NFL League Game 5: Whips and Wolves (Skorne vs. Circle Orboros - 50pts)

Hello again!  After about 2 and a half weeks of alternately being out of town or otherwise unavailable, my opponent and I finally got together for the 5th game in Tower's NFL-Style League.  For week 5, we move up to 50pt lists, meaning I can finally try out the lists I mentioned back in my state of the lists post.  This time, I'm up against Circle Orboros, the faction of tricks. Circle has a lot of little movement tricks, includeing Shifting Stone teleports, so they can strike from a lot of unpredictable angles.  They've also got some serious melee hitting power in several of their Warbeasts, so they can kill whatever's around when they get there.

Pre-Game Thoughts

Warlock-wise, the three who worry me the most are Morvahna 2, Kromac, and Krueger 2.  Epic Morvahna is an all-around monster.  Her spell list is great, and between that and her Feat, she supports a strong infantry list backed up by armor cracking heavies.  Kromac denies spellcasting with Bestial, and has a lot of great movement options (including some potentially humongous threat ranges) with Warpath.  Epic Krueger has a great Feat for scenarios, and Telekinesis, which is a major pain to deal with.

I decided to bring my current Makeda 3 list, because she's flexible and tough, a great combination against a shifty army like Circle.  I also brought Lord Tyrant Watt's pMakeda list, since Circle is one of the matchups its Mammoth package is strong against.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)

*Molik Karn (11pts)

*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)

*Titan Gladiator (8pts)

*Cyclops Savage (5pts)

*Cyclops Brute (5pts)

*Cyclops Brute (5pts)

*Basilisk Krea (4pts)

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)

Agonizer (2pts)

My 50pt Makeda 3 list as it currently stands.  The basic game plan is to advance and tank an enemy alpha strike with the Brutes, and counterattack with the heavies and Makeda.  The list plays attrition very well, since the Brutes usually require a heavy or weapon master infantry to take out.  Makeda and Molik do a lot of work against both heavies and infantry, and both have the mobility for unpredictable assassination vectors.

Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)

*Mammoth (20pts)

*Cyclops Raider (5pts)

*Basilisk Krea (4pts)

Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)

Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1pt)

Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)

Extoller Soulward (2pts)

I don't have as much experience with Makeda 1 or this list, but it has a strong presence both in melee and at range.  The Mammoth's guns give it a lot of options against multiple types of enemy, and Makeda's spells and Feat support it well.  The rest of the list should do a good job holding off anything that might kill the Mammoth, contesting scenario, and killing whatever they can.

As I'd anticipated, Bob brought Morvahna 2.  What I didn't anticipate is that he only brought her.  Bob is also running Kromac in the league, but he was out with an injury from Bob's last game.  Since Bob was locked in, I decided to run Makeda 1, both because I have a little less experience with her, and because I just finished painting my Cetrati (except for basing and zounds flags) this past weekend, and I really wanted to play a game with them.  Bob's list was:

Morvahna the Dawnshadow (*5pts)

*Ghetorix (11pts)

*Warpwolf Stalker (10pts)

*Gorax (4pts)

*Druid Wilder (2pts)

Warpborn Skinwalkers (Leader and 4 Grunts) (8pts)

*Warpborn Alpha (3pts)

Wolves of Orboros (Leader and 9 Grutns) (6pts)

*Wolves of Orboros Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)

Wolf Lord Morraig (5pts)

Reeve Hunter (2pts)

War Wolf (1pt)

War Wolf (1pt)

This is a fairly standard build for eMorvahna, although it's missing the 2 units of Shifting Stones and 2 Gallows Groves I usually see with most all Circle Warlocks.  Although it won't have the nonlinear threat vectors I usually worry about, this list has all Morv's normal attrition power, and some interesting tricks in the Hunter and War Wolves.  On the turn Morvahna Feats, she can return a War Wolf to play, then the Reave Hunter can shoot a target to give it a free charge.
 

