Journeyman Week 3

So for this week, I was looking to add some infantry to my list. The Carnivean and Shredders already tax Lylyth to her Fury limit, even with a The Forsaken, so something capable of a bit more independence and able to move outside my tiny Control would be nice. The beasts have a pretty strong melee presence, so the infantry should be ranged. So I added a unit of Striders with UA and a Shepherd.

I won both my games this week. It feels weird to be doing this well. On the one hand, my opponents have been making some pretty significant mistakes, so it's less like I won and more like they loss. On the other, I've been making fewer mistakes, and have been able to capitalize on their's. I dunno. Being able to play combined arms is pretty fun though, very different from Cryx.

No painting, but I did assemble a unit of Legionaires, so I might get them primed and painted before the league ends.

Game Points: 24
Hobby Points: 1
Journeyman Points: 25

Next week: change.

Journeyman Week 2

Short (and late) update this week. I added a The Forsaken to my list for fury management. I was considering going Shepherd and Swamp Gobbers, but the store didn't have the latter in stock. The Forsaken probably will work better in my melee-based list anyway.

I only got one game in, against a fairly inexperienced Cryx player. He did feat, Scourge, and shoot Lylyth, but I was sitting on too much fury to care.

Oh, and I painted a Deathstalker, so now I have Hobby Points. Well, Hobby Point.

Game Points: 18
Hobby Points: 1
Journeyman Points: 19

Next week: infantry.

I Have Accepted a Challenge

There's a very cool thread on the Privateer Press Forums where people challenge each other to play lists they wouldn't normally try right here.  I've been challenged to play Xerxis a little outside my comfort zone - that is, without Cetrati.

Here's the list, provided by Sgb.  I'm going to play it this weekend, and give some reports as I go.

Tyrant Xerxis (+5)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Cyclops Raider (5)
*Basilisk Krea (4)

10 Praetorian Karax (6)
6 Venator Reivers (5)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Ancestral Guardian (3)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

So, Karax and a Cyclops Raider instead of Cetrati, but otherwise identical to the Xerxis list I've been working with.  I'm excited about Snipe, but nervous about not having a Medium-based screen for Xerxis.  I'll have to be extra vigilant when I play.

Here is the teamwork scheme.

Team 1:  Cannoneer, Raider, Krea, Paingivers, Extoller Soulward

This is going to be one of the teams providing me with firepower.  The Cannoneer has a nice 20" threat range on its gun with Far Strike, as does the Raider.  Together, they should be able to put some damage on any type of target.  The Soulward will hand out Eyeless Sight so that either of them can see through woods, or ignore Stealth on the Move.  The Krea will be around to protect them from return fire with Paralytic Aura, and also benefit from Far Strike with its Spiritual Paralysis, which it can use to reduce Warbeasts and other living models to Def 7 and prevent them from running or charging for a round.

Team 1 is going to go pretty close to Xerxis, because they're Medium and Large bases he can hide behind if he needs to, and because he can provide additional castings of Far Strike, and bask in the protective emanations of the Krea's Paralytic Aura without having to cast it himself.

Team 2:  Xerxis, Ancestral Guardian, Karax

The Karax are going to be my main infantry unit for this list.  They'll be deployed in one to three groups depending on where I feel I need their defense.  They'll mostly stay near my other models in a brick, ready to take an enemy charge while my shooting models pressure the enemy to engage.  Xerxis and the Ancestral Guardian are the main counterattack force for the Karax.  They can put out a lot of attacks at a high Mat, and high Pow with Fury or Xerxis' Feat.

Team 2 will be pretty close to Teams 1 and 3, with the Karax a little ahead, and Xerxis and the AG back with the shooters.  The Karax will be my shield against chargers, and will give blast damage immunity to other models via Girded.  Xerxis and the AG will mop up infantry or kill off beasts who kill the Karax.

Team 3: Venators

The Venators will be my second firebase.  While the Cannoneer, Raider and Krea will focus on single models (solos for the Cannoneer and Raider, Warbeasts for the Krea), the Venators will work on whittling down infantry units to the point where they'll be easy to finish off in melee, even for the defensively oriented Karax.  They can also team up with the Cannoneer and Raider to put a bunch of shots onto one heavy.  They shoot at Pow 19 against a large base if they all fire together.

They'll stay behind the Karax, and will probably be on the opposite side of Xerxis from my warbeasts.  They'll have a lot of flexibility to shoot different targets and redeploy due to Extent Fire and Reform.

Team 4:  Agonizer

The Agonizer will usually stick with Team 1, but is its own team because I can send it out in front to limit Arc Nodes or shut down Focus allocation.  Against Hordes, it will stay by the Warbeasts, where its Gnawing Pain ability will do the most good.

So overall, this seems like a pretty solid brick.  I'm not convinced on the Karax, but I'm willing to try them, and they will be at their strongest in a list that doesn't rely on them to do any damage while they're blocking charge lanes, and doesn't require them to move up the field quickly, all of which this list can provide.  We'll see how it goes this Friday.  :)

New Warlock Thoughts: pMakeda and Mordikaar

I've been doing a lot of thinking about pMakeda and Mordikaar recently.

I've been thinking about pMakeda because I don't feel that my current pMakeda list fits together the way I want it to.  Since my Bronzeback is almost done, I'm thinking of making the following changeups.

Archdomina Makeda (+5)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)

10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Agonizer (2)

The basic idea is to yo-yo the heavies with Lighting Strike and Savagery, or curl them around the back lines if I want to.  The Agonizer is a great defensive and denial piece.  The Swordsmen are their usual infantry-clearing, warbeast-protecting selves.  Lightning Strike also lets Makeda get some use out of Blood Quenched to boost her armor.

Combos I'm feeling for this list right now are:

Bronzeback + Lightning Strike + Savagery.  Advance 9 inches, do some killing, and maybe some 2-handed Throwing from Grab & Smash, then walk back 9 inches.

Archidon + Defender's Ward.  Def 16 Heavies that can't be knocked down are very annoying.


The thinking I've been doing about Mordikaar has actually been inspired by Michael's games against eMorghoul.  Michael's opponent has been running eMorghoul with Venator Reivers + UA in order to use things like Ghost Walk and eMorghoul's Feat to disengage them from combat before shooting the enemy.  I've been considering picking up Mordikaar for a while now, and it seems like he would do that even better.  So here's what I've come up with.

Void Seer Mordikaar (+5)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Basilisk Krea (4)

6 Cataphract Cetrati (11)
10 Venator Rievers (9)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Void Spirit (2)

The basic idea is to shoot a lot with the Venators on the way in, and use them as my primary Hollow target and jamming unit.  I'll used Ghost Walk to disengage them once they've been engaged, and Revive to pop new models into good CRA positions.  They're bad in melee, but they'll be supported by the stronger Cataphracts.  I'd prefer to have Arcuarii to Cetrati with this list, to give it even more of a ranged punch, but I don't own Arcuarii, and Cetrati have the advantage of being harder to kill when they're in Shield Wall.  The Krea is to protect Mordikaar from ranged assassination, and to maybe help with my overall accuracy problem.  The Bronzeback is a pure second line model in this list.  I'll need something with a lot of punch for the late game, and the Bronzeback is it.

I will probably try these lists out in the coming weeks.

Journeyman Week 1

I guess if I don’t post multiple times per month my cohorts will forget about me. Charming. Well, get ready to be forcibly reminded of my existence because I’m going to be posting once per week for the next six weeks as I conquer this Journeyman League in the name of Everblight.

I’m sure you’re all familiar with what the Legion battlebox contains, but in case you’ve never heard of this “warmachine” thing before here’s the rundown:

• Lylyth, arcane archer extraordinaire. If she shoots you with her bow terrible things are going to happen to you. Terrible things like...
• Shredders, little toothy guys who are happy to meet you. And then eat you. Technically Lylyth’s bow shoots arrows but in practice it fires these rabid little shark-goblins.
• Godzilla Carnivean, the monstrous result of crossing a Tyrannosaurus Rex with forearms. It also has a very powerful, very inaccurate spray.

My main strategy this first week was to tag something I wanted to kill with Lylyth, Parasite it, and then charge it with a couple rabid Shredders. The Carnivean could also spray it (and possibly an unlucky Shredder) if needed and charge any survivors on the next turn. If they wanted to retaliate against the Shredders, then that put them in charge range of the rest of my army. What this let me do was take my enemies apart piece by piece, which worked really nicely since you win Mangled Metal/Tooth and Claw games when you kill all of your opponents jacks/beasts.

