Wednesday Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Constance 1 - 75pts

My first battle report of the all new war.  I've played a bunch of games before this one, and I will very likely post the reports.  If I don't post them as full blow-by-blow battle reports, I'll give the short version when I discuss the 'caster or list archetype I used in a tactics post.  Now, on to the report!

Lists and Thoughts

My absolute favorite Warlock in MkII was Makeda and the Exalted Court, a.k.a. Makeda 3 or Mak3da.  She was incredibly fun to play, and performed well against a lot of the lists I went up against regularly.  In MkIII, she's changed a bit, and I'm still playing around trying to find something that really clicks with her.  People online have been talking up Makeda 3 with the Mammoth, so I decided to try out:



Makeda and the Exalted Court (*24pts)
*Mammoth (38pts) (Proxied by the Siege Animantrax while my Mammoth is being painted)
*Molik Karn (20pts)
*Titan Gladiator (14pts)
*Cyclops Brute (8pts)
*Agonizer (7pts)

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (5pts)

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (7pts)


This is my first trial list with Makeda and a Mammoth.  The Mammoth is the main working piece.  Its job is to put out multiple Pow 15 shots per turn at 12 inches (with Grievous Wounds if I want it), kill off heavies pretty easily without having to rely on Vortex of Destruction, and give me some defensive scenario presence with its big, immovable base.  Molik is one of the best models for Hand of Death (along with the Mammoth and Makeda herself), and also gives Makeda some help repositioning with Fate Walker.  Vortex of Destruction helps him hit in his weight class too, although leaving Makeda on the front lines qualifies as living dangerously.

The Gladiator is a secondary heavy to speed the Mammoth and Molik along, and engage in piece trading.  I like Rush in this list, but I may want to switch the Gladiator for something that will do better as a frontline screening piece, which I feel I'm missing.  We'll have to see what the list does over a number of games before I switch it out though.  The Brute is a front liner whose main job is to deliver the Mammoth to melee, along with the Exalted Court.  I would prefer either two Brutes or some combination of a Brute and a unit (the Brute's Animus is too valuable on Makeda for me to really want to do without), but perhaps I'll be able to counterattack hard enough that one Brute will be enough.

The support crew is the Agonizer, Orin, and Beast Handlers.  I like the Agonizer a lot with Makeda 3.  All its abilities help her out a bunch, including Repulsion, which is a slightly cheaper and less random option than Ground Zero if something absolutely has to be pushed.  I'm not as sure about Orin, but keeping offensive spells off the Mammoth (and Makeda) seems like a priority.  The Beast Handlers are necessary, and I took a full unit because that's what I can fit.  I don't mind taking less with Makeda 3, since she can use her Feat to control Fury pretty well.

All in all, it looks like a fun list, and hopefully it will overcome my misgivings about the number of screening models.


My eternal foe, Caleb, was playing Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet, partly because he's been building a Blaize list for a while, and partly because he enjoys playing things that other people say are bad.  Here's what he brought.

Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet
*Gallant
*Rocinante (Proxied by a Ghordson Avalancher)
*Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker

Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress
Harlan Versh, Illuminated One

Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Precursor Knights (Leader and 9 Grunts)
*Command Attachment: Officer and Standard Bearer
Steelhead Halberdiers (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Thorn Gun Mages (Leader and 2 Grunts)


I don't have the Mercenaries army in Warroom because I'm cheap.  If I'm missing anything, I'm sure Caleb will correct me.

This list is a big MkII-style infantry mob.  The Halberdiers are the main jamming element.  They're there for Constance's Feat, and to soak up an enemy alpha strike.  The Forge Guard and Precursor Knights are second wave infantry - a bit slower than the Steelheads, but a lot tougher, and a lot harder-hitting.  Their job in this list is to stand behind the Halberdiers on the Feat turn, and have enough armor to halt the enemy and hit back on the next turn.  However, if you give them the space, they can charge a surprisingly long distance with Crusader's Call from Constance and Hunter's Mark from Lanyssa.

There are two more elements to Caleb's list.  First, the two heavies can support the second wave infantry in cracking armor on the counterattack.  They're both solid, hard-hitting 'jacks with extra defensive features.  Gallant has Shield Guard, which makes sniping a chore, and Rocinante has Guard Dog, which makes assassination difficult.  Next, there's a good shooting element for shooting out screening elements and support solos.  There's not enough shooting to take out heavies at range, but plenty to give this list a nice element of control.

I've heard nothing good about Constance Blaize so far, but this list seems solid, especially against the list I'm running.  In particular, Constance's Feat can forestall Makeda using hers for a turn, since infantry armor gets very ridiculous very fast, and Makeda's Feat is meant to wipe infantry.  That will give Caleb a crucial turn to work with all his tools, most of which wont' have much trouble cracking Skorne armor given the time to do it.


Scenario and Deployment

We rolled up Outlast, formerly known as Outflank.  There are two big circular zones placed 8" apart at the center line of the table.  Controlling a zone is worth 1pt.  Dominating is worth 2.  There's no Killbox.

I won the roll-off, and decided to go first.  Caleb decided the table sides were pretty equal, so he kept the side he was already set up on.

