Tower is doing another league, and this time, I'm joining in instead of watching from the sidelines.
Rather than being another escalation style league, this is the NFL league. We all have a schedule of one game a week, and there's a 10-week season, followed by playoffs. The first 4 weeks will be at 35pts, while the last 6 will be at 50, as will the playoffs. We bring two lists to every game, following SR 2014 character restrictions, and every game will be played with a scenario. I think the timing is standard Death Clock for the point size, but I'm not 100% sure.
Since it's our responsibility to schedule the games ourselves (as opposed to just showing up when we can and playing whoever is there), I'm actually pretty optimistic about being able to make all the games. Furthermore, League night is officially Friday night, which is when I'm usually free to come play games.
The other major rule for the NFL league is that if a character model dies in a game (or a character unit is completely wiped out), that character is unavailable in the next game. This includes Warcasters/Warlocks, and they are injured if you lose by scenario just as if they had been killed.
I'll be playing Skorne, since I'm currently both playing
and painting them. Hopefully, the league will inspire me to get a lot
more done on the Skorne that I have, and maybe even have a couple of
full 50pt lists fully painted by the end of the season.
I'll be doing reports of all my League games, so expect 1 report a week for at least the next 10 weeks. I'll also try to do pictures for all of them, but I'll be relying on my cell phone, so if it's out of power, no pics. :( I'll probably also go into some lengthier post-game discussions separate from the reports, to keep with the Football motif. Maybe I'll even record the reports podcast style.
Reports, thoughts, and cat pictures to come.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Steamrollin': Lord Arcanist Ossyan
Hi all, Maxtermynd here again to talk about the caster that I'm trying to
practice at the moment, Lord Arcanist Ossyan, and how he fits into my Steamroller plans. I brought him to this year's Adepticon and
Ossyan has been my favorite caster ever since. He has the tools to deal with any situation, as he can personally buff
speed, defense, damage output, resistance to ranged attacks and accuracy, and
from there his force can be tailored to quash anything that he's missing.
The Elf, The Myth, The Legend
Without further ado,
here's...
The List:
Lord Arcanist
Ossyan, First of His Name, of House Vyre
-Banshee
Arcantrik Force
Generator
Eiryss, Angel of
Retribution
Houseguard Thane
Max Houseguard
Halberdiers with UA
Max Dawnguard
Invictors with UA
Stormfall Archers
Stormfall Archers
The Reasons:
Ossyan is normally
designed to be the armor cracking list in any Retribution pairing that he's
included in, and this one is no exception. His feat (+1 die on ranged attack
damage rolls against enemies in his control range and -1 die on enemy ranged
attack damage rolls from enemies in his control range) just swings too easily
in that direction to throw away completely. Stormfalls firing Brutal shots
under feat will do 26 damage on average a piece to targets of your choosing,
and all eight blazing away will reduce any target to rubble.
You got your knockdown on my Brutal shot target!
That being said, I
wanted to make sure that I wasn't banking too hard on it. Historically one of
Ossyan's problems has been his lack of accuracy. The Banshee and AFG's Momentum
cannon shots can certainly alleviate this to a degree (and are certainly the reason
that they are in the list), but high defense infantry and Angellii laugh at
knockdown guns.
To counter this I've
included Invictors instead of the more commonly used Mage Hunter Strike Force.
The MHSF is good, but rerollable RAT 8 shots at POW 14 are very nice against the
Circle and Legion heavies I was originally teching this list for and (especially when Shatter Storm has been cast on
them) can also be used to clear infantry either at range or in melee. The Stormfalls and AFG can also throw out a bevy of AOE templates to drift onto
high def infantry and hopefully kill a couple.
It also helps that I have an unreasonable love of the Dawnguard 'Vics and their sword guns. BFFs 4eva yo.
They slice, they dice, they fire Combined Arms CRAs at fries!
Something not to be
forgotten is Ossyan's gun. At POW 13 it hits like a truck, and targeting a
tough target with it will leave behind a 4" AOE that grants -2 DEF to
anything inside. This can make Stormfalls much more accurate and also help
start an assassination chain in a pinch.
Halberds are the new black
The Halberdiers also
help plug the accuracy hole… but really, I find it very difficult to not bring
Halbs + UA + Thane in every list I play nowadays. They do particularly good
work in an Ossyan list as Quicken makes them ludicrously fast and hard to kill
at range. Advancing 13" in Shield Wall makes them 15/18, and they have the
option to threaten 15" on the charge before reforming into the enemy.
And Eiryss, of
course, is in the list to snipe off any Arcane Shielding/Defenders Warding we might run into and
just be a pain in general.
The plan:
General game plan is
to run or Shield Wall Quickened halberdiers as appropriate to jam or set up a
charge while the rest of the army runs into position. The Banshee and AFG will
take up positions on opposite ends of the field looking for juicy slam targets
to set up profitable SFA shots. Stormfalls and Invictors take pot shots until
Ossyan gets in position to use his feat to kill one or two big targets while we
play to not lose scenario.
Eventually an
assassination vector will present itself, starting with either the Banshee or
the AFG using their momentum cannon to knock the caster or their screen down.
If both miss, aren't available or there are no good slam targets Ossyan can use
his gun to start the chain in a pinch, giving the caster -2 defense and a
boosted POW 13 to boot. From there it's just a matter of an overwhelming
application of firepower until the game goes away.
The key thing about
the feat is not to get greedy. While it's certainly possible to remove 3-4
heavies with it, you can often get enough work out of it by removing a single
troublesome target (Hi Behemoth/Avatar/Tiberion/etc.!) at range before it
proves to be too much of a problem. It's also always an option to feat
defensively if there aren't any particularly hard targets to feat away, though
in my meta this isn't much of an issue. But, like, if there's a Colossal... you should probably take that one out. Just sayin'.
The problem:
While aiming to be
fairly well balanced, this list still has the until recently omnipresent
Retribution problem of dealing with Stealth. Shadow pack casters can't be
targeted by the lists' many guns and AOEs only help so much against waves of
Stealth infantry. Because of this any list that you pair this with needs to be
able to handle those threats, which is why in Steamroller play I'm leaning
towards taking Issyria (the feat grants True Sight) or Ravyn (as dem Banez tend to die to Sniped Feated Houseguard Riflemen).
The bigger problem? I really want to use eVyros as my second list, as a) Murder of Griffons could be a rock band name, b) his list deals with Circle and Legion like nobody's business and c) I came to this game to play with robots, steam powered or otherwise, and having 7-8 of them on the field sounds like just what the doctor ordered.
I See You...
If I do pair with eVyros I'd probably swap out the Invictors for a unit of Houseguard Riflemen with the UA. They'll give Ossyan some additional anti-infantry thanks to 14" range guns and can remove stealth infantry (or heavies under feat) with relative ease, especially if they can get into mini feat range for the boosted attack die. This is especially relevant as eVyros does not like the Cryx match up... stupid Banez.
I might also leave eEiryss for the eVyros list and instead take Aiyanna and Holt + an Arcanist to help keep up my damage output on non-feat turn, as well as let Ossyan handle the Menoth matchup. It's also a mite fluffier for Ossyan to be leading Houseguard than Dawnguard, which pulls at my narrative heart strings.
I might also leave eEiryss for the eVyros list and instead take Aiyanna and Holt + an Arcanist to help keep up my damage output on non-feat turn, as well as let Ossyan handle the Menoth matchup. It's also a mite fluffier for Ossyan to be leading Houseguard than Dawnguard, which pulls at my narrative heart strings.
The conclusion:
I'll test out using the Riflemen in place of my beloved 'Vics and let you all know how it's going. I think it will be worth it, and it helps me from banking all-in on the feat, which I like.
Until next time, shank a round ear for me!
Until next time, shank a round ear for me!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
And there was much rejoicing: Maxtermynd Joins 4+ Tough!
Hello! The name's
Maxtermynd and I've been invited to bring a taste of the Madison meta to 4+
Tough as well as a dedicated Retribution (and, when I eventually go back to it,
Khadoran) view on the game. I love my futuristic elves and their space robots,
and not only because they finally let me use the color orange on an army but
because they are fast, hit hard, force slap things around like Jedi knights and
reward a combined arms approach to Warmachine.
Space. Robots.
Currently I'm
working on mastering a couple of our 'casters for competitive play, which for
me means play a list 5 times, switch around a few things, and continue the
process until it becomes muscle memory and I have a list I like. To prevent my
battle reports from getting too boring I'll try to switch between my current
Steamroller or Master's pair every few games that I actually report, as well as
the occasional speculative ramble. I'm just that kind of guy.
Also sword guns and/or gun swords.
So, what to expect
from me:
- Battle reports! And if I can find my video gear maybe even video battle reports. Madison meta's pretty brutal sometimes, so I'll likely get my ass handed to me, but it should be educational at the very least.
- Tactica! I'll try to stay only to things that I actually have the experience to talk about, but I do love me some speculative conjecture as well.
- Pretty models! I've got an airbrush and I'm not afraid to use it. I'm planning on having the entirety of the Retribution painted and based by the end of the year (except maybe a Gorgon... Heavy Rifle team only becuase it's so damn pretty), and I'll be showing off my progress/getting you all to guilt me into doing it here. There are also a few ridiculous conversion projects that I have in the works (three words: Beach. Party. Blowout.), so stay tuned for those as well.
Until next time,
shank a round ear for me!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
State of the Retribution April 2014
Here are the Retribution lists I'll mostly be working on until the next update. Right now, in terms of 'casters, I have Kaelyssa, Ossyan, Rahn, Garryth and Issyria, and I'll be trying them all out. I finally have enough models to run a 50pt list with all of them, but I'll probably play pared down versions of these lists at 35pts.
Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper (*7pts)
*Phoenix (10pts)
*Banshee (10pts)
*Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
*Dawnguard Sentinels Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Strike Force Commander (2pts)
Mage Hunter Infiltrators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander (3pts)
*Soulless Escort (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This list is pretty standard for Kaelyssa. I haven't yet played the Infiltrators, but my experience with Kaelyssa so far has been that she's an attrition/assassination Warcaster, and the Infiltrators help with that plan. They're solid against infantry, and threaten almost all 'casters in the game. Eiryss will help Kaelyssa create headaches for Hordes opponents by denying Fury. Otherwise, the Sentinels are the armor cracking, the MHSF help out against infantry and support, and the two 'jacks bring control and a solid center for the list. I ran a similar list with 2 MHA's, and I might decide to drop the Soulless, and either take Min Strike Force or Infiltrators, or drop Eiryss 3 to fit them back in.
