Battle Report: Airfield Ambush 5

For our second meeting of the year, I dug the Airfield table-setting out of storage.  I had to rescue a few baseplates from the Roadway Rumble table-setting but that only slowed me down for a moment.  Once again we had five players in a Skirmish situation.

Me (3 Frames & 12 Systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (4 assets) = 28 points. (Challengers)

   Yellow Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8//2W + SSR (x3).

   Orange Delegator -- 2Ra/1B/2Y/2W.

   Green Delegator -- 2Ra/1B/2Y/2W.

PJ_Nichts (4 Frames & 15 Systems) = (4 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 20 points.  (mecha)
   Grey Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W.
   Blue Fast Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1G+d8/2W.
   Navy Hammer -- 2Rd/2B/1Y/2W.
   Orange Armored Spotter -- 1B/2Y/1Gd8/2W + SSR (x3).

Chuck (4 Frames & 16 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 15 points.  (Old School)
   White Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.

   Orange Fast Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1G+d8/2W + SSR (x2).

   Brown Squad Leader -- 2Rd/1B/2Y/2W + SSR.
   Purple Anvil -- 2Rd+d8/1B/1Y/2W.

Stevenik (4 Frames & 16 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 15 points.
   Gold Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.
   Blue Artillerist -- 2Ra+d8/2B/2W.
   Orange Artillerist -- 2Ra+d8/2B/2W.
   Green Watchtower -- 2B/1Gd8/2Y/2W + SSR (x3).

Narbey (4 Frames & 16 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 15 points.  (Skitterers)
   Yellow Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.

   Red Soldier -- 2Rh/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.

   White Soldier -- 2Rh/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.

   Orange Soldier -- 2Rh/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.

This is what the table looked like at the start of the game.

Events of Turn 1 (DDC @ 11): I capture Stevenik's station before the game starts with placement of my Yellow frame.  My Yellow frame retreats from an attack by Stevenik's Green frame -- and a failed counterattack -- and captures Chuck's Station.  Stevenik's Gold frame hits my Yellow frame for 2, and the building it was using for Cover for 2, then captures his Station back.  Narbey's Yellow frame hits my Green frame for 1.  Narbey's Orange frame captures PJ Nicht's Station.  My Orange frame hits Stevenik's Gold frame for 1, the antenna on top of the building for 1 -- destroying it -- and the corner of the building for 1, then moves closer to my Station.  PJ Nicht's Orange frame hits Narbey's Orange frame for 1.  PJ Nicht's Blue frame hits Narbey's Orange frame for 1.  Narbey's Red frame blasts PJ Nicht's Orange frame for 4.  Chuck's White frame hits Narbey's Yellow frame for 2.  Stevenik's Orange frame hits Narbey's Orange frame for 2, Station Dance.  PJ Nicht's Orange frame recaptures their Station.

Me: 35 points.

PJ Nicht: 20 points.

Narbey: 15 points.
Stevenik: 15 points.
Chuck: 12 points.

Events of Turn 2 (DDC @ 8): Narbey's Orange frame hits PJ Nicht's Orange frame for 1, Station Dance.  PJ Nicht's Orange frame retaliates with a 2 Hit SSR attack.  PJ Nicht's Grey frame hits Narbey's Yellow frame for 1.  Chuck's Orange frame charges out from behind the fuel tank and clubs my Green frame for 5.  My Green frame retreats to Chuck's Station which I control.  Chuck's White frame hits Narbey's White frame for 1.  Stevenik's Orange frame hits Narbey's Yellow frame for 2.  Stevenik's Blue frame hits PJ Nicht's Orange frame for 2, destroying it, then moves towards the cargo plane.  My Orange frame moves closer to my Station then hits Chuck's Brown frame for 2 and the fighter plane it was using for cover for 2.  PJ Nicht's Blue frame runs over from behind the antenna and chops Narbey's Orange frame for 1, destroying it.

Me: 35 points.

PJ Nicht: 16 points.

Stevenik: 15 points.
Narbey: 12 points.
Chuck: 12 points.

