ENTE round 4 aftermath: Looting and Sabotaging vs. Shasvasti

Even with all my games done, one of the more unexperienced players in the event asked for a test-game and since I had a free afternoon, I took the chance. To stay with the level of the event, I took the same list as in my real game and was curious how it would perform against Shasvasti.

HPLSLI
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9  / 1  
 BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)
 DRUZE Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
 ARSLAN Lieutenant MULTI Rifle, Light Shotgun / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 36)
 SAITO TOGAN Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW, Knife. (0 | 39)
 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)
 VALERYA GROMOZ Hacker (Hacking Device UPGRADE: Expel) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 PEACEMAKER Spitfire + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (1 | 27)
   AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
 SIERRA DRONBOT HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 25)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)

 5.5 SWC | 300 Points
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In general, my plan for this mission turned out quite good the last time, so I planned for the same game here. The amount of difficult terrain needs to be considered and normally nothing except for my  camo-guys should really take a walk there to save ressources

 Shasvastii Expeditionary Force
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10  
 SPECULO KILLER (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenades, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Monofilament CCW, Knife. (1.5 | 39)
 SPECULO KILLER (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenades, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Monofilament CCW, Knife. (1.5 | 39)
 SPHINX Spitfire, 2 Heavy Flamethrowers / EXP CCW. (2 | 106)
   SCINDRON Flash Pulse / Knife. (0 | 0)
 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
 MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 NOX Hacker (EI Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, Zapper / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 17)
 NOX Hacker (EI Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, Zapper / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 17)
 NOX Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Zapper / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
 SHROUDED (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Dazer / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)

 6 SWC | 300 Points
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One of the most reasonable tools for Shasvasti to destroy the AC2 is the Avatar, so I kind of expected it, what does not really help to solve this problem with Druze. My opponent thought that even monofilamt-ccws could destroy the AC2, so there are two Speculos and some more or less reasonable support for them. The Shrouded definitvly can slow down things on their way to the own AC2, but once it is reached, only the Ikadrons can defend it somehow.

My opponent chose the same map as in my real game, so I was not that sad here. I win the Lt-roll this time and choose to deploy second on the red side, since I experienced that side to be easier to defend, especially against an Avatar. My opponent takes the first turn.

Dr. Wurm and one Ikadron start  in the base in the closed chamber, a Nox, a Ikadron and the Slave drone take the center and one Nox hides behind the rocks inside the DZ. One camo-marker appears in the central room One impersonator and a camo-marker start outside in front of my DZ, a second pair starts in the base, blocking the wide entrance.

First I am glad to have no Speculo in reserve, since I totally forgot about them in my planning. But the way they are positioned, I really need to look for good positions to start the run with Saito and the get my Peacemaker into the game. The Sierra overwatches the outside from the far right corner, Scarface and Gromoz start in the outside hidden behind the central rocks, too and my core-team overwatches the center and the left. The MSV-Brawler can overwatch the whole path towrds my AC2, since I assumed the outside-way to be the chosen one for the Avatar. My Hunzakut starts inside the base but not that far advanced and Cordelia takes a position near that door.

The Avatar appeared in marker state inside and I puzzle my Peacemaker out of the trigger area of the mine outside with the Auxbot overwatching the wide door of the base.

Shasvasti 1: The Shrouded places his Dazer in the center, covering my Peacemaker. The inside-Speculo grabs some armour out of the panoply, places a mine to cover my Hunzakut and re-impersonates. Now the Avatar advances, grabbing a combirifle out of the panoply  and tries to engage my Hunzakut. He places a repeater in the first contact and manages to dodge the flamethrower, while my overlord-hacking fizzles.

Druze 1: The Hunzakut places an other repeater to pin the Avatar a bit longer. Saito Togan takes a cautious walk and manages to reach the AC2. This time two orders are enough to destroy it. With the last orders, he shoots down the Shrouded and clears an Ikadron in CC, then recamos.

Shasvasti 2: The inside-Speculo takes some orders to ground the Hunzakut and the repeater. In the own DZ a Nox discovers Saito and the other Ikadron burns him down. The Avatar uses the small door on my left to shoot at my core-team. The Brawler goes down while everyone else survives.

