Queen of the Hill
Since this game was a secondary game next to this one,
I gave Erik (Zelaponeepus) the option to play JSA or Bakunin, he chose Bakunin.
Overview
- Mission: ITS14 Uplink Center
- Forces: Jurisdictional Command of Bakunin versus Combined Army (300)
- Deploy First: Combined Army
- First Turn: Jurisdictional Command of Bakunin
I had promised Lilah (ThornedLily) to play some double Stigmata lists, so here we are. Double Sin Eater because I think that’s a good plan. I wanted a backup gun, so I took a Vostok to save on SWC. If you take a Vostok that sort of writes the rest of the list.
Big Girls
10
2
MODERATOR (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
ZOE FTO-2 & Π-WELL FTO undefined / undefined. (0.5 | 44)
Π-WELL FTO Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse(+1B), Pitcher / PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 19)
VOSTOK (Mimetism [-6]) Mk12(+1 Dam) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 44)
STIGMATON (Hacker) Heavy Flamethrower(+1B), Heavy Rocket Launcher(+1B) / E/M CC Weapon. (1.5 | 58)
TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
SIN-EATER (Marksmanship) MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 35)
5.5 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
Erik’s taking good stuff Combined lead by an Anthematic and screened by a bunch of warbands. He prefers a mix of 5, but I like my 4 Taigha.
Erik (Zelaponeepus)
GROUP 1GROUP 2
ANATHEMATIC (Lieutenant, Hacker, Hacking Device [UPGRADE: Trinity (+1B)]) Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser ( ) / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0.5 | 76)
RINDAK FTO (Paramedic) Submachine Gun, Flash Pulse(+1B) / Heavy Pistol, PARA CC Weapon. (0 | 27)
CALIBAN (Multispectral Visor L1) Spitfire, D-Charges ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 38)
SPECULO KILLER Boarding Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon. (1 | 32)
IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) Light Flamethrower(+1B), Flash Pulse / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 9)
R-DRONE Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
OVERDRON Heavy Rocket Launcher(+1B), Submachine Gun / Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 51)
STALDRON Flash Pulse / CC Weapon. (0 | 0)
UNIDRON (Forward Observer) Plasma Carbine, Flash Pulse / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
5
PRETA Chain Rifle / AP CC Weapon. (0 | 7)
TAIGHA Chain-colt / AP + Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
GAKI AP CC Weapon. (0 | 4)
4.5 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
Deployment
Like Jay, I took deployment and Erik took second turn. Not great. He set up the Speculo and Caliban on the central tower where the main objective was, and then set up his warbands and R-Drones in the back.
I set up a cross-fire with my Sin Eaters and then castled pretty much everyone else on a tower with a bridge to the central tower.
I had held both Stigmata in reserve so I just put them down in a cross fire as well. Erik put down an Overdron watching the Anathematic’s back and that was that.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – Bakunin
Erik decides to take two orders from me and then we’re off. Okay, spoiler alert time. My first thought is where I lose the game. I distinctly remember saying to myself “well, I don’t know how to deal with the Caliban and the Speculo. I hope Erik makes a mistake and leaves them out of marker state, and then I’ll deal with them.”
If my entire plan is to hope for a disastrous mistake from my opponent, I deserve to lose. Sure, i’m playing another game next door with a difficult to pilot list, but I signed up for that, that’s not an excuse either. My plan of action was to deal as much damage as possible with my TAGs and then solve the Caliban/Speculo problem later.
Erik’s left his Anathematic standing in template range of a warband, so I decide to just punish that and take out a bunch of orders along the way. I need to remove some R-Drones that are in the way, so I start by removing a warband first…
Then the R-Drone itself.
The other Stigmata takes out an Ikadron…
then stacks some wounds onto the Ovedron.
I then see the warband near the Anathematic and lay a bunch of HRL templates on it while giving the Overdron a free shot. I land 2/3 of the shots but the Anathematic makes one of the saves and stops burning. The warband is not so lucky and disappears.
I’ve got one more shot at this before the Anathematic dodges completely out of view, so I set up another shot and the the Overdron take another free shot, hoping it’ll miss again. I land two more hits on the Anathematic but it only takes one wound and stops burning. I also pass against the Overdron’s hit. I’d have rather traded. Oh well.
With the Anathematic failing guts away, I dump a full burst into the Overdron and delete it.
