It seems like this forum is starting to quiet down! That is a no go! I have in the recent month got back in to MechWarrior, I currently play with my brother after combining our two collections and now have a significant number of pieces for most of the factions. I am a player of Davion/Swordsworn and Ghost bears while my brother enjoys using Banson's Raiders and Highlanders. Recently he even acquired a colossal mech to use against me... It's not bad enough you have to almost roll critical hits to hit highlanders, now this monstrosity stands in my way.
So in an effort to keep some activity here in one of the last bastions of MechWarrior players I will update this thread every few days once another clash of armies has commenced. I am even thinking of a couple campaign ideas for us to play through and I can report in of the happenings.
I will start off with a report of our first conflict, it was Davion/SS vs Highlanders/mercs. (DA rules/no cards) My army hinged on the use of #030 Templar and Hendrene Michalik and his on Caden Senn and the merc Kelswa assault tank. On my left flank I moved up Sgt. Leo Riordan into some hindering to control that side of the battlefield, halting the advance of his ursa.
He went straight up the middle with Caden Senn and his near impervious defense while I infantry dropped three SRM teams to deal some ranged combat formation armor piercing damage. While plinking away at the Ryoken II I sent a formation of purifiers to move up the right flank and engage some infantry and distract the tank.
Returning to the left flank I was cracking off shots with Leo but missing left and right with Caden but managed to pick off some infantry. I took Hendrene and drove her straight up the left flank in a failed attempt to ram his ursa. Turn after turn I tried to shoot the mech but no matter how high my attack she couldn't hit anything but some infantry he based her with. The hovertank was slowly picked apart.
Meanwhile with the distractions on both flanks I was able to deal heavy damage to Caden with my Templar and SRM teams. He turned tail and headed back to the safety of the tank but was dropped before getting there. My purifiers were getting annihilated by the kelswa and the mercenary infantry were all he had left other than the heavily damaged ursa. About this time the hour was up and we called the game, I was victorious.
Game 2;
This was a few days later on a larger playing area. We played a mashup of DA and AOD rules without cards. (We are getting to only AOD rules)
This battle would be against two different enemies, Banson's Raiders and the Ghost Bears. My key units were Stormwind Battlemaster and the Marauder IIC backed up by a huit assault tank (047). He had a formation of 2 M1 marksmans and a DI Schmitt followed by the kelswa assault tank; all backing up suzie "qutter", a sun cobra, and bart bradshaw.
Stormwind took to the left flank with an Enyo tank, the Huit, a Tokugawa, and lone Wraith BA went up the center while a 3 man formation of Wraiths followed the Marauder up the right flank. He advanced his tank formation into some hindering on his side of the play area on my right flank and moved the sun cobra and qutter up behind them. In the center he placed his kelswa to cover the center of the board, somewhere I vowed to never go this game. On the left he moved up Bart bradshaw to slow my Battlemaster's advance.
The fighting began on my right flank, his suncobra and ghost advanced quickly using runs up the nearby abrupt elevated to get the high ground on my marauder, he immediately attempted an alpha strike, which.....................missed, 8 clicks of damage missed. Even for a Ghost Bear that'd be too much too fast in a game. Between my wraiths, marauder, and tank/1 infantry formation I began to pick apart the mechs while he inched his tanks closer. They began to open fire on my marauder and they exchanged shots.
He advanced infantry in the mean time to delay my battlemaster's advance. Bart bradshaw was nicking it's armor but that only made my pilot meaner and the battlemaster began tearing units apart. After a long battle both the sun cobra and ghost fell. The homing beacon on the Tokugawa certainly changed the direction of the firefight. My marauder took the hill and began to reign down fire on the tanks.
The Toku and Huit took to center of the board to engage and distract the kelswa from my advancing battlemaster but he took notice and became extremely aggressive. He charged with Bart to damage my battlemaster, did a 2 SRM team infantry drop and rammed but failed with a transport. The battlemaster was surrounded. I desperately fought my heat dial and attacking nearly every turn to end this mad charge, one by one between the enyo and Battlemaster the damage was done to kill off bradshaw, the two infantry and the transport fled.
