ENTE round 3: Transmission Matrix vs. TAK

After the test game vs. Ayadan, I managed to get my game on the same map. I calculated a good use of the maintenance-tunnels with my REM-heavy list. The cherry on the cake was the match-up vs. TAK. TAK is a kind of trauma-opponent for me, but in this mission with my list and the other available opponents, this should be a solvable problem.

List Druze:

 DecapTM
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

GROUP 1 8  / 1  
 HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)
 PEACEMAKER Spitfire + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (1 | 27)
   AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
 PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)
 FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 DRUZE Lieutenant (X Visor) Combi Rifle, Chain-colt / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 DRUZE Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
 CLIPPER DRONBOT Smart Missile Launcher / Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 18)
 DRUZE Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 28)
 BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)

GROUP 21  
 HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)
 PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)
 PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)
 FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 KAMEEL Hacker (EVO Hacking Device) Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 25)
 SIERRA DRONBOT HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 25)

 6 SWC | 299 Points
Open in Infinity Army

The plan and everything is exactly the same as in the previous game against MO. This time I knew that there were no obstacles on my info-war approach, so I calculated good odds for my Clipper, while my REMs clear everything what was not accessable with a smart missile.

List TAK:

European 2.0
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

GROUP 1 9  / 1  
 VETERAN KAZAK AP HMG / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 47)
 LINE KAZAK (Forward Observer) Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
 LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 9)
 LINE KAZAK Paramedic (MediKit) Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11)
 FRONTOVIK (Multiespectral Visor L1) AP Sniper / Assault Pistol, Knife. (1 | 31)
 LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 9)
 STRELOK (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 STRELOK (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 ASSAULT PACK . (0 | 25)
   HANDLER Rifle, Smoke Light Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (- | 10)
   x3 ANTIPODE AP CC Weapon. (- | 15)

GROUP 21  / 1
 SPETSNAZ (CH: Ambush Camouflage) HMG / Pistol, CCW, Knife. (1.5 | 38)
 STRELOK (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 STRELOK (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
 SCOUT Lieutenant Ojotnik, D-Charges, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 29)
 IRMANDINHO Chain Rifle, D-Charges, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 8)

 6 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

Whenever I have bad dreams about TAK, I am dreaming of this list: A core-team with a good defensive weapon and a Vet-Kazak HMG, supported by way too many camo-markers, leaving no clue what could be what. The Assault Pack then is only the minor thread.

 

Minass chooses to take the second turn after winning the Lt-roll, so I let him deploy first in the north.

His core-team is deployed around the right building with two replacement-Kazaks. The Antipode-handler takes the inside of the building and tons of camo markers are scattered everywhere else. I can only see S2 camos, so at least there is no K-9 waiting and for the moment no Assault Pack. Four camos are securing the center and four are scattered on the right around the designated target.

I mirror my deployment from the last game, placing the link and a Hunzakut on the left, some REMs in the center and the Sierra, a Fugazi and a Pathfinder on the right.

The Assault Pack appears on the left in the forest and my Peacemaker starts on the building on the right, ready to sacrifice the Auxbot and clear some mines and everything else there.

Druze 1: To lure out the camo markers on the right, my Peacemaker starts, sacrificing the Auxbot by burning the markers and the designated target. The dodge is successful and one mine triggers, but the Auxbot tanks the mine and two hits from the Frontovik. I want to get rid of the Frontovik, so my AHD tries to spotlight him without success. Since I had misjudged LoF between the Frontovik and my Brawler, it takes a shot but tanks it. With bad odds for spotlight in general, I switch to my Peacemaker. It gets assisted fire and advances further. I get greedy and try to burn the designated target again before getting both REMs in good range against the Frontovik. Now my Auxbot is destroyed and the designated target dodges again. The Peacemaker advances a bit and gets a crit from the Frontovik. With that front down, I try to sneak up the central Fugazi through the maintenance tunnels but one marker, expected as ambush, turns out to be a mine, killing the Fugazi.

TAK 1: The core-team is formed without the Frontovik but including the Vet. Kazak. He tries to engage my Sierra and recieves two crits in a row. A Spetznas HMG engages my Clipper, wrecking it and getting stunned by a flash pulse from somewhere. Out of LoF it recamoes. Now a Strelok approaches my left side, dropping everything except for my EVO with his BSG, after the designated target is killed.

More quadrats for TAK.

Druze 2: With not many ressources left, I try to consolidate things a bit. The right Fugazi is dragged into the center, while the central Hunzakut kills the Strelok near my DZ. The Sierra fails to drop the Frontovik.

TAK 2: The Frontovik is included in the link again, killing the Sierra and my Brawler. The Spetznaz drops the last Pathfinder, while a Strelok is stunned on its way.

More quadrants for TAK.

Since there is nothing left to threaten the center or get me back in the game otherwise, we stop here with an 8-0 for Minass. The number of bad decisions around the Frontovik in turn one drained ressources to develop a presence in the center. I should have gone with the Peacemaker from the beginning, going for the order pool of the link and snacking the designated target on the way. Spotlighting something is a dangerous thing with WIP 13 in N3, since targets reset better most of the time. But besides this mistakes, Minass deployed a serious thread against nearly everything. Even if I would have been able to sensor the center, not more than a mine and some ambush-markers would have been revealed, gaining nothing for me. Nevertheless we concluded that I had everything on the field to solve all the issues and to win the game. The difficulty is to know what is the right tool for the current problem and that the tools are scattered on single units. This leads to two problems:

• Is this specific unit already dead, the solution is no longer available.
• The single tool needs to be deployed where the problem occurs. With 4-2 MOV and no good defensive equipment, this is a really tricky problem.

Most other factions avoid this by having multi-purpose units, fulfilling different roles at the same time or at least having the tools equipped with something that helps them to get where they are needed. Maybe DBS gets a change here in N4, but for now, I need to try to work more with my Hunzakuts and Pathfinders, since they are able to develop paths so that a Druze or something else can give the final solution to the problem. But without these two units, you are not flexible enough to deal with all the different situations.