Battle Report Double Header: Makeda 3 vs. Sorscha 1 (Ocean's 18), and Hexeris 1 vs. Ossrum, 50pts

I played another couple of games this past Tuesday.  Here's how they went down.

Game 1

I had a game scheduled with Caleb when he showed up, but I got to the store early, so I played a game against Tom, who's running a recent version Muse on Minis' Nigel's Ocean's 18 list.


Kommander Sorscha (*5pts)
*Behemoth (13pts)
Greylord Outriders (Leader and 2 Grunts) (6pts)
The Great Bears of the Gallowswood (5pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4pts)
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire (4pts)
Kovnik Andrei Malakov (3pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
Widowmaker Marksman (2pts)
Alten Ashley, Monster Hunter (2pts)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2pts)
Kell Bailoch (2pts)
Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile (2pts)
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator (1pt)

Every premium character in Khador and Mercs (except a couple).  Nigel was still in Minnesota when he started playing this list, but I've never fought it before.  Tom is new to this list, but he's always a challenging opponent, and it's a strong list, even though it looks funny.  It has a lot of tools (in several senses), and can deal pretty well with any mixture of Def and Arm.  It's pretty vulnerable to anything that can do significant damage to its low numbers quickly, and Sorscha tends to play pretty far forward, which makes it a risky list, but her Feat makes a ranged assassination very possible against most 'casters in the game.

I played my Makeda 3 Brute list.  I keep meaning to change the list around and try various configurations in place of the Savage (which is pretty optional), but I didn't this time.  The list again is:

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)

I've been having a lot of fun with this list lately, and I'm gearing up to maybe be competitive with it, so I decided to drop it again.  It hits very hard, it's flexible, and the Brutes are a surprisingly durable screen/jam.  I do keep meaning to try either a Tyrant Commander and Orin Midwinter (DrillbossD's configuration from the Skorne forum) or an Extoller, Swamp Gobbers, and Orin Midwinter in place of the Savage.  Orin shores up the Butcher 3 matchup, which is otherwise very dicey, and the Extoller shores up Bradigus and various cloud spam matchups.  We'll see as I continue to experiment.


Scenario and Deployment

We played Close Quarters.  The scenario has two flags in opposing corners of the the table center (about 10" apart or so).  Dominating your own flag is worth a point.  Controlling the opponent's flag is worth a point, and dominating it is worth 2 points.  It is a killbox scenario.

I won the roll-off, and decided to go first.  I set up in a pretty standard line, with my Titans, Krea, and Makeda in the middle, and the Cyclops contingent on the sides.  Molik went on the left, and the Savage went on the right.  The Paingivers, Agonizer, and the Exalted Guardians went in the second rank.

Tom deployed the Great Bears, Aiyanna and Holt, Malakov, and Sorscha in the middle, backed up by Reinholdt and Dougal.  Behemoth went on the left along with Gorman and the Koldun Lord, and the Greylord Outriders went on the right with Alexia.  Since I had no Advance Deploy, Tom went ahead and deployed his as well.  Alten Ashley went on the left, opposite Molik Karn, and the Widowmaker Marksman went next to him.  The rest of the Widowmakers spread out in the center, while Eiryss and Kell Bailoch went on the right.

Turn 1, Skorne

I ran/charged my list forward, and got Vortex of Destruction up on Makeda, and Paralytic Aura on the Krea.  I completely forgot about the Agonizer, because after almost a year playing this list, I decided now would be a great time to let that slip.  At least Tom was just running the one 'jack.

Not a lot to say about this opening.  Hopefully, I'll be ready for whatever Tom throws at me.


Turn 1, Khador

Tom advanced a lot more cautiously overall.  The AD troops advanced, and shot at me, and did a smattering of damage.  Alten tried to put some serious damage on a Brute, but I Shield Guarded it onto an Exalted Guardian, where it did nothing.

Sorscha put Boundless Charge on Behemoth to make it faster, advanced, and went a little further with Wind Rush.

