Thunderhead

I had been saving the Thunderhead. There were a few other things I had planed to paint first and it was going to be my treat for finishing them. But I really felt like painting it, and the first rule of getting stuff painted is paint the stuff you want.

It was a pretty straightforward project, mainly being like my other warjacks but there just being more of it. The exception was all the lightning coils which took a long time to indiviually highlight.

Storm Smiths

I've been enjoying the Storm Smiths. When I just ran one he never seemed to do much, but when I run all three they seem to have a critical mass. They can kill enough annoying troops and disrupt enough jacks to have a eal impact on the game. There isn't much metal on them so they are a lot more blue than the rest of my army.

Legion vs Circle

Lylyth vs Kaya - Destruction, 35 Points

Been a long dry spell since the last battle report. We've mainly been playing Warmachine so we decided to give our Hordes forces a spin.

Legion

Lylyth, Herald of Everblight
Carnivean
Seraph
Seraph
Shredder
Shepherd
Shepherd
Raptors-Leader and 4 Grunts

vs

Circle

Kaya, The Wildborne
Feral Warpwolf
Feral Warpwolf
Pureblood Warpwolf
Argus
Wolves of Orboros- Leader and 9 Grunts
Wolves of Oboros Cheiften and Standard
Shifting Stones

Scenario

Destruction

Summary: Players attempt to destroy two objectives on the opponent's side of the board.

Place four large based objectives 14" from the back and 14" from the side of the board, with one at each corner. Each player's objectives are non-living friendly Faction models. Each has DEF 5, ARM 20, and 20 damage boxes as well as the following qualities: 360 degree front arc; does not activate; cannot move, be moved, or be placed; does not suffer continous effects, cannot be knocked down or made stationary, cannot be targeted by attacks or damaged on the first round.

The game would last for 80 minutes.

Victory Condition

Players earn 1 control point for each of their opponents structures they destroy. The first player to earn 2 control points immediately wins the match.

If time runs out before a player has won the match via scenario or assassination victory, the player with the most control points wins. If control points are tied, the player with the most points left wins.

Setup

The structures are placed on the table. The large bases are represented by four of my Cygnar jacks.

I set up first with the Raptors on the far left behind the crater, the Carnivean in the centre with Seraph 1 beside it and Shepherd 1 behind that. Lylyth and the Shredder lurked in the forest with Seraph 2 on the far right supported by Shepherd 2.

Myantek set up with a refused flank with the Wolves Oborus in the centre with the Pure Blood to the right. The two Ferals, Kaya, and the Argus were further right opposite Seraph 2. The Shifting Stones advance deploy 6" in front of them.

Turn 1

Legion

The timer is set and starts counting down the 80 minutes. The turn starts with the Raptors running and then taking their free move to get 23" up the board. And for the last time I note, since errata has just been released that changes this rule so that you can't get the free move after you run. All the beasts run forward with the Seraphs keeping the rear of their bases in the trees. Lylyth moves behind the forest and puts Spiny Growth on the Carnivean and Tenacity on the Seraphs. The Shredder advances beside Lylyth and puts Tenacity on her. The Shepherds run behind behind the Seraphs.

Circle

Feral 1 takes +2 ARM and advances into the Shifting Stones. Feral 2 becomes Ghostly thanks to the Pure Blood's ability and runs through the crater. The Pure Blood also turns Ghostly and walks into the centre of the crater to get cover. The Argus advances and puts Tracker on Feral 1. Kaya then puts Occulation on the Wolves to give them stealth, which won't do anything against the Seraphs but will stop the Raptors from shooting them up. She then advances beside the Argus. The Wolves advance through the crater to support the Pure Blood and Feral 2. The Shifting Stones then teleport Feral 1 forward.

Turn 2

Legion

Lylyth leaches everything. The Shredder puts Tenacity on Lylyth. Lylyth Slipstreams and advances into the forest, dragging Seraph 2 forward 2". She shoots Feral 2 for 2 points of damage and then casts Parasite on it, automaticly hitting thanks to the Witch Mark on her bow. With Feral 2 now at -3 ARM thanks to Parasite, and Seraph 2 now within 10" of Feral 2 thanks to being Slipstreamed up by Lylyth, Seraph 2 aims and unloads 4 shots into Feral 2. I'm expecting it to disintegrate under this onslaught but the rolls are terrible and Seraph 2 hits once for 11 more points of damage.

