ISP

ISP

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Alpha Strikin' It

Now that we as a group are a couple of games into Alpha Strike, I definitely have to say that it is a great system. As much as I love Total Warfare BattleTech, it becomes hard to play on a regular basis with the amount of time that has to be devoted, especially with larger games. Alpha Strike allows a standard lance on lance or star on star type game to be played in less than an hour, with the potential for a company+ game to be played in the same amount of time as a Total Warfare lance match.

As we're still getting into how all of the 'Mech abilities work, we haven't branched out to vehicles or infantry yet, but given that every component uses the same base record card, we're looking forward to integrating them into our games.

Turn sequence works much in the same way - initiative, movement, shooty mcshooter, stabby o'stabberson, heat, etc. Since every 'Mech only has one or two movement choices (depending on jump), completing a move takes a lot less time and thought, and each card has a TMM (target movement modifier) which applies whether your 'Mech went one hex or 50 hexes, so less thought there as well. Shooting has almost the same amount of modifiers, except that range brackets are static so you aren't figuring two or three separate numbers to roll for your multiple weapons. And, since all weapons are grouped into one roll, it speeds that process up as well. 

It does have a few weaknesses, however. Alpha Strike is far more of a strategic game than a tactical one. Individual piece positions don't matter nearly as much as the force as a whole, which takes away a bit of the BattleTech feel. Since there aren't hit locations, no more one shot kills (well, unless your assault 'Mech demolishes a light) and luck plays a lot less of a role. In my earliest days of BattleTech, I spent a lot of time playing BattleForce 2 and while Alpha Strike isn't as simplified as that system, it has a lot of the same conceptual idea to it. Pick up games, and by that nature, Operation: Nachtfalke games, are a little more difficult to do as the record sheet holding all of the force cards has to be generated from the Master Unit List website each time there is a force change. That's a small thing, but when you don't want to be printing every time a new node is hit in a campaign, it can be obnoxious.

Overall though, I really would like to see Alpha Strike become the new "starter box set" rules, with Total Warfare moving to the more advanced player section. I feel like, just the little simplifications such as shooting, critical hits, damage and whatnot, would help ease someone new to the universe into things. Herb and Ben did a great job during their time and BattleTech is lessened for their departure.


4 Sept 17 Game - Clan Wolf Omega Galaxy v Clan Cloud Cobra Pharaoh Keshik 275pts

The map;

The Cloud Cobras

The Wolves

The forward march of progress

A river runs through it

No guts, no galaxy

The casualties at the end, Wolves won the day


Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Khaos Chevaliers - Unit Spotlight: Mercenary

"We're all just one bad day away from shitting in a bucket." - Major Tessa Weissler

I once drank a can of Monster Khaos. The old style can, black with orange lettering, not the new orange cans. And I thought to myself "self, that is a GREAT color scheme. You should make a merc unit that color. AND you should make them former members of the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces who sided with Katherine and skipped out before Victor could mess with their stuff too much." So here we are! Also, built with a Black Widow Company vibe for Starterbook: Wolf & Blake scenarios.

Khaos Chevaliers

Location: Unknown, last verified Magistracy of Canopus
Commander: Major Tessa Weisler

1st Company
Command Lance
Mad Cat Mk II: Major Tessa Weissler
ZEU-9WD Zeus: Sgt. Avery Keshawn
BLR-4S BattleMaster: Sgt. Kumiko Noguchi
MAD-9S Marauder: MechWarrior Ulrike Jannicke


Fire Lance
LGB-14C LongBow: Captain Julie Hess
ARC-7S Archer: MechWarrior Anastasia Stolichnya
CBR-02 Cobra:
GRF-6CS Griffin: MechWarrior


Recon Lance
Wolfhound IIC:
VLK-QD3 Valkyrie
SVR-S7KK Silverfox
FLS-S7KK Flashfire


2nd Company
Command Lance
FNR-5 Fafnir: Captain Mikael Meinhardt
IMP-4E Imp: Master Sergeant Amalia Van Kyre
HBK-5S Hunchback: MechWarrior Mona Kurylenko
CN-10FJ Centurion: MechWarrior Lukas Allan


Support Lance
WVR-9D Wolverine: Lieutenant Alice Lennox
HCT-5S Hatchetman: Sergeant Hilde Anselmo
ENF-6T Enforcer III: MechWarrior Laura Ingleborg
BZK-F5 Hollander II


Light Defense Lance
UZL-2S Uziel:
BTZ-3F Blitzkrieg
GRM-01B Garm
SCB-9T2 "Samurai" Scarabus


3rd Company

Armor Lance
Hunter Light Tank
Hunter Light Tank
Hunter Light Tank
Hunter Light Tank


Infantry Support
Inner Sphere SBA Squad
Inner Sphere SBA Squad
Inner Sphere SBA Squad
Inner Sphere SBA Squad