About 2 weeks ago, Maxtermynd made the long, arduous trip from Madison to the Twin Cities, and we played a game. This is my first game of Warmachine against Max. We'd played a couple of games of 40k a couple of years ago, but then I switched over to almost exclusively WarmaHordes, and Max moved out of town. Since I'd been posting so much about my Brute Squad list, I knew I'd want to play it here.
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)
*Cylcops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I've had a lot of fun with this list so far, and a lot of success as well. I have a bunch of battles under my belt with it already, most of which are documented here. It's mainly an attrition list that relies on the heavy armor and high damage output of a few models to grind the opponent out. It also has strong scenario game, especially in split scenarios, where Makeda can clear zones and dominate in relative safety.
Max was bringing Retribution, as usual, and decided to (rudely) interrupt Makeda's conquest of Ios with eVyros at the head of a Tier 4 Guardians of the Gate list:
Vyros, Incissar of the Dawnguard (*5pts) - Guardians of the Gate Tier 4
*Imperatus (12pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Aspis (4pts)
*Aspis (4pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
Dawnguard Destor Thane (4pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
The theme benefits for Guardians of the Gate are reduced point cost and FA:U on Dawnguard Destor units (Tier 1), Dawnguard Sentinels gain AD if you include at least one unit (Tier 2), Destor units and solos gain +2Spd on the first turn if you include at least one Destor Thane (Tier 3), and Warjacks in the list are all allocated a Focus on turn 1 if you include at least one heavy warjack in the list.
This will actually be my first time playing against eVyros Griffon spam, despite the fact that we have a few Ret players at Tower. It's also an attrition list that works by building up Synergy until the last battlegroup model to activate can wreck a Colossal without breaking a sweat. Because it has so many tough and independent models, its scenario game is good as well, and Vyros' Feat gives it interesting maneuvering options.
Here's how the game went down...
Scenario and Deployment
We played the SR 2014 Incursion, since SR 2015 had not yet come out. Incursion has three flags lined up in the middle of the table, and at the end of the second player's first turn, one of the side flags disappears. Controlling or dominating the center flag is worth 1 point, controlling a side flag is worth 1 point, and dominating a side flag is worth 2 points.
Max won the roll off, and decided to go first. I settled on the table edge with a forest in the middle. It was annoying, but better than the alternative, which was a forest directly between me and one of the flags.
Max deployed his Griffons in a line, with Vyros, the two Aspides, and Imperatus toward the middle. The Arcanists hung around on the flanks, while the Destor Thane went on the far left.
I deployed in a slightly different formation than usual, thanks to the forest mucking up my deployment zone. The Bronzeback and Gladiator went in the forest, while everything else clustered up around it. The Brutes took the extreme flanks, Makeda and Molik went to the right of the forest, and the Krea and Savage went to the left. I put the Paingivers and Exalted Guardians in formation behind the Beasts, and the Agonizer behind the Savage, and opposite Imperatus.
Max put the Dawnguard Sentinels in a line in front of his 'jacks, and we were ready to begin.
Turn 1, Retribution
Each Warjack was allocated a Focus right off the bat with the Tier 4 benefit. Vyros allocated 4 more to Griffons so they could use Fleet.
The Sentinels ran forward to set the line of engagement a little, the Destor Thane gallumphed across the table 20" to harass my left flank, and the Warjacks all ran to position themselves a couple of inches behind the Dawnguard. The 4 Griffons with extra Focus used Fleet to get 14" up the table instead of 12. Vyros cast Synergy, and charged to keep pace with his flock.
That army got up the table quickly. The Dawnguard were just in front of the center line. I wouldn't be able to reach them on my turn, but they were threatening well into the area I needed to occupy.
Turn 1, Skorne
I ran the two Brutes up about their full distance to bear the brunt of the Retribution alpha strike. I ran the Savage up a little more conservatively to behind a hill, where it could help with the counterattack. The Krea used Paralytic Aura, and charged, stopping when she hit the Savage. Molik walked forward, and used Fate Walker.
