Halloween Games

Robb, Devin and I got together late on Halloween to play some games. We managed to get in a mission from the New Space Hulk, and then Devin talked me into playing some “extra work” VTES, wherein one person plays two decks crosstable to simulate a four-player game, even though there are only three players available. More on that later.

Space Hulk Mission V: Decoy

Devin and I each got to play a squad of space marines in this scenario. Robb played the bugs, as is his specialty. The marines start in two entry corridors on one end of the map, and must traverse to the other side, to a designated exit point. The game ends when there are no more marines left in play: all of them must be dead or escaped. At that point the marine player rolls a d6, and if the number rolled is less than or equal to the number of escaped marines, the marines win. Otherwise the Genestealers win.

Devin took Lorenzo’s squad: Sergeant Lorenzo with the power sword, Brother Zael with the heavy Flamer, and three vanilla marines. I took Gideon’s squad: Sergeant Gideon is the Thunder Hammer/power shield marine, Brother Leon packs the Autocannon, and then there’s three mostly vanilla marines. One of them has a chainfist for cutting open doors. If Devin and I could get six of our ten marines out the escape hatch we would win.

Robb started the game with five blips (which seemed like a lot). There was some contention here, as the mission stated he starts with three and gets two reinforcements per turn. We didn’t argue and he's mostly right, I checked the rules today. It made for a tense game. Also, we actually played with a timer this time. I downloaded a stopwatch app for my iphone (two really, the first was shit) and we timed the marines’ turns to three minutes.

Devin hadn’t played in a while (decades. . .) so we had a lot of discussion about best practices throughout the game. There was no conflict, however, which turned out great for us. Devin and I plotted our first turn so that Brother Zael would be able to fire flames down either point of Genestealer entry near where the marines start. While Devin was doing that, I moved my squad out and lurched most of them down toward the middle of the map, Gideon in the lead.

Robb did as we expected and put a bunch of bugs at our back, near the entry points, as well as a blip on the far side of the map, near the exit. Robb’s general strategy this game was to put big blips (2 or 3 Genestealers) near where the marines were, and to put smaller blips (1 and occasionally 2 Genestealers) near the exit area. This is an old strategy of his that aims to keep the smaller blips (1’s mainly) unrevealed for as long as possible, in order to maximize the number of 3-bug blips drawn per turn by keeping the 1’s out of the bucket. It’s sound.

Brother Zael opened a door blocking his path of fire and nuked the first series of bugs near the entry point. Another marine, with a storm bolter, killed a few bugs coming in the other entry point nearby, and then went on overwatch to shoot anything that moved. The rest of Devin’s squad moved down the hallway toward the middle section. Meanwhile, my squad split, with Brother Leon of the Autocannon and dude-with-chainfist joining Devin’s squad in one corridor while Gideon and two others took an alternate route.

I wanted to test something. Gideon has often been derided (by me) as being a victim. This is because in old hulk rules, the Thunder Hammer marine never did a goddamn thing for me. He has no ranged weapons, he can’t dance, and he can’t go on overwatch. Furthermore, when a Genestealer player is rolling dice AT ALL, the marines are losing a guy 90% of the time. The rule of the game for marines is “for the love of the emperor don’t let them get close”. Gideon and his Thunder Hammer are anathema to that paranoia.

However, in new hulk, Mc Thunder Hammer is a Sergeant, which gives him an additional +1 to his close combat die. Furthermore, he can go on guard, which is essentially close combat overwatch. When on guard a marine can reroll a close assault die after seeing what the Genestealer player rolls. This is hot. So the game math went from Genestealer player 2d6 (3d6-1d6 for power shield) vs 1d6+1 for the Thunder Hammer victim, to Genestealer player 2d6 (3d6-1d6 for shield) vs 1d6+2 with a reroll if the Sarge is on guard. This is a big difference.

I wanted to see if it paid off. So I marched Gideon down to a doorway, the only doorway by which Genestealers could get at the marines in the middle section (an entry point was 8 squares away), and I plopped him there on guard. I hedged my bets by placing another marine on overwatch behind him while the third in that section joined the rest of the marines making a break for it.

Meanwhile, Zael and the overwatch marine near the start of the board were fending off Robb’s horde quite handily, to the point where Robb decided that he needed to concentrate on Gideon and the exit point. I think that around this time there were like 5 blips (maybe 3 blips and 3 Genestealers? Robb was revealing the big ones to put the chits back in the pot) in the exit section, most of them down a hallway which was going to be a bear to take.

Robb threw a half-dozen bugs at Gideon, but the Hammer/reroll kept fending them off. Admittedly I got pretty lucky: Robb had me with a 6 on one of his close assault dice twice, and Gideon managed a 5(+2) on the reroll from being on Guard both times.

