Dropzone Commander Battle Report #35 – Shaltari Tribes vs United Colonies of Mankind

With all the new releases from Games Workshop, it has been a long time since we’ve visited the world of the Reconquest. We finally decided that it was time for the Dropzone fans to get another battle report, with the Shaltari and the UCM coming out for that ancient grudge match we’ve played over several dozen times. Today it is Targets of Opportunity. Can the UCM hold their ground and drive away the invading Shaltari?

The Armies

Ubii Tribe War Party

Shaltari Tribes – 2,000

Gate Pool

3x Eden Medium Gate

3x Spirit Light Gate

3x Haven Terragate

Court of Elders

COMMAND – Coyote Warstrider with High Warchief (CV5)

HEAVY – 2x Ocelot Warstrider

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 3x Tomahawk Main Grav-Tank

STANDARD – 3x Tomahawk Main Grav-Tank

SUPPORT – 3x Kukri AA Grav-Tank

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 2x Tarantula Battlestrider

SUPPORT – 2x Birdeater Battlestrider

Shaltari Warfist

HEAVY – Caiman Heavy Grav-Tank

HEAVY – Caiman Heavy Grav-Tank

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

TROOPS – 2x Braves

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

Shaltari Speartip

EXOTIC – 2x Firstborns

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

UCM Fleet Marine Task Force TF-109

United Colonies of Mankind – 2,000

UCM Field Command

COMMAND – Kodiak ACV with Colonial Captain (CV4)

SUPPORT – 2x Falcon Gunship

UCM Expeditionary Group

SCOUT – Wolverine LAV Type-A

Colonial Legionnaire Corps

TROOPS – 2x Legionnaire Mortar Teams

            Bear APC

TROOPS – 2x Legionnaire Mortar Teams

            Bear APC

            -Sharing Condor Medium Dropship

SUPPORT – 3x Rapier AA Tank

Colonial Legionnaire Corps

TROOPS – 2x Colonial Legionnaires

            Raven A Light Dropship

TROOPS – 2x Colonial Legionnaires

            Raven A Light Dropship

UCM Special Ordnance Section

HEAVY – 2x Gladius HBT

            Condor Medium Dropship

Colonial Armored Formation

STANDARD – 6x Sabre MBT

STANDARD – 3x Fireblade Light Tank

            Sharing Albatross Heavy Dropship

SUPPORT – 2x Longbow Howitzers

            2x Raven-B Light Dropship

Colonial Armored Formation

STANDARD – 6x Sabre MBT

SUPPORT – 3x Rapier AA Tank

            Sharing Albatross Heavy Dropship

SUPPORT – 2x Longbow Howitzers

            2x Raven-B Light Dropship

After Action Review

Man, those Albatross Dropships are tough customers for the Shaltari. I think I have played with the PHR for too long, because I waited a turn too late to start maneuvering my units clear of his landing zone. I guess I assumed the Caimans would do more damage than they did, but whatever the cause I messed up badly there. I really hope the Shaltari get something E7 when it comes to AA in the near future, as they struggle to do anything to A6 aircraft.

The Ocelots continue to underwhelm me. While their weapons look great on paper, they simply rely too much on that single die coming up without failure. I have never been a fan of this style of warfare, and that is the biggest reason that the Ocelots keep staying on the shelf in favor of the Jaguar. The increased price on the Jaguars was the inspiration behind my return to the Ocelots, but it will be short-lived it seems. The versatility of the Jaguars keeps them in my lists, even if they do seem a bit overpriced now.

The Birdeaters are another unit that seems very weak to me. Again, this could be because of my continual play with PHR that led me to believe they were stronger than they actually are. Still, with only the Falcons and the Kodiak to hit them I thought for sure that one of them would survive. Perhaps I need to try them more, but Kukris seem better in almost every way.

I think my opponent has finally hit his stride in terms of UCM armor usage against the Shaltari. The Albatross combo lets him push into my zone and force me to consider redeploying under fire, something I’ve never had to do before. Patience is important when it comes to attacking the Shaltari, and the Albatross makes it easier as their AA web has almost no way to bring one of these big girls down. Now, if he can coordinate his infantry for more Objective searches in the middle and late game, I will have to do some serious head scratching.

Have at it, armchair generals; where did we go wrong?