Everything The Light Touches
I’m really having a lot of fun hopping between armies and trying out really strange things. That said, one of the most fun and frustrating list building exercises has been trying to find an army that can cover Looting and Sabotaging, Highly Classified, and Countermeasures in a way that would be fun and challenging to play. I’ve been told that I should play ForCo for my travel army this year, but I’m unfortunately not going to be able to travel as much this year so I ended up not wanting to restrict myself.
I had a really great time playing FRRM at Raindog’s Rampage, but they’re not terribly effective at Looting and Sabotaging, and the list building puzzle at 400 with Tactical Window active is… disappointing. You’re heavily encouraged to take Margot and Duroc and probably and Anaconda, and all the things that can do the mission are basically low CC things with D-Charges. You don’t generally want to spend valuable Chasseur slots on multiple D-Charge+ADHL profiles, and Metros and Bruant are unreliable.
I’m not sure what inspired me to start messing around with TAK, but I found myself poking around in Army and discovered that Cadin and Carmen are both available in TAK, and also that you can take a Vet Kazak + Ratnik duo. So, that’s all happening!
Isaac (or more accurately RNGeezus via the vessel Comlog) chose to play Looting and Sabotaging and was kind enough to set up this table for us to play on.
Overview
- Mission: Looting and Sabotaging
- Forces: Tartary Army Corps versus O-12 (400, Tactical Window)
- Deploy First: TAK
- First Turn: TAK
Rawr!
GROUP 1 |7
1
1
VETERAN KAZAK AP HMG / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 47)
RATNIK 2 Molotoks, 2 Panzerfausts / Heavy Pistol, Trench-hammer, Knife. (2 | 54)
GROUP 2 |
DOZER (Traktor Mul Control Device) Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
TM KURYER (Total Reaction) Uragan MRL, Antipersonnel Mines / Electric Pulse. (1 | 21)
TRAKTOR MUL (Total Reaction) Uragan MRL / Electric Pulse. (1 | 18)
CARMEN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades + Bâtard / Heavy Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 22)
COLONEL VORONIN (Sensor) Lieutenant T2 Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 21)
FRONTOVIK Engineer T2 Rifle, D-Charges / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27)
112 Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW. (0 | 12)
‘FIRSTSTRIKE’ DONN T2 Rifle, Grenade / Heavy Pistol, AP CC Weapon, T2 CC Weapon. (0 | 35)
STRELOK K-9 Submachine Gun, Chain-colt, Antipersonnel Mines + 1 K-9 Antipode / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)
PAVEL McMANNUS Ojotnik, Chain-colt, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, T2 CCW, Knife. (0 | 31)
SPETSNAZ (CH: Mimetism, AD: Parachutist) Boarding Shotgun, Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW, Knife. (0 | 33)
8 SWC | 398 Points | Open in Infinity Army
So yeah. I was pretty entertained by the idea of the absolutely overkill Ratnik double Molotok and Vet Kazak AP HMG duo, as was Adam, who made this obligatory Lion King joke:
Joking aside, there are a fair number of units in the list that can bash the AC2:
The rest of the list is either support or defense for the AC2. Funnily enough, TAK can take four TR bots, which I find hilarious so it had to happen.
O-12
GROUP 1 |GROUP 2 |
GAMMA Lieutenant HMG / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 57)
OMEGA HMG / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 48)
BETATROOPER Doctor (MediKit) Boarding Shotgun, 2 Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 37)
YUDBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
HIPPOLYTA Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Flash Pulse, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 38)
CHO (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
LYNX MULTI Sniper, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 34)
PEELER HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 26)
OKO Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 17)
CYBERGHOSTS Hacker(Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Breaker Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 26)
GANGBUSTER Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, MadTrap / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
DELTA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + Light Riotstopper, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
8 SWC | 400 Points | Open in Infinity Army
Isaac was basically relying on the Hippolyta and the Delta to get the job done, but he had plenty of tools to get them there under the cover of a hail of bullets.
Deployment
I won the rolloff and elected to go first. The sides were roughly equal, so Isaac succumbed to gamer inertia and gave me the side I was already sitting at. I had a really tough time figuring out where to put everything, especially the TR bots. They’re big, and I know Isaac has some Deltas waiting in a dropship circling above, so I have to be careful about their firing arcs. I also want to make sure that I cover approaches to the AC2 with as many guns as possible, so I ended up spreading out the Uragans as best I could.
Then I put Voronin on a roof to enjoy a nap in his lawn chair while the 112 and the Frontovik kept tabs on things nearby. I set up Pavel and the Strelok K-9 to make a run on the AC2, with Cadin doing the same on the left. Then it was time to deploy the Ratnik and Vet Kazak. I put them on the right as they had the most covered path forward. I also thought that I had a better shot at bringing in the Spetznaz on my right, so I chose that table edge.
