Cull AARs

[Cull]

Thread for AARs of games I run for friends who mostly play Kill Team.

Scenario: Final Exam (modified)
Rules: Classic, Standard
Map: AGoAC Desert
Year: 3025
Restrictions: 80 tons/side

Nagelring Cadets
> Attrite OPFOR to 33%
> COM-2D Commando, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> SHD-2H Shadow Hawk, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4

OPFOR
> Do not allow cadets to attrite OPFOR to 33%
> UM-R60 UrbanMech, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> 2x Scorpion light tank, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4

Comments
I set this game up to start getting reps in with combined arms. Two of my friends played the cadets and ran one 'Mech each, while I played the OPFOR. Neither side knew what the other was bringing. I chose tonnage instead of BV for simplicity and because I wanted the OPFOR to be defeated easily without telegraphing that outcome. I picked up the hobby last year and have only had time for a handful of small, low-intensity games, so if anyone has suggestions or reads something in the summary below that indicates a bad rules adjudication, please comment.

Summary
OPFOR began the game in the northwest corner of the map where terrain was more level and provided some forested cover. The cadets decided to attack from the south (Commando) and east (Shadow Hawk). The Commando and UrbanMech were the first to trade fire, as the UrbanMech was the southmost unit. The Shadow Hawk initially attempted to engage the UrbanMech with LRMs from its long range band, but later chose to move in closer when this tactic proved ineffective. The Scorpions moved south to screen the Shadow Hawk's advance while supporting the UrbanMech with AC/5 fire. The Commando destroyed the UrbanMech's left torso as it closed, but it suffered a foot actuator crit from the UrbanMech's AC/10 followed by a gyro hit on a rear arc TAC from one of the Scorpions. Excess damage from the TAC resulted in a second crit on the gyro, rendering the Commando combat ineffective for the remainder of the game. The Shadow Hawk, now having closed to a more effective range, hit the UrbanMech with an alpha strike as the latter prepared to stomp on the fallen Commando, stripping what was left of its armor and coring it in a very cinematic sequence of events. The ensuing gunfight between the Shadow Hawk and the Scorpions left the Shadow Hawk mostly stripped of armor on its left side and both tanks struggling with motive damage. As we were preparing to cut it for the evening, the Shadow Hawk scored a crew killed crit on the same Scorpion that brought down the Commando, achieving the cadets' objective with no actual losses on their side.

[Cull]

Scenario: Trial by Fire (modified)
Rules: Classic, Standard
Map: Grasslands #1-3
Year: 3025
Restrictions: 130 tons/side

Mercenary Lance
> Escape hostile territory
> WVR-6R Wolverine, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> SHD-2H Shadow Hawk, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> LCT-1V Locust, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4

FWLM picket force
> Prevent escape of mercenary lance
> STG-3R Stinger, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> 2x Scorpion light tank, Gunnery 3, Driving 4
> LRM carrier, Gunnery 3, Driving 4

Comments
Like my previous game, this one used one of the AGoAC scenarios as a foundation and was intended to provide another rep with combined arms. In this case one of the two players participating was completely new to BattleTech, so he ran the Shadow Hawk for his first time out. Another player from my previous game also attended and ran the Wolverine and Locust. They had the option to include a Thunderbolt in their list, but went with numbers and mobility even though they had no advance knowledge of the scenario. I like the idea of tonnage as the key restriction in games, but I think I'm going to start using BV.

Summary
The FWLM tanks and LRM carrier began the game stationed along the road running through Grasslands #2, which was the center map piece. Off-map of Grasslands #3 was the downed Leopard that had been shuttling the mercenaries to the objective they were supposed to assault; off-map of Grasslands #1 was the safety of friendly lines. For this game, I decided it would be more cinematic if I held the Stinger back until all three mercenary 'Mechs crossed onto Grasslands #2. More on that later.

