David Hughes
Member
“What’s past is prologue”
It is with a heavy heart that I write this. …..
Some of you may remember the tale of the incompetent DC hero from my game of White Tigers against Dave Wilson. You know, the hero who finally persuaded me that ASL is the greatest game on the planet? The short version of this is, after surviving 4 separate life threatening fire attacks, he made it into his target hex, popped the DC for emperor, vapourized himself but only succeeded in creating a hero for me.
This hero, it turned out, had a short and glorious career, which should have been game winning. He hot footed south to join up with my -2 leader directed double hmg buzz saw, just in time to help them go on a snake eyes tear which eliminated every single Jap south of the stream. It really should have been game over at this point, and in fact it pretty well was.
Dave’s Japanese were incensed by this, and wave after wave of cardboard bullets soon put an end to the hero and his buddies. No matter, by the end of Dave’s half of turn 9, I have 14 squads to his 9, I’m up to my neck in leaders, including a 10-2 and he still has to take one of three buildings. It really is over, and I half expected his next logfile to be a concession. Except……
The logfile instead laid out the DF phase from hell. The highlight was a mortar CH into an overstacked hex (don’t ask) resulting in a K/ yahtzee, but that was just the icing: 3 squads died and 4 squads plus 2 leaders broke in this torrent of 1,1 agony.
And yet…he still has it all to do. I rearrange my depleted forces as best I can in the advance phase to cover all three buildings, and get ready for a classic ending. So in his final prep phase there’s not much firing, just one 8 up 2 shot against my southern flank – which breaks faster than the toy from a Happy Meal . The only good thing is that a HS manages to rout into the southern most victory building. Dave can just push one exhausted squad into this building backed up by a second CX squad just outside, and 2 tanks parked nearby.
What it comes down to then, is that in my last turn I have to either squeeze a MMC into this building in the MPh, and survive all DF, or fight my way into his hex in the Adv Phase and evict him at the point of a Khukri knife.
Which brings us to last night, or the day I sold my ASL collection on ebay, as it will be forever remembered.
It all began so well……my rally phase was a joy to behold, so good that I ended up with 7 elite squads, 4 leaders and 2 heros within reach of the VC building. Decent odds. I have no worthwhile prep, especially as his san is 5, and start to plan the endgame.
At this point I realize that it could take 7 more logfiles, or more than a week to get this finished, and there’s no way I’m waiting that long. I call Dave to do it by live vasl, and find him in bed. As an aside here, the way Dave smooth talked his wife into leaving her in bed to play some ASL was a work of genius.
So, we’re live, vasl for the board and phone for the banter. 1st up, a 9-1 458 combo who take an 8 up 1 shot; just as Dave goes to roll the dice a Southerly change roars though, slamming shut every single door in my place – yes, I jumped. I look back at my screen and my connection’s dropped out, Turns out so has Dave’s. But as I said, by this time we both have battle fever so there’s no way we’re quitting now. We quickly agree that Dave rolls it all, capturing the results in a logfile that I can look at later if he cheats me
Back to the action then: the 9-1 shrugs off the resulting 1 check with aplomb; the squad, though is cut from different cloth and melts away in the mud. One down, 6 to go. Next, a lmg armed 648 charges adjacent to soak up some more DF – Dave has to shoot as they are an Advance Fire and CC threat – and pins them leaving 4 resid. No good. Next squad does something similar and breaks. OK, could have been better, but I now have two squads which can enter the building during movement, who won’t have to take anything worse than 2 down 2. Let’s leave them for later, and see if I can tempt him into some rashness.
2 658s and a 10-2 (plus the 2 heros) charge at him as a stack (they need the leader bonus). They make it adjacent, shrug off a couple of shots, and then Dave has a 4 -1 from a Tank MG – it’s snakes, of course, 1KIA, and though he doesn’t need to, Dave proceeds to Yahtzee them again, leaving me nothing but a wounded hero, looking around in awe at the bodies of his fallen comrades. No need to panic, I can pull out the 1-4 CC if I really need to…….except Dave’s final shot into this hex finished him off.
Ok, so it’s back to my best chance – 2 squads and 2 leaders who, moving as 2 stacks (the squads need the leader bonus to get there), need to make it through a 2 -2 resid, then into the building, where Dave would need to FPF them. First stack, squad is laughing but leader pins, so they are stopped. Second up, squads OK, but leader pins, game over.
I imagine that one day, I will look back at this game and say, that’s what makes ASL great. Right now, however…….I’m gutted
Anybody fancy a game of White Tigers?