This technique did run a little hot on the old fury though. Out of five games, the only one in which I never had a beast frenzy was against Cygnar, because the Charger kept killing Shredders before they could freak out.

But winning games isn’t everything. There’s also the hobby aspect, and at the risk of sounding like a sociopath, I’d like to win that too. Now, I already have about 25 points of Legion painted from when I flirted with them a year ago. On the one hand, great, I love playing with painted models. On the other hand, that’s a fair amount of hobby points that I can’t claim. So I’ll need to paint models that I won’t be using during the league. I’ll probably need to paint a lot of them. Hardly the end of the world though, as I rather enjoy painting Legion.

Anyway, I’m 5 and 0 and got exactly nothing painted this week, so here are my current totals:

Game Points: 15
Hobby Points: 0
Journeyman Points: 15

Next week: fury management.

Lord Arcanist Ossyan at 35pts: List Building with Teams and Jobs

I didn't get any games in this past weekend, so I'm going a little stir-crazy with Theorymachine.  As a result, here's my battlefield teams and jobs rundown for my 35pt Ossyan list.  Here's the list:

Lord Arcanist Ossyan (+6)
*Phoenix (10)
*Banshee (10)

10 Dawnguard Invictors (10)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
6 Mage Hunter Strike Force (5)
*Strike Force Commander (2)

Arcanist (1)
Arcanist (1)

So, here are the teams I have set up for the list, and their jobs:

Team 1: Mage Hunter Strike Force
Jobs: Eliminate Solos and Support, Area Control, Eliminate Warjacks, Ranged Assassination

The MHSF can get into the opponent early with those crossbows.  Since they ignore most defensive tricks, including trying to hide from them, they're great at clearing out support or models which might give my advancing army trouble.  Ranged units (without Stealth) will be their main targets early on, but they'll switch to second rank support models quickly against most lists.  They can eliminate things like Choir, Paingivers, and Kriel Stone Bearer regardless of where they try to hide.  They can also put a decent amount of damage on Warjacks, and become very dangerous with Ossyan's Feat.  They can also assassinate Warcasters/Warlocks if the Banshee knocks them down first.

I see them operating on a flank, where they can either continue to go around the enemy or cut toward the center to screen the rest of my army for a turn.  I'll be able to see over them just fine, thanks to their Stealth, but they'll block me from charges.  I see Quicken and Shatter Storm being especially useful for the MHSF.  Quicken brings them to Speed 8, which lets them get around the enemy very fast with Advance Deploy.  Shatter Storm means the enemy cannot clump their infantry, even early on.

Team 2: Dawnguard Invictors, Lord Arcanist Ossyan
Jobs: Clear Infantry, Eliminate Warjacks/Warbeasts, Area Control, Screen Ossyan, Ranged Assassination, Slow Enemy Advance

The Invictors will be my main source of firepower, and their guns are good against any target thanks to their high Pow and CRA.  They're also my primary melee unit.  They have Mat 7, which is quite good, even if they don't have Reach.  They can hit hard too with Flank if I can set it up, or just do solid damage with their guns on most turns, and crazy damage on Ossyan's Feat turn.  I'm planning to use Extend Fire on turn 2 or so to blunt the enemy's advance, then rely on Rng 10 from turn 3 onward to hopefully make my opponent commit.

Like the MHSF, the Invictors are a good target for either Quicken or Shatter Storm.  Quicken helps mitigate their mediocre Spd and Def, while Shatter Storm gives them extra punch against infantry swarms.  They'll hold down the center of my army, and present a persistent threat to all kinds of targets with their ranged and melee abilities.

Ossyan himself will stay with (behind) the Invictors.  From a central position, he can use his spells to buff them, either of his Warjack teams, or the Mage Hunters if they're near the Phoenix.  He'll also debuff any enemies he can get range on with his gun, but staying safe is his top priority.  Shooting models near the enemy caster is also a pretty good way to set up an assassination in the late game.

Team 3: Phoenix, Arcanist
Jobs: Clear High-Def infantry, Eliminate Warjacks/Warbeasts, Provide Arc-node support to Team 1, Support Team 2 (Flank)

As a big heavy with Reach, the Phoenix will mostly focus on other heavies once they get into melee range.  Since its gun has a small AoE, it can target infantry, solos or warnouns with a chance of decent return.  It'll also be my list's best answer to high-Def infantry.  The AoE can threaten them at range even when I have little chance of hitting, and I can close with them to make a Combustion special attack, which will clear out most Kayazy and such within its range.  Quicken and Admonition will both be good spells for it.  It will probably get Admonition, since Quicken is likely to be on an infantry unit, and I need it to be able to arc spells and engage targets of my choosing on critical turns.

The Phoenix will be one of my main line heavies, and will support the Invictors to one side or the other.  It will usually go on the side I'm planning to put my MHSF because that way, Ossyan can arc his support spells at them early on.  Against hard targets like warjacks, the Phoenix will charge in to one side so as to leave room for as many Invictors as needed to finish the target off.  The Arcanist will stick around to support the Phoenix.

Team 4: Banshee, Arcanist
Jobs: Eliminate Warjacks/Warbeasts, Enable Elimination/Assassination, Slow Enemy Advance, Support Team 2 (Flank), Debuff Infantry, Debuff Spellcasters

Like the Phoenix, the Banshee will be used in melee against heavies.  Its other abilities, however, give it a different role in the shooting and anti-infantry game.  The Impact on its gun will be great for knocking down enemies either to slow them down or for me to finish them later on my turn with shooting and melee.  It's a significant threat to casters too, and will probably be a big part of any ranged assassinations I pull off with this list.  When the fighting gets close, it will charge in near infantry, especially spellcasters, to limit their options.

It will probably deploy on the opposite side of my Invictors from the Phoenix to give the Invictors better coverage with its abilities, and better options for Flank.  It will probably end up wherever it can find the best target to knock down, however, as its gun is a terrifying asset.  The Arcanist will stay behind the Banshee to give support.


In terms of overall themes and strategy, I see this list as being a heavy denial/combined arms list that punishes the enemy as it advances.  The MHSF are there to take away enemy options early on, and the rest of the list will shoot them at arm's length to draw them into Ossyan's CTRL for the Feat turn while trying to slow them down enough that I don't get jammed up.  I'll use Impact on the Banshee, Admonition, and sometimes Ossyan's gun to deny the enemy an alpha strike against me while I hit them with shooting.

After that, I can do melee fairly efficiently with the list, and most opponents are likely to try charge me rather than stick around for more shooting.  Hopefully, my opponent's army will be depleted enough that I can beat them in melee even though my troops aren't specialists.

All this is based on exactly 0 games' worth of experience right now, so we'll see how it works out.

Lord Tyrant Hexeris: Methods

This is my first stab at a warlock Tactica for this blog.  The following  my personal take one of my favorite warlocks, Lord Tyrant Hexeris.  Below, I'll point out what I consider his greatest strengths and limitations, how I build army lists around those qualities, and how I use those qualities in play.

To those who read the tactica - please comment if you have something to say about pHexeris, especially something I didn't mention.  I always like to hear about new combos and tactics, and more ideas will make the article that much more useful for people looking for ideas.

First, a Rundown: Stats, Spells, and Abilities

Stats and Abilities

Hexeris' stats are all basically solid.  Defensively, he's at the high end of average with Def 15 Arm 16.  This means that an opponent will have to work to kill him, but you shouldn't expect him to survive without camping a few points of Fury.  He also has access to two ways of healing besides spending Fury - Life Drinker on his melee weapon (which lets him heal d3 points when he destroys a living enemy model), and the upkeep spell Psychic Vampire (see below).  Finally, Hexeris has Vampiric Reaving, which lets him Reave Fury from destroyed enemy warbeasts as long as he's closer to the destroyed warbeast than its controller.  This lets him top up on Fury for transfers as long as he's close enough to an enemy beast when it's destroyed.  This means that with careful planning, you can keep him very safe against Hordes opponents.  If you don't need all the Fury you Reave for transfers, Hexeris can spend some to heal.

