We are the champions!

Well, I am. I managed to get on my final league game before all hell and stupidity broke loose. I would still like to get in a game against Paul, just to seal the deal. I also think a rematch versus Dave and Mike S should be in order, now that they have a better grasp of the game. Well, Dave the game, and Mike S impetuous.

Nabors won the roll for deployment/initiative. He originally took init, but after I explained how it worked, he decided he wanted me to deploy first. Which, because I'm awesome, kindly allowed. That and I wanted initiative anyway. We played on my corridor board, on what, I felt, was a truly inspired layout. That I uninspiredly forgot to take a picture of. The above is a stage, sorry. I ended up with the side I would have taken anyway. His side was more open, likely aiding his fusiliers, but mine was limited to only a couple entrances, allowing me to protect my flag and back field better. I set up with a Zaiyen off to the left, backed up by a couple Dakini, the Marut and other Zaiyen in the center, and another Dakini on my right, guarding a smaller tighter entrance. He set up heavy to my left, trailing to center with only two on my right. My two held Dakini backed up the left side. I revealed mark a center piece of terrain, and also had assess, decimate, and collect papers. My first turn was mostly jockeying, doing a damage or two, but placing four or five mines. He followed up by killing both Zaiyens, a Dakini, and a Garuda I had walked on to cover a side passage he would have to cross to get to my side. Ouch. On my turn, I did a little more return damage, but not much. He had revealed that he was going to kill my Lt. A daring move. On my turn two I was able to mark my terrain piece and at the end I had half of his force assessed. I had only done minor damage, though, so he was still looking strong. He backed up, taking some shots, but unable to do much. I later found out that my mines helped force his hand in this game as well. They are quick becoming my MVP, having never actually gone off. On my turn three I was able to deal more damage and collect the documents. I also grabbed Assess this turn. I am now setting at four points. He still seems fairly confident, so I am starting to think he is setting himself up well for an end game. My Decimate is scored, but he has several troops that are just unconscious, so a medic could make things rough. My Marut and his Cutter have a bit of a shoot out, my Marut doing a damage, then taking one before pulling back. I was able to put him into Loss of Lieutenant, he spent his two orders to promote the Cutter. This turned into a huge boon, as I was then able to rack up some kills, and I put some wounds on the Cutter, pinning him down from multiple angles, putting him into Loss of Lt and Retreat on turn four. In the end, he used his only order(after canceling impetuous) to try and take down a Dakini, giving him his own Decimate. Instead, his croc, two of my Dakinis, and my remaining Garuda all fired wildly, marring the fresh paint of the complex.

In the end, the game went 5-2 to me. I later realized that his TO Camo Croc was within 8" of my Marut AND a hacker. He could have done serious damage, or at least tried, the Marut did very little on turn four, due to the Cutter's suppression fire down a corridor in front of him. He got Protect the Zone and Assess. A good game, started out heavy his way, but swung my way as it went on. I don't know what his other missions were, but I think Kill the Lt was a bad choice for him. Contrary to forum wisdom, my Marut doesn't go down often. My mines have a strong psychological effect. I'm not sure I am a fan, since in both games they have unbalanced things in my favor, leading to a less head on game. They do their job awesomely, I'm just not sure it is as fun. Maybe I can get people to try and confront them, then they won't be as bad. Who knows.

Next week, I will hopefully get in an Inquisimunda game, since my Infinity is done, though I am still jonesing for the game. I'm not sure about the rest of the club, but I am still enjoying it, which surprises me.

Until then, keep the dice rolling and the paint flowing.