MechaStellar VER10 Gameplay Example – Round 5

Here we have a gameplay example for MechaStellar VER9.5 using 1/144 scale Gundam figure. On one side we have Kamille’s Zeta Gundam and Kai’s Guncannon, on the other we have the unlikely teamup of Garrod’s Gundam X (GX-9900) and Norris Packard Gouf Custom. Read on below the break for Round 5.

To back to Round 4 click here.

Round 5

Starting Momentum = ZetaCannon 4 | Gouf GX 6

Gouf 2000/3700

Zeta Gundam HP 1200 / 4100

Guncannon HP 400/4500

Norris’ Turn

Norris in the Gouf Custom is up first he moves up into rapid fire range and gains target lock. He shoots the Shield gatling at Zeta Gundam.

Norris Fierce reputation kicks in, Kamille makes two Morale Saves vs Rout. With a Morale of 5+ he rolls [3,5] and loses [M-1].

• Shield Gatling Gun (9d10) with Rapid Fire (+3 Hits) & Target Lock (+1 Hit) & Barrage (+1 Hit). Norris naturally has a 9++ Crit Range
  • 9d10 = [1,2,2,4,5,5,8,10,10] = 2 Hits + 3 Crits = 8 Hits
  • On Shooting the Gouf Custom gets +3 Hits
  • Barrage (+1) Target Lock (+1) & Rapid Fire (+3 Hits)
  • Total = 8+3+1+1+3 = 16 Hits

• Zeta Gundam (Evade 8d10) will Dodge (Crit DEF 9++) this close they get a Target Lock bonus (+1 die) on defense
  • 9d10 = [1,1,3,3,4,4,6,9,10] = 1 DEF + 2 Crits = 5 DEF
    • The player really wishes they had not just lot a Momentum, since they are down to the critical 3 Momentum.
    • They decide to have Kamille Focus [M-1] = +4 DEF
  • On Evade Zeta gives +7 DEF
  • Zeta could get a Cover bonus, but they don’t need it so they won’t use it (or risk the cover being destroyed)
  • Total = 5+4+7 = 16 DEF

Since they were forced to drop below [M=3] Kamille decides he my as well Counter [M-1].

• Zeta rifle (6d10) with Rapid Fire (+1 shot) & Target Lock (+1 Shot). As a reminder you can’t choose any elite bonuses like Precision / Barrage on counter.
  • 8d10 = [1,2,2,8,8,8,9,10] = 4 Hits + 1 Crit = 6 Hits
  • On Shooting Zeta gets +8 Hits
  • Kamille Pilot trait gives +2 Hits
  • Counter -2 Hit Penalty
  • Total = 6+8+2-2 = 14 Hits
• Gouf 6d10 but a native 9++ Crit
  • 6d10 = [1,3,4,6,9,10] = 1 DEF + 2 Crits = 5 DEF
    • Norris will Focus for [M-1] = +2 DEF
  • On Evade the Gouf gets +5 DEF
  • Total = 5+2+5 = 12 DEF
• There are 2 unblocked Hits for 300 DMG each and an Armor Save vs PEN 6
  • Norris gets [1,7] = 1 Failed save for 1000 DMG

Gouf Custom HP = 400/3700

Barely holding on, Norris now uses Zeal [M-3] for +3 Combat Actions. He uses 2 actions to fire the Shield Gatling again, and now without Flash, the Guncannon is an easy target.

Current Momentum ZetaCannon 1 | Gouf GX 2

• Shield Gatling Gun (9d10) with Rapid Fire (+3 Hits) & Target Lock (+1 Hit) & Barrage (+1 Hit). Norris naturally has a 9++ Crit Range
  • 9d10 = [1,1,4,5,6,7,7,9] = 4 Hits + 1 Crit = 6 Hits
  • On Shooting the Gouf Custom gets +3 Hits
  • Barrage (+1) Target Lock (+1) & Rapid Fire (+3 Hits)
  • Total = 6+3+1+1+3 = 14 Hits

• Guncannon (8d10) will Dodge (Crit DEF 9++) with Target Lock (+1 die) on defense
  • 9d10 = [1,2,2,3,4,4,4,7,7] = 2 DEF
  • On Evade Guncannon gives +1 DEF
  • Kai’s pilot trait gives +1 DEF
  • Cover gives +2 DEF
  • Total = 2+1+1+2 = 6 DEF
    • Kai could use Focus [M-1] for +4 DEF = +4 DEF but that still wouldn’t save him.