The battlemaster exchanged fire as his tanks broke formation and came to kelswa's aid. But it was too late, the battlemaster had hit multiple times and the kelswa was knocked from its ungodly first click. The battlemaster in it's firefight took critical damage and was salvaged and began a hasty retreat. Covering its retreat was the Huit, toku, infantry and marauder. The two tanks finished off the tank formation and salvaged the kelswa but the toku was destroyed, wraiths killed and the huit was salvaged. What remained that could fight?!
My force:
Battlemaster - salvaged
huit - salvaged
toku - destroyed
infantry - dead
marauder - heavy damage
enyo - functional
His force:
ghost - destroyed
sun cobra - destroyed
bradshaw - destroyed
m1 marksman - destroyed
m1 marksman - destroyed
DI Schmitt - destroyed
kelswa - salvaged
1 infantry - I remember not its name, all I remember is its REFLECTIVE ARMOR!
The irony? My marauder could only shoot energy and my enyo only has energy weapons! The pain of this engagement struck me...
To give a little backstory, when my brother rolls, if he needs a 20 he rolls a critical hit, if he needs 6 he will never hit. when I roll, if its anything over 8 I am lucky if I hit.
So now we have this one lone infantry against my marauder. The marauder can't shoot it and it has taken heavy damage but is at least cooled. What I forsee: my marauder bases this guy and gets captured.
So I move in for the terrifying battle between his little armor infantry and my assault mech that can only hurt it by stepping on it. I roll for close combat....................................................... MISS! I take my pushing heat. He rolls for capture.....................................................MISS! I roll for close combat.............................................................................. sweat pours down my brow as the random dice from the steel wolves and swordsworn roll my mech's fate before I take this click of heat and start rolling for heat sink overload and shutdown......................... HIT!
He takes his clicks and the vile infantry dies. The Ghost bears are victorious! I look down to check the marauder. It went salvage the next click. The insanity! I take game 2.
Game three:
This game happened yet another few days later, about a week ago. It was time for another highlander vs davion battle.
I once again brought forth my trusty Templar, JES II missile carrier and untrustworthy hendrene michalik hovertank. He fielded 2 ursas and the kelswa was nowhere to be found! he focused more on infantry this game.
We begin the fight and he makes a line straight to my JES, he has hated that vehicle since our first game all those years ago when I got it out of my first starter during the first release.
This game was madness, almost akin to a zombie attack. I cannot remember most of this confrontation beyond that. I will skip to the end. A single building sits in the center of the field to cut it in half, he attacks and utterly destroys the JES, I think it got off one salvo of missiles. My Templar took refuge behind this building as his army swarmed. He sat behind the building facing slightly to the left and then the madness began. In one turn, they came.
He charged and rammed around the left side of the building vehicle by vehicle, ursa by ursa. hit, miss, hit, miss. the Templar could only fire so much in a vain attempt to stop the horde without overheating. He shot, shot, flushed, shot, shot, flushed over and over. All the while about 8 inches back hendrene michalik with her 11 attack missed EVRY SINGLE SHOT in support of my Templar, even into various rear arcs! That 5 with pulse was useless!
The Templar was still standing after the onslaught, overheated, but still standing. All around him lie destroyed heaps of vehicles and mechs. The madness had ended. All I remember is the hour was up and the Templar and pushed to death cause it kept missing hovertank were all that was left.
That game was a lot of fun. So far I have won all 3 games, but next week I face Poseidon. I cannot wait to bring out my davion atlas and dual Templars for this engagement. When my brother makes his comeback he will slaughter my armies almost as the clans did to the inner sphere.
I will post a report of this upcoming fight after the bloodbath.
If anyone else is CURRENTLY playing and has fun battle stories, post them! I mean current because to keep this game alive we have to talk about how we are currently playing! No old war stories, just new fresh ones! Until I report again!