Scotty Dave
It is with a heavy heart that I write this. …..
Some of you may remember the tale of the incompetent DC hero from my game of White Tigers against Dave Wilson. You know, the hero who finally persuaded me that ASL is the greatest game on the planet? The short version of this is, after surviving 4 separate life threatening fire attacks, he made it into his target hex, popped the DC for emperor, vapourized himself but only succeeded in creating a hero for me.
This hero, it turned out, had a short and glorious career, which should have been game winning. He hot footed south to join up with my -2 leader directed double hmg buzz saw, just in time to help them go on a snake eyes tear which eliminated every single Jap south of the stream. It really should have been game over at this point, and in fact it pretty well was.
Dave’s Japanese were incensed by this, and wave after wave of cardboard bullets soon put an end to the hero and his buddies. No matter, by the end of Dave’s half of turn 9, I have 14 squads to his 9, I’m up to my neck in leaders, including a 10-2 and he still has to take one of three buildings. It really is over, and I half expected his next logfile to be a concession. Except……
The logfile instead laid out the DF phase from hell. The highlight was a mortar CH into an overstacked hex (don’t ask) resulting in a K/ yahtzee, but that was just the icing: 3 squads died and 4 squads plus 2 leaders broke in this torrent of 1,1 agony.
And yet…he still has it all to do. I rearrange my depleted forces as best I can in the advance phase to cover all three buildings, and get ready for a classic ending. So in his final prep phase there’s not much firing, just one 8 up 2 shot against my southern flank – which breaks faster than the toy from a Happy Meal . The only good thing is that a HS manages to rout into the southern most victory building. Dave can just push one exhausted squad into this building backed up by a second CX squad just outside, and 2 tanks parked nearby.
What it comes down to then, is that in my last turn I have to either squeeze a MMC into this building in the MPh, and survive all DF, or fight my way into his hex in the Adv Phase and evict him at the point of a Khukri knife.
Which brings us to last night, or the day I sold my ASL collection on ebay, as it will be forever remembered.
It all began so well……my rally phase was a joy to behold, so good that I ended up with 7 elite squads, 4 leaders and 2 heros within reach of the VC building. Decent odds. I have no worthwhile prep, especially as his san is 5, and start to plan the endgame.
At this point I realize that it could take 7 more logfiles, or more than a week to get this finished, and there’s no way I’m waiting that long. I call Dave to do it by live vasl, and find him in bed. As an aside here, the way Dave smooth talked his wife into leaving her in bed to play some ASL was a work of genius.
So, we’re live, vasl for the board and phone for the banter. 1st up, a 9-1 458 combo who take an 8 up 1 shot; just as Dave goes to roll the dice a Southerly change roars though, slamming shut every single door in my place – yes, I jumped. I look back at my screen and my connection’s dropped out, Turns out so has Dave’s. But as I said, by this time we both have battle fever so there’s no way we’re quitting now. We quickly agree that Dave rolls it all, capturing the results in a logfile that I can look at later if he cheats me
Back to the action then: the 9-1 shrugs off the resulting 1 check with aplomb; the squad, though is cut from different cloth and melts away in the mud. One down, 6 to go. Next, a lmg armed 648 charges adjacent to soak up some more DF – Dave has to shoot as they are an Advance Fire and CC threat – and pins them leaving 4 resid. No good. Next squad does something similar and breaks. OK, could have been better, but I now have two squads which can enter the building during movement, who won’t have to take anything worse than 2 down 2. Let’s leave them for later, and see if I can tempt him into some rashness.
2 658s and a 10-2 (plus the 2 heros) charge at him as a stack (they need the leader bonus). They make it adjacent, shrug off a couple of shots, and then Dave has a 4 -1 from a Tank MG – it’s snakes, of course, 1KIA, and though he doesn’t need to, Dave proceeds to Yahtzee them again, leaving me nothing but a wounded hero, looking around in awe at the bodies of his fallen comrades. No need to panic, I can pull out the 1-4 CC if I really need to…….except Dave’s final shot into this hex finished him off.
Ok, so it’s back to my best chance – 2 squads and 2 leaders who, moving as 2 stacks (the squads need the leader bonus to get there), need to make it through a 2 -2 resid, then into the building, where Dave would need to FPF them. First stack, squad is laughing but leader pins, so they are stopped. Second up, squads OK, but leader pins, game over.
I imagine that one day, I will look back at this game and say, that’s what makes ASL great. Right now, however…….I’m gutted
Anybody fancy a game of White Tigers?
Scotty Dave