I put my Mammoth in front of one zone, with the Brute positioned to screen it, and Molik and the Gladiator in front of the other zone.  Makeda and the support elements went in the center to go where I needed them as the game went on.

Caleb deployed his Precursor Knights opposite my heavies, and the Forge Guard opposite the Mammoth.  The two 'jacks went more-or-less in the middle with Constance, the support elements, and the Halberdiers.

Skorne Turn 1

Just about everything ran.  Makeda put Hand of Death on Molik, and Vortex of Destruction on herself.  The Agonizer and Orin hid behind the Mammoth, and the Paingivers brought up the rear and managed Fury.

Right now my plan was to project threat across both zones, which both Molik and the Mammoth were doing.  Caleb would have to open himself up to a potential alpha strike this turn.  If he over committed, I could Feat, and take out most of his infantry with Molik and the Mammoth.  If he tried to protect himself with his Feat, I could back off a touch and Feat next turn.  If he was too cautious, I could punish him with the Mammoth's guns.  Overall, I was pretty confident.


Mercenaries Turn 1

Rhupert used his March ability on the Steelheads, then they ran through the forest at full speed to get out in front of the army.  The Precursor Knights jogged forward more cautiously so as not to be caught in my alpha strike if I chose to go all in.  The Forge Guard ran at full speed, although this put them about even with the Precursor Knights.

Constance cast Radiance of Morrow, and moved up, with Sylys trailing, and her 'jacks running up to fill the gap between her and her infantry.  Lanyssa ran into the forest to cast her spells in relative safety, and the Gun Mages and Versh moved up near the 'jacks.

Caleb was playing it pretty carefully.  He'd spaced his units too far apart for an alpha strike to do more than kill a bunch of Steelheads, and passed the ball to me.  If I wanted to, I could kill off the Steelheads, but I'd probably have to use my Feat to do it, and that would mean a less powerful counterattack later in the game.  On the other hand, I could sit back, and try to get work done at range, but that would mean letting the Steelheads charge me, and possibly jam me out of the zones.


Skorne Turn 2

In the end, I decided it was better to kill off the Steelheads, and try to take Caleb's list apart piece by piece.  Makeda upkept both spells.

The Brute activated first, moving forward to take a charge by the Forge Guard with Safeguard up to prevent it from being knocked down.  Makeda's unit went next.  She Feated, and charged into a leading Stealhead along with one of her Court.  She and the Exalted killed their targets, and she used Blood Boon to cast Fate Walker (Versh got to take a shot at her for that, but missed), and Repositioned back to the hill.

The Mammoth went next, advanced to the edge of the left zone, and blasted down two Forge Guard and two Steelheads with its cannons.  It only rolled 2 shots, but I got to see a neat interaction between the Mammoth and Makeda's Feat.  It's first shot missed, but I boosted all the blast damage, and killed a couple modeld.  Then I got to remove a point of Fury from the Mammoth before taking the next shot.  It also missed, but I had the Fury open to boost all my blast damage rolls, which killed another Forge Guard.

The Gladiator advanced, and Rushed Molik, who walked up and cleaned house on the Steelheads, leaving just two alive.  Then he Repositioned away with Fate Walker.  Another cool interaction withe Molik and the new Makeda 3.  Since Hand of Death is not an Animus, Molik can have Overtake and Rush on at the same time, which means he gets Pathfinder on the Feat turn, and isn't as reliant on being able to charge to contact the enemy.  Nice!

The Paingivers went in and managed Fury, the Agonizer advanced behind the Mammoth, and used Gnawing Pain, and Orin ran to where Arcane Vortex could keep Hunter's Mark off my models the best.

I was a little nervous at this point.  By deciding to use Makeda's Feat early, I'd taken a lot of pressure off Caleb.  The Feat is her best tool against an infantry horde like this, and I'd decided to trade it for room to maneuver.  Caleb would almost certainly Feat now.  I'd just have to hope that my working pieces made it through the next two turns intact enough to trade well against Caleb's infantry.  If they did, I'd be in a good position in the endgame.  If not, it would probably end with Constance assassinating Makeda.


Mercenaries Turn 2

Caleb had Constance allocate one Focus to Gallant.  Then she advanced a bit to get the whole battlefield in her CTRL, used her Feat, and cast Crusader's Call, giving her models +2" of movement on charges.  Lanyssa was in range, and tagged Molik with Hunter's Mark, giving another +2" to models charging him.  That easily put Molik in range off all the models I'd been hoping not to have him killed by this turn.

Rocinante advanced, and killed the Exalted Guardian between Gallant and Molik.  The Thorn Gun Mages tried to push the Brute out of the the lane between the Forge Guard and the Mammoth with Thunderbolt shots, but didn't accomplish much. The two surviving Halberdiers and a bunch of Precursor Knights charged Molik, and hurt him a bit.  Gallant easily finished the job.  Purgation on a heavy is no joke.

The Forge Guard charged the Brute and remaining Exalted Guardian.  They killed the Exalted, but Set Defense saved the Brute.  Two of the Forge Guard ran to screen Constance, who otherwise might be charged by Makeda or the Mammoth.