Makeda cast Rush on the Bronzeback and Vortex of Destruction on herself, then camped 2, and gave her unit a Charge order. One Exalted Guardian ran to screen her and Molik, while the other ran to give Shield Guard to the Krea, Savage, and whatever else ended up in the area. Makeda charged a Griffon, but bumped into Molik before she got very far. I didn't want her dying to any low Elvish trickery.
The Bronzeback ran very cautiously to the edge of the forest, while the Gladiator Rushed itself, and advanced to get near the Bronzeback, but still within the woods. The Paingivers advanced, and brought my Fury total down to a reasonable level, and the Agonizer ran up to the Krea, in Shield Guard range of the Exalted Guardian.
This was a lot more cautious than I normally am, especially with the Titans and Molik. Still, I'd be mostly out of range of Vyros' list, and set up for a good counterattack on my turn. The flag on my right ended up being the one to disappear, which meant that my list was just a little out of position to start scoring, and Max had a very decent shot at focusing on the left flag, and going for scenario.
Turn 2, Retribution
Vyros upkept Synergy, because that's his MO. He also allocated 2 Focus to Imperatus.
The Dawnguard advanced, and swung at the Brutes, but left them fully functional. The 'jacks shuffled around a little bit, mostly flocking over to the left to start controlling that side of the table. One Griffon did make sure to stand base to base with the left flag, forcing me to contest it, or start giving Max points on my turn.
The Destor Thane advanced, and fired its Gatling Lance at the Agonizer. The Exalted Guardian Shield Guarded the first hit, and the Thane missed with the second shot. Imperatus shuffled sideways, and took a boosted shot at the Savage, but was just out of range. Vyros went sideways as well, took two shots of his own at the Savage, but didn't do any damage, and popped his Feat. For one round, whenever one or more of his models was destroyed by an attack of mine, a model in his Control Area could make a full advance.
The Arcanists mostly repositioned, though I think there was one Power Booster handed out to help the rightmost Griffon get as far left as it needed to go.
The elves hadn't done a lot of damage, but they were well positioned to throw a counterattack at me. I'd have little choice but to destroy the Dawnguard screen. Hopefully, it wouldn't leave me too exposed. Vyros' Feat also meant some serious repositioning would be happening on my turn, likely opening up some sneaky options for the honorless and underhanded Toksaa.
Turn 2, Skorne
Makeda leached her Fury, and upkept Vortex of Destruction.
Her unit was almost perfectly positioned for her to do some massive damage, so she went first. After a little deliberation, I decided to use her Feat. On the one hand, it would make clearing out the Dawnguard much, much more efficient than normal. On the other, if I could get Molik and/or the Bronzeback into multiple Griffons next turn, the Feat would be a huge damage boost for them, allowing them to take out 2 or 3 a piece. Finally, I decided to go for it. Max would be making a bunch of moves on my turn as well as his next one, and I wasn't at all sure I'd be able to engineer a proper Murder of Griffons (the kind where they all get murdered).
So Makeda Feated, and gave her unit a Charge order. They smashed into the Dawnguard lines, and I actually got to live the dream. Each exalted Guardian killed 2 Dawnguard, and Makeda killed one with her initial attack, and 2 more with Eliminator, bringing her to a total of 9 Fury (since I'd wanted to boost an attack and damage roll on Eliminator) and giving her a 4" move deeper into the Iosan battle line. Some dreams are short lived though. That Lyoss-livered Vyros of an Elf had scooted almost his whole flock of Griffons away from Makeda's rampage, and she was only able to reach one of them. She grumpily killed it in 4 attacks, then cast Fate Walker, and put 4 Fury on the Agonizer.
Meanwhile, the Destor Thane had advanced to engage the Agonizer, and Vyros had slunk over to Dominate the left flag, meaning I'd really need to contest it, or he'd get way ahead on scenario.
