eHexeris vs. Calandra Truthsayer - A Rematch

My list was:

Lord Arbiter Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Sentry (9)  Bonded: Hexeris can channel spells through it while it's in his Cmd range.
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Cyclops Savage (5)

6 Venator Rievers (5)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Extoller Soulward (2)

This list contains a hard-hitting fist of Warbeasts given some nice flexibility by eHexeris' spells.  It's threatening to both infantry and heavies.  This is my 3rd game with eHexeris, and the similar list (Cannoneer instead of the Sentry) that I played was super fun.  While my list deals damage to all targets well, it doesn't have a strong jamming element.  There's no cheap expendable infantry to blunt an Alpha Strike, and the best things for tying down shooters are the Savage and Sentry, which have reach.  Caleb's ranged beasts present a bit of a problem for me in that they'll likely be able to draw a bead on Hexeris.  I'll have to close quickly to protect him.

Caleb (my co-blogger and frequent opponent) ran the following:

Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (+5)
*Dire Troll Bomber (10)
*Pyre Troll (5)
*Troll Impaler (5)

10 Trollkin Fennblades (8)
*Officer and Musician (2)
6 Pyg Bushwhackers (5)

Fell Caller Hero (3)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2)

There's a strong ranged element to this list which complements Calandra's Feat and Force Blow spell (which knocks its target down) nicely.  Ranged attacks are a great way to capitalize on anything that grants massive accuracy and/or damage bonuses.  The Fennblades are there to hold me off while the Beasts and Bushwhackers inflict serious damage with their ranged attacks.  The list's big limitation is that serious heavy armor will give it trouble.  Only the Bomber can reliably dish out punishment to heavies in melee, and needs the Pyre Troll's animus to overcome tougher heavies.  My biggest concern in Caleb's position is that my beasts will just roll him up without taking serious damage.

As a note, my Sentry is not fully assembled.  It's the plastic Titan torso.  My Bronzeback's legs are standing in for the whole model until it's done.

Caleb won the roll off, and decided to go second.

Deployment:

I was planning to advance my Venators around the house, and start picking off Pygs and Fennblades.  Meanwhile, my Warbeasts would use the low wall as a shield to keep the Fennblades off them while they set up for charges into the Trollblood lines.












Caleb set up in a nice, versatile bunch, with the Pygmies set to oppose my Venators, and maybe get some damage in on my beasts.  He'd use the wheat field (square patch in the middle on his side) for concealment, and try to jam me with his Fennblades while hammering me with ranged attacks with his beasts and Bushwhackers.








Turn 1 - Skorne

Not much action on Turn 1.  I ran forward with pretty much all my models, letting the Sentry take the lead.  The Venators hid behind the building to keep from getting shot up by Bushwhackers, and Hexeris put Ashen Veil on the Sentry.











Turn 1 - Trollbloods
Caleb ran forward and spread out.  Calandra cast Bullet Dodger on herself, cast Star Crossed (which is rapidly becoming one of my least favorite spells to deal with), and charged up to support her army.  The Bushwhackers advanced and shot at my lead Venator, but missed.  The Stone Scribe Chronicler gave the Fennblades Concealment and Feign Death for a round.

Caleb was keeping flexible.  The Fennblades were certainly planning to jam my beasts up next turn, and the ranged beasts were keeping flexible.  The Pygmies seemed set on dueling with the Venators, and would likely win, given their Concealment from the woods.


Turn 2 - Skorne
Hexeris upkept Ashen Veil.  The Gladiator Rushed the Sentry, and advanced to a bit behind the wall to stay unjammed next turn.  The Sentry advanced right up to the wall, and cast Locker, though it was unlikely to be charged at by any beasts.  The Savage nipped around the building to keep its charge options open, while the Bronzeback advanced conservatively.  The Extoller gave Hexeris Guidance, letting him ignore the Fennblades' concealment, and Hexeris cast Black Spot on the Fennblades.  The Venators advanced, killed two Fennblades and knocked down a third, mostly due to being just out of range (great positioning on Caleb's part - I barely got the leading edge of Fennblades).  The Beast Handlers just kept up.

I'd been hoping for a little more damage with my Venators there, but I was still pretty confident.  Fennblades are good, but they're not really up to the task of killing a lot of heavies.  They'd probably kill the Venators, bur Black Spot meant my Savage and Sentry would tear them apart next turn.