The Outriders zipped up their full run in a flanking Maneuver.  The Koldun Lord Power Boosted Behemoth, giving it a Focus, and it Trampled up to lob Bombard shots at the Brutes (which also didn't do much damage)

Everything else ran or advanced to the second line, waiting to counterattack after I sent my lead models at the front line shooters.

Tom was in a pretty good position here.  Going second and having plenty of shooting, he could take his time moving in, and force me to engage on his terms.  My plan was to try to tie up his line, and plan on a dynamic third turn to kill as many of the power models as I could.


Turn 2, Skorne

Makeda raked in her Fury, and upkept Vortex of Destruction.

The Krea advanced, used Paralytic Aura, and shot one of the lead Widowmakers with her Spiritual Paralysis gun, dropping the sniper's Def to 7.  The Gladiator advanced, and Rushed one of the Brutes, giving it +2" movement and Pathfinder.  The Paingivers advanced, managed some Fury, and Enraged the Savage and Rushed Brute.

The Rushed Brute charged and killed the paralyzed Widowmaker with its shield, then killed a second one with a boosted swing from its halberd.

The Bronzeback advanced, and used Train Wreck on the Savage, giving it Beat Back.  The Savage charged the last Widowmaker on the right, killed it, and tried to Beat Back into Eiryss, but was just short.  The Widowmakers failed their Cmd check for Massive Casualties, and fled.

Makeda moved up into Concealment behind the Krea, and the Exalted Guardians spread out to give Shield Guard to as many friends as possible.  Molik also moved up beside the Krea, and the left Brute ran to touch Tom's flag and force him to contest.

Finally, the Agonizer sprinted into the relevant section of the battlefield, probably a turn too late to actually be relevant.

I was pretty satisfied with my position, although Tom had deployed well too.  I tried very hard to keep Molik safe from at least a bit of the shooting on the other side of the table, and I might have placed him too far away to be relevant.  That would be a problem if Tom decided to pull back, and try to take care of the Brute screen instead of going after me a little harder.


Turn 2, Khador

At this point, Caleb walked in, and Tom decided to go for the assassination so that Caleb and I could play.  He did say that he'd rather go for attrition right now, since Makeda is very hard to take out, and Ocean's 18 starts assassination runs by having Sorscha walk up to the enemy army and Feat - so it can be a very death-or-glory kind of thing.

Tom started off by having Sorscha cast Wind Rush, advance to where she could see most of my army, and use her Feat, making everything except a couple of the Paingivers Stationary.  She also pumped a couple of boosted shots into Makeda, doing a little damage.

The Great Bears killed the Savage, and badly damaged a Brute, and Makeda Reaved the Savage's Fury to be even harder to assassinate.

Tom stripped Paralytic Aura off the Krea with Eiryss, dropping Makeda to Arm 19 against shooting, and lobbed every other shot in his list at her.

A combination of bad luck, and Makeda's general tankiness meant he came up short.

She was also, like, 8" or so in front of Makeda, so I was going for assassination now.


Turn 3, Skorne

Makeda and her beasts Shook Off Stationary (Except one of the Brutes, who Frenzied, and therefore stayed frozen).  Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction.

The Krea used Paralytic Aura, and walked up to Sorscha to drop her Def by 2.

Makeda charged Sorscha, and killed her in one swing.

Victory to the Skorne!

That was a fun game, and one I'd love to replay without the time pressure.  Ocean's 18 seems like a lot of fun to play.  A lot of powerful interesting models, most of which do something different.  It has a lot of neat tools, and Sorscha gives it some really excellent support with all the ways she has of freezing people and knocking them down.

I do think I was too conservative with my heavies on turn 2, and if Tom had had time to go for attrition, and repositioned a bit, he really could have made my pay for it.  The Brute Squad is a tough list, and even if the heavies are close behind the lights, it's not easy to take them out completely.  I do have a healthy fear of the Great Bears, although this time, I think it worked against me.

Tom played a solid game.  He didn't have the greatest assassination chance on his second turn, but he knew that going into it.  Kudos to him for opting to go out in a blaze of glory rather than make us end the game early without finishing it.


Game 2

I'm still fiddling with different 'casters and lists, and seeing how I think they'd stack up as potential partners to Makeda 3.  One of the contenders, and a Warlock I've had a lot of fun with over the years, is pHexeris.  This time I decided to run him with the following list.

