Post by mkcontra on Jul 31, 2009 19:26:13 GMT -5
Scorpio and I squared off in an unplanned scenario on Wendesday. He took an SS Veteran detachment while I brought an NKVD Recon detachment. The scenario we rolled was “Strategic Withdrawal,” in which the defender starts in the middle of the board surrounded by the opponent and must get >1/2 his/her units off the table to claim the primary objective. The terrain was as follows: green lines were hill borders, grey areas were trenches (heavy cover) and black lines were walls or fences (medium cover).
The forces were as follows:
NKVD recon detachment (attackers)
Veteran Psi-Officer with “remove fear”
Veteran Telekinetic (War Hero)
Veteran Flamethrower Squad
Regular Soviet Guard
Regular Kazaks
Green Conscripts
Regular Jeep
Special Order – Surrender!
Secondary Objective – Delaying Action
(NOTE - One small error: apparently "mounted infantry" (the kazaks in this case), do not count as infantry selections towards heavy weapons like the flamethrower, so this detachment is technically illegal.
SS veteran detachment (defenders)
Elite SS Schutzkommando
Vet Krieghexe (Astrologer)
Vet Werewolf
Regular Scharfuehrer (Sergeant equivalent)
Regular SS squad
Regular SS squad
Regular Krieghunde
Special Order - Keep moving!
Secondary Objective - Delaying Action
Deployment was as follows: First, the defenders set up in the trenches in the center of the table as required by the scenario, except for the Werewolf, who waited to deploy during the 1st turn. The Soviets then spread out very thin, trying to cover all angles (a mistake, in retrospect), with the Jeep carrying the Guard on the NE hill, the Telekinetic joining the Flamethrower squad behind the walls in the NW, the Kazaks on the SW hill and the Psi-Officer and Conscripts in the SE.
Handily, the game had a natural narrative to it: the grizzled SS surrounded by an advance Soviet force; the Soviets seeking to keep the Germans around as long as possible while the main force approaches, while the Germans clearly needed to delay their withdrawal for some sinister purpose.
The first turn saw the Krieghexe summoning a sandstorm limiting LoS to 18”. The Kazaks then bounded forward to take shots at the Krieghunde, both missing. Alas, they ventured slightly too close and the hounds charged, felling one horseman! Meanwhile, the Jeep pulled forward, the Soviet guard riding shotgun opening fire on the Schutzkommando, inflicting a wound. The Schutzkommando decided to take vengeance, killing the driver of the jeep and bringing the mobile threat to a halt. The remainder of the turn saw the Soviets in the NW advance under cover, the Telekinetic generating a force-shield to provide the rest of his squad with additional protection. The SE Soviets and the rest of the Germans exchanged ineffectual fire. Finally, the Werewolf appeared, charging the now dismounted Soviet Guard, killing one and routing the other.
The 2nd turn began with the Krieghunde eliminating the 2nd Kazak, while their handler moved forward to take shots at the FT/Telekinetic. The Flamethrower unit then advanced, roasting the handler, but failing to kill the nearest Hund with a rifle shot. The Werewolf slaughtered the other Soviet guard and closed the distance to the Ft/Telekinetic. One SS squad, the Krieghexe and the Schutzkommando began to beat a hasty retreat the SW, while the other SS moved to delay any advance from the Psi-Officer and Conscripts.
Turn three opened with the Werewolf charging the Telekinetic, causing a wound. The remaining Krieghunde then charged the flamethrower, but was unable to cause any damage. The Psi-Officer, seeing that his PPSH was useless against the dug-in SS, sprinted towards an unoccupied bunker, hoping to eventually take the fight to the retreating Germans from within the trenches. The other SS continued their movement to the SW. The conscripts abandoned cover and began moving to cut the SS retreat off – but they were promptly suppressed by the other SS squad.
The Werewolf attacked the Telekinetic again to open turn 4, inflicting another wound. The Tele/FT squad then activated, the flamethrower successfully withdrawing from combat! Separating from the Krieghund, he readied his flamethrower and let loose a stream of fiery death. The hound perished in the flame, and the Werewolf suffered 2 wounds! Huzzah! Alas, the Werewolf still had a 5+ invulnerable save, which he managed to make, turning what would’ve been a very favorable situation for the Soviets into a hopeless one (NOTE: the "vulnerable holy/fire" skill of the Werewolf negates its Invulnerable save when struck by such weapons, meaning he would've died automatically...crap).
The rest of turn 4 and all of turn 5 saw the Germans continue their retreat, as well as rout the flamethrower and the conscripts, while the Psi-Officer was unable to cause any damage to possibly salvage some honor despite an open PPSH burst. In the end, the Germans were able to complete their primary object and the attrition objective, while the Soviets achieved none.
Some post-game thoughts: The Telekinetic will add a lot of depth to the Soviet forces, enabling you to create some very tough units – Psi-Commandos paired w/ a Telekinetc get a base cover/armor bonus of +5! Putting them in a Jeep w/ a heavy weapon could also create a faster armored car. The Kazaks are quick, but fragile. They are essentially a faster but less accurate Soviet Guard unit – useful, but not “better overall.” Tactically, I should’ve concentrated in 2 corners, especially with the speed available to me, and simply cut the Germans off as they determined their path of retreat.
The SS occult units seemed cool: the Krieghexe was not given a chance to do much and could’ve shined in a different situation. The Werewolf was as expected – great on the charge, but flammable!
