Alpha Strike Battle Report #3 (with pictures and rosters!)

Hey Game Fans, we’re back with another Alpha Strike battle report from our correspondent, Drewbacca.  This one is another introductory game, this time between the Enraged Wookie and his brother Lumpy (it’s a wookie reference, look it up, fuzzball). Let’s break down the game, and take a look at how two siblings play this variation on Battletech.  

Game Point Value:  

250 points

Era:

Late Succession Wars- Renaissance

Terrain and Table Setup

Forested hills (levels 1-4) and a river (depth 1), 4' x 5' table

Lumpy’s Unit

no faction assigned but used Era appropriate units, average skill 2.3

Devastator, Longbow, Axeman, Mercury- command lance

Trebuchet

Drewbacca’s Unit

Federated Suns, average skill 3.625

Cyclops, Orion, Blackjack, Trebuchet- battle lance

Wolfhound, Jenner, Phoenix Hawk, Hatchetman- cavalry lance

Early Game

Deployed on the short edges, Andrew won initiative most turns, which prevented Eric's Combat initiative SPA on the Axeman to really take effect.Eric had some success with his IF from the Longbow, and Trebuchet largely due to the Forward Observer- Mercury. While the Devastator and Axeman used their direct fire to cripple or destroy several mechs. Eric did get to land a MEL attack in a round where he won initiative to deliver a deadly blow during the movement phase (Axeman had SPA combinations that allowed him to deliver 8 points of damage thru MEL).

Mid Game

Andrew had a very difficult time landing hits throughout the entire game. Thru multiple rounds where all mechs fired on reasonable targets (to-hit rolls of 6, 7, 8, but would land maybe 1 hit between his whole force.

Late Game

Andrew ended the game with 2 mechs (Blackjack and Wolfhound), Eric had only lost the Axeman, but the Trebuchet and Devastator were in critical condition (a few bubbles from death). Mercury and Longbow were untouched. (Mercury avoided damage thru TMM 4, and Longbow was not shot at all game).

Commentary

Well this is an interesting take on how heavier units interact with lighter units, and how the dice can cause bloody mayhem on an operational plan.  It’s good to see the boys trying out different units outside the normal range, and finding fun combinations of Special Pilot abilities and Lance benefits.  I’m not sure how the Axman was able to take a swing during the movement phase, as that’s a Combat Phase exclusive thing, but we’re all going to make mistakes here and there.  Heavy units can absorb a lot of punishment when the dice are working, and some of them just refuse to die.  

Pictures

Force Rosters

In case you’re interested in playing this game, the pictures should let you recreate the battlefield, and the Wookies were nice enough to provide rosters, which i’ve included here.

Lumpy’s Heroes

(Note, that the full card for the Trebuchet was cut off, but can be found at the Master Unit List for Battletech at http://www.masterunitlist.info/ )

Drewbacca’s Brawlers