Oof! That Kurita pilot die! So cool to see a IS vs Clan throwdown. Truth be told it was a lot closer than a lot of us were expecting. Numbers really make a big difference here and with Aaron being able to spread out to nab the objectives early it gave him a leg up in this fight. Still, an exciting batrep to watch and a nice kickoff to my weekend. Great work guys!
In Kevin’s defense, the Master Unit list has all of the ‘mechs available in 3050 or sooner. Just Prime 2-day delivery those bad boys to the periphery. 😁
Fun game. This whole table, and the mechs on it, is a masterpiece artwork of miniature wargaming. That tower in the middle gave me pause (meaning i paused the video several times to look at it). "I don't understand your pirate jargon!" - "Well i don't understand Draconis ranks, is a Tai-sa-Zev important?!"
I've waited my whole life to get into Mechwarrior tabletop. Always loved the games and was to scared to dive into the deep lore...but I love me some mechs. Can't wait for my wave 1 and 2 to just fill my living room! Best part is you guys are playing with the two sides I got dice for hahaha. I had to watch this report. Good game ya'll
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming It was realy hard to watch. I have a lot of respect for Kevin, to dont flip the table....Maybe next time the dice gods are with him.;)
Great work on those Ghost Bears Kevin. Interesting with the point and unit count match up between Clans and Inner Sphere. Have had mixed experiences in CBT and AS myself but never got to using force size point taxes.
Such carnage (thanks *obviously* defective dice 😉)! Had the dice gone the other way in those early turns though, it would have been a very different game I think. You know, I remember back in the day just being filled with dread facing clans as an IS player. I've seen a few AS games with clan forces now and I'm feeling a lot more confident. The abstraction of AS while using variable damage seems to be a *huge* field leveler.
Great Battle Report and love the paint jobs. In your Alpha Strike intermediate rules video you said to roll 2 dice for each shot, but in this video you rolled 1 pilot dice for the entire attack. This method seems to turn each Mech's attacks basically into all or nothing attack where as rolling a pilot die and attack die for each shot would seem to average out your hits much more. Thanks for the entertaining battle can't wait to see more battle in Operation Revival.
Right! So the “base rules” you actually just roll 2d6 and its all-or-none hit/miss with all of your damage. There is an optional rule where you roll 2d6 for each point of damage... ... our “pilot die” method is somewhere in between and combines speed of play with more variability on the damage output - so feels like a decent compromise. 🙂
I think the clan tactics were wrong, they had better gunnery skill and higher damage at long range yet they ran straight to the middle of the table engaging at medium/short giving the trueborn better to hit rolls. Should of stayed at range until he had killed 2/3 innersphere could of made the difference.
In retrospect, I think so, but I was eager to pew pew with my new models. I should've just camped and let him run the grinder, but then I might have to make up 1-2 point deficit later. This mission type is slanted toward aggressive tactics.
I actually play both Draconis Combine AND Clan Ghost Bear, so this was a wild ride for me to watch since it's my favorite Inner Sphere House vs my favorite Clan.
Clans really exemplify the glass cannon concept, especially with the skill value point multiplier. Even the IS units were built more for offense than survivability. In a battle of glass cannons, whoever lands more hits sooner tends to force his enemy into a death spiral. Those early pilot-die 6's for the Combine were really telling.
The Hellbringer is a prime example of a glass Cannon. It was a favored Mech of the Jade Falcons and considered one of the primary reasons their forces faired poorly against Inner Sphere forces
@Death From Above Wargaming: Just got around to watching this match. Definitely a "bowling shoe ugly" slugfest between two forces just hammering at each other, but fun. Something I noticed though, was that at 41:38 into the video, Kevin's Ice Ferret beaned the Phoenix Hawk with a Through Armor Critical that never got rolled on. It's possible that shot could have shaved off another 'Mech(even though low probability, or knocked at the Fire Control System of the Phoenix Hawk), to allow the Mist Lynx to only really have to worry about the Griffin. Poor Kevin....The insignia dice do look great though, even if there were mixed reactions/results. Ghost Bear paintjob also looked amazing.
That fight came strongly down on dice rolls. Luck of averages doesn't really apply with that small a sample, so a real fun run for the Clan. Clan Ghost Bear does have a reputation for streaks of bad luck. Cool battle report, beautiful mechs and pretty terrain, and my first taste of Alpha Strike (I just picked up the AS rulebook last week). I just got my Clan Invasion box, need to get my paints sorted tomorrow!
Any chance you guys can do a video or series on the different rule books, what they add to the game and what order new players should get them? Catalyst's store page is not very helpful.
This is my 2nd viewing of this bat-rep, and it has given me the incentive to tell you that my mate and I have decided to increase the structure of clan mech's to match that of the inner sphere mech's. I discovered that a 75 ton clan mech in Classic has exactly the same amount of internal structure as a 75 ton IS mech, and this goes for all weight classes. Whatever causes the shortfall of structure in Alpha Strike through the conversion process has me baffled, but we figured that it was time to remedy the problem.
The reduction is S is because of the XL engine - so if you change it for clan ‘mechs you need to change it for IS ‘mechs with XL engines also. Not sure this is a silver bullet for balance but will definitely increase survivability of clan ‘mechs.