Issyria, Sybil of Dawn (*6pts)
*Phoenix (10pts)
*Chimera (6pts)
Dawnguard Invictors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (10pts)
*Dawnguard Invictors Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Houseguard Halberdiers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (7pts)
*Houseguard Halberdiers Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
*Soulless Escort (1pt)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Strike Force Commander (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
Houseguard Thane (2pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This is pretty much what I'll be running with Issyria until I can afford a Hyperion. The plan is to use channeled Blinding Light for control, and a whole lot of bullets to keep the edge in attrition, and go for the kill if the opponent leaves their 'caster exposed. The Halberdiers and MHA's have huge threat ranges too, and I can easily get the alpha strike on most opponents. The list, like Issyria herself, is very fragile, but it can do a lot of damage, and with good positioning, all those bodies can go a long way. I've heard some interesting things about MHI with Issyria, so I might give them a try, especially if I find myself outpacing the Invictors significantly. That would definitely up the list's blitz factor, but MHI tend to die faster than Invictors.
Lord Arcanist Ossyan (*6pts)
*Banshee (10)
*Manticore (8)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Strike Force Commander (2pts)
Houseguard Halberdiers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (7pts)
*Houseguard Halberdiers Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
*Soulless Escort (1pt)
Stormfall Archers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Stormfall Archers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4pts)
Houseguard Thane (2pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This is my "no proxies" Ossyan list. I'll likely be trying him out with Hypnos instead of the Manticore in his battlegroup, which looks pretty promising. I have also run a Daemon marshalled by Sentinels, which worked pretty well, and would replace the Halbs and Manticore. (The problem with both options is the lack of a second Vyre chassis 'jack that I could magnetize). I've heard good things about the AFG with Ossyan, and I'll probably proxy it once or twice to see what I think. Otherwise, this is pretty standard Ossyan. It's an almost pure attrition list that wants to operate mainly at range, and trade the Halberdiers for more time to shoot.
Adeptis Rahn (*6pts)
*Phoenix (10pts)
*Chimera (6pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
*Dawnguard Sentinels Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Stormfall Archers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber (3pts)
*Banshee (10pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
House Shyeel Magister (2pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This list feels like it wants more infantry, but I'm really psyched for Elara, so I'm running her with a Banshee in it for the time being. Rahn's Feat actually makes her a decent assassin, and the Banshee helps Rahn out keeping bricks under control with its slam gun. The Stormfalls are good with Rahn, but they will likely become Battle Mages sooner or later. The plan is basically to knock stuff down with Rahn and the Banshee, and finish it off with the hard hitters. I have a lot of tricks in this list, but as I said, I'm low on models. If I decide it's too much for the list to take, I'll probably swap Elara's Banshee for MHSF or Halberdiers.
Garryth, Blade of the Retribution (*5pts)
...Honestly I've got nothing for him yet. I'm going to run him with a lot of different stuff to see what works. Probably Elara, and maybe Battle Mages when I pick them up. Any tips would be very helpful.
So that's the state of the Retribution so far.
Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper (*7pts)
*Phoenix (10pts)
*Banshee (10pts)
*Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
*Dawnguard Sentinels Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Strike Force Commander (2pts)
Mage Hunter Infiltrators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander (3pts)
*Soulless Escort (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This list is pretty standard for Kaelyssa. I haven't yet played the Infiltrators, but my experience with Kaelyssa so far has been that she's an attrition/assassination Warcaster, and the Infiltrators help with that plan. They're solid against infantry, and threaten almost all 'casters in the game. Eiryss will help Kaelyssa create headaches for Hordes opponents by denying Fury. Otherwise, the Sentinels are the armor cracking, the MHSF help out against infantry and support, and the two 'jacks bring control and a solid center for the list. I ran a similar list with 2 MHA's, and I might decide to drop the Soulless, and either take Min Strike Force or Infiltrators, or drop Eiryss 3 to fit them back in.
Issyria, Sybil of Dawn (*6pts)
*Phoenix (10pts)
*Chimera (6pts)
Dawnguard Invictors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (10pts)
*Dawnguard Invictors Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Houseguard Halberdiers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (7pts)
*Houseguard Halberdiers Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
*Soulless Escort (1pt)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Strike Force Commander (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
Houseguard Thane (2pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This is pretty much what I'll be running with Issyria until I can afford a Hyperion. The plan is to use channeled Blinding Light for control, and a whole lot of bullets to keep the edge in attrition, and go for the kill if the opponent leaves their 'caster exposed. The Halberdiers and MHA's have huge threat ranges too, and I can easily get the alpha strike on most opponents. The list, like Issyria herself, is very fragile, but it can do a lot of damage, and with good positioning, all those bodies can go a long way. I've heard some interesting things about MHI with Issyria, so I might give them a try, especially if I find myself outpacing the Invictors significantly. That would definitely up the list's blitz factor, but MHI tend to die faster than Invictors.
Lord Arcanist Ossyan (*6pts)
*Banshee (10)
*Manticore (8)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Strike Force Commander (2pts)
Houseguard Halberdiers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (7pts)
*Houseguard Halberdiers Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
*Soulless Escort (1pt)
Stormfall Archers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Stormfall Archers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4pts)
Houseguard Thane (2pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This is my "no proxies" Ossyan list. I'll likely be trying him out with Hypnos instead of the Manticore in his battlegroup, which looks pretty promising. I have also run a Daemon marshalled by Sentinels, which worked pretty well, and would replace the Halbs and Manticore. (The problem with both options is the lack of a second Vyre chassis 'jack that I could magnetize). I've heard good things about the AFG with Ossyan, and I'll probably proxy it once or twice to see what I think. Otherwise, this is pretty standard Ossyan. It's an almost pure attrition list that wants to operate mainly at range, and trade the Halberdiers for more time to shoot.
Adeptis Rahn (*6pts)
*Phoenix (10pts)
*Chimera (6pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
*Dawnguard Sentinels Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Stormfall Archers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber (3pts)
*Banshee (10pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)
House Shyeel Magister (2pts)
Arcanist (1pt)
Arcanist (1pt)
This list feels like it wants more infantry, but I'm really psyched for Elara, so I'm running her with a Banshee in it for the time being. Rahn's Feat actually makes her a decent assassin, and the Banshee helps Rahn out keeping bricks under control with its slam gun. The Stormfalls are good with Rahn, but they will likely become Battle Mages sooner or later. The plan is basically to knock stuff down with Rahn and the Banshee, and finish it off with the hard hitters. I have a lot of tricks in this list, but as I said, I'm low on models. If I decide it's too much for the list to take, I'll probably swap Elara's Banshee for MHSF or Halberdiers.
Garryth, Blade of the Retribution (*5pts)
...Honestly I've got nothing for him yet. I'm going to run him with a lot of different stuff to see what works. Probably Elara, and maybe Battle Mages when I pick them up. Any tips would be very helpful.
So that's the state of the Retribution so far.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
State of the (Skorne) Lists April 2014
This year, I'm trying to do something a little different.
Specifically, I'm going to focus on practicing just a few Skorne warlocks, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I don't play very often. I'm lucky to get in a game a week. I do want to be more competitive in local events (and maybe even attend Gencon or WMW this year, who knows), and that means practicing the same handful of warlocks more than, say, 2 times in 3 months.
To that end, I'm working with Makeda 3, Makeda 1, Zaal, and Mordikaar. 4 Warlocks is a good number to ensure I stay pretty focused, keep my options open in terms of playstyle, and don't get bored and abandon the project.
Here are the lists I'm starting with:
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Makeda 3 is currently my favorite 'lock in Skorne, and I'm really liking the Brute spam build with her. It has a lot of sticking power in the Brutes, and a lot of hitting power in Makeda and the heavies. It's primarily an attrition and scenario list, but Molik and Makeda can both assassinate without much warning if the opponent leaves an opening. On top of that, the list plays very quickly, and is absolutely a blast. Even when I screw up and lose, it's a lot of fun.
Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
*Mammoth (20pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Feralgeist (1pt)
This is Lord Tyrant Watts' pMakeda list from Templecon, and I played it a couple of times at my last local tournament. I like it a lot, and I like pMakeda a lot, so the next phase is just to get used to the list, and see if there's anything I want to change about it. Potentially, I might want to take Marketh (since he's very good with both Defender's Ward and Savagery) or a Tyrant Commander (for more options with the Infantry), but the list is very tight on points, and manages to cover the most matchups in its current form.
Supreme Aptimus Zaal (*5pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Zaal is a very solid Warlock, and I've played this list enough to like it. I'll probably be changing the beasts up to include a Raider/Shaman or 2 Raiders as I test it. I'd also really like to fit a normal Extoller in the list, but I want to keep all the AG's, Marketh and the Tyrant Commander. If I do drop a 3 point option and switch the BB for a Raider and Krea, I could fit in an Extoller and an Agonizer. That would give me the beast and support loadout that I really want, I'm just not sure which 3pt option has to go.
Void Seer Mordikaar (*5pts)
*Despoiler (10pts)
*Archidon (7pts)
*Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I'm pretty excited for Despoiler dropping, and I've had a lot of fun with Mordikaar in the past, so I'm going to give him a try as option 4. It also gives me a Warlock who really likes having Tyrant Vorkesh if he's running Cetrati. I've heard good things about Bloodrunners with him, and Cetrati have never let me down. The fact that Mordikaar doesn't have a great upkeep spell for Cetrati also means I can try out Vorkesh.