His melee offense is also very solid.  He has a decent Mat of 7, and a high Fury of 7 as well, meaning he's fairly accurate, and can buy and boost a lot of attacks.  His weapon is a high P+S 14, and has Reach, Life Drinker, and Beat Back.  Beat Back and Reach work together very well, giving Hexeris the means to cleave through infantry units, or push a screening model back to open a line on the opposing caster or other target. While Hexeris has no ranged weapon, he does have a very solid magical offense with combination of his two attack spells and Soul Slave (see below).  Finally, Vampiric Reaving has an offensive application as well.  Against Hordes opponents, it lets Hexeris top off on Fury before and during his activation, which in turn lets him cast more offensive spells, and buy more melee attacks.  This ability also combines well with Beat Back against tight formations of beasts, allowing Hexeris to smash his way through multiple beasts, buying attacks and Reaving more Fury as he pushes his way to the next beast in line.

There's also a pure denial side to Vampiric Reaving that's worth mentioning.  Whether Hexeris needs more Fury or not, he can always deny the enemy caster access to Fury by Reaving it off enemy beasts when they die.  This is a consistently useful side benefit to being able to cast more spells, make more melee attacks, or camp more for transfers.  It's even worth doing when Hexeris doesn't want any more Fury purely to deny the enemy warlock access to a full Fury pool next turn (thus necessitating cutting for Fury).

Spells

1) Soul Slave.  If there's spell I feel defines pHexeris as a warlock, this is it.  It's an upkeep spell he can cast on a beast in his battlegroup which lets him channel spells through that beast while it's in his CTRL.  It gives him the option to be very offensive with Soulfire and Obliteration from turn one or two onward, and lets him provide spell and animus support to his army throughout the game.  It lets him snipe out support solos or soften up infantry units, and threaten a long range assassination on the enemy Warcaster or Warlock.

2) Death March.  Hexeris' other core upkeep spell, Death March grants +2 Mat and Vengeance to a unit.  It's a very solid buff that gives Hexeris' infantry significantly more punch in melee, especially against other infantry models.  Vengeance also provides some deterrent to opponents attacking the target unit unless they can kill a bunch of models at once.  It's often a good enough defense to let the unit see melee.  Sometimes, it will provide a significant speed boost on the way in.  While Death March isn't as critical to Hexeris' strategy as Soul Slave, it's a great buff that provides a solid mix of offense and defense, and will see play every game.

3) Soulfire.  This is Hexeris' workhorse offensive spell.  It's a solidly average spell in terms of stats: Cost 2, Range10, Power12.  However, whenever it boxes a living, non-soulless model, Hexeris gains a Fury point.  This makes the spell effectively Cost 1 unless it fails to kill its target (or its target is non-living/soulless).  It's an excellent spell for picking off solos and troopers.  Hexeris can project it up to 24" or more away by channeling it through his Soul Slave target, and it gives him a point of Fury back every time it successfully kills its target.

4) Obliteration.  Obliteration is a more specialized offensive spell.  It's expensive at Cost 4, but has Pow 15 and a 4" AoE.  Due to its high cost, I don't cast it every game with Hexeris.  However, it's excellent against high-Defense infantry units that sometimes give Skorne trouble.  A 4" blast template is big, and the blast damage will be at Power 8, high enough to kill most high-defense infantry easily.  Obliteration is also useful for placing a single, powerful hit on a higher-armor target.

5) Psychic Vampire.  Psychic Vampire is a fairly situational upkeep spell for Hexeris himself.  Whenever an enemy model casts a spell while in Hexeris' CTRL, it takes 1 point of damage, and Hexeris heals 1.  It's amazing against units of 1-wound spellcasters.  Druids, Battle Mages and Hex Hunters are all but shut down by this spell, because the damage is dealt before the spell takes effect.  If those units aren't around, however, I've found that I rarely cast the spell.  It is useful against enemy warcasters/warlocks who are going to do a lot of spellcasting themselves, because it can hurt them enough over the course of 2-3 turns that one or two boosted Soulfires can finish the job.  It's also fairly useful to have up if Hexeris is damaged, and needs to heal without spending a lot of Fury.  Psychic Vampire is not useful in every matchup, but when it comes into play, it can be crushing.

Feat: Dark Dominion

Whenever a living or undead enemy model in Hexeris' CTRL is boxed by an attack, you get to take control of it, and make a 3" advance followed by a single normal melee attack.  It's possible, though rare, to start chain reactions that tear right through your opponent's army.  Normally, however, the Feat will simply let you kill more infantry models for less of an attack investment.

It's easy to take out a small unit with a single AoE that catches just 2 models.  A melee unit like Praetorian Swordsmen or Nihilators can use Dark Dominion to help them wipe out one or two full units, even well positioned ones which don't expose many of their models to attack.  The feat is most effective against powerful melee units who have relatively high Mat and low Def, and least effective against ranged units who have higher Def, but low Mat and poor melee weapons.  It's also important to keep in mind that high powered models taken by Dark Dominion are often best used against warjacks, beasts and casters if there's a chance they'll do enough damage.

Generally, I get the best use out of Dark Dominion when I use it to kill off a single unit with minimal effort.  I only rely on it for more if I'm up against swarms of weapon master infantry or a similar special situation.


Playstyle: How do these abilities work together?

There are a few themes at work in Hexeris' spells and abilities, and they combine to form a strategy I like to think of as "offensive denial."  The key to using offensive denial is to identify the things which let your opponent control the flow of the battle, and try to take them away as thoroughly as possible so that you end up in control.  In practice, this isn't substantially different from playing a lot of our warlocks - killing the opponent's forces and taking away their options is just solid planning.  Hexeris' tools and limitations, however, emphasize the denial aspect of the plan.

Soul Slave is the biggest contributing factor.  It allows Hexeris to project his offensive spells onto a very wide swathe of the battlefield.  With Soul Slave, he can use magic to start picking off models as early as turn 1 with Soulfire and Obliteration.  Early on, these spells aren't best used to score kills against infantry, but to deny the opponent access to their best strategic options (although sometimes killing a lot of infantry models is a good way to do this).

Soulfire is an excellent spell for removing support models and units.  This can break down an enemy army's game plan by denying it access to the tools it normally uses to win.  Many armies use solos who grant Pathfinder or another form of speed boost, give bonuses to attack, or deny your army options at critical times.  Other armies use small support units which have poor defenses, but grant incredible benefits to the models around them.  Channeling Soulfire lets you eliminate those models before they become a problem.  You'll often have to boost either the attack or the damage roll to finish support solos, but once you do, you'll get a point of Fury back (most of the time, anyway).

Obliteration is great for hitting high-Def jamming units hard before they have a chance to engage and tie down your infantry and beasts.  Destroying or weakening these units is important for denying your opponent the ability to jam you and tie down your beasts and infantry.  Hexeris' army excels at dealing with ordinary infantry.  Death March lets Hexeris' own troops hit easily, and Dark Dominion is great at clearing out infantry who can hit each other.  Very high-Def units, however, are hard to remove after they've engaged you, and early Obliteration helps out with that a great deal.  Obliteration is also a good alternative to Soulfire against support units, especially if they're clustered together.  They tend to have low armor, and if they're bunched together at the back of an army, a single Obliteration can wipe out the whole unit.

Hexeris has two other, more situational denial tools: Vampiric Reaving and Psychic Vampire.  Vampiric Reaving punishes the enemy every time they let Hexeris get closer to one of their beasts than they are by denying them access to that beast's Fury.  This is a powerful denial tool against 'casters who like to stay in the back, like a lot of the higher Fury spell casters, and a little less useful against front line Warlocks, who will typically be pretty near their beasts.  When it works, it's a great source of extra Fury for spellcasting and transfers. and you can use it to force the enemy to either cut for fury, or run their beasts too hot.  You always have the option to let those beasts Frenzy rather than kill them for the Fury if it's better for your plan.

Psychic Vampire is incredibly powerful against spellcasting units like Druids of Orboros, House Shyeel Battle Mages, and Blighted Nyss Hex Hunters.  It completely shuts down their spellcasting while within Hexeris' CTRL, since it kills them as soon as they try to cast.

Models:  Emphasizing Strengths and Mitigating Weaknesses

One pHexeris' biggest strengths, and the cornerstone of his playstyle when I play him, is his ability to project his offensive magic at the enemy.  To that end, it's good to have a fast, flexible and fairly expendable beast as a dedicated Soul Slave target to get the spells into the enemy early.  The Razor Worm is very well suited to the job, since it's fast with Advance Deploy, Spd 6, and Pathfinder, and quite expendable at only 4pts.  It also has Eyeless Sight, which will let Hexeris target spells through forests and clouds.  Another good option is the Archidon, which is very fast between Flight and Spd 7.  It's not as expendable as the Razor Worm, but it hits a lot harder, and has a better Animus in Lightning Strike.

