Jhokalups – Field Operation Action Report – 36
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska vs Military Orders
300/Asteroid Blues – Decapitation

This last week our game store had a little Asteroid Blues game night. As a group we were competing in Harry’s Bar. This would be my first game against Nico and against the Military Orders section of PanOceania. After a quick confirmation of what we were playing we headed to our table and rolled for lieutenant.

Wip Roll
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska – 15
Military Orders – 7

Decision: Nico
Deployment: Jhokalups
Initiative: Nico
1st Turn: Nico
1st Deploy: Nico

Military Orders List:

Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska List:

 AB Decap
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
GROUP 1  8
 KRIZA BORAC Lieutenant HMG / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (2 | 54)
 PUPPET MASTERS Submachine Gun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 PUPPETBOT (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Electric Pulse. (0 | 11)
 PUPPETBOT (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Electric Pulse. (0 | 11)
 PUPPETBOT (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Electric Pulse. (0 | 11)
 GRENZER Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
 SECURITATE Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)
 PERSEUS FTO (Fireteam: Haris) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / 2 Pistols, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 SECURITATE Feuerbach / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 22)
 SECURITATE Feuerbach / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 22)
 HOLLOW MEN Missile Launcher, Chain-colt / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (2 | 35)

Our section of Novyy Bangkok seemed to have some active mining operations near the bar. With ramps up to the exposed rocks we would have some nice high places to shoot down from. Nico choose to go first, and I chose a side with what felt like a good set of sniping nests.

Deployment:

Nice set his support specialists up high on his left, guarded by a Fugazi. The Machinist had Palbots on the left and right. The Crusader fireteam on the right had a Hospitaller HMG up top of a building. The Wild Bill bot was set up centrally, ready to walk up and guard the Designated Target that was located centrally. A Bulleteer came in on the left side as the reserve piece.

I set my Kriza and Bill bot on top of a building to my left, the Kriza had a nice short walk to be able to gun down the enemy HVT. I set my Designated target to be inside a little nook in one of the rock pillars. I set up a Warcor to be near the HVT and hopefully drag it back to a safer area. The Puppet bots guarded my back center, and I had a securitate link set up on the right. I had the Hollow Man Missile Launcher in reserve and set it up in the middle section on overwatch. I had two Hecklers up front ready to Isolate anything that walked by.

Top of 1: Nico – Military Orders

To start things off, Nico has the Spec Sergeant put up Assisted Fire on the Bulleteer. The Bulleteer then comes around the corner to take a couple shots at the Hollow Man, driving the Hollow Man down into cover. Then the Bulleteer came around the corner to take out my Securitate Feuerbachs one after the other. As the Bulleteer started to advance up after the rest of the link, the Heckler on the right attempts to jam it but fails. The Hospitaller HMG takes out the Heckler on my right before the Bulleteer continues to move up. As it’s moving the Puppet Bots attempt to Flash Pulse it, landing a crit success while the Bulleteer attempts to gun down it and Perseus. After retreating the Bulleteer with a coordinated order that also maneuvered De Fersen into a firing position, Nico passed turn.

Bottom of 1: Jhokalups – Tunguska

My first priority was to take out the Bulleteer. I used Persues and a smoke cloud to take out the Bulleteer in close combat. I then have my Kriza stand up and attempt to fight the HMG and De Fersen. I wind up taking a wound while forcing De Fersen down into cover. I attempt to have my Warcor snag the HVT and retreat out. But the HMG takes out the poor reporter. I move my Camo marker up to cover the HVT better, reposition the remaining members of the link team, and then passed turn.

Top of 2: Nico – Military Orders

Nico has the Hospitaller HMG takes out the Designated target. It then walks up to attack the Hollow Man. After knocking out the Hollow Man the HMG retreats. I miss a couple opportunities here to attempt to jam the Hospitaller. Nico then spends quite a few orders having De Fersen walk up to take out my Heckler camo marker, before retreating behind a building.

Bottom of 2: Jhokalups – Tunguska

I activate my Kriza and have him gun down the HMG. The Kriza then walks around the corner and takes out the Fugazi. After driving De Fersen into hiding the Kriza takes out the Designated Target. I spend a few orders advancing the Puppet Bots up to mid field and pass turn.

Top of 3: Nico – Military Orders

Nico has De Fersen come forward and take out the Kriza at a closer range. Then the Wild Bill bot comes up to guard the middle. Nico passes turn.

Bottom of 3: Jhokalups – Tunguska

In a foolish plan I spend all my orders to try and bring the paramedic over to heal the Kriza. When the paramedic cannot get far enough, I pass turn. Having taken out my Designated Target, my lieutenant and more army points, the game ends in a:

Final Score: 10 – 3 Military Orders Total Victory

Lessons Learned:

I feel like I had two big mistakes this game. At the end of my second turn, I had no reason to leave my Kriza standing. I got distracted from the mission and left my lieutenant exposed and in danger, when there was no reason to do so. I also wasted my second turn on a long shot, when I could have had the Puppet Bots go on a small rampage with my remaining orders. It was an interesting experience, and I look forward to playing Nico again.

