Mars Base Sara - Battle Report

With my two armies painted, it was time to try out the rules.  This test battle was to be a 300 pt Dog-Fight played on a 6' x 4' table.  As I said above, this is my first go at RRT and was played solo.

Zentradi Forces (300pts):

• Attrition Squad of 12 Battle Pods - 70 pts
• Glaug - 20 pts
• Khyron - 10 pts
• Recon Squad of 6 Battle Pods, 1 Recon Pod, 1 Gluag- 70 pts
• Grell - 5 pts
• Artillery Squad of 4 Light Artillery Pods and 2 Heavy Artillery Pods- 90 ts
• Regult Squad of 6 Battle Pods- 35 pts

UEDF Forces (290pts):

• Veritech Squadron of 1 VF-1J and 3 VF-1As - 80 pts
• Rick Hunter - 10 pts
• VF-S1 - 30 pts
• Roy Fokker - 30 pts
• Armored Destroid Squadron of 4 Tomahawks - 80 pts
• Close Quarters Destroid Squadron of 4 Spartans - 60 pts

Deployment:

The Zentradi deployed with their Artillery on the right, Khyron's squad on the left and Grell's recon squad in the middle.  The UEDF deployed with the Spartans facing Khyron, the Tomahawks in the middle and Skull Squadron on the left flank, aiming to strafe the table.

Turn 1:

The UEDF got the initiative and began by damaging few pods from the Artillery squadron using their dual heavy particle accelerator cannons.  Close Formation shielding prevented the artillery pods from being destroyed  The Artillery pods returned fire destroying one of the Tomahawks in a hail storm of missile fire.  The Vertiechs the came in fast and hard destroying 4 of their number, then turning away and hitting their afterburners to get out of range.

 On Khyron's flank, the Spartans took cover behind Riber's barracks while Khyron and his pods leaped forward to close the gap.

Turn 2:

The Zentradi got the initiative giving Khyron's squad a chance to attack but with little effect as his fire only managed to damage one of the Spartans.  His Glaug was damaged in return by a volley of destroid missiles.

 

Grell surged forward shooting wildly at the veritechs, but the dice gods were against him.  In return, Roy, Rick and his squadron switched to guardian and unleashed hell destroying Grell's Glaug and 4 of the remaining pods with amazing dice rolls.

 
Two of the remaining tomahawks fell to accurate missile fire while another of the battle pods exploded from a well placed tomahawk shot.

Turn 3:

The UEDF regained initiative and things got messy as the Spartans took the pods on in hand to hand combat destroying Six pods in the process.  Khryon's squad returned fire damaging all 4 Spartans.

Things went from bad to worse for the Zentradi as Skull Squadron destroyed the remainder of Grell's scouts.  The lone Tomahawk retreated to cover and took down another pod while the Artillery squad turned its attention to the vertiechs and failing to hit any of them.

Turn 4:

 The UEDF continued their assault as Roy, Rick and the boys let loose with rapid fire GU-11 rounds and mowed down the last of the artillery pods  The lone tomahawk finished off the last Regult with a volley of missiles.

Meanwhile, Khyron and his squad managed to destroy one of the Spartans, while trying to avoid kicks and power punches.

Turn 5:

On the finial turn, Khyron finished off another Spartan with a blast from his duel rail cannons.  Rick and Roy switched back to guardian mode, boosted their speed and caught Khyron in the flank with gun pod fire, dropping the proud warlord.  At this point, the UEDF called a retreat just before Lisa Hayes detonated the base's reflex furnace.  

 "They are mad!" - Khyron

Observations:

• The rules are good, surprisingly good, so thumbs up to David Freeman and Carmen Bellaire.
• Veritechs are awesome, very fast, very agile and powerful in numbers.
• Is Roy Fokker worth it... Hell Ya!  He is a stone cold killer.
• Zentradi need to use Close Formation to keep more powerful pods like the artillery and Glaugs alive and to gain to hit bonuses.
• Heavy Artillery pods are mecha killers, so hit hard and fast with them, using their 48" range and blast ability before they themselves are taken out.
• Spartans are nasty in close combat, but weak at ranged.  Their 6 defense keeps them alive.
• Have a side table available to keep all your data cards on.  
• Record keeping can be a bit of a chore so stay organized.
• Learn your weapon ranges.
• I didn't have enough Command point tokens for my Zentradi.  I may settle for D20s to keep track of them in the future.
• When defending, use Anti-missile systems or dodge, then close formation shielding, then roll with impact in that order.  Its tricky at first, but it gets easier the more you play.

Well that is it for today.  Coming soon...

• Vermillion Squadron... Max and Ben join Rick Hunter
• Objective Markers...  Finally a use for those unused munitions and recon pods.
• Explosion markers... a reason to gut your teddy bears.
• Part 3 of the Robotech Battlecry Malcontent Uprisings
• My friend Ryan and I begin our 3 game campaign for the conquest of Mars Base Sara.