Author Topic: Tactics  (Read 4287 times)

OatsAndHall

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Tactics
« on: 26 January 2024, 10:30:33 »
I'd like to delve into some of the tactics that people employ in CBT. I'm a big fan of the simple "hammer and anvil" tactic; I tie the opposing force up with the bog boys and then go after the flanks with my faster mediums/lights.

Daryk

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #1 on: 26 January 2024, 17:26:14 »
I focus on mission objectives.  I actually left the map of one game because the GM had told us the REAL target was the artillery on the other side of the lances sent to intercept us.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #2 on: 27 January 2024, 00:21:32 »
Really depends on the map, my forces, the enemy forces, and how much I actually feel like following the mission objectives over seeing how much damage I can deal.
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AlphaMirage

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #3 on: 27 January 2024, 01:12:41 »
I follow the standard tactics of making sure I shoot at lower numbers than my equally experienced opponents (and goading the less experienced ones to make bad moves that put them in poor positions). Typically this involves smoke screens and terrain selection to isolate a portion of the battlefield (or give my opponent an inferior firing solution) where I can achieve local superiority or make a break for cover.

I like running a very mobile force. My table's Meta has a few players that prefer slower assault mechs. Thus the goal is to strand those mechs and their devastating firepower on the other side of the battlefield (presuming you have selected an appropriate number of sheets for the players and there its any kind of terrain this is surprisingly easy) and then redeploy to take out the rest of the easier to kill units before dog piling on that mech. If I can bring Thunders I'll give aim them at that assault mech because its easier to predict their path compared to a faster mech.

Running a more mobile force allows me to overload one of my enemy's flanks and then envelop them. I start with probing actions until I sense an opportunity to charge in (typically by trapping a slower mech in bad terrain) and really pressure the enemy on one side. As one of my preferred Clans are the Ice Hellions I have tested out 'Pack Zell' and found it pretty effective at rapidly degrading the enemy so it is a generally easier fight. I keep track of damage so I can edge into a damaged side for a potentially faster kill.

As for particular selections my Meta also has a guy that likes to use VTOLs so if I know he is coming I will bring an LBX (or if there are vehicles I will do the same for motive/autocrit potential, both of which he uses). Additionally if I am fighting Clans (even as a Clanner) I will try to bring Smoke and Inferno SRMs as those are particularly effective at handling the disparity of firepower between units while forcing an dilemma on my opponent (Infernos on an Ice Ferret are a great way to pop enemy Missile Boats). If I am fighting Blakists or COMGuards and I know they might have C3 I will also bring Anti-Radiation missiles and ECM to target that.

When it is reasonable I also like bringing on an Arrow IV equipped unit as the threat of artillery breaks up 'murder balls' of enemy mechs and discourages camping in heavy woods thus making everything easier to handle. Sometimes we even incorporate Aerospace which is best used against isolated targets, preferably those without long range weapons but even so they are the appropriate target.

Cannonshop

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #4 on: 27 January 2024, 14:00:55 »
I try to adapt what I'm doing to three things:

1. Mission Objectives.
2. what do I have to fight with?
3. What do I know about the other guy?

3 isn't just what he's got for equipment, I try to dope out what he thinks he's got for equipment, what his goals are, and how best to frustrate those goals with what I'm bringing to the table.

I don't 'defend' well.  I'm a movement player, so I try to avoid 'stnad and deliver' situations.  *Y'know, whre you both park the heavies at Medium range and roll dice until somebody falls down

I prefer big maps to small ones, and fast units to slow ones, I don't shy from using artillery or from losing units if it can get me an edge.  I've been told I'm something of an attrition player, since I tend to favor larger numbers of lower tech units when I'm free to set up my own forces or don't know anything about the upcoming scenario beyond "bring X battlevalue and the venue closes at Y time."

I have brought egg-timers to the table before, to 'encourage' decisive placement in the movement phase (for some reason, even if you don't say anything, lots of people react to the presence of an egg-timer instead of slowly mulling over every movement after the initiative roll.)

I like to apply pressure, so I'll have my next few moves laid out mentally before the movement phase is over, which has saved me when I've lost initiative more than a few times-if I can make you react to what I'm doing, I'll do that.

