretty significant win.
Hopefully we'll get a campaign started one of these days. Just another thing to add to the to-do list.
Trying to get more 40K stuff going on again
Well, I've been pretty lax the past year or so about getting my Warhammer 40k armies assembled and on the table, and given all the cool new things that have come out, as well as a strong desire to play Spec Ops: Killzone with some 40k minis, I'm going to have to rectify that.
Part of the problem with my 40k motivation has been that all of my armies are really out of date. I have Necrons (the oldest un-updated codex) and Witch hunters (the next oldest), and I actually own a decent amount of Grey Knights (which are going to be the newest) but really can't afford to go buying the stuff I'd need to really play them. That leaves my Chaos Space Marines which I own plenty of, but have never touched.
I'm going to try really hard to assemble and play these guys this year, as well as work hard to create a unique, background driven army for them. I think 40k is one of those systems that really gains so much from the work the authors have done in fleshing out the background that it would be a waste to not to tap some of that when creating an army. So for now, I'm going to work on more 'fluffy' armies for my Chaos guys.
I own mostly Khorne stuff, and frankly, I'd like to start with a Khorne-based army anyway, since I think it'll be the easiest to figure out how to play well, even if I don't get many wins.
Here's the list I'm going to work towards, at least to start (2000 points):
Kharn the Betrayer - 165
Chaos Dreadnought w/ Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer - 105
Chaos Dreadnought w/ Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer - 105
4 Terminators w/ Icon of Khorne, 3 Combi-Meltas, Lightning Claws - 175
8 Khorne Berzerkers w/ Personal Icon, Skull Champion w/ Power Fist, Rhino w/ Extra Armour - 263
8 Khorne Berzerkers w/ Personal Icon, Skull Champion w/ Power Fist, Rhino w/ Extra Armour - 263
8 Khorne Berzerkers w/ Personal Icon, Skull Champion w/ Power Fist - 213
Chaos Predator w/ Lascannon Sponsons - 130
Chaos Predator w/ Lascannon Sponsons - 130
Land Raider w/ Daemonic Possession - 240
8 Lesser Daemons - 104
8 Lesser Daemons - 104
1997 points
First off, I wanted to keep as many units at 8 models as possible, because that's Khorne's sacred number.
Kharn is such a great HQ choice that I couldn't imagine not including him (although I really was considering trying to fit a Chaos Lord with a Daemon Weapon in if I could have fit him). He can help drop vehicles as well as eat through infantry.
The Khorne Berzerkers are pretty self explanatory. I can't really have a Khorne list without Khorne-worshipping guys, can I? The power fist is in there so that I won't be demolished every time I fight a walker, and the one squad on foot is actually going to be using the Land Raider. Them + Kharn in the Land Raider should be a nasty start to my army's assault. Obviously, the Icons are there to help make sure those Daemons land where I need them, as well as to help the Terminators.
The Dreadnoughts and Predators are there because I felt like I'd have a hard time with tanks otherwise. I probably still will, but I didn't have many other good choices I felt. Obliterators didn't feel very 'Khorney', and I considered running Defilers, but they didn't really fit the theme to me either (although I thought a Defiler with a ton of arms sure would). I needed SOMETHING to try to tackle armor, and these seemed like good choices.
The Lesser Daemons will help add some bodies to the army for a cheap price, and will help out during my assaults.
The Terminators... hmm... I was considering not using them, because they don't seem all that good, but they do give me a moderately mobile anti-tank option (they can pop a Land Raider before my first wave hits, I would think). Giving them the Mark of Khorne is a bit of a waste of points, but again, the list just wouldn't really feel right otherwise. I may put something else in, however. I'm not sure.
Once I get an army list hashed out, I'm going to start working on the army, with a squad of Berzerkers first (so I can use them in Killzone). As I do that, I'll work on the background for my army.
Any thoughts?
Part of the problem with my 40k motivation has been that all of my armies are really out of date. I have Necrons (the oldest un-updated codex) and Witch hunters (the next oldest), and I actually own a decent amount of Grey Knights (which are going to be the newest) but really can't afford to go buying the stuff I'd need to really play them. That leaves my Chaos Space Marines which I own plenty of, but have never touched.
I'm going to try really hard to assemble and play these guys this year, as well as work hard to create a unique, background driven army for them. I think 40k is one of those systems that really gains so much from the work the authors have done in fleshing out the background that it would be a waste to not to tap some of that when creating an army. So for now, I'm going to work on more 'fluffy' armies for my Chaos guys.
I own mostly Khorne stuff, and frankly, I'd like to start with a Khorne-based army anyway, since I think it'll be the easiest to figure out how to play well, even if I don't get many wins.