Jhokalups – Field Operation Action Report – 35
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska vs O-12
300/ITS XI – Firefight

This game is a special one. While it is only my 42 game, it represents one year of playing infinity and writing up my battle reports. For a game on a day of such import that went unremarked on during the game. It wasn’t until I sat down and looked at it that I noticed.

So, happy 1 year of infinity. Let’s get to the battle report.

Wip Roll
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska – 3
O-12 – 20

Decision: Jhokalups
Deployment: Xammy
Initiative: Jhokalups
1st Turn: Jhokalups
1st Deploy: Jhokalups

O-12 List:

Open in Infinity Army

Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska List:

We had a more open table than I am used to, so this was going to be an interesting game. Picking sides, Xammy gave me the far side below. I had some nice height, but some other places where a bit harder to hide things in. After having picked sides, Xammy informed me that Strategos level 2 was in play. So I would have no reserve.

Deployment:

I put my Hollow Men link over by my two high towers. Three up top, including my heavy weapons, and two down low. I put my Heckler centrally up on a can. My Zondnautica is in the back left. I have my Warcor up on top of the building on my right. My Interventor is one level down behind the Warcors tower, and I have my Kriza on the right ready to run forward.

Xammy has his Epsilon up on a building to the left, watching two firelanes. Two Razers attempt to over infiltrate and fail, winding up on the backline left and right thirds. There are two Varangians guarding the mid and right deployment zone. There is an Alpha hiding in the back right. Two Gangbusters were set up on the right side, with their Mad traps, probably to guard against my Hollow Men.

Top of 1: Jhokalups Tunguska

To start things off I have my Zondnautica zip out carefully to blast away a madtrap. Another order and I bring it around to take a shot at the Gangbuster, catching the Mad-Trap behind it. Unfortunately I misjudged the distance, and while I did take out the Gangbuster, my Zondnautica got immobilized. Next up I start moving my Hollow Men up and have the missile launcher take some shots at the Epsilon. I figure that we will be about on the same modifiers and with my two dice to his one, and two wounds I should be able to win this fight and dominate the high ground. The math seems to back this up:

Unfortunately over the course of several orders math goes to Xammy and I lose my Hollow Man Missile launcher. With the missile launcher down I decide that the Kriza will solve my problems, and I walk him up and paste the Epsilon. I then walk the Kriza up more to the Panoplies on my left and pick up a Multi-Rifle. I reform my Hollow Men link and bring the Spitfire forward. That done I pass turn.

Bottom of 1: Xammy O-12

Xammy spends a couple orders to bring the Omega forward to be an obnoxious threat. It also takes out my HollowMan spitfire, breaking the link again. With the link broken, Xammy drops in Cuervo Goldstien and takes out another Hollow Man. After a bit more set up Xammy passes turn.

Top of 2: Jhokalups Tunguska

First thing I do is take out Goldstein with the Hollow Man up top. I can then bring my Hollow Man on the ground forward, pick up some extra ARM from the Panoplies and then take out the Omega. I bring the Hollowman far forward to threaten the deployment zone. I then have my Interventor crawl down with the vague idea of bringing her forward to take out a classified. Orders spent I pass turn.

Bottom of 2: Xammy O-12

Xammy drops in a Delta and takes out my Interventor. Then the Razers attempt to come forward as part of a coordinated order while in the TO marker state. I have my Warcor and Zondnautica attempt discover. Before my Hollow Man discovers a Razer on my right. The remaining Gangbuster comes up and puts a wound on the Hollowman up top, then retreats back. I have the Hollow Man fail guts out of the line of fire. After some repositioning and re-shuffling he passes turn.

Top of 3: Jhokalups Tunguska

In loss of lieutenant I don’t have a lot of orders to do much. I have my Kriza set up to see down it’s fire lane and take out a Razer. That done I pass turn.

Bottom of 3: Xammy O-12

Xammy has his Varangians walk forward to try and throw some smoke. My Hollowman up top puts one into Dogged and my Warcor Stuns the other. The Varangian in dogged walks forward through smoke. Eating several shots from my Kriza’s double action multi-rifle on the way. The Varangian assaults into my Kriza and manages to take him out. Xammy passes turn. With my Kriza dead, the points fall out to a:

Final Score: 7 – 2 O-12 Total Victory

Lessons Learned:

This game came down to the last set of orders. Had the Kriza lived I would have had more army points and the game would have been a 6-3 minor victory for me (the Kriza was also securing the HVT). An obvious failure was that I didn’t reveal my Heckler to shoot the Varangian when I had the chance to. An extra shot or two would have maybe been able to bring it down, saving the Kriza.

