Otherworldly Invader vs Department X

Anghenfil Estron has been exiled to the primitive planet Earth for conducting disturbing experiments. Accompanied by his ‘guard dog’ and his chief scientist, he struggles to continue his work. One day he will return in triumph to his home world and regain his seat on the high council.

We played a 75 point game at our club, Lincombe Barn www.bristolwargaming.co.uk with a heroic cast under Carol and Clive against my villainous cast.  I have an Otherworldly Invader (swapping Spy for Large), a Mad Scientist (swapping Repair for Alien), a Jackbooted Sadist and a Rampaging Monster. My extras are a spy, doctor, technician, 12 minions plus a leader, and some cavemen. Why cavemen? Well they just happened to be to hand when I put my force together on the day.

A mysterious alien satellite has come down in the west of England and parts of it are now scattered around a village. Department X scramble to investigate and finds the brainwashed employees of the alien also searching .

After deploying we each had a Spy placed close to the central objective. The first countdown meant my Spy was knocked down, giving her opposite number a head start to grab the objective.  

I rushed my Jackbooted Sadist and a Minion driver up the road, then stole the Initiative (reversing the turn sequence and allowing me to take 2 turns in a row). I grabbed the objective but was faced with an advancing column of X-Commandos coming up the road. I sent the character to face them hoping to set fire to the special weapons team with a ‘rocket cigarette’ from my gadgets deck (and failing). Meanwhile I also grabbed the objectives behind the houses and in the crop fields.

I expected my Jackbooted Sadist to be killed by the advancing column of X-Commandos coming up the road, but after being untouched by the advanced heavy weapon I started using plot points and a ‘bulletproof umbrella’ as she was shot at by another six figures and survived with one hit. As the churchyard filled with enemies my Spy and a Minion started to harass them but were unable to stop them gaining the objective. A bunch of Minions deployed from their van on the other side of the road, but without a unit leader they were slow to get much done.

On my left the main Minion group headed for an objective and were met by Hugo Solomon who set about neutralising them in various ways. The others started firing at the X-Commandos and were eventually wiped out leaving the objective for Solomon.

My forces at the church were killed and the Minions took up the firefight. Another group clustered around the Mini Moke, taking out the X-Commando’s leader who rushed in. The Rampaging Monster eventually charged some enemies behind the hedge, killing one, before a ‘capture balloon’ picked him up and carried him back to my table edge. Reasoning it would take four turns to get back into action I left him there. On my right the cavemen crossed the road, went round the back of the houses and mobbed an X-Commando.

My leader spent most of the game in a back garden rather than walk into a hail of gunfire to fire his pistol, but he emerged at the end to join in. A countdown card revealed my Spy to be alive after all and I advanced her up in time to get a shot off at the heroic characters who had now crossed the road from the church. Dr Cephalopodis fired his experimental weapon at them to no effect.

At the end (as determined by the countdown cards) I had won due to taking 3 of the 5 objectives and with my characters more intact, despite losing masses of minions. The game was a lot of fun.