Battlefleet Gothic Battle Report.

Just got back from R.I.W. Hobbies in Livonia after a great game of Battlefleet Gothic with Gothic expert: John!

Scenario: Cruiser Clash with no limits on fleet composition

Size: 850 pts (was 750 but John forgot how much the Eldar Pirate Prince costs)

Bozeman – Imperial Navy

– Overlord Battlecruiser Centaur with extra turret and battery left shift upgrades.  Admiral.

– Dominator Cruiser Kar Duniash with extra range battery option.

– Tyrant Cruiser Belligerent with battery range upgrade.

– Squadron of 5 Sword class escorts, Dagger Squadron.

John: Corsair Eldar

– Aurora Class Light Cruiser, Pirate Prince

– Solaris Class Light Cruiser

– Squadron of 3 Hemlock Class Destroyers

– Squadron of 3 Hemlock Class Destroyers

– Squadron of 3 Hemlock Class Destroyers

– Squadron of 3 Hemlock Class Destroyers

Board Setup: Mercurial Zone.  Upper right had one small planet.  No other terrain.  One Radiation Burst.  Lower long board edge is sunward.  I set up on the Sunward Edge, John opposite me.  I clustered in the center, John kept his cruisers centered, and spread out the escorts to avoid Nova Cannon fire.

Turn 1 Imperial Navy: Radiation Burst, -1 Ld to the whole board.  Moved forward.  Fired Nova Cannon, no effect.

Turn 1 Eldar: Moved forward, split fleet in two.  Capital ships went to the left side with 2 escort squadrons, other 2 escort squadrons went right.

Turn 2 Imperial Navy: Radiation Burst, -5 Ld to whole board.  Unable to go on special orders or even fire at select targets, I moved forward and shot the closest things.  One Hemlock squadron on the right side takes two casualties.  Capital Ships put 3 damage on the Solaris class cluiser, with 2 criticals that hamper turning.

Turn 2 Eldar: Solaris fails to disengage, and so runs for the board edge.  Surviving Hemlocks on the right side roll poorly and do not harm the squadron of Sword frigates.  The ships on the left side obliterate the Tyrant class because it can’t make Brace For Impact.  A Warp Explosion puts one damage on the Dominator class.

Turn 3 Imperial Navy: No Radiation Burst.  Sword Frigates on right side wipe out a squadron of Hemlocks.  Two surviving capital ships on the left strike at escorts, failinto do damage but forcing Brace For Impact.

Turn 3 Eldar: This turn much less effective due to successful Brace For Imapct by Dominator Class.  Hemlock on right side fails to damage Sword Frigates.

Turn 4 Imperial Navy:  Radiation Burst, another -5 Ld board-wide!  Surviving Cap ships swing to the right, put 3 damage on Aurora Class, with a -1 Ld critical.  Sword Frigates fail Come To A New Heading check, begin a two-turn long 180 degree turn.

Turn 4 Eldar: Fleet on the right finishes the Dominator class, reduce it to a Burning Hulk.  Hemlock destroys one of the Swords.

Turn 5 Imperial Navy: Radiation Burst -5 Ld AGAIN!  DAMMIT!  Swords complete theie 180.  Overlord Class battlecruiser fails to target the Aurora Class to finish it off, and so just causes a Brace For Imapct on one of the escort squadrons.

Turn 5 Eldar: Aurora fails to disengage, runs for the board edge.  Surviving Hemlock on the right runs for the board edge.  Two remaining Hemlock Squadrons fire on the Overlord class, do one damage from poor rolling.  Overlord fails Brace For Impact Check.

Turn 6 Imperial Navy: Overlord passes check for Lock On, and destroys an entire Hemlock squadron.  Swords fail All Ahead Full and simply move forward.

Turn 6 Eldar: Escorts fire on Overlord and split fire onto Dominator Hulk.  No damage.  They flee off the board edge during the Ordnance Phase.  Game Over.

Final Score: Imperial Navy – 445, Eldar – 385  Victory for the Imperial Navy!

Commentary: I finally beat not just the Eldar, but John playing the Eldar!  Close at the end.  John could have won had he blasted the Dominator Hulk and gotten an explosion result, as holding the field put me over the top.  The Eldar aren’t that bad if you have long distance batteries.  If you don’t, you’re in trouble.  When I played John with my Carrier-heavy Chaos a while ago, he just flew right through the bomber waves and blew my ships to smithereens.

Look forward to another Gothic clash later this week vs. Lexington of Dice Abide!