In this series of posts we are going to do a Gameplay Example for MechaStellar using units from Mobile Suit Gundam. We are using some fan favorites from the 08th MS Team including Shiro Amada, Karen Joshua, and Terry Sanders Jr, who will be referred to as Shiro, Karen and Sanders for short.
On the Zeon side we have an assortment of Zaku IIs, Zaku Cannons & Doms all being led by an amphibious Acguy. You can look at the Mecha Unit Profiles for the Federation and Zeon on the downloads page. The Gundam models used for this example are from the Gundam 1/400 collection. You can use larger size figures such as Gundam 1/144 scale, here’s an example battle report of what figures of those scale look like on the tabletop.
Below the break we will cover the game setup, deployment, and the 1st round of a 5 round game of MechaStellar. We will go by turn by turn each round and include some insights into the Gundam Tactics.
Terrain Setup
First off we set up terrain. Using a kitchen table that is roughly 4ft by 4ft, we spread a gamemat across it providing a nice backdrop. From there we gather terrain and give each player an equal amount to place on their half of the battlefield.
The 3d Printed Trees are from thingiverse; they were spray-painted forest green with a quick brown coat applied to all the tree trunks and some white dry brushing to highlight the trees.
The players talked it over and thought it would be fun to put most of the trees down the center line, obscuring a lot of Line of Sight (LOS) unless someone got on the high ground. Each player then placed hills and rock formations where they thought it would benefit them the most.
Deployment
For deployment the table is 4ft long, each half of the battlefield is 2ft (24 inches) and so each player may deploy their forces up to 12″ from the table edge. On a bigger table, say 6ft long, each half would be 3ft (36inches) and each player could deploy 18″ from the table edge.
Currently the only weapons that can reach across the board are the artillery cannons, so each player had to consider whether they would want a unit to be visible or not during deployment. The Federation player only wanted Shiro’s Ez8 Gundam to be visible due to his Commander trait (see below).
The Federation player put Sanders and his artillery cannon equipped Gundam behind a large rock formation. The Zeon player did the same with one Zaku Cannon while the other perched on a hill behind cover. Most Zeon units were placed near cover; the rest were placed near the edge of the map on a flanking route.
Note: If you’re using large terrain and small figures it’s generally a good idea and a lot more fun to keep around half of your army visible. If everyone is hidden behind LOS terrain then Round 1 becomes rather dull.
Federation Army List and Tactics
Federation 500pts Starting Momentum 3
- Shiro’s Ez8 Gundam with machine gun (150pts) with Ace Pilot upgrade (+50pts)
- Karen’s Gundam Ground Type with Beam Rifle (150pts)
- Sander’s Gundam Ground Type with Artillery Cannon (150pts)
Shiro’s Commander Trait – Galvanizing Display – Gain 2 Momentum [M+2] any turn your Commander is attacked.
With this trait the Federation player will always try to put Shiro out front and visible to the enemy. Skilled and Ace Pilots may target any unit on the battlefield, but all other units must target the nearest enemy. So as long as Shiro is the closest model they will have to attack him, which generates Momentum for the Federation team.
Each member of the team is Skilled Pilot or better. Skilled Pilots can ignore the basic targeting rules and attack any unit valid target. They also improve the Precision (+1 Accuracy) and Barrage (+1 Shot) bonus to +2.
Whenever a unit is attacked they can choose to Dodge (+1 Evade) or Guard (+1 Block). With the Ace Pilot upgrade Shiro improves this bonus to +2.
As for Pilot Traits Karen has the “Seasoned Veteran” Trait which gives her either [M+1] or a Focus action on her turn. With a beam rifle she will often choose the Focus action for a bonus hit with her beam rifle.
Sanders is the best shot in the group and has the “Gunnery Expert” trait which improves Precision / Barrage by 1 and reduced Rapid Fire (RF) penalties by 1.
Last but not least we have Shiro who by default has the “Idealist” trait which gives a benefit when below 50% HP. It also gives bonus Momentum if the Federation player is unlucky and Shiro is destroyed. With the Ace Pilot upgrade the player chose a 2nd Trait, Hot Blooded which gives a bonus Hit due to return fire which will complement his Commander trait very well.
The Federation player is outnumbered but she plans on making the most out of her turns. She will be using Sanders to try and pick off the enemy artillery, Shiro up front to draw enemy attention and gain Momentum while Karen will be used to take out the biggest threat in range of her beam rifle each round.
Zeon Army List and Tactics
Zeon 500pts Starting Momentum 3
- Acguy (70pts)
- 5x Zaku II with Machine Gun (30pts each)
- 2x Zaku Cannon (40pts each)
- 2x Dom (100pts each)
Acguy Commander Trait – Commando – Your opponent may only target your Commander if they are the closest model. Count allied models when determining if the Commando is the closest model. This trait overrides any other targeting abilities such as Return Fire, Pilot Level, or Sniper units.
