And Now We Return To Our Program...

Well, that was fun.  Slightly unexpected break due to a trip to New York plus some studying for work but that is done now! Huzzah!  And it doesn't look like the break hurt my stats too much either as people are still be misdirected here.  Just because I called it the Sin City Dispatch doesn't mean that there are those kinds of pictures here.

And I'm still not a trucking company either.

So next week things should be getting back to normal?  Kind of?  There is the New Year thrown into the mix as well but we are planning on hitting out LGS for their New Year board game day so that should be a great way to ring out the year.  Until next time...

Workbench: It's Harvest Time!

I sat down and cracked out some more terrain pieces and the outpost is really coming together.

In particular I like how the farms have turned out.

The crops are mounted in groups on bases so they can be removed to make positioning minis easier.  I was going to mount the plants individually but decided that doing rows of plants would be more easier to make and move around as well.

I also finished the roofs for the small and large hab units which really tied these pieces together nicely.  I'm still debating on signage for them but for now they are good.

Speaking of signs, I did put the Porta-Mat sign on the back of the transmat and then dirtied it up some.  A pretty minor thing but I like how it breaks up the flat surface on the backside.

Of course you can't have a farm without having an old farm truck.

Nothing too fancy but I thought it would be a fun touch.  On the back is one of the storage containers I'll be putting together.  For those who might not recognize it, it's the case that replacement blades for a Harry's razor come in.  I had been thinking about adding some plastic card to it but I might just slap a coat of paint on it to see how it looks.

I still have some more buildings to get painted but I'm going to finish those off next week.  That said I really like how it is all coming together from a visual point of view and the overall density of the cover as well.  Having things to break up line of sight is important in Antares and I'm looking forward to push around some miniatures again soon.

I need to pick up some storage totes to better store and transport my pieces but then I'll be shifting gears back to working on my minis.  It's been a couple of months now but I think that this has been a really good break for me.  Now the question is which faction should to look to expand first...  Until next time...

Workbench: Beam Me Up Imtel!

Short week this time but I was able to throw together the transmat for my outpost.  I was even able to get some paint on it as well.  Behold the latest tool for the up and coming colony outpost, the Porta-Mat!

I followed through with the cargo container concept (it's the new C3 everybody!) but this time there was a slight twist.  Instead of having it as a refurbished container, my idea was that this unit could be dropped onto a planet and quickly unfolded into a functional transmat.

I have also picked out the "crop" for my container fields but I left some of my materials back at home so those will have to wait until next week.  Slow but steady progress is still progress after all.  Until next time...

Workbench: Babylon Binge And The Outpost

This week has been all about Babylon 5 and working on my outpost.  Normally I think I'd feel guilty about sitting down and watching a 23 episode season of a TV series in three nights but this time, I feel like I've been really productive.  In fact, here is what I've done this week for my Antares outpost.

The outpost buildings along with other terrain pieces I've been working on.

As can be seen, I still need to get paint onto most of the pieces but they are all fully constructed complete with roofs.  As I've mentioned before, there are no interiors for these buildings but I should be able to make some modular units that I can slide into the units if I really wanted to.  Thankfully the rules for buildings in Antares are kind of abstract so the interiors aren't needed.

Beyond the buildings that I've already touched on, I came up with couple of new pieces in the form of a contained field of crops.

Some friendly Ghar coming in town for the farmer's market.

I'd originally seen these as going onto the second level of one of my hab clusters but for now I'm using them as free standing pieces.  I also added a piece of foam core along the bottom of that I can use for "soil" although it would be easy enough to swap it out for another function as well.  Ultimately all of the hab modules are meant to be... well, modular.  The idea is that they can be positioned in a number of different layouts and environs.  Really trying to maximize how functional it is.  It's going to be an extended long weekend for me, but I'll have to see how much I get painted once I get back out here.  Until next time...

Workbench: Two Habs And A Landing Pad

I was able to get some more work done on the outpost and though its been slow and steady, I really like how it's pulling together.  The changes that I made splitting the adhesive foam sheets along the corners is working well.  I'd been concerned about the gap between the joins in the foamcore being an issue but it has been working out very well.  As I mentioned, hot gluing it would be an option so that I could keep the foam sheet in one piece but its one that I'd prefer to avoid if possible.  So far so good, but I still plan on pacing myself so I can adjust my methods as I move forward.

