It’s been a while, I apologise but decorating, Christmas shopping etc got in the way of playing games 😦
Bravo Golf Niner inbound to location Papa Mike Four Four, ten clicks out over.
Roger that Bravo Golf Niner. Be advised eyes in the sky have picked up enemy heat signatures converging on that location over.
Understood. Bravo Golf Niner out.
It is the second of three missions in the ‘Recon’ mini campaign and after a UCM victory in Lightning Strike last time out I’m playing the Recon mission from the main rulebook. Whereas the previous mission used the forces straight out of the starter box, both sides have since added to their inventory. Points wise though it is still classed as a Skirmish sized battle.
Scourge 661pts
Armour Battlegroup 146pts
Hunter Squad (3) (105pts) Marauder (41pts)
Infantry Battlegroup 237pts
Warrior Horde (3) (81pts) Invader (17pts)
Warrior Horde (3) (81pts) Invader (17pts) Marauder (41pts)
Special Battlegroup 278pts
Prowler Squad (8) (72pts) Intruder B (2) (48pts)
Reaper Squad (3) (117pts) Marauder (41pts)
UCM 637pts
Armour Battlegroup 308pts
Sabre Squad (3) (111pts) Condor (41pts)
Rapier Squad (3) (135pts) Condor (41pts)
Infantry Battlegroup 219pts
Legionnaire Squad (3) (78pts) Bear (16pts)
Legionnaire Squad (3) (78pts) Bear (16pts) Condor (41pts)
Special Battlegroup 80pts
Falcon Squad (2) (80pts)
I randomly rolled for the number of buildings, the set-up suggests between 5 and 10 so I rolled 1d6+4 and got 9 which I placed as evenly as possible on the board. I then rolled for table edges and started to think of a plan for the UCM. (The Scourge would be controlled using my new solo rules).
With the objective of the mission being to collect as much intel as possible and with all the intel in buildings it meant that only the infantry units could score points. Therefore, I would need to use my Armour and Special battlegroups to ensure that the infantry could carry out their task as unmolested as possible. With this in mind I decided that my flight of Falcons would patrol down that long clear highway on my right flank whilst the Sabres and Rapiers of my Armour group would set up a perimeter in the large park in the centre of the town.
Turn 1
The UCM win the initiative and move first meanwhile I randomly determine in which order the Scourge battlegroups are activated and then roll for their orders as they come on the board. The Armour battlegroup is to advance and hold the highway on the left flank (marked A on the map). The Infantry battlegroup is to advance and hold the two buildings on the right flank (B on the map). Meanwhile the Special battlegroup is to move down the left flank and engage and destroy any targets of opportunity.
There is no combat this turn with all units either out of range or out of sight of the enemy however, both sides manage to get troops into buildings with which they can begin searching for intel next turn.
Victory Points UCM = 0 Scourge = 0
Turn 2
Scourge win initiative and push cautiously down the left flank with the Reapers, wary of the two Falcons hovering at the other end of the highway. Meanwhile the speed of the Intruder dropships allows them to get behind the cover of one of the buildings overlooking the park where they drop off their Prowlers to protect their flank should any UCM come from the centre of the map. The Hunter squad is pushed up behind the Reapers should they need any direct fire support.
The UCM Armoured battlegroup fly into the park area and drop the Sabre and Rapier squads and establish a perimeter behind which the infantry can search for intel in relative safety…at least that’s the plan.
Unfortunately, whilst searching one of the buildings the UCM infantry set off a booby trap and take casualties from falling masonry. The Scourge infantry on the other hand do a much better job at finding things, not only do they not get blown up, but the intel turns out to be an objective (probably a UCM agent or perhaps a Resistance contact). So not only do they get a victory point for finding it, if they can get it offboard safely they get a further two. The objective is promptly bundled into the waiting Invader which starts to head for the table edge.
Victory Points UCM = 0 Scourge = 1
Turn 3
The Scourge win the initiative again this turn and promptly carry their objective off the board for 2 victory points. With the Invader off the map for the moment (it requires a die roll to get it back on starting from next turn) it does leave its attached infantry pretty much stranded due to their low movement value. Hopefully this won’t turn out to be an issue.
First blood goes to the UCM with the Falcons firing on the advancing Reapers thanks to their better ranged weapons.
The UCM infantry which set off the booby trap last turn aren’t have any better luck this turn either. Having ran across an alleyway to a neighbouring building to start searching for intel they find the structure under fire from Scourge Intruders and more falling masonry removes one base of troops.
