Epic Thagrosh vs Strakhov - Diversion

Legion of Everblight vs Khador - Diversion, 50 Points

   It's been a while since I posted a report against my friend Birch, so we had at it over at his place. It turned into a long and brutal game.

Army Lists

Thagrosh the Messiah
Carnivean
Ravagore
Scythean
Throne of Everblight
Blighted Legionnaires - Leader and 9 Grunts
Captain Farilor & Standard - Legionnaires Unit Attachment
Strider Deathstalker
Strider Deathstalker
Shepherd

vs

Kommander Strakhov
Spriggan
Decimator
War Dog
Iron Fang Pikemen - Leader and 9 Grunts
Officer and Standard - Iron Fang Unit Attachment
Doom Reavers
Grey Lord Escort - Doom Reaver Unit Attachment
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Koldun Lord
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

Scenario

Diversion

   This is a Radial scenario and is played from corner to oppposite corner. Two 8 inch zones are placed 16 inches in from both sides of the board in the same corners as the deployment zones. Two flag markers are then place 16 inches in from both side of the board in opposite corners.

   Each player can score only by controling the flag on his right. To control the flag a model must be touching it and no enemy models can be within 4 inches of the flag. Additionally, units controling the flag must have 50% of their starting number, at least one member must touch the flag, and the rest must be within 4 inches of it. In order to score a point you must control the flag and be contesting the opponents zone.

   At the end of each players turn starting on the second players second turn, either player can earn one control point for controlling his designated flag. The first player to earn 2 control points and have more control points than his opponent immeadiately wins the game.

Set up

   Birch won the roll and elected to go first. I had to pre-deploy the Throne, so I deployed it on the flank towards his flag. That way any of his units running in would hopefully get chewed up.

   Knowing Strakhov was immune to most of my ranged weapons thanks to his immunity to fire Birch put him front and centre, with the War Dog behind him and the Koldon Lord close by. The Decimator went on his left flank, my right, while the Spriggan went on his right opposite the Throne. The Ternion set up centrally behind the Spriggan and Strakhov while the Iron Fangs took his far left flank.

   I then set up. Epic Thagrosh was in the centre as well, with an eye to moving towards the wall on the left. The Ravagore was set up between him and the Throne, with the Scythean on Thagrosh's right and the Carnivean holding the right flank. The Legionnaires were set up in gaps between all the beasts with Farilor in the centre. The Shepherd was back behind the Ravagore.

   It was then time for advance deploy units. Birch put the Widowmakers on my far right with the Iron Fangs while the Doom Reavers and epic Eiryss were put ahead of the Spriggan. I put the Deathstalkers ahead of the Throne opposite the Doom Reavers.

Turn 1

Khador

   The turn began with Strakhov assigning the Spriggan 1 focus. The Koldun Lord was the first model to activate and advanced then Power Boosted to put a focus on the Decimator. The Iron Fangs then activated and ran.

Strakhov activated next and put Occultation (model/unit gains Stealth) on the Iron Fangs and Superiority (target jack gets +2 SPD, MAT and DEF and can't be knocked down) on the Spriggan. He then charged the Scythean to get some extra movement. After this the Doom Reavers, Spriggan, Ternion, Widowmakers, Decimator Great Bears, epic Eiryss and War Dog all ran, moving up the field and spreading out.

Legion

   The Ravagore activated first and advanced forward to a wall. It used it's animus Dragon's Fire (Target friendly faction warbeast's ranged weapon gain Continous Effect Fire. Dragon's Fire lasts for 1 turn) and shot the Spriggan, boosting to hit then damage, but only doing a single point to column 4. Death Stalker 1 advanced and shot a Doom Reaver, which didn't make it's tough roll, and then Swift Huntered back 2 inches. Deathstalker 2 advanced up behind the same wall as the Ravagore.

   Epic Thagrosh then activated, putting Unnatural Aggression (if damaged it may make a full advance during the maintenance phase towards the nearest enemy model) on the Throne and Dragon's Blood (target friendly model/unit gets +2 ARM and if disabled in melee the attacker suffers 1 point of damage on a roll of 5 or 6) on the Legionnaires. He then cast the Carnivean's animus Spiny Growth (+2 ARM on target model and warbeasts/jacks suffer a d3 damage if they hit but don't kill the target) on the Scythean before advancing up behind the Ravagore.

   The Throne, Legionnaires, and Scythean ran forward, while the Carnivean put Spiny Growth on itself and advanced.

