Mark III Journeyman Battle 4

Magnus vs Helynna - Mangled Metal 10 Points

 

   That last game was a bit quick. It hammered home the lesson that you should always protect your warcaster, but wasn't the most exciting play experience. Consequently we decided on a re-match instead of expanding out to 25 points.

Army Lists

Magnus the Traitor
Mangler
Rover
Renegade

 vs

Magister Helynna
Manticore
Griffon
Chimera
Gorgon

Scenario

   We continue to battle it out until the first warcaster is dead.

 

 

 

Set Up

   Myantek won the roll and decided to go first. I picked my side because there was less stuff in my way on the approach. With all her guns and the ability to slow me down I felt the need to close quickly.

Turn 1

Retribution

   The Chimera Apparated (place completely within 2" during the upkeep phase.) forward. All the Myrmidons ran into the ruins except the Griffon. Helynna cast Rhythm of War (Warjacks in the battlegroup can advance 3 inches after all models have activated) and then cast Deceleration (+2 ARM vs Ranged and Magic attacks.), then advanced behind the Gorgon. All the jacks then advanced 3 inches.

Mercs

   Magnus cast Death Ward (+2 ARM and pick hit locations) on the Mangler, Snipe (+4 Rng on target model.) on the Rover, and Blur (+3 Defense against range and magic attacks.) on the Renegade. Magnus then charged the Griffon, ending his activation in cover. The Mangler and Rover ran to flank Magnus while the Renegade ended up behind the Mangler.

Turn 2

Retribution

   Helynna upkept Rhythm of War and assigned two focus to the Manticore while the Chimera Apparated. The Manticore advanced and rolled three for its number of shots. The first shot struck home with a boosted to hit roll, and the damage roll was 6,6,4, doing 10 points of damage to the Renegade and crippling its left arm. The second shot was also boosted to hit but bounced, while the third shot missed.

   The Chimera and Gorgon ran, while Helynna and the Griffon advanced. Helynna cast Deceleration again and then the jacks rearranged themselves using Rhythm of War, with the Manticore attempting to tuck itself behind the ruins.

Mercs

   Magnus upkept his spells for free due to his Resourceful ability, and gave two focus to the Mangler and one to the Renegade. Magnus activated first and moved base to base with the Renegade, then used his Repair ability to fix 4 points of damage, bringing the arm back on line. He then cast Iron Aggression (Target warjack may run, charge, or slam for free. Melee attack rolls on the warjack are boosted.) on the Mangler. Lastly he used his feat, Hit and Run (Models in battlegroup gain Parry. After all models have activated all the models in his battlegroup can run for free.).

   The Renegade aimed at the Manticore and shot its Obliterator Rocket. A boosted roll hit it and knocked it down, but a mediocre boosted damage roll only did 5 points to its field. The Mangler then charged it for free thanks to Iron Aggression. I had been worried the Obliterator might miss and the boosted to hit rolls would be needed, but no such worries. With the Manticore knocked down the Mangler hit with all its attacks, destroying the Manticore with its last blow.

   Lastly the Rover advanced towards the Griffon, shooting it and doing 4 points to its field. After that the feat activated. The Mangler ran base to base with the Chimera, while the Rover and Renegade formed a wall with Magnus behind them.

Turn 3

Retribution

   Helynna dropped Rhythm of War and assigned two focus to both the Chimera and Gorgon. Helynna advanced, boosted to hit, and cast Hand of Destruction  (Models in battlegroup get and additional die, them drop the lowest, for attack and damage rolls against this model.) on the Mangler, leaving her at zero focus. She then used her feat Arcantrik Aptitude (+3 ARM to friendly models. Remove all damage from warjack power fields. Ignore the effects of crippled systems for one round.). The Chimera then used Combo-Smite (*attack. Make a melee attack and double the weapon POW when before adding to warjack STR.) and smashed the Mangler for 10 points. It bought an attack, hit, and boosted damage to do some more. The Gorgon then charged and also did a Combo-Smite. It also bought and boosted damage, leaving the Mangler at 1 point in its movement system.

   The Griffon then ran to engage Magnus, the Rover, and the Renegade.

Mercs

   Magnus upkept everything for free and assigned two focus to the Renegade and one to the Rover. The Rover activated first and did a head butt power attack on the Griffon. It boosted to hit and knocked the smaller jack down. Magnus then cast Iron Aggression on the Renegade, leaving himself at one focus. The Mangler then activated and did a Thresher attack (*attack. This model makes a simultaneous melee attack against all models in range with this weapon.) but didn't do anything thanks to his arm being crippled.

