Origins `90 Tournament Report
Part 1

Friday: Main Event, Round 2:
Lion Cubs Get Flogged (Mid East 1975)

by J.D. Webster

The second round consisted of a two against two game.

The players were allowed to create their own teams if they desired. The teams were randomly paired off. Of note, Paul Mansfield dropped out of the tourney to play Harpoon and latecomer Bob "Grossman" Gross filled in for him.

Lion Cubs Get Flogged! The Middle East, 1975

Background.

Two of the relatively new, home-grown Israeli Kfir C-2 aircraft on patrol are vectored towrd two unknown intruders coming from Syria. A Syrian GCI controller alerts the intruders to the IAF fighters, giving them a chance to turn and meet head-on. As the two forces close for combat, the Israeli pilots recognize the Syrian aircraft as the Soviefs latest MiG, the Flogger. The MiG-23s are piloted by two of Syria's most capable pilots, who are out to test the aircraft against their hated enemy.

Game Length: 15 game turns

Notes:

1. All aircraft begin spotted, all are camoflauged

2. Kfir loads. Two 600L Frs and two Shaffir IRMs

3. MiG loads. One 600L FT and four AA-2B IRMs

4. Victory goes to the side with the most points

5. All pilots are of equal capability and both sides have enough fuel to use A/B power for the entire scenario, if desired.

Overview of Play

The situation of two MiG- 23's against two Kfirs forced the players to think. Neither fighter is a good turner so energy tactics prevailed (zooms and dives) and since the MiG-23 and Kfir are not played often, the players had unfamiliar aircraft to work with.

While the first round was still friendly, the second round showed a marked change in attitude. Everyone suddenly got serious and the competitive edges really came out.

For the first time in any Air Superiority tournament, players got argumentative and a fair amount of rules lawyering occured. The fun factor diminished somewhat and I was at a loss to explain this. Tony and I finally decided that it was natural considering the number of expert players on hand and the fact that the game had been out enough years now for people to know it well enough to "lawyer it". A keen desire to win at all costs didn't help.

Part of the problem as well, was that I tried to introduce some of the 2nd edition changes during play and this caused some confusion between what rules were and weren't in effect. At the end of the second round, I let the players break for food and to let a few tempers simmer down. Overall, the Kfir teams prevailed. The round summary follows:

Table 1:
Kfir team = "Grossman"/"Greek"
MiG team = "Sundown"/"Bounce"

Results: Kfir win. Kfirs gained advantage early and each fired off both Shaffir missiles during course of play. Each had one fail and each scored a proximity hit with the other.

Both proximity hits resulted in kills. Bouncer's MiG stalled out due to excessive maneuvering prior to being hit.

Table 2:
Kfir team "Killjoy"/"Target"
MiG team "Madman"/"Weasel"

Results:

Classic Tony Valle. Kfirs split, Tony takes on both MiG's solo as other Kfir (typical Tony Valle wingman) gets out of position. Tony dodges one MiG missile, then downs Weasel on head-on gun pass, but suffers "H" damage in process. Tony does damage control as Madman launches missile at him. Meanwhile, Target finally enters fight firing two missiles at Madman. Unfairly, and totally against tournament play etiquette, the dead weasel coaches Madman in the flight of his missile resulting in some loud protest.

The result of this is that Madman re-executes his missile move, which would have missed Tony as originally played, and hits Tony. Argument ensued and to quell, I let re-move stand (an unpopular decision). Tony went down in flames and I had to ask Weasel to leave table. One of Target's missiles "H" damaged Steve resulting in a Kfir team win.

Table 3:
Kfir team "Doug"/"Joker"
MiG team "Wiseguy"/Mojo"

Results: Kfir marginal win. MiG's dominated fight early as Kfirs not flown aggressively. However, Mojo miscalculated and overshot a lower Kfir with a half-roll dive maneuver and took a cannon hit for "H" damage as a result. Wiseguy eventually stalled out chasing Kfirs, but recovered. Ray was able to escape and battle ended with no additional hits scored. Doug Powers dropped out of tourney at this point.

Table 4:
Kfir team "Badman" "Goldie Locks"
MiG team "Top Wop" "Slash"

Results:

Draw, no shots taken by either side despite aggressive maneuvering. From my viewpoint, it appeared both sides were attempting to cover the other by demonstrating superior aerodynamic prowess. The California boys in the MiG's probably used every maneuver available in the game except Viffmg. The Kfirs were observed at one point to have one at level 30 and the other in the weeds, talk about vertical splits!! Some of them even topped out in dive speeds during play. Quite impressive, if very bloodless.

Table 5:
Kfir team "Woof"/"Cougar"
MiG team "Maverick"/"Sled-Dog"

Results:

Decisive Kfir win. The superior experience of Woof and Cougar allowed them early dominance. The outmaneuvered the MiG's and never left them alone. Woof managed tow gunshots, but missed. Cougar also shot cannons twice, downing one MiG and missing the other. He then got into missile parameters before Woof did, and fired both Shaffirs to bring down the other MiG. Mike Phelps, aka "Cougar", now entered round three as the tournament leader with two scenario wins and three kills.

Origins `90 Tournament Report Part 1

Origins `90 Tournament Report Part 2

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