Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Jarl Skuld at 50pts

I played another game against my co-blogger, Caleb J this past Tuesday, and here's how it went:

I ran the Makeda 3 list I'm working on:

Makeda and the Exalted Court (+2)
*Molik Karn (11)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Basilsk Krea (4)
*Basilisk Drake (4)

10 Nihilators (Proxied with Immortals) (8)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Agonizer (2)

This is my first game with this list for Makeda 3.  The Nihilators are screening.  It's my first game in a while with them, but they're very solid troops for protecting my beasts.  Speed 6 will get them out on the front lines, and Reach and Tough will make them annoying to break through.  This is also my first time trying out the Drake with Makeda 3.  I'm thinking he'll be good on the side, where his spray can clear things up or get free boosted damage rolls against anything Makeda's fighting.  I also think his Animus will be situationally good with Makeda 3 if she starts her turn engaged, or has the option to move around before her action with Eliminators.  Overall, I'm optimistic about this one.


Caleb decided to try out Jarl Skuld:

Jarl Skuld, Devil of the Thornwood (+6)
*Dire Troll Bomber (10)
*Dire Troll Mauler (9)
*Troll Impaler (5)
*Rune Bearer (2)

10 Kriel Warriors (6)
*Piper and Standard Bearer (2)
*3 Caber Throwers (3)
3 Long Riders (7)
3 Runeshapers (4)

Horthol, Long Rider Champion (5)
Fell Caller Hero (3)

This is a deviation from Caleb's standard brickier lists.  It's got a quick and very durable jam with the Kriel Warriors, and a fast melee powerhouse with the Long Riders and Horthol.  Jarl and the Bomber can put in a good amount of work at range, and the Mauler gives it some finishing power in melee.  It seems quite well balanced and fun, especially with Jarl's mobility.


Deployment and Scenario

We played Fire Support (scenario 12), with 2 flags in the middle of the table, and a friendly and an objective on each players table half which counts as friendly to that player (and contests the flag near it until it is destroyed).

A shot of the table (and some Skorne).  The Heavy Myrmidons are our objectives, and the Ancestral Guardians are our flags.

I won the roll-off, and chose to go second.  Caleb deployed in a classic battle line, with the Long Riders and Runeshapers taking the center, the Kriel Warriors deploying slightly to the left, and the Warbeasts deploying in a supporting cluster slightly to the right.  Horthol went to the right of the Warbeasts, but not too far out.  Jarl and the Fell Caller took the center near the Long Riders and the Kriel Warriors.

The Trollkin deploy in a long battle line across the center portion of the table.

I deployed in my standard brick.  The Nihilators and two Titans went up front, though the Nihilators would quickly outpace the Titans.  Makeda deployed on the front lines as well, though the Exalted Court deployed just behind her and the Titans.  Molik, the Krea and the Tyrant Commander deployed behind the Nihilators, and the Paingivers deployed behind them.  The Drake went out on my left side near the wall, where it could help claim my flag, and spray down some Long Riders.

I deploy in a tight line to claim the center, and spread out toward my objective from there.

And with that, we were off.


Turn 1: Trollbloods

Jarl cast Tactical Supremacy on the Long Riders, and Quicken on the Kriel Warriors, and advanced.  The Long Riders and Runeshapers ran forward.  The Fell Caller used Overcome on the Kriel Warriors to help them get through the woods, and ran.  The Warbeasts and Horthol all ran.  The Kriel Warriors dashed 16" up the flank.  The Rune Bearer ran too.  At the end of the turn, the Long Riders used their Tactical Supremacy move to go laterally, in front of the Runeshapers.

Caleb's Trollkin dash up the table.

Yikes.  When did Trolls get to be the fastest faction?  Caleb's army was well deployed, and threatening far up the field.  Time to run up at take a few charges on the chin.  (When I finally buy the Nihilators, then I'll really have the chins for it).

A truly majestic chin.  I found this guy at Forge, Foundry and Crucible, a painting blog a lot of cool looking models on it.  (I don't know the blogger, I just used an image search, but he deserves credit.)



Turn 1: Skorne

The Nihilators ran, as did the Drake.  The Gladiator Rushed the Bronzeback and trampled up, and the Bronzeback ran.  The Tyrant Commander used Press Forward on Makeda and the Court, and ran up near the wall with the Standard Bearer.  Makeda and the Court advanced, and Makeda cast Vortex of Destruction, put 3 Fury on the Agonizer, and camped one for herself.  The Agonizer ran across the table (I'd misdeployed it pretty badly) to counter Caleb's Beasts.  The Krea cast Paralytic Aura and charged into a pocket I'd made near both Titans, as well as Makeda and the Court.  The Paingivers walked up and managed Fury.

I spread out and prepare to take the charge.

Not a bad turn of positioning.  Caleb's list was too fast for me to really snag any scenario points, but if he committed next turn, I'd be able to counter with all my Warbeasts intact, and do some serious damage to him.  I was also pretty sure he couldn't kill off all my Nihilators, so I'd have a bit of a screen left after this turn.


