Titanomachina: Efficiency is Oppression

Once again the Titans walk the surface of Gaia, and once again they clash anew! This time rapacious Styxx pushes to see just how far efficiency will get Her, and gracious Rhea is there to return fire... This was something of a test match, seeing how Styxx performs under what is arguably a much more efficient load-out than Her usual primary or secondary configurations. Despite the lack of existing cover in the current default set-up on Tabletop Simulator, the general conclusion was that this configuration of Styxx was 'oppressive' to play. Which is one way to say that where-ever Rhea could go and whatever She could do, She was going to get out-manoeuvred by Styxx, and shot/kicked/punched for Her trouble. Without charge-hungry systems to slow Her down, Styxx could keep up a similar rate of activity as Rhea and generally faster, harder-hitting, and more punishing. 

And yet, when the ceasefire came down at the end of round 9, Styxx was down on both habitats and destroyed systems, missing extra armour and a gun battery while Rhea was only missing a couple of extra armour systems. The final score was 24-21, a solid victory to Rhea, and perhaps a good example using Rhea's endurance to take a beating and turn the tide. Which isn't to say that this experiment with Styxx's load-out failed. Indeed, it succeeded to such a degree that like Icarus, I got carried away and make a couple of mistakes that snatched victory from the jaws of Styxx. 

Styxx storms onto the field of battle, an appropriate arena in which the Titans can clash, while Rhea approaches at a low angle, content to keep things at a distance to begin with.

Styxx doesn't want to give Rhea anything to react to, a way to get behind Her right away, but Rhea has other ideas and opens fire with a master-operated macro gun, blasting off Styxx's left leg armour despite an effort to intercept the shot with additional shields. But it's early, and Styxx has always benefited from patience. 

Now Styxx pulls around and returns fire, bursting Rhea's rear shields as She ducks and takes the spread of rockets to Her rear armour. It's no recompense for Styxx's leg armour, but this is just the beginning and Styxx blows Her capacitor to keep ichorplasma pumping through Her titanic frame.  

Now Rhea is on the move as Styxx's master crew moves to operate something, possibly one of Styxx's gun batteries, and demolishes a green habitat with a kind of skipping kick as Her thrusters ignite and hurl Her forward and onto the edge of the board. Styxx detects a tall green building and having detected it, walks around the middle of the board to see if She can't catch Rhea with some gunfire from the waiting batteries. But Rhea has scanned the battlefield, and has seized the initiative...

Now Styxx moves in as Rhea slaps a green habitat to flinders with Her hand, spraying Rhea with heavy-weight anti-titan bullets from Her gun battery and then leaning into a kick to Rhea's hip to smash Her bodily into a tall building topped by a green habitat(!). Rhea kicks back up, but Styxx swings back with punch that Rhea takes to Her prow that sees Her slewed around. 

With Her shields down to 30% and armour falling off in chunks the size of pavers, Rhea takes another bludgeoning blow from Styxx and hits the tall green building that Styxx had detected with macro gun burst operated by Her master crew, collapsing the vast tower, and then reversing in behind Styxx as Her adherent crew scrambles to a new post.  

Rather than swing around and chase Rhea, Styxx backs up and detects a green habitat block preventing Rhea from putting lasers into Styxx's exposed front. Styxx's master crew rushes into position as Rhea's shields generators build up cracking energy barriers over the Her left side. 

Now Styxx springs Her trap, spraying measured gunfire and high-energy EM beams out onto the battlefield, destroying Rhea's habitats, detecting Her own, and dusting Rhea with bullets as She bounces off Styxx and closes with a knot of green habitats close to the opposite edge of the battlefield. 

Styxx seizes the initiative and gives chase, hoping to knock Rhea through some buildings and perhaps even off the battlefield. Rhea starts to work over the green habitats, crushing them with sweeps of Her arms and blasts from Her macro gun. As Styxx closes with Rhea, and starts to batter Her, Rhea's master takes control of Her hand, reaches out, and rips off Styxx's right-hand gun battery! Rhea is now ahead on both habitats and destroyed systems...

As the deadline for the cease fire comes down, Styxx desperately casts about for a green building, and finds one, but it's not enough as Rhea has had the same though and after a quick defensive step beind Styxx detects a yellow building. The ceasefire hits and the battle is over, with Rhea leading 3 Victory Points to 2 in destroyed systems, and 21-19 in habitats!

So that was going well until it wasn't and while it seems like things started to fall apart for Styxx around round 7, it happened earlier on round 2 when Styxx's master crew operated a sensor system instead of being able to blast Rhea with a gun battery, or simply stay on deck as Styxx exercises patience to get Rhea in Her crosshairs. This created a four-habitat tall building that acted as fire-magnet, drawing fire away from Styxx, but also because it was a high-value target when Rhea couldn't lay Her macro gun on Styxx. Had Styxx just put down down habitats, Rhea would not have been able to destroy the whole thing on a whim, and given Styxx two more habitats at the end of the game. 

Likewise Styxx kicking Rhea into a building containing a green habitat that then got destroyed wasn't a great idea and had Styxx still had the master crew on deck for the kick (or a punch) then the lure of doubling the damage by mashing Rhea into a building might not have been so strong. I mean, technically speaking that is my fault for wasting a green habitat when Styxx starts behind on habitats, but again that could have been a green habitat for Styxx at the end of the game that, combined with the two above, would have made for a tie. 

Moreover the cards and effort that went into detecting these habitats may have been better utilised elsewhere in the game, with the master crew operating the sensor could have operated an arm or a leg to batter Rhea. I had been trying to keep a reasonable distance because at a range of 4 tiles or greater Styxx was out-gunning Rhea and out-running Her as well. The reason why things seem to go pear-shaped in round 7 was because Styxx was running out of gas, so Rhea was able to carry off a number of actions virtually unopposed. In that my opponent definitely displayed more patience than I did, and while this configuration of Styxx is very efficient, that still doesn't stop Styxx from suffering if She is pushed too far, too fast. 

Still, glory to my opponent for outlasting me, and for ruthlessly exploiting the unforced errors that I put out there. And glory to Rhea for Her grace and Her thick armour!