Cruthanarc: The Infected Colonies Part 8

Battle Report 03

I know this is a long time coming, but I have to be honest: I have put this battle off for as long as I have because I just don't like OPR's Eternal Dynasty line of figures. I get emotional about miniatures and the one emotion I have about the space samurai of the ED is frustration. There are so many small things that bother me about these figures that I couldn't bring myself to print, paint, and play them. In the meantime, I got ahold of another, similar army by The Hive that does what I want a printed army to do: give me options. These guys got printed and painted. I finally got armies on the table.

The wounded Infected Leader defends 
an Objective from both a Stealth Suit and a Grunt.

Thus, the third skirmish of the Cruthanarc Campaign sees the Eternal Dynasty/Hive substitutes Count Blocken and the Cybermen, going up against CDF Squad Four of the Infected Colonies. Here are the point break-downs:

Count Blocken and the Cybermen

Stealth Suit [1] | Qua 4+ Def 4+ | 65pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Burst Carbine

Abilities: Ambush, Stealth, Tough (3)

Spotter [1] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 25pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Pulse Carbine

Abilities: Good Shot, Scout

Grunt [1] | Qua 5+ Def 4+ | 20pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Pulse Shotgun

Abilities: Good Shot

Grunt [1] | Qua 5+ Def 4+ | 20pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Pulse Shotgun

Abilities: Good Shot

Grunt [1] | Qua 5+ Def 4+ | 20pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Pulse Shotgun

Abilities: Good Shot

CDF Squad Four

Infected Leader [1] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 25pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Carbine

Abilities: Hero, Tough (3), Undead

Hunter [1] | Qua 3+ Def 4+ | 45pts

Weapons: Hardened Claws

Abilities: Ambush, Strider, Undead

Infected [3] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 35pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Carbine

Abilities: Undead

Infected Gunner [1] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 25pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Fusion Rifle

Abilities: Relentless, Undead

Infected Gunner [1] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 20pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Grenade Launcher

Abilities: Relentless, Undead

Note: The ability Undead is identical to Robot mechanically. Both alter the way morale works for these units. It indicates how dedicated these troops are, not how they are the walking dead.

This battle did not go as I imagined it would. The strength of the IC is melee and the strength of the Cybermen is their ranged weapons. I figured the battle would come down to how many Cybermen the IC Hunter could get close to. While he did take down one Cyberman, by the time the hunter withered under a hail of enemy fire, the battle was already decided. The surprising MVP of the battle was the lowly Infected Gunner with the grenade launcher. Despite needing a '6' virtually every time he took a shot, he hit three times in the three turns he had someone in range. As a consequence, the Cybermen presence in the middle of the board collapsed. By turn four, all the Cybermen could do was try to secure the secondary objective of knocking out the most expensive IC unit (the Hunter) and causing as many late-game casualties as possible (the Infected Gunner with a fusion rifle).

Mechanically, our MVP actually gets no XP for his roll in the battle. All of his hits stunned their targets and were subsequently knocked out by the Infected. This seems to me to be a bit of an injustice. Therefore I will rectify the situation by giving our Gunner a name. He will now be referred to as Amvish (the Accurate). Let us see if the campaign allows him to live up to the moniker...

Amvish casually waiting for another
opportunity to blow something up.

The post-battle Casualty Checks resulted in no deaths, but the Spotter for the Cybermen did gain a +1 XP.

Results:

Count Blocken and the Cybermen 0 VP and 40pts; +2 XP for the Stealth Suit, one Grunt, and the Spotter, +1 XP for the other Grunts

CDF Squad Four 1 VP and 10pts; +3 XP for the Infected, +2 XP for the Hunter, and +1 XP for everyone else.

As a final note, I really love how random events in the middle of a game reveal a story. The only reason I included the Infected Gunner on the IC list was to add a little needed range, not thinking it would ever amount to much. Little did I know...

Cruthanarc: The Infected Colonies Part 7

Battle Report 02

Due to the fact that I have five factions, there was always going to be a battle where one war band's first battle was going to be another's second. The Campaign Rules do have a mechanical means of trying to give advantage to a side that has fewer points, but I still wanted every faction to have a "fair shake" in their first fight. So, knowing that the Robot Legion was due to go up against the Human Imperium, I decided to field a war band of Battle Brothers against H.A.L.'a Hoplites because I figured they were resilient and tactically diverse enough to stand up to any mechanical disadvantage.

Thus, the second skirmish of the Cruthanarc Campaign sees the Cenobites of the Red Hand, going up against H.A.L.’s Hoplites of the Robot Legion. The latter had 40 points to spend on re-equipping and recruiting. Given that their first encounter exposed their lack of mobility, I decided to recruit a Flesh-eater, which has the Special Rule Tunneller. This rule allows the Flesh-eater to be kept in reserve for turn one and then deployed anywhere on the board at least 1" away from enemy troops. Here are the point break-downs:

Cenobites of the Red Hand

Assault Brother [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Heavy Pistol

Abilities: Fearless

Assault Brother [3] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Heavy Pistol

Abilities: Fearless

Battle Brother [3] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 40pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Heavy Rifle

Abilities: Fearless

Battle Brother [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Heavy Rifle

Abilities: Fearless

Battle Brother [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Close Combat Weapon, Heavy Rifle

Abilities: Fearless

H.A.L.’s Hoplites

Eternal [1] | Qua 3+ Def 2+ | 40pts

Weapons: CCW, Flux Carbine

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Warrior [1] | Qua 3+ Def 4+ | 25pts

Weapons: CCW, Gauss Rifle

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Warrior [1] | Qua 3+ Def 4+ | 25pts

Weapons: CCW, Gauss Rifle

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Guardian [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Atom-Caster, Void Sword

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Guardian [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Atom-Caster, Void Sword

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Flesh-eater [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Metal Claws

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow, Tunneller

Although the final results were very lopsided, this fight proved my assumptions about the Battle Brothers to be true. Unfortunately, the dice were not kind to them. The two assault brothers were quickly felled. The first with a lucky pot shot from a Warrior, the next in a charge against the Flesh-eater.

