Durgama Takeover

---- The** is *o sign of en*my movement ahea* ********** the bikes in, we will follow up **hind and deploy the monitor*** ***ipment. ---
The Malignos looked up from the listening device at the Mentor and nodded, not bothering to re-state the obvious to the imperious leader.
The Tunguska hunter killer force hadn’t detected them yet and would soon enter into the abandoned compound near the key Zebu Station. Kultarsh dismissed the Malignos who flickered out of sight as she addressed the assets she had assembled for the ambush.
“Allow the bikes to pass the threshold, hold your strike until the main body of the force has entered the kill zone”. As she relayed the orders, she subconsciously highlighted the only real threats of the meager Tunguskan troop on her team’s shared HUD. The lumbering brute designated “Kriza” by the humans could be dangerous, but they were slow. Even if it survived the initial ambush, it would be a simple matter to stay out of its line of site and eventually force its submission. Typical human approach to war, they were almost as bad as the Morats.
Kultarsh was already savoring the favor she would earn for turning in not only the target, a quantronic virtuoso who had already stymied several of their schemes, but also a captured elite soldier. Both the suit and its occupant would be dissected with utmost care to reveal their secrets.

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Across the field and out of site, a grim-faced woman in humming powered armor stared intently as the blue haired Interventor finished speaking the false instructions to her team through the compromised comm channel. With a series of brief hand signals, she ordered the Kriza back into position. Hand signals were just about the last form of truly secure communication they could rely on against the combined army, and she didn’t doubt those rat bastards were hard at working trying to crack those too. It was time to turn the tables on this "ambush".

Frontline – 300 Points
Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska vs. Shasvasti Expeditionary Force

Shasvastii win the initiative roll and elect to go second. I force them to deploy on the side with fewer Noctifer perches and make them deploy 2nd.

My style of play is generally very ARO heavy, and fairly defensive, which in turn means I rarely favor super aggressive tactics. But recently I was spanked by a Steel Phalanx list with Hector + an NCO model (something like 13 orders in 1 pool), and that made we want to ty some thing very aggressive as well, so I was very happy to get turn 1. Both Shotgun bikes roll multirifles for booty, and the SMG bike rolls a light flame thrower, and I forget she can reroll and just go with it. My opponent was trying a shtick list with basically nothing on the board. He deploys 2 Ikadrons, a Q Drone, 3 Taigas, a couple camo markers, and nothing else. His held back model ends up being a Speculo which he places in perfect position to Bording Shotgun my bikes and my link if they try and advance. Finally, my sneaky trick, I have Sforza deploy as Raoul Spector, while Raoul in truth is hiding in combat drop deployment.

He has a good placement on the Speculo, but I figure I won’t lose too much in the trade and I want to go aggressive this game, so the SMG biker scoots forward. The Speculo obliges and ARO’s the bike with a BSG template, and I shoot her with B+1 chain colt. In the end, she goes KO, Perseus loses a wound, and her and the nearby BSG bike both go KO. The 3rd biker zooms forward hoping to tempt a Noctifer into revealing and firing, but my opponent is too canny for that.

There is a great space for Raoul to drop but it is guarded by a Shas camo marker. I don’t want to take a wound this early, so I spend a couple orders to have my paramedic drag the link team (3 Securitates + Interventor) over and shoots the BSG biker in the butt, reviving her! The Bike advances around the corner to trade with the Shas camo marker. It gives up it’s ARO so I spend my next order on a discover shoot in good range. A Shrouded specialist tries to dodge but gets hit with 2 AP shots and is rendered KO’d.

