Dystopian Wars V2: 1000pts Prussian Empire vs Empire of the Blazing Sun

Admiral Von Shtupp looked out over the flight deck of the new Elbe-class Fleet Carrier SMS Graf Zeppelin.

Interesting choice of name, Von Shtupp thought.  I wonder if it was to honour Zeppelin or to confuse our enemies...

His gaze wandered to the horizon.  He could just make out the islands of the Caribbean.  His mission was a simple training mission with their eastern allies, The Empire of the Blazing Sun.  It was a new flotilla that Von Shtupp sailed with.  He wasn't sure he liked the composition of the force, but it was interesting.  A New Heavy Battleship, a new Battlecruiser - both ships he had little experience with, not to mention a whole new class of Cruisers.  At least he still had his Arminius Frigates & Saxony Corvetts - they hadn't changed!

It was a good force to command, thought Von Shtupp.  Though he did miss the use of the Pflicht Scout Zeppelins...

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So, my Prussians were out seeking revenge and instead of the British, I’m facing the Empire of the Blazing Sun, my “allies”!  What a Stinker!!!

This would be another 1000pt game, with Tactical Action Cards (TACs).  Standard force organizations, no extra secondary objectives this time.  This would be a "Typical" Version 2 game.

The Blazing Suns won the Strategic Advantage, the Prussians the Operational Advantage.  The North edge of the table had an Island in each corner and the south had a sand bar roughly in table center.  Having won Strategic advantage, the Blazing Suns chose the north edge, depriving the Prussians any cover.  (Rats!)

Empire of the Blazing Sun (EotBS) Deployment, West to East:

Advance Deployment:

• 2 Inari Scout Gyros in– roughly Center Table

Main Deployment:

• Fighter SAS
• 3 Tetsubo Interceptors
• 3 Tanuki Armoured Cruisers
• Fighter SAS
• 1 Hachiman Dreadnought with Tesla and a Shield Generator
• 4 Yurgi Destroyers

Prussian Empire (PE) Deployment, West to East:

Main Deployment:

• 4 Arminius Frigates
• Fighter SAS
• Fighter SAS
• 1 Elbe Fleet Carrier with a 5 Token and 4 Token Fighter SAS Squadrons
• 3 Uhlan Cruisers
• 1 Kaiser Karl Heavy Battleship
• Konigsberg Battle Cruiser
• 4 Saxony Corvettes
• 3 Saxony Corvettes

Start of Game!

(view from the South, facing North)

We then drew our missions and selected our Tactical Action Cards (TACs).  Remember, you start off with a deck of 16 cards and chose the ones you want (6 for this game) after you learn what your mission is.  Then, after the obligatory trash talk and glaring, we started the game!

Turn 1:

In the TAC phase, the Blazing Suns played “Radio Intercept”, and rolled +2 for the Initiative roll.  Prussians played “Lost Orders” and drew “Stoke the Engines” from the Blazing Sun’s hand.  This granted both sides a “free” 20 Points before the first shots were fired!

The Blazing Sun won the Initiative.

So the Sun’s Scout Gyros started things off by moving forward and turning to starboard.  Firing turrets and rockets at separate targets, the Gyros managed to damage 1 Frigate (and left it on fire) and sank another.  The Frigates passed their Disorder test.  One of the Scout Gyros managed to climb into the cover of the clouds, but the other wasn’t as fortunate.

Scout Gyros Take 1st Blood!

Wanting to waste an activation (and hopefully bait out the Sun’s Destroyers), the smaller Prussian Corvette squadron raced up the Eastern table edge at full speed.  The Admiral of the Blazing Suns din't take the bait.  The Sun’s Cruisers managed to sink another Frigate, but the Prussian Carrier’s AA was sufficient that not one rocket impacted on the Carrier!  The Frigates passed a second Disorder test.

EotBS Cruisers continue to pick on my Frigates!!!

Using the logic “Use ‘em or Lose ‘em”, the Prussian Frigates raced forward and targeted one of the Cruisers.  Though they failed to damage the Cruiser, the linked AA managed to damage the low-flying Scout Gyro!  Sun’s Interceptors came racing over at Flying level and targeted both the Frigates.  The damaged Frigate escaped further damage, but the undamaged Frigate was hit, lighting it on fire as well.  Things were not looking up for the Prussians.  Finally, the Prussians did something when a Fighter SAS attacked the Scout Gyro in the clouds, and managed to double-crit it (Weapons Damaged and Hard Pounding – 2AP left), for the loss of 1 token!

