Frostbite - Turn 2 - Abandoned Base

This is the 2nd time that Dave's Monkeys and my Therians have clashed at the Abandoned Base, and this battle was pretty damn entertaining to play. Dave pushed 2 companies in the sector, allowing him to mix and match his army lists - maximizing the number of Monkey mechs he could field. I still had Tiamat's company controlling the sector from the first week.

Dave's forces, again, entered the sector on the Western edge. He quickly gained control of the 2 Karman crystals and started collecting RP. I entrenched what few infantry I had on the objective markers, and set Tiamat to reproducing Hekats as quickly as she could. (I was using the same strategy of 'camping' and harassing Dave's small mechs and infantry with Hekats to prevent his entry to the Abandoned Base).

This battle, however, turned out differently than the Turn 1 battle. Dave made quite an impact with his Buggy and Trikes. My Hekats weren't produced quickly enough to halt his advance, and it didn't take long for Dave's Monkey mechs to get in the Base and start creating havoc. Dave scored a major moral victory in this battle by taking out Tiamat. (I could have respawned her, but I would have forfeited VP in the process, risking the loss of the battle).

In the end, Dave and I fought to a draw - even at 20VP. Both of our forces were pushed out of the sector. I think, though, that I suffered the brunt of the attrition in the battle - losing Tiamat was expensive and puts a serious hole in that company.

Frostbite - Turn 2 - Ice Floe Oscar

Our 2nd turn of battle started off with Dave's monkeys facing off against Rob's Red Blok, again in Ice Floe Oscar. The mission differed slightly in that Rob had controlled the sector last turn and could deploy his initial forces in the center of the map. He also had purchased some jersey barriers with his leftover MP from the first turn - to provide his company with a more defensible position. Dave entered the battle from the same challenging table edge - across the ice floes - but his company was fortified with more monkey mechs!

Rob began by placing his jersey barriers, and then deployed Urod and a few infantry units on the central ice floe. The victory point marker was on this floe - which meant that Rob needed to dig in, and Dave needed to force the entrenched Red Blok of the floe to gather VP. Because he was a defender, Rob would only start with 1000AP - but as we've learned in many battles, having Urod in your assault force can be a huge equalizer.

Dave started his push across the ice floes, getting Saint Anuman and his monkey mech, Jindo-Un, into position quickly. There was going to be an early exchange of fire between Jindo and Urod! Dave's Trike didn't fare as well, though, and had a hard time getting space to move on the central ice floe. With Urod, Jindo-Un, and a monkey crystal in close proximity, Dave's company was squeezed through a small "pipeline".

If I remember correctly, Rob was forced to trigger Jindo-Un's overwatch early in the battle to close range. Jindo-Un opened up with some decent anti-AFV fire, but couldn't take Urod down quickly enough. (You have to take down Urod in a quick strike to have a serious effect on the battle. Otherwise, Urod's 2 mechanics can make the AFV nearly indestructible). With the Trike squeezed for space, there just wasn't enough monkey firepower in range, and sadly, Jindo-Un was blown to pieces. The Trike moved into closer range the following turn, but couldn't inflict much damage, and was destroyed quickly by Urod.

From here, the battle trudge to an inevitable conclusion. Dave didn't have the AFV firepower to inflict any harm on Urod, which meant that the Red Blok could easily "camp" on the ice floe and collect VP until the game ended. What few infantry Dave brought into the battle were picked off by snipers, and he decided to not bring any infantry in from reserve because they would suffer the same fate.

Frostbite - Turn 2 - Planning

Last Tuesday we did the planning for Turn 2 of Frostbite : replenishing forces, and buying special advantages, with MP; and moving our companies around.

I used my meager MP to replace my... repurposed, Wraith Golgoth. Dave replenished monkeys lost in the 2 battles he was involved in. And, Rob utilized some of his MP for extra barriers for an upcoming battle, and a couple air-strikes.

