Best of the Pacific Northwest 2020 – Day 2
Day two started with a lovely constitutional though the Tacoma rain to Bite, a fun cafe thing in a hotel. Pretty standard breakfast stuff, decent black coffee. We arrived at the game store with time to spare and had a relaxed start to the day. If you’re looking for Day 1, here it is:
Game 4 – Desert Mirage-5
Game 4 was against Rida (jackfrost), who I was pretty excited to play again after our last game at Ragnarok where I brain farted really hard and just was all over the place.
I’m finding my two toughest games at a 2-day tournament are game 3 (the last one of day 1) and game 4 (the first of day 2). I’m brain dead at the end of day one, and I’m super in my head at the start of day 2. I made the mistake of looking at pairings the night before and got all jittery knowing I’d probably have to face Rida game four again, which is the same situation as last time!
Normally in a situation like that I’d have spent the previous night staring at the ceiling, but I was tired enough from day one that I passed out and only stared at the ceiling from about 4AM onwards…
We were playing on I think Tony’s table, which is a cool mix of raised platforms and Asian-themed buildings… and a train! Choo choo train! YAAAAAAS!!!
Overview
- Mission: Power Pack
- Forces: Ariadna versus Ramah Task Force (400, Tactical Window)
- Deploy First: Ariadna
- First Turn: Ariadna
Do Stuff 2.1
GROUP 1 |7
1
1
GROUP 2 |
VASSILY Lieutenant (Forward Observer) T2 Sniper, D-Charges / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (1 | 35)
TANKHUNTER Portable Autocannon, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 34)
CHASSEUR (Minelayer) Rifle, Light Flamethrower, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 20)
EQUIPE MIRAGE-5 . (2 | 71)
DUROC 2 Chain Rifles, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / AP CC Weapon. (34)
BRISCARD (Forward Observer) Marksman Rifle / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
ZOUAVE (Sapper) Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25)
DYNAMO (Forward Observer) Rifle / Assault Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 29)
SCOUT (Forward Observer) Ojotnik, D-Charges, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 30)
ISOBEL McGREGOR T2 Rifle, Flash Pulse, D-Charges, E/Mauler / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 26)
DOZER (Traktor Mul Control Device) Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
TRAKTOR MUL (Total Reaction) Uragan MRL / Electric Pulse. (1 | 18)
UXÍA McNEILL (Covert Action) (CH: Limited Camouflage, Superior Infiltration, Specialist Operative) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges, Smoke Grenades / 2 Assault Pistols, AP CCW, Knife. (0 | 27)
8 SWC | 400 Points | Open in Infinity Army
Day 2 was going to be all about Margot and Duroc. Just Mirage-5 all day long, push some buttons, and chain rifle/grenade all the things. No thinking, just chain rifling and button pushing.
Game 4 – Rida
GROUP 1 |GROUP 2 |
NAHAB Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun + E/Mitter, Nanopulser / Pistol, Viral CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 30)
MUKHTAR (Multispectral Visor L2) Red Fury, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 37)
FASID HMG + (Smoke and Normal) Light Grenade Launcher, Antipersonnel Mines / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 53)
FANOUS REMOTE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3)
HAKIM Submachine Gun, Chain-colt + 1 Nasmat A2 / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 27)
CARMEN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades + Bâtard / Heavy Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 22)
TARIK MANSURI Lieutenant L2 Spitfire, Nanopulser, Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (1.5 | 59)
NAMURR (Fireteam: Duo) Rifle + Light Shotgun, E/Marat, D-Charges / Heavy Pistol, E/M CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 38)
WILD BILL Contender / 2 MULTI Pistols, Knife. (0 | 25)
HORTLAK (Chain of Command) Submachine Gun, Blitzen / Viral Pistol, Knife. (0 | 33)
JANISSARY Missile Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (2 | 37)
7 SWC | 400 | Open in Infinity Army
Rida brought his favorite Hortlak Jannisary in a pretty crazy mixed link. I dig it. Also, he brought a few solo Muhktar and the amazeballs Al Fasid, proxied by the more stylish Azra’il AP HMG.
