Battletech Alpha Strike Battle Report 1; Lyran Commonwealth vs Free Worlds League

Recently, I've been getting into Battletech.

It's a rather entertaining game system which goes into a lot of detail in how your giant robots are blasting each other apart.

However, that level of detail is also its greatest weakness; games of Battletech tend to take a while. For example, a game with one lance (four 'mechs) per side might take an entire evening.

That's where the Alpha Strike ruleset comes in.

It's a standalone game based on Battletech and shares many of its mechanics, but makes things a lot more streamlined.

Where a single 'mech's stats in normal BT take up an A4 page (including locations of all internal components like actuators, engine, weapons, ammo and your pilot, which you can damage with ingame effects) all of its AS stats fit on one TCG-sized card, as you can see below.

This is one of the two forces I'm using for this game; a Free Worlds League lance containing a Cyclops, Catapult, Hunchback and Jenner.

The Cyclops and Hunchback are kind of slow but can deal a ton of damage at close range.
The Catapult is best at mid-range fire support. Its jump jets give it pretty decent mobility as well.
The Jenner is small and fragile, but well-armed for its size, with the mobility to deliver that firepower where needed.

Here is their opposition, a Lyran Commonwealth lance containing a Zeus, Dervish, Dragon and Panther.

The Zeus is primarily a mid-range fighter with some decent firepower at the other ranges as well.
The Dervish is a pretty mobile (including jump jets) middleweight with a lot of potential firepower for its size if it overheats for it.
The Dragon is pretty well-armoured and fast for its weight, but slightly low on firepower.
The Panther is a light fire-support machine with decent firepower and jump jets to get in position.




From what I've heard from other players and various reviews, a game of this size should take about an hour, maybe a bit less for experienced players.

While the game is written for use with a tape measure on a normal tabletop with scale terrain, there are also rules to play on hexmaps as well. In this, it's the reverse of normal BT, which is written for hexes but has optional rules that let you play on a normal tabletop.

I'm using hexes, partly because I don't have enough 1/285th scale terrain available, partly because mapsheets are a lot more portable and partly because using hexes eliminates a lot of potential line-of-sight issues.

So, here we go.
An unknown border world between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Free Worlds League. The Third Succession War has been raging for some time and now the fighting has spread here, to these valleys which have seen many a battle in the past.

FWL win initiative on round 1.

The Lyrans were starting off their forces in a rather-spread-out formation, planning to collapse on and focus down any isolated FWL units.
As the forces move in, the FWL concentrates theirs on the right flank, with the Cyclops on the far left taking cover behind the mountain. Kinda isolated, but do the Lyrans really want to engage the enemy assault mech first?

As shooting commences, only the Panther can draw a bead on any FWL 'mechs with an actual chance of hitting. Its PPC shot does hit, dinging the armour of the Hunchback a bit.

Return fire from all four FWL 'mechs mostly misses the Panther; firing at medium range at a target in partial cover inside some woods is pretty tricky.
Only the Cyclops, firing from extreme range and having only the tiniest chance of a hit, manages to dent a bit of the Panther's armour.

Round 2 initiative goes to the Lyrans.

They push forward on the right flank, leaving the Catapult behind a bit to provide covering fire.
On the left flank, the Dragon's pilot has realized he's made a mistake moving on this side of the lake since the water and woods kind of isolate his 'mech. He presses on towards the enemy.
That's when he sees the enemy Cyclops peeking around the ridge, moving to engage him while he's in the open.
The Dervish rushes to reinforce.
The Zeus moves to the flank threatened by most of the FWL force, since it can apply its firepower there against the far more fragile enemies.

The Hunchback and Jenner miss with their wild shots at the Zeus and Panther respectively, but the Catapult manages to take off half the Zeus's armour with a well-placed barrage.
Then the Cyclops opens fire on the Dervish, overheating for maximum firepower.
The shots connect, blasting off all of the lighter mech's armour and causing a crit. A crit which immediately destroys the poor thing. (double 6 on the crit table)

Lyran return fire is not quite as effective, although significant damage is dealt.
The Dervish misses with its final shots, while the Dragon shaves off a third of the Cyclops's armour.
The Zeus opens up on the Hunchback, stripping off its remaining armour, before the Panther puts another PPC blast into it, damaging its motive systems and slowing it down massively.

