Part 2: Federated Suns vs Calderon Protectorate | BattleTech Alpha Strike Battle Report | ilClan Era

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After successfully defending the coastline, the Federated Suns lay a dastardly trap for their foes…
AFFS reconnaissance units have identified a Calderon assault lance moving to secure a data center in a narrow canyon pass. Units from the Crucis Lancers and Avalon Hussars are moving to pincer the Calderon 'mechs and prevent them from advancing further.
However, a localized dust storm has hampered progress, and the assault lance is much closer to their objective than the Federated Suns would like…
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[@TinBane]

Aaron is taking demolishers? He must really want to show off those models. Aaron: “I’m taking gauss equipped demolishers” That makes more sense!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

You know me well haha

[@joshua425]

It this channel which sparked my interest and hobbie of battletech. Without you guys I wouldn't have bought mechs from the clan invasion and now the mercenary kickstarter. You guys are doing amazing promoting and pushing battletech. 😊

[@thomberg3457]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

+1 thank you Joshua!

[@sebastiang.5032]

Love the two-camera setup! Very well done! 🐺 💪

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks! It came out pretty well!

[@troyradford75]

Woohoo! BatRep Thursday! Great Match. Loving the new camera angels. You guys are going from strength to strength.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

It’s BatRep Wednesday everywhere else. Haha thanks for watching my man!!

[@troyradford75]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Welcome to the World of Tomorrow. Today! Lol

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

One of these days I will make it to tomorrow today.

[@troyradford75]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming You'll be more than welcomed.

[@Trentoftherhine]

Love that you guys are putting out battle reports again! It's by far your best product! Keep it up!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks! We had some down time with the studio renovation but are back in action!

[@jessepunch8945]

The splitscreen is great

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks man 🙂

[@quinnsanders2771]

That play table is beyond cool S tier

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Why thank you

[@BillieBobBrubeck]

I have been a Battletecher for a long time. I have been browsing many videos over the last year and you guys have garnered my attention and subscription. Great work and I learn a lot from you guys.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@derekburge5294]

Thom loves dem rocks. He *knows* them. Great game, gents. Keep it comin'!

[@thomberg3457]

I’m an amateur geologist 🪨

[@gregmichaud7314]

Captain Greg in the Atlas, what more could I ask for. An awesome game !!!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Haha life doesn’t get much better!!

[@barryxanchez2965]

That was an awesome up close fight!

[@LeeGutsy]

How does this channel not have more subscribers? This is the best battletech content on youtube

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks Lee!!

[@HouseMasterPoDing]

Great video as always Gentlemen!!!!! The House Master Approves!!!!!!!

[@mikewazowski1776]

nice BR , would love to see the latest griffins and various other mechs in some BR in future. poor raven and clint went toe to toe with asaault mechs and got vaporized.

[@Daemonettee]

Wonderful batrep! I love the dual camera thing! 😃

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks!!

[@jonasskinner5536]

Love the new split screen look

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks!!

[@theredbeardbard]

Diggin' the split screen setup! Great map, too. Love that new terrain. I just started the vid, so GO AARON! Beat Thom!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Your support means more than you know - Thom has such a fan club…

[@kereminde]

Finally getting around to watching this one; wasn't sure if there was an After-Action Report being split off for 'Part 1' but... guess not! That wound up being a rather interesting ... slow... death spiral.

[@Kaiju-Driver]

This game looks super amazing!

[@obsidiananubis1017]

I like the campaign and narrative scenarios, I think Battletech really excels in this field. I would love to see you guys use your old campaign set up, where you have a larger roster of mechs/armor and bring a subset to the battlefield so your opponent has even less of an idea of what they are fighting until they are revealed.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks! Those campaigns were fun! Just a lot more paperwork!! 🙂

[@gavincross2902]

Wow, last last game where a head came off in the first exchange....

[@negawan]

Had time to finally watch this as the 3rd part came up. I'm enjoying the new camera shots. RIP that Demolisher, i thought it could have made more impact on the fight. Assault Lances really show how tanky they are in this battle report. The brawl in the middle was nasty. Although I like the Calderons more, I found myself rooting for Fed Suns, especially the infantry platoon. Ahaha. I'm glad of the result of this tho. Time to watch the 3rd part.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Hahah those guys running as fast as their little legs would take them. Thanks for watching!

[@bartekzx88]

Sick setup!

[@ragnarbaron6090]

Fun fact Taurian Concordiant is the most ideal civilization to live in especially prior to the SLDF trashing it. They have the best education system anywhere in the IS. And the largest degree of freedoms of anywhere in the IS.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Sounds like my kind of place!!

[@misterbeeps]

Aaron is Thom's straight man

[@subtlewhatssubtle]

Is that the new Caesar mold? Interesting, this is actually my first time seeing it myself. There's something slightly... chinless(?) about the CT, but I do like its other details, the top mounted antenna is nice.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

It is - new Demolisher as well. We were lucky enough to get those in advance!

