A Life Less Interesting

King of the Castle

Hmmm. Tricky one this. Casa Regnix is the map, I'm green and there isn't an obvious deployment choice.

Machina are, I think, the least likely for me. They basically rely on getting to close-ish range and surviving a firefight with better armour. The best ranged unit, a MT, would be pinned to the base, making a 5FP unit of 15FP - way too expensive. Since any opponent would be more mobile, I just don't think I can close to an effective range.

Greys are possible, in a hit and run mode. I don't think I can afford more than one regen, so I'll have the normal problems of trying to defend a base.

Spawn are always good value for 15 FP - a queen and 11 points of other stuff. As long as I can maintain control of the bodies, and keep the queen out of the way, that's a possible. However, there's plenty of open space, and a couple of turns' work would open out some impressive firezones, very hard to cross.

And Marines are the versatile choice, but again will have to defend a base if 'naders, the most useful unit, are used - or if playing spawn.

So, here's the plan. It's a bit risky, but could be rather effective.
Greys, with a Guardian for sneakiness (3). 3 psykers (6) and 6 sentries (6)
And I'll deploy in the open patch at the bottom right, making an immediate run for the corner. The general plan will be to break through the corridor, and psych along it - If he's there, I can remain hidden under the Guardian, and he'll (hopefully) think the psychs are coming from the building. If not, I'll wander along the corridors under the Guardian, with an occasional psych for intel, until I find something.

If he's Greys or spawn then 3 psychers will do immense damage. If he's marines I'll have to rely on hit and run tactics (blinding troops to prevent op fire, and smart guardian work to bounce 'nades). And if he's machina (unlikely, for the reasons given above) then the 6 sentries will have to concentrate fire on one or two targets and then skip out.

This will all rely on keeping hidden, and on him mentally deciding already on how to attack the central building.

Turn 1: 10-20 secs

Nothing spotted on deployment - I'm fairly certain that it's impossible to see anything from my deployment zone. Lots of fiddly planning to keep everyone under the shield, and testing to check that the psych I'm doing is also feasible from the central building. Should have that quadrant checked, and an entry to the corridor by the end of turn - no hurry, as time is on the side of the Greys

Turn 2: 20-30 secs
Oh dear. Despite all the planning, sometimes there's just nothing you can do!
Turns out I've deployed directly in front of 2 AI's, and (presumably) a scanner. For a strategy that relied on stealth and deception, that's the worst possible start.

So, may as well sell myself dearly, and try to take an AI out

Score: 0-3

Turn 3 30-40 secs

Took the AI, but the guardian shields didn't last that long - so I'm basically toast. Also. totally failed to psych the (presumed) scanner, so the AI's were able to blast away at visible targets despite being psych'd themselves. That was my only hope - thin thought it might have been

Game over - may be a record, dead in 45 seconds