Alpha Strike List Building Part 2 (300 Points, Late Succession Wars)

So i’ve been telling you guys that the Enraged Wookie and I are going to be playing some Alpha Strike games this coming week.  We’ve got a team game in the evening, where we split 500 points of hilarity.  We’ve also got a 300 point game, and a 150 point game earlier in the day where we’re going head to head.  I know he’s already decided on his list and isn’t planning on changing it (according to him, the potential list tailoring jerk).  This is the list i am probably going to play, and it fills a lot of my personal preferences for playing Alpha Strike.  Let’s take a closer look.

Now this game is set for Late Succession Wars, during the Renaissance.  I built a Federated Suns Company that is very typical in my opinion of the light/medium units for that faction at this time.  Are the other choices to make?  Sure, but this is the one i ended up settling into.  

So as a reminder:

Era: Late Succession Wars (Renaissance)

Faction: Federated Suns

Point Value:  300

My list

• Battle Lance 1
• CN9-A Centurion, Skill 3 (company commander)
• CN-9A Centurion Skill 4
• ENF-4R Enforcer, Skill 4
• ENF-4R Enforcer, Skill 4
• Battle Lance 2
• CRB-20 Crab, Skill 4
• CRB-20 Crab, Skill 4
• HBK-4G Hunchback, Skill 4
• HBK-4G Hunchback, SKill 4
• Battle Lance 3
• WLF-1A Wolfhound, Skill 4
• WLF-1A Wolfhound, Skill 4
• LCT-3D Locust, Skill 4*
• LCT-3D Locust, Skill 4*

The Locusts aren’t technically on the Renaissance Era List, but have a release date of 3049 so technically fall into the availability window.  These are considered prototypes undergoing field testing for the purpose of this game.

Battle Lance 1

So, i am sure some of you are noticing a theme that i like to field units in pairs of pairs.  This is somewhat intentional because i build lances along an idea of “what do i want this lance to  do?”  I know, it’s a super secret, right?  The idea behind the 1st lance is that the Centurions and Enforcers share a similar armament, the AC/10, and back it up with a variety of support weapons, (notably the LRM-10 on the Centurions and the Large Laser on the Enforcers).  These form a stable anchor to provide a little bit of ranged support while maintaining enough speed to get where people are supposed to be.  Note. in our actual list, one of these Centurions is skill 3.  Currently, we are running this as a Battle Lance, so the collective formation has the Lucky (6) special ability.

So Battle Lance 1 looks like

We’ve got two Brawlers and two Skirmishers, with an average mv of 8 (bonus points on the Enforcers for being able to jump).  Both have 5 points of armor, 4 points of structure, and the AC special.  Another thing to keep in mind is that neither of these mechs have an OV value, meaning they run cool and barring a firestarter or other trouble maker, they shouldn’t be shutting down anytime soon.

 

Battle Lance 2

Battle Lance 2 follows my “operate in pairs” aesthetic and provides a pair of Crabs and a pair of Hunchbacks.  This is another deliberate decision on my part, because both mechs again have a similar speed profile, but the Crabs are a little faster to get right up in the face of the enemy, forcing them to deal with the Crabs or open up fire lanes for the Hunchbacks. Currently, we are running this as a Battle Lance, so the collective formation has the Lucky (6) special ability.

Battle Lance 2 looks like:

So the Crabs are a little faster than the Hunchbacks, but trade off a point of Short Range Damage to do so.  The Crabs are also immune to ammunition explosions because of the ENE special.  They have identical armor and structure values, but the Crab has the ability Overheat to add a point of damage.  Combined, these four mechs make a wonderful close combat unit, because they can pour out a lot of damage at short and medium ranges.  

Battle Lance 3

This unit follows my design aesthetic again, this time using the lighter weight Wolfhound and the lighter weight Locust.  Both of these designs are fast, but can’t take a lot of damage.  The Wolfhounds share the ENE property of the Crabs, meaning that an ammunition explosion won’t take them out of the fight, while the Davion version of the Locust uses LRM-5s in place of the machine guns normally attached to the arms of a Locust.  Both are quick mechs, with a speed of 12 on the Wolfhound and a 16 on this version of the Locust.  Again, this is a battle lance, so it’s Lucky (6) for everybody.  

Battle Lance 3 looks like

 

 

So these are fast moving units that can effectively choose the range they want to engage at.  The Wolfhounds are likely running close support for the Locusts, who do no damage at Short Range.  The Wolfhounds are key to making these extremely fragile mechs function, because they have 1 point of armor and 2 points of structure.  They are the softest targets on my list, and are likely going to be the first to die

Ideas and conclusions

So that’s my 300 point list for the game that the Enraged Wookie and i are going to end up playing this week.  It’s not the best list i’ve built, but i like the units involved and the overlapping areas of expertise.  I’ve got a fairly wide mix of abilities and options for dealing with in game situations.  It’s a light to medium weight force, which means i’m going to have to dogpile heavier or assault class units if i am going to take them down.  The upside is that i’ve been very frugal with my points, so i should outnumber a heavier force.