I played a couple of games with Xerxis a little over a week ago*, and here's one of them.
I played:
Tyrant Xerxis (+5)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11)
6 Venator Reivers (5)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
This is a slight variation on my regular Xerxis brick. I'm trying it out with two Ancestral Guardians (a regular one and Hakaar), instead of two heavies. The list's basic game plan is pretty straight forward. It wants to shoot a little to soften up the opponent, then grind the game out in the middle of the field. It has a high damage output against most targets thanks to Xerxis' abilities, and has a lot of durability against most attacks.
Its main worry is infantry swarms, particularly high-def infantry. Hakaar, Xerxis, and the Ancestral Guardian might be able to thin enemy infantry out with their high Mat attacks, but due to its low models count, the list will be tied down easily even so.
My opponent, Jen, ran the following:
Thagrosh, the Messiah (+3)
*Typhon (12)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
*Shredder (2)
The Forsaken (2)
The Forsaken (2)
Blighted Nyss Shepherd (1)
Blighted Nyss Shepherd (1)
I have never faced a Shredder Swarm before. Offensively, it seems powerful. Shredders can do a lot of damage while Rabid, and eThagrosh has Manifest Destiny, which bumps their accuracy and damage considerably.
Overall, Shredders don't have good defensive stats though, and every hit to a shredder will do significant damage to the list. A solid attrition game should be able wear the swarm down.
Deployment:
The terrain was fairly symmetrical. There were two forests, one in roughly the center of the field, and one a little bit toward one of the corners. There was also a wall in front of the center forest.
Jen won the roll off, and went second. She chose the table side which would give her the best advance through the forests.
I deployed most of my force between the forests. The Cetrati bricked up with Xerxis just behind them. The Krea and Cannoneer went slightly to their left, and the Venators and Ancestral Guardians went slightly to their right, with good lines of sight in between the forests.
Jen deployed her shredders in two groups of five, each behind one of the forests. Each group was watched over by a Shepherd and a The Forsaken. Thagrosh deployed in the right forest close enough to its inside edge to keep all the Shredders in his CTRL. Typhon deployed outside the right edge of the right forest, opposite my warbeasts.
Turn 1, Skorne
Jen lacked long ranged shooting, so the Cetrati ran. Xerxis used Press Forward on himself, then cast Fury on the Ancestral Guardian and Defender's Ward on the Cetrati. The Cannoneer and Krea both ran, ending up a bit behind the low wall. The Venators ran to just ahead of the Cetrati. The AG and Hakaar ran up to just behind them.
I was reasonably well deployed, but the battle wouldn't start in earnest until next turn.
Turn 1, Legion
The Shredders went Rabid one by one, and charged at me through the forests. They all stayed in the trees to keep their concealment from my shooting though. Thagrosh cast Dragon Blood on one of the shredders, Unnatural Aggression on Typhon, and advanced. Typhon advanced. Finally, the Shepherds and The Forsaken advanced to manage Fury on the Shredders.
Next turn, I'd try to pick off a Shredder or two with my Venators, and brick up. Most of the right group of Shredders would probably get to me first, while the left group would hit on the next turn.
Turn 2, Skorne
Xerxis upkept his spells. Then he put Press Forward on the Cetrati, advanced, and cast Paralytic Aura. The Cetrati entered Shield Wall, and moved up to about four inches in front of the right forest. The Krea advanced to the right side of the Cetrati formation, and also used Paralytic Aura. The Venator Reivers advanced, used their Extend Fire mini-feat, and damaged two of the shredders pretty heavily before Reforming to a slightly safer position. The Ancestral Guardians moved up to support them. The Cannoneer advanced into the Krea's Aura, and took a shot at Typhon, who was out of range. The template did not scatter onto a Shredder, so that was that.
Not a bad round. I should have focused fire with my Venators, and tried to take down one Shredder at a time. The damage would make them a little easier to deal with next turn, however, and I was well positioned in my brick.
