First Battle Report

Tonight at Matrix, David and I did another playtest of the Norcon Tournament scenarios. Even though the terrain and our models were not painted, we decided to do a battle report since we had plenty of time to play and the cameras on our iPhones. It turns out that this was the right choice, since our game ended up being an awesome confrontation that came down to the last few rolls of the last turn, and a narrow, but decisive, victory.

The battlefield, pictured here, is laid out close to the way it will be for the actual tournament. In the empty spaces next to the apartments there will be a pool and a parking lot on the final table, but all the important bits are here for the play test.

David won the Initiative roll, and opted to take the first active phase. His army, the Japanese Sectorial Army, was a hard hitting force, built around a solid core of a heavily armed 5-man Keisotsu link team. The team consisted of a Keisotsu with a Missile Launcher, one with a Heavy Machine Gun, one with the Forward Observer skill, and two normal troops with rifles. The troops with rifles deployed as a rear guard to provide security to the team, while the Missile Launcher and HMG went on the attack. As a nasty little bonus, the forward observer was able to call shots for a Remote with a Guided Missile Launcher hidden behind one of the apartment buildings. On overwatch, David deployed a Ninja sniper to cover the Keisotsu advance, while hidden in the background his Lieutenant, Ninja Hacker, and Remote provided support.

On my side I deployed an army that I've been experimenting with, unsuccessfully, for my last few games. The Qapu Khalqi were led into battle by a four man link team of Djanbazan, concealing a disguised Hafza Lieutenant. The intention was for the Djanbazan to tear apart the enemy by firing through a cloud of smoke using their Multispectral Visors. The tragic flaw in the army is that I depended on 3 Yuan Yuan to lay down the critical smoke screen that would cover my Djanbazan assault. To go for the objective I deployed a Hawwa sniper and Jannisary with an HMG, while I rounded out my force with a Ghulam Doctor and Nasmat to keep everyone in fighting condition.

Early in the battle David's Ninja sniper got the drop on my Djanbazan, knocking 3 members unconcious, and breaking the link team. The Ninja also managed to strike a crippling blow to my army, by stumbling across my disguised Hafza Lieutenant, and knocking him out of the game early. Going into my first active phase I was already in Loss of Lieutenant, and back on the defensive. Things were looking grim for the Qapu Khalqi, and I began to fear that I was on the way to an early end to the game.

Things suddenly turned around for me with the arrival of my Yuan Yuan. Sadly, they were just as tragically ineffective this time as they have been for my last few battles, yet for once they surprised me with a lucky attack that robbed David of some of this initiative.

One of my Yuan Yuan, armed with a light flamethrower gained from her Booty skill, got the drop on David's Ninja sniper. Although she valiantly lost her life in the effort, she managed to set the Ninja on fire and knock her out of the game.

Things didn't end so well for the other two Yuan Yuan. The first landed way off target as she dropped onto the table, landing square in the sights of the Ninja Sniper, and getting blown away before her flame throwing sister could swoop in to save her. The other Yuan Yuan tried to get the drop on David's Keisotsu Butai, by managed to land right in front of his two rear guard troops.

Taking out the Ninja Sniper proved to be crucial, however, and even though every Yuan Yuan died without throwing a single smoke grenade, my Djanbazan were free turn their weapons on David's exposed Keisotsu.

At this point David hit me with his army's nastiest surprise. His forward observer Keisotsu slipped around the back of one of the apartment buildings, and managed to lock onto my Jannisary. Here's a before and after picture I took with my iPhone of the actual battle:

I'm proud to say that David had to fire his Remote's Guided Missile Launcher four times before knocking out my Jannisary, but no matter how tough this warrior might be, no one could survive being hit by this many missiles...

With David's Ninja Sniper gone, however, there was no one to protect the Keisotsu from my Djanbazan, who managed to take out the Keisotsu Missile Launcher and forward observer as they approached the target building. My Hawwa also managed to beat David to the door of the Hacker's Apartment and ambush the approaching Keisotsu, taking out the Keisotsu HMG, and breaking their link team for good. One of the two remaining Keisotsu brought honor to his fallen brothers and sisters by taking out my Hawwa before she could do any more damage. Suddenly the tides had turned yet again, and I was back on the defensive. With only two Djanbazan left, my army had lost it's Lieutenant, and was now also in Retreat Condition. My one redeeming grace was that my Djanbazan sniper was in a perfect position to cover the Hacker's apartment, which would hopefully be enough to lock David into a stalemate.

David was forced into an unenviable position, wait out the stalemate and avoid my sniper, earning him a minor victory, or gamble everything on sending his Ninja Hacker after the objective. If David managed to apprehend the civilian hacker he would earn a major victory, but if his Ninja and one other model died in the effort he would be pushed into retreat, giving me a draw.

David chose glory, and his heroic Ninja was sent out into the line of fire to dance between my Sniper's shots and secure the civilian. The Ninja stormed across the open courtyard between the apartments, then flew up the stairs to the civilian's room. She kicked open the door, and nimbly darted to the criminal hacker's side, as window panes blew out behind her from sniper fire. The civilian, clearly overwhelmed by the graceful ballet of ninjitsu art and shattered glass, surrendered to the Ninja without question.

On 5 consecutive ARO's, my Sniper missed the charging Ninja again and again. Finally, on the sixth ARO, and my Sniper's final chance before the Ninja's escape, I managed to hit and knock out my nemesis. On the final roll of the game, with only 3 Orders left in his final Active phase, David managed to get his Yaozao to the Ninja and get her back on her feet. My sniper missed the Ninja a final time, as she managed to take the civilian prisoner again (even though he tried to attack her!), and with his final order David managed to lead the civilian off the edge of the table.

It's rare that a battle comes down to the last order of the second-to-last active phase. Even though I had no chance at victory after the 4th round, the game was still a real nail biter with an uncertain outcome. Every game should be as close as this one!

I can also say for certain that we both learned some valuable lessons from this battle. Even though I still love Yuan Yuan, this was the last straw for my current tactic. I'll be going back to the drawing board to come up with a new offensive tactic, and in the meantime I'll be going back to my nasty defensive line-up. I'll also be bringing my Hawwa Hacker back into the list, now that David's discovered Guided Missiles!

As for David, I'm certain I'll be seeing more of his Guided Missile Launcher and Ninja Hacker in the future!