The Krea walked up around the Destor Thane, used Paralytic Aura, and tried to Paralyze Vyros, but missed. The Bronzeback ran out of the forest. The Paingivers Enraged the Savage, and Conditioned the Fury off the Bronzeback and Krea. The Savage charged into Vyros, and went to town, reducing him to 2 hit boxes! It was also contesting the flag, of course.
The Gladiator Rushed itself, advanced, and killed the Destor Thane. That freed up the Agonizer, who used Spiritual Affliction to deny Focus Allocation, and ran crying at the Iosan 'jack wall.
Molik walked up, and killed two of the remaining Dawnguard, loading Makeda up with 2 Fury for transfers, then used Fate Walker. The left Brute killed the last of the Dawnguard, and gave Makeda another Fury. The right Brute repositioned.
That was the last activation, so Makeda retreated to the right, and Molik advanced to help screen her from the one Myrmidon I knew could be Allocated Focus next turn. Molik was also controlling the center flag, so I scored a point.
A huge change in the table from last turn, but Vyros' Feat will do that. I'd accomplished a few notable things. For one, I'd gotten rid of the Dawnguard, which meant no worrying about their Weapon Master attacks. For another, I'd put a lot of damage on Vyros, and I was mentally calculating ways I could possibly get to him next turn. Finally, I'd kept most of the Myrmidons from getting any Focus with the Agonizer. That meant the mischief Max could cause with Synergy would be limited.
Turn 3, Retribution
We checked the Agonizer's aura, and Vyros had 2 'jacks he could allocate to: a Griffon which was clearly out of the aura, and an Aspis which was barely out. He allocated 3 to the Aspis, and 1 to the Griffon, then upkept Synergy.
He activated first, and made a Ride By Attack against the Savage. He missed with his first attack, but hit with the bought attack, then retreated to the edge of the Savage's melee range. Synergy spooled up to 1.
The gaggle of light Myrmidons around Vyros walked up to the Savage, and bopped it one by one until it finally died. The Arcanist over on the left gave a Focus to Imperatus, who walked forward, and killed the Agonizer and one of the Exalted Guardians. That gave it plenty of space to Side Step into the Krea, and deal a good chunk of damage to her. The nearby Aspis also attacked the Krea, but didn't finish her off.
The Griffon who had a point of Focus used Fleet, then walked up to my Cyclops Brute, and damaged it a little with one swing. The Arcanist behind the wall used Concentrated Power on the Aspis with 3 Focus.
That Aspis charged Molik Karn. I Counter Charged with the Bronzeback, which didn't make it to melee, but did get within its Leadership [Titans] range of the Gladiator, so it wouldn't frenzy next turn. The Aspis killed Molik, no sweat, Beat Back into the Bronzeback, and did a big chunk of damage to the body with its last bought attack.
Losing Molik was rough, but far from game ending. I was in a great position to make my counterattack hurt, and if I could get anything at all onto Vyros, then I was almost certain to kill him.
Turn 3, Skorne
I decided to try to set up the assassination with the Gladiator, Bronzeback, and a Cyclops Brute. Vyros only being on 2 hit points and Arm 18 without Focus on him made me really want to end the game. He was also in a pretty good position for scenario, and Synergy had hurt me enough last turn that I really didn't want to come up short on number of Warjacks destroyed, and lose more hitting power than I could afford.
I started off by leaching Fury. The Brute engaged by a Griffon Frenzied on the Griffon, and scratched up its force field. The Gladiator was easily within Leadership range of the Bronzeback, so didn't Frenzy even though it had 2 Fury on it. Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction.
Makeda went first. She advanced, and scrapped the Aspis with a couple Fury to spare, and sat on the center flag, even though dominating it would only get one point. The Paingivers Conditioned the Gladiator, healed the Krea by a point or two with Medicate, and Enraged the remaining Brute and the Bronzeback.
