Battletech Saturday

 Saturday, the usual suspects got together for a couple games of Battletech Alpha Strike. After painting all those mechs, it was about dang time they get to run around and blast each other. I sent my inventory list over to Wayne who put together the first scenario. This featured Kurita landing on a world that had been taken by Clan Fire Mandrill. Otherwise unremarkable, there was an area with some scientifically important alien bio-material. Kurita leadership determined this was significant enough to dispatch forces to reclaim the area, if not the planetoid itself.

A picture of most of the table. Mark J and I commanded the Fire Mandrill defenders. Mike and Wayne co-captained the Kurita. Forces also included jump infantry and elementals.

My Pouncer and Baboon hang back. The attackers have to come to us and only have six turns. No use rushing into my demise! The big bugger in the back is a Bowman, a specialist artillery piece. All our elementals and Mark's two mechs are on the far side, near the alien biotech.

We trade casualties early. Mark has lost some elementals but he takes out the Copperhead.

And then there was a general lapse in photography for a turn or two... we pick up the story around turn 5.

Mike's forces began to assemble close to their objective. It was clear they were going to rush it on turn 6. I sent in the Baboon to disrupt.

Heheh. Job's done. I overheated the Baboon by it maximum amount to ensure an appropriate result. 

It wasn't long before my sweet Baboon was finished off by other Kurita troops looking to avenge their fallen comrade.

Predictably, turn six turned into a rush for the objective. We did our best to occupy the space around it, denying the Kurita forces some opportunities. Our weapons-fire was true and only one Inner Sphere mech was left by the objective at when time was called. Between losses and an inconclusive ending, we called it a draw. I think the Kurita forces would have had an easy time if we'd played a couple more turns.

We reset the table and played again. Game two was a different affair altogether. Firstly, Mike and I had fun littering up the table with terrain, blocking up lines of sight and significantly changing how things would work. Second, Wayne slapped together four 200-point forces, two Clan and two IS and just paired up against the enemy faction, fighting over four tabletop objectives. I chose the Free Worlds League and was partnered with Mike's Kurita mechs. Wayne took the Steel Vipers and his teammate Wayne used the Fire Mandrills.

Marik-uh, heck yeah! My forces circled for easy identification. Lef to right that's a Huron Warrior, Spatha, Marauder and a Bandersnatch. I selected the faction blindly, not knowing what Wayne had specc'ed out. I couldn't have been happier. All four of those mechs were primo.

Mike's Kurita forces steel themselves for the incoming orange crush. Wayne was on top of the objective in nothing flat.

The Steel Vipers mill around the TL2 village. My plan was to use the three snipers on my right to pick on the easiest target available each turn. If Mark was going to put all his forces in a blob formation, I would happily oblige. 

As things progressed, the three bigger mechs entered the village to flush out the clan turds. You can see my Marauder and Spatha wading in the stream to offset their constant overheating. Hey, you must use all the tools in the toolbox and leaning on the fire button is 100% legitimate. Mark's Godforsaken Dragonfly with its ridiculously high movement allowance kept getting behind my bigger mechs. Fortunately, his dice were trash and it was ultimately not that effective. Quite scary though!

Mike's been pushed back to a large extent by the Mandrills. He did account for their Pouncer though, and you can see Mark has lost a Lobo atop the small hill in the center of the table.

End game! Mike and I rushed a central objective with his Copperhead and my Spatha, ready to duke it out with Mark's Pinion. My Bandersnatch contested a second objective. In the far lower right, just out of frame, my Huron Warrior nabbed a third objective.

Wayne had two mechs on the far left objective location in the ruined factory. We killed off the Pinion, leaving the IS forces with two and the Clan with one and one contested. The IS also scored more kills, giving Mike and I the victory! Woohoo!

Two very different games but both were terribly entertaining. Mike and I combined resources a little more often that Wayne and Mark operated much more independently. Mike was getting run roughshod early in the going so I helped when I could. I reckon it was just enough. I think it's safe to say we're all looking forward to the next outing.

Be well and good gaming!