Here's the list I'm going to work towards, at least to start (2000 points):
Kharn the Betrayer - 165
Chaos Dreadnought w/ Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer - 105
Chaos Dreadnought w/ Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer - 105
4 Terminators w/ Icon of Khorne, 3 Combi-Meltas, Lightning Claws - 175
8 Khorne Berzerkers w/ Personal Icon, Skull Champion w/ Power Fist, Rhino w/ Extra Armour - 263
8 Khorne Berzerkers w/ Personal Icon, Skull Champion w/ Power Fist, Rhino w/ Extra Armour - 263
8 Khorne Berzerkers w/ Personal Icon, Skull Champion w/ Power Fist - 213
Chaos Predator w/ Lascannon Sponsons - 130
Chaos Predator w/ Lascannon Sponsons - 130
Land Raider w/ Daemonic Possession - 240
8 Lesser Daemons - 104
8 Lesser Daemons - 104
1997 points
First off, I wanted to keep as many units at 8 models as possible, because that's Khorne's sacred number.
Kharn is such a great HQ choice that I couldn't imagine not including him (although I really was considering trying to fit a Chaos Lord with a Daemon Weapon in if I could have fit him). He can help drop vehicles as well as eat through infantry.
The Khorne Berzerkers are pretty self explanatory. I can't really have a Khorne list without Khorne-worshipping guys, can I? The power fist is in there so that I won't be demolished every time I fight a walker, and the one squad on foot is actually going to be using the Land Raider. Them + Kharn in the Land Raider should be a nasty start to my army's assault. Obviously, the Icons are there to help make sure those Daemons land where I need them, as well as to help the Terminators.
The Dreadnoughts and Predators are there because I felt like I'd have a hard time with tanks otherwise. I probably still will, but I didn't have many other good choices I felt. Obliterators didn't feel very 'Khorney', and I considered running Defilers, but they didn't really fit the theme to me either (although I thought a Defiler with a ton of arms sure would). I needed SOMETHING to try to tackle armor, and these seemed like good choices.
The Lesser Daemons will help add some bodies to the army for a cheap price, and will help out during my assaults.
The Terminators... hmm... I was considering not using them, because they don't seem all that good, but they do give me a moderately mobile anti-tank option (they can pop a Land Raider before my first wave hits, I would think). Giving them the Mark of Khorne is a bit of a waste of points, but again, the list just wouldn't really feel right otherwise. I may put something else in, however. I'm not sure.
Once I get an army list hashed out, I'm going to start working on the army, with a squad of Berzerkers first (so I can use them in Killzone). As I do that, I'll work on the background for my army.
Any thoughts?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Molik Karn: Thoughts/Tips
Well, this article probably could just write itself, if it even needs to be written at all. But for the sake of completeness, I'll have it up here anyway. Molik Karn is considered our best beast, and some people consider it one of the best beasts in the game. It's all about offense, and it does its just pretty dang well.
Stats:
To start, Karn has the best SPD of all Skorne heavies- he's as fast as the Skorne lights. His STR is the same as other Cyclops, but he has a great MAT of 7. His DEF/ARM is 13/18, which isn't terrible, but he's pretty frail given how much attention will be paid to him. He has 28 health boxes, which isn't great, 8 CMD which is handy given one of his special rules, and has 4 FURY/10 THR which means you're going to be able to do a decent amount with him in a single activation. He's the most expensive of the Skorne beasts (actually- of any Skorne model at this point), so given how fragile he is, he's not going to be showing up in every list. It's dependent on whether you'll actually have a good use for him.
Attacks:
Karn's attacks are two P+S 13 Falchions. They have Reach, which is extra handy given Karn's mobility, and Weapon Master. Yes, a beast with Weapon Master. Combined with the various ways Skorne can buff their beasts, this has some pretty scary potential.
To top it all off, the Falchions can be used to Combo Strike as a special attack, giving you an option for a single P+S 18 attack with weapon master. Sometimes it might be worth doing this, especially if you're doing some of his various tricks. We'll look at that in a bit.
Animus:
His animus is Fate Walker. After all friendly models have finished their activations, models who have had Fate Walker used on them (the animus has a range of Self) can make a full advance. There are two uses for this- first, you can use it on your warlock to get him into either a better position, or a safer position. Having the option to move after seeing how your turn has unfolded is a fantastic option. Second would be to move Molik Karn. Since this doesn't negate free strikes, you'll most likely use this after a Side Step, or when Karn is out by himself. Getting him into position, or locking up the enemy warcaster/warlock, or getting Karn around incredibly fast are all options here- it's an animus that will see a good amount of use.