Druze 2: Gromoz fails to place a pitcher to protect my AC2 while she and Scarface advance to bait out the other Speculo and secure the HVT.

Shasvasti 3: The Avatar tries to burn down my last link-members. Cordelia manages to engage it and while burning down, Arslan stunns the Avatar. This  cuts the chances for him to damage my AC2. An Ikadron advances and a Nox hacker tries to spotlight my HVT without success.

Druze 3: Cordelia  blows up the Avatar with one D-charge and Scarface manages to discover and shoot the outside-Speculo. Cordelia then fails to take out the other Speculo and is shot in return.

Since my HVT is blocked by the other Speculo, I can't secure the HVT. I also grabbed nothing from the panoplies, so I win this game 8-1. I got a bit lucky with Arslans stun-shot, but on the other hand, the chances to block the Avatar somewhere on the way in that turn, were not that bad. We discussed later, that a Speculo as reserve would have brought more options to him, since I have had to plan for a second one with my DZ and he could have searched for a whole in my deployment and crack the path for the Avatar.

ENTE round 4: Looting & Sabotaging vs. Dashat

The luck of the draw led to facing AssaultUnicorn, the author of the ENTE-narrative and my regular TTS-opponent in the final round of the event. Our team planned for something different here, since I know that AssaultUnicorn is around my level, maybe a bit better and it will come down to individual choices in the game. If I would have drawn an other opponent, this maybe could have been mixed up in favour for our team. But in the end I am glad to have this last game scheduled in this way. The last mission for the event was Looting & Sabotaging with three really beautiful and interesting maps, made by Badlazzor and Cabaray.

 

If someone likes to watch the record of the game, made by AssaultUnicorn, you can find it here:

 HPLSLI
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9  / 1  
 BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)
 DRUZE Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
 ARSLAN Lieutenant MULTI Rifle, Light Shotgun / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 36)
 SAITO TOGAN Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW, Knife. (0 | 39)
 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)
 VALERYA GROMOZ Hacker (Hacking Device UPGRADE: Expel) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 PEACEMAKER Spitfire + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (1 | 27)
   AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
 SIERRA DRONBOT HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 25)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)

 5.5 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

Meanwhile I am quite confident with this list and had a good plan for this mission. Since only Saito Togan is able to destroy the AC2 properly, this was the main aggressor and should reach the AC2 unharmed. This is the task for the Peacemaker, shooting things out of the way and then be a speed-bump for later. Scarfaces acts as pure distraction from this, while the small core-team and the Sierra should secure my AC2 as long as possible. I don't plan to use the panoplies, since it is too order-intesive for this list and there are no units on the way to to it properly. But the AC2 and the classified, scored by Gromoz, should be enough here.

 TM
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GROUP 1 8  / 2  / 1
 GHULAM Hacker (Hacking Device) Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 20)
 GHULAM Hacker (Hacking Device) Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 20)
 GHULAM Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 GHULAM Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 16)
 GHULAM Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 16)
 MIRANDA ASHCROFT Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 24)
 BOUNTY HUNTER Red Fury / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 GHULAM Doctor Plus (MediKit) Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 McMURROUGH 2 Chain Rifles, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Templar CCW (AP + DA). (0 | 32)
 HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)

GROUP 21  
 ZÚYŎNG (Fireteam: Haris, Tactical Awareness) Combi Rifle + 1 TinBot B (Deflector L2) / 2 Breaker Pistols, Knife. (0.5 | 34)
 RUI SHI Spitfire / Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 20)
 VALERYA GROMOZ Hacker (Hacking Device UPGRADE: Expel) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 DOZER Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 LIBERTO (CH: Mimetism, Minelayer) Light Shotgun, Chain-colt, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 11)

 6 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

Besides the Ghulam-core, AssaultUnicorn brought the best Dashat has, I guess. While group one acts as defence for the AC2 with the core-team, the Hunzakut as plan b for the AC2 with some D-charges and McMurder as plan a, group two is an additional back-up for everything. The Rui SHi can deal with most of the threats thrown at the AC2 and the link is mobile enough to reach the panoplies on their own.

