DARKSTAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE: DUCHESS ANNABEL’S WAR IS OVER
Battle Report - Arab League v. Imperial Japan (Drew v. Rasmus)
Okay, I am waaaay behind on my battle reports here, so let me do what I can to catch up.
Last Saturday I had the privilege of hosting a live web game with two of Darkstar’s oldest supporters, @muakhah and @rasmus . This is also the first time Darkstar was played in Asia, which made for some challenging schedules and internet stability issues, but we toughed our way through it. I also had to keep the web conference a little short since I had a Sitrep Podcast scheduled, but nevertheless we had a great little game where we were able to roll out the Arab League, a faction that’s never been played in the new system and not played at all since 2014. It was also the first time one of the new “hybrid light cruisers” were played, warships that are part gunnery warship, part light fleet carrier.
I’m happy to report that the game went well, the new faction performed admirably, and the points balance for the new hybrid light cruisers seemed to work great.
So this set up was relatively simple, since we had a new player and we were testing a new faction, a new ship type, and also breaking in a new player on aerspace carriers (albeit a hybrid ship, but still additional rules and considerations to manage). The Arab League flagship was the Almanzor class light hybrid cruiser Al-Fihri, escorted by the Basra class destroyer Mersin. The Japanese had the Taiho-class light cruiser Sendai Byo and the Akashi class strike frigate Urakaze. In short, the Taiho is sleek, fast, high-tech, and expensive (93 points), so by the time Rasmus could "afford" the Sendai Byo and a frigate escort, Drew could afford a full destroyer for his escort (along with the fighters and bombers of Al-Fihri's aerospace group, of course). 
Both sides set relatively cautious approaches. All ships have at least a +1 CIC, making the weapons relatively accurate at long ranges. So no one was overly anxious to mix it up close range. Also, Drew was launching his fighters and bombers, while Rasmus was launching his torpedoes. It's usually a good idea to at least try and let aerospace take a swipe out of the enemy before you close to real gunnery ranges.
It's not until Turn 3 that things start to get nasty. Rasmus commits the Urakaze strike frigate on a high speed, close-range gunnery run with her deadly little plasma projectors, along with Ki-45 "Toryu" (Dragon Slayer) torpedoes from the Sendai Byo and the Urakaze. Meanwhile, Arab League fighters and bombers launch an aerospace ordinance strike at the Urakaze, aiming everything straight for her engines and reactors. Most torpedoes and missiles are shot down, but gunnery of both sides leave the Urakaze crippled and the destroyer Mersin heavily mauled. Also, Japanese scouts shoot down two Arab League bombers.
Now standing alone, Sendai Byo reverses course and sets up another broadside on the destroyer Mersin. The more lightly-armed Al-Fihri tries to respond with a broadside, but the destroyer Mersin can't quite get out of the way and takes another hammering from Japanese EPCs and lasers. Meanwhile, Arab League bombers and fighters race back to the Al-Fihri, hoping to land to re-arm and perhaps launch another missile and torpedo strike. 
Another Japanese torpedo strike is fended off, barely, and Japanese scouts are shot down as well trying to make a gunnery run or shoot down Arab League bombers as they try to land on the Al Fihri. Nevertheless, another pin-point accurate broadside from the Sendai Byo leaves the destroyer Mersin crippled and adrift in space. 
This is the end of Turn 5, and sadly, this is where we have to call the game so I can make my other appointment. Here are the two ships that didn't make it, the Basra class destroyer Mersin and the Akashi-class strike frigate Urakaze. You can see where both ships have been cored completely through, the Mersin from port to starboard, and the Urakaze from bow to stern. 
As the game stands, this skirmish is a very narrow Japanese victory, with the Al-Fihri still operational (unscathed, in fact) and almost a full aerospace group (74 points in total). Meanwhile, the Japanese have the light cruiser Sendai Pyo, a little beat up and worse for wear (core damage has forced break-off resolution checks) but she's okay for now (91 points, as she's lost her two scouts). All that saif, with three more turns (usually these go eight turns), Drew and Al Fihri really could have turned this around. The Sendai Byo has the Al Fihri outgunned, to be sure. But the Sendai Byo was also significantly damaged by this point, and the Al-Fihri had just enough time to land her aerospace group, launch, and perhaps hit the Sendai Byo with another carrier-borne aerospace strike. Just guessing, I would give the Japanese 60% chance to win this one had it played to full term, given its current state, but it definitely COULD have gone the other way. 
Love the Urakaze even if the Divine Wind seem to come over her and she go toe to toe with MUCH bigger ships
@oriskany thanks again for hosting this game
No worries at all, @rasmus – thanks for accommodating our odd “Asia Pacific” play time. 😀
Thanks Rasmus and Oriskany for a great game. I learned a lot and feel that my manouvering could have been tighter. As for what might have happened…I feel it would have been highly dependent on the next initiative roll. If, for once, the Al-Fihri won initiative, then I reckon the chances of doing significant damage to the Sendai in those key weakened areas would have been good. However if I continued my losing initiative streak things would have gotten ugly. Rasmus would have put out punishing damage on me… Great satisfying game.
Yeah, this would have been a tough one to call. @muakhah . 😀 Al Fahrir and Sendai are both light cruisers “technically” but the Sendai is a much more expensive, heavier-gunned beast. She’s also faster. The tradeoff would have been the Al Fahir’s aerospace group. A landing, launch, and second strike might have made a big difference. The problem here is the Sendai has formidable and accurate mass driver defenses, and half the Al Fahir’s bombers had been shot down previously by Japanese scouts. Still, the Sendai was badly damaged on the port quarter. One more well-placed salvo not only… Read more »