Stryker, Squire, and Battlegroup

So after having my Cygnar box for years I have finally painted Stryker. I did the Squire at the same time because he is easy and gets used pretty often. The silver metals were done with GW paints. Boltgun Metal was washed with Badab Black, then highlighted with Boltgun Metal, Chainmail and Mithril Silver. The bronze was Privateer Molten Bronze highlighted with Brazen Brass, then washed with GW Ogryn Flesh. All the metals were then washed again with Badab Black. The blue is a base of Necron Abyss, highlighted with Mordian Blue and a Mordian Blue/Enchanted Blue mix. The Yellow is a base of Macharius Solar Orange covered with Golden Yellow and highlighted with Sunburst Yellow.

Battle Box Battle II - Kaelyssa vs Ashlynn

MK II Retribution vs Highborn Covenant


So I'm still putting together my Retribution force and still learning to play Warmachine so we stuck to the simple yet again. Defenstrator is testing out his various warcasters under the new MK II rules as well so it's a learning experience for both of us.


Retribution


Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper

Chimera

Griffon

Manticore



Highborn Covenant

Ashlynn D'Elyse

Vanguard

Talon

Mule

Set Up


Defenstrator set up the table and left a lot of open space on it. On the near left there was a small ruin with a stand of trees near it. The trees were mirrored on the far side. On the right the was a large hill with a set of ruins on top of it.

The roll to go first was won by Defenstrator but he elected to go second so that left me trying to figure out where to set up. The Manticore was placed on the far left by the trees and Kaelyssa, the Griffon and Chimera were placed on the other side of the trees.


On Defenstrator's side the Vanguard was placed closest to the trees. Ashlynn, the Talon and the Mule all lined up beside it.


Retribution Turn 1




The Chimera Apparated its full 2" forward before Kaelyssa gave one Focus to all her Myrmidons. She then walked into the trees and cast Phantom Hunter on the Manticore. The Mymidons all ran forward to the top of the trees.


Highborn Turn 1



Ashlynn gave one Focus to all her warjacks and then cast Quicken on herself. She moved forward and shot the Chimera for 8 points. The 'jacks all ran forward with the Talon staying behind the Mule and the Vanguard moving in front of Ashlynn.


Retribution Turn 2



The Chimera once again Apparated its full distance forward. Kaelyssa gave three Focus to the Manticore and then walked through the forest. She cast Rift through the Chimera and did 10 points of damage to the Vanguard. This probably would have been just the right time to use her feat but I forgot.


The Chimera and the Griffin then moved back out of range while the Manticore shot at the Vanguard. Unfortunately its shot fell short.


Highborn Turn 2


Ashlynn chose to upkeep Quicken and then gave one Focus to all her 'jacks.



The Vanguard charged the Chimera and shot it with its gun for just one point of damage. Ashlynn moved forward to attack the light Myrmidon as well and also did just one point of damage. She then cast Admontion on the Vanguard.


Retribution Turn 3




The Chimera Apparated forward and Kaelyssa assigned 3 Focus to the Manticore and 1 to the Griffon. She cast Arcantrik Bolt through the Chimera at the Vanguard to do 2 points of damage and render it stationary.


The Manticore blasted away at the Talon and managed to wreck it in two shots. The Griffon charged the Vanguard for 5 points and the Chimera retreated to the trees.


Highborn Turn 3




Ashlynn upkept Quicken and then gave 2 Focus to the Vanguard and 2 to the Mule. The Vanguard immediately shook off stationary. She then used her feat Roullette, which forces all models in her control area to add two extra dice to their attack rolls and then drop two chosen by her controler. She then moved around to attack the Chimera leaving the Myrmidon with one point of damage.


The Vanguard attacked the Griffon for 5 points and the Mule shot the Manticore for 9 points of damage.


Retribution Turn 4


Kaelyssa assigned 3 Focus to the Manticore and 2 to the Griffon.


The Manticore returned the Mule's fire doing a total of 8 points of damage on two shots. The Griffon flailed uselessly at the Vanguard. The Chimera moved out of combat and was wrecked by Ashlynn on the free strike.