The Gladiator proceeded to initiate Phase 1 of the plan. It Rushed the Bronzeback, advanced to Imperatus, and used Power Attack Double Handed Throw to try to chuck the 'jack at Vyros. She hit, but failed the opposed Strength check with a tie. Harrumph.
I decided to go ahead with plan Kill Vyros And His Little Bird Too anyway, and had the Bronzeback charge one of the Incissar's Griffons. Due to being partially blocked by the Brute, the Bronzeback ended up in melee range of Imperatus. Undeterred, the Bronzeback replaced Rush with Train Wreck, and started punching. He hit the Griffon with his first initial Gauntlet attack, but the Beat Back advance gave Imperatus a free strike. The sneaky Warjack proceeded to crank the damage, and take out the Bronzeback's body.
That was ok though. The Bronzeback hit with its Tusks and the second War Gauntlet, which gave it a little more movement, and gave it Chain Attack: Grab and Smash, which it used to hurl the first Griffon into the other one screening Vyros. Three bought attacks got the mighty Titan into melee range, and left it with a single Fury open.
It needed an 8 to hit. I rolled a 9. Even with its Body out, the Bronzeback finished off Vyros on any roll, even a 1. Vyros fell.
Victory to the Skorne!
Thoughts
It was great finally playing against Max, since I've been reading about his exploits with Ret for a while now. It was a really fun game, and the Murder of Griffons can definitely compete against the Brute Squad in attrition.
I played a generally good game, although I made a few mistakes. I should have put an extra Fury on the Agonizer with Makeda on turn 1, and camped 1 instead of 2. I was scared of the Synergy train, but with my positioning, Max wasn't likely to get a high-Synergy model on Makeda on his second turn. With just one more Fury, the little critter could have kept the Aspis from receiving Focus, and Molik might have survived the turn. Maybe not, since he is generally Public Enemy #1 to opponents who know his schtick. I also should have activated the Krea before the Gladiator to debuff Imperatus' Def on turn 3. In the end, I failed the Strength check, but it would have been good to be hitting on 5's instead of 7's. It's possible I should have played for attrition on my 3rd turn. I had a very good shot at wrecking Imperatus and several lights with the Gladiator and Bronzeback, and the more lights fall, the harder it is for Ret to damage Skorne heavies.
Otherwise, I played well. I got the Brute screen out where it needed to be early, cleaned up the Dawnguard, and defended myself from Max's counterattack pretty well. The Savage getting into Vyros for so much damage was a great bonus, and almost ended the game right there, but I can't take credit for its good attack rolls.
The Brute Squad was solid as usual, and I didn't really learn much new about it in this game. It's great fun to play, especially when Makeda walks in and starts killing things.
Max made a couple of mistakes as well. He mentioned after turn 2 that the Destor Thane should have charged the Agonizer instead of trying to shoot it down. That would have been a lot more likely to destroy it, which would have given Max a lot more flexibility in terms of where to put Vyros' focus on his next turn. Max was also definitely a little too cavalier (ho ho!) about positioning Vyros, and ended up paying for it big time on my second turn. Going down to 2 boxes on Vyros seriously put him on the defensive, as nearly anything in my army was suddenly a huge threat. In the end, it was the Bronzeback that got Vyros, but that early carelessness was what cost him the game. He certainly played a solid game otherwise though, and used his Feat well to keep his Myrmidons out of harm's way on my second turn.
Murder of Griffons is a scary list, and I can definitely see why it has the reputation that it does. I'd say it's one of Retribution's better drops against an anti-shooting Skorne brick like my list. I think it would be stronger for a little more shooting, but the Tier 2 and 4 benefits are very solid, and it's difficult to fit more guns into the list with that requirement.
Thanks for the great game! Maybe this spring, I'll be able to get down to Madison, and bring the fight to Max on his home turf.
As always, thanks for reading! Comments and insights on either list are welcome.
