For a while now, I've been considering starting up a new Warmachine/Hordes faction. I've wanted something pretty different from Skorne with a lot of interesting tricks, and decided on the Retribution of Scyrah.
In terms of models, I really like the Retribution 'jacks. I especially think they would look cool painted charcoal and red (very Sith, basically) with blank face-like masks sculpted on over their chests and/or heads. It would ideally be kind of like the Husks from Mass Effect, although I really got the idea from the Therians from AT: 43. I've never played AT: 43 myself, but the Therians vs. UNA starter box was on the shelves at my then-LGS (Hobbytown USA in Gahanna, OH if you want to know), and I always thought the blank human faces on the big Therian robots looked cool.
I have no idea how I'm going to do the face sculpting - I haven't sculpted much in the past - but I think it'll look pretty sweet once I've figured it out.
In terms of mechanics, Retribution are Warmachine, relatively infantry heavy, and with a strong central ranged game which I sometimes miss from Skorne. I do love to run "shooty" Skorne armies, but they're often melee attrition armies that also have some guns they might as well use on the way in. Retribution has a core ranged game, and can rely on shooting as a primary strategy, with some melee to back them up. They also have some excellent board control, which I don't get a lot of in Skorne.
In terms of Warjacks, I'm thinking a Phoenix and a Banshee. Both look really cool, have great rules (if the RoS forum is anything to go by, they're sort of the Gladiator and Bronzeback of the Retribution, only more so), and seem to fit with just about every Retribution Warcaster. The light warjacks seem pretty good, but not spectacular. I may just have to get used to using light 'jacks more aggressively. I really like using light beasts, especially those with good animi, for support, but 'jacks don't have animi, and the lights have to compete on other merits. I like the looks of the Chimera and Griffon pretty well. I think the Aspis' wrecking ball hands and head fin look dumb, but I'll probably get one eventually because Shield Guard and Beat Back are good abilities for an army to have.
For Warcasters, I like Ossyan and Kaelyssa, at least to start with. Both Ossyan and the Kaelyssa resculpt are super cool looking, and they both have solid feats and a really good selection of spells (Kaelyssa especially).
I have no idea about units. Visually, none of them really calls to me, although many of them seem very fun to play.
I'll probably start proxying Retribution in a couple of months (once my Skorne collection is more sorted out in terms of assembly and painting). If I like them, I'll at least get a Banshee to assemble and sculpt on so I can see how my idea would work.
UPDATE: Well played, Privateer Press. Well Played.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Journeyman Circle: Week 1
My lgs is hosting a Journeyman League, and I've decided to take this opportunity to start up a small Circle force. Why Circle? Well, here are the alternatives:
Cryx
So, Circle. Also, I was able to buy half the Hordes two player starter set at a price too low to resist. In what will probably be a controversial decision, I’ll be doubling up on Arguses rather than going Argus/Winter Argus. I’m not wild about either breed, but the extra point I get will be really useful in, oh, every week but the first. Since I won’t be in town to play this first week, the decision is pretty easy.
Not much to say now, but future weeks should be a bit more interesting.
Cryx
- I don’t like the battle box. It’s a fine way to start the faction, but I’m a little past that.
- I’d rather not submit the rest of the group to weeks of pDenny, especially since another person is playing Cryx.
- I don’t want to repaint my Slayer.
- Two other people are playing Legion. There's only five or six people participating in this; I don't want everyone's fight to be against Legion.
- The reason I want to play Ret is the same reason I don’t want to play them now: the new Kaelyssa model which hasn't been released yet.
So, Circle. Also, I was able to buy half the Hordes two player starter set at a price too low to resist. In what will probably be a controversial decision, I’ll be doubling up on Arguses rather than going Argus/Winter Argus. I’m not wild about either breed, but the extra point I get will be really useful in, oh, every week but the first. Since I won’t be in town to play this first week, the decision is pretty easy.
Not much to say now, but future weeks should be a bit more interesting.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Calandra vs pGrim: a Troll-on-Troll grudgematch
I played a rather brutal 15pt game against my friend Ben this weekend (the very same Merc player whose Kayazy were firmly trounced in pGrexy's post earlier), and he wanted to give Trollbloods a shot. He's quite experienced with his Mercs (my intense and seething hatred of Gorman di Wulfe and Aiyana & Holt is solely due to his quite masterful use of them), but this is his first foray into the Fury realm, so we kept it down to 15pts and I put together 2 simple lists.
* Slag Troll (6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
My List:
Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
Ben's List:
Grim Angus (*6pts)* Slag Troll (6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
My List:
Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
Pretty straightforward lists, and I slapped them together quick. They seem fairly basic and balanced, with the Calandra list a little more ranged and the Grim list a bit more melee, but they've got a decent mix of both. I would also say that the Grim list is simply stronger, as the Slag is a stronger second-string hitter than the Pyre, the Impaler's animus really helps Grim, and the Earthborn/Grim's gun ability make it a lot faster than the Calandra list. It can't, however, deal as well with attrition, which is something that Calandra simply excels at.
Deployment:
The board was pretty open, but with a few large forests scattered on mine and Ben's left respectively. There was a large hill on my right, and a hedge (we treated it as a wall) and pool of water across from it on his side -- less than 3 inches apart. I immediately noticed that this gave the Earthborn a practically tailor made spot to sit with +2 DEF and ARM and wait to pounce while Grim forced me to close by shooting from behind the cushy wall. Ben won the roll, decided to second, and chose the side with the wall/water... crap.
My only hope was to use the hill on my side to tempt him out from cover; +2 DEF and 3 12" range (with Far Strike) beasts wasn't great vs Grim, but it gave me a shot. I deployed the Pyre, Bomber, Calandra, and Impaler in a line in front of the hill.
I'm not sure if my deployment spooked him or he just wasn't all that aware of the tactical opportunities (I'd pointed them out to him, but he decided to deploy to my left near a forest. I could see the possibilities from the forest-speed-boost, and immediately began suspecting shenanigans....
Turn 1: Calandra
Without much else to do, I ran the Bomber and Pyre up on my left onto the hill (pyre behind the bomber slightly); had Calandra put Bullet Dodger on herself, cast Star Crossed, and charge the (far distant) enemy Impaler to get her onto the hill next to the bomber, and ran the Impaler forward on her right.
Turn 1: Grim
The Earthborn put his animus onto Grim (since we reasoned that Grim had to start his turn next to terrain while effected by Elemental Communion for the benefit to work) and then trampled almost straight forward. Grim activated and made straight for the wall (having apparently realized it's tasty benefits) and dumped fury to accommodate. The Slag ran up next to the wall (about 17" from my bomber), and the Impaler ran over to a few inches on my right of Grim.
Turn 2: Calandra
Kind of a strange re-positioning, but I can work with that. The Impaler cast his animus onto the Bomber and moved up an inch or so for a better shot when the enemy beasts got closer. Just for the heck of it, the Bomber took aim at the Slag (still well over 16" away) and let loose -- the shot missed (it was 4" short, after all) but then scattered just enough to tap the slag! Lucky throw, thinks I... and then boosted damage comes up three 6's. 9 damage to the Slag from 16" away. That was all kinds of awesome!
The second shot goes wide and does nothing. Too much to hope for, I suppose, but after that first one.... With not much else to do, Calandra shuffled sideways a little, cast Star Crossed, and waited. The pyre, seeing where the threat really was, booked it around Calandra to stand in front of her and next to the Bomber, giving her a nice little wall.
