This years one and only real ITS 12 tournament

Our local group again used the better Covid-situation during summer to run a small real life tournament. With all the vaccination going on and a great, private location, we were able to invite some of our friends and not only get some real life experience, but also different players. Of course, what counted most: Meeting each other and moving your lovely metal-miniatures along the board!

Since I am looking for ways to change and improve my post-game writings, this tournament-report will also be a first trial for some competetive analysis. The goal is to look what plan existed before the game, how it could be implemented during the game and which circumstances lead to success or failure.

The missions for the tournament were Supplies, Firefight and Mindwipe (in that order, since I like to torture my attendees from time to time). Depending on what you like to play, you can easily build a list for Supplies and Mindwipe, since you need fast specialists in both cases and AD troops are viable, too. But also Mindwipe and Firefight match quite well, if you want to focus on a more aggressive style. This also leads to a situation, where players could take one list they are familiar with after this long break.
I missed to stay up-to-date with the latest TTS-meta and what factions are played most, but I expected some O-12, Hassassins and Nomads as most chosen factions among the 10 participants. Nevertheless, Haqqislam wasn't chosen once, Nomads were very popular and heavy armour in form of Invincible Army and PanO seemed to be appealing, too. I was the only O-12 player there with the following lists:

 Firefight
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GROUP 1  10  / 1  / 1
 CRUSHER (Combat Jump, Parachutist) Boarding Shotgun, Panzerfaust, D-Charges / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0 | 36)
 ANDROMEDA (Infiltration [+6]) Submachine Gun, Zapper, Flash Pulse, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 ZETA (NCO) Hyper-Rapid Magnetic Cannon, Heavy Riotstopper / AP CC Weapon. (2 | 81)
   ZETBOT Flash Pulse / CC Weapon. (0 | 0)
 CHO (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
 FUZZBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater)  ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 8)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 EPSILON Heavy Machine Gun, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 34)
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 BLUECOAT Submachine Gun, Heavy Riotstopper / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 16)
 BLUECOAT Submachine Gun, Heavy Riotstopper / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 16)

GROUP 21
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 GANGBUSTER (Minelayer, Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, Madtraps ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 22)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)

 3.5 SWC | 299 Points
Open in Infinity Army

I wanted to create a single list for Firefight with the lowest specialist-count possible without loosing much safety in it. While I more and more tend to a defensive play with O-12 and Varangians as well as Crushers don't use SWC, I often don't fully use them. The whole plan with this list is to present big threads, each with unique specifications. Ideally the opponent gets puzzled with that, loosing his threads to my pieces they are not suited for. And while Andromeda and the Zeta draw as much attention as possible, the Epsilon and the Crusher shall catch juicy targets off guard and score the points. To not get alpha-striked, a deployment which only makes you visible in your own half of the table, Andromeda as first roadblock and the Gangbuster as a second one are key. Only the classified-situation may turn out a bit difficult, since there is no doc and no engineer. This should be compensated mostly by the Crusher, but also the Gangbuster, Andromeda and Epsilon should be able to cover most of the classifieds I can't dismiss in the beginning.

Supplies Solo
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GROUP 1  10  / 1
 CRUSHER (Combat Jump, Parachutist) Boarding Shotgun, Panzerfaust, D-Charges / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0 | 36)
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 EPSILON Heavy Machine Gun, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 34)
 RAPTOR Spitfire, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 43)
   DEVABOT Heavy Flamethrower / PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 5)
 DAKINI Tacbot (Paramedic) Combi Rifle ( | MediKit) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
 GANGBUSTER (Minelayer, Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, Madtraps ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 22)
 ALPHA (Lieutenant [+1 Command Token], Strategos L1]) Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 LAMBDA (Engineer, Deactivator) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 16)
 YUDBOT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
 LAMBDA (Doctor) Combi Rifle ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 16)
 YUDBOT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
 OKO Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 16)

GROUP 21
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 RAZOR (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 32)

 3.5 SWC | 298 Points
Open in Infinity Army

While the backbone and defensive plan is the same as in list one, I traded the redundant attack-section for more specialists. The Raptor as well as the Epsilon are reliable door openers to guarantee that I will be able to grab at least two boxes early in the game, supported by the opportunities Alpha's Strategos may offer. To grab the boxes there are three fast specialists available (Gangbuster, Dakini, Oko), which also have a second role by themselfes. The Oko should be able to get me around camo-markers on the crates, the Dakini may deliver a medikit on the Raptor or the Epsilon in the midfield and the Gangbuster may scare some hackers away or glue someone on the crate with the madtrap. A backup are the Lambdas. Most of the time they should keep my defense and attack running, but if needed, they could clear some mines or grab a box. If I would go second, first the Razor should block one box away with his mine, then the Crusher should kill whoever secured a box in the enemy half.

But how did it turn out?

Game 1, Supplies vs. Corregidor

Corregidor seems to be the new hacking-monster with Jazz and Morans and so it came that I faced Jazz in a full link, several camo-markers, one in a nasty ARO-position and a smart missile launcher. Since I haven't played against Corregidor for a long time, I promptly forgot that there will be McMurder. I went second and got my deployment of the Raptor and the Alpha messed up by two repeaters out of my LoF, even if no missile was shot and my Alpha dodged like a king against an overwatching Intruder HMG. Nevertheless I was quite locked and turtled myself up, just killing stuff crossing the centerline. My opponent grabbed one box, handing it to an EVO-drone in his deployment and denied the other two. With a coinflip of landing my Crusher next to the EVO, I turned the game in the last round and won it with one to no boxes.
There was no glory for me in this game, just defending as long as possible and abusing one massive mistake made. If there would have been a second box grabbed by a Bandit or something else, I would have been screwed. I pretty much know how the guided-missile-game is played, but Corregidor is able to add so much other stuff as support or distraction, that it is really hard to counter it or give the pressure back. Morans are really strong...

