Beyond the Gates of Antares report - Algoryn VS C3 (1000 points)

Welcome back to another battle report from the Pressburg Shard!

Last week saw a conflict between the Algoryn and the C3. One of our newest members, Ondrej, wanted to test his Algoryn army before the much-anticipated second Antares Day in October this year and ZRudi was more than happy to oblige.
Specifically, Ondrej was keen to test the Algoryn Intruder skimmers in their spearhead formation, so an army that focuses on speed and hit-and-run tactics.

Scenario: #4 Hold the Line

This is one of my favorite scenarios in the main rulebook. It feels like much more than a simple "kill 'em all" scenario and gives both players the opportunity to really consider their moves. Plus, I just love scenarios where the defender can be pummeled by artillery before the start of the game :)


The Armies

Algoryn (Spearhead Formation):
1. AI Intruder Skimmer Command Squad with Compactor and Spotter Drones;
2. AI Intruder Skimmer Squad with Compactor and Spotter Drones;
3. AI Intruder Skimmer Squad with Spotter Drone and compacted Mag Light Support;
4. AI Intruder Skimmer Squad with Spotter Drone and compacted Mag Cannon;
5. Avenger Attack Skimmer with Twin Mag Light Support, Batter and Spotter drones;
6. Avenger Attack Skimmer with Mag Cannon, Batter and Spotter drones;
Army options: 1x Superior Shard, 1x Block!;


Concord (Regular Force):
1. Intelligence NuHu Mandarin with 2 Vyess Intelligence Operatives and 2 Gun Drones;
2. Strike Squad (5 men) with Plasma Lance;
3. Strike Squad (5 men) with Plasma Lance;
4. Strike Squad (5 men) with Plasma Lance;
5. C3D1 Light Support Drone with Plasma Light Support;
6. C3D1 Light Support Drone with Plasma Light Support;
7. C3M4 Combat Drone with Spotter Drone & Batter Drone;
8. Medi-Probe Shard (4 probes);

Because of the type of army that Ondrej wanted to test, it made perfect sense for him to be the attacker. The C3 were in for a Blitzkrieg-experience


The Story:
The desert planet of Shuul. A windswept ball of sand. Its only treasure, noxious gases that can be used as propellant for certain machinery. The planet's current overlords were the C3, but one of the new extraction sites was about to be visited by Algoryn marauders bent on obtaining some of that all too precious substance and/or the equipment required for fracking. The C3 forces tasked with establishing this new base surrounded by barren hills and rocky formations will soon be in need of reinforcements as the horizon is filled with swift Algoryn craft heading their way at breakneck speed!

View of the fracking-site from the South, the enemy would soon approach from the North

Fracking-equipment, still in their crates in the settlement to the West (Objective 1)

The most ideal site for hydraulic fracturing between the two settlements (Objective 2)

A freshwater well in the Eastern settlement (Objective 3)

The Battle:
As per the story, the target of the Algoryn was to seize two or all objectives in the South (the creates to the West, the fracking site in the middle and the well in the East).
As the defender, Zrudi had to deploy half his army before the start of the game. A Strike squad was placed close to each objective. The central objective was reinforced with one of the C3D1 drones and the Medi probes were also deployed strategically close to the infantry.
With the units deployed, the Algoryn unleashed their Sonic attack to soften up the defenders. This preparatory bombardment was semi-effective as it left the Strike squad in the West untouched, but pinned every other unit and the Strike squads in the centre and the East even had to go down as a result.


Turn 1:
ZRudi started the turn by repositioning his Medi probes and bringing in the second C3D1 drone to support the pinned Strike squad near the well in the eastern settlement. Next came the C3M4 combat drone, which advanced close to the central objective in order to provide fire support wherever needed. Finally the first of the Algoryn arrived in the form of the Intruder Command squad, followed closely by another Intruder squad. Both squads raced towards the western objective, taking advantage of the rocky terrain that hid their movement. The Avenger Skimmer with the Mag Cannon flew in from the East, but making sure it wasn't visible to the C3M4 just yet. The Intruder squad with the compacted Mag Cannon came in from the centre and immediately deployed their cannon on one of the best vantage points on the battlefield, the top of the central hill in the North. Unfortunately, this also meant that they became visible to the C3M4 drone, which immediately aimed its plasma-weapons at the Algoryn. Two of the support team's crew fell to the plasma shots. The last member just couldn't handle the pressure and ran from the battle, abandoning the Mag Cannon (Ondrej rolled a 10 on the casualty test, so the unit was automatically broken).
Undeterred by the early loss of one of their squads, the Algoryn continued their advance. The last Intruder squad entered from he centre as well, but kept close to the other Intruder squads.
The second Attack Skimmer (with a Twin Mag Light Support) joined the first Avenger in the East and followed up with firing at the C3M4 drone. Only one shot hit however and it was unable to do any damage to the heavy drone. The Mag Cannon Skimmer then repositioned a bit closer to the centre, so it may have a better chance of attacking the C3M4 next turn.
The last unit to enter the battlefield was the NuHu and her operatives. They ran to support the western settlement, but kept close to the central objective as well.
At the end of the turn ZRudi failed the recovery test for the Strike squad by the well, so they remained down.

The remaining C3 forces move on to the table to secure the objectives

Intruder squads speed towards the fracking equipment

 Algoryn Mag Cannon being deployed on top of a hill...