Seraph 1 Slipstreams and moves to drag Lylyth back. Shepherd 1 takes the fury the Shredder. The Carnivean moves behind the Seraphs. On the opposite side the Raptors charge the structure but role low for 14 points of damage.

Circle

Kaya leaches to full and upkeeps Occulation. She advances and casts Spirit Fang at Seraph 2 but misses, then heals Feral 2 for 1 point. Feral 2 then warps for +2 SPD and charges Serpah 2, killing it. The Wolves charge Seraph 1 and use the Power Swell for an extra die of damage, hammering it down to 6 points of life. Feral 1 takes +2 ARM and runs forward. The Pure Blood becomes Ghostly and advances.

Turn 3

Legion

Lylyth leaches full and upkeeps Parasite. She activates first, heals Seraph 1 for a point, Slipstreams, moves and drags Seraph 2 out of engagement with the Wolves. She then feats and shoots at Feral 2, and somhow misses. She buys another attack and hits. By doing this I screwed up, becuase I somehow got confused in my head over which Feral I had shot up the turn before. I should have shot Feral 1 and put Parasite on it since my idea was to kill both of them in one turn.

Needless to say the Carnivean charges the wounded Feral 2 for free thanks to Lylyth having shot him with her bow. The assault spray attack hits both Ferals, and the Carnivean casually tears apart Feral 2 and casts Spiny Growth. Shepherd 1 charges the Wolves and kills one, trying to tie them up. The Shredder goes Rabid, advances through the trees, and kills two more. Seraph 1 then advances and pumps three shots into Feral 1, leaving him with just his body. Shepherd 2 then advances and heals the Seraph for a point. The Raptors destroy the structure and then use their free move to advance towards the other one.

Circle

Kaya leaches to full. The Wolves charge and kill Shepherd 1 and the Shredder. Lylyth reaves a fury. The Pure Blood warps for +2 Strength and charges the Carnivean, hurting it badly and destroying its Mind, but taking 7 points of damage in return from Spiny Growth. The Argus advances and casts Tracker on Feral 1, giving it pathfinder and 360 degree LOS. Kaya then advances, heals Feral 1 for five points, uses her feat, and then heals it for five more points. Feral 1 then warps for +2 Strength and charges the Carnivean, and thanks to Tracker is able to engage Seraph 1 in its rear arc. Burning the rest of its fury it finishes both the Carnivean and Seraph 1.

Things are looking bad, with Lylyth so close to two heavy beasts with nothing to support her except a Shepherd, but then the alarm goes off and time is called, meaning Legion wins on scenario.

Conclusion

Defenstrator

Tight game. I had expected to kill both the Ferals in one turn, which would have left only the Pure Blood to properly tear down the Carnivean. The Wolves might have done it eventually but by then the Raptors would be at the next objective. Unfortunately I screwed up, and that left Feral 1 alive which not only finished the Carnivean, but thanks to Tracker was able to destroy my other Seraph at the same time.

The thing that probably hurt me the most was that I was going for the mission objective. Since I was 10 points down in that fight Myantek was just able to power through me, hoping to kill my army and then just destroy the unguarded structures. Luckily for me this wasn't a four turn game or she probably would have.

Myantek

I needed one more turn. I could've won with one more turn I think.

Looking at this scenario, and Defenstrator's army, I felt I had two choices at the beginning. Only the Wolves can act independantly. They could've gone for the post on the right of the board, trying to get through the Raptors, and then using Power Swell on the charge at the objective. I probably could have tied up the Raptors for a bit, but they would've been too far away for Occulation and there's no guantee that they would've destroyed the objective on one charge. The other choice was just to go through Defenstrator's army on the other side. Clearing out some of the heavies and leaving either Lylyth or the objective undefended. I went with the second choice.

It almost worked. The Raptors had been unable to destroy the objective on the charge so my Wolves had free rein for two turns. Keeping a Seraph occupied (almost killing it too) and allowing my heavies to clear out his heavies. If I'd been able to get to my next turn and kill Lylyth it'd be insta-win. Or the Feral or the Pureblood could probably have destroyed the objective in a turn and that would have brought a tie, that I think I would have won due to killing more stuff. That's assuming that the Raptors wouldn't have been able to destroy the second objective but I think that's a fair assumption.