With this trait the Acguy can move around freely since the enemy Gundams cannot target him as long as any other unit (including other Gundams) are closer than the Acguy. For most game types, your opponent will score many victory points for taking down your Commander so we opted to keep him as protected as possible.
As for the rest of the army: the Doms are a high speed unit with a destructive giant bazooka. The Zeon player plans on using one Dom to move around the hillside to flank, while the other Dom will do hit and run attacks through the tree line.
Since the bazookas are the strongest weapon in his army, he plans on activating those later in the round after the Zakus have drained the enemy Momentum. The Zakus will steadily advance while firing machine guns while the Zaku Cannons will lay down artillery fire onto the enemy.
Key Concepts
Momentum is an army wide resource that represents your armies morale, training, expertise, luck and overall forward Momentum in the flow of battle. You gain Momentum by destroying enemy units, making a melee attack, and surviving the round.
The most common use for Momentum is to protect your units. Lose 1 for each hit you want to negate. Typically Momentum is reserved for high damage attacks like a bazooka or cannon, or versus weapons with high armor penetration such as a beam rifle or beam saber which has a chance to cause catastrophic damage. Momentum can also be used on pilot skills.
Momentum is often expresses as [M+1] or [M-1] which means gains 1 Momentum or loses 1 Momentum.
Return Fire is a crucial part of the activation system and is intended to make the game feel more like a firefight. The way it works is that anytime a unit is attacked, if they haven’t been activated yet you have to activate them next and if possible attack the unit that attacked you. Skilled and Ace pilots can ignore the targeting effect.
Attacks are an abstract concept for each weapon and doesn’t necessarily translate on a 1:1 basis. For instance a beam rifle attack makes 3 shots, you can think of that as three shots in rapid succession or a single well placed shot that would cause significant damage compared to a glancing hit. Many weapons have a Rapid Fire modifier where if the unit gets within 1/2 the maximum effective weapon range they gain more shots (or less shots for artillery and sniper weapons).
Shooting and Evade in MechaStellar the attacker merely needs to declare their target, the defender then needs to roll to evade their attacks. For instance if the attacker makes 3 Shots at Accuracy 10 and the Defender has Evade+3, then they need to roll a 7+ on each die to avoid being hit.
A roll of 9 or 10 automatically Evades regardless of modifiers. A roll of 1 or 2 signifies a critical hit to the Defender, which counts as 2 hits. If the target is within your Sensors range you have Target Lock so 3s also count as Critical Hits. Sniper type units typically have a much higher Sensors range.
When Shooting you can choose Precision for +1 Accuracy or Barrage for +1 Shot. Skilled Pilots improve this bonus to +2. The target can choose to Dodge (+1 Evade) or Guard (+1 Block). Ace Pilots improve this bonus to +2.
In Melee both sides have a die pool (i.e. Melee 5d10) which they split between attack (ATK) and defense (DEF). Every 5+ rolled is a Hit or a Block, while on ATK a 9+ is a Critical Hit which counts as 2 Hits. The attacker gains +1 Hit (+2 for Skilled and Ace Pilots) while the Defender chooses to either Counter (+1 Hit) or Guard (+1 Block), Ace Pilots improve that bonus to +2. Melee is dangerous for everyone involved but typically is not common till Round 3.
Most units have 1 Action, which they use to either Shoot one weapon or to Full Throttle and move further. Units with the firepower role like the Zaku Cannon or Guntank have additional actions to either shoot an additional weapon or to Focus which lets them either target any unit or gain a bonus Hit.
Skilled & Ace Pilots have access to some very useful free Skills like Improvise, which lets you reroll up to 2 dice, Seize the Day for +1 Action, or Make it Count which gives a number bonus Hits equal to the current Round. Your Commander, even if they aren’t a Skilled Pilot can also make use of these skills.
Climactic Events
The players are also using the Climactic Events module where once per game they get to play an Event. The player’s both choose Narrow Escape which lets their units cancel out a shooting or melee action against them.
Round 1
Starting Momentum Fed 3 / Zeon 3.
Turn 1 – The Federation wins initiative and activates Sander’s Gundam Ground Type first. Sanders will strafe between rock formations and attack the visible Zaku Cannon. He uses the Seize the Day skill to start the game off right with a bonus action. He uses this to Focus for +1 Hit.
He chooses Barrage which normally gives +2 shots for a Skilled Pilot but thanks to his Gunnery expert trait it makes +3 Shots. The Zaku Cannon chooses Guard for +1 Block.
The artillery cannon makes 5+3 shots, so the Zaku Cannon will roll 8d10. Sander’s has accuracy 10 the Zaku Cannon has Evade+2 and so they need an 8+ to evade each attack.
The Zaku Cannon gets unbelievably lucky with [1,7,8,8,9,9,10,10] = 1 Crit + 1 Hit + 1 Hit from Focus = 4 Hits
The Zaku Cannon is behind Cover gives +1 Block and a bonus +1 Block vs all but the highest DMG weapons. Guard gives another +1 Block. The Zeon player takes 400 DMG from the last hit. HP 1700/2100.
