This is the second of 3 games I played the other day with Retribution. This time, I went with Adeptis Rahn:
Adeptis Rahn Shyeel (+6)
*Phoenix (10)
*Chimera (6)
*Sylas Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2)
10 Dawnguard Invictors (10)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
10 Houseguard Halberdiers (7)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
*Soulless Escort (1)
10 Mage Hunter Strike Force (8)
*Strike Force Commander (2)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Arcanist (1)
Arcanist (1)
This isn't quite the list I'd like to run with Rahn at 50pts. I'd rather have a couple of Magisters, and maybe some Battle Mages to take advantage of his Feat. The infantry I do have is strong though, and I like the idea some heavy shooting to take advantage of his ability to knock targets around with Force Hammer.
My opponent, Jason, ran:
Captain Victoria Haley (+5)
*Centurian (9)
*lancer (6)
*Squire (2)
10 Trencher Infantry (10)
*Trencher Infantry Officer and Sniper (2)
6 Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (6)
*Gun Mage Officer (2)
*Avernger (9)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Journeyman Warcaster (3)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2)
This looks like a pretty solid ranged attrition list. I haven't heard anything good about Trenchers, but it's possible that they fit this list's needs well. Haley is good at stopping charges with Temporal Barrier, and can get a leg up on Attrition pretty easily with her Feat and arced Chain Lightning. Trenchers can give themselves Cover and immunity to blasts, so they'll be mostly safe from return fire.
Deployment
We played Outflank. There are two 12"-diameter zones 12" apart in the center of the battlefield. We could control a zone for 1 point, or dominate a zone for 2. There was a small wood in the center of the table, two low hills, and a few walls surrounding it. There were also two buildings on the far flanks of the table, outside the zones.
Jason won the roll-off, and went second. I deployed my Halberdiers and Invictors in a block behind one of the low walls in the middle of the table, and put Rahn and Sylas behind them. Aiyanna and Holt went to the right of my infantry brick. The two Myrmidons and their Arcanists deployed on the flanks (Phoenix in the center-left, Chimera in the center-right) so I'd have as many channeling angles as possible for Rahn's spells.
Jason deployed the Gun Mages behind a hill on the left along with their Avenger. Haley, Aiyanna and Holt, Rhupert, the Squire, and the Journeyman all went in the center. The Centurion and the Lancer deployed to Haley's right.
I Advance Deployed my Mage Hunters on the far right flank, partly because the Gun Mages can hit Stealth models, which would wipe the Strike Force out pretty quickly, and partly because the Trenchers had no answer to the Mage Hunters, and would quickly be shot apart if they deployed on the same side.
Jason Advance Deployed the Trenchers in front of the Gun Mages to avoid the Mage Hunters.
Turn 1: Retribution
Rahn allocated no Focus, and the Chimera Apparated 2" up the field. I knew Jason could start shooting me turn 1, so I advanced the Halberdiers in Shield Wall, and Reformed up for a 9" total move. The Invictors ran up behind them in Defensive Line. The Mage Hunters ran up the right flank cautiously. I wanted to threaten the Lancer while staying out of range of channeled Chain Lighting. The two Arcanists advanced, and used Power Booster. Aiyanna and Holt advanced, and Aiyanna cast Stealth. The Chimera ran around the far building, staying well away from the rearmost Mage Hunters. The Phoenix ran up flush with the leading Halberdiers, not wanting to soak up any CRA's. Rahn moved up behind the Invictors, and cast Polarity Shield on the Halberdiers, and Force Field on himself. Sylas moved up in support.
A pretty basic setup, and I was confident I'd put everything juuust out of range for channeling Chain Lightning into the Mage Hunters. With a little luck, I'd be able to use the Mage Hunters to control the right Zone, and win on scenario.
Turn 1: Cygnar
Haley allocated one Focus to the Lancer, and one to the Centurion. The Lancer ran diagonally, trying to approach the Mage Hunters while staying out of range of their guns. The Trenchers gave themselves the Dig In order, advanced, and shot at the Halberdiers. The Sniper was in range, and killed one. The rest were barely out of range to shoot either the remaining Halberdiers or the Phoenix. The Gun Mages and their Avenger ran up to the top of the hill just behind the Trenchers. Haley took a Focus off of the Squire, advanced, and cast Arcane Shield on the Centurion, and then cast Temporal Barrier. The Journeyman and Squire ran. Rhupert gave the Trenchers +1 Def and Terror with Dirge of Mists. Aiyanna and Holt advanced, and Aiyanna cast Stealth.
That had been relatively painless. I was pretty confident that the Phoenix and at least one Halberdier were in range to charge the Trenchers. I was less hopeful about the idea of the Mage Hunters taking out the Lancer, since Jason had positioned it well. He had made a mistake, however, in that a lot of his very high-value support models and Haley were right behind the Centurion.