Special Rules:
Affinity [Makeda]- +1 FURY while in either Makeda's control area. That's an AWESOME affinity. 5 FURY can come in handy so often.
Chieftain [Cyclops]- Friendly Cyclops within 8" of him become THR 10 instead of 8/9. If you're running a few Cyclops, that's a HUGE help for leaving a fury or two on a beast.
Future Sight- Just like the Cyclops Savage, he can boost after rolling. Great for making the most of his fury, and with MAT 7, you'll hit a lot of things anyway, so you can get a lot of mileage out of him. Extra handy for his 'bullet' stuff.
Intuition- Stolen from the Cyclops Brute. On a DEF 13 model, I just don't see this being used all that much. Maybe if your opponent happens to hit with one of those inaccurate AOE attacks with a lucky roll. Otherwise don't bother.
Side Step- If Karn hits with either his initial attacks or a Combo Strike, he can move 2" without fear of free strikes. This is a big part of Karn's mobility. He has some versatility here, since he can either use it once or twice (based off if he Combo Strikes or not), and there are a few uses. It can be used to get him out of combat so that he can Fate Walker away. It could also be used to reposition himself deeper into the enemy lines if he was going for the caster-kill, or some other really important target.
Synergies:
Archdomina Makeda: Where to start? The Affinity is the first thing to notice here. Having five available fury can come in handy several times. That's a great start already, but her spells make Karn even better. Carnage is nice, but Karn doesn't really need it, but obviously won't complain if he benefits from it. Defender's Ward and Savagery are the key spells here.
With Defender's Ward, Molik Karn becomes DEF/ARM 15/20. That's tough enough (combined with some healing) to be a front-line beast, and go toe-to-toe with other heavies. Since he already has the offensive potential to scare heavies away, having the extra survivability, plus a high enough DEF for Intuition to be a noteworthy ability just makes him incredible.
Alternatively, Savagery can be used for the basic 'Molik Bullet/Missile'. Savagery adds +5 SPD when making a full advance, and hey- Fate Walker allows Molik Karn to make a full advance. That means Karn could advance (not charge!) into combat, and reach enemies that are 13" (6 SPD + 5 Savagery + 2 reach) away, Combo Strike (boosting to hit and for damage as needed due to Intuition), Side Step away 2", and retreat back using Fate Walker, ending your turn 15" (2 to start + 2 Side Step + 6 SPD + 5 Savagery) away from your target. He's mauled, you're safe, and it's a great way to take chunks out of your opponent's army without too too much risk. Obviously, you could also have him Side Step INTO the opponent's lines (multiple times if you don't Combo Strike) if that seems more important. So long as he's within 12" of Makeda (her control area) it's a scary thing to consider.
In short, this is a great pairing, helped even more by other choices.
Master Tormentor Morghoul: Abuse is always nice for getting the extra threat range and damage into Molik's activation (he then charges for a 13" threat and can get 13" away), but the d3 damage may not always be worth taking, since Karn can be VERY fragile. Admonition can be used to make up some of the difference in retreating distance though, keeping Molik Karn safe. Not a terrible match, but really Morghoul is decent with any beast. Morghoul gains some benefit from Fate Walker as well, but he doesn't have much fury to spare, usually. He has plenty of mobility though, so the additional movement can be pretty nasty.
Cyclops Savage: Molik Karn already has Future Sight, so gains nothing from having a Savage around. The Savage, however, moves from THR 8 to 10, which is a massive difference. No longer will leaving 1-2 fury on the Savage be a cause of tremendous stress.
Titan Cannoneer: Well, Diminish can be nice for keeping Molik Karn alive, but it's so unlikely to be useful that I wouldn't consider it much help. Molik's on a large base, so the Cannoneer will never fully cover him.
Titan Gladiator: A great inclusion with Molik Karn because of Rush. The extra speed is always helpful, given Karn's abilities, but the addition of Pathfinder just makes it so much better.
Paingiver Beast Handlers: As with any beast, they help a lot. Medicate will be nice, since a dead Molik Karn isn't killing anything, and Enrage is nice because Karn will heat even harder than before. Nothing surprising here.
Praetorian Swordsmen: No synergies.
Agonizer: The Agonizer does a better job than the Cannoneer for helping provide a little protection for Molik Karn due to the extra range. It's also a lot cheaper.
Ancestral Guardian: No synergies.
