CRUZ CHRONICLES: JOJO'S DT TOURNEY

It's been a while since I wrote a battle report here. Not that we stopped Dust in the last few months, mind you. In fact, we got more games in as we have started playing at Neutral Grounds Alabang Town Center branch (ATC). I wasn't able to blog because, I wasn't able to blog. :)

Now, on with the report! January 18, 2014, first Dust tournament for our group this year. Hosted by Jojo Francisco, took place at our home gaming store, Neutral Grounds Glorietta. We had 7 participants (4 Allies and 3 Axis) fielding 300 points each of firepower! What's different, and shall I say interesting, with this event is that we're using pre-made scenarios, those found in Operation: Victory Bridge to be specific. Here's what I brought:

Bellowing Bertie (55)

Sgt. Victory (40)

Ozz 117 (24) + Grim Reapers (26)
Corps Officers (35)
Recon Boys (15)
13 Foxtrot (5) x2
Crack Shots (10) x2
Rattler + AMP (36)
Steel Rain (38)

AP TOTAL: 299

A glimpse of my army. This was during the setup for Round 1.

All unit choice were pretty straightforward except for one: Sgt. Victory. You rarely see him on competitive lists, so why him? I'll try to justify and make some sense as we go along. So shall we?

Round 1
Scenario: Bridge in Sight!
Opponent: Raven Hondo, Axis

The objective for the Attacker is to land at least one unit on a square marked 'D' by Round 8. The Defender's objective is to prevent that from happening. I won the 'Role Roll' and chose Attacker.

A special ruling was implemented for this scenario: the Defender automatically places ALL of his/her units on the map, filling the squares marked "D" first and then using the nearest squares to the bridge for his/her remaining units. Another thing is the Defender cannot win Initiative for Turn 1 to balance out the "auto-deploy" rule.

Fast forward to Turn 2, I was able to sneak in one of my Observer Teams to call Artillery Strike targeting his Heinrich and deal exactly 3 points of damage to the light panzer walker. His team is full of anti-air though, including Lara with Heavy Laser, Heavy Flak and the Heavy Kommandotrupp. My Bertie accepted the challenge though and went toe-to-toe with these units. Maximizing on Victory's Cheat Death, escaping 2 fatal assaults from Lara and the Heavy Flaks. The bombings from the Bertie followed by Ozz's Heroic Strike proved overwhelming for the Armor 3 units even with the help of Damage Resilient. By the last few turns, Bertie managed to still soar the skies despite sustaining damage. Victory disembarked by the last Turn and claimed victory. 1-0.


Round 2
Scenario: Forward, Men!
Opponent: Jojo, Allies

I won the roll and selected to be the Attacker again. My objective is to land at least one of my non-aircraft units on a square marked 'D' and survive the current Turn. Jojo's would be to stop me from doing so.

Seeing Jojo's list packing serious anti-air with his own Bertie and Rattler, I had to be careful with my unit placement for Turn 1. I was able to fire alpha strikes during the first turn with my Rattler and Steel Rain. My Bertie was able to avoid his Rattler, having ended up on opposite sides of the map. I was able to push my Bertie all the way to his deployment area, guarded only by a couple squads of Recon Boys. A good shot from my Rattler cleared 1 square and by Turn 3, Sgt. Victory yelled "Touchdown!" 2-0

Round 3, Last Round
Scenario: The Sky is Falling on Our Heads!"
Opponent: Dax, Allies

The Championship Match for the event. I lost the roll and Dax decided to go as the Defender. His objective is to eliminate as many of my units as possible, gaining Victory Points for their Army Points. Mine is to have as many units escape via the squares marked with 'D', from which I'll be rewarded double the unit's AP cost.

In case you haven't realized yet, may main win condition is the combination of Sgt. Victory piloting his favorite mode of transportation, the Bellowing Bertie. Dax brought serious solutions to this with his own Bertie, a couple of Wildfires and an Ozz-lead Grim Reapers. I was able to eliminate the threat of his Bertie on Turn 2. My biggest mistake was I forgot why I brought Sgt. Victory in the first place. Turn 3, I had my Bertie fall back and it went downhill for me from then on. I survived until the last turn, even coming to the point where I can wipe the opposition's army out. But that's not my objective. Sgt. Victory managed to escape but only he did. And Dax was able to eliminate more than half my army in points. 2-1

Due to Strength of Schedule, I ended up on 3rd Place. Ironically, I will be getting the USMC guys for my prize as I need at least 2 of each for my Warfare lists.

The Champ: Papa Dax

2nd Placer: Vic

Overall, it was another great day! Got to play with my Rattler and Steel Rain again. We plan to do a regular, at least once a month tournament and ideas are flying around. Looking forward to the next event!

Thanks for checking!