...only to be wiped out a moment later (the guilty C3M4 in the background)

Avenger Skimmers threatening the East and centre

Turn 2:
The second turn began with the Algoryn combat shards demonstrating their superiority (Ondrej used his Superior Shard army option) and all three Intruder squads speeding ever closer to the settlement in the West. In the centre, the Mag Cannon Avenger advanced out of cover to eliminate the C3M4. Its shot was so precise it took out the flying tank's Batter drone (Ondrej scored a lucky hit and decided to target the annoying buddy drone). Confident in its "can opener" capabilities, the Avenger advanced even closer and took another shot at the C3M4. The shot found its mark again, but failed to penetrate the C3 vehicle's armour (ZRudi rolled an "8" on the Res test, so it was very close).
The C3M4 managed to shoot back and scored a couple of hits on the Avenger, but also failed to do any damage. It tried to fire again, but the machine shard just couldn't manage it (ZRudi failed his order test, but at least he lost the last pin on the drone). The C3D1 drone from the eastern settlement, flew closer to help and also targeted the Mag Cannon Avenger. Only one of its shots hit, but it was enough to destroy the Algoryn vehicle's Batter drone.
The second C3D1 also leapt into action and fired at the Intruder Command squad, but they were too fast for it and none of its shots hit.
The Twin Mag Light Avenger was the next to act and although it now had both the C3M4 and a C3D1 in its sights, the crew chose to fire at the heavy drone. All shots hit, but no damage was caused (hence the C3M4 wasn't even pinned). Seeing how ineffective that was, the Avenger's next target was the C3D1 hovering above one of the buildings in the East. Three shots hit and the drone disappeared in a spectacular explosion!
In the West, the NuHu's squad moved closer to the objective, preparing for the imminent Algoryn attack.

The Avenger with the Mag Cannon and the C3M4 exchanging shots

The Intruder squads get dangerously close to the western objective, with the lone C3D1 unable to hinder their advance

 The NuHu and the Strike squads preparing for the enemy's imminent assault

The lone C3M4 facing off both Algoryn Attack Skimmers (after the second C3D1 got shot down from the roof on the upper left corner)

Turn 3:
As predicted, the attack began in earnest as the Intruder skimmers assaulted the defenders of the fracking equipment in the West. The first Strike squad even managed to react, but the encounter saw only one C3 trooper die during point blank shooting after which the Algoryn broke off from combat and flew back to where they rode in from.
The same Strike squad got assaulted again by the Intruder Command squad and the second Intruder squad and this time there were more casualties for the C3 as only the squad's leader was left standing.
In the centre, the C3M4 advanced closer to the Mag Cannon Avenger again, firing plasma shots at it while moving. One of the shots managed to take out the skimmer's Spotter drone, but no real damage was caused to the vehicle itself. The C3 heavy drone tried its luck again, but once again the Avenger survived the shooting without a scratch.
Next came the C3D1 in West, aiming its weapon at one of the Intruder squads and actually managing to to kill one of the bikers. The central C3 Strike squad then moved out from cover to shoot at the Intruder Command squad, but was unable to cause casualties to their target.
The Mag Cannon Avenger was badly pinned at this point and decided to rally, loosing 3 out of 4 pins (not great, not terrible), however that last pin was still too much for the crew to handle and they were unable to shoot at the C3M4 (Ondrej rolled a 10 on the skimmer's order test). The second Avenger had enough of this situation and decided to move closer to the objective in the East.
The Strike squad guarding the well advanced out of cover and took aim at the Mag Cannon Avenger. The unit's plasma lance hit the Algoryn vehicle, but failed to penetrate its armour.

The aftermath of the first actual assault on the western side

The C3M4 and the Mag Cannon Avenger, just not being able to deal with each other

The Twin Mag Light Avenger sneaking closer to the objective in the East

 The Strike squad from near the well, moving in to help their heavy combat drone

Turn 4:
The fourth turn saw the Intruder squads trying hit-and-run tactics again. One of them assaulted the C3D1 drone that was hassling them. Both parties survived the point blank shooting. The Intruder Command squad also tried their luck against the light support drone and were much more successful as their vehicle-mounted twin mag repeaters blew up the C3D1. They then flew closer to the fracking equipment, contesting the objective, but dangerously visible to the NuHu's squad. The last Intruder squad assaulted the sole survivor from the Strike squad that was shot up the previous turn and finished him off.
Next came the C3M4 again, advancing closer to the Mag Cannon Avenger. Hits were scored, but no damage caused. It tried again, but not only did it not damage the Avenger again, but the plasma cannon's coils were weakened, causing plasma fade. The Strike squad from the East joined in again, but they proved to be as ineffective as the C3 heavy combat drone. The Mag Cannon Avenger was pinned, but remained functional.
The Strike squad from the centre advanced on the Intruder squad visible to them, firing their plasma carbines and their plasma lance. The Intruder squad suffered no casualties, but the hail of plasma shots was so frightening they just couldn't keep their nerve and ran from the battle (Ondrej's legendary roll of a 10 on the Intruders' casualty test again).
The Mag Cannon Avenger tried to rally and partially succeeded (only 2 out of 4 pins were lost).
It was time for the NuHu to act and the unit's strength showed as they fired at the Intruder Command squad, killing all in the unit.
Last, but not least the Twin Mag Light Avenger outflanked the Strike squad from the well and unleashed a hail of spikes. The unit's leader and two troopers fell, but the unit remained in action (ZRudi demonstrated how casualty tests are supposed to be rolled :D ).

The central Strike squad eliminate the Intruder squad hiding behind the corner

The NuHu firing at the Intruder Command squad...

...and then there were none

Turn 5:
The last remaining Intruder squad thought it best to just keep as far away from the NuHu squad as possible, so they flew towards the centre and got behind the C3M4 drone. The C3 heavy drone advanced towards the newly appeared bikers, but still fired all its weapons at the Mag Cannon Avenger, but the shots were not only inaccurate, they once again caused plasma fade. The heavy drone fired again and this time, the shots from the plasma light support penetrated the Avenger's armour, seriously damaging the vehicle's systems (the Avenger received more pins and suffered MOD loss).
The Strike squad at the well tried to act, but they were still too upset by the loss of their comrades and hugged the dirt instead. That didn't prove useful as the Twin Mag Light Avenger hovered closer and shot the trooper with the plasma lance to pieces. The last surviving trooper fled the battlefield.
The central Strike squad ran towards the fracking equipment, now that there were no valid targets for them to shoot at, while the NuHu gave chase to the Intruder squad that was hiding behind the C3M4.
The Twin Mag Light Avenger fired again, this time at the C3 heavy drone and was able to cause superficial damage, but the C3M4 remained operational.