Tier Thoughts:
Molik Karn can be taken in either of the Makeda theme forces, and this will oftentimes be a great choice. It's also required for eMakeda's Tier 4 list (getting extra speed on the first turn) and counts for the Tier 4 requirement for pMakeda's (extending your deployment zone). You'll generally include him here anyway.
He can also be taken with Tyrant Xerxis' theme force, although including him won't provide much benefit aside from his normal abilities. This isn't a bad inclusion either- Xerxis can make Karn hit terrifyingly hard.
Thoughts:
Overall, Molik Karn is a fantastic warbeast, although you shouldn't get into the habit of using him like other Skorne heavies. He does hit as hard as or harder than the other choices, but he is not so tough. He is capable of getting out of danger however, and this 'hit-and-run' style can really serve him well. He's not a great match for all of the warlocks though (as we'll see when I finally move on to other warlocks), and since he's pricey, he's not an auto-include to your lists. However, if you think you have a role for him, and the ability to support him some, you're going to love taking him.
Stats:
To start, Karn has the best SPD of all Skorne heavies- he's as fast as the Skorne lights. His STR is the same as other Cyclops, but he has a great MAT of 7. His DEF/ARM is 13/18, which isn't terrible, but he's pretty frail given how much attention will be paid to him. He has 28 health boxes, which isn't great, 8 CMD which is handy given one of his special rules, and has 4 FURY/10 THR which means you're going to be able to do a decent amount with him in a single activation. He's the most expensive of the Skorne beasts (actually- of any Skorne model at this point), so given how fragile he is, he's not going to be showing up in every list. It's dependent on whether you'll actually have a good use for him.
Attacks:
Karn's attacks are two P+S 13 Falchions. They have Reach, which is extra handy given Karn's mobility, and Weapon Master. Yes, a beast with Weapon Master. Combined with the various ways Skorne can buff their beasts, this has some pretty scary potential.
To top it all off, the Falchions can be used to Combo Strike as a special attack, giving you an option for a single P+S 18 attack with weapon master. Sometimes it might be worth doing this, especially if you're doing some of his various tricks. We'll look at that in a bit.
Animus:
His animus is Fate Walker. After all friendly models have finished their activations, models who have had Fate Walker used on them (the animus has a range of Self) can make a full advance. There are two uses for this- first, you can use it on your warlock to get him into either a better position, or a safer position. Having the option to move after seeing how your turn has unfolded is a fantastic option. Second would be to move Molik Karn. Since this doesn't negate free strikes, you'll most likely use this after a Side Step, or when Karn is out by himself. Getting him into position, or locking up the enemy warcaster/warlock, or getting Karn around incredibly fast are all options here- it's an animus that will see a good amount of use.
Special Rules:
Affinity [Makeda]- +1 FURY while in either Makeda's control area. That's an AWESOME affinity. 5 FURY can come in handy so often.
Chieftain [Cyclops]- Friendly Cyclops within 8" of him become THR 10 instead of 8/9. If you're running a few Cyclops, that's a HUGE help for leaving a fury or two on a beast.
Future Sight- Just like the Cyclops Savage, he can boost after rolling. Great for making the most of his fury, and with MAT 7, you'll hit a lot of things anyway, so you can get a lot of mileage out of him. Extra handy for his 'bullet' stuff.
Intuition- Stolen from the Cyclops Brute. On a DEF 13 model, I just don't see this being used all that much. Maybe if your opponent happens to hit with one of those inaccurate AOE attacks with a lucky roll. Otherwise don't bother.
Side Step- If Karn hits with either his initial attacks or a Combo Strike, he can move 2" without fear of free strikes. This is a big part of Karn's mobility. He has some versatility here, since he can either use it once or twice (based off if he Combo Strikes or not), and there are a few uses. It can be used to get him out of combat so that he can Fate Walker away. It could also be used to reposition himself deeper into the enemy lines if he was going for the caster-kill, or some other really important target.
Synergies:
Archdomina Makeda: Where to start? The Affinity is the first thing to notice here. Having five available fury can come in handy several times. That's a great start already, but her spells make Karn even better. Carnage is nice, but Karn doesn't really need it, but obviously won't complain if he benefits from it. Defender's Ward and Savagery are the key spells here.
With Defender's Ward, Molik Karn becomes DEF/ARM 15/20. That's tough enough (combined with some healing) to be a front-line beast, and go toe-to-toe with other heavies. Since he already has the offensive potential to scare heavies away, having the extra survivability, plus a high enough DEF for Intuition to be a noteworthy ability just makes him incredible.