Despite these early set-backs, the Brothers were in a position at the end of the game to win. They controlled one objective and contested two others. Had the dice gone the other way, a pyrrhic victory was in sight. Instead, another Battle Brother was knocked out when the Eternal's Flux Carbine kicked in with its Poison attribute. The Brother had to make three saves instead of the usual one. As a consequence, the Hoplites were free to use their last moves to secure the 10 pt reward for the Secondary Mission of having troops in all four quarters of the board.

The dice were finally kind to the Brothers in the post-game Casualty Check. All three brothers recovered and the two Assault Brothers gained an extra +1XP.

Results:

Cenobites of the Red Hand 0 VP and 30pts; +2 XP for Assault Brothers, +1 XP for the Battle Brothers

H.A.L.’s Hoplites 2 VP and 20pts; +2 XP for one Guardian, one Warrior, and the Flesh-eater, +1 XP for everyone else

As a final note, I really like how the game pushes a Battle Brother player to act like one might expect the Imperium's best soldiers to act. Victory was only in their grasp at the end because they fearlessly charged into what seemed like a hopeless situation. Had the dice been a bit more kind, this valor would have been rewarded. As it is, I can't help but believe that Cenobites can hold their heads up high after their valiant attempt at snatching victory from defeat.

Cruthanarc: The Infected Colonies Part 6

Battle Report 01

According to the Campaign Rules of Grimdark Firefight, each participating war band should have 150 points worth of troops and a name. Although the rules specify that only one hero can be purchased, the relative low point total of the war band makes this cost prohibitive for many army lists. Indeed, the two below do not have any heroes. Psychic powers are also absent for the same reason.

The first skirmish of the Cruthanarc Campaign sees Cymradian’s Brain Lords, an Alien Hive war band (named after an alien race that appeared in Planet Comics #43) going up against H.A.L.’s Hoplites of the Robot Legion. Here are the point break-downs:

Cymradian’s Brain-Lords

Soul-Snatcher [1] | Qua 3+ Def 4+ | 40pts

Weapons: Piercing Claws

Abilities: Fast, Scout, Strider

Shooter Grunts [3] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 40pts

Weapons: 3x Bio-Guns, 3x Razor Claws

Abilities: Strider

Shooter Grunts [3] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 40pts

Weapons: 3x Bio-Guns, 3x Razor Claws

Abilities: Strider

Winged Grunt [1] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 15pts

Weapons: Bio-Gun, Razor Claws

Abilities: Ambush, Flying

Winged Grunt [1] | Qua 5+ Def 5+ | 15pts

Weapons: Bio-Gun, Razor Claws

Abilities: Ambush, Flying

H.A.L.’s Hoplites

Eternal [1] | Qua 3+ Def 2+ | 40pts

Weapons: CCW, Flux Carbine

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Warrior [1] | Qua 3+ Def 4+ | 25pts

Weapons: CCW, Gauss Rifle

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Warrior [1] | Qua 3+ Def 4+ | 25pts

Weapons: CCW, Gauss Rifle

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Guardian [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Atom-Caster, Void Sword

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

Guardian [1] | Qua 3+ Def 3+ | 30pts

Weapons: Atom-Caster, Void Sword

Abilities: Regeneration, Robot, Slow

This fight pits the numbers and speed of the Alien Hives against the slow resiliency of the Robot Legion. The battle field has four objectives, only three of which the Hoplites have a realistic chance of contesting; however, the battle begins well for them. Their range and quality shine as four Shooter Grunts and a Winged Grunt are knocked out from the game. In addition, in a brutal mid-board melee between Cymradian and H.A.L., the Hoplite Leader manages to shake off several hits and recovers from two wounds, taking the points for the side-mission of the battle.

Unfortunately for the Legion, a combination of Alien Hive speed and bad luck dooms their chances at victory. In the last round, Cymradian rushes across the board to contest a Legion-held objective to change the score from 2 objectives each to 2-1. The Hoplites rain down fire upon the Alien Hive leader, but three consecutive 1s seal their fate.

H.A.L. proves too slow to be able to contest
the Alien Hive controlled objective

The post-game Casualty Check does not go well for the Brain-Lords. The loss of two Shooter Grunts reduces the war band strength and makes this a pyrrhic victory.

Results:

Cymradian’s Brain-Lords 2 VP and 10pts; loss of two Shooter Grunts; +1 XP for Soul-Snatcher, two Shooter Grunts, and one Winged Grunt

H.A.L.’s Hoplites 0 VP and 40pts; +2 XP for one Guardian and one Warrior, +1 XP for everyone else