Deployment
Rida won the rolloff and chose deployment. Even though second turn is super powerful in Power Pack, I cannot deploy first and go second against Rida. I might as well give him the 10-0 and go drink with him for 2 hours. I was therefore forced to take first turn.
This was actually a pretty reasonable table to play Power Pack on. I don’t think either side had a significant advantage, and there was plenty of cover in all four deployment zones.
My left side was the weak side with some button pushers. Isobel was very far up to get Data Scan, one of my classifieds, and the Uragan/Dozer helped anchor that side. I put the Briscard FO and Dynamo FO over there to help with button pushing and have smoke on that side, and then stuck the Zouave all the way in the back to protect my back table edge from Airborne Deployment.
My right side was where most of my heavy hitters were. Vassily, the Tankhunter, and my amazing Briscard Paramedic made up the bulk of the force on the right. My Chasseurs and Scout secured the centerline to make things difficult for Rida if he wanted to push any buttons, and then it was his turn to deploy.
He castled his mixed link up on his left, with Wild Bill, the Namuur, and the Hortlak hiding in a building. Tarik was hanging out in a literal pit behind the building, and the Jannisary ML was left out to ARO. The building also served as a hiding spot for Carmen and Batard, and he guarded that flank with a Fanous against AD.
The other side of his deployment, the right, was pretty light… if you can consider a Muhktar Red Fury and Al Fasid “light!” The other Muhktar was on the left. I forget what Rida’s reserve was, but mine was Uxia.
I attempted to put her near the link on Rida’s left but failed miserably on the roll, so she ended up on my right side (Rida’s left) where I thought she might be able to contribute with smoke.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – Ariadna
Duroc walks on near the train tracks and out of LoF of anything. If he advances, the Al Fasid can see, so I roll the Dynamo forward to help out. I chuck a mine out to help control that area and then drop smoke in front of the Al Fasid.
This lets me move Duroc forward, towards the link, with a building between him and the Jannisary ML.
I chain rifle down the Fanous without incident, then go prone and have a good look at Batard.
Batard declares Engage, which means Carmen has to idle since Engage isn’t legal for her. The Jannisary dodges and Batard engages successfully, but I chain rifle Carmen off the table, meaning Batard is now useless.
I throw a grenade at the Jannisary while it and Tarik dodge, doing a wound to the Jannisary.
I chain rifle and grenade until I’m out of orders and the Jannisary and Tarik are unconscious.
Unfortunately, the Muhktar Red Fury across the table can see this and over the course of my chain rifle/grenade spree manages to knock Duroc out.
This is still a fantastic first turn for me, so after I settle Uxia and the Dynamo into better positions I pass turn.
Bottom of 1 – Ramah
The Hortlak Janissary keeps Rida from being in loss of lieutenant, but he’s still down a few orders. He brings in a Hakim and picks the Janissary and Tarik back up. I’m not terribly upset about this, since it’s costing Rida orders and both are now on a single wound instead of two. Thank goodness the Hakim is only Doctor+ and not Akbar Doctor!
I do lose the Dynamo to the Muhktar Red Fury though. This is a bit of a bummer, but I’m still costing Rida orders and keeping him on his side of the table.
The Red Fury then KOs my Uragan, which is annoying but not the end of the world. The name of the game here is containment!
Turn 2
Top of 2 – Ariadna
Vassily reveals himself and drops the Muhktar Red Fury from across the table. So far, so good.
This lets me pick the Uragan back up with the Dozer, after which I climb the Dozer down onto the ground floor and pick up the left and middle objectives. This is me remembering to play to the objective!
I’ve got a few orders left to continue degrading Rida’s forces, so I decide to try and take out the Muhktar FO that’s hiding on the ground floor in his backfield. I land a single DAM 15 AP+EXP hit, but I succeed only in doing a single wound. Sigh.