After a long hunt for the source of the mysterious sepsitor-signal, we finally reached some underground-facilities, run by the CA, where it is necessary to destroy/analyze/rearrange the power-sources for the signal. We had the game on a 50/50-map with one half of difficult mountain terrain and low-visibility (nobody takes some flashlights these days!) and a hidden base on the other side with some doors and corridors wide enough to fit a TAG in there.

I lost the Lt-roll and AssaultUnicorn deployed second on the red side. I choose to go first.

Backed up by Cordelia, the Sierra overwatches the left outdoor-area, whith the Brawler looking at the rest and Arslan having a slight look at my AC2. Scarface and Gromoz start in the base to use the mobility a bit better. My AC2 is guarded by my Hunzakut, since it is quite easy to reach and hard to defend on the other way. Saito starts next to the central room outdoors in hidden deployment.

A Ghulam-core overwatched the outdoor-area from the left corner and a camo-marker starts a bit forwarded there. Behind some rocks in the center, the Rui Shi-haris starts and McMurder together with two Ghulams hide on the right.

Since there is no need for the Peacemaker to clear a path for Saito, it is deployed inside to set up a trap for McMurder. That is denied directly with two camo-markers in front of McMurder inside the base.

Druze 1: Saito starts, sets up smoke to avoid engagements of the Ghulams and the camo-marker and attacks the AC2. It takes way too many orders, but finally the AC2 is destroyed and I recamo Saito.

Dashat 1: The Rui Shi gets buffed by Gromoz and takes out Saito without problems. While McMurder advances into the base, the camo-marker on the left grabs some D-charges and the one on the right turns out to be a Liberto, sacrificing himself to take out the Peacemaker. The Dashat-Hunzakut approaches my AC2, takes out my Hunzakut and blow two holes into my AC2.

Druze 2: The KHD enters the room and shoots the Hunzakut down, while Cordelia lets her Nasmat repair the Peacemaker, which takes a defensive position to finally take out McMurder, if he approaches. 

Dashat 2: The Rui Shi-team enters the base and grabs some goodies out of the panoply. One shot of the Rui Shi is enough to disable Scarface. McMurder smokes out the Auxbot and wrecks it in CC, then shoots the Peacemaker down and finally destroys my AC2.

Druze 3: Scarface gets repaired and takes out the Rui Shi, which is completly destroyd by my Gromoz. She shoots a pitcher next to the link. To get the KHD free, Arslan engages McMorrough and takes him down in one shot, but the KHD dies to the chain rifle. My Gromoz takes care of my HVT and fries the other one, while Scarface advances towards the enemy HVT.

Dashat 3: The remaining Zuyong takes out Gromoz but is shot by Scarface in the process. Now the core-team moves to get LoF to Scarface and finally drop the TAG. The Dozer lets his Nasmat advance and secure my HVT.

With this, the game ends 7-5 for AssaultUnicorn. Maybe the thing breaking my neck was the amount of orders Saito needed in turn one. If I had two more orders left for the Peacemaker or for Scarface to set up better ARO-positions, I could have stopped McMorrough a bit earlier. A switch between Arslan and my KHD would also have been an option, since Arslan can dodge quite good and is a good threat for things like Hunzakuts. All in all it was a great and interesting game and a fitting end for me in this event.

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
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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
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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.

ENTE Round 3 test: Transmission Matrix vs. Military Orders

With three weeks per round, there is some time in between to have some games around and since I had some good discussions with the french team and Ayadan contributed a great map for the next round, we took the chance and tested this one. I was really glad here to have a game vs. one of the best PanO-players around for the moment and have the opportunity to show him what DBS can do. The mission here was Transmission Matrix.

 List DBS:

 DecapTM
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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
 

As mentioned before, the list was designed to fulfill the requirements of Decapitation and Transmission Matrix. With the existing repeater-network and three hackers on the table, I am sure to dominate the infowar against most other factions, except for Nomads. So I should be able to target the key units and drop missiles on them without any problems. A strong defensive core-team and a Peacemaker should solve every other problem deployed against that.

