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This was an MGV action which took place on Mars, with
an Australian strike force conducting a landing pod insertion onto the surface.
The landing zone was contested by a force of Selangor MGV units which took
measures to contain the landing.
Australian Forces and weapon
selections (Total 201 points): One Super Komodo heavy MGV (thermal
main) One Komodo heavy MGV (thermal main) One Gila A5 heavy MGV
(missile main) One Tokay weapon platform (missile main) Three Whiptail
medium MGV (various kinetic and photon mains) Selangor Forces (Total
201 points): Two Hammerhead heavy MGV (kinetic mains) One Thresher
heavy MGV (thermal main) Two Mako medium MGV (photon mains) One
Sharpnose light MGV (photon mains) One Cat superlight scout MGV
(beacons) Several lines of neutralizer barriers laid to channel the
Australian attack into lanes.
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Above: Battlefield overhead view. The Selangor
positions are along the bottom half of the photo, the Australian landing zone
is along the top right of the screen centered on the dark landing pod towers.
Australians have advanced to forward positions including right center, where a
Super Komodo MGV has halted in front of the Selangor neutralizer barrier (lines
of blue orbs). |
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The engagement occurred on a somewhat open area
of rocky ground littered with clumps of fungus towers, pieces of rock debris
from the surrounding bombardments, finer rock debris left over from landing pod
impact as well as fine rocky debris and ice formations native to the landscape.
As noted there were also lines of blue neutralizer barrier deployed by the
Selangor.
Game notes: This is our first Invisible Enemy game with the
new Mars surface gaming mat. It is was made by Deep Cut Studios using their
custom mat making service, and came out very nicely. This is not their stock
Red Planet gaming mat which is a more high altitude perspective with sharper
contrast. The master file for this mat was made for a more dusty looking,
up-close effect and is 44" x 60". It is based on existing public domain images
which were modified in Photoshop for final use. It worked great.
Deployment: Australian forces started the game scattered around the area
near their three landing pod towers. Selangor forces deployed with heavy forces
covering an open lane not blocked by neutralizer barriers (N-barriers). The
heavy Thresher was furthest toward center while remaining in direct support of
the two Hammerhead MGVs and their Cat scout. The right flank barriers were
covered by two medium Mako units (see above). All Selangor units began the game
declared under full camouflage adjoining terrain features.
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Turn 1 Selangor won the W initiative
roll. They chose not to move or fire and remained under cover.
Australia won the X initiative roll. They immediately began moving to
consolidate their position and move forward. The big Australian decision at
this point was whether to move right and enter the open lane covered by
Selangor heavy units, or attempt to punch through the neutralizer barriers at
some point. The heavy Super Komodo had an engineering module for payload, so
the punch-through capability was there (payloads are chosen pre-game without
knowing enemy force selection). Decision was made to punch left through the
barrier furthest from the Selangor heavies.
Selangor won the Y
initiative roll. They chose not to move or fire and remained under
cover.
Australia used the Z phase to blind fire missiles onto one of
the (suspected) Selangor Hammerhead positions. Despite the lethal volume of
fire, only one infestation hit was scored and that was immediately cleaned up
by the Hammerhead.
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Above: Turn 2, Australian Super Komodo and Whiptails
advance on the Selangor N-barriers. |
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Turn 2 Selangor won the W initiative
roll. They chose not to move or fire and remained under cover.
Australia won the X initiative roll. The Super Komodo and three Whiptails
converged on the narrow gap that led to the Selangor left flank. The Super
Komodo pulled up to the N-barrier but without enough movement left to begin
clearing. As a defense against possible Selangor moves, the heavy Komodo MGV
was placed behind cover in the center, where it covered the two missile
platform units against incursions from the right.
Selangor won the Y
initiative roll. The two Makos opened photon fire onto the stopped Super
Komodo. The Selangor player is a good range guesser and was able to roll full
strength photon attacks. Both Makos scored really well and the Super Komodo
immediately suffered multiple defense, payload, speed hits and one brain (B)
hit. Good shooting and seemingly early indication that the Australian player
may have underestimated the fight that two smallish MGVs could put up.
