I played my first full game with NCA.

I actually played a single Deployment Exercise, as detailed in my last post, followed by a normal 300 point game. The Exercise I did first was on the same table, but with a different opponent, so I had something of an edge in Deployment that way, but that didn’t stop my opponent from sealing a 7-0 victory. We played Acquisition with no special options. My opponent was playing Onyx Contact Force, and I went first. I opened by picking off members of his Unidron link, and his Maakrep. I then moved a Pathfinder up to push a button, put my Black Friar in Suppression overlooking the Tech Coffin and the path the Unidrons would come down, and ended with attempting to knock down another Unidron with my other Pathfinder and succeeded in losing a Pathfinder.

That’s when the Sphinx showed up. The score sat at 1-0 (my favor) for the rest of Round 1, with most focus being on the Sphinx. In round 2 focus continued to be on the Sphinx, but the score shifted to 0-1 (opponent’s favor.) In round 3 the focus was still on the Sphinx, but the game ended at 0-7 after he Controlled the Tech Coffin with his DataTracker and Controlled the Antenna he had previously Activated.

I decided to try out a Bolts Core this time, for the reasons also detailed in my last post. I enjoyed using them, but I feel like I still need a few more games to get used to using them. I brought this core link:

BOLT MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 26)

BOLT Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 27)

BOLT Hacker (Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 27)

BOLT Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)

BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)

The Sniper and the Hacker got the most done during the game. Most of the orders I spent on them were to remove a Unidron core which was across the table from them. I lost the sniper to Plasma AROs, but succeeded at getting rid of all the Unidrons which were a threat. After that I moved them up to the middle of the table to attempt to deal with his Sphinx. I probably should have used the Hacker’s E/M grenades, but I had never Possessed a TAG before, so that’s what I did. It did work, and he was out of Command Tokens, but he still had a Nexus Hacker and easily took it back.

I like that there are so many options there, but I felt the lack of a high burst weapon in the link. A good option might be to swap out the MULTI Sniper for a Spitfire and leave the long range to the Missile Launcher. I have access to other Snipers, and have usually been bringing a Hexa, so I can probably shift that role out of the link. The Combis can get to Burst 4, which is good, but there’s not a lot they can out-range so if I’m using them I’m probably not using the best modifiers I could be.

This will just come with time, but I need to be more aware of what tools I have in the list in general. I spent a lot of orders trying to deal with that Sphinx via strong firepower and coordinated orders, but I never attempted to bring an Auxilia over. The Auxilia + Auxbot will achieve the same goal of the coordinated orders I used, but with much less investment. I had basically relegated them to sideline defenders and wasn’t thinking about them in my active turn.

I found myself leaning on my Pathfinders more than I probably should have, because they were my most mobile units. I really like the Pathfinder for a lot of reasons, but I shouldn’t have been using them as primary attackers like I did just because it was more order efficient than walking further with a slower model.

My limited mobility I think also made it so I didn’t feel the order bump vs my last list. The Bolts were powered by the main group of 10, and were limited more by needing to free themselves of AROs than by orders. Group 2 was mostly powering the Black Friar, who is slow, and died early. I spent two Command Tokens on the coordinated orders I mentioned earlier, and one on reforming my Bolts Fireteam after the Sniper was killed by an ARO, so I ended up with not enough to merge my groups.

I was able to keep the second group useful by spending orders on the Hexa MULTI Sniper after the Black Friar died, but by the end of the game I had just my Fusilier Lt alone, unable to do anything, and not contributing its order to anyone else.

While I enjoyed the Bolts, I missed some of the solo units I had been using. After the game I changed my Bolts list to drop the two Pathfinders into Fugazis and replace the CSU with a Hexa KHD. I don’t like the cost of the Locust, but I think I should try one out. The AHD is able to perform a lot of Classified objectives, and as I haven’t really been thinking too much about missions since I’ve been focused on learning unit profiles, I realized when I got to the table that my list couldn’t perform a lot of the classifieds.

I feel like my list of things to try is growing as I get to try more things rather than shrinking. Not that that’s surprising, really. I want to give Bolts another try with a Spitfire in the link. I want to make a point of considering how my Auxilia can help in the active turn. I want to work in a Hexa KHD and/or a Locust AHD. 15 orders is a pretty comfortable number for me, but I think I need more experience with the sectorial to distribute models in the groups effectively.

My lists waiting for the right mission stack includes a single order group one with a Squalo, and one with an Uhlan. I have my eye on picking up the double ORC blister so I can try out the ORC Haris, but I want to feel like I’ve gotten a complete sense of what Bolts can do first. I also have the shipping notification for my Beyond Ice Storm set, and that Swiss Guard is going right to the top of my get-it-on-the-table list when it arrives.

All the Season 9 changes create a new dynamic in a lot of ways too, so now I’m trying to adjust to both the new sectorial and the new ITS at once. I do know if anyone wants to try the new Soldier of Fortune option on my game night, I’m starting with 4 Yuan Yuans and an Aquila HMG…

Here is the list I used:

Bolts

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GROUP 1 10

BOLT MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 26)

BOLT Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 27)

BOLT Hacker (Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 27)

BOLT Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)

BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)

AUXILIA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + AUXBOT_1 / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)

AUXBOT_1 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)

AUXILIA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + AUXBOT_1 / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)

AUXBOT_1 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4)

PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)

PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 16)

CSU Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11)

GROUP 2 5

BLACK FRIAR (Albedo, Biometric Visor L1) MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser, Drop Bears / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 28)

FUSILIER Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 18)

FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)

HEXA MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 32)

FUSILIER Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)

5.5 SWC | 300 Points

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