Scenario and Deployment

Since our lists were already chosen, we rolled up a scenario without taking them into consideration.  We got Fire Support Incoming.  There are two 6" by 12" rectangular zones, one for each player lined, up horizontally roughly on the 24" line (one is slightly closer to each player), and two destructible objectives, one for each player.  Destroying an objective, dominating the friendly zone, or controlling the enemy zone is worth one point.  Dominating the enemy zone is worth two.  The objectives give light artillery boosted damage rolls, which might conceivably be relevant one of these games...

Bob won the roll-off, and chose to go second, picking the table side with slightly better forest cover, which meant I was going first.

I predeployed the Mammoth in the center-right, near my zone, where it could threaten the whole table, but wouldn't be blocked by my own objective.  I put the Nihilators mostly to its right to screen it, and the Cetrati to its left to contest Bob's zone, and possibly move in to screen it later.  The Krea and Raider went between the Mammoth and Cetrati along with Makeda, while the Extoller and Willbreaker went behind the Nihilators.

I forgot to get photos of deployment.  In general, I was pretty forgetful about pictures, and only took them after my turns, so I'll try to describe what's going on during the Circle turns well enough to make up for it.

Bob placed the Wolves of Orboros and Morraig on the right to oppose my Nihilators, and the Skinwalkers on the left opposite my Cetrati.  The Stalker deployed center-right to help out the Wolves with Berserk, while Ghetorix deployed center-left to help out the Skinwalkers if necessary.  Morvahna, the Gorax, and the Wilder deployed centrally to lend support where it was needed.  The Reeve Hunter and War Wolves deployed between Morvahna and the Skinwalkers.

There was no Advance Deploy for either of us, so we were ready to begin.

Turn 1, Skorne

Makeda cast Savagery on the Cetrati and Defender's Ward on the Nihilators, and walked forward.  The Krea ran to just ahead of Makeda.  The Raider used Far Strike to give the Mammoth Snipe, and walked up to behind the Krea.

The Nihilators ran forward around the forest, leaving a nice big hole for the Mammoth's base in their formation.  The Cetrati went into Shield Wall, and walked 10" up, while the Swamp Gobbers ran 12" to just ahead of them.

The Mammoth ran as far as it could, then the Extoller advanced, and gave it Guidance for Eyeless Sight and Magic Weapons, and the Willbreaker advanced, and used Ancillary Attack to have it lob a shot into the empty space in front of Morvahna.  The Paingivers advanced, and I was done.

The Mammoth started with its head attached, but I took it off almost immediately for placement reasons.

My army was committing to zones while screening the Mammoth.  Supposedly, it can kill 30-40 points of models with a strong supporting force like this, and I was eager to see it in action.  You can also see Bob's deployment here.

Turn 1, Circle

Pretty much everything ran.  Morvahna cast Fog of War to give everyone Concealment and Carnivore on the Wolves of Orboros to make them more accurate, and the Stalker Warped for Prowl to give itself Stealth while in Morv's CTRL, but other than that, it was a lot of running into position.

Again, I didn't take pictures, but Bob was threatening both zones with infantry.  Ghetorix was back a bit on a hill in the center-left of the table, and the Stalker was looming up behind the Wolves to attack my Nihilators once they committed.

In short, he was in a decent position to keep his options open and play attrition against me.

Turn 2, Skorne

Makeda leached in her Fury, and upkept her spells.

The Nihilators issued a run/charge order.  Two managed to reach and kill a Wolf of Orboros each, and the rest got into ranks to trade kills with them over the next couple of turns.  The Gobbers walked up on the Left, and threw out a 5" cloud, and the Cetrati Shield Walled up the table to toe into Bob's zone just behind the cloud and low wall.

Then I decided to see if this list could take out a heavy at range.  Makeda cast Far Strike on the Krea, and advanced to behind my objective, then the Willbreaker put Puppet Master on the Krea to give her rerolls on her Paralysis gun.  She advanced, and hit the Stalker with Spiritual Paralysis, reducing its base Def to 7 and preventing it from running or charging for one round.