Game 2, Firefight vs. JSA

Ah yes, JSA. Nothing good to trade up in Firefight, since everything is damn cheap and even more annoying. I got the second turn and saw Yoyimbo and an O-Yoroi deployed, while I messed up my choice of side again. I too often forget to consider cover for my TAGs, even if I only have lists featuring one. So the Zeta stood in LoF to the O-Yoroi directly. Andromeda couldn't counter him due to the coalas and the high CC. It took far to less orders to get the Zeta down, but at least Yoyimbo died fast. Everything I threw on the TAG bounced off until turn three, while I could smoke up the left flank for cheap with a Varangian. With a last push the TAG went down, scoring me not only the victory points itself, but also a killed Lt. This came down to surviving points, where I had three more, so again a really close game which was turned accidently by me to a win.
If there are AP-weapons on the field, your high-arm units will still die directly and you now really have to consider CC, since the new dodging gets everything close to everything else. And if you don't have AP weapons or have them only for CC, your plan was bad. If you have a look on the played TAGs and HIs now, most of them have at least a decent CC, if not MA2-3, so that your D-charges are no safe solution. For everything else a Varangian with chainrifle will solve most of your problems, since it cuts through many defensive strategies (at least if viable targets are around) and most of the time gets two orders to kill stuff thanks to dogged.

Game 3, Mindwipe vs. Nomads

And all of the sudden, I played the top-table. From the previous games I knew that there again will be a TAG, but for vanilla Nomads, that does not seem to exclude any other tools or strategies, so that I faced an extremely flexible list with Puppetbots, an Überfallkommando, hackers, Morans and camo-markers. I had to dig my way through Pi-well, Szally, Pupniks and a Moran, which lead to horrible losses in my active turn and an expensive activation of the console with my Dakini. Thanks to the Raptor and the Kyttas, I was able to defend my servers a bit, even with nothing to push further. But with the time running, the Raptor went down and the Pupniks finally smoked the server up, while Szally cut through everything else. My opponent here played quite clever, since a Liberto and some other combirifles were used to defend the own AI-server. This time my hail-mary failed with the Crusher eating two mines without tanking anything on his way to blow up the server.
This is something, I would call a bad match-up. Nomads are the flexibility per-se, where there is everything quite cheap and well equipped, while O-12 is specialised to the top. While my defined soultions for single situations may cut through one or two problems, they are cleared by the hundred other things not prepared for. Of course it needs a good piloting on the nomad-side, since everything may die easily if sent into the wrong target or positioned not in the best way, but then this really is a top-tier player.

So, what are the conclusions? First, the tournament showed, what we all already know: Armour now has a real value and CC is more frequent than before. From what I have recognized, even 10-order lists are performing not that bad, as you may expect from the changes to "limited insertion"-lists. An other point to consider is the thread of pitchers and hacking in general. Since this equipment bypasses LoF, even in a non-lethal way, hacking areas and places to deploy repeaters may something to take into account while setting up some tables. But far more important here is the amount of scatter terrain. Our tables tend to be slightly overfilled with small crates and similar stuff, where you can stand behind and get cover, but also have LoF. This created the situation, that especially heavy targets became even more annoying to be removed. Even with AP, each spitfire-hit becomes a coin-flip against Arm 3-targets in cover, so it may be a term of balancing to don't have cover everywhere.

Regarding my games and list-performance, I should be quite satisfied but am not directly. The two wins were last-minute actions, where mistakes, luck and only the skill of managing losses piled up. I still suck at alpha-striking and developing my board-position still is a bit difficult, but the defensive style did not turn out that bad as expected or experienced in N3. After the last game, I got the idea of a 'blob' list, which soaks up attacks turn one and two and plays the best card in the late game, where there are holes and the opponent isn't that focussed anymore. This needs several roadblocks, something to keep the orders alive, one or two gun-fighters to remove important threads and two fast and flexible winners, like the Crusher in the recent lists. So that will be something I will elaborate further, hoping to get over the paradigm of alpha-striking everything in N4 as the only win-condition.

Nevertheless, I scored the 4th place, overtaken by Shasvasti due to 6 more OPs. From what I read between the lines and had overheard during and after the tournament, everyone had a great day and it was a real pleasure to be back at the table and meet all the great guys from Lower Saxony again, even if it was only a small circle. Probably the first bigger event will be organized in spring 2022, if things won't escalate during winter, so we are looking forward to ITS 13.

Not the right countermeasures [O-12 vs. Nomads]

 

After the last IGIL-game against CrazyNomad, a more or less serious streak of bad luck hit me, which should be ended in the next IGIL-game against Tzwenne, one newer player in our german TTS-meta. As it appeared, there would again be Morans to ruin my day, as he played Nomads in the league. But with vanilla O-12 I should have all the options available to make a good appearance in this rounds mission: Countermeasures.

