Avatar of Secrets

It’s time for Game 3 of the SpecOps tournament at Mindtaker!

The Right Fusilier

If you can believe it (I barely can) this table is scratchbuilt by Justice, one of the locals up near Mindtaker. What a fantastic table! Lots of variation in height, fun buildings, neat cubbies to hide in, that sort of thing.

Overview

• Mission: ITS14 Supplies
• Forces: Yu Jing versus Combined Army (300)
• Deploy First: Combined Army
• First Turn: Combined Army

I’m just recycling my list from the last game, as it’s designed for both Capture and Protect and Supplies.

C&P Supplies v3

---

GROUP 1 8 1 3

CELESTIAL GUARD Monitor Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenade Launcher / CC Weapon, Pistol. (0.5 | 13)
KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 5)
KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 5)
KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 5)
ZHANSHI (Infinity Spec-Ops) [i](Holomask, Minelayer)[/i] Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)

KOKRAM FTO MULTI Rifle(+1 Dam), Chain-colt, D-Charges / Heavy Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (0 | 36)
SÙ-JIÀN Heavy Shotgun(+1B), Panzerfaust / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 50)

LÉI GŌNG Shock Marksman Rifle, Nanopulser, Blitzen / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 34)
BEASTHUNTERS (Surprise Attack [-3], Camouflage, Forward Deployment [+8″]) Heavy Flamethrower, Panzerfaust, AP Mines / EXP CC Weapon(+1B), Pistol. (0 | 17)

GROUP 2 4 2

DĀOYĪNG (Lieutenant [+1 Order], Minelayer) MULTI Sniper Rifle, Shock Mines / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 34)
MAJOR LUNAH VIRAL Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 29)
WÈIBĪNG Yaókòng Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
TIGER SOLDIER Spitfire / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 34)
LIBERTO (Minelayer) Light Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 8)
WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse ( ) / Stun Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

---

5.5 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code

Cody is running an Avatar list which is pretty fun. Aside from the Avatar, it’s got a Q-Drone and Yaogat sniper for guns. For objectives, it has a Dartok, Dr. Worm, and double M-Drones, and a pair of Daturazi for good measure.

Cody (Globemaster)

---

AVATAR (Lieutenant [+1 Order, +1 Command Token]) MULTI Heavy Machine Gun, Sepsitor Plus / DA CC Weapon. (3 | 126)
STALDRON Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 0)
Q-DRONE Plasma Rifle / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1 | 24)
YAOGAT MULTI Sniper Rifle(+1B) / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 35)
DARTOK (Hacker) Submachine Gun, Pitcher / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 21)
MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit, MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 22)
SLAVE DRONE PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
M-DRONE Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 16)
M-DRONE Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 16)
DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle(+1B), Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle(+1B), Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) Light Flamethrower(+1B), Flash Pulse / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 9)

---

10 1 2 | 6 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code

Deployment

I asked what Cody’s target WIP was for his Lieutenant roll, and got the answer I was looking for. Ruh roh. He won the rolloff and chose first, so I chose side, figuring I’d give him the side with less places hide the Avatar. One of the very nice things that I found out quickly was that Cody’s list didn’t have much in the way of board control. If he wanted to put stuff in the midfield, it was going to cost him orders.

Not much to say about the deployment, most of it is what you’d expect. The things he had two copies of went on either side of the table, and then Dr. Worm and the Dartok were on the right. He was careful about AD troops coming on near his board edge, at least at deployment time. He held back the Yaogat and the Avatar. I was sure the Avatar was going tto go down behind the big building where his Ikadron was.

I was wrong, but only marginally. I set up to counter that general positioning, at least. The most important thing was to set up the mines in places that seemed sane to put Lunah or other camo AROs. I briefly considered putting the Daoying on the opposite side from the Avatar, as I was worried about a all-in rush and sepistor attack.

Eventually I decided that if that was Cody’s plan, I was probably doomed anyway. Anything I set up to delay the Avatar was going to die, or if I didn’t delay it, I was going to get a bunch of stuff Sepsitorized. I decided to just deploy some things to delay it and hope that I could stall it for long enough to be able to attack its order pool on the following turn. It was going to be pretty dangerous no matter what.