Turn 2: Grim
The Earthborn decided now was the time to get in the fight; he barreled across the field to stand a little in front of Grim (and next to that lovely +2 DEF pond...) and well within charge range of me for next turn. Grim's Impaler moved up, put his animus on himself, and took a shot at Calandra's Impaler, declaring there can be only one. He missed. Grim put the Impaler's animus on himself and the Slag (uh oh) and shot the Pyre troll handily for 6 points of damage. The Slag moved up and tried the same tactic, but handily missed.
Turn 3: Calandra
Somehow, my plan to draw him in appeared to be working. The Pyre troll put his animus onto the Bomber, and moved a bit out of the way (forward and off the hill, so as to block access to Calandra) and, for the heck of it, took a shot at the Earthborn - it hit and put the bugger on continuous fire, but no other damage. Calandra then moved forward, popped her feat, cast Star Crossed, and hit the Earthborn with Befuddle, moving him up 3" and turning him around. The Bomber promptly charged it and beat it within an inch of it's life (4 hit boxes remaining, all in the body). For some reason I thought this was good enough, and had the Impaler take a shot at Grim's Impaler - I hit, and did a few points of damage. Things were looking up, but I was slightly over-extended on fury for next turn.
Turn 3: Grim
Oh right, Trolls. Grim spent 2 fury to heal up the Earthborn (one in spirit, one in mind), took a shot at the pyre troll (furthering his goal to slowly nip away hit boxes), and counter-feated. The Slag put his animus on the Earthborn and took a shot at the poor Pyre, wounding him again. The Impaler then moved up to beside the Earthborn (opposite the Bomber) and took a shot at Calandra's Impaler (it missed). The Earthborn then turned around (facing both the Impaler and Bomber), grabbed the POW from the Impaler's spear (that was a neat trick, going to have to remember that...), and beat the Bomber to death with it. Handily. In 4 hits.
Turn 4: Calandra
Craaaaaaaaaap. That went pear shaped right quick. I dropped Bullet Dodger (it was going to get hairy, and she needed the extra fury), activated the Impaler, moved it up it's movement-reduced 2 inches, and (thanks to reach) killed the Earthborn and nicked up the opposing Impaler slightly. The Pyre (barely alive) took a shot at the slag and did some damage for the heck of it, and then repositioned as much as he could to keep the slag off my warlock. Calandra cast star crossed (duh) and sat on 4 fury, expecting trouble.
Turn 4: Grim
The Slag charged and made short work of the Pyre troll, and the Impalers continued their pointless game of furious slapping at each other to no success. Grim put the Impaler's animus on himself, sighted in, and pegged Calandra for 8 points of damage -- the Impaler was full on Fury, and the Pyre had been her only transfer-eligible beastie. Uh-oh....
Turn 5: Calandra
Not wanting to be outdone, Calandra charged the Slag troll, using the bonus-dice-vs-wounded-models aspect of her knife to shank the little jerk to death. She put up Star Crossed again, but with only one beast left it was going to be tricky to keep her from dying. The Impaler smacked it's opposite number again, without killing it.
Turn 5: Grim
This turn went pretty fast: Grim failed to knock Calandra down with his fancy shot, and the enemy Impaler moved up and brought her down to 1 hit point.
Turn 6: Calandra
Calandra finished off the enemy Impaler (finally), and her Impaler moved up to hit Grim a few times, managing to force a tough roll on him and lock him in place (I hoped) to prevent him from getting to Calandra.
Turn 6: Grim
Grim was seriously hurting here: low on fury, low on health, and cornered by an angry beast. He managed to make the most of it, nimbly avoiding a free strick to move backwards and take a shot at Calandra -- he missed!
Turn 7: Calandra
The slugfest continued! The Impaler charged Grim, missing him once or twice and scoring a small hit on him, but failing to wound him. Calandra sensed an opportunity, and charged in herself, dealing a pretty fatal blow to Grim -- who aced his Tough roll!
Turn 7: Grim
Grim calmly stood up, brushed himself off, and beat the crap out of Calandra with his Tough-Roll-Denial melee gun stock. Victory to Grim!!
Thoughts:
Holy crap this game turned into one epic attrition game in the end. Trolls vs Trolls means we were both going to be hard to kill, but this was just ridiculous. At the end of the game, the Impaler had 1 hit box in each aspect, and Calandra and Grim each had only a single apiece (AND Grim made a tough roll!). I made a mistake early on by not finishing off the Earthborn, but I saved myself by tying up his beasts with mine for 2 turns there. All in all, we both played a good game, and it was a nice intro to Trollbloods for my crafty opponent.
Side Note: I'm writing the last few turns of this report a over a week after the actual game - my memory is a bit fuzzy, but this is the best I can remember of what happened. Ben, you may want to correct me if I messed up a turn or two there...
The second shot goes wide and does nothing. Too much to hope for, I suppose, but after that first one.... With not much else to do, Calandra shuffled sideways a little, cast Star Crossed, and waited. The pyre, seeing where the threat really was, booked it around Calandra to stand in front of her and next to the Bomber, giving her a nice little wall.
Turn 2: Grim
The Earthborn decided now was the time to get in the fight; he barreled across the field to stand a little in front of Grim (and next to that lovely +2 DEF pond...) and well within charge range of me for next turn. Grim's Impaler moved up, put his animus on himself, and took a shot at Calandra's Impaler, declaring there can be only one. He missed. Grim put the Impaler's animus on himself and the Slag (uh oh) and shot the Pyre troll handily for 6 points of damage. The Slag moved up and tried the same tactic, but handily missed.
Turn 3: Calandra
Somehow, my plan to draw him in appeared to be working. The Pyre troll put his animus onto the Bomber, and moved a bit out of the way (forward and off the hill, so as to block access to Calandra) and, for the heck of it, took a shot at the Earthborn - it hit and put the bugger on continuous fire, but no other damage. Calandra then moved forward, popped her feat, cast Star Crossed, and hit the Earthborn with Befuddle, moving him up 3" and turning him around. The Bomber promptly charged it and beat it within an inch of it's life (4 hit boxes remaining, all in the body). For some reason I thought this was good enough, and had the Impaler take a shot at Grim's Impaler - I hit, and did a few points of damage. Things were looking up, but I was slightly over-extended on fury for next turn.
Turn 3: Grim
Oh right, Trolls. Grim spent 2 fury to heal up the Earthborn (one in spirit, one in mind), took a shot at the pyre troll (furthering his goal to slowly nip away hit boxes), and counter-feated. The Slag put his animus on the Earthborn and took a shot at the poor Pyre, wounding him again. The Impaler then moved up to beside the Earthborn (opposite the Bomber) and took a shot at Calandra's Impaler (it missed). The Earthborn then turned around (facing both the Impaler and Bomber), grabbed the POW from the Impaler's spear (that was a neat trick, going to have to remember that...), and beat the Bomber to death with it. Handily. In 4 hits.
Turn 4: Calandra
Craaaaaaaaaap. That went pear shaped right quick. I dropped Bullet Dodger (it was going to get hairy, and she needed the extra fury), activated the Impaler, moved it up it's movement-reduced 2 inches, and (thanks to reach) killed the Earthborn and nicked up the opposing Impaler slightly. The Pyre (barely alive) took a shot at the slag and did some damage for the heck of it, and then repositioned as much as he could to keep the slag off my warlock. Calandra cast star crossed (duh) and sat on 4 fury, expecting trouble.
