Dropzone Commander Battle Report #38 – Shaltari Tribes vs United Colonies of Mankind

Welcome back to the Maelstrom! Today, the Shaltari and the UCM go back into the fray for their regular blood feud. But in a turn of events, the Shaltari will be commanded by Griff, and I will pick up his UCM. Where will the winds of fate take us on this day of reverses?

The Armies

Ubii Tribe Raiding Party

Shaltari Tribes – 2,000

Wings of the Chieftain (Gate Pool)

3x Eden Medium Gate

4x Spirit Light Gate

Haven Terragate

Court of Elders

COMMAND – Coyote with Shaltari Warchief (CV4)

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

TROOPS – 2x Braves

Shaltari Warrior Clan

TROOPS – 2x Braves

SUPPORT – 2x Thunderbird Gunship

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 6x Tomahawk Main Grav-Tank

SUPPORT – 3x Kukri AA Grav-Tank

Shaltari Swordpoint

STANDARD – 6x Tomahawk Main Grav-Tank

SUPPORT – 3x Kukri AA Grav-Tank

Shaltari Warfist

HEAVY – Caiman Heavy Grav-Tank

HEAVY – Caiman Heavy Grav-Tank

Shaltari Speartip

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

EXOTIC – 2x Firstborns

UCM Task Force Charlie

United Colonies of Mankind – 2,000

UCM Field Command

COMMAND – Kodiak ACV with Colonial Captain (CV4)

SUPPPORT – Ferrum Drone Base

Colonial Armored Formation

STANDARD – 3x Sabre MBT

            Condor Medium Dropship

STANDARD – 3x Sabre MBT

            Condor Medium Dropship

SUPPORT – 2x Longbow

            2x Raven-B with Missile Pods

Colonial Armored Formation

STANDARD – 3x Sabre MBT

            Condor Medium Dropship

STANDARD – 3x Sabre MBT

            Condor Medium Dropship

SUPPORT – 2x Longbow

            2x Raven-B with Missile Pods

Colonial Legionnaire Corps

TROOPS – 2x Colonial Legionnaires

            Raven-A Light Dropship

TROOPS – 2x Colonial Legionnaires

            Raven-A Light Dropship

SUPPORT – 3x Rapier AA Tank

Colonial Legionnaire Corps

TROOPS – 2x Legionnaire Mortarmen

            Bear APC

TROOPS – 2x Legionnaire Mortarmen

            Bear APC

            Sharing Condor Medium Dropship

SUPPORT – 3x Rapier AA Tank

UCM Expeditionary Group

SCOUT – 4x Wolverine LAV Type-A

            -2x Raven-B Light Dropship with Missile Pods

Colonial Fleet Air Wing

AIR – Archangel

After Action Review

On paper, the UCM has always seemed like a very boring army to me. Their units don’t seem to do anything truly special, and they lack an army-wide “shtick” that I have come to expect from my Shaltari and PHR. With that said, once they hit they table their versatility and options blew me away.

The first thing I noticed about the UCM was its air power. I wasn’t even able to fit the Falcons that I like so much, and I still felt the overwhelming sense of air superiority. I want to run more Archangels and add some Falcons in the future, to see how a heavier air game works. It was nice to have that kind of firepower, which was really more maneuverable than anything I’ve experienced with the Shaltari. That Ferrum, though; I don’t know if I will ever play over 1,500 points without one. The advanced Scout bubble, added to the capacity to be utterly lethal to any Dropship, makes them fantastic additions. I really felt like I controlled the board in terms of maneuverability for the vast majority of the game, because his Gates simply couldn’t continue to press forward.

I also enjoyed their artillery. The Kodiak and the Longbows make such a nice addition to the force, because they give my slow-moving ground units some excellent cover. The smoke rounds kept my tanks from drawing fire, and the damaging rounds did their fair share of punishment to buildings when it was necessary. If I could have laid off the 1s on the damage rolls, the Kodiak would have taken out a huge chunk of his armored force!

All that said, it fell short in the end. The casualties were piling up for the Shaltari, but those Gate mechanics have always been there to save me as a Shaltari player. Today, they were around to stab me in the back! I feel like I put up a good fight though, and I learned a lot about how to combat the Shaltari and how to field the UCM in the future. Hopefully next time, our mission will not be Search!