I'm not as risk averse as I've found the average player is, but I DO try to have a reason for every move I make.

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Daryk

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #5 on: 27 January 2024, 14:31:03 »
I think a game between you and Tinyozora would last maybe an hour... leaving time for another game or two... ;D

Paul

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #6 on: 27 January 2024, 16:08:07 »
Focus fire on the thing that dies the quickest and will take the most firepower with it.

The only thing worse than overkilling a 'Mech with too much firepower is underkilling it so it gets another turn

Keep giving the enemy decisions to make. The odds increase they'll make some bad ones.

When you find out what they want to kill or do, you also know what to keep alive to frustrate their energy, or what they'll ignore you doing.

Rotate armor. If Mech 1 gets messed up turn 5, he better be very difficult to hit turn 6. Depending on the situation, don't make it impossible, just harder: this will draw some bad shots "to get the job done", leaving better shots on fresh targets unused.

The point of a DFA or charge isn't to actually do damage, but to draw attention and frustrate plans. Ideally you do 2-3 in the same turn so several can succeed. The biggest advantage of a DFA is that the target *will* displace, provided your jumping Mech survives to the Physical phase.

Objectives in games are key to move the action away from just another murder furball.
But those are fun too, sometimes.
Anyway, objective play means you ignore all the above rules sometimes to get the job done.
The solution is just ignore Paul.

DevianID

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #7 on: 27 January 2024, 18:58:41 »
So a big tactic I use is LRM indirect fire with spotters.  This lets me use cheap spotters to be in LOS to get shots, while the LRM mechs are safe behind terrain.  Shooting the spotters is inefficient, so despite indirect not being the most accurate, you get a damage advantage with a wall of LRMs versus them shooting spotters.

Cheap Brawlers, like actual melee brawlers, is another tactic.  The TAG ostscout is a great punch bot, jumping around and being annoying, like kicking assaults from behind to trigger PSRs, or DFA'ing heavy woods hill campers right down their hill.  A Javelin that pushes a mech off the map is earning like 5x its cost.  Even a simple stinger that sneaks around can threaten a push or DFA if left alone, or 2 punches to the head if you hit a PPC to the head first.

Cannonshop

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #8 on: 28 January 2024, 16:20:41 »
I think a game between you and Tinyozora would last maybe an hour... leaving time for another game or two... ;D

a lot of my game habits came from being pressed for time helping a friend get his Commando Points at game stores.  People will WATCH a fast moving game, they'll walk off if it takes half an hour for someone to complete a movement phase in a lance-on-lance.

it's also really useful to HAVE that time pressure when you're doing a main event-like the fight on New Avalon at the Dawn of the Jihad (I forget the scenario name).  fifty minis on the map, you better have some kind of deadline or the game will make it three turns before the store closes.

Helpful items include:

Get a poster-board with blown-up copies of the tables, and stand it somewhere everyone can see it.
hand out cheat-sheets so people don't have to page through books they're not familiar with for things like resolving missile attacks or calculating TMM (very useful with new players that one).
Dice Boxes!! (they also make it harder to bunk rolls when you're doing cluster damage.)

baby-choking marker dice. the ones you set on the base of the mini to show your TMM bonus. 

I used to have a few 'wire frames' set up to show blast radii for the various BMR era artillery pieces.

a good yardstick (meter stick) or tape-measure is handy for resolving line of sight issues, though a length of red yarn works too.  Lay it between firing unit and target unit, it's very hard to pretend those woods are NOT obscuring the shot.  (this is also handy for demonstrating that "No, you need to flank to get there.")

the basic idea is to remove points of contention and argument (time wasters).  sticky-tabs like you get from office despot added to your copy of TW works REALLY well, if you're using stuff out of the optional books, pre-marking the relevant pages is also good-if you can open the book and say "THIS!!" it tends to shut down someone's advantageous misremembering and lets the game go forward without lots of wasted time.

as for tactics, I'm a movement player because static has never worked for me. I've seen it work for other people, it just doesn't work out for me.

and, adding timers does make the turns go faster.

"If you have to ask permission, then it's no longer a Right, it has been turned into a Privilege-something that can be and will be taken from you when convenient."

