Painting - Downsync

Here's an update with what I've been painting since last time: more Downsync models. 

The Republic's Goliath squads are rough-and-tumble power suits equipped with anti-tank cannons and machine guns. I decided to pick up two squads, since I like the models and enjoy the multi-role armaments they have. 

Seeker teams are stealthy infantry units, able to scan enemy pings, spot for Mandible artillery units, and reach out with their sniper rifle that can kill any Stunned unit (even tanks!). 

The other Heavy unit I picked up was a Mandible mobile artillery. They're slow and pretty much defenseless, but have no maximum range and can swap between anti-infantry and anti-everything rounds. 

Rounding out the force is a pair of Harbinger recon vehicles, which are fast moving, able to both scan enemy pings and are another unit that can spot for the Mandible (giving me three potential spotting vectors in a game). 

We Have Reserves - Downsync AAR

This past weekend I helped Carl test out a scenario for Downsync. 

Inspired by a Flames of War scenario, the Downsync version sees both players placing 1 each of their Large, Medium, and Small pings into off-table reserves. The Attacker goes first in deployment, the Defender second, chosen by a dice off. The players then choose a quarter of the table to deploy one objective in, then place a second objective in the opposite quarter, and then finally deploy their non-reserve pings in the original quarter.

Both sides are looking to score four points from objective captures. At the beginning of turn three, the players' reserve pings arrive from the long table edge that their original deployment objective was on.

For this game, I had taken my "generalist" Republic list:

2 Harbingers

Seeker team

Vector squad

2 Crusaders

2 Goliath squads

Courier

Samson

Mandible

Mark, my opponent, had the following Coalition list (if I remember correctly):

2 Widow Scouts

2 Soldier Spider Drone squads

2 Virago

2 Phantom

Aurora

Marksman

Destroyer

Both sides spent the first turn maneuvering Pings.

I did try to use the Seeker team to spot for the Mandible, but unfortunately I messed up the line-of-sight rules and deployed them poorly. I lost one Harbinger, but traded it for an Aurora and a Widow (and before it had managed to deploy its Infiltrator Spider Drone squad). I also wiped out a Soldier Spider Drone squad thank to massed MG fire from the Goliath squad deployed in the small forest.

This early committal of Republic reveals gave Mark plenty of targets for his arriving reserves, while his own units were still hidden as pings.  

Both sides' reserves hammered into their respective flanks. I lost the Mandible and one of the Crusaders defending my objectives, but took out Mark's last Widow Scout (which again wasn't able to deploy its Infiltrator squad) and got lucky enough to destroy his reserved Marksman heavy tank.

Mark lost another Soldier squad to more Goliath MG fire, as well as his second Aurora and Virago.

Concentrated fire from Republic units managed to knock out the Coalition Destroyer, and my Goliath squad closed in to knock out the last Virago. Not, however, before it managed to score a point, putting Mark in the lead a 1-0.

It was at this point that we decided that we would make an adjustment to the scenario; adding a six turn limit. This was important because, had we not put a limit, I could have just spent as much time as a I wanted scoring points or just wiping out the last remaining Coalition unit. 

Such as it was, this meant that Mark's positioning and delaying of my forces only let me score one point myself before the game ended, leaving us with a draw, 1-1. 

We discussed our thoughts on the scenario with Carl after the game. We found the general idea behind the scenario to be sound, and suggested adding the turn limit to encourage more aggression. Carl did point out that removing the other side entirely from the table would have given the remaining player a full 4 point victory. 

I look forward to testing more scenarios for Downsync. 

A Year In Gaming - 2023

 And we're back here again! 

What a year; some big personal changes for me impacted my gaming and painting schedule. However, it looks like I've some some good people down here to hobby with, so 2024 looks bright. 

So here's the games I played this year:

• 'O' Group - 1
• All Quiet on the Martian Front - 1
• Arena Rex - 2
• BattleTech: Alpha Strike - 2
• Breakthrough - 1
• Chain of Command - 9
• Combat Patrol - 1
• Downsync - 3
• General d'Armee - 1
• Live Free or Die - 1
• Midgard - 1
• So Convenient for Hewing - 1
• Strength & Honour - 4
• Wars of Ozz - 1
• Washington's War - 1
• What a Tanker - 2

32 games in total. One less than 2022, but I did pack up and move in the middle of the year, so overall I can't say it's that bad. Chain of Command definitely wins the "Most Played" spot, thanks in large part to Ted's focusing on the rules for his campaign (and what a shame that I never got to see the conclusion to it!). 