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)
*Cylcops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I've had a lot of fun with this list so far, and a lot of success as well. I have a bunch of battles under my belt with it already, most of which are documented here. It's mainly an attrition list that relies on the heavy armor and high damage output of a few models to grind the opponent out. It also has strong scenario game, especially in split scenarios, where Makeda can clear zones and dominate in relative safety.
Max was bringing Retribution, as usual, and decided to (rudely) interrupt Makeda's conquest of Ios with eVyros at the head of a Tier 4 Guardians of the Gate list:
Vyros, Incissar of the Dawnguard (*5pts) - Guardians of the Gate Tier 4
*Imperatus (12pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Aspis (4pts)
*Aspis (4pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
Dawnguard Destor Thane (4pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
The theme benefits for Guardians of the Gate are reduced point cost and FA:U on Dawnguard Destor units (Tier 1), Dawnguard Sentinels gain AD if you include at least one unit (Tier 2), Destor units and solos gain +2Spd on the first turn if you include at least one Destor Thane (Tier 3), and Warjacks in the list are all allocated a Focus on turn 1 if you include at least one heavy warjack in the list.
This will actually be my first time playing against eVyros Griffon spam, despite the fact that we have a few Ret players at Tower. It's also an attrition list that works by building up Synergy until the last battlegroup model to activate can wreck a Colossal without breaking a sweat. Because it has so many tough and independent models, its scenario game is good as well, and Vyros' Feat gives it interesting maneuvering options.
Here's how the game went down...
Scenario and Deployment
We played the SR 2014 Incursion, since SR 2015 had not yet come out. Incursion has three flags lined up in the middle of the table, and at the end of the second player's first turn, one of the side flags disappears. Controlling or dominating the center flag is worth 1 point, controlling a side flag is worth 1 point, and dominating a side flag is worth 2 points.
Max won the roll off, and decided to go first. I settled on the table edge with a forest in the middle. It was annoying, but better than the alternative, which was a forest directly between me and one of the flags.
Max deployed his Griffons in a line, with Vyros, the two Aspides, and Imperatus toward the middle. The Arcanists hung around on the flanks, while the Destor Thane went on the far left.
 |
| The puny Iosans are visibly shaken by the assembled might of the Skorne. |
I deployed in a slightly different formation than usual, thanks to the forest mucking up my deployment zone. The Bronzeback and Gladiator went in the forest, while everything else clustered up around it. The Brutes took the extreme flanks, Makeda and Molik went to the right of the forest, and the Krea and Savage went to the left. I put the Paingivers and Exalted Guardians in formation behind the Beasts, and the Agonizer behind the Savage, and opposite Imperatus.
Max put the Dawnguard Sentinels in a line in front of his 'jacks, and we were ready to begin.
Turn 1, Retribution
Each Warjack was allocated a Focus right off the bat with the Tier 4 benefit. Vyros allocated 4 more to Griffons so they could use Fleet.
The Sentinels ran forward to set the line of engagement a little, the Destor Thane gallumphed across the table 20" to harass my left flank, and the Warjacks all ran to position themselves a couple of inches behind the Dawnguard. The 4 Griffons with extra Focus used Fleet to get 14" up the table instead of 12. Vyros cast Synergy, and charged to keep pace with his flock.
 |
| Vyros is actually where that yellow base is (he kept tipping over from reluctance to face Makeda's blade). |
That army got up the table quickly. The Dawnguard were just in front of the center line. I wouldn't be able to reach them on my turn, but they were threatening well into the area I needed to occupy.
Turn 1, Skorne
I ran the two Brutes up about their full distance to bear the brunt of the Retribution alpha strike. I ran the Savage up a little more conservatively to behind a hill, where it could help with the counterattack. The Krea used Paralytic Aura, and charged, stopping when she hit the Savage. Molik walked forward, and used Fate Walker.