Alternatively, Savagery can be used for the basic 'Molik Bullet/Missile'. Savagery adds +5 SPD when making a full advance, and hey- Fate Walker allows Molik Karn to make a full advance. That means Karn could advance (not charge!) into combat, and reach enemies that are 13" (6 SPD + 5 Savagery + 2 reach) away, Combo Strike (boosting to hit and for damage as needed due to Intuition), Side Step away 2", and retreat back using Fate Walker, ending your turn 15" (2 to start + 2 Side Step + 6 SPD + 5 Savagery) away from your target. He's mauled, you're safe, and it's a great way to take chunks out of your opponent's army without too too much risk. Obviously, you could also have him Side Step INTO the opponent's lines (multiple times if you don't Combo Strike) if that seems more important. So long as he's within 12" of Makeda (her control area) it's a scary thing to consider.
In short, this is a great pairing, helped even more by other choices.
Master Tormentor Morghoul: Abuse is always nice for getting the extra threat range and damage into Molik's activation (he then charges for a 13" threat and can get 13" away), but the d3 damage may not always be worth taking, since Karn can be VERY fragile. Admonition can be used to make up some of the difference in retreating distance though, keeping Molik Karn safe. Not a terrible match, but really Morghoul is decent with any beast. Morghoul gains some benefit from Fate Walker as well, but he doesn't have much fury to spare, usually. He has plenty of mobility though, so the additional movement can be pretty nasty.
Cyclops Savage: Molik Karn already has Future Sight, so gains nothing from having a Savage around. The Savage, however, moves from THR 8 to 10, which is a massive difference. No longer will leaving 1-2 fury on the Savage be a cause of tremendous stress.
Titan Cannoneer: Well, Diminish can be nice for keeping Molik Karn alive, but it's so unlikely to be useful that I wouldn't consider it much help. Molik's on a large base, so the Cannoneer will never fully cover him.
Titan Gladiator: A great inclusion with Molik Karn because of Rush. The extra speed is always helpful, given Karn's abilities, but the addition of Pathfinder just makes it so much better.
Paingiver Beast Handlers: As with any beast, they help a lot. Medicate will be nice, since a dead Molik Karn isn't killing anything, and Enrage is nice because Karn will heat even harder than before. Nothing surprising here.
Praetorian Swordsmen: No synergies.
Agonizer: The Agonizer does a better job than the Cannoneer for helping provide a little protection for Molik Karn due to the extra range. It's also a lot cheaper.
Ancestral Guardian: No synergies.
Tier Thoughts:
Molik Karn can be taken in either of the Makeda theme forces, and this will oftentimes be a great choice. It's also required for eMakeda's Tier 4 list (getting extra speed on the first turn) and counts for the Tier 4 requirement for pMakeda's (extending your deployment zone). You'll generally include him here anyway.
He can also be taken with Tyrant Xerxis' theme force, although including him won't provide much benefit aside from his normal abilities. This isn't a bad inclusion either- Xerxis can make Karn hit terrifyingly hard.
Thoughts:
Overall, Molik Karn is a fantastic warbeast, although you shouldn't get into the habit of using him like other Skorne heavies. He does hit as hard as or harder than the other choices, but he is not so tough. He is capable of getting out of danger however, and this 'hit-and-run' style can really serve him well. He's not a great match for all of the warlocks though (as we'll see when I finally move on to other warlocks), and since he's pricey, he's not an auto-include to your lists. However, if you think you have a role for him, and the ability to support him some, you're going to love taking him.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Quick lunchtime battle report, and Skorne additions, finally
Ben and I had a quick lunchtime game of Hordes a bit over a week ago, so I figured I'd just put a quick post up, so that the blog has some signs of life.
I ran:
Lord Tyrant Hexeris
- Cyclops Savage
- Cyclops Savage
- Titan Gladiator
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
- Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Agonizer
Ancestral Guardian
I'm still trying to get the hang of Hexeris. I like the Titan Gladiator with him, the rest are just various things I'm trying with him.
Ben ran:
Chief Madrak Ironhide
- Troll Axer
- Troll Impaler
- Troll Impaler
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes
Trollkin Champions (Leader and 4 Grunts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler
This is Ben's normal list with Madrak, and has served him well in the past.
I'm not going to go into too much detail, but basically, I made a few mistakes, specifically with my activation order and fury management (I had the Gladiator cast Rush on himself instead of having Hexeris do it, despite him having the fury available) plus an instance of bad luck (that same turn, the Gladiator missed with EVERY attack against the Champions) on my feat turn, accomplishing nothing, and I ended up conceding.
I still don't know what to do with Hexeris. I really like him, but I think I need a few tools to get him working. Marketh seems to be a necessity, so I'll have to start with him, and figure it out from there. I need a better infantry unit to use Death March on- the Swordsmen really just aren't scary enough. Maybe some better ranged support will help too. I'll try some things out.
