Giving law to the Old Man [Starmada vs. Hassassin]

My tie in the first game of the current TTS tournament brought me against a newer player in the TTS-circuit, Duddsen. I already heard the stories about HB in N4 and saw some lists, so I was curious, how this challenge may turn out. The mission was highly classified, so I thought myself a bit favoured due to my experience and the potential of Starmada in this mission.

Rauhnächte 1 HCustom
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GROUP 1  10  / 1
 ANDROMEDA (Infiltration [+6]) Submachine Gun, Zapper, Flash Pulse, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 PARVATI Submachine Gun(+1B), Flash Pulse ( | GizmoKit, MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 38)
 SHONA CARANO Submachine Gun, Nanopulser(+1B), Flash Pulse / Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 27)
 BETATROOPER Spitfire, Nanopulser(+1B) ( | TinBot: Firewall [-3]) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 41)
 KAPPA (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 12)
 KAPPA Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 KAPPA Missile Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 17)
 KAPPA (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 12)
 PSI-COp (Multispectral Visor L1) Nanopulser(+1B), MULTI Marksman Rifle ( ) / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 25)

GROUP 21
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 CRUSHER (Forward Deployment [+8"]) Submachine Gun, Nanopulser, D-Charges / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0 | 29)
 LAMBDA (Doctor) Combi Rifle ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 16)
 YUDBOT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse ( ) / Stun Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

 4.5 SWC | 299 Points
Open in Infinity Army

During our local escalation league, I got my first experiences with the Beta haris, so I thought it would be a great chance to try it again here. To give the maximum potential for classifieds in this working horse, I added Parvati and Shona. Parvati should keep the Beta shooting and care for the doc and engineering classifieds. Shona should get me the CC related classifieds, since she is in the center of action most of the time in that link. If things go south, a Psi COp in the defensive Kappa-link can break through and fill in the gaps. The ultimate back-up is the Crusher on a different flank than the Beta-team. Andromeda also is a solid pick in this mission, since she may do some classifieds on her own without any problems and can shut down enemy scorers right in turn one.

 
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GROUP 1  7  
 FIDAY Rifle, Light Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 26)
 GHULAM (NCO) Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 15)
 GHULAM (Doctor [+3]) Rifle, Light Shotgun ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
 ASAWIRA AP Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 39)
 FARZAN  (Forward Observer) Rifle, Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse, Shock Mines, D-Charges / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 23)
 YARA HADDAD AP Marksman Rifle / Heavy Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
 BARID (Lieutenant, Hacker, Hacking Device) Rifle, Pitcher ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 17)

GROUP 25  / 3  
 DAYLAMI (Camouflage [1 Use], Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
 DAYLAMI (Camouflage [1 Use], Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
 SHAKUSH Heavy Machine Gun, Heavy Flamethrower / AP CC Weapon. (1.5 | 58)
   SHAKUSH PILOT Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 0)
 LEILA SHARIF  (Hacker) Shock Marksman Rifle, E/M Mines, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
  SHUJAE Submachine Gun, Flammenspeer, E/M Mines / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 FANOUS REMOTE Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 NAJJARUN Engineer Rifle, Light Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)

 5 SWC | 296 Points
Open in Infinity Army

Duddsen brought everything he needed for the mission. The core link around the Ghulam doc with Yara and the Asawira as hard hitters provided smoke for itself and got the Barid for hacking-classifieds, while a Sharkush posed to be a second hammer in the list, dragging Leila around to be safe and to score classifieds where the big link won't reach to. A Fiday is never a bad option, as well as the Shujae. Three camo-markers, two of them as panzerfaust Dayalamis to slow the enemy down as much as possible. If you have read my last reports, you know my curse against panzerfausts...

Someone found it very funny to play the second mission of the tournament on the finish-line map from VaulSC, originally build for the second TTS-league, if I remember correctly. The catwalks make it quite difficult to move your models on the ground and drawing LoF gets crazy from time to time. Nevertheless, the ground level is seriously obstructed, adding more complexity to this map. It is a challenge and playable rulewise, but in practice it causes some pain.

I win the Lt-roll and decide to go first. I get assigned the south deployment zone.

First I thought to deploy the core team on the right side, partly on the staircase. But my previous experiences on this map showed, that you can be shot quite easily, once something is moving on the catwalk, so I changed my mind and deployed the link on the left around the crates and fences. One Varangian on each side to get some more eyes for incoming Fidays. The Kytta overwatches the far right, where the haris is deployed, too. My Crusher screens the core-team, which also overwatches my HVT.