Turn 4: Grim
The Slag charged and made short work of the Pyre troll, and the Impalers continued their pointless game of furious slapping at each other to no success. Grim put the Impaler's animus on himself, sighted in, and pegged Calandra for 8 points of damage -- the Impaler was full on Fury, and the Pyre had been her only transfer-eligible beastie. Uh-oh....
Turn 5: Calandra
Not wanting to be outdone, Calandra charged the Slag troll, using the bonus-dice-vs-wounded-models aspect of her knife to shank the little jerk to death. She put up Star Crossed again, but with only one beast left it was going to be tricky to keep her from dying. The Impaler smacked it's opposite number again, without killing it.
Turn 5: Grim
This turn went pretty fast: Grim failed to knock Calandra down with his fancy shot, and the enemy Impaler moved up and brought her down to 1 hit point.
Turn 6: Calandra
Calandra finished off the enemy Impaler (finally), and her Impaler moved up to hit Grim a few times, managing to force a tough roll on him and lock him in place (I hoped) to prevent him from getting to Calandra.
Turn 6: Grim
Grim was seriously hurting here: low on fury, low on health, and cornered by an angry beast. He managed to make the most of it, nimbly avoiding a free strick to move backwards and take a shot at Calandra -- he missed!
Turn 7: Calandra
The slugfest continued! The Impaler charged Grim, missing him once or twice and scoring a small hit on him, but failing to wound him. Calandra sensed an opportunity, and charged in herself, dealing a pretty fatal blow to Grim -- who aced his Tough roll!
Turn 7: Grim
Grim calmly stood up, brushed himself off, and beat the crap out of Calandra with his Tough-Roll-Denial melee gun stock. Victory to Grim!!
Thoughts:
Holy crap this game turned into one epic attrition game in the end. Trolls vs Trolls means we were both going to be hard to kill, but this was just ridiculous. At the end of the game, the Impaler had 1 hit box in each aspect, and Calandra and Grim each had only a single apiece (AND Grim made a tough roll!). I made a mistake early on by not finishing off the Earthborn, but I saved myself by tying up his beasts with mine for 2 turns there. All in all, we both played a good game, and it was a nice intro to Trollbloods for my crafty opponent.
Side Note: I'm writing the last few turns of this report a over a week after the actual game - my memory is a bit fuzzy, but this is the best I can remember of what happened. Ben, you may want to correct me if I messed up a turn or two there...
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Battle Report: Coven vs eMorghoul, Rhyas
Hey, I got some games in. How cool is that? But, unlike my cohorts, I don’t really like writing out long battle reports. So, consider these the vignettes to their novels.
Here’s what I brought:
Coven
* Nightmare
* Harrower
* Nightwretch x2
Satyxis Raiders (full)
* Sea Witch
Warwitch Siren
This is my favored Coven list so far. It’s main win condition is an Infernal Machined heavy charging the enemy’s caster. The Nightmare is the primary kill piece, with reach and Prey. The Harrower cleans up infantry with Infernal Machine and also assassinate in a pinch. Nightwretches are my favorite node, even with a caster with IM. That aoe is just so handy. Satyxis are obviously great and the Coven’s feat makes them even harder to hit, and the Siren just makes everything better. She beats out a Skarlock because the Coven can already cycle upkeeps extremely well and most of the list already has pathfinder, making Ghost Walk less important.
This list’s strengths are its jacks and its threat ranges. Even the Harrower can charge something 12” away through rough terrain, or through enemy models if necessary. It’s weaknesses are lots of infantry, high def infantry, attrition, and the Coven themselves. The Coven are awkward to move, fragile, and pretty much incapable of killing anything besides a solo. Luckily they have a humungous control range, so normally they just squat in the back and pray nothing comes close.
My first opponent brought the following Skorne shooty list:
eMorghoul
* Titan Gladiator
* Archidon
* Basilisk Krea
Venators (full) w/ UA
Slingers (full)
Tyrant Commander
Beast Handlers, full I think
The mission was, um, the one with the three flags on the center line and then one disappears. It’s been close to a month since I’ve last played and even longer since I’ve played the Coven, but hopefully I won’t make any huge mistakes (spoiler: I make some huge mistakes).
First turn we both moved up. On the second turn I saw that his army was at the very edge of my threat range, so I rushed to charge him. I was able to take out his Gladiator and a fair about of his army, and I feated to lessen his retaliation. In return he feated and sort of just walked around my army to claim a point. I tried to respond by killing a very exposed eMorghoul, but my forces were too spread out to really concentrate enough force on him (and I screwed up with focus allocation) so he survived. And then my opponent pointed out that in my attempt to kill eMorghoul, I had neglected to contest either of the flags, so at the end of my turn he got another point, and then at the end of his turn he would get a third point and win the game. So, victory to the Skorne!
Right, that was... kind of a mess. My fight of the night was against this:
Rhyas
* Carnivean
* Scythean
* Shredders x2
* Succubus
Striders
Warspears (full)
Shepherd
No scenario, just caster kill.
Again, first turn we move up. Second turn I advance and feat to stop him from attacking me, he responds by moving his Warspears forward to screen his army. On my third turn I cast Curse of Shadows on the Warspears and charge my Satyxis into their first line, their second line, and the Scythean they were “screening”, killing most of the ogrun and wounding the beast. I also place my Nightmare what I think is 10 inches from the Carnivean but what will actually turn out to be like eight, which was especially stupid because with the Coven’s huge control I could have basically measured it.
Side note: having an 18" control range is just bonkers. I highly recommend it.
Anyway, he feats on his turn, which lets the Carnivean tear the arms off the Nightmare and helps the Scythean and Rhyas kill many of the Satyxis. Rhyas also relocates closer to the Carnivean, as my forces on that side are collapsing while the other is still strong. On my turn, the Harrower kills the Scythean and the remaining Warspears, filling up on souls (not from the Scythean, obviously). The Nightmare despite having no arms, is still MAT 10 P+S 18 against the Carnivean, but it fails to do any damage. On his turn Rhyas kills a Nightwretch and his Carnivean finishes off the Nightmare. Then I allocate three focus to the Harrower, arc Infernal Machine onto it, and charge it laterally across the table into Rhyas’s back arc. Even ninjas don’t like MAT 8 warjacks with effective 6 focus stabbing them repeatedly in the back.
I guess my conclusion is that I like the Coven and I also like it when I’m competent.
Laters.
Here’s what I brought:
Coven
* Nightmare
* Harrower
* Nightwretch x2
Satyxis Raiders (full)
* Sea Witch
Warwitch Siren
This is my favored Coven list so far. It’s main win condition is an Infernal Machined heavy charging the enemy’s caster. The Nightmare is the primary kill piece, with reach and Prey. The Harrower cleans up infantry with Infernal Machine and also assassinate in a pinch. Nightwretches are my favorite node, even with a caster with IM. That aoe is just so handy. Satyxis are obviously great and the Coven’s feat makes them even harder to hit, and the Siren just makes everything better. She beats out a Skarlock because the Coven can already cycle upkeeps extremely well and most of the list already has pathfinder, making Ghost Walk less important.
