GenCon 2013 - Championship Match vs Shaltari

Daniel's Army - sorry, I can't remember the last 53pts!
Clash: 1447/1500 points
Standard Army
    Standard Roster [1447/1500 pts]
        Gate Group [196 pts]
            Gaia: Gaia [76 pts]
            Eden Gates: Eden [45 pts]
            Eden Gates: Eden [45 pts]
            Haven: Haven [15 pts]
            Haven: Haven [15 pts]
        Court of Elders [341 pts]
            Coyote: Coyote(Shaman) [145 pts]
            Jaguar Squad: Jaguar [100 pts]
            Firstborns: 2x Firstborns [96 pts]
        Swordpoint [244 pts]
            Tomahawk Squad: 3x Tomahawk [114 pts]
            Firedrake: Firedrake [130 pts]
        Warrior Clan [263 pts]
            Braves: 2x Braves [64 pts]
            Braves: 2x Braves [64 pts]
            Kukri Squad: 3x Kukri [135 pts]
        Warfist [187 pts]
            Ocelot Squad: Ocelot [95 pts]
            Thunderbird Squad: 2x Thunderbird [92 pts]
        Arrowhead [216 pts]
            Warspear Squad: Warspear [108 pts]
            Warspear Squad: Warspear [108 pts]

Land Grab:  There are 5 Focal Points (F) on the battlefield.  You get 3VPs for having the most number of ground units within 6" of a F.  If you have one ground unit within 6" you can contest the F for 1VP.  Focal points can be destroyed in buildings and eliminated from the game.

Pre-Battle Analysis:  (I have never played Land Grab or Focal Points before.  For ease of the tourney, Hawk Simon told us to deploy normally.)

• Ground Units: 912 (Scourge) vs. 813 (Shaltari).  At the time, it "felt" like I was at a disadvantage in having a Desolator (airborne commander).  Looking back, Daniel brought an air superiority list.  In retrospect, the Firedrake is about the same points cost as the Desolator (without commander).
• Warstriders: While Shaltari skimmers are armored like paper mache, Warstriders are pretty resilient.
• Air Power: Two Warspears were definitely superior to my two Corsairs.  I've never encountered Thunderbirds (gunships) so I wasn't sure how good they would be.  The Firedrake can start firing blast templates on Turn 1 and the blast templates can negate skimmer defense bonuses. 
• Infantry: Sure, I had two squads of Destroyers but Braves and Firstborns are scary!  Outnumbering Daniel's infantry (4 to 3) was not going to be that much of an advantage as there were no objectives to search for in this scenario.
• Havens: Daniel only had 2 Havens so my strategy was to wipe them out and keep his infantry as spectators in orbit!
• Overall: For all the reasons above, I was not feeling confident as I felt that Daniel's list had the advantage in this scenario.

Highlights:

• Turn 1 - I rolled two 6's and both Corsairs were available!  Daniel got one Warspear though! He moved his Firedrake down Column B before driving his Kukri AA down the center.  I chose to not use my Corsairs because I didn't have much AA and I was afraid of losing one of them to a Warspear intercept.  So our Fast Movers did nothing on Turn 1.  What do you guys think?  Should I have tried to take out the FireDrake when I had my chance?  In hindsight, I should have gone for it as the FireDrake wrecked face!  It was amazing!!!
• Fearing the FireDrake's blast weapon, I drove my Hunters and Reapers behind building until they could spread out on Turn 2.  The FireDrake definitely slowed down my advance!  Daniel was in my head!  I hid behind Buildings 7, 8 and 9.  (So 3x Hunters and 3x Reapers to approach each Column (A and B).
• Daniel's Ocelot walked on Column A and the Jaguar and Coyote materialised on Column A.
• Daniel's Tomahawks were on Column B.
• Daniel's Thunderbirds went to the deck behind Building 5 & 6.  Smart move as my Corsairs could only attack them by going along the centerline on Daniel's side and would be subject to all the Kukri AA reaction fire.
• Daniel sent Braves to Buildings 1 and 3.  I sent infantry to Buildings 7 and 9.
• My strategy was to take out the Havens to strand his infantry and make a late turn push to Building 5 and gain 9 VPs to win the game.
• I sent my Prowlers behind Buildings 4 and 5 to defend/slow down his Warstriders.