Turn 2: Trollbloods

Jarl upkept both spells.  The Long Riders activated first, and used Bull Rush to slam the leading Nihilators into the back lines.  They killed 3 overall, and knocked down Makeda with a flying Nihilator, inflicting 6 damage on her with a good roll.  The Fell Caller gave the Kriel Warriors Pathfinder again, and ran upfield.  The Kriel Warriors charged into the Nihilators' flank, and killed two more.  The Rune Bearer moved up, and cast Quicken on the Runeshapers.  Jarl moved up, cast Magic Bullet on himself, and shot Makeda One of her Guardians Shield Guarded the shot, and Caleb used Magic Bullet to kill a Paingiver.  He took another shot at Makeda, but did no damage.  Then he used his Feat to summon 4 clouds across his front line, and a 5th on top of the Runeshapers to lower my attack rolls if I could get to Jarl.

The Rune Bearers advanced, and killed another 2 Nihilator with Rock Hammers.  The Impaler advanced, and used Far Strike on the Bomber, which advanced, and killed a second Paingiver in a scattering blast.  The Mauler advanced to support the other trolls, and Horthol hooked around, ready to start damaging my objective next turn.  The Long Riders finished up by advancing just in front of the Runebearers with Tactical Supremacy, well behind the first line of clouds.

Caleb lurks behind a defensive line of clouds.

I had taken some damage to my screen, and Makeda had taken some damage as well, but I was still reasonably intact.  The Nihilators were expended, but now my heavy hitters - most notably Makeda and Molik - were in a position to do some damage.


Turn 2: Skorne

Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction and shook off Knocked Down.  The three surviving Nihilators advanced, and two of them killed a Kriel Warrior a piece, while the 3rd walked into formation.  The Tyrant Commander used Press Forward on Makeda's unit, and ran up to the wall, while the Standard Bearer ran up to Horthol to engage him.  Makeda's unit walked forward, one Exalted Guardian engaging two Kriel Warriors, and Makeda herself engaging two Long Riders and two Runeshapers.  Makeda killed the one of the Long Riders, and Blood Booned Ground Zero, forcing both the Runeshapers to pass Tough checks, and scratching up the other Long Rider with a lowish roll.

At this point there was a question about Vortex of Destruction and melee range across an enemy base, and after that was settled, I'd completely forgotten about the push effect from Ground Zero (despite the fact that it had been a part of my plan originally), so everything stayed in place :P.  The turn would have ended up a bit differently if I'd remembered it, but probably not too differently.  Next time I'll keep it in mind.

Since everything was still there, and I didn't want Makeda taking Free Strikes on her way out, I decided to Feat, and she killed the second Long Rider and both Runeshapers with melee attacks, and her Exalted Guardian killed both Kriel Warriors she'd Engaged with, and gave Makeda 2 more points of Fury.  Makeda cast Fate Walker, put one on the Agonizer, and camped 3.

Molik barely had LoS around the edge of a cloud to the Bomber, and might be able to Side Step into Jarl, so I needed to clear a path for him.  The Drake advanced, and Sprayed the last Long Rider and Runeshaper, killing them both, and giving Makeda a Fury.  The Bronzeback ran on the diagonal toward the remaining Kriel Warriors.  The Krea moved up, used Paralytic Aura and shot at Jarl, but was just out of range, and Jarl Evasively dodged 2" away from other Trollblood models.  The Gladiator advanced and Rushed Molik to let him hop the wall and give him extra speed.  The two surviving Paingivers Enraged Molik, and Conditioned the Gladiator.  Then Molik charged the Bomber, and side stepped to where he could also attack the Impaler.  He killed both, and used Fate Walker.  Finally, the Agonizer advanced, and wailed Gnawing Pain, which might save Molik from the Mauler.  Then Makeda Fate Walked back to a protected pocket near the Krea, and Molik Fate Walked straight back to near the Agonizer.

A really strong turn.  It will be hard for Caleb to come back from this.

That had been a brutal turn, and Caleb was really on the the back foot now.  He hadn't rolled well with his Tough checks, and now his strong center units were dead, as well as two of his beasts and most of his firepower.  Makeda was out of reach and rocking 4 transfers now, so he had no angle to assassinate her.  He'd have to play for scenario, and hope to do enough damage to my heavies to be able to pull through.