Turn 2: Retribution
I wanted to hit the Trenchers, and take out as much of that delicious support as I could. Rahn dropped Polarity Shield, but had Sylas keep Force Field around. Rahn also allocate 3 Focus to the Phoenix, and the Chimera Apparated toward the Centurion. The Phoenix charged at the Trenchers, killed its Charge target, and engaged two more. The Halberdiers also charged the trenchers, and one of the two who made it in killed a second trencher. Then they reformed to spread out and engage more Trenchers. The Arcanist on the right ran to support the Phoenix, while the one on the left advanced, and Power Boostered the Chimera. The Invictors advanced, used their mini-Feat to gain +4 Range, and put some damage on the Avenger. The Mage Hunters advanced, and tried to shoot the Lancer. Only 3 were in range, and they failed to take out its Arc-Node (though they did do some damage).
With the rest of the battle more or less taken care of, the Chimera ran to within 8" of the Centurion. Sylas advanced, and used Arcane Secrets on Rahn, then Rahn advanced, and boosted Force Hammer into the Centurion. It was slammed back 5 inches, and crushed Aiyanna, Holt, the Journeyman, and the Squire beneath its bulk. Rhupert and Haley both took a little damage, and were knocked down.
That Force Hammer was a nasty swing in my favor. It's a spell that really punishes you for not seeing all the angles. I'd also managed to tie up the leading Trenchers, and put my Phoenix and lead Halberdiers into melee, so the game was looking good for me.
Turn 2: Cygnar
Jason had lost some key models and was out of position, but he wasn't out of the fight yet. Haley allocated one Focus to the Lancer, and 3 to the Centurion, which immediately spent one to stand up. Then the Lancer ran to within 5" of the Mage Hunters. Haley forfeited her action, advanced, and used her Feat, Blitz, to give her army additional attacks. Then she channeled Chain Lighting at one of the Mage Hunters, but she needed a 7 and missed. The Centurion charged the Chimera, but was about an inch out of range. The Avenger aimed, and shot the Halberdiers twice, knocking down a few, and killing a few more. The Gun Mages also aimed, and through sustained use of their Thunderbolt ammo, pummeled the Phoenix out of melee, and killed off the Halberdiers engaging the Trenchers. Rhupert then used Heroic Call to give the Trenchers Fearless and Tough for a round. Finally, the Trenchers piled 2 10-strong CRA's into the Phoenix, leaving it at 6 Hit Boxes, although its Cortex, Movement and Sword were still operational.
Jason had started to recover, but the Centurion's failed charge meant that the Chimera was still a fully viable threat, and that meant I could assassinate Haley.
Turn 3: Retribution
Rahn kept all his Focus, and Sylas upkept Force Field. The Chimera Apparated into position near the Centurian. Sylas then advanced, and used Arcane Secrets on Rahn. Rahn popped his Feat to gain extra dice on Magic attack rolls, and cast Telekinesis at the Centurion, placing it right next to Haley. Then he cast Force Hammer on it, knocking her down. Then the Mage Hunters advanced, and enough were in range that Jason decided to concede before I started the process of rolling things out.
Victory to the Retribution!
Thoughts
I played pretty well, and didn't really make any mistakes. Jason didn't fully account for all the Force Hammer angles, and didn't succeed in shutting down the Chimera early on. There isn't much more to say than that. I was able to recognize where to cast Force Hammer to maximum effect, and it proved to be very disruptive.
I like the way the list works, but I'll probably make some changes to accommodate a few more spellcasters. Battle Mages aren't great models, but one turn of really solid Force Bolting will bring a lot of flexibility to the list. I'd also like to try a pair of Mage Hunter Assassins, who can do enormous amounts of damage to knocked down models. I'd probably drop the Invictors to add that stuff, since the Phoenix and Chimera are further afield in this list than in most others to channel spells, and it's not easy to take advantage of Flank.
Jason made two critical mistakes this game. The first was advancing on turn 1 without fully thinking Force Hammer through. The second was forgetting about Arcane Vortex. For one Focus, she could have stopped both those Force Hammers cold, and Haley would have severely limited my options if she'd been camping one on turns 2 and 3. This is especially true since I also forgot about Arcane Vortex, and I would have gleefully run in and lost my Chimera like a chump if Jason had remembered. Otherwise, he played a solid game, and was starting to crack my left flank. He might have succeeded if he'd set things up differently and kept Arcane Vortex in play.
I don't have much to say about Jason's list, since this game didn't really showcase what it could do. The Trenchers seemed to get the job done, but they are expensive. The Gun Mages with a Marshalled Avenger are very scary, since that 'jack can cause a lot of disruption. pHaley is definitely a solid Warcaster too, and has a lot of tools at her disposal.
Thanks for the Game!
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