BattleTech Alpha Strike - Communications Station Attack

After having a go at Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries yesterday, Number 2 son asked for a game using my BattleTech stuff, and I was more than happy to oblige.  Alpha Strike was the obvious choice, I don't think that he's quite ready for the detail and crunchiness of original BattleTech quite yet.  Alpha Strike will get more units on the table too, something that he was keen on.  It was nice to have an opportunity to use some units that I haven't ever had the chance to use since I bought them!  Only the Commandoes, Javelin and Stinger have taken part in games before, probably more than 25 years since they were last in action!

 

Seiduts, Coreward part of Draconis Combine/Lyran Commonwealth border region

12th September 3039: 

++Begin transmission++

++FAO: Commanding Officer, Tiger Squad++

++Recon has identified a Lyran communications centre on Seiduts.  Destroy the generator building and the main transmission tower.  Enemy forces identified in the area include light tanks and missile carriers.  Enemy 'Mech reinforcement may join the battle, so destroy the targets and escape with best speed.++

 A couple of reinforced lances from Tiger Squad mercenary company have been tasked with disrupting communications for the Lyran Commonwealth.  A unit of the 8th Arcturan Guards is patrolling the area and will arrive as reinforcements for the Lyran Commonwealth side on turn 3.  The mercenaries under contract to the Draconis Combine must destroy the generator building and communications tower.  Tiger Squad are equipped with mainly lighter weight recon units, suited for hit-and-run raids.  The defenders are 5 Scorpion light tanks, 2 Striker light missile tanks, 3 APCs, plus a couple of LRM carriers for fire support.

Tiger Squad mercenary forces.

 

Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces defenders.

  The generator (radar station standing in for this) is located in a patch of woodland about halfway down the board.

Generator building.

The communications relay is close to the Lyran edge of the board.

Communications tower.

Tiger squad deploy in 2 groups, the command unit with slower 'Mechs like a Catapult and Panther, Javelin and Valkyrie, plus a Jenner and Locust which will range ahead to hunt out the enemy.

Tiger Squad command lance

The Recon Lance with 2 Commandos, a Stinger and a Wasp, will move down the centre of the battlefield.

Tiger Squad recon lance.

A sturdy Lyran Fire Lance will be reinforcing the defences from the start of turn 3.

8th Arcturan Guards reinforcements.

A couple of 3D printed Striker missile tank proxies move out from the communications centre.

Striker missile tank proxies.

5 Scorpion light tanks move down one flank.

Scorpion light tanks.

The Jenner rushes in and opens fire on a couple of APCs.

Jenner attacking APCs.

With the Locust leading the charge, a small unit of Tiger Squad close in on the generator building, delivering several hits.  The building will take 10 damage before being destroyed.

Mercenaries close in a pincer movement on the APCs, destroying both, one after the Jenner has given it a good kick.  The Jenner and one Commando have taken light damage.

The 2 Strikers move into range and pummel the Jenner into wreckage.  In the woods, the generator takes more damage.

The Scorpions also open fire, but their shooting is ineffective, bar a single hit on a Commando.

The Valkyrie circles behind the Strikers while the Catapult confronts them.  In the woods, the Locust and Javelin continue to bombard the generator.

The Recon Lance move away from the burning APCs towards the Scorpions.

The LRM carriers commence long-range bombardment of the Valkyrie, but inflict only light damage.

The Valkyrie's shots destroy one of the Strikers, while in the woods a large explosion signals the demise of the generator.

Scorpions and light 'Mechs exchange fire.  One of the damaged Commandoes falls, and a Scorpion is also destroyed.

The 'Mechs hold their ground as the Scorpions try to encircle them.  Autocannon, SRMs, lasers and machine guns flicker back and forth, eventually leaving a Stinger and the other Commando wrecked on the Tiger's side, while 2 more Scorpions and the other Striker are destroyed on the Lyran side.

With the other Tiger 'Mechs closing in, the remaining 2 Scorpions and a lone heavy APC will soon be destroyed... but has their delaying action worked?

The Lyran reinforcement lance has arrived at the communications centre, ready to defend it.  The LRM carriers are trading long-range fire with the Catapult and have inflicted heavy damage to its armour, having already badly mauled the Valkyrie.

At this point, it was lunch time, so we had to pack up quickly and lay the table.  He enjoyed the game, so we'll definitely be playing again.

So, what is the butcher's bill?  Tiger Squad have lost 5 scout 'Mechs, half their force, with the Valkyrie and Catapult almost out of armour.

Tiger Squad casualties.

The Lyrans have lost 7 vehicles, with one of the 2 surviving Scorpions devoid of any armour.

LCAF casualties.

I edited a lot of the 'Mech cards to use the original 3025 Technical Readout images, because I'm using the original metal BattleMechs from the 1980s.  It's really easy to do in the online unit creator, all you do is just edit the existing card and insert a link to the image file.  In this case they're all easily found on the Sarna.net, where each 'Mech or Vehicle includes images from all the different Tech Readouts.  I also edited some of the cards to match the vehicles in my possession, all of which were 3D printed.  These were a bit more awkward because there weren't URLs to locate the images.  I had to save the record cards as PNGs, then open them in Paint and paste the correct image in, but it didn't take very long.

Alternate heavy APC.

Old school LRM carrier.

Striker proxy.

Full Spectrum Dominance APC.

 

 

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!