The Sun’s Fighters attacked the Prussian Fighters as they disengaged from the Gyro.  In a horrific “Fur Ball”, both sides lost 2 tokens.  A second Prussian Fighter Squadron attacked the Sun’s, and shot down the remaining 3 tokens for a loss of 1!  The Prussians seemed to be winning the Air War, at least.

The Sun’s Dreadnought moved forward and turned to port, targeting everything on the Battlecruiser.  When the smoke cleared, the Battlecruiser suffered 2 crits (Shredded Defenses and Generator Offline) and 2 Fires due to Incendiary effects.

The Prussian Carrier activated.  First, it repurposed the smaller 4-token SAS as Dive Bombers, then gained 2” movement from its Tesla Generator, and advanced towards one of the Cruisers, using its Tesla weapons on one Cruiser, getting a crit (Chaos & Disarray), as well as adding a Lightning Rod and removing an AP.  None of the Carrier’s other shots did any damage.

The Sun’s Destroyers finally activated, though I wouldn’t like the results.  After maneuvering around their Dreadnought, the Destroyers fired on and crit the Prussian Battlecruiser, sinking it!  The Poor Battlecruiser was sunk before she could fire a shot!

EotBS Destroyers Finish Off the Battlecruiser 

Seeking revenge, the Prussian Cruisers advanced, but at point-blank range, failed to do anything except damage 1 Cruiser.

For the Sun’s last activation, the last Fighter Squadron attacked a Prussian Fighter Squadron and shot down the last 2 tokens of the squadron, for the loss of 1!

Now unopposed, the Prussian’s last Fighter Squadron attacked and shot down the last 4 tokens of the Sun’s fighters for the loss of 3 tokens.  Prussian Dive Bombers moved forward at maximum speed, the Prussian Battleship moved forward and turned to starboard, firing all weapons on the Dreadnought.  Sadly the Battleship only damaged the Dreadnought once.  Finally, the last Prussian Corvette squadron moved forward and sank 1 Destroyer.  The Survivors passed their Disorder test.

PE Corvettes Get The Prussian's 1st Kill!

In the End Phase, the Prussians put out 1 fire, but the other Frigate lost an AP when they failed to put out the fire.  The Blazing Suns repaired all the damage on their Cruiser, but the Scout Gyro still continued to suffered weapons damage.

VPs:
EotBS:   215pts
PE:          60pts

End of Turn 1!

Turn 2:

In the TAC Phase, the Blazing Sun played “Lost Order”, but the Prussians countered it with “Lucky/Unlucky Shot”.  Though the “Lost Order” card was only worth 20 points and the “Lucky/Unlucky Shot” card was worth 40 points, I didn’t want to risk losing one of the “critical” cards I thought I would need.  So it was with a HEAVY heart I “gave up” an extra 20 points (for a total of 40 free points to the Blazing Sun) and basically “chose” which card I was going to lose.

The Prussians won initiative this turn.

While I had initiative, I really didn’t have a choice as to what I was going to do.  I moved the Fighter Squadron with only 2 tokens back towards the Carrier and out of the line of fire, hoping to save the squadron.  The Sun’s Scout Gyros both came down below the clouds and made a bombing run on the Prussian Frigates and sank 1.  The Survivor passed its Disorder test.  Neither Gyro was able to climb into the safety of the clouds this time.

Another Frigate Gone!

Prussian Fighters attacked and shot down the damaged Gyro for no loss.  Finally, something good was happening for the Prussians!

Avenging the Frigates!

The Sun’s Destroyers moved at maximum speed towards the smaller Corvette squadron, sank 1 Corvette and damaged another.  The Corvettes failed their disorder test!

This can't be good...

Prussian Dive Bombers attacked the damaged Cruiser, but only managed to damage the ship, leaving it with 1 hull point while having lost 1 token to AA fire.  The Sun’s Dreadnought moved forward and targeted each weapon on a different Corvette.  When the smoke cleared, the Prussians lost 3 of 4 Corvettes and the survivor failed its Disorder Test.

There's a reason they call it a "Dread"nought...

The Prussian Cruisers maneuvered to fire on both the Sun’s Dreadnought and Cruisers.  The Cruisers managed to inflict 2 damage point on the Dreadnought and sank the Damaged Cruiser.  The surviving Cruisers passed their Disorder Test.

Finally, more VPs for the Prussians!

The Sun’s Cruisers made a hard turn to port, targeting 2 of the Prussian Cruisers with torpedoes, declaring fire in all directions.  Then, before firing, the Suns played “Devastating Barrage” on one of the attacks.  Wanting to save a card (and writing off the Cruiser in my mind), I let it be played unopposed (and gaining some free VPs).  When the smoke cleared, the Prussians had a Cruiser with double-crit (Chaos & Disarray and Generator Offline), the last Frigate was sunk, the entire Dive Bomber Squadron was destroyed and the Fighters lost a token!  WOW!!!