Australia used the Z phase to conduct indirect missile and direct thermal
fire onto the now spotted Mako positions. All fired on Selangor Mako 2, which
put up a mixed 4/2 missile defense. The Australian missile attack was
lackluster and "only" scored 11 internal hits on the Selangor MGV (could have
been much worse, the Gila and Tokay have formidable missile loadouts). The
Super Komodo's thermal attack destroyed one hull section and scored a sensor
(Se) hit. Again, it could have been worse.
The Reset phase saw no
sudden deaths (Mako now had a B hit which triggered recurring check for sudden
AI death). Mako 2 experienced further spread of the nano-infestation which
triggered an additional B hit.
Player's Notes: When attempting
contested barrier clearing, it is probably better to pull-up to the barriers
with at least enough remaining movement to clear one barrier immediately. In
this case, by the time the Super Komodo began clearing the next turn its
Engineering module was already damaged and no longer clearing barrier at full
rate. |
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Above: Turn 3, the Selangor heavy MGV strike force
moves on the Australian landing zone. At background left is a Thresher (heavy
MGV), at center are two Hammerheads (heavy MGVs) and at right is the Cat scout
unit which specializes in beacon marking enemy targets. |
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Turn 3 Australia won the W initiative
roll. They repeated their fire onto Mako 2. The Australian Tokay missile
platform anticipated that the Mako 2 would defend its core, so it went for an
all-hull attack. This was correct, the Mako 2 did go for 100% core defense and
so all 14 missile units ploughed onto the Mako, triggering 14 hull based
infestations. Bad news. The Gila achieved a lesser hit now that the Selangor
player was mixing up their defense more, but still the Mako ended this phase
with 23 hull infestations! That's a lot and nearly impossible to recover from,
it's just a matter of time before they find their way into the core. The Super
Komodo botched its shot and missed Mako 1.
Australia won the X
initiative roll. They immediately began clearing N-barrier, but the payload
damage to the Super Komodo's engineering module meant that only one barrier
"blob" could be cleared, with one point applied toward clearing another... slow
progress. The Whiptails caught up with the Super Komodo and took position on
either side as they waited for the barriers to open (the Selangor placed
barrier orbs so tightly, that two needed to be cleared before a Whiptail could
fit through without becoming trapped). The Australian missile platforms,
becoming slightly "nervous" as to what the Selangor heavies might do, began to
slide toward the Australian left flank.
Selangor used the Y phase to
move. The main Hammerhead/Thresher strike group moved quickly forward into the
open lane to their front, led off by their beacon firing Cat scout
unit.
Selangor used the Z phase to fire. The two Makos scored more
damage on Super Komodo, most critically to its now valuable engineering module.
On the Australian right, the lead Hammerhead and Thresher opened fire on the
Komodo which was guarding the Australian flank. Some damage was done to Komodo
but nothing particularly lethal despite that MGV being beacon marked by the Cat
scout unit (the beacons did help and generally proved valuable).
The
Reset phase saw no sudden deaths, but Mako 2's rampant nano-infestations caused
four B hits, very dangerous for next turn for Mako 2.
Player's Note:
The Selangor player's tactical logic had been to allow the Australians to
commit forces as far to their left as possible before striking their right.
Hence their remaining silent for two turns. This seemed good at the time, but
we will see that it did not work well. The Australian left flank forces were
highly mobile and easily able to redeploy, little was gained by two turns of
inactivity except to allow the powerful Australian missile platforms two more
turns of operational freedom.
Tactical Note: Medium level photon units
make good barrier guards! Tactical Errors: Australian Whiptails failed to give
cover-fire support for Super Komodo.
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Above: Turn 4, Selangor Hammerhead MGVs advance on the
Australian landing zone. The beacon marked Australian Komodo is immediately
behind the pile of black rocks in the center, with a Hammerhead and Cat scout
passing it. |
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Turn 4 Selangor won the W initiative
roll. They continued their movement around the Australian left flank, moving
quickly in their need to make up for lost time.