I think I messed up the positioning of my Heckler. He didn’t contribute during the game other than an order. A suggestion that Xammy had was deploying it near my Lieutenant in order to add a layer of protection. I miss-played the Zondnautica a bit, I was playing tight to the edges of what I thought 8 inches was, and wound up just inside of boost range instead of just out. If it was back that extra inch, the Zondnautica would have been able to continue it’s little rampage across the back field of Xammy’s forces. Another trick I missed would have been splitting the Zondnautica up into rider and Zondmate, to let the Zondmate eat a madtrap while Chain Rifling down more Gangbusters.

A place where I feel frustrated with myself is my commitment to trying to take down the Epsilon with my Hollow Man Missile Launcher. Looking back at the math, it looks like the right choice. The Missile Launcher vs Epsilong was:

And what wound up taking out the Epsilon was a Kriza out of cover:

Looking at what I had available and where it was, I think I made the right choice, but it’s frustrating when what seems like the right choice doesn’t work out. Neither option is bulletproof. Something to think about, ways to clear out a sniper watching multiple lanes like that.

While I like both the Kriza and the Hollow Men Core, I don’t think they belong together in one list. It’s fun, but it also feels like there are not enough orders to go around and get everything I want done. I do look forward to continuing to improve with the Zondnautica and Hecklers. And am excited for the start of another year of Infinity!

Until next time.

Jhokalups – Field Operation Action Report – 34
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska vs Combined Army
200/ITS X – Annihilation

This was my last make up game for the escalation league, and my brother was kind enough to play me again.

Wip Roll
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska – 13
Combined Army – 15

Decision: Jhokalups
Deployment: DoodleKing
Initiative: Jhokalups
1st Turn: Jhokalups
1st Deploy: Jhokalups

Combined Army List:

 Combined Army
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
7 1 1
 AVATAR Lieutenant (Strategos L3) MULTI HMG, Sepsitor Plus / DA CCW. (3.5 | 137)
  STALDRON Flash Pulse / Knife. (0 | 0)
 KURGAT Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 17)
 R-DRONE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 R-DRONE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 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)
 TAIGHA Chain-colt / DA CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
 ÍMETRON . (0 | 4)

Open in Infinity Army

Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska List:

 GEL Wk4 Annihilation v3
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
8 1
 KRIZA BORAC Lieutenant HMG / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (2 | 54)
 INTERVENTOR Hacker (Killer Device Plus UPGRADE: Lightning) Boarding Shotgun, 1 FastPanda / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
 TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 HOLLOW MEN Combi Rifle, Chain-colt + 1 TinBot A (Deflector L1) / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 31)
 STEMPLER ZOND FTO (Super-Jump) Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 18)
 GRENZER (Forward Observer, Sensor) Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27)
 HOLLOW MEN Combi Rifle, Chain-colt / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 30)
 SALYUT (Minesweeper, Repeater) Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3)

Open in Infinity Army

For the sake of time we played on the same table that I used for my game against Markob. After tweaking some objectives we rolled our dice and got underway.

Deployment:

Winning the roll and choosing to go first I deployed my Kriza on the left with a Hollow man Core to the right of a central building. I dropped my Warcor in the overwatch spot. I had the Grenzer deployed centrally, ready to cover either side of the board. I had a Salyut and Transductor in the wings with and Interventor KHD up high on the building in the back of the zone.

The Avatar was deployed on the back left, flanked by Ikadrons. There was a Kurgat engineer in the mid behind a building, and a pair of R-drones watched the two approaches. An Imetron landed up on top of a building.

Top of 1: Jhokalups Tunguska

To start things off, I knew I wanted to be aggressive with the Kriza. I spend a few orders to walk the Kriza up, taking out the R-Drones, the Kurgat and the Imetron. After that spree I sent my Kriza back into hiding on my left.

Bottom of 1: DoodleKing Combined

Down to two Ikadrons, the Taigha and the Avatar, DoodleKing starts by walking the Avatar around a corner. My Grenzer FO attempts a flash pulse, and Crits the Avatar. With the Avatar unable to attack, the Ikadrons advance up to try and interfere with the Hollow Men. The Taigha comes up as well. After retreating the Avatar, he passes turn.

Top of 2: Jhokalups Tunguska

After having my Kriza end the Ikadron and Taigha threat, I start walking my Grenzer to where the Avatar is hiding. After a few orders I slip the Grenzer around and light up the Avatar with the Grenzer’s light flamethrower. The Avatar attempts to spread the virtue of the EI, but the Grenzer’s high BTS saves him from a brain washing. I then had the Grenzer retreat back from the Avatar and pass the turn.