• Turns 2-4 - It was stopped on time at the end of Turn 4.  
• It was really a Mexican standoff as we just maneuvered outside each other.  Personally, I couldn't risk losing infantry or other ground units because I needed them to "score." 
• Daniel's Thunderbirds and FireDrake destroyed a squad of Reapers on my right flank.  I managed to shoot down the Thunderbirds with my Corsairs (attack runs from Building 8 to 6 to just stay out of range of the Kukri).  Overall, Daniel's air power dominated my right flank.
• I tried to get my Tormentors up the field to threaten the Braves in Building 3 but they were destroyed.  In retrospect, I should have kept them back to try to win Focal Points.
• My Prowlers kept his Jaguar and Coyote busy on Column B.  He eventually destroyed 6 of them but they kept him occupied.  Eventually I sent 2 Prowlers to help win the F at Building 7.  I could have risked them to contest the F in Building 1 but Braves were firing from the windows.
• During the game, I kept on having more battlegroups than Daniel but I destroyed both Havens so maybe he forgot to activate his Firstborns from orbit?  They eventually marched onto the battlefield via foot.  Keeping the Firstborns from challenging Building 5 was huge IMO!
• With the Reapers short AA range and the Corsairs being only 50% accurate, Daniel was taking out my AA piecemeal.  
• Eventually, Daniel materialised his Kukri around Building 8 and his Ocelot at Building 7.  Luckily, I took out the Kukri.  Caught me by surprise!  I forgot that he could make a late game push to my side of the field. 
• I had two Underground Monorails and was gonna send my infantry for the late push to Building 5.
• We had no Close Quarter Battles.

Post-Game:

• Daniel had the Fs at Buildings 1 and 3.  With his Ocelot he contested the F at Building 7 and he had one Tomahawk at the F at Building 9.  I clearly had the F at Buildings 7 and 9.  Daniel (8 VPs) vs Me (6 VPs).  It all came down to Building 5.  Did I have enough?  Drum roll...
• I barely had more points (less than 10?) to win the F at Building 5 but Daniel contested it!  Daniel (9 VPs) vs Me (9 VPs).
• It went down to Kill Points.  Remember, within 200pts is a DRAW.  Well, I think we were within like 50pts.  DRAW!
• The next tie-breker was total kill points over the course of the tournament.

VICTORY!  GENCON CHAMPION!  (Barely, I think the kill point differential was 100pts?). 

• Fast Movers did not do much this game but I felt my Corsairs were enough of a deterrent to keep Daniel's Warspears at bay.
• You gotta really concentrate to take out WarStriders.
• FireDrake - that's a great unit!  Gunships can be useful!
• EPIC FINAL - thanks to Daniel for the great game and the closeness of the game cannot be expressed in words!

Post-Tourney:

• So I finished the tourney at 2-0-1.  I'm surprised that the eventual tie-breaker went to kill points instead of Victory Points.
• For the different variety of scenarios and armies, it's really hard to have a balanced army - part of the fun!

Getting Started: Building a Scourge Starter Army - Cost Analysis

Playstyle: Play Scourge IF you like:

• Shotgun to Face: The Scourge have the shortest threat ranges in the game but if they hit they will most likely kill you.  Yeah, think FPS games!
• Zerg Rush: Prowlers can be fielded en mass like Zergs from StarCraft.
• Burn Baby Burn: Tormentors are one of the best units in the game IMO.  There's nothing like a fresh smell of napalm when starting DropZone Commander!
• Corsairs: Heaviest hitting Fast Movers (fighters) in the game.  They truly are the cheapest air-to-air/air-to-ground unit in the game.  Fighter-bombers if you will.
• Fastest conventional army in the game.

Note: All prices are in pounds at MSRP.

Starter Army: 68

Individually:
6x Warriors - 12
3x Hunters - 10
3x Reapers - 10.5
2x Invaders - 10
3x Marauders - 30  (10 each)
1x Scourge Command Deck - 5
Total = 77.5

Since I think Invader APCs (unless there is a new convoy mission) are useless, by buying the Scourge Starter Army, you basically get the Invaders for free.

Note: If you split the new 2-player starter box with a friend, you get everything except the command deck for 30 (let's add the command cards for 35).

Cost Efficient Starter Army:  This is cheapest build that will allow you experience the DropZone experience IMO.  I do believe you need Command, Scout and Fast Movers to get the full experience.