Turn 2 - Trollbloods
Caleb and I both forgot about the Fennblades' Vengeance moves.  Calandra upkept Bullet Dodger.  The Fell Caller used War Cry on the Fennblades, giving them +2 to melee attack and damage rolls, and ran out of the way.  The Fennblades used No Quarter, giving them Fearless, Terror, Pathfinder, and +2" of movement on a charge, and charged in, killing the two Venators they could reach (who also failed their Terror check), and doing some damage to the Sentry despite its multifarious defense buffs.  The Stone Scribe Chronicler advanced, and put Hero's Tragedy on the Fennblades, which would knock down any of my Warrior models who destroyed a Fennblade with a melee attack.  The Pyre Troll ran around my right flank, while the Impaler cast Far Strike on the Bomber, giving it +4 range on its bombs.  The Bomber then advanced, and threw 2 bombs at the Gladiator, damaging it and killing the Extoller Soulward.  The Pygs shot two 3-man Combined Ranged Attacks at the Savage, but didn't do much harm.  Calandra advanced, Cast Star Crossed again, and cast Soothing Song to reduce the Fury on her battlegroup.

This hadn't been a bad turn for Caleb, but he also hadn't done a lot of damage to my heaviest hitters.  He'd have to hope that the Fennblades held me off while he could focus fire or set up an assassination run.

Turn 3 - Skorne
Hexeris upkept Ashen Veil and Black Spot.  The Venators went first, and got out of the way.  Two died to Fennblade free strikes, but such is the life of a Venator.  The Bronzeback advanced to just behind the wall, and put Train Wreck on the Cyclops Savage, giving it Beat Back.  The Savage advanced, and chopped its way through 3 Fennblades, making for Calandra.  Hexeris advanced to shelter behind the Bronzeback, and couldn't quite take Cover behind the wall, then cast Ashes to Ashes on a Fennblade, killing one, the Feated, stripping Fury from the Trolls, and cast Train Wreck on the Sentry, and another Ashes to Ashes, killing another Fennblade (darn Tough), and ended his activation camping two Fury.  The Gladiator charged the last standing Fennblade engaging the Sentry, and killed it.  The Gladiator then cast Rush on the Sentry, which replaced Train Wreck, but would let the Sentry charge over the wall.  The Sentry charged the Bomber, doing some damage, killed two more Fennblades with its non-reach attacks, then cast Locker on itself to keep the Bomber in place.

I'd done some serious damage this turn, removing all but two of the Fennblades.  Hexeris' Vampiric Harvest ability had also healed all the damage from all my warbeasts.  Caleb would be in a do-or-die position next turn.  He didn't have the muscle to kill off my beasts, so he needed to assassinate Hexeris, or I'd wipe him out next turn.

Turn 3 - Trollbloods
Calandra dropped Bullet Dodger - she'd need all her resources for the assassination run.  The Fennblades got out of Calandra's way.  Next, Calandra advanced to within 10" of Hexeris, and Feated, letting her whole army reroll 1's and 2's on attack and damage rolls.  Then she cast Befuddle on my Titan Sentry, boosting to hit.  Despite the penalties, she hit it, and moved it out of melee with the Bomber.  Then she sent a fully boosted Force Blow into Hexeris, damaging him and knocking him down!

Everything with a gun shot Hexy, and it took every shot to put him down.  The last shot in was a 4-Pyg CRA from the Bushwhackers, and it finished him off.

Victory to the Trollbloods!

                                                                        Whacked!


Thoughts
I played a very solid game right up until Turn 3, where I badly underestimated the ranged threat of Caleb's list.  Calandra's Feat is just the boost a lot of ranged troops need to become truly dangerous, and Caleb had a lot of attacks out there.  If I'd seen it coming, I'd definitely have left off that second Ashes to Ashes.  It's a fun spell, but I would have been much better served not casting it, and sitting on 5+ transfers.  Nothing Caleb had could have gotten through that, and the extra damage to the Fennblades certainly wasn't worth the game.

eHexeris definitely doesn't need help dealing with infantry.  Even against Tough Fennblades benefiting from Star Crossed, my mostly beast army barely even slowed down.  Vampiric Harvest was also a huge boon.  Except for the unlamented Venators and somewhat lamented Extoller, I erased all the damage my army had taken on my turn, which really put Caleb in a tough situation.

