Dust Tactics Game Night!! 03-25-2012

This week saw only 3 of us show up at Knightfall Games for league play. Some of us fell ill, and we hope you all get well, and others were just not able to attend. Jiltedtoo, Ed (new player from 2 weeks ago), and myself were on hand to play test some Olympia Dust Day armies and scenario's. We each needed to find a 250 point army that we felt were up to the task of handling all 3 scenarios for the Golden Hot Dog Open! Click here for more event details!

So we played the 1st Scenario 3 times, each time with a modified army, and ran through the 3rd Scenario once. I will list the armies, results, and make comments about each game as best I can. I was more focused on my army and play testing than picture taking, so we have only a few pictures for this weeks blog.

The Game Map we used for the play testing. We now know the 1st and 3rd scenario will contain a central 1 story structure.

First up was myself and Ed. I was Allies and Ed took a swing at the Axis, with Jiltedtoo available for support and clarification. The objective of the 1st scenario is to try and escape off your opponents edge. Double points scored for any escaped units, and regular points for any kills.

• The Allied 250 point Army:
  The Boss Squad - Corps Officers - Ozz 117 - Grim Reapers - Bazooka Joe - BBQ Rangers - The Priest - Hell Boys - Crack Shots - Crack Shots - 13 Foxtrot
• The Axis 250 point Army:
  Markus - Axis Gorillas - Hans - Heinrich - Manfred - Tank Killers - Stefan - Sturmpionere - Sigrid Von Thaler - Laser Grenadiers - Heavy Recon Grenadiers

This was a very, very close battle. In the end the Allied forces scored 268 points, and the Axis forces scored 258 points. Using the Stim Pack skill, the Allied forces chose to shoot Ozz 117 and his Grim Reapers off the board. Unfortunately Markus and his Gorillas were able to make contact before they were able to activate, so the Grim Reapers were eliminated, and a heavily wounded Ozz barely made it off the map alive, but still scored 48 points for the escape! The Priest and his Hell Boys with Joe and his BBQ Rangers attempted to charge up the right side of the battle field, only to have the Heavy Recon Grenadiers and Hans Light Walker thwart their efforts and eliminate both Heroes and units early on in the game. Markus and the Gorillas, Manfred and the Tank Killers, and Stefan with his Sturmpionere squad made a run up the left side of the map. The Crack Shots were able to score a couple of kills on the Sturmpionere's, eliminating the flamwerfer and 2 STG 47's. It looked to be over for the Allied forces early on, as by turn 4 all 3 Heroes and their squads I just listed were in range to escape in the next turn. So the Boss Squad took a chance and brought back the Hell Boys!! Thanks to the new entry rules, they were able to place + use their fast skill to get within range of 2 of the squads and nearly eliminate them both. Markus barely escaped after all his Gorillas were eliminated, and Stefan and his Sturmpionere's didn't stand much of a chance after the losses they already sustained. Eventually the Corps Officers, 1 team of Crack Shots, 13 Foxtrot, and the reinforced Hell Boys were eliminated, but not before Sigrid & her Laser Grenadiers and Markus were eliminated! In the end the Allied forces were able to escape the last team of Crack Shots, and the Axis army was able to get their Hans off the board as well.


Second up was Jiltedtoo against myself. I was still Allies, and Jilted was Axis. Same scenario as above.

• The Allied 250 point Army:
  The Boss Squad - Corps Officers - Ozz 117 - Grim Reapers - Bazooka Joe - Hell Boys - Johnny One Eye - Gunner Rangers - Bot Hunters - Recon Rangers
• The Axis 250 point Army:
  Kommandotrupp - Heinrich - Hans - Totenmeister - Grenadier X - Axis Zombies - Axis Zombies - Stefan - Sturmpionere - Beobachters

This game ended up being much different from the first. In the end the Axis scored 509 points, while the Allied forces were only able to come up with 243 points. The game looked very good for the Allies early on! Another round of Stim Packs on Ozz 117 and his Grim Reapers proved a bit more fruitful. With the use of the Heroic Attack Skill, the unit was able to perform a double move for the first activation, then an Attack on Stefan and his Sturmpionere's and Move to escape for the second activation. The unit made short work of its targets, scoring a full kill before moving off the board. That's 145 points for the Allies before the end of the second turn! However things soon turned very bleak as the Heinrich, Zombies, and their Heroes plowed their way through the Allied forces with ease. Joe was lost early on, but his sacrifice helped the last of the Hell Boys to escape off the map, and the Allied forces even managed to get the Recon Rangers of the board as well for double points. Johnny and his Gunner Rangers, as well as the Bot Hunters, didn't get a chance to do much since the Zombies quickly closed the distance with their Assault ability and laid waste to both units, with Totenmeister and the other zombies coming in behind to mop up any stragglers. Before their escape they also made sure to finish off The Boss Squad and NCO Command Squad. All in all the Axis was able to escape both Hero/Zombie units (110 points each!!!) as well as the Beobacthers and Hans. At this point Ed had to leave us, but very much enjoyed seeing these new units in play!

Third game was the same match up and scenario as the second, but with modified armies.