IGIL Highly
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GROUP 1  9  / 1
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 ALPHA (Lieutenant [+1 Command Token], Strategos L1]) Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 BETATROOPER Spitfire, Nanopulser(+1B) ( | TinBot: Firewall [-3]) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 41)
 RAZOR (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 32)
 SIRIUS (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 25)
   SIRIUSBOT Heavy Riotstopper / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 5)
 OKO Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 16)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 ANDROMEDA (Infiltration [+6]) Submachine Gun, Zapper, Flash Pulse, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 PARVATI Submachine Gun(+1B), Flash Pulse ( | GizmoKit, MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 38)
 YUDBOT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
 YUDBOT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

GROUP 21
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 FUZZBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater)  ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 8)
 CRUSHER (Combat Jump, Parachutist) Boarding Shotgun, Panzerfaust, D-Charges / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0 | 36)
 WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse ( ) / Stun Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

 2.5 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

With Countermeasures as a object-heavy and dynamic mission, I invested more into the flexible potential to fulfill most of the classifieds. All difficult problems shall be removed on the way with the specialists like Razor, Sirius, Andromeda or the Crusher. If there are serious roadblocks, the Beta, backed up by Parvati would be the option. This should also create an opportunity to score test run. Maybe the Oko needs some explanation here, since they are not that frequent in many lists. While I have no good units to clear the midfield (I don't want to sacrifice a Varangian for a simple shock-mine), I made good experiences with a sensor-sweep and then using the normal tools to gun things down. Here the Oko should also enlarge the repeater-network and give additional opportunities to score test run. The AD Crusher is picked over the cheaper options just because of the better opportunity to reach HVTs.

 
Countermeasured
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GROUP 1  9  / 1  / 1
 MODERATOR (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
 MODERATOR Combi Rifle / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
 MODERATOR Combi Rifle / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
 CHIMERA Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Eclipse Grenades / Viral CC Weapon, Pistol. (0 | 20)
   3X PUPNIK DA CC Weapon. (0 | 3)
 KUSANAGI Spitfire / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 42)
 JAZZ FTO undefined / undefined. (0.5 | 19)
   JAZZ FTO (Hacker, Number 2) Submachine Gun, Pitcher, Cybermines / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0.5 | 19)
 DAKTARI Combi Rifle ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
 KRIZA BORAC Heavy Machine Gun / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 54)
 BRAN DO CASTRO Combi Rifle, E/Mitter / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 ZERO (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 20)

GROUP 22
 MORAN (Repeater) Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse, D-Charges, Crazykoala ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
 MORAN (Repeater) Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse, D-Charges, Crazykoala ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
 BANDIT (Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Light Shotgun, Adhesive Launcher ( ) / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
 MORLOCK Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
 MORLOCK Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 6)

 5 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army
 

While Zero and Bandit should score some points on their way, the Morans should slow things down. Bran do Castro should mess up with my deployment early and if that won't do it, Kusanagi should carry the killing-task. Jazz and the Daktari are there for additional support. And once you have experienced the Chimera, you know that they are there for pure mess.

For this mission, we used the map I built for our Daedalus Fall campaign with some elevated elements in the center and some floating platforms to jump from them towards the central tower. In the south you have to quite safe spots to hide stuff, one on the left and one on the right, while the north side can start attacks easily via the center and defend itself from both corners. The right side appears to be more open than the left.

I win the Lt-roll and take the first turn to shape the game in my way. I am given the south DZ.

Guarded by the Warcor, my Alpha and Fuzzbot take the left corner with the Oko nearby, utilizing the close quarters on that side. Beta and Parvati in the center, a Kytta on the premium-mid range ARO-spot also in the center. One additional Kytta overwatches the right side. Both Varangians start in the central right. Since the map isn't optimized for forward deployment, the Sirius-team tries to hide properly on the central left.

Kusanagi and the Morlock take the left, while three camo-markers, a Moran and the Kriza are screening the center and the right side. The Kriza for this is deployed in an ARO-position. Bran fails his roll and appears behind the Kriza, nearly out of the game.
The Razor is hiddenly deployed in front of my left castle, just in case something goes for the Lt-kill and Andromeda successfully infiltrates just in front of Kusanagi. This is overwatched by a second Moran, lying on a floating platform. Kusanagi enters suppressive fire.

O-12 1: I need to spotlight something and only the Oko is flexible enough to reach one without crossing LoF to the Kriza and dealing with the camo-markers in the center. But first a Varangian runs up the left and clears the Koalas of the Moran threatening Andromeda. Then the Oko moves up the center and while getting in LoF to two camo-markers, I make the wrong decision and get shot by the Zero. So the mission-potential is done and the fun-part can start. Andromeda recieves one wound from Kusanagi and only does one in return with a D-charge on her. The Morlock dodges in the way and needs two orders to get removed. In the last try to get Kusanagi, Andromeda is shot from the Moderator and fails to wreck Kusanagi.

Nomads 1: The right Morlock advances, also the Chimera does. Morlock gets stunned, then the Kriza takes out the Kytta. On the left, the Chimera and her Pupniks advance further, clearing the mine and the Sirius. Meanwhile the left Moran designates one HVT and the Bandit KHD scans the disabled Oko.

O-12 2: Not the best situation, but nothing is lost here. The classifieds are all three nice for me (or my AD Crusher). But first the Chimera needs to go. The Razor appears, but all BSG-hits are saved. So I focus on the mission and bring in the Crusher on the left edge, in LoF of the left Moderator. With NWI, mimetism, bad range and low BS, this appears to be safe and more reliable than AD. The first shot is survived, but in the next order the Crusher gets a crit and dies completely.