Turn 2

Khador

   Birch upkept Superiority and Occultation and assigned the Spriggan 2 focus. The Koldun Lord advanced and Power Boosted the Decimator. The Spriggan then advanced, put a Flare down on Deathstalker 1 which got rid of its Stealth, and then killed it with a boosted hit and damage shot. First kill Birch.

   The Iron Fangs, Ternions, Great Bears, Doom Reavers, Widowmakers and Decimator all ran and spread out some more, while Strakhov and the War Dog advanced up the middle.

Legion

   I upkept Dragon's Blood but not Unnatural Aggression. It didn't seem like the Throne was going anywhere at the moment. The Legionnaires activated first, Farilor used his mini-feat Iron Zeal (once per game unit gets +4 RM and cannot be made stationary or knocked down), and they ran/ charged in to kill two Iron Fangs. The Carnivean advanced behind them to spray and kill another Iron Fang before putting spiny Growth on itself. The Scythean ran up behind the Legionnaires to the centre while the Ravagore advanced to behind the Legionnaires and killed 2 more Iron Fangs with a long ranged shot.

   Epic Thagrosh then advanced up to the wall and cast Spiny Growth on the Throne and himself before camping 2 fury. At this point the nearby Deathstalker realised his lord was a horrific Abomination and failed a Panic check. The Shepherd then advanced but wasn't quite in range to take the fury off the Ravagore. The Throne just sat there, not wanting to get murdered by the Spriggan and Doom Reavers.

Turn 3

Khador

   Birch dropped Occultation off the Iron Fangs since they were now close in and assigned 2 focus to the Spriggan. The turn began with Strakhov advancing and casting Ovverun (if target model kills another model, a member of the battlegroup may make a full advance) on himself. Rolling two shots for his gun he manages to kill a Legionnaire with a boosted damage roll (with Dragon's Blood and Iron Zeal they are effectively ARM of 22), and used the Overrun move on the Spriggan, whcih advanced towards the Throne.

   The Iron Fangs then use their mini-feat Reform, and declare the Shield Wall order (+4 ARM while in base to base), but thanks to their high ARM only a single Legionnaire died and the Officer doing it tooks a wound from Dragon's Blood. The Widowmakers advanced and managed to kill two more Legionnaires thanks to their auto-wounding Sniper ability. The Koldun Lord used Power booster on the Decimator, which advanced and managed to kill one more Legionnaire with a damage boosted shot from its' gun.

   Epic Eiryss's activation was next, and she advanced forward and shot the Spiny Growth off the Throne with her Arcane Interference. The Spriggan then advanced and pounded on the Throne, knocking it down to 7 wounds. After this the Doom Reavers, War Dog, and Great Bears ran forward into position, while the Ternion advanced and placed down smoke clouds.

Legion

   It was now my go and I had a problem. Both my flanks had a lot of pressure bearing down on them and the only thing on my left that could deal with the Spriggan was Thagrosh. But if he went over to deal with it my beasts would be left out of control. So at this point I abandoned the idea of taking my point for now and decided I would just have to stop Birch from scoring before pushing my way back into the battle. Accordingly I dropped Dragon's Blood on the Legionnaires since epic Thagrosh was going to need all the fury he could get. After Leeching I also still had a fury on the Ravagore, but fortunately it made its' frenzy check. The Legionnaires then made their Vengence moves and attacks, but bounced off the Shield Walled Iron Fangs.

   Epic Thagrosh activated first, cast Manifest Destiny (While in this model's CTRL area, models in battlegroup gain an additional die on melee attack and damage rolls, then drop the lowest), and charged the Spriggan. He hammers it badly but fails to kill it, although he does destroy the Lance and Cortex. He then used his feat Dragon Storm (After all friendly models have completed their activations the warbeasts in Thagrosh's battlegroup in his CTRL area may advance and make a melee attack).

   With the Spriggan's Lance broken I decided to risk a free strike on the Throne. With Flight it can move over the Spriggan and it charged a Doom Reaver. The Spriggan took the free strike with its Lance, but Birch rolled a one and it missed. The Throne hit the Doom Reaver but it was tough. The second attack auto-hit as the Doom Reaver was now knocked down and killed it, getting the Throne a Corpse Token. This set off Battle Wizard and I cast Spine Burst at Epic Eiryss, which I obviously wasn't thinking about since I used the POW 10 Spine Burst spell rather than the POW 12 Frostbite. Even so my boosted to hit roll (from Corpse Token) managed to hit her, and she died from the POW 10, with the extra hit bouncing back into the Throne for no damage. The final attack hits another Doom Reaver, but it also makes its' tough roll.

