Finally got our league going, and we're playing Take the Hill for this season. I am playing Rebels, and this was honestly the first "real" game of Legion I've played!
My list, courtesy of Tabletop Admiral (I have only purchased 2 Core and 1 Rebel Commandos expansion):
Luke Skywalker 160
Battle Meditation, Force Push, Emergency Stims
Rebel Troopers 40
Z-6 Trooper, Rebel Trooper, Targeting Scopes, Concussion Grenades
Rebel Troopers 40
Z-6 Trooper, Rebel Trooper, Targeting Scopes, Concussion Grenades
Rebel Troopers 40
Z-6 Trooper, Rebel Trooper, Concussion Grenades
Rebel Commandos (Strike Team) 16
DH-447 Sniper, Comms Jammer, Targeting Scopes
Commands:
Standing Orders, Return of the Jedi, Push, My Ally Is the Force, Assault, Ambush, Son of Skywalker.
The Battlefield
I was the Blue Player as my opponent's Imperial List was slightly larger than my own. I was at 496, and I think he was exactly 500. I first eliminated War Weary in the setup diagram table. My opponent eliminated Battle Lines, and then we both passed, leaving us with a battlefield of Faceoff , Control the Battlefield , and Clear Conditions .
My opponent and I had a mix of terrain he borrowed, plus some store terrain that was free to use. We set it up and put the objective marker in the center. I deployed Luke on the left side (of my pics), and my opponent deployed pretty much on the opposite side. Here is how I deployed. You can just make out the light post in the top right corner, behind the circular broken building. That is the objective token.
Round 1
I believe I played Push, as I wanted to activate first. I tried to get dug in around the objective, or close to it and see if I could hold. I moved one squad up right behind the barrier in heavy cover right by the objective. I was within range of my opponent's Snowtroopers, which both squads were mashed together in a crater. I though with my full squad plus the Z-6, I'd get a good hit in early before they could move in for range 1 flamethrower action. However, I rolled terribly, and I think one squad wound up losing only 1 mini, or only gaining suppression.
I moved my unpainted squad into the bunker, with my Z-6 looking out the door, with clear lines of fire toward the objective. With the other squad members behind the walls, it provided some heavy cover, too. I just left Luke and my third squad in place. My opponent took some scary high ground to the right of my advance squad. That squad of Stormtroopers became the target of my sniper fire.
The Snowtroopers moved up later in the round to be within range 1 of the objective. His second squad of Stormtroopers moved all the way to the right, heading for the tall tower. With 2 squads of Snowtroopers in range 1, to my 1 squad, the Imperials gained 1 victory point.
Round 2
I played another low-pip command card, I believe Ambush, and honestly, continued to roll poorly. I did take out some Snowtroopers from the two squads coming at me, and sniped one as well. But, the Snowtroopers and Vader came in and wiped out my advance squad. There were three Snowtroopers left in one squad, with only the squad leader left in another. I moved Luke up in preparation of just be aggressive the next round. Vader was on the objective, so my options were limited. With the free dodge + deflect, I tried to snipe him a few times, but only managed a couple wounds. I had to get Luke in there and hope I could just roll better to win the day. The imperials gained another victory point.
Round 3
I played Son of Skywalker, with the anticipation of wiping out all the Snowtroopers. The imperials put their second Stormtrooper squad high in the tower, which meant they could get shots at me from the DLT, but couldn't threaten the objective. I tried to keep sniping Vader and the Stormtroopers on the hill, whittling down the troopers, slowly but surely. But, really, this round, Luke charged in and eliminated the three Snowtroopers, then used his blaster to eliminate the one unit leader. Vader had finished off my advanced squad, so we were now preparing to dance.
Round 4
Vader was not pleased, and came right at Luke. I managed to only suffer two wounds, however, which was a great relief. In trying to strike back, I didn't manage to get many on Vader (just 1 I think). I thought it was time to press my numbers advantage and get a victory point. I sniped another Stromtrooper on the hill, then pulled my unpainted squad from the bunker and threw a full volley at the rest of the Stormtrooper squad on the hill, wiping them all out. I thought I had maybe turned the tide. Seeing that the Imperials only had Vader to hold the objective, I ran my undermanned squad to within range 1 of it, and behind cover. Their numbers were depleted from the Stormtroopers in the high tower. I gained 1 victory point.
Round 5
I had already played my low-pip cards, so I was basically stuck activating second, which really was a big mistake on my part (one of many!). Vader swung again with his lightsaber, but Luke rolled enough blocks to stay alive. Vader also rolled well enough to effectively, take little to no wounds. Unfortunately, Luke fell, but I still had one unit leader in range, so we tied on the objective, no points for either of us. The last round would decide things.
Round 6
I did some calculating and realized that Vader could eliminate my lone unit leader in the objective, but I could still maybe get my Sniper team and the unpainted squad into range 1 of the objective and score those 3 victory points to win the battle. Vader easily swiped my unit leader off the battlefield. With the imperials bringing in their last squad of Stormtroopers down from the tower, my hope had faded. I couldn't get enough shots on them and rush the objective. I did manage to get both squad and sniper team within range 1 of the objective, but it only yielded another tie.
Imperial Victory: 2-1
After Action Report
I made a few blunders, namely, being the one who placed the grassy hill in the lower right, but not choosing to deploy in that area. I could have had my sniper team on the crest of the hill, offering a better view of the field. They had a good lane for most of the battle, but not as clear as I would've liked. I also probably should have played it a bit safer, maybe, since Vader was so strong in close quarters. The Snowtroopers also wanted to be in close range, and I could've maybe held back for some shots at longer range to deal more damage.
Maybe sending Luke in to clear out the remnants of the Snowtroopers was a mistake, instead of attacking Vader. But, I wanted to eliminate more unit leaders. Vader, with the dodge and Deflect, was too risky late-game to shoot at, especially with how the imperials were rolling defensively.
My best performing squad was the unpainted one, keeping them in the bunker allowed them to get a few good shots and suppressing fire on imperials who made their way to the objective. They stayed alive for the late-game rush, but it was too little too late.
I also failed to use Emergency Stims with Luke, which, I am not sure would've made a difference, since Vader was always activating first in the final rounds, but could have, who knows!
It was a fun all around game, and it was good to finally play a game "for real."