This was actually a very recent game (the second one I played last week). I actually forget my opponent's name, which is annoying because I could swear I knew it, but hopefully I'll be corrected next time I'm at Tower.
UPDATE: His name is Nolan
Anyway, I'm still practicing with Zaal 2, and he is breaking into Menoth (from Khador) with Durst and Sevy 1.
I chose to play Zaal because I'd played Makeda 3 in my previous game, and I was considering eZaal as a Menoth drop (Makeda 3 isn't wild about Harby, Errants, or the Covenant, at least, not in my build). So I wanted to see how this would go.
My opponent had Durst as his Hordes drop, and wanted to see if he could throw down against a relatively infantry heavy hordes list as well as a beastier one. Durst was also the go-to against Makeda 3, since I think Sevy didn't have the armor cracking.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Control Elements in Skorne Part 1: Listing Control Elements and Musing About Tactics
I mentioned this thread over on the Skorne forums, where a couple of players talk about control elements in Skorne, and how to use them. There's a great list compiled by The Oddity from Battle College of different pieces and what sort of control they provide, and this first post in what is probably going to be a short series about how to play around with control in Skorne is mostly so I don't lose the list!
If we're going to play a control game, we've got to know what tools we have available. The answer is: a lot. We have a lot of tools, but the control they offer tends to be pretty situational and/or targeted at a specific kind of model. We don't have 'casters with universal control abilities who can seriously lock down the table. The Agonizer is a perfect example of the kind of control we have. Its Agonies affect Warjacks and Warbeasts. Spiritual Affliction can be great denial against either, but only 'jacks and beasts are affected, and even then, 'beasts can do anything but use their Animus, and 'jacks can do anything they don't need Focus for.
In addition to a lot of small scale targeted control, we're a beast heavy faction, and that means access to all the power attacks available with Open Fists, specifically Throws and Locks, as well as Slams for control.
So what to do with the control elements we have? We need to build a list with multiple control elements, of course: preferably a 'caster with control abilities and multiple pieces with synergizing control abilities.
There's a really neat list mentioned on the thread that's Rasheth with Marketh and Double Void Spirits. The idea is to cover a large area of the table in clouds that cause damage to anyone passing through them. Marketh and Rasheth can spit out 3 Breaths of Corruption between them, and each Void Spirit can create an Eruption of Ash with its melee attack. That's five 3" templates that kill any infantry trying to pass through.
I'm playing around with Makeda 3 right now, and she has Ground Zero for pushing. Given her affinity for huge battlegroups and giving Beat Back to her beasts, maybe I can play a pushing game with her.
There are plenty of builds that work out, and I'll look into overlapping control elements and list building a little more in my next post.
Also, thanks to Luke89 from the PP Forums. I don't think I would ever have gotten around to posting this if you hadn't started that thread.
If we're going to play a control game, we've got to know what tools we have available. The answer is: a lot. We have a lot of tools, but the control they offer tends to be pretty situational and/or targeted at a specific kind of model. We don't have 'casters with universal control abilities who can seriously lock down the table. The Agonizer is a perfect example of the kind of control we have. Its Agonies affect Warjacks and Warbeasts. Spiritual Affliction can be great denial against either, but only 'jacks and beasts are affected, and even then, 'beasts can do anything but use their Animus, and 'jacks can do anything they don't need Focus for.
In addition to a lot of small scale targeted control, we're a beast heavy faction, and that means access to all the power attacks available with Open Fists, specifically Throws and Locks, as well as Slams for control.
So what to do with the control elements we have? We need to build a list with multiple control elements, of course: preferably a 'caster with control abilities and multiple pieces with synergizing control abilities.
There's a really neat list mentioned on the thread that's Rasheth with Marketh and Double Void Spirits. The idea is to cover a large area of the table in clouds that cause damage to anyone passing through them. Marketh and Rasheth can spit out 3 Breaths of Corruption between them, and each Void Spirit can create an Eruption of Ash with its melee attack. That's five 3" templates that kill any infantry trying to pass through.
I'm playing around with Makeda 3 right now, and she has Ground Zero for pushing. Given her affinity for huge battlegroups and giving Beat Back to her beasts, maybe I can play a pushing game with her.
There are plenty of builds that work out, and I'll look into overlapping control elements and list building a little more in my next post.
Also, thanks to Luke89 from the PP Forums. I don't think I would ever have gotten around to posting this if you hadn't started that thread.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
That Social Media
Alright. Likely I won't post a full battle report this week, as I was sick yesterday (WarmaHordes night at Tower). I will post a battle reshort from the last couple of months either tomorrow or Friday.