Isaac had a tough deployment zone as well. He had to tuck a ton of stuff along a building in the middle and then put his Varangians on point, covering his flanks. He put both Peelers and the Oko covering his AC2, and hid everything else.
I stuck Carmen and Batard on the left, near Cadin, and then Isaac eventually settled on putting Hippolyta in the protective bubble between his Gamma and his Cyberghost.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – TAK
I decide to cancel Carmen’s order since I don’t actually need it and there’s a TR bot watching the way forward. I go after the nearest TR bot with the Vet Kazak, moving the Ratnik forward as I do.
Unfortunately, Isaac reveals a Lynx MSR and forces me to split burst. I hit both, knocking out the TR bot, but the Lynx passes ARM. I actually have decent odds to win against the TR bot, even at half burst:
| 57.26 | 20.54 | 22.20 |
The Lynx isn’t doing so hot against the Vet Kazak either with pretty even odds:
| 27.29 | 47.86 | 24.85 |
Now that I can direct all four burst at the Lynx, the odds get even worse and I drop the Lynx with some more fire from the Vet Kazak.
| 45.39 | 35.28 | 19.32 |
Then it’s time to try and make a run Isaac’s backfield with the Spetznaz. I manage to catch the Varangian and the Omega from outside of chain rifle range. The Varangian smokes out the Spetznaz, but the Omega fails its dodges and takes a wound.
I internally debate whether or not I should commit to going after Isaac’s backline with the Spetznaz, but I decide that I should tend to other problems on the opposite side of the board. I can see the other TR bot with the Ratnik, so I go for the very silly over 32″ Panzerfaust shot.
| 34.86 | 38.42 | 26.72 |
I take a hit but ARM 9 in cover is no joke, and the Ratnik fails guts back into cover. I then clear out the Gangbuster’s MadTraps with Batard.
Cadin attempts to land a grenade on the now MadTrap-less Gangbuster, but fails the throw, so I just climb up and gun it down.
I tuck Carmen into safety and get Batard up onto the roof, then pass turn.
Bottom of 1 – O-12
Isaac wisely doesn’t spend the Varangian’s impetuous order with the barrel of the Spetznaz’s shotgun pointed at it and the Omega, and Hippolyta would have to jump up in view of at least two Uragans. The last Varangian does move forward a little, and then Hippolyta covers a small slice of LoF that the Uragan can see. Then the Omega gets out of the way, letting the Varangian move.
I decide that I should just shoot the Varangian instead of dodging, hoping that I’ll pass ARM. I fail to tank the chain rifle, but the Varangian tanks my shotgun slug. Ugh.
Isaac then spends most of the rest of his turn maneuvering his Beta doctor around, picking the Lynx MSR back up.
This lets him take a shot at the Ratnik, and I panzerfaust in response for the lulz. I pass both ARM saves against the single DA round that makes it through and fail guts even further into total cover.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – TAK
It’s back to me, and I cancel Carmen’s order again because the Lynx will get a shot at Batard if they start moving. Instead, I send in the Ratnik and throw five dice at the Lynx. Once makes it through but bounces off the Lynx’s armor, forcing him prone.
This lets me start moving Cadin around on the roof and start taking out stuff in Isaac’s backfield. First to go is the Varangian on my left.
Then I fail to take out the Oko FO bot, which scuttles into total cover behind some rocks.
I’ve got a shot at Hippolyta from outside 16″, so I chance the shot and throw three dice on 3’s at her. I whiff and she lands smoke, preventing me from trying again.
No matter. I have more targets in the open. The Varangian on the right gets gunned down by the Vet Kazak, but the Ratnik is pinned by the TR bot on my far left.
The Beta also falls to the Kazak…
which opens the way for Carmen and Batard to smoke up the approach to the AC2. I’ve only got enough orders to hit it twice, first with the Trench Hammer and then with Carmen’s DA CCW. Between the two of them they manage to do two wounds and I set them up to be a nuisance near all of Isaac’s stuff.
My last few orders are spent moving Cadin and the Strelok K-9 towards the center objective so I can finish it off next turn.
Bottom of 2 – O-12
Isaac finds a tiny spot where a Delta can land and passes the PH check! It’s within 4″ of my AC2, so the Delta comes around the corner and plants a single D-Charge before getting pasted by fire from three Uragans and a mine going off.
Well played Isaac! That was probably the only way to get into base to base with the AC2 without giving me at least one order of shooting with the Uragans. Isaac goes for the kill with Hippolyta, sneaking his way towards the AC2. He’s low on orders and has to face to face my Frontovik in the backfield. I’m on threes and Isaac’s on seventeens, so of course he rolls a 2…
and I roll a 3 which is a crit from a T2 rifle. Goodnight, Hippolyta! I had to leave my Vet Kazak out, so Isaac gets me back by critting my Vet Kazak with his Gamma Lieutenant. I fail guts and drop prone.