    Lastly the Renegade charged Helynna, for free thanks to Iron Agression. It smashed into her and hammered away, but Helynna's feat saved her, the +3 ARM being enough to keep her alive at 2 points.

Turn 4

Retribution

   After a lot of pondering Myantek did not have Helynna upkeep Hand of Destruction. The Gorgon and Griffon were both assigned two focus. The Chimera activated first. More pondering ensued as Myantek decided whether to use the Chimera's one focus on the hit or damage roll. She eventually decided on the to hit roll as she needed a five to hit there and only a four for damage. It hit, and she rolled enough to do the single damage point needed to destroy the Mangler.

   Helynna activated next and cast Hand of Destruction on Magnus through the Chimera's arc node. She boosted and it hit. The Gorgon activated next, and charged Magnus. It hit Magnus and did five points of damage. The next attack did ten points and Magnus spent his last focus point to reduce it to five. The last attack did nothing.

   The Griffon stood up and swung its shield at Magnus and did two points. The spear then missed. It bought an attack, hit, and the boosted attack reduced Magnus to 2 points. It bought its final attack, hit, and managed to kill Magnus.

Afterward

Defenstrator

   Well that didn't go quite as planned. When Myantek messed up and left the Manticore in charge range of the Mangler I thought I had it in the bag. I specifically made sure that Magnus couldn't buy it and that the Chimera couldn't escape by Apparating.

   Little did I realise that escape was not her plan.

   I suppose I could have beat up the Griffon instead. But it was ARM 21 with the feat up, and I didn't think I'd be able to do it. And if I went for the more dangerous jacks I'd be leaving the Griffon way to close to Magnus. Instead I tried to end it. In hind sight think I might have been better off just taking the free strikes from the Griffon and trying to shoot Helynna with the Rover. But I was paranoid about the Renegade getting its right arm crippled from a free strike, so I went for it and failed. Then Myantek went for it and succeeded.

Myantek

     I was pretty sure he had me after he got the Manticore.  Facing down two heavies with none is very daunting.  I thought I'd left the thing out of range too.  Then it really became an all or nothing gambit.  Activation order was key.  Figuring out which thing had to act when and playing the odds.  I'm still experimenting with how far apart things can get and where I want these guys placed.  I won this game but I definitely don't have it figured out.  Frankly, I'd like another couple of games at this level to just worry about the battle group.

Mark III Journeyman Battle 3

Magnus vs Helynna - Mangled Metal, 10 Points

   It's been fun so far, but now it's time to increase the points. We each had ten points to spend, which could only be added to the battlegroup. For me it was easy. Magnus is the only one that can take his unique Renegade light warjack, and it is ten points exactly so it went straight in. It stands out on a number of levels. It's the Mercs only arc node, it can really grind through things in melee with both Critical Shred and Sustained Attack, and it has a one shot Rng 14, POW 16, AOE 4, auto-knockdown gun.

   Myantek decided to add more control aspects to her army with a Gorgon. Anything shot by it becomes -2 SPD, which should give her even more options with all the movement shenanigans she already has.

Army Lists

Magnus the Traitor
Mangler
Rover
Renegade

 vs

Magister Helynna
Manticore
Griffon
Chimera
Gorgon

Scenario  

    At 10 points the scenario continues to be Mangled Metal. We fight until the enemy caster is dead.

 

 

Set Up

   I won the roll and decided go first. Myantek decided to pick the side with the trees to hide behind.

Turn 1

Mercs

   Magnus put Snipe (+4 Rng on target model) on the Rover, Blur (+3 Defense against range and magic attacks) on the Renegade, and Death Ward (+2 ARM and pick hit locations) on the Mangler. He then charged the a Retribution jack and moved 8 inches before his turned ended with the failed charge. The Mangler, Renegade, and Rover all ran.
   This probably sounds familiar to the other games but he's an upkeep caster. It's what he does.

Retribution

   The turn started with the Chimera Apperating (place completely within 2" during the upkeep phase) forward. Helynna cast Rhythm of War (Warjacks in the battlegroup can advance 3 inches after all models have activated) and Deceleration (+2 ARM vs Ranged and Magic attacks.) and advanced. The jacks all ran forward and the used Rhythm of War to shift around a bit.

Turn 2

Mercs

   Magnus upkept his spells for free thanks to his Resourceful ability. I decided to go for it and try and live them dream, and assigned one focus to both the Rover and Renegade. After doing some measuring to see if everything was in range the Renegade advanced and shot its Obliterator shot at Helynna. It hit directly and knocked her down doing 13 points of damage. Helynna spent a focus to abosrb five damage.