Hey guys, Important note if you are playing by the lore Clanners will pick a target and fight 1v1 until their target is destroyed no so the Hellbringer and Whitworth were locked in a 1v1 duel until the either of them are destroyed, no other Clanners can shoot at the Whitworth as it is the Hellbringer's target and the Hellbringer can only shoot at the Whitworth until either is destroyed so E.G. the Hellbringer switching targets to the Awesome would make him DESGRA in the eyes of the other Clanners (esp at the start of the invasion). As my understanding is 1V1 combat like this only ends when the Hellbringer is shot at by or shoots another unit and it becomes a free for all. www.sarna.net/wiki/Zellbrigen Anyway to quote Tex from BPL: that might be a grognard critique I love the content, keep up the Awesome work
Thanks! We are aware - trying to play by Zellbringen adds a tax for the clan player that we felt would be a bit imbalanced. We are working on some ideas though!
At 41:35 it looks like Kevin's Ice Ferret got a critical on the Phoenix Hawk. Also, the Ice Ferret should be Move 8 and TMM 3, since it's 8/12 in CBT, though I don't think it mattered this game.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming It depends, somethimes I use valley polyethilen varnish for the airbrush but if the bottle is older than a year, that stuff tends to fuck up the airbrush, resulting in a deep clean of the thing. Recently I went back oldschool and got me some spray cans, of which you can buy the expensive stuff from a tabletop companies like GW of Army Painter...or you simply go to your local hardware store and get the cheap stuff, which is basicly the same, since there are no pigments in it, there is no big quality gap. spray 2-3 thin layers, thats important, if you spray one thick then it might get even more glossy.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming and about the decals get some glosse varnish for them to, if you want to apply them so that you cant see that they are decals. one gloss layer below the decal and one above, then the matte varnish on top. also that decal fix kit from valleyo for around 10$ is top notch. lasts you propably a lifetime
I think a binary vs a reinforced company (10v16) would be more balanced even though it is just multiplying each force by 2. It allows for more concentration of fire and redistribution of force when needed. The ghost bears just had some bad luck with those rolls but I also think it was just a matter of number of dice. IS had roughly double the number of dice rolling each round compared to the clan forces. Its just increasing probability for the IS forces to do damage while being able to soak more damage over all. If you guys don't want to grow games to be that large (10v16), maybe consider clan forces having at least 2 points of elements as extra units to even out inititive sinks, damage soak, and number of offensive dice being rolled. Asymmetrical forces breaks down regardless of game system or power level of units once you near 2 to 1 odds. The great equalizer that is action economy
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming I think that would be worth giving a try. Elementals can move around the battlefield on OmniMechs which is going to make "fast" clan mechs particularly dangerous in the right situations. They get to carry their concentration of force/fire with them.
Definitely looks like those dice are crazy. Seemed like one was the loneliest number for the ghost bears. I think one or two of those ones even being 3s would have even the numbers more.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming "...when Phelan Kell's Wolfhound had a glitch trying to identify what in the f*ck was shooting at him. His computer first said MAD, then CAT. Because his target kinda looked like a cross between a Marauder and a Catapult. Also because inner sphere tech tends to be dumb and badly made..." Praise Tex and the BPL lol
@Death From Above Wargaming Do you all have a program to edit and print AS cards with your format? I like the 1:1 rule and the skill chart on the right side.
We have a card generator available to Patreons, in addition to some other digital bounty. The MUL one does let you print custom stats, but it’s on stock format. www.patreon.com/dfawargaming
Kevin nailed it. Plus our cards also include the extreme range bracket and conveniently allows you to catalog your collection and includes a force builder from your collection.
I'm a bit puzzled about some of the AS cards included in the Clan Invasion Box set... the Timber Wolf A has 7 (!) damage on the short and medium range bands for only 59 points. That seems crazy high.
Crazy high points or crazy high damage? The points match the damage, as it can melt most mechs in a single salvo without building up heat - while also having a ton of armor and a +2 TMM. Its a certified monster 😁
When a Mech packs 2 ER PPCs, 1 Streak 6, and 3 medium pulse lasers that sort of damage is to be expected. The Timber Wolf A is widely regarded as the best T-Wolf config, and seen by some as to be so good its broken. In CBT a T-Wolf A can do 63 points of damage if everything hits, so adding on the bonus to damage Alpha Strike gives for pulse lasers and 7 damage sounds about right.
COMMENT: 3278 views 232 likes - CMON PEOPLE !!!! These guys put a lot of effort into their battle reports .. smash the like and give them the support they deserve
Guess Comstar was using these rules too on Tukayyid. They seem to just favor swarming. Also that Executioner should have tried to stay at a distance to minimize return fire. Same for the Viper. You go brawling with a bunch of IS mechs you die.
It’s not off the table! We’ll do classic again I have no doubt... but admittedly as the timeline advances, the complexity for classic becomes a little much.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming That's good news! The dice have been screwing with Warrior House Po. I'm looking to see these guys get some good rolls and kick a bit of Davion butt. Thanks for all the great content.
