WWX: The Jesse James Tales... Wild West Exodus Battle Report (part one)

Jesse James has paid for his place on the National Stage by placing his flesh, blood, dreams and perhaps even his soul upon the altar of his ambition.

Finally played my 1st game of WWX!!! And quite frankly it was a very different Beast (game) then I  thought...don't get me wrong, my enthusiasm for the game is still there! 
As a matter of fact it is probably STRONGER...but like many games, it plays different then the impressions you 1st get when you read the rules...

1st I encourage you to go back and read my other post about the game (unboxing) it'll help get you in this Western feel/mood (or it will at least help you understand my feelings for the game before playin'). 

Synopsis:

Gamers' Valley...in a small town called Sandborntown(changed since 1st published)...a small Posse of fifteen men, led by non-other than the famous Jesse James, are finished loading precious cargo onto a few trucks and an Iron Horse. This cargo is not only comprised of the regular items (food, money, weapons and jewellery)...more and more Jesse is going after major caches of RJ-1027, the prolific chemical compound formulated by Doc Carpathian for use as a powerful energy source.

The town was deserted...Jesse is so recognizable (his robotic arms do stick-out in a crowd) and his reputation widely known, it only took a few townsfolk to recognize him and the streets were empty...

To a distinct few, Sandborntown is also know as 'the Vault' or 'Vault Town'...for the very numerous Security Vaults in it's underground tunnels. The town attracted a lot of attention when the Earps announced it would be under their protection and that they would be neutral to the many groups that have influenced these tragic times...only the Law will prevail in this town!
Sandbornvtown is a transitory town between many of major towns in the area, these Vaults serve as a perfect supply depot (for a major fee of course!) to many of the different colliding identities of the West. The vast number of Vaults and the confusing underground maze, make it the most secure storage facility in the West...and let's not forget the Earps' priceless protection!!

But none of that is beyond Jesse James and his group of Bandits. The web of contacts at Jesse's disposal and the reach of his influence goes way beyond what most folks like to believe.

''Jesse! We have company!'' yelled Sam. Sam was a sniper under the tutelage of Jesse's brother Frank. He was very good as a Lookout and Jesse didn't hesitate in giving him this role for this operation, dispite the fact Sam was still drunk from last night's binge at the Ol' Boot Saloon.
 ''Injuns, Jesse we got some Injuns comin' right at us from the otherside of town! And they are led by a weird Wolflike man!!!''

Jesse signaled the 2 drivers of the now fully loaded trucks to leave. He turned and looked at the female pilot of the heavily loaded Iron Horse. ''Seems we have some Injuns to kill Sweetheart, ride to the Hidden Camp...we'll be right behind you...'' As the hovering vehicle left, Jesse turned to face the remaining eleven men ''Boys you all know your jobs, we were expecting the Earps...but stick to the plan and don't do these Injuns any favors!!!''


The Lists:

My buddy Mooseman only has the Warrior Nation Starter box:

Sitting Bull (Boss) - $200
Walks Looking (Sidekick) - $95
Braves (5 Close Combat) - 5X $25
Braves (5 Ranged Combat) - 5X $25
Brave with Gatling Gun (Light Support) - $50
Total Posse : $595

My list:

Jesse James (Boss) - $200
Frank James (Underboss) - $135
Bandit (5 Long Range) - 5X $25
Bandit (4 CC) - 4X $25
Bandit with Sniper (Light Support) - $45
Total Posse : $605

(Picture taken with my phone before bringing them for the game! Sorry for the quality)

Deployment:

I had fewer models than my opponent, which gave me the initiative for the 1st turn, so Warrior Nation deployed 1st, I then deployed 2nd and activated 1st. We both had a 10 inch deployment zone.

(Warrior Nations Carefully deployed behind the cover of buildings)

(Knowing that the Outlaws, with 2 Snipers had the Ranged Combat Advantage)

                    (Outlaw's Gunline, my sniper began 'On the Lookout', unfortunately I didn't have enough distance to deploy him behind the cover of the Saloon Sign)

(Frank James chose to cover the center of the board, thus helping to protect Jesse who is hiding behind the Crystals)

1st Turn:

1st Turn was mostly uneventful as both Posses advanced their Warriors...However both Snipers (Frank James & Light Support) got to use 'On the Lookout' at the end of Turn 1.

(Frank James interrupted Sitting Bull's movement with a 'On the Lookout' Shoot action)

(The Underboss' good position and Superior Range is already paying off as every little damage on a Boss may prove to be important later in the game!)

This was the end of turn 1, all my models had activated and Mooseman had Sitting Bull who was in the middle of an activation and a Brave or two left...my Influence Pool was still full at 5,  I figured this would be an important roll, so I put 2 Influence on it. Sitting Bull was not in cover, however there was Intervening Terrain (+1) and the shot was Long Range (+1 for being more than half the range of the weapon)...so a difficulty of +2 added to Franks Marksmanship of 4+ means I needed a 6+ for the shot.

(Needing a 6+ on this roll, I rolled a 4 at first, then a 10)

Being extremely happy with the roll, I obviously kept the 10 and wasted the 2nd Influence Token. A natural roll of a 10 in WWX is considered a Lethal Hit, which means you subtract 2 from the Armor Value of the target...Sitting Bull has an Armor Value of 1, which becomes 0 and Frank's rifle has a Power of 10...this could mean a good amount of damage!

Mooseman went for an uninfluenced die roll...maybe he didn't fully think this through, because this way he couldn't change the result...

(The Great Spirit helped Sitting Bull as he rolled a natural 10 for his armor roll)

If the result of the Armor Roll is a natural 10, the model performs a 'Life Saving Dodge' and ignores all damage caused by that hit, regardless of the weapon's Power.

So far, so good for the Native wolflike Boss! After having triggered 1 of my 2 'On The Lookout' Snipers, Mooseman carfully approached Sitting Bull to my Cowboys in a manner that my Sniper could not see him...

During the activation of his last Brave, I decided to use my Sniper's 'On The Lookout' action and try to shoot him down before the Start of the next turn. I interrupted his movement at a point where he was not behind cover.

(My Sniper could easily see the Brave moving onto the Bridge)

(This Brave is Great Target Practice for My Sniper!!)

Again, since this is the end of Turn 1, I wasn't afraid to add some influence tokens to the roll. My Sniper's Marksmanship is 5+ and this was Long Range (+1) and there was Intervening Terrain (+1), so I needed 7+.

(Luckily I rolled exactly what I needed on my 3rd roll for the Shot)

I can't recall how much influence was used on this Armor Roll by my opponent, whether it was 1, 2 or 3...but all that matters was he kept/rolled an 8 on his Armor Roll. The Sniper Rifle's Power is 11, so his Brave survived the shot with 4 Lifeblood left ( Power 11 - 8 Armor Roll = 3 Damage).

This is how Turn 1 ended...although I couldn't rejoice in having 1st kill, I did get 1st blood. And with this small victory I was now ready to confront my opponent on Turn 2 and beyond! Still feeling good about my positioning...

I will end the 1st part of this Battle Report here as it is already a long one...don't worry the action-packed conclusion of our 4-turn battle will be posted shortly!!!

Till then,

Turtle Power!

DanSolo