List MO:

 Santiago Deployment
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GROUP 1 9  / 1  
 ORDER SERGEANT Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
 ORDER SERGEANT Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
 ORDER SERGEANT Heavy Rocket Launcher / Assault Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 15)
 KNIGHT OF SANTIAGO Lieutenant (Specialist Operative) Spitfire, Nanopulser, E/M Grenades, D-Charges / Pistol, DA CCW. (1 | 43)
 KNIGHT OF SANTIAGO Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, D-Charges + 1 TinBot A (Deflector L1) / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 38)
 TECH-BEE (Remote Assistant Level 1, Specialist Operative) Flash Pulse / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
 PEACEMAKER Heavy Shotgun + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (0 | 21)
   AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
 BULLETEER Spitfire / Electric Pulse. (1 | 23)
 TRAUMA-DOC (Father-Doctor) Combi Rifle  / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
 SPEC. SERGEANT Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)

GROUP 21  
 MACHINIST (Father-Engineer) Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)
 PALBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 PALBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 SPEC. SERGEANT Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 BULLETEER Spitfire / Electric Pulse. (1 | 23)
 MULEBOT Hacker (EVO Hacking Device) Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 25)
 WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3)

 6 SWC | 299 Points
Open in Infinity Army

 My estimation, even from my own experience, would have been a minimal infowar-approach to simply gun everything down. Ayadan planned for this estimation against MO in this mission and took a completly different and from my point of view unexpected approach: Go all-in into the infowar. Not only that a 2W KHD is a scary thing to deal with, but also the EVO to support that with Kaleidoscope (something I totally forgot about) and two other hackers to harrass mine are a real staple here. The needed guns are brought by the Peacemaker and two Bulleteers, kept alive by a Machinist. So everything moving across the table is shot down with ease and everything trying to click something on his comlog is shut down.

The map was something different from what was used on TTS over the last weeks.I set the theme for the whole round as a hidden base in the jungle, so the left side had some jungle-terrain with forest on it. The base here was in the center with a REM-maintance-system in the center (tunnels made for S4 units to move freely under it with some hoists to reach the elevated center), a landing-area in the north and an assistance-system next to the building in the north.

I can't remember who won the Lt-roll but I go first and take the south DZ.

My link deploys around the elevated position on the left with the KHD and the MSR around the antenna and the Clipper down overwatching the inner area there. One Fugazi, two Pathfinders and the EVO take the center and the other REMs are deployed on the right with the Sierra overwatching the inner area and a Fugazi taking care about the right flank. One Hunzakut starts in the forest on the left and the other one starts in the right building.

A core team with a Santiago KHD and a Santiago spitfire deploys inside the right building. The OS HRL is on the roof to overwatch things. While one spitfire-Bulleteer starts in the center, a second one starts on the right flank. A Machinist and an EVO Mulebot hide on the left behind the fence and a Techbee together with a Doc hide behind the right building. One OS hacker secures the left antenna, a second one  supports on the right.

To cut through the REMs, my Peacemaker starts behind the right building near my Hunzakut. It is counterdeployed by an other Peacemaker.

Druze 1: As always, I loose two orders from group one. My Hunzakuts sneaks through the building and takes out the Peacemaker and the Techbee with his shotgun. My EVO is dazzled by the hacking-interactions and is fried while trying to buff my Peacemaker. Without support, the Peacemaker takes out the Bulleteer and needs several attempts to ground both REMs completly. My Sierra and the right Pathfinder advance a bit into the antenna-area.

MO 1: The core-team breaks and the KHD Santiago takes out both hackers on my side and starts a shoot-out with my Peacemaker. He recieves one wound bit finishs him in the progress.

MO controls more antennas.

Druze 2: My left Hunzakut sneaks up on the left flank and fails to shoot the OS hacker on the antenna but manages to clear a Warcor. Meanwhile my Lt as datatracker takes the maintance-tunnel in the center to crawl into the center and shoot down a Palbot.