Rob spread his companies out, pushing one company into the Underground Base (which I currently control); shifting a second company into the Restored Fortress, to prevent anyone else from taking it; and left one company at Ice Floe Oscar.

I opted to keep my companies stationary and hold three sectors. One active thing I did do was use the Cursed Fortress' special ability to unleash a nanovirus upon Ice Floe Indy. No companies can move or drop-ship into that sector this turn.

Dave shifted one company into Ice Floe Oscar and a pair of companies into the Abandoned Base.

So, in Turn 2, we have 3 battles. Two of them are re-runs of the first turn; the third, a battle in a sector we haven't played yet. (The Ice Floe Oscar battle was completed last week, and I'll be posting a battrep on that today or tomorrow).

Frostbite - Turn 1 - Debriefing

Here are the results of the first turn of our Frostbite campaign:

Units Lost
Therians   - 1 Wraith Golgoth (C2)
Red Blok - None
Karmans  - 2 ZZ Gun units (C1/2)
                  1 Kaptar sniper unit (C1/2)
                  1 Kaptar ZZ Rifle unit (C1/2)
                  1 King Buggy (C3)
                  1 ZZ Gun unit (C3)

Sectors Controlled
Therians   - The Cursed Fortress, Underground Base, Abandoned Base
Red Blok - The Restored Fortress, Ice Floe Oscar
Karmans  - None

Strategic Advantage
The Therians gain use of nanoviruses with control of The Cursed Fortress (nanoviruses can be used to block access to one sector). Underground Base provides +250 material points (MP) to spend. Abandoned Base provides +250MP.

The Red Blok get 2 free artillery strikes with control of the Restores Fortress. Control of Ice Floe Oscar provides improved accuracy with artillery strikes.

Victory Points
Therians   - 20VP
Red Blok  - 20VP
Karmans   -  5VP

Reinforcement Points
Therians     -   75RP
Red Blok  - 2000RP
Karmans   - 1350RP

During Debriefing RP are converted to MP
Therians    -  575MP
Red Blok  - 2000MP
Karmans   - 1350MP

Frostbite - Turn 1 - Ice Floe Oscar

Last night, Dave and Rob went head-to-head in the Ice Floe Oscar sector. 2K army points worth of Karmans vs. 2k worth of Red Blok, who were merged from two separate companies.

This sector was pretty insane; the terrain is a serious challenge on this map. The ice floes slow down infantry drastically, and put units at risk of sliding off of them. Mechs and vehicles don't have to worry about sliding, but they are slowed as well. This mission's victory point (VP) objective was roughly in the center of the map, meaning a king-of-the-hill type of situation to control it.

The battle began with us dicing to determine the weather during the battle. The result was "Thaw", which indicates that units are unable to rush move. We deemed this to be too painful on this map, and decided to ignore weather for this battle. We did play with the "night-time" rule, though, which provides all units with Stealth. (Which means you have to get in quite close to be able to have line-of-sight on targets, unless you've got special equipment).

Rob began by deploying 2 Sierps, a Urod, the hero-controlled Kosni, and a unit of Dragonov Commandos. The Red Blok mechs didn't suffer too much from the ice floes. They methodically made their way across the map, securing containers and Therian nanogenerators - soaking up quite a few reinforcement points (RP). The Dragonov Commando infantry unit had a bit of a scare the first turn, but managed to avoid losing any soldiers to sliding off a floe. After that point, they remained stationary, waiting for opportunities to snipe Karmans from afar.

Dave deployed his King Buggy and quickly rocket-jumped it over to the central floe. The buggy was headed straight for the VP marker in a race against the Red Blok mechs. Dave's infantry didn't fare as well - his Type 3 infantry had to basically line up and take turns to get across the floes. His Type 1 Kaptars struggled to get off the floe they deployed on. They didn't have the movement to jump to other floes without losing some infantry in the arctic water. The monkey army ground to a crawl, and that seriously impacted the battle.

