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