MO 2: The Santiago spitfire advances and fails to shoot my left Hunzakut. After the OS hacker clears my Lt, the Santiago advances and takes out my Clipper, then secures the center.

MO controls more antennas.

Druze 3: The Hunzakut finally takes out the OS hacker and I reposition the left over REMs.

MO 3: My designated target gets spotlighted and the KHD rushes into my DZ and secures my right antenna.

Again MO controls more antennas and I loose 8-0. After I realised that my hacking-plan was completly destroyed by a MO infowar (!!!), my options in general and my movement-options with nearly only hackable units were limited a lot. That forced me into risking my Lt. Would my Hunzakut has been able to drop the OS hacker in turn two, things would have been open again, but that failure together with my Lt in LoF made the Loss clear.

Besides some dice and decisions in the game, the most remarkable thing here was Ayadans list. Of course, nobody expects MO in Transmission Matrix to approach over the info-war strategy, so I calculated my whole plan over the Clipper. This conclusion and planning was used by Ayadan to lure his opponent into a well thought trap. Not only this, but his list-concept was something completly new for MO. I knew him as one of the stronges MO-players and know his discussions with offbeat list-ideas and game plans. To get this deployed against me and executed that good, I would definitely say that his game is a new level of playing MO.

ENTE Round 2: Hunting Party vs. Varuna

After round one turned out quite successful for us as one of two teams with three victories, the PanO-Aleph Team "Bisounours" from France was our next opponent. Eventhough I build all three maps for that round, I managed to draw Varuna on the most open table.

For Hunting Party, I wanted to have as many ADHLs as possible, on good profiles in the best case and some tricks to disable enemy glue-guns. With two classifieds in this mission, this is something to be considered, too. One of my previous LI-lists turned out to have most of the things I need and also fields the only considerable units for Looting and Sabotaging. So I simply dropped that one.

 HPLSLI
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

9  / 1  
 BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)
 DRUZE Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
 ARSLAN Lieutenant MULTI Rifle, Light Shotgun / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 36)
 SAITO TOGAN Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW, Knife. (0 | 39)
 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)
 VALERYA GROMOZ Hacker (Hacking Device UPGRADE: Expel) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
 PEACEMAKER Spitfire + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (1 | 27)
   AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)
 SIERRA DRONBOT HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 25)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)

 5.5 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

The reduced link with Arslan and the KHD is a real risk in Hunting Party, but leaves enough space for all the other tools and is quite resilient over the whole game. The Peacemaker should open the path for the link or Scarface, while Cordelia should keep things running and deny points. Against Varuna most of the plan could simply be denied by the linked Kamau, so a plan for this was needed. In the best case, I am able to attack the link with Saito or pick some other members with Saito or the Brawler. If that is not possible, my best chances against the Kamau MSR are under 16" with Arslan. Everything else has odds below 40% with 35% or recieving wounds in return...

Varuna S1
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

GROUP 1 9  
 SQUALO (Armored Cav.) MULTI HMG, Heavy Grenade Launcher / AP Heavy Pistol. (2.5 | 95)
   CRABBOT Flash Pulse / Knife. ()
 FUSILIER Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
 FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
 BIPANDRA Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 KAMAU (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 32)
 KAMAU Heavy Rocket Launcher, Submachine Gun / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 23)
 ZULU-COBRA Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Breaker Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 28)
 ZULU-COBRA (Forward Observer) Breaker Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 26)
 MACHINIST Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)
 PALBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)

GROUP 2 / 3  
 HELOT MILITIAMAN Submachine Gun, Light Rocket Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 9)
 HELOT MILITIAMAN Shock Marksman Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
 HELOT MILITIAMAN Shock Marksman Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)

 6 SWC | 300 Points
Open in Infinity Army

The link is what you expect, while the Zulus and the Helots form the nebula where everything dangerous can hide. The Squalo is hard to predict with all the camo-tokens and the possibility of Echo Bravos in that list.

Lucky as I am from time to time, I won the Lt roll and chose the south DZ. That side had at least three positions from where the Kamau could see the most important paths. The other side had the obvious spot on the left building, where I could approach in close ranges on the left. In return, I got the first turn.