In other news, I was assembling some miniatures with some friends, so I'll finally have some new things to throw in my armies. I now have a Basilisk Krea, a unit of Swamp Gobbers, and a unit of Cataphract Arcuarii to start using. Some more variety will be nice, and with these I can run a fairly different playstyle.
I also assembled a few of my Malifaux miniatures. Hopefully I'll get the Neverborn crew finished assembly by the end of March- I still want to get them on the table, see how I like them.
Alright, that's it for now. Thanks for reading guys!
I ran:
Lord Tyrant Hexeris
- Cyclops Savage
- Cyclops Savage
- Titan Gladiator
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
- Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Agonizer
Ancestral Guardian
I'm still trying to get the hang of Hexeris. I like the Titan Gladiator with him, the rest are just various things I'm trying with him.
Ben ran:
Chief Madrak Ironhide
- Troll Axer
- Troll Impaler
- Troll Impaler
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes
Trollkin Champions (Leader and 4 Grunts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler
This is Ben's normal list with Madrak, and has served him well in the past.
I'm not going to go into too much detail, but basically, I made a few mistakes, specifically with my activation order and fury management (I had the Gladiator cast Rush on himself instead of having Hexeris do it, despite him having the fury available) plus an instance of bad luck (that same turn, the Gladiator missed with EVERY attack against the Champions) on my feat turn, accomplishing nothing, and I ended up conceding.
I still don't know what to do with Hexeris. I really like him, but I think I need a few tools to get him working. Marketh seems to be a necessity, so I'll have to start with him, and figure it out from there. I need a better infantry unit to use Death March on- the Swordsmen really just aren't scary enough. Maybe some better ranged support will help too. I'll try some things out.
In other news, I was assembling some miniatures with some friends, so I'll finally have some new things to throw in my armies. I now have a Basilisk Krea, a unit of Swamp Gobbers, and a unit of Cataphract Arcuarii to start using. Some more variety will be nice, and with these I can run a fairly different playstyle.
I also assembled a few of my Malifaux miniatures. Hopefully I'll get the Neverborn crew finished assembly by the end of March- I still want to get them on the table, see how I like them.
Alright, that's it for now. Thanks for reading guys!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Battle Report: Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour, Scenario 2- Cavalry Charge!
The first game Rob and I brought out at PrezCon was Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour. I had received this for Christmas, and I was really excited to put it on the table. After realizing I didn't have the trucks handy to do Scenario 1, we decided to play Scenario 2, called Cavalry Charge! It depicts the Charge at Krojanty, where the 18th Pomeranian Uhlans Regiment bravely slowed the advance of a German infantry regiment which was supported by some armored vehicles.
In the scenario, a forward German force is pounced upon by a numerically superior Polish force with significant cavalry support, with another small German force 'behind the lines' coming in as reinforcements. The Germans get an armored car coming on mid-game for support, which should be a little problematic for the Polish, who don't have too much in the way of anti-tank support here.
I played the Germans, Rob took the Polish. Conflict of Heroes is an interesting game, as we'll see, because the turns are very integrated- there's no 'I go- you go' mechanic going on here. Both players' units are moving and acting one right after the other, and interrupting each other's actions. It means that the battle report here will actually have several things going on at once, so it should be... well, interesting.
Turn 1:
The Polish cavalry comes on board, and I turn the nearest squad around to face them, hoping to make them more cautious about coming in at me. Rob, to try to draw off my activations, used CPs to bring on some other units adjacent to the cavalry, and I oblige by shooting at them, but don't do anything. He uses a Dual Attack card to unload into a Rifle Squad, killing it, and I return fire, damaging one of his AT Rifles. Rob's cavalry decides to charge into my LMG unit....
And kills it pretty easily.
I use the card I drew to put a Hasty Defense on top of another LMG, hoping to use the unit to buy some time for my guys to back up and link up with my reinforcements.
Rob responds by moving his cavalry into the building, claiming the objective, and putting a lot of pressure on my guys who are still in the open.
I fire a few ineffective shots, and Rob's cavalry reinforcements come on and get behind my advance force, making a retreat a bit more difficult. They get there pretty much untouched, despite some shooting by another of my Rifle Squads. I manage to put some small damage on one of them, I believe.
With nowhere to go, I have my squads continue taking shots at the Polish forces surrounding them, causing a hit on one of the Horses in the building, but not really doing a whole lot else. My first group of reinforcements gets in position in one of the other buildings (out of the picture).