An Extoller Soulward is also very helpful in making the most of Hexeris' channeling ability.  Many support models and powerful solos have Stealth, or will try to benefit from Concealment or try to hide behind forests or clouds.  An Extoller Soulward can give Eyeless Sight to Hexeris so his offensive spells ignore Stealth, or put it on his Soul Slave beast (if it's not a Razor Worm) to let him channel at targets through forests and clouds.  I always put a Soulward in my pHexeris list, and I'm always happy that I did.

Aptimus Marketh is also very useful for taking advantage of Hexeris' offensive magic.  Marketh can upkeep spells for Hexeris if he has Soul Tokens.  Even if he doesn't, Marketh can recast Death March to save Hexeris the Fury for upkeeping it.  He can also recast Soul Slave for Hexeris, allowing him to project his spells onto a whole new area of the battlefield, and cast Soulfire, which gives Hexeris an extra point of Fury if it kills its target.  This can even be used to kill off one of your own models to give Hexeris access to 8 Fury starting from turn 1.

I've also found that anything else contributing to Hexeris' ranged game can help him control the flow of battle, which is why I like the Titan Cannoneer with pHexeris.  It's good to have more than just spells available to shoot down solos and troublesome infantry as well as threaten a warcaster from pretty far away.  I have not tried it for myself, but I've also heard good things about Cataphract Arcuarii and Venator Reivers as infantry with pHexeris due to their ranged utility.  Ranged attacks can also start Dark Dominion attack chains further back in the enemy ranks.

Hexeris also has a good ability to deal with infantry.  Obliteration and Soulfire are both great against a lot of infantry, and Dark Dominion multiplies the damage output of anything attacking infantry in Hexeris' Control Area.  It does help a lot to have a dedicated melee infantry unit or two for Hexeris to use Death March on.  The added Mat from Death March makes nearly any Skorne unit a much more reliable threat to enemy infantry, and lets Hexeris' Feat do more against infantry heavy enemies.  I use Praetorian Swordsmen, since they're in Hexeris' Kingdom of Shadows tier, but I've heard good things about Nihilators, Arcuarii, and the Gatormen Posse under Death March.  I've had Cetrati benefit from it a few times as well.  It's a solid buff for any unit, and Hexeris can always make use of a high-Mat infantry unit with Vengeance.

In my experience, pHexeris' biggest limitation is a lack of damage buffs or Mat buffs for Warbeasts besides the Paingivers' Enrage.  This means he needs support from the rest of the army to reliably wreck enemy heavies.  Our heaviest hitters are the Titans, especially the Bronzeback.  I always take multiple Titans with pHexeris to counter enemy heavies, and include a Bronzeback if I can.  Weapon Masters can also deal a lot of damage to heavies on the charge.  Cataphract Arcuarii are our hardest-hitting infantry, and can hit Mat 9 easily with Death March.  Given that they can also shoot multiple targets, and spread out to attack infantry too, Arcuarii make a good match for pHexeris.

Another limitation of Hexeris' is a low ability to increase his army's durability.  His only spell with a defensive component is Death March, and that doesn't so much help its target survive as give it some extra offensive options when it takes hits.  Anything which helps Hexeris' army survive is another good addition.  An Agonizer can reduce the damage output of both warjacks and warbeasts with Spiritual Affliction and Gnawing Pain, and can even provide some protection from Arced spells with Spiritual Affliction.  A Basilisk Krea can greatly reduce the damage an army takes from shooting, can prevent charges from Warbeasts, and gives Hexeris a means to make his Warbeasts more accurate with its the Def debuffs.  I often take an Agonizer with pHexeris since it's cheap, and I like to take a Krea when I can fit it into the list.

Sample Army Lists

Here are a few lists I've run which I feel help Lord Tyrant Hexeris make the most of his abilities while shoring up his limitations.  All the lists are pretty similar, and reflect my own playstyle with pHexeris.  Any other lists people want to add are definitely welcome in the comments.  The more lists and ideas, the better.

35pts

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen + UA (8)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

The Archidon starts off as the Soul Slave target to get Hexeris' magic out onto the battlefield early, while Marketh and the Extoller make sure he has the options to take out the targets he wants to without neglecting support for everyone else.  With 3 heavies I can handle most types of heavy armor, while my swordsmen screen my warbeasts from enemy heavy hitters, and help clear out infantry.  This and my other lists are Tier 1 Kingdom of Shadow lists, meaning Hexeris can start with his upkeeps out.  It's very useful to have them out before turn 1 so Hexeris can focus on offense right away if he needs to.

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen + UA (8)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

This is very similar to the previous list; the only difference is that the Archidon and Marketh have been replaced by the Bronzeback.  It's a much harder-hitting list, but lacks a lot of the early flexibility and denial punch that the Archidon and Marketh add.  In this list, the Titan Cannoneer is my Soul Slave target, and leads the other beasts into the fight with a potential barrage of shots and spells.

50pts

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen + UA (8)
6 Paingiver Beast Handlers (3)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

This is sort of the combination of the other 2 lists.  It has all the flexibility and efficiency of Marketh and the Archidon, and adds the Bronzeback's hitting power.  There isn't a second infantry unit to benefit from Death March, but otherwise, it has a lot of answers.  Infantry won't give it too much trouble, and it has the heavies to take care of anything short of an Arm-buffed Colossal/Gargantuan.

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen + UA (8)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

The Cetrati, while a little slow, are an excellent target for Death March.  They're hard enough to kill that the unit is hard to wipe out in one turn, and they really benefit from Vengeance moves and hard-hitting Vengeance attacks.  Again, this list doesn't have a fast Soul Slave target, but uses the Cannoneer to anchor its advance with its gun and Hexeris' spells.  Replacing the Krea with a Razor Worm would fix that, but I don't own one yet.  I would really like to use Arcuarii with pHexeris, but I don't own them yet either.

Battle Reports

Here are all the reports I have on this blog with pHexeris.  pHexeris is a blast, and I had a lot of fun in all of these games.

vs pIrusk 35pts vs 50pts - We made a mistake here, so my opponent was 15pts up.
vs eGrissel 50pts - Highlights Hexeris' trouble with super-heavy armor.
vs Drake MacBain 35pts
vs Absylonia 35pts
vs eDoomshaper 50pts - I played pHexeris in the second game here.

These are all the reports I have written so far, but I'll be updating the post with more reports as I write them up.  Lord Tyrant Hexeris is one of my favorite warlocks, so I'll definitely be writing more reports.

Other Tactica

These are some other good articles on pHexeris that I've used to help shape my tactics with him. 

Skorne Tyrant Guides: Lord Tyrant Hexeris by Rynth
Battle College: Lord Tyrant Hexeris


Thanks for reading, and once again, please leave your thoughts in the comments!

4+Tough: State of the Lists

So, every now and again I'd like to just put out lists post: what lists we're using the most, how they're meant to work, what we want to do to improve or add to them. Hopefully this will turn into a relatively regular post (once ever 4-6 months or so), but here they are for now:

Caleb:

Trollbloods 35pts
Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress (2pts)

I've been running a lot of 35pts, and settled into a nice basic list for Calandra that I like. It's got the brick down pat, supports the Fennblades well, has a great ranged threat, and the beasts do melee pretty well when they need to. I've experimented with flipping out the Bomber for an Earthborn and that's worked pretty well, but it leaves the Impaler as a bit of an odd-man-out. The quick and easy solution is to drop Lanyssa and up the Impaler to an Axer and the Pyre to a Slag, which actually sounds like a pretty nice plan, all things considered....

Grim Angus (*6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)

My Grim list has seen a lot more transition, as I've had more trouble getting used to Grim's playstyle than I had with Calandra's. This list is more aggressive than the Calandra list, and sacrifices most of the support for a very 'beat them to the punch' approach. I'm not sure that Grim is all that great of a Warlock at 35pts - he seems much better suited to a 50pt game, if for no other reason than it gives me more things to take advantage of his feat. We'll see....