Though a transmat will form the hub of the outpost, it only makes sense to have a landing pad as a backup and it's also a nice visual element.  I'd thought about leaving the surface of the pad plain but it covers such a large area so I'm glad that I decided to break it up instead.  It would be easy enough to put some scatter terrain such as crates on it but the seams and repairs on it help to keep the surface visually more interesting.  The platform itself is also raised up on a hill and the barrier along the edge gives cover, making it a good objective or defensive position.

I also put together most of a second extra hab pod.  For this design, I decided to go with a longer pod and place the door in the side of the unit instead of the end.  Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out though I still need to add a roof.  Eventually I will probably add more details but for now it gives me a very serviceable building to add to the board.

The warehouse/hanger and a second long hab unit are still in progress but as I mentioned before I'm trying to refine my methods on each piece instead of rushing in headlong.  In the past I've gotten too ambitious and found that my methods weren't working as I'd hoped, ultimately discouraging me and then I just walk away from the whole project in frustration.  Going with this slower route, its letting me identify and correct problems as I go.  This is definitely more time consuming but I feel like the end results are really paying off.  Until next time...

Workbench: Slightly Delayed Small Hab Update

(Dispatcher note: This post was supposed to go up on the 23rd... so I left it with that date.  There is more coming soon. Enjoy!)

As I feared, the adhesive on the foam sheet wasn't strong enough to hold on the corners.  It was an easy fix as I just pulled back the foam along the length of it and hit it with a quick shot of hot glue.  Definitely stuck now though I've changed my methods on my next piece, but first...

Here is the painted small hab, complete with roof even!  I'm thinking I might go back and hit it with some graffiti or other markings but for now its usable.

I just left the interior as a gaping black void but with the abstract way that units in buildings are handled in Antares, this shouldn't be an issue.  That said, I think it would be pretty easy to add a removable interior if I wanted to but that can wait for now.

Overall I'm happy with the design and they have been fairly easy to pull together.  I still have a number more to make for my Freeborn outpost (maybe half a dozen or so?) but I think they will look pretty cool once they're done.  As an added plus, I'm going to be leaving them separate pieces so they will be very flexible for terrain set up.

To go back to the changing method that I mentioned before, I decided to try cutting the bent plates along the edges into two pieces instead of wrapping it around.  Given the gap along the edges, I was worried about how well they would adhere but so far it has been working fairly well.  No pics yet but either later this week or next I will have at least a grey dry brush on it which will make the details easier to see instead of the matte black foamcore.  Until next time...

Workbench: Small Hab Detailed And Base Coated! Huzzah!

Over the weekend I grabbed some of the adhesive foam sheets I'd mentioned last week and got to work on adding some details.  The material is just the right thickness that it adds some depth to the structure without being too exaggerated.

I am concerned about how well the adhesive will hold on some of the pieces so I'll have to take a look tomorrow to see if there is any lifting.  Even if there is, the fix is to just hit it with a hot glue gun but I'm hoping that the regular adhesive is going to be strong enough to do the job.  Even so, I'm not the patient sort so I threw some paint onto the small hab unit to see how it took and I'm really liking it so far.

The structure is much easier to see with some paint on there to give contrast.  I was also able to skip the step of undercoating anything by just using black materials which made the whole process much faster.

I am going to go back and add some more painted details to this piece to give it a little more personality but structurally it is good to go... well, except for the roof of course.  Very basic compared to work by other people but I think it will do the job nicely and ties in well with the style for the rest of my terrain.  Beyond this piece, I have also started finishing off the landing pad and warehouse though I want to see how the adhesive holds before I get too carried away with them.  More on those later this week.  Until next time...

Workbench: Building A New Frontier

Tuesday I read through an interesting article on the Antares Nexus about the different architectural styles common to the various factions.  I'd read this before but this time it really clicked for me. Within fifteen minutes I had an idea for a Freeborn outpost and within half an hour I had already started sketches and construction.

The basic idea for the outpost was somewhat inspired by the idea of Mos Shuuta from the Edge of the Empire adventure, Long Arm of the Hutt.  For those not familiar, Mos Shuuta is basically the base of operations for one of the lesser known Hutts, Teemo the Hutt.  The town itself is a small compound with Teemo's palace, a couple of docking bays, and a small town that has grown around these.  With that kind of an image in mind, I quickly sketched out a rough layout for my own Freeborn outpost.

