I played my fifth game for the Infinity League on Saturday versus Shane's Pan O. I had been worrying about this game all week. I was also excited about it. Pan O has been the hardest foe for me to crack, and my previous two games versus Shane were hard and close. I expected this game to be a tough fight, and I knew that even if I lost, I had to get high points to hold onto second, or I would likely end up in fifth or worse. To top things off, I am facing a Pan O TAG from across the table.
I managed to win the roll for Initiative with a six, he rolled a five. Having learned a first turn to Pan O hurts the nethers, I gave him Deployment. The board had been set up prior to my arrival. The center was a 3'x3'+ chunk of packing foam. It gave plenty of blocks and climbing. But, that being enough, it was covered with bunkers, ruins, and silos. The outside edges had some protrusions, but for the most part was open lanes. I deployed my stuff fairly center, with a Zaiyen slightly back to drop a monomine next to my flag to injure anyone thinking to take it. I held a Dakini and a Zaiyen for later placement. The Marut was center, with a Dakini on either edge, looking down the blanks, and another behind a silo with the Marut, and the last to my left behind another silo. He deployed out of LoF, with the TAG looking at the corridor on my left, Joan of Arc the one on my right. He had a link team of three Fusiliers lead by a Knight of Santiago in the center, with a cheerleader behind in a building, completely out of LoF from near everywhere. He put his flag on the top level of a ruin on his right, but one that the open side faced me. I brought the held Dakini and Zaiyen, both, in on the same side as the TAG. I didn't think they would be strong enough to stop it, but I hoped to slow it a bit. My missions were doubled Kill the Boffin, Ambushed Hold the Line, Kill the Flag, and Mapping. Revealing Hold the Line really set me up to fail it, so I wasn't terribly happy with his Ambush. He had Clear the Zone and Capture the Flag, as well. My turn one was zero combat. I placed mines, positioned, and stupidly dropped the Garuda you see in the above picture. I had dropped to AD level two, fearing hackers, but he had none, so it was a waste. I don't think a combat jump would have been useful later, but ah, well. His turn was a rampage. He moved his TAG out to hit my Zaiyen on that side, killing it, while it and a Dakini did nothing. He, however, pulled back, I found out later, not wanting to risk the two mines I had placed along that edge. He brought also killed my foolishly dropped Garuda, sending me down three orders into my second turn. He had brought up the Knight to get LoF, but had left him in the open for my turn. As he was still Link Leader, he was target number one, and he went down. I also was able to shoot the flag, getting me my Kill the Flag. I held onto the Garuda, knowing he would be key to getting my Mapping, should the Marut get pinned down. He brought out his TO Sniper and did some damage to the Marut, but I was able to finish him off. I was also able to move up and double flame the link team, knocking out the medic and cleaning up the rest with the HMG. This dropped him to four orders on his turn. He moved Joan a bit, and took another wound off the Marut. I brought the Garuda in behind her, not doing any wounds, but getting her to face the Garuda. In the position she was, she could have turned 90, and had both in front arc, and I suggested it afterwards for future games. I needed her dead, I had to take advantage here. Stop judging me. I was then able to kill Joan. I used my last orders to move my Marut up, getting cover, but not giving it to his TAG. I then shot it a bunch, and was able to kill it, leaving the Marut with one wound. On his third turn, he only had the one guy in retreat and loss of lieutenant. He blew the order to remove impetuous and the other to move and target my Marut. We both whiffed, I think I double twentied. On my turn, not wanting to risk my Marut on a bad roll, I had the Garuda try and get my Mapping, which it eventually did. Still not wanting to risk the Marut, I almost passed out my turn, but then decided to salt the wound and move my Zaiyen into a shooting position and try and take out his last guy. I succeeded, giving him Clear the Zone. Funny, but as worded, I believe it counts, he had no guys in his zone.... or anywhere, but that is just semantics.
In the end I was able to walk away with a 5-1 win. I think the game came down to my mines. At the time, I thought them a total waste of orders, he never got close, and they did nothing. I later found out that a large portion of his defensive play centered around my minefield. I think he could have easily switched tactics and moved the TAG up center, but I don't know. He apparently has thought about it even more than my easily fixated mind, as he laid out a "what I should have done" that seriously made me shiver. Hindsight may be 20/20, but I am glad he wasn't 20/20 on the table or I may have been hosed. It does bring up a point I think I have made on here before, or at least it is a lesson I have learned and forgot many times. In Infinity, even more than other games, indecision will get you killed. Every order needs to be pointed in a forward direction(plan wise, not table wise, smart ass), or you will lose. When I placed my Garuda, I was not moving forward, I don't think I was even moving, and it died. It didn't end up being a huge part of my plan, they never are, but it was still stupid.
In the aftermath, I think the heavy loss hit Shane overly hard. I think in a rematch thing will be a lot closer and tighter. I also think the table had too much terrain. It felt cramped and was hard to see LoF and just move on. Tables like that also help my play style, and so that made it more my way. I am grateful this list didn't have Netrods, since the edges would have been the only like drop zones.
Next week should be a flurry of catch up games(hopefully), so I am not sure I will get in a game of Infinity. I will likely get a Malifaux game in versus Shea and would really like a rematch versus Shane. TAGs take a sec to get used to using. The hit like a hammer, but can't take as much as they seem like they should. It is also easy to not want to risk 100+ points of your army. Finding the middle ground of enough but not too much risk is a hard thing. I would like to say I have it, but then I would never lose. Well, maybe I would, but I have had plenty of games where I over reached and got blasted, see my lose versus Shane, and others where I played similar to Shane and didn't commit enough. Either way, it was fun and I learned, I hoped Shane can say the same about our game.
No comments:
Post a Comment