Bottom of 2: DoodleKing Combined

With just an Avatar left, Doodle sends him forward and takes revenge on the Grenzer for burning off his ODD. The Avatar then retreats back a bit.

Top of 3: Jhokalups Tunguska

The Avatar is the only thing left to deal with. I send forward my Hollow Men link team and manage to put a wound on the Avatar. After it slides around a corner, I send the Kriza in, and do another wound. I spend an order to retreat the Kriza and then pass the turn.

Bottom of 3: DoodleKing Combined

Looking for a possible opportunity to score, DoodleKing has the Avatar take a last shot at the Hollow Man. When nothing happens, he ends turn. With the Avatar still alive and a lot of points on my side, the final score is:

Final Score: 5 – 3 Tunguska Minor Victory

Lessons Learned:

I really enjoyed the Kriza’s performance in this mission. He was able to take out a very large percentage of the CA orders in the first turn.

The surprising MVP of the game was the Grenzer FO. Stunning the Avatar and eliminating any aggressive actions it could take. That same Grenzer was also the one that burned off the Avatar’s ODD and survived a Sepsitor attack. I would have had a much harder time without a Crit stun basically taking the Avatar out of the game for turn one.

The Avatar is surprisingly difficult to kill. The high ARM and BTS seem to bounce most of the shots that got through. And ODD in cover giving a -9 before rangebands is tough. Thankfully the Grenzer has the tools to help mitigate this. All in all a fun game and a nice end to the escalation league.

Until next time.

Jhokalups – Field Operation Action Report – 32
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska vs Steel Phalanx
250/ITS X – Quadrant Control

In our escalation league, the 250 point match was quadrant control. This time I faced off against SprocketGX. The last time we played was in FOAR – 18, where we played Foreign Company vs Caledonian Highlander Army using the ITS X – Frostbyte mission.

This time around we were both on new factions, and at a different point level. It was also going to be interesting, since FOAR – 18 was back in April, so it has been a few months since we last played. After we picked our table and got everything settled we went to our WIP roll.

Wip Roll
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska – 20
Steel Phalanx – 12

Decision: SprocketGX
Deployment: Jhokalups
Initiative:SprocketGX
1st Turn: SprocketGX
1st Deploy:SprocketGX

Steel Phalanx List:

Open in Infinity Army

Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska List:

 Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska
─────────────────────────────────────────────────
9 1
 KRIZA BORAC Lieutenant HMG / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (2 | 54)
 HECKLER Combi Rifle, Jammer, 1 FastPanda / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 HECKLER Combi Rifle, Jammer, 1 FastPanda / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 SPECTOR (AD: Combat Jump) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser, Drop Bears / Pistol, E/M2 CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 MARY PROBLEMS Hacker (Forward Deployment L1) Submachine Gun + Zapper, Pitcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 30)
 METEOR ZOND Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (1 | 21)
 PERSEUS (Super-Jump) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / 2 Pistols, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 34)
 TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 SECURITATE Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)

Open in Infinity Army

Losing the roll and Sprocket choosing to have initiative, I elected to have a side that I thought would let me get more cover while just crossing into the far side zones. I also had the side with the slightly more secure deployment zone. Remembering from my last game how Steel Phalanx has access to Diomedes, and how that guy can be a huge jerk.

Deployment:

The Myrmidon Link with Machaon was deployed near the fountain. The three Thorakites were covering left, mid-left and mid-right. A warcor took overwatch on the left and Achilles deployed near the mid-left Thorakites.

I had my Kriza and Securitate prone on a building on my left. My hecklers were mid-left and mid-right, in position to score my zones. Perseus guarded the back right. My transductors covered the center back and the back right. Mary Problems got deployed on my far left.

Top of 1: SprocketGX Steel Phalanx

First thing that happens is that Achilles charges up the board with his Lt, Data Tracker and a couple recular orders, he winds up out of sight on my far right, just over (under?) the midline. Diomedes makes an appearance and positions himself to threaten my Kriza, Securitate and Mary. The Myrmidon Enomotarchos comes forward on the left to cover the gap on that side. The Thorakites also make some advances.

Bottom of 1: Jhokalups Tunguska

First things first, I want to deal with Diomedes, so I drop Spector in behind where Diomedes is and out of sight. He then walks over and shotguns Diomedes just outside of 8, and Diomedes lives. So I have Mary Problems come around the corner and shock Diomedes off the table. I then have my Meteor Zond walk in on the other side of the board, hiding on the other side of the building Achilles is by. Spector walks back up, to what I think is across the center line, and throws down a mine. I then proceed to spend 4 orders attempting to have Mary put Oblivion on Achilles.

Now, if we compare this to Icebreaker on Achilles:

I probably would have been better off trying to just Immobilize Achilles and move on.