Stormguard

Finished my Stormguard up. Unlike the Stormblades there's no handy Cygnus on the shoulder, so I quartered it to get some colour on. Also, the Stormguard are supposed to be an elite group so it helps make them stand out from the Stormblades. I also trimmed the top bar off the leaders weapon, as it was just way too bulky. I think the exposed coil looks alot sleeker.

Anastasia

I've been using Anastasia with Epic Stryker alot. Combined with his feat you can really tear the guts out of your opponents army, and people have started to go out of their way to kill her. I find that trying to bring her on a table edge hasn't worked out that well. Better to hide her in the middle of the army right opposite the enemy warcaster, and use her Acrobatics to get where she needs to. She has some Llael purple on her but unfortunately none of the army scheme's terracota.

Epic Eiryss

Epic Eiryss is both handy on the battlefield and a dramatic looking model. Unfortunately there's that whole chimney thing. So that had to go and I built up the base with cork and gravel. She's a bit of an experiment in brown, but I like the raw leather look for my mercs cloaks/coats, and the rest of her didn't seem conducive to brighter colours.

Defender

I've been getting alot of use from my Defender lately. I had been running the Centurion alot but felt he was underperforming alot of the time. With his high cost and gimpy shield he needs to be in just the right list to be worth it. The Defender on the other hand has been great. Doesn't need alot of support, is doing something all game, and can still do the job in melee.

Alt. Journeyman Warcaster

I painted my first Journeyman a long time ago. Being the type who hates to repaint miniatures unless the need is truely dire I decided not to dip him, and instead buy the alternative Journeyman model to paint in my current colour scheme. I had some trouble with her sword. The join to her hand was bending and it eventually just fell off. I've reglued it a few times since then. I really should pin it but both her hand and the sword are rather small, and I'm not sure if I have a drill that's quite small enough.

Epic Stryker

EStryker was a pain to put together. The two arms are seperate pieces and the sword with hands attaches onto them. It took a couple tries to get it to work, and a couple reglues to get it to stay. One of which was after I had finished painting him.

Being mainly armour he definately exemplifies the heavy metal look I am going for with my Cygnar army. The Menoth jack on his epic base is done in the colour scheme of a friends army. Nothing like some healthy rivalry.

Back to the Grind

Wow, I feel the guilt. Sure we bought a new house and moved and did all kinds of stuff, but I really could have done some updating on the blog. It's been ages since I did a battle report and I plan to do that after PAX 2010. In the meantime I'm going to start catching up on all the painting I've been doing.

Ol' Rowdy

I really like Ol' Rowdy. It's a great model and fun to play on the field as well. I spent a bit more time blending the blue and yellow than on my other jacks. He's a character and should stand out a bit, but mainly it's because of the huge open area on his right shoulder. Those big squares needed extra work to stop from looking choppy.

Field Mechaniks

May has been pretty busy. We bought a townhouse and went to Paris for a week at pretty much the same time. Still I've managed to get some painting and games in.

The Field Mechaniks are an odd group being both very wussy and not that great at fixing things. Still, I take them in jack heavy lists and they were a small easy unit to do. Their colour scheme is a bit different from my usual Cygnar since they don't have much metal on them, and with the green skin I didn't want too much blue. Blue cloths are scattered around the models to tie them in with the army and the Chief has the yellow accents as well.

Nemo

I've been playing Nemo alot lately. He's kind of addictive to be honest. After a few games where you're throwing around 11 focus it's kind of hard to go back to the typical Cygnar casters 6 focus. I also love his new model. When I saw his art in Escalation I fell in love with its sweeping curves but badass nature, and so the squarish model he ended up with was a real disappointment. As soon as I saw the new Nemo I had to have him, and he's been painted ahead of other warcaster models I've had far longer.

Araln Strageways

Arlan is currently my number one solo. I haven't used the Squire for months, but Arlan is always there. While not giving focus directly to the warcaster, he helps power my warjacks, and when needed can fix them or make them immune to free strikes. I've even used his spray a few times of late.

Older Highborn Stuff

Putting up the Talon reminded me that there are a bunch of figures that I painted for my Highborn army that never saw the light of day. These are old figures but I decided to put them up for sake of completeness. There is also a group shot of all my mercenaries so far.

The Nomad

The Mule

Battlegroup and Army