Daryk

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #9 on: 28 January 2024, 16:28:56 »
They have these really neat LOS laser pointers these days that are faster and easier than even string.  I can't recommend those highly enough! :)

And speaking of speed, I'm MARRIED because my wife first saw me standing on a chair counting down initiative for a convention game.  The scenario was that battalion sized engagement from the 4th SW scenario book.  I don't remember exactly how it ended, but I remember it being a satisfying ending... ;)

Cannonshop

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #10 on: 28 January 2024, 18:52:32 »
They have these really neat LOS laser pointers these days that are faster and easier than even string.  I can't recommend those highly enough! :)

And speaking of speed, I'm MARRIED because my wife first saw me standing on a chair counting down initiative for a convention game.  The scenario was that battalion sized engagement from the 4th SW scenario book.  I don't remember exactly how it ended, but I remember it being a satisfying ending... ;)

given you remain married, I think the ending being satisfying is a given. :drinking01:
"If you have to ask permission, then it's no longer a Right, it has been turned into a Privilege-something that can be and will be taken from you when convenient."

Daryk

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #11 on: 28 January 2024, 19:06:05 »
So far so good! :D

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #12 on: 29 January 2024, 10:43:44 »
So a big tactic I use is LRM indirect fire with spotters.  This lets me use cheap spotters to be in LOS to get shots, while the LRM mechs are safe behind terrain.  Shooting the spotters is inefficient, so despite indirect not being the most accurate, you get a damage advantage with a wall of LRMs versus them shooting spotters.



This is one of my favorite tactics as well. Tying in SG guided ammo and TAG units makes this exceptionally effective. In fact, I'll typically include a couple BA or VTOL units with TAG in any lance/star just so I have the option of hiding out and raining down LRMs. I might only have one mech that's LRM heavy and one TAG unit but this can really put people in bind. They have three options; take the LRM punishment, kill the spotters/TAG units or hunt the LRM mech. None of those are great options and it frustrates people quickly. Our GM loves to park heavies/assaults at the 14-20 hexes and use them as an overwatch/sniper. The SG IDF strategy drives him nuts.
« Last Edit: 29 January 2024, 10:51:35 by OatsAndHall »

Trailblazer

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #13 on: 30 January 2024, 10:51:35 »
Yes, indirect LRMs can be a huge advantage, wearing down your opponent enough that you can charge.  Because they are not the most accurate, and because you'll want to follow up with a direct-fire attack, I always try to take missile units with large ammo bins--the Salamander is great, or the "Ammo" variant of the 3025 Hunter.  Most of the time I'd rather have an extra ton of ammo than an Artemis unit, which doesn't even work for indirect fire.  Narcs can be really good here if you have the right delivery system (something like a custom VTOL, or an OmniFighter with Narc launchers mounted).

As I discuss in the last section of this post, indirect LRMs are extremely useful on hovertanks if you operate them in terrain with plenty of elevation changes.  They are also the best weapon for fighting in vacuum, as I explain in this older post.

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #14 on: 30 January 2024, 16:14:08 »
Yes, indirect LRMs can be a huge advantage, wearing down your opponent enough that you can charge.  Because they are not the most accurate, and because you'll want to follow up with a direct-fire attack, I always try to take missile units with large ammo bins--the Salamander is great, or the "Ammo" variant of the 3025 Hunter.  Most of the time I'd rather have an extra ton of ammo than an Artemis unit, which doesn't even work for indirect fire.  Narcs can be really good here if you have the right delivery system (something like a custom VTOL, or an OmniFighter with Narc launchers mounted).

As I discuss in the last section of this post, indirect LRMs are extremely useful on hovertanks if you operate them in terrain with plenty of elevation changes.  They are also the best weapon for fighting in vacuum, as I explain in this older post.

Lately, I've been tossing a one or two BA units into the mix just to spot for any ID LRMs I have within the force. I've found this to be effective, regardless of the mission objective as it gives me another avenue of attack and a bit of flexibility. One Saturday, my son-in-law got his Marauder II to a nice spot on the map quickly; elevated woods with partial cover. I had three mechs with LRMs and I tucked them away and rained missiles down on that Marauder with the BA spotting for a few turns and forced him to move.

