Looking for Company/Lance configurations for special abilities. Help Wanted

[Hellraiser]

Hello All, 

I'm not a huge Alpha Strike player but I was going through some old BT Campaign info & was looking to set up some AS abilities for a few units.


My biggest question revolves around the lightest/fastest mech company & how best to shift abilities into AS.


Delta Company
1st Lance         CAVSTRK?   The movement bonuses allowing the 4MP mechs to keep up with the Wolverine & 2nd Lance?
  Skirmisher-Victor-9B
  Skirmisher-GrassHopper-5H
  Skirmisher-Wolverine-6M
  Brawler-Hatchetman-3F
2nd Lance      PROBE/SWEEP      Bloodstalker for gang fire on a single target?
  Skirmisher-ShadowHawk-2H
  Sniper-Griffin-1N
  Skirmisher-Trebuchet-5S
  MissileBoat-Dervish-6M         
3rd Lance     PURSUIT     Bloodstalker again
  Skirmisher-PhoenixHawk-1D
  Striker-Vulcan-5T
  Scout-Vulcan-2T
  Scout-Wasp-1A

This is the lightest company on average & it tends to operate as a raider & hit/run force.


Finally, I'm debating Battle or Cavalry on this 4th lance from a different unit.
Heavy Lance
  Skirmisher-Thunderbolt-5SE
  MissileBoat-Catapult-C1
  MissileBoat-Crusader-3L
  Skirmisher-Enforcer-4R
The other 2 Lances are a heavy FIRE lance & a light Pursuit if that matters.


I was trying to avoid going BATTLE lances for everything to give it some variety.



3rd question on a bit of a tangent.
Are there rules for assigning a role to custom mechs?
I know canon mechs have a pre-assigned role, but what about non-canon stuff.
For example, a barely salvageable Rifleman-3N was rebuilt with PPC/ML in the arms & extra Armor/HS.
Is there any way to call that a Brawler for example instead of a Sniper?

[Richard S.]

3rd question on a bit of a tangent.
Are there rules for assigning a role to custom mechs?
I know canon mechs have a pre-assigned role, but what about non-canon stuff.
For example, a barely salvageable Rifleman-3N was rebuilt with PPC/ML in the arms & extra Armor/HS.
Is there any way to call that a Brawler for example instead of a Sniper?

The AS Companion has guidelines for assigning roles; the Rifleman's a bit too slow to be a brawler, which are supposed to be fast enough to keep up with the force's "line" units and favor close-to-medium range fighting.

[Hellraiser]

The AS Companion has guidelines for assigning roles; the Rifleman's a bit too slow to be a brawler, which are supposed to be fast enough to keep up with the force's "line" units and favor close-to-medium range fighting.

I was just using that as an example, that said, the Warhammer-6D which was the "goal" of the customization is a Brawler at 4/6/0 so I'm betting its not too slow.

[Richard S.]

ASC recommends 8-12" for Brawlers (4-6 hexes walking). Technically the most important thing is the mech's "intended" role, rather than whether it actually matches the required stats, but in practice I don't think there's any that violate them. Campaign Ops explains the roles sans requirements if you just want to assign them based on that.

[Hellraiser]

Thanks,
I'm curious what the requirements are so I'll work on finding AS Companion

Most of the unit is full canon RS designs.

That said a couple of them have enough customization that it makes me think the role would change.

The Rifleman mentioned above is one, another is a Cyclops-10Z (Juggernaut) that uses a Prototype-Gauss to basically become a Cyclops-11A (Sniper).


Do you have any thoughts on the 4 lances I listed & suggested formation types or alternates?

[Charistoph]

Thanks,
I'm curious what the requirements are so I'll work on finding AS Companion

It's effectively out-of-print, which means eBay pricing is insane.  Getting the PDF version through the likes of DriveThruRPG might be the best option there.

For our Alpha Strike nights, we usually stick to Stock machines because of the lack of access to support for Alpha Strike PV pricing.  However, we do use Customs for some of our Campaign missions where the scenario isn't set up based on combined PV, and our force isn't set up for Formations, instead allowing for pilots to be individually focused as desired.

[Hellraiser]

Getting the PDF version ...  might be the best option there.

For our Alpha Strike nights, we usually stick to Stock machines because of the lack of access to support for Alpha Strike PV pricing. 

Thanks, yeah, PDF is what I'm thinking of. 
My book shelves are overflowing to the point that I've started to box them up in Totes, so I've decided deadtree is out for me going forward, at least till I have a bigger house :)

I don't plan on playing AS w/ customs, it was just a side project of looking at an old CBT campaign unit & thinking, "how would this convert to AS lances w/ abilities?"

A few of the mechs have some customization on them so that got me thinking about a new "Role" for them & if there were rules anywhere for how to set "Role" for a mech.

[Charistoph]

Thanks, yeah, PDF is what I'm thinking of. 
My book shelves are overflowing to the point that I've started to box them up in Totes, so I've decided deadtree is out for me going forward, at least till I have a bigger house :)

I don't plan on playing AS w/ customs, it was just a side project of looking at an old CBT campaign unit & thinking, "how would this convert to AS lances w/ abilities?"