That's it for Skorne for now. I'll try to post updates and reports pretty regularly as the year goes on. I am noticing that I'm running Nihilators instead of Swordsmen in all my lists that run infantry. It's a little odd for me, but for now, I think they fit in better. For Makeda 1, a lot of the offense Swordsmen would normally be crucial for is being done by the Mammoth, and Nihilators are a better screen for the Mammoth with Tough and Reach. Zaal gives Nihilators a much bigger boost in damage output than he does Swordsmen, and I don't need the Nihilators to spread out, since I'm also running Immortals. Mordikaar is using Bloodrunners the way he'd normally want to use Swordsmen, and I think they give him more in the role (at 50pts anyway). Interesting. I might end up switching the Swordsmen back into the Makeda 1 list, since she gets good use out of them, and the Mammoth doesn't counter 1-wound high Arm models.
Stay tuned for my State of the Retribution lists post, although I might not be finished with it for a few days.
Specifically, I'm going to focus on practicing just a few Skorne warlocks, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I don't play very often. I'm lucky to get in a game a week. I do want to be more competitive in local events (and maybe even attend Gencon or WMW this year, who knows), and that means practicing the same handful of warlocks more than, say, 2 times in 3 months.
To that end, I'm working with Makeda 3, Makeda 1, Zaal, and Mordikaar. 4 Warlocks is a good number to ensure I stay pretty focused, keep my options open in terms of playstyle, and don't get bored and abandon the project.
Here are the lists I'm starting with:
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Makeda 3 is currently my favorite 'lock in Skorne, and I'm really liking the Brute spam build with her. It has a lot of sticking power in the Brutes, and a lot of hitting power in Makeda and the heavies. It's primarily an attrition and scenario list, but Molik and Makeda can both assassinate without much warning if the opponent leaves an opening. On top of that, the list plays very quickly, and is absolutely a blast. Even when I screw up and lose, it's a lot of fun.
Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
*Mammoth (20pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Feralgeist (1pt)
This is Lord Tyrant Watts' pMakeda list from Templecon, and I played it a couple of times at my last local tournament. I like it a lot, and I like pMakeda a lot, so the next phase is just to get used to the list, and see if there's anything I want to change about it. Potentially, I might want to take Marketh (since he's very good with both Defender's Ward and Savagery) or a Tyrant Commander (for more options with the Infantry), but the list is very tight on points, and manages to cover the most matchups in its current form.
Supreme Aptimus Zaal (*5pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Zaal is a very solid Warlock, and I've played this list enough to like it. I'll probably be changing the beasts up to include a Raider/Shaman or 2 Raiders as I test it. I'd also really like to fit a normal Extoller in the list, but I want to keep all the AG's, Marketh and the Tyrant Commander. If I do drop a 3 point option and switch the BB for a Raider and Krea, I could fit in an Extoller and an Agonizer. That would give me the beast and support loadout that I really want, I'm just not sure which 3pt option has to go.
Void Seer Mordikaar (*5pts)
*Despoiler (10pts)
*Archidon (7pts)
*Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I'm pretty excited for Despoiler dropping, and I've had a lot of fun with Mordikaar in the past, so I'm going to give him a try as option 4. It also gives me a Warlock who really likes having Tyrant Vorkesh if he's running Cetrati. I've heard good things about Bloodrunners with him, and Cetrati have never let me down. The fact that Mordikaar doesn't have a great upkeep spell for Cetrati also means I can try out Vorkesh.
That's it for Skorne for now. I'll try to post updates and reports pretty regularly as the year goes on. I am noticing that I'm running Nihilators instead of Swordsmen in all my lists that run infantry. It's a little odd for me, but for now, I think they fit in better. For Makeda 1, a lot of the offense Swordsmen would normally be crucial for is being done by the Mammoth, and Nihilators are a better screen for the Mammoth with Tough and Reach. Zaal gives Nihilators a much bigger boost in damage output than he does Swordsmen, and I don't need the Nihilators to spread out, since I'm also running Immortals. Mordikaar is using Bloodrunners the way he'd normally want to use Swordsmen, and I think they give him more in the role (at 50pts anyway). Interesting. I might end up switching the Swordsmen back into the Makeda 1 list, since she gets good use out of them, and the Mammoth doesn't counter 1-wound high Arm models.
Stay tuned for my State of the Retribution lists post, although I might not be finished with it for a few days.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Caleb's State of the Lists (Trollblood) April 2014: I'm Lazy and Need to Post More
Yea, I haven't posted anything in... *checks*... well, crap. That trend needs a swift kick in the initiative.
Plans to start a mercs army are still in the works, but I'm taking my good sweet time on that one. In the meantime, I've been seriously contemplating breaking my Circle Orboros out of their semi-retirement, thanks in part to the models that have been released since last they saw the light of day. I'm particularly looking forward to the Rip Horn Satyr and Razorwing Griffon, while the Skinwalkers and their "new" UA are at the top of my list'o stuff to buy. I'm working on being less picky, so I'll likely pick up one or both of the Kayas, and probably Goatvahna down the road. Tharn in general still fail to interest me, which is fine considering that (besides Kromak, Ghetorix, and the Lord of the Feast) most of the Tharn in Circle aren't that great to begin with or have fallen behind the 'curve of awesome'.
On the Trollblood front, I've recently picked up a Sorcerer, and while he's proving... challenging... to put together (why does he have individual scroll cases? Where is that axe even supposed to go? 'the hell is going on with that head?! Flash?! Flash everywhere!?!), he should be some fun in my Calandra lists. Horgle Ironstrike is looking more and more awesome the more I read his rules, and he may be the impetus to finally get my Slag Troll on the field outside of Gunnbjorn lists.
In the meantime, I'm looking more and more towards Jarl and pDoomshaper as the Warlocks of choice for casual games lately, while eDoomshaper has really solidified his position next to Calandra as my tournament Warlocks. Without further ado, here are the lists I've been playing/will be playing for the next month or so:
Casual Lists
Jarl Skuld 35pts
Jarl Skuld, Devil Of Thornwood (*6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Trollkin Champions (Leader and 4 Grunts) (10pts)
* Skaldi Bonehammer (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (4pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* 3 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (3pts)
* Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (4pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Calandra 50pts
Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes (3pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Pyg Burrowers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Fennblade Kithkar (2pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Plans to start a mercs army are still in the works, but I'm taking my good sweet time on that one. In the meantime, I've been seriously contemplating breaking my Circle Orboros out of their semi-retirement, thanks in part to the models that have been released since last they saw the light of day. I'm particularly looking forward to the Rip Horn Satyr and Razorwing Griffon, while the Skinwalkers and their "new" UA are at the top of my list'o stuff to buy. I'm working on being less picky, so I'll likely pick up one or both of the Kayas, and probably Goatvahna down the road. Tharn in general still fail to interest me, which is fine considering that (besides Kromak, Ghetorix, and the Lord of the Feast) most of the Tharn in Circle aren't that great to begin with or have fallen behind the 'curve of awesome'.
On the Trollblood front, I've recently picked up a Sorcerer, and while he's proving... challenging... to put together (why does he have individual scroll cases? Where is that axe even supposed to go? 'the hell is going on with that head?! Flash?! Flash everywhere!?!), he should be some fun in my Calandra lists. Horgle Ironstrike is looking more and more awesome the more I read his rules, and he may be the impetus to finally get my Slag Troll on the field outside of Gunnbjorn lists.
In the meantime, I'm looking more and more towards Jarl and pDoomshaper as the Warlocks of choice for casual games lately, while eDoomshaper has really solidified his position next to Calandra as my tournament Warlocks. Without further ado, here are the lists I've been playing/will be playing for the next month or so:
Casual Lists
Jarl Skuld 35pts
Jarl Skuld, Devil Of Thornwood (*6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Trollkin Champions (Leader and 4 Grunts) (10pts)
* Skaldi Bonehammer (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (4pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)
Jarl Skuld 50pts
Jarl Skuld, Devil Of Thornwood (*6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Trollkin Champions (Leader and 4 Grunts) (10pts)
* Skaldi Bonehammer (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (4pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pts)
Jarl Skuld 50pts
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Trollkin Champions (Leader and 4 Grunts) (10pts)
* Skaldi Bonehammer (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (4pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pts)
Aaah, Jarl - the speed buff of the Troll faction. Quicken makes Champions even more ridiculous, and between the def buff, Sorcerer, cloud effects, and Chronicler handing out concealment, it should be pretty difficult for anyone to prevent them from getting where they need to go.
pDoomshaper 35pt
Hoarluk Doomshaper (*7pts)
* Night Troll (4pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* 3 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (3pts)
* Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
pDoomshaper 35pt
Hoarluk Doomshaper (*7pts)
* Night Troll (4pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* 3 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (3pts)
* Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
pDoomshaper 50pt
Hoarluk Doomshaper (*7pts)* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* 3 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (3pts)
* Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (4pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Attrition is the name of the game with pDoomshaper, and his spell list really lets the Kriel Warriors kick their jamming abilities up a notch. I've been trying to find a good place for the Night Troll, and that might just be in pDoomy lists - the Night Troll has a great animus that offers a nice board control ability, however he's pretty easy to kill if you've got a light or heavy jack/beast that gets caught in that. pDoomy's feat helps mitigate this nicely, as if they try and kill him, they'll be taking some damage themselves. Assuming I avoid weapon master infantry, he can really screw with enemy movement on the feat turn and make a nuisance of himself while taking out some infantry.
The 50pt list takes a slightly different approach - jam with the infantry, throw out AOE's and Knockdown with Janissa and the Runeshapers, and toss in some stupidly-hard-to-kill Heavies to back up the line. I'm thinking of fitting in Warders somehow, but that would require dropping Runeshapers and trimming things (I don't want to drop Janissa, as her combo with the EBDT's animus is just too good in an attrition list). We'll see how it goes....
The 50pt list takes a slightly different approach - jam with the infantry, throw out AOE's and Knockdown with Janissa and the Runeshapers, and toss in some stupidly-hard-to-kill Heavies to back up the line. I'm thinking of fitting in Warders somehow, but that would require dropping Runeshapers and trimming things (I don't want to drop Janissa, as her combo with the EBDT's animus is just too good in an attrition list). We'll see how it goes....