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (*6pts) - Tier 1 Kingdom of Shadow
*Mammoth (20pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
*Reptile Hound (2pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (3pts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
*Praetorian Swordsmen Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Void Spirit (2pts)
Void Spirit (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

I've been meaning to try the Mammoth out with pHexy for a while now, and I decided to include the rest of its support package except a Willbreaker, which isn't allowed in Tier.  The T1 bonus for Kingdom of Shadow is that Hexeris gets to start with his upkeep spells in play.  Given that I like to start throwing offensive magic at the opponent as soon as possible, I think it's worth not having the Willbreaker's various benefits.

The Swordsmen are there to move up and die (as well as provide some Feat triggers), Hakaar and Marketh are around to help them accomplish that.  The Extoller is necessary for Hexeris to see Stealth targets, and the Agonizer gives some control against Warmachine, and some extra protection for the Mammoth against Hordes.  The new thing I'm trying out with Hexeris is the double Void Spirits, which I'll deploy together as a team of angry ghosts.  Hexy's turn 1 arc node is the Reptile Hound, which will likely die after turn 1.


Caleb is still fiddling with his Rhulic army options, and plunked Ossrum down again, with the following list:

General Ossrum (*5pts) - Tier 4 State of War
*Ghordson Earthbreaker (19pts)
*Wroughthammer Rockram (8pts)
*Grundback Blaster (3pts)
Ogrun Assault Corps (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Herne and Jonne (3pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts) - Client: Ossrum
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)

Caleb's latest take on the Ossrum gunline.  The Warjacks are certainly packing a punch.  The Earthbreaker backed up by Thor is a nightmare to deal with, and the Rockram is a very solid 'jack as well.  The Assault Corps and Herne & Jonne add some backup AoE's, and the Forge Guard are backup heavy hitters for whatever gets into melee with the list.

State of War gives one unit AD, lets Caleb place a Trench template anywhere completely within 20" of his table edge before deployment, lets Ossrum start with his Upkeep spells in play, and gives Ossrum's Battlegroup +2Spd on the first turn.


Scenario and Deployment

We played Close Quarters again, because it was set up from my last game.  :D

Caleb won the roll-off, and decided to go first.  I picked the table edge I was already on, because the two sides looked about equal.  Caleb placed his Trench template pretty far up, between a low hill and a wall, and pretty near his own flag.  He pre-deployed the Earthbreaker in the middle behind the Trench, then I pre-deployed the Mammoth in the middle on my end, opposite it.  I figured if I could kill Thor off, the Mammoth would just walk up to the Earthbreaker, and wreck its cowcatcher.

Caleb put his troops down around the Earthbreaker.  The 'jacks, Ossrum, the Bokur, and Thor all went to the left of the Earthbreaker (with Thor mostly behind it).  The Forge Guard went to the right of the Earthbreaker, and Herne and Jonne went on the far right.

I placed my Swordsmen opposite the Forge Guard with Hakaar in with the rest of the unit.  The Krea went just to the Mammoth's right, and the Raider went just to its left.  The Paingivers went behind the beasts, and the Extoller and Marketh went behind the Swordsmen.  Hexeris went just behind the Krea.  He's a backfield 'caster for the most part, so he didn't need to be running or charging on the first turn.  The Agonizer went behind the Raider to oppose Caleb's 'jacks, and hopefully hold them off for a turn.  The Reptile Hound and Void Spirits deployed on the far right opposite Herne, Jonne, and the Forge Guard.

Caleb had chosen to Advance Deploy the Assault Corps, and he put them opposite my Swordsmen on the right.




Caleb started the game with Snipe (+4Rng) on the Assault Corps, Fire for Effect (1st ranged attack each turn has boosted attack and damage rolls) on Herne and Jonne, and Bullet Dodger (+2 Def and a free attack if he is missed) on himself.

I started the game with Death March (+2 Mat and Vengeance) on the Swordsmen, and Soul Slave (lets Hexy channel through it) on the Reptile Hound.  I didn't really think it was worth it to keep track of Psychic Vampire for just one turn.