   I now redeployed my three heavies. The Scythean ran forward beside Thagrosh. The Carnivean advanced back into Thagrosh's control area and put Spiny Growth on itself, then shot a Doom Reaver which made its tough roll. And the Ravagore advanced and killed the closest Great Bear with its Blight Blast. The Legionnaires went next and Farilor charged in to one shot the Iron Fnag Officer and used Cleave to kill another. The other Legionnaires used Combined Melee Attack to kill another Iron Fang. Lastly the Shepherd advanced and used Condition to draw the fury off the Ravagore. The Deathstalker passed its command check and was now back in the game.

   With all the models done Dragon Storm went off. The Scythean advanced and killed a Doom Reaver while the other two beasts moved up to screen Thagrosh.

Turn 4

Khador

   Birch upkept Superiority but assigned no focus. The Spriggan attacked but missed the Throne and bounced off Thagrosh. The Iron Fangs activated next, advanced and Shield Walled, and killed 2 Legionnaires. The Ternions then advanced and cast Frostbite, killing another Legionnaire and the Standard. Next up were the Widowmakers who continued to pile on the Legionnaires, killing Farilor and another Legionnaire, leaving one left.

   The Koldun Lord Power Boosted yet agains to give the Decimator a focus while the last couple Doom Reavers stood up and attacked. The first killed the last Legionnaire and the other did 7 points of damage to the Scythean. The Grey Lord Escort attacked the Throne and bounced off. The next activation was Strakhov, who cast Superiority on the Decimator and advanced towards Thagrosh and the beasts, then used his feat Iron Fist (Friendly Faction models can charge or slam models in Strakhovs CTRL area for free, and get +4 inches movement on there slams and charges).

   With the feat giving them the needed movement, the final two Great Bears came charging through the Ravagore's Scather template at the Scythean, each taking a point of damage from the Scather. The first did well, smashing into the Scythean and hitting with its second attack to leave the Scythean at 8 health with its Spirit and Body gone. But then disaster struck as the second Great Bear missed its charge attack, and then rolled low damage on the backswing and bounced off.

Legion

   This was my moment to turn the tide. All of Birchs' really hard hitters, except for the Decimator, were gathered in one spot. Not that Iron Fangs are soft, but they aren't weapon masters. Epic Thagrosh started things off by upkeeping nothing, healing the Scythean for two points, casting Manifest Destiny, and then scrapping the Spriggan. The Throne then advnaced and beat on the Doom Reaver UA. He made a couple of tough rolls then died, This set off Battle Wizard and I killed another Doom Reaver by targeting the Frostbite spray at a different target and catching him in it.

   With his animus Slaughterhouse (prevents tough rolls and removes from play) and Manifest Destiny the Scythean had no trouble killing the two remaining Great Bears and another Doom Reaver. The Carnivean continued this trend, Assaulting the last Doom Reaver, boosting to hit and kill a Grey Lord with the spray and tearing the last Doom Reaver apart in melee. The Ravagore advanced, used its animus Dragonfire, and boosted to hit a shot at the Koldon Lord, killing him and a Widowmaker caught in the blast.

   Lastly the remaining Deathstalker advanced to get back in the fight and the Shepherd advanced and took the fury off the Ravagore with Condition. I ended my turn feeling pretty confident.

Turn 5

Khador

   Birch upkept Superiority on the Decimator and assigned it three focus. The remining two Grey Lord Ternions advanced and threw Ice Cages on the Ravagore pushing its DEF down to 7. Measuring carefully Birch saw that Strakhov was just out of range of being charged, and since he Strakhov is immune to fire didn't have to worry about being shot either. So he aimed at the Ravagore, rolled for number of shots, and got 3. Strakhov hit all three times with his POW 12 gun and boosted the damage on each getting solid rolls.

   The Decimator advanced and also shot the Ravagore, putting two boosted damage POW 15s into it, with the final shot causing it to keel over dead. That was unexpected since the Ravagore should have survived on average, and it also brought Birch back into the game.

   The Widowmakers capped off the turn by killing the Shepherd while the Iron Fangs repositioned.

Legion

   Thagrosh leeched fury off the beasts, but the Scythean is left at 1. I did the Frenzy check but fortunately it passed. I started the turn simply and advanced the Deathstalker up to kill a Widowmaker. The Throne advanced and cast Spine Burst at the War Dog, hurting but not killing it. A nearby Grey Lord was not so lucky and was killed by the  Burst, but the final member of the Ternion passed his CMD check.