   Magnus then cast Arcantrik Bolt (Cost 2, Rng 10, POW 12, A warjack damaged becomes stationary for one round) through the Renegades arc node, boosting to hit and then damage. Helynna took 11 more damage points and spent her last focus to reduce that to 6 and live.

   Finally the Rover advanced and shot Helynna with its boosted POW 14 gun and that was that.

Afterward

Defenstrator

   Well I went for it and it paid off. Myantek had made sure she wasn't in charge range of any of my models and was planning to start shooting me up next turn. But Helynna was hanging out in the open and I was able to put all my shots into her. The lesson? Assassination wins games
    It wasn't a great game though, so we're going to be playing it over again next week and put the lessons learned into action.

Myantek

   This game can be best summed up with a Penny Arcade Warmachine quote. Well that's bullshit, and you're bullshit, and your whole army is bullshit, and this whole table is bullshit, except my side which is balanced.
https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/02/14

Mark III Journeyman Battle 2

Magnus vs Helynna - Mangled Metal, 0 Points

   Our last game was fun but there was definitely a sense that neither of us knew quite what we were doing with our casters, so we decided to play another 0 Point game before expanding our lists.

Army Lists

Magnus the Traitor
Mangler
Rover

vs

Magister Helynna
Manticore
Chimera
Griffon

 

 

Scenario

   Assassination. Kill the enemy caster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set Up

   Myantek won the roll and chose to go first. I decided to pick my side because with no pathfinder that crater looked like a pain to deal with. Myantek set upon her left hand side while I set up on my right with an eye to getting on the hill.

Turn 1 

Retribution

   The Chimera Apparated forward (place this model anywhere completely within 2 inches). Helynna cast Rhythm of War (Warjacks in the battlegroup can advance 3 inches after all models have activated.) and Deceleration (+2 ARM vs Ranged and Magic attacks) and then advanced. The Griffon, Chimera, and Manticore all ran, then the whole battlegroup advanced another 3" thanks to Rhythm of War.

Mercs

   Magnus put Blur (+3 Defense against range and magic attacks.) on himself, Snipe (+4 Rng on target model.) on the Rover, and Death Ward (+2 ARM and pick hit locations.) on the Mangler, then advanced up behind the hill. The Mangler ran on to the hill, but the Rover didn't have quite enough movement to get on and ended up behind it.

Turn 2

Retribution

   Helynna paid one focus to upkeep Rhythm of War. The Chimera Apparated forward another 2". The Chimera, Griffon, and Manticore all advanced, with the Chimera 10" away from the Mangler. Helynna cast Obliteration (Cost 4, Rng 10, AOE 5, POW 15) though the arc node at the Mangler, but a low damage roll meant it bounced off thanks to Death Ward. The jacks then all backed out of retaliation range thanks to Rhythm of War.

Mercs

   Magnus upkept everything for free thanks to his Resourceful ability and assigned one focus to the Rover. The Rover advanced and shot at the Chimera, boosting to hit and damage. A good roll did 13 damage to the jack, blowing off its power field. Magnus and the Mangler simply advanced.

Turn 3

Retribution

   Helynna upkept Rhythm of War and assigned two focus to the Manticore. The Manticore advanced and rolled 1 for the number of shots it had this turn. It shot at the Mangler with a boosted to hit roll but with bad dice it missed due to the elevation bonus of the Mangler being on the hill. The Chimera and Griffon moved back and Helynna advanced forward and fixed 4 points of damage on the Chimera. The Manticore then used its Rhythm of War move to back up out of charge range.

Mercs

   Magnus upkept all his spells and assigned one focus to the Rover. The Rover advanced and with another good damage roll crippled the Chimer's right arm system. The Mangler then advanced into charge range of the Manticore, daring it to come in. Magnus advanced off the hill behind the Rover.

Turn 4

Retribution

   Helynna again upkept Rhythm of War. Helynna activated first and used her feat (+3 ARM to battlegroup. Remove all damage from warjack power fields. Ignore the effects of crippled systems for one ). She then cast Obliteration though the Chimera at the Rover doing 5 damage. Magnus spent a focus to shrug off damage from the blast. The Manticore aimed and shot the Rover doing another 6 points of damage. The Chimera and Manticore then retreated using Rhythm of War while the Griffon advanced forward.

Mercs

   Magnus upkept all his spells and assigned one focus to the Rover. It advanced and shot the Chimera for 7 damage, breaking its just fixed power field. The Mangler moved back into charge range of the Manticore. Magnus advanced to the Rover and fixed 3 points of damage.