This post is to inform you all that I have created a Twitter!
And I have many grandiose plans to actually use it. The real deal is that I created it months ago, and never used or checked it, but I have a new phone now (you may have noticed the lack of extreme blurring in my recent photos), so I'm willing to give it a shot.
I'm @pGrexy
Hopefully I can tweet about Adepticon while I'm there. I'm signed up for Masters on Friday morning, and I'll be checking stuff out for most of the weekend. If people feel like following my goings-on while they're in progress, there's a half-decent chance I will remember to keep everyone updated via Twitter.
If that works out, who knows, I may tweet about other things as well, even get in flamewars with some Twitter celebs. The possibilities are limitless.
If it doesn't work out, I'm always good for the occasional cat pic! (speaking of which...)
Some recent shots of the cats!
This post is to inform you all that I have created a Twitter!
And I have many grandiose plans to actually use it. The real deal is that I created it months ago, and never used or checked it, but I have a new phone now (you may have noticed the lack of extreme blurring in my recent photos), so I'm willing to give it a shot.
I'm @pGrexy
Hopefully I can tweet about Adepticon while I'm there. I'm signed up for Masters on Friday morning, and I'll be checking stuff out for most of the weekend. If people feel like following my goings-on while they're in progress, there's a half-decent chance I will remember to keep everyone updated via Twitter.
If that works out, who knows, I may tweet about other things as well, even get in flamewars with some Twitter celebs. The possibilities are limitless.
If it doesn't work out, I'm always good for the occasional cat pic! (speaking of which...)
 |
| The box says it all. |
Some recent shots of the cats!
Sunday, February 21, 2016
4+ Tough Battle ReShort: Makeda 3 vs. Kromac 2 (50pts) - Such Tier, Very Discount, Wow
I'm going to start doing quick reports of a lot of the games I don't take pictures of. This is a game I played a month or two ago, and I'm a little hazy on the details. I'm recording it to get my thoughts down, and to give people some idea of what's been going on in my games between October and now.
Game after the jump.
Game after the jump.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Cassius at 50pts - Experimenting with Sunhammer and the Control Game
Hello again!
Here's another battle report. I'm following up on Monday's post by looking at playing around with Sunhammer on Makeda 3 more than I have in the past. I'm also following up on a cool discussion on the forums about control elements in Skorne. It seems like every time I fiddle with My Makeda 3 list, I try to add a little more control, so this time, I'll be trying to base my strategy for the game on my control elements: those that push models and deny abilities.
Here's another battle report. I'm following up on Monday's post by looking at playing around with Sunhammer on Makeda 3 more than I have in the past. I'm also following up on a cool discussion on the forums about control elements in Skorne. It seems like every time I fiddle with My Makeda 3 list, I try to add a little more control, so this time, I'll be trying to base my strategy for the game on my control elements: those that push models and deny abilities.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Sunhammer??? Sunhammer!!!
I know, I know. But hear me out.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Trollblood Warlock Pairings: Adepticon Prep and Post-Erratalypse
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what warlocks and list types pair well together for tournament lists, now that Meat Mountain, Runes of War, and Evolutionary Elementalism aren't the automatic Be-all and End-all of Trollblood competitive lists (Runes of War is still valid from all accounts, but plays slightly less aggressively and is no longer an auto-include, which I think is a good change).
In the last year, I feel like Trollblood tournament players have been effectively ignoring innovation and personal style in favor of the cookie cutter "play this and win" idea, and I'll be honest - I don't like it. When every single player is bringing the same (admittedly very powerful) lists, not only does the Trollblood player community effectively stagnate tactics-wise, it also downright ticks off other players.
I haven't been a very active player in the last year or so, and it's been at least that long since I was in a tournament, but I'm going to Adepticon this year, and I need to prepare. I've worked out a handful of lists, and I'll be testing them as much as possible in the coming weeks - I've already tried the Grim1 list vs pGrexy, and it needs some serious tweaking.
Lists after the break.
In the last year, I feel like Trollblood tournament players have been effectively ignoring innovation and personal style in favor of the cookie cutter "play this and win" idea, and I'll be honest - I don't like it. When every single player is bringing the same (admittedly very powerful) lists, not only does the Trollblood player community effectively stagnate tactics-wise, it also downright ticks off other players.