 The last Intruder squad hiding behind the C3M4 and also threatening the central objective

The second Avenger clearing the eastern settlement of all C3 troops

Turn 6:
Once again the Intruder squad went first and they assaulted the Strike squad on their way to the western objective. They managed to kill a C3 trooper without loosing any of their own, but the units morale was in tatters (once again a failed casualty test by Ondrej, but this time at least he didn't roll a 10, so he could finish his hit-and-run move).
The C3M4's weapons were functional again and fired at both Avenger skimmers, dishing out pins without damage.
The Strike squad that was previously assaulted in the West, continued its move towards the valuable crates in the settlement.
The Twin Mag Light Avenger tried its luck again against the C3M4 and once again managed to cause only superficial damage, but at least the heavy drone's AI had trouble processing the combat situation (the drone had to go Down with its second dice). The Avenger fired again, but this time the C3 drone's armour held firm.


Turn 7:
There was a turn 7, but the only thing that happened was the C3M4 firing at the Twin Mag Light Avenger, forcing it to go Down, causing MOD loss and immobilizing it. At this point, Ondrej yielded.

The last moment of the battle

Twin Mag Light versus Plasma Cannon and Plasma Light Support (1)

Twin Mag Light versus Plasma Cannon and Plasma Light Support (2)

The last surviving Intruder squad escaping the battlefield to report on the failed raid

One of ZRudi's epic Fire rolls on the C3M4 (those plasma coils were damaged bad)

Conclusion:
The battle could have gone both ways until the very end, although after the loss of the Intruder Command squad the C3 clearly had the upper hand. Many things impacted the result of the game, from Ondrej's crappy casualty rolls, to the NuHu simply being a nasty unit, but the Algoryn Spearhead Formation still looks like a functional army. And it is, because right after this game, the guys immediately played another match with the same scenario and on the same map, with minor changes to the Algoryn army, for example:
1. both Avengers were equipped with a Mag Cannon;
2. Ondrej got rid of the compacted Mag Cannon and Mag Light Support weaponry and added an X-Launcher team to the army;
With the changes mentioned above, the Algoryn were much more devastating and one of the Intruder squads even managed to kill the whole NuHu squad during point blank shooting!

Even just watching this game was a whole lot of fun, so I'm sure both ZRudi and Ondrej enjoyed this army-test. We still have a month and a half to go until Antares Day and we'll make sure to play a couple more games until then, some of which I'll hopefully be able to report on :)

As always, I hope you enjoyed the read!

Greger

Beyond the Gates of Antares Campaign report - Algoryn VS Boromite (750 points)

It's been half a year since the last report and since then a number of things have happened, the most important of which were me and Zrudi visiting Nottingham and attending the Antares Day event in March. We had the honour of meeting Rick Priestley in person and the pleasure of making new Antares-enthusiast-friends. Truly a great experience, topped by the fact that my Ghar were voted "Best painted army" of the event! I have returned home satisfied :)

And now for the report. More than a month ago we've played the first mission of a narrative campaign devised by Zrudi. The story revolves around the search for a hermit named Ahasver, who may or may not know the location of a phantom space hulk filled with unimaginable knowledge and unspeakable horrors.

This mission was based on Scenario 1 from "The Chryseis Shard" book: Enemy Identified.
As per the story, Algoryn and Boromite skirmish forces are sent down to investigate an abandoned village. The Algoryn simply try to investigate the reason for the disappearance of the settlement's population, while the Boromite are sent in to check on their brethren that previously co-inhabited the area with the locals, but find the Algoryn lurking about instead. The Boromite quickly draw their own conclusions and attack.
I would like to apologize for not having enough photos in this report as I basically forgot to document everything.

Ahasver Campaign - Mission 1 (Enemy Identified)

The Armies

Boromite:
1. Rock Father squad (1 Rock Father, 2 gangers, 2 shield drones)
2. Gang Fighters (1 leader with mag pistol and lectro lash, 4 gangers with mag guns)
3. Work Gang (6 models with mass compactors and reflex armour, 1 borer drone, 1 vorpal charge)
4. Lavamites (1 handler, 3 lavamites, 1 hatchling swarm, 1 borer drone)
5. Lavamite Rock Brood (1 handler on suspensor platform, 3 rock brood, 2 hatchling swarms, 1 borer drone)
6. Mag-light support team (2 crew, 1 spotter drone)

Algoryn:
1. AI squad (6 mag guns, 1 micro-x launcher, slingnet ammo)
2. AI squad (6 mag guns, 1 micro-x launcher, slingnet ammo)
3. AI squad (6 mag guns, 1 micro-x launcher, slingnet ammo)
4. Infiltrator squad  (6 mag repeaters, slingnet ammo, spotter drone, camo drone)
5. Hazard squad (5 models)
6. Targeter probes


The Battle
This was a "Defender vs Attacker" scenario with the addition of hostile drones flying around the map making unit-activation a bit more difficult (possibly even fatal). Any unit within 5" of such a drone needs to pass an order test to activate, even if they have no pins. On a roll of a 10, something bad happens.
Zrudi's Algoryn were the defenders so they could deploy 3 of their units. Zrudi put two AI squads and the Infiltrator squad on various key positions within the settlement. The rest of his army could enter from turn 3 onwards.
I had to split my army as well. My first wave was made up of the Rock Father's squad, the Gang Fighters and the Work Gang. The rest could enter from turn 2 onwards. All units would enter from a random table edge based on dice-rolls.
Once the defender's units were in place, we've placed 7 neutral drones on the map and the battle could begin!