I like this list a lot.  The Sentry was great, and did a much better job as a front-liner than my Cannoneer usually does.  I'll probably test them both out some more, since I also like having the gun available.  Time will tell whether I prefer a blocker or a shooter with this list.  I'm also considering swapping the Venators for Nihilators or Bloodrunners.  Nihilators are a bit more versatile, and have Reach and Tough.  Bloodrunners are a bit faster, and have Def 14, Stealth, and Shadow Play.  The Place effect from Shadow Play combines deliciously with Black Spot for some real shenanigans, and I'd consider them as a good target for Ashen Veil too.

I also like Caleb's list.  Calandra is a strong warlock to take a ranged game with due to her accuracy and damage boosting Feat, as well as the ability to give her army rerolls with Fate-Blessed.  All those ranged attacks certainly served Caleb well this time around, since I hadn't left Hexeris vulnerable to melee attackers this time around.  My list was a tough matchup for Caleb's, and I'm not sure what his plan should have been to avoid being so badly mauled after his first wave hit.  I don't see what I would have done differently in his position except maybe try to flank my Sentry and come around my right side.  I'd been leaning left, so he might have been able to nip around, and take my beasts out one by one.  It would have been a long shot though, especially since I had Rush to play around with.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery are, as always, very much appreciated.

Picture Post

Apparently posting pictures to the PP forums requires them to be online or something.  This is where I'll post all my pictures I intend to put up there.  That's it.  No story here, but stay tuned for a Calandra vs. eHexy grudge match report with more pictures.

This is a weird one, but I'm posting it on the PP forums.  Be prepared for further weirdness ye who read the 4+ Tough Archives.

Random Thoughts

I got a game in against a new player yesterday, and it was lots of fun, as usual.  I won't get into the details here - it was a fun game, but it was a teaching game, so there weren't a lot of tricks flying around - but I do have a few comments on my eHexeris list I noticed during this game.

The list I played was my eHexy list from this post, using the Cannoneer, because it's fully assembled and painted, which I consider extra important against newer players.  It's much easier to tell what a model is if it's an accurate representation etc. etc.

While the Cannoneer definitely pulled its weight, it also has a slight conflict of interest with eHexeris.  Both of them want the Extoller's Guidance every turn.  Eyeless Sight is just too good on eHexy, who wants it for Black Spot, as well as Hellfire and Ashes to Ashes, and he's getting it every turn, while Candice has to do her best and hope for good deviation rolls.  I wasn't expecting it to be quite so one sided - pHexeris often doesn't get Guidance, but despite having a similar beast loadout, he plays very differently.

I also got to see the full power of Black Spot + Train Wreck + Reach with my Cyclops Savage, which was pretty awesome.  It's hard to stop with just positioning.  I can see this tactic destroying a lot of units with medium-to-low Defense.

Both of these factors lead me to conclude that the Sentry will do really well.  It doesn't want Guidance except for the corner case where I want to charge it through a forest or cloud, and it has Reach.  Plus it's a very tough Bond beast with some good tricks to protect the Gladiator and Bronzeback.

MOAR BEASTS

Since I'm giving the Titan Sentry a try in place of my Cannoneer in my eHexy lists, I'm considering what I could do with my other lists.  If I do it with pMorghoul, I don't need the Extoller Soulward in my list any more (Hexeris still wants it for Eyeless Sight on his spells), which frees up 2 points.  There are a couple cool things I could take for 2 points.  Or I could run the following:

Master Tormentor Morghoul (+7) - 35pts
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Sentry (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Cyclops Brute (5)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
*Basilisk Drake (4)

4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)


So what do you think?  Too many Beasts?

Short Battle Report: Master Tormentor Morghoul vs. Borka Kegslayer

I also got a game in against Borka on Friday.  I'm usually pretty good with names, but I completely spaced out on my opponent's name this time (sorry).

I ran pMorghoul beast heavy, because warbeasts are a lot of fun, and I was planning on running infantry heavy later on.

Master Tormentor Morghoul (+7)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Cyclops Savage (5)
*Basilisk Krea (4)

4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

My opponent ran a Borka brick list.