Turn 1, Mercenaries

Ossrum allocated one Focus to each Warjack.

The Earthbreaker ran to the edge of the Trench.  Ossrum spent 3 focus on Energizer, which wiggled him, the Rockram, and the Blaster up a little, then advanced a little further.  The Bokur ran to keep pace with him, and Shield Guard him.  Thor ran up behind the Mammoth.  The Rockram and Blaster both ran out in front of the army, near Caleb's flag.

The Assault Corps advanced and took some long range potshots at the Swordsmen.  A lucky scatter killed one, but to Caleb's dismay, triggered Vengeance (from Death March) and Righteous Vengeance on Hakaar, as well as giving Hakaar a soul.

The Forgeguard and Herne and Jonne ran up behind the Assault Corps.

A decent turn 1 for Caleb.  I think the army is well set up, and should basically want to stay right here, except for a little more movement on the forward infantry to screen the Earthbreaker.  Caleb is contesting his own flag, and threatening mine with a ranged game that scares the bejeezus out of me.


Turn 1, Skorne

VENGEANCE!  RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE!!  The Swordsmen and Hakaar stepped 3" and 4" respectively closer to the dwarves.

The Krea used Paralytic Aura, and charged forward.  The Raider put Far Strike on the Mammoth for +4 range, and advanced.  The Mammoth charged an Assault Ogrun, and took an Assault shot of its own.  A good scatter landed it on 3 Ogrun plus Jonne and a Forge Guard, but it only did a little damage despite boosting heavily.

The Reptile Hound ran up to within easy spellslinging range of the Assault Corps, then the Swordsmen and Hakaar ran forward as far as they could, with the Swordsmen spreading out a lot.  Hakaar ended up within 2" of the Krea to benefit from her aura.  Marketh and the Soulward ran up a little bit, staying behind the Swordsmen.

Hexeris walked up next to the Krea and Mammoth, and killed a wounded Assault Ogrun with two boosted Soulfires channeled through the Reptile Hound.  Finally, the Void Spirits ran 12" down the right flank, closer to their targets.  The Agonizer ran up behind a wall.

I'd really hoped to do a little more damage to the Ogrun, but they're pretty tough, and that's (probably) fine.  I'd need to find myself a new Arc Node next turn, since the Reptile Hound was almost certainly going to die.  I was looking at a lot of damage coming my way, but a good chance of delivery on at least a few Swordsmen and Hakaar.  The Void Spirits were a little behind, but the only magic weapon in Caleb's list was Ossrum's axe, so I wasn't worried about them.


Turn 2, Mercenaries

Ossrum upkept Bullet Dodger and Fire for Effect, but dropped Snipe.  He allocated one Focus to the Blaster, and one to the Earthbreaker.

The Blaster advanced, and sprayed two Swordsmen, but missed with crummy rolls.  Thor Tuned Up the Earthbreaker, giving it all boosted damage rolls.  Ossrum made sure he was out of the Killbox, cast Snipe on the Earthbreaker, and used his Feat to give friendly Rhulic models in his CTRL +2 Spd and Arm for a round.

The Earthbreaker aimed, and fired a boosted Quake shot into the Krea, and knocked her down.  Then it let rip with its Repeater Guns, and finished her off.  The guns on the other side killed 2 Swordsmen.  The Assault Corps and Herne and Jonne cut loose on the Swordsmen, killing all but 3: the Officer, the Standard Bearer, and one random mook near the middle of the table.  The Assault Corps also walked to screen the Earthbreaker, and one of them also made sure to kill the Reptile Hound.

The Forge Guard ran, most of them staying behind the Assault Corps, but one pod of 3 hopping through them (thanks to Martial Discipline) to engage Hakaar and screen the bulk of the Assault Corps.  The rest ended up in the Trench, the better to resist the Mammoth's incoming fire.

Caleb had done a lot of damage this turn, and had set himself up to defend pretty well too.  The Forge Guard on Ossrum's Feat turn are tough customers at Arm 20, and the Assault Corps aren't pushovers with Arm 17 and 8 hit points a piece.  He'd also positioned out of charged range of the Void Spirits, meaning I'd have to wait another turn before they'd be contributing.