A few of the mechs have some customization on them so that got me thinking about a new "Role" for them & if there were rules anywhere for how to set "Role" for a mech.

Solaris SkunkWerks does do BattleForce Stats, which equate to Alpha Strike Stats.  But it doesn't do the Role or PV.

Mech Factory does do the Alpha Strike Cards with PV, but I don't remember if they do Roles for Customization.

[Hellraiser]

Following up on my previous questions so reactivating the thread.

I was able to pick up AS-Companion as part of a Humble Bundle a while back & have been skimming it every so often when I get a weekend to relax.

The Command, Battle, & Fire units formations all seem pretty powerful &/or specific.

But I'm wondering about 3 of the more mobile formations for some units that qualify for multiple roles.

Specifically, the CavStrike Lance, the Pursuit Lance & the Recon Lance & their various abilities.

The above company that I originally posted about & another couple light/fast lances can qualify for multiple formations so I'm trying to tinker around & tailor up the best options to use together.

If you have formations that can qualify for more than one, how would you rank them in terms of power of the abilities as well as overall usefulness.

Cav-Strike = Speed Demon
Pursuit = Blood Stalker
Recon = Forward Observer, Eagle Eyes, or Maneuvering Ace.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

Speed demon is probably less useful on fully JJ equipped stars, and either way relies on your ability to win initiative and use that extra two inches for better shots. Probably better in campaign style games than a one off imo.

Blood Stalker is pretty good, if you pick the formation option. Otherwise it’s easy enough to play keep away, as long as your opponent remembers who is going after who.

Eagle eyes is probably not very useful in most cases, especially without special scenarios.
FO is cool if you pair it with a big number IF lance or artillery I guess. It’s very situational tho.
Ignoring woods is good, and there are some other bonuses at are situational.

So
Pursuit
Cav
Recon (much more list dependent)

[Hellraiser]

Thanks for the info!

I am finding some of the formations hard to qualify for with my existing lances as previously set up.

For example.
A lance with 70 LRMs, 5 PPCs, & 3 LLs in the Intro Era and I can't get it to qualify for Fire.
Ah well, Heavy Battle it is, was just looking for variety.

[Hellraiser]

Delta Company
1st Lance         CAVSTRK?   The movement bonuses allowing the 4MP mechs to keep up with the Wolverine & 2nd Lance?
  Skirmisher-Victor-9B
  Skirmisher-GrassHopper-5H
  Skirmisher-Wolverine-6M
  Brawler-Hatchetman-3F

So, opening this up again.

I was reading my AS/CE PDF & I'm not seeing the ability to make a "force" w/ abilities from the above mechs.

I mean, a lance of similar roles for the most part, similar movement, similar ranges, its clearly got a focus to it to me.

But as I pick through the various options, I'm not actually finding one that it qualifies for.

The mixing of an Assault-Victor into a lance w/ 2 Mediums seems to be throwing all sorts of problems into the mix.

Anyone out there have suggestions on what formation I can use short of "Support" which seems really odd for this force.

[Death_from_above]

Going against the "no Battle Lances" from the OP, it does qualify as one..

[Hellraiser]

Thanks for saying that DFB!

I went back to the description & realized I misread it.

I thought you had to have 3 at Size 3+.

Okay, so 50% works for this then, great.

As for "No Battle", its not NO battle, it was just a goal to avoid labeling every lance as Battle since from what I've read its the "best" for most things.

I was trying to find other roles if at all possible that still were good w/o just defaulting to the re-roll hits/Battle ability.

[MarauderD]

Battle is a very strong formation, to be sure.  The extra 2" move you mentioned can be useful too. 

[Hellraiser]

The extra 2" move you mentioned can be useful too. 

Yep, I liked that when I first read it but the Lance doesn't appear to qualify in the current book I have.
The reqs have changed from source to source it seems over the years.

[Charistoph]

So, opening this up again.

I was reading my AS/CE PDF & I'm not seeing the ability to make a "force" w/ abilities from the above mechs.

I mean, a lance of similar roles for the most part, similar movement, similar ranges, its clearly got a focus to it to me.

But as I pick through the various options, I'm not actually finding one that it qualifies for.

The mixing of an Assault-Victor into a lance w/ 2 Mediums seems to be throwing all sorts of problems into the mix.

Anyone out there have suggestions on what formation I can use short of "Support" which seems really odd for this force.

Command Lance fits IF you want it to.

If you had 3 of Size 3, then it could be a Heavy Strike Lance, but that's the same problem as the regular Strike Lance where you can't have one over Size 4...

[Hellraiser]

Command Lance fits IF you want it to.

Dang, I missed that one too.
Gotta slow down my reading clearly.

While that particular lance is a company command lance, I'm saving the actual "command" ability for the unit commander lance, its not listed above, but includes Battlemaster, Cyclops, Rifleman, Stinger.

[Hellraiser]

Thanks, I think I've finalized the AS abilities attached to each of my unit lances.  Now to actually play some AS.  I've probably got less than 5 AS games in in the last 15 years.