Kaelyssa cast Phantom Hunter on herself and, with the Chimera out of the way, was able to move out of the trees and shoot at Ashlynn. Unfortunately, she missed. She used her feat.


Highborn Turn 4




Ashlynn continued to upkeep Quicken. She gave 1 Focus to the Mule and kept the rest for herself.


The Mule moved forward but thanks to the Stealth of The Vanishing couldn't see the Manticore. The Vanguard continued to attack the Griffon, doing another 3 points of damage.


Ashlynn cast Admonition on the Mule and then moved toward the Griffon. She attacked the Myrmidon for a total of 10 points of damage.


Retribution Turn 5


Kaelyssa upkept Phantom Hunter and gave 2 Focus to the Manticore. She then moved into the forest and cast Arcantrik Bolt at the Mule. She hit it easily. However, she did not do any damage to make the 'jack stationary.


The Manticore backed up amd shot at the Mule for 2 points of damage on two shots. The Griffon continued to whiff on the Vanguard.


Not exactly my best turn.


Highborn Turn 5


Ashlynn continued to upkeep Quicken and chose not to assign Focus.


The Mule shot the Manticore for 13 points of damage, taking off both the Myrmidon's arms. At least one of the heavies knows how to use its cannon. The Vanguard continued in epic battle against the Griffon doing 1 point of damage.


Ashynn knows that the best way to get something done is to do it herself. She moved in on the Griffon and wrecked it.


Retribution Turn 6




Kaelyssa upkept Phantom Hunter and kept all her Focus for herself.


The Manticore shot the Mule for another point of damage.


Kaelyssa lined up Ashlynn and shot her for a total of 13 points, leaving a single wound on the enemy warcaster.


Highborn Turn 6




Ashlynn continued to upkeep Quicken, she gave 2 Focus to the Mule and 1 point to the Vanguard. At this point Defenstrator remembered that the Vanguard not only has a shield, but can perform Shield Blocks and probably should have stood in front of Ashlynn for some of Kaelyssa's shots.


The Mule shot Kaelyssa for 15 points, leaving just one wound on the warcaster. Ashlynn moved in front of the trees to shoot at Kaelyssa and missed. As the shock fades the Vanguard simply ran into the trees to engage Kaelyssa.


Retribution Turn 7


Kaelyssa dropped the upkeep spell and didn't bother assigning any Focus. Instead she cast Rift on the Vanguard. The spell destroyed both arms and caught Ashlynn in the blast. With enough focus to boost the damage Kaelyssa was able to do 1 point of damage to the warcaster. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough. Kaelyssa was caught in the area of the Rift as well but no damage was done.


Afterword


Myantek


OK, I got lucky. I thought I was done for when the Arcantrik Bolt bounced off the Mule. Everything was going OK until that point and then the dice just failed me. On the bright side, Defenstrator's dice failed him to leave Kaelyssa with the one point. His forgetfulness worked in my favour as well. I didn't realise that the Vanguard could stop shots like that. I was hoping to kill her that turn.

Defenstrator

So boys and girls, what's the first rule when it comes to winning games? Remembering what your models do. This was the second time I had used the Vanguard in MKII, and I was all excited that I would be able to stop a shooty enemy warcaster from just pegging Ashlynn. So what do I do? Forget about it in the crucial moment. It's especially galling because it wasn't like the Vanguard was the full two inches away or anything. No it was right next to Ashlynn. It could have knocked that shot out of the air with a flick of its wrist. That left me vulnerable enough to be finished by Myantek's long shot at the end, and that was game.

It was all fun though. We had lots of manuevering on both sides and it was interesting to see how things played out. The Manticore continues to impress me as an all around solid warjack. Smashing my Talon at range made me wary of it and it was engaging the Mule in a solid gunfight. Like Myantek I thought the turning point was when her Arcantrik Bolt bounced off, preventing the Manticore from simply coming in and smashing the Admonished Mule. But instead it came down to a messy gun and magic fight in the centre. The Talon on the other hand hasn't been impressing me that much, and I think absorbing the Manticore's fire was about the best role for it.

