Friday, February 21, 2014

X-Wing After Hours!

Andrew and I had a little spare time after work last night so we decided to have a quick game of X-Wing. This subsequently triggered the realisation that it has been around 12 months since I had a game... damn, going to have to rectify this situation and play some more. In order to maximise my fun I decided to take models I had never used and quickly put together a list.

Captain Yorr (Lambda Class Shuttle)  24 points
- Gunner - 5 points
- Blaster Turret - 4 points
- Anti Pursuit Lasers - 2 points

Sabre Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor) - 21 points
- Adrenaline Rush - 1 point

Sabre Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor) - 21 points
- Adrenaline Rush - 1 point

Sabre Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor) - 21 points

Facing up against Andrew's Heroes of the Rebellion list:

Wedge Antilles (X-Wing) - 29 points
- R2-D2 - 4 points
- Proton Torpedoes - 4 points

"Dutch" Vander (Y-Wing) - 23 points
- Proton Torpedoes - 4 points

Ten Numb (B-Wing)- 31 points
- Ion Cannon - 3 points

My plan was to use the Lambda bus up front to absorb some damage and hopefully get in the way, using the Anti-Pursuit Lasers to score some free hits whilst the Blaster Turret kept it in the fight. In a second wave would be the TIE Interceptors, using their Adrenaline Rush cards to remove stress tokens, as well as Captain Yorr's ability to do the same.


Apologies for the quality of the photos as it was the iPhone to the rescue with pretty average office lighting!


Andrew deployed in the centre whilst I was off on one side, we both moved towards each other
I started to turn into him, with the Interceptors moving a little slower. The B-Wing and Shuttle traded shots, knocking out a few shields.
Up in each others faces there was a flurry of fire, the Shuttle loosing the last of it shields whilst the B-Wing took a pounding from the Blaster Turret and one Interceptor. Wedge lost his shields to some fine shooting from the middle Interceptor.
The B-Wing makes a dash for safety but is finished by the Blaster Turret on the Shuttle whilst everyone else flies past each other.
K-turns were the order of the day, Dutch and Wedge team up to knock out an Interceptor but Wedge is shot down with some outstanding shooting.
Dutch goes down the middle hoping to avoid too much fire.
But after a couple of turns of maneuvering ends up in a really bad spot.
And to add insult to injury the Interceptors (which rolled really well all game) continue their streak and finish the job easily!
In the end it was an outstanding game and the result was not really indicative of how close it was, I think my tactic worked well and at the same time I think Andrew made a couple of unlucky maneuver choices. Add to the mix that the Interceptor seems like a really solid choice for the Empire with a 3, 3, -, 3 stat line, letting it put a decent number of dice into the Rebel scum. Having the option of Focusing is outstanding as well as it is my preferred option (compared with Dodging anyway) due to the versatility of its use.

We are going to have a rematch over a couple of lunchtimes to see if Andrew can square up the series.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Last Models for Battlecry

Okay, so Battlecry has been and gone - more on that later, but in the rush to finish everything I am a little behind on the blog posts. I managed to finish my last two platoons 36 hours prior to the tournament (possibly a record for me, finishing so early that is!).
The Grenadier Platoon - I took a few liberties and made the MG/Assault Rifle/Panzerfaust/Pioneers...something for everyone for ultimate gaming flexibility... hopefully the purists won't notice!
FlaK43 37mm AA Platoon
I followed James' Splinter camo painting guide from the back of Desperate Measures with a few changes to suit my fast and loose painting style... I am unhappy with a few parts of the painting, primarily the rather average job I did on the faces and that the wash I put over the figures darkened up the camo pattern. However, the platoons are done and they look cool on the tabletop so...job done!