Im not very experienced in Battletech nuance, but I think for a single Clan lance, it might be better for something a bit more heavy- 1 medium, 2x heavy & 2x assault class mechs. This should allow the lance to hit harder, farther, take more hits, and be also a little more flexible. I think it would work a little better when obviously outnumbered. Someone more eperienced can reply whether that would work or not.
It seemed like the omnis had great dmg long range, so using the only +2 modifier made them less durable at long rang against the the less skilled inner sphere mech. The odds and bonus of better skill is more pronounced at higher modifiers, or? So kiting the inner sphere would be a better taktic with normal mods, or? But cool battle report, Im playing my first game tomorrow with my ghost bears.. hopefully my die rolls are a little bit more evenly distributed ^^
Hahah yah the dice were nuts. As for skill, etc. I have a slightly different take... I think where Kevin “loses” points is in things like AMS, ECM, BAP... non-skill-based abilities that jack up the PV. You end up paying a % for skill increase on all that junk (including the absurdly high TMMs on clan mechs) which almost never scales well for the clans. I do think the weather had an impact as well - if the clans could have engaged from extreme range, there may have been more carnage. But ultimately I think the dice really favored the Dracs!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming The dice really favored the combine^^ It was more of a general observation on my part. On the other hand, all that ams/ecm stuff really does jack up the points, you are totally right on that. The difference of 24" and 20" isn't that big to really abuse the probe. If it would have been 16/24" the clans could have really killed a few mechs before you closed the distance. But than, kiting in a objective based mission with points to take is not good either. So lots of variables to take into account for building the right force. Keep up the nice work!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Drat--I don't have a 3D printer LOL. But still, that's such an amazing idea to do! I might just see about getting some blank hex bases and doing that then. What did you say the Sensor / Visual range was? 16 hexes / inches, right? Thanks!
This is under discussion after the last game, but currently 16” yes - you can find it on our Quick Reference sheet that is free to download from our website! Also if you dont have a printer - I’d bet there are lots of people who might be willing to take a commission! Maybe we’ll offer them as a prize in a future veteran challenge 🙂
Here is the breakdown for each force in BV 9th Bear Guard Striker Executioner Prime (1,2) 5,085 Viper Prime (2,3) 2,435 Hellbringer A (1,2) 3,934 Ice Ferret C (1,2) 2,446 Mist Lynx C (2,3) 2,217 Total BV: 16,115 Akai Oni Awesome 9M (2,3) 3,044 Grand Dragon 5K (3,4) 1,792 Catapult K3 (3,4) 1,896 Griffin 3M (3,4) 2,007 Hunchback HBK4H (3,4) 1408 Phoenix Hawk 3M (3,4) 1,725 LCT-1E (3,4) 729 BV total 13,887 So the Clans are only ahead by 2,228 points. You could easily add one more mech and have it be equal or close to it.
Wow thank you for investing the time to run these numbers! Hard to believe the IS has that big of a deficit her and would have a bigger disadvantage in classic.
I forgot the Whitworth in the total IS numbers. That would be 1,296, which equals out the total to 13,887. So add one or two more units in and you're equal to the Clan Star. I'd suggest a Mauler or a Charger 3K.
While the Coordinator approves of the successful repulsion of pirate scum from the soil of the Combine, the commander's blatant cowardice in beginning to withdraw from combat prior to the final defeat of the gaijin is entirely unacceptable. The Sho-sa will be expected to expiate their shame in the appropriate fashion, and further communications will henceforth be forwarded to the unit's new commander.
The Tai-sa has the favor of Teddy K and they believe that daddy doesn’t have to know. Per the official report, the Sho-sa carried the day with great honor.
Imagine playing RAW (and with no extreme range) : the clan are relying on range (better damage and speed to maintain distance), but everything move twice as fast and weapon shoot twice twice as long, meaning the IS would suffer about a single turn of clan advantage before any conventionnal table can lend them any room to remain tactical... feels like a garantied slugfest every game!
OMG! The Clan Invasion commences. Do the Jade Falcons vs The Grey Death Legion. The Clans were all about bidding to optimize the force needed to take an abjective for honor's sake. How about this. At the beginning both challengers put the I.S. force together and then both bid as Clanners to take the barbarian freebirths on. The one that bids the most efficient force gets to play the Clan and the other guy gets to play the Inner Sphere side.
Wow. I've rarely seen a game decided so much by crap dice roles... Everything I've heard about the KS dice is that they are trash quality. I'm super glad my stuff is all coming in wave 2! Hopefully by then the dice will actually be dice. That was painful to watch. On many levels for me... I don't like the Clans. I don't like the dirty Snakes. I'm not sure who I don't like more, though?? My inner heckler didn't know which team to boo?!?! It was all very confusing.... 😆
I think the clan vs IS is not very well balanced. Since IS mechs are more numerous with similar or more armour and structure points. Easier hitting for the clans doesn't make up for it in my opinion. If clans where this weak, the invasion would've been over before it began :D sad to see the "big baddie" of Battletech like this ;/
It still has a place for us. It's just hard to refuse a game we can knock out in 3 hours (including film). Our Arena reports will stick to Classic, and hopefully small scale stuff. It's just so hard with 8v5, little own greater numbers, unless we reserve half a Sunday.
