@ArmadaMatt and I continued our games to improve his Task Force list. Given that businesses are starting to reopen, we may be trying to get our tournament back on the schedule soon. Here are the lists.
Name: Task Force Admonition
Assault: Ion Storm
Defense: Hyperspace Assault
Navigation: Dangerous Territory
MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63)
• Skilled First Officer (1)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
• H9 Turbolasers (8)
• Admonition (8)
= 89 Points
CR90 Corvette A (44)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
• Jaina's Light (2)
= 53 Points
CR90 Corvette A (44)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
= 51 Points
Squadrons:
= 0 Points
Total Points: 193
He changed out Lando for Skilled First Officer and added H9s to Admonition from his previous list.
----------
Name: Task Force Cataclysm
Assault: Surprise Attack
Defense: Rift Ambush
Navigation: Solar Corona
Onager Star Destroyer (110)
• Wulff Yularen (7)
• Sensor Team (5)
• Veteran Gunners (5)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Superheavy Composite Beam Turbolasers (7)
• Cataclysm (5)
= 145 Points
Gozanti Cruisers (23)
= 23 Points
Squadrons:
• 4 x TIE Fighter Squadron (32)
= 32 Points
Total Points: 200
I thought that I would give the Onager another go at Task Force. This is what I came up with. I figured I would use the Gozanti and TIEs to get deployment advantage, allowing me to better position my Onager.
He had initiative and chose first player. He chose Rift Ambush as the objective.
Deployment: I placed all the obstacles, including the Gravity Rift (I didn't put much thought into choosing or playing this objective, but we are trying to play all the RitR ones, so Capture the VIP, Contested Outpost, and Planetary Ion Cannon were off the table). He deployed in a line across from me, with, from my left to right, Jaina's Light , Admonition , and the other CR90. I deployed my Gozanti and TIEs in the center while putting Cataclysm in the right corner.
Round 1: We both moved forward a little in Round 1, with his CR90 just within anticipated extreme (long) range. My TIEs were ready to pounce on any ship that got close, with my Gozanti having a Navigate token it case he needed to speed up to run away.
Round 2: Using my Concentrate Fire token with Cataclysm , I placed my ignition token at the start of the ship phase to get his CR90 within extreme (long) range (Note: I forgot to use Wulff Yularen here to get my Concentrate Fire token back, which started to screw up any game plan I may have had). He activated Admonition first and, using the Gravity Rift's ability, got within medium range of my Gozanti, but surrounded by my TIE fighters. I activated Cataclysm , firing an ignition shot at extreme (long) range to his CR90 for two shield damage (sadly, this would be my only ignition shot of the game); I replaced my ignition token in the game area after the activation. He moved both his other ships to flank around to my left, while I activated my Gozanti and two TIEs to start slowly taking away shields from Admonition . My Gozanti ended up in close range of Admonition's front arc, but I wasn't particularly worried about him activating first.
Round 3: He activated his CR90 to get out of extreme (long) range of Cataclysm , which allowed my Gozanti to shoot Admonition and then move away, bumping up to Speed 2 and using the Gravity Rift to get an extra Speed 1 movement. Unfortunately, I turned with 1-yaw on my last movement, which made it so that Cataclysm would bump the ship during its maneuver. Cataclysm and his CR90 had no shots this round, but Cataclysm did end up ramming my Gozanti, keeping it in place. Admonition made a shot against the Gozanti at medium range, which was scattered, then moved using the Gravity Rift to get Cataclysm in a close range double arc.
Round 4: Admonition activated first, shredding away almost all the shields from Cataclysm . The Gozanti activated next, sending two TIEs against Admonition , hoping to take it down before Cataclysm was destroyed. Jaina's Light attacked Cataclysm , adding two damage cards to it. Cataclysm and two TIEs then attacked Admonition , with the latter doing its thing to stay alive (love playing with that ship, but hate playing against it). Cataclysm ran away, but even using the Gravity Rift, couldn't get out of close range of Admonition 's side arc.
Round 5: He activated and attacked with Admonition first, taking Cataclysm down to one hull (and barely staying on the board). I then activated it, destroyed Admonition , and put some damage on the CR90. I moved, but could not get out of range of Jaina's Light . The latter then shot a single red die, TRC'd it to a double, then the game was over, giving him the tabling and the win (to add insult to injury, Jaina's Light somehow stayed on the board as well). Using our proposed Task Force tournament scoring system, the final score would be 400-178 (9-2, 222 MoV).
Thoughts: @ArmadaMatt played a great game, with some of his best maneuvering yet. His unnamed CR90 continues to stay out of the fight though, so he is looking at options to replace it with something of more value (such as a Hammerhead, GR-75, and/or some squadrons). While I did make my share of mistakes, I am simply not an Onager player. Not sure if it is just too specialized a ship for me or that I haven't gotten a rhythm down for using its ability, but I am just not very good at it. Also, since it doesn't suit my maneuverable-MSU playstyle, I don't particularly enjoy playing with it, which is kind of important. Definitely screwed up early by not having a Navigate token on my Onager, or by not somehow getting Comms Net on the flotilla to facilitate one. Rakehell also seems like it would be a much better title in a Task Force game, given the smaller play area. The TIEs and the Gozanti definitely did their share of the work, punching way above their point value this game. Either way, it was a good game and looking forward to the next one.
Hope you enjoyed the BATREP!