Anyways, after spending all those orders I spent an order having my Kriza walk forward, only to find out that Achilles couldn’t have seen him. Kriza does take out Machaon and break the Enomotarchos though, so that’s good. I then use the Krizas Data Tracker order to go into suppressive fire. My thought here was that if any of the Myrmidons come around the corner, or if Achilles comes up to get close, I would rather have the extra burst. And maybe put a little bit of pressure on my opponent.

When I am done we measure zones, and find that Sprocket controls 3, because Spector is not across the midline, nor did I get to advance Perseus up into the zone. Either option would have put me in a better spot to score than I was.

Score at End of 1: 3 – 1 LeadFaction Favor

Top of 2: SprocketGX Steel Phalanx

First, a Warcor solves the problem of Suppressive Fire with a Flash Pulse from out of Range. I could have let it hit me, but the chances of being stunned, even if low, were not something I wanted. So I broke suppressive to shoot back. Then Achilles goes on a little bit of a killing spree, taking out a Transductor and the Meteor Zond, before he gets Isolated by a Heckler with a Jammer. Achilles then goes to ground in the middle of my zone. That done he passes turn.

Bottom of 2: Jhokalups Tunguska

I have Spector attempt to solve the riddle of clearing out some Myrmidons, I move him and throw a drop bear, which fails. I have him move again to the edge of the building, throw another drop bear and fail. Then decide to try and Nanopulser down a Myrmidon and go to no wound incap for my trouble. I do take out that Myrmidon, but then lose Spector to the second around the corner who successfully face tanks the mine I had placed earlier. I have the Kriza start using his orders to long jump down from the building, and then make a long and shooting walk over to hide behind a building that I thought was across the line. While there I have the Kriza shoot at Achilles and manage to do a wound to him. That done, I end my turn and we measure zones.

Turns out that the spot I had put my Kriza in was just on my side of the centerline. So once again, Sprocket controls 3 zones to my 1.

Score at End of 2: 6 – 2 LeadFaction Favor

Top of 3: SprocketGX Steel Phalanx

A very angry Achilles forfeits his impetuous order. In loss of lieutenant Sprocket has the FO Thorakites comes forward and successfully Forward Observes my Kriza from his back arc, completing the classified objective. Achilles then proceeds to kill the Kriza. Some more Thorakites advance and Sprocket passes turn.

Bottom of 3: Jhokalups Tunguska

In loss of lieutenant, I have Perseus throw smoke to safely advance into the zone with Achilles. Then Pursues takes out the two Thorakites in the far zone. I don’t have enough orders left to try and pick up the Kriza. So I end my turn.

I had elected to use my Classified as an intellecom card, and was able to use it to snag the zone that Achilles was in. With me having more zones than Sprocket I scored two points this turn. Making the game a:

Final Score: 7 – 4 Steel Phalanx Minor Victory

Lessons Learned:

Writing this report has shown me a lot of things I missed, and the poor decisions I made. Recently there has been a change in my work schedule that makes Thursday a very long day for me. I was mentally exhausted going into this game. That night, in talking about the game, I lamented my Kriza placement at the end of turn two. And sure, it was not ideal, the Kriza didn’t get across the zone, and was in a spot where he got targeted from out of line of fire.

Looking back I am positive that what lost me the game was the four orders trying to Isolate Achilles. Sure, having Steel Phalanx in loss of lieutenant would be good pressure, but even Isolated, Achilles as the data tracker gets two orders. If he frenzies, he can get three, so that’s not really a good choice. Had I immobilized Achilles, I would have had orders to better develop my Spector positioning. Or even better, put Persues into the Zone with Achilles to dominate it instead of letting Sprocket have it.

Another thing I missed was a mis-play with Spector. On his third, and possibly second, drop bear, there was not a good reason to throw them. Placing the drop bears would have had the same, if not similar effect that I was going for, with the added benefit of no dice roll. The mine would have changed the exchange with the Myrmidons and let Raul be in a good place to cross over and dominate the far zone.

I am glad that I am writing these reports. They are mostly for me, but publishing them does a little bit to keep me honest, or at least somewhat timely with doing them. Looking back at the games and thinking over my decisions I find things that were missed. Or choices that I made that were sub-optimal. By identifying these things, hopefully I can incorporate them into my play, and maybe beat it into a more instinctual level. So that even if I am tired, I don’t miss silly things.

Until next time.

Jhokalups – Field Operation Action Report – 31

Raucous August

300/ITS X

Recently we had our monthly ITS event, Raucous August. The attendance was a little lower for this event, but we still got all three rounds. On the docket was Tic Tac Toe, Rescue, and Safe area. An interesting set of missions that didn’t have the strongest of killing elements.

I have been thinking over my style for tournament reports. I have found that having more than one game in these blogs makes writing them a challenge. I am not able to complete them in a timely manner, which diminishes the effectiveness of what I am trying to do. So I will be trying out a different and more abbreviated style for these reports.

