Battle ReportHeavy Gear

Heavy Gear Battle Report

WiseKensai

10/29/2021

Phil (South) vs JJ (Caprice)

100 TV

Overview

This battle report is a playthrough of a scenario from the Heavy Gear Blitz Tournament System v 0.3.1 – the High Ground scenario.  This was a 100 TV Caprice vs South game.  

Forces

South

I haven’t used my Southern models in awhile – so I’m sticking with some old favorites (i.e. – most are very old models I’ve had for years).  Only new gear model I took was the Black Box Iggy – got to have ECM+ these days.

Figure 1: 100 Point Southern Forces

These groups are listed to match the picture above, left to right. 

Name TV CG Commander
Jager Command 7 GP X
Jager 6 GP
Jager 6 GP
Blitz Jager 8 GP
King Cobra 19 FS X
Black Box Iguana 11 FS
Anti-Tank Squad 5 FS
Spitting Cobra 12 FS X
Spitting Cobra 12 FS
Jackrabbit Recon Squad 5 FS
Iguana 9 FS
TOTAL 100

On the surface I think this is a relatively balanced force.  Maybe it could use more ATMs, but I’m not sure if that would have made a difference.

Caprice

JJ only took 2 combat group, which did cause problems at times when facing three groups.  Taking an ECM+ unit is something that is almost required for both of us these days.

Name TV CG Commander
Stalker Acco 7 GP X
Stalker Acco 7 GP
Acco 7 GP
Acco 7 GP
Jammer Bashan 15 FS X
Acco 7 FS
Aphek Rex 14 FS
Ammon Quasar 36 FS
TOTAL 100

Map Setup

We tried to use as much terrain as last time – I think we had sufficient. The three objectives for this mission were fairly out in the open, although it was possible to scan them all from cover.

Deployment

South

My deployment zone is on the bottom of the board.  I deployed my GP on the right side.  After seeing JJ deploy his FS squad in the middle of his deployment zone, I split my two FS squads on the left and right side of the board to try and stay out of their way.

Caprice

JJ’s deployment zone is on the top of the board.  He deployed his FS squad in the center of his deployment zone and strung the GP squad across the entire width of the board.

Figure 2: Deployment

Objectives

South

I wanted to try one of the new objectives for October, so I took:

  • Flags (deployed on King Cobra and Command Jager)
  • Wipe them Out (FS squad).

Caprice

JJs took standard objectives:

  • Wipe Them Out (my Fire Support squad FS1)
  • Hold (The red 5 and 6 markers on the maps)

Turn 1

Caprice won the initiative, and moved up the GP squad to scan the two Scan markers.  Two of the Accos were successful at scanning the two scan objectives.  One of others was able to TD for the FS squad – who then crippled one Jager and put three damage on another.  I responded with the South by moving up the Iggy to scan Scan Marker 1, and one of the Strike Cobras was able to overkill an Acco.  Caprice then activated the FS squad and fired multiple models at the Iguana to kill it.I then cautiously moved my FS1 squad into the forest on the lower left of the map, and the King Cobra proceeded to kill a second Acco.

Score 2-1 Caprice 

 

Figure 3: Turn 1

Turn 2

South went first. The jackrabbit in the center of the map tried to peek out from behind its cover and TD the Quasar, but the target Quasar reacted and obliterated it.  I then threw lots of fire from the King Cobra and the rest of its squad into the Jammar Bashan – first haywiring it then crippling it. Caprice responded by sending an Acco down the left side of the board to cripple the Black Box Iguana.  (Taking out ECM+ units is high priority for us these days).  The Southern GP squad was then able to kill another Acco as the GP and FS2 squad advanced up the right side of the board.  Since the Command Jager made it past the center of the board, it deployed its Flag objective (Black 7 marker) at the very end of the turn.  No VPs scored this turn.

Score 2-1 Caprice 

Figure 4; Turn 2

Turn 3

This was the turn it all fell apart for the South.  I won the initiative and The King Cobra promptly killed the Jammar Bashan to take care of that pesky ECM+ problem.  Caprice then retaliated with the Quasar which killed the King Cobra with one weapon and crippled a Spitting Cobra with another. The Aphex Rex then took out the Black Box Iguana. This gave Caprice two VPs for its wipe-out objective.  The South then grouped the GP squad and one of the Spitting Cobras behind the hard cover on the right side of the board with the intent of rushing the center objective on turn 4. One Spitting Cobra moved further North to try and dislodge an Acco guarding a Hold objective.  When the turn ended, the South successfully claimed their Flag objective placed last turn.

Score 4-2 Caprice

Figure 5: Turn

Turn 4

I won the initiative again, and thought my only real chance at this point was to rush the center objective with everything I could to try and scan/hold it.   I therefore made the mistake of deferring and allowing Caprice to go first – thinking that I could then move whatever survived after his FS squad had moved.  

The Quasar shot first, taking out the northmost Spitting Cobra and crippled the second.  Meanwhile, the Aphek Rex then moved in on the center objective and finished off two Jagers. The South then activated the Anti-Tank infantry to scan the left objective – which failed, and it promptly got wiped out by an Acco.  The only non-crippled Southern model capable of reaching the center was the Command Jager – which did successfully scan the objective.  Caprice gained control of the control marker as it’s one unit out-pointed the one southern unit 14-7.

Final Additional Scoring for turn 4:

South:    1 Scan the Control Marker

Caprice:    3 Control Center objective

    1 Hold Objective

Final Score: 8-3 South

Figure 8: Turn 4 End of Game

Total carnage at the end of the game:

  • South lost 73% of its TV (Very aggressive final turn with massive casualties)
  • Caprice lost 36% of TV 

Total playing time was around 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Mission Hotwash

As the South, I was not aggressive enough – ceding the center of the map to the Quasar.  I did not put enough fire into the Caprice FS squad – which was an objective.  In addition, the King Cobra did not advance enough to drop my second Flag objective – probably a mistake to use such a slow unit for this person.  JJ played well as Caprice – claiming the center hill on his side and just shooting at everything that moved.

Thoughts on Scenario

  • We played the scenario in an earlier iteration when mission objectives were only 4 out of 10 points instead of 6.  Giving the center control objective 3 VPs seemed kind of high to me – but I’m not sure if there would be a better way to divide up the points. I did not check how many other missions have 3 VP objectives.
  • Did not like the Flag objective at all.  It seemed much harder than the corresponding Hold objective:
    • Requires an action to active
    • Requires specific models (the commanders) to deploy the flag

I don’t see why I would ever take Flags over Hold on any future missions.