Turn 2, Skorne

VENGEANCE!  RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE!!  The three remaining Swordsmen advanced into better attack positions on the Forge Guard.  Hakaar advanced, and swung at a screening Forge Guard, but didn't break its armor.

Hexeris leached in his Fury, and Marketh upkept Death March with a Soul Token.

Hexeris checked his CTRL, then advanced out of the Killbox, and popped his Feat, Dark Dominion.  For one round, enemy living or undead models boxed in his Control Area would become solos under my command.  I'd get a 3" advance and a normal melee attack with each, and then it would be removed from play.  After his walk, all the Forge Guard and Assault Corps were in range to assimilate.  He also put 5 Fury on the Agonizer.

The Swordsmen activated.  The Officer used their mini-Feat, Perfect Strike.  For the rest of their activation, they could choose to do 1 point of damage to any warrior model they hit.  They charged the Forge Guard, hitting and boxing a total of 4 between them.  However, Forge Guard are amazing at killing each other, and all but one of them died, took a 3" advance, and killed a fellow Dwarf or Ogrun before the Swordsmen had finished activating.

Hakaar took a regular advance into melee range of two Assault Corps, and killed them both.  One of them tried to walk over to Jonne, but was way out of range.

The Raider put Far Strike on the Mammoth, advanced again, and shot at the Blaster, but missed.  The Mammoth advanced to screen Hexeris from the Earthbreaker, and killed the Bokur with two boosted shots.  Marketh swapped Soul Slave onto the Mammoth.

The Agonizer used Spiritual Affliction, and ran to stop allocation to all the Rhulic 'jacks, while the Paingivers and Extoller Soulward ran to fully screen Hexeris from the Earthbreaker's LoS even if it moved a bit to the side.  Finally, the Void Spirits ran to engage Herne and Jonne, and start threatening Caleb's support models.

I'd done what I needed to do to stay in the game this turn, but it was really looking like it would come down to a match of Mammoth vs Earthbreaker.  I'd normally be fine with that, since the Mammoth has more melee attacks, but the Earthbreaker has Tune Up, so it would be dicey.


Turn 3, Mercenaries

Ossrum kept Snipe on the Earthbreaker and Bullet Dodger on himself.

The Blaster walked away from the Paingiver engaging it, and took a spray shot at the Mammoth, but did no damage.  The last of the Forge Guard walked to engage the Paingiver, but took its swing on one of the remaining Swordsmen, killing it and freeing up the last of the Assault Corps.  The Rockram turned on the Agonizer, but missed with its one initial attack.

Ossrum ended up deciding that Fire for Effect was better on the Earthbreaker after all, and replaced Snipe with it.  Then he boosted a shot at the Agonizer, and took it out, ending the no-Focus nightmare for the Rhulic 'jacks.  Thor advanced away from the Void Spirits, and Tuned Up the Earthbreaker for boosted damage rolls.

The Earthbreaker advanced, and fired a fully boosted Quake shot into one of the Paingivers screening Hexeris.  It had no real angle on Hexy himself, but the chance to kill a bunch of high value models was worth it.  They all died, except the Extoller Soulward.  The remaining shots went into the Mammoth, who took a bit more damage, and Hakaar, who also took a little damage.

The freed up Assault Ogrun aimed, and killed the Extoller.  Herne and Jonne stood around.

Another pretty good turn for Caleb.  I'd need to take out his 'jacks now that they could be allocated Focus again.  Fortunately, the Mammoth was probably up to the task.


Turn 3, Skorne

VENGEANCE!  RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE!!  The Swordsmen Officer advanced, and took a Pow 9 swing at the last of the Forge Guard, failing to break armor.  Hakaar walked toward the last of the Assault Corps.

Hexeris dropped Death March, but Marketh upkept Soul Slave on the Mammoth.  The Mammoth had Fury left on it after Leaching, but auto-passed its Threshold check thanks to Soul Slave.

Marketh advanced, threw a fully boosted Soulfire at the last Ogrun, killed it, and passed the Fury on to Hexeris.  The Swordsmen Officer did a Combo Strike at the Forge Guard, killed it, and Side Stepped forward to engage the Earthbreaker.