Legion Army Oct 15, 2009

With MKII coming I've started to concentrate on my Highborn and Cygnar armies. My Legion army which had been my main focus is going on the back burner for awhile until I get more painted from my oter armies. This is the group shot of where I am so far.

Raptors

I have finally finished my Legion of Everblight Raptors. These took a looong time to finish, but they are done now and I can move on to other things.

All the paints are GW. The Ulk hair was done withVermin Fur, washed with Devlan Mud wash, and highlighted with Vermin Fur and a mix of Vermin Fur and Vomit Brown. The leather is Scorched Brown highlighted with Snakebite Leather and Bubonic Brown, aand washed with Devlan Mud wash. The skin is Rotting Flesh washed with Thrakka Green wash and highlighted with a mix of Rotting Flesh and Privateer Morrow White. The base is cork that was based with Codex Grey and highlighted with Fortress Grey and Privateer Morrow White.

Garreth vs Kraye

Retribution of Scyrah vs Cygnar - 35 points.

Like Myantek my friend Indy has started a Retribution army. We gave it a try a couple of times with the MKI rules and were eager to see how things played in MKII. My army had alot of stuff I wanted to test out now that we had the final rules as well.

Armies

Cygnar

Captain Jeremiah Kraye

Centurion

Sentinel

Grenedier

6 Trenchers

Trencher Chain Gun

Trencher Chain Gun

10 Swordknights

Swordknight Officer & Standard

Gun Mage Captain Adept

Gun Mage Captian Adept

Retribution

Garreth, Blade of Retribution

Chimera

Gorgon

10 Dawnguard Sentinels

Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard

Souless Escort

10 Mage Hunter Strike Force

Mage Hunter Strike Force Commander

Arcanist

Ghost Sniper

House Shyeel Magister

Nayl

Setup

On the far left is a hill, with a forest template on each side. In the centre there are various ruins that give cover with the remains of a temple on the for right.

The GMCAs were set up on the left flank, with the Grenedier, Centurion, Kraye and the Sentinel in the middle. The Swordknights are to their right but still central, with the Trenchers Advance Deployed in front of them. The Chain Guns are Advance Deployed on the left and right flank respectively.

On the other side the Mage Hunters are on the left opposite the GMCAs. The Ghost Sniper and Arcanist lurk behind the forest with the Gorgon beside them. Garreth is central with the Chimera and Sentinels centre right, along with Narn and the Magister.

Turn 1

Kraye assigns 1 focus to the Centurion. The Trenchers advance and Dig In, with the Sword Knights behind them. The Chain Guns advance and Dig In as well. The Grenedier advances to the far left Chain Gun and spams AOEs at the Mage Hunters, killing one with the blast. It then uses its free move from Iron Horse to back away. Kraye casts Full Tilt on the Centurion and advances. The Centurion runs forward while the Sentinel runs to the right flank.

Garreth gives a focus to both the Gorgon and Chimera. He casts Mirage on the Sentinels and advances. The Sentinels run but stay out of the Trenchers 10" range. The Ghost Sniper moves up and does 3 points to the Centurions 5 coloum. The Mage Hunters then advance and start lighting things up. One of the left Chain Guns crew are killed and they cripple the right arm (with Piston Spear) on the Centurion. Nayl runs to the ruins while the Magister advances behind the Sentinels.

Turn 2

Cygnar

Kraye upkeeps Full Tilt. The two GMCAs Snipe and kill one Mage Hunter. The Sentinel moves up and shoots Narn point blank. The Centurion advances and uses the Magno Shield to deny charges. The Grenedier advances to the left Chain Gun, spams some AOEs at the Mage Hunters but hits nothing, and moves away again. The Trenchers throw smoke because I don't dare shoot the Sentinels at this range due to their Vengence. The Sword Knights manuever behind, while the two Chain Guns put down Covering Fire.