View of the settlement from the West

Turn 1:
The game started with my Gang Fighters running towards the village from the South. Zrudi cunningly left one of his AI squads on Ambush before the start of the battle, so he was able to shoot at the Bormite unit as they ran for cover. The gangers suffered only one hit, but that was enough to kill their leader.(he failed his Res test twice). Suddenly the unidentified drones started buzzing around the battlefield (their trigger-dice was next from the bag, so Zrudi and I moved them about the map, trying to put each other's units into a difficult position). The Algoryn Infiltrator squad decided to set up an ambush for any uninvited guests coming from the North (little did they know that thanks to some truly lucky dice rolls all my units in turn 1 would come in from the South).
The next Boromite unit to enter was the Work Gang. They marched in from the South and opened fire with their mass compactors at the yet-to-be-activated AI squad. As powerful as they are even at long range, the mass compactors failed to cause any casualties (2 hits scored, Zrudi saved them both).
The Rock Father's unit was the last Boromite unit to come in and join the fight, also entering from the South. They fired at the AI squad that previously killed the leader of the Gang Fighters. Thanks to some very accurate shots from their plasma carbines, they managed to kill one of the AI troopers. The last unit to activate in this turn was the Algoryn AI squad on the settlement square. They passed their order test and decided to advance closer to the Boromite Work Gang. Firing their mag guns they successfully killed one of the rock-skinned intruders.

 The Boromite Work Gang hides behind a building, mourning the loss of its leader

The Work Gang comes in and opens fire at the AI squad on the town square

The Rock Father's squad shows off its deadliness by eliminating an enemy trooper at long range

Turn 2:
My reinforcements were now ready to be called in, while Zrudi's still had to wait until turn 3. I now had the advantage of out-dicing Zrudi 2 to 1. My Work Gang advanced on the AI squad that moved closer to them in the previous turn and once again the gangers opened fire with their mass compactors. Once again no casualties were suffered. They then released their vorpal charge in hopes of causing havoc and maybe killing a couple of enemy troopers (I now know that vorpal charges need to be released before the unit's action), but the Algoryn proved too agile and simply stepped out of the way as the ball of anti-matter flew past them.
The AI squad on the roof turned its mag guns on the Rock Father, but the Boromite decided to hit the dirt and go down rather than risk any casualties. They still suffered 3 hits, but thankully noone died (I did sacrifice both shield drones).
It was time for the Rock Brood to enter the battle, but they had to come in from the North. The Infiltrators were their intended target, but even their rapid sprint couldn't bring them into contact with the Algoryn. To make matters worse, they became quite exhausted from all that running (rolled a 10 on their sprint, so the unit was now out in the open with 2 pins). Due to one of the neutral drones being close to the Infiltrator squad, the Algoryn had to roll on their next order and thankfully they failed.
The Gang Figthers recovered from the loss of their leader and ran around the building they were hiding behind to join the Worg Gang.
The neutral drones then came to life again and changed positions.
The sudden appearance of the Gang Fighters triggered the AI squad on the town square and they immediately decided to assault the Boromite unit. The gangers proved to be an easy target as the AI squad not only killed them all, but survived the encounter without any casualties of their own.
Next on the battlefield was the Boromite mag-light suppot team, but whether by design or incompetence they entered from the East, far away from where the fighting was taking place. They did try and shoot the Infiltrator squad, but the enemy's camo drone made them impossible to target.
The last unit to enter the fray was the Lavamites and their handler. They were rather eager to get into combat and wasted no time sprinting towards the settlement (they came in from the North, just like the Rock Brood and I rolled a 1 on their sprint test so I could move them 19" in exchange for receiving a pin).

The Gang Figthers and their fatal encounter with an AI squad - the leader of the Work Gang helplessly watching the demise of his colleagues

Turn 3:
The turn started with the neutral drones repositioning once again, followed by the Algoryn Hazard squad arriving from the North. The heavily armoured Algoryn infantry immediately opened fire at the Rock Brood that was threatening to overwhelm the Infiltrators. One hatchling swarm fell to the concentrated plasma fire. Next came the Infiltrators themselves, repositioning and also targeting the Rock Brood unit. Although the Infiltrators were only armed with mag repeaters, they did manage to destroy the Boromite's borer drone. Seeing that the situation in the North was slowly becoming desperate, the Work Gang in the South tried to pull focus on themselves by shooting up the closest AI squad. They succeeded in killing the Algoryn trooper wielding the micro-X launcher in the unit. At the same time they activated their borer drone to provide some cover against the Algoryn's inevitable retaliation.
To make matters worse for the Boromite, the third and final AI squad also joined the battle, marching in from the North. Their target was the Lavamite unit and although they couldn't kill any of the rock dogs a lucky hit incapacitated their Boromite handler. The Lavamites were on their own without the guidance of their master. And so the Boromite surprise attack in the North was slowly collapsing.
Out of sheer desperation, the Rock Father's unit decided to shoot at the same target it shot at in the previous turns, the AI unit on the roof. The Algoryn successfully reacted and a firefight ensued, the result of which was a couple of hits but no casualties on either side.
The Lavamites - still mourning the loss of their handler - rallied and their borer drone was activated.
The AI squad on the town square decided it's time to return the favour and shot at the Work Gang, but scored no kills (the Work Gang got two pins though). The mag-light support team sprinted closer to the action and was a bit exhausted because of it (failed sprint test causing a pin). The Rock Brood with its 4 pins decided on a more careful tactic and simply rallied, loosing all 4 pins. And lastly, the lone vorpal charge moved a bit on the town square, getting a little closer to its former owners.