Selangor won the X
initiative roll. Both Mako continued fire onto the Super Komodo, further
damaging it. Sharpnose had moved over from the left flank and added its
firepower to the defense. The Hammerheads continued their concentrated fire
onto Komodo. Fortunately for the Australians the Komodo is a high quality heavy
unit and it was under cover. Thresher took a long shot at the Tokay missile
platform and inflicted two hull cells destroyed which jammed Komodo's main
weapon and reduced its speed (along with putting two large holes in the side of
the "ship").
Australia used the Y phase to move. Due to Super Komodo
engineering damage, the Australians gave up their attempt to fully clear the
left flank barriers. They instead cleared a gap just large enough for a couple
of Whiptails to fit through single file. Those went after the Makos and
Sharpnose. A third Whiptail (Whiptail 3) returned to the edge of the landing
zone to help face the oncoming Selangor heavy units. The Australian Tokay moved
into the slot adjoining the Super Komodo and took cover in the lee of the large
black rock that dominated that part of the battlefield. The Gila (the other
missile platform) also retired further back toward the far landing pods in an
attempt to keep as much distance as possible between it and the enemy heavy
units now known to be heavily equipped with kinetic weapons (kinetic weapons
work best at closest range). Basically the Australians repositioned themselves
to face and fire upon as many enemy units as possible.
Australia used
the Z phase to open fire on the entire Selangor front line. Hits were scored on
Mako 1 (Mako 2 was obviously falling off-line), Sharpnose, Thresher and
Hammerhead 1. The Gila scored a particularly good volley of missile fire
against Hammerhead 1 by doing an all-core assault against a mixed defense and
then winning the competitive die rolls. The light Sharpnose suffered a main
weapon jam and a complete loss of repair points, meaning it would be unable to
fire again for the rest of the game. It became nothing more than a spotting
vehicle - which was actually to matter in later turns despite the Selangor not
using any missile weapons in this game.
The Reset phase saw two sudden
deaths due to previous B (AI brain) hits: The Selangor Mako 2 and Australian
Super Komodo both died (Mako on a 5 roll and Super Komodo on a 6 roll). During
the recurring damage phase the Selangor Hammerhead 1 amazingly went through a
seven dice core infection roll without suffering any spreading or B hits. Lucky
vehicle. The Australian Tokay failed to clear its main weapon jam.
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Above: Two whiptail MGVs move in on the
defending Mako and Sharpnose units. Of the paired Makos at left, one has been
mostly knocked of out commission. The whiptails are concentrating on the
leftmost Mako that is halted next to the fungus tower. |
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Above: The right flank of the Selangor line on Turn 4,
showing the Whiptails and Makos (lower left) and the Super Komodo and Tokay at
center right. The Super Komodo and Tokay are both damaged, with the Tokay
attempting to gain cover next to the large rock so it can conduct repairs
without being further shot at. The blue blobs are neutralizer barriers, which
are impassable to MGVs and are able to immobilize them if they approach within
one inch. In the distant background is the Australian Komodo, damaged and
backing away from the advancing Selangor Hammerhead MGVs. |
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Turn 5 Selangor won the W initiative
roll. They chose to fire starting with the Thresher jamming Whiptail 3 which
had just come around the corner to engage oncoming Selangor bases that were
advancing on the Australian center. It was a long range jam and so only reduced
the whiptail to half speed for the turn. The Selangor Cat fired another marker
beacon onto the Komodo which was immediately fired upon by every MGV in range:
Hammerheads 1 and 2, and Thresher. The combined close range kinetic fire
devastated the Komodo, reducing its speed to 1", giving it four Mj hits (main
weapon jammed) as well as completely wrecking its payload. This put the Komodo
entirely out of commission as far as any combat actions were concerned. The
surviving Mako on the Selangor right flank managed to take another shot at the
nearby Whiptail 2, scoring some minor damage.
