Battle Cry: Battle Report (Example of play)
I'm home, bored, so I decided to play out a very small skirmish, as an example of game mechanics for those wondering. I have picked a rather small sample of mecha, to keep it very simple. While Battle Cry is a simple game, when you have ten different mecha on each side of the board, it becomes harder to portray all of the attributes and abilities in writing.
The two forces I chose are as follows: The UN Spacy force consists of 1x VF-1J Veritech (Hardened Veteran), and 2x VF-1A Veritechs (Confident Soldiers). The Zentraedi force consists of 1x Glaug (Hardened Veteran), and 6x Regult Pods (Confident Soldiers).
They have been simply deployed along a small city-scape with a smattering of trees. I will disregard certain action cards during play - an off-board artillery strike could spoil a game of this size. This is why players are advised to always review the action card decks to make sure the deck is suitable for their game or scenario.
Initial action cards. As each player draws three cards for their action deck - I drew for both. I drew two Activate-3 cards for the UN Spacy and one special card, allowing me to activate a unit who should not be allowed to do so (handy when you have so few units). The Zentraedi drew three activation cards: 3, 4 and 5.
I rolled off for initiative (this is either rolled or decided, no biggie): The Zentraedi won the roll. I drew a new card (Activate-2) and then played my Activate-5 card. This allows me to activate five units (the most available to the Zentraedi on a single card). I had deployed the Veritechs in battloid mode - something which sacrifices speed but allows them to take advantage of cover. I immediately moved the Glaug and four of the Regult pods - marking them activated, and "moving fast". Regult Pods and the Glaug are able to run fast enough to make them harder to hit.
The Glaug was able to line up a distant particle cannon shot on one of the Veritechs, though he was in cover (reducing the Glaug's hit dice). I decided to dodge with the Veritech...this gives you the chance to counter enemy shooting rolls, but you lose your ability to activate next turn. Unfortunately the Veritech failed to dodge and took a well placed particle beam shot, dealing three damage (a Veritech only has 10 hitpoints).
Luckily for the Veritechs none of the other Regult Pods had a line of sight.
For the UN Spacy, I drew an Activate-2, and played it. Having three Veritechs...but with one dodging, I only had two Veritechs I could activate, so I played the Activate-2 instead of Activate-3. You may never activate a unit two turns in a row, unless using a special card, so it's the player's job to think ahead and keep track.
I moved VF-1A number two out into a line of sight of one of the running Regult Pods. Using the Gu-11 gun pod, I chose to roll six dice. The Gu-11 stands a chance of running out of ammunition, if you roll three or more 1's when firing. So, rolling less dice will sometimes save you. I ignored my better judgment, and rolled all six. Unfortunately, the Regult pod was in cover, and moving fast - meaning I'd have to roll D6's instead of D8's...and then I'd have to re-roll any successes!
You know those rolls that are so bad that you just laugh? There's no point in being angry or sad, or upset? Yep. First roll of the UN Spacy side.
Needless to say, the Gu-11 ran out of ammunition immediately (the main weapon of the Veritech). I did score one hit...re-rolled it, and scored a hit still. However, the Gu-11 failed to damage the Regult. This was going to be a short game...
Next I activated the Veteran pilot in his VF-1J. I moved him up, trying to keep him in cover. Usually I like to fly my Veritechs, but with so many Regult Pods, I didn't risk it (flying often gives you a huge speed advantage...BUT...you become visible to all models on the table!). I removed the dodge token from the remaining Veritech and that was it.
The Zentraedi drew an Activate-2 and I played it. I only had two Regults to activate anyway. They ran up the center. I now had all of my units moving forward at speed (a big advantage). The Veritechs could counter the speed by going to Guardian or Fighter mode, but this would expose them.
The UN Spacy drew an Activate-2 and I played that as well. I only had one Veritech to activate, but no point in wasting an Activate-3 if I didn't need to. I moved the only remaining Veritech into some cover, and waited for the next move.
The Zentraedi drew another Activate-5! I played it, and moved forward again, firing on one of the Veritechs with two Regults and Glaug, only scoring minor damage - despite my own refusal to dodge! On the other side of the board, the other VF-1A did not fare so well, taking two more points of damage.
With the Zentraedi closing in so quickly, it became a matter of necessity for the Veritechs to change up the game. I drew an Activate-2, and played it. The VF-1J and VF-1A both switched to Fighter mode and accelerated skyward. Changing modes puts a dent in your movement, but a Veritech can still reach "Fast" in a single turn. The VF-1A fired missiles and it's head laser at one of the Regults, dealing two points of damage. The VF-1J did not fare so well against the Glaug, inflicting a disappointing one point of damage.
I chose this turn because five of the seven Zentraedi mecha had activated and would be unable to shoot next turn. I only had to worry about two. The next time my Veritechs would activate they would increase speed to "Very Fast" and become hard to hit, regardless of being visible to all of the Zentraedi units.