Makeda cast Rush on the Bronzeback and Vortex of Destruction on herself, then camped 2, and gave her unit a Charge order. One Exalted Guardian ran to screen her and Molik, while the other ran to give Shield Guard to the Krea, Savage, and whatever else ended up in the area. Makeda charged a Griffon, but bumped into Molik before she got very far. I didn't want her dying to any low Elvish trickery.
The Bronzeback ran very cautiously to the edge of the forest, while the Gladiator Rushed itself, and advanced to get near the Bronzeback, but still within the woods. The Paingivers advanced, and brought my Fury total down to a reasonable level, and the Agonizer ran up to the Krea, in Shield Guard range of the Exalted Guardian.
This was a lot more cautious than I normally am, especially with the Titans and Molik. Still, I'd be mostly out of range of Vyros' list, and set up for a good counterattack on my turn. The flag on my right ended up being the one to disappear, which meant that my list was just a little out of position to start scoring, and Max had a very decent shot at focusing on the left flag, and going for scenario.
Turn 2, Retribution
Vyros upkept Synergy, because that's his MO. He also allocated 2 Focus to Imperatus.
The Dawnguard advanced, and swung at the Brutes, but left them fully functional. The 'jacks shuffled around a little bit, mostly flocking over to the left to start controlling that side of the table. One Griffon did make sure to stand base to base with the left flag, forcing me to contest it, or start giving Max points on my turn.
The Destor Thane advanced, and fired its Gatling Lance at the Agonizer. The Exalted Guardian Shield Guarded the first hit, and the Thane missed with the second shot. Imperatus shuffled sideways, and took a boosted shot at the Savage, but was just out of range. Vyros went sideways as well, took two shots of his own at the Savage, but didn't do any damage, and popped his Feat. For one round, whenever one or more of his models was destroyed by an attack of mine, a model in his Control Area could make a full advance.
The Arcanists mostly repositioned, though I think there was one Power Booster handed out to help the rightmost Griffon get as far left as it needed to go.
The elves hadn't done a lot of damage, but they were well positioned to throw a counterattack at me. I'd have little choice but to destroy the Dawnguard screen. Hopefully, it wouldn't leave me too exposed. Vyros' Feat also meant some serious repositioning would be happening on my turn, likely opening up some sneaky options for the honorless and underhanded Toksaa.
Turn 2, Skorne
Makeda leached her Fury, and upkept Vortex of Destruction.
Her unit was almost perfectly positioned for her to do some massive damage, so she went first. After a little deliberation, I decided to use her Feat. On the one hand, it would make clearing out the Dawnguard much, much more efficient than normal. On the other, if I could get Molik and/or the Bronzeback into multiple Griffons next turn, the Feat would be a huge damage boost for them, allowing them to take out 2 or 3 a piece. Finally, I decided to go for it. Max would be making a bunch of moves on my turn as well as his next one, and I wasn't at all sure I'd be able to engineer a proper Murder of Griffons (the kind where they all get murdered).
So Makeda Feated, and gave her unit a Charge order. They smashed into the Dawnguard lines, and I actually got to live the dream. Each exalted Guardian killed 2 Dawnguard, and Makeda killed one with her initial attack, and 2 more with Eliminator, bringing her to a total of 9 Fury (since I'd wanted to boost an attack and damage roll on Eliminator) and giving her a 4" move deeper into the Iosan battle line. Some dreams are short lived though. That Lyoss-livered Vyros of an Elf had scooted almost his whole flock of Griffons away from Makeda's rampage, and she was only able to reach one of them. She grumpily killed it in 4 attacks, then cast Fate Walker, and put 4 Fury on the Agonizer.
Meanwhile, the Destor Thane had advanced to engage the Agonizer, and Vyros had slunk over to Dominate the left flag, meaning I'd really need to contest it, or he'd get way ahead on scenario.
The Krea walked up around the Destor Thane, used Paralytic Aura, and tried to Paralyze Vyros, but missed. The Bronzeback ran out of the forest. The Paingivers Enraged the Savage, and Conditioned the Fury off the Bronzeback and Krea. The Savage charged into Vyros, and went to town, reducing him to 2 hit boxes! It was also contesting the flag, of course.
