Corellian Conflict Campaign Thoughts

So, we were able to conclude our Corellian Conflict Campaign with the Imperials striking forth a solid victory, winning the last four matches to get it after winning just three in the first eight.  It was a tough fought campaign, and was a whole lot of fun.  My group and I are really hoping for another campaign setting in this next year for the game, since it was such a different style of play.  Going to 500 points as well allowed a lot of flexibility in fleet building, and really let the Interdictor shine as a ship.  The home rules we came up with I think all worked well, and I really enjoyed the thematic hyperspace rules.

Our group never really found any issue with timing (besides my third round game with my friend who sat his MC80 Liberty at speed 0 until Turn 4 to avoid engagement).  We still stuck in our typical roughly two and a half hour time frame for casual play.  I honestly think I could see this becoming a much more popular format for tournaments without having to change the length to a great degree.

As to actual game play, things were a little mixed.  Diplomats were basically useless in our four person game (2v2).  It helped to keep a few of the high cost  systems out of hand but it didn't make a huge difference. Skilled spacers as well was just a little disappointing because of its lack of use. However the spy net was awesome. My campaign partner used it to great affect when he defended Corellia by baiting some really bad deployment from his opponent and then shifting out of it. I cannot say how great spy nets are. The repair yards likely helped keep the least experienced member of our campaign in it, because he lost several ships every game. They are probably the most important areas to control.

We did find the base assault missions to be brutal. Fighter wing is a huge boost especially to rebel bomber fleets, as grabbing either 3 A wings and a Z95 go help fight in or 3 more Xwing squads to do some extra bombing work as well almost turned the game against me when I was attacking Sabehering. Planetary Ion Cannons was beastly. The regular objective is tough, but with Intel in the base defense version you can routinely get a four blue dice attack almost every turn.

The only thing we found that really didn't work though was the money system scaling.  With three players per side, the money seems like it would be a little tight each turn.  With just two though, after a couple of conservative rounds I had my fleet to 500 points and was starting to rake in extras.   It just didn't ave the tense feeling I was reading about in some other people's games. 

Corellian Conflict Campaign Narrative: Round 2

The Moff stared into the vastness of hyperspace.  He watched the fluid blues and whites and blacks of the altered space swirl all around the ship.  The tumultuous space he saw reflected his inner thoughts perfectly.  He had just finished retrieving supplies from Duro and was returning back to Corellia aboard his flag ship Unforgiving at the head of Task Force Zekkog.  His standing in the Empire had taken more of a hit than he had imagined for his last failure in defending Selonia from the rebel incursion.  This, combined with the victory by Admiral Motti had given the Admiral the idea that a show of force was needed in the region, and Motti was the man to lead it.  Tiaan was then left to perform the other tasks that were needed, like running errand boy in the sector.  At least his influence had been able to allow him to outfit his forces to more than the bare bones they had been previously.  Unforgiving had a new targeting scrambler installed, as well as an interesting gravity device.  It was intended to create a large gravity well near asteroids and other space debris and shift their positions.  A work of immense genius, he thought.  He had added better communications support to his Gozanti carriers as well, and had truly outfitted Obedience as true carrier, enhancing the command abilities and expanding its hangar bays.  He also had added some more teeth to the old girl along the center spine, with several more turbolasers.  

Tiaan was woken from his reverie as Unforgiving exited Hyper Space near New Plymto, to retrieve tapes from the Imperial Listening Station there. 

“Sir, we’re hearing nothing from the station.  Scans show a debris field where it had been at,” the sensors officer reported.  “It also looks like we’re getting engine signatures at long range as well, it appears to be a rebel group.  Should we launch a probe to see who it is?”

“Do so.  Quickly.  Signal the rest of the fleet to match speeds and to get into phalanx formation.  Order Obedience to prepare fighters for launch, as well as the Gozantis,” Tiaan commanded.  The only question now, he thought, was it pirates or Rebels that had committed this atrocity?  He’d soon have his answer.

