BACKGROUND

This is the first mission in a Star Wars Armada/Legion 3-mission mini-campaign based off the "Assault on Tralus" campaign I discovered on SteelStrategy.com, which allows for 2v2 matches (1 Admiral and General per side, simultaneous play). My group and I hope to use this mini-campaign to test out mechanics and scenario balancing prior to starting a large scale Armada/Legion campaign based on Armada's Correllian Conflict Campaign Expansion.

Prior to this mission, we played a prequel X-Wing scenario where Imperial forces successfully intercepted and destroyed a Rebel GR-75 transport, which thematically led to the discovery of the Rebel outpost (which would have happened regardless) and mechanically prevented the Rebellion from utilizing AT-RTs and other heavy/support units in the initial defense of the outpost.

SCENARIO

Following the successful interdiction of a Rebel convoy transporting obsolete AT-RT scout walkers, Imperial Naval Intelligence discovered Rebel rendezvous coordinates on Talfaglio, Correlian Sector within the destroyed GR-75's data banks and quickly dispatched an ISD under the command of Admiral Tarkin - already the vicinity - to investigate. Upon arrival at Talfaglio, the Imperials detected unnatural energy spikes emanating from the planet and launched a regiment under the command of General Veers to search for its source. Veers deployed the regiment to scour the planet for any indications of a Rebel presence, but became the first - along with his security platoon - to discover and initiate contact with elements of the Rebellion's 14th Mobile Infantry and Jedi Knight/terrorist Luke Skywalker.

However, unbeknownst to Tarkin or Veers, the Rebels had detected the Imperial's arrival above Talfaglio and successfully requested assistance before Imperial technicians were able to jam known Rebel frequencies in the system. In response, Mon Mothma hastily assembled a squadron of corvettes to by-pass any Imperial blockade and reinforce the besieged Rebels planet-side.

OBJECTIVES

Imperial Admiral:

300 point fleet - For every ship with an objective token (CR-90 corvettes and GR-75 transports) destroyed, the Empire gains Victory Tokens equal to the number of objective tokens assigned to that unit.

Imperial General:

500 point army - Gain one Victory Token for every unit leader in the Rebel General's deployment zone.

Rebel Admiral:

300 point fleet - For every ship with an objective token (CR-90 corvettes and GR-75 transports) in the Empire's deployment zone at the end of the game, the Rebellion gains Victory Tokens equal to the number of objective tokens assigned to that unit.

Rebel General:

400 point army - The Rebels gain one Victory Token for every Rebel unit that has half or more of its miniatures remaining, and is not damaged.

TURN 1

Armada:

Mon Mothma exits hyperspace to find Tarkin's ISD position to support Veers planet-side and unprepared for the arrival of a Rebel fleet. As the ISD slowly re-positions to address the unexpected threat, its escort - a Arquitens-class light cruiser - and squadrons burn to attack range.

Legion:

Rebel troopers man the ramparts while Imperial stormtroopers advance on their position.

Zooming over rocky outcroppings and river crossings, Imperial speeder bikes strafe Rebels manning the outpost's main checkpoint. 2 troopers become the first casualties of the day.

TURN 2

Armada:

Rebel A-Wing pickets - led by Shara Bey - engage Imperial bombers and their accompanying escorts, thwarting an Imperial alpha strike on the small corvettes.

Legion:

Imperial scout bikes continue to make their presence known, downing two more Rebel troopers at the checkpoint.

Return fire by the Rebel squad's surviving Sergeant and Z-6 gunner miss their mark. Other Rebel units, realizing they are out-ranged by Imperial heavy weapons and outgunned by the speeders, abandon their positions on the roof top and trench line in order to lure the Imperials into range of their blasters.... and Luke.

Veers, noticing the withdrawal of Rebels from their positions, orders his platoon to advance with haste.

TURN 3

Armada:

The Imperial light cruiser shoots volley after volley of anti-squadron fire into Shara Bey's A-Wings but is answered with turbolasers from the Rebel's Hammerhead.

Despite the Hammerhead's best efforts, the anti-squadron fire from the light cruiser find their mark and Shara Bey is finished off by a squadron of TIE Advanced fighters.

Shara's death was not in vain, however, as Rogue Squadron capitalizes on their sacrifice to finish off Mauler Mithell and his dreaded squadron of TIE fighters.