Here there is neither motivation and fun left on my side, nor any scoring-potential, so I concede here. Of course, the Oko-situation wasn't played that clever and it may be greedy to expect Kusanagi to die to only one D-charge. But what are the odds to also save the Chimera and then killing the Crusher with a combi-crit from a Moderator in only one ARO-shot?? Well, your chances to get killed by a cow are low, but never zero...

I am glad for Tzwenne to experience some good luck on his side and hopefully having had a nice game, but I probably should search for a solution on my interactions with dice...

Three is all you need [O-12 vs. Spiral Corp]

After the loss against W0rstC4se, I hoped for some relief in the next IGIL-round, but only got one of his 'students', playing Tohaa/Spiral this event. I knew he would play quite good, since we knew each other a bit from the ENTE, but never had the opportunity to play against each other. So I was glad to get this opportunity, even if I have nearly no experience against Spiral Corp so far - Artichokes are simply non-existant in my meta, even in my online-bubble. The mission this round was Quadrant Control.

WorstQuadrant
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GROUP 1  10  / 1
 CYBERGHOSTS (Hacker, Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle, Pitcher ( ) / Breaker Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0.5 | 21)
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 GANGBUSTER (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Light Riotstopper, Madtraps / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 23)
 GANGBUSTER (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Light Riotstopper, Madtraps / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 23)
 RAZOR (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 32)
 FUZZBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater)  ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 8)
 SIRIUS Red Fury / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 29)
   SIRIUSBOT Heavy Riotstopper / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 5)
 SIRIUS Red Fury / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 29)
   SIRIUSBOT Heavy Riotstopper / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 5)
 ALPHA (Lieutenant [+1 Command Token], Strategos L1]) Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 EPSILON Heavy Machine Gun, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 34)

GROUP 21
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 FUZZBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater)  ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 8)
 LYNX (Specialist Operative) Plasma Carbine, D-Charges / Assault Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 29)

 4.5 SWC | 298 Points
Open in Infinity Army

I knew about the Tagmaa MSV sniper, a fair amount of impersonators and some ablative wounds on key-units, so the original plan was to grab some midfield-pieces, Bluecoats as corner guards and the really big guns. Having a Zeta somewhere on a roof could be a nice thing in this mission. Nevertheless, some discussion with W0rstC4se resulted in a mid-field heavy list and more glue-guns as you can imagine. The Sirius-teams should simply start on the roofs and shoot from that position, while the Gangbusters glue everything down on the way.Razor and Lynx as a back-up and early points somewhere, while the Epsilon could utilize the Varangians or the White Noise zones from the Cyberghost to hunt down whatever scary there may be.

QC Midfield
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GROUP 1  9  / 1  
 GREIF-OP  (Forward Deployment [+8"], Mimetism [-3]) Shock Marksman Rifle / Breaker Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 TAAGMA (Tri-Core) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 20)
 TAAGMA (Multispectral Visor L2) VIRAL Sniper Rifle ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 24)
 KAELTAR  Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse, SymbioBomb ( | SymbioMate) / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
 DRAAL (Minelayer) AP Marksman Rifle, D-Charges, Shock Mines / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 40)
 KIIUTAN Submachine Gun, E/Mitter, E/M Mines / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 28)
 CLIPSOS Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 JAAN STAAR Light Shotgun, Shock Mines / Viral Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (1 | 31)
 KRIIGEL (Lieutenant) Breaker Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenade Launcher, Pheroware Tactics: Eraser, Pheroware Tactics: Mirrorball / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
 HELOT MILITIAMAN (Camouflage [1 Use]) Submachine Gun, Light Rocket Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)

GROUP 21  
 KERAIL PRECEPTOR Submachine Gun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
   SURDA SYMBIOBEAST Pulzar / Viral CC Weapon. (- | 8)
 TAAGMA Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 16)
 CHAKSA AUXILIAR FTO (Sensor, Baggage) Heavy Flamethrower(+1 Dam) ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 10)
 CHAKSA AUXILIAR FTO (Sensor, Baggage) Heavy Flamethrower(+1 Dam) ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 10)
 DIPLOMATIC  (CC Attack [-3], Specialist Operative]) Nanopulser, Flash Pulse, Pheroware Tactics: Eraser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 5)

 5.5 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

The list takes everything you don't want to see in Quadrant Control. The backfield is secured by a Triad with the MSV Taagma and a Triad of Chaksas. A Draal can hunt down heavy targets, if necessary, but the Greif, Jaan Staar and the Clipsos, equipped by the Kiiutan can clear such things on their own, while they bring early and safe points in the far quadrants. The Surda beast on the other hand can rush easily into positions needed, once things go south. At least that is how I understand this vegetables.

You know this map from two previous reports. Both deployment zones have limited spaces for link-deployment and need to make some decisions about what to overwatch. The right side tends to be more open, while the left one has to deal with the long firelane in the center more often. Why I came up with three high buildings in the center for a map dedicated for Quadrant Control is a mystery now...

I loose te Lt-roll and get the first turn but can deploy second in the south - my favoured side for this match-up. We don't forget about the decompression-zones this time, as you can see in the image. Mine are placed more or less in positions to not limit my movement or burst towards the important places.