   I now tried to get sneaky and advanced the Scythean forward, spent a Fury, and did a Push power attack to get the Carnivean in charge range of Strakhov. Unfortunately it is a contested STR check, and the Scythean failed. Epic Thagrosh then advanced and cast Dragons Blood and Spiny Growth on the Carnivean, and Spiny Growth on himself. Keeping the pressure on the Carnivean ran to engage Strakhov.

Turn 6

Khador

   Birch upkept Superiority again and put three focus on the Decimator. Since the War Dog was alive and well Strakhov was immune to free strikes, so he bravely ran away from the Carnivean, as did the War Dog. The final Grey Lord advanced and threw an Ice Cage on the Carnivean lowering its DEF by 2.

   The Decimator then unloaded on the Carnivean, but with Spiny Growth and Dragons Blood it was effectively ARM 22 and he only did 2 points of damage to spiral 4. He also used the guns Beatback ability to shove the Carnivean and move himself back so the Decimator was well out of the Carniveans charge range.

   The Widowmakers advanced, missed the Deathstalker, and did a point on the Carniveans 5 spiral. The Iron Fangs ran into position.

Legion

   Thagrosh leeched and got his final Fury thanks to the Anthac granting him one per turn. I upkept Dragons Blood. The Throne charged and killed the Iron Fang Standard bearer, then used Battle Wizard to throw a Spine Burst into the Decimator which killed a nearby Widowmaker and the last Grey Lord Ternion. The Deathstalker then killed the last Widowmaker and put a point on the Decimators 4 column.

   Thagrosh then advanced and put Spiny Growth on the Throne and himself, and healed the Carnivean for 1 point. The Scythean then ran to take cover behind the Throne, while the Carnivean put Spiny Growth on itself, advanced, and sprayed the Decimator for 3 points of damage.

Turn 7

Khador

   The pressure was on but Birch stayed the course, keeping Superiority up and giving the Decimator 3 focus. The Decimator unloaded on the Throne, but the combination of Spiny Growth making it ARM 21 and poor damage rolls meant that he only did 2 points of damage, before using Beat Back to back up an inch. Strakhov also shot the Throne, but did no damage. Finally some Iron Fangs charged in on the Throne, but again poor rolls and high ARM meant they only did 3 more points of damage.

Legion

   While before I had been playing not to lose by holding Birch's scenario, at this point I felt I might be able to win by scenario as I pushed Birch back. Thagrosh upkept Dragon's Blood and leeched to full. The Deathstalker advanced towards my flag and shot the War Dog, and thanks to the earlier damage from the Spine Burst killed it. But then it made its Tough roll to my annoyance. The Throne held tough and ate the two Iron Fangs that had charged it the turn before.

   Thagrosh continued to act as a buff bot, tucking himself in behind the Throne, then putting Spiny Growth on the Throne and Carnivean before healing the Carnivean for another point. The Carnivean Assaulted an Iron Fang, missing it with the shot, but hitting the Decimator for 1 point of damage. It then killed the Iron Fang in melee, finishing off the unit. The Scythean simply advanced and riled.

Turn 8

Khador

   Once again Birch upkept Superiority and gave three focus to the Decimator. He began with Strakhov, casting Overrun, then advancing to within 5" of the Deathstalker. Unfortunately both his shots miss and so Overrun was not triggered. The Decimator was angry about being denied its charge, and so advanced and shot the Deathstalker with a boosted to hit roll, which turned it into salsa.

Legion

   The Throne charged the Decimator, but with Superiority and a bad to hit roll the charge attack missed. It did a bit of damage with the other two melee attacks. I now made one of two crucial mistakes this turn. First I had the Carnivean Assault the Decimator, rather than simply advance and cast Spiny Growth on itself before shooting. As I expected it was short of melee, so only the spray hit the Decimator, which was hurt but still hadn't lost any systems.

   Thagrosh advanced up behind the Throne and put Spiny Growth on it and the Scythean before healing the Carnivean for another point.

   The Scythean advanced forward and I then made my second mistake, and riled the Scythean for a point too much of fury, somehow thinking the Carnivean only had 2 fury on it rather than 3.

Turn 9

Khador

   Superiority is upkept and three focus is given to the Decimator. Strakhov backed up and shot the Carnivean for some decent damge while the War dog moved up nearby. With no Spiny Growth to hurt it the Decimator attacked the Carnivean. The first attack hit, and with the Decimators Sustained Attack meaning it automatically hit with the rest of its melee attacks, it just kept pounding away on the Carnivean, killing it with the final blow. I stupidly reaved all the fury onto Thagrosh.