End of turn Momentum – Fed 3 / Zeon 3.
Turn 2 – Sanders is out of sight so the Zaku Cannon can choose to Indirect Fire (IDF) or Sanders or attack Shiro without IDF. With the trees in the way the Zaku Cannon will have to take the high ground to gain visibility, it uses one of its action to Full Throttle and ascend on top the high ground.
The Zaku Cannon has the firepower role and so has more than 1 action, it uses its second action to shoot its artillery cannon at Shiro. Thanks to Shiro’s Commander trait they gain [M+2] for being attacked.
The Zaku Cannon chooses Barrage (+1 shot) while Shiro chooses Guard (+2 Blocks). The artillery cannon makes 5+1 shots, the Zaku Cannon has accuracy 9, Shiro has Evade+3 so he needs a 6+ to evade each attack.
Shiro rolls 6d10 and gets [2,3,4,4,9,10] = 1 Crit Hit and 3 Hits = 5 Hits
The High Ground gives a bonus Crit for a total of 7 Hits.
Shiro’s Shield gives +1 Block and Guard gave +2 Blocks. Shiro is hit 4 times for 400 DMG each and 1600 total. HP 2500/4100.
Afterwards, the Zaku Cannon lose [M-1] to descend from the high ground and back into Cover.
End of Turn Momentum – Fed 5 / Zeon 2.
Turn 3 – Shiro uses full throttle which improves his movement to advance further up the field. The trees are obscuring terrain so if there’s a tree in the way of shooting Line of Sight (LOS) the enemy cannot target him; because of this the Federation player leaves most of the Ez8 exposed hoping to get Galvanizing Display to generate more Momentum.
Thanks to Hot Blooded he gains [M+1] for moving closer to the enemy.
End of Turn Momentum – Fed 6 / Zeon 2.
Turn 4 – The Zaku cannon behind a rock formation uses Indirect Fire to attack Karen’s Gundam Indirect Fire ignores LOS but cannot Critical Hit and the target keeps their Cover save.
The Zaku cannon uses a Focus action for +1 Hit then chooses Barrage for +1 shot, while Karen chooses Dodge (+1 Evade).
The artillery cannon makes 5+1 shots, the Zaku Cannon has accuracy 9 and Karen has Evade +3. She needs a 6+ to Evade each attack.
Karen rolls 6d10 and gets [4,4,4,5,6,6] = 4 Hits + 1 Hit from Focus = 5 Hits.
Cover grants 2 Blocks vs the artillery, Karen take 3 hits at 400 DMG each for 1200 total. HP 2900/4100.
Turn 5 – Karen uses the full throttle action that increases movement an allows her to clear the high terrain using the heavy thrusters in her backpack. Since her model is currently above the head of other models she gains [Tactical Advantage] from being on the high ground.
She could have used the Accelerate skill [M-1] for a free Full Throttle action but from her current vantage point she doesn’t have any visible targets and so used her action instead without burning through Momentum. Next round she can continue moving to get a better vantage point or get a better position and use the cliff face as cover.
Turn 6 – The Dom on the right side of the field pushes forward and sees Karen in his sights. Even if Shiro is closer distance wise, since he is not visible he does not count as a valid target. The Dom fires its Giant Bazooka at Karen with Barrage (+1 shot) while Karen chooses Guard (+1 Block). Since she’s on the high ground the Dom gets +1 Hit against her equals out the Guard bonus.
It makes 4+1 shots and has accuracy of 9, Karen has Evade+3 so she needs a 6+ to Evade each attack.
Karen rolls 5d10 and gets [1,2,9,10] = 2 Crits. She uses the Improvise skill rerolling the Crits into 7 and 9, very lucky for her Gundam!
A lot of fun in wargaming are the unexpected rolls and the laughs this brings the players. For this one the players jokingly call the Dom pilot a rookie who lost his cool firing blindly while shouting “It’s a Gundam!”
Turn 7 – The second Dom uses their action on Full Throttle to move further. They stop behind the line of sight blocking forest. This leaves options open for the Zeon player next round where he can do a strafing shot on Shiro or proceed directly towards Sanders depending on how the round goes.
Turn 8+ – Since the Federation has no more units left to activates the Zeon player activates the rest of his units. The Zaku II units and the amphibious Acguy all use full throttle sticking behind the forest terrain which obscures LOS.
Control Points
Normally Control Points are setup so that players can deploy on top of one and capture it when they start their turn on top of one. In this game since both players had artillery with indirect fire they thought it would be more fun to put the control points closer to the center to force them to move forward. Rather than use markers the players selected the forests furthest back as control points.
Shiro captured the 1 control point while the Zakus captured 2 control points (CPs)
At the end of the round each player gains M+1 for each CP they own.
End of Round Momentum – Fed 7 / Zeon 4.
Click here to see how the battle continues in Round 2.
MechaStellar 
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