Game 1 – Xammy
Tunguska vs Neoterra Capital Army
Tic Tac Toe

Wip Roll
Tunguska – 7
Neoterra Capital Army – 5

Decision: Jhokalups
Deployment: Jhokalups
Initiative: Xammy
1st Turn: Xammy
1st Deploy: Xammy

Neoterra Capital Army List:

Open in Infinity Army

Tunguska List:

 RA T3 and SA

Open in Infinity Army

My first game of the day was against Xammy. Xammy plans on switching over to O-12 soon, but for this event, he went back to his NCA roots. Our table was an interesting set of terrain, we had 3 levels of terrain, but realistically only the bottom one got used.

Deployment:

Xammy had a fusilier link full of hackers clustered around a central building. The attack remotes, two Bulleteers and a Peacemaker were set up on the middle third lines. Flash pulse bots the back line and the EVO was placed furthest back. There was a Machinist off on the right, and a TO Hexa Killer Hacker near the central back antenna.

I set up with my Warcor and Perseus on my left in total cover with a Trasductor on the building above them. One of my hecklers was deployed up high with easy access to an antenna. Centrally on the ground I had my Kriza lieutenant and my EVO Salyut Zond. My Tsyklon Sputnik was on top of a building in my deployment zone. I had my Zondnautica and Zondmate deployed seperate as G:Sync on my right side with my last Transductor guarding the right.

Top of 1: Xammy NCA

Before Xammy starts, I spend two of my command tokens to put up overclock and deny 2 orders to order pool 1. Then to start things off for Xammy, a fusilier hacker puts Marksmanship 2 onto the Bulleteer on my right. That Bulleteer then came up and took out my Tsyklone. The Bulleteer on the other side then advanced up to take out my Kriza. When it walked in range it walked into the repeater on a Transductor Zond, and I attempted to carbonite it, but failed. When it fired on my Kriza I manage to immobilize it but lost my LT. The Evo hacker activated to retreat to safety and my left Killer Hacker Heckler took it out with a Red Rum. Finally a Hexa killer hacker revealed and tried to paste my heckler, but my Hecklers took out the Hexa instead.

Bottom of 1: Jhokalups Tunguska

I am in loss of LT this turn, but not without options. I have my Zondnautica mount up with the Impetuous order, and attempted to hack the Bulleteer on my left, putting it into Isolation so that I could activate my Heckler without worry. The left Heckler then captured the top antenna. And I brought Spector in and converted an order to have him Coup De Gras the Evo bot on the far side, completing my classified. Then I passed my turn.

Top of 2: Xammy NCA

Xammy is understandably worried about Raul Spector in his back line, so he spends a couple orders getting robots in position to fire on Spector if he comes out. A garuda then drops in and takes out my left transductor, the right heckler and my Evo Bot. Before finally getting gunned down by my Zondnautica. That done Xammy passes turn.

Bottom of 2: Jhokalups Tunguska

First thing I do is have the Zondnautica mount up and throw some smoke towards the Peacekeeper. Then it drives forward and attempts to throw smoke in front of the bulleteer, that smoke failed. So I have the Rider dismount and capture the right antenna that is closest to my deployment zone, before having them retreat to safety a little. I have spector throw out a drop bear and come a little ways forwards. I attempt to drop my Meteor Zond in to be near the remaining hackers so that I could have my Heckler take them out, but fail and instead land on the left antenna closest to Xammy’s deployment zone. I move Perseus and my Warcor out of cover to look down the middle. Then out of orders I pass turn.

Top of 3: Xammy NCA

Xammy has his Isolated bulleteer take out my Meteor Zond. Then the peacekeeper and Aux bot take down my Zondnautica and Zondmate. After claiming 3 antennas across his side and one antenna on my side, Xammy advanced all his bots up to cover my remaining dudes. After bringing back the Hexa Killer Hacker, Xammy passes turn.

Bottom of 3: Jhokalups Tunguska

I have two antennas that I need to get if I want to win. Getting the middle antenna on my side will allow me to have 3 in a row. And getting an antenna on Xammy’s side will disrupt his 3 in a row. Unfortunately with the Bots covering the way and the hacker coverage, I don’t have the orders to get Spector to an antenna on Xammy’s side. And cannot get my Heckler to the central antenna. With that done, we tally up the final score. With the classified, 3 antennas in a row and an antenna on my side, it is a:

Final Score: 10 – 1 NCA Total Victory

Lessons Learned:

I think I lost this game in deployment. I had Perseus in a very safe spot, and my Kriza LT exposed; If I had swapped them Xammy would have had a harder time killing it. Had I had full regular orders on my first turn I could have developed my position a bit better on turn one. And having the big gun available would have been nice as well. The Tsyklone died immediately to a bulleteer, though that is not the fight it is supposed to be in and win. The Kriza might have been a better fit for that spot as well. I need to practice deploying the Kriza and Tsyklone. This game provided a lot to think about, needing a way to deal with a Bulleteer first strike is important. I think I could have set up a better repeater net with my Transductors to force the Bulleteers into my hacking area in order to fight anything. Perseus would have also been a good anti Bulleteer piece, having smoke grenades to force the closer and ODD to push the odds back towards my side. Things to think about as I started game two.