Legion

   Having lost the Carnivean things went from bad to worse. The extra fury on the Scythean meant that I had to take a Frenzy check, which it failed. With the Throne right there the Scythean attacked it, and with a great boosted damage roll thanks to frenzy, killed it with one blow. So now with the Throne dead and the Scythean unable to activate, all I had left was Epic Thagrosh.

   Luckily he is a bad, bad, man. I cast Manifest Destiny and charged the Decimator, Thagrosh's Flight enabling him to ignore the rough terrain. He promptly wrecked it and I awaited the counter attack camping on 2 fury.

Turn 10

Khador

   It was do or die time for Birch. Strakhov charged Thagrosh, smashing into him for big damage. I was forced to transfer to the Scythean, killing it, and Thagrosh still took 2 damage points from over flow. Strakhov hit Thagrosh for another 9 points of damage, which produced a once per game lesser beast. I chose a Shredder and placed it so the War Dog couldn't also charge Thagrosh. Strakhov smacked Thagrosh again for another 7 points of damage, which I transfered to the Shredder with his last fury point. Strakhov did 2 more points of damage and was done. The War Dog then charged the Shredder but missed.

Legion

   The Shredder was hurt but hadn't lost any aspects, which was a big piece of luck. As it was I cut Thagrosh until he was at 1 health to fill him with fury, and then still needed the Anthanc to top him up. The Shredder activated first, went Rabid, and ate the War Dog, which was crucial since while it was alive Strakhov was DEF 17. It's second attack missed the now DEF 15 Strakhov. Epic Thagrosh then activated and cast Manifest Destiny. He then managed to miss with the first two attacks, but the next two hit, and with that monstrous POW 18 weapon of his that was all it took to do Strakhov in.

Afterword

   I think this game is a good example of how small mistakes can snowball into large problems. It also made Birch decalre he wasn't going to play without a time limit of some kind ever again. I, on the other hand, found it refreshing not to lose because my time had run out.

   Birch made the first error when he only gave 2 focus to the Spriggan the turn it charged the Throne. As he said afterwards, he should have given it three, had Strakhov shoot with unboosted damage, and if he didn't kill the legionnaire and set off Overrun he could have stood pat. He had the threat range advantage on that side of the field. And if the the Ovverrun did go off and the Spriggan had killed the Throne with the last attack it would have been worth it. Thagrosh still would have clobbered the Srpiggan, but without the Throne he and his beasts would have been far more vulnerable to the Doom Reavers coming in like Weapon Master missiles.

   With the Throne not dying he was unable to do that, and instead the Throne killed epic Eiryss and started to chew through infantry like a boss.

   I in turn made the mistakes of not using Spiny Growth on the Carnivean and miscounting my fury, which put me from being in a commanding position to nearly getting Thagrosh killed. A pretty massive shift.

   I was happy with all my units this game. The Legionnaires performed solidly, even though the Widowmakers took their toll. Farilor isn't a unit attachment I would take all the time, he really needs some extra support to push the buffs he gives to the high level. Fortunately Epic Thagrosh has that with Dragon's Blood, making the unit a solid ARM 18 all the time and a genuinely hard to kill ARM 22 once Iron Zeal is used.

   The Throne did its job as well, beating up on infantry and giving Thagrosh something to shelter behind as he moved up. With its base ARM 19, the highest in Legion, it can also make a very good hard point with Dragon's Blood and Spiny Growth stacked on it.This game it worked as it usually does, going up the flank killing infantry before moving towards the centre in the mid to late game.

   The heavies all performed thier roles as well, with the Carnivean acting as the lynchpin due to Spiny Growth. That +2 ARM buff is a very big deal in this list and armies that can get rid of it are real trouble.

   Epic Thagrosh also came through. Games like this where he is able to strut his stuff, which he certainly did by wrecking the Spriggan and Decimator, and killing Strakhov, usually go my way. Often the hardest part about playing him is trying to get him into play while at the same time not exposing him to counter attack. This army also plays a bit differently than most other Epic Thagrosh forces I see. Rather than emphsising his feat with things like Shredders, I have a more conventional army and use the feat more to redeploy rather than jam in and attack.

Objective Markers

I picked up the resin objective markers from PP awhile ago and finally painted them up. I normally focus on my armies, and they all have a limited colour pallete to keep a cohesive look, so it was nice to be able to just open the paint box and grab what colours I wanted.