The Lavamites - abandoned by their handler, but successfully rallying

Turn 4:
This turn gave the Boromite the last chance to turn the tide of the battle and they went for it with all they had. The Rock Brood assaulted the Infiltrators. The Algoryn reacted by shooting their assailants first, which proved rather deadly for the Boromite. The last hatchling swarm, one of the Rock Brood and the unit's handler fell casualty to the mag repeater shots. Nevertheless the last two rock dogs killed the Infiltrators while simultaneously getting destroyed themselves. A minor loss for the Algoryn, but a huge one for the Boromite! The AI squad in the North continued to harass the remaining Lavamites and got rid of their borer drone.
In the South, the Work Gang and the AI squad on the square continued their firefight. No casualties were caused. The AI squad on the roof was unable to do anything because of its close proximity to one of the neutral drones. Next came the drones themselves, buzzing around the battlefield.
In an effort to halt the advance of the Hazard suits, the Boromite mag-light support team advanced and fired at Algoryn, but the shots just bounced off their armour. The Rock Father's unit continued shooting at the AI squad on the roof, but didn't kill anyone. The Lavamites were unable to do anything useful other than hugging the dirt (they had 1 pin and didn't pass their order test). Finally the Hazard suits moved on the lone mag-light support and simply shot the whole team and their weapon to pieces.
And with that, I gave up 😊

The final moments of the Boromite mag-light support team

Conclusion:
In hindsight, I wasn't pushing enough from the South, even though I had the advantage of having three units close to each other. Instead of combining their power I split their focus on different targets, thereby weakening the whole assault. In the North, the loss of the Lavamite handler made the whole unit almost useless as their natural command value is rather miserable. The Rock Brood unit had a tough job and crappy dice-rolls made it even tougher. Nevertheless, it was an incredibly fun game! I already have a plan ready for next time (like that will help) 😄

I hope to post bits of the narrative (or the whole story) here later on, so we can add some literary flavour to these reports.

In other news, our Bratislava membership is slowly growing as were were joined by a new Isorian player a couple of months ago and a new Algoryn player will also be joining our ranks. Looking forward to posting some battle reports involving their armies!

As always, I hope you enjoyed the read!

Greger

Beyond the Gates of Antares report - C3 VS Ghar (1000 points)

After more than a year of not playing any wargames on a regular basis due to work and life, the good times seem to be upon us again! And it was time for me and Zrudi to polish up our knowledge on a game we've invested in more than two years ago, but only played 2 games probably: Beyond the Gates of Antares from Warlord Games.

We bought the starter set a long-long time ago, but I think we were still enjoying Bolt Action too much at that point and may have considered GoA as a distraction because we only played two games probably and left it there. Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I've decided to get the "Strike on Kar'a Nine" box and since Zrudi was more than willing to join in on the purchase, the old GoA-flame has been rekindled!

It felt different going back to this game, the rules of which seemed so complex a couple of years ago. Because for some reason all the rules suddenly made perfect sense and were pretty easy to pick up.
We started playing last week and this week I finally felt comfortable documenting one of our games (although it now turns out the points on the C3 army weren't entirely accurate; plus my Ghar aren't completely painted yet) and so, without further delay here is how this Tuesday's battle between my Ghar and Zrudi's Concord went.


Scenario: #5 Return to Base Camp


The Armies

Ghar:
1. Command Crawler with Plasma Amplifier
2. Battle Squad (3 suits) with Plasma Aplifiers
3. Battle Squad (3 suits) with Plasma Aplifiers
4. Assault Squad (3 suits) with Plasma Aplifiers
5. Tectorist Scouts (x4)
6. Flitters (x6)
Army options: 1x Superior Shard, 1x Block!, 1x Well Prepared;


Concord:
1. Commander Kamrana Josen + 4 Strike Troopers
2. Strike Squad (5 men) with Plasma Lance
3. Strike Squad (5 men) with Plasma Lance
4. Strike Squad (5 men) with Plasma Lance
5. Interceptor Squad (3 bikes) with Plasma Lances
6. X-Launcher Support Team with Net Ammo
7. C3M4 Combat Drone with Spotter Drone, Batter Drone and Self Repair
Army options: 2x Block!;


Thanks to the dice-gods, I could choose whether to be the attacker or the defender. I picked the latter.


The Story:
The planet of Terlok IV was an insignificant one in its quadrant, made only somewhat valuable by the rather limited fuel supply it was hiding under its blasted and dusty surface. The people living here were not wealthy, nor powerful, but mostly honest workers, specialized in the extraction of the fuel substance from their homeworld and selling it to merchant vessels and the occasional Concord ship. This sector was only lightly patrolled by C3 forces despite its proximity to the Ghar Empire. And in all honesty, it was a surprise that the Ghar didn't invade sooner.
The lack of Concord forces in the area and the non-militant nature of the planet's inhabitants made them easy prey. The invasion itself was a swift and brutal one. The Ghar annihilated all in their path and although some of the natives did put up a fight, these encounters still couldn't be called anything other than massacres. The invasion force had three tasks to accomplish: secure new slaves, secure the already extracted fuel supplies and ultimately to reduce the population of Terlok IV to 0.
However, a distress signal did go out in time and was picked up by a Concord patrol, which swiftly came to the planet's aid. Some damaged Ghar units left behind at a fuelling station were in for a nasty surprise.

View of the fuelling station from the South

 View of the fuelling station from the West 1

 View of the fuelling station from the West 2

The Battle:
As per the story, my Ghar were to represent a small part of the invasion force left behind at a fuelling station, in need of repair and tasked with securing fuel.
As per the scenario, I've deployed 3 of my 6 units in the base camp, while the rest could only come in and help them as of Turn 2 (provided they passed their Command tests). So I deployed my two Battle Squads and the Tectorists.
Zrudi was free to deploy his whole force right away, which he promptly did, focusing almost all of his units in the middle coming in from the East. His X-Launcher was set up in the South-East to provide support, while the Interceptor Squad was set up in the North-East to give them the opportunity to outmanoeuvre my stationary battlesuits and strike from the flank.