In this case the center of the outpost would be an open plaza with a transmat in the very center.  This space would serve several functions within the outpost, from being a market for goods to a rallying point for troops.  Arrayed around this space are the rest of the structures, providing shelter from the elements and acting as a barrier to protect the transmat.  As a backup for moving goods and people in and out of the outpost, there is also a large raised landing platform.

This pad is large enough to accommodate a shuttle and also has a wall around its perimeter, allowing it to also function as a defensive position.  Construction of this piece was very simple since it is basically a flat surface but I also decided to add the ramp and exterior walls just to make it more interesting visually.  There are also some details made from off cuts that I used to decorate the edge of the wall just to give it a bit more of a pop.

The next building I decided to tackle was the warehouse/hanger.  This is another large structure that also features a large door in the front to allow cargo or even vehicles to be moved in or out of it.

The largest vehicle I own currently is the C3T7 and that fits through with room to spare so I think that most of the other vehicles should be able to fit through as well.  Again I grabbed some of the interesting off cuts that I had lying around after cutting out the pieces and used those to add some surface details to the structure.

With those two major features out of the way, I decided to focus on some of the habitation modules I would use in the outpost.  The concept is that most of the buildings are basically repurposed pods which made things easy once I worked up a basic design concept.

In addition to being used for the hab centers, I am also going to build a couple of the larger units to use as domari and vardinari barracks.

The final piece for the outpost (other than the transmat of course) will be the manor house of the vard.  This will be the largest piece in the outpost and will have multiple levels as well, making it the defensive heart of the outpost.  This one is still more of a concept at the moment but I am going to follow the container theme that I have been carrying through, just making it a bit more elaborate is all.

So far I'm happy with how these are coming out though there is the issue of the seams between the plates.  I tried using hot glue to fill the valleys but once they dried they became quite concave.  Instead I want to pick up some adhesive foam sheets to use for various details, in particular as angle pieces running along those corners.  That should make them look a lot cleaner structurally and using the foam should let me quickly add some details to the various buildings.  Then I can start hitting these with paint and I think that will really make them pop, but more on that next week.  Until next time...

Random Updates: The Mass Is Effecting Me!

Just kind of place holder post here as Mass Effect 2 ate up a chunk of my free time this past week.  I'd forgotten it was on my laptop until last week and I just wound up diving right into it.  Going heavier on the paragon path than I did the first time I played the game just too see the difference.

I also watched season one and two of One Hit Die on Amazon Prime... which apparently are actually seasons two and three?  Hmmm...  Apparently there is more to watch this week.  Well, the two that I watched were Legend of the Lich Lord and the Devouring Dungeon.

They describe themselves as Lord of the Rings meets the Office which I guess I can see though I have pretty limited experience with the Office (I might have to give it another try).  I found foth of the One Hit Die movies/series were pretty amusing and if you like things like the Gamers series, I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

This doesn't mean that there was no hobby this week, just much less than I had expected.  More progress was made on my hills plus I brought down more forest material that I'm going to redo.  The original pieces are from years ago and had a tree hot glued in the center of a CD. I'd done this to create small woodland area terrain but I prefer the newer style I've been doing with the tree being on its own base.  This makes it a bit easier to play around as you can move the tree on the woodland base so that it's out of the way or even just remove it if need be.  This also lets me make denser terrain pieces since the terrain elements themselves are removable and don't limit game play.

I'm also still organizing things as far as storage and it's slowly getting there.  Since I'm effectively living out of a hotel right now, it does create some interesting new challenges but overall I think that things are coming together slowly but surely.  The next step is getting out and exploring locally to check out the local game stores in the Boston area... which means suffering through afternoon traffic.  I've seen worse (I'm looking at you Ohio!) but it can get pretty tedious.  "Wow, it's only two miles away!  I should be there in about 30 minutes."

Workbench: The World Is Taking Shape

My plans for more painting have been temporarily put on hold (It's all your fault Shepard!) but the terrain has been coming along very well. Here is a shot of the 4' x 4' board with a variety of terrain laid out to give you an idea.

I even played another solo game to try this mix out.  Algoryn vs Concord in a 500 point skirmish game.  Algoryn won again thanks to their dirty x launcher.  "You get a pin and you get a pin and you get a pin!"  Still fun and good to keep the rules fresh in my mind.  It also inspired me to make more hills.  How many more?  Well...