[@Trajann]

Love the battle reports man! You guys are the main reason why battletech is starting to pop up locally again haha! Quick question: when rolling your attack, are you guys using the "pilot die" rule - where you roll one die as the pilot die and then xD6 where X is the amount of attack you have. So for example a wasp has 2 damage at medium - so you would roll 1d6 as your pilot die and 2d6 for the attack, comparing/adding each value of the 2d6 to the 1d6 you rolled to see if you hit?

[@barryxanchez2965]

Awesome video 📹

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@jessepunch8945]

Still want an after action report on part 1!

[@matthewpena3932]

Did I miss part one?

[@jessepunch8945]

How can i answer that, you would know better than me 😅

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

There was a part 1 of the batrep. We are on the fence with those AARs. @Jesse - Would you rather more batreps or AARs? I may poll patreon on this soon!!

[@jessepunch8945]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming batreps! I do like the AARs too, but if you dont want to do a full video i liked what you used to do too where you just do a little 5-10 min discussion after the game, it adds a lot to the batteps (and specifically with this one i wanted to hear more about your feelings on forced withdrawl)

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

If it makes me lose, I hate it haha

[@Ichaerus]

Oh boy! It is DFA BatRep Wednesday! Best day of the week! Looking forward to how this campaign unfurls. Will give analysis of BatRep after video ends. 😁

[@Ichaerus]

Now for the analysis of the BatRep. The battle was fun, but there were some things missing. Voiceovers whether in the beginning, or during the battle, or afterwards, add flavor and immersion. Older BatReps showed pip progress on 'Mechs and tanks in between turns. I really liked those, especially if I do not own the units, and I am always curious to see what is on the unit. Information is ammunition after all. I think part of the stress comes from splitting fire at different targets, instead of consolidating. Getting guns off the field counts for something, certainly for something more than just putting a unit into Forced Withdrawal. Ignore the Warhammer at your peril, Aaron! The pilot is going to need a name, as the Warhammer just has to go into the car wash and have a celebratory cigar. Chastity sounds like a good name, considering how pure and untouched the 'Mech was. The dust storm did more damage to it than Aaron did. That Atlas performed its role as a DISTRACTION CARNIFEX for a great deal of turns, as did the Marauder. In the end, Aaron got Schrek'd for not even kicking at the tank. First turn demolition of the Demolisher set the initial tone, but Aaron made the BatRep scrappy with the attempted comebacks. The Calderon Protectorate is going to have some sweet salvage from decapitating that Victor to replace the Marauder that was lost during the fight. Hopefully the campaign will last long enough to see it fielded by the Calderon Protectorate. I do hope that there will be AARs for this campaign. Do you guys prefer the long tray over DFA Wargaming dice trays? I feel that the dice trays had fewer dice going off the table or wandering all over the battlefield when confined to the trays. And the dice trays offer more product placement, more advertising. Is that map from Frontline Gaming, or Deep Cuts Studios?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Too time consuming to hand-create animations for every single unit. Same with voice overs. This is a small team of people making magic happen in our free time between our day jobs. Need about 1,000 more elite level patrons and we can make this our full time job.

[@Ichaerus]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming How were you able to do the voiceover work beforehand then? For characters like Vegas and members of the Redstone Rangers? An additional $40k a month incoming is a lot, not counting what is currently coming in. That is twitch streamer the caliber of LVNDMARK(pronounced LANDMARK) or OnlyFans amount of money coming in. Not so sure that the world is ready for an Aaron OnlyFans spectacle at this time.

[@Kotch111]

The Stealth Atlas is the funniest thing ever. Such a shame it came out of the Capellan Confederation because it would have been much funnier if it was the new Lyran Commonwealth Recon Mech (complete with MASC and Supercharger systems to make it faster than a Commando). Imagine an Atlas with a base TMM of 2 and the +1 for Stealth - it would be as hard to hit as a Locust! 100 tons of scary!

[@rburt3]

Good news (ish). New Mauler (and Hamato-chi) announced today as part of the 8mil stretch goal. Now, I'm 50/50 on reaching 8 mil in the next 4 days, but it is doable IMO.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Mmm its true. I just switched from one regiment to two Battalions… now I may need to revert hah

[@rburt3]

​@@DeathfromAboveWargaming I dumped my whole budget day one (backer 115 woot!), so its in y'alls hands now.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

JUICY MAULER CALLS TO ME. When I get, I am going to paint “Juicy” on its badonkadonk.

[@sempermilites87]

I've missed these Battle Reports. Awesome job. How big are the maps you're using?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

We are using 4x4’ neoprene mats!

[@sempermilites87]

​@@DeathfromAboveWargamingAwesome. Thank you. Another question. What are you using and how are you simulating smoke from a killed unit?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Oh its just cotton. Stretch it out and hit it with a little gray and/or black spray paint!

[@andreassweet1994]

Where did you get the rock formations? I'm liking them.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Terrainify.com! Check the description for details!

[@tomkeegan9831]

At 26 Minutes you guys were checking to see if intervening mechs were blocking line of sight. Page 41 of the Alpha Strike Commander's Edition says intervening units do not block LOS nor do they affect attacks. Is there an FAQ out there that clarifies this? Do intervening units affect attacks (i.e. provide cover)?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

It is a house rule we like to use - you are 100% correct that per RAW intervening units do not block LOS!