The Gladiator Rushed itself, advanced, and killed the Destor Thane. That freed up the Agonizer, who used Spiritual Affliction to deny Focus Allocation, and ran crying at the Iosan 'jack wall.
Molik walked up, and killed two of the remaining Dawnguard, loading Makeda up with 2 Fury for transfers, then used Fate Walker. The left Brute killed the last of the Dawnguard, and gave Makeda another Fury. The right Brute repositioned.
That was the last activation, so Makeda retreated to the right, and Molik advanced to help screen her from the one Myrmidon I knew could be Allocated Focus next turn. Molik was also controlling the center flag, so I scored a point.
 |
| Vision... getting hazy... |
A huge change in the table from last turn, but Vyros' Feat will do that. I'd accomplished a few notable things. For one, I'd gotten rid of the Dawnguard, which meant no worrying about their Weapon Master attacks. For another, I'd put a lot of damage on Vyros, and I was mentally calculating ways I could possibly get to him next turn. Finally, I'd kept most of the Myrmidons from getting any Focus with the Agonizer. That meant the mischief Max could cause with Synergy would be limited.
Turn 3, Retribution
We checked the Agonizer's aura, and Vyros had 2 'jacks he could allocate to: a Griffon which was clearly out of the aura, and an Aspis which was barely out. He allocated 3 to the Aspis, and 1 to the Griffon, then upkept Synergy.
He activated first, and made a Ride By Attack against the Savage. He missed with his first attack, but hit with the bought attack, then retreated to the edge of the Savage's melee range. Synergy spooled up to 1.
The gaggle of light Myrmidons around Vyros walked up to the Savage, and bopped it one by one until it finally died. The Arcanist over on the left gave a Focus to Imperatus, who walked forward, and killed the Agonizer and one of the Exalted Guardians. That gave it plenty of space to Side Step into the Krea, and deal a good chunk of damage to her. The nearby Aspis also attacked the Krea, but didn't finish her off.
The Griffon who had a point of Focus used Fleet, then walked up to my Cyclops Brute, and damaged it a little with one swing. The Arcanist behind the wall used Concentrated Power on the Aspis with 3 Focus.
That Aspis charged Molik Karn. I Counter Charged with the Bronzeback, which didn't make it to melee, but did get within its Leadership [Titans] range of the Gladiator, so it wouldn't frenzy next turn. The Aspis killed Molik, no sweat, Beat Back into the Bronzeback, and did a big chunk of damage to the body with its last bought attack.
Losing Molik was rough, but far from game ending. I was in a great position to make my counterattack hurt, and if I could get anything at all onto Vyros, then I was almost certain to kill him.
Turn 3, Skorne
I decided to try to set up the assassination with the Gladiator, Bronzeback, and a Cyclops Brute. Vyros only being on 2 hit points and Arm 18 without Focus on him made me really want to end the game. He was also in a pretty good position for scenario, and Synergy had hurt me enough last turn that I really didn't want to come up short on number of Warjacks destroyed, and lose more hitting power than I could afford.
I started off by leaching Fury. The Brute engaged by a Griffon Frenzied on the Griffon, and scratched up its force field. The Gladiator was easily within Leadership range of the Bronzeback, so didn't Frenzy even though it had 2 Fury on it. Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction.
Makeda went first. She advanced, and scrapped the Aspis with a couple Fury to spare, and sat on the center flag, even though dominating it would only get one point. The Paingivers Conditioned the Gladiator, healed the Krea by a point or two with Medicate, and Enraged the remaining Brute and the Bronzeback.
The Gladiator proceeded to initiate Phase 1 of the plan. It Rushed the Bronzeback, advanced to Imperatus, and used Power Attack Double Handed Throw to try to chuck the 'jack at Vyros. She hit, but failed the opposed Strength check with a tie. Harrumph.