Retribution

Garreth upkeeps Mirage, gives the Gorgon 2 focus and the Chimera 1. The Mage Hunters kill the left Chain Gun but can't roll a 9 to kill either of the GMCAs. The Ghost Sniper does 3 points to the Centurions 1 coloum. The Arcanist gives the Gorgon +2 to melee damage rolls. The Gorgon then advances and destroys the Centurions shield with a combo-strike. Garreth advances and shoots a Trencher. The Sentinels charge/run, killl a Trencher, and tear off the Sentinels shield. The Magister shoots at the right Chain Gun but misses.

Turn 3

Cygnar

Kraye upkeeps nothing and assigns no focus. The Trenchers advance and kill a Sentinel; the Sword Knights charge and kill 3 more, but can't get past to get at the ones behind. The GMCAs continue to aim and Snipe off two more Mage Hunters. The Chain Gun returns fire on the Magister and does 2 points of damage. Kraye advances, feats, casts Guided Fire and Mage Sight. He shoots twice at Garreth, but only hits once. The Sentinel does nothing, bouncing off the effective ARM 17 of the Sentinels. The Centurion does nothing, his crippled weapon sucking out. The Grenedier advances to the Trenchers on the left and shoots three times at Garreth. It hits twice, reducing Garreth to 1 wound.

Retribution

Garreth upkeeps nothing and assigns no focus. Vengence activates on the Sentinels and they kill 2 Trenchers and 4 Sword Knights in retaliation. The Arcanist gives the Gorgon +2 melee damage again and it combo-strikes the Centurion for 3 more points of damage. The Ghost Sniper advances and does 3 auto damage to Kraye. The Mage Hunters miss the GMCAs again, but hit Kraye for 3 more wounds. The Chimera advances and whacks the Sentinel for a bit of damage, while the Sentinels and Souless reduce it to one damage box. The rest of the Sentinels kill another Trencher and 2 more Sword Knights. Then Garreth aims at Kraye and knocks him out of the saddle with two boosted shots.

Afterward

I learned alot this game, about a variety of things.

The Chain Guns didn't accomplish anything this game. In the future I think I would put them together to maximise Covering Fire. As it was the Mage Hunters picked off one and the Covering Fire on the other wasn't large enough to prevent the Sentinels from moving in.

The GMCAs killed 3 Mage Hunters, not a good investment for 4 points. The Black 13th would have been far better in this role due to the large amount of firepower they have. Plus due to Prowl they would have had Stealth while in the woods, making them immune to the Mage Hunters return fire.

The Sentinel had a moment of glory when it killed Narn, but then was just beaten up by the Retribution Sentinels. With its low POW it couldn't do anything in melee and basicly just killed half his points. Also, Privateer should not give two different units the same name as it becomes confusing when writing battle reports.

The Centurion didn't accomplish much at all. Once its main weapon was crippled it wasn't able to perform effectively and was tied up by a jack worth half its points. Using the Magno Shield was aggrivating because I was always forced to give up the initiative if I wanted to use it.

The Trenchers I misused. I should have had 3 of them smoke and have everything else taking cover behind the 3 sacrifices.

The Sword Knights also didn't work well. I didn't need the meat shields since I had smoke, and the UA did nothing since I didn't have a jack for it.

The Grenedier was my best performing jack. Iron Horse let it get around its short range while staying safe, and it put out a decent amount of firepower, nearly getting the caster kill. It can make Guided Fire worth casting.

Kraye had a hard time. Guided Fire plus Mage Sight is great, but it also costs five of his six focus. His main trick is Full Tilt plus Feat on a heavy, and if I only have one heavy I better have a way to fix it in the army so I keep that option open.

MKII Battlebox Battle

Cygnar vs Retribution of Scyrah - 11 Point Battlebox Battle

Privateer Press has shown off its awesomeness as a game company and released the MKII rules early as a PDF so Warmachine players can get back to playing. We decided to give Myantek's new Retribution force a test. Since Myantek has only ever played Hordes she wanted to ease into Warmachine, so we decieded to start with a classic battlebox battle. While there isn't an actual Retribution starter box Privateer has put up a suggested starter force.