Code: [Select]

Unit Name Formation/Role AS Pts
Omega Command COMMAND 133

Alpha Dragoon HEAVY BATTLE 161
Alpha Assault HEAVY BATTLE 152
Alpha Recon RECON 83

Delta Battle BATTLE 129
Delta Medium PROBE 121
Delta Light PURSUIT 84

Kappa Heavy HEAVY CAVALRY 130
Kappa Fire FIRE 149
Kappa Pursuit SWEEP 96

[Charistoph]

Dang, I missed that one too.
Gotta slow down my reading clearly.

While that particular lance is a company command lance, I'm saving the actual "command" ability for the unit commander lance, its not listed above, but includes Battlemaster, Cyclops, Rifleman, Stinger.

It can go to the lance of the Second in Command, as you can theoretically have two.  So your Battalion Lance Command is one, and your Company Command Lance is the second.

The alternative is to go Battle or move some things around to fit it in as a Strike/Cavalry Lance of one size or another.

[Starfox5]

I'd always go for a Command formation. The ability to reroll Initiative is strong on its own, and the ability to hand out special pilot abilities only adds to it. And, of course, having a commander is fitting the lore.

[MarauderD]

Command Lances are great--period.  Definitely a must have somewhere in your formation!

[Hellraiser]

or move some things around to fit it in as a Strike/Cavalry Lance of one size or another.

I wasn't creating from scratch so can't move things around.
It was a just a project to see if I could apply AS abilities to a decades old CBT campaign force.

Fluff wise, while I could do a 2nd Command Lance it wouldn't be w/ this Company as the Victor is the lowest ranking/tenure of the 3 Company COs.
The PC was much more focused on tactics over strategy & the unit its the fastest company as a whole w/ all 12 mechs having JJ.

[MarauderD]

I wasn't creating from scratch so can't move things around.
It was a just a project to see if I could apply AS abilities to a decades old CBT campaign force.

Fluff wise, while I could do a 2nd Command Lance it wouldn't be w/ this Company as the Victor is the lowest ranking/tenure of the 3 Company COs.
The PC was much more focused on tactics over strategy & the unit its the fastest company as a whole w/ all 12 mechs having JJ.

When using Command Lances, it also helps to scope out the helpful non-commander units you might use:  a tanky type for Antagonizer, high damage output type for Combat Intuition or Multi-Tasker, etc etc.

[Hellraiser]

When using Command Lances, it also helps to scope out the helpful non-commander units you might use:  a tanky type for Antagonizer, high damage output type for Combat Intuition or Multi-Tasker, etc etc. 

Thanks, I'll have to read up on those & see how they would best fit the lance.

As I mentioned above the HQ is Battlemaster, Cyclops, Stinger, & a seriously customized Rifleman that was gutted when captured & rebuilt as a baby Warhammer-6D.

[MarauderD]

Cyclops as commander?

Then your customized Rifleman could take Combat Intuition for example (assuming it is like a 4/4/2 damage bracket) and the Battlemaster could take Antagonizer, for instance.

[Hellraiser]

The Battlemaster is actually the CO's ride.
Cyclops is the XO.
Rifleman is "bodyguard" so to speak. 
Stinger obviously is the scout.

[Kaisei31]

I would like to ask for help looking for a special auto-cannon formation for Alpha Strike.   I thought I saw it in a book recently or I may be imagining things 😅. Thanks!

[krazzyharry]

Campaign Ops has the Rifle Lance but it is exclusive to the Federated Suns.

[House Davie Merc]

The Battlemaster is actually the CO's ride.
Cyclops is the XO.
Rifleman is "bodyguard" so to speak. 
Stinger obviously is the scout.

The Command Lance is one of the pickiest of lances to meet the listed requirements.
The roles have to match up just right.
Battlemaster- Brawler
Cyclops- Juggernaut
Rifleman- Sniper
Stinger- scout

If you modify the Rifleman enough that it is no longer classified as a Sniper
then the entire lance no longer qualifies as a Command Lance per the AS rules.
50% of the lance must have one  of the following unit roles: Sniper, Missile Boat,
Skirmisher, or Juggernaut.
I've run a Command Lance since the 80s that consists of a Marauder, Archer,
Warhammer, and Phoenix Hawk. A pretty classic lance-and it's even pictured on
page 39 of the rules that came in the new AS rule book.
When playing Classic if BV was a problem I would often replace the Pixy with a
Fire Javelin or Firestarter.
I can't do that in AS and keep it a legal Command Lance.
The catch is that my Marauder is the MAD-3D variant. The same Mad many
players choose over the 3R for a command mech. AS classifies the MAD-3D as
a BRAWLER instead of a sniper like the MAD-3R. Even though I've seen
it used that way Extremely rarely due to it's armor and in Classic the heat makes their
long range damage almost the same, that's how AS classifies it's role.
Tinkering with the Rifleman could cause the same problem for you.

What saved my lance from being forced out as a Command Lance is that
the Phoenix Hawk is a Skirmisher and it makes it meet the 50% requirement.
Now I can't downgrade it to save PV in AS though.