Events of Turn 3 (DDC @ 3): PJ Nicht's Blue frame runs over and chops Narbey's Yellow for 1, Station Dance.  PJ Nicht's Blue frame then captures Narbey's station.  Narbey's Yellow frame then crawls behind the undamaged fighter plane in an attempt at safety.  Chuck's Brown frame closes to melee range  with my Green frame and gets kicked for 1 for its trouble.  Chuck's Orange frame moves from the pile of damaged Systems left behind by my Green frame and captures my Station.  Chuck's White frame hits PJ Nicht's Blue frame for 1, Station Dance.  Chuck's Purple frame continues marching across the airfield and hits PJ Nicht's Blue frame for 1.  Stevenik's Green frame hits Chuck's Orange frame for 1 with a SSR.  My Orange frame moves off of the runway and behind the remains of the building, then hits Chuck's Brown frame for 1.  Stevenik's Orange frame hits Chuck's Brown frame for 2.  Stevenik's Gold frame blasts my Green frame for 5, destroying it, then scrambles around the building to my former Station.  Stevenik's Blue frame blasts Chuck's Orange frame for 6, destroying it, allowing his Gold frame to capture my former Station.  In revenge for past slights, PJ Nicht's Navy frame blasts the cargo plane for 4.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked to zero.

Me: 21 points.

PJ Nicht: 20 points.

Stevenik: 18 points.
Chuck 9 points.

Narbey: 9 points.

Here are several aftermath pictures.

Turn 1

Turn 1

Thoughts & Observations:

• This is our second game this year.
• This is the first time we used this table-setting in two years.
• Point Attacker was decided by die roll.
• This was a Skirmish.
• I'm still holding to my resolution to use squads that haven't seen prior table time.
• I even managed to get two on to the table in this game as Chuck borrowed my Old School squad.
• Two people pulled the "Rook Maneuver" to make it the second game in a row with multiple attempts at the maneuver.
• I made the mistake during the first turn of discharging all of my SSRs in one salvo in an attempt to destroy a target "with authority".
• It didn't work because the target wasn't Spotted and my Attack roll was mediocre.
• I will admit, this is a hard battlefield to play on as there's not much cover the way it's set up.  Probably not a great choice considering we had three semi-rusty players.
• This was a tense game that came down to the last activations.
• Here are more pictures from the game.

Review: 30414 Emma's Magical Box Polybag

This was a "Free with Purchase" selection for July.  Hopefully it'll become regularly available at some point.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.  

Instructions.

Minidoll.  

Parts.  Technic 6x4 Frame Brick, Plates, Brick, Inverted Tile, Tiles, Jumpers,

Studless Slopes, Brackets, Printed Tile, Bar Plates, 1x4 Double Sided

 Studless Slope, Technic Bric w/Axle Hole, Half Pins, Axle w/Stop, Thin

Liftarms, Clip Tiles, Apollo Studs, Round Tiles, and Minifig Wands.

Build.  Station.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Some good parts along with good colors.

Review: 71386 Super Mario Character Pack 2 Polybag

The Super Mario Character Packs now have a second set of releases and I can't seem to stay away from these things.

Bag.  MSRP was $3.99 for a $0.13 Price per Piece.  (The bag lists 24 pieces but I count 30.)

Instructions.

Parts.  Mod. Plate w/Rounded Corners & Feet, Mod. Brick w/Studs

on 3 Sides, Brick, Brick Brick, Printed Tile, Stickered Tile, Large

Jumper, Round Plates, Jumpers, Round Tiles, and Pyramid Tiles.

Build. Station.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  Same as all the others, there are some neat pieces and prints but the Price per Piece is horrible.

Purity: Make-It Blocks Bricks Review

The other day someone on the Facebook group posted about Dollar Tree having new Make-It Blocks baseplates.  So I went in search of them.  Didn't find any, but managed to find this.

Box.  MSRP is $1.00, for a $0.01 Price per Piece.

Parts.  2x4 Bricks, 2x3 Bricks, 1x4 Bricks,

1x2 Bricks, 1x1 Bricks, and 2x2 Bricks.