Turn 5

Retribution

   Helynna upkept Rhythm of War and assigned two focus to both the Manticore and the Griffon. The Manticore spent a focus to (Gain +3 STR) and charged the Mangler. It hit but a bad damage roll meant it only did 4 which I assigned to column three thanks to Death Ward. The Manticore hit again with its second initial attack but bounced, bought an attack and did 3 more.
  
   The Griffon then charged the Rover and did 6 damage. The shield attack bounced, but it bought and boosted a second attack and did 5 more damage. Helynna advanced and fixed 5 more damage on the Chimera, which at this point between the repairs and feat had 15 damage points fixed on it so far. The Chimera then advanced thanks to Rhythm of War.

Mercs

   Magnus upkept his spells again and assigned two focus to both the Rover and Mangler. He then advanced, used his feat Hit and Run (Models in battlegroup gain Parry. After all models have activated all the models in his battlegroup can run for free.) and fixed 3 more points on the Rover. Last he cast Iron Aggression (Target warjack may run, charge, or slam for free. Melee attack rolls on the warjack are boosted.) on the Mangler.

   The Mangler then advanced and used its Thresher *attack (This model makes one attack against every target in its melee range and LOS. Thresher attacks are simultaneous.). This did 8 damage to the Griffon and crippled its shield. Between the Manglers two initial attacks and three more bought attacks it wrecked the Manticore.
  
   The Rover then attacked the Griffon. It missed its initial Axe attack, hit with the Shield for 2 points, missed with its Point Blank (may make a melee attack with its ranged weapon with a .5" melee range) gun shot. It then bought an attack and did 3 points, bought and missed, bought and did 4 points more. The whole battlegroup then ran, with the Mangler engaging Helynna and the Chimera, and the Rover getting close with Magnus behind it.

Turn 6

Retribution

   The Chimera Apparated behind the Mangler. Helynna assigned one focus to the Griffon. She then cast Obliteration though the Chimera at Magnus needing to hit DEF 17 thanks to Blur. A boosted roll made it and hit Magnus for 7 points of damage. She then risked the free strike from the Mangler to shoot at him and took 13 points of damage, reducing her to 3 points. Her shot missed.

   The Griffon then advanced and was just in melee range of Magnus. A solid hit did 9 more points of damage leaving him at one. The Chimera then advanced and made it to melee range. Spending its focus to boost to hit it did, and managed to do the 1 point of damage it needed to kill Magnus.

Afterward

Defenstrator

  There were two things to blame for that loss. The first was the Rover. As the saying goes, you had one job. The Griffon was sitting in front of it, damaged with no Shield, and it had six attacks. Could it close the deal? Nope. That left the Griffon around to deal the big smack to Magnus that put him in danger range.

   The other problem was me screwing up. I had a plan for the turn, which was kill the two jacks and then put pressure on Helynna, and followed it even though the Griffon lived. What I should have done was use my feat to reposition and trap the Griffon, making sure I could kill it next turn while keeping Magnus safe. Then it would have been Magnus and his two heavies against Helynna and her one light.

Myantek

   I got lucky.  He says that there are key things he did wrong, etc.  I got lucky.  I figured there wasn't a whole lot of options on my last turn.  He was going to catch me no matter where I went to hide so I went for it and did just enough damage to get the win.

  

Mark III Journeyman Battle

Magnus vs Helynna - Mangled Metal, 0 Points

   It's been a while since the last update. But Warmachine and Hordes MkIII has arrived and we have been enjoying it. Myantek and I decided to play the armies that we had not been using as much, so she bought the Retribution Battlebox and I bought a Rover, which gave us each the core units of the Journeyman League. We play big games on Friday with our friends and on Sunday evenings will be doing our own Journeyman games.

Army Lists

Magnus the Traitor
Mangler
Rover

vs

Magister Helynna
Manticore
Griffon
Chimera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenario

   The scenario was simple, kill the enemy caster.

Set Up

   I won the roll to go first and Myantek picked the side. With just the warcaster and two jacks deployment was straightforward. I placed centrally with an eye for cover as I advanced. Myantek did the same opposite me.

 Turn 1

Mercs

   Magnus put Snipe (+4 Rng on target model) on the Rover, Blur (+3 Defense against range and magic attacks) on himself, and Death Ward (+2 ARM and pick hit locations) on the Mangler. He then charged the Griffon and moved 8 inches before his turned ended with the failed charge. The Mangler and Rover both ran.

