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January 11, 2006
191962 - King Of the Castle v's Torkku
This is fun. King of the Castle has thrown up two consecutive games on the same map, biohazard.
(Last one was 191612 v nmaguire)
So, since I'm in the mood for experimenting (and dancing...) I'll go for the deployment that I was dreading my last opponent would take: AI-heavy mechs.
15 points = 3 AI's and 3 HT's. No base is a bit of a gamble, but since I'll never get back to use it, it'd just be a waste.
The AI's will blaze a route down the left, and the HT's will stay in reserve to swoop down and pick off any retreating units (and preserve some mystery - he may think I've got a scanner and a base...)
Turn 1: 10-20
Unsurprisingly, no initial contact. So, blow a hole for the AI's to follow on the left
Turn 2: 20-30
Particularly resilient walls here. Carry on with cutting a route
Turn 3: 30-40
Well, so far so predictable. He's marines, and I saw a commo cutting his way through, with a grunt following up. He only saw one of the 3 AI's, so he may be in for a bit of a nasty shock next turn.
If I were him, I'd duck the commo to the right, and fill the room with 'nades from the safety of the previous building. So, 2 AI's will go left, and try to go nose-to-nose, and the other one can tunnel - hopefully the commo will be tunnelling the other way...
He also has to assume I've got a scanner, and can see his movements - so he'll be moving round lots, which could be good for the AI's if they just sit there and blast away
Turn 4: 40-50
Noone seen this turn, so I suspect the commo has taken cover. The first incoming grenade has just blown the back of the wall on the right out, so that's one 'nader in the right-hand channel.
I'll carry on with the plan - an AI round the corner should be fun, and his commo has conveniently made a hole for the other AI to fire through. I'll also send one HT on patrol, so I can have a look around
Turn 5: 50-60
Well, I think he may have the luckiest grunt around - taking two direct hits at point-blank range from an AI. In the mean time, he seems to be doing wall clearance on the right, there's another 'nade about to go off there. So, I'll carry on with the AI charge. I still think he's only spotted 2. And the HT's can move closer, but not within 'nade range
Turn 6: 60-70
Things go boom. The lucky grunt gets wiped, and lots of 'nades start flying in. Nothing too nasty at the moment, and it's handy to remove some of the low-level scenery.
I'll carry on forwards, intending to get inside the effective range of the 'naders. Plus, there's a sniper on the far right, so the HT's are off in that direction - there's bound to be a grunt there as well, but 3 HT's should suffice
Score: 1-0
Turn 7: 70-80
Nice shunting. His right-hand 'nader takes a shot from the AI charging in, and then dies from splash damage from a 'nade bouncing off the AI. There are another 2 grunts at point-blank range, and a second bounced 'nade should expose the other 'nader next turn
Lost one HT to the inevitable grunt on the right, but that grunt should die early next turn - and then it's hide and seek with 2 HT's and a sniper. Surely only one winner there.
From what I've seen, his loadout was 1 commo, 1 sniper, 2 naders, and 4 grunts. That leaves 1 medic and a base, as a guess. The commo is obviously getting first-aid somewhere, the second 'nader had better run, and all 3 remaining grunts and the sniper are in mortal peril. My AI's are mostly at about 50% damage or better, and I'll try to pair two up this turn for a bit of running repairs. The left-hand AI will polish off the grunt and clear some scenery for a better shot
It's all looking hopeful.
Score: 3:1
Turn 8: 80-90
Bit of a surprise here. Everything goes pretty much to plan, and the AI's in the right-hand channel polish off the grunt without further. His commo makes a reappearance, a second or so before my AI goes to HOS, and so gets two shots to my one. Amazingly, those two shots do enough damage (at least 28 points after armour) to take the AI out - and the subsequent explosion then kills both his commo and the trailing medic.
On the right, the HT's do their job without problem, killing the grunt and sniper for the loss of one HT.
Just a bit of mopping up now - there's one grunt in a place he can't escape from the two remaining AI's, and I'd like to see a anyone take out two AI's and a HT with just one badly damaged grenadier.
Score: 11:6
Turn 9: 90-100
That last grunt bites the dust, and I'm in position on his 'nader and base at the end of the turn. Game over.
Things to learn:
AI's are incredibly dangerous close-combat units. They can take a huge amount of damage, dish it out and probably take their opponent with them when they go. I'm really not sure how I'd counter 3 AI's on that map, but running lots would definitely come into it!
And you don't always need a base - I'm not sure it did Torkku any good on this game anyway.