Dave's King Buggy made it first to the VP marker and camped by it and a Karman crystal. The first (and, really, only) tense moment of the battle took place immediately after. The buggy had gone into overwatch, and Rob had no choice but to trigger that overwatch with his Urod - he needed to force the buggy from the VP marker if he'd have any hope of winning. The buggy fired up its twin ZZ-Cannons and scored 2 hits on the Urod, but it wasn't enough to destroy it. Urod returned fire and the buggy was blown to pieces.

After this exchange, the Rob's Red Blok were able to seize the VP marker and hold it for the rest of the game. Urod can be threatening enough, but Rob also had a pair of Sierps circling around one portion of the map, and his unit of Dragonov snipers discouraged movement from the monkeys. Dave's infantry were forced to hold position just to gather more RP - he had no chance of dislodging the Red Blok from the VP marker with the buggy gone. One unit of Karman K-Warriors were shot up by the Dragonovs; the remainder of Dave's infantry clustered out of line of sight, trying to save their hides.

The end result:
Red Blok  20VP, 2000RP
Karmans    5VP, 700RP

Rob really soaked up the RP in this battle. He'll have plenty to spend next turn to recoup losses in upcoming battles, or to purchase special army abilities.

Frostbite - Turn 1 - Abandoned Base

So, on Tuesday, Dave and I went head-to-head in a battle at the Abandoned Base. There were a few "firsts" in this misson: I used Tiamat (a Therian hero) for the first time as my Company Commander; and Dave deployed a King Buggy vehicle for the first time. Both units turned out to be pretty effective.

Deployment began with Dave's K-Shooters tromping across the snow to within control range of one of the Karman Crystals. A large unit of Karman Kaptars marched over to the other Karman Crystal - Dave was well on his way to collecting quite a few reinforcement points (RP). My first few deployments included dashing Tiamat over to the Western edge of the building - behind some cover - and having her generate a Hekat Golgoth. From there, Dave deployed a small unit of Kaptar(?) snipers, and his King Buggy. And, I deployed a unit of Bane Goliaths, a Wraith Golgoth, and a small unit of Storm Golems.

The firefight started pretty quickly with Dave putting a serious hurting on Tiamat, and taking her out of the battle. I had no choice but to make use of her Body Hacking ability - and, though it hurt, I had to sacrifice my Wraith Golgoth to have her reform. That tactic paid off in the end, because she was able to pump out Hekats throughout the mission, which harassed Dave's infantry units and drew a lot of fire from his K-Shooters and the King Buggy.

After Tiamat's reformation, my Hekat charged Dave's snipers and tore them to pieces. It didn't last long after that; the Buggy seriously damaged it, and the Kaptars did a little ripping and tearing with their power grips. Ouch! Check out the pic and see how many filthy apes are clustered around that Hekat! :)

Starting off within the building was a huge advantage to my Therian company. I quickly was able to seize victory point markers and camp on them with infantry, putting them into overwatch - discouraging Dave's advance into the building. He was able to collect some VP from the markers near the Western entrance but not quickly enough, compared to my entrenched infantry. Dave was popping Hekats left and right, but they served to slow down his advance.

Eventually, Dave threw caution to the wind and moved within the building with his Kaptars and the King Buggy. I brought a Succubus Golgoth in from reserve (which was useless thanks to my dice rolling). The entrance of the Buggy triggered my Bane Goliaths' overwatch and they did some serious damage to the Buggy. They didn't destroy it, but they blew off many of its weapons and destroyed its propulsion. One of my Hekats ran around the outside of the building and chewed up a unit of K-Shooters by one of the Crystals.

At this point, we were on the final turn, as I was within range of collecting 20VP and winning the mission. My early control of 2 of the VP markers was really the deciding factor. The mission ended 20VP to 9VP.