@@KevinPeterstheRyan I agree with this strategy. I thought the Solaris stuff a brilliant idea to bring back some of that classic action while keeping things interesting but manageable.
Lol Clanners suck ass in Alpha Strike, glass cannons that die in a breeze. And no way it's a minor victory with the cost of the destroyed mechs . Also, the 2 Lance's equating one star was for 3025 non Helm Memory core gear. So actually the DCMS was advantaged in this run. And calling their language, pirate jargon, I spit my coffee all over the place!!! :) :)
Please stop with this garbage Alpha Strike. The game has no excitement, strategy, or heroics. The battles are sooooooo boring. Go back to the basic game where a pilot can earn a name for doing something epic. Like rock'em sock'em robot action orLight mechs making a mad sacrifice to save the lance/star commander. Back to the wild Gauss rifle at max range needing 12 to hit and shaving a mechs head off it's torso. Please get back to the epicness of what makes battletech so great!
"I don't understand your pirate jargon" made me laugh and was the best response ever. It was super appropriate for an officer in the DCMS.
Haha Kevins claims the credit for that script!!
By the way Kevin, that Ghost Bear Scheme is really cool.
50% of the reason I chose Omega Galaxy.
Seconded. Great work.
I'm IN LOVE with the amount of production value and immersion put into these videos. Keep up the amazing work! CLAN WOLVERINE!!!!!!!
Thank you and thanks for watching! 🙂👍
Oof! That Kurita pilot die! So cool to see a IS vs Clan throwdown. Truth be told it was a lot closer than a lot of us were expecting. Numbers really make a big difference here and with Aaron being able to spread out to nab the objectives early it gave him a leg up in this fight. Still, an exciting batrep to watch and a nice kickoff to my weekend.
Great work guys!
Need more elementals haha
But the DCMS was using post Helm Memory Core gear. Which they likely wouldnt have had. ;)
In Kevin’s defense, the Master Unit list has all of the ‘mechs available in 3050 or sooner. Just Prime 2-day delivery those bad boys to the periphery. 😁
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming yeah, they'd be on Luthien or OJ n a Seord of Light Regiment tho. ;)
I see the lore more as guidelines 😁
Fun game. This whole table, and the mechs on it, is a masterpiece artwork of miniature wargaming. That tower in the middle gave me pause (meaning i paused the video several times to look at it). "I don't understand your pirate jargon!" - "Well i don't understand Draconis ranks, is a Tai-sa-Zev important?!"
Thank you!! Appreciate you watching!
I've waited my whole life to get into Mechwarrior tabletop. Always loved the games and was to scared to dive into the deep lore...but I love me some mechs.
Can't wait for my wave 1 and 2 to just fill my living room!
Best part is you guys are playing with the two sides I got dice for hahaha.
I had to watch this report.
Good game ya'll
Great batrep guys, very nice to see some of the new minis on the board. Excited to see some elementals on the table soon
Very soon!
I just played a game with my kickstarter stuff yesterday. Good times!
Outstanding BATREP, I couldn't pick a side as you had both of my forces on the board :)
So many favorites 🙂
mmm... HD playback... THANK YOU PATREON BACKERS!
This was hard for Kevin. When the dices roll good the Clan-Mech are hard hitting. Keep it up.
Missing that many 5+ rolls was a little hard to witness. The spirit of the khan was not with Kev. Next time.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming It was realy hard to watch. I have a lot of respect for Kevin, to dont flip the table....Maybe next time the dice gods are with him.;)
Hahaha
Great work on those Ghost Bears Kevin. Interesting with the point and unit count match up between Clans and Inner Sphere. Have had mixed experiences in CBT and AS myself but never got to using force size point taxes.
Such carnage (thanks *obviously* defective dice 😉)! Had the dice gone the other way in those early turns though, it would have been a very different game I think.
You know, I remember back in the day just being filled with dread facing clans as an IS player. I've seen a few AS games with clan forces now and I'm feeling a lot more confident. The abstraction of AS while using variable damage seems to be a *huge* field leveler.
Id agree with all of that!
Great Battle Report and love the paint jobs. In your Alpha Strike intermediate rules video you said to roll 2 dice for each shot, but in this video you rolled 1 pilot dice for the entire attack. This method seems to turn each Mech's attacks basically into all or nothing attack where as rolling a pilot die and attack die for each shot would seem to average out your hits much more. Thanks for the entertaining battle can't wait to see more battle in Operation Revival.
Right! So the “base rules” you actually just roll 2d6 and its all-or-none hit/miss with all of your damage. There is an optional rule where you roll 2d6 for each point of damage...
... our “pilot die” method is somewhere in between and combines speed of play with more variability on the damage output - so feels like a decent compromise. 🙂
Thank you for Alpha Strike!
Thanks for that! Glad to hear you enjoyed and appreciate you watching 🙂👍
I think the clan tactics were wrong, they had better gunnery skill and higher damage at long range yet they ran straight to the middle of the table engaging at medium/short giving the trueborn better to hit rolls. Should of stayed at range until he had killed 2/3 innersphere could of made the difference.
