Post by hannibal on Apr 5, 2008 14:17:32 GMT -5
Another week, another battle report, this time Germans vs Soviets. We decided to do a very simple game this week. No nazi gold, no capturing sentries, no secondary objectives even. Just line up 12" from the board edge and the first one to achieve the attrition objective wins.
The field was half town with a road through it. The other half was dominated by large patches of forest and a small loop of river. We decided to fill the empty space with trees on 60mm bases. We treated the large swatches of trees as wooded and the entire 60mm as terrain for the "free standing" trees we scattered around the table. It really broke up line of sight, but I liked it.
Soviet Infantry detachment
Elite NKVD Officer: Natural Leader Hero, Clouded Mind
Veteran Psi Commandos
Regular Psi Cannon team
Regular PTRS team
Regular Starshina
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Special Orders: Faulty Technology, Keep Moving
German Experimental detachment
Elite SD Agent
Veteran Mad Doktor: Scientist Hero
Regular Rohlingsoldat w/MG42
Regular Rohlingsoldat w/MG42
Regular Feuersoldat squad
Green Volkssturm squad
Green Abgezgertsoldat squad
Green Abgezgertsoldat squad
Special Order: Coordinated Assault
The Soviets defended the town deploying (L->R): conscripts A, Starshina, conscripts B, Psi Commandos, conscripts C, NKVD officer, PTRS team, Psi Cannon team.
The Germans attacked through the woods. On the (soviet) right the two Rohlingsoldat deployed in the river, opposite the Psi Cannon team. The rest deployed in the center in layers: two emaciated squads, then the feuersoldats & SD agent on the left, and the volkssturm to the right along w/ the mad doktor.
Early action saw all sides racing towards each other, shielded by the heavy woods. The Psi cannon team fired at the rohlingsoldat and missed horribly. This would be a theme, despite 2-3 rounds of shooting, they hit once and failed to wound. The rohlingsoldats performed a little better, but not much: early on they accounted for 1 conscript from squad C and killed a Psi cannon guy but after that rolled too many 5s and not enough 6s (long range).
In the center, it was suppression city. The NKVD officer moved out to suppress one of the Rohlingsoldats and an emaciated unit. The psi commandos suppressed the second emaciated unit. Meanwhile, the SD agent suppressed conscripts B and C. The PTRS team wounded one of the emaciateds but it wasn't enough for a kill. The mad doktor doped up the volkssturm squad, giving them +2 Str.
Where it got interesting was in the center. The starshina, conscripts B (suppressed), and psi commandoes were all bunch up in a nice tight grouping. Out came the feuersoldats for some frolicking good time next turn.
Unfortunately, the Soviet special orders saved the day. Before initiative was rolled, faulty technology nerfed them for a turn. Then the starshina joined conscripts B, allowing them to unsuppress. Then, through Keep Moving, Conscripts B & the Starshina charged the Feuersoldats (no way was I letting them flame me!). I put 1 wound on one and then my conscript got beat down by the other, leaving him open to flaming next turn. d'oh.
This where things got interesting with charges galore. Soviets win the next initiative, and the two unengaged of Conscripts B charge the feuersoldat. The combined assault killed them. However, the Germans used Combined Assault charging the exposed NKVD officer with the emaciated and the volkssturm charging the Psi commandos. The emaciateds killed the NKVD officer (d'oh) but the Volkssturm took a beating by the psi commandos. The SD agent would later charge in and kill a Psi commando but the other would exact revenge by unloading with all 3 AP on the SD agent with his PPsh-41. It was actually a funny moment because to that point PPSh-41s were used for suppression so I had to say "no, I'm actually trying to kill your guy."
Conscripts C charged the emaciateds who killed the NKVD officer, and did poorly, losing a guy. The PTRS team helped whittle down unengaged models and in the end it was 2 Conscripts against 1 emaciated.
On the left, the other emaciated squad charged conscripts B, killing two in the prolonged struggle, leaving just 1 guy and the starshina. Conscripts A sprinted towards the center, intent on charging the SD agent (before he was gunned down), but now preparing to turn and pile into the emaciated attacking conscripts B. The last straw was when the last Volkssturm (whow as Drive 0 and gonna rout when he was activated) was gunned down by the PTRS team.