About this many.  As you can see a good chunk of these are still in progress but I should be able to get them finished up next week.  I'm also going to grab some of my old forest terrain from home over the weekend and re-base it so that it matches up with what I'm currently using.  Slowly but surely making progress... as long as I can keep from playing too much Mass Effect 2.  Until next time...

Workbench: The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Mag Guns...

Last week was almost a bust thanks to the changing seasons.  Gotta love allergies.  Thankfully things are slowly getting back on track this week and I decided to dive into expanding my terrain options.  I've been brainstorming some ideas for buildings constructed from foam core but need to grab a couple of white pens before I can really push forward with those.  Why white?  Instead of using the plain white boards, I decided to use black boards instead.  This should make the painting process a bit since there is no base coating required; it's already black!  It'll be interesting to see how it actually plays out but fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I dug out a utility knife and started cutting up some of the spare insulation board to make some hills.  Inspiration for the technique is straight from the Tabletop Warlords, specifically the Modular Hills episode from their Antares Build playlist.  Currently it's the only episode in that playlist but that's because of all the other Gates of Antares content they've been churning out which I definitely recommend checking out.

For my hills, I followed most of Kevin's suggestions and so far I'm really happy with the end result.  I did "flock" mine slightly differently (aka not at all) because I glued cut fabric to the tops instead of going whole hog with more traditional basing material.  This keeps them in line with my other terrain pieces though and I think that will help pull them all together visually.

Just a quick shot for this week but I think they look pretty good.

In addition to the hills, I've also started shaping some of the off cuts into boulders so I can put together some rocky outcroppings.  This will mix up my terrain options a bit more and add more variety to the mix.  So far I'm sticking with my more verdant board but eventually I'll start working on putting together my desert world as well.  As I already had a head start with the green board, it only makes sense to finish that one first and then move on.  This also works well for other gaming options as the green board can be used for other systems a bit easier than my shocking yellow desert.

I'm also going to try to do something to kick start my painting.  With my three armies nearly complete, I've been having a heck of a time sitting down to finish the few models that I have left.  I've tried painting other genres to try to kick the painters block to the curb but there's been enough of a break that I'm really frustrated with the quality that I'm producing.  Only I get the current projects situated, I'm going to try to work out a painting routine doing just one figure a day to keep my hand in practice.  Most of these will be just quick paint jobs but that seems like the perfect thing for this time of year.  After all, it's almost Zomtober.  Normally I'm not a big zombie fan but I did pick up some of the Zombicide Black Plague game.  These will fit into any fantasy setting quite nicely and this will be the perfect excuse to get some paint on them.  Until next time...

Workbench: Civil War - It's Not Just For Marvel Anymore!

Back when I first started picking up miniatures for Antares, I decided right away that I didn't want to field any of my armies with the studio paint schemes.  This wasn't because I didn't like them, but because I really liked the open sandbox approach that Warlord and the Antares community have as a whole.  It's your army, paint them anyway you like!

As time has gone by and the story has started to advance, I must admit that I am going to start collecting figures using schemes inspired by the studio paint jobs.  It only seems fitting as I start working two new Algoryn forces inspired by the recent talk of potential civil war.

On one side, you have the disgraced Tar Es Janar.  After his treasonous behavior at Xilos, Tar Es Janar was exiled from the Protectorate but not all felt that this was justified.  While he did break normal protocols, his actions helped deny the Ghar a foothold on Xilos.  Forced out into the wilds of the Determinate, there are those still loyal who have been quietly gathering their strength in anticipation of the day of his return.

Meanwhile, the vacuum left by his exile created the ideal opening for Ess Ma Rahq to ascend to what she feels is her rightful place.  Already the commander of the Special Division, the success of the hazard armor has brought her even more favor with the Council.

So my plan for this is to build a small force for both sides of this conflict.  For the exiled legions of Tar Es Janar, I want to focus on assault squads supported by standard AI squads.  Meanwhile, Ess Ma Rahq has been able to tap into the power her position in the Special Division so her force would consist of mostly hazard squads and infiltrator squads, possibly with some standard AI squads to fill things out.  Of course since they are all Algoryn, the color scheme will be the big difference here; the traditional Algoryn red for the exiles while the ominous forces of the Special Division will be black.