In retrospect, I think so, but I was eager to pew pew with my new models. I should've just camped and let him run the grinder, but then I might have to make up 1-2 point deficit later. This mission type is slanted toward aggressive tactics.
overconfidence is not always a slow and insidious, but always a killer. :D
Aff
I actually play both Draconis Combine AND Clan Ghost Bear, so this was a wild ride for me to watch since it's my favorite Inner Sphere House vs my favorite Clan.
Glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for watching.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming The group I play with only does Classic/Hex gameplay. I actually subbed so I can see more games of Alpha Strike.
You gotta stay at range with clan, that is where their advantage almost always lies. Closing with inner sphere you negate your biggest advantage.
Clans really exemplify the glass cannon concept, especially with the skill value point multiplier. Even the IS units were built more for offense than survivability. In a battle of glass cannons, whoever lands more hits sooner tends to force his enemy into a death spiral. Those early pilot-die 6's for the Combine were really telling.
Yes 100%. Good to know you see it that way also! The XL engines and average armor on most clan mechs does not mix with bad luck!
The Hellbringer is a prime example of a glass Cannon.
It was a favored Mech of the Jade Falcons and considered one of the primary reasons their forces faired poorly against Inner Sphere forces
Yes - very accurate! 65 tons and fewer pips than a Rifleman is tough to digest for the cost.
@Death From Above Wargaming: Just got around to watching this match. Definitely a "bowling shoe ugly" slugfest between two forces just hammering at each other, but fun. Something I noticed though, was that at 41:38 into the video, Kevin's Ice Ferret beaned the Phoenix Hawk with a Through Armor Critical that never got rolled on. It's possible that shot could have shaved off another 'Mech(even though low probability, or knocked at the Fire Control System of the Phoenix Hawk), to allow the Mist Lynx to only really have to worry about the Griffin.
Poor Kevin....The insignia dice do look great though, even if there were mixed reactions/results. Ghost Bear paintjob also looked amazing.
That fight came strongly down on dice rolls. Luck of averages doesn't really apply with that small a sample, so a real fun run for the Clan. Clan Ghost Bear does have a reputation for streaks of bad luck. Cool battle report, beautiful mechs and pretty terrain, and my first taste of Alpha Strike (I just picked up the AS rulebook last week).
I just got my Clan Invasion box, need to get my paints sorted tomorrow!
Love it! Enjoy painting and thanks for watching 👍👍
Thanks for the fun battle report, hopefully there will be a FedCom vs Jade Falcon battle report.
Any chance you guys can do a video or series on the different rule books, what they add to the game and what order new players should get them? Catalyst's store page is not very helpful.
Can’t argue with you on that. 😜 we’ll about doing something like that - but feel free to email us with questions in the meantime.
This is my 2nd viewing of this bat-rep, and it has given me the incentive to tell you that my mate and I have decided to increase the structure of clan mech's to match that of the inner sphere mech's. I discovered that a 75 ton clan mech in Classic has exactly the same amount of internal structure as a 75 ton IS mech, and this goes for all weight classes. Whatever causes the shortfall of structure in Alpha Strike through the conversion process has me baffled, but we figured that it was time to remedy the problem.
The reduction is S is because of the XL engine - so if you change it for clan ‘mechs you need to change it for IS ‘mechs with XL engines also. Not sure this is a silver bullet for balance but will definitely increase survivability of clan ‘mechs.
Alpha strike is kind of harsh with the xl engine penalty. The upgraded IS mechs have the same issue.
100%!
Hey guys, Important note if you are playing by the lore Clanners will pick a target and fight 1v1 until their target is destroyed no so the Hellbringer and Whitworth were locked in a 1v1 duel until the either of them are destroyed, no other Clanners can shoot at the Whitworth as it is the Hellbringer's target and the Hellbringer can only shoot at the Whitworth until either is destroyed so E.G. the Hellbringer switching targets to the Awesome would make him DESGRA in the eyes of the other Clanners (esp at the start of the invasion). As my understanding is 1V1 combat like this only ends when the Hellbringer is shot at by or shoots another unit and it becomes a free for all.
www.sarna.net/wiki/Zellbrigen
Anyway to quote Tex from BPL: that might be a grognard critique
I love the content, keep up the Awesome work
Thanks! We are aware - trying to play by Zellbringen adds a tax for the clan player that we felt would be a bit imbalanced.
We are working on some ideas though!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ya i can see that, it was a crazy game with all he 1s and 6s
I’m not saying it was the kickstarter dice but I might be haha
I never thought I'd root for the DCMS, but here we are...
Classic 2020.
I felt this in my soul.
Hey hey hey now - I'm rooting for the good guys - Kurita!!!
I never thought I'd root against myself, but such is when playing both my units.
@@KevinPeterstheRyan I felt that
At 41:35 it looks like Kevin's Ice Ferret got a critical on the Phoenix Hawk. Also, the Ice Ferret should be Move 8 and TMM 3, since it's 8/12 in CBT, though I don't think it mattered this game.
Aaron printed us some custom cards, so he might have “fat fingered” some stats. That’s the only reason I ever lose, he is certified DEZGRA.
nice paintjob and good battle. But you guys need to apply some matte varnish on your minis. It protects them and deals with that shine.