Meanwhile, not happy at being fired on earlier the Scourge Reapers accelerate towards the Falcons to get them in range of their Arc Casters. They take down one but completely miss the second, unbelievable really when they only need a 2+ to hit!
In the centre of the table around the park, the UCM Sabres and Rapiers begin to target the Prowlers and their dropships.
Despite the building they are in coming under more fire, this time from the Hunter squad on the highway, the UCM infantry on the right flank discover an objective for 1 victory point and carry it out of the building in preparation for taking it off the board.
Victory Points UCM = 1 Scourge = 3
Turn 4
Scourge get the initiative again! On the UCM right flank the Reapers take down the second Falcon before it can escape and begin to move into the UCM rear. In the middle, two Scourge Prowlers leap out of cover towards the UCM line and destroy a Rapier by injecting hot plasma into its crew compartment…nice. The others scurry towards the Sabres.
But the tanks make short work of the lightly armoured walkers.
On their own right flank the Scourge Infantry discover some useful Intel for 1 victory point then jump back in their transport and head towards the centre building overlooking the park, being careful to stay out of LOS of the Sabres.
Lastly the UCM Infantry and their objective are succesfuly extracted off-table for 2 victory points. Plus the second infantry squad uncovers some intel of their own for a further victory point. Just when it looked like the Scourge were running away with it a fantastic round points wise for the UCM!
Victory Points UCM = 4 Scourge = 4
Turn 5
Guess who wins the initiative this turn…that’s right the Scourge again. And I’m not even using commanders which give bonuses to the die roll.
So moving first the Scourge Reapers get round the back of the UCM line and shoot down one of the Condors loitering above the park.
At the same time the remaining Prowlers launch a desperate charge against the Sabres in the middle. Incredibly they miss…from this range…seriously?? Suffice to say the little dude didn’t last long after this. Neither did the two Reapers in the back field who were finished off by a combination of Sabre and Rapier fire.
With one of the Infantry squads off the table it was down to the second squad, who up to now had been trundling along in their APC happy as Larry (whoever he is) to search for intel. With the scores as close as they are (see below) it was crucial for both sides to get a successful search action in the last turn.
Victory Points UCM = 4 Scourge = 4
Turn 6
Well that’s a turn up for the books, the UCM get the initiative this turn and straight away activate the infantry squad in the building and look for intel… Bugger, another booby trap. No casualties but with no chance of getting anymore victory points it looked like the Scourge could win this.
In the centre the Scourge move their Hunters up and take on the UCM Sabres in the park. Losses on both sides but the result is inconclusive as the game draws to an end.
So it’s time for the Scourge Infantry to make a roll on the Intel table to see what they discover, it’s the last minute of the match the ball goes long/it’s a drop goal/it’s a penalty (delete as appropriate) and…well, well, well. They get a booby trap too. Nil points.
With the game tied at 4 victory points each I’ll need to total the points value of destroyed units to determine the winner, but before I do what did I learn from the game?
First of all Prowlers should not charge tanks. They might work better on a table with more scatter terrain but either way I need to use them more carefully in the future. I also overestimated the strength/ability of the Falcon gunships. I expected them to be able to sew up that right flank given the long, clear field of fire they had. That they didn’t and were taken down pretty quickly was my fault for leaving them hanging out there. I wonder if a larger squad of 4 ships would be better?
I was pleased with the way I used the infantry on both sides to rapidly embark/disembark and jump in and out of buildings. It was good practice and by the last turn I even managed not to need to refer to the rule book whilst doing so!
I think the AI rules worked well overall and the random Scourge entry point and activation/orders meant as the UCM player I could not consciously or subconsciously adjust my plans against them. I’m not completely sure about the orders though. Although they worked in this game, I can see occasions when a battlegroup or unit may be denied an obvious point scoring opportunity because of wrong orders, something that a human player would not ignore. I might need to play with a caveat that orders can be ignored if such an opportunity presents itself.
So to the final scores…
Destroyed UCM units 1 x Sabre, 1 x Rapier, 1 x Condor, 2 x Falcon, 1 x Infantry base = 229pts
Destroyed Scourge Units 3 x Reaper, 1 x Hunter, 1 x Intruder, 8 x Prowler = 248pts
Wow, that was close as well. The UCM win by 19 points. So that’s two victories to the UCM in this mini campaign, can they make it a clean sweep in the last mission?
Forlorn Hope 