Battle ReShort: Bearka vs. eHexeris (50pts)

I also played this game a couple months ago.  I was still messing around with eHexy, who I decided against because of all the painting and assembly I'd need to do for Adepticon.  I did take pictures, but I don't remember the activation order all that well, so this is just a ReShort.

I played a very shooty eHexeris list:

Lord Arbiter Hexeris (*6pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Croak Raiders (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Praetorian Keltarii (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts) - Proxied by Nihilators
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Paingiver Task Master (2pts)
Siege Animantrax (9pts) - Proxied by the torso of a Siege Animantrax

Caleb was experimenting with Borka 2 with the following list:

Borka, Vengeance of the Rimeshaws (*6pts)
*Rok (11pts)
*Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
*Troll Axer (6pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
*Piper and Standard Bearer (2pts)
*2 Caber Throwers (2pts)
Long Riders (Leader and 2 Grunts) (7pts)
Kriel Stone Bearer and Stone Scribes (Leader and 3 Grunts) (3pts)
*Stone Scribe Elder (1pt)
Dhunian Knot (3pts)
Horthol, Long Rider Champion (5pts)

Battle Report: Hexeris 2 vs Madrak 1 - Turtle vs Winter Kin, 50pts

This is a game from about 3 months ago, but I do have pictures and I'd halfway finished the battle report, so here it is:

I managed to get a game in against Caleb last week, and take some pictures.  We were both trying out some very new lists.  I've been playing around with eHexeris as a possible ADR partner to Makeda 3 this season.  He has a pretty decent set of tools for dealing with infantry, and runs a ranged list well, which I'll want against Cryx.  I've been playing around with him a little bit, and this time I tried the following list:

Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Borka 2 (50pts) - Sunhammer, Control, ADR, and MORE!

I was working this past Tuesday, and didn't get to play that night, but Caleb and I decided to schedule a game for Friday, so here it is!

I'm still experimenting with Makeda's control game and Sunhammer, and I really enjoyed the list I used in my outing with her against Cassius.  However, there's a little twist here.  Caleb and I are both prepping for Adepticon, and since the Masters qualifier will use ADR, Caleb decided to let me use Specialists for this game.  Caleb's not going to run ADR, so he didn't use Specialists.

Battle ReShort: Zaal 2 vs Durst (50pts)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Battle Report: Doomy3 vs. Makeda3 (50pts) - Battle of the Bricks

pGrexy and I got a game in on Tuesday, and decided to pit my newest Doomy3 list up against the tried-and-true Makeda3 brick that has been my nemesis for so many months now.

Also, HEY I'M WRITING A BATTLE REPORT! It's been a while since I wrote one of these, I am sooo far behind Maxtermynd and pGrexy...

Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Stryker 2 (50pts)

I'm continuing to experiment with Makeda 3 and double Aradus Sentinels.  This time, I was up against Andy and his Cygnar.  I ran my version of the list with the Krea and Orin Midwinter:

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts) - Proxied by a Cannoneer
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

Objective: Bunker

The idea behind this list is that the Aradi can attrition the enemy down from range, and force them into my lines on my terms, where my counterattack can be most productive.  I'm running them with Makeda rather than a Warlock with more traditional ranged support because her Feat gives her one of the most explosive counterattacks in Skorne.  She can completely reverse the tempo on a lot of armies that are able to get through the Aradus shooting quickly, and charge them.  She also buffs the normally pillow-clawed Sentinels' damage output with Vortex of Destruction.


Andy played the following list:

Lord Commander Coleman Stryker (*6pts)
*Lancer (6pts)
*Squire (2pts)
Storm Lances (Leader and 4 Grunts) (11pts) - Proxied by Nyss Raptors
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Captain Jonas Murdoch (2pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Pistoleers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (7pts)
*Gun Mage Officer (2pts)
Lieutenant Allison Jakes (3pts) - Proxied by a Beast Mistress
Journeywoman Warcaster (3pts)
Archduke Alain Runewood (3pts)
Captain Maxwell Finn (3pts)
Stormblade Captain (3pts) - Proxied by a Hex Hunter
Stormblade Captain (3pts) - Proxied by a Hex Hunter
Victor Pendrake (2pts)
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator (1pt)

Objective: I forget.  Effigy of Valor, maybe?  Seems good for this list?  It didn't come up...

