Campaign Paradiso - Ariadna Impressions 9
This past Friday, I squared off against Endalyon yet again, this time in Mission 302. We've both been noticing that for whatever reason, we almost always end up paired off together after the initial round. This must mean something, but I really have no idea what.
Anyway, on to the mission! We rolled a very reasonably scattering of Crash Coffins, with only one side being slightly favoured. Endalyon won the initiative roll, so I quickly snatched up the "better" side to dull the inevitable pain of the first turn advantage. And what a pain it was...
With his first turn, Endalyon blitzed his Sophotect and her Yudbot forward, intent on discovering as much as possible. It helped that Endalyon's dice were on fire, because he revealed 4 Assistants and the Delegate almost immediately. The turn ended with Sophie synching up with the delegate (on her second attempt - thank you, -3 synch penalty!) and running behind a building.
Cue my first hero of the game: the Veteran Kazak AP HMG.
Notice the slight discolouration on her left glove. That's because she fell off the table during deployment and lost both arms, sustaining some damage to the paint on the way. That's ok, though, because even while armless, the Veteran Kazak is an unholy terror. This particular Vet was my Lieutenant, and that extra order helped her smoke a Chandra on the way up to Sophie, then put the Aleph Doctor/Engineer down for good. I didn't have enough orders to reach the Delegate on my first turn, but the Veteran ultimately held the line and snagged the Delegate in time to drag her back to my deployment zone, and into a dropship, just before Endalyon's forces fled off the table.
Cue my second hero of the game: the Intel.
Now, my Intel technically didn't do anything the entire game besides hide behind a crate, pretending to be a Moblot with Panzerfaust. I recently bought Chain of Command for him, though, which let me take a Veteran Kazak Lieutenant without being afraid of missing a turn due to LoL. This let me run my Veteran AP HMG entirely without fear...which got me an extra 4 points by pulling the Delegate out from under Endalyon's nose.
Cue my third hero of the game: the Galwegian Chain Rifle.
Yes, I know the poor guy is unpainted. I have this thing against painting my Caledonians, because I really hate painting tartan. I really should get around to it, though, because this guy was fantastic in Mission 302. First, he managed to uncover an Assistant to score me a measly point. Then he ran up, hidden by cover, and managed to drop a Chain Rifle template on a cluster of Endalyon's troops - this killed a Combi remote and a Naga, who dropped a Mono mine. On the next order, the Galwegian laughed at the Mono mine, putting a bit of hurt on a Proxy Mk1 as well and making sure the Naga stayed down (important with a doctor so close). The Galwegian died to tiny bits of mono-shrapnel, of course, but I think the 6-for-50some point trade was well worth it. This attack on Endalyon's order pool helped to put him dangerously close to retreat, though, so I need to watch what I'm doing next time.
In the end, Endalyon won based on the strength of his first turn (in "points gained", at least). I really hate the first-turn advantage that some scenarios give players, especially when they then hamstring certain factions/playstyles (no Infiltration in this mission...sounds great to all you Ariadna players out there, eh?). I think, in the end, that Paradiso is one of the ways that CB is testing exactly how they need to balance future scenarios. It's just unfortunate that it took them this long to get started on it.
Anyway, on to the mission! We rolled a very reasonably scattering of Crash Coffins, with only one side being slightly favoured. Endalyon won the initiative roll, so I quickly snatched up the "better" side to dull the inevitable pain of the first turn advantage. And what a pain it was...
With his first turn, Endalyon blitzed his Sophotect and her Yudbot forward, intent on discovering as much as possible. It helped that Endalyon's dice were on fire, because he revealed 4 Assistants and the Delegate almost immediately. The turn ended with Sophie synching up with the delegate (on her second attempt - thank you, -3 synch penalty!) and running behind a building.
Cue my first hero of the game: the Veteran Kazak AP HMG.
Notice the slight discolouration on her left glove. That's because she fell off the table during deployment and lost both arms, sustaining some damage to the paint on the way. That's ok, though, because even while armless, the Veteran Kazak is an unholy terror. This particular Vet was my Lieutenant, and that extra order helped her smoke a Chandra on the way up to Sophie, then put the Aleph Doctor/Engineer down for good. I didn't have enough orders to reach the Delegate on my first turn, but the Veteran ultimately held the line and snagged the Delegate in time to drag her back to my deployment zone, and into a dropship, just before Endalyon's forces fled off the table.
Cue my second hero of the game: the Intel.
Now, my Intel technically didn't do anything the entire game besides hide behind a crate, pretending to be a Moblot with Panzerfaust. I recently bought Chain of Command for him, though, which let me take a Veteran Kazak Lieutenant without being afraid of missing a turn due to LoL. This let me run my Veteran AP HMG entirely without fear...which got me an extra 4 points by pulling the Delegate out from under Endalyon's nose.
Cue my third hero of the game: the Galwegian Chain Rifle.
Yes, I know the poor guy is unpainted. I have this thing against painting my Caledonians, because I really hate painting tartan. I really should get around to it, though, because this guy was fantastic in Mission 302. First, he managed to uncover an Assistant to score me a measly point. Then he ran up, hidden by cover, and managed to drop a Chain Rifle template on a cluster of Endalyon's troops - this killed a Combi remote and a Naga, who dropped a Mono mine. On the next order, the Galwegian laughed at the Mono mine, putting a bit of hurt on a Proxy Mk1 as well and making sure the Naga stayed down (important with a doctor so close). The Galwegian died to tiny bits of mono-shrapnel, of course, but I think the 6-for-50some point trade was well worth it. This attack on Endalyon's order pool helped to put him dangerously close to retreat, though, so I need to watch what I'm doing next time.
In the end, Endalyon won based on the strength of his first turn (in "points gained", at least). I really hate the first-turn advantage that some scenarios give players, especially when they then hamstring certain factions/playstyles (no Infiltration in this mission...sounds great to all you Ariadna players out there, eh?). I think, in the end, that Paradiso is one of the ways that CB is testing exactly how they need to balance future scenarios. It's just unfortunate that it took them this long to get started on it.
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