Legion:

With the speeder bikes now within range, Rebel troopers (previously on the roof top) exit cover and - due largely to an extraordinary un-aimed roll by the Z-6 - destroy both bikes (who were also in cover) in a single volley, saving the sole survivor of the squad at the checkpoint.

Emboldened by the destruction of the bikes, the last Rebel squad reoccupies their initial fighting position and fire on the advancing stormtroopers, hoping and failing to suppress the Imperials as they near the river.

Shrugging off the poorly aimed Rebel shots and equipped with environmental gear, a squad of stormtroopers ford the river while a second squad assumes an overwatch position to support the imminent assault into the Rebel compound.

TURN 4

Armada:

Finally in position to contribute its significant firepower to the battle, Tarkin's ISD unleashes a broadside into the nearest CR-90, crippling its weapon systems.

Meanwhile, the Hammerhead escort - equipped with external racks of close range torpedoes - unleashes its own ordinance into the Imperial light cruiser, critically wounding the vessel and overloading what remained of the cruiser's shields.

A CR-90 subsequently capitalized on the opening created by its Hammerhead escort and destroys the Imperial cruiser.

Legion:

Imperial stormtroopers assault the Rebel trench line, throwing concussion grenades into the Rebel fortification, eliminating 2 troopers, and suppressing the remaining troopers.

Sensing the collapse of the Rebels right flank (probably through the force... of those concussion grenades ?), Luke launches himself into the assaulting stormtrooper squad, leaving no survivors in his wake.

Meanwhile, the Rebel's left flank continued to pour fire into the advancing stormtroopers, felling one.

TURN 5

Armada:

Tarkin continues to make his presence known, destroying one of the objective CR-90 corvettes as it neared the planet's surface (deployment zone).

Meanwhile, Rogue Squadron and a squadron of Y-Wings led by "Dutch" finish off the remaining Imperial squadrons, granting the Rebellion squadron supremacy by the end of Turn 5.

Legion:

Skywalker force jumps over the river and onto the hillside, cutting down two of the stormtroopers protecting Veers himself.

While his stormtroopers continued their melee against Luke (landing 1 critical wound on the Jedi), Veers orders an orbital strike from Tarkin's ISD overhead on the Rebel squad pinning down his men and thwarting their attempts to enter the outpost, killing all but 2 of the troopers and paving the way for his stormtroopers to finally set foot within the compound.

TURN 6/RESULTS

Armada:

Turn 6 was fairly uneventful as the Rebel fleet made their final moves to try reach the Imperial deployment zone (and thus break through the blockade and score victory points) and the Imperial fleet's remaining ISD wasn't in position to destroy any of the objective ships.

Although Tarkin was only able to destroy 1/3 of the objective vessels, the daring actions of the captain of the Arquitens-class light cruiser charging virtually unsupported into the jaws of 4 Rebel warships prevented 1 of the surviving objective ships from making land-fall (did not end Turn 6 in the Imperial deployment zone).

Final Score:

- Rebels: 1

- Imperials: 1

Legion:

Likewise, Turn 6 on the planet was similarly uneventful, with no unit in position to damage/eliminate an opposing unit in a way that would affect victory points.

Although Luke's desperate attempt to save the Rebel trooper squad on the right flank from losing > half of its troopers succeeded, he suffered one wound when he attacked the second stormtrooper squad (therefore he could no longer count as a victory point for the sake of our game). While this would've still resulted in a 2:1 victory for the Rebels, Veers' order for an orbital strike targeted one of the half health+ units and successfully damaged that unit below half health.

Final Score:

- Rebels: 1

- Imperials: 1

WHAT'S NEXT

Given both games were a draw, we will likely draft some sort of balanced scenario (in terms of both units and terrain/starting points, etc) for the second mission.

We were originally planning on having the winner of the space battle gain "space supremacy" which would allow them to deploy bomber squadrons to conduct airstrikes in support of their faction's ground campaign, but the tied game had us briefly thinking about forgoing this inter-theater interaction entirely. However, we all wanted to experience some sort of cross-theater support in this campaign so we're currently thinking about allowing both factions to request (in Legion) air strikes and deploy bombers (in Armada) to fulfill those requests. We may even allow the Admirals to send fighter squadrons to the surface as well to engage opposing bombers/ protect their bombers and ground units. From the Admiral's perspective this could lead to an interesting balancing of resources due to the desire to ensure the success of the ground mission (especially if we tie the majority of the campaign's narrative to this element), while not losing in space (and potentially the ability to support ground forces in future missions due to loss of "space supremacy" or in this case "shared supremacy."