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Posted to DibbleNGrub
191612 v nmaguire
Game 191612 v nmaguire
Second review - you can see the game at http://lsn.kicks-ass.org/lga/download/c50eb31b92fbc030a5ad8fff58713465/191612%20DibbleNGrub%20v%20Nmaguire.lsn
This is a King of the Castle match, against a new opponent - who's also an Elite player
Fortunately, it's on biohazard - which I have played once before.
Deployment:
Since this is a 15 point game, with no military buildings, I think I can safely discount Greys as a viable option.
However, machina, spawn and marines are all quite possible. As I don't know what nmaguire is likely to take, and I fancy a nice simple game after recent epics, I'm going for an assault marine loadout:
1 sniper, 2 grenade elements ('nader and grunt), 2 medics, a base and the rest (4) as grunts.
This should be ample to deal with a spawn rush, and a balanced mech setup. Might have trouble with a AI-heavy mech deployment, but I'll just have to hope he doesn't pick one
My general plan is going to be feint to the right, showing a couple of grunts - but push the grenade elements to the left, with lots of blow-through attacks. The obvious place for a base, should he have one, is going to be in the gap at the top - so positions that can 'nade this will be a preference.
The sniper will loiter in the middle and try to spot or pick off any stationary units. Initial deployment is such I can spread if there are MT's, or converge if there are spawn incoming
Turn 1: 10-20 secs
I've not seen anything on deployment, so ahead with the plan. The grunts on the right will go forward on ROS, and the grenade elements on the left will move forward a bit, with 'nades doing some demolishing at the beginning of the next turn. That'll also be handy if he's spawn and sneaking forward on the left
Turn 2: 20-30 secs
Blast. I don't know whether he's got inspired, but my sniper went down to the first two shots of the game, from another sniper. Must have been forced fire, as I actually walked into the first shot. On the positive side, I think he has 2 snipers, as another shot wings its' way in at the end.
Well, may as well keep to the plan - I was always going to be doing the damage with 'naders, so the loss of the sniper is irritating, but not fatal. There are a couple of my wall-breaker 'nades about to go off on the left, so I'll dodge them and launch through the holes. This'll have two effects - firstly, he'll think I'm standing back and spamming, and secondly, he won't want to come into that room on the left. With plenty of short-range firepower from the grunts, anyone in those rooms will be in trouble.
The grunt on the right will keep peeping through windows, but try to keep out of trouble
Score: 0-2
Turn 3: 30-40 secs
Hmmm. Not doing well with the grenades here. One wall-breaker completely failed to break the wall, and so the followup shots bounced a bit too close to my guys on the left, giving some splash damage. However, there is now a nice hole into the next building - but I saw a 'nade coming in at the end of turn on the left, so he has one 'nader stood at the door at the top.
So, the left-hand assault team will pull back for reload and repair - I'll drop one 'nade on the left of the map to punch an escape route
The right-hand assault team will steam on in, and drop a 'nade in the little lobby area on the left, at the start of the next turn - if his 'nader has a spotter, that's where I'd put him.
The rest of the assault team will cover the walls, as any wall-breaking commo would spoil the party
Score: 0-2
Turn 4: 40-50 secs
Everything went to plan, and still no contact. One bizarre thing though - a 'nade went off on the front of the far right-hand building. Since this is (presumably) blowing the front off, I assume his sniper over there is settling in for the game - and the feinting on the right may be paying off. It does mean that he has 2 'naders, alongside the 2 snipers - so with an assumed 2 medics and a base, that's 11 of the 15 accounted for
Forward on the left, and the 'nader can start hitting likely targets. I'll drop one in the final top-right room - enough to take out the wall, as part of the assault route - and then start chewing my way north, to where I think his base will be.
This is the riskiest move
Score: 0-2
Turn 5: 50-60 secs
Woo. There's a commo lurking, right behind the wall I was suspecting he might come through. My first grunt got through, and then a second grunt and medic got shot - the medic is barely alive. On the good side, the commo is looking ill, and I don't think he'll retreat, so I should be able to take him out - hopefully without loss. This does mean I'm facing (confirmed) 2 snipers, 2 grenadiers, 1 commo and (suspected) 1 base, 2 medics and 1 grunt. If I can take the commo, the 'naders should be able to cause carnage, especially since his second 'nader is still on the far right, destroying scenery
The front grunt will loiter on HOS, hoping to catch his 'nader out - as I don't think he saw the grunt go through. The 'nader will break through to his (presumed) base, and the others will pursue the commo, and back off after
Score: 0-3
Turn 6: 60-70 secs
Pah. The commo took another grunt before dying, and my retreating medic decided to run right in front of the 'nader, taking a point blank explosion. On the good side, his 'nader popped out right on schedule, and took some nice splash damage before being polished off by my grunt. Shame he got a shot off, taking the grunt out - he must have thought I was going via the door on the far left.
