Welcome to the second in our series of session reports for Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi.
Please see here for an introduction to the series, game overview and scenario set up
Turn 1
Called away from a much needed period of R&R, our heroes of the GMRB enter Mapzone Alpha via airbourne insertion in less than ideal circumstances. A Dust Storm has risen in the north east and the Scout at least seems quite hungover. Missing his landing by some distance and setting a sad trend for the Marines that followed. It’s an inauspicious start to the mission.
Fortunately, one Marine unit manages to land safely and delivers a glancing blow to the Yellowstone Tribe in the north. It rapidly becomes clear that a single ‘chipped’ result (i.e. one or two hits) isn’t going to cut the mustard in this combat.
The 50 Foot Colossi waste no time in showing the Marines how to make a first impression. The Medusa Stare of the Redstones Tribe goes wild, however, the Whitestones’ Boulder Sling ranged attack and the earth shattering Piledriver Stomp of the Yellowstones both cause problems for the GMRB. One marine is disrupted and another stunned
The Blackstones brood menacingly from a distance, biding their time.
Meanwhile the Mine Boss is sneaking his way towards the IMC Corporate Offices and the Dust Storms edges east.
TURN 2
The Marines are blessed with an early Medical Supply event allowing the disrupted Marine to recover. The stunned unit shakes it off at the sight of reinforcements arriving, bringing with them a Heavy Weapons unit that lands near the hills west of the Mine.
The Marines launch a sustained assault on the Blackstones with a disappointingly limited effect. The colossus barely seeming to notice the attack.
The Dust Storm settles over the IMC Corporate Offices. It couldn’t happen at a worse time. LOS is blocked through the storm, meaning the Marines to the north are unable to see the Yellowstones. This makes shooting impossible and the Mine Boss holds back. It is too risky to attempt to enter the IMC Office without knowing where the Colossus is.
Another Boulder Sling from the Whitestones. This time the shot goes wide. The Blackstones march closer to the Barracks.
Turn 3
The Yellowstones and Whitestones Pop Rocks. These Gravel expulsions can be deadly but, this time, are used more for a show of force than with intent to harm.
Marine HQ arrives, as do more Heavy Weapons and a Marine Unit. Phase 2 of the GMRB operation can now begin. Sustained fire from all available units sees the Whitestone take a step loss and multiple Chipped results against the Blackstones.
Concentrating fire on the Yellowstones proves difficult to achieve. The Dust Storm now seems to have settled above the IMC Offices themselves! This is a major risk to Phase 2B of the Mission.
In the south east, Gravel morphs, exploding into Flint Stones and stunning the nearby Heavy Weapons unit.
The Scout Units are now singled out for a Colossi attack. The Redstone Medusa Stare and Pumice Ejection combined attack narrowly missing one Scout.
The other is not so lucky. The Blackstones finally decide the time has come to strike. They disappear in a Fault Tunnel special move and reappear on the other side of the map. Bursting out of the ground adjacent to an ,understandably stunned, Scout.
Turn 4
Graviton Prime’s gravitational anomalies affect movement this turn with all units and tribes given a +1 movement.
The arrival of a Medic provides much needed support for our increasingly battle-weary Marines. The command structure is solidified by a second HQ unit to oversee the situation while the rescue operation gets underway.
In the far south west, a covert Spec-Ops unit enters play. This unit is tasked with ensuring the Miners escape route is clear. This will mean dealing with the Redstones, the most powerful Colossi tribe. To help do this Spec-Ops are armed with ‘The Chiseller’, a small arms weapon powerful enough to do significant damage to the Colossi.
Heavy fighting begins across Mapzone Alpha. The Yellowstone Colossus takes a step loss following co-ordinated Marine fire. The Whitestones, however, shrug off even heavy weapons fire.
Gravel morphs into Slate Shrapnel. An explosion of rock shards that damages all nearby. The rescue team in the Mine Entrance is hit. Needing to stay alert to complete the rescue mission, the HQ chooses to become disrupted rather than stunned.
The stunned Scout unit is at significant risk from a Blackstone attack, yet the Tribe does not move this turn. Equally the Redstone’s, Medusa Stare shoots wild again and the Whitestone’s Boulder Sling sails over the head of its target.
Further north, the Yellowstones’ combination of Rolling Thunder then Piledriver Stomp attacks are used to great effect. One Marine is both disrupted and paralysed, another is paralysed.
Meanwhile, the Mine Boss sneaks ever closer to the IMC Offices and his stash of weapons.
Next time on Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi…
…bad weather influences the course of the battle and the Marines are reinforced by: The Boring Bit.
Stay tuned for Turns 5 – 8.