While this was going on, Devin had moved Brother Deino (a vanilla marine whose valor has earned him a proper name) down to the homestretch toward the exit. He blew all the doors he could see off their hinges, so that Robb would at least have to reveal any more blips that came to get us from this direction. Deino then sat on overwatch four spaces from the mass of bugs in the hallway nearby. Lorenzo, Leon of the Autocannon, and three other marines bunched up behind Deino.

Robb kept tossing bugs into the entry point near Gideon, but they took two turns to get to him, so he made a very slow retreat, the marine covering his back also making similar progress. Zael and the entrance guard marine both slowly backed toward the exit, as no more bugs were coming to menace them, but Devin wanted to hedge their bets. Robb decided not to reveal his bugs in the exit-hallway slaughterhouse yet.

All eyes were on that hallway. I told Devin we had to run a guy up there to stir things up. We drew a bunch of command points, and Deino rushed forward, turned and shot the first Genestealer he saw, shot twice at another to kill it, and shot again. He moved forward with his last shot, into a hallway with another two bugs, but he had done his job. Leon was behind him with the Autocannon, and now I moved him up and put him on overwatch. Leon could cover all points of Genestealer entry on the endgame sections from there.

On Robb’s turn Deino bit the dust, but the charging Genestealers were all mowed down by Leon’s Autocannon. There was just a couple bugs left in the back 40 now. Leon reloaded his gun and moved to an adjacent hallway section the next turn. We didn’t have enough command points to put him on overwatch again, but he was safe from Genestealers and could take one shot during Robb’s turn. Lorenzo ran down the hallway toward the exit, with three other marines behind him. Robb still had two Genestealers in the back rooms coming their way.

Meanwhile, Robb made another attempt at Gideon, who was slowly backing into the endgame sections. Gideon managed to crush two more bug skulls. Robb said something about me calling the Thunder Hammer marine an asshole all the time, and that he was kicking ass today. I said that the guard feature is a big improvement on the old rules. I haven’t seen Brother Claudio on guard yet; he’s got the Lightning Claws, which are 2d6+2. . .I wonder how that stacks up. We’ll find out in later missions.

Robb tried to get Leon and his Autocannon to blow up. After reload, the AC can nuke if the marine rolls triples on his three attack dice. I came awful close but never quite nuked. Robb tried closing the door to shuffle blips into the back hallways, but I used our last command point to shoot the door with the Autocannon.

Zael and entry guard were getting close to the middle now. Robb saw that we had four marines (Lorenzo one of them) poised to exit in the next round or two, unless he crushed them. Devin ran Lorenzo down the hallway, turned him at the corner and shot at a Genestealer, and missed. He fired again and missed. He fired again and missed. He fired again and killed it, but there was another two squares away. Devin used our last three command points (extra moves for the marines player to disperse as needed) firing at that Genestealer. He missed every time.

So then Sergeant Lorenzo was two squares from a hungry bug without a way to take a shot. Devin and I wrote him off and put the other three marines (and Leon, covering the entries) on overwatch so that they had a shot at Lorenzo’s killer. More bugs came toward Gideon in the rearguard, but would not reach him until next turn.

Robb said later that the turning point in the game was when he rushed Lorenzo, did a close assault, and Lorenzo managed to win because of his +1 Sergeant bonus and force-a-reroll parry ability from the power sword. Devin and I fist-bumped. Four marines escaped in short order, including Sergeant Lorenzo. Meanwhile, Leon ran out of autocannon ammo savaging all of the Genestealer reinforcements. After that I had him rush toward the entry point so that Robb would have to lurk blips for a turn before coming at us from there.

I put Leon on guard. It didn’t help. Two marines dead. Robb made a last rush at Gideon in the rear, which would have been significant as Gideon was our last Sergeant in play, but the Hammer stood strong.

Zael and the rearguard had caught up, and after Leon was dead Zael tossed a Flamer blast into the entry point near the far end of the map, which blocks all models from entering that section. Zael proceeded to cover the area in flames while the rest of the troops poured toward the exit. After we drew enough command points to kill the last two Genestealers hiding in the final hallway, Robb conceded defeat: at least 6 marines would escape.

Robb was wondering what has changed in the rules to allow the marines to win. There’s a couple things that are small changes that make a big difference. One is the guard function for the close assault marines. That was huge this game. Normally I would not advocate standing toe-to-toe with a Genestealer for any reason, and quite honestly, allowing the Genestealer player to roll dice is bad play on the marine player’s part. However, that gamble (and it is a gamble) can pay off big. It did with this game.

Two is the fact that marines can now unjam their Storm Bolters (which jam if the marine player rolls doubles while on overwatch) for just one action or command point, and if on overwatch the marine stays on overwatch. In old hulk rules the marine would have to spend a command point to unjam and then another two to go back on overwatch. That was brutal.

The overall feel of the game is intact: the game is at its most tense when there is a marine on overwatch, able to take a shot (indeed, must take a shot) every time a Genestealer appears in his line of vision within 12 squares, and the bugs rush at him. He has to roll a six on one of his dice to kill it, and he has X shots, where X is the number of squares the bug must close before getting next to him. It seems like overwatch has only failed us of late when it isn’t fatal for the marine, i.e. when the bugs are too far away to reach the marine during a rush.