One Triad with three Krigels is deployed on the right building with a Draal MMR in front of it. One Krigel is looking suspicious into the long central firelane. The left side sees a Triad of Chacksas, a camo marker and a flash-diplomat. More centered a Kerail and his Beast start, next to a Kaeltar, equipping Jaan Staar with a Symbiobomb. He starts together with an impersonator in my left quadrant, prone on the roof of the high building.
My cheerleaders together with the Cyberghost hide on the left, defended by one Varangian. The second one takes the right side, preparing for the Epsilon. One Sirius-team takes the high building on my right with the bot on ground-level. To control Jaan Staar a bit, one Gangbuster starts next to that building, the other takes the right, sitting next to the mine of the Razor. My Lynx starts in HD on the far left.
The Greif starts in suppressive fire in the center, while I decide to go beyond him with my second Sirius-team on the far left.

O-12 1: Using the Sirius-bot on the left, White Noise is placed there to secure the path for the Sirius-team. Ignoring the Greif, I rush that team into the Chaksa-Triad, glueing one Chaksa and loosing the whole team, making it a quite bad trade. So I send the Varangian to clear that side, failing to CC the glued Chaksa and shooting the Kerail, but at least surviving with everything in LoF. The right Varangian enters suppressive fire to scare away some stuff in the mid of the right side, while the Kyttas advance into the quadrants.

Spiral 1: While the left Varangian is shot, he takes down the Kerail and the Diplomat successfully with the chain rifle. On the left the MSV Taagma discovers my mine, which then is used by the Helot to burn down my Gangbuster with his LRL. The Varangian is forced to dodge, so the Draal can kill him easily. Since an impersonator and Jaan Staar are not enough in my near left quadrant, a Clipsos appears on that building, too. The madtrap glues him there, completely unaccessable.

Three to one quadrant for Spiral: 2-0

O-12 2: Again things must work over the left side. The Kytta stuns a Chaksa out of the way and again with White Noise the Greif is blinded. Now the Lynx starts there, reaching the Triad and burning down a Chaksa and the Taagma, but not surviving the nanopulzar. Again nothing is won there. The Sirius on the right only sends the Helot prone, so the path there is still denied.

Spiral 2: With some orders, the Greif clears out the whole left flank, after which I call it, since there is nothing more to gain for me and it would be only shooting things down now.

With that, the game is lost 10-0. The Zeta-list would have been the better choice, since I could have changed much thinking about how to engage what target with which support to simply a big gun and heavy armor. The Taagma sniper would have been no issue for the HRMC, I guess and there would have been something to deal with the Draal. Well, at least I have learned something. I am not sure, how I could have made a better turn one, since the Chaksas were deployed exelently with no LoF longer than template range. Maybe simply using the Varangian would have been the deal here. If that flank could have been smoked, I could have drained the order pool and the control of the near quadrants, so that the operation-team on my rooftop would have been useless. Nevertheless MSP had a good plan suited for the map and mission well executed and it was a fun game. That I quit a game with O-12 wishing for all my DBS-tools was not imaginable for me, but man...Some hackers, some pitchers and a Clipper can solve so many problems.

Lost in the woods [O-12 vs. Ramah]

In the end of February we started the IGIL (Inter German Infinity League) in TTS, organized by TJE and myself. While TJE stayed back as replacement, I was tossed into the storm to mix up some participants. The first mission was Acquisition and I was paired against Duddsen and his Haqqislamites, what screamed 'REVENGE!" loudly (the last time he wrecked myself completely with an undying Asawira...). To do this, I went for my first game with vanilla O-12 ever.

Aqui
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GROUP 1  10  / 2
 ALPHA (Lieutenant [+1 Command Token], Strategos L1]) Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
 CHO (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 KYTTÄ Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 EPSILON Heavy Machine Gun, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 34)
 BETATROOPER Spitfire, Nanopulser(+1B) ( | TinBot: Firewall [-3]) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 41)
 GANGBUSTER (Minelayer, Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, Madtraps ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 22)
 LYNX (Specialist Operative) Plasma Carbine, D-Charges / Assault Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 29)

GROUP 23  
 LYNX MULTI Sniper Rifle, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 33)
 PEELER Heavy Machine Gun / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1 | 25)
 RAZOR (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, Flash Pulse, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 32)

 5.5 SWC | 298 Points
Open in Infinity Army

If you want to win in this mission, you want an HD-troop to survive and take the tech-coffin in turn three. Since that also counts for the antennas, the plan was set: Two specialists in HD and a Gangbuster as roadblock for the mission, while either the Beta spitfire does the needed damage, or the Epsilon. They are supported by the Varangians. I felt not very comfortable with only the Lynx MSR and two Flashbots, so I squeezed in a TR-bot.

