Runenberg Under Siege
In this exciting addition to the Infinity setting the Shock Army of Acontecimento plays a pivotal role in holding back the Combined Army. They are the experienced jungle fighters of the Hyperpower, and it is in the jungles of Paradiso that they face their greatest test. Holding open the only supply route into besieged Runenberg, and then holding back the Combined Army during the withdrawal, the strength of Acontecimento is spent to such an extent that it will take years for the SAA to recover its strength and act, once again, as a major element in the PanOceanian military forces.
You can download the "Runenberg Besieged" mission pack here:
The first phase of the Third Offensive culminates with the city of Runenberg, de facto capital of the eastern region of Syldavia, besieged and partially encircled by EI troops, which if completed will mean the end of the city. Runenberg’s only hope is the so-called Riebeck Route, a set of secondary routes and roads that, together with an unreliable air route, are the only connections for supplies and reinforcements between this city and the PanOceanian ranks. Attacks on this route occur daily, obligating the PanOceanian forces, along with the rest of the Paradiso Coordinated Command forces, to patrol it continuously to prevent the Combined Army from severing this nexus vital for the city’s survival.
The weight of this monumental task falls upon the troops of the Shock Army of Acontecimento, the core of the Green-A Combat Group and the army responsible for the maintenance of the Norstralian North-Central front-line Experts in jungle combat, Acontecimento troops are a versatile force perfectly prepared for the wild environment of the emerald hell of Paradiso. Aware of this fact, the PanOceanian High Command has moved all available contingents of the planetary army of Acontecimento to Runenberg’s operations area, where this force can make a difference. Whether in the defense of the city itself, fighting for the control of the Riebeck Route, or pressing from the PanOceanian side of the front to break the lines of the Combined Army, the Acontecimento troops will demonstrate that there are none better to fulfill the assigned mission.
However, the EI is not willing to lose the opportunity to take over this city, which at the time was called by the press as “The Paradiso jewel in the PanOceanian crown”. The Evolved Intelligence is an exceptional strategist and has at its disposal the brutality of the Morat, the deception of the Shasvastii, and the versatility of the Onyx with which it has already managed to establish a siege on the city. If the Combined Army forces manage to close the Runenberg encirclement, the city’s days will be numbered regardless of the quality of its defenders. Although the Shock Army of Acontecimento is not alone in this mission, it will not be able to hold out long if the forces stationed there lose their logistic link. The Nomad troops, defending one of the largest Commercial Missions on the planet, and ALEPH, deployed to protect this strategic position in Norstralia, will both be trapped in the city, which will turn into a deadly snare from which there will be no exit. The orders are to resist at any price, but the EI is determined to make this price higher than what humanity can afford to pay.
As a consequence of the Third Offensive, the city of Runenberg in the PanOceanian region of Syldavia becomes a hot spot of Combined Army operations, which has nearly encircled it. Besieged, the city depends on the forces of the Shock Army of Acontecimento, which has deployed all available troops there for its defense. Once again, the emerald jungles of Paradiso are dyed red.
The "Runenberg Besieged" set of missions has been conceived to commemorate the value of Acontecimento troops in Runenberg and to recreate some of the most intense action scenes of this bloody siege through the three scenarios that comprise it:
• Nav-Guide: Represents the difficulty of establishing a safe air route connecting Runenberg with the allied lines.
• Jungle Trail: Recreates the efforts of the Acontecimento troops to keep one of the secondary trails that are part of the Riebeck Route open.
• Green Hell: Reproduces the fierce fighting to control the jungle territory that surrounds the city of Runenberg.
In this article we will look at the first of these missions, Nav-Guide, and break it down in detail with a special focus on the Shock Army of Acontecimento. Three more articles will look at the two following missions, Jungle Trail and Green Hell, while the last will consider the updated Shock Army of Acontecimento and how they play as their models go OOP.
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Nav - Guide
The maintenance of an air route is vital to Runenberg’s resistance. If this connection with the allied lines were cut, the
city would begin to suffer shortages of supplies, food, and ammunition. However, the approach routes to the city are full
of enemies, and all enemy SAM platforms are aimed at them, so it’s essential to cross at full speed. However, in order to
achieve this feat, you cannot rely solely on the ability of the pilot, or the aircraft’s on-board automatic systems; a beacon
system is necessary to mark a safe route to follow. Therefore, keeping the Navigation Antennas active is one of the most
important tasks to be carried out by the defenders of Runenberg.
When looking at Nav-Guide the first thing to consider is the special rules, as these will make a significant difference to list design and play. There are two here for us to keep in mind:
EMERALD JUNGLE
The Exclusion Zone is considered an Emerald Jungle Terrain Zone. In this area Movement restrictions are not applied, however, all troopers possessing the Jungle Terrain or Multiterrain Special Skills, or having a Troop Classification of Elite Troop, get a +1 inch Bonus to their first MOV value.
This Bonus will be applied only during a Move Common Skill.
The Exclusion Zone is also considered a Saturation Zone
RESTRICTED RANGE
The thick jungle restricts the range of firearms. In this scenario, any BS Attack where the range to the target is 32 inches or more is considered an automatic failure with no need to roll the die.
Emerald Jungle encourages Jungle Terrain and Multiterrain units by rewarding them with increased movement while they are in the Exclusion Zone. As this zone covers the middle of the table and includes all the objectives for the mission this can be a pretty sweet little bonus. However as it will NOT be a penalty to other units it's probably overall lower in impact.