• The Allied 250 point Army:
  The Boss Squad - Corps Officers - Ozz 117 - Grim Reapers - Bazooka Joe - Hell Boys - Wildfire - Wildfire - Crack Shots - Crack Shots - 13 Foxtrot
• The Axis 249 point Army:
  Kommandotrupp - Heinrich - Hans - Totenmeister - Grenadier X - Axis Zombies - Axis Zombies - Markus - Axis Gorillas - Beobachters

The Allies did better this time around, but not much... The score at the end was Axis forces at 557 points, and the Allies at 279 points. The Allied forces used the same tactics with the Stim Pack and moving Ozz 117 and his Grim Reapers off the board for the early double points. After that things fell apart quickly, but the Allied forces made sure to try and keep both Command Squads safe this time around. The Axis were pretty much able to eliminate all the Allied forces, and the Hell Boys twice after the Boss Squad brought them back to the party. The only units the Allied forces were able to kill in the entire game is Totenmeister, and that's it. Granted the Allies were able to move what was left of both the Boss Squad and Corps Officers off the board for double points, but it just wasn't enough to gain a victory points wise. Markus and the Gorillas made a hasty exit as well, scoring double points! The Wildfire's fell quickly to the Zombie Heroes and Squads, mainly due to poor rolls, though the kill shot on Totenmeister did come from a reactive fire from a Wildfire, who was able to roll all hits!!! (that's 6 in total). Everything else for the Axis, aside from the Heinrich was able to escape before turn 8, giving the Axis very much in the form of double points!!

A shot just before the Corps Officers escape. Damn those Zombies!!! Ha ha ha

The 4th and Final game, was Jiltedtoo and myself giving the 3rd scenario a shot. The object of this scenario was to place a diplomat marker in a single squad and keep that diplomat safe! (we used Heroes from the enemies army to make it a bit more visual of where the diplomaat was). If a player is able to eliminate the squad with the diplomat, they score triple points!!!

• The Allied 250 point Army:
  The Boss Squad - Corps Officers - Ozz 117 - Grim Reapers - Bazooka Joe - BBQ Rangers - The Priest - Hell Boys - Crack Shots - Crack Shots - 13 Foxtrot
• The Axis 249 point Army:
  Kommandotrupp - Heinrich - Hans - Totenmeister - Grenadier X - Axis Zombies - Axis Zombies - Markus - Axis Gorillas - Beobachters

This was a fun game!! Each player chose to have their diplomat in with their armor 2 Command Squad. I did consider putting the diplomat in with 13 Foxtrot, to keep the points down to a minimum, but felt the lack of hits and the range of the Heinrich would have added too much risk to the grouping. The Allied forces took a risk early on by injecting The Priest and Hell Boys with the Stim Pack, and holding off on their activation to see how the Axis would attempt to defend their line. Luckily, for the Allies, Grenadier X and his Zombies fell back to help protect the Kommandotrupp, but in the process left a direct path to the Kommandotrupp and diplomat! The Priest made very good use of his Agile nature, and with the Hellboys, performed a double move in the first activation, moving diagonally each time, and in the second action performed a move+fast and attack with all weapons on the Kommandotrupp to ensure it's destruction! They made very short work of the target, and scored triple points for it's elimination (120 points! Boo Ya!!). Granted, in the next round Grenadier X and his Zombies made short work of The Priest and Hell Boys, but the sacrifice was well worth the reward!! The Crack Shots did a good job of eliminating basic Gorillas and Zombies as the units approached the Allied forces. The Smoke Mortar also came in handy to create some breathing room from the Heinrich and allow for some team work against the Axis forces. The next to fall were the Crack Shots to Markus and his Gorillas, but they were able to score hits in Close Combat as well and ended up eliminating the remaining Gorilla, and soon after Markus fell too! Joe and his BBQ Rangers were also able to score a kill on the Hans, after getting lucky with some Demo Charges! Totenmeister and her Zombies were the next to go, after a heated exchange with Joe and his BBQ Rangers, though they were lost in the exchange as well (another case of a close combat double elimination!!). The Crack Shots and 13 Foxtrot moved into a prime position to keep Grenadier X and his Zombies from making a deadly Assault on The Boss Squad, but lost their lives in the process. Ozz 117 and his Grim Reapers were taking a lot of damage, as well as dishing out their fair share. After getting healed up by The Boss Squad and NCO Command Squad, they made short work of the remaining forces quickly eliminating the Beobachter's as well as Grenadier X and his Zombies by double teaming them with sustained fire and setting them ablaze with Ozz's flamethrower, and finishing them off with the brutal Victory MG Duals!! At the end of turn 8 All the Axis had left was their Heinrich. The Allied forces were still strong with Ozz 117 and his Grim Reapers, The Boss Squad, and Corps Officers. The final score was Allied forces with 292 points, and the Axis forces with 125 points. I had a lot of fun with this scenario, and am really starting to like the NCO Command Squad and their abilities. It was great to finally get some playing time with them! I don't know if I'll keep them in the Army for Dust Day, but I have a hard time justifying why I should leave them out. Here are some pictures, mainly of The Priest and the Hell Boys after their Stim Pack destruction of the Axis Kommandotrupp!

The Priest and Hell Boys started behind the double Terrain Tile piece on the right hand side next to Ozz 117 and his Grim Reapers... That Agile skill comes in very handy!!

And a shot of them after destroying their target and falling down exhausted!

We had a lot of fun, and it was kind of nice to have a quiet and relaxing game night where we could do some play testing and really explore these newly clarified rules and units I haven't had much playing time with. We will be back at Knightfall Games this Sunday, and then a 2 week break for Easter and Dust Day Olympia!

Good Gaming!!!