House Davie Merc

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #15 on: 30 January 2024, 21:43:09 »
I like to take a good look at what I have and an opponent has at the beginning of a game.
I'll usually have some advantage and often they'll have some advantage.
Whatever that advantage is changes from game to game.

From there I focus on leveraging my advantages while minimizing theirs.

For instance lets say my opponent chose a lot of larger units for heavier firepower but
they didn't bring anything fast and didn't upgrade many skills.

I'll target whatever unit they have that is most capable of dealing with flanking units with
my longer ranged units with improved skills and try to get back shots with my faster units
against the rest.

If the OP did bring a fast unit but less then I did  I might target that faster units first
so that I have an overall maneuverability advantage.
It's situational. You have to recognize what you should capitalize on and prevent the
enemy from doing the same.
That's War-gaming 101 isn't it?

House Davie Merc

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #16 on: 30 January 2024, 22:28:28 »
Lately, I've been tossing a one or two BA units into the mix just to spot for any ID LRMs I have within the force. I've found this to be effective, regardless of the mission objective as it gives me another avenue of attack and a bit of flexibility. One Saturday, my son-in-law got his Marauder II to a nice spot on the map quickly; elevated woods with partial cover. I had three mechs with LRMs and I tucked them away and rained missiles down on that Marauder with the BA spotting for a few turns and forced him to move.
Wait until you discover the true beauty of Karnov VTOLs and standard jump infantry.

They are DIRT cheap and available across all the tech bases. Jump Laser rifle infantry can
get a +2 movement mod and they can jump from a VTOL without the VTOL landing.
Infantry can spot without adding their movement mod to the indirect fire to-hit roll.
For right around 200 BV you can deliver jump infantry to a location 17 hexes away in 1 turn
to act as a spotter the next round.

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #17 on: 31 January 2024, 09:32:22 »
Wait until you discover the true beauty of Karnov VTOLs and standard jump infantry.

They are DIRT cheap and available across all the tech bases. Jump Laser rifle infantry can
get a +2 movement mod and they can jump from a VTOL without the VTOL landing.
Infantry can spot without adding their movement mod to the indirect fire to-hit roll.
For right around 200 BV you can deliver jump infantry to a location 17 hexes away in 1 turn
to act as a spotter the next round.

Oh yeah, I've played around with Air Cav delivery; it's fun stuff. And, I love Fire Moths/Dasher variants with a turbo charger and MASC combo, hauling BA across the map in a hurry.

Trailblazer

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #18 on: 04 February 2024, 11:40:14 »
Thought this was an excellent tactics article from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/battletech/comments/ydipf0/first_principles_a_classic_battletech_tactics/

That said I find the core example of stationing the Awesome at the top of a hill somewhat problematic. This sort of overwatch move can easily backfire in BT in my experience. It makes it very easy for any opposing mechs with long range capabilities to gang up and overwhelm the sniper on the hill with return fire.

For example, suppose the opposing lance included a Crusader and a Thunderbolt. Not an overly large investment in long range fires. But the enemy could position these mechs at 14 hexes and do at least equal damage to the Awesome in return. A Marauder and a Warhammer could do the same.

YMMV but I find that concentrated fire is so crucial in BT that sending a small portion of your force off on a mission like this where it might be attacked by multiple enemies can easily go wrong.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #19 on: 04 February 2024, 12:07:00 »
The real problem with putting an assault mech on an overwatch position is when you need to get out of that position.  A really slow mech like an Awesome just doesn't have the maneuverability to get off the hill once the enemy starts closing on their position.
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Paul

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #20 on: 04 February 2024, 12:27:42 »
That said I find the core example of stationing the Awesome at the top of a hill somewhat problematic. This sort of overwatch move can easily backfire in BT in my experience. It makes it very easy for any opposing mechs with long range capabilities to gang up and overwhelm the sniper on the hill with return fire.

For example, suppose the opposing lance included a Crusader and a Thunderbolt. Not an overly large investment in long range fires. But the enemy could position these mechs at 14 hexes and do at least equal damage to the Awesome in return. A Marauder and a Warhammer could do the same.