This list’s strengths are its jacks and its threat ranges. Even the Harrower can charge something 12” away through rough terrain, or through enemy models if necessary. It’s weaknesses are lots of infantry, high def infantry, attrition, and the Coven themselves. The Coven are awkward to move, fragile, and pretty much incapable of killing anything besides a solo. Luckily they have a humungous control range, so normally they just squat in the back and pray nothing comes close.
My first opponent brought the following Skorne shooty list:
eMorghoul
* Titan Gladiator
* Archidon
* Basilisk Krea
Venators (full) w/ UA
Slingers (full)
Tyrant Commander
Beast Handlers, full I think
The mission was, um, the one with the three flags on the center line and then one disappears. It’s been close to a month since I’ve last played and even longer since I’ve played the Coven, but hopefully I won’t make any huge mistakes (spoiler: I make some huge mistakes).
First turn we both moved up. On the second turn I saw that his army was at the very edge of my threat range, so I rushed to charge him. I was able to take out his Gladiator and a fair about of his army, and I feated to lessen his retaliation. In return he feated and sort of just walked around my army to claim a point. I tried to respond by killing a very exposed eMorghoul, but my forces were too spread out to really concentrate enough force on him (and I screwed up with focus allocation) so he survived. And then my opponent pointed out that in my attempt to kill eMorghoul, I had neglected to contest either of the flags, so at the end of my turn he got another point, and then at the end of his turn he would get a third point and win the game. So, victory to the Skorne!
Right, that was... kind of a mess. My fight of the night was against this:
Rhyas
* Carnivean
* Scythean
* Shredders x2
* Succubus
Striders
Warspears (full)
Shepherd
No scenario, just caster kill.
Again, first turn we move up. Second turn I advance and feat to stop him from attacking me, he responds by moving his Warspears forward to screen his army. On my third turn I cast Curse of Shadows on the Warspears and charge my Satyxis into their first line, their second line, and the Scythean they were “screening”, killing most of the ogrun and wounding the beast. I also place my Nightmare what I think is 10 inches from the Carnivean but what will actually turn out to be like eight, which was especially stupid because with the Coven’s huge control I could have basically measured it.
Side note: having an 18" control range is just bonkers. I highly recommend it.
Anyway, he feats on his turn, which lets the Carnivean tear the arms off the Nightmare and helps the Scythean and Rhyas kill many of the Satyxis. Rhyas also relocates closer to the Carnivean, as my forces on that side are collapsing while the other is still strong. On my turn, the Harrower kills the Scythean and the remaining Warspears, filling up on souls (not from the Scythean, obviously). The Nightmare despite having no arms, is still MAT 10 P+S 18 against the Carnivean, but it fails to do any damage. On his turn Rhyas kills a Nightwretch and his Carnivean finishes off the Nightmare. Then I allocate three focus to the Harrower, arc Infernal Machine onto it, and charge it laterally across the table into Rhyas’s back arc. Even ninjas don’t like MAT 8 warjacks with effective 6 focus stabbing them repeatedly in the back.
I guess my conclusion is that I like the Coven and I also like it when I’m competent.
Laters.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Links Fixed
4+ Tough went through a change of name recently, and all the links had been going to the old URL at Tormented Equilibrium. Needless to say, the pages no longer exist.
I went through today, and fixed all the links, so everything we referenced in the past can now be found from where we referenced it.
I went through today, and fixed all the links, so everything we referenced in the past can now be found from where we referenced it.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Swordsmen vs. Nihilators, part 3, Command and Occupation
This is the third installment in my comparison of Praetorian Swordsmen and Nihilators. The first two are part 1, Math and Tough, and part 2, A Game of Inches. Part 1 (which was updated recently) looks at Tough as an advantage for an attrition unit. Part 2 looks at the benefits of Reach (for the Nihilators) and Side Step (for the Swordsmen).
Where A Game of Inches looked at the engagement potential of a single Praetorian Swordsman or Nihilator, this installment will look at the engagement potential of the units. The biggest factor determining a units potential to occupy or engage a large swathe of the table is its leader's Command score. Models can only receive orders, take actions, and make attacks when they are in their leaders' Cmd range. Praetorian Swordsmen have an elite Cmd of 9, and the Officer in the UA has a Cmd of 10. Nihilators are fairly uninterested in stuff like discipline, and have a Cmd of 7.
In terms of occupying table space, the swordsmen have a 10" radius in which to place models, while the Nihilators have only a 7" radius. This is a very significant difference.* When I'm trying to engage specific targets or block specific lines of sight, I need to be able to place my models in fairly specific positions. I almost never worry about being outside of Cmd 10 when I play Swordsmen, but I do often worry about being outside of Cmd 7 when I play Nihilators.
When the Nihilator leader can be relatively centered, Nihilators partially make up for their lack of Cmd with Reach.** In my last installment, I mainly talked about the threat range and occupation area of a single Nihilator. In terms of the whole unit, the Reach advantage lets Nihilators engage a roughly 10" radius at maximum (accounting very roughly for both the base width of the individual Nihilators and their weapons' 2" Reach). With Cmd 10, Swordsmen occupy a rough maximum radius of 11.5 inches. That 1.5 extra inches is still a significant advantage over the Nihilators (just as the Nihilators 1.5 extra inches of threat range is a significant advantage over the Swordsmen), but it's nowhere near as large a gap as 3" would be. With Reach, Nihilators go a long way toward making up the difference between their Cmd and that of the Swordsmen.
Often, however, a unit's leader won't be at the exact center of a unit, letting it spread out to its full potential. He's much more likely to be doing something useful himself - engaging the enemy, making attacks, or occupying a specific location. The Swordsmen Officer, due to his high Cmd, has a lot more freedom to position itself usefully than the Nihilator leader. Of course, the Nihilator leader is no different, stat-wise, from the rest of his unit, so there's no real reason to keep him away from a center position if the Nihilators are in one cluster or line. Frequently, however, I want my infantry to be in two places at once: attacking one thing, and screening another. The leader usually ends up either making attacks or occupying space, so it has to be with one group or the other. Swordsmen are better at dividing their attention like this than Nihilators when I need them to.
These situations are fairly common, and are where the 3" difference in Cmd range matters the most offensively. Often, the Swordsmen Officer will have plenty of range to be useful, and the Swordsmen themselves will engage the enemy, make their attacks, and maybe even have space to do some Side-Stepping into good positions. Nihilators might engage most of the same models, but won't be able to take full advantage of their signature offensive ability, Berserk. There's a big difference offensively between a Nihilator attacking one or two models near the edge of its melee range, and getting into a group of 3 or 4 models while threatening more space behind them.
Overall, Praetorian Swordsmen can engage a wider total area as a unit than Nihilators can. Although Nihilators partially make up for the sheer area covered with Reach, they're less able to divide their attention between two or more objectives. Swordsmen are more flexible; they can perform both offensive and defensive roles at the same time much more easily thanks to their higher Cmd.
In my next installment, I'll talk about both units and their offensive potential.
*Cmd 10 actually gives just under twice the area to place bases in (around 121*pi square inches as opposed to around 64*pi square inches) once model's bases are factored in. I'm usually more worried about the front line of models than I am about any kind of depth, though, so I feel like radius from the unit leader is usually the best way to measure the impact of Cmd. It's also less abstract to think about a linear distance, which, when you're trying to think quickly about a tactical problem, is pretty helpful.