Restricted Range is a real killer. With no ability to out-range a HMG, there is little to no reason to pay the high points and SWC for Sniper Rifles (especially Multi-Snipers), Missile Launchers etc. Keep in mind, also, the restricted deployment zones and the way this will impact on ARO coverage. There is a good chance that you will be able to move some units through the "open" at long range without taking fire thanks to the range restriction.
As mentioned above, the deployment for this mission is also interesting. This mission joins Power Pack in offering split deployment, and we know from that mission that this can result in some interesting affects, especially for Airborne Deployment (EVERYONE is Van Zant!). Here's what the map looks like:
Scattered Deployment: There are 4 Deployment Zones,
each one 12x12 inches, placed in the four corners of the
game table. The game table then has four quadrants of
24x16 inches instead of the usual two halves. Each player
has 2 Deployment Zones placed on opposite halves of the
game table, on both sides of the Exclusion Zone.
Troopers possessing Deployment Special Skills as Forward
Deployment, Mechanized Deployment, Infiltration, Impersonation will consider the quadrants containing the player’s
own Deployment Zones to be their half of the gaming table. Troops possessing Inferior Infiltration must deploy in
either of the player’s own quadrants, with no roll required,
but always outside the player’s Deployment Zones.
Exclusion Zone: Troopers may not use the Airborne Deployment,
Forward Deployment, Mechanized Deployment, or
Infiltration Special Skills or the deployment rule of the Impersonation
Special Skill to deploy inside of an 8-inch area
on either side of the central line of the game table. The
Exclusion Zone is not applied to troopers that suffer Dispersion.
Deploying into two 12" by 12" boxes is going to get tight for any force which has really spammed out units, so you probably don't want to lean into Acon Regulars and Remotes too hard for this mission. There aren't really restrictions on Infiltration, so for Acontecimento things will play as normal (but note the change to Inferior Infiltration, which can change some units in other forces). It is also worth keeping in mind that your opponent may find their deployment tight, so a LGL may well be worth picking up if you can get it upfield to punish them.
There is 1 Antenna placed on the center of the game table and 2 Consoles on the central line of the game table, placed 8 inches from the edges of the table. See the map above and then think for a moment about trying to control both of those Consoles. If your opponent is not totally crippled then they only way you are controlling both is with good mobility AND the second turn. Even an Infiltrator is going to be moving a minimum of 17" from the corner of the exclusion zone to the Console in order to make contact, that's three Orders minimum without enhanced speed (where Jungle or Multi Terrain will help).
MAIN OBJECTIVES
• To Kill more enemy Army Points than the adversary (1 Objective Point).
• To Kill more enemy Specialist Troops than the adversary (2 Objective Points).
• Have Activated the Navigation Antenna at the end of the game (3 Objective Points).
• Control the same number of Consoles as the adversary at the end of the game (2 Objective Points, but only if at least 1 Console is Controlled by the player).
• Control more Consoles than the adversary at the end of the game (3 Objective Points).
CLASSIFIED
• Each player has 1 Classified Objective (1 Objective Point).
As only specialists can control the Consoles, and must not be in a marker state to do so, it's going to be a mission which rewards tough specialist troopers. Non-specialist troopers can contest them, to deny a specialist in contact, but it's often just as easy to kill the specialist if you can get a unit there. As noted above, the position of the objectives is going to make last turn rush tactics more difficult than in other missions, but the necessity to control out of marker state strongly favours the second player.
The Antenna is activated by specialists, and can be flipped, so this also favours the second player turn. The bonus points for killing Army Points and Specialists are going to encourage aggressive play, but are not enough to overcome a well set up camo or hidden deployment rush. These will need some depth in the order pool however, so an aggressive first turn player likely can cripple the ability to score with sufficient damage, even without forcing retreat.
For the player going first it is likely to be necessary to either deal crippling damage, or force your opponent into Retreat in order to end the game early, to secure a win. Although thoroughly sweeping midfield with Sensor will likely prevent a late rush on your near console, even only a couple of orders and one Specialist is likely to get back the antenna in the last player turn. These games are very likely to end up as one-sided bloodbaths, as the scoring is very weighted for a player who actually kills their opponents specialist units and drives them into retreat to clean sweep the points (barring holding their own Console, which even an opponent in Retreat has a solid chance of achieving with Command Tokens).
Now, for the new Shock Army of Acontecimento to approach this mission (it is, after all, written for them!) there's little chance they will have the advantage in getting initiative. Building to be reactively strong and then taking second turn would usually be a good option, but with Sniper Rifles hit by the range restriction that is a less viable option. The Saturation Zone through the middle of the table is also going to restrict some of the burst advantages from Fireteams, but not as heavily as other missions where they cut between the two armies entirely.
Nagas are going to be important pieces for this mission, with their enhanced mobility allowing them to get to the enemy Console in only two full move orders. Shotgun armed Akali cutting in from the back edge of the table are likely to be a highly effective strike option and either a Dragao or fully Fireteam supported Bagh Mari HMG for knocking down enemy AROs. One interesting option is the new Montessa, which has the mobility to offer a late run for missed objectives or to give some additional offensive punch. Just make sure you clear out long range fire first!
Both the Pathfinder or Acontecimento Regular Sensor with a trio of Fugazi for dropping Sniffers are likely to be good investments, and Dart can be one of the deadliest midfield sweepers for picking up units you have sniffed out but which aren't in LoF of your big guns. Crowded zones could also make for a great environment in which to exploit Scylla or Drakios, and the recent changes to Marksmanship lvl X demand a rethink on the value of Teucer across the board.
Long story short, you've got a lot of great tools in Acon for tackling this mission,
So get out there and use them!
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