I calculated bad odds for Scarface in the open if I could kill the Kamau, so he went on the left together with Gromoz. To engage things in the most flexible way, the core-team took the right side with the KHD safe on the rocks. The Sierra and my Peacemaker should just secure my half of the table and engage if the Kamau is shot.

The link took the building on the left with the Kamau on the big building, blind towards the far left path. This way is covered by the HRL and the Fusiliers scattered in the inside. Two camo markers in front of that. The Machinist is deployed in the center and the other camo-markers took the right side.

Saito is deployed in the building on the left side to approach the link unseen. Something else is placed in hidden deployment.

Druze 1: I am restricted to one CP in this turn. THe most important thing is to limit the potential of the link, so the MSR advances a bit and fails to discover a camo-marker. Since the marker doesn't aro, I choose to ignore him and advance further. A Cutter appears and I split burst between the Kamau HRL and the Cutter. The HRL goes down and the Cutter recieves a crit and retreats out of LoF. Scarface fails to discover the camos on the left. I try to outdice the Kamau MSR with the Sierra but go down and Cordelia totally wrecks it.

Varuna 1: The Cutter approaches the Brawler and drops him. The mechanig repairs the Cutter and a camo marker advances on the left. By passing Saito, the ninja reveals his presence and the marker stops his advance.

Druze 2: Scarface tries to discover something on the left but fails again. Saito advances on that side and tricks both markers to reveal themself. Now Scarface shoots down a Helot, which is used by Saito to score In Extremis Recovery. The revealed Zulu is scanned by Gromoz for Datascan. Out of LoF, Saito recamoes.

Varuna 2: The Zulu on the left targets my HVT twice for Designation and shoots down a Nasmat and the Peacemaker. Finally he manage to glue down Scarface.

Druze 3: Arslan crosses the edge and fails multiple times to glue the Zulu, even with several hits on 6.

Varuna 3: Since Arslan ended his action in a bad position, the already engaged Zulu, supported by an other one on the right, glues Arslan first, then Cordelia and finally the KHD on the stones.

With more Lts and specialists glued, I loose 8-2. My first thought was, that this loss was mainly caused by Arslans missing ability to hunt down the Zulu on the left. Otherwise I would have hunted down more specialists and with more classifieds done, I would have won this impossible match-up. But as Shas'O'Kassad mentioned later, I should have simply engaged the Zulu with Saito and hunt him down, so I would have had a really good position to sustain his third turn. But even with this game lost, I am really satisfied with my performance a) vs. Varuna, b) on such an open map and c) vs. such an experienced and skilled player. In the end, games with DBS are not decided by your list (except for some rare cases and lists) but with your ability to deploy the right solution on the right place. The major problem here is that all these solutions are mounted on different units, so that each plan needs a specific set-up. Other factions don't have this problem just because of a biggere reliabality of single stron units and the availability of multi-purpose units. So here, each mistake does real damage to your whole game.

ENTE Round 1: Decapitation vs. Haqqislam

With the 1st European Narrative Team-TTS-Event (ENTE) over, lists are no longer secret and the efforts of the DBS-group of the Gokudo Intervention Group (GIG), consisting of detachments of the DBS, Ariadna and Spiral Corp, can be reported.

Round one saw us against Europeans Finest Rumpling Troop, a newbie-team from my region. I managed to got matched with one of my local players, fielding vanilla Haqqislam in this event. I designed a list for Decapitation and Transmission Matrix, since things fitted better for Hunting Party and Looting and Sabotaging. Transmission Matrix favours infowar, so an AHD sounds reasonable and a Clipper, too. The plan also works for Decapitation, where you only need to be careful with your Pathfinders. This is the result:

 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

Since this list is quite straight forward, there is no big discussion needed, I guess. Peacemaker shoots things, Pathfinder discover, target and shoot things and everything else keeps their back safe.