**It's worth mentioning that there are a bunch of ways in the game to avoid free strikes, like Ghostsly (which I'm most familiar with), and Parry. When dealing with immunity to Free Strikes, the extra engagement range from Reach doesn't count for much, but the extra Cmd range to place interposing bodies that the Swordsmen have can be critical.
Where A Game of Inches looked at the engagement potential of a single Praetorian Swordsman or Nihilator, this installment will look at the engagement potential of the units. The biggest factor determining a units potential to occupy or engage a large swathe of the table is its leader's Command score. Models can only receive orders, take actions, and make attacks when they are in their leaders' Cmd range. Praetorian Swordsmen have an elite Cmd of 9, and the Officer in the UA has a Cmd of 10. Nihilators are fairly uninterested in stuff like discipline, and have a Cmd of 7.
In terms of occupying table space, the swordsmen have a 10" radius in which to place models, while the Nihilators have only a 7" radius. This is a very significant difference.* When I'm trying to engage specific targets or block specific lines of sight, I need to be able to place my models in fairly specific positions. I almost never worry about being outside of Cmd 10 when I play Swordsmen, but I do often worry about being outside of Cmd 7 when I play Nihilators.
When the Nihilator leader can be relatively centered, Nihilators partially make up for their lack of Cmd with Reach.** In my last installment, I mainly talked about the threat range and occupation area of a single Nihilator. In terms of the whole unit, the Reach advantage lets Nihilators engage a roughly 10" radius at maximum (accounting very roughly for both the base width of the individual Nihilators and their weapons' 2" Reach). With Cmd 10, Swordsmen occupy a rough maximum radius of 11.5 inches. That 1.5 extra inches is still a significant advantage over the Nihilators (just as the Nihilators 1.5 extra inches of threat range is a significant advantage over the Swordsmen), but it's nowhere near as large a gap as 3" would be. With Reach, Nihilators go a long way toward making up the difference between their Cmd and that of the Swordsmen.
Often, however, a unit's leader won't be at the exact center of a unit, letting it spread out to its full potential. He's much more likely to be doing something useful himself - engaging the enemy, making attacks, or occupying a specific location. The Swordsmen Officer, due to his high Cmd, has a lot more freedom to position itself usefully than the Nihilator leader. Of course, the Nihilator leader is no different, stat-wise, from the rest of his unit, so there's no real reason to keep him away from a center position if the Nihilators are in one cluster or line. Frequently, however, I want my infantry to be in two places at once: attacking one thing, and screening another. The leader usually ends up either making attacks or occupying space, so it has to be with one group or the other. Swordsmen are better at dividing their attention like this than Nihilators when I need them to.
These situations are fairly common, and are where the 3" difference in Cmd range matters the most offensively. Often, the Swordsmen Officer will have plenty of range to be useful, and the Swordsmen themselves will engage the enemy, make their attacks, and maybe even have space to do some Side-Stepping into good positions. Nihilators might engage most of the same models, but won't be able to take full advantage of their signature offensive ability, Berserk. There's a big difference offensively between a Nihilator attacking one or two models near the edge of its melee range, and getting into a group of 3 or 4 models while threatening more space behind them.
Overall, Praetorian Swordsmen can engage a wider total area as a unit than Nihilators can. Although Nihilators partially make up for the sheer area covered with Reach, they're less able to divide their attention between two or more objectives. Swordsmen are more flexible; they can perform both offensive and defensive roles at the same time much more easily thanks to their higher Cmd.
In my next installment, I'll talk about both units and their offensive potential.
*Cmd 10 actually gives just under twice the area to place bases in (around 121*pi square inches as opposed to around 64*pi square inches) once model's bases are factored in. I'm usually more worried about the front line of models than I am about any kind of depth, though, so I feel like radius from the unit leader is usually the best way to measure the impact of Cmd. It's also less abstract to think about a linear distance, which, when you're trying to think quickly about a tactical problem, is pretty helpful.
**It's worth mentioning that there are a bunch of ways in the game to avoid free strikes, like Ghostsly (which I'm most familiar with), and Parry. When dealing with immunity to Free Strikes, the extra engagement range from Reach doesn't count for much, but the extra Cmd range to place interposing bodies that the Swordsmen have can be critical.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Battle Report: pHexeris vs. Drake MacBain (35pts)
I got two games in this past Saturday. This one was against Mercenaries led by MacBain.
I've been digging pHexeris lately, and my army was already out of the box from a previous game, so I played:
Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Agonizer (2)
Extoller Soulward (2)
This is a Tier 1 Kingdom of Shadow list, meaning Hexeris will get to start wit his upkeeps in play. My original thoughts on the list are in this report from earlier that day. After the first game, I feel like the list actually has decent potential to deal with heavy armor, and only super heavy lists will give it serious problems. As long as the Titans stay screened properly, they can deal with most of the game's heavy threats. The list has a lot of flexibility with the Archidon as Hexeris' Soul Slave node, and Hexeris can focus on offense with Marketh managing his upkeeps.
The list is still vulnerable to mass heavy armor, and can be out-attritioned by lists with a lot of high-Def models, or a lot of Tough. It's main weapons against high-def infantry are its AoE's: Hexeris' Obliteration and the Cannoneer cannon shot.
My opponent, Ben, played:
Drake MacBain (+6)
*Nomad (6)
*Buccaneer (3)
*Sylas Wyshnallyr, the Seeker (2)
10 Kayazy Assassins (8)
*Kayazy Assassin Underboss (2)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Alexia Ciannor, Mistress of the Witchfire (4)
Ogrun Bokur (3 - Client: Alexia)
Eyriss, Angel of the Retribution (3)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2)
Saxon Orrik (2)
I've played against this list before, and it is a tough one. The Kayazy with Dirge of Mists from Rhupert and the potential of super-tough under Drake's Feat are incredible at jamming. Alexia and the Bokur are a solid flanking force, and the list has some very good denial with Gorman and Eyriss.
Like my list, this one is vulnerable to heavy armor. It's tools for cracking a really beast heavy list are fairly limited. It also relies on its Kayazy for jamming defense. and anything capable of taking out a lot of high-Def, Stealth models at once will be a problem.
Deployment:
The terrain on the table was the same as the previous game I'd played. The middle of the board was fairly open, but there were forests and walls around it on both sides for vulnerable models to hide in.
I won the roll-off, and chose to go second. I wanted to be sure I was in range with bottom-of-turn-1 arced spells. Because I was playing a Tier list, the Swordsmen would start off with Death March, and the Archidon would start off with Soul Slave.
Ben deployed the Kayazy in front of a forest on my right flank, supported by Rhupert. Alexia and the Bokur went on my left, supported by Saxon Orrik and Gorman. The two 'jacks and MacBain went in the middle along with Aiyanna and Holt. Wyshnallyr deployed next to Drake.
I deployed my Swordsmen opposite the Kayazy, since their Mat with Death March would be good enough to hurt them. The Archidon went with the Swordsmen to give me some offensive spellcasting against the Kayazy. The Titans deployed behind a forest opposite the Nomad and MacBain along with the Paingivers and Extoller Soulward. Marketh went behind the Swordsmen and Archidon.