Borka Kegslayer (+5) - Family Reunion Tier 4
*Pyg Keg Carrier (-)
*Rok (11)

3 Trollkin Champions (5)
*Skaldi Bonehammer (3)
3 Trollkin Champions (5)
3 Trollkin Sluggers (4)
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes (3)
*Stone Scribe Elder (1)

Trollkin Champion Hero (3)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2)

My opponent won the roll off, and chose to go first.  We played the Process of Elimination scenario.  There were two big scoring zones in the center of the table, and we could only score in one zone at a time, and we could only score in each zone once.  Pictures of the terrain we used can be found in the report of another battle I played right after this one (Caleb and I were too lazy to change it up after this game was over).

My opponent won the roll off, and went first.  He deployed one unit of Champions in front of each zone (the one with Skaldi went on the left), supported by a Champion Hero.  The Sluggers went on my right flank to take advantage of the cover provided by the low walls.  Borka, the Kriel Stone, Chronicler, and Rok went in the middle.

I deployed the three Titans in the middle, with the Cannoneer leading the formation from the center, and the Bronzeback and Gladiator flanking it.  The Krea, Paingivers, Extoller and Morghoul deployed just behind them, and the Savage and Agonizer deployed on my left flank.

The Sluggers and the right Champions unit took advance moves.  The Sluggers advanced toward the first low wall, and the Champions advanced directly toward me.

Turn 1 - Trollbloods
Everybody ran, except one of the Champion Heroes, who charged to move through one of the forests.  Borka put all his Fury on the Krielstone, which used handed out its defensive aura before running.  Rok also riled to maximum Fury, so Borka would be full next turn.

Turn 1 - Skorne
I Rushed and Abused my Cannoneer, Candice, giving her +4" of movement, Trampled up with the Gladiator, and advanced with Morghoul, who also put some Fury on the Agonizer.  The Extoller gave Candice Guidance (Eyeless Sight and Magic Weapon), and she put a shot on Borka, but missed despite fully boosting.  The rest of my army advanced to just little behind Candice.

Turn 2 - Trollbloods
Both Champions units ran again, one getting close to my end of the right zone, the other backing them up from the swamp.  The Sluggers advanced to the closer of the low walls, and shot up my Gladiator to little effect.  Borka advanced, and put Iron Flesh on the closer unit of Champs.  The Krielstone used its Aura and ran again.

Turn 2 - Skorne
The Krea Aimed, and boosted a Spiritual Paralysis into the lead Champ, reducing it to Def 7, which Iron Flesh boosted to 10.  Morghoul put Admonition and Abuse on my Gladiator, Maltreated the Krea, and advanced a bit.  The Cannoneer advanced, used Diminish, and shot at a Champion for very minor damage.  The Paingivers Enraged the Gladiator, and did some Fury management.  The Savage and Bronzeback advanced to support the Cannoneer, and the Bronzeback put Train Wreck on the Gladiator.  The Gladiator Slammed the lead Champ, knocking them all down, but leaving the leader alive.  She then bought 4 more attacks, Beating her way Back through the whole unit, and wiping them out.  She also took a nasty Counter Charge from Skaldi, which I didn't see coming.  She made an attack on Skaldi, but he was Tough.

Turn 3 - Trollbloods
The Sluggers and the second unit of Champs combined forces with one of the Champion Heroes to kill off my Gladiator, despite Admonition.  The Pyg Keg Carrier used the Top Off action on Borka to give him extra Fury and Stumbling Druk, then Borka Feated, and charged Morghoul.  Morghoul survived, though Borka did cause Morhgoul to lose spellcasting for a round.  Since my Gladiator was dead, my opponent scored in the right zone.

Turn 3 - Skorne
I went for the assassination on Borka.  Three Paingivers clustered around Borka, then the Krea used Paralytic Aura, reducing Borka to def 12, and moved what I thought would be far enough out of the way for my Bronzeback to Trample up to Borka and kill him, but I was a fraction of an inch off, and the Bronzeback wasn't in range.  Morghoul tried to finish the job, but failed.

Borka and Skaldi killed him on the next turn.

Overall, a really fun game.  I had a fantastic time, and my Morghoul list only gets more fun the more I play it.  Thanks for the game, Guy Whose Name I Don't Remember!      

Picked Up Lord Arbiter Hexeris Yesterday

And looking forward to some Arbitration, and Hexation.

I'll probably also start using eHexy as a launching point for a more in-depth look at what is one of my current fave Warbeasts, the Titan Cannoneer.  I started using the Cannoneer and Extoller Soulward to combat pDeneghra and the various things she'd bring that I'd want to get rid of early on: Bonejacks, Admonia, Pistol Wraiths, Admonia, Bane Lord Tartarus, and Admonia.

