Firestorm Armada AAR - Treasure Hunting!

Ziggy's back so Saturday evening we broke out our Firestorm toys and played a 1200-point game. We did the Recover Resources scenario. I used my Alliance of Kurak fleet while Zig fielded his Terrans + allies. Another battle in the Kurak Civil War!

Our layout and deployment. Zig jammed up all of his stuff in the corner. I was a lot more spread out with ships and squadrons positioned to move through the gaps between asteroids, etc. I left Tarakian cruisers and Xelocian frigates off the table in reserve. Zig left off his Hawker carrier and Terquai torpedo cruisers.

Ziggy pushed his heavy cruiers forward to start, but their weapons were out of range. My Hantaris took advantage and moved forward into range and thrashed the nearest Hauberk with beam weapons torpedoes.

The Ganak crept forward and unloaded its torpedoes into the damaged cruiser, destroying it. The Terran frigates had damaged one of the Xelocian cruisers just prior.

After turn 1 this was the situation. Ziggy's dice were ice cold and mine were already producing good damage. The Terrans were still really bottled up in the corner, trying to get out of eachother's way.

Stop me if you've seen this before. Another Hauberk gets lit up by the Hantaris. The Xelocian cruisers are quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

The Terran frigates search for an objective and some safety in the debris field.

A poor flank entry results in the Xelocian frigates losing one of their group to an asteroid. Curses!

They still pounce on the Terran destroyers and deal telling damage to one of them.

The little Tarakian frigates destroy one of their Terran opposites with grav weapons and torpedoes. That debris won't help you against these guys!

A fighter squadron from the Ganak destroys another frigate. Torpedoes would quickly account for yet another!

The end of turn 2. The Terrans are having major issues - their weapons just aren't causing damage, they are in a bad position, and my weapons are just smashing everything they get pointed at.

The Hantaris go nuts, killing a heavy cruiser and the fourth frigate! Best. Unit. Ever.

The last of the Hauberks dived into the debris field and miraculously gets a decent hit on one of my Hantaris and a Xelocian frigate (out of frame).

As Mace Windu said, "This party's over." The Tarakian cruisers arrive and immediately smash a destroyer. The Terrans have a major problem now, with a full squadron of Sulans at their heels.

The Apollo wakes up and exacts some revenge on the Hantaris, finishing one off and hitting another one very hard.

My Tarls were successful in locating an objective in the debris. W00t! They headed out for more hunting.

The first of the Terran reinforcements finally arrive, hitting my Sulans with corrosive torpedoes. The damage was minor.

End of turn 3. My Alliance force tightens the noose. Although the Terrans got a little relief with the Terquai arrival, it may be too little, too late.

The Apollo wastes no time crushing another Hantari. The subsequent nuclear explosion causes no damage.

The Sulans keep their eye on the prize and thump the Apollo with their grav weapons.

The big Ryushi ship's torpedoes account for the last cruiser while the fore gun adds further damage to the Terran battleship.

The Terquai fire more torps into the Tarakians but it isn't enough to really matter.

The Hawker carrier, now done with lunch, finally makes an appearance, shunting in right behind my Ganak! This could be bad. As it turned out, the Hawker gunners and cyber-operators were still groggy from their late lunch and NO weapons hit! Commander Ziggy was furious.

The beginning of 5. I've located two objectives and the Terrans are falling apart. Things are going very well for the AoK so far!

Ziggy pushed the Apollo forward, increasing his shot opportunities, but again, the dice failed him.

The Sulans again blast the Apollo, now saddled with six damage. The Resolute fired another full salvo at the Tarakian battleship and failed to get any hits once again!

The Ryushi bombers take advantage of the situation and streak toward the Apollo. Moments later, the mighty vessel began breaking apart. The battle was over. The captain of the Hawker carrier signaled a general retreat and the Terrans and their allies began shunting out of the battle zone. The Alliance force was firmly in control of the area.

Well, it was a really fun game for me, less so for Zig whose dice were complete garbage the entire time. Part way through, he switched dice but the new ones were just as bad. His shields and PD were almost completely useless. His weapons rarely hit... Whiffing twice in a row with the Hawker carrier in prime position on my battleship was just insult to injury.

I was very impressed with the Xelocian cruisers. They'll be regulars. I think having cruisers in groups of four is the way to go - the Sulans and Hantaris can really kick out a ton of damage. Ziggy and I both learned lessons about reserve forces. Staying bottled up in that corner messed him up badly when my reserves arrived. I be sure to not copy that move. I think he'd have been better off starting with the carrier on the table and having the Apollo shunt in with it's shorter-ranged "brawling" weapons. Oh well, next time, right?