I put the Beasthunter on a roof on the left, figuring that I should keep the Beasthunter far away from the Avatar so I could at least keep it alive to attack later. Lunah set up a diagonal shot to the Avatar’s approach, and the Daoying set up a mine pretending to be Lunah. I feinted a hacker by putting the Weibing near “Lunah,” i.e. the mine, and then bubble wrapped the area with a CSU, Kuang Shi, and a Libertos and its mine.

I knew that if I gave the Avatar the Su Jian to shoot at, I’d lose the Su Jian, so I tucked it and Krit on the left. The SpecOps parked near the Su Jian, diguised as a Kuang Shi and put a “Hundun” up on the building watching a good portion of the table.

The Avatar came down near where I expected, and the Yaogat was in the middle of the deployment zone behind the train. I put Lei Gong on the roof near the Beasthunter to ARO Blitzen the Avatar and backup Lunah.

Turn 1

Top of 1 – Combined Army

Cody has 4 orders from the Avatar, 2 impetuous, 9 regular orders, 2 tac aware on the M-Drones, and a CSU. Holy shit. I take away two orders with a command token, take a deep breath, and say: “good luck, sir!”

Masquerading the mines as ARO presence were enough to get Cody to forgo the Daturazi’s impetuous orders, which is a huge coup for me. Now it’s just The Avatar then peeks out to see the “Hundun” near the SpecOps. Even with 17 WIP, range, cover, camo stacks to bring that down to 8, and Cody hit double digits, failing the roll. Well I cannot complain about that!

Cody moves the Avatar into the open in front of the Daoying’s “Lunah” and asks for AROs. I decline, citing the abject stupidity of revealing just about anything to an active-turn Avatar. Cody again fails the discover! Great success!

Cody makes an excellent decision and tells me that he’s just going to score points if I’m going to hide. Dr. Worm slithers forward, cautious moves past the Su Jian/Lunah’s ARO, and snags a classified off my HVT.

The M-Drone scuttles forward and grabs a box out of the leftmost (my perspective) Tech Coffin, and posts up in cover, daring me to engage.

He command tokens a bunch of units forward and throws them into suppression, including the Avatar, and passes turn.

Bottom of 1 – Yu Jing

Well, I have done the impossible. I’ve survived 10 orders of Avatar and taken zero casualties. I’ve got a bunch of stuff advanced into the midfield to contend with now, including the Avatar itself, but at least I have full order pools.

My only objective this turn is to kill orders. I’m going to ignore the Avatar, and just hit its order pool. If I can score some points while I’m at it, great! One of my classifieds is Predator, so I send in the Beasthunter. Unfortunately for me, the M-Drone discovers it while Dr Worm delays.

I decide not to chance it and send Lei Gong in to take out the M-Drone.

This lets me roll the Beasthunter in and CC Dr. Worm off the table.

Getting Lei Gong into position will take too many orders, so I bring the Tiger on and shoot the Dartok in the back. not very sporting, but it’s an order off the table.

I catch the Q-Drone at 18″ away–good for Heavy Gear, bad for Infinity. The Q-Drone dies to the Tiger as well.

I try to take out a Daturazi for “free” with the CSU’s order, but it beats me with smoke.

I use the opportunity to drop a mine covering it with the Libertos, and then reveal the Daoying and take out the remaining M-drone.

I set everyone back up in cover, and pass turn.

Turn 2

Top of 2 – Combined Army

I’ve killed 5 orders, which is somehow not enough as the Avatar still has 7 orders, not including the CSU’s order. I have at the very least created some problems for Cody to solve. Cody is still respecting the mines as real threats, and now with an actual mine in his face, courtesy of the Libertos, he cancels all his impetuous orders. He does activate the threatened Daturazi though, dodging it to safety and detonating the mine. I use this to let the Libertos dodge towards the Avatar, hoping to buy some precious time.

Cody decides that the most pressing issue is the Beasthunter and the Tiger, which I have conveniently lined up for him. I’m not sure I agree with the threat prioritization, but it’s certainly a tempting target and will help preserve his order pool for the next turn. I think just rampaging forward with the Avatar is still the right call. In any case, he rushes the Daturazi acros the table and chain rifles the Beasthunter and Tiger, who both successfully dodge. I am, however, forced to reveal Lunah and burn one of the Su Jian’s panzerfausts to guarantee the kill. I’m glad I did both, because the Su Jian misses. Lunah comes through for me and deletes the Daturazi, though.