The Zentraedi drew an Activate-2 and played it, moving their last two Regults toward the VF-1J, firing with beam cannons and defensive lasers. The deluge of laser fire inflicted three points of damage on the Veritech as it flew overhead.
UN Spacy drew an Activate-2. Fearing for my VF-1J in the middle of the Zentraedi units, I chose to use my special card, which allowed me to activate a unit otherwise unable to do so. I punched the throttle on the VF-1J and he moved to "Very Fast" flying behind the enemy units. He fired his Gu-11 on one of the Regults, damaging it lightly.
Drawing an Activate-3 for the Zentraedi, I played my Activate-4. I was getting the distinct impression that this small skirmish would be a rout if I could just get one good turn of shooting on the UN Spacy units...
I was right.
Two Regults closed in on the VF-1J, blasting away at it with all of their weapons, slowly starting to whittle away its armour. The Glaug pod turned course and followed the Veritech - one particle beam shot on target, punching a hole straight through the Veritech. It's engines coughed and the entire mecha shut down, plummeting from the sky. (The Glaug pilot had scored enough damage to cause a "Severe Damage" roll). Since the Veritech had been in flight, it even suffered damage as it fell from the sky, crashing into the nearby building.
The UN Spacy were already desperate when they drew the Activate-2 card and played it. I was in dire need of some special cards to somehow save the situation. Both Veritech VF-1As went full speed toward their flight leader, hoping to help save him. The abysmal dice rolling continued as missile, and Gu-11 fire barely scraped the Glaug as he lumbered toward the stricken VF-1J.
The Zentraedi drew an Activate-2 and played an Activate-3. The remaining Regults stomped toward the VF-1J, firing at the supporting Veritechs on their way. As the VF-1J pilot reached for his mode switch in the cockpit, a Regult pod loomed into view through the collapsed building. The pilot let out a shriek as laser fire saturated his cockpit.
(It is worth noting at this point, that my dice rolling with the Zentraedi was better...on worse dice...truly a lopsided game thus far with the Jester Gods...)
The UN Spacy drew an Activate-2 card and discarded it. I had no activate-capable units at this point, and no special cards with which to waste a turn. It was looking rather grim...7:2 odds...
The Zentraedi drew an Activate-2 card and played an Activate-3. More shots rang out against the Veritechs, scoring damage on both. The VF-1A which still had a Gu-11 gunpod lost it to severe damage caused by a Regult.
The UN Spacy drew an Activate-4 card and played it. The last two Veritechs both went to ground in Guardian mode. With both no longer able to fire their Gu-11's, and one of them out of missiles, they'd soon be relying on the pulse lasers in the nose of their Veritechs. Firing wildly they struck a Regult and Glaug for minimal damage. The dice continued to disappoint.
To add insult to injury, the Zentraedi drew a special card allowing to roll damage against one of the Veritechs (a Gnerl strafing run to be precise...). One of the remaining Veritechs suffered more damage, his fuses burning out, his Veritech no longer able to change modes.
The UN Spacy drew an Activate card and discarded it. The Zentraedi drew a special card, and played an Activate-3, sending the Glaug and two Regults after one of the VF-1A's, hoping to finish it. They came close, with a few crucial misses. I refused to dodge with the Veritech because I needed at least a chance of shooting back.
The Veritechs continued to disappoint.
The UN Spacy both activated, moving slowly away in Guardian mode...firing hopelessly at the Zentraedi...rewarded with more misses. The stricken Veritech stuck in Guardian mode disappeared in a hail of laser fire a moment later (The Zentraedi activated three units...shooting the Veritech to the ground).
Help arrived a moment too late.
The UN Spacy drew a special card, allowing them to draw additional cards, and play two cards that turn...even then my card choices were poor, and I had but one unit left. I decided to use a special card which allowed my unit to activate anyway. I flew him off the board. A horrible defeat for the UN Spacy.
Thoughts...
Well, I lopsided the mecha in this game a little bit to the Zentraedi side...but not by much. Previous playtests have all resulted in UN Spacy wins, so I was fearing they were overpowered. Apparently not. If I've seen such lopsided dice in a single game I can't remember it.
Miserable timing, and obnoxious luck sealed their fate this game. Of the seven Zentraedi mecha, four even had damage - but not one was destroyed. The gamble to jump into jet mode and try to outspeed the Zentraedi failed miserably. The Zentraedi drew their best activation cards (4's and 5's) right off the bat.
I could have diced things up, fudged some rolls, or cheated with card selection to make the report more fair, but...screw that noise. Sometimes the luck just isn't with you. To put things in perspective...a Battle Pod has 50% fewer hitpoints than a Veritech, and can even be wiped out by a single burst from a Gu-11. Needless to say, none of that happened. A few pods down could have really changed the game!
(or a timely destroid reinforcement...the special card I was hoping for!)
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October 14, 2024, 07:02:09 AM
July 27, 2011, 10:55:53 AM
