Scenario: Clan Invasion
Rules: Classic, Standard
Map: Badlands #2, Washout #1-2
Year: 3050
Restrictions: ~10,500 BV/side
FWLM Lance + Ground Vehicles
> Tally the most BV in kills
> VTR-9B Victor, Gunnery 2, Piloting 3
> TDR-5SE Thunderbolt, Gunnery 2, Piloting 3
> CPLT-C1 Catapult, Gunnery 2, Piloting 3
> PHX-1 Phoenix Hawk, Gunnery 2, Piloting 3
> LRM carrier, Gunnery 3, Driving 4
> 2x Scorpion light tank, Gunnery 4, Driving 5
Unidentified Clan Star
> Tally the most BV in kills
> Kodiak, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> Howler, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> Fire Falcon, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> Hellion B, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> Pack Hunter, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
Comments
One of the relatively new players from a previous game picked up a CGL Clan Ad Hoc Star at the end of the evening, and since painting them up has been eager to try them out on the table. I've never played ClanTech and have almost no experience playing against them, so this was a fun experiment for both of us. A third player appeared and assisted running the Clan star, so the game was also good bookkeeping practice for me with my larger force.
Summary
The Phoenix Hawk led the tanks up one edge of the map to present a threat and easy BV tally for the Clanners. The Catapult paired with the LRM carrier moving toward the center and occupying wooded hexes, while the Victor and Thunderbolt moved up the map edge opposite the Phoenix Hawk and tanks. The Clan players sent their Fire Falcon and Pack Hunter to harass the Catapult and LRM units, while the Hellion and Howler engaged the contingent led by the Phoenix Hawk.
The Fire Falcon punched above its weight the whole game, but the Pack Hunter failed to make a single shot from its long range band and did not close until the final turn. The Catapult suffered as it traded fire with the Fire Falcon and Howler after the latter was redirected to engage it, but the hits were spread across its upper sections, and it was able to retreat before taking any internal damage. While reorienting to support the Hellion against the Phoenix Hawk and tanks, the Fire Falcon was finally destroyed by the combined missile fire of the Thunderbolt, Catapult, and LRM carrier.
The Clanners easily destroyed both tanks before either could contribute much to the fight; the attacking Hellion tallied both kills almost single-handedly and stripped most of the Phoenix Hawk's armor by the end of the game. The Kodiak was ill-suited to marching across the wrinkly terrain to engage at an effective range, and then struggled to target the jumping Marik BattleMechs as they moved between covered positions, but did manage to strip the armor off the LRM carrier and score an ammo hit, reducing it from full health to a smoking crater in a single turn. Once the Kodiak entered the fray, the Victor, Thunderbolt, and Catapult used their mobility to surround and hammer it, a tactic that might have eventually succeeded in a longer game.
We called it at 9:30 p.m. after five hours of play, with the Mariks narrowly edging out the Clanners in BV tallied: 1,915 to 1,712. Mobility and positioning won the day, but everyone agreed that if the Clanners had begun by focusing fire on a tougher target instead of going for the low-hanging fruit the game might have gone very differently. The owner of the Clan minis was disappointed the Kodiak couldn't more easily close with and swat the purple flies buzzing around it, but I think he learned a lot. Personally, seeing ClanTech up close for the first time got me interested in putting together a star. Clan Jade Falcon seems like a good fit.