Clash: 973/1000 points
DEMO Army (Not meant to be tournament level.  Just to get used to the mechanics.)
    Standard Roster [973/1000 pts]
        Oppressors [225 pts]
            Desolator: Desolator(Master) [225 pts]
        Vanguard [304 pts]
            Hunter Squad: 3x Hunter, Marauder [146 pts]
            Reaper Squad: 3x Reaper, Marauder [158 pts]
        Warriors [188 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
        Occupation Patrol [120 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
        Attack Swarm [136 pts]
            Corsairs: Corsair [68 pts]
            Corsairs: Corsair [68 pts]

Individually, parentheses (numbers of blisters):

1x Desolator (1)- 17.5
2 x Marauders (2)- 20
3x Hunters (1)- 10
3x Reapers (1)- 10.5
4x Warriors (1)- 12
2x Intruder Alphas (1)- 10.5
8x Prowlers (1)- 9
2x Intruder Betas (1)- 10.5
2x Corsair (1)- 10
Command Card - 5
Total = 115

Components not in the Scourge Starter Army = 57.5
Scourge Starter + Extra Components (68 + 57.5) = 125.5.
So if you split the 2-Player Starter Box = 92.5.

Battle Report: vs Scourge, GenCon 2013 Round 2

I had played Joe in a local friendly tournament a few months ago.  It was Targets of Opportunity and I beat him in a tight match 2-1 VP so, coming to GenCon, I was worried about meeting him again.

In that matchup, infantry-wise, I had 4x Stands of Destroyers, 2x Stands of Warriors vs. Joe's 2x Stands of Razorworms and 6-8x Stands of Warriors.

Joe's Scourge - I'm forgetting 100 pts... maybe he had a better commander?
Clash: 1411/1500 points
Standard Army
    Standard Roster [1411/1500 pts]
        Oppressors [455 pts]
            Desolator: Desolator(Champion) [195 pts]
            Desolator: Desolator [140 pts]
            Prowlers: 8x Prowler, 2x Intruder Beta [120 pts]
        Vanguard [222 pts]
            Hunter Squad: 3x Hunter [105 pts]
            Reaper Squad: 3x Reaper [117 pts]
        Warriors [188 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
        Warriors [188 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
        Occupation Patrol [250 pts]
            Prowlers: 8x Prowler, 2x Intruder Beta [120 pts]
            Destroyers: 2x Destroyers, Intruder Alpha [130 pts]
        Invasion Host [108 pts]
            Tormentor Squad: 2x Tormentor [108 pts]

 

In Round 2, the scenario was Recon.  There were 9 pieces of intel, buildings (A through I).

Note: Each player can search for each intel!!  Ack!  We always thought it was one and done!
Also, only the occupier of the building can search on the start of their turn.

This battle report is based on our misinformed assumption!

Pre-Battle Analysis:  Joe had 5 Stands of Infantry to 4 Stands for me.  Initiative was the key because if he landed on Buildings D, E and F, then on likely rolls he would outscore me 6-3.  Recon is why I recommend having 4 Squads of Infantry mounted in Light Dropships.  You must occupy building first to search.

Looking at Joe's army...

• His only AA was one squad of Reapers.  If I could get my Fast Movers early, then I could hit anywhere!  (My Fast Movers did not show up until Turn 3 or 4 so my Fast Mover advantage was nil.)
• Tormentors!!! - I believe they are the best Scourge unit.
• Prowler Spam - He had 16 of them.  However, I wasn't too worried because of the Skimmer rules which makes Scourge and Shaltari tanks harder to hit.
• I figured that my 2x Destroyers capture/could hold any building that I chose.
• 2x Desolators... I did not what to expect from that.

Highlights:

• On Turn 2, both of Warriors found Objectives at Building G and I (rolled "6s") and took them off the board.  Joe found Intel at Buildings A, B and C.  I found Intel at Building H.  5-3 VP and I was leading.
• On Turn 3, I won initiative but I was stupid because I wanted Joe's infantry to enter buildings first so my Tormentors (near E & F) wanted to flame so troops.  Remember you can't shoot at buildings where your own troops are.  So Joe got to D, E and F first!  On likely rolls, he was gonna win 6-5.  So I threw everything at Building E to level it in one turn so he couldn't search for the intel.  Notably, my Desolator's Focused Ion Storm failed to do damage!  I sent in both squads of Destroyers with "Blast Their Way In!" and killed two squads of Warriors with falling masonry.  (Note: Blast Their Way In! is against the building and can only target enemy infantry if they are on the wall.  Also, you cannot enter on the side of a building where troops are at the wall.)  The building had about 4 DP left out of 30 DP.  Joe subsequently leveled the building and I lost both squads of Destroyers.  
• Since I had lost a large portion of my army trying to destroy E, I knew I was down on Kill Points (within 200 is a tie).  I HAD TO win on VPs.  Likely, Joe was gonna find intel in D and F so we were gonna be 5-5 and I was gonna lose.  Joe found intel on F... Joe (4)... Me (5).  I was hoping for him to find an objective or find a bomb in D.  To prepare for him finding an objective in D, I sent all my forces against that area.  Joe found a bomb on D so I was gonna win...
• We battled it out and the sky was filled with Intruders!  I remember my Desolator doing Eye of the Storm to wipe out a squad of Hunters and about 6 Prowlers.  He was then shot down by Joe's Reapers.