I think Kevin does varnish his. I don’t but know I should hah. Need to go on a decal rampage first. What varnish do you use?
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming It depends, somethimes I use valley polyethilen varnish for the airbrush but if the bottle is older than a year, that stuff tends to fuck up the airbrush, resulting in a deep clean of the thing.
Recently I went back oldschool and got me some spray cans, of which you can buy the expensive stuff from a tabletop companies like GW of Army Painter...or you simply go to your local hardware store and get the cheap stuff, which is basicly the same, since there are no pigments in it, there is no big quality gap.
spray 2-3 thin layers, thats important, if you spray one thick then it might get even more glossy.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming and about the decals get some glosse varnish for them to, if you want to apply them so that you cant see that they are decals. one gloss layer below the decal and one above, then the matte varnish on top.
also that decal fix kit from valleyo for around 10$ is top notch. lasts you propably a lifetime
Great video.Looking forward to more Clan battles.Please,in the future could get a few close ups of the new mechs you introduce to the game.
Where did you get those rivers! They look great.
Thank you! These are homemade by Kevin! He used 6x6x1/8th rubber sheets, cut them to shape, sprayed, painted some detail, and clear coated!
You should try to find the mech explosion sound from Mechassault for when a mech is destroyed.
I could dig around for it!
I think a binary vs a reinforced company (10v16) would be more balanced even though it is just multiplying each force by 2. It allows for more concentration of fire and redistribution of force when needed.
The ghost bears just had some bad luck with those rolls but I also think it was just a matter of number of dice. IS had roughly double the number of dice rolling each round compared to the clan forces. Its just increasing probability for the IS forces to do damage while being able to soak more damage over all.
If you guys don't want to grow games to be that large (10v16), maybe consider clan forces having at least 2 points of elements as extra units to even out inititive sinks, damage soak, and number of offensive dice being rolled.
Asymmetrical forces breaks down regardless of game system or power level of units once you near 2 to 1 odds. The great equalizer that is action economy
Yah you nailed it - we talked a lot about keeping #s even... I think 5 mechs + 3 elemental bases would dramatically help.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming I think that would be worth giving a try. Elementals can move around the battlefield on OmniMechs which is going to make "fast" clan mechs particularly dangerous in the right situations. They get to carry their concentration of force/fire with them.
Definitely looks like those dice are crazy. Seemed like one was the loneliest number for the ghost bears. I think one or two of those ones even being 3s would have even the numbers more.
Yah haha I think the novelty dice may be banned forthwith 😆
I would like to see a future video of the Kell hounds encounter with the Wolf clan if possible.
Well, we have Wolf painted... 🙂
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming "...when Phelan Kell's Wolfhound had a glitch trying to identify what in the f*ck was shooting at him. His computer first said MAD, then CAT. Because his target kinda looked like a cross between a Marauder and a Catapult. Also because inner sphere tech tends to be dumb and badly made..."
Praise Tex and the BPL lol
Haha so good
Oh, boy. Here it is. Watchin' from work. lol
Love itttt happy Friday.
Great paint on those Bears.
@Death From Above Wargaming Do you all have a program to edit and print AS cards with your format? I like the 1:1 rule and the skill chart on the right side.
You can do it in Master Unit list. Under unit card Is button cutomize. Then you can change any data
We have a card generator available to Patreons, in addition to some other digital bounty. The MUL one does let you print custom stats, but it’s on stock format.
www.patreon.com/dfawargaming
Kevin nailed it. Plus our cards also include the extreme range bracket and conveniently allows you to catalog your collection and includes a force builder from your collection.
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Can't wait for some fire moths with elementals buddies. Should ran the dire wolf. But nice picking the gladiator very popular GB omni
What are the colored plastic cubes by your TMM dice used for?
Variety of status/critical effects, also yellow/black/red for sprint/stationary/jump.
I'm a bit puzzled about some of the AS cards included in the Clan Invasion Box set... the Timber Wolf A has 7 (!) damage on the short and medium range bands for only 59 points. That seems crazy high.
Crazy high points or crazy high damage? The points match the damage, as it can melt most mechs in a single salvo without building up heat - while also having a ton of armor and a +2 TMM.
Its a certified monster 😁
When a Mech packs 2 ER PPCs, 1 Streak 6, and 3 medium pulse lasers that sort of damage is to be expected. The Timber Wolf A is widely regarded as the best T-Wolf config, and seen by some as to be so good its broken. In CBT a T-Wolf A can do 63 points of damage if everything hits, so adding on the bonus to damage Alpha Strike gives for pulse lasers and 7 damage sounds about right.
Kevin missed the critical on the Phoenix Hawk… there could have been a chance…
Does that "Combine" die roll anything other than a 6? Kinda sus, lol....
Loving the BR's! Thanks for sharing them.
Haha man all those original “wave 1” CGL dice were whacked! Totally sus.
I'd be fascinated to see what the bv2 difference is between the forces and a rematch in classic bt
Question about your dice mechanics - it's 2d6 to hit, yet you are rolling 3 dice. Could you explain please?
WOW!! Awesome.. The RNG did NOT smile upon the Ghost Bears this game. lol Thanks fellas!
Haha that is a FACT. Not only was I crushing it with thru armor crits, poor Kev could not land a 5+ to save his life.