The core-team is scattered behind the walls on the right, while the Fanous overwatches the HVT on the left. That side is reinforced by the Sharkush and Leila with the engineer nearby. In front of them the Shujae is deployed. Two camo markers are put on the catwalks, one marker is a bit advanced on the right on the ground level.

Since there won't be more than one Fiday and I go first, Andromeda starts on the centerline on the left, from where she can disable one Dayalami and the Shujae and probably go for the Sharkush and Leila then without problems. Bob from accounting takes her back.

Starmada 1: Group one is reduced by two orders. I don't want to be surprised by panzerfausts, so the right Varangian advances, trying to bait out at least one Dayalami. Over the course a Farzan appears and dies in CC. Now the Beta has to risk it on the right Dayalami-marker, directly recieving one wound. Parvati patches him, scoring test run, and then the Dayalami dies. In the center Andromeda has better luck when it comes to reactive markers. While the Shujae is killed in CC by guard after planting an E/M-mine, the Fiday and the other Dayalami miss. In return, Andromeda only kills the Fiday with her SMG and gets isolated by the mine. Luckily the dogged Varangian is able to shoot the Dayalami in the back and kill it. 

HB 1: Everything is concentrated in group one. Smoke is set up in the center and the core link advances towards my DZ and my HVT. On the way the Barid scores datascan on Andromeda, then she is shot by Yara. The Ghulam Doc inokulates the HVT and the Asawira takes care of my ML Kappa and the Crusher.

Starmada 2: All eggs are in one basket in front of my DZ now, so my Beta only needs to eat through it without risking Parvati. The NCO Ghulam is dropped with ease by the climbing REMs, but the doc, the Barid and Yara are aligned in a way, prone and on a stair, that I don't want to risk it over the catwalks. So I go for the midfield, drop Yara directly and shoot down the Asawira in two orders. Since it goes prone, I can't get a position to see it for a finishing shot and fiddle the last order, which only gets the Doc in LoF, which dies. Shona and Parvati have some positions in the center, covered for the Sharkush, but not for the Asawira, which regenerates.

HB 2: The Asawira knows no friends here: First the beta, then the Warcor followed by Shona and finally Parvati. All shot with no chance of revenge. Suppressive fire from the Asawira, while the Sharkush advances.

Starmada 3: With some smoke, I would be able to drag my core-team towards the HVT, scoring my personal classified and datascan on the way, which would get me back into the game. The first smoke grenade finds its target but in a bad spot, but the second one wiffs, so I need to cross LoF of at least the Sharkush. My link advances and with the only order I can invest to it, my Kappa hacker fails to scan the unconscious Ghulam Doc and gets isolated. On the way towards the HVT, the Psi COp is shot by the Sharkush, so things are done for me.

HB 3: Again the Asawira is on fire, dropping the last Kappas and scoring in extremis recovery on my Psi COp.

With that, I lose horribly 8-1. Duddsen made some good moves with his core-team. In my eyes it was a all-or-nothing action, since it gained him a questionable position and some classifieds on the way, but allowed me to take out most of his value. The map and the positioning then lost it for me. I probably should have forced my way through the link with nanopulsers from the catwalk, dropping the Barid and taking lower risks for Parvati. In the end, two orders in the end of my second turn lost the game for me, since I chose to try a shot with the Beta on the prone Asawira, instead of activating the Psi COp with clear LoF and good chances. I simply wanted to get Shona into cover. Bad decision here. But also the real counter-deployment of his HVT caused major damage. The classifieds were not directly in Starmadas favour, even with Parvati able to do two of them. But she was on the wrong flank with the wrong pace.

Again, all hopes are up for the last round to not come in last again.

Cursed by fate (DBS vs. Hassassin)

The great thing about the aftermath of the ENTE is the opportunity to finally play against those guys, you met during the Team-Event but were not able to play against. So I was really looking forward for my game against papu, the former spanish captain. Knowing his results from the event, I expected an experienced player, but maybe a bit easier to access than Minass, his team-mate and sparring-partner. But nevertheless, I was aware of the current strength of Hassassin Bahram and how tricky suppremacy can turn out.