Captain Gunnbjorn (*5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Mountain King (20pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)

I have never played  this list -- but I really, really want to. Since picking up the Mountain King, I've been aching to play the big beastie, and it seemed like a good opportunity to break into Gunny as a warlock while I'm at it. It's a VERY low points list to include a 20pt model, I think Gunny is one who can pull it off. I'm thinking of ways to include the Mountain King in 50pt games with Calandra and Grim, but I'm going to need a lot more experience with him first.

Trollbloods 50pts

Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)

This is (tentatively) my first tournament list for Trollbloods, and a list I plan on playing as often as possible to gear up for it. I have yet to buy an Earthborn, and I'm still on the fence between the Stone Scribe Chronicler and Lanyssa Ryssyll for those last 2 points, so it's still very much a  tentative list -- however, it's got everything I like with Calandra in it, and seems like it'll play very well. I'm still all over the place on the 2nd 50pt tournament list -- more games with Gunny, eDoomy, and Grim will have to take place before I nail that one down.

pGrexy:

Skorne 35pts

My most concrete list at 35pts so far is pHexeris.  I feel like I've got it pretty much where I want it, and it's really made me appreciate what pHexy can do.  It's well balanced.  It can play a ranged game reasonably well with the Cannoneer and Hexeris chanelling spells, and it has good options against infantry and warjacks/beasts.  Once my Bronzeback Titan is finished, I'll try swapping him in for the Cannoneer, and seeing what happens.

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (*6pts)
*Titan Cannoneer (9pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Archidon (7pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (3pts)

Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
*Praetorian Swordsmen Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)

Agonizer (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)

My 35pt pMakeda list is in a state of flux right now.  I'll post the list I've been using, but it doesn't fit together the way I want it to.  I might go back to a previous incarnation at 35pts where I sub a lot of the small units and solos out for min Cataphract Cetrati.  I liked the former list a lot, and I'm really feeling what the Cetrati added when I had them.  I may also swap the Cannoneer out for a Bronzeback, since the Bronzeback gives me more power against high armor, which can be a concern for pMakeda.  Basically, I'm just going to play around.  PMakeda is great with most of Skorne models.

Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
*Titan Cannoneer (9pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (3pts)

Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
*Praetorian Swordsmen Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (1pt)

Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)

I have the core of my 35pt Xerxis down pretty well, but I'm still fudging around with the peripherals and support models.  Here's what I'm going with right now.  It has a solid brick that can shoot as it advances into melee.  I do really like shooting with Skorne, and Xerxis lets even the Venators hit dangerously hard with with Feat and Fury.  It's kind of weak against high-Def infantry spam, but solid against most other types of list, and fun to play.

Tyrant Xerxis (*5pts)
*Titan Cannoneer (9pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)

Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Venator Reivers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
*Venator Reivers Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)

Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

I've done a lot of pMorghoul with some shooting and no infantry recently.  When I get back into 35pt games with him (that is, when my Bronzeback is fit to play - hopefully by next Friday), I'll probably run the following.  It'll be the first time with this particular list, although I did run a similar list a few times in 2011 with good results.  Anyway, it seems quite strong, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.  We'll see sometime next week.

Master Tormentor Morghoul (*7pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Archidon (7pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)

Paingiver Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (1pt)

Agonizer (2pts)
Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor (2pts)

Epic Hexeris, like pHexeris, is just about set at 35pts.  This list is too much fun to change substantially.  I've played it with the Cannoneer instead of the Sentry and the Extoller Soulward instead of the Reiver UA.  I'd consider swapping the Savage for a Shaman for utility, but I like having a disposable missile if I need one.  In all versions, it's a tough, flexible list that can deal a lot of damage to just about any kind of target.  I just have to remember to protect Hexeris :P

Lord Arbitor Hexeris (*6pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Sentry (Bonded to Hexeris) (9pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)

Venator Reivers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
*Venator Reivers Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)

2013 will be the year when I settle on 50pt versions of these lists - the majority of my games this year have been at 35pts.  It's also going to be the year I plunge into Retribution.  I posted my 1st ever Retribution list here, but I don't have any experience with it yet so it doesn't get to be a State of the Lists list until next time around.  Next time, I expect to have something to say about Ossyan, Kaelyssa, and Mordikaar.

New Year's Resolutions in Gaming

Normally I don't go in for New Year's resolutions, but this year I have both a public outlet and a fun hobby to have resolutions about publicly.  In the year of 2013, I resolve to do the following:

1) Finish painting Baxter, my Cetrati, and my Paingivers.  Any extra painting I get done will be a bonus, but these are a must.

2) Play in a local tournament.  I missed them all this year.

3) Get a bunch of games in with Retribution, and try out a bunch of different 'casters.

4) Purchase Fire Lord Ozai, no matter what the rules turn out to be.

5) Post more battle reports with pictures, especially cat pictures.


I think that's good enough for one year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Battle Report: pHexeris vs pIrusk (35pts)

This was my second game of the evening.  My first game, with pMakeda, can be found here.  I decided to play pHexeris this time, and I went with:

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)

10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Agonizer (2)
Extoller Soulward (2)

This is my current go-to 35pt list with pHexeris.  It handles most situations pretty well.  Hexeris and the Swordsmen give it good options against almost all infantry, and the Titans and Archidon are usually enough to handle heavies.

Its biggest stumbling block is super heavy armor.  Hexeris doesn't have the damage buffs to reliably take out heavies with super high armor, and I'm not playing a Bronzeback with this list.

It's a Tier 1 Kingdom of Shadow list, so Hexeris would start the game with Soul Slave on the Archidon and Death March on the Praetorian Swordsmen.

My opponent was Caleb - not my co-blogger, but the same opponent from the previous battle.  He ran:

Kommandant Irusk (+6)
*Spriggan (10)
*Sylas Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2)

10 Nyss Hunters and Cylena Raefyll (10)
*Koldun Kapitan Valachev (2)
10 Kayazy Assassins (8)
*Kayazy Assassin Underboss (2)
10 Ironfang Pikemen (8)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Greylord Ternion (4)

Koldun Lord (2)
Eiryss, Angel of the Retribution (3)

There had been a slight miscommunication about point cost, and my opponent ended up playing a 50pt list against my 35pts.  The list he would have run at 35pts had min units of Nyss Hunters, Kayazy Assassins, and Ironfang Pikemen, and left off the Koldun Lord, Sylas Wyshnalyrr, and Kapitan Valachev.

The 50pt list he did run was a solid infantry swarm.  All three main units are hard-hitting, and have either great Def (Kayazy and Nyss Hunters) or solid Arm (Ironfangs).  Irusk gives all the infantry access to Iron Flesh, one of the Scariest buffs to give a high-Def unit, and Battle Lust, a very solid damage buff.  He also gives them all a turn of 4+ Tough and +2 to attack rolls with his Feat.  So I was looking at 30 plus models who would be difficult to kill, and have a very high damage output.  They'd also have the support of the Greylords and Aiyanna and Holt, and would be able to strip off my upkeeps with eEiryss.

I'm not seeing any particular blind spots to this list, although straight-up movement interdiction abilities will shut it down pretty hard.  The Old Witch and the Harbinger of Menoth both have feats that will kill any infantry who move in their CTRL (or half the infantry if Irusk Feats first), and Covering Fire/Suppressive fire and template spells which stay in play for a round can really mess with this list's maneuverability.  Those are a few match ups though, and as an all-comers list, this feels powerful and well balanced.

Deployment:

There were two houses on my right flank near the edge of the board, a low wall in about the center, and two hills on the center-left in front of each deployment zone overlooking it.  The scenario was caster kill.  I won the roll off, and chose to go second.

Caleb deployed across the board with Kayazy on the far left, then the Spriggan and Ironfangs in the center, and the Nyss Hunters on the right, just to the left side of the houses.  The Greylords and Koldun Lord deployed between the Ironfangs and the Nyss, and Irusk and Sylas deployed behind the Ironfangs.  Aiyanna and Holt deployed behind the Nyss.

I decided to refuse my left side completely, and set up between the hill and the houses on the right.  My Swordsmen went closest to the hill to screen my advance from the Ironfangs and Kayazy.  My two Titans went near the houses with the Paingivers, Extoller and Hexeris just behind them, and the Archidon went almost behind the houses on the far right.  The Agonizer went behind the Swordsmen to the left to shut down the Spriggan for a turn, and Marketh went behind the Swordsmen more toward my right, so he could also support other models.

In the Advance Deploy step, Eiryss deployed in the center-left to flank my Swordsmen.