Tournament Lists
Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes (3pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Pyg Burrowers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Fennblade Kithkar (2pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Holy infantry, Batman! Well, not as much as it could be, but still quite a bit. I've toyed around with this list so much, it's hard to remember what's in it sometimes. Fennblades were the first infantry unit I had for Trollbloods, and they've proved to be one of the best - the release of the Kithkar just made them even better, and with Tactician in addition to Star Crossed, KSB, and Vengeance, they make an absolute nuisance of themselves once they hit the enemy line. They mesh well with the Burrowers, as the little guys have a perfect way (see: Tunneling) of getting out of the way of a massed Fennblade charge.
For beasts, I have rarely regretted having a mauler as a 2nd line Heavy to keep around until the late game - not only does his animus make the Kithkar, Impaler, and Fell Caller ridiculously MORE dangerous, but if push comes to shove, sending him (and the Bomber with his animus on it... and the Burrowers) at a Colossal will generally get the job done while the Fennblades jam themselves some infantry until the threat is dealt with.
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Rok (11pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
For beasts, I have rarely regretted having a mauler as a 2nd line Heavy to keep around until the late game - not only does his animus make the Kithkar, Impaler, and Fell Caller ridiculously MORE dangerous, but if push comes to shove, sending him (and the Bomber with his animus on it... and the Burrowers) at a Colossal will generally get the job done while the Fennblades jam themselves some infantry until the threat is dealt with.
eDoomshaper 50pt
Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia (*6pts)* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Rok (11pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Pyg Bushwackers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
This list is disgustingly effective, mainly because it is very, very difficult to block without a good feat, and it has an answer to just about everything -- massed infantry? Throw Wild Aggression on Rok and Goad him through 5-10 of the unfortunate little buggers a turn. Shooting-focused enemy list? 13"+ threat range on feat turn and 3 Heavies with Goad. Colossals or Gargantuans? Hehe, you poor bastards....
Most of the list is pretty much automatic - Mulg, EBDT, Axer, Runebearer, KSB and Elder, Janissa, and Whelps are as close to auto-include as you can get in an eDoomshaper list (and in fact makes for a pretty kick-ass 35pt list while we're at it). The 3rd beast is always a bit of a toss up, but I love Rok with him thanks to Berserk and Goad, which leaves me with 5 points. I've tried out quite a few things to fill these 5 points - Runeshapers and Sorcerer, min Bushwackers, Scouts (proxied), Pyre Troll, Storm Troll, Night Troll and a Sorcerer, Burrowers (drop the KSB to min), etc. The problem is, a light warbeast will add to eDoomy's already massively overburdened fury pool, not to mention animus priority, and knockdown is a bit useless when you have Wild Aggression, Primal, and MAT 7 warbeasts.
Most of the list is pretty much automatic - Mulg, EBDT, Axer, Runebearer, KSB and Elder, Janissa, and Whelps are as close to auto-include as you can get in an eDoomshaper list (and in fact makes for a pretty kick-ass 35pt list while we're at it). The 3rd beast is always a bit of a toss up, but I love Rok with him thanks to Berserk and Goad, which leaves me with 5 points. I've tried out quite a few things to fill these 5 points - Runeshapers and Sorcerer, min Bushwackers, Scouts (proxied), Pyre Troll, Storm Troll, Night Troll and a Sorcerer, Burrowers (drop the KSB to min), etc. The problem is, a light warbeast will add to eDoomy's already massively overburdened fury pool, not to mention animus priority, and knockdown is a bit useless when you have Wild Aggression, Primal, and MAT 7 warbeasts.
The Bushwackers have proved the most useful so far, since they can do something the rest of the list can't -- namely, a 14" ranged attack, because sometimes you just need to reach out and shoot something before sending in your monstrous rampaging trolls. eDoomy doesn't give them much of anything (besides a spot at the bottom of the target priority list), but CRA makes them pretty self sufficient anyway.
So there we have it - two tournament lists, and 4 casual lists. Hopefully this will prompt me to post more, and I'll try to get at least 1 battle report in with each list in the next month or so.
Monday, March 24, 2014
4+ Tournament 03/22/14 - pGrexy's Reports
I played in another tournament at Tower Games this past Saturday, and as always, it was a lot of fun. I ran Makeda 3 and Makeda 1 this time around.
Despite the best of intentions, I didn't actually play any practice games on Friday. Instead, I ended up playing Warhammer Diskwars with some friends I don't see nearly often enough (which was a lot of fun). Anyway, that means I've had a total of 1 game's worth of experience with the Makeda 3 list, and 0 with the Makeda 1 list. But that's ok. A tournament is a great environment to crash test a new list or two if you don't take it too seriously.
Anyway, list 1 was
Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
*Mammoth (20pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11pts)
10 Nihilators (8pts)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1pt)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
This is the list I haven't played. I tried pMakeda with a Mammoth once, and it was effective. Then I saw this list on the Skorne forum, and decided to give it a try. It's been a few months since I've played Makeda 1, but I learned the game with her, so I always like playing her.
List 2 was
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I played a nearly identical list (the Savage was a 3rd Brute) a couple of weeks ago. It fit together very smoothly, and had a strong attrition game. Makeda 3 is also a really fun warlock to play in general. Win or lose, I've never regretted putting her on the table.
On to the reports!
Round 1 Against Tom's Khador
Tom was running Butcher 3 and eSorcha. Makeda 1 has a pretty decent game against both of them, and more importantly has some shooting in the list to clear out all that Khador infantry. So I took her. Tom went with the Butcher.
Kommander Zoktavir, the Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
*Beast 09 (11pts)
*War Dog (1pts)
10 Black Dragon Iron Fang Pikemen (8pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
10 Black Dragon Iron Fang Pikemen (8pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Greylord Ternion (4pts)
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire (4pts)
Ogrun Bokur - Client: The Butcher (3pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Kell Bailoch (2pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)
The Scenario was Incursion. Three flags, and one of them disappears. Control a flag for 1 point, dominate a side flag for 2. Tom won the roll off, and decided to go second.
I predeployed the Mammoth in some woods near the right flag, Makeda and the Cetrati in the middle, and the Nihilators on the right. The Mammoth's pit crew went near it, and the Beast Handlers went behind the beasts.
Tom deployed a unit of IFP and Kovnik behind each flag, and put Butcher, his dogs, the Bokur, Alexia, and Beast 09 in the middle. Kell and Eiryss Advance Deployed on the right behind a low wall.
Turn 1
Makeda put Savagery on the Cetrati and Defender's Ward on the Nihilators, then charged up. The Mammoth and Nihilators ran, while the Cetrati wentinto Shield Wall, and walked. The Raider put Snipe on the Mammoth, and the Willbreaker gave it Ancillary attack to shoot Eiryss. The shot scattered onto her, but failed to kill.
Tom ran with just about everything in the list. The Greylords put clouds on the Butcher's Argi and Beast. The Butcher put Silence of Death on the left unit of IFP.
Turn 2
Makeda upkept her spells. The Nihilators charged the IFP on the left. Raider sniped the Mammoth again. The Mammoth shot and killed a couple of the IFP on the right. The Cetrati Shield Walled up the table again. Makeda walked up behind the Cetrati, and used her Feat (troopers destroyed in her CTRL will come back in her next maintenance phase. They must be placed in her CTRL, in formation, and within 3" of another model in their unit).
Tom didn't waste any time. Beast 09 got out of the way. Butcher swapped Silence of Death onto himself, and charged one of the ends of my Cetrati brick. Then he Energized for 2, and cast Impending Doom to suck Makeda in. Then he Feated to get his Focus back, and killed Makeda.
Victory to Khador!
That was the silliest mistake I've made in a while, and I don't even have the excuse of never having gone up against Butcher 3 before. I knew his threat range - it's very reliable. I just completely forgot that meant I had to keep Makeda out of it! :-P
Tom played a pretty solid 2 turns, although I wish I could have given him just a little more to think about.
Round 2 Against Luke's Khador
Luke was running eSorscha and pIrusk. In either case, the Mammoth list was probably better, and after that last game, I really wanted a chance to play it for more than a turn or 2. Luke picked eSorscha.
Forward Kommander Sorscha (*6pts)
*Beast 09 - Bonded (11pts)
*War Dog (1pt)
10 Cylena Raefyll and Nyss Hunters (10)
*Koldun Kapitan Valachev (2)
5 Greylord Outriders (9)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
4 Widowmakers (4)
Harlan Versh, Illuminated One (2)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2)
Saxon Orrik (2)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2)
Raluk Moorclaw, the Ironmonger (2)
Widowmaker Marksman (2)
Koldun Lord (2)
Gobber Tinker (1)
The scenario was Destruction. There's a 12 by 6 control zone in the middle of the table, and a destructible objective for each player holding down two opposite corners. Destrying the enemy objective is worth a point (and necessary to control the zone), controlling the zone is worth a point, and dominating it is worth 2 points.
I won the roll off, and chose to go first. I again deployed the Mammoth near some troublesome terrain on the right side of the table. The Cetrati went on the left, and the Nihilators went in the middle this time. The Mammoth's buddies clustered up around her.
Luke deployed the Outriders on the left and the Nyss on the right. The solos, merc units, and Sorscha mostly went in the middle along with Beast 09. The Widowmakers and Saxon deployed a bit ahead of the center gaggle of solos.
Turn 1
I ran and Shield Walled my way up the table (Defender's Ward on the Nihilators and Savagery on the Cetrati), and took my turn 1 Mammoth shot at the Widowmakers, but it scattered wide.
The Nyss ran up, but left one of their number a bit back for Sorscha to target. Sorcha walked up, and put Iron Flesh on the Nyss and Shatterstorm on the Widowmakers. The Widowmakers advanced and killed a couple of the lead Nihilators. The Outriders and most of the solos ran, though Aiyanna and Holt walked and used Stealth.
Turn 2
I upkept both spells, and had the Nihilators charge an Outrider and the Widowmaker Marksman. The Marksman died, but the Outrider lived. The Cetrati advanced in Shield Wall, and killed another Outrider. The Raider advanced, and Sniped the Mammoth, while the Krea advanced, and used Paralytic Aura. The Gobbers advanced, and popped some smoke into play. Makeda ducked around behind the Krea and Gobbers, and camped 4. No more living on the edge for her.