I put a brighter colour on each one to help make them stand out a bit since there was so much wood and metal on them. I also can't help but feel I should pick up another box since I normally have more than one game running at my house. Maybe I'll try making some first. They're nice but not cheap.

Nephilim Bolt Thrower 2

   The Nephilim Bolt Thrower isn't something I would normally take more than one of, but I was playing epic Lylyth for a while and it's worth it with her. Although perhaps I should say was worth it as the Naga will be taking it's place in the forseable future.

   I wanted to convert it a bit so the two didn't look that identicle on the table. Fortunately the Bolt Thrower has a handy animus called Glide, that gives it flight for a turn. I had some medium Angelius wings left over from another project so I modled those on to show it with the animus it play. I think it turned out fairly well.

Ashlynn vs Kaya

Highborn Covenant vs Circle Oborus - Sacrifice, 35 Points


   It's been a while since Myantek and I did a battle report, and we figured we should get back in the swing of things.

Army Lists

Highborn Covenant

Ashlynn D'Eleyse
Mule
Mariner
Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters - Cylena and 9 grunts
Steelhead Halberdiers - Leader and 9 grunts
Harland Versh, The Illuminated One
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Gorman di Wulf, Rogue Alchamist
Ogryn Bokur

vs

Circle Orboros

Kaya the Wildborne
Purblood Warpwolf
Feral Warpwolf
Feral Warpwolf
Argus
Wolves of Orboros - Leader and 9 grunts
Wolves of Orboros Unit Attachment - Cheiften and Standard Bearer
Alten Ashley

Scenario

Sacrifice

  This is a radial scenario and is played from corner to opposite corner. On the centre line between the two deployment areas a 12" circular zone is on one side and a flag is on the other. Starting on the second players second turn, if a player controls the zone and one of his models is touching the flag he scores a point. The first player to score 2 control points wins the game. When a point is scored any models touching the flag suffer a POW 20 magical damage roll, are pushed 3" away from the flag, and are knocked down.

Setup

   We rolled off and Myantek decided to go second so that she could try to score first. I set up with the Mariner and Mule in the centre. The Nyss were setup centre left so they coiuld go for the trees with the zone, with the Halberdiers centre right so they could cover the centre and flag. It isn't a good idea to get too near the edges of a radial zone because you end up having to move a lot further to get anywhere. Ashlynn stood behind the jacks. When I advance deployed my solos thanks to the Highborn Covenant rules I put Rhupert in the centre beside Ashlynn to cover the units, while Harland Versh, the Bokur, and his client Gorman were put in the ruins.

   Myantek put the Argus on my left to cover the forest, with Feral 1 beside it. The Pureblood, Kaya and Feral 2 held the centre, while the Wolves took the right flank to head towards the flag. Alten Ashley advance deployed opposite the woods.

Turn 1

   I assigned one focus each to the Mule and Mariner. They then began the turn by running forward to get out of the way. The Nyss then run towards the trees. Ashlynn put Quicken (+2 SPD and +2 DEF vs ranged and magic attacks) on the Steelheads and advanced. Rhupert moved up beside her and played Dirge of Mists (+1 DEF and Terror) on the Steelheads. The Bokur, Gorman, and Harlan Versh all ran into the ruins, followed by the Steelheads who zoom forward to cover the centre.

   The Wolves of Orboros start the turn by running towards the flag. The Argus riled for a fury point and then ran towards the forest, with Feral 1 warping for +2 ARM and doing the exact same thing. The Pureblood warped for Spellward (can't be targeted by spells) and ran up to join them, followed by Feral 2 who also warped for +2 ARM. Kaya then activated, advanced, and cast Spirit Fang at a Steelhead but is just short. She then cast Spirit Door to teleport over to Feral 1. Myantek, realising she has accidently given herself too much fury she burned the last one on Kaya. Alten Ashley then activated, shooting at and missing a Steelhead thanks to their current DEF of 16 vs shooting.

Turn 2

   I saw an opportunity and decide to go for it. Kaya has teleported back, but there is a gap between Feral 1 and the Pureblood.  I upkept Quicken on the Halberdiers and gave two focus to the Mariner. Ashlynn advanced and used her feat Roulette. Now for a turn all attack roles in her CTRL area roll an extra 2 dice and then discard 2 dice, and I get to decide which ones are discarded. Ashlynn then puts Admonition (if an enemy model ends its movement within 6", the target model can make an advance while ignoring free strikes) on the Mule. The Nyss Hunters then advanced through the woods, and thanks to Hunter (ignore forests for LOS ) and positioning, most of the Nyss are able to see Kaya. Two combined ranged attacks later and she's dead.