I haven't been a very active player in the last year or so, and it's been at least that long since I was in a tournament, but I'm going to Adepticon this year, and I need to prepare. I've worked out a handful of lists, and I'll be testing them as much as possible in the coming weeks - I've already tried the Grim1 list vs pGrexy, and it needs some serious tweaking.
Lists after the break.
Battle Report: Zaal 2 vs. Grim 1, 50pts
First battle report in a while, and another one with Zaal 2!
I managed to get a game in against Caleb's Trollbloods. We're both experimenting with our lists for Adepticon. I'm signed up for the Masters qualifier, and we're both going to do a bunch of casual play as well. As I mentioned in this post, I'll be taking Makeda 3 and Zaal 2. This time, I was running Zaal 2 with the same list I talked about:
Zaal, Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Extoller Advocate (2pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Venator Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
This seems like a good attrition list. The objective is to get into a scoring position, and grind my way forward until I've won on scenario or managed to kill the opposing 'caster. There are a lot of bodies to chew through, and most of them will give Zaal extra Fury when they die. It should grind well against rival infantry lists. Armor will be tougher, but there are a decent number of attacks, and Zaal can boost a lot of infantry damage rolls with Transferrence.
Caleb is experimenting with 4 lists he likes, and here's the one he took against Zaal:
Grim Angus (*6pts)
*Glacier King (18pts)
*Troll Impaler (5pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Fennblade Officer and Piper (2pts)
Trollkin Scattergunners (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Scattergunner Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Dhunian Knot (3pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Trollkin Fennblade Kithkar (2pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pt) - Client: Fennblades
Grim is a solid Warlock who can lock down armies well with his Feat, debuffs Def with Marked for Death, and generally supports his army pretty well. The list has a good jamming element in the Fennblades, and a lot of power to clear infantry in the Scattergunners. Grim and the Glacier King provide some heavier long-ranged shooting. The list's biggest weakness is that the Glacier King is the only model that can really tackle heavy armor.
I managed to get a game in against Caleb's Trollbloods. We're both experimenting with our lists for Adepticon. I'm signed up for the Masters qualifier, and we're both going to do a bunch of casual play as well. As I mentioned in this post, I'll be taking Makeda 3 and Zaal 2. This time, I was running Zaal 2 with the same list I talked about:
Zaal, Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Extoller Advocate (2pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Venator Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
This seems like a good attrition list. The objective is to get into a scoring position, and grind my way forward until I've won on scenario or managed to kill the opposing 'caster. There are a lot of bodies to chew through, and most of them will give Zaal extra Fury when they die. It should grind well against rival infantry lists. Armor will be tougher, but there are a decent number of attacks, and Zaal can boost a lot of infantry damage rolls with Transferrence.
Caleb is experimenting with 4 lists he likes, and here's the one he took against Zaal:
Grim Angus (*6pts)
*Glacier King (18pts)
*Troll Impaler (5pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Fennblade Officer and Piper (2pts)
Trollkin Scattergunners (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Scattergunner Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Dhunian Knot (3pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Trollkin Fennblade Kithkar (2pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pt) - Client: Fennblades
Grim is a solid Warlock who can lock down armies well with his Feat, debuffs Def with Marked for Death, and generally supports his army pretty well. The list has a good jamming element in the Fennblades, and a lot of power to clear infantry in the Scattergunners. Grim and the Glacier King provide some heavier long-ranged shooting. The list's biggest weakness is that the Glacier King is the only model that can really tackle heavy armor.
Monday, February 8, 2016
List Discussion for Adepticon Post
I have a pretty limited amount of time to finish painting my lists for Adepticon this year, and I'm thinking of running Makeda 3 and Zaal 2. They seem to cover different matchups pretty well, and they certainly run different kinds of list.
Suggestions and criticisms are very welcome! I don't have much time to paint before Adepticon, so anything that can help pare down the models I need to focus on would be great.
Here's what I'm thinking for Makeda 3. It's currently untested, so I may end up wavering and going back to something more familiar, but I'm definitely going to try it out.
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Sentry (9pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
*Basilisk Drake (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)
Specialists
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1pt)
The base list is a modification on my original Brute Squad list that replaces the pair of Brutes with a Titan Sentry, and squeezes Orin Midwinter and a Basilisk Drake into the list with the spare point. The Sentry and the Exalted Court will have to bear the brunt of any alpha strikes I take, although access to Locker will make it much easier against some lists, and allows me to deal with dodgy denial tech. The list has some good control game, good infantry clearing, and a solid group of heavy hitters. The Titan Sentry could be an Aradus Soldier, but I think I prefer the higher durability and control options offered by Locker to the extra offensive power of the Soldier. Practice with the list could prove me wrong.