Selangor won the X
initiative roll. This involved a general advance by all units to engage
remaining Australian units in the center, immediately in front of the landing
zone. However both Australian missile platforms has left the area several turns
before, so there wasn't much to shoot at except the now halted Komodo and the
newly arrived Whiptail 3. On the Selangor right, Mako 1 and the Sharpnose both
advanced past the whiptails in an attempt to pass through or block the barrier
gap. They were gambling that the slightly damaged whiptails did not have
remaining speed to turn 180º and pass them (this turned out to be
incorrect, and one of them had no speed damage).
Australia used the Y
phase to move. They conducted a general adjustment of lines, with the two flank
Whiptails that had punched into enemy lines returning the way they had come,
coming to point blank range on Mako 1's "six" in the process. Whiptail 3 closed
at maximum speed onto the flank of Hammerhead 1, which was just coming into
sight from behind a pile of rocks.
Australia used the Z phase to fire
on available targets; The Gila fired its entire missile loadout onto the tiny
Cat scout unit; the Australians had gotten tired of their units being
repeatedly beacon flagged and then fired upon by the twin Hammerheads. This put
a full 14 core infestations on the small unit, which would effectively kill it
within a turn. The two returning whiptails fired into the Mako 1 rear,
effectively halting it in its tracks (so to speak). Whiptail 3 managed to get a
deep point blank shot into the side of the Hammerhead to its front, causing
moderate damage.
The Reset phase saw no sudden deaths, however the
Tokay missile platform repaired its jammed main armament and the partially
dismantled Komodo - which had by now been bypassed by the Selangor - managed to
repair two of its four Mj (weapon jam) hits. Fortunately for it, none of its
many hits were the dreaded Mk (main weapon destroyed).
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Turn 6 Australia won the W initiative
roll (finally). The two whiptails returning to the landing zone happened to
still be on Mako 1's tail and gave it a kinetic coup de grâce from point
blank range. Whiptail 3 was still on top of Hammerhead 1 and ploughed another
point blank shot into its side, good for four more damage hits. The Tokay and
Gila missile platforms (which had dispersed to prevent group losses) began
coordinating their fire onto single targets starting with Hammerhead 1. They
went for relatively easy to score hull infestations, hoping that the resulting
hits would spread to the core. They scored heavily, so it remains to be seen
whether those superficial hull infestations will take hold in time to affect
the battle.
Selangor won the X initiative roll. Given the circumstances
of Australian fire increasingly focused on the heavy units, the Selangor needed
to get those missile platforms. Hammerhead 1 turned to face down the Whiptail
on its flank (Whiptail 3), Hammerhead 2 passed it and turned into the small
canyon where Tokay was hiding next to the now knocked-out Super Komodo. The
Thresher and Cat moved forward at maximum speed to bring the Australian Gila
into line of sight. The Gila had wisely begun angling away from the center of
action while maintaining its standoff fire.
Selangor won the Y
initiative roll, so they were able to immediately open fire based on their
previous moves. The Cat and Thresher team did a spot and fire attack on Gila,
scoring twin hits with the Thresher's thermal weapon. This blew two large holes
in Gila and damaged multiple systems. Hammerhead 1 blasted the whiptail in
front of it with its main and secondary kinetics, scoring seven more damaging
hits.
Australia used the Z phase to further redeploy; Gila turned hard
left and ran behind its landing pod, hoping for cover. Tokay continued
sheltering in-place and the returning pair of whiptails passed through The
Slot, maneuvering around the knocked out Super Komodo to engage the oncoming
Selangor heavy units.
The Reset phase saw a predictable sudden death
for the Cat scouting MGV. Hammerhead 1 experienced a massive spread of the
nano-infestations along with two B (AI brain) hits. The destitute Australian
Komodo managed to affect more repairs - its speed was now up to 2" and most of
its weapon jamming events had been repaired. Game Status: As of
turn six, three MGVs are dead (Mako 2, Cat and Super Komodo), three are badly
damaged (Komodo, Mako 1 and Sharpnose). The only undamaged unit is the Selangor
Hammerhead 2 which is just rotating forward as the next front line heavy unit
for the Selangor.
