BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat

BattleTech Player Boards => Challenges and Gatherings => After Action Reports => Topic started by: Ouchies on 05 March 2012, 11:56:47

Title: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Ouchies on 05 March 2012, 11:56:47
...and it dragged on like you might imagine.

Still, fun as an all awesome light show rave.  :D

A nova of Jade Falcons, star of Coyotes, and a reinforced lance of Comstar mechs rounds out the good guy side (total not author biased) vs. A tidal wave of mercenary surat mechs.  It was litterally just a bit short of a Batallion.  It was the kitchen sink of army lists.

(http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3074/img2012030400009.jpg)
The battlefield.

(http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/9163/img2012030400010.jpg)
Opening Moves.  Not seen are Comstar mechs run up the right flank.
Our plan here was to skirmish the right flank and shift left using our superior speed.  But alas, the comstar mechs were averaging a 5/8 for their line mechs.  It made the fading part of the "hit and fade" a little less than successful.

(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8028/img2012030400011.jpg)
(http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/8623/img2012030400012.jpg)
Dispersing the battle line.  Naga and Night Wolf get cozy sending shots down range as the mercenaries move down the right flank and threaten the back side of the base.  Fenris lays smoke and denies crucial fire lines to the IS.
(http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/5601/img2012030400013.jpg)
Jade Falcon skirmishes the left flank and looks as scary as possible from their scout mechs.
(http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/212/img2012030400014.jpg)
More smoke and skirmishing.  Shots are finally being traded in earnest.  Griffin goes down.  Pheonix Hawk on the far right eventually gimps himself under sustained fire.  Night wolf moves it's lathargic frame forward under discovery that lots of C3 is being used... and it's the only ECM boat on the clan side of the board.
In Night Wolf fashion, it decides to move away from the principle conflict the ECM would have been useful in.  None the less, it trades shots with the Awesome.
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/374/img2012030400015.jpg)
(http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/1180/img2012030400016.jpg)
The feint in play, the artillery starts reigning into the kill box as the comstar/clan forces drag the mercs in.
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1031/img2012030400017.jpg)
And as we entered the final store hour of operation, we got lulzy and aggressive.   O0

CLOWN BUTTON ALPHASTRIKE ACTIVATE TIME GO!
(http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8241/img2012030400018.jpg)
PEW PEW PEW
(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2019/img2012030400020.jpg)
BOOM! Groan! *STUPID DICE* BOOM! PSSHT BANG!
(http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/9740/img2012030400021.jpg)
(http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4196/img2012030400022.jpg)
DICE! Y U NO MAKE BACK SHOTS ON 6+.  ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9008/img2012030400023.jpg)
Carnage at the end.

In one turn 6 mechs go down as we closed gaps and got crazy with the to hit numbers.  Still, "sure things" managed to wiff it consistently and in battletech fashion, unlikely odds and hilarious tactics made for the best kills...
An Atlas went down to an Arrow IV to the face... the nightwolf went down to karma ( I just got done gloating about the armor as we were ticking off successive head hits)...  And despite daft maneuvering, the lights never managed to singe paint.
Though the ECM dervish managed to cause havok at just the right moment causing the C3 system in the comstar unit to go completely dark the turn they needed it... and earned a disproportional amount of return fire.

All in all, good game.  Just WAY too long.
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: TylerDurden on 05 March 2012, 12:16:40
How many turns did you guys get through?

Games that size are going to take all day, even with the most dedicated players and not too much chatter.

Sounds like it was fun!
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: BARNESGN on 05 March 2012, 12:27:54
Love the terrain/buildings. Mat is also nice.

What rules did you use? Gunnery piloting skills? and How many hours of play time?
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Mastergunz on 05 March 2012, 12:29:48
Damn...just damn.

-Gunz
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Ouchies on 05 March 2012, 12:59:49
Thanks!

About 7 turns @ 6hours?  Maybe?  We used a good chunk of TotalWarfare and TacOps.
The Mercs had a few elites woven into their ranks.  The Coyote's were solid 3/4's while the rest on our side were 4/5's.

Regarding chatter, I couldn't help but start cracking bad puns with my brother for a time since the game weighed heavily on the right flank trading a company's load of fire from the beginning to the end.  It's just really hard to stay focused in that situation.
When we do another like it again, I think we are going to split it up into smaller maps so everyone isn't waiting on the action to be finished in serial.  Alternatively, we could have split up the fire phase and did it as independently as possible in retrospect.
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: MemphisMark on 05 March 2012, 13:18:38
I think we're going to start doing a fire declaration phase, as I was going to fire three assaults into one Stinger (proxied into a Phoenix Hawk), and the first one headcapped him. Leaving two assaults to kill another mech before that Atlas took a 20 point missle to the face. :( But, yeah, it was a furball that last turn, with three mechs going down to headcaps and four more just dissolving under the fire heaped upon them.

A notable point was two mechs got one hex backshots on two of my mechs. Had them dead to rights, and never penetrated the rear armor.  O0

It was PANDELERIUM! :D
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Ouchies on 05 March 2012, 13:37:59
I concur.  Fire declaration could have split out and made it quicker to resolve the fire phase.

We might need to consider in large game like this, grouping initiative into units and moving that "unit" regardless of how many are in it.  That way we can limit it down to 5 or 6 pulses of ininiative instead of the 30 odd ticks we were seeing.
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: BARNESGN on 06 March 2012, 15:44:53
sounds like you guys learned a thing or two. That's as important as who won IMHO.
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Ouchies on 06 March 2012, 15:57:13
Bingo.   O0
On one front there are things we are going to do to speed things up.

On the other, games this big could actually see good use of specialized lists.  I intend to do that next time.
Also, Clearly the wrong units were chosen for the wrong roles.  If anything, the Falcons should of feinted right and Comstar stayed center.
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: markhall on 06 March 2012, 17:17:35
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9008/img2012030400023.jpg)
What is the Green mech at the bottom of this shot?
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Ouchies on 06 March 2012, 17:32:06
(http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/6971/photo3ls.jpg)


It's a custom Naga with an extensive trip to the CAV miniature line, the parts bin, and some good old fashioned modelling clay.  First time I ever did something quite that extensive.  O0
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: markhall on 07 March 2012, 02:07:44
It works. Sweet Conversion.

Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: VF1LAM on 12 March 2012, 14:28:28
Thank you for sharing this one with us.

Your buildings look sweet, and the rest of your terrain has given me a few ideas also... :) 8) O0
Title: Re: 60k BV of Heavy Metal
Post by: Whitar on 19 March 2012, 10:49:49
I like the map very much! Great battle  O0