Heavy Gear Blitz - 1K TV battle report

Tonight I played another game of Heavy Gear Blitz with the wife at Knightfall Games. This time around we used the Gear Up 5 point values which helped me a bit, but also helped her a bit more as well.

We decided to go with scenarios this time around rather then the straight up brawl. Of course I didn't get very lucky and got a hold position (A tank trap just outside my deployment zone), get into the enemy deployment zone, and get unit off the table. My wife had to hold a terrain piece (a tree near my deployment zone) and achieve Active Lock against a squad of 3 or more (she picked my Strike Squad members).

I managed to get the first turn Initiative, but as you can imagine, it wasn't very successful for me overall. I simply was being matched point by point for my dice rolls. I didn't have access to many roads, so each of my gears walked forward slowly, keeping as much cover as possible. My wife started by rushing her Operational Assistance team down the field and the Dark Naga laying down a withering hail of linked rocket pod shots. I didn't take any damage the first turn thanks to cover however.

Turn 2-4 my wife kept winning the Initiative so she continued to go first, which didn't make my tasks any easier. As my wife closed the gap more and more, my advantage of terrain became far more sparse and with it her damage became more dangerous. The HBZK on her commando is simply devastating with the Sniper trait. By turn 3 my entire left flank was demolished and the roads I could have used we secured by the enemy. I tried marching my Cataphract Lord forward and actually managed to hit one of the Vultures on the right side of the board and deal a single box of damage with the Cataphract's LRG. Even my infantry did their best and actually got a damage point on the same vulture the Cataphract hit, as well as another point of damage on the Owl. However I simply could not drive those gears out of the Sturdy boxes.

By the end of the game I only had a Crusader IV, a Warrior IV, a standard Warrior, and my infantry still on the field. I didn't manage to kill a single base of my Wife's Black Talons, even trying for rear attacks at point blank range. I lost without earning a single VP at the end of the game.

This time around I think I stood a better chance then before, my Crusader IVs really did a great job with their MRP firing. All my units actually did a great job and I can't complain about their ability to hit their targets. My problem this match came down to two major factors.

1. Not enough MoS for my weapons to hurt the Black Talons: Simply stated, the Black Talons just have such high armor that x10-12 weapons really need luck on their side to get past the high armor. unfortunately I simply can't validate completely rebuilding my force with heavier firepower, but completely hampering my headcount. That sniping bazooka was one and two shooting my gears, let alone the linked Dark Naga rockets, the guided AGM, ect. less headcount would be just as deadly for me.
2. Bad Deployment: This was all on me. I knew I needed to get to the opposite side of the table by the end of the turn, but I picked a bad stationary target to take and hold and I put most of my gears in the grass rather then on the road where they could double their movement. That was just a dumb and novice move on my part. I probably could have scored more points I have had been more focused on my goals rather then staying in cover and away from the Black Talons.

So in the end, my force did well enough, but I simply didn't roll high enough to hurt the walking tanks coming at me from across the field, and I didn't deploy well enough to take advantage of the terrain on the board to support my end game goals. I think I am happy with where my force stands, as I can't control dice rolls; those will either go my way or won't. The deployment thing is all my fault, I can't blame the game for that at all. In the end it was still a fun game and I felt like it should have been closer then it was in the end. The Gear Up 5 values really helped out I think at making the PRDF and the Black Talons stand on more equal ground.

Now onto my next task, the building of a Leagueless force. I'll of course expand on this once I actually figure out exactly how I plan on doing everything.