It's been a while. I had some more of my story lined up for you, but then I got to play a couple of games. For this one, I went with Retribution and Kaelyssa.
I played:
Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper (+7)
*Phoenix (10)
*Banshee (10)
*Sylas Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2)
10 Dawnguard Invictors (10)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
6 Mage Hunter Strike Force (5)
*Strike Force Commander (2)
Arcanist (1)
I've played this Kaelyssa list a couple of times, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. The Phoenix and Banshee are both great for infantry support, the Invictors are a solid shooting unit that's pretty good at melee when it can Flank with the Warjacks. The Strike Force is a powerful toolbox unit that threatens many different targets. In short, I have a lot of firepower, and pack a decent punch in melee. My list's biggest weakness is the lack of a jamming element, meaning it has a tendency to get jammed itself. If that lets my opponent deny me Flank on the Invictors, my melee options against enemy heavies are limited.
My regular opponent and co-blogger, Caleb, went with:
Captain Gunnbjorn (+5)
*Dire Troll Bomber (10)
*Slag Troll (6)
*Troll Impaler (5)
*Rune Bearer (2)
10 Kriel Warriors (6)
*Piper and Standard Bearer (2)
*2 Caber Throwers (2)
6 Pyg Bushwhackers (5)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2)
His thoughts on this list can be found in this post. It seems like a solid gunline list for trolls. The Kriel Warriors are a good jamming unit that can hit hard with the Caber Throwers. The Beast selection is all ranged, which would make me a little nervous about fighting a beast heavy list, but together the three beasts can put out some very respectable firepower. The Bushwhackers seem like a good all-around unit. They're a little pricey, but benefit well from Snipe, and can be fun with spammed Explosivo. This list looks like it will have trouble against a 'beast or 'jack heavy list that won't go down easily to shooting or the Kriel Warriors.
Deployment
I won the roll-off and went second, so I could pick the table edge with better access to walls. Gunnbjorn has Rock Wall, and I didn't feel like trying to soften him up with my shooting when he could give his whole army cover from walls without even using his Feat.
Caleb deployed everything mostly behind a hill for the elevation bonus. His Kriel Warriors went up front with his Warbeasts, Gunnbjorn and the support close behind.
I deployed my models in a clump opposite Caleb's. I mixed the two 'jacks in with 3 clumps of Dawnguard, and put Sylas and Kaelyssa behind them. My Arcanist went in the front to help out the 'Jacks.
Caleb deployed the Bushwhackers on my left flank near some woods, and I deployed my Mage Hunters opposite them to keep them from harassing my Dawnguard and support models.
Turn 1
All the Trollbloods ran except Gunnbjorn, taking a commanding position on the hill, with the lead Kriel Warriors getting to the other side. Gunnbjorn put Snipe on the Bushwhackers to take them to Range 18. The Bushwhackers advanced into the woods.
I ran everything up except Kaelyssa and the Mage Hunters. The Dawnguard stayed in Defensive Line to live through the Pow 10's and blast damage coming my way. Kaelyssa used her remaining Focus (after allocating 1) to cast Rift twice at the Kriel Warriors through the Phoenix. Both castings fell very short, but popped up a roughly 10" wall of rough terrain in front of the Kriel Warriors, keeping them off my Dawnguard for another turn. The Mage Hunters advanced to threaten the Bushwhackers.
A pretty standard first round of running and buffing. Significantly, I'd slowed the Kriel Warriors down with the double Rift templates. Caleb had no way to give them Pathfinder, so they'd be slogging through the templates, and I'd have an extra turn to shoot with my Invictors and Myrmidons.
Turn 2
The Kriel Warriors ran as far up as they could, but were slowed quite effectively by the Rifts. The Impaler used its Far Strike animus to give the Bomber +4 range. Gunnbjorn advanced, cast Far Strike on himself, cast Guided Fire, and killed an Invictor. He also used his Feat to give everything in his Control area Cover and immunity to Knockdown and blast damage. The Bomber advanced, half wrecking the Phoenix (though the Generator and Arc Node were still intact), and killing another Invictor with the blast damage. The Pygs advanced on the Mage Hunters, but didn't get within 5" and couldn't draw LoS around the woods to the Invictors.
Kaelyssa allocated one Focus to the Banshee. The Mage Hunters advanced and shot the Bushwhackers, killing all but one. The Arcanist tried to repair the Phoenix, but failed the skill check. The Phoenix advanced to within 2" of the lead Kriel Warriors, and used Combustion, killing one and setting another on fire. The Invictors advanced, used their Extend Fire mini-Feat to give themselves +4 range, and took out the next 4 Kriel Warriors they could reach. Sylas used Arcane Secrets on Kaelyssa, who advanced, put Phantom Hunter on the Banshee, and cast Rift at one of the rear Kriel Warriors to catch it and the 2 Caber Throwers in rough terrian. She also used her Feat to give her whole army Stealth and prevent it from being charged for a round. The Banshee advanced, and slammed one Kriel Warrior into another, killing both.
