Gruntz AAR

Monday night saw a return to 15mm sci-fi action with another Gruntz game. I used my mechs while Matt (Comstar) used a combination of Fishmen with swarms of Aliens backed up by two giant beetles! It was a 240 point game with a simple kill the other guys objective.

I set up with my Hunchback and Jagermech on the high ground to my left looking for long range shots and as a counter to the Beetle. In the centre I had my Cicada ready to run forward to engage his Aliens. The Marines dug in on my right and the other mechs were placed so as to be in a position to support where needed.

Matt had one of his Beetles on each flank along with groups of three specialist Fishmen with heavy weapons. His Alien swarms were in the centre. The position at the start of the game is shown below.

Turn one saw both of us manoeuvre into position and most firing was ineffective although i did manage to kill one of the Aliens with a Medium Missile attack.

The position at the end of Turn 1

As Matt had advanced his Alien swarms I decided to rush my Cicada forward and use it's two flamers to burn them up. Sadly I only managed to kill three of the Aliens although they did fail a morale test and fell back. The other swarm, enraged by my attack rushed forward and soon eliminated my lightly armoured Cicada. Again the other shooting was mostly ineffective.

Position at the end of turn 2

Turn three saw Matt halt the retreat of the damaged Alien swarm and he moved them forward to threaten my Marines. My Commander moved forward to finish them off but his fire left one still standing albeit in retreat. On my left the Beetle and the Hunchback exchanged shots with the Hunchback getting the better of the duel. His Heavy Gauss Gun crippling the beetle leaving it almost dead. In the centre the remaining Alien swarm advanced as did the other beetle. Fire from the Jagermech badly wounded the beetle.

The position at the end of turn 3

Turn four saw the Hunchback finish off the Beetle on my left. My Commander fired at the advancing Fishmen specialists wounding but not killing them The Jagermech and Beetle exchanged fire in the centre both ending up badly damaged. The Alien swarm then assaulted the Jagermech and just managed to destroy it. Fire from the Fishmen specialists on my right proved devastating and killed my Commander. The Marines retaliated by letting rip on the Fishmen but despite inflicting numerous wounds all three survived.

Matt pressed his advantage in turn five advancing on my remaining two units. The Hunchback did heavy damage to the Fishmen on my left but again not enough on any of them to get a kill. The remaining Beetle then spit plasma on the Hunchback eating through his armour and destroying it. The Fishmen on the right killed a Marine but the Marines managed to kill four of the Aliens who were readying an assault. Sadly this wasn't enough to deter them and their assault killed two of the Marines who then failed the morale check ending the game.

The position at the end of the game.

Even though I'd been wiped out Matt's force was in a bad way with only 3 of the 18 Aliens left and most of his multi wound models only having one wound left. A bit more luck on the dice and it could have gone the other way. As usual with Gruntz this was a fun game and Matt managed to get his revenge on my Mech force after I won our last game.