No single combat? Part of the fun of playing Clan versus Drac Combine.
Someone any idea what exactly colors were used for the ghost bear camo? looks fantastic
COMMENT: 3278 views 232 likes - CMON PEOPLE !!!! These guys put a lot of effort into their battle reports .. smash the like and give them the support they deserve
Thank you!! 👍👍👍
Guess Comstar was using these rules too on Tukayyid. They seem to just favor swarming. Also that Executioner should have tried to stay at a distance to minimize return fire. Same for the Viper. You go brawling with a bunch of IS mechs you die.
Back off Bears. These are MY streets. 😆
Alpha Strike is alright, but I miss the Classic BT Battle Reports. Any classic scenarios coming in the foreseeable future?
It’s not off the table! We’ll do classic again I have no doubt... but admittedly as the timeline advances, the complexity for classic becomes a little much.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming That's good news! The dice have been screwing with Warrior House Po. I'm looking to see these guys get some good rolls and kick a bit of Davion butt. Thanks for all the great content.
Im not very experienced in Battletech nuance, but I think for a single Clan lance, it might be better for something a bit more heavy- 1 medium, 2x heavy & 2x assault class mechs. This should allow the lance to hit harder, farther, take more hits, and be also a little more flexible. I think it would work a little better when obviously outnumbered. Someone more eperienced can reply whether that would work or not.
Yes - you aren’t wrong but the issue is fitting all of that into the Point Value limit of the match.
It seemed like the omnis had great dmg long range, so using the only +2 modifier made them less durable at long rang against the the less skilled inner sphere mech. The odds and bonus of better skill is more pronounced at higher modifiers, or? So kiting the inner sphere would be a better taktic with normal mods, or?
But cool battle report, Im playing my first game tomorrow with my ghost bears.. hopefully my die rolls are a little bit more evenly distributed ^^
Hahah yah the dice were nuts.
As for skill, etc. I have a slightly different take... I think where Kevin “loses” points is in things like AMS, ECM, BAP... non-skill-based abilities that jack up the PV. You end up paying a % for skill increase on all that junk (including the absurdly high TMMs on clan mechs) which almost never scales well for the clans.
I do think the weather had an impact as well - if the clans could have engaged from extreme range, there may have been more carnage.
But ultimately I think the dice really favored the Dracs!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming The dice really favored the combine^^ It was more of a general observation on my part. On the other hand, all that ams/ecm stuff really does jack up the points, you are totally right on that. The difference of 24" and 20" isn't that big to really abuse the probe. If it would have been 16/24" the clans could have really killed a few mechs before you closed the distance. But than, kiting in a objective based mission with points to take is not good either. So lots of variables to take into account for building the right force. Keep up the nice work!
Thanks! Appreciate all the good ideas and observations in here, and ofc thanks for watching!
YO, Where did you get those 'mech silhouettes? I gotta get me a set of those!
3D printed! They are a DFA custom design done by Kevin. They’ll be on Patreon soon as a digital download soon!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Drat--I don't have a 3D printer LOL. But still, that's such an amazing idea to do! I might just see about getting some blank hex bases and doing that then. What did you say the Sensor / Visual range was? 16 hexes / inches, right? Thanks!
This is under discussion after the last game, but currently 16” yes - you can find it on our Quick Reference sheet that is free to download from our website!
Also if you dont have a printer - I’d bet there are lots of people who might be willing to take a commission! Maybe we’ll offer them as a prize in a future veteran challenge 🙂
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Sounds good! Thank you!
Clan pilot that is skill 2? Clearly a genetic defect. 😂 Good one Aaron! Also, that Combine dice is on fire!
Rigged dice hahah
GB vs DC...Aw man, I don't wanna read Test of Vengeance for the 13th time but here we go. 😉
It would be interesting to see this done with CBT rules and standard pilots for a comparison.
I’m not sure the BV would be close in BattleTech... you would definitely need to tweak the forces I think!
Here is the breakdown for each force in BV
9th Bear Guard Striker
Executioner Prime (1,2) 5,085
Viper Prime (2,3) 2,435
Hellbringer A (1,2) 3,934
Ice Ferret C (1,2) 2,446
Mist Lynx C (2,3) 2,217
Total BV: 16,115
Akai Oni
Awesome 9M (2,3) 3,044
Grand Dragon 5K (3,4) 1,792
Catapult K3 (3,4) 1,896
Griffin 3M (3,4) 2,007
Hunchback HBK4H (3,4) 1408
Phoenix Hawk 3M (3,4) 1,725
LCT-1E (3,4) 729
BV total 13,887
So the Clans are only ahead by 2,228 points. You could easily add one more mech and have it be equal or close to it.
Wow thank you for investing the time to run these numbers! Hard to believe the IS has that big of a deficit her and would have a bigger disadvantage in classic.
I forgot the Whitworth in the total IS numbers. That would be 1,296, which equals out the total to 13,887. So add one or two more units in and you're equal to the Clan Star. I'd suggest a Mauler or a Charger 3K.
forcing the clans to fight close really hurts them
Them Bears were hungry.
What mat or playing surface are you guys using?