Step 1 complete, the Raider put Far Strike on the Mammoth, and moved out of the way, then the Extoller gave the Mammoth Eyeless Sight with Guidance so it could hit the Stalker despite its Stealth.

Then the Mammoth advanced, and shot the Stalker down to 4 health (all in the Spirit) with 3 boosted cannon balls.  The Paingivers walked up, and managed Fury.

This picture doesn't quite do justice to how cool Bob's Ghetorix and Skinwalkers look.

Impressive.  I'd rolled below average, and the Stalker was just about dead.  One chop from a Nihilator's sword, or a shot from any of my ranged models should finish it off.  Otherwise, I was pretty well defended.  The Nihilators were in position to kill plenty of Wolves, and the Cetrati were mostly safe from a Skinwalker charge for the turn.  Since the shooting game was in my favor, I had a pretty good position.

Turn 2, Circle

Morvahna upkept Carnivore and Fog of War.

The Wolves of Orboros charged the Nihilators, killing several, and getting one to Tough.  Morraig also charged in, and killed a Nihilator.  The Stalker, which had nothing better to do, walked up, and finished the knocked down Nihilator off.  The Wilder advanced, and cast the Gorax's Animus, Primal, on Ghetorix.

The Skinwalkers advanced into the Gobber cloud, killed a Gobber, and scratched the paint on a couple of Cetrati.  Ghetorix tried to charge the Cetrati behind the wall, but came up about an inch short.  The War Wolved ran forward, and the Hunter tried to Sic'Em on the Krea by hitting her with its crossbow, but missed.  Morvahna crept up behind the Wolves of Orboros, and shot a Nihilator with Sunder Spirit, but missed.

Still no pictures of the Circle turns.  Morvahna was playing it relatively safe.  As long as the Mammoth's guns were active, she was in danger, and camping 3 Fury was the best way to dissuade me from trying kill her.  Ghetorix's failed charge was bad for Bob, as it meant he'd get nothing out of a powerful character beast for the game.

Turn 3, Skorne

I had a decent charce to remove both the Circle heavies, and the sooner I did, the more danger Morvahna would be in.

Makeda upkept Savagery and Defender's Ward, and I got to work.

The Krea used Paralytic Aura, and walked up next to Ghetorix to debuff his defense.  The Extoller advanced, and put Guidance on the Raider, while the Mortitheurge advanced, and gave it Puppet Master.  The Raider then walked around the Mammoth, and finished off the Stalker with a fully boosted Heavy Reiver shot.

Then the Nihilators charged in, killing several Wolves of Orboros and one of the War Wolves, and putting a healthy chunk of damage onto Morraig.

Makeda stayed put in her relatively safe spot, and cast Carnage to help the Mammoth hit Ghetorix.  Then the Paingivers Enraged the Mammoth, who charged Ghetorix, and killed him with its initial attacks, and used Counter Blast to threaten any infantry who might want to take a swing at it.

The Gobber got out of the way.  The Cetrati Shield Walled, and advanced in a line to poke at the Skinwalkers, but only killed one, and didn't clear Bob's zone.

I was in a very commanding position now.  Bob had no heavies, and his infantry was in bad shape to take on the Mammoth.  Meanwhile, my infantry was still mostly intact.  Bob's next moves would dictate my next turn, but I was confident I could wipe out most of the infantry, kill off the Gorax, or assassinate Morvahna, depending on what Bob did.

Turn 3, Circle

Morvahna dropped her spells.

She activated first, advanced, and cast Purification to strip away my upkeeps and Animi.  Then she cast Sunder Spirit at the Mammoth, damaging it, and causing it to lose Counter Blast for a round.

The Skinwalkers attacked my Cetrati, wounded several, and killed the two on the end.  One of the War Wolves tried to run the gauntlet between the Mammoth's and the Cetrati's melee range, but ended up dying to a free strike by a Cetratus.  The Reeve shot at the Krea, hit, but failed to break her armor.

