First game of Starstrike (working title)

I got hold of this playtest draft for the latest game from Ivan, so naturally I dropped what I was doing and set up a game last week:

 The battlefield. When fighting broke out in the colony, various mines and supply posts were abandoned as workers fled or joined the rebels. This particular depot contained some precious minerals, and somehow a local gang of pirates and thugs had found out, as had the rebels..

The pirates force: 

Pirate Leader 1 model
Sp  5
Su  6
Tr   6
Mo 7
Di  5
Ld 1
Armed with Gauss rifle

Pirate squad 5 models
Sp  4
Su  6
Tr   5
Mo 6
Di  4
4 with carbines
1 with Marksman's rifle

Thugs 5 models
Sp  5
Su  5
Tr   4
Mo 4
Di  4
1 assault rifle
3 pistols
1 SMG

 

Rebels and their hired merc unit:

 

Rebel leader 1 model
Sp  5
Su  6
Tr   5
Mo 5
Di  5
Ld 1
Armed with Assault rifle

Rebels 6 models
Sp  5
Su  3
Tr   4
Mo 7
Di  4
6 assault rifles

Mercenaries 5 models
Sp  5
Su  5
Tr   6
Mo 7
Di  6
5 heavy rifles and grenades

All models are rated in; Training(Tr) used for initiative, shooting and meleé attacks, Morale(Mo) determines how likely the unit is to stay in the fight in the face of casualties and Discipline(Di) which is used for reaction fire and recovering from pinning.
 Speed(Sp) and Survival(Su) are dependant on equipment and physical capability of the model.

Leadership(Ld) is a special score reserved for the leaders of each side, numbered between 1-3, this indicates how many extra orders the leader can give when activated.

The mineral stash both sides were after. Grabbing more than the enemy would ensure victory in the scenario.

The first round consisted of movement on both sides, trying to get into an advantageous position.

First blood went to the mercs, who took out the pirates marksman with his Heavy fusion rifle. A bad start for the pirates!

Retaliation isn't long in the coming though, when the captain's Gauss rifle pins Another merc in cover.

 Blaster carbines blazing the pirate squad advance and take out the offending merc. 

With the kind of enthusiasm only found in rebels and zealots, the rebel squad fire on the thugs, knocking out one or their number. At the same time, two of the mercs move in to grab some mineral chunks.

Start of the third round. 

In a barrage of counter-fire, two rebels bit the dust. 

The incoming fire is heavy enough to pin down mercs and rebels both! 

When you are pinned you can still fire, but you can only do any damage if you roll a 1 on a d10. So the first time the merc fired while pinned, he hit the bullseye! The thug in question was no more.

The rebels, full of righteous fury, pours fire on the pirate squad. One pirate is hit, and goes down.

The thugs are in a bad way, after losing 2 of their number and failing both morale checks, they take -2 to Training, Morale and Discipline checks. Despite this, they manage to hit and kill another rebel, while his friend is pinned!

Start of the 4th turn. You'll notice that all 3 remaining rebels are pinned down, due to fire from pirates and thugs. In the far back the mercs carrying minerals are falling back to safety, they have what they came for.

The fighting around the depot is still fierce, as the pirate try to push back the rebels to gain some minerals of their own. Rebel fighters knock out one thug and pin one more.

The mercs hired by the rebels don't come cheap, but they are effective, most of the time anyway. In the far back of the photo you can see a small fire/explosion marker. That's where the grenade tossed by the merc landed after deviation. He was aiming for the pirate behind the crates and sacks infront of him...

The pirate captain fires his Gauss rifle again, taking out the closest rebel. 

Sensing that the fight is slipping away from them, the Pirates try a last push into the depot. Braving fire from the mercs, they run for the minerals. The reactions of the mercs are too fast however, and a single fusion blast stops the pirate dead in his tracks.

At this point, the game was called, since the pirates were down to about 40% of their force and couldn't have beaten the rebels 2 mineral pieces.

A rebel victory!

An enjoyable first game, and while a few trimmings are missing, the core gameplay is fun, the resolution mechanic is fast and easy to get, and make the different troops play differently depending on their statline.
This could be a serious contender to FiveCore for my skirmish games, when it's all done!