Game 2 – Zelaponeepus
Tunguska vs Haqqislam
Rescue

Wip Roll
Tunguska – 5
Haqqislam – 15

Decision: Zelaponeepus
Deployment: Jhokalups
Initiative: Zelaponeepus
1st Turn: Zelaponeepus
1st Deploy: Zelaponeepus

Haqqislam List:

 Save em! V3.2
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Open in Infinity Army

Tunguska List:

 RA Rescue

Open in Infinity Army

After our lunch break I got paired up with Zelaponeepus. Formerly a Pan Oceania player, Zelaponeepus has been playing Haqqislam to great effect. Our game was played on the plane wreckage table, which is becoming one of my favorite tables to play on. The multitude of saturation zones, low visibility, and difficult terrain makes this table a challenge. Not only do you have to have a plan for what your opponent will do, you need to account for how the table will impact everything you do. The mission for this map was Rescue, which provides an additional complication, requiring careful thought on how to retrieve the HVTs and how to prevent your opponent from rescuing their own HVTs.

Deployment:

Zelaponeepus had a Daylami that tried to infiltrate across into my dead zone, but failed and deployed on the back line watching the left half of the board. A Farzan minelayer guarded the left side of the dead zone. There was a Liberto Minelayer on the right dead zone. The mutts spread out evenly across the front line, ready to run up and smoke. The two Hafza hid as mercs in a forest on the right. Knuaf, the Baird and a Ghulam were hugging a mid-right forest. There was a Namurr hiding centrally behind a tree. A Djanbazan Sniper was atop part of the plane, able to see much of the map. A Fiday impersonated into my deadzone out of sight of most things.

I had my Tsklone set up on the broken airplane wing, watching my right side. I had the Lunokhod on my left covering the deployment zone with his Koalas. Mary Problems was set up toward the exclusion zone to cover the one HVT on my left. I had my Libertos and Puppet Master minelayers covering the central two HVTs with my Kriza Lt. I had a Warcor set up on my far right. I brought along three Spektrs for this mission, as infiltrating specialists, I was hoping to get one or two in a hidden deploy spot to snag an HVT and then book it across the exclusion zone. I had one fail, and deployed it behind the Lunokhod. The other two made their rolls and were set up in the rear of the airplane’s fuselage and hiding next to some crates to the right of the airplane’s tail.

Top of 1: Zelaponeepus Haqqislam

The main highlights from this turn were that the Tsyklone pulled way more weight than it needed to, critting the Djanbazan off the table and putting the Fiday into unconsciousness. Other things of note are the Mutt that made it all the way across the board to fail at jamming Mary Problems and covering the way for a Libertos to make it forward in camo, before face tanking the crazy Koala.

Bottom of 1: Jhokalups Tunguska

On my turn I had the Lunokhod walk up to hit the Mutt and camo marker behind it with a heavy shotgun. Once I saw the Liberto, it fell prone, making it hard to see. I also had the Warcor Coup de Gras the Fiday so that I could complete my classified. I brought the Kriza up to try and take out some models in the middle, but Knauff pushed him back.

Top of 2: Zelaponeepus Haqqislam

The Liberto managed to bring the HVT back to the dead zone on Zelapneepus’ side before getting taken down by a Spektr in hiding. One of the camo markers came forward to threaten my Spektr. Some more Mutts try to make it forward but get gunned down by the Kriza and the Tsklon.

Bottom of 2: Jhokalups Tunguska

I have my second Spektr reveal and do a complicated mine dance to be able to take out the Faran minelayer with a mine and a shot from the Kriza. After my Kriza goes down to Knauf I drop Raul Spector in to face tank a mine and try to take him (Knauf) out. I manage to get Knauf and try to set up Sepctor defensively. My Spektrs attempt to grab HVTs. The center one goes down while the one on my right gets the HVT and brings it midway across the table.

Top of 3: Zelaponeepus Haqqislam

The Lt that has been disguised as Aida comes forward and with the Namurr takes out Spector before snagging the HVT and bringing it fully into the deadzone.

