Here's the first of two games I managed to play this past Tuesday. After a little discussion on the Skorne Forum, I decided to give my pMorghoul shooty list another try. Previous versions of the list have been moderately successful, and I was interested to try it out again.
The list was:
Master Tormentor Morghoul (+7)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Cyclops Raider (5)
*Cyclops Shaman (5)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
6 Paingiver Beast Handlers (3)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2)
It's a combined arms list that wants to use the Cannoneer shelling early on to snipe solos and clear out infantry, then smash the enemy heavies with the Bronzeback and Gladiator. It's hard to alpha strike this list thanks to Morghoul's long threat ranges, his Feat, and Admonition. It is vulnerable to jamming, however, especially by high-Def models. It also doesn't spread out very well for non-Center scenarios.
My opponent and non-co-blogger, Caleb H, is currently practicing his Butcher 3 list, and he played:
The Butcher, Unleashed (+4)
*Beast 09 (11)
*War Dog (1)
10 Iron Fang Pikemen (8)
*Black Dragon Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
3 Iron Fang Uhlans (7)
Great Bears of the Gallowswood (5)
Widowmakers (4)
Greylords Ternion (4)
Kayazy Eliminators (3)
Man O' War Drakhun with Dismount (5)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2)
Madeline Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan (2)
This list uses the Butcher's terrifying melee threat to get a leg up early on scenarios and keep the opponent from contesting them effectively. So far it seems very strong, and the Butcher's lack of spell support is compensated for by his melee power. It's vulnerable to casters who can threaten the Butcher while contesting scenarios. The Butcher can't apply pressure directly if he'll be taken out in return, and needs to rely on unbuffed infantry to do the work, which may not be enough.
Deployment and Scenario
We played the Incoming SR 2013 scenario. There are two objectives and two zones. Destroy your enemy's objective, or dominate your own zone for 1 point. Control your enemy's objective for 2 points, or dominate it for 3. Caleb won the roll-off, and went second.
I deployed in a loose brick with the two Cannoneers looking to lob some shots into Caleb's zone on the right. The Gladiator and Bronzeback went on the left, and my support went behind them.
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| I deploy between the zones. The Sentry is proxying for a Cannoneer here. |
Caleb deployed in an extended line with the Iron Fang Pikemen looking to occupy my zone, the Drakhun on the far flank, and the Great Bears and Uhlans in the middle ready to charge in where they were needed or just blitz me. Butcher and Beast deployed to dominate Caleb's zone with Butcher's pit crew (Corbeau, the Greylords and the War Dog) behind them. The Widowmakers spread out in Advance Deploy.
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| The bulk of Butcher's infantry deploy to claim and contest my zone. |
Turn 1: Skorne
I ran forward with most things. I Abused both Cannoneers to get a 12" run on them, then put Far Strike on both with the Raider and the Shaman, and lobbed some AoE's at the Widowmakers with Ancillary Attacks but they scattered wide.
I made the mistake here of putting one of my Cannoneers behind my objective - I should have known better, but I didn't think it through. Otherwise, a standard turn 1 setup.
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| My turn 1 setup (Caleb has already moved the Great Bears and Widowmakers though) |
Turn 1: Khador
Caleb tanked up behind the low wall with the Widowmakers and Great Bears, and advanced conservatively with the IFP and Uhlans. The Drakhun started to run down my left flank. The Butcher got in position to dominate his zone next turn, and Beast toed in. The Greylords put clouds on the two War Argi and the
I have some opportunities here. If a Cannoneer can peg that center Great Bear, I might kill a lot of models. I also have to start contesting my zone to keep the Butcher from putting too much pressure on me. Butcher 3 really wants to make me commit, which is not good, because he'll kill Morghoul if I do.
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| Caleb runs forward, Butcher's fury shaking the camera as he does. |
The Gladiator toes into my zone, and the Bronzeback retreats. A Willbreaker puts Puppet Master on the Cannoneer, which aims, and shoots at the center Great Bear. It needs an 11, and misses everything. Morghoul puts Admonition on himself, and advances to a wall. He Abuses the proxied Cannoneer. Then the Shaman Rushes it, Paingivers Enrage it, and it hops the wall and kills Beast 09.