Afterward

Defenstrator
  
   Well that was rather abrupt. To be honest we thought of doing the re-match then and there, but we had already started pretty late. I was lucky the Nyss Hunters were able to pull it off, because in my eagerness to set them up I'd blocked LOS to Kaya for the Mariner, which was the model I was actually expecting to do the job. I thought Myantek would put Occultation (grants Stealth) on the Wolves while she blitzed with the heavy beasts, but she didn't use Occultation, and didn't form enough of a pocket with her heavies to hide in. I was expecting to have to whittle her heavies down before my jacks went in, which is risky with her ability to have the heavies charge in and then be teleported back. So when I had a chance to go for the heart I took it.

Myantek

Oops!  I thought I had blocked LOS to Kaya with the Pureblood, but there was just enough space to be picked off.  I've had a lot of bad luck regarding Frenzy checks lately so I really didn't want to have to leave any Fury on any beast. 

It sort of disappointing because I felt I was on the right track.  I don't think the radial scenarios are ones that this army can win on scenario.  My best bet is to try to keep my opponent from sccoring points until I can get the assassination.

Epic Lylyth

Epic Lylyth is a bit different from most of Legion. For one she's the only really top tier 5 Fury warlock. For two she's the only one that runs Legion as a nearly pure gunline. You still need a heavy that can do the job in melee, like a Carnivean, but the rest of her army is going to be about the shooting. Fortunately she does it well.

Epic Lylyth brings two big things to the table. First she increases the armies threat range with her feat, and second she makes it hard for the opponent to respond in any way except melee due to all the stealth. She's not an auto-win or anything though, because as soon as your opponent closes the armies damage output drops like it fell off a cliff.

Throne of Everblight

The Throne has been a lot of work. I really wanted to get it done by the end of the month so I've been putting in a bunch of extra nights to get it finished. The colours are a bit different on the Throne since GW changed its paint line up. The green base is Vallejo Game Colour Cayman Green Highlighted up to the new GW Elysian Green. The brown is based with Vallejo Game Colour Charred Brown highlighted up to a mix of Charred Vrown, GW Skrag Brown, and the old GW Blazing Orange.

It has been playing decently as well. It's not going to beat up enemy heavies, but it does its job in the role of anti-infantry monster. The magic attacks are also a nice addition. Plus it looks great on the table.

 

 

League Rules

Typically our group plays 50 point games, but every now and then we like to mix it up a little. When that happens we run a league. Armies are 25 points so players can get two or three games in a night, and everyone takes warcasters and warlocks they don't normally play. It's a fast fun way to familiarise yourself with a new warlock and get an idea how you'd like to expand on them.

We've done a couple of leagues now, and I though I'd put up the rules in case anyone wanted to try it out themselves. It's not confined to 25 point games, those are just what we felt like doing.

Season Format

The Season Schedule will be randomly determined. Each player will play each other player twice over the course of the season. This season has six players for a total of 10 regular season games per player. Players will have 6 weeks to complete their games. This schedule expects players to average one game per week. If the players complete their games prior to the end date of the season, the play-offs may start early. Players are responsible for ensuring that their games get played and organizing times to play their games. The season schedule will be posted at the beginning of the season. Each round will be a different SR2012 Scenario, not including any Reinforcement scenarios. Scenarios will not be repeated over the course of the season unless all scenarios have already been played through.. Games may be played any time players find it convenient. All games will use Deathclock, with each player recieving 27 minutes on the clock. This does not include set up time.

Lists: Each player shall have two 25 point lists and is responsible for sending copies to the League Organizer within one week of the beginning of the league. Each player may play the list they like for each game, with the one restriction being that they must play at least a third of their games, rounding down, with each list. This league will therefore require you to play at least three games with both lists.

Scoring: The results of each game must be emailed to the League Organizer by one or both players. The following information must be included for each player: Caster Used, CP’s Scored, Army Points Destroyed, whether they won or lost and whether they scored an Assassination. Include the round number of the game played in the email. The email is not necessary if the League Organizer was present for the game.

Example of Scoring Submission:

Player: Birch Helander

Scenario Played:

Caster: Kommandant Irusk

W/L: Lost

CPs: 2

Army Points Destroyed: 15

Assassination: No (This field is only applicable to the winner. The loser of a game may leave this field blank).