To really tie Rida up, I send in a Chasseur into the likely path of the link, and pass turn.
Bottom of 2 – Ramah
Rida is concerned that I might try to pick up Duroc, so he coup de graces him with Tarik.
As I planned, the link moves forward. The first to see the Chasseur is the Namurr. I delay, the Namurr move+discovers, I drop a mine.
The Namuur shotguns the Chasseur down and takes a wound from the mine and my flamethrower. Alright, not what I wanted but not the end of the world. The Hortlak clears another mine protecting the right objective, and then everyone settles for a prolonged fight.
At this point Wild Bill, the Hortlak, Tarik, and the Namurr are hanging out near the train tracks while the Jannisary is on overwatch backed up by the Hakim. Rida moves the Warcor into view of Vassily, attempting to bait him out and also to get the new warcor point thingy. Concilium Watch or somesuch.
To protect his backfield against Margot, Rida moves the Muhktar FO into position watching his back table edge and throws it into suppression. Smart. I would expect nothing less from a player of his caliber.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – Ariadna
I start things off using my Lieutenant order to surprise shot the Warcor and the Jannisary. Vassily pastes the Warcor but takes a missile to the face and goes dogged. I try a coordinated order between Vassily and the Tankhunter, but nothing happens with T2 and AP+EXP rounds bouncing off the Janissary.
Frustrated, I bring in Margot and drop a grenade right on top of Tarik, Wild Bill, and the Namurr, rolling a 10 and beating all their dodges. They all fail their ARM rolls which takes out two orders and drops Bill into NWI. Rida announces that he’s just got to get the Hortlak wounded and he’ll achieved Fireteam Bingo or something to that effect!
Now with the link bonuses gone, I try another coordinated order with the nearby Scout and the Briscard Paramedic, again failing to do anything. It takes another coordinated order from Vassily and the Tankhunter to finally take out the Janissary. I move some stuff around during these coordinated orders like the Zouave and Uragan.
I’ve got two orders left in my second pool, so I decide to try a long skill jump onto the train. If I succeed, I can move into view of the Hortlak and dump four dice worth of double assault pistol into it (we actually didn’t forget the Saturation Zone! Most of the time…)!
Sadly, the Al Fasid crits Uxia from across the table, so I settle for throwing the Dozer into suppression.
Bottom of 3 – Ramah
Rida goes into the tank for a moment and then decides he can win if he can flip the central objective with his Hortlak and snag a classified. With the chain of command bonus, this is pretty likely, if he can only get the Hortlak there.
Plan A is the Al Fasid firing smoke to cover the Hortlak, but this doesn’t go well. My Uragan plinks away at the Al Fasid, but it’s out of the fight anyway due to being out of orders.
The Hortlak does its best to make it to the central objective, firing away with its SMG but the combined firepower of the Briscard, Tankhunter, Scout, and Margot finally drop it.
Rida brings on his Nahab and snags a classified, making it a
6-3 Ariadna Victory!
Post Game Analysis
Well, as Rida put it, Duroc took his knees out from under him, and he couldn’t really recover. I think I kept him boxed into his deployment zones pretty well until the last turn, and had enough firepower to keep him stalled out.
I could have played better. I was a little sloppy with the Dynamo which would have helped me get to the back of the table to secure Rida’s console. Realistically it was the only way for me to get there, outside of Margot, which Rida made impossible.
I was very pleased with Mirage-5’s performance. The two of them definitely won the game for me. They’re absolute filth. Vassily also did really well this game, leveraging the sniper rifle’s superior rangebands and not really feeling the effects of the saturation zone.
Rida plays a very non-confrontational style of Haqq, which I think is very strong. The only units which took shots at models in his active turn were the Muhktar Red Fury and the Hortlak when all other options were exhausted. And he almost won the game even after my concerted efforts to destroy his ability to do so.