Eyriss deployed on my far right, next to the Kayazy
Turn 1: Mercenaries
Most things just ran. Drake cast Failsafe on the Nomad, and Fortune on the Kayazy, and advanced. Rhupert gave the Kayazy Pathfinder, and ran through the forest. The Kayazy followed him, breaking out to the other side of the forest. Alexia and the Bokur ran down my left flank, as did Saxon and Gorman. The Nomad and Buccaneer ran more conservatively than the infantry. Aiyanna and Holt ran to just ahead of Drake.
Drake would probably Feat next turn, and the Kayazy would be an immovable jamming object, so they were my first concern. Ben had forgotten to move Eyriss, which was a minor mistake. She'd be fast enough to see action if she wanted to, but she wouldn't necessarily get where she really wanted to be.
Turn 1: Skorne
The Archidon ran up near the Kayazy, and the Swordsmen rad to just behind it. The Gladiator Rushed the Cannoneer, and Trampled forward. The Cannoneer advanced, and tried to take a pot-shot at Alexia around the forest, but missed, then used Diminish. The Paingivers advanced, and managed fury. The Extoller Soulward advanced, and used Guidance on Hexeris. Marketh advanced to behind the Swordsmen, and used Spell Slave to cast Soulfire at the Praetorian Swordsmen Standard Bearer. He killed his target, which gave Hexeris an extra point of Fury, bringing him up to 8.
Then, Hexeris advanced, and I said "Hexodia... OBLITERATE!" before casting Obliteration twice on the Kayazy, who were clumped just a little too close together. I killed seven of them, and took the Underboss down to his last hit box.
I was feeling a lot better about the Kayazy now that they were mostly dead. My Swordsmen could wheel around to deal with other threats on their next turn, and possibly jam down MacBain and his 'jacks.
Turn 2: Mercenaries
MacBain and Sylas upkept some spells. Eyriss advanced and shot Death March off of the Praetorian Swordsmen (also killing one). Rhupert used Dirge of Mists on the Kayazy, giving them +1 Def and Terror. The remaining Kayazy charged the Archidon, wounding it pretty badly. One of them also got into melee range with a Swordsman, forcing a terror check. I rolled boxcars, which I guess I deserved for killing the Standard Bearer, and the Swordsmen would be useless to me next turn.
Alexia advanced, and shot a Swordsman with Magic, but the Extoller was closer, and got the soul. Aiyanna and Holt also advanced, but were out of range of the Swordsmen. MacBain advanced and used his Feat, choosing the remaining 4 Kayazy, Alexia, the Bokur, Aiyanna, Holt, and Gorman to be super-tough. Then he cast Rift at a Swordsman, killing him, and spawning some rough terrain in front of the Gladiator. Alexia picked up the Soul. The warjacks, not having received any focus this turn, merely advanced.
Well, that'll teach me to shoot a member of the warrior caste in the back, even if he doesn't have a sword of his own. Next time, I'll shoot a Paingiver. The situation wasn't that bad though. I'd done very well to kill a bunch of Kayazy on turn 1. Now I had to do what I could to knock models down, and protect myself from Ben's counterattack.
Turn 2: Skorne
Marketh upkept Soul Slave. The Archidon tried to knock down some Kayazy, but failed to hit. The Swordsmen rallied. The Extoller put Guidance on the Cannoneer, who aimed and missed Saxon, then used Diminish. The Paingivers Conditioned the Cannoneer, and Enraged the Gladiator. The Gladiator Rushed herself and tried to Slam Alexia, but missed. Hexeris put 4 Fury on the Agonizer, and camped 3, which would almost certainly be enough to survive. The Agonizer used Spiritual Affliction, and ran as far as it could through the woods, trying to catch the Nomad. Marketh recast Death March on the Swordsmen.
My dice had not done well this turn. I'd hoped to do more to... anything, but oh well. They wouldn't have died anyway, and I was still in a decent position. It would be hard for Ben to kill Hexeris, but the Kayazy could get to him. I should have run some Swordsmen around him to block all landing zones, but I didn't think of that until later.
Turn 3: Mercenaries
MacBain and Sylas upkept Fortune and Failsafe. Alexia moved around to the side of the Gladiator, and cast magic at Hexeris. She hit, and did some serious damage, which was transferred to the Cannoneer. The Kayazy used Killstroke. Three charged Hexeris, and one continued to attack and engage the Archidon. Hexeris used up the rest of his transfers, and took some damage, but lived. Rhupert gave the Kayazy Fearless and Tough, and Eyriss shot Death March off the Swordsmen, giving Marketh another soul. Gorman aimed, and threw Black Oil at the Titan Gladiator, hitting and blinding both it and Eyriss.
Aiyanna tried to cast Kiss of Lylyss on the Gladiator, but missed and hit Alexia instead. Holt shot the Gladiator, but also didn't do much damage. The Bokur charged the Gladiator, but didn't do much damage. Saxon charged and killed the Agonizer. The Nomad advanced and attacked the Gladiator, but left it at about half health. MacBain cast Jackhammer a couple of times, but also camped three focus in case I got a Soulfire angle on MacBain. The Buccaneer advanced and attacked the Archidon, but missed.
Ok, my Swordsmen were back in action, and I'd survived the turn mostly intact. I had a lot of work to do on my next turn, and I was still being pretty harshly limited by jamming and Blind.
Turn 3: Skorne
Marketh upkept Soul Slave, then advanced cast Death March on the Swordsmen. The Swordsmen advanced, and wiped out the Kayazy. The Extoller put Guidance on the Cannoneer, who aimed and blew up Gorman. The Paingivers Conditioned the Cannoneer, and Medicated the Gladiator and Archidon. Gladys didn't let a little thing like being Blind slow her down, and killed Alexia and the Bokur with her initial attacks. The Archidon tried to Critically Pitch the Buccaneer, but merely damaged it heavily. Hexeris retreated a bit, cast Diminish on himself, and Healed himself for one, camping 4.
That turn had gone pretty well, and the game was starting to look pretty good for me. I'd probably lose the Gladiator and Archidon next turn, but I still had my Swordsmen, and the remaining Mercs were mostly powerful but fragile characters. If I was careful, I could win a battle of attrition.
Turn 4: Mercernaries
Sylas upkept Failsafe. MacBain allocated no focus. Aiyanna tried to hit the Gladiator with Kiss of Lylyss again, but missed again. Holt decided to shoot the Gladiator too, but didn't do much damage. The Nomad and Orrik flailed at the Gladiator a little bit, damaging it some more. Drake charged the Archidon, finishing it off, then cast Jackhammer on the Nomad until the Gladiator died. Eyriss shot another Swordsman, removing Death March.
We were both down to our last few models now. I doubted I could kill MacBain, but I was in a good position to attack his army.
Turn 4: Skorne
Through various means, I killed off Rhupert, Sylas, Holt, and the Buccaneer. We had to call the game on account of time.
Ben said I had a slight position advantage, which I probably did, but he was far from out of the game himself. Nonetheless, we called the game in favor of the Skorne.
Victory to the Skorne?