 
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GROUP 1  10  / 2  
 NAHAB (Parachutist, Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, E/Mitter, Nanopulser ( ) / Pistol, Viral CC Weapon. (0 | 32)
 SHAKUSH Heavy Machine Gun, Heavy Flamethrower / AP CC Weapon. (1.5 | 58)
   SHAKUSH PILOT Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 0)
 SHAKUSH AP Spitfire, Heavy Flamethrower / AP CC Weapon. (1.5 | 58)
   SHAKUSH PILOT Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 0)
 YARA HADDAD AP Marksman Rifle / Heavy Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
 LEILA SHARIF  (Hacker) Shock Marksman Rifle, E/M Mines, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
 GHULAM Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 16)
 GHULAM (Doctor [+3]) Rifle, Light Shotgun ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
 GHULAM Missile Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 17)
 GHULAM (Forward Observer) Rifle, Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 GHULAM (Lieutenant) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 11)

GROUP 21  
 MONSTRUCKER Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Drop Bears / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
 NASMAT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
 FANOUS REMOTE Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 FANOUS REMOTE Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
 FANOUS REMOTE Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)

 5 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

I made some ugly experiences with linked Khawarijs and Mukhtars in the past, so at least I was pleased to not see any of that on the field. Nevertheless the Fanous-battery and two TAGs in front of a defensive Ghulam-link are a real thread. Novadays everybody is talking about Tuareg hackers, so the Nahab is often overseen as a great surprise. The mission plan is supposed to drag Leyla and Yara into the midfield, so that they can take care of the objectives.

TJE build a good looking forest-table with dense rows of trees and lots of bushes and some coral-structures to give some cover. The green areas are hills to add some elevation to the map. The bushes added some strategic and interesting layer of cover to the map, but as it always is with such incleas strucutres in TTS, checking LoF caused some pain during the game. The best ARO-positions are granted by the hills on the right, but most of the firelanes are restricted to max. 30".

I loose the Lt-roll and Duddsen decides to go first. So I deploy second in the south.

All Fanous are grouped behind the left trees, the Ghulams take the hill on the right. One Sharkush starts in front of the Fanous behind the truck. Leyla supports the central TAG. The Monstrucker starts prone in the center behind some bushes. Yara starts next to the link on the right.

I definetely want to lure the TAGs into the open in the midfield, so I deploy a bit restricted. The Lynx overwatches the center from the right coral-structure, while Kyttas and the Peeler take the center and the left side. My Alpha can be hidden easily in the far left corner, Cho tries to look frightening in the center. Every side gets a Varangian, the Epsilon takes the left with longer lanes and the mimetism-REMs, while the Beta can advance easily on the right. Advanced on the left the Razor starts, the Gangbuster hides next to the central objective and I misplay the Lynx SO and infiltrate him on the right.

The second Sharkush formes a duo with Yara on the right, now the Epsilon appears on my left. Thanks to counterintelligence, I take two orders from group one and also set my Gangbuster in suppressive fire.

Ramah 1: Right in front of my DZ the Nahab appears, shredding the Beta and the Lynx SO, while the MSR stays hidden. While all my shots fail, one Kytta and the right Varangian also die to the Nahab. With that done, the duos scatter and advance a bit and the Monstrucker fires a drop bear towards the center.

O-12 1: Plan A (Beta) is gone and if I focus on the Nahab, I will stay in a bad position towards the TAGs. So I ignore the Nahab and push the left Varangian and the Epsilon forward, trying to take down the central Sharkush and from there killing more squishy things. All I get are two wounds on the Sharkush.

Ramah 2: The wounded Sharkush shall be fixed, resulting in an empty second order pool and a wrecked Sharkush. Now alone, Leyla tries to kill my Epsilon after dropping the Varangian but gets critted by his pistol. To close this, Cho guns down the Nahab reactively. All links advance a bit.

O-12 2: Since I don't want to see the TAG again, the Epsilon coup de grace'd him after shooting the Ghulam sniper and ML, as well as the Nasmat. Also my left TO-troop appears for the upcoming turn.

Ramah 3: Yara and her TAG push towards the center. The TAG dodges the first bullet of my Lynx, while the Epsilon survives Yaras fire. An other drop bear is fired next to my Epsilon, so that in the following exchange between him and the Monstrucker both die. On their way towards the central objective Yara is shot by the Lynx and the Sharkush recieves two wounds.

O-12 3: The Sharkush is in a really annoying place. I send the Gangbuster, forgetting about the flamer. The SMG wrecks the TAG and the Gangbuster survives the flames around him, so that he can secure the central objective and the HVT. While the Razor activates and secure the left objective, the Lynx at least secures the right one.

With this, I win 9-0 thanks to a terrible second turn for Duddsen and some luck in my late game. I was sure to have lost after my miserable first turn, since I managed to do nothing except for exposing my only big gun. Without focussing on repairing the Sharkush and simply sacrificing him towards the Epsilon, my last punch could have been removed, while the Monstrucker could have headed for the objectives. The plan to drag the specialists towards the objectives while the TAGs shoot the way may be not that optimal, at least for this mission. In the end the Sharkush is not that heavily armoured, so he gets down more easily and without any protection, Leyla and Yara get shot easily by any hidden specialist.

Except for the Lynx SO, which is quite expensive for starting in the DZ with a short range gun, my list was quite satisfying. The MSR needs some patience to shine, but then is terrible to remove in most cases. Probably a Razor minelayer and one Gangbuster may be more efficient than a Peeler for the defense. Unfortunately the Beta had no chance to show his strength but that was compensated by the Epsilon, which together with a Varangian is able to solve nearly every problem except for linked MSV-units and TAGs in cover. For my first game with vanilla O-12, I am very satisfied and partly stunned by the flexibility and joy of this faction. The Alpha allows so much flexibility with units in hidden deployment, so that you only need some patience and a good poker-face to get good results.

Making an example on corporate interests

On our last regular game night before N4 finally drops, I agreed on one last Code One-teaching game against our newest member. She started somewhere in June and already had some N3 games with not so bad results, but to make a step back and focus a bit more on the general things, I was curious to get my O-12 minis out.The mission here was quadrant control with 25 points.