The Mammoth advanced, and took one shot at Gorman and the Widowmakers (hit a Widowmaker, but rolled a 3 for damage) and 2 shots into the Nyss, who could easily kill it if they were left intact. The shots accounted for Cylena and about 3 other Nyss. Then the Mammoth used Counter Blast. The Willbreaker used Ancillary Attack on the Mammoth to kill 2 more Nyss. The Paingivers walked up and got my Fury down to manageable levels.
Luke dropped Iron Flesh, but upkept Shatterstorm. Sorscha advanced, used her Feat (damage done to enemy models in her CTRL without Immunity: cold above their Arm is doubled for a turn), and cast Cyclone to engage my leading Nihilators and kill all the ones she could reach. The Nyss charged the Mammoth, but it triggered Counter Blast to kill 2. The 2 remaining Nyss did 24 damage.
The Widowmakers dropped some more Nihilators, and managed to kill some of both Swamp Gobbers and the Extoller. Most of the remaining solos and the Outriders took aim at the Cetrati, but only killed 2. Gorman walked up and pitched some Black Oil at a Nyss Hunter right in front of the Mammoth. I hoped it would scatter onto Sorscha, but it just scattered into the center of the Mammoth's base. Beast ran up to support Sorscha.
Turn 3
Sorscha was awfully exposed, so I decided to try to kill her. I placed my returning Nihilators to finish off the Outrider who might be in some of my charge lanes, and the Cetrati to attack other Outriders, then upkept Savagery.
The Willbreaker used Puppet Master on the Krea to let her reroll bad dice in her attack roll, then the Krea aimed and shot her Paralysis shot at Sorscha. She hit, and Sorscha was reduced to base Def 7. The Nihilators killed the Outrider they needed to kill along with 3 other Nihilators.
The Raider aimed, and shot Sorscha for respectable damage. Finally, Makeda charged Sorscha, and killed her with a Combo Strike.
Victory to the Skorne!
I played a pretty decent game this time. At the very least, I made no outrageous mistakes. Luke made a mistake moving Sorscha so far forward, but he was camping 4, and didn't expect the Krea to be able to paralyze her.
Round 3 Against Bryant's Cryx
Bryant was bringing Scaverous and Asphyxious 3. Both my lists seemed decent against both of his, so I decided to play Makeda 3 because she's loads of fun. Bryant went with Asphyxious 3.
Asphyxious the Hellbringer (*4pts)
*Nightmare (10pts)
*Leviathan (9pts)
*Vociferon (-)
10 Bane Thralls (8pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (3pts)
10 Satyxis Raiders (8pts)
*Sea Witch (2pts)
10 Satyxis Blood Witches (6pts)
*Blood Hag (2pts)
Bane Lord Tartarus (4pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)
The Scenario was Into the Breach. There's a 12" circular zone on one side of the table, and a flag on the other. Controlling the Zone is worth 1pt, dominating it is worth 2, and dominating the flag is worth 1. There are also destructible objectives a few inches ahead of either player's AD zone. Destroying your opponent's objective is worth 1pt.
Bryant won the roll off, and chose to go second. I set up my beasts in a tight line in the center of the table with the Beast Handlers behind them. I was ready to contest the Zone with my Savage and one Brute, while the other Brute was going to contest the flag. The Heavies and Makeda went right in the middle for support, with the Bronzeback in the center-left, and the Gladiator in the center-right.
Bryant deployed both 'jacks near a hill on the left, put Tartarus on the right, and deployed his Bane Thralls in front of his Blood Witches in the middle. The Raiders Advance Deployed in the middle, with Saxon Orrik to their right.
Bryant declared that the Nightmare's Prey would be the Bronzeback.
Turn 1
I basically ran up. Makeda and the Gladiator did some Rushing before charging up, and Makeda also cast Vortex of Destruction, and put a fury on the Agonizer. I got the right Brute and Savage to the edge of the zone.
Bryant also basically ran up. The Satyxis Raidrs jammed my line, while the bulk of the infantry ran up to 8-10" behind them. The 'jacks ran into position to charge and/or shoot me from a hill. Asphyxious cast Scything Touch on the Bane Thralls, and Ashen Veil on the Satyxis Raiders.
Turn 2
I had little choice but to un-jam myself. The Cyclops Savage killed a Raider engaging the right Brute. The left Brute killed a Raider too. Molik spent about 4 Fury to kill just one Raider. The Bronzeback used Train Wreck to kill 2. Makeda and her unit made up for the lackluster showing by killing 3 Raiders with melee attacks, and 2 more with Ground Zero, then Makeda cast Fate Walker. The Sea Witch and last Raider passed their Cmd check for massive Casualties. The right Brute charged Tartarus, but failed to kill him. The Paingivers advanced, and ensured I wouldn't be taking many Frenzy checks. Makeda took her Fate Walker move, and retreated behind my objective.
Asphyxious let Ashen Veil drop, but upkept Scything Touch, and allocated 3 Focus to the Leviathan. Tartarus advanced, Cursed Molik, and took a swing at my Brute to little effect. The Bane Thralls charged in. Only 2 could reach Molik, and 3 charged the right Brute. The rest ran into the center of the table. The ones engaging the Brute did a little damage, and the two who had charged Molik did some serious damage to him, but didn't take out any aspects. The Blood Witches ran up behind the Banes, and used their mini-Feat to gain Incorporeal.
Asphyxious put Ashen Veil on himself, then used his Feat to gain a Soul Token for every time I spent Fury, Forced a beast, or cast a spell in his CTRL. The Leviathan aimed, and shot at the Krea for a little damage. Nightmare advanced cautiously to stay out of my Beat Back threat range. Vociferon ran to the center-left just behind the Banes.
Turn 3
My right Brute was just outside my CTRL after that Fate Walker move, but it passed its Frenzy check. I leached Fury, upkept Vortex of Destuction, and was good to go.
Makeda went first. She used her Feat, and her unit killed a couple of Bane Thralls, She cast Fate Walker, and then cast Eliminator on a Blood Witch. She killed the Witch, and backed off 2 inches. Molik and the Savage both killed a bunch of Bane Thralls, and Molik cast Fate Walker to back off. The Brute on the right finished Tartarus, and the Brute on the left finished the Raiders engaging it.
The Paingivers Enraged the Bronzeback, and Conditioned the others. The Bronzeback charged, and took out Vociferon, the Sea Witch and another Bane Thrall. The Thralls were down to the Standard Bearer and the three engaging the Brute. The Agonizer used Spiritual Affliction, and ran to stop Focus Allocation to the Leviathan. Makeda and Molik Fate Walked out of harm's way.
Asphyxious' Feat had been loading him down with souls this whole time, and he started the turn with 27 Focus. Yikes. He dropped Ashen Veil, and allocated 3 to Nightmare. The remaining Banes charged. The 3 in contact with the Brute hurt it a little, and the Standard Bearer ran into melee with the Bronzeback. The Blood Witches charged in, damaged the Krea, and killed 2 Paingivers.
Asphyxious cast Mobility and Carnage, then cast Scything Touch on himself, and charged the Bronzeback. He killed it pretty easily, and had 18 Focus left to spend. He elected to cast Ashen Veil on himself again, and camp at Arm 31 rather than take any risks with offensive magic. Nightmare changed its Prey to Molik, and charged the right Brute, murdering it. The Leviathan walked up to the Agonizer, and swung with its claw, but missed.
Turn 4
Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction, and leached in her Fury. Makeda activated first again. Her unit advanced into the Blood Witches. Her Guardians killed a few, and she killed one with her initial attack, and 3 more with a Blood Booned Eliminator. She advanced, and moved into melee range of Nightmare, and cast Fate Walker. The Savage charged one of the 3 remaining Thralls in the zone, and killed it and one other.
The Paingivers Enraged Molik, who charged Nightmare and scrapped it, then finished off the remaining Thrall and Saxon, and cast Fate Walker. The left Brute killed the Bane Thrall Standard Bearer and another Blood Witch. I took my Fate Walker moves, getting Makeda as far from Asphyxious as possible, and screening her with Molik.
I now dominated the zone, and scored 2pts.
Bryant decided after some thinking that he couldn't kill Makeda, and had nothing close enough to contest the zone. Since I'd score 2 points on his turn, and to more on my next one, he decided to concede.
Victory to the Skorne!
That was a very clean game for me. The list played very smoothly, and I stuck to my attrition plan. I focused on wiping out Bryant's army in manageable chunks, and ended up scoring a decisive scenario win. Bryant didn't make any huge mistakes, and generally played a tight, conservative game. I do think he overextended his Satyxis on turn 1. They were too far ahead of the Bane Thralls for an effective counter charge, and I was already in the zone, so there was no scenario pressure to make me move forward. If he'd engaged with 2-4 Raiders, and held the rest back, I would have been in a much trickier position on my second turn, and would likely have had to sacrifice at least a beast or two to the Banes.
This brings us to the final round, and I'm currently in the running for 3rd on SoS and Scenario points (my round 1 opponent was undefeated so far). Without further ado...
Round 4 Against John's Trollbloods
John was playing pDoomshaper and eMadrak. I was a little worried about Troll armor cracking, but I still wanted to play Makeda 3, and Makeda 1 had a lot of eggs in one basket with the Mammoth, a target I knew Mulg could take out in a good round, so I went with Makeda 3. John went with pDoomshaper.
Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls (*7pts)
*Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
*Earthborn Dire Troll (10tps)
*Troll Axer (6pts)
*Storm Troll (5pts)
*Trollkin Rune Bearer (2pts)
10 Trollkin Fennblades (8)
*Officer and Drummer (2)
6 Kriel Stone Bearer and Stone Scribes (4pts)
*Stone Scribe Elder (1pt)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
5 Whelps (2pts)
The last scenario was Supply and Demand. A 12" round zone in the center with 2 objectives placed diagonally across from each other. Controlling the zone is worth one point, and dominating it is worth 2, but it cannot be dominated while the opponent's Warlock/Warcaster is in your CTRL. Destroying the enemy objective is worth 1 point.
John won the roll-off, and decided to go second. I deployed in my customary brick, with the heavies and Krea in the center, and the Cyclopes holding down the flanks.
John deployed in a wide line, with Mulg and the Axer on the right, the Earthborn and Storm Troll on the left, and Fennblades everywhere. The second line had Doomie, the Kriel Stone, and the support.