My general feeling is, that DBS is a solid faction when it comes to controlling and holding certain areas. Once you have deployed your link somewhere, they are hard to remove and the irregular troops available also contribute to this capability. With that in mind, I took my standard-list with a defensive core-team around the MSV 2 Brawler, Wolfgang and a Bulleteer to do stuff and a Hunzakut to have some tools in the midfield. Since this leaves some points, I saw the opportunity to try out a haris with the MSR Druze and a Red Fury ABH as flexible link for the second flank. A Bashi Bazouk then is nearly an auto-include for such missions, especially with the SO-option to click the consoles. To have something already in a zone, I chose to give Swanson a try.

If I had to build a HB list for supremacy, I would have ended up with something similar, I guess. A defensive but flexible core-team as a back-up for some camo-troops in the midfield, fueling an Asawira and two Fidays. The Fidays probably interrupt the first turn, while the second turn is done by the Asawira or the camo-markers, leaving nothing behind.

The map is created by Cabaray fom the White Noise-Podcast, if I remember correctly and features the new Kokkyo pre-painted terrain from Micro Art Studios, with some pieces painted by Perzan. There were only few long fire lanes on the ground level, but once you manage to put something on the rooftops of the higher buildings, you could overwatch quite a lot. On the other hand, all the trucks obstructed the main-street quuite well. The more residental areas were placed slightly elevated, so that there were different levels to consider everywhere.

I win the Lt-roll and choose to deploy second on the south. Of course, papu goes first, spending one command token for a second reserve.

A lone Asawira is deployed on the left side, while the core-team is spread on the right side. One Muyib takes a centered rooftop, while the other one prepares his action on ground level, possibly overwatching the right edge. The camo markers are scattered equally  in front of the DZ.

The core-team is squeezed around the two buildings on the right side with the MSR on the rooftop. I use the building to seperate the rest of the link, preparing for a Fiday. On the left, the haris is deployed with the MSR overwatching and everyone else looking at the back. The support-REMs take the back and the Bulleteer is also deployed there, covered by ABHs. In front of my core-team, Swanson and Wolfgang are deployed, hoping to cross that flank and remove the core-link later.

Two Fidays are deployed in front of my DZ. One is looking for my haris, while the other one is in the center, ready to go after my Brawlers. I choose to deploy my Bashi Bazouk as SMG in the center, overwatching both Fidays, once they are advancing. I thought that I can't block one Fiday with the holos completely, so this was the better option.

HB 1: I remove two orders from group one. The central Fiday sneaks towards my core-team, managing to down both hackers, but getting shot by the Bashi Bazouk on the way. The other one uses several smoke-grenades to kill the Red Fury-ABH, the MSR Druze, the Bulleteer and my EVO in CC. The Asawira advances and shoots down Swanson.

DBS 1: Most things are already lost, but at least my Lt is still alive and Wolfgang is also there. The Hunzakuts takes a shot in the back of the remaining Fiday, dropping it. Then the Bashi Bazouk and the Hunzakut advance into my sectors, securing them.

HB 2: The Asawira takes a run, dropping the Hunzakut, the Bashi and my MSR. This frees the core-team, which advances and activates one console. A second one is activated by a Farzan CoC and a single camo-marker advances.

DBS 2: Everything remaining is gathered in group two. The remaining ABH may have an opportunity to shoot the Asawira with his found panzerfaust. For this he needs to cross a small corridor. I misjudge this one with a cautious move and loose him to the Muyib HRL. Now things are done.

We play out the last round roughly, just to talk through actions and plans. Papu manages to secure more quadrants two times, activates three consoles and make his classified, granting him a 8-0 victory.

Even if I had planned a bit for a Fiday, I was not prepared for two of them. Followed by this, I made some mistakes with my placement, having not enough units by hand to discover the Fidays on their way towards my valuable units. The Fugazi in a better position would have been gold and a better placement of the haris would have been good, too. The next thing is the choice of deployment zone. Papu had a great spot for his HRL Muyib on one of the roofs, which would have been better used by my MSR. I really need to improve in reading the map and choosing the better deployment zone, since I made this mistake several times now with huge consequences.
Besides this, I am a bit disappointed by myself and DBS for the moment, since I deployed a good list for most of the tasks, but got no chance against the flexibility and combined strength of HB. At the same time I am bored of picking Wolfgang, a Bulleteer, Scarface or an Anaconda as the only reasonable units and beatsticks. I really don't want to play an army, where I can only play properly by fielding certain units. That is not what I expect from Infinity. So we will see, how things evolve.

But all of my mistakes and arguments shall not and can't overwrite papus disciplined and well planned play, really on the same level as Minass. His general results in this event really show his skill. And as all spanish guys I met via TTS now, he is a really nice opponent, allowing even such a game to be a good experience!