This is Not a Test - Little Slice of Heaven

Jim has re-entered the wasteland, raising a fresh warband of mutant down-winders to join Andrew and my occassional campaign. This week, he and I played the 'Little Slice of Heaven' scenario, with his muties trying to eject the Flores Minor Rangers from their forward command point, Wastebase-1.

Despite my inability to have won a scenario with the FMRC, I was feeling positive with this one. After two matches, my warband rating was a healthy 525, and Jim was coming on with a starter warband worth only 400 BS. On top of that, my force is practically designed for this scenario; snipers on roof tops and plenty of rough terrain to slow down the attackers.

Sadly (for the FMRC - other opinions are available), the balancing mechanisms for uneven warbands work very well. The scenario allowed for Jim's warband to pick an Advantage anyway - he took 'Bum Rush', allowing him to advance a move before the game started - and to balance the points he took 'Really Good Luck', providing three re-rolls.

In the early turns, every time my lads got a well-aimed shot off, I was forced to reroll it, universally missing on the reroll. When I wasn't doing that, I was jamming weaponry, all the while the muties closed the distance and ended up taking out three rangers on the ground (Point, Snake Eyes and Demo). He took out Hotshot, the FMRC outrider with shooting, and used psychic powers early on to demoralise Sarge, leaving him a gibbering wreck for the engagement.

In the end, the muties entered Wastbase-1 and the final stand was made by BT29 - my new Depend-o-bot - on the ground floor, surrounded by three mutants, while Doc and Heavy fired into the melee from above. With the writing on the wall, the FMRC again were forced to fall back and treat tend to their wounded.

In the  post-game sequence, one of Jim's Mutants, Dex, died. He'd been riddled by mini-gun fire, so it was hardly surprising, although he will be mourned by his brethren. The Mutants did well when exploring the wasteland, hauling in a mass of BS and discovering a working plasma gun.

Among the FMRC, Point succumbed to his injures and died, while both Demo and Point recovered fully, becoming hardened by their injuries. Heavy gained enough experience to upgrade his strength factor, and Snake Eyes increased his movement factor. The rangers did not find much BS at all, but did manage to find a flame thrower for the look pile.

This is the first match where the FMRC will not be able to recruit new members. Indeed, after paying for upkeep, there is not even enough BS left in the kitty to replace Point. The outcome of their next action will be critical in determining their longevity in the wastes.