Blind Riot
After my game against Alex (DrLaserBeast)
I was matched up against Owen (Savnock) on this table with some very interesting verticality.
Overview
- Mission: ITS14 Unmasking
- Forces: ALEPH versus Jurisdictional Command of Bakunin (300)
- Deploy First: Bakunin
- First Turn: Bakunin
Given the tournament format I was able to tune a list specifically for Unmasking. Based on my last game against James:
I made the following edits:
Unmasking v4
GROUP 1
8
1
2
GROUP 2
ALKÊ (Lieutenant) Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)
EUDOROS Mk12, Nanopulser(+1B), Ecli pse Grenades / Heavy Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
PROXY Mk.1 (Hacker, Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanop ulser ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 14)
PROXY Mk.2 MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1. 5 | 28)
ARJUNA Shock Marksman Rifle, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 32)
KIRANBOT E/Marat, Cybermines / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 4)
DRAKIOS Combi Rifle, Heavy Flame thrower, Panzerfaust / Heavy Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0 | 36)
DEVABOT KYDOIMOS Heavy Flamethrower, Shock Mines / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 6)
NETROD . (0 | 6)
MOTORIZED BOUNTY HUNTER Submachine Gun, Chain-colt(+1B) / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
DALETH Rebot Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 16)
AÏDA SWANSON FTO (Minelayer) Submachine Gun, Viral Mines / Viral Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
AGÊMA Marksman Missile Launcher / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 31)
WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse ( ) / Stun Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
LIBERTO (Minelayer) Light Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 8)
6 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
I dropped Penny and one of the MBH in favor of Drakios to get that all important Albedo. It turned out to be incredibly relevant against Owen’s Riot Grrl-heavy Bakunin:
Owen (Savnock)
GROUP 18
1
MODERATOR (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
RIOT GRRL Spitfire / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 33)
AVICENNA Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 27)
GROUP 2
ZERO (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 20)
SALYUT (Deactivator, Repeater) ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 8)
CHIMERA Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Eclipse Grenades / Viral CC Weapon, Pistol. (0 | 20)
3X PUPNIK DA CC Weapon. (0 | 3)
ZOE FTO & Π-WELL FTO undefined / undefined. (0.5 | 44)
Π-WELL FTO Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse(+1B), Pitcher / PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 19)
TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
4 SWC | 300 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
He’s got a pair of Zeros and two Riot Grrl links to deal with! Thankfully Drakios will be completely invisible to the Riot Grrls for the first round.
Deployment
I feel comfortable playing second, so I take deployment. Owen takes first turn. He really spreads out across the table with the Riot/Avicenna link on the left and the Riot/Zoe/Pi-Well link on the right. The Uberfall park on the left as well, right on the 12″ starting line. The rest of his stuff is tucked into various nooks and crannies in the back of his DZ.
He did telegraph which was the real Designated Target with the Zero and her mine, but I wasn’t paying attention and would just have find out the hard way by guessing.
With the lay of the land so clear, it was my turn to deploy. The Netrods were easy, and then I had a bit of thinking to do. I tucked Alke into a safe spot on the left flanks, screening her with a Kiranbot and the Arjuna. The Daleth and MBH sort of just hung out on the right, and then I used Aida and her mine to protect the Designated Target and one of the Decoys, the other being protected by the Libertos and its mine in the middle.
I actually left the Warcor out to ARO the world, because I wasn’t too worried about losing her and it might actually do stuff. I did a dumb thing on purpose and put the Agema in a spot that would allow the Riot ML to splash the Arjuna. Sometimes you do the dumb thing to get in your opponent’s head a little–“there’s no way they would do that… but if they know that I would think that then…”
Anyway. Eudoros hung out on the right to give me more options there. Drakios just parked in the middle of everything daring the Riot Grrls to fight an invisible enemy. Owen’s reserve I believe was the Zero KHD, and mine was the Proxies. I put the Mk2 watching the one keyhole I had to see the Chimera, and the Mk1 was in a building.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – Bakunin
Owen was going first, so I took two orders from Group 2, mostly to have greatest percentage orders docked. We started everything off with possibly the most important die roll of the game. The Chimera moves in front of the Proxy Mk2 and asks for AROs. I shoot, of course, and the Chimera throws smoke.
| 33.2 | 66.8 |
It’s not great odds, but I get the hit I need and the Chimera drops. Phew! Big bit of pressure off. Next up the Moderator/Riot core starts moving. I let them bunch up and then reveal the Agema and delete the Riot BSG and one of the Moderators.
Owen then throws a pair of missiles at the Agema from the Riot, and I take the free shot on Pi Well, hoping the Arjuna will dodge and I can trade the Agema for Pi Well. I’m on 16s, which of course means I roll a 17.
The Agema dies and the Arjuna fails its dodge and gets vaporized. Well, that’s not great. Pi Well is going to continue to be a problem. The Liberto’s mine is guarding the approach to my decoys, so Owen dodge clears it with the Riot Grrl missile. I take a shot with Drakios as the mine goes off, and Pi Well wanders just a little too close to my Mk1 (who is in the building on the ground floor but we can’t be bothered to open up the building) and gets isolated.