Retribution

   The Griffon used its Fleet ability to gain +2 movement and advanced 8 inches. The Chimera Apparated (place this model anywhere completely within 2 inches) and advanced. The Chimera advanced and placed a wall template. Helynna advanced and cast Deceleration (+2 ARM vs Ranged and Magic attacks) and Rhythm of War (Warjacks in the battlegroup can advance 3 inches after all models have activated). The jacks then moved forward another 3 inches.

Turn 2

Mercs

   Magnus upkept all the spells on his battlegroup for free thanks to his Resourceful ability, and assigned one focus to the Rover. The Rover advanced and shot at Helynna, but missed even though it boosted to hit. Magnus then advanced and put Blur on the Rover, and the Mangler ran to block line of sight to Magnus.

Retribution

   Helynna spent one focus to upkeep Rhythm of War and assigned one focus to the Manticore. The Manticore advanced and shot. Myantek rolled two for the number of shots on its d3. It hit the Mangler with the first shot but the boosted damage still bounced thanks to Death Ward. The second shot missed. The Chimera Apparated forward. Helynna cast Obliteration ( Cost 4, Rng 10, AOE 5, POW 15) through it at the Rover, hit, boosted damage and did five damage to the one column. Magnus spent a focus to prevent the damage from the AOE. The Warjacks then repositioned 3 inches.

Turn 3

Mercs

    Magnus upkept for free due to Resourceful, and assigned one focus to the Rover. The Rover advanced and shot the Griffon, doing 2 points of damage. Magnus then used his Feat, Hit and Run (Models in battlegroup gain Parry. After all models have activated all the models in his battlegroup can run for free.) and charged, ending his activation.. The Mangler also ran. During the feat move the Mangler and Rover ran to engage Helynna, while Magnus ran past to safety.

Retribution

   Helynna upkept nothing and assigned one focus to both the Chimera and Griffon. The Chimera Apparated behind the Mangler. The Griffon smashed the Mangler with a roll of 6,5,5, for 8 points, then bounced off with the shield. Helynna struck the Mangler twice, pushing it five inches away with her due to her staffs Force Grip (Instead of causing damage, an enemy model hit by this attack can be pushed up to 3" in any direction.). The Chimera then charged Magnus and hit with its combo strike. Magnus spent a focus to reduce the damage but still took 7 points. The Manticore advanced, spent a focus to gain +3 Strength, and did 8 damage to the Mangler.

Turn 4

Mercs

    Magnus upkept for free again and assigned two focus to both the Mangler and the Rover. Magnus attacked the Chimer and missed, then cast Iron Aggression (Target warjack may run, charge, or slam for free. Melee attack rolls on the warjack are boosted.) the Mangler. The Mangler then advanced toward Helynna taking 5 damage from a free strike from the Chimera. It then used its Thresher special attack, striking the Griffon for 10 points of damage. Boosting the attack on Helynna it did 5 points of damage, then bought and boosted to hit another attack for 6 more, with Helynna spending focus to reduce both those hits.

   The Rover then moved in, and finished Helynna off.

Afterward

Defenstrator

   Well that was interesting. I felt I had to get in on Myantek right away as she was going to just out shoot me or yank a jack in with Helynna's staff and tear me apart piecemeal. So I popped my feat and rushed her. Was it the right move? I got away with it, but I think that was more because of Myantek's inexperience with playing Helynna rather than any tactical brilliance on my part.

Myantek

   I'm not used to assigning focus.  Too many games with Hordes where I can do things on the fly.  Also, Kaya can get herself out of trouble much easier than Helynna can.  I made a lot of mistakes.  Mostly due to inexperience with the models (for instance, Apparate is supposed to happen in the maintenance phase, oops).

   Helynna is certainly an interesting caster.  I can see possibilities but balancing 'jacks and spells is going to be the tricky part.

Styker vs Irusk - Destruction

Cygnar vs Khador - Destruction, 50 Points

   I haven't played a game of warmachine in over a month so of course the first one I do to get back in the saddle is a battle report. This was against my friend Birch at his house. Last time my Legion triumphed over him, so let's see how Cygnar will do.

Army Lists

Cygnar

Commander Coleman Stryker
Stormwall
Squire
Storm Strider
Journeyman Warcaster
Arlan Strageways
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
Swordknights - Leader and 9 Grunts
Sword Knight Officer & Standard - Swordknight Unit Attachment
Centurion (marshalled to Swordknight UA)

vs

Khador

Kommandant Irusk
Behemoth
War Dog
Iron Fang Pikemen - Leader and 9 Grunts
Iron Fang Pikemen Officer & Standard - Iron Fang Unit Attachment
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Kayazy Eliminators
Battle Mechaniks - Leader and 3 Grunts
Greylord Ternion
Widowmakers
Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters - Leader and 9 Grunts
Koldun Kapitan Valachev - attached to Nyss
Harlan Phineas Versh, Illuminated One