He kept focused on the objectives the whole game. He pushed his key pieces forward, defended his console with the Muhktar FO, and stayed cool even though the last turn was basically a Hail Mary attempt. Honestly I didn’t even think it would be possible. Rida laughed in the face of my assumption and almost pulled out a win. And on a wicked hangover too! What a gentleman and a scholar. We’re now 1-1. I’m looking forward to our inevitable rematch.
Game 5 – Special Delivery
Game five was against James (Stampysaur). We also played at Ragnarok, but at the end of Day 1. At this point, I was very very fried. We were also playing on what had been referred to as the “leftovers” table, which was extremely open.
I just resolved to give James the best game I could and absolved myself of any need to win. I just wanted to finish the game so I could eat and conserve some energy for the drive home. My lack of sleep was really starting to catch up with me.
Overview
- Mission: Highly Classified
- Data Scan
- HVT: Kidnapping
- HVT: Retroengineering
- Predator
- Forces: Ariadna versus O-12 (400, Tactical Window)
- Deploy First: Ariadna
- First Turn: Ariadna
GROUP 1 |GROUP 2 |
8 SWC | 400 Points | Open in Infinity Army
Margot and Duroc would have to do some heavy lifting again, I thought!
Game 5 – James
GROUP 1 |GROUP 2 |
ALPHA Lieutenant (Strategos L2) 2 Light Shotguns, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 26)
CHO (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
GANGBUSTER Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Submachine Gun, MadTrap / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
RAZOR Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, D-Charges, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 37)
EPSILON HMG, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 30)
SIRIUS Red Fury + 1 SiriusBot / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 29)
GAMMA Feuerbach / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 58)
DELTA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + Light Riotstopper, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
VARANGIAN Submachine Gun, Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
LAMBDA Doctor (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16)
YUDBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
CYBERGHOSTS Hacker(Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Breaker Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 26)
7.5 SWC | 399 Points | Open in Infinity Army
James brought some fun toys. Dual Sirius is pretty gross, as is all the MSV2 he had on the table. I knew I’d have to rely on active turn burst and surprise shot to deal with his heavy hitters, and then hope to get myself sorted on the objectives.
Deployment
I forget who won the rolloff, but I ended up going first. The map was pretty open, so I did my best to hide the stuff that mattered. My Zouave watched a long firelane on my right, and I stuffed my HVT on my far right as well, guarded by a Chasseur and mine. The Tankhunter lurked nearby on a rooftop, providing overwatch.
I covered that area with an Uragan as well, with a Dozer for backup, then stuck my Briscard FO on a roof covering the left firelane and hopefully able to clear the way for the Dynamo on that side. Isobel deployed in the middle-ish to be able to get Data Scan on a convenient thing, and then I stuck Vassily near her to clear the left-of-middle firelane if necessary. The Scout went in the middle with a Chasseur feigning to be an ARO piece on a roof.
James put all kinds of nonsense on the table next. He had two literal sniper towers, so the Gamma went on the left and the Epsilon Feuerbach on the right. He screened everything with Gangbuster KHDs and Team Sirius’es, one on each side. His HVT was liberally protected with a Razor AHD as well, and his backfield had the usual support suite. A Lambda, Cyberghost, Catherine Cho, and an Alpha.
I stuck Uxia at the base of the sniper tower the Gamma was on, and then James puts some stuff down out of reserve… not sure what it was, it’s been too long to remember. Wasn’t relevant anyway.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – Ariadna
There’s a ton of stuff watching the sides of the table, so I just bring in Duroc behind a building on my left near my deployment zone. Hooray for an extra reserve!
I make my first mistake and go for a CC kill with Uxia on the nearby Sirius. I mean, look at this picture, it’s a perfect shotgun template! I should’ve started there. I probably don’t kill anything outright with the shotgun, assault pistol down the Varangian, and then get Predator off their corpses. In some order. Ah well.
In any case, it takes my entire second order pool to take down this one Sirius. James just kept passing ARM rolls even after I switched to D-Charges. Ridiculous. Check one box for Predator though.
