I got another fun game in this past Friday, and I decided to play Makeda 3 again, because she is a blast to play.
I ran the following list:
Makeda and the Exalted Court (+2)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
This is a pretty straightforward list with a slight twist in the form of the Ancestral Guardians. The Swordsmen are a basic attrition screen. They protect the rest of the list from anything that could hurt it, take out enemy infantry, and die early on so I can deliver Makeda and her beasts into the heart of the enemy formation. It's also a Tier 1 Armageddon list, so Makeda and her unit would get Advance Move.
The Ancestral Guardians are part of a little experiment I'm running to try to get a handle on how to use AG's, and to see if there's any way I can figure out how to use them that makes them better than they appear at first. Ancestral Guardians do have some synergy with Makeda 3. If they're near her, then all their damage rolls will be boosted by Vortex of Destruction, which makes them a lot more dangerous offensively than they would be otherwise. Vortex of Destruction also boosts their Defensive Strike damage rolls, which makes them capable of doing good damage to beasts and 'jacks if one gets close. I'm planning to run them near Makeda as a bodyguard to take advantage of the boosted damage, and discourage my opponent from charging Makeda, who likes to play pretty far forward.
My list's major limitations are a lot of points tied up in Ancestral Guardians, who will be very sad indeed if they're denied their Souls by some RFP effect or kill off early, and that I have no ranged attacks except Eliminator.
My opponent, Caleb, tried out Grissel 1 with the following list:
Grissel Bloodsong (+5)
*Earthborn Dire Troll (10)
*Dire Troll Mauler (9)
*Rune Bearer (2)
6 Kriel Warriors (4)
*Musician and Standard Bearer (2)
*3 Caber Throwers (3)
5 Trollkin Warders (8)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2)
This list has some good jamming potential with both the Kriel Warriors and the Warders, which are fairly tough units. Grissel also has some extra synergy with the Warders and Caber Throwers with Heroic Call, since those models hit very hard, and extra attacks on them are nasty business. The Troll beasts are pretty standard heavies, and fairly powerful. Overall, it seems like a durable brick with some extra options thanks to Grissel's Fell Calls and spells. The list's major limitation is a lack of ranged attacks, kind of like mine.
Deployment
We deployed pretty evenly. I put Makeda and her unit directly in front of a wall in the center of the table, flanked by the AG's and Swordsmen. The beasts and Paingivers went on my right partially covered by a forest.
Caleb deployed in a brick, Kriel Warriors and Warders in front, with the beasts and Grissel behind them along with the Rune Bearer and Chronicler.
I took Makeda's Advance Move to give her a good angle on the Gladiator to cast Rush, and good positioning to charge up to the low wall.
Turn 1
Makeda Rushed the Gladiator, cast Vortex of destruction. She charged to near the wall (though not near enough for Cover, sadly, while her Court ran to get Cover behind the wall. The Swordsmen Ran to put themselves in line with Makeda. The AG's ran to just behind the Swordsmen. The Gladiator Rushed the Bronzeback, and trampled up to behind the lead Swordsmen, and the Bronzeback ran through the forest alongside it.
The Kriel Warriors and Warders both ran, and the Beasts ran up behind them. Grissel advanced, and cast Hallowed Avenger and Rage on the Mauler, and used her Hoof It Fell Call on the Warders to give them an extra move at the end of the turn. The Chronicler put Hero's Tragedy on the Kriel Warriors so anyone I attacked them with would be knocked down at the end of its activation.
Turn 1 was looking pretty standard. I didn't like Hero's Tragedy on the Kriels, since it meant Makeda wouldn't be able to butcher them without falling over at the end of her activation. I'd have to jam them with Swordsmen, and save Makeda for going after heavier stuff later on.
Turn 2
The Swordsmen charged the Kriel Warriors, killed 2 (the rest of the ones I attacked passed their Tough checks), and jammed both the Kriel Warriors and the Warders. The AG's ran up behind them to grab their Souls and guard Makeda with Defensive Strikes near the edge of the wall. Makeda advanced to the wall, and one of her guardians hopped it to help the Swordsmen jam the Kriel Warriors. My plan was to have that guardian get killed by Caleb's Caber Throwers and give Makeda pathfinder for a charge over the wall thanks to Battle Driven. The Gladiator and Bronzeback advanced to support the army.
The Kriel Warriors killed most of the Swordsmen jamming them, as well as damaging (but not quite killing) the Exalted Guardian. Grissel also sprayed a couple of Swordsmen to death with her voice, and badly damaged an AG with the Spray, and a well-placed Rift, which would slow some of my models down next turn. She also used her Cacophony Fell Call, which would stop me from giving orders or casting spells next turn. The Warders charged in, killing off all but 3 or so Swordsmen, and the lead Ancestral Guardian (I decided to take the Defensive Strike, and did some damage). Caleb's beasts advance to counterattack. The Chronicler used Hero's Tragedy on the Kriel Warriors again.
Caleb was really harshing my mellow with that denial. Cacophony was preventing Makeda from casting spells and charging (since she's part of a unit, she has to give an order to charge). However, he had left Grissel pretty close to Makeda in order to do it. A quick measurement of Makeda's CTRL revealed that she could walk up to Grissel, and probably kill her if I set it up right.
Turn 3
The Swordsmen mostly got out of the way. The Ancestral Guardian next to Makeda killed a Warder directly in front of her. The Paingivers Enraged the Bronzeback, who put Train Wreck on itself, and killed off any other Warders who would be able to make Free Strikes on Makeda as she walked past them. Makeda and her unit activated. Makeda Feated, and everything advanced - the Guardians into the Kriel Warriors, and Makeda into Grissel. The Guardians managed to kill two Kriel Warriors between, pumping Makeda up to 7 Fury (after upkeeping Vortex of Destruction). Makeda was charged by the Hallowed Avengered Mauler, but it missed. Then Makeda finished off Grissel.
Victory to the Skorne!
Thoughts
Makeda 3 definitely has some depth, even when a lot of her best tricks are being shut down by Cacophony, and she's always fun to play. Having her on the front lines being a threat definitely gives me options I wouldn't have with most Warlocks. I have a couple of good tactical moves this game, and no terrible mistakes. My best move was jamming the Kriels with one of Makeda's Guardians. Caleb attacked it, and gave the unit the benefits of Battle Driven, including Pathfinder, which let Makeda walk through the Rift AoE to Grissel.
Caleb played a solid attrition game with only one terrible mistake. Grissel ended up in Makeda's threat range. The denial from Cacophony was definitely good, but you really can't end your turn with your caster in range of Makeda unless your a soul-glutted Terminus. She's just too dangerous.
Notes for Project Obsidian
The Ancestral Guardians were pretty useful this game. I got off one Defensive Strike, which was fairly unimpressive, and killed off a Warder blocking Makeda, which was good. The last Ancestral Guardian was full of souls, and ready to finish Grissel off if she'd passed her Tough check(s) against Makeda.
I don't think I used the AG's to their fullest potential, as their positioning was fairly cluttered on my first and second turns. However, I do think 3 AG's showed good potential as a counterstrike force. I'll have to play more games to see if the one turn of souls followed by nothing is a serious drawback to including them.
The Ancestral Guardians did work pretty well with Makeda 3, although her Advance Move from her Tier 1 benefit kept her out ahead of them for a lot of the game, and I had to slow her advance on turn 2 to let them catch up. She didn't give them anything special this time around, but I don't think she especially suffered from having them around either.
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