Since then, I started fielding and enjoying the Cannoneer regularly, using it as a frontline attrition warbeast who shot cannon balls at solos on its way into melee, and it's served me quite well in that role (a more detailed description of how I use my Cannoneer can be found here).

However, I've also recently picked up the plastic Titan kit, and that gives me access to the Titan Sentry.  The Sentry is a lot better than the Cannoneer as a frontline attrition beast due to its Shield, higher armor and hit boxes, and Locker + Reach.  Both have good synergy with eHexy, so I'll be switching out between the two in a lot of games.  My current eHexeris lists are:

25pts
Lord Arbitor Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9 - Bonded)
*Titan Gladiator (8)

4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Extoller Soulward (2)

35pts
Lord Arbiter Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9 - Bonded)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Cyclops Savage (5)

6 Venator Rievers (5)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Extoller Soulward (2)

50pts
Lord Arbiter Hexeris (+6)
*Bronzeback Titan (10)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Sentry (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Cyclops Savage (5)
*Basilisk Krea (4)

6 Venator Rievers (5)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)

The 50pt list is not what I've been posting I'd run, but looks like loads of fun.

Battle Report: Void Seer Mordikaar vs. Calandra Truthsayer

Caleb and I got a game in this past Friday.  He went with Calandra, and I decided to give Mordikaar another shot.

Trollbloods (35pts)

Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (+5)
*Dire Troll Mauler (9)
*Troll Axer (6)
*Troll Impaler (5)

10 Trollkin Fennblades (8)
*Officer and Musician (2)
6 Pyg Bushwhackers (5)

Janissa Stonetide (3)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2)

This seems like a well balanced attrition list.  The Mauler and Axer can both hit very hard, the Fennblades are a good tar pit, and the Bushwhackers add some decent long ranged attacks to pick off support models and infantry.  Janissa and the Chronicler can add in some more attrition with Rock Wall and Storytelling.  The main Assassination threats are the Warbeasts, though the troops could certainly get the job done if my warlock is knocked down (due to Calandra's Force Blast spell, for example).
 
Skorne (35pts)

Void Seer Mordikaar (+5)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)

10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)

Void Spirit (2)
Void Spirit (2)

I've decided to juggle my Mordikaar list around and give the Archidon a try.  He doesn't seem to need the Sentry very much because Tough, Undead Swordsmen (due to his Hollow spell) are such a fantastic tar pit, and because the Archidon has a scary Assassination threat with Flight letting it charge past enemy models and Mordikaar's spell Ghost Walk letting it ignore free strikes.  Mordikaar's other Assassination threats are all spell powered.  He can use his troops for Essence Blasts on the enemy caster, or Revive them (especially the elite Cetrati) into good charge positions.  Otherwise, this list has a very heavy attrition element.  It'll be hard to kill off, and every death can make Mordikaar more powerful.
  
Since there are pictures, I should say that we both used a few proxies this game.  I was using Master Tormentor Morghoul as Mordikaar, my Bronzeback's legs as the Archidon, and my Agonizer and Extoller Soulward as my Void Spirits.  Caleb had borrowed some models, and used 40mm wood circles to proxy the ones he was missing.  He was also using an incomplete Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain as Calandra.  Hopefully, the report will make it clear who is doing what.  If there are any unclear bits, just mention them, and I'll try to edit the post to make them clearer.

Deployement
 
We ended up playing Process of Elimination, largely because the zones were still on the table from my previous game (pMorghoul vs Borka, Battle Report to come).  In this scenario, you score points by controlling one of the two long zones.  You can only score in one zone at a time, and you can only ever score in each zone once.  The first player to 2 would win by Scenario, though I had a hunch we'd start ignoring the Zones and focus on caster kill in pretty short order.


I won the roll off, and chose to go first.  I deployed the Swordsmen in a broad line opposite both Zones.  The Cetrati and Mordikaar went behind them.  The warbeasts and attendant Paingivers deployed on my far left flank where the Archidon could play around with the building there.  Both Void Spirits deployed on my right flank, hoping to pick off support models or nip around to attack Calandra herself.