Turn 1:
There was no warning given to the Ghar in the makeshift camp they've hastily created around a fuelling post. Their crude machinery failed to alert them to the enemy troops closing in. The already damaged battlesuits only had time to fire up their plasma amplifiers when the first shots hit their scrap metal barricades.

Before the start of the turn I've declared that I'm activating the Plasma Amplifiers on both my Battle Squads, so as to give me a bit more chance of reacting to whatever Zrudi's going to do with his units.
Although the first order dice drawn from the bag was mine, Zrudi used one of his "Block!"s to counter it. He was in luck, because the next dice was his. He activated his C3M4 to fire on Battle Squad A (the suits closest to him). I've tried to react with a "Firefight", but rolled a "0" on the unit's initiative test, so the battlesuits not only didn't fire, but received 2 pins. Great start :) The combat drone hit with one of its plasma light support shots, adding one more pin to my already pinned unit, but the shot was successfully resisted. The next dice was mine and I immediately gave the pinned battlesuits a successful Rally order thanks to which they lost all 3 of their pins. Battle Squad A's amplifier kicked in and the unit repositioned slightly to fire on the C3 command squad. They chose "disruptor" mode on their scourer cannons and - due to one of the Tectorist scouts being close to the target - were able to hit with two of their disruptor bombs, dishing out 2 pins and 4 hits in total. The blasts killed one trooper.
The C3M4 activated again and hovered closer to the barricades, this time opening fire on Battle Squad B. Both its weapons hit their target and although the unit got pinned, none of the shots could penetrate the sturdy battlesuit-armour.
There was a sudden disturbance in the fabric of space around the C3 Command Squad, possibly due to the fact they were shot at by disruptor bombs previously. The unit wasn't able to do anything but watch as the area around them became blurred and distorted (the Ghar Distort dice came into play and the dice following it was Zrudi's, so he ordered his Command Squad down).
Battle Squad B tried to quickly reposition closer to Squad A and halt the Concord advance, but the plasma shots from the C3M4 proved to be too frightening (I failed their command roll even though they only had 1 pin. Then failed again with the amplifier dice!).
In the North-East the Interceptor Squad followed their orders and speeded through the dilapidated living quarters of the fuelling station's workers, to outflank the embattled Ghar.
During all of this, it was finally time for the infantry squads of the C3 to advance on the enemy base camp. Strike Squad 1 made their way towards Battle Squad A, firing focused bursts from their plasma carbines at them. 2 shots hit the Ghar and one of the battlesuits exploded (I failed the Res test on one of my troopers). Strike Squad 2 and 3 used the covering fire to run towards the barricades and get dangerously close to the enemy. Strike Squad 3 managed to exhaust itself in the process (failed Agility roll).
And finally the X-Launcher from its secure position tried to strike Battle Squad A with their Net shells, but failed to hit their target.
At the end of the turn Battle Squad B's amplifier burned out, leaving the Ghar without a much needed extra order dice.

 Concord coming in from the East

 The C3M4 firing its first shots at Battle Squad A

 Battle Squad A firing its disruptor bombs at the Command Squad

 Battle Squad B failing to reposition (twice) and help their comrades

 Interceptors riding through shanty town

 Battle Squad A looses a battlesuit to plasma-fire from Strike Squad 1

 (from left to right) Strike Squad 3 and 2 closing in on the Ghar

The X-Launcher, firing from a secure location

Turn 2:
The Concord struck without warning, but thanks to the resilience of their battlesuits and their volatile plasma technology, the Ghar weren't immediately overwhelmed. As soon as the enemy appeared the Tectorists on the field started gathering data on the size and composition of their foe's army. In the meantime a signal was sent to the closest Ghar forces to request their aid.

I decided to use the "Superior Shard" army option I took to reduce Zrudi's army by one dice for a turn and hope that this would help me win time for my reinforcements to arrive. Also, I did not active the amplifiers on my Command Crawler and Assault Squad yet.

The turn once again started with the C3M4 floating closer to the barricades and shooting at Battle Squad A and once again this only resulted in a pin, but no casualties. So the combat drone tried to fire at the same target once again (this time with a "Fire" order), but its cannon failed to respond as the plasma coil suffered from momentary fade (Zrudi rolled a 1 on the plasma cannon, so the drone had to go Down). Its plasma light support however not only hit their target but managed to hit a trooper's plasma reactor, resulting in a spectacular explosion, and so another member of Battle Squad A was felled. Thankfully the leader's reactor was not affected by the escape of raw plasma energy right next to it.
It was time for the infantry to attack. Strike Squad 2 assaulted the last remaining member of Battle Squad A, its leader. This move caught the Ghar soldier completely off guard (I tried to react with "Stand and Shoot" but failed, so the unit got another pin), but he managed to kill one of the attackers with a disruptor bomb. The C3 soldiers failed to inflict damage on the Ghar machine and even lost one of their own in the hand-to-hand fighting, but being outnumbered was simply too much for the leader of Battle Squad A and he fled the battlefield (I lost close combat due to pins and failed my Command roll).
It was now all down to Battle Squad B to hold the base until help arrives. So they took the initiative and assaulted Strike Squad 2, the unit that just defeated their Ghar brethren. The assault proved lethal for the Concord as they lost a man to the battlesuits' scourer cannons and although one of the suits was destroyed by a plasma shot, they were ultimately annihilated in close combat.
With only two battlesuits remaining, Battle Squad B consolidated into cover to try and survive.
It was at this point that the Interceptors leapt into action and fired their plasma lances at the last Ghar suits, but all of their shots missed.
Strike Squad 1 moved to have a clear view of Battle Squad B and tried to inflict further damage, but all they did was put another pin on their target. They were followed by the X-Launcher that zeroed in on the battlesuits and successfully delivered its explosive payload. Although the explosion couldn't harm the suits there was a good chance it would have a demoralizing effect on the crew. Thankfully, it didn't! (the battlesuits suffered 2 more pins from the X-Launcher, but passed their break test - which was triggered by receiving as many pins as there are models in a unit)
The situation wasn't looking good for the Ghar and it was made worse by there being no sign of reinforcements.
Strike Squad 3 took the opportunity and assaulted the last unit guarding their objective. The suits tried to resist the attack and shot down a C3 trooper but were ultimately brought down in the end.

