More Like AC-130
I’m only several months behind on writing about this tournament at Mindtaker Miniatures…
Check ’em out, they buy and sell used minis and such all the time, and you don’t have to be local to do it! Here’s all the tables!
Pete (Exile) was running the tournament and for absolutely no reason, Steve (KingButt) and I were “randomly” paired up on the ice Strompost Alpha table.
I had two pretty awful losses against Steve leading up to this tournament, but I knew I could give him a good fight if I was in the right mindset.
I showed up to this tournament in a pretty neutral, blank-slate sort of mental state. I was going to play the best game I could for all three games, and focus on fundamentals and careful execution. Just play a good, clean game, and give myself the space to reassess and stop lines of play that I thought weren’t going to pan out instead of committing like I have been.
Overview
- Mission: ITS14 Looting and Sabotaging
- Forces: Druze Bayram Security versus Kosmoflot (300)
- Deploy First: Kosmoflot
- First Turn: Kosmoflot
I took the list that I had played against James:
Looting and Sabotaging v3
GROUP 1
8
BRAWLER (Lieutenant) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
CLIPPER DRONBOT Missile Launcher / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1.5 | 16)
AÏDA SWANSON FTO (Minelayer) Submachine Gun, Viral Mines / Viral Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
DRUZE (Mimetism [-3]) MULTI Sniper Rifle, Chain-colt / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 31)
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MULTI Rifle(+1B), Chain-colt / Heavy Pistol, DA CC Weapon, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 35)
GROUP 2
SAITO TOGAN (Specialist Operative) Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 37)
1
PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
ARMAND (Multispectral Visor L1) MULTI Sniper Rifle, Nanopulser ( ) / Breaker Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 39)
HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 18)
5 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
Steve took a list that was very similar to the list he took against me. Volkolak ML and then the UKR haris. Some shuffling to allow for Looting and Sabotaging with the addition of Uxia and Irmandinhos, but the core of the list is well, that core and the haris.
Steve (KingButt)
GROUP 12
WALLACE (Lieutenant) T2 Rifle(+1 Dam), Light Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 35)
VOLKOLAK Missile Launcher, Chain-colt(+1B), Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (1.5 | 40)
ROKOT Submachine Gun, Grenades, D-Charges / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 9)
UXÍA McNEILL (Specialist Operative) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol(+1B), AP CC Weapon. (0 | 27)
IRMANDINHO Chain Rifle, D-Charges, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
BEARPODE Heavy Shotgun(+1 Dam), Smoke Grenades / AP CC Weapon, Trench-Hammer. (0 | 31)
GROUP 2
POLARIS BEARPODE Chain Rifle(+1 Dam, +1B), Grenades, Smoke Grenades / AP CC Weapon, Trench-Hammer. (0 | 23)
UNKNOWN RANGER AP Spitfire, Chain-colt / Heavy Pistol, T2 CC Weapon. (1 | 47)
PATCHER Vulkan Shotgun(+1B), Akrylat-Kanone / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 27)
VARANGIAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 9)
2.5 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess is the motto here.
Deployment
Steve won the roll off and elected to go first. I chose the side that I thought would be a little more defensible in terms of preserving my order pool. Steve castled his Volkolak link on the left with only the missile left out to fight, and then actually put Uxia right next to the AC2 to deny me mine placement options.
The Unknown Ranger and crew ended up on my left behind a barricade, and then the Irmandinhos sort of protected the AC2. One Bearpode was on the left with the Rokots as well, and the last Bearpode was Steve’s reserve. Steve really only has two guns, the Unknown Ranger and the Volkolak.
I decided to make him work for it and set up the Clipper at the back of my deployment zone on a building, covering a lot of the board but not in a place that the Volkolak could really challenge it without really being out of position. The two Brawlers ended up in places near the AC2, the Lieutenant in a spot where I could at least dodge templates from the Bears but probably deny base to base, and the other in a spot to cover the AC2 with hacking.
I tuck the Fugazi into annoying spots that will takes some work to get to. They can’t stop a Bear but they can contest smoke rolls still. The Druze link parks on the right cluster of buildings with Aida near the AC2 to put her mine exactly opposite Uxia. I can’t put the mine in a spot where it would trigger on Uxia, but the moment she moves anywhere it will go off. I then protect my backfield with Wolfgang and the Druze KHD, and also protect them from getting shot to pieces. I set the Hunzakut up to attack the UKR’s link on the left, and then it was time for reserves.