I've also exposed the base - exactly where I suspected - and so there are some more incoming 'nades via that route, especially since my second nader is coming back online.
His 'nade pattern shows pretty much where his second 'nader is - in the middle channel somewhere - so I'd better watch out for incoming next round
Despite being numerically behind, I feel I'm in a much better position now. I just need to trash his base, and then he hasn't got much to stop a second wave of assault.
I'll duck to the left with the main force, not stopping enough for a sniper to take me out, and send the lone grunt for a look round the corner to the right, where I saw his only grunt covering for the other 'nader
Score: 5-6
Turn 7: 70-80 secs
Looking better. The 'nades not only took the shine off his base, but also took out a medic that was (presumably) doing some spotting. Also, managed to predict the incoming pattern, and only took minor splash damage to my active 'nader (the damaged one was retreating for reload)
Less good is that the grunts had a face to face meeting - he's damaged, but I'm on last legs. My bloke will die next turn, but can hopefully get a shot off first.
One of his snipers is in a (basically) useless position at the top left - as there's no way he can hit a corner-dancing grunt at that range.
So, I'll duck right this time, away from the sniper, and drop a 'nade where my grunt on the right is - as he's gonna die anyway.
Score: 6-6
Turn 8: 80-90 secs
It was a lot closer with the grunt standoff than I expected - his grunt is down to about 2 health. The corner-dancing almost went wrong - I should have worked out the shot timing with a forced-fire sniper - but got away with it. And, irritatingly, neither 'nade shot this turn is going where I wanted it to - the first should have polished off his grunt, but went through a door instead, and the second should have nestled nicely behind the first of the two windows en-route to his base, but instead is coming back this way. Pah
One nice thing is that I spotted his other 'nader, and he's very near to death - those 'nades near his base must have caused pain. As his base is a bit rough, I don't think he'll risk anything reloading - so I can safely ignore the base for a bit.
I think he'll retreat and try to regroup - so I'll open up a new attack front by blowing away a wall on the right, and then drop a 'nade on his base
Score: 6-7
Turn 9: 90-100 secs.
Forced-fire sniper fire everywhere. He must be getting a bit desperate.
My lead grunt took a sniper shot, but got a few shots away in return - so his sniper # 2 is half-damaged, and I'm in a good position to pursue, so I think I can take him this turn.
Rather surprisingly, the badly damaged grunt showed up for a shot, and is about to get a 'nade in the face. He may be able to bounce it back, so I'll need to take cover.
Everything against the sniper out in the open - some corner-dancing then pursuit, with a bounced 'nade arriving at the end of the turn shoud do a treat. My other 'nader is arriving online, so he can cover the back, in case the sniper on the left charges
Score: 6-7
Turn 10: 100-110 secs
Took the sniper, but lost a grunt to splash damage from his 'nader - at least that locates him. On the plus side, he obviously tried to bounce my 'nade back, but it went wrong and took his grunt. That's helpful
He is now over on the right - the medic is healing up his 'nader, so I assume the sniper will hole up with him. I'll duck left, and finish off his base. His nader now has a max of 4 shots left, depending on reloads, so I can afford to hold back
Score: 9-8
Turn 11: 110-120 secs
3 shots left :-) I'm nowhere near his target zone. Return the empty 'nader for reload, and the other can hit the base to definitely kill it. In the mean time, my one remaining grunt needs a bit of TLC, so hide away from any nasty 'nades
Score 9-8
Turn 12: 120-130 secs
Those bases go up with a bang, you know. And his sniper was stood just too close - at least when combined with the other 'nades. He's firing 'nades blind, to where I was last turn. Max 2 shots left...
I'll loop round to the far left, and try to flank with my 'nader on ROS
Score: 11-8
Turn 13: 130-140 secs
Nothing going. My grunt is getting better, and the nader is getting into position.
A couple more seconds healing, and then the potent grunt-medic combination will make a move
Score: 11-8
Turn 14: 140-150 secs
And a comedy finish. I'd accidentally left the medic on HOS, so my grunt charges off leaving the two medics to exchange shots. Except his medic has only one shot left - so the game ends, with nmaguire having no ammo left.
Things to learn:
Plot retreat paths, and make sure they don't intersect with 'naders firing
Don't rely on pursue so much - plot corner-dancing for grunts
If you are pursuing, plot a safe place to retreat to afterwards
Pretend to be further back than you are by 'nading your own position (but try to take cover first!)
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Posted to DibbleNGrub