I've only played Stryker 2 a couple of times before, but this looks like a fairly straightforward list for him.  The Forge Guard and Storm Lances are a lot of tough, hard-hitting models who can easily take advantage of the extra move and attack from Stryker's Feat, and the Storm Lances have a good gun on turns where they don't want to charge.  The Gun mages add extra ranged support, and a bit of flexibility with Thunderbolt shots and the ability to ignore Stealth.  There are also a lot of solos here adding extra support and extra hitting power (probably also with Stryker's Feat in mind).  The list as I've posted it is 3pts over, but I'm probably misremembering point costs.  I used to use Forward Kommander to reconstruct my opponents' lists for reports, and I make more mistakes than I used to now that it's down.

The Continued Adventures of Makeda 3 with Bugs: Gunbjorn and the Glacier King (50pts)

As I mentioned in my last battle report, I'm very excited about Aradi and the potential to use them with Makeda and the Exalted Court.  In particular, neonchameleon posted a list with double Sentinels that I think has a lot of potential with her.  Last game, I played the list as it was posted.  This time, I tweaked it a little.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts) - proxied by a Titan Cannoneer
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)

Battle Report: Captain Gunnbjorn vs Fiona the Black, 50pts... with a Glacier King!!

So, this glorious frozen bugger was pre-released at GenCon the other week:



... and I proxied him in a game within 2 days of the rules coming out (gotta get some use out of the Mountain King...).

Tentative Conclusion: GOOD. Not great, but well and truly Good.

Battle Report after the jump.

Quick Report: Makeda 3 Combined Arms vs. Vlad 2 Tier

Neonchameleon posted the following Makeda 3 list to the Skorne Forum in this thread, and I was really interested to try it out.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
*Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts) - neonchameleon was undecided on the last 2pts, but I always like Agonizers.

Zaal, Ancestral Advocate vs. Vayl, Disciple of Everblight, 50pts

I managed to give eZaal a try two Tuesdays ago, and here's how it went.  I ran the following list:

Zaal, Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
*Tiberion (11pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
*Basilisk Drake (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
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 my starting point with Zaal 2.  I'm mainly thinking of leveraging the infantry and Transference for damage, but I still wanted a heavy hitter, and Tiberion is self-sufficient, hard to kill, and has Reach and Shield Guard, and can't be pushed off scenario.  There was also some talk on the Forum about combining Zaal's spell Vision (cancel the first hit the model suffers, then Vision expires) with Tiberion's animus Bump (the first time the target suffers damage from a melee attack, the attacker is pushed 3" away).  The Basilisk Krea is there for a little more defense against shooting, while the Drake is there for the great spray, and to make the Krea hit like a heavy with Flank.

The Cetrati are another really durable unit.  Their job is to ferry Zaal around until the late game, when he'll need to take a more active role than providing Transference boosts for the infantry.  Speaking of Transference boosts, Cetrati themselves are a great unit to benefit, since they can hit with 4 dice and still be in Shield Wall.  The Slingers and Nihilators are mostly there to provide Souls, but both units can get work done.  Slings are surprisingly effective, especially against low-def infantry and Warjacks, and will do wonders against infantry spam type lists.  Nihilators will be a lot more dangerous than normal with access to Transference to boost their attack rolls.  Boosted Mat 7's will be a huge improvement against some of the targets that give Nihilators trouble.

Finally, Hakaar's in the list because he's a powerful model that can use Souls, benefits from Transference, and takes advantage of Zaal's Feat.  Boosted Mat 9's is great, but Arm 26 when loaded up with Souls is the real selling point.  He'll be very hard to take down on the Feat turn, and be ready to do even more damage on the next turn.

That's the theory anyway.  Here's how it went down on the table.

4+ Tournament 07/25 Games 3 & 4

Continued from my Games 1&2 post.

Game 3 vs. Skorne

I was up against Doug, who I've seen at Tower a lot, but only managed to get half a game in against.  He was running pXerxis with Fist of Halaak and eHexeris with Croak Raiders.  I was super confident about Makeda 3 into Hexy, and I'd had a few practice games with her into Fist, which is a slog, but not as terrible a matchup as you'd think.  I was pretty happy about Zaal into Fist, but not so much into Hexy.  So I dropped Makeda 3.  Doug didn't want to be list-locked going into round 4 (and was a little burned out on Fist), so he dropped Hexy.

4+ Tournament 07/25 Brute Squad and Zaamblers! Games 1 & 2

I went to another tournament this month, and this time, I made sure the pictures work.  I meant to have this report up sooner, but I unfortunately got sucked into epic Zaal epic drama on Wednesday and Thursday, so here it is at the end of the week.  There's another tournament coming up August 22nd, and I'm totes planning to run epic Zaal, hopefully with epic results!

I ran Makeda 3 and Zaal with Despoiler again.  The lists are as follows:

4+ Tournament 06/27

I went to a tournament on June 27th, and here's how it went.