Round 3 initiative is Lyran again.

The Catapult decides that this firing position atop a mountain is pretty good. The Dragon closes with the Cyclops, out of sight behind the woods. The Cyclops moves slowly towards it, planning to engage once its heat has dissipated a bit.
The Zeus stomps forwards into some woods, taking care not to get too close to the vulnerable and slow but still very dangerous Hunchback.
The Jenner jumps behind it, while the Panther sets up to shoot at whatever target presents itself from his perch.

Shooting begins. The Hunchback tries to tag the Zeus but misses.
The Jenner behind it does not, overheating for maximum damage, blasting off the Zeus's remaining armour and causing a weapons crit.
The Catapult tries to worsen the damage but misses.
The Cyclops has no targets and will be cooling itself down a bit.

On the other side of the woods, the Dragon's pilot is also lacking any targets.
The Zeus does not have such a lack, firing its back-mounted weapon to knock half the armour off the Jenner (a grand total of 1 point of damage) and using the front-mounted ones to blast apart the Hunchback.
The Panther takes careful aim at the Jenner, eliminating the remaining armour and damaging its fire control.

Suddenly, the battle is looking a lot more even again.

Round 4 continues the Lyran initiative trend.

The Cyclops lumbers on towards the woods.
The Dragon circles around and into the edge, hoping the concealment will give it the edge it needs to face the Cyclops at close range.
The Catapult jumps forward from its firing position, into some woods at the bottom of the hill it was standing on.
The Panther does not follow its example and remains in its firing position.
The Jenner decides that it needs some time on its own and runs into some woods, away from the Lyrans.
The Zeus moves closer to the Catapult, in some woods at the foot of the Panther's hill.

Shooting begins. Or not shooting, in the case of the Jenner. It needs to cool down and its FCS damage makes it difficult to hit anyway.
The Catapult overheats and alpha strikes at the Zeus but misses.
The Cyclops is a bit more cautious and chooses to not overheat, putting regular fire into the Dragon but missing as well.

The return fire from the Dragon, not hindered by the trees, is more accurate and leaves the Cyclops with only a single point of armour (and a whole bunch of structure) remaining.
The Panther and Zeus both open up at the Catapult but miss, despite the shot not being -that- difficult.

Round 5, aka the fourth round where the Lyrans win initiative in a row.

The Cyclops moves into the woods, putting its back to the lake so the Dragon can't easily get to it.
The Panther maintains its firing position once more.
The Jenner pounces on this opportunity, running forward into a firing position from which the Panther can't attack it.
The Dragon moves into the woods towards the Cyclops, preparing to engage it in melee.
The Catapult jumps back a bit, away from the Zeus and into another patch of trees.
The Zeus lumbers after it, taking cover behind the trees the Catapult just vacated.

The Catapult does not shoot so it can cool down; there were no good targets anyway.
The Jenner overheats and lets loose against the Panther at close range but barely misses.
The Cyclops decided to accept the Dragon's invitations for fisticuffs, tearing off almost all of its armour.

The Dragon tries to hit back, but the trees get in its way and it fails to deal damage. The pilot is not pleased at all.
The Panther and Zeus both open up on the Catapult. Both hit and their combined fire blasts off most of its armour.

Round 6, where the Lyrans just keep on winning.
The initiative, at least.

The Catapult jumps back to its initial firing position, still reluctant to engage the Zeus up close.
The Panther jumps down its hill, into the trees lining the lower slopes.
The Jenner goes for caution, hiding on the other side of the hill.
The Zeus moves through the woods, staying fairly close to the Catapult and maintaining concealment.
The Dragon moves back out of the woods, where it can use its superior mobility.
The Cyclops storms after the Zeus, readying its fearsome array of close-range weapons for an alpha strike...

The massive volley connects, leaving the Dragon with a bare minimum of internal structure but, miraculously, no critical damage.
The Catapult fires some more at the Zeus but misses.
The Jenner has no targets and takes the time to dissipate some heat.