Steve plunked his second Bear on the table, so I set up Le Muet to watch both that bear and Uxia on the AC2.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – Kosmoflot
I didn’t really have an option for dealing with Uxia safely. She was going to be able to hit the AC2 once and while Le Muet would get a shot, there wasn’t much else I could do about it. I had considered leaving more stuff out to ARO against her, but that would just be an opportunity for Steve to hunt down those things with the UKR before doing something about Uxia.
I figured the gameplan would be to take safe AROs like hacking and dodging into view when the position was favorable, and just rely on the AC2’s general tankiness. I then could work on stacking points up to have a close win or a tie. To this end, I took two orders from the UKR’s group and we were off.
Steve started off by canceling all his impetuous orders as everything impetuous was watched by some sort of ARO. To give himself some options, he started by setting up smoke with the Varangian to block LoF to the Clipper and Druze MSR.
This allowed the UKR to challenge Le Muet by peeking just above the ladder to see only Le Muet. Le Muet unfortunately takes a wound and I drop him prone to keep him around as an attack piece on my turn and to preserve the order.
Steve continues to try and dismantle my ARO presence by sending the Volkolak against the Druze MSR. It’s just 2 on 12s for both of us, and the dice favor me, doing a wound to the Volkolak.
Steve retreats the Volkolak into cover with a Guts fail and then tries to take it out of NWI with the nearby Volkolak Paramedic.
This goes as you might expect, and the Volkolak is off the table!
I’ll take it! Uxia then makes her play on the AC2 and manages to roll a 3, which means the AC2 zaps her! I get a spotlight off and Aida dodges into view to threaten a viral pistol shot. Uxia is effectively stuck there at this point, what with the mine and everything else.
After shifting some units around to places of relative safety, Steve passes turn.
Bottom of 1 – Druze
I’m doing relatively okay now. Steve’s list relies heavily on the Volkolak and Unknown Ranger to get him out of his deployment zone. The Volkolak is down, which means it’s time to address the Unknown Ranger.
There’s plenty of smoke in Steve’s list to help with mobility, but it’s pretty order intensive and I have multiple long range threats that over multiple avenues of approach. That will require potentially multiple smoke throws. Uxia failing to do any damage to the AC2 is amazing and very lucky, so I need to capitalize on my good luck and push very hard on tipping the scales in my favor.
I start by using a tac aware order to try and take out Uxia, but she passes her dodge, remaining in place to avoid setting off the mine on the next order.
Le Muet stands up and conclusively settles the issue of Uxia’s fate with a DA round.
The Hunzakut is in exactly the right place to deal with the Unknown Ranger and his Haris so I send her in. Unfortunately I get discovered by an Irmandinho on the way in so I don’t get surprise, but I manage to make it into position.
Now that HVTs ignore templates, that lets me drop double shotgun templates across everyone. I manage to do a wound to the Varangian, but the Patcher dodges into close combat.
While I consider my options, I bring in a breaker pistol Bashi and make a run on the Rokot link and bear. I have to get past an Irmandiho, which successfully smokes me out. I’d have preferred to take it out, but smoke is also fine.
This lets me get where I need to be with the Bashi, although I do grant a ton of dodges.
I lose the Bashi to the Bear’s chain rifle, but I manage to do two wounds, dropping it unconscious. Steve decides to forgo Dogged to let the Paramedic pick up the bear next turn.
I return my attention to the Unknown Ranger’s haris and declare CC attack against the Patcher, doing two wounds and dropping it unconscious.
With the Patcher down, I drop another pair of templates on the remaining two haris members, but succeed only in getting the Varangian into close combat when it dodges.
I swing again, hoping the Varangian will paste the Hunzakut off the table, letting me missile it and the nearby Unknown Ranger. Unfortunately, it only does one wound, so I’m forced to fire a hit mode missile at the Varangian from the linked Clipper, deleting it. Definitely way more resources than I had hoped it would take, and the job’s still not done. I wonder if I should have just worked my way down the line firing slugs at each model in turn–perhaps I got greedy.