The last Paingiver walked back, and Enraged the Mammoth.  The first Void Spirit attacked Jonne, but missed.  The second one hit and killed Jonne, and got Herne in the Eruption of Ash.

The Raider shot the Rockram in the back to soften it up.  Then Hakaar charged the Rockram, and did a respectable chunk of damage (softening it up some more).  Finally, The Mammoth charged the Rockram, pushing the Blaster out of its way with Bulldoze.  It finished off the Rockram easily, but got some bad attack rolls against the Blaster, and left it on a few hit boxes.

Hexeris advanced to hide himself from Earthbreaker shooting, switched Soul Slave to the Raider, then put a fully boosted Soulfire into the Blaster to finish it off, and camped 2.

**No picture for this turn.  Looks like I forgot to take one.**

It was all down to the duel of the Colossals now.  In theory, I still had some game using the Raider as an Arc node, and getting the Void Spirits around the flank, but realistically, if the Earthbreaker killed the Mammoth, I'd have to go for a long-odds assassination attempt (Bullet Dodger would be a huge pain here), or I'd die to Quake torpedoes followed by lots and lots of bullets.


Turn 4, Mercenaries

Ossrum upkept Bullet Dodger, and allocated 3 Focus to the Earthbreaker.

The Earthbreaker had to get to the Mammoth, and Hakaar and a Swordsman were in the way.  Thor started things off by Tuning Up the Earthbreaker's damage rolls.

Ossrum blasted Hakaar with his gun, and managed to take him out with a boosted shot.  One down, and the Earthbreaker might be able to reach the Mammoth around the Swordsman.  After a little indecision, Caleb decided to walk the Colossal rather than charge at an angle.  The Earthbreaker was out of melee by just a hair.

Caleb decided to concede, since the Earthbreaker was likely to die next turn.

Victory to the Skorne!


Thoughts

I mostly played alright, but I did make a bunch of little mistakes.  Not terrible for my first time pulling out pHexy in months though.  I used my Feat well to take out infantry, and I protected my Swordsmen officer well (knowing how crucial the mini-Feat was going to be).  I also put the pressure on with the Void Spirits, which definitely helped me take the right side of the table.  I didn't do much to keep the pressure up with channeled spells this game, which can make a huge difference for Hexeris.  It's possible that I need a second fast-ish Beast in the list to serve as an Arc Node after the Reptile Hound died.  In particular, I didn't send any spells at Thor, when killing him relatively early would have been huge.

I like this list alright, but I think it needs a few tweaks.  As fun as Hakaar is backing up a Death Marched unit, I'll probably end up replacing him with something for next time.  The Void Spirits were really good this game, and I might keep them with the list.  Working as a team, they scared most of Caleb's list into going to the left side of the field, and then got rid of Herne and Jonne in relative safety.  They're definitely situational, though.  Finally, the Reptile Hound was a cool throwaway beast, but I'm thinking something a little tougher and faster would give Hexeris better angles.  A Razor Worm is the classic choice, and I'll probably try that out next time.

Caleb played a good game, despite the fact that he didn't get to use his Forge Guard (again).  The Earthbreaker is a total terror, especially with Ossrum, and Caleb is getting better and better about getting work out of it against enemy armies.  His only major mistake was in the movement of his Earthbreaker on the last turn.  If he'd managed to charged with it, he'd have made range on the Mammoth, and delivered 4 boosted Pow 20's to its base-overhanging face.  With the damage it had already taken, that might have been enough to finish it.  As it worked out, he was just a hair short of delivering 5 attacks, but it didn't quite work out for him.

Caleb is still fiddling around with the options Searforge gets him, and his list is still missing a few little elements.  For example, it doesn't have a decent screen.  The Assault Corps doubled as the screening unit this time around, but they just didn't cover enough ground to protect the Forge Guard.  I think Advance Deploy Tactical Arcanist Corps might work well for State of War.  Otherwise, the best screen Caleb is likely to find will be in Highborn or 4-Star.

As always, thanks for Reading!