Cygnar

Commander Coleman Stryker

Ironclad

Charger

Lancer

vs

Retribution of Scyrah

Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper

Manticore

Chimera

Griffon

Setup

This was a basic caster kill scenario. On the left was a tree template with a hill to the right. Temple ruins provided some cover in the centre.

Turn 1

Cygnar

Stryker puts Arcane Shield on the Ironclad, Snipe on the Charger, and Blur on the Lancer. Everyone walks.

Retribution

Kaelyssa and all of her jacks walk up as well.

Turn 2

Cygnar

Stryker upkeeps everything, gives the Charger 3 focus. The Charger leads by moving up and shooting the Chimera for 10 points of damage with its first shot, blowing off its force field but not crippling anything. It's second shot missed with triple ones. The rest of the battlegroup moves up some more.

Retribution

The Chimera recieves 1 focus and the Manticore recieves 3. The Manticore leads, moving up and shooting to cripple the Charger's gun. The Chimera regenerates 3 field points and moves up. Kaelyssa then casts Arcantrik Bolt at the Ironclad, but bounces off. She then feats, meaning all of her models have stealth and none of them can be charged.

Turn 3

Cygnar

Stryker upkeeps Blur and Arcane Shield, puts 1 focus on the Ironclad and 3 on the Charger. The Ironclad moves behind the Charger and does a Push power attack, shoving it forward an inch. The Charger then walks up to the Chimera and starts whacking away. Unfortunately it only hits with two of its four attacks, but manages to cripple its right arm. The Lancer moves up and Stryker moves beside the Ironclad before feating, giving all his models +5 ARM.

Retribution

Kaelyssa gives the Manitcore 2 focus and the Chimera 1. The Chimera Apparates out of combat with the Charger, backs up, and regenerates 1 point to its field. The Griffon moves back away from the Lancer. Kaelyssa casts Backlash on the Charger and pulls back as well. The Manticore also pulls back and shoots the Charger, crippling its melee weapon and doing a point of damage to Stryker with Backlash.

Turn 4

Cygnar

Stryker continues to upkeep Blur and Arcane Shield, and gives each jack one focus each. The Charger does the Slam power attack against the Chimera, knocking it back into the Griffon, and knocking them both down. The Griffon takes no damage but the Chimera loses both its Arc Node and Field Generator. Stryker moves up to shoot the Manticore, but finds his pistol is just out of range. The Ironclad and Lancer both run forward.

Retribution

Kaelyssa upkeeps Backlash and gives 2 focus to the Griffon and 3 to the Manticore. The Griffon shakes off the knockdown in the maintanece phase. Kaeylissa then shoots the Charger, doing minimal damage but another damage point to Stryker. The Griffon then moves over and whacks the Charger as well, leaving it with 1 point left on its damage grid and doing another point to Stryker. The Manticore moves to unengage itself with the Lancer but takes only 1 point from the free strike. It's first shot does 7 points of damage to Stryker, but its second one misses.

Turn 5

Cygnar

Stryker drops all upkeeps and puts 3 focus on the Ironclad. The Lancer walks up close to Kaelyssa. Stryker channels an Earthquake through the Lancer, knocking her down. The Ironclad then charges and can't get base to base, but is just within the 1/2 inch melee range. It is enough, and Kaelyssa is squashed flat.

Afterward

Defenstrator

That was an interesting game with alot of back and forth. I really liked how the Charger handled himself. Even while getting beaten up he kept dishing out the damage and making it impossible to ignore him. I probably could have been more aggresive with Stryker as well. If he had moved up a bit further he could have been alot more of a pain with the Disruption effect on his pistol.

Myantek

I thought I was doing pretty well until I forgot to move Kaelyssa back a bit. So far, Retribution plays a lot differently than my Circle. I'm not used to doing quite so much shooting. Still, I have to practice the Focus mechanic a little more, I'm not used to planning out what all the models have to do in a turn, just what I want my warlock to do.