Played a game with the KOB subs Friday night. Things lined up very last minute to get in a late evening bout. Teamed up with me was the HEC, as we faced off against Russians. Side note here, I'm seeing the RC as possibly the best force to try something new against. They have just about every counter to anything you could dream up. Ala sub hunting units abound. Combine that with the resiliency and wow. Great test.
KOB:
150 Deathbringer Class Large Submarine
150 Vengeance Class Large Submarine
180 3x Vanguard Class Medium Submarine (Advanced Deployment)
125 5x Valiant Class Small Submarines
HEC:
160 Elysium Class Sky Fortress
225 3x Phoenician Class Medium Scout Flyers (Advanced Deployment)
135 3x Oceanus Class Medium Bombers
75 3x Hades Class Small Aerial Escort Interceptors
*We messed up and had these off as a single squadron, when they should have been attached the Elysium. Which makes me think of my beloved Freedoms. However, these little guys seem a bit more powerful. Sadly they got taken out in one fell swoop by the Saranks.
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RC:
205 Kostroma Class Fleet Carrier + 2x Veliky Class Escorts
160 Tunguska Class Large Skyship
160 2x Saransk Class Medium Skyships (Advanced Deployment)
255 3x Tiksi Class Support Cruisers
210 3x Suvorov Class Medium Cruisers
120 4x Nikel Class Heavy Frigates
100 4x Novgorod Class Frigates
So with bringing the full sub list, the thought was to run up and try the chainsaw rams. While this didn't get to happen, it was still a fun learning experience. Running a fully submerged list is just as a gamble as having a 50/50 split it seems. Due to the way deployment worked out, I got locked into the center of the majority of the action. As to be expected when the mission was to kill/capture the Russian Commodore on board the Kostroma. Meanwhile the HEC were mostly off to the flank for the start of the game. Before coming in to take on the Tunguska and assist in attacking the RC fleet carrier.
Of course the true bellwether to a new list is how the mediums perform. In this case I think the Vanguards did rather well. They were able to avoid some DR and CR hits just from having decent armor. When they did get damaged it was a breath of fresh air to know that the Tertiary torpedoes could still hit at full force. A good thing since the tactic of pushing straight ahead full force was in mind. Critical hits are most definitely a fear submarines feel more than other ships. Not only are you losing half of your HP you are also forced to surface, eligible for further attack. If I had locked in some close surface support to them I think this would have helped. Perhaps some cheap corvettes riding along side as a screen... I avoided the pop up, shoot, then "try" and dive afterward as much as I could. When the lead is flying best to keep your head down. Attack Dice wise, they did get some really great rolls that would have been awesome on a medium or small squadron. However, when the target is a Fleet Carrier those rolls are rather meh. Still they were able to chip some paint.
The Vengeance did rather well for itself, while the Valiant did nothing but die. I don't think the Vengeance took any damage, as it cruised along. The Sturginium Boost worked on every go, thankfully, as the ship had to essentially cross to the other side of the board to stay a threat. Due to the lateral motion, instead of straightforward, this again meant no chainsaws. Biggest claim to fame for this model was a Magazine Explosion it dealt to a RC cruiser...from RB 3!!! The squadron needing to get the most replay time before judgment, would have to be the Valiants. A pair of Saransks linked mines right in front of the group, ending three of them off the bat. Broken and depleted they weren't a threat going on. In the future I see them as a type of submerged Destroyer squadron. Sitting just far enough away supplying ranged support. Followed by a secondary wave of boarding.
Definitely going to try these guys out again soon. Some pretty decent dice were able to be thrown, and an average suitability. Also happy how well they worked together at only 600 points! Since the Deathbringer was more or less out of the fight (and a story piece for why the RC and KOB were fighting in the first place), thinking of a way to replace him as either a flying or surface squad. FSA Battlecruiser would be a nice bump, or a couple Australian Monitors. Hmm actually...subs and Aussies sounds pretty interesting. Still I just wanna saw stuff in half!
As I get in more games with them, I'll be sure recap here. Not going to put together a full report, but here are some pics from the game.