Thoughts:
I played pretty well overall. The opening salvo of Obliterations definitely shaped the game, and was probably the best move I made. The Kayazy are a key unit for turn 2 jamming and offense in Ben's list, and getting rid of most of them before Drake's feat went up helped by a lot. Maybe I should have cast Soulfire on a Paingiver, but I'd completely forgotten that Dirge of Mists also grants a unit Terror. I also should have run my Swordsmen around Hexeris when they were fleeing, or, after Hexeris had been injured, cast Psychic Vampire. At the time, Aiyanna and Alexia were still alive, and Drake was still planning to Jackhammer a lot. That would have healed Hexeris up pretty well. Come to think of it, there was enough magic in Ben's army that Psychic Vampire should have been on from the beginning. I'll keep that in mind.
I really enjoyed the list, and found it very well balanced. I wasn't at a loss against the Kayazy or Merc solos. The Archidon is great as a medium-strength hitter with very high mobility and Soul Slave. Marketh was amazing. His ability to turn upkeeps back on or cast Soulfire for Hexeris really opens up my options, and lets Hexeris have plenty of Fury throughout the game. The Cannoneer was solid this game. It's possible that I would have been better off sending a Sentry out against Alexia on Turn 2, but Candes still worked well against the solos I tried to snipe off.
Ben also played pretty well. His Kayazy were clustered on Turn 1, and not seeing Obliteration coming was probably his biggest mistake. He might have been better served by sending the surviving Kayazy after my Swordsmen instead of Hexeris on Turn 2. Hexeris and most of my Swordsmen ended up living, and I was starting to make good use of the Swordsmen again by my third turn. Finally, he underestimated my Blinded Titan again. Take it from the Basilisk Krea, losing your eyesight only makes you more accurate.
Ben's list is strong and well rounded. Every solo has an important job, and they work together well. There are very few 35pt lists I feel would be terrible matchups for it A limitation I hadn't noticed before the game was that an army of solos doesn't do attrition very well. Drake's feat gives a lot of the army invulnerability for a turn, but beyond that, every hit on a solo in the army is a significant hit to either its offense or its support abilities. That effect was more pronounced this game since the list's biggest source of Attrition had been badly mauled on Turn 1.
Finally, a special thanks to Sanctjud, from the PP Forums. His stray comment about sacrificing Paingivers to Soulfire caused me to read that spell correctly for the first time since I got the MkII cards. Most offensive Soul/Fury collecting mechanics only work on enemies now, and I assumed that Soulfire worked the same way.
I've been digging pHexeris lately, and my army was already out of the box from a previous game, so I played:
Lord Tyrant Hexeris (+6)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Archidon (7)
*Aptimus Marketh (3)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Agonizer (2)
Extoller Soulward (2)
This is a Tier 1 Kingdom of Shadow list, meaning Hexeris will get to start wit his upkeeps in play. My original thoughts on the list are in this report from earlier that day. After the first game, I feel like the list actually has decent potential to deal with heavy armor, and only super heavy lists will give it serious problems. As long as the Titans stay screened properly, they can deal with most of the game's heavy threats. The list has a lot of flexibility with the Archidon as Hexeris' Soul Slave node, and Hexeris can focus on offense with Marketh managing his upkeeps.
The list is still vulnerable to mass heavy armor, and can be out-attritioned by lists with a lot of high-Def models, or a lot of Tough. It's main weapons against high-def infantry are its AoE's: Hexeris' Obliteration and the Cannoneer cannon shot.
My opponent, Ben, played:
Drake MacBain (+6)
*Nomad (6)
*Buccaneer (3)
*Sylas Wyshnallyr, the Seeker (2)
10 Kayazy Assassins (8)
*Kayazy Assassin Underboss (2)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Alexia Ciannor, Mistress of the Witchfire (4)
Ogrun Bokur (3 - Client: Alexia)
Eyriss, Angel of the Retribution (3)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2)
Saxon Orrik (2)
I've played against this list before, and it is a tough one. The Kayazy with Dirge of Mists from Rhupert and the potential of super-tough under Drake's Feat are incredible at jamming. Alexia and the Bokur are a solid flanking force, and the list has some very good denial with Gorman and Eyriss.
Like my list, this one is vulnerable to heavy armor. It's tools for cracking a really beast heavy list are fairly limited. It also relies on its Kayazy for jamming defense. and anything capable of taking out a lot of high-Def, Stealth models at once will be a problem.
Deployment:
The terrain on the table was the same as the previous game I'd played. The middle of the board was fairly open, but there were forests and walls around it on both sides for vulnerable models to hide in.
I won the roll-off, and chose to go second. I wanted to be sure I was in range with bottom-of-turn-1 arced spells. Because I was playing a Tier list, the Swordsmen would start off with Death March, and the Archidon would start off with Soul Slave.
Ben deployed the Kayazy in front of a forest on my right flank, supported by Rhupert. Alexia and the Bokur went on my left, supported by Saxon Orrik and Gorman. The two 'jacks and MacBain went in the middle along with Aiyanna and Holt. Wyshnallyr deployed next to Drake.
I deployed my Swordsmen opposite the Kayazy, since their Mat with Death March would be good enough to hurt them. The Archidon went with the Swordsmen to give me some offensive spellcasting against the Kayazy. The Titans deployed behind a forest opposite the Nomad and MacBain along with the Paingivers and Extoller Soulward. Marketh went behind the Swordsmen and Archidon.
Eyriss deployed on my far right, next to the Kayazy
Turn 1: Mercenaries
Most things just ran. Drake cast Failsafe on the Nomad, and Fortune on the Kayazy, and advanced. Rhupert gave the Kayazy Pathfinder, and ran through the forest. The Kayazy followed him, breaking out to the other side of the forest. Alexia and the Bokur ran down my left flank, as did Saxon and Gorman. The Nomad and Buccaneer ran more conservatively than the infantry. Aiyanna and Holt ran to just ahead of Drake.
Drake would probably Feat next turn, and the Kayazy would be an immovable jamming object, so they were my first concern. Ben had forgotten to move Eyriss, which was a minor mistake. She'd be fast enough to see action if she wanted to, but she wouldn't necessarily get where she really wanted to be.
Turn 1: Skorne
The Archidon ran up near the Kayazy, and the Swordsmen rad to just behind it. The Gladiator Rushed the Cannoneer, and Trampled forward. The Cannoneer advanced, and tried to take a pot-shot at Alexia around the forest, but missed, then used Diminish. The Paingivers advanced, and managed fury. The Extoller Soulward advanced, and used Guidance on Hexeris. Marketh advanced to behind the Swordsmen, and used Spell Slave to cast Soulfire at the Praetorian Swordsmen Standard Bearer. He killed his target, which gave Hexeris an extra point of Fury, bringing him up to 8.
Then, Hexeris advanced, and I said "Hexodia... OBLITERATE!" before casting Obliteration twice on the Kayazy, who were clumped just a little too close together. I killed seven of them, and took the Underboss down to his last hit box.
I was feeling a lot better about the Kayazy now that they were mostly dead. My Swordsmen could wheel around to deal with other threats on their next turn, and possibly jam down MacBain and his 'jacks.
Turn 2: Mercenaries
MacBain and Sylas upkept some spells. Eyriss advanced and shot Death March off of the Praetorian Swordsmen (also killing one). Rhupert used Dirge of Mists on the Kayazy, giving them +1 Def and Terror. The remaining Kayazy charged the Archidon, wounding it pretty badly. One of them also got into melee range with a Swordsman, forcing a terror check. I rolled boxcars, which I guess I deserved for killing the Standard Bearer, and the Swordsmen would be useless to me next turn.