As you note, it's situational. The overwatch idea works if the amount of firepower is significant and cannot be easily countered. Obviously, two 'Mechs should outperform a single one if their performance is close, but in your examples, it does mean that he has tied down two of your main assets, leaving his other 3 free to pursue other goals if you're not rushing the hill, a risk also noted in the article.

I think we'll agree that there aren't many tactics that can't be countered in some way, shape or form, which is part of what makes the game fun.


Quote
YMMV but I find that concentrated fire is so crucial in BT that sending a small portion of your force off on a mission like this where it might be attacked by multiple enemies can easily go wrong.

I agree that concentrating firepower is a crucial ability. Ideally, the direct fire support from a hill is deployed such that the rest of your force is also actively engaged; you wouldn't want just 1 unit to be able to shoot well, while 3 others have no, or poor shots.
The solution is just ignore Paul.

House Davie Merc

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #21 on: 04 February 2024, 16:58:23 »
The real problem with putting an assault mech on an overwatch position is when you need to get out of that position.  A really slow mech like an Awesome just doesn't have the maneuverability to get off the hill once the enemy starts closing on their position.
I'm kind of odd in that for most games I rarely use assault class designs in early era games
partially for this exact reason.
Don't get me wrong the Awesome's great given the right situation but it's slower odd numbered movement
often means that it must run for 2 elevation changes spread over 2 hexes  and often wastes the 5th movement point.
Gaining no movement mod for it as well.
For comparatively near the same BV as a 4/5 Awesome 8Q you can field some variant of the Marauder or Warhammer
with a 3/5 pilot that can move that extra 1 hex to get a +1 movement mod and traverse another level.
The improved gunnery skill can REALLY help your chances of connecting and these other designs have extra weapons
to respond with up close if needed.
IMHO-if your going to sniper nest in an elevated position where you might be forced to move an improved gunner
in a slightly lighter and faster mech might be better then betting all your BV on a slow assault.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #22 on: 04 February 2024, 17:12:20 »
I was thinking that you're really better off getting something with jump jets.  A 3/5 mech has serious trouble moving any direction but straight forward when they need to get off a hill.  Changing to 3/5/3 and you can get down in a hurry.

Alternatively, you can use the alternate rules from TacOps that let you walk backwards across elevation changes as long as you make a PSR.
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DevianID

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #23 on: 05 February 2024, 02:53:50 »
Eh for a basic point, the overwatch assault using cover to grant effective TMM on a slow unit is great general advice.  If you specifically are up against multiple skilled LRM boats that our range your sniper position, they arnt advocating you just let the awesome die standing on the hill.  Specific counter examples arnt particularly helpful, since they derail from just how good the general advice is in regards to setting up to-hit versus to-get hit advantages on slow mechs using range and cover.

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #24 on: 05 February 2024, 09:48:46 »
The real problem with putting an assault mech on an overwatch position is when you need to get out of that position.  A really slow mech like an Awesome just doesn't have the maneuverability to get off the hill once the enemy starts closing on their position.

Yep, that's certainly an issue that's difficult to mitigate. There are times when I'll go with a big boy with jump jets so I can get them out of trouble. They're a little pricey but typically worth it, if I'm looking for flexibility. Other times, I just plan on planting that big boy and basically forcing people to kill him their primary objective. They're a bullet-magnet but, barring bad rolls, they last awhile and dish out a whole lot of punishment. With that being said, we don't play with artillery and I'm one of the few players that loves IDF.

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #25 on: 07 February 2024, 15:44:54 »
Get close, kick their legs off.

An analysis of my games points to that being my generally favoured course of action regardless of the mechs at my disposal.

It has the advantage of being fairly quick to force a decision, the disadvantage is that decision has not always been in my favour.

Challenger

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #26 on: 07 February 2024, 16:15:44 »
Get close, kick their legs off.

An analysis of my games points to that being my generally favoured course of action regardless of the mechs at my disposal.

It has the advantage of being fairly quick to force a decision, the disadvantage is that decision has not always been in my favour.

Challenger

This is my preferred strategy when we play any Clan versus IS scenario and I'm playing as the IS. Mob the Clan heavies and assaults at point blank range. Land multiple kicks and force PSRs. It plays out well if I can avoid taking too much of a beating while closing the distance.