At this point I’m out of orders, so I have to call it.
Bottom of 1 – Combined Army
Well, that’s not nearly enough damage, as I’m about to find out. Erik starts by bringing on a Bashi Bazouk and one-shotting my Stigmata on this back table edge. Awesome. Well that’s pretty poop.
I do manage to stop the Bashi with one of the Sin Eaters though, so that’s good.
The remaining Stigmata gets attacked by a warband which dodges into base contact from around the corner.
I had foolishly left Pi Well standing but we both forgot about it because I was distracted by the other game. I lose Pi Well to a template from another warband, which I remove with the Sin Eater.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – Bakunin
Okay. This isn’t great. I need to get some points on the table and also handle the Speculo and such. Zoe picks up Pi Well easily and then Pi Well Triangulated Fires the Taigha off the remaining Stigmata.
I get Pi Well off the roof but he dies to the Unidron. The Vostok tries to take the Unidron out but it takes a TON of orders–Erik keeps making ARM save after ARM save.
Bottom of 2 – Combined Army
Erik uses the Caliban to drop the Sin Eater on my left and then force the Vostok prone, and that’s his turn.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – Bakunin
I decide to make a play for Erik’s lieutenant again, because he’s put it too close to something I can bounce a flamethrower off of. I have to get past an R-Drone first. I manage to hit it, but it passes ARM.
I get into range of the Anathematic and drop a flamethrower template. I get flash pulsed, the Anathematic tanks the saves, and so does the R-Drone. Awesome.
I decide to do the thing I should have done at the beginning of the game and just take on the Speculo. Zoe has WIP 15, so she’s actually pretty well suited to discovering the Speculo. I succeed, thankfully, and then shotgun it off the table.
Unfortunately I can’t get to the Caliban, so I’m forced to just leave things as they are. I do the best I can to set up some AROs and pass turn. Insert Jack Mason quote about losers doing their best from the Rock here.
Bottom of 3 – Combined Army
At this point unless the dice are amazing I’ve lost the game. The Caliban easily kills Zoe and gets into base to base with the central objective. Erik proceeds with the Rindak, easily dodging past my Moderator’s AROs and even the Sin Eater’s.
I really can’t land a hit at all, even with the Rindak wandering around in full view of the Sin Eater.
It keeps pushing towards the remaining objective, dodging the whole while.
I finally drop the Rindak as it moves forward with the Anathematic.
Sadly, I whiff my Oblivion attempt on this…
The Anathematic activates again and dodges to avoid getting KO’ed by the Sin Eater.
That’s Erik’s last order.
3-7, 163-157 Combined Army Victory!
Post Game Analysis
Well, as I said, I lost the game on the first order. I didn’t have a coherent plan to win the game and was just relying on fundamentals. Without a plan, any damage done by the dice (and there was a fair amount) cost me the game. Erik’s Anathematic tanked quite a few shots and passed some key burning saves. I executed well on the plan to remove the lieutenant twice, and even used one of the Stigmata to flip the antenna on the right (and the left, but that was re-flipped by Erik).
Really the game is won and lost on the center objective. My first turn should have just had me push both Zoe and Pi Well across the bridge, even prone to avoid the Overdron. Then I kill the Speculo as before and then sensor then kill the Caliban. Now I’m in control of the central objective, and I have Sin Eaters and Stigmata to ward off whatever Erik throws at me the following turn. He’s certainly unlikely to be able to take out all of those things, and his options for dealing with the central objective are limited. Most of the stuff he has is hackable, which leaves him with the warbands, but they don’t have any regular orders and are in awkward positions to prosecute the central objective.
So yeah, I lost the game in the first turn. I can always approach the Anathematic and then measure zone of control to intuitive attack from just outside 8″ with the Stigmata, giving me a option to deal with it without bouncing a HRL template off of a unit next to the Stigmata. I just wasn’t confident enough to make the play on the first turn. Sometimes plays like that are required. I had realized this at the start of the 3rd turn when I had no other option but to make the play with Zoe on the Speculo, but in fact that had to be the play. There was just no other option to address that problem in my list, so I have to do it. When better to do it than before Erik can respond?
And I think that’s the lesson from this game. Sometimes table state and lists demand this sort of singular solution to a problem or you lose. This was one such scenario, and I choked and lost. Thanks for reading!
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