Turn 1: Khador

Irusk allocated one Focus to the Spriggan.  The Nyss Hunters advanced in a clump, and Valachev used Zephyr to give them a little more speed.  Irusk cast Superiority on the Spriggan, advanced, and cast Iron Flesh on the Nyss, bringing them to Def 18.  The Iron Fangs went into Shield Wall, and advanced to the hill on Caleb's side of the table.  The Greylords advanced and cast Blizzard to shroud the Nyss in protective Cloud effects.  The Kayazy and Eiryss ran downfield to get around my left flank.  The Spriggan ran to just ahead of the Ironfangs, and the Koldun Lord ran to get to the right side of the table, behind the Nyss

My opponent was planning to jam me hard with the Nyss next turn, and hold me up while doing serious damage with Weapon Master.  At Def 18, and with possible Feat support from Irusk, they'd be nigh-unkillable in melee next turn as well.  However, they were clumped tightly, and I could kill a lot of them with Obliteration if the template didn't deviate.

Turn 1: Skorne

The Swordsmen ran forward.  The Gladiator used Rush on the Archidon to give it +2" of movement, and Trampled Forward.  The Cannoneer ran.  The Extoller advanced, and used Guidance on Hexeris to let him ignore Concealment.  The Archidon ran to within about 10" of the Nyss Hunters.  Marketh advanced, and attempted to kill off my Swordsmen Standard Bearer with Soulfire to give Hexeris an extra point of Fury, but missed.  Hexeris advanced, and cast Obliteration on the Nyss Hunters, boosting the attack roll.  He hit, and killed 7 Nyss in the blast, then slung his last two Fury over to the Agonizer.  The Agonizer ran up behind the Swordsmen, and the Paingivers advanced to manage Fury, since I'd under-forced my beasts.

I had just bought myself a turn with that Obliteration.  The Nyss were no longer a significant jamming threat, and the rest of Caleb's infantry were too far away to reach me next turn.  Now I'd focus on channeling spells and using the Cannoneer to keep the rest of the infantry at bay.

Turn 2: Khador

Sylas upkept Superiority, and Irusk dropped Iron Flesh from the Nyss.  The Greylord Ternion advanced, and shot Ice Cages at my Archidon, but only one hit.  Aiyanna and Holt advanced.  Aiyanna tried to put Kiss of Lyliss on the Archidon, but was just out of range.  Holt shot the Archidon twice, and did a hefty chunk of damage.  Irusk advanced, cast Inhospitable Ground, and cast Battle Lust on the Nyss to give them an extra melee damage die.  The three surviving Nyss then charged the Archidon, and finished it off.  The Ironfangs advanced over the hill in Shield Wall, and the Spriggan kept pace with them.  It fired a few shots at my Swordsmen, but did no damage.  The Kayazy and Eiryss continued to run down my flank toward the Swordsmen.

I hadn't expected the Archidon to die, but it had done its job well.  I had some space to maneuver and prepare an assault on Irusk and the Ironfangs.  He was starting to come over to the right, and I'd like to set a charge up on him with my Titan Gladiator in the next couple of turns.

Turn 2: Skorne

Not much action this turn.  The Titan Cannoneer aimed, and wiped out the surviving Nyss and Valachev with a cannon ball.  The Gladiator advanced up my right flank to try to get closer to Irusk.  The Swordsmen ran to the right, setting up to counterattack an Ironfang charge on turn 3.  Hexeris recast Soul Slave on the Cannoneer, put a few more Fury on the Agonizer, and advanced slightly to the right.  No need to put him at risk.  The Agonizer used Spiritual Affliction to keep the Spriggan from being allocated focus, and ran up to the low wall for protection.  Marketh and the Extoller advanced to support the infantry and Cannoneer.  The Paingivers advanced, and managed Fury.

This turn was the calm before the storm.  My Swordsmen would take a charge from the Ironfang Pikemen, but enough would survive in the second rank to mount a decent counterattack.  Irusk was likely to Feat, however, so the Ironfangs would be very Tough.  Then I'd have to hope that I could break through the Ironfangs and either hold up or blow up the Kayazy to get to Irusk.

Turn 3: Khador

Sylas upkept Superiority.  Irusk started off by advancing, using his Feat, and casting Battle Lust on the Ironfang Pikemen.  Then the Greylords cast a few Frostbites at my Swordsmen, and killed two.  Eiryss advanced, and killed a Swordsman, stripping off Death March.  Then the Ironfangs charged my Swordsmen.  They killed most of them, leaving 4 (including the Officer) plus the standard bearer.  Then the officer used his mini-feat, and the Ironfangs advanced to engage the rest of my Swordsmen and my Gladiator while entering Shield Wall.  The Spriggan advanced, and killed the poor Agonizer.  The Kayazy ran to within charge range of my left flank.  Aiyanna and Holt advanced, and tried to put damage on the Gladiator, but missed due to it being in melee.

Now I needed to counterattack for all I was worth.  I wouldn't be able to hold the Kayazy off for long.  I had to kill off the Ironfangs and set up a run on Irusk with my heavies.  Khador would be extra durable this turn.  I'd just have to hope I could pull out enough attacks to pull it off.

Turn 3: Skorne

Hexeris activated first, advanced, and used his Feat, Dark Dominion, which would grant me temporary control of any Khadorans I killed in the coming turn.  Then he cast two Soulfires at a Greylord he could see.  He killed the Greylord, but it didn't kill any other Khadorans.  Marketh used Soul Slave to cast Death March back on the Swordsmen.  The Cannoneer advanced, and blasted three Ironfangs, but they all passed their Tough checks.  The Swordsmen advanced, used their mini-feat to auto-damage enemy warriors, and between themselves and reanimated Khadorans, they managed to wipe out half the Ironfangs.  The Paingivers advanced, and tried to help out, but didn't score any kills.  The Extoller advanced and shot at a Kayazy, but missed despite boosting.  Finally, the Gladiator Trampled over 3 Ironfangs, two of whom died, and killed off the rest of their unit except one Ironfang, plus the Officer and Standard.  The Gladiator ended up in combat with the Koldun Lord, whom she killed, and had a relatively clear lane on Irusk for next turn.

My opponent was in a pretty good position strategically - it would be pretty hard for me to deal with the incoming Kayazy with my depleted forces - but he also had a problem - my Titan Gladiator.  The Gladiator would have to be dealt with, otherwise, Irusk was likely to be killed.

Turn 4: Khador

Sylas upkept Superiority, and Irusk allocated 2 Focus to the Spriggan.  The Spriggan charged the Cannoneer, doing serious damage.  The Kayazy followed suit, charging the Extoller, Marketh, and the Cannoneer.  The Extoller died, and the Cannoneer and Marketh were both reduced to 1 Hit Box (Marketh had 4 Souls, so he barely lived).  The Kayazy also killed off two of the surviving Swordsmen.  The surviving Greylords cast Ice Cage on my Gladiator twice, then Aiyanna cast Kiss of Lyliss on it and Holt shot it for some decent damage.  Its Def was reduced, and so was its Arm, but it was still very much alive.  Irusk charged in to finish it off.  He succeeded, and ended his activation camping one point of Focus.  Eiryss advanced and tried to finish the Cannoneer, but missed due to it being in melee.  The Ironfang officer and standard ran to form a human shield in front of Irusk, as did Sylas.

Caleb would have to hope it was enough.  Irusk was almost certainly within Hexeris' charge range, and he is no slouch at melee with his high Mat, Power, and Fury.  My plan was simple.  I'd have to clear out the blocker, and charge in with Hexeris.

Turn 4: Skorne

Marketh spent a Soul Token to upkeep Death March (I'd forgotten about Vengeance, which might have saved me a little trouble).  The Swordsmen Officer advanced into combat with Sylas, and killed both him and the Ironfang Officer, while the Other Swordsmen killed the last surviving Ironfang with a weapon.  Marketh recast Death March on the Paingivers, who advanced, Medicated the Cannoneer, and killed the Standard Bearer.  Then Hexeris charged in and killed Irusk.

Victory to the Skorne!