Caleb deployed his Warbeasts opposite mine, with the Mauler on my far Left, and the Axer and Impaler toward the middle.  The Fennblades deployed in front of both zones just like my Swordsmen.  The Stone Scribe Chronicler and Janissa deployed just behind them.  The Bushwhackers advance deployed on my right side, intending to move up my flank and use the low walls there for cover while they picked off my infantry.








Turn 1 - Skorne

I'm not used to Void Spirits yet, and my first mistake of the game was deploying them next to my Swordsmen.  Luckily, I passed the Abomination check, and ran both the Spirits and the Swordsmen forward to the edges of the Zones.  The Cetrat ran behind the Swordsmen.   The Gladiator Rushed itself, then Trampled forward to get 9" of distance.  The Archidon ran to just behind the building.  Mordikaar advanced, put Hollow on the Swordsmen, making them Undead and Tough (and letting Mordikaar collect their Soul Tokens if any of them should be destroyed), then put Banishing Ward on the Gladiator, since I knew Calandra would try to lure it out and kill it with Befuddle.  The Paingivers ran to just behind the Warbeasts.

There isn't usually much to say on the strategic picture at the top of turn 1.  My basic plan was to jam the zones with the Swordsmen while setting up an assassination run on Calandra with my Archidon and Essence Blasts.  The building is a good place for the Archidon to hide out and harass Caleb's flank from for now, and the Void Spirits are going to be a threat on the other side of the battle.

Turn 1 - Trollbloods

The Fennblades started out by running into the control zones on their end, and staggering their formation so I couldn't get to their second rank.  The Bushwhackers advanced to the first low wall, and took some shots at my leading Swordsmen, killing one of them, and giving Mordikaar a Soul Token due to Hollow.  The Stone Scribe Chronicler used Hero's Tragedy on the Fennblades.  If my Swordsmen were in range to charge and kill any of them, the Swordsmen would be knocked down at the end of their activations.  Janissa advanced, and placed a Rock Wall in front of the Fennblades Officer to protect him from any early game pot shots.  The Troll Warbeasts all ran forward, keeping in line with my own beasts.  Calandra cast Star Crossed, which forced me to roll an additional die on attack rolls and drop the highest die, and then put Bullet Dodger on herself (giving her +2 Def against ranged attacks, and the ability to move out of the way if I miss her with an attack), then charged at one of my Swordsmen.  She didn't reach him, but managed to get further upfield than if she'd just advanced.

Let the Attrition begin.  Caleb's advance let him contest both zones, and he had the numbers, combined with Tough and Star Crossed, to make the game a real slog for me.  I had to keep in mind that his biggest threat came from his Warbeasts, but I still had my Cetrati between them and Mordikaar for now.

Turn 2 - Skorne

Mordikaar leached fury, and upkept Hollow and Banishing Ward, and the dead Swordsman's Soul Token became another point of fury for Mordikaar due to Cull Soul.  The Bushwhackers would be a problem if I didn't deal with them.  I had two Swordsmen who might be in range of the Fennblades, and it would be nice to put some damage on them this turn.  Finally, anything I could do to the Troll Warbeasts this turn would be a bonus.  I didn't want to sacrifice my Archidon to them, but maybe I could throw one, and Sprint away after killing a Fennblade.

One Void Spirit charged the Bushwhackers, who failed their Abomination check, and would flee next turn.  The Void Spirit killed its initial target, generating an Eruption of Ash (a 3" AoE of Pow 12 Fire centered on the boxed Pygmy) which killed one more, and caused two others to fall down due to Tough.  Two of the Swordsmen charged the Fennblades I thought I could reach, but were just out of range, the rest of the Swordsmen ran to jam Caleb's Fennblades and beasts.  The Cetrati went into Shield Wall gaining +4 Arm while base-to-base with each other, and advanced.  The second Void Spirit ran to just behind the Swordsmen.  The Gladiator cast Rush on the Archidon, then advanced, to behind the Swordsmen.

Mordikaar cast Revive to bring back the dead Swordsman, then used his Feat, Void Wind, granting everything in his CTRL +3 Def and Poltergeist (letting me push enemy models who miss my own models d3").  He then charged one of the Fennblades to move further up.  The Archidon flew over the building, cast Lightning Strike on itself (granting it Sprint - the ability to make a full advance after killing one or more models with melee attacks during its activation), then killed a Fennblade and Sprinted back behind the Swordsmen.  The Fennblades were affected by Hero's Tragedy, but because the Archidon is Serpentine, it wasn't knocked down.  It took some damage from a Fennblade's Free Strike.  The Paingivers used Medicate on the Archidon, healing it for 1, and then Conditioned the Gladiator so that neither beast would take a Threshold check next turn.