The mercenaries elected to divide their force with the Wolverine and Locust running up the north edge of the map and the Shadow Hawk doing the same on the south edge, inviting the Mariks to split fire between multiple lanes and targets. The Locust was the first to cross into the vehicles' effective range and was punished for it, losing one of its machine guns early and most of its armor over the course of the game, but avoiding a crit every time a shot went internal. One Scorpion driver beefed his PSR getting into position and skidded on the first turn, setting off a chain of events and motive hits that turned him into a fixed artillery piece and then a burned-out wreck once the Wolverine got in close. The Wolverine and Locust advanced more quickly than the Shadow Hawk, compelling the LRM carrier to turn and reverse south to keep them in its forward arc and at a safe distance. A timely immobilization of the LRM carrier allowed both northern BattleMechs to escape its forward arc after several turns, leaving only the late-arriving Stinger standing between them and safety on the far edge of Grasslands #1. The Stinger performed some very impressive anime mecha acrobatics to get into their rear and side arcs, but failed to score a single hit with its weapons during the three turns it was in range to shoot, demonstrating why that particular MechWarrior was assigned to picket duty instead of defending the mercenaries' original objective. Given the BV disparity I'm doubtful the Stinger could have done much to change the game had it been in play earlier.

We had to cut it early due to player time commitments, but we rolled 1d6 to determine the narrative outcome, with odds meaning all three mercenary BattleMechs escaped hostile territory, and evens meaning one of them did not make it. The result was 6. In terms of actual gameplay, the mercenaries suffered no losses and tallied two vehicle kills, the unlucky Scorpion and the LRM carrier that was plinked by the Wolverine not long after being immobilized.

[Cull]

Scenario: Assault/Defend AeroBase
Rules: Classic, Standard
Map: Desert Runway, AeroBase #1-2, Oasis
Year: 3057
Restrictions: 6,300 BV/side

Mercenary Lance
> Attrite 66% of the defending lance
> WHM-6R Warhammer, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> TDR-5S Thunderbolt, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> RFL-3N Rifleman, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4

14th Lyran Guards
> Attrite 50% of the attacking lance
> NSR-9FC Nightstar, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> CTF-3L Cataphract, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4
> BSW-X1 Bushwacker, Gunnery 3, Piloting 4

Comments
This was a four-player game that served as an introduction for someone new(er) to the hobby. Myself and another supplied the minis. We originally set the tech year at 3025, but pushed it up to 3057 to include some more exciting variants for the Lyrans, and took a break from combined arms to play through a simple lance-on-lance boxing match.

Summary
The Lyrans positioned themselves on the two major infrastructure maps, with the scenario requirement that they begin the game off any runways or taxiways. The mercenaries entered from the opposite side of the map and advanced on the Nightstar and Bushwacker while receiving long-range fire from the Cataphract stationed at the far end of the base. The range limitations of the less advanced mercenary 'Mechs was a problem from the first turn, allowing the Lyrans to soften them up while they marched in.

The Shadow Hawk took a headshot early that turned its cockpit into a convertible, and subsequently became the priority target for the three enemy 'Mechs. On turns when the Shadow Hawk was unavailable, the Nightstar and Bushwacker concentrated on the Thunderbolt first and Warhammer second, dropping the former with a brutal headshot about halfway through the game. For their part, the mercenaries focused on the Bushwacker, but often had to redirect toward the less nimble Nightstar when the smaller 'Mech took cover behind the ATC tower. The Shadow Hawk began the project of destroying the tower, but did not finish before being compelled to fight much more defensively as armor and internal damage began to add up.

Although the Shadow Hawk's player did a good job staying mobile and in cover, eventually the Lyrans wore it down and blew off a leg. Two turns later, LRMs from the Bushwacker finished off what was left of the Shadow Hawk's cockpit, clinching the game for House Steiner. If you're wondering what contribution the Rifleman made, the answer is it looked cool.

[Cull]

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.