“Getting back probe telemetry sir, it looks like a Rebel task force.  Four ships, a Corellian Corvette, a Nebulon B Escort Frigate, and Assault Frigate and an MC-80 Assault Cruiser.  The Assault Cruiser we got a good look at, it appears to be Home One” the sensor officer reported. 

The Moff reveled for a moment in the chance to redeem himself, until he remembered that all of his ships were laden with cargo and were therefore unable to maneuver as well.  “Fire up the Gravity Shift projector, and move those asteroids into a position to let us get through.  We cannot perform a serious engagement with the important cargo we’re carrying now.”  The Imperial scientist aboard moved quickly to follow orders, and the gravity well began to form near the small orbiting station and asteroids.  It was a marvel, a beautiful ballet of hard steel and cold space rocks.  A corridor formed for his forces to get through.  Just narrowly.  “Tell everyone to stay in formation, and get Khopesh to stay along side us to provide cover.”

Tense moments passed as both fleets began to pass by one another.  Tiaan recalled that Home One had been at the recent battle with Admiral Motti, and he had done severe damage to it.  It did not look so damaged anymore.  Fighters spilled out from Obedience, as the CAG commander ordered them to screen off the Rebel fighters from the capital ships. Both fleets seemed at ease to just trade some long range shots, until a group of TIE fighters and an elite group of Interceptors were able to spot a squadron of Xwings trying to move past some asteroids and attack Khopesh.  They obliterated the enemy, taking trivial losses in return.  However, Khopesh was reporting some structural damage from a  few bombs that had come through the screen.  Just need to keep everyone going, Tiaan thought.  The rebels didn't seem to be spoiling for a fight, but if we can put a little hurt on them all the better.

 The flight controllers on board Obedience also had directed their TIE Defenders to attack the Nebulon frigate that had strayed from the rest of the group.  They inflicted quite a bit of damage, while losing only a few fighters to the accompanying flak fire.  “Order those Defenders to continue there attack runs” Tiaan called out to his comm.'s teams, “we need to make sure the path is clear for us.  And to show these bastards all things come with a price”.  If he could bag a ship as well as get his cargo through, he might be able to get out from under the shadow of failure that had haunted him lately.  As he watched the battle unfold, Khopesh had begun straying slightly off course.  "Khopesh, you are beginning to stray off course.  What is going on?" the tactical officer said into the comm.  "Damage from the earlier attack run, we're attempting to compensate" came the reply from the Captain on the light cruiser.  The fixes never came though, as the assault frigate fired a volley from its massive side guns that brought down the shields.  Following behind it was several squadrons of B-Wing fighters that had been hiding in the asteroid field.  Khopesh was a sitting duck without the fighter screen, that Tiaan cursed himself for ordering attack runs instead of covering his ships.  Obedience's officers quickly rerouted all fighter wings within range back to defend the stricken cruiser.

The swarms of TIE fighters hastily drove to the aid of the endangered cruiser, raining death with them.  A squadron of Defenders broke off their attack run as well, moving into position to defend the vulnerable engines.  The rebel fighter were wiped out, but not before Khopesh was severely damaged. 

There wasn’t time for Unforgiving to use its enhanced shield capabilities to provide cover for the damaged cruiser, before they would have collided.  Jerjerrod knew what he had to do to even give it a chance at escape.  “Order Khopesh to drop cargo and make for escape velocity now!” The cargo spilled out onto the battle field, and  the light cruiser began to move again into a position to jump away from the battle.  It was too late though, as it was rocked by another rain of fire from Home One, who had just moved into firing range.  The Light Cruisers engines faded out and it began to float adrift, dead in space.  Tiaan called out to the other ships to get into a defensive position around Khopesh, to try to salvage what he could from the situation.  His fighters continued to get the best of their counterparts, but the Rebels had begun concentrating on salvaging the dumped cargo from Khopesh.  The crew had been able to get the light cruiser into the hull of Unforgiving, and the Moff ordered his fleet to jump away.  The tumult returned, and he knew this time it likely wouldn't stop.