The Zeus continues shooting at the Catapult, missing it as well.
The Panther, on the other hand, does not miss the Catapult, taking off the last of its armour and damaging its weapons.
Then the Dragon decides for another melee attack against the Cyclops, it connects, taking out some of the assault 'mech's internal structure and causing a critical hit.
A critical hit which turns out to be catastrophic (double 6), taking it out. The Dragon pilot sighs with relief.

Round 7, where the Lyrans roll a 7 for initiative and the FWL rolls a 4.

The Catapult remains in its firing position.
The Dragon runs towards the enemy flank, getting the Catapult in its long range.
The Jenner jumps across the hill, into some woods for cover.
The Panther immediately jumps behind it.
The Zeus stays where it is, drawing a bead on the Catapult.

The Jenner, struggling with its damaged FCS, barely misses the Zeus.
The Catapult is more successful, hitting the Zeus but not dealing any critical damage.

The Dragon's long shots predictibly miss.
The Zeus's closer-range but still tricky shots also miss the Catapult.
Then comes the Panther's attack into the rear of the Jenner. The light 'mech's mobility and the forest it's in make it a fairly difficult shot as well and the Panther misses.

Looks like this fight isn't entirely over yet.

Welcome to round 8, where the FWL finally wins initiative again.

The Dragon keeps running closer to the action.
The Catapult stays put. This hilltop has worked well for it so far, so that's where it will make its stand.
The Zeus moves aside a bit, into another copse of trees, from which it might be able to get into a different concealed position in the future.
The Panther hops back onto its perch as well, but the Jenner decides to follow it, jumping right behind it.

All three of the Lyran 'mechs fire whatever they've got at the Catapult.
Only the Zeus connects, damaging the Catapult's movement systems.

The Catapult's return fire at the Zeus misses.
So does the Jenner's point-blank volley into the back of the Panther.

Onwards into round 9, where the FWL wins initiative once more!

The Dragon keeps running forwards, to the fighting.
The Catapult shifts position on the hilltop, so it can potentially attack the Dragon as well.
The Zeus lumbers into close range of the Catapult, where some woods at the bottom of the hill provide it concealment.
The Panther's pilot realizes it's nigh impossible for him to escape and jumps away into another wooded area.
The Jenner just runs behind it again.

The Dragon's long-range fire remains ineffective, even though it's actually closed to medium range now.
The Zeus also lets loose at the Catapult, but misses even at close range.
Then it's the Panther's turn. The shot is difficult, but it hits and deals enough damage to finish the Cat off.

The Catapult tries to take the Zeus with it, overheating to do so, but misses.
The Jenner does not, blasting through the Panther's armour from the rear and damaging its weapons.

It´s three versus one now, but that one ´mech can oneshot any of the three.

Round 10, where FWL initiative is the current trend.

The Dragon and Zeus move towards the Jenner ASAP, trying to box it in.
The Panther jumps into a forest closer to its buddies.
The Jenner hops behind some partial cover where the Zeus can´t see it and the Dragon is at long range.

All fire this turn misses, leaving the Jenner in a horrible position.

At this point, I called the game since there was pretty much no hope for the poor little Jenner.
Had it managed to take out one of its adversaries this turn, it might have been able to pull it off, but with the present status a prudent pilot would try to run away or surrender.


So, that was my first ever game of Alpha Strike.
Overall, I quite liked it. It plays pretty quickly (taking pictures and writing the turn reports took about twice as much time as playing the actual turns) but maintains much of the "feel" of Battletech. An hour sounds about right for the time I spent actually playing.
You give up a lot of detail, but in return you get a system where you can play an entertaining lance-vs-lance battle in about an hour once you know the rules. Which is worth quite a bit.

I suspect the various locals will enjoy this as well, although I plan on playing some games of proper BT as well when I have the time and want that extra detail.
Still, I'll prefer Alpha Strike when I want to play a 1v1 company-scale battle without taking at least an entire day or when I don't have an entire afternoon or evening.

Using the optional rules for playing on hex-grids also worked well; it makes movement fast and simple and can eliminate a lot of line of sight issues. It also makes the game a lot more portable.

Overall, I'd recommend to at least try the system; it works well for what it tries to do.
If you dig giant robots, you might very well dig Battletech: Alpha Strike as well.