Scenario

Destruction

    Mark a zone (12˝ × 6˝ rectangle) in the centre of the board and place four objectives (Monoliths) at each of the corners. The objectives on Player 1’s side of the board are friendly Faction models to Player 1 and vice versa. At the end of each player’s turn, starting on the second player’s second turn, a player earns control points (CP) as follows:

• Enemy Objective: Destroyed (once per objective) = 1 CP

• Zone: Control = 1 CP, Dominate = 2 CP

   The first player to earn at least 5 control points and have more control points than the opponent immediately wins the game. If time runs out before a player has won the game via scenario or assassination victory, the player with the most Control Points wins. If tied the player with the most army points inside the zone.

   Artifice: Kill Box - Starting on the first player’s second turn, if a player ends his own turn with a friendly warcaster/ warlock completely within 14˝ of any board edge, his opponent immediately scores 2 control points. A player can measure 14˝ from any board edge during his warcaster/ warlock’s activation.

Setup

   We rolled off and I went second. I predeployed the Stormwall in the centre and the Storm Strider on my left flank.

   Birch set up centrally with the Behemoth, Irusk, War Dog, Ternions, and Great Bears holding the middle with the Mechaniks behind the Behemoth. The Iron Fang Pikemen were on my left opposite the Storm Strider with the Elminators behind them. The Nyss led by Valachev held the other flank.

   I put Stryker, the Squire, and half the Sword Knights on the left of the Stormwall, and the other half of the Swordknights and Centurion on its right. Behind the Sworknights were Arlan Strangeways and the Journeyman, while the Black 13th held the right flank.

Turn 1

Khador

   The Behemoth was assigned one focus, after which there was a lot of running. The Iron Fangs ran. The Elmininators ran. The Greylords advanced and put Smoke on an Iron Fang, a Mechanik, and a Nyss. Irusk advanced and put Superiority (Target warjack gets +2 SPD, MAT, and DEF, and can't be knocked down) on the Behemoth and Iron Flesh (+3 DEF -1 SPD) on the Iron Fangs, leaving himself with one focus. The Behemoth ran forward toward the centre. The Nyss ran and the Mechaniks ran. And the War Dog aand Harlan finished the turn by advancing. Those Khador guys obviously like to keep in shape.

Cygnar

   I assigned no focus and began to unpack my army out of the way of the Stormwall. The Centurion ran towards the centre zone. Stryker cast Blur (+3 DEF vs Ranged and MAgic attacks) on the Swordknights, Snipe (+4 Range) on the Storm Strider, and Arcane Shield (+3 ARM) on himself, then advanced. The Squire ran up beside him. The Storm Strider advanced and shot twice at the Iron Fangs, but missed both due to Iron Flesh.

   On the right side the Black 13th ran and toed into a forest, with Prowl now giving them Stealth. The Journeyman advanced and put Arcane Shield onto the Centurion. Arlan advanced and Power Boosted the Stormwall. The Centurion was then Pronto'd forward another 4" by the Sword Knight Officer, and then the Sworknights ran to join it. The Stormwall advanced behind them, doing nothing with its big guns and then laying down two Covering Fire templates in front of the Sword Knights.

Turn 2

Khador

   Irusk upkept both Superiority and Iron Flesh, and assigned the Behemoth two focus to the sub-cortex. The Behemoth advanced and hit and killed a Sword Knight with a boosted Bombard shot. The AOE bounced off a Sword Knight beside the first, even with a boosted damage roll. But then Birch rolled boxcars and killed that one with the Behemoth's second bombard shot.


   The Nyss continued the punishemnt on the Sword Knights, advaing forward to Combined Ranged Attack and kill two, before being Zephyred back by Valachev.

   I had been a bit sloppy placing the Covering Fire templates and a single Iron Fang managed to squeeze through the gap into the zone and engaged the Centurion as they advanced and redeployed centrally. The Widowmakers and Eliminators also redeployed, running back away from the Storm Strider. The Ternions continued the trend by advancing and putting Smoke on two Mechaniks and a Great bear. The Great Bears and Mechaniks ran into position to provide concealment, while Irusk advanced to hehind a small bunch of trees and cast Inhospitable Ground. Harlan Versh ran as well.

Cygnar

   I began the turn by allocating one focus from the Squire to Stryker. Stryker dropped Arcane Shield, upkept Snipe and Blur, and allocated two focus to the Stormwall. The Journeyman upkept Arcane Shield on the Centurion, which it would continue to do for the rest of the game. The turn began with Arlan advancing and putting Evasion on the Centurion. The Sword Knights then activate and charge/run, with three charging the lone Irong Fang. I figure they can do the job at MAT 8 thanks to Flank, but all miss. The Centurion was then Pronto'd forward, but only 2" due to Inhospitable Ground.