Since Army 7 has no good opportunity to share lists, here is a short description:

Delta Doc + Yudbot, 2x Razor (SO & Hacker), 2x Crusher SO, 2x Oko, Epsilon HMG, Gamma HMG Lt, Kappa Hacker

The plan was to dominate the board from the beginning and shut most of the dangerous PanO-things down with hacking. The Gamma is a simple throw away piece and the Delta is supposed to get him back if needed.

On the PanO-side was a mix of useful and not so useful things:

2x Fusi Paramedic, Fusi ML, Croc Hacker, Trauma Doc, Engineer, Swiss Guard Hacker, Aquila Lt SO, Orc HMG, Nisse Hacker

Hacking the consoles seems to be one of the main plans and the HIs should simply outgun and outpoint me in the quadrants.

We take a 4x4 map for all Code One games, since it seems to be more balanced and not so alpha-strike dominating as with smaller maps. It seems quite open but the center was well obstructed with quite open DZs.

I loose the Lt roll and go first in the south.

Besides my Epsilon, starting in the center, my whole deployment is mirrored. Each side sees a Crusher a bit advanced, a Razor next to the console, an Oko as back-up and the Kappa behind some containers.

The Orc starts together with the Doc and a Fusilier in the center, the left is covered by the other Fusilier and the ML on the tower but prone. Behind the building on the right, the Aqulia and the Engineer start. A TO-guy starts in front of them.

My Gamma starts on the right to take advantage of longer ranges. A TO-marker reinforces the left.

O-12 1: The right Razor advances into the furthest sector and hides behind the console, while the Gamma advances into the neares right sector to secure that. The last orders go into the left Razor, activating my left console and then hiding recamoed in the far left sector.

PanO 1: The Nisse advances a bit and the Swiss Guard activates the left console and fails many times to discover my Razor on the left.

Here I control three quadrants: 3-0

O-12 2: Now the Epsilon starts and guns down the Nisse and Swiss Guard, while the right Oko advances into the sector.

PanO 2: It is time for the Orc, gunning down the Gamma with ease, while the Aquila finishs the right Razor and takes a defensive position there. To overwatch the left, the ML Fusilier stands up. Finally the TO-marker on the right flips the console.

I have lost the far sectors and we tie on quadrants: 4-1

O-12 3: The Delta lands on the right but has to watch out for the Aquila. His Yudbot only manages to break Gammas neck, ending my aggressive potential on the right. On the left we have an other situation: The Epsilon takes aim on the Fusilier, dropping it without problems. My remaining Razor flips the far left console, guns down a paramedic and fails to shoot the Trauma Doc with his BSG.

PanO 3: Again the Orc saves the day by dropping the razor but then struggles to clear his path on the left. In addition to this, the Aquila fails to activate my right console.

Since I have managed to outpoint both PanO HIs somehow (my notes are not clear about this in detail), I score three additional points, making it a 9-2 in total.

What didn't work out for PanO here were the minor suboptimal things in list-building (ML Fusilier, too many points given for specialists and not for guns) and a hesitant first turn. Some aggressive play with the HIs and a nice back-up with strong AROs would be quite risky with my push in the first turn. I have to admit, that I relied too much on the Gammas durability and the ability of the Delta to revive him. Without CPs and rerolls, this is a gamble. Luckily the PanO WIP worked for me here. Besides that, the new crit-mechanic feels very different and enhances durability of many things and the changes in shotguns are difficult. Without the blast-template in the ranged mode, some old habits need to be changed.

Round three Quadrantenterror

Last week only the regular game for the current tournament was scheduled. It went against vanilla CA, piloted by a nice opponent I already knew from our regional tournaments. The mission was 'Overload', a custum mission mixing Highly Classified and The Grid to some extend. You really have to work for your OPs here.

REMtasy
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GROUP 1 8
PEACEMAKER Spitfire + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (1 | 27)
AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)
PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)
VALERYA GROMOZ Hacker (Hacking Device UPGRADE: Expel) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
SCARFACE & CORDELIA TURNER . (1.5 | 78)
SCARFACE 2 Mk12, Heavy Rocket Launcher / AP CCW. (1.5 | 61)
SCARFACE Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, CCW. ()
CORDELIA TURNER Combi Rifle, Chain-colt, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 17)
NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
DRUZE Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)

GROUP 2 6
SIERRA DRONBOT HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 25)
PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
BRAWLER Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16)
BOUNTY HUNTER Submachine Gun, Akrylat-Kanone / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
KAMEEL Hacker (EVO Hacking Device) Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 25)

4.5 SWC | 299 Points

Open in Infinity Army

There is a exclusion zone, so I want to rely on fast units rather then on infiltrators in bad places. My Pathfinders should give me the needed speed to activate the consoles, while Scarface should open the path for Valeria then to score the needed classifieds. Except for the Peacemaker, everything else is more or less dedicated to keep them alive. The Peacemaker should be used to get rid of single targets in bad places.