Vanilla Prototype 2 No Hacking
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

GROUP 1 9  / 1  / 2
 FIDAY Rifle + Light Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW, Knife. (0 | 31)
 MUKHTAR (Multispectral Visor L2) Red Fury, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 37)
 MUTTAWI'AH Chain Rifle, E/Marat, Jammer, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 NASMAT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 FARZAN (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 ROUHANI Submachine Gun, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)
 SALADIN Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CCW. (0 | 36)
 AL-DJABEL Rifle + Light Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW, Knife. (0 | 35)
 HASSASSIN HUSAM YASBIR (Infiltration, Holoprojector L2) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW, Knife. (0 | 34)
 HAFZA Heavy Rocket Launcher / Assault Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 18)
 KRAKOT RENEGADE Submachine Gun, Chest Mine / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 15)

GROUP 23
 MUTTAWI'AH Chain Rifle, E/Marat, Jammer, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
 MUTTAWI'AH Chain Rifle, E/Marat, Jammer, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
 MUTTAWI'AH Chain Rifle, E/Marat, Jammer, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
 LIBERTO (Minelayer) Light Shotgun, Chain-colt, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 10)
 DAYLAMI (CH: Limited Camouflage, Inferior Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 8)
 DAYLAMI (CH: Limited Camouflage, Inferior Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 8)

 4.5 SWC | 299 Points
Open in Infinity Army


The list has some serious threads, especially the combination of two Fidays and Saladin. A similar one had caused real troubles some weeks ago. The amount of irregular guys to chew through, while the Mukhtar and the Fidays harass your hitters and keep you away from the valuable things is nothing you want with DBS.

 

I win the Lt-roll and decide to go first to avoid a Fiday-assassination. My opponent deploys second in the north.

 

The left is covered by the Sierra and a Hunzakut inside the forwarded building, while the core-team is scattered in the central building. The MSR is out to ARO on the roof, together with the Lt. The right sees a Fugazi and two Pathfinders, as well as the EVO Kameel. The other Hunzakut starts a bit advanced on the right.

 

An impersonator starts in front of my DZ on the right, overwatched by my REMs and one Dayalami ifiltrates on the building in front of my DZ. Knauf and the Mukhtar start in the center around the building. Saladin hides in the left building, guarded by a  Krakot, a Dayalami, two camo markers, Rouhani and an other impersonator. Four Ghazis are scattered over the DZ.

 

The Peacemaker starts in front of my Sierra, ready to burn down the Mukhtar and two camo markers start in the central corridor. 

 

Druze 1: The Brawler takes some orders to remove both Dayalamis on the roofs. The left Hunzakut tries to bait out some Ghazis and the Krakot and starts suppressive fire while the other one engages a Farzan in the middle, killing it but gets a mine in front of his feet. Someone discovers it but can't destroy it. The Pathfinders lock down the impersonator. 

 

Haqq 1: One Ghazi jamms the Hunzakut in the center, while an other one is shot by the Brawler. Now the Mukhtar rolls out, killing the Hunzakut and one Fugazi, then getting into suppressive fire. Nothing more wants to move.

 

Druze 2: One Pathfinder shoots down the Krakot with triangulated fire, so that the Peacemaker can advance. The Mukhtar is burned down by the Auxbot after the AHD fails to spotlight him through the Peacemaker. An additional Ghazi is shot in the center and the left Hunzakut retreats after dropping a mine and recamoes.

 

Haqq 2: Knauf engages my link and appears to be a Hafza HRL. The Clipper dies while the Brawler drops him multiple times after a Nasmat keeps him standing. The advanced impersonator gets nervous and is discovered the first time.

 

Druze 3: One Pathfinder is moved into group one. The leftover Pathfinder in group two discover-shoots Al Djabel. With assisted fire the moved Pathfinder advances over the right flank, crit-killing the designated target, Yasbir and a lone Ghulam.

 

Haqq 3: The last Ghazi is shot by the Brawler. With advanced medicine the Hafza recovers again but is shot by the Pathfinder. The last order revives him one more time (I may have reactivated overclock, so no shock on the Pathfinder).

