Turn ThreeHere's where the first serious mistake of the game was made: we were so busy yakking about other things that we blew past the Initiative step of turn three, simply allowing the Machines to go next without rolling. While this didn't decide the game on its own, the consequences were significant.
The Machines tightened the noose. Moving a
Nightmare from the Commandos right flank into the Great Hall, they shot out (using Autofire) a key door on the opposite side. The remaining Nightmares around the room then moved into positions Covering the Great Hall, which Bon Jovi dubbed, "The Zone of Death."
Two more Nightmares set up Covering positions on the Commandos left flank, one behind the other (the 40k speed counter was used for kneeling). This would also prove to be a problem later, as there would be two opposite corners between the Covering Nightmares and the approaching Commandos, and it never even occured to me to mention it.
Over on the Commandos right, the lead Nightmare proceeded to Kneel, then casually blow away the intervening door with Autofire (we forgot the -1 General Modifier for Doors), while the Nightmare behind him set up Supression to the end of the hall, effectively pinning down the Commandos on the right!
All the while the
Assault Fiend and another Nightmare rushed for the left flank.
It was at this point that we realised we'd skipped rolling for Initiative for the Turn, and I realised the UNE was in deep trouble. I was now facing significant, dug-in firepower on both flanks, and would need to take serious risks to continue the advance. We decided that I would simply go next, and we'd handle Initiative correctly on the next turn.
Throwing caution to the wind I charged two Commandos into the blind spot beside the Nightmares on the left, eliminating both of them by Displaced Throwing two K-pulse grenades down the hall. It was at this point that a serious disagreement erupted; my opponent felt that grenades were ridiculously overpowered. His feelings revolved around Displaced Throwing (don't need to expose yourself to fire), multi-square area of effect, and scatter (allowing it to still land in the "missed" target square). I'll try and cover this without mis-representing him.
The first major complaint was with Displaced Throwing, which allowed the Commandos to get very close without being exposed to Covering fire. This was exacerbated by my failure to warn him that I would be able to advance my Commandos without being shot at, due to the "two-corner rule" for LOF. No doubt I should've just let him take the shot, but I'm not even sure he would have, given that I'd already explained the rule.
The next problem he had was with the idea that you could Miss your throw, and still hit the target square. Not only that, but that the odds were so high (33%). I pointed out this was only because the throws were all down a narrow corridor, and the walls prevented deflection to the sides. It was at this point that the discussion really got out of hand, as he started comparing grenades to Firing, and how missed shots couldn't ricochet into the original target. I tried to point out the difference between on object lobbed 20' and high-speed ballistic projectiles, but he was having none of it. This led to...
Complaints about the effectiveness of grenades were next. Not only were they far too accurate, but their AOE made them way better than any gun. I tried to argue that there were only specific circumstances under which they were the better option (and that only 6 Commandos had one each), but he began to argue that it was unfair (I may be putting words in his mouth here) that the Commandos had these amazing grenades, when all he had were Nachtmachers that couldn't kill anything. In retrospect this argument is non-sensical on its own, as asymmetrical forces are going to be (by definition) better in some areas, and not in others. If the Machines had grenades
in addition to their long-range firepower, Assault Fiend and Nachtmachers, I have no doubt they'd regularly trounce the Commandos. So what? The whole point is that the two sides are roughly equivalent
without the Machines having K-pulse grenades. As he began to point out the statistical "proof" of grenades superiority based on the fact that the only figures of his I'd killed were both with grenades (believe me, as a comp-sci PHd student he knows better than this claptrap), I gave up on convincing him otherwise.
At this point I was growing decidedly uncomfortable (unusual for me) with this whole argument, particularly because I was feeling like I had coerced him into playing a game he was obviously hating. In my head I vowed I would never play
LoS with him again. This entire mess completely distracted me from the remainder of my turn, which I really just wanted to get over with. I botched my original plans for the right flank, wasting another Forcewall to Supression in the process. I moved the remainder of my Commandos towards the left, but with little hope of pulling things out of the fire (or even of enjoying the game at that point).