A pretty good round for me. Caleb hadn't had the time to bring either his firepower or his jamming unit to bear yet, and I had inflicted a lot of damage on his infantry this turn. Invictors doing CRA's are amazingly accurate. I'd expected more shots to miss due to Cover, but rerolled 8's to hit is actually pretty reliable. Caleb still had some dangerous shooting from the Warbeasts and Gunnbjorn, but they'd be shooting at Stealth targets this turn, so the damage would be limited.
Turn 3
There was only one Bushwhacker left, so Gunnbjorn dropped Snipe. The Bomber advanced on the Phoenix, and got to within 5 inches. Two more bombs saw the Phoenix's Arc Node, Generator and Movement taken out. The last of the Bushwhackers advanced, and shot a Mage Hunter, but missed due to being Rat 4. Gunnbjorn put Explosivo on the Slag Troll, then advanced to within 5" the Phoenix, shot it with his Bazooka. He scored a Critical Devastation, which threw the Phoenix back an inch and knocked it down, but failed to finish it off. Finally, Gunnbjorn The Rune Bearer put Snipe on the Slag Troll. The Slag troll advanced, and shot acid at my Invictors, but the blast damage did nothing. Finally, the Kriel Warriors ran again to engage the Phoenix and a few Dawnguard.
Gunnbjorn was safe from charges behind his wall, but not safe from a lot of my shooting. If I could get him with the Banshee's shot, I could take him down. So Kaelyssa allocated 2 to the Banshee and kept the rest for herself. Sylas upkept Phantom Hunter on the Banshee for free. The Banshee aimed and shot Gunnbjorn, slamming him away from the wall and knocking him down. He hit a Kriel Warrior, and transferred the damage. Then Kaelyssa cast Phantom Hunter on herself, and shot the rest of Gunnbjorn's Fury off, doing a little damage in the process. Last, the Invictors activated, advanced, and shot Gunnbjorn to death.
Victory to the Retribution!
Thoughts
That was probably the best game I've played yet with Retribution in terms of positioning and timing. I used Kaelyssa's abilities well, and took advantage of the terrain well. Using Rift to slow Caleb's jamming element was essential to keeping control of the game, and timing it just before popping Kaelyssa's Feat worked very well. Otherwise, I made no power plays, but I also made no major mistakes. I just methodically exploited my advantage, and played attrition until Gunnbjorn exposed himself.
The list worked out very well this game, although I've had it fall flat once or twice. The lack of a jamming/counter-jamming unit is sometimes hard to deal with. The Invictors can't really break themselves out of melee without Flank (and even then they can have trouble). They're versatile, and they were very strong this game, but they get swamped easily. Kaelyssa can help them out with Rift and her Feat, but it can be a little hair-raising, especially if the opponent has easy access to Pathfinder. When I pick up Halberdiers (the next big thing for Ret for me), I'll try them out in place of the Invictors and the Mage Hunters, and see what works best. They'd speed the whole army up, and help out a lot in the jamming department.
Caleb had a bad matchup here. He didn't make any mistakes other than hoping that a wall would protect Gunnbjorn. He chose his targets well (beating up on the Phoenix to prevent it from disrupting his infantry and threatening his only heavy), and timed his Feat to give him the most protection against my shooting. It just wasn't enough. Without a Fell Caller to grant Pathfinder, his Kriel Warriors couldn't jam, and got shot to pieces. With my overall high Arm and Kaelyssa's Feat granting Stealth, Caleb never had the chance to maximise his list's firepower. Gunnbjorn's last ditch shot to finish off the Phoenix wasn't worth the risk, especially against a list that can ignore Cover so easily, but there wasn't much else for Caleb to do at that point.
As for his list, it's hard to judge. A source of Pathfinder would be very nice, and not just for the Rift and Inhospitable Ground matchups. The Stone Scribe Chronicler and Rune Bearer both seem nice but unnecessary. Maybe swapping them out for a Fell Caller and a third Caber Thrower would help the list out. The Fell Caller gives out Pathfinder or +2 to melee attacks, which is a good set of abilities. Standing the army up would be more corner case, since the Kriel Warriors have Steady, and Gunnbjorn's Feat prevents Knockdown. And the Fell Caller has good melee and ranged attacks of its own. Another Caber Thrower means the Kriel Warriors jam better and longer, although I can also see the argument for a sorcerer to remove Speed debuffs etc. from the unit.
That's it. Thanks for the game, Caleb.
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