My plan for a spell and Archidon assassination was shaping up pretty well.  Calandra would have to be careful to make sure there were no landing zones near her for my next turn.  Depending on how many Swordsmen died on the coming Trollblood turn, I could use Essence Blast either to clear out enemies or to (maybe) finish Calandra.

Turn 2 - Trollbloods

In the Maintenance Phase, the Fennblades took their Vengeance moves and attacks, killing a Swordsman.  Calandra leached fury, and upkept Bullet Dodger on herself.  Caleb's army would have a hard time hitting my models, but he might be able to get through to my more valuable, and lower Def, Warbeasts.  If he could take them out, I'd be at a serious disadvantage in the coming turns.

Calandra cast Star Crossed again, then advanced.  The Pygmies retreated to a forest, and rallied.  The Fennblades Officer used his mini-Feat, No Quarter, giving the Fennblades Pathfinder, Terror, and Fearless for one Round.  The Fennblades charged at my Swordsmen, but due to Mordikaar's Feat and a couple successful Tough rolls, didn't manage to kill any of them.  The Troll Impaler advanced to help screen Calandra, used its Animus, Far Strike, to gain +4" of range, and shot my Gladiator for moderate damage.  The Mauler used its Animus, Rage, on the Axer to give it +3 Strength, and also moved to Screen Calandra.  The Axer charged at my Archidon (it could barely see the edge of the Archidon's base, and made a Thresher special attack against the Archidon and four Praetorian Swordsmen.  It killed one of the Swordsmen, and reduced the Archidon to just 1 hit box with a single swipe.  It had missed a Swordsman, however, and was Poltergeisted away before it could buy any more attacks against the Archidon.  Calandra had used one of her Fury points to reroll the attack on the Archidon, leaving her with 2 Fury for transfers.  Janissa advanced, and cast Rock Hammer at the Incorporeal Void Spirit, killing it.  Finally, the Stone Scribe Chronicler used Hero's Tragedy on the Fennblades again, and ran to screen Calandra some more.

Caleb was jamming me well, and I wouldn't be able to get many attacks in on his Warbeasts next turn.  No matter what I did to his Fennblades, the beasts would be around to wreak havoc on my forces, and they were a very versatile selection.  He'd screened Calandra as best he could from Archidon attacks, but would it be enough?

Turn 3 - Skorne

Mordikaar upkept Hollow, but let Banishing Ward drop, and got 2 points of Fury from Cull Soul.  I was fairly sure I could get to Calandra this turn, but much less sure that I could finish her.  Between Tough, Star Crossed and Bullet Dodger, Calandra had a lot of defensive tricks, and she had 2 points of Fury to transfer damage with.  Luckily, I wouldn't have to choose between assassination and attrition this turn.  The Archidon was on its last legs, and had nothing better to do than give it a try.

I started off by charging my surviving Void Spirit into Janissa, killing her, but catching nothing else in the Eruption of Ash.  My Swordsmen advanced, and the Officer used his mini-Feat Perfect Strike, letting the Swordsmen do a single point of damage to warrior models instead of rolling damage.  The Swordsmen on my left did well, killing most of the Fennblades opposing them, and used Side Step to close with Caleb's second rank.  Because of Hero's Tragedy, however, they were knocked down after that.  The Swordsmen on my right side cound not kill a single Fennblade, try though they might.  Oh well.  The Cetrati advanced again, and used Shield Wall.  One of them managed to kill a single Fennblade.  Mordikaar advanced to behind the left clump of Cetrati, and cast Ghost Walk on the Archidon, allowing it to ignore free strikes, then healed its two broken aspects.  It had only 3 hit points left, but it would get its shot at glory.  The Gladiator cast Rush on the Archidon, and advanced, screening Mordikaar.  The Paingiver Beast Handlers used Enrage on the Archidon, granting it +2 Strength and letting it charge for free, and Medicate on the Gladiator, healing one of its hit boxes.