Pros/Cons: Dave collected ~600RP, which will allow him to replenish most of his losses. I gained the 20VP, and control of the sector, but at the cost of my Wraith Golgoth. I only had 75VP remaining at the end of the battle, so I'll be defending that sector down ~370AP. That'll make it a bit more challenging.

Frostbite - Turn 1 - Planning

On Thursday we discussed starting up the Frostbite campaign. After reviewing some of the campaign rules, we diced for the battleground, which ended up being the Black Fortresses.

The Black Fortress battleground takes place at the South pole of the ice planet, Elysee, and is a home to the Therian doomsday devices. Two collosal Therian monuments exist in this region - the Cursed Fortress, which was the site of an engineered nanovirus; and the Restored Fortress, which is a site being rebuilt by the Therians. Two military bases are also in this region, originally built to protect the fortresses.

As you can see from the battleground map, the Therians have a very strong presence here, and their HQ is centrally located, which gives them quick access to 4 of the 6 sectors. The other armies start at the fringes of the map and have to push inward to lay claim to many of the sectors.

We started the Planning phase of Turn 1 by dicing to determine who went first. Deployment order was: Rob, me, and then Dave. By the end of the Planning phase, Rob has 2 companies entering the access zone to Ice Floe Oscar, and a 3rd company at the Restored Fortress. I had to deploy 1 company at the Cursed Fortress, and then shifted a company to the Underground Base, and a company to the Abandoned Base, both coming from my HQ. Dave moved 2 of his companies into the Abandoned Base and 1 into Ice Floe Oscar.

So, for next week (and probably the week following), we've got 2 big battles coming up. I'll face Dave at the Abandoned Base, and Rob will face Dave at Ice Floe Oscar. Should be some epic battles over these 2 sectors!

The Abandoned Base

So, last night we got together to play a stand-alone mission from the Frostbite book. It was a chance to get a taste of the campaign missions, as well as break out the cool Frostbite and Damocles tiles.

Rob and Dave faced off in a mission called "Abandoned Base". As you can see from the initial setup photo, this mission combined a snow landscape with a contained building. Victory point objectives were scattered within the building - many close to entranceways. (We chose to ignore some of the special mission rules - in the interest of time, and some forgetfulness - which included icy surfaces in the snow as well as crated explosives within the base).

It was really damned impressive to see the terrain tiles put to use. It was quite a nice visual scene to see them combined with the barriers, crystals, and containers.

Dave's Karmans deployed out in the frozen waste, charging quickly across the snow. Rob's Cogs deployed within the Abandoned Base - his Cog units squeezing through the tight passages in a close formation. Orders were given on both sides to take cover and go into overwatch.

The first casualties of the night were Dave's K-Shooters, who popped out in full view of a Cog unit in overwatch and were quickly gunned down. (So quickly that I didn't get a chance to take a photo of them in action). After this point, both armies jockeyed for position - the Karmans clustering near a container and a Karman Crystal to gather valuable reinforcement points; while the Cogs spread out through the structure to control both containers and victory point objectives.

One of the most surprising exchanges of the night was when Dave shifted his K-Warriors (indirect fire artillery) into full view of the tightly-grouped Cog units and unleashed mortar fire. This eliminated a large number Cog infantry, and left a number of their units grounded and at risk for morale checks. It seriously weakened the Cog army, but the K-Warriors did not survive the return fire. There is no doubt that the K-Warriors are a great anti-infantry unit at the Karman's disposal.

Even weakened, the Cog were still able to fiercely control victory point objectives - and through the use of their AI-Beacons were able to conjure additional Type 1 combat striders to bolster their assault. The Karmans brought on some capable reinforcements, but they weren't enough to halt the advance of the Cog, who entrenched themselves around objectives and eventually wore down the Karman company. The Cog won the mission 20VP to 3VP - which sounds extremely lopsided, but the battle was a lot closer than the results showed.

I took the night off from playing in a mission to take some photographs and to rules lawyer. As it turned out, this battle didn't conclude until midnight, anyway.