WIN 5-4 VP,  -500 on Kill Points.  I think Joe killed 1200 points!

Post-Battle:  (Playing the correct rules henceforth.)

• Fast Movers - while my Corsairs did nothing this game.  I really believe you need Fast Movers, especially in Recon, to knock out Light Dropships to prevent objective removal from the battlefield and infantry rapidly deploying.  I would trade a Fast Mover for a Light Dropship in a heartbeat in this scenario. 
• Troops: In this scenario, you need to win close combats and retrieve intel (hopefully objectives).  2x Exotics and 2x Troops seems like a strong ratio.
• Getting 4VP on Turn 2 was huge (and very lucky)!

Battle Report: vs UCM - GenCon 2013 Round 1

Setup: Just a photo of how Hawk Simon set up the board with CityScape terrain.



Buildings:  In an effort to standardize games, this is what Hawk Simon said:  The two on the left were Large (Armor = 6, Damage Points = 30), the two in the middle were Normal (Armor = 6, Damage Points = 20) and the one of the right was Small (Armor = 6, Damage Points = 10).  These are the five shapes found in CityScape.



Props:  Kudos to Gunthyr and KennKong who made this from plastic piping caps(?)!  You roll a lot of dice in DropZone and you don't want them going through your buildings and models so these were pretty convenient to keep the dice in one place!  Thanks guys for letting me have these!!!



Note: To the best of my memory, this is what I think Gunthyr had. 

1.5k Gunthyr's UCM
Clash: 1497/1500 points
Standard Army
    Standard Roster [1497/1500 pts]
        Field Command [247 pts]
            Kodiak: Kodiak, Condor(Lieutenant) [199 pts]
            Falcon Squad: Falcon [48 pts]
        Armored Formation [438 pts]
            Sabre Squad: 6x Sabre, Albatross(+Missile Pods) [303 pts]
            ^ Sharing ^ Rapier Squad: 3x Rapier [135 pts]
        Legionnaire Corps [354 pts]
            Legionnaires: 3x Legionnaires, Condor, 2x Bear [141 pts]
            ^ Sharing ^ Legionnaires: 3x Legionnaires [78 pts]
            Rapier Squad: 3x Rapier [135 pts]
        Special Ordinance [149 pts]
            Gladius Squad: 2x Gladius, Condor [149 pts]
        Expeditionary Group [242 pts]
            Praetorians: 2x Praetorians, Raven A(+Missile Pods) [132 pts]
            Wolverine Squad: 4x Wolverine B, 2x Raven B(+Missile Pods) [110 pts]
        Air Wing [67 pts]
            Archangel Squad: Archangel [67 pts]

Note: We realized after the match was over that Gunthyr forgot to deploy his 2nd squad of Rapiers.  :-(

Battle Map:  In Targets of Opportunity, there are five objectives (marked "o") and the center one is worth 2VPs.  Building E was Large.



Pre-Battle Thoughts: 
The two biggest threats were the Praetorians (all Exotics should be feared and rightly so!) and the Armored Formation (6 Sabres and 3 Rapiers represent a lot of firepower).

TIP:  Personally, I think Bears (and all APCs) are just too slow and I recommend mounting all infantry in Light Dropships.  Remember if Light Dropships are within 1" of a building the dis/embarkment from/to the building AND dis/embarkment from/to the Light Dropship counts as "1."

Nevertheless, while Legionnaires are there to die (much like my Scourge Warriors), 6 Squads of them can overwhelm, even Exotics, with sheer numbers.

