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.
Anyway, I played:
Zaal, the 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 is mainly an attrition list with a lot of bodies. It has a good mix of high-arm infantry and cheap souls, and seems like it should be able to grind the game out against a lot of rival lists. I'm still not 100% sure on the beast loadout, but I haven't had much trouble with armor yet....
My opponent played:
Anson Durst, Rock of the Faith (*5pts)
*Reckoner (8pts)
*Reckoner (8pts)
*Templar (8pts)
*Devout (5pts)
*Heirophant (2pts)
Knights Exemplar Errant (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Knights Exemplar Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Choir of Menoth (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon (3pts)
Paladin of the Wall (2pts)
Vassal of Menoth (2pts)
Vassal of Menoth (2pts)
Reclaimer (2pts)
Wracks (1pt)
This seems like a strong Hordes drop. Menoth 'jacks crack armor, and Durst's Feat gives them a huge armor boost. He also has a solid spell list and hits like truck himself, so he's solid against all kinds of armor.
I won the roll-off, and decided to go first. My plan with Zaal is to flood the zones, then creep Zaal up until he can perform some kind of assassination with zounds focus. Or else he can clear the zones, and win on scenario. The sheer number of bodies in this list make it hard to shut out of scenario entirely.
The Scenario was Recon: one central rectangular zone with an Objective at each end, and two flags far out on the sides. Destroy your opponent's objective, control the zone, or dominate a flag for 1 CP. Dominate the zone for 2 CP's.
I set up in a line with the Slingers on my left, the Nihilators on my right, and the Cetrati, Immortals, and 'beasts in the middle with Zaal.
My opponent deployed Durst, the battlegroup, and the 'jack support more or less in the middle, and the Paladins on the right. Then the Errants Advance Deployed on the left, and the Wracks went in a diagonal line that slanted toward the left.
Round 1
I ran everything up about 10 inches, even the Slingers, to try to avoid Errant arrows. Zaal cast Transferrence, and charged, and the beasts both used Paralytic Aura and charged. The Nihilators needed to get through some woods, so they got Pathfinder from the Tyrant Commander.
My opponent ran with his 'jacks, Durst cast Wall of Steel and Deflection, and the Paladins walked up in Impervious Wall Stance. The Errants walked up, and tried to shoot my Slingers, but they were just out of range.
Round 2
Zaal upkept Transferrence. The Nihilators and Immortals continued to run up the table. The Slingers walked up and shot the Errants, who were a little too close together, and set 8 of them on corrosion. The Cetrati Shield Walled, and the Beasts and Zaal all walked up and used Paralytic Aura.
Six of the Errants died to Corrosion, and the rest charged into the Slingers, killing most of them. Vilmon and the Vanilla Paladin continued to walk up in Impervious Wall stance, jamming my Nihilators and screening the 'jacks coming up behind them. The Reckoners both shot, and one Assaulted toward my Cetrati, and killed one. Durst went for the left flag, screened by the Devout, and popped his Feat to give his 'jacks Arm 24.
Round 3
Zaal was close enough to the Reckoner in his face to take a Righteous Vengeance attack at it. The Immortals charged the Paladin and Vilmon. Despite some boosts, they failed to kill either, but they were mucking up the field. The Nihilators ran around Vilmon as much as they could, gunning for the Menite support staff. Zaal popped his Feat did a little damage to the Reckoner in his face, and it Enlivened away. The Cetrati Shield Walled, up and screened Zaal. The Slingers put corrosion on a few more Errants.
My opponent was losing the attrition war, so he decided to go for the assassination. He easily cleared the Cetrati between Durst and Zaal with a Reckoner, then charged Durst through the gap. Could Durst kill an Arm 23 warlock with 4 Fury on him? The answer was no.
Round 4
Zaal killed Durst.
Victory to the Skorne!
Thoughts
Zaal 2 continues to be a lot of fun. I played a solid game, and I feel that my list put my opponent in a bit of a bind. I had a huge number of bodies that were able to hurt his models, and he just couldn't cope. Zaal 2 with this much infantry is an attrition machine. Transferrence made a pretty big difference, but mostly the body count and the Feat saving my army from any serious harm swung the game in my favor. I like this list a lot for eZaal. I'm going to mix up the beasts a bit, and see if can get the sniping game I want going. I'm also going to try Zaal in tier, since Immortal spam is apparently really good with him.
My opponent played a really solid game overall, but did make one significant mistake. Spacing the Errants too close together on his first turn ended up costing him about 2/3 of the unit to Slinger fire, and they would have helped him deal with my numbers. His list wasn't very well equipped to deal with eZaal otherwise. I just had too many bodies, and they hit too hard. He said after the game that he should have dropped Sevy, and that would certainly have gone a lot better, since that was a dedicated anti-infantry list. Going after Zaal on his Feat turn was a desperate gamble, but my opponent really felt that he didn't have many options left. I was hitting hard enough to chew through Arm 19 'jacks, and the Nihilators were sweeping around toward the Choir and Vassals, so he made the only play he thought he could.
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