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Above: The Selangor Hammerheads break into the
Australian landing zone. In the foreground is a Cat scout MGV, followed by two
Hammerheads and a Thresher bringing up the rear (this Thresher was armed with a
thermal main weapon which had a much longer range than the Hammerheads kinetic
weapons. Remember that players can choose any weapon combination they want
during game setup, so no one MGV type is locked into using a particular
armament). At left is a whiptail moving to attack the lead Hammerhead. In
middle distance is a beacon marked Australian Komodo which is badly damaged;
speed down to 1" and main weapon jammed. It barely managed to turn so it could
pass behind the enemy Hammerhead after it went by. This Komodo unit was able to
conduct some amazing repairs in the following turns and managed to re-engage -
after being passed over as "lost" by its enemies. |
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Turn 7 Selangor won the W initiative
roll. They fired again, with Hammerhead 1 taking another run at Whiptail 3
immediately to its front (the whiptail had remained, gambling it could fire
next). The "hammering" on the medium rated whiptail finally pushed it over the
edge; the point-bank kinetic attack scored crucial core hits, one of which
triggered an on-board explosion that destroyed three hull sections. This
triggered more B hits and another chain reaction explosion that further
crippled the MGV and wiped out its sensor suite. Whiptail 3 was not dead, but
it was out of the game with zero movement, main weapon almost permanently
jammed and multiple brain and power hits among its many problems. Surprisingly,
Mako 1 managed to get a shot off at the Whiptail 2's rear but missed - not bad
for a severely damaged unit. The remaining Hammerhead/Thresher team
concentrated their fire on Whiptail 1 as it came back through The Slot passing
the still sheltering Tokay, scoring the first real damage of the game on that
Australian unit.
Selangor won the X initiative roll and used it to move
on the approaching whiptails with the intent to punch through them and get to
the Tokay missile platform hiding next to them. Thresher moved forward into a
blocking position, hoping to re-acquire line-of-sight on Gila and also block
any Australian units trying to go around the hammerheads.
Australia
used the Y phase to move its two surviving whiptails forward to block forward
movement of the hammerheads. The Australian player knew one of the hammerheads
was badly infested and hoped for a sudden loss there. For the end of turn,
Australian missile platforms began a general fire onto the two remaining "mint"
enemy units; Thresher and Hammerhead 2. The game was turning into a race
against the clock - could the remaining Selangor heavy units track down and
destroy two damaged Australian missile platforms before they succumbed to
missile deployed smart corrosives? Had they moved out sooner, this might not
have become a problem, but who knows. So far it's a close game.
The
Reset phase saw two more sudden deaths due to lingering (and unrepairable) B
hits: Mako 1 and Whiptail 2 both suddenly went down (Hammerhead 1 survived its
two B hits, much to the Australian player's disappointment). Whiptail 2 had
been fighting off sudden death since early in the game when the Mako/Sharpnose
team dinged it over on the Selangor right flank.
Unfortunately for
Hammerhead 1, its onboard infestation continued to spread wildly, causing four
more B hits. This put the heavy MGV into "walking dead" status, meaning that it
would definitely stop function due to sudden AI death at the end of the next
turn. Whiptail 3 continued to suffer multiple after-effects of its thorough
pounding at the hands of Hammerhead 1, with numerous power system malfunctions
causing chain reaction failures on-board. It wasn't dead yet, but it was
obviously out of the game.
The formerly destitute Komodo managed to get
its speed up to 4" and it cleared the final jamming event that was preventing
its main weapon function. Suddenly the Komodo was back to life, able to use its
main armament and had 40% speed available! Pretty amazing for a vehicle as
smashed up as it was. It had already used its last two inches of available
movement to point back toward the main action, so who knows.