As per the scenario's rules, with no more defenders in the base camp and at least one unit from the attacker's army in the base camp, the game ended with the attackers being victorious!

 Only the leader of Battle Squad A remains

Battle Squad B avenge their comrades

The Interceptors and their unsuccessful outflanking manoeuvre

Both the Ghar base camp and victory secured by Strike Squad 3

It was only a tad more difficult than predicted by the IMTel, but eventually the fuelling station was secured by the Concord patrol. Now that they have established a foothold on the planet, their new objective was to fortify their position and await support. Also, to look for survivors of the Ghar onslaught. But were they aware that the enemy was already heading their way?

 

Conclusion:
Looking back, I should have left the Tectorists in reserve and kept either the Assault Squad or the Command Crawler in the base. Mainly because the Tectorists and the Flitters would have definitely arrived, since they automatically pass their Command test for arriving from reserves. That's the only thing I would have done differently, since I can't do anything about the dice-rolls :D
But we'll see how Zrudi fares with his Concord trying to defend the station from a counter-attack!

As for the game of GoA itself, it is fantastic! The world, the rules and the units simply fascinate me. And it's one of the few games that motivate me to paint my miniatures (although not much is visible of that on the pictures yet :) ).
As we get more comfortable with the rules I plan to write more of these reports and hopefully draw in more players in Bratislava. We could definitely do with more factions :)


As always, I hope you enjoyed the read!

Greger

Bolt Action report - Soviets VS Germans (1000 points)

Zrudi and I met up on Monday last week (25th September) for a nice little 1000 points game. We agreed on setting the battle in 1945 so both of us could select an appropriate reinforced platoon from our respective army books.

Zrudi went with Operation Frühlingserwache, which allowed him to take two MMG teams per platoon, while I chose Seelow Heights from the Soviet army book, giving me two tank slots in one platoon.

“Scenario 7: Envelopment” was picked at random and both players decided for the Germans to be the defenders. Zrudi – quite appropriately – chose to defend the western half of the table against a Russian invasion force coming from the east.

The view from the south (left being west and right being east)

The Armies

Soviets:

1. Veteran 1st Lieutenant with adjutant
2. Veteran LMG Squad (9 men)
3. Veteran Tank Riders (8 men)
4. Inexperienced Rifle Squad (12 men)
5. Regular Flamethrower Team
6. Veteran Sniper Team
7. Veteran Truck with MMG
8. Veteran Katyusha
9. Regular IS-2 with HMG

Germans:

1. Veteran 2nd Lieutenant with adjutant
2. Veteran Waffen-SS Squad (8 men)
3. Veteran Waffen-SS Squad (8 men)
4. Regular Heer Grenadier Squad (10 men)
5. Inexperienced Volks Grenadier Squad (8 men)
6. Inexperienced Hitler Youth Squad (10 kids)
7. Regular MMG Team
8. Regular MMG Team
9. Veteran Panzerschreck Team
10. Veteran Light Howitzer
11. Veteran Motorcycle with machine-gun sidecar

Zrudi once again cared naught for the safety of his men and deployed his entire army. An MMG team was placed in the wheat fields to the south-west. North of the team were the Volks Grenadier and Hitlerjugend squads, supported by the howitzer. Further north one of the SS squads took up position right across the river, tasked with defending the road leading out from the small village east of them. They were joined by the Grenadier squad, the Panzerschreck and the Lieutenant. The second SS squad, the second MMG team and the motorcycle were hidden in the woods, protecting the northernmost approach.

Taking up a forward position, the Soviet sniper team occupied the second floor of a house in the village (north-eastern sector).

Unsurprisingly, the Russian preparatory bombardment arrived, dishing out two pins on average and killing one of the howitzer’s crew.


Turn 1

Taking advantage of the German forces still being bunched up, the Katyusha entered the field from the east (north of the river) and a deadly symphony was played on Stalin’s organ in the direction of the regular Grenadiers. Three out of five viable target units escaped the rocket barrage, except for the Grenadiers and the northern SS squad. The Grenadiers lost two men, while half of the SS squad in the woods was obliterated in a spectacular series of explosions. The rest of the SS unit simply couldn’t hold their nerve and ran from the battlefield (3 pins in addition to the 1 received during the preparatory bombardment, 4 out of 8 men killed, failed morale check).

And so, the Soviets started pouring in from the east. The Katyusha was joined by the inexperienced rifle squad and the Lieutenant, who were running for the village in the centre. North of them, the truck rolled in with the LMG squad and the flamethrower team on-board. The IS-2 and its tank riders were the only ones ordered to crush the defences south of the river.

Most of the German troops simply tried to rally and prepare for the inevitable onslaught of the Russian hordes, with the exception of the MMG team and the motorcycle in the north. The MG42 noticed movement in one of the abandoned buildings across the road to the east and fired at the windows just to be safe. This resulted in the Russian sniper’s spotter getting torn to shreds and the sniper himself fleeing the battlefield (sniper’s assistant dies from MG-fire, sniper fails morale check twice).