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #27 on: 07 February 2024, 20:28:59 »
While I try to use most of these, my first and most common is 'fork'.  I bait an opponent with my 2 fastest units, then choose a corner or edge to bring my heaviest units on.  Ideally, I get a 4-on-3 or 4-on-2 for a couple turns, with a chance to jump my bait units behind the units running to join the fight.

In one recent AS game, my opponent plunked down an Annihilator (one of the newer variants) after I put down a Cicada-3P, a unit with a 10j movement.  Seven turns later, he STILL doesn't  have LOS, and my surviving units were Jumping off the board.  That Annie was nothing more than an initiative sink all game, and if it had been Classic rather then AS, i think i would have won.
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OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #28 on: 09 February 2024, 11:36:31 »
While I try to use most of these, my first and most common is 'fork'.  I bait an opponent with my 2 fastest units, then choose a corner or edge to bring my heaviest units on.  Ideally, I get a 4-on-3 or 4-on-2 for a couple turns, with a chance to jump my bait units behind the units running to join the fight.

In one recent AS game, my opponent plunked down an Annihilator (one of the newer variants) after I put down a Cicada-3P, a unit with a 10j movement.  Seven turns later, he STILL doesn't  have LOS, and my surviving units were Jumping off the board.  That Annie was nothing more than an initiative sink all game, and if it had been Classic rather then AS, i think i would have won.

Good call, I do something similar when I have faster movers with ranged weapons. I'll move around and take medium range pot-shots at them while I slowly move my big boys into positions with LOS and cover.  I miss more often than I hit but many players get frustrated and start closing distance. Right into good firing equations for my heavier units.

Red Pins

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #29 on: 09 February 2024, 18:03:23 »
Good call, I do something similar when I have faster movers with ranged weapons. I'll move around and take medium range pot-shots at them while I slowly move my big boys into positions with LOS and cover.  I miss more often than I hit but many players get frustrated and start closing distance. Right into good firing equations for my heavier units.

I find I rely on aggressive cavalry tactics and movement, but it means with the wrong terrain I can't use to break LOS with heavier units i lose.  Mind you, i can't remember the last 1 VS 1 game I won, actually.
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TRO: 3176 Hegemony Refits - the 30-day wonder

Trailblazer

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #30 on: 10 February 2024, 12:29:09 »
This is my preferred strategy when we play any Clan versus IS scenario and I'm playing as the IS. Mob the Clan heavies and assaults at point blank range. Land multiple kicks and force PSRs. It plays out well if I can avoid taking too much of a beating while closing the distance.

Although if you're playing this strategy against front-line Clan units with canon-level piloting skill of 2 or 3, you can't necessarily count on them failing even a single PSR the whole game...

Jeyar123

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #31 on: 10 February 2024, 20:39:49 »
Axle and wheel.

Slow core up the center, faster units on arcs to distract (or failing that hit flanks).

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #32 on: 12 February 2024, 11:45:20 »
I find I rely on aggressive cavalry tactics and movement, but it means with the wrong terrain I can't use to break LOS with heavier units i lose.  Mind you, i can't remember the last 1 VS 1 game I won, actually.

We ran into this on Saturday. It was a 2v2 game and one of the opposing players brought two mediums and a light. They were all fast units (mix of MASC, superchargers, and jump jets) but the map wasn't kind to him. He did a fair amount of damage early on but they got picked apart by units that were parked in cover.

AlphaMirage

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #33 on: 12 February 2024, 11:59:00 »
The above is why I will bring artillery and smoke rounds (SRM-6 is best) if available to back up my cavalry tactics. The funny thing is always players that really love to camp invest a lot of BV into their Campers. They really hate it when you don't give them shots and pick apart all their spotters only to pound them to pieces at close range where that extra BV isn't as worth it.

Red Pins

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #34 on: 12 February 2024, 13:51:09 »
Yeah played this weekend and the GM wouldn't let me start a fire to generate smoke.
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TRO: 3176 Hegemony Refits - the 30-day wonder

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #35 on: 12 February 2024, 13:52:51 »
The above is why I will bring artillery and smoke rounds (SRM-6 is best) if available to back up my cavalry tactics. The funny thing is always players that really love to camp invest a lot of BV into their Campers. They really hate it when you don't give them shots and pick apart all their spotters only to pound them to pieces at close range where that extra BV isn't as worth it.