My position here isn't great. I really needed the Cannon shot to hit the Great Bears, but I probably shouldn't have relied on it so much. Now there was nothing I could do to stop the Butcher from scoring 3 points and putting me on the clock.
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| The Cannoneer scraps Beast, will I survive the counterattack? |
Turn 2: Khador
The Great Bears kill the Gladiator and Krea. Butcher charges and kills the Cannoneer while the Argi run up a bit, then Energizers to toe into the zone and dominate it, and Feats to camp at Arm 24. The Iron Fangs march into my Zone Claiming it for Khador. The Drakhun runs down my flank some more, threatening my support.
Caleb ends his turn and scores 3 points, meaning I am in a do or die situation. Unfortunately "do" means stopping the Butcher from killing everything in the same zone as him. Possible for Morghoul, but dangerous too.
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| Caleb gets up on scenario, just what Butcher wants. |
Turn 3: Skorne
Although it's a long shot I decide to try to nab the Butcher rather than play out the scenario. I'm way down on points, and feeling pretty disappointed with my play this game. I try to clear out the Uhlan with my Raider, but he misses. The Shaman clears him out, then the Cannoneer and Morghoul lob shots and Torments at the Butcher, but it isn't enough.
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| Assassinated! |
Turn 3: Khador
Caleb could just win on scenario, but decides to charge in for the final dramatic picture.
Victory to Khador!
Thoughts
I made a lot of mistakes this game, and generally didn't position well. pMorghoul is a pretty tricky Warlock, and every time I get out of practice with him, my play gets clumsy. There were a bunch of situational mistakes I made, but I also think my basic approach was wrong. I should have started by leaning toward my zone, and threatening the Butchers. Turn 2 or 3, I could have launched my attack and used my Feat without giving up so many points. pMorghoul's Feat means you don't have to worry about the Butcher too much for a turn, and Morghoul's Titans can threaten him pretty easily, even on a full camp. I would have had to worry about the infantry for sure, but I also think I could have answered them with careful positioning and good use of Admonition. Morghoul himself can kill a lot of Iron Fangs.
One thing I might have done to salvage this particular game was Feat with Morghoul on turn 3, and Abuse the second Cannoneer. I might have been able to get it into the zone with the Butcher by running it, and it would probably have survived with Morghoul's Feat to back it up. If I'd Feated on my second turn, and played Morghoul a little more aggressively, I might also have kept that 1st Cannoneer around. Morghoul has a lot of cool tricks he can pull, and I actually don't think he's a bad matchup for Butcher 3, but I really need practice with him.
I don't have much to say about my list. I misplayed it, but that just means it's not intuitive for me. I need more practice before I dismiss it though. I do think the Mammoth is more dangerous than the two Cannoneers in this list, and I may decide to drop the Cannoneers and a Willbreaker for one. I also may drop some models for infantry. I know pMorghoul can be played successfully without a screen, but I might not be skilled enough yet to pull it off.
Caleb played a tight, conservative game. He put pressure on me early, took advantage of the scenario, and made my mistakes even worse. I think he's got Butcher 3 down really well. He wants to play a scenario game, and threaten people with the Butcher so they can't contest properly. The rest of the list claims and contests scenarios while the Butcher stays relatively safe and dominates. It's a hard threat to deal with effectively.
The list Caleb went with does seem to play to Butcher 3's strengths. I'll have to get at least one more game against it where I don't just get steamrolled to decide if there's anything I'd change about it. I do think the Butcher's pit crew of Greylords, Corveau, and War Dog is the way to run him and keep him safe. I suppose the Greylords are optional, but their clouds definitely help ensure that the Butcher doesn't take charges or long ranged, high powered shooting that can kill him or mitigate his threat by putting him down hit points.
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