The Wolves of Orboros and Morraig killed off most of the Nihilators they could reach, but there were still a few left.  Finally, the Gorax ran into position to shield Morvahna as best it could.

Still no pictures of the Circle turn, but things were looking grim.  Morvahna was exposed near the front of the right forest, and even though most of the Skinwalkers were still up, there was no guarantee they would stay that way for long.

Turn 4, Skorne

I decided to try to kill Morvahna.  Makeda leached her Fury, but the Raider had to take a Threshold check.  It failed, and killed a Nihilator with the Frenzy.

The Willbreaker activated first, advanced to get Line of Sight to the Krea, and used Puppet Master on her to enhance her luck.  Makeda advanced, and put Far Strike on the Krea, and Savagery on the Mammoth.  The Krea aimed, and hit Morvahna, currently camping 1 Fury, to reduce her to Def 7.

The Nihilators moved out of the way, killed a few more Wolves, and dismounted Morraig, then the Mammoth advanced between the Krea and the Raider, pushed the Gorax out of the way with Bulldoze, and smashed Morvahna to death with its fists.

Victory to the Skorne!

Post-Game Thoughts

I played a solid game.  I'm pretty sure I've figured out what this list is meant to do, and how it's meant to do it, and I was able to accomplish that for the most part.  I should have remembered to use Makeda's Feat on my third turn, which would have brought back the two dead Cetrati, but I was still awed by the Mammoth's performance, and completely blanked on it.  Otherwise, I just let the army hold Bob's forces up while the Mammoth did its thing.

The list is fantastic, especially against a relatively squishy foe like Circle.  Every piece did its job well, and Bob really struggled to come up with answers.  I've often thought that Makeda likes a shooting element for board control, and this list does that well.  Major kudos to Lord Tyrant Watt for posting it.

It's hard to choose an MVP for this game, since the syngergy between all the pieces is what makes the list work.  The Mammoth did a massive amount of damage, and killed Morvahna in the end, but I have to give the award to the humble Krea.  Paralysis is what makes this list such a danger to Warbeasts, and it definitely let the Mammoth shoot the Stalker mostly to death, then assassinate Morvahna with no trouble.  The Def debuff from Paralytic Aura also took the Mammoth to effective Mat 10 against Ghetorix, which was the final nail in his coffin too.

Bob made one critical mistake this game, and a couple minor ones.  His big mistake was misjudging Ghetorix's threat range on his second turn.  If he'd realized he didn't have range on that charge, he could have kept Ghetorix back, and kept a viable threat to my Mammoth in reserve.  Even if he had had range, two Cetrati weren't worth trading Ghetorix for.  Bob did use his infantry well this game, and the Skinwalkers are definitely a match for the Cetrati with their extra attacks and Unyielding.  After the game, Bob said he was psyched out by the Mammoth, especially after it almost shot the Stalker off the table.  Being at a loss against a huge model like that can definitely lead to some desperate decisions when the situation really isn't so dire.

Bob's list is a very solid one, with some great infantry for Morvahna 2, and a pair of very deadly beasts.  I do think the list would be improved by a couple of Gallows Groves, and at least one unit of Shifting Stones.  The rocks give the list a massive boost to mobility, and allow the heavies to redeploy at will, or bounce 16" into an unsuspecting target.  They also give a little extra Fury management and healing, which is always great.  The trees let Morvahna exert more control over the game with Sunder Spirit and Death Knell while staying safe, and can be very handy for shutting down Tough, which saved a couple of Nihilators over the course of the game.  He'd probably have to drop the Reeve Hunter and War Wolves to fit that in, which is kind of sad, but I do think the list would be more flexible with those adjustments.

Thanks to Bob for a great game, and thanks for Reading!

Stay tuned for my next report.  I play again the very next day to try to catch up with the League schedule, and I'm up against the Convergence of Cyriss again.