The specialists let me switch up my support and beast loadout to handle specific matchups or switch out some of my beasts for the defensive shield of the double Brutes. I'm not 100% solid on most of the specialists - I need to see how the base list plays before I decide what it really needs help with.
And here's the Zaal 2 list I'm workind on. Several people on the Skorne forum (Joelker41 and Kurgash) have had good results with eZaal, but I don't have the models available to run either double Nihilators or the theme force right now.
Zaal, Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Extoller Advocate (2pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Venator Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Specialists
3 Ancestral Guardians (9pts)
Cyclops Raider (5pts)
Legends of Halaak (4pts)
This seems like a pretty aggressive attrition list. It's not terribly well equipped to crack armor, but that's usually what I'll drop Makeda for. Otherwise????? I don't really know what I'm doing with eZaal yet. I've run him twice with the Cetrati brick when the rules were spoiled, and once with a shooty beast loadout and 3 AG's when the model came out in stores, but that's not really enough to get a feel for him. I'm planning to play him a bunch in the coming weeks to see what I can pull together.
I'm scheduled to play tomorrow, and I'll hopefully be able to try out both lists. Expect reports!
Suggestions and criticisms are very welcome! I don't have much time to paint before Adepticon, so anything that can help pare down the models I need to focus on would be great.
Here's what I'm thinking for Makeda 3. It's currently untested, so I may end up wavering and going back to something more familiar, but I'm definitely going to try it out.
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Sentry (9pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
*Basilisk Drake (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)
Specialists
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1pt)
The base list is a modification on my original Brute Squad list that replaces the pair of Brutes with a Titan Sentry, and squeezes Orin Midwinter and a Basilisk Drake into the list with the spare point. The Sentry and the Exalted Court will have to bear the brunt of any alpha strikes I take, although access to Locker will make it much easier against some lists, and allows me to deal with dodgy denial tech. The list has some good control game, good infantry clearing, and a solid group of heavy hitters. The Titan Sentry could be an Aradus Soldier, but I think I prefer the higher durability and control options offered by Locker to the extra offensive power of the Soldier. Practice with the list could prove me wrong.
The specialists let me switch up my support and beast loadout to handle specific matchups or switch out some of my beasts for the defensive shield of the double Brutes. I'm not 100% solid on most of the specialists - I need to see how the base list plays before I decide what it really needs help with.
And here's the Zaal 2 list I'm workind on. Several people on the Skorne forum (Joelker41 and Kurgash) have had good results with eZaal, but I don't have the models available to run either double Nihilators or the theme force right now.
Zaal, Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Extoller Advocate (2pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Venator Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Specialists
3 Ancestral Guardians (9pts)
Cyclops Raider (5pts)
Legends of Halaak (4pts)
This seems like a pretty aggressive attrition list. It's not terribly well equipped to crack armor, but that's usually what I'll drop Makeda for. Otherwise????? I don't really know what I'm doing with eZaal yet. I've run him twice with the Cetrati brick when the rules were spoiled, and once with a shooty beast loadout and 3 AG's when the model came out in stores, but that's not really enough to get a feel for him. I'm planning to play him a bunch in the coming weeks to see what I can pull together.
I'm scheduled to play tomorrow, and I'll hopefully be able to try out both lists. Expect reports!
Thursday, February 4, 2016
They Believe in Nothing!
I'm still here. I just got derailed by life for a bit.
As of posting this, I've finished my Nihilators. Behold!
And I'm looking forward to running the painted unit. I'm still on the fence for who to bring for Adepticon. Makeda 3 is locked in, and since I want to do ADR, I'm torn between eHexeris and eZaal as a second list. I have a pretty good idea of a shooty eHexy list I want to run, but that requires a hoksune of a lot of work if I'm going to meet Adepticon's painting requirement. I'm still considering what I want to run for eZaal. I suspect it will take more games to find out.
As of posting this, I've finished my Nihilators. Behold!
And I'm looking forward to running the painted unit. I'm still on the fence for who to bring for Adepticon. Makeda 3 is locked in, and since I want to do ADR, I'm torn between eHexeris and eZaal as a second list. I have a pretty good idea of a shooty eHexy list I want to run, but that requires a hoksune of a lot of work if I'm going to meet Adepticon's painting requirement. I'm still considering what I want to run for eZaal. I suspect it will take more games to find out.
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