Dropzone Commander Battle Report #23 – The Resistance vs Shaltari Tribes

For the first time here at the Maelstrom, the Resistance are making their presence known! Apparently Ubii Tribe strayed into territory that clearly doesn’t belong to them. Watch as the horde launches their assault.

The Armies

The Resistance – 2,500

Warlord’s HQ

COMMAND – NT-5 Thunderstorm Custom with Resistance General (CV5)

SCOUT – 4x Freeriders

SCOUT – 4x Freeriders

Resistance Band

TROOPS – 2x Resistance Fighters

            -MT-90 Jackson

TROOPS – 2x Resistance Fighters

            -MT-90 Jackson

TROOPS – 2x Resistance Fighters

            -MT-90 Jackson

            -Sharing AT-77 Lifthawk with AA Cannon

EXOTIC – 4x Occupation Veterans

            -Battle Bus

EXOTIC – 4x Occupation Veterans

            -Battle Bus

            -Sharing NT-1 Kraken

Vehicle Detachment

STANDARD – 12x Rocket Technicals

STANDARD – 12x Rocket Technicals

            Sharing NT-4 Leviathan with 4 AA Cannons

SCOUT – 6x Gun Technical

Vehicle Detachment

STANDARD – 3x Gun Wagon

            -NT-1 Kraken

STANDARD – 3x Gun Wagon

            -NT-1 Kraken

SUPPORT – 3x AH-16 Cyclone

Rusted Fist

HEAVY – 2x M20 Zhukov

            -AT-77 Lifthawk with AA Cannon

Fast Strikers

AIR – Archangel Pathfinder

Ubii Tribe War Party

Shaltari Tribes – 2,500

Wings of the Chieftain

Gaia Heavy Gate

3x Eden Medium Gate

4x Spirit Light Gate

2x Haven Terragate

Court of Elders

COMMAND – Coyote Warstrider with Shaltari Warchief (CV4)

HEAVY – 2x Ocelot Warstrider

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 2x Tarantula Battlestrider

STANDARD – 2x Tarantula Battlestrider

SUPPORT – 3x Kukri AA Grav-Tank

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

TROOPS – 2x Braves

SUPPORT – 2x Thunderbirds

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

SUPPORT – Firedrake

Shaltari Speartip

SCOUT – 4x Yari Light Grav-Tank with Light Ion Cannons

EXOTIC – 2x Firstborns

Shaltari Warfist

HEAVY – 2x Caiman Heavy Grav-Tank

HEAVY – 2x Jaguar Warstrider

SUPPORT - Dreamsnare

Shaltari Arrowhead

AIR – War Spear Heavy Fighter

AIR – War Spear Heavy Fighter

After Action Review

I played a terrible game, and lucky dice got me out of the situation.

Early on I was acting as if the Objective on the train was the only thing that mattered. By the end of turn two I realized there was still quite a bit of game to play, and I knew that to win I would have to hold him to his own half of the table, while protecting my own to keep him from securing enough points for the win. At this point I underestimated the technologically inferior Resistance, and I wound up pinned to the edge of the board and fighting for control.

My opponent started out strong, but in the last two thirds of the game he just couldn’t get anything to connect. His Zhukovs only scored one hit total with their main cannon across the entire length of the game! Only his Commander was getting the job done late, but it simply wasn’t enough.

My entire left flank was played incorrectly. I allowed the Freeriders to draw too much of my attention, when I could have simply picked my Tarantulas up and redressed my battle line. I wasted the Firedrake against them, although it may have been worth the risk. One six, and the Freeriders could have been annihilated. With that said, I misappropriated my resources and several Shaltari paid with their lives for my bad planning.

This was my debut game against Resistance, and though I’ve watched H play them once before I simply wasn’t ready for the horde of models that came flooding across the table at me. The Cyclones and Zhukovs created a beautiful area of denial, and forced me to stand and bang with the technicals. I simply cannot put into words how surprised I was that any of them survived the game, but survive they did! The Thunderstorm Command Vehicle is INSANE, and I loved watching it tear the residential district to pieces. Not quite so humorous was the instantaneous death of a Jaguar, literally the only time I have lost one in action thus far. If H keeps bringing that thing to the table, I have a feeling that the loss might become a common occurrence!

Playing another army also allowed me to see the usefulness of some units that simply don’t cut the mustard against Griff. I really wanted to take my War Spears out, but I decided at the last moment to leave them in for one more game, just to see how they fared against a non-UCM opponent. While they whiffed several times in their aerial combat with the Pathfinder, once it was down they really went to work, tearing a Lifthawk and a Cyclone from the sky in a single turn. That E7 just proved so useful against a foe with A6 in the air.

My Infantry also had a blast, riding the train through the enemy forces and blowing up Technicals every turn. It was impressive to see two bases of Braves cut down four vehicles per turn, although I was also aware that those four vehicles were barely more expensive than a single base of Braves!

Occupation Veterans proved to be beastly; they nearly annihilated my Firstborns in a protracted melee, and the other squad obliterated my poor Tarantulas. They definitely bear closer watching in future games; I simply lost track of where they were and what they did, and I truly paid the price for that. With four bases of them, they are definitely a force to be reckoned with!

Let us have it, armchair generals; what could we have done differently? Go easy – I already see a dozen things I need to change in my future engagements with the Mad Max faction!