BattleTech Alpha Strike - First Game

 I'd been thinking about giving Alpha Strike a try and some of the comments (thank you guys!) on a previous post pushed me into finally printing out the quick start rules and giving it a try back in February.  I grabbed some of my old 'Mechs - soft plastic Warhammer and Marauder from the 1990's BattleTech boxed game, these are the original RoboTech based models.  Accompanying them are a Firestarter and Hatchetman, metal models picked up at The Games Room in Norwich again late'90's or early '00s.

 Number 1 son and I played the training scenario twice, swapping 'Mechs at half-time.  For the first game, he took the Warhammer and Hatchetman while I had the Marauder and Firestarter.  Note that this Warhammer is the 6D variant commonly used by the Federated Suns, which removes the SRM6 shoulder rack and the 2 machine guns and replaces them with extra armour.  This makes the 'Mech much tougher and also means that there is no risk of ammunition explosion from penetrating damage.

Number 1 son's Mechs

My 'Mechs.

Ready for the off...

Raring to go...

Having lost the initiative, I move first.  For those who haven't played before, this may seem strange, but combat happens instantaneously, so the player who moves second has the tactical advantage of seeing what his opponent is doing in order to better react to it.  Movement alternates, so loser moves a 'Mech, then winner, then loser moves second 'Mech, then winner's second 'Mech and so on.

I lose the initiative, so move first.

Warhammer and Hatchetman move out.

As we closed in, a few shots were exchanged, causing light damage to both sides.

Hatchetman and Firestarter exchange shots.

The Marauder and Warhammer started trading fire while the Hatchetman managed to get in a good swing of its axe against the Firestarter, causing severe damage to the engine and fire control systems.

Big boys close up.

 The Firestarter made a last-ditch attack on the Warhammer, making use of its jump-jets to launch a Death from Above attack.  The Warhammer's shooting destroyed the Firestarter in mid-air.

Kaboom! Exit one Firestarter.

As far as I can see, unlike in normal Battletech where shooting takes place before physical attacks (so you may destroy an enemy before they can reach you), in Alpha Strike they all take place simultaneously.  The mangled wreckage of the Firestarter was therefore able to land on top of the Warhammer to do a couple more points of damage to it.

Warhammer and Marauder swap positions and Firestarter launches Death from Above!

With the Firestarter out of the fight, the Marauder squared off against its two foes, risking an overheat for the chance to do some extra damage.

Attempting to keep the enemy at optimum range, the Marauder backed off.

Things weren't looking good for the Marauder, it failed to deliver enough damage to knock out either enemy 'Mech.

Ganging up, 2 on 1.

Overheating, the Marauder tried to manoeuvre behind a building.  Not fast enough!  The Warhammer moves up into the rear arc and send a couple of PPC blasts through the thinner rear armour of the Marauder.  With leg and weapon damage, it's in a bad way.

PPCs gouge through the Marauder's rear armour.

Twisted metal grating inside the damaged leg, the Marauder limps around the building, managing to duck into cover from the Warhammer.

Hide!

The Marauder cools down, but the damage is already too bad, and it succumbs to the combined attacks of the Hatchetman and Warhammer.

Defeat.

The final shots smash the internal structure of the Marauder and it collapses in smouldering wreckage.

The Hatchetman was badly damaged, autocannon and lasers destroyed, leg damaged, one more hit and it would have fallen, but sadly it was not to be.

Badly damaged Hatchetman.

The Warhammer had taken a lot of hits, but the internal structure was undamaged.  Even if the Marauder had survived another turn, it wouldn't have been able to deliver enough damage to eliminate the Warhammer.

End result of first game.

 

We swapped 'Mechs and prepared for a second game.

Second game ready.

The Firestarter charged in and tried a Death From Above, but failed to land on target.  The Warhammer's accurate fire destroyed the light 'Mech before it could try anything else.

Firestarter is the first victim again.

The Marauder loomed into sight, but was focussed on the Hatchetman.

Marauder sighted!

The Marauder and the Hatchetman stalked each other through the wooded area, trading a few shots.

Hatchetman and Marauder closing...

Ready to use the hatchet, the Hatchetman sprints through the trees and slams into the Marauder.

Hatchetman attack!

Both Hatchetman and Marauder take significant damage from close combat.

Both sides to damage in close combat.

The Marauder's weight and firepower is telling, down goes the Hatchetman, but not before dealing significant damage to the opponent.

Hatchetman is the first to fall.

The Warhammer concentrates all firepower on the Marauder and the Donal PPCs core the enemy heavy 'Mech completely.

Marauder follows shortly.

The end result was pretty similar to the first game.  Having only a couple of 'Mechs each is pretty limiting tactically, especially with 3 out of the 4 having the same maximum speed, so it comes down to a slugging match.  The Warhammer and Hatchetman combination has the edge in firepower that makes the difference, especially at close range.  The result might have been a bit different if we had played standard BattleTech, but as a learning experience it was fine.

End of game 2.

 

I've printed out a few more record sheets with some different Lance types, and a few vehicles.  I'll try a more objective-focussed game next, maybe something similar to some of the MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries PC game missions, he has enjoyed trying those in the past.  The game is definitely designed for larger scale actions, so that's what I want to try!