Playing the Wrong Scenario: If players accidentally play a scenario for which they were not scheduled, they may opt to submit the results for scoring. However, no CPs or Army Points Destroyed will be tabulated. Only the result of the game and whether an assassination was scored will be considered for scoring.

Failing to Complete Games: Players that fail to complete games will have their season evaluated based on the games they did play. If a player failed to complete their games and did not attempt to play a game in the final week of the regular season, they will be removed from the play-offs. This may require that the play-offs be reduced to one round if there are not enough players to support a multi-round play-off.

Proxies: Proxies are not permitted in league play.

Trades

Players have a 10 point trade pool. Players may drop anything except Warcasters/locks from their lists and add Units/Solos/Jacks/Beasts to reach the point maximum of their list. Track the number of points dropped and replaced. This total is removed from the player’s trade pool. This total is shared between the player’s two lists.

For Example: Player A removes a Manhunter from their first list and replaces it with a Widowmaker Marksman. Then removes Widowmakers and a War Dog from their second list and replaces them with The Great Bears of Gallowswood. The first trade was 2pts (the cost of the Marksman) and the second trade was 5pts. Player A has used 7 points of their trade pool.

These Trades must be submitted to the League Organizer before they can be used in a game. If the alterations have not be distributed to the League participants by the time a list that has been altered is to be used, the date stamp on the email sent to the organizer will be used to determine the list’s legality. It must be made very clear to an opponent that an unpublished trade has been made prior to list selection and the details of the trade must be announced.

Trade Deadline: Players must complete any trades they want to make before their sixth game . No more trades may be made after this point. Date stamp of the email or date of verbal confirmation of trade will be used as the trade date.

Determining Standing

League Standings will be determined by the following scores, in order of tie breaking priority:

1. Wins
2. Control Points Scored
3. Army Points Scored
4. Assassinations

Play-off Format

Seeding: The higher seeded player in any play-off round has +1 to any starting rolls they make.

Playoffs and Semi-Finals: In cases of leagues of six or less players, the top four players of the league will advance to the semi finals. In larger leagues the top eight players will advance. The top player will play the bottom player, 2^nd ranked will play the 2^nd from the bottom, and so on until the two middle players will play one another. This is an elimination round. In eight player playoffs the winners will advance to the Semi Finals. In four player playoffs the Semi-finals will be held immeadiately. The winners of the semi-finals will be decided in a best of three series. The winners of the round will advance to the Finals.

Playoffs and Semi-Finals Rules:

• The scenario schedule for the Playoffs will be determined after the season finishes and all results are submitted. Each game of a best of three will be from a different Scenario Group in the Steamroller 2012 Rule’s Set. Thus it will be impossible to see two games played from the Radial Scenario Group, for example, during the same round of the Semi-Finals. After a Best of Three has been completed, it may be possible to see the same Scenario Group in the next round. Scenarios will not be repeated in the Play-offs unless the number of games required to determine a season champion requires a scenario be played multiple times.
• Every player must play each of their lists at least once per round.
• After a game has been played, the winner must announce whether they are switching lists prior to the loser doing so. The loser will be privy to the opponent’s list prior to choosing a list.

Finals: Finals will be played in the same format as Semi-Finals.

Annyssa Ryvaal, Talon of Everblight

Annyssa is one of Legion's best characters. She has a few things going for her. First of all, she does what you buy her for and does it well. She can shoot and back up all day long, harassing the flanks and circling around to get at rear support pieces. Second, she's relavent all game. She transitions from shooting up infantry to smacking preyed warcasters very nicely. And third, she makes the Raptors, already one of Legions best units, even better. Veteran Leader kind of sucks on Finn, but on a large base that the Raptors can see through most of two armies it's really solid.

Incubi

Incubi aren't something you see a lot of. Legion tends to run beast heavy, and people prefer to have their five point investment on the table at the beginnng. I've found them to be decent though. They aren't spectacular, but they aren't bad either. The big thing they have going for them is that they let you push deeper into your opponents force. The two front lines clash, and all of a sudden you have guys behind their front line charging into support solos and getting in the way of their second wave. I have more than once forgotten to use them though. Out of sight out of mind as they say.

Nephilim Bolt Thrower

The Bolt Thrower is a solid beast. At six points it's at the high end for what you pay for a light, but is solid enough in its specialised role of denting large targets and picking off solos and officers that it still sees play . If I'm running beast light I'll often throw one in as extra fury and to keep my opponent honest at range. I don't ever take two except with Epic Lylyth, and even then that will probably change once the Naga comes out.