The EotBS Cruisers survey the havoc they've unleashed

The Prussian Carrier activated, replenishing the Fighter Squadron up to full strength, then moved forward towards the closest Cruiser.  The Carrier zapped  the Cruiser with its Tesla Generator, causing Chaos & Disarray.  The forward Tesla Weapons then damaged the Cruiser, taking away an AP and inflicting a Lightening Rod on the Cruiser.  The Carriers Starboard weapons fired separately and managed a hit and a Crit (Nav Lock) on the last Scout Gyro, inflicting another Lightning Rod and -2 AP.

For their last activation of the turn and seeking vengeance, the Suns’ Interceptors attacked the Carrier, but the Carrier’s AA once again protected the great ship from the Rocket attack.

The Prussians ended their turn by attempting to hide the Corvettes behind the Island on the North East corner, while the Prussian Battleship moved straight forward, preparing to “Cross the T” with the Dreadnought.  In spite of all the weapons firing at the Dreadnought, the Battleship managed to inflict only 1 HP damage.

In the End Phase, The Blazing Sun were able to repair the Chaos & Disarray on the Cruiser, but the Gyro was unable to repair anything.  The Prussians were able to repair the damaged Generator but not the Chaos & Disarray on their Cruiser.  While attempting to rally from the Disorder Tests, the Prussians lost enough AP & HP to lose 2 Corvettes, wiping out 1 squadron and reducing the other squadron to a single Corvette!  More VPs for the Blazing Suns!

VPs:
EotBS:   435
PE:          265

End of Turn 2

Turn 3:

In the TAC phase, the Blazing Suns attempted to repair their Dreadnought by playing “Battlefield Repairs” but the Prussians cancelled it with “Espionage”, giving up another 40 VPs to the Blazing Suns.

The Blazing Suns won the Initiative.  (This was gonna hurt...)

The Sun’s Dreadnought activated first, moved forward and shot in all directions.  Rockets aimed at the Carrier were shot down by AA.  The Battleship took a Crit (Raging Fire) from a torpedo attack, 1 cruiser took a double-crit (Generators Offline and Engine Damage), while the other damaged Cruiser was sunk by a Crit.  The surviving Cruisers passed their Disorder Test, but the damage was done.

EotBS Dreadnought hammers the Prussians!

The Prussian Carrier activated, moved forward and Double-crit the previously damaged Cruiser, sinking it while the Speerschleuder shot down the last Gyro.  Unfortunately, the Carrier was unable to damage the Sun’s Dreadnought.  The Sun’s remaining Cruiser did fail its Disorder Test.

The Prussian Carrier tries to make up for the rest of the fleet!

The Blazing Suns’ Destroyers made a hard 180 degree turn and chased down the last Prussian Corvette, sinking it.

Just a little out-numbered...

Knowing it had little chance of working, the Prussian Battleship moved from directly in front of the Dreadnought and played “Devastating Barrage”, which drew out the last card from the Suns’ hand – Espionage, cancelling the Prussian TAC (but giving the Prussians 40VP).  Regardless, all weapons from the Battleship fired on the Dreadnought and managed to inflict . . 1 Hull Point of damage at Point-Blank range. (...)

The last Sun Cruiser moved forward, torpedoed a Prussian Cruiser and sank it.  The Rocket attack on the Prussian Battleship was all stopped by AA fire.

ANOTHER Prussian ship bites the dust!

Prussian Fighters attacked and destroyed an Interceptor for no loss.

Prussian Fighters take on EotBS Interceptors

The Blazing Suns’ Interceptors, in their last activation of the turn, overflew the Carrier to fire a barrage of rockets at the Prussian Cruiser, damaging the Cruiser and lighting another fire on deck.  Prussian Fighters attacked and damaged an Interceptor as they flew back towards the Carrier for replacements and the Prussian Cruiser turned to port, firing on both the Dreadnought and the Cruiser.  Though it failed to damage the Dreadnought, the badly damaged Prussian Cruiser did damage the Blazing Suns’ Cruiser, earning a minor moral victory.  The Cruiser's Broadsides bounced off the side of the Dreadnought, now at Point-Blank Range.  How Point-Blank?  Check the photo below...

"Um, Sir? Aren't we a little close to that Dreadnought?"
"Be Quiet!  He can't depress his guns low enough to shot us here!"

VPs:
EotBS:   625pts   Sink all Smalls & 50% of the Fleet Value – COMPLETED!
PE:          505pts   Sink 70% of the Enemy Fleet – Incomplete.