Norris moves a final time forward into melee, he gets a Momentum Shift which he converts into HP just in case with [1,3] = +400 HP

Gouf Custom HP 800/3700

• Norris swings his heat sword (7d10) into Zeta Gundam. He opts for Glorious Melee Combat (Crit 8++ & +1 ATK Die)
  • 8d10 = [1,2,3,3,3,4,5,6] = 2 Hits
    • Norris uses Focus [M-1] = +4 Hits
  • In Melee the Gouf gets +5 Hits
  • Total = 2+4+5 = 11 Hits
• Kamille has 6d10 on Melee Defense and chooses Dodge and hopes for Crits
  • 6d10 = [1,2,5,6,9,10] = 2 DEF + 2 Crits = 6 DEF
  • In Melee Zeta gets +4 DEF
  • Total = 10 DEF
• There is 1 unblocked hits for 700 DMG and 1 Armor Saves vs PEN 5
  • Kamille rolls [8] and survives!!!

Zeta Gundam HP = 500/4100

Victory Points

For this game the players agreed to waive any VP penalties, since in the narrative all pilots survive.

Team Zeta Cannon 24VP

• Destroyed GX-9900 = 17 VP
• Gouf Custom is below 50% HP and so gives 50% VP.
  • Base 8VP + Master of Mobile Suits +6VP = 14/2 = 7VP

Team Gouf GX  31VP

• Destroyed Kai’s Guncannon = 12 VP
  • Round 5 destroyed Commander +5 VP
• Zeta Gundam is below 50% HP and so give 50% VP (Round up)
  • 27VP / 2 = 14 VP

In the final Round team Gouf X defeated Kai’s Guncannon which is worth 12VP and another +5 VP for destroying the enemy Commander. In a small game of 2v2 this is a huge amount of Victory points which pushed them to victory.

After Action Report

Zeta Cannon Player

What a very close game! Until that final turn I thought I had crushed the Gouf Gundam X team. I’m a huge fan of Guncannons and it saddened me to see an unrelenting onslaught from the Gouf’s gatling gun brought him down and almost took my Zeta Gundam as well. Just goes to show MechaStellar is a lethal game so never drop your guard!

For me I think what worked best was using Zetas very high mobility to jet around the field and lay down a lot of fire, and with their great Evade bonus they can trade fire with the enemy all day long. Zeta is no slouch in melee either, but my opponent managed to out maneuver me and get to my more vulnerable Guncannon.

Still Kai didn’t go down without a fight and he persisted longer than I expected. With the more recent updates to HP powerful prototype units can last a lot longer on the battlefield which is greatly appreciated by me.

Last but not least Control Points granting Momentum has been a huge change to gameplay, especially for small 2v2 games. Each turn we had to consider whether we wanted to capture a CP or move into a more tactical position to deal out damage. It also means more Momentum at the end of each Round which gives the player more flexibility in which units they protect in the next Round.

Gouf X Player

Wow, snatched that one from the jaws of defeat. It was a very close game and we almost finished with my opponent having both their units surviving.

For me I was actually surprised to lose the Garrod’s GX-9900, and I definitely regret not firing that satellite cannon when I had the chance, I may have kept both my units in that case. My opponent definitely surprised me when they broke out of melee pushed backwards and dumped a ton of damage on the GX after a bad evade roll. Still I was able to take out their Guncannon in the following turn so I guess it’s all even.

Norris’ Gouf Custom lasted a lot longer than I expected, giving him the +150pt upgrade for Master of Mobile Suits (Mecha) not only helped him survive but turned him into an unstoppable badass on the field, he ended up being a bigger threat than the GX and it’s powerful shooting. Still, Zeta Gundam with Kamille at the helm is no one to underestimate and he nearly killed me several times. the Gouf Custom has a lot of tools in his toolbox and even though he’s an outdated model by the time of Zeta Gundam he’s got enough tricks to give Kamille a run for his money.

Overall I had a blast but I felt like I was on the losing end the entire game. My decision to skip that control points in Round 1 wasn’t a good idea since I was missing out on Momentum every Round until we captured the right and center one. Once we had three control points I could feel the tension go down a bit more since I had more reserves to keep my guys alive, almost all the way through Round 5.

Closing Narrative

With Kai’s Guncannon totaled and Garrod’s GX heavily damaged Kamille and Norris end up in a stand-off. With the lull in the fighting they open a comms channel, Norris breaks the silence and shouts that he refuses to surrender to the Titans and won’t rest until he recovers Aina Sahelin. Kamille is stunned that Norris thinks he’s part of the Titans while Garrod chimes in about needing to find Tiffa even if he has to do so on foot. Kai is able to put the pieces together and proposed that they work together to rescue the hostages and get out of here before Jaburo explodes.

That’s all for this gameplay example. You can find other MechaStellar gameplay examples here. Thanks for reading!