I then need to deal with the Gamma and Epsilon, so the Tankhunter pokes out and blasts the Gamma into NWI and forces it prone.
| 65.10 | 21.81 | 13.09 |
I then coordinate an order between Vassily (who is still in camo), the Tankhunter, and the Briscard FO with the FO as spearhead, all looking at the Epsilon MSR. James wisely chooses to go F2F with the Tankhunter and kills it, but Vassily puts a T2 round through the Epsilon whose corpse goes tumbling off the sniper tower.
We make a rules mistake when we forget that Impetuous Troops can’t sync a civilian. I get Duroc into base to base with James’ HVT, clearing some MadTraps with a dodge, and start pulling the HVT back towards my deployment zone.
Bottom of 1 – O-12
James’ Varangians move up, with Uxia dodging the first’s chain rifle.
The other gets shot by the Briscard but nothing happens. Duroc dodges back, and we call Tony over to see if the Civilian can dodge back too. It’s at this point that we learn of the CivEvac mistake. We discuss what to do, and we agree to just say that I’m not longer in CivEvac state with Duroc and we shuffle the HVT back towards James’ side of the table a few inches.
Thankfully, I don’t think this was a huge deal because I have a Dynamo on that side of the table anyway and Duroc could still have easily cleared the way for my Turn 2.
Anyway. James starts shooting at stuff with the Sirius on that side. Duroc smokes out the Sirius but I lose the Briscard FO. Ah well.
James berserks the Varangian into Uxia, and I D-Charge it with my last D-Charge.
Of course, James passes all three ARM saves and Uxia goes down for the count. We’ve both got a single tick on Predator now.
James reveals his Razor AHD and tries to re-sync his civilian (failing to do so), trading fire with my Scout as he does so.
I eventually get forced back into cover, which lets James’ Varangian advance forward and chain rifle the revealed Scout, knocking out the Chasseur in the process. Sigh. I knew putting them there was a mistake I just didn’t have a better plan–I tend to shy away from putting things on buildings when possible, they tend to get stuck up there.
I reveal my other Chasseur to take a shot at the Varangian though, wounding it. James puts it dogged to deny me an easy Data Scan.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – Ariadna
I send in Duroc and chain rifle the Razor and Sirius, both of whom survive. I then CC down the Razor to “complete” Predator. More on this later.
I chain rifle the Sirius again, with no effect…
I finally get around the corner and chain rifle down the Gangbuster and Sirius, but lose Duroc in the process. No matter.
With everything in that area down, I’m safe to send in the Dynamo, resync the Civilian, and drag it further towards my side. I bring Margot on and try to spec-fire the Daikini HMG which is really Katherine Cho and fail.
My last order in group two is spent on the Briscard Paramedic attempting to MediKit my downed Chasseur, succeeding only in killing him. Oh well.
Bottom of 2 – O-12
James activates his remaining Gangbuster and uses its MadTraps to clear out my mine. My Chasseur flamethrowers the other one, but both pass ARM. What. Is. With. These. ARM. Saves.
I lose the Chasseur to the Gangbuster…
and Margot to Katherine Cho’s nanopulsar. Sigh.
James brings on a Delta to try and CC down either Margot or Duroc to complete Predator. We erroneously think that Total Immunity is still in effect for the purposes of D-Charging an unconscious Duroc, but James ends up whiffing a ton of CC rolls anyway. Bah.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – Ariadna
I start by getting rid of the last Gangbuster with my Briscard Paramedic (he’s really been awesome this whole tournament!).
I move my Zouave over to take a shot at the Varangian on the right but get smoked out…
And then roll the Dynamo back into my deployment zone, putting the HVT in base to base with my Dozer! I easily snag HVT: Retroengineering and then use my Briscard to nab HVT: Identity Check, which was my personal classified.
I’m out of orders at this point, so I just need to weather the storm and hope James can’t grab another classified.
