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.
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.
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!
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
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?
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