We don't play with a lot of artillery in our regular games. Smoke rounds are always on the table though. We do open things up quite a bit when playing pick-up games, though. My regular group has found a fairly comfortable groove (i.e. they like their high BV campers). I circumvent the lack of arty by tying various IDF strategies into most of my lists.

Daryk

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #36 on: 12 February 2024, 17:58:39 »
If you can't get proper artillery, Artillery Cannons can work... ;)

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #37 on: 13 February 2024, 10:13:21 »
We played with arty for about a month. But... My regular group trended the way we always do: we spammed arty every game until it was obnoxious.  We tend to beat things to death when we branch out, which can be expected. We have pretty specific parameters for our regular group but the gloves come off when we play pick-up game.

Col Toda

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #38 on: 16 April 2024, 07:14:26 »
My tactics are radically different by ERA . Star League had the most use of WMDs during the Reunification War. 

Succession wars I used standard lance of Centurion and Trebuchet  as well as some heavy hitting Tanks or Mechs.  Heavy installation and use of Hitches, Trailers, and recon cameras .

Clan Invasion ERA : C3 ; TAG ; Homming Arrow to make holes and Semi - Guided  LRMs to Exploit them.

Jihaad much the same as Clan ERA but Expect an ECM rich situation .
3058-3078 dropped Artemis IV FCS as too many stock mechs have ECM installed even to its detriment. 

Republic ERA heavy Wight use in Urban combat .
Nearly all experimental  tech becomes Advanced.  ECM becomes gradually less prevalent Artemis IV more viable

Dark Age this ERA was reflected by having all this shiny new tech getting their ass kicked by tried and true tactical doctrines. ECM becomes one or two per company at best .

Il Khan nearly all experimental and Advanced becomes tournament legal . Mature I know hiw ro use the new tech tactical doctrines have happened so getting wrecked by 80 + year old equipment happens less.




« Last Edit: 17 April 2024, 02:04:45 by Col Toda »

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #39 on: 16 April 2024, 09:22:17 »
Although if you're playing this strategy against front-line Clan units with canon-level piloting skill of 2 or 3, you can't necessarily count on them failing even a single PSR the whole game...

True. But, their legs will take a beating and they'll go down eventually. It typically only takes two rounds of landing kicks to go internal on their legs and then life gets rough for them. That 3 PS turns into a 6 in a hurry after some actuator hits. Also, I'm going to be able to field a mountain of IS mechs with low G/P if they're bringing 2/2 or 2/3 level Clan pilots. 
« Last Edit: 16 April 2024, 09:23:53 by OatsAndHall »

garhkal

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #40 on: 16 April 2024, 14:43:20 »
Although if you're playing this strategy against front-line Clan units with canon-level piloting skill of 2 or 3, you can't necessarily count on them failing even a single PSR the whole game...

Plus its gonna be heck, to get in close to DO all those kicks..

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OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #41 on: 16 April 2024, 15:18:42 »
Plus its gonna be heck, to get in close to DO all those kicks..

I make sure I get a whole lot more IS units on the table than Clanners in these games. I typically choose cheap IS units, play my pilots at 4/4 and get a two-one advantage over the Clans. I get chewed up a bit on my approach in but always have enough left to put a hurting on someone. It's pretty much a banzai-charge: a wave or two of fast mediums, screening for a group of heavier and assaults.

garhkal

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #42 on: 17 April 2024, 00:49:45 »
How many have you won that way?
It's not who you kill, but how they die!
You can't shoot what you can't see.
You can not dodge it if you don't know it's coming.

OatsAndHall

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Re: Tactics
« Reply #43 on: 17 April 2024, 09:04:41 »
How many have you won that way?

I've lost one, decisively, and it was on a map with very little cover. There was LOS everywhere and I got butchered on my approach. There have been matches where it's come down to the wire and I've eeked out a win with a few extra hundred BV on the table.

 

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