Interesting Scenario

[asburygrad]

Wow! An actual new thread about Mechwarrior, that's not about the Dragoons!

Next Wednesday (Dec. 19), I have a 750-point team match. The only special rule is that armies must consist of Clan Points (defined as 1 Mech, 2 vehicles, or 5 infantry), and must contain an exact multiple of 5 Points.

So you could use a 300-point Mech, a 100-point Mech, 4 50-point vehicles, and 5 30-point infantry - that would be 2 Mech Points, 2 Vehicles Points, and 1 Infantry Point, for 5 Points total. Another example would be 5 100-point Mechs and 25 10-point infantry - 5 Mech Points and 5 Infantry points. Even though it is 10 Points, it is still legal as long as it is a multiple of 5.

So my teammate and I are going to gameplan this thing. We know the other two players very well, and they are fairly predictable. One guy runs 10-15 Merc Gnomes and the SW Alpha Mangonel for support; the other player likes to run light Mech swarms focused on Ravens with Homing Beacon.

Any suggestions?

[tjpandv]

Wow, you guys really like to give yourselves a workout. I'm not sure my maths is up to it but here goes:

2 x HiL Hadur @ 96 (1 point)
BR Solitaire/Graves (BR recruit)/APM @ 138 (1 point)
4 x HL ATVs + 1 x CJF Sylph BA @ 78 (1 point)
5 x SC Hoverbikes @ 65 (1 points)
Daishi Refuge/Le Blanc/Anti Pers Pods @ 371 (1 point)

I think that little lot comes to 748. You can flex in a different ATV to make the points to 750.

The Hadurs are there for the Gnomes and the Anti Pers pods will prevent Refuge from being pinned by inf basers.

Sounds a really good event and I hope it goes well.

[asburygrad]

Okay, we got some clarifications from the lead Battlemaster via email:

1. 1050-point build from each player.
2. 5 orders per turn per player. Play will alternate between the players on each team (Team A Player 1, Team B Player 1, Team A Player 2, then Team B Player 2).
3. Each player's army must include a multiple of 5 Clan Points. A single Clan Point consists of 1 Mech, 2 vehicles, or 5 infantry.
4. Teams of 2, paired off ahead of time.
5. Each team may play one PC and one mission card for the match. If one player completes the mission, then the team as a whole is considered to have completed the mission.
6. Each player will place 3 pieces of terrain in the terrain pool, and place 1 piece (4 pieces total).
7. The field will be 48" wide by 36" across. (Opponents are same distance apart, but more room on the sides of the field.)
8. Teammates will share a single deployment zone, 8" from each side of the field and 32" long.
9. 90 minute time limit.
10. Each player's battleforce may contain one copy of the same unique, so that each team may include 2 copies of the same unique.
11. Teammates' units are considered friendly to each other for consideration of all SE, gear, pilot, or other CEC abilities.
12. No unit or card restrictions.

Whew! The Battlemaster did a great job of answering all my "loophole" questions, but it sure added up to a lot of words. And I thought this was such a clean, simple idea to start with. lol

I will be conferring with my teammate, and I will post some of our ideas here later.

[asburygrad]

Okay, a few of my ideas:

1. Peacemaker combined with Evade Vultures (SAD, JF, and BR versions). One teammate could take Peacemaker with an SAD, and the other player could use another SAD and a BR Vulture with Vasquez. That would be 23 base defense, +2 for pilot, +2 for Evade. We could also take 2 Peacemakers, and I also like the combined AAMS/Heavy Armor gear for assaults.

2. A totally separate idea: control the clock. With a 90-minute time limit and large build totals, I expect each player to get about 7 turns of play in. That is a bit less than usual for a 600-point standard match. So we make our turns count - by using cheap Command SE and non-Mech power units (formation tank drops, attack VTOLs, and artillery). If we can increase our orders from 5 per turn to 7 or 8, and use most of those orders on attacks, we should be able to inflict much more damage than our opponents in the same time frame.

3. Use Perfect Day and Intercepted Orders to cancel the other team's PC and mission card. Just to make it a straight-up game.

4. Build up to the full point total, with no Faction Pride, Merc Contract, Situational Alliance, or Squad cards. I lost in the final round of the AL State Championships mainly because I played an 80-point SA card in a 1200-point game. I just couldn't make up the points for that in a 50-minute time limit. This game has nearly twice as much time, but also a lot more points per team. I think we should make our opponents pay for every point they take from us, rather than start them out with a VC 2 lead.

[tjpandv]

How do you feel about taking artillery? With so many pieces on the table, some muiti-POG pieces and/or those with big burst templates could cause some damage or at least force your opponent to move. The Paladins should be able to reach out over the table and their lack of accuracy may be a bonus in this instance. Artillery in your line up may also affect your opponents' deployment (see below).

How are you planning to deploy? Will you split the board 50-50 and have a clear area or responsibility between you and your team mate or mix and match your deployment so that you're forces cover the whole table? We're taught to "select and maintain the aim" and then "concentrate your force" in order to do this. A 5 minute team talk beforehand could work wonders. Will you be able to influence your team mate's build or will it be too late for that. If you've got a speedy army, you could mass on one flank and overwhelm your opponent before he can react - especially if he has spread out over the full DZ. Having a couple of grapple units (HS Sylphs?) could help to slow down any counter attack.