He still has to deal with Carmen and Batard, so he moves his “Cyberghost” in front of them. I throw smoke, but he reveals his Holoecho to be Catherine Cho! She nanopulsars my poor troopers and they’re toast.
Isaac spends his last orders moving his Peeler bot out of cover into a line where he can see the AC2, and then passes turn.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – TAK
I move Cadin into group one, then punish the bot for being out of cover by zeroing it out with a surprise shot Ojotnik from Pavel, taking it out.
Cadin is pinned down by the Omega, who can see him on the catwalk above if he starts moving around, so I have to send in the Strelok K-9 to finish the AC2. I sacrifice them to the Oko and land two Trench Hammer hits, which is enough to finish off the AC2.
I spend the rest of the orders in my first pool coordinating the TR bots forward, just in case Isaac has another Delta circling in a dropship. I get some efficiency out of this by including the Ratnik in these coordinated move-moves, but I forget that he’s hackable and get him too close to a Cyberghost! I moved there to get burst 5 on the Oko, and decide to let him have the hack, but of course I whiff all five shots in good range. Ugh.
Gotcha!, however, lands and the Ratnik is IMM-1 for two turns. Bah. Well played, Isaac! I try to take out Cho and the Cyberghost with Cadin, but the rangebands are bad and I’m giving the Omega a normal roll, so I take a wound while pasting Cho. I drop Cadin prone and leave things as is near Isaac’s deployment zone. I spend the entirety of the rest of my orders failing WIP rolls to get Net Undermine with Pavel, so to try to get the classified objective points, I get my Vet Kazak off the roof and to within 8″ of Isaac’s HVT.
Bottom of 3 – O-12
Isaac really needs to get his Oko unstuck so it can grab D-Charges out of the Panoply and tie the game up for him. Sadly, the Ratnik doesn’t die the Omega and resets successfully, failing guts.
The Gamma tries next, face to facing Pavel and the Ratnik. Pavel manages to do a wound, but the Gamma finally guns down the Ratnik.
Isaac’s got two orders left, not enough to make a play for my AC2, so he tries to deny me the HVT by shooting at my Vet Kazak with his Lynx. I dodge successfully and get out of line of fire.
Isaac makes a play for my HVT to secure it, but the Oko doesn’t have the movement and is somewhere around 10″ away from my HVT on his last order. I’ve got one point of STR left on my AC2, have destroyed Isaac’s, and am securing the HVT for a
7-2 Tartary Army Corps Victory!
Post Game Analysis
Well. I gotta say, as ridiculous as it is, the Ratnik + Vet Kazak AP HMG duo is fantastic. I think next time I’ll take the cheaper HRL + HSG Ratnik. Less killy at range, but he has a AP HMG buddy for that. The Kazak will let me slingshot the Ratnik into shotgun range, which sounds ab-so-lute-ly AMAZING. I’m even entertaining running it at 300 points it’s so much fun. It probably isn’t worth running all the time, but you feel really secure in your active turn that you’ll get whatever needs removing off the table. It does have a little trouble against TO camo, but hey, you can’t win everything.
Also, I haven’t really been the biggest fan of TAK until this game. The idea of running a badass 5-man core with some beefcakes in it just doesn’t appeal to me. Running a beefcake duo with AVA 4 TR bots though, that was pretty amazing. We talked after the game, and Isaac felt like he was boxed into his deployment zone the whole time. He knew he had the firepower to take on my TR bots, but with all the pressure I exerted on keeping his Gamma and Omega tied up (Spetznaz, Carmen, Cadin, Pavel) he had trouble getting them where they needed to be.
One of the other things that kept Isaac locked in was all the T2 and AP I had on the table, which negates a lot of the benefit of the high ARM, multi-wound models he brought. He told me that he felt a lot of positional pressure exerted just by Cadin and his T2 rifle elevated above most of his troops. He also said that he felt like he couldn’t get into my deployment zone easily thanks to all the TR bots, but he felt like it was mostly the T2 that kept him locked in.
I think I’m going to enjoy exploring some of the less well traveled paths of TAK. A lot of people don’t like the Dynamos (at least that’s what the internet says, and the internet is never wrong!), so I intend to have a go at them as well. I’m enjoying treating TAK like vanilla–I see it as the Shasvastii of Ariadna, in the sense that the AVA changes are what makes them appealing. The ability to camo spam out of both factions is also a notable similarity.
The 400 point Tactical Window format is a pretty fun one. I recommend trying it, it makes for a pretty fun game and fits the “even split” combat group playstyle that I’ve been espousing lately. Check out the Bromad Academy mission on that and thanks for reading.
Great Report!