Caleb ended his turn, and picked up a point for clearing the right zone.

I wasn't out of the fight, but from here on, I'd have to take some big risks with my most important pieces: Makeda and the Mammoth.  My plan was mostly to wait out Constance's Feat, and apply some scenario pressure.


Skorne Turn 3

Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction on herself.

Orin had to go first.  He zapped the Halberdier between Gallant and the Gladiator, and gave Constance a Soul Token.

Makeda went next, charging a Forge Guard.  She missed, but hit with her first bought attack, and used Blood Boon to cast Ground Zero for free.*  She got some mixed results.  All the Forge Guard she wanted to kill died, but the Brute also took damage, losing its Mind aspect.  I decided it was more important to camp Fury and live than heal the Brute.  The Brute advanced to screen Makeda, and took a whack at the last Forge Guard, but failed to break its armor.  Too bad, as it was the only model contesting the zone.

The Paingivers Enraged the Mammoth and Gladiator, and advanced a bit.  The Mammoth charged and killed Gallant, and the Gladiator killed some infantry and contested the zone.  The Agonizer used Gnawing Pain, and moved behind the Mammoth, hoping to shelter both it and Makeda from incoming damage.

I was in a pretty bad place.  All the Soul Tokens I'd given Constance gave her Focus this turn, and if she could get another Morrowan model into contact with Makeda, she could charge in with flank and finish the game.  Makeda was 

*We played this a little wrong, and gave Constance a soul token for all the models killed by Ground Zero.  In fact, since Ground Zero is not an attack, Constance should not have gained Soul Tokens from the models killed by it.


Mercenaries Turn 3

Caleb went deep into the tank.  When he emerged, he had a plan to get a model flanking Makeda and charge Constance in.  He allocated 1 Focus to Rocinante.

Rocinante and the Thorn Gun Mages killed the Agonizer, and put a little more damage on the Brute.  Versh shot Makeda, and forced her to transfer damage.  The Forge Guard walked up to the Mammoth and Brute, doing a little damage to both.  The Precursor Knights performed a complicated maneuver where most of them charged the Mammoth and Gladiator, removing LoS from the Mammoth to one of them.  That one ran around the Mammoth, and engaged Makeda, but blocked LoS to her from Constance.

At about this point, Caleb's clock ran out.  However, we decided to play it out.

The Precursor Knights put a bunch of damage on the Mammoth and Gladiator.  Lanyssa, trying to kill the Brute with a Frost Bolt, instead made it stationary with Critical Freeze.

Constance charged the Brute and killed it.  Makeda gratefully Reaved the Fury.  Now it was Constance with 11 Focus and Flank against Makeda with 4 Fury and Battle Driven.  I would normally consider this a foregone conclusion for Constance.

Caleb's dice deserted him, and Makeda lived.

Caleb had to go, and Constance was unlikely to get through the next turn, so he conceded.

Victory to the Skorne!


Thoughts

That was a pretty rough game, and I think I misplayed my list a bit.  I definitely should have held off on the Feat.  Killing a couple of Steelheads was a good idea.  Molik and Makeda could have peeled off the front line, and the Mammoth could have shot some of the rear ones.  If Molik hadn't gone in so deep, he could have retreated to actual safety, and lived until the next turn.  I was way too worried about Constance's Feat countering mine, as I wound up showing with Makeda herself on my third turn.  I had Ground Zero as well as the Mammoth's AoE's and Sweep power attack as simultaneous damage, and Molik can break infantry armor well above 20 pretty easily.  If I'd kept my Feat in play, I could have counterattacked on his Feat turn much harder than I did.  I also forgot that Ground Zero wouldn't give Constance Soul Tokens.  If I'd remembered that, I'd have felt a heck of a lot better about leaving Makeda where I did.  Otherwise, my positioning was decent, and I used the Brute well.

I'm still concerned about the lack of jamming and screening apart from the Brute, and I'll have to see what I can do.  This game, the Brute held firm, but the Exalted Guardians got shot or charged out of the way, and did very little to actually screen my beasts in the second line.  People who run Makeda 3 with the Mammoth more regularly, what do you use?

Caleb played a much better game than I did, a definitely deserved for Constance to finish off Makeda at the end.  He just needs to watch his clock better!  He baited me out well on his first turn, and spent the next two turns reaping the rewards.  In his place, I'd have focused everything on killing the Mammoth on the third turn.  He would have been able to do it if he hadn't focused on the assassination so much.  With help from Rocinante, the Precursor Knights probably could have finished it off.  It's true that that would leave my Agonizer alive, but Caleb's hatred of that thing is completely disproportionate.

I like Caleb's list for Constance, and I'm not sure if there's anything I'd change.  It does suffer against a lot of the anti-infantry options out there.  Anything with Anatomical Precision, Sniper, or a similar ability won't care about the armor bonus from the Feat.  A very shooty army might be able to take the infantry down piece by piece without the Feat amounting to much.  One list type this list can handle is 'jack spam.  There's plenty of armor cracking.  It just has to survive on the way in.

As always, thanks for reading!