Of course, if you bring Pi Well, that means you have Zoe, so this was just a bit of an order tax.
Of course, now that Pi Well is rebooted, the Mk1 is vulnerable to the Zero KHD. I oblivion in response and take a wound, failing guts away from Pi Well (who was *just* in range) to prevent further shenanigans.
This frees up Pi Well, Zoe, and the Riot Missile to scurry away.
Sadly, I lose Drakios to Avicenna’s combi, of all things, because the Riot Grrls can’t do anything about Drakios.
Bottom of 1 – ALEPH
So far so good, I’ve sustained a fair amount of damage but I have plenty of tools left and things to do with them. My plan is to get Eudoros into the fight, flip a console, and remove any Riot Grrls I can. The rest of the list is problematic, but they’re probably the most potent and lasting threat.
Owen had posted the Riot BSG out to corner guard a little too far out, so I fixed that with Eudoros’s Mk12.
I flipped the nearest console–how cool is it that it’s an actual console on the bridge?–and took out the Riot Spitfire, who had dodged out to challenge Eudoros.
After some smoke to protect Eudoros from the Riot ML watching the approach, I long skill jumped him off the bridge and towards the Riot Grrls and Avicenna.
I rounded the corner and split burst between the now-revealed Decoy, a Transductor, and Avicenna. I managed put a wound on no one, but at least Eudoros was still up. Zoe did get a Spotlight off, which was annoying.
The Riot ML was out of cover from this angle and within 24″. I decided that 16s versus 13s was okay and took the shot, dropping the Riot ML.
I had enough orders to get my Daleth onto the roof and down the Decoy that Eudoros failed to take out. I gotta say, I love that Nomad and ALEPH remotes have Climbing+. So relevant much of the time!
Now that I’ve got a repeater in range of the Zero KHD, I successfully Oblivion it with the Mk1.
I’m out of orders now, so I have to pass turn.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – Bakunin
Owen’s order pool is a bit fragmented at the moment, so he spends some command tokens collecting everything up. Eudoros is still a big problem, and I’m basically thrown him under the bus to burn orders. Owen starts by spending his lieutenant order to fight Eudoros. Bold! Likely to take it because of the targeted state and burst 3, but still very risky on Turn 2.
| 21.6 | 40.2 | 38.2 |
Eudoros takes a win and fails guts into a building. This also gives me a shot on Avicenna if she moves too far. Owen wants to get her out of there so he tries to dodge past, but this triggers a dodge from Eudoros who dodges into view.
My dodge opens a shot to Pi Well, who just takes the shot and drops Eudoros.
Avcienna then brings the Riot BSG back with a long-bomb MediKit.
Pi Well, who I said would be a problem, continues to be a problem. I had shifted the Libertos to see things, and Pi Well asks for AROs. I decide to take the dodge to get higher up on the stairs to secure the console. Even if Pi Well does a wound, I can at least put a shotgun and/or mines down on the console before I go down. Thankfully I make my dodge.
Owen needs to unstick Zoe so she can do go things, but instead of fighting my Daleth with Pi Well, he tries to fight it with Zoe. This does not go well for Zoe.
Owen realized he has a shot on the Daleth’s back with the Zero KHD, after he loses Zoe, which is a big bummer. What’s worse is his dice–18,18,19 against a failed dodge.
Bottom of 2 – ALEPH
I need to continue to develop board state, control the midfield, and flip some consoles. The newly picked up Riot Grrl needs to go, so I start by blapping her with the MBH’s SMG and somehow beat her dodge. I’ll take it.
Pi Well is standing up so I try to drop him with the Mk2. I hit, but Pi Well passes both saves against DA ammo and goes prone.
Still, with Pi Well prone, I have run of the board and flip all three consoles with the Daleth and the Mk1 before passing turn. Everything’s revealed so it’s just a matter of shooting it all next turn.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – Bakunin
Avicenna pushes on the right console, but gets flash pulsed on her way in and fails the WIP roll. Truly unlucky!
Pi Well then long-skill jumps onto the platform near the Proxy Mk1 and the Libertos. Owen’s low enough on orders and my positioning is good enough that he’s gotta try stuff like this. It doesn’t work.
Bottom of 3 – ALEPH
Well, all I’ve got to do this turn is push buttons. Pi-Well is Carbonited, but he can always reset out of it and cause problems, so I take care of that with a Daleth.
Daleth #1 takes down the Designated Target…
and Daleth #2 finishes off the other decoy
10-0, 150-92 ALEPH Victory
Post Game Analysis
Owen and I have been chatting occasionally on the internet, and he’s an avid reader of these batreps (thanks Owen!), but this was the first time we got to play a game against each other. We chatted briefly after the game (he was TOing this tournament and I was running the OTM data entry, so we were busy) and his takeaway was that he felt under a lot of time pressure, even though the clock had plenty of time. As a result of this artificial, self-imposed pressure, Owen felt he had to make some snap (and often suboptimal) decisions to keep the game rolling. In actuality, we were one of the first pairings to finish our game this round, so he had plenty of time.