Highlights: (sorry, I don't remember enough for play-by-play)

• The Armored Formation landed on Turn 1 in Column 2 in my Offensive Zone.  The Gladius squad was between Buildings B & E and Column 2.  With such a concentration of force, I conceded that area of the battlefield to UCM.  To protect my Defensive Zone and to slow down the advance of these units, I landed Prowlers on my side of Buildings D & E (one squad behind each building).
• 4x Wolverines B, 2 Raven-Bs and the Falcon approached my Right Flank.  They had a firefight with a squad of Hunters.
• My Tormentors were dropped on Turn 1 on Column 3 to pressure/threaten Building E & F.
• Praetorians discovered an objective in Building A and removed from the battlefield on Turn 2 (2VP).  They returned on Turn 3 (rolled a 6) and went entered Building F where they were subsequently destroyed by my Tormentors.
• 6x Legionnaires entered Building E.  My Tormentors destroyed 2 stands before both squads of Destroyers had CQB with the Legionnaires.  I messed up and only rolled half of my CQB dice so the Legionnaires held on.  Eventually, the Destroyers found the objective and removed from the battlefield (3VP).
• My Scourge Warriors found the objective in Building I and removed from the battlefield (2VP).
• My other Scourge Warriors tried to find the objective in Building D but UCM eventually leveled the building.

Final was 5-2VP.  WIN FOR THE SCOURGE!

Post-Battle Analysis:

• Tormentors: 1) You have to destroy them (e.g., with the Wolverines, Ravens + Falcon on my Right Flank).  2) If possible, you got to let Scourge forces occupy the building so they can't flame the building.
• We both agreed that the Praetorians should have went for the objective in Building E.  Personally, I think UCM needs to have 2 squads of Praetorians.  Being so cheap, Legionnaires should be dedicated to bot duty in objective searching.
• Armored Formation:  Note- Gunthyr rolled horribly for falling masonry.  He must have had 20-25 damage points with no masonry kills.  By my math the Armored Formation including Albatross can do about 12.6 damage to a building per turn (each Sabre = 1.12, Rapier = 1.68!!!, and the Albatross = 0.84).  To this end, depending the situation, it might be worthwhile to use your AA to levels buildings.  Surprisingly, the Rapier is better at building demolition than the Sabre MBT!
• In Targets of Opportunity, since the center objective in Building E is the most vital, you should ask yourself the following question at the start of the match.  Can I win the CQB to secure the objective?  If the answer is no, I think you should level the building as fast as you can.

First Contact: PHR vs. Scourge

So I (henceforth, called the Zealot for my blind faith in pre-ordering Dropzone) at the suggestion of my friend Stephen (the Prophet - for telling our gaming group about Dropzone) played with the Starter Armies for practice...

We played a Scenario where there were 3 buildings (the downloadable buildings from Hawk were printed on 110lb cardstock) with objectives hidden inside.

In this scenario, the Occupying Infantry must roll a D6 to search for the objective in each building - the difficulty becoming easier with each successive turn of successful occupation.

Scourge:
     Marauder Medium Dropship
             Invader APC
                     3 Stands of Warriors (15)
             Invader APC
                     3 Stands of Warriors (15)
     Marauder Medium Dropship
             3 Hunter MGT
     Marauder Medium Dropship
             3 Reaper AAGT
     Points: 541

PHR:
     Neptune Medium Dropship
          Juno IFV A1
               2 Stands of Immortals (10)
          Juno IFV A1
               2 Stands of Immortals (10)
     Neptune Medium Dropship
          2 Ares Walkers (Anti-Armour)
     Neptune Medium Dropship
          2 Phobos Walkers (Anti-Air)
     Points: 559

After 6 Turns.... Zealot (1)(found center objective)... Prophet (0).
The key to victory was that the Immortals (with better Close Quarter Battle - CQB and A - Armor) were superior infantry to the Warriors.  The Prophet and I think that Scourge Warrior Hordes should always upgrade to Aged Ones.  Razorworms are better infantry but they cannot take or hold objectives.

The other important factor was that I won the initiative roll the first 3 turns and that allowed my Immortals to enter buildings and gain protection!

Some observations:
1 - PHR is the slowest faction in the Dropzone Commander universe.  The Prophet destroyed the Juno IFV that carried the Immortals so they could not load onto the Neptune (carrying the objective off the board would have gotten me another 1 VP).  Destroy PHR transports and their ground forces are going nowhere allowing you to destroy them piecemeal.
2 - With 2 DP (damage points) on all Walkers, they are resilient.
3 - Scourge can do extra damage from their Plasma weapons to infantry.  Their weaponry appears to be like "shotguns" (short range, but devastating).  I also believe that Scourge needs to demolish buildings as a battle tactic.

Transports:
"Two-Timer" Rule... they can do two "transport actions" per activation (so you can load (1) and unload (2) on the same activation).  A Dropship can unload an APC (1) and then the APC can unload the infantry (2).  A Dropship can unload one APC (1), move, and unload the other APC (2).