   The Stormwall advanced up behind the Sword Knights and dropped a Pod, killing a forward Mechanik.  It then unloads on the Behemoth, but manages to miss both shots thanks to it being at DEF 14 with Superiority and Concealment from the Cloud. It then placed the Covering Fire templates down again, blocking the other Iron Fangs from the zone. No gaps this time.

   The Black 13th advanced out from the forest to do some work, but then missed both shots at the lead Great Bear. Ryans Mage Storm then hit the Storm Pod, which killed 2 Nyss, but the Great Bear was just out. Lastly the Storm Strider advanced and shot at the Iron Fangs some more, managing to kill two.

Turn 3

Khador

   Irusk upkept both spells and assigned two focus to the Behemoth sub-cortex just like last time. The Mechaniks and Harlan Versh both run. The Ternions advance and hit the Centurion with three Ice Cages, making it Stationary with no way to shake it off. Irusk casts Inhospitable Ground (everywhere in his CTRL area counts as ough Terrain to enemy models) and uses his Feat Undying Loyalty to give all friendly models in his CTRL area +2 to hit rolls, 4+ Tough, and can't be knocked down.

   The Nyss, now all pumped up, killed the Black 13th and Zephyred back. The Behemoth aimed and did 3 damage to the Stormwalls 3 coloumn on the right side with its Bombards. The War Dog ran to Irusk while the Ironfangs advanced and Shield Walled, then used their mini-feat to Reform even further over. The Elminators ran to be fully on my left side and the Great Bears ran up my left flank. The Widowmakers finished the turn off by killing two more Sword Knights.

Cygnar

   Stryker drew a focus from the Squire and upkept Snipe and Blur. The Storm Strider advanced up the right flank some more and unloaded on a Mechanik. There were a lot of bounces but with the 4+ Tough from feat turn only two Mechaniks died. The Sword Knights activated next and the free ones charged into the Iron Fangs skirting around the Covering Fire templates. They all continued to not roll an 8 to hit the Iron Fangs engaging them.

   Araln and the Journeyman ran to my left side to take shelter behind the Stormwall, away from the Nyss. The Stormwall put down a Pod but the Iron Fang hit made its Tough roll. It then shot the Behemoth, doing 3 damage on its second hit. lastly it put down the Covering Fire Templates to keep the Iron Fnags back. Lastly Stryker advanced, put Arcane Shield back on himself, and shot at the Behemoth to Disrupt it. Unfortunately he missed.

Turn 4

Khador

   The Khaodr turn repeated itself as Irusk upkept both spells and assigned two focus to the Behemoth sub-cortex. irusk started the turn by continuing to hide behind the trees, and casting Battle Lust onto the Nyss. The Nyss then ran and charged the Centurion, a Sword Knight, and the right objective. The Centurion bounced the Nyss, taking one point to coloumn 5, while the other Nyss missed the Sword Knight. The objective on the other hand was chopped into pieces, scoring Birch a point.

   The Great Bears then sprung into action, with the lead one charging in to kill a Sword Knight and the Swordknight UA. The other two hung back to be in position to counter attack. The Behemoth shot the Stormwall and spiked the damage rolls, doing another 16 points to the right side. The Widowmakers spread out to avoid the Storm Strider and shot at the Sword Knights, missing. With the Centurion now engage the ternions no longer had an easy target for Ice cage and so they ran, as did Harlan Versh, the War Dog, and the Elminators onto my right flank.

Cygnar

   Stryker drew the last focus from the Squire and upkept Snipe and Arcane Shield, but dropped Blur. Two focus were assigned to Stormwall. The Flanking Swordknights yet again rolled no 8s to kill the engaging Iron Fang. Arlan advanced and cast Power Booster onto the Centurion. Stryker then shot the Behemoth, disrupting it, cast Earthquake at three Iron Fangs and their Unit Attachment to knock them down, and then used his Feat Invincibility to give all friendly faction models in his CTRL Area +5 ARM for a turn.

   The Stormwall then advanced and dropped a Storm Pod. The lightning arced between them and killed a Nyss and Valachev, and did 3 damaged to a Great Bear. The Stormwall then unloaded on the Great Bears with its Chain Guns, getting five shots. But even though it managed to hit and wound them all they tanked like a boss and all make their 5+ Tough rolls. The following Cannon shot is also bounced off a Tough roll, and only Volkov died to the last boosted cannon shot. The Storm Strider then advanced and shot the Stormwall in the back, with the bouncing lightning killing three nearby Nyss and an Iron Fang. The Nyss would have had to do a Command check but were still Fearless from Battle Lust.