Epilogue

Another battle, another loss for Tiaan's record.  The only reason it wasn't worse was the Empire had more trouble than they could deal with.  The rebel forces had rebuked Admiral Motti's force in stunning fashion, with his fleet being nearly wiped out before limping away, not having destroyed either of the station's they had attempted to.  In comparison, being able to get away with minimal losses and most of the cargo had been a victory.  It wasn't though, and Governor Tarkin had made sure to let everyone know just how close he was to personally coming to rectify the situation.  All of the Imperial officers at the meeting felt the fear of having the Governor come to the sector.  Tiaan set to work finishing outfitting his forces, knowing the Rebel presence in the sector had grown very strong.  And every battle going forward would be a grisly contest. 

Corellian Conflict Campaign Narrative: Round 1

My local Armada group has started playing through the campaign box, and so I'll be keeping a narrative of our group's play through.  We've got four players for this play through, and no extra fleets (although we had discussed it.  To set a little background, we've house ruled a few things for the campaign since the FAQ has yet to be updated for Wave 5.

• Rapid Launch Bays are #TeamOrange
• Snipe is not affected by Flight Controllers, and is limited by engagement
• We have a 500 point cap for whats on the table, but you can buy as much stuff as you want
• Squads are limited to 1/3 of your total available points, not your fleet cost
• Nebula Outskirts leaves 1 command ships with a dial

Here is an image of our Conflict Map at the start of the game

And now without further ado, the narrative of the battle

Grand Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod stood upon the command bridge of the Unforgiving, a newly commissioned Interdictor class Star Destroyer, and his flagship of the newly formed task force Zekkog of the 69th fleet. His first mission within the new group was to patrol Selonia, a small system within the Corellian sector. There had been word of a rebel incursion and command thought it appropriate to let Unforgiving run through a shake down cruise while inspecting. Such a dubious claim, he thought, rebels hiding in the sector. All this mynock chasing was putting him out from the real fight and allowing Admiral Motti a chance to seize glory. He thought to himself, At least I'm getting this ship.  A wonder of design, something I might have come up with had I not been able to secure a position higher up. Although he had been told it was yet to have its truly experimental upgrades installed, the Unforgiving had been outfitted with enhanced shielding that allowed it to extend to nearby ships. And he had been given two new wings of TIE Defenders. Perhaps the Emperor's favor was upon him already.

"Sir, our advanced probes have spotted rebel ships ahead!"  Jerjerrod woke from his musings with a start. "Where!??!"  "On the far side of this asteroid outcropping. We couldn't pick them up before because of the Solar Corona thats on going" the head of the sensor team said. "They appear to be setting up some sort of presence. Lots of construction going on. "

A whole construction operation?  This close to Corellia?  How had the ISB missed such a large presence?  We're not truly prepared for this size of an an engagement, but I can't just turn and run, the Emperor will assuredly be displeased, the Moff thought. "Prepare to engage he said. Move along near the Corona, and use it to our advantage. Launch fighter wings."

To his left, the Obedience moved into position and began launching it's fighter groups. An older Victory I design. Dependable carriers, but poor engine design made them a liability these days. Luckily, Tiaan himself had overseen some engine modifications to make sure all the ships under him were more agile to deal with smaller, faster rebel ships. He also knew that trying to get into position would be the light cruiser Khopesh, returning to a firing position from its picket duty nearest the Corona. He ordered his small flotilla of Gozanti class carers to launch their TIE fighters and move behind the fleet, out of range of the rebel guns. A small Raider class vessel, Halberd, was positioned behind Unforgiving, ready to jump upon any enemy squadrons with the flechette Torpedoes it was stocked with. 