At this point, it was the cascade effect for the Germans. There was a -3 Drive for dead units (SD agent, Volkssturm squad, & Feuersoldat squad). So when the emaciated squad on the right activated, it had two casualties, bringing it to -5. So it surrendered, bringing the army-wide penalty to -4. This meant that on the next activation every unit on the table would either surrender or rout. Game over.
So, thoughts:
--What is not captured here is that Jeff (German player) failed every clutch roll. Every important initiative roll, important CC rolls, anything clutch. Hard to win when you do that.
--I also think Jeff was too stand-offish with the rohlingsoldats. He should've advanced them to short range because he was rolling like 2-3 fives every time he shot. He commented that he should've backed them up out of range of my psi cannon. I would have put them closer to the center, maybe have the doktor dope them up (+1 AP would be nasty).
--I essentially handed Jeff my NKVD officer by putting him out front to suppress enemy units. Had I not taken a Starshina I would've lost. Dumb.
--The difference in the game was command. Around here we've had a learning curve of using command models to bring Drive back up instead of doing things like suppressing the enemy and such.
--So, the rifles in a conscript squad...purely for show. Really, I've found the best way to use them so far is to bum rush the enemy into close combat. I use the high ROF weapons (like PPSh-41s) to keep the enemy's heads down while the conscripts race forward. Unfortunately, the other guy is going the same and a tommy gun or MP40 pins down a conscript squad every time.
--Speaking of suppression: psi commandoes are awesome. The clouded mind ability (now fully clarified) gives them great armor and the high ROF of their weapons are perfect for pinning down enemy units. Veteran Psi Commando teams are gonna be a staple soon.
--On the other end, psi cannon teams. Royal has really panned them and I defended them as best I could, but I'm thinking he's right. They just don't live up to the potential. They get better as Drive penalties accrue, but with the exception of Buffalos, there's not a unit with a lower Drive vs Armor at the start of the game. Yes they can negate cover, but generally the PTRS is better. A Drive 3, Armor 3 model in medium cover will get an "armor" 3 against the psi cannon while against the PTRS the model won't get any armor at all.
What they have going for them right now (over the PTRS) is that each model gets a cannon (so twice the shots), the models carrying them have 2 wounds, and the guns aren't cumbersome. I don't know if that's enough right now.
All in all, fun game. Look forward to playing a 2-detachment game next week.
The field was half town with a road through it. The other half was dominated by large patches of forest and a small loop of river. We decided to fill the empty space with trees on 60mm bases. We treated the large swatches of trees as wooded and the entire 60mm as terrain for the "free standing" trees we scattered around the table. It really broke up line of sight, but I liked it.
Soviet Infantry detachment
Elite NKVD Officer: Natural Leader Hero, Clouded Mind
Veteran Psi Commandos
Regular Psi Cannon team
Regular PTRS team
Regular Starshina
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Special Orders: Faulty Technology, Keep Moving
German Experimental detachment
Elite SD Agent
Veteran Mad Doktor: Scientist Hero
Regular Rohlingsoldat w/MG42
Regular Rohlingsoldat w/MG42
Regular Feuersoldat squad
Green Volkssturm squad
Green Abgezgertsoldat squad
Green Abgezgertsoldat squad
Special Order: Coordinated Assault
The Soviets defended the town deploying (L->R): conscripts A, Starshina, conscripts B, Psi Commandos, conscripts C, NKVD officer, PTRS team, Psi Cannon team.
The Germans attacked through the woods. On the (soviet) right the two Rohlingsoldat deployed in the river, opposite the Psi Cannon team. The rest deployed in the center in layers: two emaciated squads, then the feuersoldats & SD agent on the left, and the volkssturm to the right along w/ the mad doktor.
Early action saw all sides racing towards each other, shielded by the heavy woods. The Psi cannon team fired at the rohlingsoldat and missed horribly. This would be a theme, despite 2-3 rounds of shooting, they hit once and failed to wound. The rohlingsoldats performed a little better, but not much: early on they accounted for 1 conscript from squad C and killed a Psi cannon guy but after that rolled too many 5s and not enough 6s (long range).
In the center, it was suppression city. The NKVD officer moved out to suppress one of the Rohlingsoldats and an emaciated unit. The psi commandos suppressed the second emaciated unit. Meanwhile, the SD agent suppressed conscripts B and C. The PTRS team wounded one of the emaciateds but it wasn't enough for a kill. The mad doktor doped up the volkssturm squad, giving them +2 Str.