As for what I painted:

• 15mm Artillery - 4
• 15mm Cavalry - 42
• 15mm Infantry - 190
• 15mm Vehicle - 4
• 28mm Infantry - 31
• 28mm Vehicle - 3
• 2mm Cavalry - 2
• 2mm Infantry - 5
• 6mm Infantry - 20
• 6mm Vehicle - 5

Again, not too bad, especially since I had to pack everything up for a couple months and lost my enthusiasm while focusing on my new job. There was a focus on 15mm this year, thanks to my Napoleonics project. I expect to see the same focus in 2024 as I work on the French. 

And the usual recap of the games I played in:

'O' Group

All Quiet on the Martian Front

Breakthrough

Chain of Command

Combat Patrol

Downsync

Live Free or Die

Midgard

So Convenient for Hewing

Strength & Honour

Wars of Ozz

Washington's War

Painting Update - Epic Orks, Downsync

I haven't just been painting Napoleonics!

At some point I'd like to have an Epic: Armageddon force, and decided on Orks as they seem a good mix of aggressive infantry and vehicles. I picked up some Skinners from Vanguard Miniatures (which are fantastic!) and did a few test bases to see what combination of primer, paint, and wash colors worked best. I ended up liking a black primer, a thinned black wash, and brighter metallics. 

I've also started work on my Downsync Republic of Terra force, starting with a Courier APC. I wanted a quick color scheme, and I think the green and orange works well together. 

Of course, what good is an APC without some personnel to carry? So I painted an accompanying Vector Squad. 

The Crusader tank is the mainstay armored vehicle of the Republic, holding back the cybernetic hordes of the Coalition. I've filled two of my Medium slots with these tanks, as they seem pretty efficient in taking out enemy units and are as fast as the Republic's light scanning vehicle. 

And the mighty Samson tank is one of the Republic's heavy choices. 

The New Group - 'O' Group AAR

Since moving down to Maryland, I haven't had a chance to game as much compared to back up in Jersey where I was in a couple of regular gaming groups. 

I finally had the chance to meet up with a local group of gamers (the "Army of Central Maryland") for their first game of 'O' Group, which I enjoyed playing with Ted last year. 

The scenario was a meeting engagement in Italy, 1943, between an American battalion and a German battalion. The Germans were approaching from the left side of the table, while the Americans were coming from the right. 

Both sides were looking to cause four FUBARs. If the Germans took the town of Persano, it would cause an automatic FUBAR against the Americans. If the Americans took the hill in the Germans' deployment zone, it would cause an automatic FUBAR against the Germans. 

Due to my semi-familiarity with the rules, I was tasked with leading the German battalion with Kevin and Scott, while Kelly was in charge of the American battalion with Mike and Alex. 

The Germans pushed up the flanks, using the forest and ravines as cover. 

While covering their own flanks, the Americans pushed hard for the orchards just outside the town.

After a fierce battle, the Germans ended up winning the fight for the orchard, helped by weight of fire coming from the company in the woods and some lucky artillery. The Americans lost a platoon and were forced back. They brought on their tank platoon for added support, and the Germans countered by calling up their assault gun platoon. 

The Germans StuGs managed to knocked out a Sherman section, and the other tank section retreated behind the hill. The Americans brought their artillery to bear against the Germans in the orchards, causing a decent amount of shock and pushing back the newly-deployed company commander.

At this point, the game had reached a bit of a lull. Both sides were firing at long range and not accomplishing much, although the Americans were down a couple battalion dice from from their two FUBARS. Scott was starting to push his German company against the American right flank, but Alex's lone platoon was shrugging off hits left and right. 

Hoping to apply pressure, the German battalion launched attacks on both flanks, while still keeping a platoon and a couple Combat Patrols in the middle orchards. Alex's single platoon was ice-cold while facing down an entire German company, while they were supported by HMG and artillery fire from the American position in Persano. 

On the other flank, the Americans under Mike were falling back as Kevin pushed forward, supported by the StuG platoon. 

Unfortunately I had to leave at this point, and the rest of the group played on a bit longer. The town was still safe, but the Americans were almost at their FUBAR break point while the Germans were still relatively fresh.

It was fun to play 'O' Group again, and the Maryland guys are a great crew. I'm looking forward to participating in more games with them!