Turn 1
I ran up to my side of the zone, put 4 Fury on the Agonizer, and cast Vortex of Destruction with Makeda. The Cyclopes were a few inches into the zone, and the heavies were not too far out.
John ran up with the Fenns, getting them into a good charge position, and kept his Warbeasts back a little. Doomshaper cast Fortune on Mulg for rerolled attacks, and diverted the rest of his Fury to the Kriel Stone, which put up its +2 Arm aura.
Turn 2
Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction. I advanced, and made some attacks against the Fennblades with my Cyclopes, but didn't do a whole lot else. The Brutes cast Safeguard to prevent slams, and the heavies made sure they could charge out to avenge the Brutes if the Mulg and Earthborn killed them. The Agonizer used Gnawing Pain, and ran to the center of my force. Makeda topped it off with Fury to maximize its bubble.
John had Doomshaper drop Fortune. The Rune Bearer used Harmonious Exaltation on Doomshaper. Doomshaper activated, cast Purification to remove my upkeeps and Animi, popped his Feat, which deals 1d6 damage to enemy models for each Focus or Fury point they spend or gain, and recast Fortune on Mulg.
The Storm Troll shot my left Brute, which caused lightning to arc through one of Makeda's guardians and the Agonizer. The Agonizer took 5 damage, and the Brute and Exalted Guardian took 3. The Fennblades charged in, and did a little damage to my left Brute and Savage. The Earthborn charged the left Brute, and killed it with its last attack. Mulg charged the right Brute, and killed it far more handily. The Chronicler put Hero's Tragedy on the Fennblades, so that any warrior model who killed any would be knocked down.
Turn 3
After a little thought, I had Makeda risk a free strike from a Fennblade to try to get out of Doomshaper's CTRL. The Fenn hit and did 6 damage. Makeda walked into melee with the Earthborn, and cast Vortex of Destruction on herself. She ended up being in Doomshaper's CTRL by the tiniest of margins, and took 7 more damage from the Feat. Booo! She took a swing at the Earthborn, causing it to spawn a Whelp in the Bronzeback's path. The Exalted Guardians killed a single Fennblade between them. The Agonizer was supposed to walk out of Doomie's CTRL, and then use Gnawing Pain, but I forgot, and it died to Feat damage. Whoops.
The Paingivers Enraged the Bronzeback and Molik, and Medicated the Savage. The Savage bravely walked in front of Mulg, and killed a Fennblade. Molik charged the Whelp, and killed it, then caused another Fennblade to Tough with his second initial attack. The Bronzeback took a free strike for minor damage, and charged into the Earthborn. It hit with both its war gauntlets, but missed with the Chain Attack Grab and Smash Headbutt, and had to buy 3 attacks to finish the Earthborn, damaging itself severely in the process. The Gladiator simply walked forward a bit.
The Fennblades made some Vengeance attacks, but didn't do much, and Doomshaper upkept Fortune. Then the Fenns charged in, and did a little more damage to the Bronzeback, a little to Molik, and killed an Exalted Guardian. Doomshaper topped up the Kriel Stone. The Kriel Stone Bearers gave the Trolls +1 Str with their Aura. Janissa popped up a wall, and the Rune Bearer tried to Rampager the Gladiator, but missed.
Mulg smushed the Savage, and Goaded into Karn, damaging him pretty badly with his one remaining attack. The Storm Troll charged the Bronzeback, and killed it on its last attack.
Turn 4
It was going to be do or die. I had to drop Mulg, and protect Makeda as well as possible. Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction, and started things off. She popped her Feat, and her remaining Exalted Guardian killed a Fennblade. Makeda tried to kill the Storm Troll quickly, but had to spend 5 Fury to do it due to atrocious luck on attack rolls. She Blood Booned Ground Zero to clear off the Fennblades, and waited for her Beasts to fill her up on Fury.
The Paingivers Enraged the Gladiator and Karn, and the Gladiator blasted Mulg with everything it had, leaving him barely alive. Molik chopped through a few Whelps to load Makeda up on Fury, then finished Mulg off.
The Fennblades took some Vengeance attacks. John had noticed that Molik was my only open transfer target since the Gladiator was loaded up, and knew that if he could kill Molik, he had Makeda dead barring terrible luck.
Doomshaper put Fortune on the Fennblades, knowing that they might need the reroll with their Mat of 6. He also cast Rampager at the Gladiator, forcing it to advance on Molik and hit him for significant damage. Finally, the Axer charged Molik, and finished him off.
It was all down to the Fennblades. They charged Makeda. The first one hit, and did the 3 damage it took to finish her off.
Victory to the Trollbloods!
Not my best showing, but definitely my closest and most fun game of the day. Sometimes playing 3 games in a row makes me tired and easily discouraged. This game, I was just having fun the whole time. It was an epic grindfest, and John was a great opponent. I hope to see him around for the next tournament, and there's a chance I'll be able to make it to his LGS in Duluth for their first tournament in May some time.
I did make a couple of key mistakes I'll remember in the future. First, I got the Agonizer killed, when I really shouldn't have. If it had lived, there was a decent chance the Bronzeback would have survived the Storm Troll, and that Molik would have been in better condition on that last turn. Alternately, if I'd remembered, I could have used Molik's last kill to take a Fury off the Gladiator rather than put it on Makeda. Then I would have had the Gladiator's whole life spiral open for transfers, and still been camping 3 Fury. I would still have been in the game, though it would still have been an uphill battle. He wouldn't have had any armor crackers left, but I would have been counting on Makeda and the Gladiator to take down everything he had left.
John played a very solid game. He had a similar approach to mine - try to pick apart the opponent's list while they slog through your jam - and he pulled it off quite well. Doomie's Feat in particular was brutal against my list. All the Beasts want to be forcing consistently, and Makeda really wants to be spending Fury every turn, and she was close enough to be burned badly.
Overall Thoughts
I really need to be doing these more often. I always have a ton of fun, and I get a lot of good practice with my lists. My opponents were great, and I'm looking forward to seeing them across the table sometime in the near future. I especially want to give my pMakeda list an honest run at Butcher 3, since I did take it partially to save Makeda 3 from that matchup.
I'm pretty pleased with the lists I used. I need to try them both out some more. I'd probably prefer Makeda 3 with a 3rd Brute instead of the Savage, but Savages are good, and I'll play it both ways. I might also consider swapping in a Tyrant Commander and Orin Midwinter. This would give her a little more depth and security with increased full advances (including those from Fate Walker), and a little more flexibility with matchups, since Orin's Lightning is good spot removal in a list that doesn't have much, and Null Magic lets her clean out Butcher 3 and keeps other spell-reliant opponents honest.
I didn't give the Makeda 1 list much of a working over. Both the games I played with it were pretty short. It was fun though, and the Mammoth looks great, and plays well against a lot of lists, and Makeda offers some very good support for it. I'll definitely be trying this list out more, and maybe seeing if I can tweak it up to my preferences.
Thanks for the great games, opponents, and thanks again Jamie for running the event!
More reports to come next week...
Despite the best of intentions, I didn't actually play any practice games on Friday. Instead, I ended up playing Warhammer Diskwars with some friends I don't see nearly often enough (which was a lot of fun). Anyway, that means I've had a total of 1 game's worth of experience with the Makeda 3 list, and 0 with the Makeda 1 list. But that's ok. A tournament is a great environment to crash test a new list or two if you don't take it too seriously.
Anyway, list 1 was
Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
*Mammoth (20pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11pts)
10 Nihilators (8pts)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1pt)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
This is the list I haven't played. I tried pMakeda with a Mammoth once, and it was effective. Then I saw this list on the Skorne forum, and decided to give it a try. It's been a few months since I've played Makeda 1, but I learned the game with her, so I always like playing her.
List 2 was
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I played a nearly identical list (the Savage was a 3rd Brute) a couple of weeks ago. It fit together very smoothly, and had a strong attrition game. Makeda 3 is also a really fun warlock to play in general. Win or lose, I've never regretted putting her on the table.
On to the reports!
Round 1 Against Tom's Khador
Tom was running Butcher 3 and eSorcha. Makeda 1 has a pretty decent game against both of them, and more importantly has some shooting in the list to clear out all that Khador infantry. So I took her. Tom went with the Butcher.
Kommander Zoktavir, the Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
*Beast 09 (11pts)
*War Dog (1pts)
10 Black Dragon Iron Fang Pikemen (8pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
10 Black Dragon Iron Fang Pikemen (8pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Greylord Ternion (4pts)
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire (4pts)
Ogrun Bokur - Client: The Butcher (3pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Kell Bailoch (2pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)
The Scenario was Incursion. Three flags, and one of them disappears. Control a flag for 1 point, dominate a side flag for 2. Tom won the roll off, and decided to go second.
I predeployed the Mammoth in some woods near the right flag, Makeda and the Cetrati in the middle, and the Nihilators on the right. The Mammoth's pit crew went near it, and the Beast Handlers went behind the beasts.
Tom deployed a unit of IFP and Kovnik behind each flag, and put Butcher, his dogs, the Bokur, Alexia, and Beast 09 in the middle. Kell and Eiryss Advance Deployed on the right behind a low wall.
Turn 1
Makeda put Savagery on the Cetrati and Defender's Ward on the Nihilators, then charged up. The Mammoth and Nihilators ran, while the Cetrati wentinto Shield Wall, and walked. The Raider put Snipe on the Mammoth, and the Willbreaker gave it Ancillary attack to shoot Eiryss. The shot scattered onto her, but failed to kill.
Tom ran with just about everything in the list. The Greylords put clouds on the Butcher's Argi and Beast. The Butcher put Silence of Death on the left unit of IFP.
Turn 2
Makeda upkept her spells. The Nihilators charged the IFP on the left. Raider sniped the Mammoth again. The Mammoth shot and killed a couple of the IFP on the right. The Cetrati Shield Walled up the table again. Makeda walked up behind the Cetrati, and used her Feat (troopers destroyed in her CTRL will come back in her next maintenance phase. They must be placed in her CTRL, in formation, and within 3" of another model in their unit).
