Serpant's Head Test Mission

[smittyrj78]

Alright guys here is a test mission for you to try out. Let me know your thoughts and or comments.

Attachments:

[chumbalaya]

Daemons have to have their HQ in the first wave, but what if they don't get their preferred wave? Would you have to shuffle something out to add the HQ in?

Also, short board edges really favor shooty armies. Not much anybody can do if Tau or IG castle up in the back corner and shoot your off the board =/

Will give it a try next chance I get.

[smittyrj78]

Quick typo you get 7 pts for a draw in the secondary mission. I realize not all missions will be fair to everyone, just like not all tables favor everyone equally. I am trying to make missions that are different from the standard back of the book, and make you think hard. I look forward to post game feedback.

[hyv3mynd]

I like them both mate. I'll playtest/batrep them with my buddy next time we brawl.

My only suggestion before play relates to the other mission (Spear's Head). From a fluff standpoint, I believe elminating FA choices instead of Elites would make more sense for the tactical point and vice versa for Serpent's Head.

I especially like Serpent's Head, as it will encourage many to play using a different style and leave their comfort zone. Also, since HQ's tend to be some of the most killy units in the game, it will be a nice change to see people playing them more defensively as keeping yours alive is the primary objective.

In response to Chumbalaya's comments about castling:
Daboyz GT will be comp scored and catered more to the hobby aspects (painting, sports, comp). In the past two MG tournaments, there was only a single IG list played out of 64 hobbyists and a handful of Tau. In the spirit of a "comp" tourney, you should consider diversifying with Fast Attack, Infiltrating/Outflanking/Scouting, and Deep Striking options. Trusting that "leafblower" type lists will be penalized on the comp side and bringing a diverse list should prevent a castling army earning an auto-win against you.

If this happens to you in a comp tourney...
"Not much anybody can do if Tau or IG castle up in the back corner and shoot your off the board"
... you probably brought the wrong list.

As it pertains to the test missions, Spear's Head encourages them to get into your deployment zone so if they castle in the back corner, they lose. In Serpent's Head they need to kill your HQ, so if they castle, make them come to you...

[chumbalaya]

IG and Tau don't have to be "non compy" to be incredibly potent at range. They can rush out with everything and leave their HQ tucked away safely in a corner and most armies won't have anything to say about it. Deploy bubblewrap and screens to block Deep Strikers, outflankers and the like and it's pretty much an auto-win, or at least an auto-draw.

"Leafblower" isn't the only way to run IG, that book is incredibly diverse and pretty much everything is potent when mixed up in the right list.

It's one thing to have a scenario that is unique, but quite another to have one that breaks so easily.

[malice]

Here's comments from a small event that we ran this weekend:

1. Confusing wording for the Daemon HQ. If you fail the 3+ roll for the primary force, does the selected HQ automatically come out with the secondary force?

2. A comment was submitted citing that the secondary table quarters objective seems to make for unengaging games if one player elects to separate forces for the objective.

[hyv3mynd]

My buddy and I playtested this last night @ 1850pts each. Here's my notes.

1. Fun mission for sure, I really enjoyed the non-standard deployment.

2. Killing an enemy's HQ can be nigh impossible if they know you have to kill that HQ to score 20 pts. Granted, neither of us castled our chosen HQ, but two IC's; one Tyranid Prime in a large unit of 'gants and one Big Mek in a battlewagon with 18 boyz are hard units to assassinate. I'm not critical of the main objective, it will definately separate the skilled and well prepared lists from the pack as I'd say most players will draw on the primary objective...

3. ... Which leads to the secondary objective of controlling more table quarters. Not just controlling them with a scoring unit, but a scoring unit plus another unit AND no enemy units in that same quarter. I'd wager that after 2.5 hours of play and/or 6 game turns, most players would be lucky to meet all 3 requirements and claim just one quarter.

4. Overall, a very enjoyable scenario and I believe my bud would agree. I think the mission as a whole is very advanced, and definately caters to experienced players and more comp lists. I'd recommend using it as the 4th or 5th scenario in the GT or 3rd at a primer such as MG/Boldo's. I think a large number of players will draw on the primary objective and a respectable amount will draw on the secondary. Using the scenario early in a tourney will bunch a lot of players up in the points bracket, but playing it late will do well to separate the best of the best.

FWIW, we played 4 full turns in the 2.5 hour time limit with Orks winning 22-6 controlling 1 quarter, whiping out the Tyranid FA's for the bonus, drawing on the tertiary objective, and both armies contesting 3 quarters. Not a bad spread, but considering the mission max's at 50 points, I think that's where 75% of the winners and full draw players will fall with points.

[Horst]

hmm... just an idea, but what if the secondary mission objective was to hold an objective placed on the middle of the board, and the objective was ONLY capturable by your HQ?

this would really tempt people to bring their HQ's to the middle of the board, where the primary mission would come into play.

[hyv3mynd]

That's a great suggestion Steve. It makes a lot more sense in the context of the "fluff". A military force tasked with taking out an opposing commander wouldn't be very concerned with spreading out and holding a large battlefield at the same time.

Here's my scoring suggestion with Steve's idea:
Primary: Assassinate HQ 20/10/0
Secondary: HQ holds objective at board's center 15/7(contested both HQ's)/0
Tertiary: VP's 10/5/0
Tacticals:
+1 your HQ killed theirs
+1 you killed all their Elites (or they took none)
+1 more units closer to center than opponent
+1 less units in own deployment zone than opponent
+1 all of your elites survived

I swapped out the fast attack bonuses for elite based ones. I believe it would make more sense to put the FA bonuses in the "spear's head" mission.

It would be cool to fluff out the (I believe) 5 missions in sequence for the GT to support some planet or system wide story line in a campaign fashion. That's why I thought this would fit nicely in a 4th or 5th scenario position. For example, start with the "Planetfall" scenario as armies arrive to fight for control of the planet. Then play the "Spear's Head" mission as the arriving forces attempt to break enemy lines. Follow that with "Devestation" as the full scale battles erupt. "Serpent's Head" could be cool in the 4th position with Steve's suggestion for the objective and then "Heroe's Glory" as the final mission.