Turn 3: Trollbloods

Jarl dropped his upkeeps.  The Runebearer put Harmonious Exaltation on him.  Jarl cast Magic Bullet on himself, advanced, and shot the Agonizer.  The shot was Shield Guarded by an Exalted Guardian, and Jarl directed the Magic Bullet into the Agonizer, doing some damage, but failing to kill it.  Jarl then cast Magic Bullet again, and shot at the second Exalted Guardian near the Kriel Warriors, but missed with a terrible roll.  He also put Quicken on the Mauler to give it range to Molik.  The Mauler put Rage on itself, and charged in.  It nearly killed Molik, leaving him at just 4 boxes.  The Fell Caller called for Pathfinder on the Kriel Warriors with Overcome, and sprayed at the Exalted Guardian and Nihilators blocking them, but missed.  The Kriel Warriors charged the Exalted Guardian and her Nihilator friends as well as the Bronzeback and Molik Karn.  The first one had to move at Molik, so the Bronzeback Counter-Charged it, getting further upfield, and close to Jarl, but failing to kill the Tough Kriel Warrior.  The Caber Thrower who'd charged the Bronzeback missed, but the remaining Kriel Warriors finished off the last 3 Nihilators.  Finally, Horthol charged in and finished Molik Karn.

The Bronzeback and Krea are in the classic "butt first" melee posture Paingivers instill in their beasts from an early age.

Caleb had done some damage, but not nearly enough.  He'd really needed to clear out the Exalted Guardian and two Nihilators near her to get his Kriel Warriors in to jam me, and his dice had deserted him at a critical juncture.  The Bronzeback was right next to Jarl, and that's never a good sign.


Turn 3: Skorne

Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction, then the Krea and Drake both Frenzied.  The Krea killed the Kriel Warrior next to her, and the Drake chewed ineffectually at Horthol.  The Tyrant Commander advanced, put Press Forward on Makeda's unit, and missed the Mauler with his halberd.  Makeda and her Exalted Guardian advanced to make attacks on the Caber Thrower engaging the Bronzeback, and killed it, then the Bronzeback advanced, and killed Jarl (although it did come down to the last attack).

Being next to a Bronzeback is never good.

Victory to the Skorne!


Thoughts

I played a strong game this time, and while I made mistakes, they were generally pretty small (except lining Makeda up perfectly for a slam into her, no idea what I was thinking there).  I should have been decisive on Makeda's second turn, and Feated earlier.  In a timed format, Makeda's Feat is probably best used to eliminate a few critical pieces rather than try to live the dream and kill everyone with one or two models.  If I'd Feated right away, my activations with the unit would have been cleaner, and I would have been able to do more with Makeda than I did.  A possibility I ignored was to Fate Walker Molik toward Jarl on turn 2.  I'm not entirely sure it would have been better than dragging the Mauler into my threat ranges by forcing it to take out Molik, but it's a possibility I should have thought about.  I also might have considered ignoring my drive to assassinate on turn 3, and gone for the Mauler with my Bronzeback.  The assassination run almost didn't work out because of bad dice, and even though it seemed like a sure thing, it came down to the last Tough check.  If I'd charged and taken out the Mauler, Caleb would have been in an impossible position, with no answer to my heavies or Makeda.

I really liked the way this list fit together.  The Nihilators are a great screen, although I'd forgotten quite how low Cmd 7 is on the tabletop.  The Tyrant Commander was the MVP for me this game.  The extra movement on Makeda turned my second turn from a move up and consolidate sort of turn into a decisive one where I gutted Caleb's army and retreated to safety.  The Basilisk Drake also performed well.  I'm considering Hakaar instead of the Drake, because he'd make a good buddy for Makeda, but the magic spray and extra transfer sink might be too good.  I'll try it both ways and see.

Caleb's only big mistake was underestimating my abilities on his second turn.  He'd set up where he thought he would be safe, but I was still able to reach his Long Riders with Makeda, and his Warbeasts with Molik.  I have some thoughts about how he could have set up differently, but I'm going to see what other people think he should have done on his second turn in the first 4+ Tough Warmachine Puzzle [link to be added soon!].  He definitely should have checked Molik's line of sight, and placed his last cloud to block it.  Losing the Bomber and Impaler locked Caleb into a bad position, even though he killed Molik on his next turn.  Given how fast the big Kriel Warriors unit ended up being I might also have deployed them centrally, or opposite my flag.  They would have jammed the middle up, or locked me out of any scenario points on my own flag.  They might also have killed off my objective after a couple of turns.  Caleb wanted to try deploying the Long Riders in the middle of the table where they'd have full range of the field, and they're definitely a big enough threat for that to be a good move.  I don't know the army well enough to say, but I definitely would have felt more pressure from the Kriel Warriors if they'd kept a little more toward the center.

Caleb's list is good.  I'd say it isn't missing anything in particular, except that it really wants max Long Riders.  I'd drop the Runeshapers to fit them in.  The Runeshapers are certainly nice, but the Bomber and Magic Bullet are a good enough infantry sweeping team, and Critical Knockdown from Rock Hammer isn't a reason to take them in and of itself.  He had also originally written a slightly modified version of the list with Janissa and a light beast (a Slag Troll I think) instead of a Mauler.  I think this list can definitely do well with that setup, although I wouldn't take it against a beast heavy brick like my list without solid armor cracking like the Mauler provides.  Otherwise, this is a deceptively fast Troll list with a lot of jamming potential, strong firepower, and some very hard hitting melee models.  With a little more practice, I'd say Caleb has Jarl figured out.