Admiral Von Shtupp gazed over the fleet – HIS fleet. It wasn’t as large as he felt he deserved, but
it would do…
So, another Covenant of Antarctica (CoA) opponent challenged the might of the
Prussian Empire (PE). The Honor of the Emperor demands I accept and be
VICTORIOUS!!!
Once again – we used the standard box sets: a Battleship, 3
Cruisers, 9 Frigates in 3 Squadrons, 2 bombers and 2 wings of Tiny Fliers. The Antarctic
Tiny Fliers took both wings of Tiny Fliers as fighters. The Cruisers took their
Experienced Engineers upgrade as well. The Prussians took all 2 regular turrets
and the UCG on the Battleship, as well as the Lethal Strike upgrade for the
Cruiser’s Tesla Guns, a flight of Torpedo Bombers and a flight of Fighters.
Random table setup on a 4 X 4 table had 2 islands on
opposite corners. Prussians won the roll to choose sides and chose a side so that
there was an island on the Prussian’s Right.
- Squad of 3 Frigates
- Squad of 3 Frigates
- Wing of Fighters
- Cruiser Squadron behind the fighters
- Torpedo Bomber Wing- Battleship
- Squad of 2 Bombers (Obscured)
- Squad of 3 Frigates
- Squad of 3 Frigates
- Wing of Fighters
- Cruiser Squadron behind the fighters
- Torpedo Bomber Wing- Battleship
- Squad of 2 Bombers (Obscured)
- Squad of 3 Frigates
The Antarctic fleet (Left to Right from the Prussian View)
- Squad of 3 Frigates- Squad of 3 Frigates
- Battleship behind the Frigates
- Squad of 2 Bombers
- Wing of Fighters
- Wing of Fighters
- Squad of 3 Frigates
- Cruiser Squadron
Both sides stall for time as they waste phases by moving
Tiny Flyers and Frigates towards the center of the table.
Prussians draw first blood – The Prussian Fighter Wing go
full throttle and barely made it into range to attack the CoA bombers. In an amazing display of dice rolling, the
Prussian Fighters inflict a TRIPLE CRIT on the CoA Bomber. One of the crits turned out to be a Magazine
Explosion – causing 1 HP on the other bomber!
CoA attempt revenge, attacking the PE Fighters with a wing
of Fighter Drones. Unfortunately, the PE
Fighters had Acrobatic Pilots and the TFs made their saves, whereas the CoA
Drones lost a token.
Turn 2: PE Wins
Initiative
PE Battleship moved forward, getting the front turret into
range 2, the 2nd turret still in Range Band 3 aiming at the CoA Battleship
through the islands’ gap. In spite of
the range, the Prussian Gunnery was superb!
The CoA Battleship took a Crit – Shredded Defences!
The PE Bombers went after the damaged cruiser again, and fired their AA at nearby drones. They failed to damage the cruiser, but took out 2 more drones, but took another HP on the damaged bomber.
CoA Frigates attack and damaged 2 more PE Frigates on the
right side of the map.
The PE Fighters attacked the damaged CoA Bomber but failed
to damage it! Unfortunately, that left
the fighters with only 2 fuel left.
The CoA Battleship opened fire on the PE Battleship and in spite
of the damaged guns, managed to cause a HP on the PE Battleship.
A solo PE Frigate attacked and damaged 1 frigate, then
boarded and left another as a derelict.
The CoA Bomber attacked next; bombing 1 frigate and
shooting, sinking another.
The PE Cruisers turned towards and attacked the CoA
Battleship, but failed to damage it!
The Last CoA Frigate Squad snuck between the islands and
made a daring torpedo attack on the PE Battleship, causing a System Critical
Hit.
The PE Torpedo Bombers finally went full throttle and
attacked the CoA Battleship. When the
smoke cleared – the Battleship was double criticalled, suffering 2 System hits –
no more Shields! And down to 1 Hull
Point!
CoA Cruisers came forward and successfully destroyed both
Bombers.
PE Frigate Squadron failed to attack or capture CoA
Frigates, in fact lost all their remaining boarding parties!
CoA Drones attack the Fighters, but fail to damage any – PE fighters
down to 1 fuel!
Remaining PE Frigates drive between the CoA Frigates and
attack the Cruisers but fail to damage.
Unfortunately, the store closed at this point – interrupting
the game. L
Game result: A
DRAW!!!
PE: Got the
CoA Battleship to 1 Hull Point, but it’s still floating: Mission failed!CoA: Sank 5 Frigates, damaged the rest (4 more) and destroyed but still floating: Mission failed!
Soooooo Close!!!!
Geoff was a great opponent and suffered from "New Paint Syndrom" - he just got this fleet painted and at first couldn't get the rolls he wanted or needed. When the game ended, I still had just under 1/2 my Small Craft (though they were all damaged). By rights, they should have all been destroyed!
On the other hand - My dice were blazing hot! I got more multiple crits this game than I can ever remember in such a small game. In spite of my luck, I failed to get the last hull point to sink the CoA Battleship.
It was fun to use something other than the standard 70% mission objective. We both fixated on our own objectives and forgot the other's! As a result, we both almost got beat! But it was fun! ;)
Admiral Von Shtupp gazed over the rail of his battleship. His prey had escaped in the darkness, but when last seen, the enemy battleship was badly damaged, with smoke venting out of multiple holes in its hull.
Of course, Von Shtupp would have a difficult time replacing his losses in his Frigate Squadrons. He could not understand why his enemy would devote so much effort in attacking his minor combatants. That he had lost over half of his Frigates would only make other small ship captains reluctant to serve under his command. Von Shtupp would also have to explain the losses to the Emperor as well. It may not go well.
Perhaps that was the enemy's objective in the long run...
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