Victory for the Empire of the Blazing Sun!

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Well, another loss for the Prussians.  I can still hear Graham laughing at me.

(Actually, he wasn’t that bad – he was actually very polite about it.)

So what happened?

While I was expecting to fight the Kingdom of Britannia, that didn’t affect my fleet choice.  I was trying to make the new Box set “work” for me with minimal changes.  (All I did to make 1000points was to add 2 extra Corvettes and split the Corvettes into 2 separate squadrons.)  While it is a decent force, it certainly wasn’t intended to stand up to a Dreadnought!

Why did I concentrate so much effort on the Dread?  My mission was 70% of the fleet and after hearing what my opponent had done to upgrade the Dread, I guessed (correctly) that the Dread was worth over 300 points.  No matter what I did to accomplish my mission, the Dread had to be destroyed or captured.  I didn't even have the luxury of choosing a different mission as I had drawn the Default mission!

My “hope” was to Damage the Dreadnought enough that it was “neutralized” and I could then go after the rest of his forces, then deal with the Dreadnought afterwards.  Needless to say, I never did neutralize that Dreadnought.  We discussed it afterwards and I may have had better luck if I had concentrated all the might of the Carrier AND the Battleship against the Dreadnought, but I kept the Carrier busy dealing with the Sun’s Air Power and trying to protect the Cruisers’ and Battleship’s flank from attack.  The other option (and probably better choice knowing my play style) was to concentrate everything on the rest of the fleet, neutralizing or destroying them, THEN concentrate on the Dreadnought.

I COULD have brought a Dreadnought myself, but I tend to think that’s too many points in too small a game.  I had more activations than the Blazing Suns did for the entire game, in spite of all the losses I suffered.  If I had drawn 50% and either All Smalls or All Mediums for a mission, it would have been a much easier mission to fight for as I could have ignored the Dreadnought completely.  But that’s the luck of the Mission Draw.

Looking at the fleet:

The Poor Battlecruiser just keeps getting blasted before it can do anything useful.  I think Battlecruisers are too vulnerable when deployed as singles.  They’re too easy to target and disable or destroy a full squadron (of one) than a multi-ship squadron.  IF I had had some cover to hide behind OR had multiple Battlecruisers to split enemy fire, the Battlecruiser(s) may have lasted long enough to do something.  Obviously I held it back too long in this game and the Battlecruiser suffered for it.  I could have activated it sooner and perhaps done some damage before it was destroyed.

The new Kaiser Karl Heavy Battleship is an impressive ship.  Robustness 2 AND 2 shields makes it a tough contender.  Unfortunately, it’s missing the ever-popular Tesla Generator, so it’s not as fast as the Emperor unless you leave off a turret.  Not always the best option as this severely limits the firepower as a result.  Overall, I'm very happy with the ship.  It just couldn't (and shouldn't) have stood up to the Dreadnought on its own.

The Elbe Carrier is a Great Carrier!  Forward Tesla AND 4 Speerschleuders to blast lightning everywhere, as well as 9 SAWs to configure how I please.  What’s not to like?  The Elbe’s defensive capabilities were enough to protect itself without the additional help of a CAP.  As I said earlier, if I had combined its efforts with the Battleship, the two may have been able to deal with the Dreadnought.

Uhlan Cruisers seem fine, but again, this wasn’t the best way to use them as I did this game.  I got fixated on the Dreadnought and should have used these guys to:
1) screen the Battlecruiser,
2) shoot up smaller stuff and
3) protect the left flank while the Battleship & Carrier tried to knock out the Dreadnought

The Frigates and Corvettes are same as before.  I enjoy them both, though I definitely played both poorly in this game.

Anyway, the new box set is good for the most part.  I just need to learn how to use it properly.

On the Blazing Suns’ Side, well played!  The Scout Gyros are a pain and the Armoured Cruisers made my life heck!  The only thing I didn’t like about the list was the lack of activations.  Graham didn't allow that to hinder him.  He was very aggressive with his fleet, which is what you need to do when confronting someone with that many more activations.

The lack of activations within the Blazing Suns' force can be blamed on the Dreadnought.  Before anyone comments that this was a “Cheesy” fleet list at 1000pts, I do want to point out that the Dreadnought is the only Large/Massive vessel Graham has at the moment.  To play EotBS, he HAD to use the Dreadnought.  I had told him to prepare both a 1000 and 1500 point list and the Dreadnought is appropriate for the larger list.  I just caught him off guard by doing only 1000pts for this battle.

Now I just need to finish off my Blucher Dreadnought for my Prussians...