Finally got in a 200-point game, which is about time considering our Task Force tournament is coming up in March. I went up against my normal weekend opponent, who had also never played a 200-point game. Here are the lists.
Name: Task Force Firespray
Faction: Imperial
Commander: None
Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Superior Positions
Raider I (44)
• Admiral Titus (2)
• Corvus (2)
= 48 Points
Squadrons:
• 8 x Firespray-31 (144)
= 144 Points
Total Points: 192
My goal was to be able to win to either overwhelm an opponents squadrons, destroy an opponent's small ships one by one, or use my objectives to win against a large ship list, all while not requiring squadron commands.
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Name: Task Force IIC
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Ozzel
Assault: Blockade Run
Defense: Capture the VIP
Navigation: Solar Corona
Raider I (44)
• Admiral Ozzel (20)
• Chart Officer (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Flechette Torpedoes (3)
• Corvus (2)
= 75 Points
Raider I (44)
• Agent Kallus (3)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Flechette Torpedoes (3)
• Impetuous (4)
= 58 Points
Raider I (44)
• Chart Officer (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Flechette Torpedoes (3)
• Instigator (4)
= 57 Points
Squadrons:
= 0 Points
Total Points: 190
My opponent's list was built to destroy squadrons, focused on getting Instigator in position before slowing down with Ozzel and destroying a squadron ball in place.
My opponent had initiative and chose to be second player. I chose his Solar Corona.
Note: My opponent did not know Blockade Run was not allowed when he built his list. I told him that I was likely going to pick Solar Corona anyways, so I did not make him choose another red objective.
Deployment: While I usually don't mentioned obstacle placement, I actually put some more thought into this one. I deployed obstacles (on my turn) in the center so that my squadrons could hide behind or in them for obstruction. With all the anti-squadron upgrades that his Raiders had, I wanted to keep him from throwing two dice as much as possible. By choosing Solar Corona, I deployed all my ships and squadrons first. I deployed Corvus in the center, with my Firesprays surrounding its front. My opponent deployed his three Raiders in the top right corner (from my perspective). I then redeployed my Corvus in my bottom right corner, looking like it was going to skirt the edge and not engage; he chose not to redeploy his Corvus .
Round 1: I activated my lone ship and turned into his fleet. He moved straight forward at speed 3. I moved my Firesprays in a dispersed blob right ahead of and out of range of Instigator , so that at speed 2-4, it was going to be in the center of it.
Round 2: I surprised my opponent again, turning further into his fleet and staying just out of medium range. He moved Instigator forward, locking down three of my squadrons, as well as moving his other two Raiders forward. While this was exactly what he wanted to happen, it was what I wanted to happen as well. I activated my non-engaged Firesprays first, taking out Instigator with four of them. This freed up the squadrons that were previously engaged by Instigator to attack Impetuous (his center Raider) and then move out of range, but in front of its movement path. Impetuous was left with no shields on its front and only one hull left at the end of the round.
Round 3: My Raider started the round by destroying Impetuous and then disengaging. My opponent's flagship did not have a shot and proceeded to chase after my ship. Four of my squadrons pouched on it and the game was over.
Thoughts: The results of this game really surprised me. While I knew that I could put some hurt on small ships with a Firespray swarm, it did not occur to me at first that good rolls from four Firesprays will destroy a Raider. While his anti-squadron Raider titles initially concerned me, they played absolutely no role in this match. In fact, my opponent never even got a shot off this game (definitely a first). The ability to swarm and destroy a ship before it could activate and attack the next round, good dice rolls (only two accuracies with my squadrons throughout the game), and placement of my squadrons outside of close range were key to this match. Looking forward to trying this list out against lists with medium and large ships, as well as against a full squadron wing. Hope you enjoyed the BATREP.