The Avatar exacts revenge on Lunah. There’s not much I can do about this, this was a conscious decision by me to give up Lunah to both stop the Daturazi from trying again and to drain maybe 1-2 orders from the Avatar. I drain 1, which is fine.

Bottom of 2 – Yu Jing

Okay. I’m in absolutely no danger of putting Cody in retreat, so I don’t have to exercise restraint. The Tiger first bullies the CSU into cover.

Burst 4 is a helluva drug, as Chainsaw would say, and the Tiger easily aces the Yaogat.

I snag Predator by coup de gracing the Dartok…

then the Tiger finishes off the CSU.

I spend some group 1 orders getting the extra point from Predator with the Beasthunter off the nearby M-Drone and get the box it was carrying too.

The rest of my orders are spent getting Lei Gong behind the Avatar, who is in suppression, and successfully landing a Blitzen, which would seal the game. Unfortunately, the Avatar passes its BTS saves, and it’s back to Cody.

Turn 3

Top of 3 – Combined Army

Ridiculous. Cody still has 7 orders. The Daturazi actually advances with its impetuous ordre and the Avatar does what it was designed to do. It easily punks Lei Gong even just walking into the open and with Lei Gong’s MSV1. I take the opportunity to put down a mine covering it with the Libertos. I have no illusions about it doing any damage, to the Avatar. To the specialist bot that pops out though…

The Avatar kills the Libertos and of course easily tanks the mine, but this means it only has enough orders hope out the ‘bot grab the nearest supply box, and hop back in.

Bottom of 3 – Yu Jing

Okay. My Beasthunter has a supply box and the Avatar has a supply box. I’ve got Predator with 2 points, and Cody has 1 classified. I could call it here, but we gotta rack up all the points! I start with the free stuff. The Warcor walks into the open and successfully flash pulses the Daturazi, somehow avoiding the Avatar’s unopposed return fire.

The Celestial Guard lands smoke just in front of the Avatar, and then it’s time to send in Krit and the Su Jian.

It takes both NCO orders, but eventually takes out the stunned Daturazi.

Krit grabs a second box, but I’ve still got orders.

I dump the remainder of the orders into the Su Jian, just templating the Avatar with heavy shotgun blasts. I eventually take it down, tanking not one but two EXP rounds, passing 4/6 saves!

I’ve got a second combat group full of orders, so the Weibing just scrabbles into position and takes the box off the Avatar, and that’s game.

10-1, 269-9 Yu Jing Victory!

Post Game Analysis

Well, that went about as perfectly as I could have hoped on the first turn. I think I got quite lucky that Cody didn’t just read my bluffs and slam the Avatar into my deployment zone. He could also have just spend his entire turn grabbing boxes with M-Drones and then castling to force me to cross the table, dealing with both a Q-Drone and an Avatar in suppression.

That, coupled with a relentless focus on attacking Cody’s order pool carried the day. The Tiger really carried the day here, he took out a full four orders on his own and got me a classified. He was also enough of a threat to force Cody to sacrifice a Datuarzi and most of his second turn to attempt to remove him. I think that was really where things went south for Cody–yes, he was in dire straits, but there was a window to get boxes, even with the Avatar, that would really have made it difficult for me to retrieve the them.

To his credit, Cody kept up inexorable pressure with the Avatar the whole game, just systematically and carefully advancing it across the table, always leaving it in suppression in cover until the final turn when he didn’t have the orders anymore. I wasn’t in a position to even attempt to challenge it until very late in the game when I had a huge advantage in material.

I think he just was too cautious on the first turn and too focused on the juicy Beasthunter/Tiger target on turn two. When those two plays didn’t work, I was able to throw a wrench into the metaphorical cogs and grind the Avatar to a halt, giving me a very tight win on the game. I want it to be clear that I think that this was, up until the top of 3, a winnable game for Cody. Definitely a lot closer than the score would suggest. Thanks to Cody, and thanks to you for reading.