We talked about ways to improve this, like having a chess clock there simply to reassure him that there was still time left in the round. Most people have the opposite problem of playing too slow and needing to make snap decisions, but Owen needs to take a breath and give himself permission to take a beat. This is something I also struggle with in a slightly different way. For Owen, it’s a feeling of running out of the clock and wanting to make sure his opponent gets a fair amount of time for their turns. For me, I feel under pressure to make decisions quickly and stick to them because I often second-guess myself and end up deviating from a plan. In Owen’s case, just taking the time to think would help a lot. For me, I haven’t had a game go to time even against notoriously slow opponents for many years now, so it’s more of an issue of giving myself the emotional space to more carefully evaluate a line of play before committing.
With regards to the actual game, I think Owen’s first turn was a bit unfocused. He didn’t do enough damage, had some weaknesses in position that I was able to exploit, and some key dice rolls went my way giving me the game. As far as the first turn went, in my mind he was expecting to just rocket the Uberfall forward and do a bunch of damage, but the Mk 2 denied him that opportunity on the first impetuous order of the game. As a result, he had to rely on the Riot Grrl links to do work, and he has never played against Albedo before, so Drakios was a bit of a curveball for him. There was a lot of “I move here, AROs?” and me saying: “I do nothing,” and him being surprised when I tell him he can’t shoot Drakios because he’s invisible to MSV troops.
I wanted to also talk about his decision to pick up the Riot Grrl BSG with Avicenna. I think that this wasn’t necessarily bad, especially since she moves fast, but his turn 2 orders were so precious. If the aim is to then use the Riot Grrl BSG to do something productive, then that’s worth it. If it’s to force me to deal with her, that’s less worth it. She wasn’t in the best position in the first place–after all she went unconscious there–and to just leave here there again was pretty inefficient. I think the fact that she’s carrying a BSG also makes it less good–even the combi/blitzen would have been arguably more worth it, but you’re more likely to just dodge against most of what I would throw at you if you’re carrying a BSG. If we just look at the order expenditure–Avicenna spent 2-3 orders getting away from Eudoros/fixing the Riot Grrl and then Pi Well took out Eudoros. On my turn, a single impetuous order dropped the Riot Grrl again. Definitely in my favor here in terms of orders spent. I think you have to just look at the game like this–yes it’s good to have the Riot Grrl back in isolation, but what is she going to do in the larger context? Could you have leveraged the multiple orders to bring her back to improve your position instead? I don’t want to make it seem like I think bring stuff is bad, there is a time and a place for it:
Really I’m just advocating for a cost-benefit analysis before you do it. In this particular case I think the cost was high and the benefit low. If the idea was to rocket the BSG into my backline, that’s worth it, but that’s not what happened.
Owen also had I think too long of a list of things to accomplish on the first turn: 1) kill stuff 2) clear a mine 3) take out my Mk1 4) develop both links. That is a lot of stuff to do, and ends up with just not enough resources to do everything and more importantly get everyone to a safe and useful spot. By the time turn 2 hits, I had done enough damage to really limit his resources and he still had the same list of things to do, more or less. I’ve been talking to Erik (Zelaponeepus) about alpha strikes lately, and how he feels he can never execute one effectively. I think it’s because he’s falling prey to the same issue–trying to do too much with too little. Better to give yourself permission to split your to-do list across two, even three turns. It’s this sort of thing that keeps bringing me back to Infinity–these are lessons that I can carry over to my personal life and career. It’s much harder to give yourself the space to make big changes in life, and much easier to do it in a no-stakes game with space dolls.
Back to the Albedo thing. I’ve long maintained that for experienced Infinity players, the game can be abstracted to resource management and resource attrition goals, with staving off decision fatigue being one of the key parts of this. Obviously I didn’t force him to commit to a line of play given that it’d be silly to just walk in front of Drakios and get shot for free when you’re out of cover, but every time he made the move and then took it back, that’s a little bit more decision fatigue accrued. Add to that the fact that the Riot Grrls aren’t his primary plan, he’s playing against an unfamiliar ability, and he’s exerting a bunch of self-imposed pressure on himself, it’s no wonder that he felt like the game was getting away from him from a decision standpoint.
It’s very difficult to play into that kind of situation effectively. I think everyone struggles with stress in this game. I’ve played people who are so stressed out their hands are shaking. Heck, I’ve been that person, just knocking models over at my first Adepticon tournament because of nerves. There’s so much of this game wrapped up into making good decisions under pressure that managing that aspect of the game is arguably more important than what you took in your list.
I talked about this in our last Late Night Wargames episode about playing two games simultaneously:
I’m having trouble managing my decision making under pressure, so I’m choosing a training methodology that pushes me to failure. You’re supposed to fail in training, that’s how you learn and grow. For me, I need the extra eustress of two games to constantly provide myself opportunities to quickly identify, evaluate, commit to, and execute on lines of play. In contrast, for Owen, playing on a clock just to remind him “oh there’s actually a whole hour left” is probably the most beneficial growth tool for him. Thanks to Owen for the game and to you, dear reader, for your time!
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