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Above: Australian whiptails return to their lines only
to discover two Selangor Hammerheads moving to meet them. The Hammerheads have
already had a long fight across the battlefield and the one at center is near
shut-down (AI death). However even at the end of their strength they remain
dangerous. Note the Australian Tokay missile platform sheltering in the lee of
the black rock. At right are the Selangor Thresher and (now dead) Cat scout
MGV. The Thresher is wisely about to turn left in pursuit of the evasive Gila
missile platform that would continue to launch damaging indirect fire
attacks. |
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Turn 8 Australia won the W initiative
roll. The two whiptails moved forward past Hammerhead 1 while the Tokay made a
run for cover behind the nearby ice formation. This involved a dash over the
top of the small ice ridge, but positioned it for a return to the theoretical
security of the rear lines (this was to prove mistaken logic). The Gila
continued its zigzag course to put as much blocking terrain between it and
anything dangerous.
Selangor won the X initiative roll and use it to
fire on the one intact enemy MGV in sight: Whiptail 2. Thresher botched its
shot but Hammerhead 2 hit it hard and knocked out numerous weapons and payload
systems. Pretty much exactly what they wanted at this point.
Australia
won the Y initiative roll. Basically everything still in the game fired at
Hammerhead 2. It put up a great missile defense by rolling awesome dice, but it
still suffered nine core and eight hull infestations which, while not
immediately disastrous was probably a bad sign for near future turns. Most
unfortunately an up-close hit by the surviving Whiptail 1 damaged the Selangor
heavy unit's main weapon with an Mj hit. To everyone's surprise the Australian
Komodo took a long range shot at the rear of Thresher from its bypassed
position back at the center of the battlefield. It missed, but still signalled
it was alive and fighting. Had the Selangor not delayed their advance, they
might have had time to dispatch Komodo completely.
Selangor used the Z
phase to try bringing Tokay into line-of-sight. Thresher pressed forward at max
speed and Hammerhead 2 followed Tokay over the ice ridge.
The Reset
phase was predictable this turn; both Hammerhead 1 and Whiptail 2 shut down due
to sudden AI death caused by their respective combat hits. Hammerhead 2's
on-board infestations started running out of control and it failed to unjam its
main kinetic weapon.
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Above: Overhead view nearing end of the game. At lower
right, the two surviving whiptails are moving past the knocked-out Hammerhead
1. At upper center Hammerhead 2 has the Tokay cornered and the Thresher is off
to the left making sure it keeps an eye on things. At upper right the (until
now) ignored Sharpnose is coming back into play in the role of
spotter. |
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Turn 9 The Selangor are obviously
running out of time. They must kill off both Tokay and Gila before their heavy
units are systematically run down by onboard nano-infestations.
Australia won the W initiative roll and used it to follow the Selangor units
with their surviving whiptails and to a lesser degree the surviving Komodo
(amazing). The Tokay continued its run by racing past Hammerhead 2 in the
direction of the Gila's cover. As noted before, the Tokay would probably have
been better off staying where it was.
Selangor won the X initiative
roll and used it to turn and follow Tokay, with Thresher in pursuit of the
Gila. Almost everything else was dead.
The next initiative roll was
important for obvious reasons; it decided who got to fire next during a crucial
pursuit turn.
Australia won the Y initiative roll, the MGVs split their
fire between Hammerhead 2 and the Thresher. Komodo managed a long range hit on
Hammerhead 2 that destroyed one hull section, but both Selangor units conducted
well organized dice defenses against incoming missile attacks. Some hits were
scored but nothing major in addition to what was already there (which was bad
enough to be real about it).
Now the awkward truth; Hammerhead 2 was
on Tokay's tail and its main weapon was still jammed! Thresher was moving away
but still in line-of-sight, so it took a full shot at Tokay and crunched it
with two hull destructs, one of which triggered some serious internal damage
including complete destruction of Tokay's main battery. So; chalk one
Australian missile platform down.
