Tuesday, January 1, 2013

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.

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