[@tomkeegan9831]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ah yes. Love the way you guys do your channel. Keep up the good work.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks for watching!!

[@Kaiju-Driver]

I'm sure it's been asked 100 times, but how do you set the mat bottom to be textured? The different elevations and such? Any advice is appreciated.

[@ZombieSexmachine]

He uses foam hills under the mat from what I've seen

[@Kaiju-Driver]

@@ZombieSexmachine oh okay, thanks!

[@matthewpena3932]

How do you run crits with the pilot dice? We tried it the other day and did one pilot, one crit dice and the rest normal nice.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

We enjoy the “more chance for crits” since structure disappears so quickly… so any 6/6 combo gets a crit (but limited to one thru-armor crit per attack). The crit die is an alternative that a few have adopted and is a great way to keep the probabilities closer to RAW!

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

Tanks always make me happy. Perhaps an army consisting mostly of medium laser equipped units would be interesting? (Crusaders, ontos, phoenix hawk)

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Savannah Master swarm! Jk 😆

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming okay wait, pure 100% infantry. Just, you will never loose if no one stays to beat you.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

I like this. In MegaMek there is some trike with a personnel scale flame thrower for like 9 BV. I could field like a 1000 (or more) in a 9kBV list. It breaks the MLas rule but LETS GET CRAZY

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Who needs lasers when you're ending the world with footsteps?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Haha

[@redmarmot5500]

Where did you get the Mauler?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

3D print!

[@leoismaking]

What battlemat is that? I've been looking for a pattern like that.

[@MrHeadphones64]

Do you guys think you would ever do some zoomed In shots of the battle?

[@thomberg3457]

What are you thinking in terms of shots?

[@MrHeadphones64]

Just between turns or something, do some close ups of the board state, get a sort of ground view of things, if that makes sense?

[@MrHeadphones64]

Not every turn, just if something big happens, like an assault mech gets headshot or some annoying light unit somehow survives getting blasted

[@matthewpena3932]

What is the map size that you all use?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

4x4

[@verysilentmouse]

Xl engine halves the Structure on an AS mechs

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

For IS XL. There is a conversion table, I am 90% sure clan XL are one extra pip at some tonnages

[@stephenyates1415]

​@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Clan xl engines reduce structure by a 1/3 IS xl engines by 1/2. There are odd exceptions (errors?), but this is usually the case.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Thanks Stephen!

[@Andaman1979999]

Bucksco? Delco?

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Are you asking what those things are?

[@Andaman1979999]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming no if that's where you are from

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Bucks!

[@Andaman1979999]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming you have the accent. Chester co my self

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Haha what gave it away? Wudder?

[@HalIOfFamer]

Your table and studio setup is so nice. But the paint jobs really fall behind. There is no constructive criticism to be given, just do better. Especially on the iconic guys like the Warhammer and the atlas.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Just do better! Okay mom.

[@HalIOfFamer]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming good.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Can you link me to your channel so I can make obnoxious comments about your teams’ paintwork?

[@74Grimlin]

Watching you struggle to hit reminds me how much I dislike your pilot die system. The entire point of multiple damage rolls is to move the game away from an all or nothing roll on a single pair of dice. Your system can, in many circumstances, change that all or nothing roll to a single D6. If all you need is an 8 to hit and you roll a 1 on your pilot die you miss with every single shot. It doesn't matter if you roll 10 damage dice, that 1 ensures everything misses. Likewise if you needed a 7 to hit and you rolled a 6 everything hits. You overheated your mech and rolled a 1 on your pilot die and only landed 1 hit when all you needed was a 5. I wasn't surprised. Also if you roll a 6 on your pilot die you drastically increase the likelihood of multiple crits because any 6 on a damage die will generate a crit. I know you've said you've done the math, but I question if you calculated the drastic one sidedness that can result from the pilot die. To me a pair of D6s for every point of damage is the way to go.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

So statistically, this method is somewhere between RAW (all or none) and 2d6 per point. If you don’t trust my math, you can run the numbers. What I would argue back is that 2d6 per point is actually extremely unfair against high TMM mechs and incentives you to build forces of low TMM, high damage units. If you need a 10 to hit, you have one chance to hit (or miss) on 2d6. In multiple attacks, you have 3 chances. Your probability of dinging that fast light mech increases significantly. Note the PV tax for high TMM and I’d say you are now overpaying for something that has substantially less value. BUT the reality is, are you having fun and is it balanced for you and your friends? It doesnt matter if I am using pilot die or RAW or MAR, as long as my opponent is doing the same thing. Any benefit/penalty for me is the same for him.

[@thomberg3457]

We did a lot of maths on this, and the considerations Aaron gave on TMM, to me, are compelling as well.

[@stephenyates1415]

The problem with the standard 2d6 per shot method is that it can make light, fast mechs/vehicles too easy to hit in my opinion. This can mean that some mechs and abilities become too expensive. I've tried both methods on several occasions and am unsure which I prefer as a rule.