Combined Army
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10 2
ANATHEMATIC Hacker (EI Hacking Device) Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Shock CCW. (0.5 | 88)
CHARONTID Lieutenant (Multispectral Visor L3) HMG, Nanopulser / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 79)
Bit Hacker (UPGRADE: Expel) Submachine Gun + Pitcher, Deployable Repeater + KISS! / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 19)
KISS! Adhesive Launcher / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
Q-DRONE Plasma Rifle / Electric Pulse. (1 | 25)
ÍMETRON . (0 | 4)
KRAKOT RENEGADE 2 Chain Rifles, Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
SHROUDED Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 14)

4 SWC | 298 Points

Open in Infinity Army

With vanilla CA I feared something like Sheskin or a TAG, but we discussed before, that he was playing a not so well prepared LI-list without such nasty things. That made calculations quite easy, eventhough I was not aware of the Charontid and was wondering where all the other points may be gone into. Of course, those two hard-hitters should do most of the work with the Anathematics as beta-piece, while Krakot and Daturazi should cause trouble in the midfield. With Anathematics in hidden deployment and one camo-troop on the table, you may expect a lot of different things, opening the place for some mindgames.

Everything of this table was well known now, except for the fact that there are no places to hide a TAG properly. But I forgot about this by picking the south DZ after loosing the Lt-roll. The south DZ seemed better to defend and harder to access. My support units could be hidden easily in the backfield, while there were forwarded positions for all of my REMs. Only Scarface had some trouble.

CA went first and deployed first. The Daturazi and the Ikadron took the right side, while a camo marker, the Imetron and Dr. Worm got the center of the DZ. Q-drone, Bit and Kiss had the left with the Q-drone in a suboptimal position. The Krakot was placed in front of them there and something went in hidden deployment (could have been anything at this stage).

Scarface started as well hidden as possible on the left side of the salt-factory, Valeria a bit more advanced. One Fugazi and one Pathfinder supported them, while everything else went on the right to avoid the Q-drone. I deployed the Peacemaker behind the right silo, a Fugazi and a Pathfinder behind the vehicle and the support-stuff hidden behind the walls. The Druze KHD as potential scorer is placed in the center.

As expected, a MSV-unit was deployed on the right in shape of a Charontid HMG, while I delpoyed my Sierra on the left to cover that firelane and have an eye over the center. The Krakot was the CA-scout, I nominated Valeria.

CA 1: My REMs get overclock. The Daturazi sets up smoke and the Charontid shoots down the right Fugazi. The Sierra follows after doing one wound on him. Bit advances and activates the far left console (Test run), shoots a repeater between my two hackers and fails to hack one of them. The Charontid retreats a bit.

Druze 1: The Peacemaker shoots down the pitcher and Scarface blasts the exposed Krakot away. Now the Pathfinder on the left activates the near left console, while one Pathfinder on the right gets assisted fire and shoots down the Charontid and activates the mid right console (In Extremis Recovery). I shoot Kiss unconscious and overclock my REMs.

CA 2: The Daturazi sets up some smoke on the right and Dr. Worm, Ikadron, camo and Q-drone advance a bit. The camo tries to shoot my Pathfinder but gets critted. The Anathematics appears and shoots him unc L2, then scores IER on him after flipping the mid right console. Then he recamoes.

Druze 2: The Pathfinder on the left flips the mid console (HVT Designation), while the Peacemaker takes one wound from Anathematics and has to deal with the Q-drone now. He shoots the Q-drone unconscious and I make the big mistake of trying to shoot Anathematics now instead of wrecking the Q-drone with Dr. Worm next to it. In the course the Peacemaker is wrecked one time but gets repaired. Overclock on my REMs.

CA 3: Dr. Worm recovers the Q-drone, scoring Test run, while Anathematics activates the far right console (Follow up), scoring the classified on my HVT nearby. Dr. Worm, Anathematics and Bit entering suppressive fire.

Druze 3: I am back in everything for the moment, so I need to flip more consoles and everyone in the center to get a tie. No hope here to get more classifieds done this turn. To do this, I need to chew trhough a lot of AROs in the center, costing many orders. Scarface takes the first run, using the Daturazi standing next to Anathematics as target for the HRL. It took some tries before the Anathematics is burned, but the Daturazi is still alive. My Pathfinders manage to grab three consoles, while Scarface and Valeria advance in the midfield. Scarface clears out the Ikadron and the Daturazi is shot by the right Pathfinder. That is all I can do with my orders.

In the end it is a 6-3 loss for me. The classifieds give more points than more consoles in this case. 70 points survived on CA-side, while I have 274 points remaining. This may show quite clear, that I forgot to play the mission here, what may be true to some extend. But with two really strong units on the field, capable of killing my orders and flipping back my efforts, I saw no other chance than killing them first and score the classifieds later. The big mistake here was to keep the Q-drone unconscious while having an order left to change this. Not only it was an easy job now to score Test run, but also the Q-drone was covering the whole center again as a really nasty ARO-piece. Maybe a console in the center would have given me a better classified, instead of flipping empty consoles. My first doubts about the chosen list and the list at all when it gets against CA got proven wrong, as my defense is not deadly but strong and the Pathfinders are that much flexible, that there is no task to big, if the range is good. That is the only problem here: If I have no chance to get close, I need to trust in 3STR of Scarface to remove the thread and open the path. Here an exclusion zone limits the flexibility of the Peacemaker a lot in most cases, so that I can't reach snipers in good ranges in most cases.

Regarding the announced analysis and theoretical write-ups, they are still in progress. Currently I am reading through all the reports, trying to note the most important points for victory or defeat, just to point out the strength and weakness of Druze. From that point I want to build some strategical writings to overcome the problems and use the strong points better.