Thoughts:

What a crazy game!  I felt like my skills and my luck were being stretched to the limit, and no wonder, since my opponents list was 15pts larger than mine.  I played well, keeping the Khadoran swarm at arm's length as much as possible, and eliminating it in manageable chunks.  I also managed to break through the wall with Gladys, and the threat of a heavy behind the lines is what caused Irusk to expose himself in the end.  I timed Hexeris' Feat well too.  I had suspected I'd need it to help counter Irusk's Feat, but I didn't realize how big a difference it would make.  With just my own attacks, the Ironfangs would have been very functional at the end of my third turn.  Getting those I killed to attack for me was really what let me finish off the unit, and ultimately break through to win the game.

I have a lot of experience with this pHexeris list right now, and there's not a lot I want to change about it.  It works together well, and has a lot of tools to compete in most situations I encounter.  When Baxter is done, I might try the list with a Bronzeback and max Paingivers instead of the Cannoneer and Agonizer, but I suspect I'll prefer the combination of shooting and attrition/denial Candes and the Agonizer give me.

Caleb also played a solid game in general.  He jammed me, and ground me out with the Ironfangs and Greylords while the Kayazy and Spriggan set up their flanking maneuver.  If I had done significantly less damage to the Ironfangs on my third turn, I would have been swamped by his flankers and wiped out.  He did make a mistake in clumping the Nyss so close together on turn 1 - he didn't anticipate that I'd move out so quickly to arc an Obliteration at them.  There was a lot of infantry on his side of the table, however, and clumping them up did make it a lot easier to maneuver the Greylords.

Overall, I like Caleb's list a lot too.  It has a great selection of powerful infantry, and just the right support to run them well.  I might prefer a different warjack to the Spriggan in this list.  The Spriggan did get into combat, but it was overshadowed, and could easily become hemmed in by, the great infantry around it.  I'd run a ranged or support 'jack like the Destroyer (for easy, long-ranged Bombardment) or the Demolisher (for access to Girded to help out the high-Def, low-Arm infantry against blast damage).  The list has no problem with heavy armor since its infantry hit hard even before Battle Lust and Kiss of Lyliss get thrown into the mix, and Superiority would make a ranged 'jack into a mobile and versatile threat.

Thanks for the game, Caleb.

Battle Report: pMakeda vs Vlad 3 (35pts)

I played two games this past Friday.  Here is the first one.

I played the following list:

Archdomina Makeda (+5)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)

10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard (2)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1)

Hakaar the Destroyer (4)
Extoller Soulward (2)

This is my pMakeda list until my Bronzeback is finished.  It's pretty flexible, and has decent ranged support in the Titan Cannoneer, and the Archdomina's help with speed, accuracy and attrition.  The last time I played it, I was hampered by a couple terrible mistakes, but I'm hoping that this time I'll steer it to victory.

While it's strong against most balanced lists, extreme high-Def and Arm give it trouble.  The only tools for dealing with Def 17 and higher reliably are Hakaar and the Cannoneer's gun.  My only damage buff is Enrage, and anything above Arm 22 or so will be very hard for me to clear out with just a Cannoneer and Gladiator for heavies.

My opponent, who's name was Caleb, but who isn't the Caleb on this blog, ran the following:

Vladimir Tzepesci, Great Prince of Umbrey (+5)
*Behemoth (13)
*Drago (8)
*Sylas Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2)

10 Winter Guard Rifle Corps (8)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)

Fenris (5)
Kovnik Josef Grigorovich (2)

I've never played against Vlad 3 before, so I'll have to get used to his tricks this game.  Overall, it looks like a flexible combination of 'jacks, Fenris and Vlad will do the melee heavy lifting, as well as have great maneuverability on Vlad's Feat turn.  The Rifle Corps and Kovnik Joe provide some long ranged support to get rid of infantry screens and force the enemy into place for the 'jacks and Cavalry to take care of.

If there's a weakness to the list, it's massed high-armor.  A list with a lot of high Arm beasts or 'jacks and/or a lot of Stealth could ignore the Rifle Corps' low-Powered shooting, and focus on killing the Khador 'jacks, Fenris, and Vlad himself.  Additional defensive abilities which prevented the Warjacks from Sprinting or Side-Stepping on Vlad's Feat turn or reduced their offensive output would also hurt this list.

Deployment:

There were two houses on the center-left side of the battle field, a forest in the center near one deployment zone, a couple of low walls around the center.  There was also a low hill in each deployment zone.  We decided to play the Incursion scenario - the one with 3 flags, one of which disappears after turn 2.

Caleb won the roll off, and decided to go second.  He picked the table side with the forest.

I deployed my Swordsmen in the center, and my Titans just to the left side of the house on my side of the table.  I wanted to limit my opponent's angles of approach, and use my superior speed (with Savagery and Rush) to straight up out-threat his 'jacks.  Hakaar, the Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer, and Marketh, deployed near the Swordsmen to support them, and the Swamp Gobbers went on the front line with the Swordsmen.  The Extoller Soulward and Makeda went behind the house so they could support both groups at first.  The Paingivers deployed behind the Titans.

Caleb deployed Behemoth in the Center with the Rifle Corps to its right (from my perspective) looking to get onto the hill.  Kovnik Joe deployed behind the Rifle Corps.  Fenris deployed on the far right to flank me.  Drago and Aiyanna and Holt deployed on the left opposite my warbeasts.  Finally, Vladimir deployed in the center, between Behemoth and the Rifle Corps.

Turn 1: Skorne

The Swamp Gobbers and Swordsmen ran forward and spread out a bit.  Marketh advanced, and cast Defender's Ward on the Swordsmen with Spell Slave.  The Gladiator Rushed herself and Trampled to the far side of the house I'd deployed around.  The Cannoneer ran.  Makeda cast Savagery on Hakaar, advanced, and discarded two Fury to match the 4 Fury on the table.  The Tyrant Commander tried to use Press Forward on Hakaar, but was barely out of range, then ran forward to support the Swordsmen.  The Paingivers and Extoller just ran.

I'd already made a couple of mistakes, but they were pretty minor.  I'd wanted to put Pres Forward on Hakaar to get him far upfield on my next turn.  Between turns 1 and 2, he can move 31" if Righteous Vengeance gets triggered while he has Savagery.  I also should have had Makeda cast Rush on the Cannoneer to get a little more distance with her.  It was still early in the game, though.

Turn 1: Khador

Vlad put one point of Focus on the Behemoth's sub-cortex.  Vlad cast Dash, then put Infernal Machine on Behemoth and Hand of Fate on the Winter Guard Rifle Corps, and advanced.  Sylas advanced to just behind him.  Behemoth advanced, and took some Bombard shots at the Swamp Gobbers, killing them and a Swordsman.  Kovnik Joe advanced, and gave the Rifle Corps boosted attack rolls with For the Motherland.  The Rifle Corps advanced, and killed another Swordsman, since only one was in range.  Fenris advanced to support the Rifle Corps on the right.  Drago ran forward on the left, and Aiyanna and Holt supported him and gave themselves Stealth.

At this point, we had one of the flags disappear, and it was the one in front of my beasts.  Boo.

I was not thrilled about eating that long-range firepower every turn with my Swordsmen.  They'd be out of range this next turn to retaliate.  I'd just have to rely on my Feat to get them into combat with the Winter Guard while my beasts went right to contest and claim the center objective.  I was also not happy that I'd have to march up to Behemoth and the Rifle Corps just to compete at scoring.  I suppose it serves me right for deploying on one flank rather than keeping flexible though.

Turn 2: Skorne

Hakaar took a 9" Righteous Vengeance advance, getting a bit out in front of the Swordsmen.  Makeda upkept Defender's Ward and Savagery.  Hakaar looked like he could reach Aiyanna and Holt.  He advanced, but was just a bit out of range.  The Gladiator Rushed the Cannoneer, and advanced.  The Extoller Soulward advanced, and used Guidance on the Cannoneer.  The Cannoneer advanced.  It looked out of range to Aiyanna and Holt, so it shot Drago.  It missed, but the deviation luckily ended up right on Aiyanna and Holt, and the blast killed them both.  The Swordsmen ran to block charge lanes on my beasts from the Khador heavies and hide behind the houses.  Marketh advanced, and swapped Savagery over to Makeda.  The Tyrant Commander advanced, and the Standard Bearer hid behind a wall.  Makeda advanced, used her Feat, and camped 4 Fury.  The Paingivers advanced and conditioned the Titans.

The Swordsmen wouldn't be going anywhere on the next turn, but I was going to lose Hakaar for sure.  Hopefully, this would let me get my heavies into the game, and start capturing points or killing my opponent's heavies next turn.

