Dropzone Commander Battle Report #9 – Shaltari Tribes vs United Colonies of Man

With a slight shift in list and a significant shift in tactics for my opponent, we ran the Encroachment mission once more, with 2,500 points of Shaltari and UCM squaring off for supremacy.

The Armies

Ubii Tribe Raiding Party

Shaltari Tribes – 2,500

Wings of the Chieftain (Gate Pool)

Gaia Heavy Gate

3x Eden Medium Gate

4x Spirit Light Gate

2x Haven Terragate

Court of the Elders

COMMAND – Coyote Warstrider with Prime Warchief (CV6)

HEAVY – 2x Caiman Heavy Grav Tank

SCOUT – 4x Yari Light Grav Tank with Light Ion Cannon

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 5x Tomahawk Main Grav-Tank

SUPPORT – 3x Kukri AA Grav-Tank

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 4x Tarantula Battlestrider

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

SUPPORT – Totem Warspire

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – Braves

SUPPORT – Firedrake

Shaltari Warfist

HEAVY – 2x Jaguar Warstrider

SUPPORT – Dreamsnare

Shaltari Speartip

SCOUT – 3x Yari Light Grav-Tank with Light Ion Cannons

EXOTIC – Firstborns

EXOTIC - Firstborns

UCM Fleet Marine Security Force TF-109

United Colonies of Man – 2,500

UCM Field Command

COMMAND – Kodiak ACV with Colonial General (CV5)

SCOUT – 4x Wolverine LAV Type-A

            Raven-B Light Dropship

SCOUT – 4x Wolverine LAV Type-A

Colonial Armored Formation

STANDARD – 9x Sabre MBT

            Albatross Heavy Dropship

SUPPORT – 2x Longbow Howitzers

            2x Raven-B Light Dropships

Colonial Legionnaire Corps

TROOPS – 3x Colonial Legionnaires

            Bear APC

TROOPS – 3x Colonial Legionnaires

            Bear APC

            Sharing a Condor Medium Dropship

SUPPORT – 3x Rapier AA Tanks

Colonial Legionnaire Corps

TROOPS – 3x Colonial Legionnaires

            Bear APC

TROOPS – 3x Colonial Legionnaires

            Bear APC

            Sharing a Condor Medium Dropship

SUPPORT – 3x Rapier AA Tanks

UCM Special Ordnance Section

HEAVY – 4x Gladius HBT

            -2x Condor Medium Dropship

Colonial Fleet Air Wing

AIR - Archangel

AIR - Archangel

UCM Expeditionary Group

SCOUT – 3x Praetorian Snipers

            -Raven-A Light Dropship

EXOTIC – 2x Praetorians

            -Raven-A Light Dropship

EXOTIC – 2x Praetorians

            -Raven-A Light Dropship

After Action Review

Griff:

This one was a tough one for me. I initially deployed my forces over far too much area. Spreading my forces down the length of the table was a bad idea. I spent three turns moving a large portion of my army back and forth in the same area, trying to prevent their total annihilatin because the Shaltari had outpositioned me. In the end of the game, this became a pretty significant advantage when a couple of my opponent’s dice rolls were below odds. That said, I also took to heart some conversations that we had after previous games about not being afraid to simply pick a unit up and evacuate from a bad situation. I almost conceded the game when the last of my Sabres and their Albatross died. The deciding factor in continuing had to do with my entire second infantry formation completing its end around maneuver into the corner of the battlefield. Those infantry made up the most significant portion of my points in the end, and could have won me the game if a couple other things had gone my way. All things being equal, the game was fun and I am eagerly looking forward to the next time we square off for some good ole fashioned Shaltari training!

Randall:

This game started out completely in my favor, and then everything started going sideways.

Early damage allowed me to force the issue and drive the UCM out of position, which felt like a shoo-in for my victory. I relaxed the pressure and focused on mopping up the token resistance he left behind on my left flank, content to play down the clock and call it a win. The game almost aborted prematurely, as he felt his forces were too damaged and too out of position after those early, rough turns.

Instead of quitting, though, he dug down and played through the early setbacks, which nearly brought a victory to the forces of man. His infantry just kept piling up in my deployment zone, and I left myself with too little time to do anything about it. Shaltari should always be thinking two turns ahead, and I abandoned that for the slaughter. In the end, it almost caused me to lose the game. Lesson learned for future play!

Comments and criticism are welcome and encouraged, everyone. We will be bringing you more Dropzone Commander in the future, and new armies are on the horizon! I’ve been painting on a Scourge force, and my regular opponent is really eyeing the new Resistance line. By the time you read this, these forces will probably be locked in a deadly struggle for the outcome of the core systems. Stay tuned!