Turn 2, Legion
There was one extra point of Fury on the table, and one of the Shredders frenzied, killing its wounded companion. Thagrosh upkept his spells. Thagrosh activated first, and cast Manifest Destiny. Typhon activated next, advanced, and sent a fully boosted Spray at two of my Def 16 Arm 24 (vs Shooting) Cetrati, doing a little damage to both. Two Shredders were in charge range of my Brick, so they went Rabid, and also charged. They did a little more damage to my Cetrati, but didn't kill their targets. The rest of the Shredders approached through the woods at super Rabid charging speed. The Shepherds and Forsaken advanced, and managed Fury.
The second wave of Shredders would hit next turn, and I'd do well to limit their impact. The plan as of now was to screen off my left flank with my Venators while my Cetrati and Warbeasts marched toward Thagrosh.
Turn 3, Skorne
Xerxis upkept both spells again. The Krea activated first, used Paralytic Aura, and walked around toward the two Shredders who had hit my lines. She attacked and damaged one of them. Then Xerxis activated and advanced just past the Cetrati, hoping to clear out both the Shredders to free up the Cetrati to advance. He needed 3's to hit, and rolled snakeyes on both his initial attacks. He bought two more attacks, which he used to kill one shredder. :( The Venators advanced. The majority of the unit shot a Shredder, but failed to kill it completely. The officer tried vainly to finish the last Shredder engaging the Cetrati off in melee. The Ancestral Guardians advanced to just behind the Venators again. The Cetrati went into Shield Wall, screened Xerxis as best they could, and killed both the last Shredder engaging them and one other they had been able to reach. Finally, the Cannoneer shot Typhon for moderate damage.
Xerxis was in a lot of trouble. He was only camping one point of Fury, he was out of the Krea's Paralytic Aura, and the Cetrati weren't screening him well at all. Thagrosh and Typhon could throw out four sprays between them. I'd need to get really lucky to survive.
Turn 3, Legion
Thagrosh kept all his Fury, and activated first. He advanced and cast Scourge on Xerxis, hitting and doing a little damage. Then Thags and Typhon breathed icy hot on Xerxis until he died.
Victory to the Legion!
Thoughts
I actually feel I played a pretty solid game right up until I tried to get fancy with Xerxis. Yeah, the luck was terrible, but I really should have played it safe, kept him back, and ground out the battle. Xerxis is very good at that kind of game, and we weren't playing with any objectives I was desperate to contest. I was doing pretty well at keeping the other Shredders off my Cetrati, and they're solid enough to withstand a couple of charges anyway. Xerxis is pretty nasty offensively, but he does need to be protected.
As for the list, I feel like I only need one Ancestral Guardian. My AG and Hakaar kept getting in each others' way this game (and in another game against Caleb which I think he's writing up). I might swap out Hakaar for Marketh + Swamp Gobbers or Extoller + Agonizer, or I might just swap out my regular AG for Marketh or even go back to my (similar) previous Xerxis list. I especially like the idea of going with Marketh. With so much of a ranged game, and such a strong defense against enemy ranged attacks, I really want to be casting Inhospitable Ground a lot. Marketh makes that a lot easier by handling upkeeps, and recasting Fury and/or Defender's Ward. The Venator UA was fantastic, and has definitely earned its place in the list. It really lets the Venators start shooting sooner, and from a safer distance, which is a huge boon to a brick like this one.
Jen also played a fairly good game. Her Shredders were a little bit spread out this game, and I wasn't really worried about them cracking my brick if they had to come at me in little waves of one or two. That tactic would have been infuriating if we'd been playing any scenario besides Caster Kill though. My 11pt Cetrati were essentially held up by 4 points of Shredders, and the rest could have spread out to grab scenario objectives. As it was, if I'd been patient with Xerxis, it would have been hard for Shredders to reach me fast enough to wear me down. Typhon's deployment was spot on, though. Typhon is more than a match for the Cannoneer I had opposing it, and I'd probably have had to split my Cetrati brick to deal with it. Those three sprays were a consistent threat that eventually won Jen the game.
After this game, it does seem like Shredder swarms have a few rough matchups, and that the list I played was actually one of them. The low attrition potential of shredders really hurts, and good shooting coupled with a strong trading game can reduce the list's effectiveness a lot. I can see it being more useful in scenario play, where individual positioning of Shredders can secure objectives and tie down or eliminate key troops pretty well.
No comments:
Post a Comment