Bottom of 3 – O-12
We go into the bottom of 3 with me having completed 3/4 of the main objectives and James having none. He starts by losing the Varangian to a crit from my Zoauve, no big deal, but then pulls off a master stroke.
He rolls in a Yudbot and picks up the Razor, which denies me Predator! The Razor comes on back, kills Margot to give James Predator, and then nabs Data Scan off of Duroc.
Genius! He then tries to deny me HVT: Kidnapping by trying to shoot my Dynamo with his Cyberghost from across the table but I smoke him out easily. What a close game! Had I not grabbed HVT: Identity Check with my Briscard, it would have been a hard fought tie!
6-4 Ariadna Victory!
Post Game Analysis
First off, I wish we had a cleaner game. The CivEvac situation with Duroc and the Total Immunity thing was a bummer. It affected the game for sure, in a minor way, but given the closeness it mattered. Hopefully next game will be tighter.
I’m quite disappointed in myself for not shotgunning with Uxia. I had a 56% chance to wound the Sirius and a 60% chance to wound the Epsilon, but it was quite unlikely that I would actually outright kill both.
I thought about it at the time and decided to “play to the objective” but I didn’t take a step back and really think about what that meant. That would have been a much better use of my time, I think, because then I can MA2 to get Predator much easier after clearing out the Varangian. I think that (and not spending the extra order on Duroc to CC the Razor again) was what cost me the major.
I was also disappointed with my deployment of the Scout. Having him on a roof watching the table edge where I brought on Margot/Duroc would have been better. This isn’t Countermeasures either, I have complete knowledge of the objectives.
Anyway. I think James made some minor mistakes–the gang up bonus is powerful in CC, especially against an unconscious opponent, and he had Katherine Cho there to help with the CC and guarantee an efficient kill with some command token usage. The burst one “dammit I missed” is the worst.
Was not terribly happy with my usage of Margot, but I think I’m more upset about the outcome than the decision.
| 30.10 | 47.90 | 22.00 |
I had two tries, failed both. If I had gotten Cho though, that would have completely collapsed that flank for James and protected Duroc from the Delta, and prevented the Yudbot from getting the Razor. Maybe it was worth it? Hard to say, I can’t really be objective here.
Anyway, a really tough fought game, especially for Game 5 when both of us were very ready to be done and go home. Thanks to James for rolling with the rules issues and to Tony for helping us sort them out. I look forward to our next match!
Tournament Thoughts
I ended with 2 majors, 2 minors, and a loss, which put me at 3rd place out of 20, right after Ryan (halfjackz) and Leif (norsecompass). Congrats to Ryan and Leif, especially Ryan who… ah… let’s say was playing with a Karaoke-induced handicap on Day 2.
Also, it’s not a mistake that I’m wearing a Rose City Raid T-shirt. As of this writing, there are still tickets left!
A huge thank you to Tony (zhukov2) for putting on the event and to all the locals for hosting us. Tony has consitently had to wade through a river of malarkey to put on Best of the Pacific Northwest, be it vendor issues, venue issues, etc. We appreciate you! Just look at all these smiling faces, Tony!
I think I can speak for all the attendees when we say we had a great time and we really appreciate the time, effort, and pushing through the suck that it took to put on this great tournament. Thank you again!
In addition to the dope 3rd place trophy, I picked up my own copy of Van Zant, and these Cosmica Cubes which will come in handy for an upcoming project which I hope to debut at the Rose City Raid!
A special shout out to Kyle, who came to a big tournament for his first ITS ever and took home the Operation Wildfire box!
After we had helped box up some tables and made our rounds, James (RomanLegion) and Clint (pseudonymster) and I walked to a nearby Thai restaurant and were pleasantly surprised at the awesomeness of the food. Check out that happy hour Lamb Satay! We don’t need no stinkin’ skewers!
Thanks to everyone who came out, especially the folks who flew in like Shane, Nina, and Gavin from Colorado and Clint from Humboldt, CA. Hope to see everyone at other Cascadia Circuit events!
Thanks for reading!
