Overview
In quick overview of the mission for those that don't know it, your goal is to control more quadrants than your opponent at the end of every turn and hacking consoles (one in each quadrant). You get 1 Point for each console at the end of game, 2 Points for having more quadrants each round (or 1 point if you both have the same amount) and you can also get 1 Point for one Classified Objective if you are below 10 points. One thing about this mission I have noticed from all the times I played it is that it is very hard to control more quadrants than your opponent (mostly in the first turn), usually you both have two so you need to get one from the enemy.
While deciding on what to include in this list, my main goal was to have a force that could be aggressive but hold its own since I always plan to go first and in this mission, it is kind of a disadvantage. My plan of attack was to split my army in half, and have enough units in each quadrant to make it difficult for my opponent to take them without spreading his army too thin, while at the same time, have units that could advance into the enemy's half of the board.
Achieving the mission
So as I mentioned above, my plan was to split my forces into halfs, though it was more like quarters. I had ARO threats I did not count on moving forward, suicide units I did not count on to live long and then my two main "attack" groups. One group was Wallace, Volunteers and Isobel (115pts). Second group was Dozer, 112, Traktor, S.A.S and Uxia (also 115pts, including Baggage). The AROs were Cateran, Scots Guard and Warcor. Cameronian and Highlanders were suicide units. I had few specialists available so how things deployed still mattered on Classified and the terrain
At the time of making the list I thought it wasn't a bad idea, but in retrospect it was a BAD IDEA! I will get to why some of the units were used badly and where I made mistake with them, but overall I think I split my forces too much. My dice were not helpful either during the game (lots of failed rolls) but considering it wasn't the first time I screwed up this mission, I am starting to think I see the problem. I always ended up deploying the attack groups on flanks and then not much in the middle on the board and then when one flank collapsed, it was hard to secure it again because the other half my army was bunkered down on the other side of the board. On the last two events where I played this mission, I always ended up cornered in one quadrant.
Classified objectives never really made much difference so I really should be leaving those to the end.
Units purpose and performance
William Wallace with Volunteer Link Team - (Chain rifle, 2x HMG, Paramedic) I thought this link was good in theory and I am not discounting it yet entirely though the two HMGs haven't really performed that well so far. That said, I can't deny it makes the opponent think twice when attacking Damage 15 Burst 4 ARO. I think my biggest mistake with this Link Team was only realizing too late that Isobel can't start as part of it because I put her into the second Combat Group. Terrible idea! Isobel in the Link Team with her T2 rifle can make lots of difference, plus I would have more orders to use on her if she was advancing with the link team.
Wallace is a risk to take on his own which is why I always play him in a Link Team but I like playing him, he gives everyone Courage and all your orders are Regular, which is always helpful. Also gives the Volunteers smoke cover when needed.
Overall, I think my problem with this Link Team was deploying on them on a flank too far from everyone else and not having Isobel part of it from the get-go.
Uxia and S.A.S. - Infiltrators are always useful in any mission. With the SAS I think I should use him more than just hiding somewhere to give me points, but at the same time, he is lots of points that can be hard to kill. Uxia is the wild card here. With the SAS, they are 51pts that you can have protecting a quadrant straight from the deployment, which is good... if you use her that way. It was my plan NOT to risk the PH16 roll but I did risk it, and it failed, and she wasn't helpful during the game afterwards.
It is always a risk but in some missions it matters less in my opinion. In this mission though I don't think I should have risked it, though if it did work, she would have been in a great place. Overall its just one of those where you need to weight the risks against the potential benefits but when it comes to ITS, I am leaning towards take the sure thing and just deploy in your half of the board.
Dozer and 112 Emergency Service - The Classified did not need Engineer or Doctor so these guys pretty much just hid in a building outside of my Deployment Zone (DZ) to give points into a quadrant. Not much else to say really.
Traktor Mul - I am still unsure about these things. In one mission it got attacked and killed by someone in cover and with camo despite being in my good range bands and in NO3, it just did nothing whole game beside taking a quadrant. Which isn't a bad thing in this mission, after all you get 38pts for the price of 18pts. I think its my own fault really for not making use of Guided Missiles despite having FO in my list. They seem to be a decent repellent though, with their Damage 14/15. AP+Shock and option for Blast Mode, and Burst 3. I noticed my opponent either left them alone or had to send some hard hitting unit to deal with them. The few times I played against them I avoided them too for the most part, one unlucky roll and they will probably kill your trooper. I think the trick is in deploying them well, so they can't be seen from too far and too many angles.
Cateran and Scots Guard - I am always happy with these guys, they do very well as ARO threats and long range attack units. Though especially the Scots Guard is my second most expensive unit so I think I should try include him in taking quadrants rather than deploying on a roof and not be able to move outside of DZ. Though to be honest, especially for this mission I think I would prefer two Caterans, would save me points and they have better mobility with Climbing Plus.
Warcor - This guy is awesome, especially when taken with Wallace. He is your cheapest source of Regular Order (only 3pts!) and makes for a very underestimated, cheap ARO threat. A Blinded unit is effectively useless for the rest of the turn and they can't cancel Blinded state by anything but waiting for the end of their turn. With WIP13 and good Flash Pulse range bands, you often end up with better odds than most of your other units if they were shooting. They are especially useful against Impetuous units since those can't get cover. So many times my own attacks were halted because of these guys.
Personally I like to deploy them alongside another long range ARO, like a sniper. That way people have to split their Burst or face unopposed ARO. Just be careful about doing it if your opponent has Blast weapons like missile launchers.
Cameronian and Highlanders - I think I made a mistake discounting these guys when making my plan of attack. I always end up being careful with them anyway and not just throwing them away, which could be argued to be a mistake too because I always find myself not aggressive enough in this mission. They are definitely helpful tying down alleyways and any parts of the board with dense terrain where people have to get into chain rifle range to be able to shoot them. One thing I noticed when it comes to the Cameronian, I fail to provide him support. I think its because mainly I just throw him at the enemy so I am not used to having someone nearby to cover him.
What worked
Not much worked as intended but mainly because I made mistakes with Combat Groups and Deployment. Though I think having some plan of attack was helpful, if nothing else at least to deploy my army faster. But it needs more thought to make it work better.
What didn't work
Well, the Combat Groups didn't work to start with. Isobel should been with Wallace and Volunteers (and I could have drop one Volunteer to save points), and Cameronian in the second group with Highlanders. Then I could have add 112 and Warcor to the 1st group and move Dozer and Traktor into the 2nd. That way I should have had enough orders to move my Link Team, and FO something, then use 2nd group Orders to blast it with Guided Missiles.
I also should been more careful with Uxia and take the sure thing over risking PH16 roll. It would have saved me the trouble of moving her from the edge of my DZ.
Also as mentioned, a second Cateran might have been better for points than the Missile Launcher in this mission. Or at least, I should have use the Scots Guard to claim quadrants with his high Pts cost. Scots Guard downgraded to Cateran and no Chain Rifle Volunteer would have save me 16pts, which I could have spend on something else.
Verdict
As it is, the list definitely needs some heavy tweaking when it comes to Combat Groups. It might also have been better off with a heavier Link Team, like Grey Rifles or Wulvers. Though I believe with improvements and smarter deployment it can get the job done, so I am not discarding the list as a whole just yet.
List on Army 5
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