Tom didn't waste any time. Beast 09 got out of the way. Butcher swapped Silence of Death onto himself, and charged one of the ends of my Cetrati brick. Then he Energized for 2, and cast Impending Doom to suck Makeda in. Then he Feated to get his Focus back, and killed Makeda.
Victory to Khador!
That was the silliest mistake I've made in a while, and I don't even have the excuse of never having gone up against Butcher 3 before. I knew his threat range - it's very reliable. I just completely forgot that meant I had to keep Makeda out of it! :-P
Tom played a pretty solid 2 turns, although I wish I could have given him just a little more to think about.
Round 2 Against Luke's Khador
Luke was running eSorscha and pIrusk. In either case, the Mammoth list was probably better, and after that last game, I really wanted a chance to play it for more than a turn or 2. Luke picked eSorscha.
Forward Kommander Sorscha (*6pts)
*Beast 09 - Bonded (11pts)
*War Dog (1pt)
10 Cylena Raefyll and Nyss Hunters (10)
*Koldun Kapitan Valachev (2)
5 Greylord Outriders (9)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
4 Widowmakers (4)
Harlan Versh, Illuminated One (2)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2)
Saxon Orrik (2)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2)
Raluk Moorclaw, the Ironmonger (2)
Widowmaker Marksman (2)
Koldun Lord (2)
Gobber Tinker (1)
The scenario was Destruction. There's a 12 by 6 control zone in the middle of the table, and a destructible objective for each player holding down two opposite corners. Destrying the enemy objective is worth a point (and necessary to control the zone), controlling the zone is worth a point, and dominating it is worth 2 points.
I won the roll off, and chose to go first. I again deployed the Mammoth near some troublesome terrain on the right side of the table. The Cetrati went on the left, and the Nihilators went in the middle this time. The Mammoth's buddies clustered up around her.
Luke deployed the Outriders on the left and the Nyss on the right. The solos, merc units, and Sorscha mostly went in the middle along with Beast 09. The Widowmakers and Saxon deployed a bit ahead of the center gaggle of solos.
Turn 1
I ran and Shield Walled my way up the table (Defender's Ward on the Nihilators and Savagery on the Cetrati), and took my turn 1 Mammoth shot at the Widowmakers, but it scattered wide.
The Nyss ran up, but left one of their number a bit back for Sorscha to target. Sorcha walked up, and put Iron Flesh on the Nyss and Shatterstorm on the Widowmakers. The Widowmakers advanced and killed a couple of the lead Nihilators. The Outriders and most of the solos ran, though Aiyanna and Holt walked and used Stealth.
Turn 2
I upkept both spells, and had the Nihilators charge an Outrider and the Widowmaker Marksman. The Marksman died, but the Outrider lived. The Cetrati advanced in Shield Wall, and killed another Outrider. The Raider advanced, and Sniped the Mammoth, while the Krea advanced, and used Paralytic Aura. The Gobbers advanced, and popped some smoke into play. Makeda ducked around behind the Krea and Gobbers, and camped 4. No more living on the edge for her.
The Mammoth advanced, and took one shot at Gorman and the Widowmakers (hit a Widowmaker, but rolled a 3 for damage) and 2 shots into the Nyss, who could easily kill it if they were left intact. The shots accounted for Cylena and about 3 other Nyss. Then the Mammoth used Counter Blast. The Willbreaker used Ancillary Attack on the Mammoth to kill 2 more Nyss. The Paingivers walked up and got my Fury down to manageable levels.
Luke dropped Iron Flesh, but upkept Shatterstorm. Sorscha advanced, used her Feat (damage done to enemy models in her CTRL without Immunity: cold above their Arm is doubled for a turn), and cast Cyclone to engage my leading Nihilators and kill all the ones she could reach. The Nyss charged the Mammoth, but it triggered Counter Blast to kill 2. The 2 remaining Nyss did 24 damage.
The Widowmakers dropped some more Nihilators, and managed to kill some of both Swamp Gobbers and the Extoller. Most of the remaining solos and the Outriders took aim at the Cetrati, but only killed 2. Gorman walked up and pitched some Black Oil at a Nyss Hunter right in front of the Mammoth. I hoped it would scatter onto Sorscha, but it just scattered into the center of the Mammoth's base. Beast ran up to support Sorscha.
Turn 3
Sorscha was awfully exposed, so I decided to try to kill her. I placed my returning Nihilators to finish off the Outrider who might be in some of my charge lanes, and the Cetrati to attack other Outriders, then upkept Savagery.
The Willbreaker used Puppet Master on the Krea to let her reroll bad dice in her attack roll, then the Krea aimed and shot her Paralysis shot at Sorscha. She hit, and Sorscha was reduced to base Def 7. The Nihilators killed the Outrider they needed to kill along with 3 other Nihilators.
The Raider aimed, and shot Sorscha for respectable damage. Finally, Makeda charged Sorscha, and killed her with a Combo Strike.
Victory to the Skorne!
I played a pretty decent game this time. At the very least, I made no outrageous mistakes. Luke made a mistake moving Sorscha so far forward, but he was camping 4, and didn't expect the Krea to be able to paralyze her.
Round 3 Against Bryant's Cryx
Bryant was bringing Scaverous and Asphyxious 3. Both my lists seemed decent against both of his, so I decided to play Makeda 3 because she's loads of fun. Bryant went with Asphyxious 3.
Asphyxious the Hellbringer (*4pts)
*Nightmare (10pts)
*Leviathan (9pts)
*Vociferon (-)
10 Bane Thralls (8pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (3pts)
10 Satyxis Raiders (8pts)
*Sea Witch (2pts)
10 Satyxis Blood Witches (6pts)
*Blood Hag (2pts)
Bane Lord Tartarus (4pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)
The Scenario was Into the Breach. There's a 12" circular zone on one side of the table, and a flag on the other. Controlling the Zone is worth 1pt, dominating it is worth 2, and dominating the flag is worth 1. There are also destructible objectives a few inches ahead of either player's AD zone. Destroying your opponent's objective is worth 1pt.
Bryant won the roll off, and chose to go second. I set up my beasts in a tight line in the center of the table with the Beast Handlers behind them. I was ready to contest the Zone with my Savage and one Brute, while the other Brute was going to contest the flag. The Heavies and Makeda went right in the middle for support, with the Bronzeback in the center-left, and the Gladiator in the center-right.
Bryant deployed both 'jacks near a hill on the left, put Tartarus on the right, and deployed his Bane Thralls in front of his Blood Witches in the middle. The Raiders Advance Deployed in the middle, with Saxon Orrik to their right.
Bryant declared that the Nightmare's Prey would be the Bronzeback.
Turn 1
I basically ran up. Makeda and the Gladiator did some Rushing before charging up, and Makeda also cast Vortex of Destruction, and put a fury on the Agonizer. I got the right Brute and Savage to the edge of the zone.
Bryant also basically ran up. The Satyxis Raidrs jammed my line, while the bulk of the infantry ran up to 8-10" behind them. The 'jacks ran into position to charge and/or shoot me from a hill. Asphyxious cast Scything Touch on the Bane Thralls, and Ashen Veil on the Satyxis Raiders.
Turn 2
I had little choice but to un-jam myself. The Cyclops Savage killed a Raider engaging the right Brute. The left Brute killed a Raider too. Molik spent about 4 Fury to kill just one Raider. The Bronzeback used Train Wreck to kill 2. Makeda and her unit made up for the lackluster showing by killing 3 Raiders with melee attacks, and 2 more with Ground Zero, then Makeda cast Fate Walker. The Sea Witch and last Raider passed their Cmd check for massive Casualties. The right Brute charged Tartarus, but failed to kill him. The Paingivers advanced, and ensured I wouldn't be taking many Frenzy checks. Makeda took her Fate Walker move, and retreated behind my objective.
Asphyxious let Ashen Veil drop, but upkept Scything Touch, and allocated 3 Focus to the Leviathan. Tartarus advanced, Cursed Molik, and took a swing at my Brute to little effect. The Bane Thralls charged in. Only 2 could reach Molik, and 3 charged the right Brute. The rest ran into the center of the table. The ones engaging the Brute did a little damage, and the two who had charged Molik did some serious damage to him, but didn't take out any aspects. The Blood Witches ran up behind the Banes, and used their mini-Feat to gain Incorporeal.
Asphyxious put Ashen Veil on himself, then used his Feat to gain a Soul Token for every time I spent Fury, Forced a beast, or cast a spell in his CTRL. The Leviathan aimed, and shot at the Krea for a little damage. Nightmare advanced cautiously to stay out of my Beat Back threat range. Vociferon ran to the center-left just behind the Banes.
Turn 3
My right Brute was just outside my CTRL after that Fate Walker move, but it passed its Frenzy check. I leached Fury, upkept Vortex of Destuction, and was good to go.
Makeda went first. She used her Feat, and her unit killed a couple of Bane Thralls, She cast Fate Walker, and then cast Eliminator on a Blood Witch. She killed the Witch, and backed off 2 inches. Molik and the Savage both killed a bunch of Bane Thralls, and Molik cast Fate Walker to back off. The Brute on the right finished Tartarus, and the Brute on the left finished the Raiders engaging it.
The Paingivers Enraged the Bronzeback, and Conditioned the others. The Bronzeback charged, and took out Vociferon, the Sea Witch and another Bane Thrall. The Thralls were down to the Standard Bearer and the three engaging the Brute. The Agonizer used Spiritual Affliction, and ran to stop Focus Allocation to the Leviathan. Makeda and Molik Fate Walked out of harm's way.
Asphyxious' Feat had been loading him down with souls this whole time, and he started the turn with 27 Focus. Yikes. He dropped Ashen Veil, and allocated 3 to Nightmare. The remaining Banes charged. The 3 in contact with the Brute hurt it a little, and the Standard Bearer ran into melee with the Bronzeback. The Blood Witches charged in, damaged the Krea, and killed 2 Paingivers.
Asphyxious cast Mobility and Carnage, then cast Scything Touch on himself, and charged the Bronzeback. He killed it pretty easily, and had 18 Focus left to spend. He elected to cast Ashen Veil on himself again, and camp at Arm 31 rather than take any risks with offensive magic. Nightmare changed its Prey to Molik, and charged the right Brute, murdering it. The Leviathan walked up to the Agonizer, and swung with its claw, but missed.