Turn 2:
I continue into the second turn by shooting, but I don't get any effect out of it, primarily due to some poor shooting die rolls. Rob's HMG comes on the board and starts moving towards the south-western objective. My reinforcements work to get into position for the inevitable Polish advance on the other objectives, and I try to get some results up on the front, but my shooting just can't seem to do anything. Rob eventually rolls over my front German lines, and I'm left only with the reinforcements to fight the Polish tide.
German reinforcements almost in position.
And on the east side, the Polish have cleared out the German units.
Turn 3:
Rob and I start the turn by dancing around the southern objective. Rob uses his HMG to advance towards the objective, and I counter by having my Rifles move onto the objective. Rob moves his HMG and a supporting Uhlan, I believe around the objective, trying to get an opening to shoot at the Rifle without taking a shot in return. The Uhlan moves into line of sight of my supporting LMG and takes a hit from CP shooting, but thankfully the HMG decides to back off, and the objective is fairly safe.
The LMG finishes off the Uhlan and my LMG helping defend the northwestern objective moves forward a bit and starts taking pot shots at the Polish stacks, doing some significant damage (I think I ended up putting hits on 4 out of 6 counters in one stack in a single shot). Rob works to rally them to begin the late-game push, but doesn't get too many of them back quickly.
German situation in the west.
Polish situation in the East.
Turn 4:
This is a helpful turn for the Germans, since a SdKfz 231 (an armored car) comes on the board as a reinforcement. Just as happened historically, the Polish really don't have a lot of tools with them handy which can easily take it down- those Anti-Tank Rifles need an 11 on 2d6 to put a hit on it if they aren't point blank (and don't have help).
My LMG starts the turn out by shooting some more at those vulnerable Polish stacks, continuing to do a bunch of damage, and giving me some VPs (I'm pretty far behind at this point). Rob focuses his efforts on the bottom objective, finally clearing it out, and claiming it, depriving me of 5 VPs, and gaining 2 for himself.
My armored car comes on, moves into a supporting position, but doesn't manage to deal any damage on the Polish attackers.
Rob ends the turn by running an ATR right behind the Armored Car- a certain way to have me sweating starting next turn.
Turn 5:
I win the initiative, and turn, preparing to get the vehicle to safety. Rob happily fires his ATR, getting a hit, but thankfully the damage draw is damage to the gun... meaning I can't fire at vehicles. No loss there.
The vehicle gets free, and I start putting the pressure on the southern objective, shrugging off the ATR fire in the meantime, and taking a pot shot at the ATR, putting a hit on it. I charge in and start unloading on the unit there, but don't manage to do anything worthwhile. Rob and I trade shots, but nothing much is done, and the game ends with me impotent to get anything done to change the result.
Conclusion:
We calculated the Victory Points. Rob had killed 8 of my units, and had taken 2 of the objectives, giving him 12 VPs. I killed 9 units (mostly horses), and didn't control both B11 and G17 (just one), meaning I ended with 9 VPs, a Polish victory!
I'm guessing, the next time I play, that I shouldn't bother trying to fight with those front units- just get them running to the back objectives, and work harder to hold them. Holding both the back objectives is worth 5 VPs to the Germans, which is pretty significant. Combined with a few casualties as the Polish advanced past the first guys, that would probably be enough to win.
I haven't played this game since Awakening the Bear, and it's undergone some pretty serious changes. I really like the new version however, a lot more than the previous one. The components are still beautiful, but the basic game mechanic is so involved that you never feel like you have down time, even horridly outnumbered there's still a lot you need to do every turn.
We finished our first day at PrezCon by playing a game of Dust Tactics, but I'll throw some pictures of that when I'm done with my wargame battle reports.
In the scenario, a forward German force is pounced upon by a numerically superior Polish force with significant cavalry support, with another small German force 'behind the lines' coming in as reinforcements. The Germans get an armored car coming on mid-game for support, which should be a little problematic for the Polish, who don't have too much in the way of anti-tank support here.
I played the Germans, Rob took the Polish. Conflict of Heroes is an interesting game, as we'll see, because the turns are very integrated- there's no 'I go- you go' mechanic going on here. Both players' units are moving and acting one right after the other, and interrupting each other's actions. It means that the battle report here will actually have several things going on at once, so it should be... well, interesting.
Turn 1:
The Polish cavalry comes on board, and I turn the nearest squad around to face them, hoping to make them more cautious about coming in at me. Rob, to try to draw off my activations, used CPs to bring on some other units adjacent to the cavalry, and I oblige by shooting at them, but don't do anything. He uses a Dual Attack card to unload into a Rifle Squad, killing it, and I return fire, damaging one of his AT Rifles. Rob's cavalry decides to charge into my LMG unit....