The LMG squad got out of the truck to fire at the MG42, but their aim was way off. They were met however by the motorcycle and one man died to the hail of bullets coming from the bike’s sidecar.

The Katyusha's grand entrance

 The Russian sniper after losing his assistant and just before fleeing

The LMG squad leave their truck

Turn 2

The second turn started with the German howitzer shooting at the IS-2. Although it missed, it was enough to force the tank riders to abandon their transport.

Lacking targets in front of it due to the Grenadiers moving to cover, the Katyusha repositioned and unleashed its next barrage at the Volks Grenadiers in the south-west. The rockets landed on target and two men died from the squad. Although the Hitlerjugend were close, they escaped the bombardment unharmed. The Germans in the south were further shot at by the advancing IS-2, but no one was hit.

The Russian inexperienced squad, together with the Lieutenant ran forward to the centre of the village. Unfortunately the riflemen were spotted by the SS squad by the river and were shot at. Two Russians fell and the rest of the squad was really bothered by this loss (I rolled a 1 on the squad’s Green rule and ended up with 3 additional pins).

In the north, the LMG squad advanced further, but were caught in the open by the MG42 waiting in ambush. The squad got pinned and two men died. The result was that their shots fired at the German motorcycle were once again inaccurate.

The truck – instead of providing support for his comrades – hit the gas and raced westwards at full speed with the flamethrower team still on-board. On their way they saw a shaped charge whiz by, courtesy of the Panzerschreck team.

The inexperienced Russians and their Lieutenant reaching the centre of the village...

... only to be shot at by the SS and lose two men.

 The LMG squad advancing and being slowed down by the motorcycle

The truck's driver, driving like a maniac

Turn 3

The motorcycle drove around the building it was hiding behind until now and using the road leading into the village from the north, it rolled up to the inexperience rifle squad in the village and fired at them. The squad deemed it wise to go down and hit the dirt. Fortunately – and possibly due to the bumpy road – all of the shots coming from the sidecar missed.

The MG42 in the north finally processed the shock of seeing the Russian truck speed towards them so recklessly and opened fire. They managed to pin it and its passengers, but no considerable damage was done to the vehicle.

The truck’s driver – following the battle plan of marshal Retardishov – had no trouble ignoring the machinegun-fire directed at them and swung the vehicle around to the left. He drove past the MMG team, right up to the Grenadiers and the Panzerschreck team. As per the plan, the truck’s MMG would take out the Panzerschreck, while the flamethrower team would simply hop off and torch the Grenadier squad. Unfortunately, marshal Retardishov’s plans usually only work in his demented mind. Only one shot from the truck’s MMG actually hit the Panzerschreck team and it didn’t even kill anyone. As for the flamethrower team, they didn’t have time to attempt anything as the truck was assaulted by the Grenadiers and the team was forced to disembark and defend their transport. Needless to say, the flamethrower team was slaughtered mercilessly – although not with ease (Zrudi scored exactly two hits). Afterwards, the truck was simply blown up by the grinning Panzerschreck team.

In the south, the IS-2 rolled on towards the howitzer and the blob of inexperienced units, shooting at the howitzer and the Hitlerjugend squad while on the move. The howitzer wasn’t hit, but the tank’s machinegun did kill three kids. This, however, did not bother the rest of the squad. They were apparently in a much better mental state than my riflemen (Zrudi rolled on the unit’s Green rule and successfully upgraded them to Regular – but not to Fanatics at least). The Katyusha tried to provide covering fire for the IS-2, but failed. This proved to be a great problem, because the Hitler Youth now decided to go on the offensive. Passing their order test they advanced to face the Soviet behemoth head-on. They fired their four Panzerfausts and although one missed, the rest hit their target successfully, blowing the tank's turret off.

The tank riders saw the destruction and ran towards the burning wreckage. Their movement was not halted by the MG42 firing at them from the wheat fields.

The LMG team in the north attempted an advance, but lacked the courage (failed order test due to 2 pins).

 Driving into the lion's den

The flamethrower team trying to defend the truck...

... and failing

IS-2 facing off the Hitlerjugend...

 ... and the result

Hans posing for the propaganda shot

Turn 4 & 5

Driven by their success against the IS-2, the Hitlerjugend advanced on the tank riders, but failed to kill anyone. In response the tank riders assaulted the children and killed them without remorse and without losing even one of their own. The Volks Grenadier squad tried to avenge the fallen kids, but they themselves were all killed in close combat by the tank riders. The tankodesantniki's rampage was ended by the remaining SS squad.

In the centre, the Katyusha got outflanked and pinned by the motorcycle. The inexperienced rifle squad was assaulted by the Grenadiers and killed to the last man.

The LMG team in the north managed to advance on the MG42, but failed to hit it again. The MG team’s response was accurate and left most of the LMG squad dead.

And at this point, I surrendered. It’s probably the gulag for me :)

The tank riders massacring the Hitlerjugend...

... and wiping out the Volks Grenadiers a turn later

The Heer Grenadiers after their victory against the Russian riflemen

Final shot of the battlefield from the south

Conclusion

It’s been a long time since I last used the Katyusha and I forgot what a fun vehicle it is (mainly when it hits). The only drawback is that it takes the place of a tank in the platoon. That is why I was glad to play as per the Seelow Heights theatre, which allowed two tanks per platoon.

As for tactical musings, I shouldn’t have disembarked with the LMG squad from the truck so early. I should have run with the IS-2 in the first turn. And I probably shouldn’t have sent the truck and the flamethrower team on a suicide-mission … probably. Well, shoulda coulda woulda. It was still a ridiculously fun game! :)

Based on his last couple of battles, Zrudi seems to think his Volks Grenadiers and the Hitlerjugend squad are doing more than his veteran SS units. This might be because I instinctively avoid SS squads, so they don’t see much action.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the read!

Greger