This is still just in the concept stages right now but it's something I want to work towards.  Still, the journey of a hundred minis begins with a single brushstroke.  Until next time...

Workbench: Making A Better "Tabletop"

As I've mentioned, I am currently traveling for work which makes gaming a challenge to say the least.  Thankfully it an extended stay so I have the same hotel room which does make things easier, but there is still the overall space issue.  A two room suite is not even close to the amount of space in a typical home or apartment.

To try to work around this, I had brought down four 2' x 2' boards that I had attached some cloth to so I could use them as terrain board as is.  Unfortunately the one and only table in the hotel room is pretty thin so putting the boards on it can be a little nerve wracking.  During the game I played last week with Concord vs Algoryn, there were a couple of times that I nearly flipped one of the sections when I leaned on it.

Functional but mildly stress inducing

To get around this, I went out and picked up an 8' x 4' inch thick insulation board.  My original plan was to chop off a 2' section from the end so I could have a 6' x 4' topper.  After some thought, I decided to cut it down to a 4' x 4' topper instead due to the size of the room.

This still left the issue of the overall size.  4' x 4' is a good size for gaming but its still tricky to store it away in a hotel room.  The solution for this was to split it into two 4' x 2' tables and add a "hinge".

The "new and improved" table top

In this case the "hinge" is made with duct tape.  I laid out the two boards next to each other and ran a line of tape along the seam.  Then I folded the "table" in half and ran another piece of tape along the two edges along the seam.  This lets me fold the topper in half and the extra tape should make it a little sturdier.

It's so shiny...

Of course I'll have to see how it works in application but I thinking it should work out nicely.  And as an added plus, I also have all of the extra foamboard to start making some vertical terrain.  That's right, it's time to get some hills!  Huzzah!  I really like how all of my vegetation has been turning out but I'm really excited to add the third dimension to the board.  More on that soon.  Until next time...

Random Updates: Having The Wrong Kind Of Flood

Little light on the miniature front this week thanks to some flooding by the pressure tank for our well.  Thankfully nothing was seriously damaged and the bill wasn't as bad as it could have been.  It does mean that I was a bit late getting down to Boston though so I won't have much chance to do anything miniature related.

That said, I did manage to play some games over the weekend that were a ton of fun.  On Saturday we went over to our friend's house after they helped us get the flooding under control.  To get our minds off of things, we played a game of Azul and Bohnanza, and then later I played a game of Wingspan.  Great fun with all of them, though I'll admit that I'm not sure if Wingspan would be one my wife would enjoy.  Beautiful looking game and interesting to play, but the engine building mechanic on a game about birds... not sure if it fits.  I definitely want to play it again as it had a nice crunch to it, but I can see it not being for everyone.  Azul on the other hand, that's one that I will definitely be adding to our gaming collection.

As for the miniatures, I must admit that I'm showing a massive about of restraint.  Currently Warlord Games is running their End of Summer Celebration Sale and the deals are both crazy and really tempting.  That said, I think I'm actually going to pass on this one so I can focus on some very important things; namely terrain (aka: a better gaming board) and miniature storage.

I currently have four 2' x 2' boards in the hotel so I can put together a 4' x 4' table but its not the most sturdy.  In fact I almost lost a chunk of miniatures a couple of times last week so I'm thinking I need to pick up a 1" thick piece of insulation foam.  This comes in 4' x 8' boards which means I'll be able to chop off a couple of feet and use that to build some hills while still having a full size surface to play on.

I also don't have any way to safely transport my Ghar or my T7 transport so I really need to take steps to correct that.  Sure they are at the hotel right now, but I found a game store up in New Hampshire that wants to start running Antares games.  It's a bit of a drive but I think I'm going to try to head up that way in the next couple of weeks to check things out.  Thus, good storage in general is kind of a priority.  Why spend all the time painting them if you are just going to throw them into a box, right?

Sometimes it sucks being logical but at this point, I think the best use of my gaming dollars.  Then again, if it leads to more and better gaming... well, that's definitely not a bad thing.  Until next time...

Gates of Antares Battle Report: Algoryn vs Concord Reinforce the Position, Part Two

And now the conclusion of the Reinforce the Position battle report.  At the end of turn three, neither side had managed to gain the upper hand.  The AI assault squad had taken a lot of pins from a net round early in the game but managed to quickly shrug them off, only to be hit with another net round.  The Algoryn were giving as good as they were getting though, lobbing multiple net rounds at the Concord support drones, rendering them virtually useless.  Which side will reign supreme?  Let's get back to the game and find out.