And kills it pretty easily.
I use the card I drew to put a Hasty Defense on top of another LMG, hoping to use the unit to buy some time for my guys to back up and link up with my reinforcements.
Rob responds by moving his cavalry into the building, claiming the objective, and putting a lot of pressure on my guys who are still in the open.
I fire a few ineffective shots, and Rob's cavalry reinforcements come on and get behind my advance force, making a retreat a bit more difficult. They get there pretty much untouched, despite some shooting by another of my Rifle Squads. I manage to put some small damage on one of them, I believe.
With nowhere to go, I have my squads continue taking shots at the Polish forces surrounding them, causing a hit on one of the Horses in the building, but not really doing a whole lot else. My first group of reinforcements gets in position in one of the other buildings (out of the picture).
Turn 2:
I continue into the second turn by shooting, but I don't get any effect out of it, primarily due to some poor shooting die rolls. Rob's HMG comes on the board and starts moving towards the south-western objective. My reinforcements work to get into position for the inevitable Polish advance on the other objectives, and I try to get some results up on the front, but my shooting just can't seem to do anything. Rob eventually rolls over my front German lines, and I'm left only with the reinforcements to fight the Polish tide.
German reinforcements almost in position.
And on the east side, the Polish have cleared out the German units.
Turn 3:
Rob and I start the turn by dancing around the southern objective. Rob uses his HMG to advance towards the objective, and I counter by having my Rifles move onto the objective. Rob moves his HMG and a supporting Uhlan, I believe around the objective, trying to get an opening to shoot at the Rifle without taking a shot in return. The Uhlan moves into line of sight of my supporting LMG and takes a hit from CP shooting, but thankfully the HMG decides to back off, and the objective is fairly safe.
The LMG finishes off the Uhlan and my LMG helping defend the northwestern objective moves forward a bit and starts taking pot shots at the Polish stacks, doing some significant damage (I think I ended up putting hits on 4 out of 6 counters in one stack in a single shot). Rob works to rally them to begin the late-game push, but doesn't get too many of them back quickly.
German situation in the west.
Polish situation in the East.
Turn 4:
This is a helpful turn for the Germans, since a SdKfz 231 (an armored car) comes on the board as a reinforcement. Just as happened historically, the Polish really don't have a lot of tools with them handy which can easily take it down- those Anti-Tank Rifles need an 11 on 2d6 to put a hit on it if they aren't point blank (and don't have help).
My LMG starts the turn out by shooting some more at those vulnerable Polish stacks, continuing to do a bunch of damage, and giving me some VPs (I'm pretty far behind at this point). Rob focuses his efforts on the bottom objective, finally clearing it out, and claiming it, depriving me of 5 VPs, and gaining 2 for himself.
My armored car comes on, moves into a supporting position, but doesn't manage to deal any damage on the Polish attackers.
Rob ends the turn by running an ATR right behind the Armored Car- a certain way to have me sweating starting next turn.
Turn 5:
I win the initiative, and turn, preparing to get the vehicle to safety. Rob happily fires his ATR, getting a hit, but thankfully the damage draw is damage to the gun... meaning I can't fire at vehicles. No loss there.
The vehicle gets free, and I start putting the pressure on the southern objective, shrugging off the ATR fire in the meantime, and taking a pot shot at the ATR, putting a hit on it. I charge in and start unloading on the unit there, but don't manage to do anything worthwhile. Rob and I trade shots, but nothing much is done, and the game ends with me impotent to get anything done to change the result.
Conclusion:
We calculated the Victory Points. Rob had killed 8 of my units, and had taken 2 of the objectives, giving him 12 VPs. I killed 9 units (mostly horses), and didn't control both B11 and G17 (just one), meaning I ended with 9 VPs, a Polish victory!
I'm guessing, the next time I play, that I shouldn't bother trying to fight with those front units- just get them running to the back objectives, and work harder to hold them. Holding both the back objectives is worth 5 VPs to the Germans, which is pretty significant. Combined with a few casualties as the Polish advanced past the first guys, that would probably be enough to win.
I haven't played this game since Awakening the Bear, and it's undergone some pretty serious changes. I really like the new version however, a lot more than the previous one. The components are still beautiful, but the basic game mechanic is so involved that you never feel like you have down time, even horridly outnumbered there's still a lot you need to do every turn.
We finished our first day at PrezCon by playing a game of Dust Tactics, but I'll throw some pictures of that when I'm done with my wargame battle reports.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)