Double Tap - Grots vs Veer-myn

I had another opportunity to try out One Page Rules' Double Tap, which just got updated to version 1.1  (https://onepagerules.wordpress.com/portfolio/double-tap/)

This time the teams each were about 75 points and I used non-Infinity models.  As well, the battlefield is 4' x 4' with lots of terrain features.  I made up a 'capture and hold' scenario to be played out instead of a straight 'kill'em all' mission.

Left to right:  Skullcap, Ninja, Doc, Pirate, Buckethead, and Patch

The first team is made up of GW Grots.  Skullcap is Quality 3+, has a Pistol and Sword and the Leader ability.  Ninja is Quality 4+, has a Pistol and Sword and the Martial Arts trait.  Doc is Quality 4+, has a Pistol with Fire Rounds and the Doctor trait.  Pirate is Quality 4+, has a Carbine and the Marksman trait.  Buckethead and Patch are both Quality 4+ and have SMGs.  The total points is 75.5.

Left to right:  Progenitor Skitter, Progenitor Skiffe, Nightmare Bonegrinder, Night Crawlers Krikk and Krekk

The second team are Mantic Veer-myn.  Progenitor Skitter is Quality 3+, has a Pistol with Poison and the Leader trait.  Progenitor Skiffe is Quality 4+, has a Sniper Rifle with Poison.  Nightmare Bonegrinder is Quality 4+, has a Sword and Pistol with Poison and the Large and Veteran traits.  Night Crawlers Krikk and Krekk are Quality 4+ and have Pistols with Poison.  Total points are 76.

Pirate takes a commanding position from the second-floor doorway as the others assemble below.

Patch and Ninja are watching the left flank.

Krikk and Krekk are on the Veer-myn left flank.

The Progenitors and Nightmare are on the Veer-myn right.

The three crates are the scenario objectives.

The scenario requires a teams to capture and hold the most objectives by the end of the 4th round.  To capture the objective a unit must be within 2" without any enemy models contesting it.  If no objectives are captured or there is a tie, then the team that has slain the most points in models wins.

Krikk runs to the stairway to the landing pad, trying to keep hidden from sniping Grots.

Skitter advances on the central tower as Bonegrinder goes for the one on their right.

The Grots scamper their way forward.

Things are grim at this point.  Pirate and Skullcap are all that remain of the Grots.

Skiffe has proven how deadly sniping can be from his hidden position.  Bonegrinder is able to take and hold the right objective as Skitter prepares to climb the tower for the center objective.

Pirate is able to take out Progenitor Skitter.

With the last activation of the 4th round, the Grot Pirate guns down Bonegrinder.

With only Skullcap and Pirate remaining of the Grots and Skiffe of the Veer-myn, the Grots are the winners!

Recap:  The Veer-myn were aggressive running to the objectives, relying on the fact that the majority of the Grots had short range weaponry.  But they did not count on a sharpshooter on the Grot team.  Pirate proved to be the star of this game.  As the Night Crawlers ran for the launch pad, Pirate gunned them down.  When Progenitor Skitter tried to cower behind the central tower objective, it was Pirate who killed him.  And when Bonegrinder was the only Veer-myn left on an objective, in the final seconds of the game, it was Pirate who murdered him in a hail of bullet fire and ensured a Grot victory.

Thoughts:  Playing on a 4'x4' battlefield is a challenge when the majority of your units have short range weapons and one team has a sniper rifle.  Although the Grots pulled out a win and that Pirate's Carbine with Marksman proved to be the deciding factor, it was Progenitor Skiffe's Sniper Rifle that kept the Veer-myn unafraid in advancing quickly.  Having a sniper rifle with a commanding view of the field, the reaction shooting of Skiffe took out many Grots and kept the survivors ducked down.

In this case I think it would have been better to reduce the field to 3'x3' in order to clutter in more terrain and break up firing lanes.  There were zero opportunities where either team could get close to being within melee range.  Part of this fault is due to what units were in each team, but I wanted to try something different out to see how Double Tap handles skewed situations.  I'm thinking of other variations of teams to try out next.

Miniature conversions and bitz-mashing

After receiving my Mantic Crazy Box 2016, I wound up with some miniatures that needed to be spruced up for some sci-fi skirmishing.  As well, there were some left-over bits itching to be glued together to make something.

Here was a Dreadball guy that I turned into a heavy machine gun toting beast.  It kinda reminds me of a Warzone HMG Trencher (http://www.displacedminiatures.com/images/3.img.1287691960ImperialHMG.JPG)

This Veer-myn Dreadball player received some weapons from his kin, now he can spread joy with toxic fire.

The Forge Father Dreadball player now has a little pistol and a HUGE axe (from Kings of War Salamanders).  Size matters when your entire race is shorter than everyone else.

And the Orc Dreadball player now has some cobbled together mega-ray-death-gun, prepare for loving.

I was able to make 'something' out of the random Mantic Battlezone stuff.  Its an industrial platform with crane and a staircase.  Hopefully it holds together.

Last, but not least, is the Forge Fathers' fast attack hover craft!

You can see an excited Forge Father piloting this odd craft.  It kinda has an aircraft carrier deck.

This view you can see the magma cannon and the anti-gravity boosters on the bottom of the craft.

This side has the autocannon.  Nothing spreads cheer faster than thousands of rounds of bullets.

Deadzone - sci-fi miniatures assemble!

As I look to the future; with Rogue Stars from Osprey in late December and Harder than Steel from Ganesha Games sometime next year, or as I think of Double Tap by One Page Rules and In the Emperor's Name and FUBAR by Forge of War, I have come to the conclusion that I'm severely lacking in my sci-fi miniatures collection.

With this serious injustice to my meager miniature stockpile, I have searched for ways to inexpensively augment my horde.  One option I discovered was the starter boxes for Deadzone from Mantic Games.

I picked up three starters; Forge Fathers (Dwarves in Space!), Veer-myn (Ratmen in Space!), and Marauders (Orcs in Space!).

Due to a slight error, I was sent the faction booster instead of the actual starter, but it contains plenty for my needs regardless.  Here is a big cannon-tank thing, a couple engineer/pilots with tracked drones (which I put weapons on), and a couple motorcycles.

Here are the grunts of the Forge Fathers.  I made a sergeant stand on an orc head while holding a maul and one-handing the rifle.

I made one of each special/heavy weapon and one hussar.  Then there are the Brokkrs, which would make great space pirates or miners or engineers or scouts.

The Veer-myn, space rats.  I made one of each type of rat ogre then the two progenitors/leaders.  The giant drilling machine is a cobbled together contraption from random bits, I love constructing stuff out of leftovers.

The swarm of Veer-myn.  Up front are the 12 pistol/knife wielders, then three heavy weapons, and in the back are the rats from the Project Pandora boardgame.  

The Marauders, or Space Orcs.  The two big guys I outfitted each with heavy ranged and close combat weapons, instead of making them only one type.  Then there are the four mutant dog-things and goblin snipers.  The fourth goblin sniper was supposed to look like he is scared or running away, so I modified him to look like he is sneaking up instead.

And the Orc horde.  In the back are the Marauders I picked up many moons ago, they have pistols and close combat weapons, along with two heavy weapons and a couple with power claws.  The Marauders up front are more like commandos; with rifles, shotguns, and a guy with a flamer.  The commando captain has some kind of power spear thing.

At this point, I have plenty to use for sci-fi games.  Coupled with the Sedition Wars' Vanguard, Deadzone Enforcers, Infinity Haqqislam/Nomads/Panoceania, and miscellaneous Reaper Bones Chronoscope minis, I should have enough variety to play anything.

Now I just need to paint....alot.