Turn Four

This turn opened with the AI assault squad trying to take advantage of their position to charge the nearby Strike squad.  Unfortunately they couldn't manage to pass their command check and were forced to go down instead.

The nearby AI squad showed them how it was done, charging into assault against the same Strike squad.  The Concord troops tried to ready themselves against their opponents only to fail their reaction miserably.  This combined with the incoming fire from the Algoryn left the Concord troops seriously rattled and made them useless in the assault.  Loosing one of their own, things looked grim for the Concord soldiers but somehow they managed to keep it together long enough to weather a follow up assault and even take down the micro x trooper in the AI squad.

After the fight, both squads consolidated back towards cover to try to get into a better position for the next turn.

The AI squad in the center of the board went next but they were still too rattled by the previous attacks, going down as they failed their command check to run.  The Algoryn streak continued though with one of the x-launchers firing.  They dropped another net round on the support drones and this time it was too much for them to process.  The drones broke and fled the table, leaving one of the Strike squads standing in the middle of the board with no batter field.

Hoping to return the favor, the Concord x-launcher lobbed its own net round at the AI assault squad, adding another single pin to the unit trapped in the woodland.

The second AI support team fired next, this time using a conventional x-launcher round against the severely shaken Strike squad on the western side of the board.  Unlike all the net rounds, this one went wide and exploded harmlessly in front of the Strike troopers.

The Strike squad in open middle of the board braced themselves and opened fire on the assault squad.  Several shots hit home but bounced off the reflex armor with no effect.

The Strike command squad ordered the nearby Strike squad forward and the two units ran into the woodlands by the AI squad laying in ambush.  Most of the AI troops couldn't get a line of sight though so they held onto the ambush order a bit longer.

The mag cannon team felt differently, letting loose a round that blasted a hole right through one of the Strike troopers.

The turn ended with the western Strike squad rallying to shed a majority of their pins and the AI medic team moving up to support the AI squad in the nearby woodlands.  Wrapping things up, the AI squad on ambush return their die to the bag, and the down AI squad and assault squads both pass the test to return their order dice as well.

Turn Five

Concord started this turn with the deafening sound of silence as their x-launcher team tried to fire a dude round.  Ironically enough the Algoryn didn't fare any better as their assault team, now free of pins, got too tangled in the woodland to move at all.

The western AI squad went next, opening fire on the nearby Strike squad who took the opportunity to fire back.  A flurry of rounds later and both units had lost a trooper to their opponents fusillade.

The Strike squad in the center of the field advanced brave as brass and fired on the batter AI squad that had run to get into cover.  They didn't have line of sight to the whole unit but they were able to get them down to a sole survivor who bravely stood his ground.

The eastern Strike squad went next, advancing out of the woodland to open fire on the AI squad.  Most of the rounds bounced off harmlessly but one of them did strike home, killing the AI squad leader.

Undaunted, the AI squad charged the Strike squad, taking down the Concord squad leader in turn as they charged forward.  Neither side could get an upper hand in the ensuing melee and both squads fell back to regroup.

One of the AI support teams tried to follow up against the same Concord squad, dropping a standard round right on top of them.  The Strike troopers were to well dug in though and easily weathered the blast.

The Strike command squad opened fire on the AI squad but their plasma bolts bounced off the Algoryn reflex armor, having little effect.

The rest of the turn was the Algoryn troops repositioning and readying themselves for the final turn.  The medic team held their position, the mag cannon support team went into ambush, and other support team moved forward into the woodland to try to get a line of sight.

Going into potentially the last turn, things were still fairly balanced though casualties were starting to pile up on both side.

Turn Six

This turn a miracle happened; the AI assault squad actually did something!  Charging forward from the mass of brambles they had been tied up in, the assault squad slammed into the Stike squad in the center of the field.  The rejoicing was short lived as two of their number were gunned down by the Strike troopers but the caused a casualty themselves so all wasn't lost.

With their d-spinners set for plasma grenades, the three remaining assault troopers tore into the Strike troopers... and took only took out one of them while two of the assault troopers fell.  The squad leader was undaunted though and held his ground!