 

In the end I win 5-0 with 251 to 119 points. The most important thing in this game was an ineffiient use of Al Djabel. If he started cutting through my remotes, my mobility would have been limited a lot and the Haqqislam-tools may have outplayed me. In the end, my opponent was not aggressive enough with all the stuff he had and an overperforming Pathfinder in turn three hammered the nails in the coffin with each shot of his combirifle.

 

With that result my team scored three victories in round one, looking forward for some strong opponents in the future rounds and in good hope.

Big wrap-up of the 1. European Narrative Team-TTS-Event

Finally, after three months and with one week of N4 in our hands, the 1. European Narrative Team-TTS-Event (ENTE) is done. I really have to thank everyone participating in this to make this happen and turn out as such a pleasant experience! Special thanks go out to AssaultUnicorn who volunteered to write the narrative for this event and delivered a great story, to Whyrocknodie who not only supported the great Gokudo Intervention Group, but also helped me a lot with TTS-issues and made some maps for the event and to Badlazzor, Cabaray and Ayadan, designing great maps for the event! But besides these great guys, I have to thank all participants for all the patience, for all the discussions and for all the willingness to do some extra games and fill in gaps where they appeared. It was a real pleasure to organize this event and also play in it. The idea to get together players from all over Europe, let the metas clash and find out, whose playstile may be the best and have that fit into an interesting lore, seemed difficult first, but turned out great. From Denmark to Spain and from Spain to Russia, 42 players came together.

 

With a great run in the first three rounds, Bisounours scored enough points to start the last round without any danger in their lead. The New Slav Meta could secure their second place well and finally show that Bisounours was not invulnerable. Close to that, the spanish team “Ens la pela!”, the german team "Half Human, Half Cookie" and the lithuanian guys from LDK fought intense for the first three ranks.

 

In the end, some teams secured their results with a broad range of good players, as Bisounours with two players in the top 6 in the individual ranking, while Karolis (1), Minass (2) and Perzan (3) managed to peak out in their overall well running teams. Only Karolis managed to score all possible 12TPs! A closer look on the played factions and their relative success, shows a dominance of TAK, followed by Varuna with only one player in front of Tohaa. It needs to be noted that some Byes due to not scheduled games bias some results here, but not in a bigger manner. 

 

 

Besides the fight for the first place, a great dynamic evolved around the midfield with clear victories in one round and bitter losses in the other round, but also with tight games around similar skilled opponents.

From my point of view (the survey is still ongoing and I have not checked the feedback there), the event was quite fun and a nice success. Nevertheless, some adjustments would be done for further incarnations. While maps need to be designed more carefully and more diverse, some terrain-rulings may need to be handled differently in the future. One big issue besides this always was the long timeframe per round and maybe for the whole event. Hopefully we will never again have to run this in a lock-down/Covid-19 context where some people are under lockdown, some have to work even harder then and others are still able to play real games and go on holiday. So in the future, two weeks per round may be better to avoid loosing focus. An other option could be to shorten things to three rounds, but with the high variety of possible outcomes in the team-scores, a fourth round was the better way to secure a clear victory. Personally, having one game every three weeks left enough time to do all the other things needed to be done in life and in the hobby, so the pace turned out quite good.The process to schedule the games between the teams may be the bottleneck here, since it takes some time if you want to squeeze out the full tactical potential here. I am not sure if this was used everywhere in that way, but the potential here felt quite good and made some decisions during the event and during list-building more interesting. So I would use it again in the future, even if I would limit it to TTS-events where map-conditions are the same for each team and a bit more time is available to do the teaming process. 

The best thing about this event was the contact to new and interesting people, new views and a lot of new experiences. Not only I was given the opportunity to play against a lot of skilled players (Minass, SOK, Ayadan,...), every contact was really nice and makes new games and future events necessary to keep that active. But all the other players I had no chance to face are still on my list. This really encouraged me to do some travel, once Covid-19 is better controlled and meet all of them for real!

So thank you very much for this experience and hit me up with some deeper insights, thoughts and ideas for the future! As already announced, I am planning a three-week event on an individual base to face the opponents everyone wish for and test out some N4 things here. Stay tuned for news about this and further events and stay safe!