Meep! Started writing this the other night, but had a comp crash.
So the mini camp started with a sort of training mission between the French and the Ottomans, with myself playing tutor/referee/human rulebook. Have never faced either fleet (so didn't mind sitting out the first match
) and both players were using their fleets for the first time as well. In that match the Ottomans did drop out a few mines early in the game. However since this was a new player, he fell victim to poor planning in his movement. Seeing the fleet bunched up before him the French player sent in a squad of suicide fighter pilots to ignite the mines. Which ended up setting each other off in succession. This took out a couple of the small fliers that had laid the mines in the first place as well as a frigate or two, while doing nothing to the BB. Game ended in a draw and I was denied witnessing the Heat Lances in action, again due to poor movement.
Second game my FSA was to clear a supply shipment line through the med, when it was encountered by an over sized combined fleet of French and Ottomans. This is where the Otts really stepped up the game. Using recon planes my capitol ships lobbed shots all over the place to cripple the French force (making sure to keep my first exp with the lances at bay). However, when the core of my force tried to pass through a straight the Ottos placed storm after storm in the way. This was both a blessing and a very VERY annoying move. The way we took the storms to work was normal mv up until you encounter the storm, then half mv -1. Seeing as shooting through a storm "impedes" LOS I was shielded from fire, but also couldn't unleash my Dread as well. When there was a break from the tempests the Otto cruisers did get their fair share of punishment. Yet having storms always on the table their survival was all but assured, as i was forced to face the French the majority of the time. Aside from the storms I found that the broadsides were a bit of a concern. Redoubtable, AND Sustained Fire meant that even if I damaged them it wasn't enough to pull dice away from their attacks. That said i found it surprisingly easy to to DEAL damage to their BB (my main focus of attack when not under an umbrella). My Saratoga constantly launched torp bombers to harass both fleets for relativity little points cost to my expeditionary force. The mines did come back out near the end of the game, but due to distance and time before the close of the game they were a non-issue. I think he was a bit upset with the way they had performed in the previous game to give them another chance. Again this ended in a draw overall. I considered it a win for the Skimers, as they had blocked my advancement into the med to secure a path for KOB resupply.
Parting thoughts:
1.) Make sure you have space to maneuver if you get a 4" storm placed in front of you...if its 8" all i can say is hold fast and hope to get an early activation before they can redeploy the storm. (Storms dissipate in the end phase).
2.) Put as much damage as you can on the BB and Cruisers to avoid a torrent of dice clashing against your fleet. Much like taking on the ROC to ride them of their Ablative Armour.
3.) The mines were a non-issue, and I only suffered 1 loss of HP due to an unfixed corrosive hit.
I had greater fears going into the game than what had actually transpired. This is mostly due to the other players being new I think. Given time to perfect technique the Ottomans will truly be a pain to deal with, as they can just sit and hide elements of their fleet. I.e. set a storm out to block mv then another to cover more powerful units after they have activated.