Turn 4
Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction, and leached in her Fury. Makeda activated first again. Her unit advanced into the Blood Witches. Her Guardians killed a few, and she killed one with her initial attack, and 3 more with a Blood Booned Eliminator. She advanced, and moved into melee range of Nightmare, and cast Fate Walker. The Savage charged one of the 3 remaining Thralls in the zone, and killed it and one other.
The Paingivers Enraged Molik, who charged Nightmare and scrapped it, then finished off the remaining Thrall and Saxon, and cast Fate Walker. The left Brute killed the Bane Thrall Standard Bearer and another Blood Witch. I took my Fate Walker moves, getting Makeda as far from Asphyxious as possible, and screening her with Molik.
I now dominated the zone, and scored 2pts.
Bryant decided after some thinking that he couldn't kill Makeda, and had nothing close enough to contest the zone. Since I'd score 2 points on his turn, and to more on my next one, he decided to concede.
Victory to the Skorne!
That was a very clean game for me. The list played very smoothly, and I stuck to my attrition plan. I focused on wiping out Bryant's army in manageable chunks, and ended up scoring a decisive scenario win. Bryant didn't make any huge mistakes, and generally played a tight, conservative game. I do think he overextended his Satyxis on turn 1. They were too far ahead of the Bane Thralls for an effective counter charge, and I was already in the zone, so there was no scenario pressure to make me move forward. If he'd engaged with 2-4 Raiders, and held the rest back, I would have been in a much trickier position on my second turn, and would likely have had to sacrifice at least a beast or two to the Banes.
This brings us to the final round, and I'm currently in the running for 3rd on SoS and Scenario points (my round 1 opponent was undefeated so far). Without further ado...
Round 4 Against John's Trollbloods
John was playing pDoomshaper and eMadrak. I was a little worried about Troll armor cracking, but I still wanted to play Makeda 3, and Makeda 1 had a lot of eggs in one basket with the Mammoth, a target I knew Mulg could take out in a good round, so I went with Makeda 3. John went with pDoomshaper.
Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls (*7pts)
*Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
*Earthborn Dire Troll (10tps)
*Troll Axer (6pts)
*Storm Troll (5pts)
*Trollkin Rune Bearer (2pts)
10 Trollkin Fennblades (8)
*Officer and Drummer (2)
6 Kriel Stone Bearer and Stone Scribes (4pts)
*Stone Scribe Elder (1pt)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
5 Whelps (2pts)
The last scenario was Supply and Demand. A 12" round zone in the center with 2 objectives placed diagonally across from each other. Controlling the zone is worth one point, and dominating it is worth 2, but it cannot be dominated while the opponent's Warlock/Warcaster is in your CTRL. Destroying the enemy objective is worth 1 point.
John won the roll-off, and decided to go second. I deployed in my customary brick, with the heavies and Krea in the center, and the Cyclopes holding down the flanks.
John deployed in a wide line, with Mulg and the Axer on the right, the Earthborn and Storm Troll on the left, and Fennblades everywhere. The second line had Doomie, the Kriel Stone, and the support.
Turn 1
I ran up to my side of the zone, put 4 Fury on the Agonizer, and cast Vortex of Destruction with Makeda. The Cyclopes were a few inches into the zone, and the heavies were not too far out.
John ran up with the Fenns, getting them into a good charge position, and kept his Warbeasts back a little. Doomshaper cast Fortune on Mulg for rerolled attacks, and diverted the rest of his Fury to the Kriel Stone, which put up its +2 Arm aura.
Turn 2
Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction. I advanced, and made some attacks against the Fennblades with my Cyclopes, but didn't do a whole lot else. The Brutes cast Safeguard to prevent slams, and the heavies made sure they could charge out to avenge the Brutes if the Mulg and Earthborn killed them. The Agonizer used Gnawing Pain, and ran to the center of my force. Makeda topped it off with Fury to maximize its bubble.
John had Doomshaper drop Fortune. The Rune Bearer used Harmonious Exaltation on Doomshaper. Doomshaper activated, cast Purification to remove my upkeeps and Animi, popped his Feat, which deals 1d6 damage to enemy models for each Focus or Fury point they spend or gain, and recast Fortune on Mulg.
The Storm Troll shot my left Brute, which caused lightning to arc through one of Makeda's guardians and the Agonizer. The Agonizer took 5 damage, and the Brute and Exalted Guardian took 3. The Fennblades charged in, and did a little damage to my left Brute and Savage. The Earthborn charged the left Brute, and killed it with its last attack. Mulg charged the right Brute, and killed it far more handily. The Chronicler put Hero's Tragedy on the Fennblades, so that any warrior model who killed any would be knocked down.
Turn 3
After a little thought, I had Makeda risk a free strike from a Fennblade to try to get out of Doomshaper's CTRL. The Fenn hit and did 6 damage. Makeda walked into melee with the Earthborn, and cast Vortex of Destruction on herself. She ended up being in Doomshaper's CTRL by the tiniest of margins, and took 7 more damage from the Feat. Booo! She took a swing at the Earthborn, causing it to spawn a Whelp in the Bronzeback's path. The Exalted Guardians killed a single Fennblade between them. The Agonizer was supposed to walk out of Doomie's CTRL, and then use Gnawing Pain, but I forgot, and it died to Feat damage. Whoops.
The Paingivers Enraged the Bronzeback and Molik, and Medicated the Savage. The Savage bravely walked in front of Mulg, and killed a Fennblade. Molik charged the Whelp, and killed it, then caused another Fennblade to Tough with his second initial attack. The Bronzeback took a free strike for minor damage, and charged into the Earthborn. It hit with both its war gauntlets, but missed with the Chain Attack Grab and Smash Headbutt, and had to buy 3 attacks to finish the Earthborn, damaging itself severely in the process. The Gladiator simply walked forward a bit.
The Fennblades made some Vengeance attacks, but didn't do much, and Doomshaper upkept Fortune. Then the Fenns charged in, and did a little more damage to the Bronzeback, a little to Molik, and killed an Exalted Guardian. Doomshaper topped up the Kriel Stone. The Kriel Stone Bearers gave the Trolls +1 Str with their Aura. Janissa popped up a wall, and the Rune Bearer tried to Rampager the Gladiator, but missed.
Mulg smushed the Savage, and Goaded into Karn, damaging him pretty badly with his one remaining attack. The Storm Troll charged the Bronzeback, and killed it on its last attack.
Turn 4
It was going to be do or die. I had to drop Mulg, and protect Makeda as well as possible. Makeda upkept Vortex of Destruction, and started things off. She popped her Feat, and her remaining Exalted Guardian killed a Fennblade. Makeda tried to kill the Storm Troll quickly, but had to spend 5 Fury to do it due to atrocious luck on attack rolls. She Blood Booned Ground Zero to clear off the Fennblades, and waited for her Beasts to fill her up on Fury.
The Paingivers Enraged the Gladiator and Karn, and the Gladiator blasted Mulg with everything it had, leaving him barely alive. Molik chopped through a few Whelps to load Makeda up on Fury, then finished Mulg off.
The Fennblades took some Vengeance attacks. John had noticed that Molik was my only open transfer target since the Gladiator was loaded up, and knew that if he could kill Molik, he had Makeda dead barring terrible luck.
Doomshaper put Fortune on the Fennblades, knowing that they might need the reroll with their Mat of 6. He also cast Rampager at the Gladiator, forcing it to advance on Molik and hit him for significant damage. Finally, the Axer charged Molik, and finished him off.
It was all down to the Fennblades. They charged Makeda. The first one hit, and did the 3 damage it took to finish her off.
Victory to the Trollbloods!
Not my best showing, but definitely my closest and most fun game of the day. Sometimes playing 3 games in a row makes me tired and easily discouraged. This game, I was just having fun the whole time. It was an epic grindfest, and John was a great opponent. I hope to see him around for the next tournament, and there's a chance I'll be able to make it to his LGS in Duluth for their first tournament in May some time.
I did make a couple of key mistakes I'll remember in the future. First, I got the Agonizer killed, when I really shouldn't have. If it had lived, there was a decent chance the Bronzeback would have survived the Storm Troll, and that Molik would have been in better condition on that last turn. Alternately, if I'd remembered, I could have used Molik's last kill to take a Fury off the Gladiator rather than put it on Makeda. Then I would have had the Gladiator's whole life spiral open for transfers, and still been camping 3 Fury. I would still have been in the game, though it would still have been an uphill battle. He wouldn't have had any armor crackers left, but I would have been counting on Makeda and the Gladiator to take down everything he had left.
John played a very solid game. He had a similar approach to mine - try to pick apart the opponent's list while they slog through your jam - and he pulled it off quite well. Doomie's Feat in particular was brutal against my list. All the Beasts want to be forcing consistently, and Makeda really wants to be spending Fury every turn, and she was close enough to be burned badly.
Overall Thoughts
I really need to be doing these more often. I always have a ton of fun, and I get a lot of good practice with my lists. My opponents were great, and I'm looking forward to seeing them across the table sometime in the near future. I especially want to give my pMakeda list an honest run at Butcher 3, since I did take it partially to save Makeda 3 from that matchup.
I'm pretty pleased with the lists I used. I need to try them both out some more. I'd probably prefer Makeda 3 with a 3rd Brute instead of the Savage, but Savages are good, and I'll play it both ways. I might also consider swapping in a Tyrant Commander and Orin Midwinter. This would give her a little more depth and security with increased full advances (including those from Fate Walker), and a little more flexibility with matchups, since Orin's Lightning is good spot removal in a list that doesn't have much, and Null Magic lets her clean out Butcher 3 and keeps other spell-reliant opponents honest.
I didn't give the Makeda 1 list much of a working over. Both the games I played with it were pretty short. It was fun though, and the Mammoth looks great, and plays well against a lot of lists, and Makeda offers some very good support for it. I'll definitely be trying this list out more, and maybe seeing if I can tweak it up to my preferences.
Thanks for the great games, opponents, and thanks again Jamie for running the event!
More reports to come next week...
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