Anyways, now that the SS were successful in their withdrawal, they’ve regrouped to launch a full-on assault on the nearby series of Soviet bunkers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a Vampire or 2…This time however, the Soviets will be a bit more prepared.
I hope this report provided you with a taste of some of the new stuff coming in the Occult book!
The forces were as follows:
NKVD recon detachment (attackers)
Veteran Psi-Officer with “remove fear”
Veteran Telekinetic (War Hero)
Veteran Flamethrower Squad
Regular Soviet Guard
Regular Kazaks
Green Conscripts
Regular Jeep
Special Order – Surrender!
Secondary Objective – Delaying Action
(NOTE - One small error: apparently "mounted infantry" (the kazaks in this case), do not count as infantry selections towards heavy weapons like the flamethrower, so this detachment is technically illegal.
SS veteran detachment (defenders)
Elite SS Schutzkommando
Vet Krieghexe (Astrologer)
Vet Werewolf
Regular Scharfuehrer (Sergeant equivalent)
Regular SS squad
Regular SS squad
Regular Krieghunde
Special Order - Keep moving!
Secondary Objective - Delaying Action
Deployment was as follows: First, the defenders set up in the trenches in the center of the table as required by the scenario, except for the Werewolf, who waited to deploy during the 1st turn. The Soviets then spread out very thin, trying to cover all angles (a mistake, in retrospect), with the Jeep carrying the Guard on the NE hill, the Telekinetic joining the Flamethrower squad behind the walls in the NW, the Kazaks on the SW hill and the Psi-Officer and Conscripts in the SE.
Handily, the game had a natural narrative to it: the grizzled SS surrounded by an advance Soviet force; the Soviets seeking to keep the Germans around as long as possible while the main force approaches, while the Germans clearly needed to delay their withdrawal for some sinister purpose.
The first turn saw the Krieghexe summoning a sandstorm limiting LoS to 18”. The Kazaks then bounded forward to take shots at the Krieghunde, both missing. Alas, they ventured slightly too close and the hounds charged, felling one horseman! Meanwhile, the Jeep pulled forward, the Soviet guard riding shotgun opening fire on the Schutzkommando, inflicting a wound. The Schutzkommando decided to take vengeance, killing the driver of the jeep and bringing the mobile threat to a halt. The remainder of the turn saw the Soviets in the NW advance under cover, the Telekinetic generating a force-shield to provide the rest of his squad with additional protection. The SE Soviets and the rest of the Germans exchanged ineffectual fire. Finally, the Werewolf appeared, charging the now dismounted Soviet Guard, killing one and routing the other.
The 2nd turn began with the Krieghunde eliminating the 2nd Kazak, while their handler moved forward to take shots at the FT/Telekinetic. The Flamethrower unit then advanced, roasting the handler, but failing to kill the nearest Hund with a rifle shot. The Werewolf slaughtered the other Soviet guard and closed the distance to the Ft/Telekinetic. One SS squad, the Krieghexe and the Schutzkommando began to beat a hasty retreat the SW, while the other SS moved to delay any advance from the Psi-Officer and Conscripts.
Turn three opened with the Werewolf charging the Telekinetic, causing a wound. The remaining Krieghunde then charged the flamethrower, but was unable to cause any damage. The Psi-Officer, seeing that his PPSH was useless against the dug-in SS, sprinted towards an unoccupied bunker, hoping to eventually take the fight to the retreating Germans from within the trenches. The other SS continued their movement to the SW. The conscripts abandoned cover and began moving to cut the SS retreat off – but they were promptly suppressed by the other SS squad.
The Werewolf attacked the Telekinetic again to open turn 4, inflicting another wound. The Tele/FT squad then activated, the flamethrower successfully withdrawing from combat! Separating from the Krieghund, he readied his flamethrower and let loose a stream of fiery death. The hound perished in the flame, and the Werewolf suffered 2 wounds! Huzzah! Alas, the Werewolf still had a 5+ invulnerable save, which he managed to make, turning what would’ve been a very favorable situation for the Soviets into a hopeless one (NOTE: the "vulnerable holy/fire" skill of the Werewolf negates its Invulnerable save when struck by such weapons, meaning he would've died automatically...crap).
The rest of turn 4 and all of turn 5 saw the Germans continue their retreat, as well as rout the flamethrower and the conscripts, while the Psi-Officer was unable to cause any damage to possibly salvage some honor despite an open PPSH burst. In the end, the Germans were able to complete their primary object and the attrition objective, while the Soviets achieved none.
Some post-game thoughts: The Telekinetic will add a lot of depth to the Soviet forces, enabling you to create some very tough units – Psi-Commandos paired w/ a Telekinetc get a base cover/armor bonus of +5! Putting them in a Jeep w/ a heavy weapon could also create a faster armored car. The Kazaks are quick, but fragile. They are essentially a faster but less accurate Soviet Guard unit – useful, but not “better overall.” Tactically, I should’ve concentrated in 2 corners, especially with the speed available to me, and simply cut the Germans off as they determined their path of retreat.
The SS occult units seemed cool: the Krieghexe was not given a chance to do much and could’ve shined in a different situation. The Werewolf was as expected – great on the charge, but flammable!
Anyways, now that the SS were successful in their withdrawal, they’ve regrouped to launch a full-on assault on the nearby series of Soviet bunkers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a Vampire or 2…This time however, the Soviets will be a bit more prepared.
I hope this report provided you with a taste of some of the new stuff coming in the Occult book!