Hey - we use neoprene mats from Deep Cut and PWork.
Neat... what are you putting under them to make them 3d?
Check out this vid:
ua-cam.com/video/REa5kuppBro/v-deo.html
I went to Aires games, what miniatures do you use for infantry and vehicles ? CAV?
Those are all ironwind metals from Aries. You can also search by chassis name (i.e. “bulldog”) and IWM stuff will come up!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Thank you. I’m digging Alpha Strike trying to get my kids into war gaming.
Good plan 🙂 The IWM vehicles usually come in packs of 2 and are a pretty quick paint job
weekend saved 👍
just curious as to why theres been no love for the Nasty Dragon-Fire
While the Coordinator approves of the successful repulsion of pirate scum from the soil of the Combine, the commander's blatant cowardice in beginning to withdraw from combat prior to the final defeat of the gaijin is entirely unacceptable. The Sho-sa will be expected to expiate their shame in the appropriate fashion, and further communications will henceforth be forwarded to the unit's new commander.
The Tai-sa has the favor of Teddy K and they believe that daddy doesn’t have to know. Per the official report, the Sho-sa carried the day with great honor.
Awesome battle report, where'd you get your blip counters made?
I know this is a late comment but those dice, boss.
Hahaha - now a recurring joke.
Whitworth? My man.
One of my favs.
Imagine playing RAW (and with no extreme range) : the clan are relying on range (better damage and speed to maintain distance), but everything move twice as fast and weapon shoot twice twice as long, meaning the IS would suffer about a single turn of clan advantage before any conventionnal table can lend them any room to remain tactical... feels like a garantied slugfest every game!
It's Alfa Strike?
Yes!
How would you factor the clan bidding process into this, where they can call in more forces?
We'll probably do that sort of stuff pre-game in the narrative setup vs. actually play it out on the table.
@@KevinPeterstheRyan it would be a whole new form of speed painting mini's any other way of course...
PAINTBRUSHES READDDYY! haha
Is it safe to assume that draconis die is one of the warped ones from the kickstarter? You rolled way more 6's then I think is expected.
Haha most DEFINITELY
OMG! The Clan Invasion commences. Do the Jade Falcons vs The Grey Death Legion. The Clans were all about bidding to optimize the force needed to take an abjective for honor's sake. How about this. At the beginning both challengers put the I.S. force together and then both bid as Clanners to take the barbarian freebirths on. The one that bids the most efficient force gets to play the Clan and the other guy gets to play the Inner Sphere side.
Wow. I've rarely seen a game decided so much by crap dice roles... Everything I've heard about the KS dice is that they are trash quality. I'm super glad my stuff is all coming in wave 2! Hopefully by then the dice will actually be dice. That was painful to watch. On many levels for me... I don't like the Clans. I don't like the dirty Snakes. I'm not sure who I don't like more, though?? My inner heckler didn't know which team to boo?!?! It was all very confusing.... 😆
LOL yah I am unconvinced that they are balanced. I need to do some really extensive testing haha. Could also have just been bad luck!! Who knows 😜
Oh hell yea! Lets GOOOOOOOO!!
Clans brought high def technology with them. 😆
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Indeed they did! Thanks patreons!!
Claners were a little bit too confident, it feels....
Classic villain downfall.
The Dragon calling the Bear a villain... just another day in 2020.
Lmfao
Also it seems like the numbers needed some balancing. That executioner sucks.
Balanced on PV. But I wont argue the Executioner seems like an under performer in AS.
I think the clan vs IS is not very well balanced. Since IS mechs are more numerous with similar or more armour and structure points. Easier hitting for the clans doesn't make up for it in my opinion. If clans where this weak, the invasion would've been over before it began :D sad to see the "big baddie" of Battletech like this ;/
Yah - I dont disagree. Clearly the Clans were either cheating or had a big PV advantage during the invasion 😜
I still love your channel guys! But it bums me out badly that you have bailed so hard on classic.
It still has a place for us. It's just hard to refuse a game we can knock out in 3 hours (including film). Our Arena reports will stick to Classic, and hopefully small scale stuff. It's just so hard with 8v5, little own greater numbers, unless we reserve half a Sunday.
@@KevinPeterstheRyan I agree with this strategy. I thought the Solaris stuff a brilliant idea to bring back some of that classic action while keeping things interesting but manageable.
Rigged dice. Jeez.
Hahah no kidding. All those dice have been banned 😆
Lol Clanners suck ass in Alpha Strike, glass cannons that die in a breeze. And no way it's a minor victory with the cost of the destroyed mechs . Also, the 2 Lance's equating one star was for 3025 non Helm Memory core gear. So actually the DCMS was advantaged in this run. And calling their language, pirate jargon, I spit my coffee all over the place!!! :) :)
Please stop with this garbage Alpha Strike. The game has no excitement, strategy, or heroics. The battles are sooooooo boring. Go back to the basic game where a pilot can earn a name for doing something epic. Like rock'em sock'em robot action orLight mechs making a mad sacrifice to save the lance/star commander. Back to the wild Gauss rifle at max range needing 12 to hit and shaving a mechs head off it's torso. Please get back to the epicness of what makes battletech so great!
No strategy! That cuts me deep.