   The Centurion then shuffled over and killed a Nyss with its shield and the second Great Bear Turovich with a boosted to hit roll. Lastly the Journeyman advanced and killed one of the knocked down Iron Fangs with her handcannon.

Turn 5

Khador

   Yet again Irusk upkept both Superiority and Iron Flesh, but couldn't assign focus since the Behemoth was Disrupted. The Iron Fnags get the Shield Wall order and half sacrifice their action to stand up and advance. The other half poke away at the Centurion they couldn't hurt, and got a lucky Critical to knock it down. Now that it was no longer DEF 15 for being in melee the Ternions advanced and Ice Caged the Centurion again, making it Stationary, again. The Behemoth advanced and lobbed some shots at the Journeyman doing 2 points of damage to her.


   Next the War Dog charged and killed the Storm Pod and jogged back to Irusk. Irusk followed this up with Inhospitable Ground. Harlan and the Widowmakers just ran into new positions. Finally the Elminators put the pressure on by running through the Stormwall and other intervening models to engage Stryker.

Cygnar

    Stryker upkept Snipe on the Storm Strider while the Journeyman continued to upkeep Arcane Shield on the Centurion. Stryker then allocated three focus to the Stormwall. Stryker began the turn by casting Arcane Shield on the Stormwall and took a swing at an Elminator, which missed.

   The Stormwall then activated and moved back over to Stryker, taking three Free Strikes from the Iron Fang Pikemen. This did 7 damage to it and took out the right side. The Stormwall then dropped a Storm Pod and hit both the Eliminators with the lightning arc. I boosted damage on each to be sure and killed them both, while the Sword Knight Standard which was also hit survived as it bounced off. The Stormwall then boosted to hit with its broken right cannon and managed to kill the last Great Bear. The other cannon shot the Behemoth for 1 measly point. The working left Chain Gun then put covering fire down between Stryker and the Iron Fangs.

   The Journeyman aimed and killed another Iron Fang with boosted to hit and damage rolls while the Storm Strider only managed to kill the last Mechanik. The two remaining Sword Knights, still with Flank, yet again missed the one Iron Fang they had been engaging all game. Birch cheered he was so happy. Arlan fixed the Stormwall for one point on the right side.

Turn 6

Khador

   Irusk upkept Iron Flesh and Superiority as he had all game. But now he assigned two focus to the Behemoth's sub-cortex and two to the main cortex. The Behemoth spent a focus to Slam the Swordknight Standard into Stryker and boosted to hit. The slam was successful, killing the Standard, doing 5 damage to Stryker, and knocking him down. With Stryker at DEF 5 both Bombards easily hit, and with boosted damage rolls killed Stryker.

Afterward

   Well at least I made a game of it, which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do after Birch's turn 3. I made some sloppy mistakes which you can't afford against a decent opponent, which caused me some real problems. The first was not being careful with the covering fire and letting that one Iron Fang slip through. Now I had a bit of bad luck in that I should have killed him at some point, buteven so, it was my own mistake that let Birch get him onto that awkward poaition. The second was advancing the Black 13th out of the woods. For two Nyss I gave away the whole unit, which would have been relatively safe just aiming and picking things off. Having them around to do real work later in the game would have been very helpful.

   The last mistake I made was that I could have done things a bit differently last turn. The Stormwall needed the Arcane Shield to shrug off the damage from the three free strikes it had to take to get rid of the Eliminators. Instead of using Stryker I could have dropped the Journeyman's Arcane Shield off the Centurion and cast that on the Stormwall. Once it killed the Eliminators Stryker would have been free to aim and shoot the Behemoth to Disrupt it once more, and then put his Arcane Shield on the Centurion.  This would have bought me another turn, which meant Arlan could have fixed the Stormwall some more and the Strider would have been shooting up the Ternions and other deep back field stuff.

   The man of the match was definitely the Stormwall, although the Storm Strider was slowly racking up kills. The Centurion only killed a Nyss and a Great Bear, but it absorbed a lot of attacks and firmly blocked the way for the Behemoth to move in on me. As long as it was there the Behemoth couldn't bum rush the Stormwall. Birch, however, did do a good job of showing why dedicated melee jacks aren't very popular jack marshall targets since they have some core vulnerabilites that can be exploited. Then he got to live the dream with the Behemoth slam double bombard move.

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.