Finally, the Archidon screeched and launched itself at Calandra.  With a 12" charge range, it found a landing zone just behind the Dire Troll Mauler.  It boosted its first attack roll, and barely hit despite Star Crossed.  What's more, it rolled doubles, meaning it could use Critical Pitch to throw Calandra.  I threw her into the Stone Scribe Chronicler right next to her since she'd stop when she hit it, and still be in my melee range.  Calandra transferred the damage, but was knocked down, and sitting on just one more point of Fury.  The Archidon bought 3 more attacks, but Calandra was left alive at 3 hit points.

                                  This would be a lot more dramatic if I owned an actual Archidon.


So close!  But Calandra was in serious trouble if she didn't deal with the Archidon somehow.  It and the Swordsmen were the most pressing threats to Caleb.  Besides attacking Calandra, they could all be used to target Essence Blasts, even one of which could take her out if Caleb failed her Tough check.

Turn 3 - Trollbloods

The Fennblades made their Vengeance moves and attacks, killing a few Swordsmen.  Calandra upkept Bullet Dodger because defensive advance would be critical.  The Archidon would have to go, but it was almost dead anyway.  If Caleb cleared out enough Swordsmen, he'd be able to charge the Mauler into the Gladiator, taking both my warbeasts out along with Mordikaar's ability to support himself.

Calandra activated first, cast Star Crossed, used her Feat, Good Omens, and finished the Archidon in melee, camping 3 Fury.  The Fennblades killed off all the remaining Swordsmen they could get to, as well as the Void Spirit.  The Axer advanced next to the Mauler, and made a Thresher attack, killing off the four Swordsmen it needed to to clear a lane for the Mauler to charge my Gladiator.  Crucially, it had to use one of Calandra's Fury to reroll an attack, even with her Feat up.  The Mauler then charged the Gladiator and killed it, but had to use another of Calandra's Fury to ensure that it hit with its Chain Attack: Grab and Smash, which it used to knock the Gladiator down with a headbutt.  The Impaler, able to draw line of sight to Mordikaar, threw a spear at him, scoring a Critical Smite that knocked Mordikaar back an inch and knocked him down.  The Pyg Bushwhackers activated next, but weren't able to draw line of sight to Mordikaar past the Cetrati, so they killed off all but one of the Swordsmen.

Caleb had done grievous damage to my army, but Mordikaar would be sitting on an immense pile of Fury next turn - he had 9 Soul Tokens from the Hollowed Swordsmen Caleb had destroyed.  With no Warbeasts left, I was in a do-or die position.  Fortunately, Calandra was vulnerable.  She had a lot of defenses, but she was only camping one point of Fury, and I had enough warm bodies left to Essence Blast her into oblivion if fate was with me. 

Turn 4 - Skorne

As there was only one Swordsman left alive, Mordikaar dropped Hollow.  It had served him well.  Calandra had to go, and the resources at Mordikaar's disposal were 6 Cataphract Cetrati and 16 points of Fury.  My plan was simple enough.  The Cetrati would run through the swamp to within 6" of Calandra, then Mordikaar would use Essence Blast to barf their souls at her until she died.

The last Swordsman activated first, and got out of the way.  The Cetrati went next, and ran to within 6" of Calandra.  Mordikaar went last, forfeiting his action to stand, and started casting Essence Blast.  It took him 4 to finish Calandra, but he finally got her.

                                              The final Essence Blast:  BLUURRRGHFF!!

Victory to the Skorne, and a very fun game on top of it.

Thoughts

An incredibly fun game, with two big attrition armies going head to head.  I think I've finally found the right balance for my Mordikaar list at 35pts for now.  I really enjoyed the fast and flexible offensive threat of the Archidon.  When I used the Sentry, it felt a little redundant, since all the infantry in the army is already geared toward attrition.  The Archidon gave me some potent new options, and since it's only 7 points, I was able to include a second Void Spirit in the list as well.

Caleb played pretty aggressively with Calandra, and misjudged my Archidon's threat range badly on his second turn.  Other than that, he played a very solid game.  He used his Fennblades well to screen his warbeasts and grind down my Swordsmen.  He made sure to finish off the beasts themselves quickly, so I'd have no chance to retaliate against his own.

After the game, Caleb considered dropping Janissa for a Fell Caller Hero to support his Fennblades, which I think is probably a good move.  Although Janissa is excellent, she seemed to lag behind a little this game, and she might be more useful in a list which didn't jam so aggressively early on.

Finally, I know at least one person who only looks at this blog for the cat pictures, so here's another one.

                             Unlike Calandra and Mordikaar, Pax and Apollo are good at sharing