Still, the game is a lot of fun, though perhaps moreso for the marine player than for the genestealer player. Mission rating marine player: 3.5 Genestealer player: 3.0

VTES: Multideck format

Robb and Devin, being antisocial, have cooked up a variant, or perhaps expanded on a variant that a dude named Tom McNulty once played with us. That variant is standard VTES, except one player plays more than one deck at the table. To try and minimize in-game knowledge and collusion, the player who is playing multiple decks at a table should have their decks be crosstable.

Oftentimes, it goes like this: Robb(DeckA)>>>Devin(DeckB)>>>Robb(DeckC)>>>Devin(DeckD)

If DeckB got ousted, Robb and Devin would then take turns playing one of Robb’s decks so as to limit the unfairness of one player playing two decks. The player(s) playing multiple decks need to play to win, and hopefully they can use a measure of objectivity to assess and play their turns.

On Halloween, I volunteered to be multiple-deck guy, because the only deck I’d brought lacked reaction cards. I find it easier to be objective (and play multiple decks) when I’m not reacting a lot. I had brought a G4-5 Morlock variant of the “Zombo Combo” Baron Samedi Cemetery/Corpse deck. Devin tossed me a huge Eternals/Followers of Set deck to play as a second deck.

The game went thusly: Me(Samedi)>>>Devin(Hermanas Love Lilith)>>>Me(Eternals of Nahkthorheb)>>>Robb(DoC agro-vote)

I popped up Morlock on one side of the table and Amenophobis on the other. Devin got a Hermana Menor turn one, hunted the next turn and popped two more, then got a Camera Phone with the one while the others hunted. Amenophobis bled for a few while I pushed beads to Cagliostro. Robb got Yseult and called a Lily Prelude to thump me for 4. Then he got Antoinette.

Morlock did his thing, getting a corpse and freaking into a cemetery, and then freaking and bleeding. Robb’s vote made me cautious, and I declined transfers (silly, really) instead of pulling some off the down guys. I wanted to get Abebe out, and I should have.

Devin bled the Fos deck for 5 with the Phone and a Walk of Elvis. Then he popped another sister and hunted with his empty two. He cursed not having a Lilith’s Blessing yet.

The Fos bled for a couple, which Robb ignored, and then it got Cagliostro. This, as it turns out, is subpar for a Nahkthorheb deck. Devin assured me that there were six Nahkthorheb in the deck (there wasn’t) and that I’d gotten a bad draw (I had, but there were only four N). Not having the extra actions was killing me, and discarding Corruption cards was pissing me off. What the hell are Corruption cards doing in a deck? Didn’t Revelation of Ecstasy re-wallpaper them?

Robb bloated with the new DoC bloater vote and got up the two-cap daughter. Morlock spun his wheels a bit. I dropped another Cemetery and thought again about bringing up a minion, but pulled two back this time for sure.

Devin bled for a bunch with a Hermana and the Elvis Walk, but because he had to front-load it I blocked with Cagliostro. My Hermana deck has Increased Gate tech, so I figured the Form of the Serpent in my hand was actually to get back to close and knock a sister into torpor with hands for one. After Devin dropped the Signpost, I realized that Cagliostro’s snake form could save him a lot of hurt. Caggy ran away.

Devin still bled for a bit, and got another sister a cellphone. Then he got Hermana number 5.

The FoS deck had too many actions and stealth to not have a multi-actor like N up, so I knew it was only a matter of time before it was ousted. The game had broken the way many four-player games do, only I was playing both of the disadvantaged decks. Cagliostro got a Perfectionist and a Heart of the City, while I left up Amenophobis to block a frontloaded bleed from hell.

Robb mugged Morlock but good on his next turn, dropping another Lily Prelude and then a Reckless Agitation. That was enough to oust the Samedi deck. At least my life was getting simpler. Robb started influencing Sashiya.

Devin put an Oppugnant Night into play and proceeded to crush DoC like it was the thing to do. Robb threatened to transfer out. I laughed at him, as telling Devin he’ll only get 2 Vps and a GW instead of 3 isn’t much of a threat. All the Daughters were in torpor except the 2-cap when the FoS went, but they didn’t have much to do. I bled Rob for some and finished my turn.

Robb rescued Yseult and got out Sashiya. Devin beat up Yseult again. Then he bled me for a lot, knocking the FoS deck down to 4 or 5 pool. I stayed untapped to attempt some blocks. Robb bloated with votes and rescued Yseult again.

Devin ousted me with bleeds the next turn. Robb hurled invectives at me because now he couldn’t play his Reckless Agitations. I told him I was sad for him.

At that point I went to play my guitar. Robb told me he managed to vote Devin off the table before Devin drew and played another Oppugnant Night.

Robb: 3VP 1GW, Devin 1VP

Game MVP: Conductor

-Merlin out