I decided to go ahead with plan Kill Vyros And His Little Bird Too anyway, and had the Bronzeback charge one of the Incissar's Griffons. Due to being partially blocked by the Brute, the Bronzeback ended up in melee range of Imperatus. Undeterred, the Bronzeback replaced Rush with Train Wreck, and started punching. He hit the Griffon with his first initial Gauntlet attack, but the Beat Back advance gave Imperatus a free strike. The sneaky Warjack proceeded to crank the damage, and take out the Bronzeback's body.
That was ok though. The Bronzeback hit with its Tusks and the second War Gauntlet, which gave it a little more movement, and gave it Chain Attack: Grab and Smash, which it used to hurl the first Griffon into the other one screening Vyros. Three bought attacks got the mighty Titan into melee range, and left it with a single Fury open.
It needed an 8 to hit. I rolled a 9. Even with its Body out, the Bronzeback finished off Vyros on any roll, even a 1. Vyros fell.
Victory to the Skorne!
Thoughts
It was great finally playing against Max, since I've been reading about his exploits with Ret for a while now. It was a really fun game, and the Murder of Griffons can definitely compete against the Brute Squad in attrition.
I played a generally good game, although I made a few mistakes. I should have put an extra Fury on the Agonizer with Makeda on turn 1, and camped 1 instead of 2. I was scared of the Synergy train, but with my positioning, Max wasn't likely to get a high-Synergy model on Makeda on his second turn. With just one more Fury, the little critter could have kept the Aspis from receiving Focus, and Molik might have survived the turn. Maybe not, since he is generally Public Enemy #1 to opponents who know his schtick. I also should have activated the Krea before the Gladiator to debuff Imperatus' Def on turn 3. In the end, I failed the Strength check, but it would have been good to be hitting on 5's instead of 7's. It's possible I should have played for attrition on my 3rd turn. I had a very good shot at wrecking Imperatus and several lights with the Gladiator and Bronzeback, and the more lights fall, the harder it is for Ret to damage Skorne heavies.
Otherwise, I played well. I got the Brute screen out where it needed to be early, cleaned up the Dawnguard, and defended myself from Max's counterattack pretty well. The Savage getting into Vyros for so much damage was a great bonus, and almost ended the game right there, but I can't take credit for its good attack rolls.
The Brute Squad was solid as usual, and I didn't really learn much new about it in this game. It's great fun to play, especially when Makeda walks in and starts killing things.
Max made a couple of mistakes as well. He mentioned after turn 2 that the Destor Thane should have charged the Agonizer instead of trying to shoot it down. That would have been a lot more likely to destroy it, which would have given Max a lot more flexibility in terms of where to put Vyros' focus on his next turn. Max was also definitely a little too cavalier (ho ho!) about positioning Vyros, and ended up paying for it big time on my second turn. Going down to 2 boxes on Vyros seriously put him on the defensive, as nearly anything in my army was suddenly a huge threat. In the end, it was the Bronzeback that got Vyros, but that early carelessness was what cost him the game. He certainly played a solid game otherwise though, and used his Feat well to keep his Myrmidons out of harm's way on my second turn.
Murder of Griffons is a scary list, and I can definitely see why it has the reputation that it does. I'd say it's one of Retribution's better drops against an anti-shooting Skorne brick like my list. I think it would be stronger for a little more shooting, but the Tier 2 and 4 benefits are very solid, and it's difficult to fit more guns into the list with that requirement.
Thanks for the great game! Maybe this spring, I'll be able to get down to Madison, and bring the fight to Max on his home turf.
As always, thanks for reading! Comments and insights on either list are welcome.
Yes yes, laugh it up chuckles. The Retribution will have... well... retribution... for this day.
ReplyDeleteAlso my battle report is finally up! I hope you enjoy Incissar Vyros goes to Shyrr.
Heh heh heh...
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I look forward to it. (Both reading the report and the retribution).