More Task Force, different local opponent (from Tucson Fleet) testing out their list... really starting to miss 400-point games... here are the lists.
Name: Task Force Mon Karren
Faction: Rebel
Commander:
Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Salvage Run
MC80 Star Cruiser (96)
• Weapons Liaison (3)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Leading Shots (4)
• Spinal Armament (9)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Mon Karren (8)
= 133 Points
Squadrons:
• 5 x X-wing Squadron (65)
= 65 Points
Total Points: 198
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Name: Task Force Salvation
Assault: Surprise Attack
Defense: Abandoned Mining Facility
Navigation: Volatile Deposits
Nebulon-B Support Refit (51)
• Spinal Armament (9)
= 60 Points
Nebulon-B Support Refit (51)
• Spinal Armament (9)
• Salvation (7)
= 67 Points
Pelta Command Ship (60)
• Ray Antilles (7)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
= 73 Points
Squadrons:
= 0 Points
Total Points: 200
He had initiative and chose first player. He chose Surprise Attack as the objective.
Deployment: After placing the station, I placed the obstacles so that he would have a hard time turning towards the corner without hitting something and taking damage. After he placed his ship (and knowing that I was going to have three straight Navigate Raid tokens on his ship), I deployed in the far right corner of the board (too far to the right, as you will find out). I just wanted to keep out of his front arc for the entire game (which I did!). He deployed his X-Wings surrounding his Liberty.
Round 1: I pulled a Navigate Command for Surprise Attack and he got a Navigate Raid token. We both made wide left turns toward one another. His X-Wings crept forward.
Round 2: Another Navigate command and another Navigate Raid token. Same maneuver strategy. X-Wing blanked a shot against Salvation .
Round 3: Last Navigate Command from Surprise Attack and last Raid token to Mon Karren. Salvation and the Pelta started putting flak on his X-Wings, while a couple attacked both Nebulon-Bs' side arcs. The Pelta rammed the unnamed Nebulon-B, then landed on the debris field... oops.
Round 4: The capital ships finally started shooting at each other, albeit for minimal damage. The unnamed Nebulon-B destroyed an X-Wing as they Rebel ships really put some hurt on his squadrons (I had expected to be firing against Mon Karren by now, so the Concentrate Fire commands found their use against his X-Wings). The Pelta rammed the Nebulon-B again.
Round 5: After attacking, Mon Karren flew off the board (had a Repair command, but I don't think he would have made it even with a Navigate command). I destroyed two of his squadrons and moved. Using our proposed Task Force tournament scoring system, the final score would be 400-0 (10-1, 400 MoV).
Thoughts: A couple things. First, I can now see why no one chooses Surprise Attack. Going only Speed 2 from the other half of the board, because of the raid tokens, the MC80 Liberty couldn't turn sharp enough to keep from going off the board. Second, while my maneuvering leaves a lot to be desired, my list did a lot better than expected, especially against his squadrons. And I enjoyed this list, as I really miss playing MSUs. Maybe adding Engine Techs to the Pelta (and removing Spinals from the unnamed Nebulon or the Salvation title) would help with one of the weaknesses of this list. Lastly, he needed Rogues to make this list work. I suggested dropping Weapons Liaison and the X-Wings for 4 x Lancers or 4 x YT-2400s (and Auxiliary Shields Team), so we'll see what he comes up with next week.
Hope you enjoyed the BATREP!