Lord Arbiter Hexeris (*27pts)
*Titan Cannoneer (17pts)
*Titan Cannoneer (17pts) - Proxied by an Aradus Sentinel
*Titan Gladiator (14pts)
*Cyclops Brute (8pts)
*Razor Worm (7pts)
Siege Animantrax (18pts)
Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor (4pts)
Extoller Soulward (3pts)
Paingiver Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (9pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
The main thrust of the list is shooting, but every ranged model can work done in melee. The Cannoneers and Animantrax all put out Pow 15 Shooting, and hit at P+S 18 when the game closes. The Gladiator speeds up the guns, and provides some backup where it's needed. The Razor Worm is the main node beast, and the Brute fills whatever roll I need, from screening model to shield guard to secondary node. The Bloodrunner package is my fast jam/flanking force. I've really loved them in my games with them so far. All in all, the list seems flexible and fun. Now to try it out!
My opponent, Brandon, was playing Cygnar with the brand new all-grown-up-now Captain Allison Jakes:
Captain Allison Jakes - Proxied by Lieutenant Allison Jakes
*Dynamo
*Hammersmith
*Sentinel
*Minuteman
*Squire
Journeyman Warcaster
*Ironclad
Captain Maxwell Finn
Gun Mage Captain Adept (GMCA)
Eyriss, Angel of Retribution
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress
Stormblade Infantry (Leader and 5 Grunts)
*Command Attachment (Officer and Standard Bearer)
A strong selection of cheap and efficient Cygnar 'jacks (plus Dynamo, who's certainly efficient but not really cheap), backed up by a bunch of power solos and one nice hard-hitting unit of Stormblades. The melee threat is great, although the ranged presence is somewhat lacking for Cygnar. This is my first game against adult Jakes, so I don't really know what I'm up against. Oh well, nothing like learning about a new Warcaster by taking her best punch right in the chops.
Scenario and Deployment
We rolled up Recon. There's a rectangular zone placed vertically in the middle, with an objective for each player at either end (we both chose Bunker), and 2 flags 9" away from the zone on either side. Control the zone, destroy your opponent's objective, or dominate a flag for 1CP. Dominate the zone for 2CP.
I won the roll-off, and chose to go first. I deployed the Animantrax in the center right, and the Titans in the center-ish leaning left. I wanted the Cannoneers to have free range of the table, and put the Gladiator where I had room. The Brute went on my far left (still pretty central), the Paingivers deployed in Whipping Formation near the Animantrax, and Hexy and the Soulward went in the middle.
Brandon deployed Dynamo opposite the Animantrax, then stacked his other heavies opposite mine in the center-left. The Stormblades, Jakes, the Squire, the Sentry, and the GMCA all went more or less in the middle. Pangaea supported the 'jacks on the left, and the Journeyman joined her close to his Ironclad.
For AD, I put the Bloodrunner package on my right flank, and the Razor Worm more-or-less in the middle. Brandon put Eiryss on the left, Finn on the right, and the Minuteman in the middle.
And then we got down to brass flesh hooks.
Skorne Turn 1
The Bloodrunners Apparated forward. Hexeris cast Rush on both Cannoneers, advanced, and cast CLoak of Ash on the Bloodrunners. The Bloodrunners and Master Tormentor ran around the side of the tower, staying out of Finn's charge range. The Razor Worm cast Spiney Growth, and dug in behind some rolling fog.
All the Titans ran. The Animantrax Trampled and Repositioned to get 10" of movement rather than the 8 it could run, and the Paingivers whipped it up to full Rage, then Medicated it up to full health. The Brute ran into the gap in front of Hexy, and the Extoller brought up the rear.
I feel like this is going to be a pretty standard Turn 1 advance for this list. I was in a good position to start shooting next turn. I was really looking forward to being the one threatening heavies at range for a change.
Cygnar Turn 1
Jakes and the Journeyman allocated nothing.
Jakes cast Escort, and back-flipped over the troops in front of her. The Journeyman cast Arcane Shield on the Ironclad, and advanced. All the Warjacks ran, as did the Stormblades and most of the solos. Finn advanced on the Bloodrunners and opened fire, but missed thanks to concealment from Ashen Veil.
I forgot to take a picture of this turn, but not a lot has happened yet. My plan for the next turn was to focus fire on Dynamo, kill Finn, and hopefully crack that flank open into something I could turn into a victory.
Skorne Turn 2
The Bloodrunners and Master Tormentor Apparated, and Hexy upkept Cloak of Ash.
Master Tormentor charged Finn, but missed. The Bloodrunners Pressed Forward, with two charging Finn and the rest running into the forest. They killed Finn, and repositioned apart a bit.
The Animantrax advanced, shot Dynamo for decent damage, and Repositioned backward. The two Cannoneers advanced, and shot Dynamo. One did good damage, but the other missed, and Dynamo had no systems out. The Worm advanced to get LoS on the Stormblades, and the Brute ran to screen the Cannoneers.
Hexeris channeled Black Spot onto the Stormblades through the Worm. The Gladiator and Extoller advanced.