"Enemy profiles coming in sir: One MC80 liberty class attack cruiser, and two Nebulon-B support frigates. A small handful of Gr75 transports are amongst them as well, and they have a lot of fighters with them" the tactical officer reported.

They do have quite a few fighters Tiaan thought.  And an MC80?  This is a much larger incursion than he could have imagined.  None of his ships were in true fighting shape, all having been in dry dock refitting or newly off the line, ready only for a slight engagement with a small rebel scout force.  We need to close quickly if we're to have a chance at getting out of this.  

"Order the fighters forward to counter those A-Wings, and tell Halberd to get forward to engage any survivors" the Moff called to his subordinates.  Remain calm he told himself. 

The asteroids in this system had forced him to slow Unforgiving to a crawl, and he'd have to stay there to get around them.  He could only watch as his fighters began to engage the forward elements of the Rebel forces.  It was not going well, despite the extra flight controllers he'd been able to requisition prior to leaving Corellia.  The Defenders were picking A Wings out quickly, but taking some staggering losses.  The new design just wasn't holding up to some the more veteran Rebel Pilots.  And with the Defenders getting beaten back, it had allowed a rogue group of XWings to jump into the fray as well.  The fight lasted as more TIE Fighters spilled forward from Obedience, but just as many XWings it seemed moved in to devour them.

"Is Obedience in firing range yet of that MC80?  What the hell is taking it so long" he asked the Captain of the Obedience.  Just as he finished speaking, Obedience's turbolasers opened fire.  The fire had some effect, but the Liberty class was just too far out to take the full brunt of the Victories guns, and far out of range of any of the missiles it carried.

"The MC80 has stopped to try to stay out of range of Obedience and us.  We're not going to get a firing solution it seems" the Gunnery captain reported.  Tiaan moved towards the tactical output, to watch  the battle unfolding.  His squadrons were melting under the Rebel air superiority, and all of his ships had been out of place to move and engage a rebel force that had clearly been prepared for an Imperial counterstrike.  As he watched the holographic display, the Unforgiving was given a jolt, as Halberd took a strike from the MC80 that sent the forward shields crashing down, and Unforgiving took peppering of fire from the nearest Nebulon B steaming towards it.  "Reinforce Halberd now with those Shields, and return fire on that damn ship" he ordered.  Unforgving's shield generators hummed  with life, and the advanced shield experts had stabilized the shields to both ships.  These generators are amazing, Jerjerrod thought.  He was not so impressed by his gunners though, who missed widely against the Frigate charging at them.

A moment later, Khopesh entered the battle field, and fired its dual turbolasers into the side of the MC80, bringing the shields down.  His own ion cannons were able to also hit the Friagte that had turned hard to avoid a collision.  Things are finally turning our way, Tiaan saw.  We just need to keep their fighters off of us.  But that hope vanished a moment later, as the battle indicators showed the last remnants of his fighter wings hurrying back, completely routed from the field.  A few flechette torpedoes from Halberd helped cover their retreat, but the Moff knew he needed to get back to Correlia now.  Without fighters and Halberd in range of the MC80, he'd soon lose any real fighter cover.  He ordered Khopesh to open fire hard into the rear of the MC80, to cover a retreat.  He did not want to face the Emperor back on Corellia, but he wanted even less to have to slink back after having his whole task force obliterated. 

Epilogue

Having returned to Corellia, Tiaan had taken a stern rebuke from his superiors, but was quietly told that the true blame had fallen on the ISB for missing such a large group.  His spirits were lightened a bit, but not so much, as Admiral Motti had been able to win a huge victory at Polanis against a rebel fleet, destroying several ships and squadrons.  The Empire had quickly established a base there, to guard against further incursion.  The Moff brooded for several days, before he began overseeing the work to finish installing the other retrofits to Unforgiving, and making sure that the Obedience was further outfitted with more powerful turbolasers to help it do damage at range.  His fighters were repaired, and re-staffed.  He'd be prepared for the next engagement, ready to strike back at the Rebels and win himself some accolades.