Battletech Alpha Strike: Battle Report 2

[@elbanditouk]

Good to see some more battletech. Part of the fun watching your battle report is seeing the dice rolls for combat - this is where the excitement is.

[@warcorgi3623]

I feel confident enough in our math to have that in reports going forward. Stay tuned!

[@danfocke]

I started getting into alpha strike over covid, and I'm still really enjoying it. Winning initiative can be really important. Especially if you are moving whole formations at a time (lances, stars, etc). It can take a bit longer, but you might try moving individual mechs or vehicles instead. Or maybe just pairs. This will somewhat lessen the advantage of winning initiative. Winning initiative will still be strong, but not as important.

[@warcorgi3623]

We haven't decided what point limit we would like to play regularly. That will definitely have an impact on the method we use to move mechs.

[@AndyPaintsPoorly]

Five archers?! You menace haha

[@kaminhuffcutt5103]

Love to see more Battletech! Glad to see you guys are enjoying it.

[@warcorgi3623]

Thanks! This game is incredibly deep. That fits our style nicely!

[@jamesripley8031]

A note about Wheeled movement- the rule about wheeled vehicles moving slower off of roads applies specifically to “wheeled support vehicles” which, in my experience at least, are rarely used. The tanks used in this battle are “combat vehicles” so that rule doesn’t apply to them. Feel free to use their full move value!

[@warcorgi3623]

We appreciate the clarification! Chris will be happy to hear this for sure.

[@georgekilgore9294]

Alpha strike is awesome. Im glad to see you posting some gameplay!

[@warcorgi3623]

We have definitely been enjoying it. More to come!

[@fballoqui]

More games!!!

[@warcorgi3623]

Worked on getting the new faction painted up tonight. They should be making their debut on the channel soon.

[@kaminhuffcutt5103]

A couple tactical thoughts - I am extremely cautious when moving in the open in Alpha Strike, I nearly always take care to plan my routes so that I can move from cover to cover, as being caught in the open can be death unless you have a high TMM. (Remember that intervening woods are a different modifier than cover, so if you can get both you're golden.) Standing still is also rarely worth it in my experience unless you are already likely going to die or really really need to kill a specific mech that turn, especially if you have high skill mechs like War Corgi does. Simultaneously, I'm more aggressive with fast light mechs and battle armor because they really only excel when pressuring your opponent by threatening their rear or, in the case of battle armor, making their special Anti-Mech melee attack. (It's really good - it's a guaranteed critical hit plus any normal critical hits from hitting structure.) Chris might get more mileage out of his infantry if he can use their ability to cling to Omni-mechs to cart them around the battlefield on small fast mechs, especially since the Clan Nova formation can allow them to make shooting attacks while being carried.

[@warcorgi3623]

Thanks for all of that, even the advise to my arch nemesis Chris. In all seriousness, we just want to get better at the game so we can give the community better batreps. After that, then we can get really competitive!

[@VelcroSnake93]

Just an FYI since I don't know how much you guys are aware of the lore and reason behind some of those Mechs having two names, but for the ones that have a second name like 'Mad Cat (Timber Wolf)', you can call them either a Mad Cat or a Timber Wolf. Timber Wolf is the original name of the mech by the Clans, and Mad Cat is the name they were given by the Inner Sphere when they saw the mech for the first time, not knowing what it was. Sorry if you were already aware.

[@chrispetersen6727]

Thanks! I certainly didn’t know 😅

[@honstalys]

Just FYI, something I learned... Wheeled Combat Vehicles can go offroad and do not pay the movement penalty. That's for support vehicles.... which are a very special category.

[@alecciarosewater7438]

What are the tanks supposed to do in this setting? They seem a bit slow to survive a mech battle and don't match the retro-future vibe and if it costs as much as a locust then shouldn't their commander buy a locust instead

[@warcorgi3623]

@@alecciarosewater7438 they are very survivable and arguably have better fire power than a locust. I thought Chris’ tanks performed very well.

[@chrispetersen6727]

Also these tanks should have been moving faster 😅 we are learning the treaded movement rules and what types of vehicles they apply to.

[@jamesripley8031]

What’s the source of your roads? I like the ones with yellow stripes!