The Reset phase saw the end of
Whiptail 3's lingering demise. Komodo again survived the sudden death die roll
check for its (unrepairable) brain hit. Hammerhead 2's many infestation hits
finally ran out of control and got into the core, triggering a deadly five
brain hits. This meant sure death next turn. Komodo is now back up to half
speed!
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Above: In foreground, the Thresher (right) catches up
with the Gila (left). In the background, some of the final MGV positions at the
end of the game. |
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Turn 10 Selangor won the W initiative
roll. The Thresher finally ran down the Gila and got within line-of-sight (Cat
was dead, so Thresher was doing its own spotting). Hammerhead 2 turned to face
off against the two remaining damaged Australian MGVs. Sharpnose completed its
race from the rear lines (where it had followed the two enemy whiptails through
The Slot) and moved past the surviving hammerhead, mainly to aid as general
spotter just in case.
Australia won the W initiative roll. The Gila
attempted to run over a rock pile into cover, but was spotted by the Sharpnose
so... no cover.
Australia won the Y initiative roll. The Gila opened
fire on the pursuing Thresher and scored more infestation hits. The Thresher
was running out of time. Whiptail 1 took a rear shot at the pesky Sharpnose
spotter, causing some damage but nothing crippling (it's main weapon was
already gone).
So, down to the wire; the Thresher took an "over the
rocks" shot at Gila and scored two hull destructs, but all the damage was to
speed and defense value, nothing to kill it or shut down its weapons.
Hammerhead 2's last shot of the game was using its secondary kinetic weapon to
bang on Whiptail 1 at close range. It was a deep strike and put a B hit on the
Australian MGV.
The Reset phase saw the inevitable death of the heavily
infested Hammerhead 2. Thresher finally lost control of its massive hull and
core infestations and racked up six B hits; one turn left to live.
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Above: Final MGV positions around the Australian
landing zone, black spikes mark dead units. In the foreground is the
withdrawing Selangor Sharpnose. |
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Turn 11 Selangor won the W initiative
roll so the players are seeing how the last shot of the game goes; will
Thresher kill the Gila or at least knock out its heavy weapons? It fired and
scored another two hull destruction hits on the Australian missile platform.
Rolling for actual damage, the hits "only" reduced the Gila's speed to 1" so,
nothing deadly, the Gila survives.
The only other movement was the
Selangor's Sharpnose unit moving off the board, sole survivor of the forces
tasked with repelling the Australian landing. The Australians were left with
only three very badly damaged units, two of which were unlikely to survive more
than a few more turns on their own. End of game!
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Post game notes and tactical
pointers:
The game started off with the Selangor attempting to bait the
Australians against their barrier line. But, upon seeing that the Australians
had chosen to aggressively use missiles, they should have forcefully used their
own very powerful kinetic attack units to immediately hunt down and cripple or
destroy those MGVs. The units they were trying to bait onto the barrier line
were all highly mobile in any case.
The Australians made a mistake by
stranding valuable assets against a defense line protected by (apparently)
lethal photon armed MGVs and leaving their right flank effectively open (one
Komodo was not nearly enough to stop three heavy enemy MGVs). They lucked out
in that the Selangor delayed moving forward, which allowed time for the
Australians to realize their mistake. Even then, they broke up their fast
attack group which was risky but ultimately carried no major penalties.
Tactical pointers: If you end up facing an enemy who is aggressively using
missiles, you must harass and/or hunt down those MGVs from the very start. If
you end up facing an enemy who is aggressively using kinetic weapons, you need
to keep them at a distance as much as possible. Photon weapons are a good
armament for lighter MGVs due to their ability to score damaging hits against
more heavily protected units, although they require some skill to use against
moving targets. By no great surprise, combined arms forces seem to garner the
greatest benefits.
Weapon and payload selection: It is always best to
have at least one unit with an engineering module and another unit with a
repair module. I have not yet seen what happens if someone makes a payload
platform like Tokay into a giant repair station, but its effects could be
impressive - if it can be protected!
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