I do see an Irmandinho in the open, so I smack it with a missile in template mode, catching the Bearpode nearby. It fires back with its MSR to no avail. I paste it and do a wound to the Bearpode standing nearby.
I’m out of orders to fix the Clipper’s positioning, but I’m not worried about missile templates anymore. I still have the Unknown Ranger to deal with, but I’ve downed one bear and wounded the other. Now I just have to weather the next turn and then I can make my run with Saito. I set up a Viral Mine with Aida and pass turn.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – Kosmoflot
One of the downsides of the Infinity Army web app is that I can’t remove just the Bearpode from the controller/bear pair, so there’s still a 9 point controller in group 2 generating an order for Steve. Someone walks by our table at this point and asks how our game is going. Steve regales our spectator with the story of killing his own Volkolak and the loss of most of his Haris, but announces that he’s not worried and he’ll figure something out this turn.
After Steve gets some impetuous smoke down, Nuffle (the god of Blood Bowl dice) gives me a missile hit on the Unknown Ranger on Steve’s first order, deleting the poor Ariadnan super-soldier.
Steve’s luck turns with a successful Paramedic heal of his downed Bear though, so that’s good for him at least!
Steve then spends most of his turn getting one of the bears into view of the AC2 and Berserks it through all my AROs. The Bear vaporizes, fails to do any damage to the AC2, and to add insult to injury, gets zapped by the AC2.
With that, the game is now mine to lose.
Bottom of 2 – Druze
It’s time to make the run. I force Steve to throw smoke with his Irmandinho using a Pathfinder’s Tac Aware.
This lets Le Muet hop off his building and start shooting things through smoke–like aforementioned Irmandinho.
Saito grabs D-Charges out of the Panoply and starts his run.
I get smoke down on the AC2 and take it out in two orders.
Le Muet grabs Net Undermine, and then it’s back to Steve.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – Kosmoflot
Steve takes out Saito with a single order to let the bear do its thing, which is disappointing, but oh well.
The other bear makes a push, rolls a 1 for smoke and disappears.
Steve’s got one last chance to get points on the board, and that’s via classifieds. He can go pick up one of his downed Haris with Wallace, so he tries. Le Muet respectfully declines to cooperate with this venture and is unfortunately for Wallace outside 16″.
Steve picks up his downed Irmandinho with his Rokot Paramedic, then passes turn over to me.
Bottom of 3 – Druze
Steve’s still got a controller alive for 9 points, but I’m limited by the Army tool so I can’t show it.
We call the game here so we don’t have to go through me grabbing the Panoply stuff and making my way across the table to take on the Rokots. We decide that I can easily kill the Irmandinho on the way to the Panoply and grab something with my Pathfinder, so that’s the end state we close it out at.
That makes it a
10-0, 245-45 Druze Bayram Security Victory!
Post Game Analysis
Well, this game was won for me by the AC130.
Really all this game boiled down to was I left about 1.5 windows for Steve to exploit. He had a good chance to take out the AC2 with Uxia, and there’s really nothing I could do about it. After that, he had one chance to swing on the AC2 with the first bear (not really the second), and then the windows were closed.
The first window with Uxia was much wider than the one I left the first bear. He could have swung probably twice on it, mostly because I was worried about putting stuff out to ARO on Uxia and losing orders. I probably should have been more aggressive there–Steve was obviously willing to throw her under the bus for points, and she was probably his best option to.
Really I’m somewhat disappointed in my lack of aggression in my deployment this game in that particular sense. I had plenty of AROs out to Steve’s guns but not out to Uxia. Still, disappointment aside, once I closed the windows that was game.
If we were to take a first order look at this game, one could easily argue: “oh you won the game because Steve rolled like shit on the AC2, you didn’t deserve it.” There’s truth to that–I did leave a window open. However, there was realistically only 1, maybe 1.5 windows open, and I was able to remove or degrade a lot of Steve’s options to efficiently project power across the board.
Steve’s list is very strong, but only if it doesn’t degrade significantly. It relies very much on smoke, which also relies on orders. Chaining smoke across the board is so expensive, and doubly so with Le Muet still alive. In short, yes, I got lucky. I capitalized on that luck, correctly prioritized threats, and contained what I couldn’t neutralize. Being consistent and careful allowed me to turn a mistake into a victory. Thanks for reading.
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