Where it got interesting was in the center. The starshina, conscripts B (suppressed), and psi commandoes were all bunch up in a nice tight grouping. Out came the feuersoldats for some frolicking good time next turn.
Unfortunately, the Soviet special orders saved the day. Before initiative was rolled, faulty technology nerfed them for a turn. Then the starshina joined conscripts B, allowing them to unsuppress. Then, through Keep Moving, Conscripts B & the Starshina charged the Feuersoldats (no way was I letting them flame me!). I put 1 wound on one and then my conscript got beat down by the other, leaving him open to flaming next turn. d'oh.
This where things got interesting with charges galore. Soviets win the next initiative, and the two unengaged of Conscripts B charge the feuersoldat. The combined assault killed them. However, the Germans used Combined Assault charging the exposed NKVD officer with the emaciated and the volkssturm charging the Psi commandos. The emaciateds killed the NKVD officer (d'oh) but the Volkssturm took a beating by the psi commandos. The SD agent would later charge in and kill a Psi commando but the other would exact revenge by unloading with all 3 AP on the SD agent with his PPsh-41. It was actually a funny moment because to that point PPSh-41s were used for suppression so I had to say "no, I'm actually trying to kill your guy."
Conscripts C charged the emaciateds who killed the NKVD officer, and did poorly, losing a guy. The PTRS team helped whittle down unengaged models and in the end it was 2 Conscripts against 1 emaciated.
On the left, the other emaciated squad charged conscripts B, killing two in the prolonged struggle, leaving just 1 guy and the starshina. Conscripts A sprinted towards the center, intent on charging the SD agent (before he was gunned down), but now preparing to turn and pile into the emaciated attacking conscripts B. The last straw was when the last Volkssturm (whow as Drive 0 and gonna rout when he was activated) was gunned down by the PTRS team.
At this point, it was the cascade effect for the Germans. There was a -3 Drive for dead units (SD agent, Volkssturm squad, & Feuersoldat squad). So when the emaciated squad on the right activated, it had two casualties, bringing it to -5. So it surrendered, bringing the army-wide penalty to -4. This meant that on the next activation every unit on the table would either surrender or rout. Game over.
So, thoughts:
--What is not captured here is that Jeff (German player) failed every clutch roll. Every important initiative roll, important CC rolls, anything clutch. Hard to win when you do that.
--I also think Jeff was too stand-offish with the rohlingsoldats. He should've advanced them to short range because he was rolling like 2-3 fives every time he shot. He commented that he should've backed them up out of range of my psi cannon. I would have put them closer to the center, maybe have the doktor dope them up (+1 AP would be nasty).
--I essentially handed Jeff my NKVD officer by putting him out front to suppress enemy units. Had I not taken a Starshina I would've lost. Dumb.
--The difference in the game was command. Around here we've had a learning curve of using command models to bring Drive back up instead of doing things like suppressing the enemy and such.
--So, the rifles in a conscript squad...purely for show. Really, I've found the best way to use them so far is to bum rush the enemy into close combat. I use the high ROF weapons (like PPSh-41s) to keep the enemy's heads down while the conscripts race forward. Unfortunately, the other guy is going the same and a tommy gun or MP40 pins down a conscript squad every time.
--Speaking of suppression: psi commandoes are awesome. The clouded mind ability (now fully clarified) gives them great armor and the high ROF of their weapons are perfect for pinning down enemy units. Veteran Psi Commando teams are gonna be a staple soon.
--On the other end, psi cannon teams. Royal has really panned them and I defended them as best I could, but I'm thinking he's right. They just don't live up to the potential. They get better as Drive penalties accrue, but with the exception of Buffalos, there's not a unit with a lower Drive vs Armor at the start of the game. Yes they can negate cover, but generally the PTRS is better. A Drive 3, Armor 3 model in medium cover will get an "armor" 3 against the psi cannon while against the PTRS the model won't get any armor at all.
What they have going for them right now (over the PTRS) is that each model gets a cannon (so twice the shots), the models carrying them have 2 wounds, and the guns aren't cumbersome. I don't know if that's enough right now.
All in all, fun game. Look forward to playing a 2-detachment game next week.