Bottom of 3: Jhokalups Tunguska

Low on orders and in Loss of Lieutenant, I try and sprint my Spektr and HVT across to my deployment zone. Sadly he goes down and we call the game there. With the HVT tied to his Data Tracker and in his dead zone, and me only having 1 classified the final score is:

Final Score: 4 – 1 Haqqislam Victory

Lessons Learned:

This game was a lot of fun, I did feel bad about the number of times were the dice went my way especially well. Like the Tsyklon winning several face to face rolls with the Djanbazan Sniper before critting it off the table. The bane of this game for me was Knauf, I didn’t have a good plan for him, and did not properly appreciate the effect that his MSV1 would have on face-to-face rolls. Knauf was the primary killer, taking out everything but Spector that I sent in to kill him. I might have been able to drop spector into a different spot to take out Knauf earlier, and then my Kriza would have been able to dominate the rest of the board better. There are some additional things towards the end that I missed, like ARO’s from Spektrs and possibly other paths to take the HVT. All in all, an excellent game, and I look forward to playing Zelaponeepus again soon.

Game 3 – TheDiceAbide
Tunguska vs Steel Phalanx
Safe Area

Wip Roll
Tunguska – 1
Steel Phalanx – 5

Decision: TheDiceAbide
Deployment: Jhokalups
Initiative: TheDiceAbide
1st Turn: TheDiceAbide
1st Deploy: TheDiceAbide

Steel Phalanx List:

 Steel Rescue
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10

 

Tunguska List:

 RA T3 and SA
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
GROUP 1  9 1

Open in Infinity Army

My last game of the day was against one of our Warcors, TheDiceAbide. I was excited to play him again, I haven’t played against TheDiceAbide since my fifth game, last October. This time he was playing Steel Phalanx, instead of FRRM. Our table was the same one I played on round 1, so I had a better idea of what to expect from it.

Deployment:

Thrasymedes was deployed in the center, ready to be a scoring piece. The flash pulse and evo bots covered the lower two levels. A total reaction HMG sat up covering the top layer from the middle. Atlanta the sniper was on a tower to the right. The netrod dispersed to be easily accessable by me. The support staff also hid in total cover. Achilles as the reserve model came in below Atlanta.

Learning from game one, I had my Kriza hidden behind several layers of boxes. I had my Tsyklon out to ARO. The flash pulse bots tried to watch the back area for a potential AD troopers. I split the Hecklers across the board. Perseus sat in the middle ready for some smoke. And I had the Zondnautica out on my right, dismounted and ready to make some havoc.

Sadly I did not get a picture of this deployment. I was pretty spent by this point in the day.

Top of 1: TheDiceAbide Steel Phalanx

Something I forgot to do at the start of this game, was to have the EVO bot put out Overclocked on all of my repeater bots. So the HMG Bot was able to take out my Tsyklon with ease. Then Diomedes dropped in and completely trashed my backline. I lost the Zondmate to my Zondnautica. I lost both flash pulse bots, and I think the warcor. Then Atlanta took out one of my Hecklers that I thought was safe, but there was a line that could clearly be drawn.

Bottom of 1: Jhokalups Tunguska

I have Perseus hunt down Diomedes, so I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I drop in my Meteor Zond to take out the Total Reaction HMG bot, using a combination of Carbonite and then shooting it. The Meteor Zond also takes out support staff in the back and the Kriza clears out the Netrod.

Top of 2: TheDiceAbide Steel Phalanx

Achilles makes an effort to take out the meteor zond, and then starts to advance across the center of the table. The Zondnautica and Perseus are also taken out. The multiscanner is placed.

Bottom of 2: Jhokalups Tunguska

I get Kriza up and drop off my multiscanner, and get set up a bit for my last turn.

Top of 3: TheDiceAbide Steel Phalanx

Achilese comes through and kills of the Kriza, and the Dactyl runs up to the console at the center of TheDiceAbides right zone. Thrasymedes also runs over to grab a console.

Bottom of 3: Jhokalups Tunguska

In loss of LT I airdrop Spector in to take out the Dactyl in CC. Which lets me control a console and complete my classified. With more sectors, the Xenotech in a dominated sector and two consoles, the game finishes in a:

Final Score: 6 – 2 Steel Phalanx Minor Victory

Lessons Learned:

I really should have put out Overclocked at first. Extra shots would have gone a long ways towards stopping the HMG Bot and Diomedes. I also probably could have left the Tsyklone in a spot to not ARO and better cover my deployment zone. Bots are something I am still working on figuring out. I overextended Perseus to take out Diomedes. I could have used super jump to take the same shot and then fallen into total cover, leaving me with another attack piece and potential zone capturer for turn 3.

Final Thoughts:

I had a lot of fun at this event. I have always viewed the littler events like this one as a small fee to play at least three games in a day. Thank you to TheDiceAbide and WiseKensai for running the event. And thank you to my wonderful opponents Xammy, Zelaponeepus, and TheDiceAbide for the excellent games. I enjoyed playing and learned a lot.

I will continue to refine what I want these event reports to look like. I need to find a way to be able to complete them more quickly.

Until next time.