I was setting myself up for what I hoped would be a good turn 3 for me. I'd wanted to either kill Dynamo or take out a crucial system, but I'd still be getting the Bloodrunners around the flank, and felt pretty good overall.
Cygnar Turn 2
The Journeyman dropped Arcane Shield, but Jakes upkept Escort. Jakes also took a Focus from the Squire. The Journeyman allocated 2 to the Ironclad, and Jakes allocated 2 each to the Hammersmith and Dynamo, leaving herself on 3.
Jakes started the testifies by Feating. For one round, all the Cygnar models would gain Rng 2 and Electro-Leap on their melee weapons. Then she charged the nearest Bloodrunner. She boosted her first attack, but missed thanks to Ashen Veil. Her second attack wasn't boosted, and also missed. Then she cast Positive Charge on Dynamo, and ended her activation camping 0.
Dynamo charged a Cannoneer, and reduced it to just a couple of boxes. Pangaea cast Hunter's Mark on the other Cannoneer. The Minuteman tried to throw the Brute, but missed, so the Ironclad had to walk over and kill it. Then the Hammersmith charged the Marked Cannoneer from way downtown, and killed both it and the one Dynamo had wounded. The Sentinel walked up to engage the Razor Worm. The electro-leaps from all this were mostly redirected harmlessly into my objective, which was thankfully closer than all but one of the Paingivers.
The Stormblades charged in at the Bloodrunners, and killed two (on hit, one electro-leap). The GMCA couldn't get LoS onto the Bloodrunners, so it just walked up.
Haha, serves me right for being so smug about out-shooting Cygnar. Escort + Hunters Mark + Positive Charge + Feat gives Jakes a hell of an alpha strike. I wasn't out of the game, but that turn had hurt a lot. I could play attrition, in which case I would need to destroy all 3 Cygnar heavies. That would be hard, but between the Animantrax, the Gladiator, and Arcing death into the Journeyman, I had a shot. Alternately, I could go after Jakes, who was probably as vulnerable as she was likely to get.
Skorne Turn 3
I went for the kill. The Bloodrunners Apparated themselves into optimal charge positions, and Hexeris dropped Black Spot from the Stormblades.
First, I tried to crit-smite the Squire into Jakes with the Siege Animantrax. The charge attack pulled the Squire, but wasn't a crit. However, the mighty Tortoise did 5 points of damage to Jakes with a lucky shot from the Double Riever.
The Razor Worm used Spiny Growth, and walked around the Animantrax, taking a bit of damage from a Free Strike as it did, and Riled for 1.
The Paingivers Enraged the Gladiator, which walked across the wall and killed the Hammersmith.
Hexeris boosted a Black Spot through the Razor Worm into Jakes, reducing her to Def 14. Then he killed her with 3 Hellfires (after using his Feat to recharge Fury).
Victory to the Skorne!
Thoughts
My big mistake was getting into the Cygnaran threat range on turn 2, which I really didn't need to do. Running my list right, I should have stayed out of Jakes' threat ranges, and shot, forcing her 'jacks into charge range of my Titans. I also feel like the Razor Worm might have worked better deployed alongside the Bloodrunner package, although that might have resulted in Brandon's AD stacked up against mine. I did do great with the Bloodrunners. Sneaking them around the flank was the right move, and if the game had gone on, it would really have payed off. On the last turn, they were also my insurance, in case Hexeris couldn't finish the job.
I had a lot of fun with this list. It's my first time playing this particular list, and I love the potential of the double Cannoneers. I'll definitely have to magnetize my battlegroup Titan with the spare parts I've picked up from other kits. The Bloodrunner module was also great. I'd thrown it in as a stand-in for Karax, but they did such a good job this game that I might keep them. As usual, the Animantrax contributed almost as much by its presence as by its attacks. It was a solid backup piece, and is very flexible with good shooting, good melee, and good mobility.. Finally, Hexy 2 is one of the Warlocks feel unambiguously good about in Skorne right now. He feels like he can be really competitive with the right list.
Brandon generally played a solid game, but he got greedy with Jakes on his second turn. Trying to kill those extra Bloodrunners wound up leaving Jakes super exposed, and cost Brandon the game. If he'd played it safe, Jakes would have been snugly behind her army, and channeling spells into her would have been very hard. I'd have had to try whatever attrition wizardry I could, and hoped for the best. Brandon did set his alpha up very well, threatening deep into the zone, and making me choose between hanging back and getting into his really brutal threat range. I chose to contest the scenario, and lost most of my battlegroup for it.
This Jakes list seems really solid. All the pieces work together well. It does seem a bit vulnerable to shooting, and a dedicated gunline might be able to take it apart at range. Escort and Hunter's Mark make the list absurdly fast though, and a shooting opponent would have exactly one turn to tip the scales. Overall, Jakes 2 is really solid, and Brandon is running a seriously cool looking list with her.
Thanks for reading!
Photos were taken, and will be posted as soon as I get my home internet up and running again.
UPDATE: The photos were added, and most of the autocorrect-related errors have been fixed.
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