Alexia advanced, and shot a Swordsman with Magic, but the Extoller was closer, and got the soul. Aiyanna and Holt also advanced, but were out of range of the Swordsmen. MacBain advanced and used his Feat, choosing the remaining 4 Kayazy, Alexia, the Bokur, Aiyanna, Holt, and Gorman to be super-tough. Then he cast Rift at a Swordsman, killing him, and spawning some rough terrain in front of the Gladiator. Alexia picked up the Soul. The warjacks, not having received any focus this turn, merely advanced.
Well, that'll teach me to shoot a member of the warrior caste in the back, even if he doesn't have a sword of his own. Next time, I'll shoot a Paingiver. The situation wasn't that bad though. I'd done very well to kill a bunch of Kayazy on turn 1. Now I had to do what I could to knock models down, and protect myself from Ben's counterattack.
Turn 2: Skorne
Marketh upkept Soul Slave. The Archidon tried to knock down some Kayazy, but failed to hit. The Swordsmen rallied. The Extoller put Guidance on the Cannoneer, who aimed and missed Saxon, then used Diminish. The Paingivers Conditioned the Cannoneer, and Enraged the Gladiator. The Gladiator Rushed herself and tried to Slam Alexia, but missed. Hexeris put 4 Fury on the Agonizer, and camped 3, which would almost certainly be enough to survive. The Agonizer used Spiritual Affliction, and ran as far as it could through the woods, trying to catch the Nomad. Marketh recast Death March on the Swordsmen.
My dice had not done well this turn. I'd hoped to do more to... anything, but oh well. They wouldn't have died anyway, and I was still in a decent position. It would be hard for Ben to kill Hexeris, but the Kayazy could get to him. I should have run some Swordsmen around him to block all landing zones, but I didn't think of that until later.
Turn 3: Mercenaries
MacBain and Sylas upkept Fortune and Failsafe. Alexia moved around to the side of the Gladiator, and cast magic at Hexeris. She hit, and did some serious damage, which was transferred to the Cannoneer. The Kayazy used Killstroke. Three charged Hexeris, and one continued to attack and engage the Archidon. Hexeris used up the rest of his transfers, and took some damage, but lived. Rhupert gave the Kayazy Fearless and Tough, and Eyriss shot Death March off the Swordsmen, giving Marketh another soul. Gorman aimed, and threw Black Oil at the Titan Gladiator, hitting and blinding both it and Eyriss.
Aiyanna tried to cast Kiss of Lylyss on the Gladiator, but missed and hit Alexia instead. Holt shot the Gladiator, but also didn't do much damage. The Bokur charged the Gladiator, but didn't do much damage. Saxon charged and killed the Agonizer. The Nomad advanced and attacked the Gladiator, but left it at about half health. MacBain cast Jackhammer a couple of times, but also camped three focus in case I got a Soulfire angle on MacBain. The Buccaneer advanced and attacked the Archidon, but missed.
Ok, my Swordsmen were back in action, and I'd survived the turn mostly intact. I had a lot of work to do on my next turn, and I was still being pretty harshly limited by jamming and Blind.
Turn 3: Skorne
Marketh upkept Soul Slave, then advanced cast Death March on the Swordsmen. The Swordsmen advanced, and wiped out the Kayazy. The Extoller put Guidance on the Cannoneer, who aimed and blew up Gorman. The Paingivers Conditioned the Cannoneer, and Medicated the Gladiator and Archidon. Gladys didn't let a little thing like being Blind slow her down, and killed Alexia and the Bokur with her initial attacks. The Archidon tried to Critically Pitch the Buccaneer, but merely damaged it heavily. Hexeris retreated a bit, cast Diminish on himself, and Healed himself for one, camping 4.
That turn had gone pretty well, and the game was starting to look pretty good for me. I'd probably lose the Gladiator and Archidon next turn, but I still had my Swordsmen, and the remaining Mercs were mostly powerful but fragile characters. If I was careful, I could win a battle of attrition.
Turn 4: Mercernaries
Sylas upkept Failsafe. MacBain allocated no focus. Aiyanna tried to hit the Gladiator with Kiss of Lylyss again, but missed again. Holt decided to shoot the Gladiator too, but didn't do much damage. The Nomad and Orrik flailed at the Gladiator a little bit, damaging it some more. Drake charged the Archidon, finishing it off, then cast Jackhammer on the Nomad until the Gladiator died. Eyriss shot another Swordsman, removing Death March.
We were both down to our last few models now. I doubted I could kill MacBain, but I was in a good position to attack his army.
Turn 4: Skorne
Through various means, I killed off Rhupert, Sylas, Holt, and the Buccaneer. We had to call the game on account of time.
Ben said I had a slight position advantage, which I probably did, but he was far from out of the game himself. Nonetheless, we called the game in favor of the Skorne.
Victory to the Skorne?
Thoughts:
I played pretty well overall. The opening salvo of Obliterations definitely shaped the game, and was probably the best move I made. The Kayazy are a key unit for turn 2 jamming and offense in Ben's list, and getting rid of most of them before Drake's feat went up helped by a lot. Maybe I should have cast Soulfire on a Paingiver, but I'd completely forgotten that Dirge of Mists also grants a unit Terror. I also should have run my Swordsmen around Hexeris when they were fleeing, or, after Hexeris had been injured, cast Psychic Vampire. At the time, Aiyanna and Alexia were still alive, and Drake was still planning to Jackhammer a lot. That would have healed Hexeris up pretty well. Come to think of it, there was enough magic in Ben's army that Psychic Vampire should have been on from the beginning. I'll keep that in mind.
I really enjoyed the list, and found it very well balanced. I wasn't at a loss against the Kayazy or Merc solos. The Archidon is great as a medium-strength hitter with very high mobility and Soul Slave. Marketh was amazing. His ability to turn upkeeps back on or cast Soulfire for Hexeris really opens up my options, and lets Hexeris have plenty of Fury throughout the game. The Cannoneer was solid this game. It's possible that I would have been better off sending a Sentry out against Alexia on Turn 2, but Candes still worked well against the solos I tried to snipe off.
Ben also played pretty well. His Kayazy were clustered on Turn 1, and not seeing Obliteration coming was probably his biggest mistake. He might have been better served by sending the surviving Kayazy after my Swordsmen instead of Hexeris on Turn 2. Hexeris and most of my Swordsmen ended up living, and I was starting to make good use of the Swordsmen again by my third turn. Finally, he underestimated my Blinded Titan again. Take it from the Basilisk Krea, losing your eyesight only makes you more accurate.
Ben's list is strong and well rounded. Every solo has an important job, and they work together well. There are very few 35pt lists I feel would be terrible matchups for it A limitation I hadn't noticed before the game was that an army of solos doesn't do attrition very well. Drake's feat gives a lot of the army invulnerability for a turn, but beyond that, every hit on a solo in the army is a significant hit to either its offense or its support abilities. That effect was more pronounced this game since the list's biggest source of Attrition had been badly mauled on Turn 1.
Finally, a special thanks to Sanctjud, from the PP Forums. His stray comment about sacrificing Paingivers to Soulfire caused me to read that spell correctly for the first time since I got the MkII cards. Most offensive Soul/Fury collecting mechanics only work on enemies now, and I assumed that Soulfire worked the same way.
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