Best of luck and don't forget the after action report...

[asburygrad]

I was thinking that if we took enough artillery, we could pog one player almost constantly, will using our actual frontline troops to concentrate on one player's army. Use the pogs to heard one guy, while using our other troops to actually attack the other.

My teammate and I are in heavy strategy discussions through email. We will definitely be coming up with a coherent battle plan.

[asburygrad]

1050-point Army
Must be a multiple of 5 Clan Points

Alpha Star:
Point 1 – WH Kelswa, SC R10 – 138 points
Point 2 – DF Schmitt, SC R10 – 142 points
Point 3 – SS Arrow IV, SS Arrow IV – 102 points
Point 4 – SS Paladin, JF Long Tom – 152 points
Point 5 – 5 HL ATVs – 60 points

Beta Star:
Point 1 – 4 NC ATVs, BR Combat Engineers – 68 points
Point 2 – 2 BR Mobile HQ – 48 points
Point 3 – 2 WH R10 – 84 points
Point 4 – 3 WH TGR, 2 Elite NC Thunderbird BA – 124 points
Point 5 – WH R10, WH Kelswa – 132 points

[asburygrad]

I went with a slightly different build in the team match-up:

Peacemaker/Randal/Guardian Retrofit
Vengeance/Phelan/Scout Retrofit
Seka's Pride / Ryohara / Anti-Personnel
2 SS Arrow IVs
4 HD Purifier BA, 1 Hi Peasant Company

My teammate ran the Undead Lance, with a formation of 5 WH GDSBA in support. Not sure of all the gear choices on his Mechs, but he borrowed my Explosive Rounds card for one of the mediums and the other one had a RISC version of the same card.

Our opponents ran:
Peacemaker / Reflective Armor (no pilot!)
CW Thor / Ryohara / Enhanced Targeting Range
WS Loki / WD Pilot / Enhanced Targeting Range
WS Loki / WD Pilot / Improved Targeting (I think)
Several Hi Kelswas
Several CW Padilla AntiMissile Tanks
WH Kelswa
A few of the new WD infantry

I took my team's right flank, while Travis' Undead Lance took the left flank. Our opponents put Peacemaker in their center, with the CW Thor directly in front of the Malice, the WH Kelswa on one side, and three Padillas around Peacemaker's base. They deployed a similar formation on each flank: a WS Loki in base with a Hi Kelswa and a CW Padilla.

My teammate ran the Undead Lance in, hoping to get some kills on the few infantry the other team had - they were deployed in front of their formation and were not in base with the Hi Kelswas. Unfortunately, his dice hated him, and he did not do too well. The Loki on that side of the table was able to hunt down and eliminate the Cadaver, while their Peacemaker and Thor (with the WH Kelswa) took down one of the Undead mediums.

I advanced too cautiously on my side of the field; I should have moved up more quickly to help take pressure off my teammate. I advanced carefully, allowing my Mech formation to rest every other turn. My Arrow IVs kept up constant pressure on the other Malice and Thor, alternating their fire, while my Purifiers moved up.

For some reason, the other team never moved their Peacemaker out of a water terrain piece they had dropped right in front of their DZ. My artillery won the game for us - they removed the Point Defense from Peacemaker, eventually removed the Point Defense from one of the Hi Kelswas, took their Thor and Malice down about 8 clicks of damage or so, and also nearly eliminated the WH Kelswa. By the time my Peacemaker / SAA / Vengeance formation moved up into range, the Thor and Malice were not in strong enough shape to really challenge us. They only tried one shot at Vengeance, needing a 15 to hit, and missed.

My formation wiped out the Thor. They pushed the Loki on my side of the field too hard, and it experienced a nasty ammo pop and shutdown. Travis shot it with an Undead Mech, and then one of my Arrow IV pogs found it and wiped it out. On the last turn of the game, my Mechs were working on the other team's Peacemaker. My Peacemaker missed on a roll of 8 or higher, but the other Mechs hit and knocked the Malice into Salvage. But we forgot about the Reflective Armor gear card. I was really worried at this point!

When we added up all the points, my team won VC 1 by a 175-point margin. They had killed one Undead light and one medium, along with a number of infantry. We had killed a WS Loki and CW Thor - which were much more expensive than the Mechs we had lost - and a few infantry. Victory for my team - dubbed "The Axis of Evil" - and we've already been challenged to a rematch.

A few extra comments: the game ended during my seventh turn. I was the last player in the turn order, so my prediction of 7 turns per player was right on. My artillery really won the game for us, I think - I don't know why our opponents refused to move and took all the artillery damage. I never missed a single artillery roll - they all landed dead-on. My teammate, meanwhile, rolled two crit misses at crucial points during the match. He had terrible luck - but we still pulled out a win. I was proud of our build and our teamwork, to overcome so many dice problems.

We also had help from Travis' Explosive Rounds gear card. By targeting infantry that were in base with the CW Thor, he was able to deal a good bit of damage to the Thor without having to hit the incredible, Point Defense-boosted numbers that both teams had brought.

I will post an update when we get to our rematch . . .