Turn 2: Khador

Vlad upkept Hand of Fate, and allocated a point of Focus to Drago, and 3 to the Behemoth's subcortex.  Sylas upkept Infernal Machine.  Joe used For the Motherland on the Rifle Corps again.  The Rifle Corps advanced to claim the far objective, and killed the Tyrant Commander along with a couple of Swordsmen and Marketh.  Drago activated his Imprint, Run Riot, killed Hakaar, and retreated (using Run Riot) to what was likely out of range for my Titans.  Vlad advanced, and cast Dash.  Behemoth advanced, and killed another couple of Swordsmen with AoE's.  Fenris charged and killed the Tyrant Commander's Standard Bearer.

Khador ended up in range of the right objective marker, but a Swordsman was still close enough to contest it.

I'd lost some key support that turn, and Fenris might be able to cut around the flank to go for my support and warlock.  On the other hand, my Swordsmen would be coming back in the maintenance phase, and I'd have the opportunity to do some damage to my opponent now.

Turn 3: Skorne

The dead Swordsmen placed themselves back in combat with the nearby Rifle Corps.  Makeda upkept Defender's Ward and Savagery.  She advanced, but decided to camp 4 Fury rather than cast Carnage.  Then the rest of the Swordsmen advanced into combat.  The officer used Perfect Strike to do an automatic point of damage to the Winter Guard.  I hadn't thought I'd need Carnage, since I had a lot of attacks, but the dice disappointed me, and I only killed four of the Rifle Corps.  The other Swordsman also did two points of damage to Behemoth, and ran to screen my Titans from both 'jacks.  The Gladiator Rushed the Cannoneer, and advanced, and the Cannoneer advanced and shot at Drago.  She hit this time, and boosted the damage roll to do a significant chunk of damage, then used Diminish.  The Paingivers managed Fury again.  The Extoller advanced around the house toward the battle.

My Swordsmen were contesting the Right objective, while Behemoth was contesting the Center objective.  No points were scored on either side.

Things weren't looking great for me.  I'd needed to kill more of the Winter Guard.  If I'd killed just 2-3 more, I'd be in much better shape.  Now, they'd be able to kill off a lot of the Swordsmen while Vlad's Feat gave the 'jacks better mobility.

Turn 3: Khador

Vlad and Sylas upkept Hand of Fate and Infernal Machine again, and Vlad allocated 3 Focus to Behemoth's Cortex.  Kovnik Joe used For the Motherland on the Rifle Corps.  Vlad cast Dash, used his Feat to give all cavalry and warjacks Side Step and Sprint, and charged in.  He killed three Swordsmen, disengaging Behemoth in the process.  Then he Sprinted back toward the right objective.  The Rifle Corps backed away from the Swordsmen, and shot four or five of the survivors down.  Fenris advanced, killed another Swordsman, and Sprinted back toward Vlad.  Behemoth advanced, killed the Swordsmen officer using both its Initial attacks and a boost, and Side Stepped into the Gladiator, which it damaged with its remaining attacks.  Then it Sprinted out of Line of Sight of both my Titans.  Drago retreated from the Cannoneer.

Khador ended up in clear control of the right objective, and scored a point.

I had to start contesting that second objective.  Of course, I had a more immediate problem: Behemoth.  It would kill a heavy next turn unless I dealt with it.

Turn 4: Skorne

Makeda dropped both upkeeps.  The Gladiator Rushed itself, advanced, and used a Double Handed Throw to put Behemoth in my Cannoneer's charge lane.  It succeeded, but caused no damage to Behemoth  The Paingivers Enraged the Cannoneer, and Medicated the Gladiator.  The Cannoneer charged in, and reduced Behemoth to its last 5 Hit Boxes.  Makeda charged, and finished it off with a Combo Strike, then Side Stepped away from Vlad and Fenris, and cast Diminish and Defender's Ward on herself for extra protection, and camped two Fury for transfers.  The Extoller Soulward advanced to just within contesting range for the right objective, and took a boosted shot at Fenris, but missed.

No points were scored this turn, but I was still at a disadvantage.  Caleb was ahead, and had clear control of the right objective in a strategic sense.  He also had more options than I did.  My Titans were powerhouses to be sure, but he could sacrifice the Winter Guard, Fenris and Drago to slow them down and kill them.

Turn 4: Khador

Sylas upkept Hand of Fate.  Kovnik Joe used For the Motherland on the Rifle Corps again.  The Rifle Corps stayed on the objective, killed the Extoller, and took a couple of shots at the Cannoneer, but didn't do much.  Vlad cast Dash, and retreated a bit.  Fenris considered charging Makeda, but she was too well protected by Diminish and transfers, so he retreated to near Vlad.  Drago ran to reposition itself out or range of my Titans again.

Khador scored its second point.  The game was just about up.  I'd have to run my Titans in to contest the right flag, and hope they survived, otherwise I'd lose on scenario.

Turn 5: Skorne

There was still Fury on the Gladiator after leaching, and it failed its Threshold check.  It Frenzied into Makeda, but missed.  Makeda advanced to the objective, cast Rush and Savagery on the Titan Cannoneer, and camped two Fury.  The Cannoneer power walked 11.5" to contest the right objective, and used Diminish to help itself surive.

It was all on Candes.  If she died next turn, I'd lose.  If she lived, I had a good chance of pulling out an assassination, since Vlad would be in combat with her.  Unfortunately, Vlad in any form is a heavy hitter, and Fenris is no slouch either, so Candes' chances didn't look good.

Turn 5: Khador

Fenris charged my Cannoneer, and did a little damage.  Then Vlad charged in and finished the job.  Caleb ended his turn, and Khador won on scenario.

Victory to Khador!

Thoughts:

I made one big assumption in deployment which turned out to be a very bad one.  I deployed my Titans near a side objective which ended up disappearing.  That decision forced me to scramble for ground starting on turn 3.  I had to commit with the relatively fragile Swordsmen without supporting them while my Titans made it back into position.  I also made a lot of little mistakes in positioning and spell targeting which didn't help me recover my position at all.  I left the Tyrant Commander's Standard Bearer in Fenris' charge range, didn't hide Marketh away for the late game when spell cycling onto Titans would be crucial, and sent Hakaar after Aiyanna and Holt instead of Fenris, whom he would probably have killed (with Righteous Vengeance and Savagery).  In short, I didn't deploy to contest the objectives well, and compounded my disadvantage with a lot of small tactical mistakes.   Not one of my stronger games.

I will keep trying this list, since it's a lot of fun to use, but I'm starting to think that the beasts especially need to be more aggressive.  I will try the list again when Baxter is finished, and see what develops.  I've had very good success in the past running min Cetrati alongside my Swordsmen with pMakeda, and I might go back to that.  That list was much more durable, although it lacked some of this list's support.  I'm just not getting good use of the Swamp Gobbers in this list either.  They've been running on turn 1, and being rendered redundant on turn 2.  I may juggle the points around a little more, or I may just max the Beast Handlers out to replace them.

Caleb played a very solid attrition game.  He gained a big advantage at the end of turn 1 when the left objective disappeared, and made it very difficult to get the initiative back.  His use of Drago was particularly good.  Drago would lurk just outside my engagement range, but in range to counterattack if I committed my Titans to attacking Khador, and he slowed the Titans down significantly.  This allowed the rest of his army to focus on killing my infantry and support, and ultimately led to the scenario victory.  Caleb was also careful about contesting the Center objective, so I was only able to start scoring on my last turn.  Well played.

I really like Caleb's list, which seems very versatile.  It has two hard-hitting 'jacks, and a lot of ways to speed them up.  Their threat ranges are long, and Vlad gives them access to Sprint and Side Step with his Feat, which really lets them game the threat ranges.  The Winter Guard Rifle Corps and Kovnik Joe are also very strong in this list.  The 14" range (along with Behemoth's Bombards) is enough to force a lot of opponents, particularly those with a lot of infantry, into the charge ranges of Behemoth, Drago, Vlad and Fenris.  It seems like Caleb had 2 extra points on the table this game.  I don't think they made a huge difference, since he played a great game tactically.  The version of the list he emailed me doesn't have Kovnik Joe, but I would drop Sylas Wyshnalyrr instead.  Vlad has a lot of Focus, and Joe adds a lot to the Rifle Corps potential.  I would have been in a much better position if they'd had unboosted attack rolls against my Def-15 Swordsmen.

Thanks for the great game.