4+ Tough Get Together Battle Report: Incissar Vyros Goes to Shyrr

Scene: Vyros, Incissar of the Dawnguard and scion of House Nyarr hobbles to the table and sits down. He is on crutches and has one of his arms in a sling. Before him are a group of reporters from the various noble Iosan houses.

Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Absylonia 2, at 50pts

I went to Tower again last week, and got a game in, so here's the report.  No pictures this time, since my phone was running low on power.  I decided to play one of the modifications on my Makeda 3 list I talked about in this post.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)

I've been interested in trying this out ever since DrillbossD mentioned that it was his standard list.  I replaced the Cyclops Savage that I normally run with Orin Midwinter and a Tyrant Commander.  And since I'm trying out variations on my usual Makeda 3 list, I thought I'd start with this one.  The Savage is a jack of all trades utility piece, and it always has something to do.  The Tyrant Commander and Orin are more specialized support pieces, but they give Makeda a little more offensive and defensive flexiblity, and Orin also helps tremendously against Butcher 3, who is usually very strong against Skorne, and Makeda 3 in particular.


My opponent, Sam, played a flexible list under Absylonia 2.

Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight (*5pts)
*Carnivean (11pts)
*Ravagore (10pts)
*Angelius (9pts)
*Seraph (8pts)
*Nephilim Protector (5pts)
*Shredder (2pts)
Succubus (2pts)
The Forsaken (2pts)
The Forsaken (2pts)
Strider Deathstalker (2pts)
Strider Deathstalker (2pts)

I've never played against Absylonia 2 before, but the lists I've seen online are usually heavy melee specialists, while this is a more flexible combined-arms list.  The shooting here is nothing to sneeze at.  There isn't the Lylyth 2 level of firepower to take out a heavy in one round, but this list can definitely thin out its opposition at range.  The melee power is mostly provided by Absylonia through her Feat and Conferred Rage, which makes the combined arms beasts impressive in melee.  She also helps fix Legion's glass cannon problem a little with Fortify.  Overall, the list seems strong and cagey, and the ranged presence gives it some depth in assassination and scenario that pure melee lists wouldn't have.

4+ Tough Get Together Battle Report: Makeda 3 vs. Vyros 2, 50pts

About 2 weeks ago, Maxtermynd made the long, arduous trip from Madison to the Twin Cities, and we played a game.  This is my first game of Warmachine against Max.  We'd played a couple of games of 40k a couple of years ago, but then I switched over to almost exclusively WarmaHordes, and Max moved out of town.   Since I'd been posting so much about my Brute Squad list, I knew I'd want to play it here.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)
*Cylcops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

I've had a lot of fun with this list so far, and a lot of success as well.  I have a bunch of battles under my belt with it already, most of which are documented here.  It's mainly an attrition list that relies on the heavy armor and high damage output of a few models to grind the opponent out.  It also has strong scenario game, especially in split scenarios, where Makeda can clear zones and dominate in relative safety.

Max was bringing Retribution, as usual, and decided to (rudely) interrupt Makeda's conquest of Ios with eVyros at the head of a Tier 4 Guardians of the Gate list:

Vyros, Incissar of the Dawnguard (*5pts) - Guardians of the Gate Tier 4
*Imperatus (12pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Griffon (4pts)
*Aspis (4pts)
*Aspis (4pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
Dawnguard Destor Thane (4pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)

The theme benefits for Guardians of the Gate are reduced point cost and FA:U on Dawnguard Destor units (Tier 1), Dawnguard Sentinels gain AD if you include at least one unit (Tier 2), Destor units and solos gain +2Spd on the first turn if you include at least one Destor Thane (Tier 3), and Warjacks in the list are all allocated a Focus on turn 1 if you include at least one heavy warjack in the list.

This will actually be my first time playing against eVyros Griffon spam, despite the fact that we have a few Ret players at Tower.  It's also an attrition list that works by building up Synergy until the last battlegroup model to activate can wreck a Colossal without breaking a sweat.  Because it has so many tough and independent models, its scenario game is good as well, and Vyros' Feat gives it interesting maneuvering options.

Here's how the game went down...

Tournament Report: Steamroller with Extra Bonds

I can seeeee yooooouuuu..

A couple of weekends ago Crippled System hosted a 50 pt Steamroller tournament in beautiful Madison, WI, with a bit of a twist. Every faction was allowed to have an extra bonded warjack or warbeast in each of their lists, selecting a bond from the back pages of Prime/Primal. If you already have a bond, you get two of them. If you didn't have any, you get one!