Build.  Four 1 Hit pieces of Cover.  And this is just the Grey pieces.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  No.  (-5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +10 (A-).  If you need some quick Cover, this is the set.

Lego Ideas 9

I feel like I need a breather, so let's take a look at some Ideas proposals that could be interesting for MFZ.

The Glass House.  One of my favorite pieces of architecture and it could make for fun terrain.

Double Looping Roller Coaster.  A massive amount of tracks and framework pieces that will make for an awesome terrain set-up.

Posable Hermit Crab Models.  These have useful pieces in interesting colors.

Maya Temple in Chichin Itza.  Another fantastic terrain set.

Chinatown Double Happiness Archway.  Another fantastic looking terrain set.

As always, I've supported all the projects on this list.

Terrain Workshop: Papercraft Trees

Thanks to a video posted by Shades Corvid on the Discord, I started experimenting with using paper pieces as part of terrain.  I printed off a copy of Playfool's Stud Stencil as a precursor but I ended up free-handing all of the hole punches.  I started with a simple rectangle piece then moved on to some that were a little more complex.

Here's the first tree with the rectangular "branch" sections.  A simple start and it looks

 decent enough.  It will take two Hits before being destroyed. Brickshelf gallery.

My second paper shape was an octagon.  Unfortunately it ended up being

too much paper to fold them all up so I went with just two pieces.  This

left it looking like a tube and not all that great.  I might try adding in two

of the rectangular sections to see if it can work.  Brickshelf gallery.

The third attempt was a hexagonal diamond shape.  This one looked

a lot better and had greater coverage then the rectangular paper strips.

It will take two Hits before being destroyed.  Brickshelf gallery.

The fourth one was made a little later.  I went back to the rectangular

shape but this time I cut two-thirds of the length into smaller strips. 

These are meant to resemble the branches of a Willow tree or something

similar.  It will take one Hit before being destroyed.  Brickshelf gallery.

Here's a size comparison.

And a breakdown shot so you can build your own.  All of

the work to make these four examples -- sketching, cutting,

and assembling -- took maybe half an hour.  So making

enough to act as terrain for a game shouldn't take too long.

These are the templates I used  to make the leaf sections.

The main reason behind doing this -- besides the fact that it's neat -- goes back to the post I did on creating good looking Lego trees.  The techniques I used in this post will add volume to tree designs without adding density.  I hope that makes sense to people.  You can also change things up a little.  The 1x1x6 Pillar that I use for the tree trunk comes in many colors.  If you combine a paper color other than green and a trunk color other than brown you could have the start of a sci-fi plant life selection.  Using paper might also be a method to reduce cost.  Overall it's about trying to help people to make cooler looking tables so they can have a great  time playing.

Review: 30387 Bob Minion with Robot Arms Polybag

This was a "Free with Purchase" selection for Minions Lego products earlier this month.  Hopefully it'll become regularly available at some point.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.  

Instructions.

Minifig.  The Pin Arms have rotating hands.  Which, I believe, is new.

Parts 1.  Round Plates, Banana, New Headlight Brick, Wind-Up Keys,

Space Torch, Cones, Apollo Studs, Printed Round Tiles, Inkwells,

Translucent Round Plates, Clip Tile, Cylinder Hinge w/Axle Hole,

Barraki Eyes, Minifig Zap Gun, and Stud Shooter Triggers.
 

Parts 2.  Crate, Minifig Display Plate, Brackets, Dishes, Dome, Jumpers, Large

Jumper, Bar Plate, Inverted Dome, 1x4 Offset Plate, Finned Cone, Round Plates,

Printed Round Tiles, Hinge Cylinder w/Axle Hole, Axles, Axle/Pins, Hinge Cylinders,

Minifig Telephones, Flask, Stud Shooter, Bar Claws, and Truncated Cones.

Build.  Frame and Station.  The Frame is a nod

to the old school Budget Frame Wars builds.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I'd say it's more of an enhancement pack than a "Frame in a Bag" but still worth it.