The Concord troops followed up their advantage and dog piled onto the assault leader, taking him down though another of their numbers fell in the melee.  Overall not the most impressive showing but it was definitely better than being stuck in the woods.

The remnants of the Concord squad fell back into the nearby woodland to try to get some cover from the other AI squads that hadn't activated yet.

The Concord support team went next and landed a net round right on top of the closest AI squad.  This proved to be too much for them and they quickly ran from the field.

The western AI squad opened fire on the same Concord team as last turn but this time the Strike were caught by surprise with one of their numbers falling to the incoming mag rounds.

Looking to press their advantage on the shaken Concord squads, one of the AI support teams launched a net round to try to break them.  The round went wide, just falling short of hitting the nearby Strike command squad.

The second support team fared better.  Their round deviated but still managed to hit their target, racking up a number of pins on the command squad.

The central Strike squad tried to take a shot at the closest AI squad but it the strain was too much, forcing them down for the turn.

Meanwhile, the AI medic team advanced to the edge of the woodland and opened fire on the western Strike squad.  Their tender ministrations dropped another C3 trooper and sent the last one running for the hills.

The eastern Strike squad opened fire on the lone AI trooper hiding behind the building but weren't able to get any of their shots to connect.  He responded by firing back but wasn't able to pierce their hyper light armor.

And with that... the game was over.  The die roll for an extra turn came up with a 1, definitively drawing the action to a close but the question remains... which side won?  Since neither side was broken, the point values of the units that were removed are used to determine the winner.  On the Concord side of the table, the C3D1 light support drone unit was taken out along with one of the Strike squads, coming up with a grand total of 273 points.  On the Algoryn side, they lost the AI assault squad and one AI squad for a total of 267 points meaning they just barely squeak by with a win.

Mistakes Made and Things Learned

I believe this was the first time that I tried fielding such well rounded lists and it was interesting to see how the pieces all fit together.  The support units really do help round out the forces and can be a valuable asset to have though in the future I want to try running them differently.

I think it would be better to split up the C3D1 drones and give them each a batter drone.  This would let them move around the battlefield independently and provide cover for other units as they advance.  That said I think I would leave the spotter drones off of them.  Since I see them a supporting tactical units which should already have spotters, it seems a bit to redundant and kind of a points sink to put them on the support drones as well.

Meanwhile, I think I'll skip the batter drone for the support squad with an x-launcher.  With overhead spotter patching, the support team will probably be out of line of sight so the points for a batter drone would probably be better spent elsewhere.

On the Algoryn side of things, I want to get some more AI assault troopers so I can field a larger squad.  I'll admit that they really haven't been very effective for me but hopefully with another couple of bodies in there it will help.  I really like the concept behind them so it would be great to have them be a viable choice for an army.

The other thing I might do is drop the medic team.  I've never had them in position to use them as medics though having a small two man team with mag guns isn't a bad thing.  Still I can't help but wonder if perhaps there might be a better use for the points.

Something that applies for both factions is the various special ammunition types.  This game I primarily used net ammo to pile on the pins.  I looked at the other kinds and tried to look for situations that they would be helpful but I just wasn't seeing anything.  I might try dropping the other types for now and then expand to include more as I identify situations that they could be useful.  This would probably be easier from a rules point of view as well as I would only have to remember one type of speical muntion instead of five.

The same applies for the special munitions for the micro-x and slingnet launchers.  I genuinely forgot about overload and slingnet munitions so I might drop down to one of them for now so that using it becomes second nature.  Once this happens, I can look at adding or swapping in the other type as needed.  It will also free up some more points and give me a bit more to play with.

Of course none of these things are really mistakes, but there was a doozy that I was making; spotter OH patching can only be done through one spotter drone.  I was thinking that you could patch through multiple drones which is the main reason there was some much overhead fire in the first couple of turns.  Whoopsy!  Let's count that as a lesson learned, shall we?

Final Thoughts

So now the question is what's next?  I'm thinking I might break out the Ghar and give them a test drive; see how the distort die and all their other rules change the game.  That said, it also might be good to do another game or two with the more normal armies to make sure some of these rules are second nature first.  I also have a friend that has said he would be interested in a demo so I need to figure out when we can fit that it as well; it's always better to have another opponent to play against instead of just pushing around the models solo.  There is also at least one gaming store locally that I want to check out, plus another in New Hampshire that I know hosts Antares games so there are definietly some options out there.  Until next time...