With a couple orders left in the small biker pool, I have the left side BSG biker dodge around a corner to confront another camo marker. I once again discover shoot and this time bag a Caliban for my troubles! However, a Malignos materializes on the other side of the board, and takes the biker off the table with a DA shot.
However, now Spector’s landing spot is clear, and there is a juicy Malignos in his rampage area! In short order after walking on, he finishes off the downed Shrouded, takes a free shot from the Malignos to double template it (Malignos misses and dies), shoots the Ikadron to death (I was about 1mm out of rng of his return fire flamer templates!), scores a classified by passing a WIP check in my opponent’s side of the board, and kills a Taiga. In his final order, he drops a drop bear by his feat and goes prone. First time playing the combat drop version, and what a first impression!

The Shas took a beating but still have some tricks up their sleeves. First, I completely forgot that Speculo’s have regen (I played them for forever, so no excuse!), and the speculo passes! My opponent activates her. I hate the idea of losing my assault link, but I don’t want her rampage to go further, so Perseus in NWI and my Stemplr zond fire with B2. The Speculo templates each of them. In the end, Speculo is KO’d (again), spot lit, and Perseus and the Stemplr go down. Ouch!
In his small pool, a Taiga scuttles along a roof towards Raoul. It jumps around a corner to dodge into CC, but has to dodge against the drop bear. It fails the dodge, but passes armor, so just stands eyeing its prey having run out of orders.
Next, a Noctifer spitfire materializes out of thin air and blasts the remaining living biker into KO. The Noctifer then scores a classified (I think it was Extreme Prejudice on the biker?) Unfortunately due to many models still being hidden, and the damage done turn 1, that is all the orders Shas have, so the Noctifer simply re-camos and Shas pass the turn.

Well, my bikes are in the dirt, but Raoul is deep on his side of the board, and still at full health. My opponent rolls to regen the damn Speculo who passed a tonne of saves last round, but her number is up this time and she dies.
I consolidate my order pools leaving 1 KO’d bike by herself. To start off with the Kriza spends its Lt. Order to blast the Taiga looking at Raoul to death from long range.
Next Raoul climbs down the building to go hunt the Spitfire Noctifer and a 2nd Noctifer materializes to protect his buddy with an unopposed missile ARO, oh no! At +3 for range and -6 for Raoul, I am sweating, but luckily my opponent rolls a 16 and I am safe! Raoul then advances to see the Noctifer Spitfire hiding in the building. In another order, the Raoul discover shoots the Noctifer who dodges. After the dice land, the Noc is in Dogged.
Next I need to take out that missile Noctifer protecting the final Taiga on the right side. I hem and haw a LOT over whether to send Raoul on a long walk over there, or have the Kriza just shoot him. My opponent and I both decide that the Kriza is the right man for the job, even with the potential for going into my 3rd turn in LoL. My opponent then promptly drops a 9, critting the big guy into unconscious! Womp womp!
Luckily, I have enough orders for my paramedic to run over. I am not taking any chances, so I spend the extra order to get her in good range, 2 shots on 15’s and both hit, and pass, bringing the Kriza back to life. At this point I am seeing red, so the Kriza gives it another go, and this time the Noctifer eats 2 shots and goes dogged. I am in a pretty good place (I think) so I pass my turn and both Noctifers exprire.

My opponent very politely informs me that he wins. Oh yeah, retreat is a thing…LOL! Its been a while since I had the tools to go that ham, and in the blood rush I completely neglected the mission! My opponent cancels retreat on a couple models to score another classified, and a Malignos appears in the middle of the board to claim my HVT. With that, the game ends! He holds the middle, and has 3 classifieds, and I have 1 classified and hold my own zone with the Heckler.

Final Score, 5-2
Great game Phil!

Jax kicked the remains of the Shasvastii trooper dejectedly. In their zealous rush for vengeance, her team had lost sight of the goal, gathering the intel that would allow them to approach the Raven’s Eye station safely to support their beleaguered comrades. She wanted to reprimand her team, especially the Kriza, but she knew better. Ulga’s son had been serving as an advisor on the Modulo when it was hit, and that anguish had been festering since that date. The Mentor who had been their target had managed to escape, and any Shasvastii corpses they found were already too far gone to try and revive for questioning. She sighed, their search would continue.