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.

Epic Eiryss

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

Cygnar vs Retribution: The Revenge of Vyros

Nemo vs Vyros - Kill Box, 35 Points

Things have been busy with Spring Break and the kids, not to mention painting and playing games, but we've finally gotten around to writting up another report. I decided to take a jack heavy Nemo list while Myantek is sticking to her Dawngaurd army.

Army Lists

Cygnar

Commander Adept Nemo
Squire
Thunderhead
Ol'Rowdy
Lancer
10 Stormguard
Journeyman Warcaster





Retribution of Scyrah

Dawnlord Vyros
Manticore
Griffon
Dawngaurd Invictors
Invictor Officer & Standard
Dawngaurd Sentinels
Sentinel Officer & Standard
Arcanist
House Shyeel Magister

Scenario

Killbox

Mark a 24˝ square centered on the table parallel to the board edges. This is the kill box.Victory ConditionsAt the end of each player’s own turn, starting on the first player’s second turn, a player loses the match if he ends his own turn with any friendly warcaster or warlock not within the kill box.If time runs out before a player has won the match via scenario or assassination victory, break the tie using only the assassination and secondary tiebreaker rules outlined in “Victory & Tiebreakers.” For the secondary tiebreaker, count only the army points’ worth of models within the kill box

Setup

I set up my Cygnar first. Working from left to right, I put the Lancer on my left flank with Rowdy beside him. Junior stood behind them. The Stormguard formed a line in the centre with Nemo and the Squire behind them. The Thunderhead held the right flank.

Opposite them from left to right were the Sentinels + Unit Attachment with the Magister beside them. The Griffon and Vyros held the centre but were back a bit. In front were the Invictors + UA with the Manticore opposite the Thunderhead.

Turn 1

Cygnar

The Lancer and Thunderhead are assigned one focus. The Stormgaurd run, while the Journeyman advances behind them and casts Arcane Shield on them. Rowdy runs forward for free. The lancer and Thunderhead both run forward while the Squire advances. Nemo advances into the Kill Box and cast Deflection and then Electrify on the Thunderhead.

Retribution

The Invictors run into position. Vyros casts Mobility, advances and then casts Inviolable Resolve on the Invictors while the Griffin advances alongside him. The Arcanist advances and gives the Manticore a focus point with Power Booster. The Manticore then runs forward in front of the trees. The Sentinels run forward with the Magister behind them.

Turn 2

Cygnar

Nemo puts 5 focus on the Thunderhead after grabbing a point from the Squire, and then upkeeps electrify. The Stormguard advance followed by the Journeyman who recasts Arcane Shield on them to give Nemo a power token. The Lancer and Squire both advance with the Lancer putting itself in cover, followed by Nemo who advances and casts Chain Lightning through the Lancer into the Invictors. Their armour is up to the task and it does nothing. The Thunderhead then advances and unloads on the Manticore, but bad damage rolls result in only 8 damage to its power field.

Retribution

Vyros puts 3 focus on the Manticore and upkeeps Inviolable Resolve. The Arcanist activates first,advances to the Manticore, and gives it Conetrated Power. The Invictors advance and use their mini-feat Extended Fire to get +4 range. They have a mediocre round putting only three damage on the Lancer and killing just two Stormguard. The Sentinels, Magister, Vyros, and the Griffin all advance. The Manticore spends a focus to give itself +3 STR and then charges the Thunderhead. It combo-strikes the Thunderhead for 12 damage. Electrify goes off and pushes the Manticore back 2 inches, although the POW 14 hit does nothing. The Thunderhead loses no systems.

Turn 3

Cygnar

Nemo puts 4 focus on the Thunderhead and takes one from the Squire. The turn starts with Nemo activating and casting Disruption Field on the Thunderhead, before following up with another Chain Lightning on the Invictors. Like last time the Lightning bounces off. The Thunderhead does better, moving up and pounding the Manticore into the ground with two focus left over. The Stormguard charge and run, killing an Invictor, with Ol' Rowdy running into position behind them. The Journeymen casts Arcane Shield again.

Retribution

Vyros put 1 focus on the Griffon and upkeeps Inviolable Resolve. The Invictors advance, fail to kill the Stromguard tying them up in melee, do 3 more points to the Lancer, and manage to kill another Stormguard with their shooting. Vyros casts Mobility and charges the Arcanist, cleaving him in half. The Griffon runs to engage the Thunderhead while the Magister runs to the centre. The Sentinels advance around some more, still keeping out of charge range of the Stormguard.

Turn 4

Cygnar

Nemo puts 5 focus on the Thunderhead and grabs the last one from the Squire. The Thunderhead then walks out of combat with the Griffon, takes 2 points of damage from the free strike, and then starts shooting. At the end the Griffon is still there, although its Right Arm and Movement are both crippled. Nemo sends yet another Chain Lightning through the Lancer at the Invictors. Even with boosting damage and getting 7 hits he only kills one.The Stormguard charge and kill two more Invictors. Ol' Rowdy runs. the Journeyman casts Arcane Shield once again on the closest Stormguard. The Squire and Lancer advance.

Retribution

Vyros upkeeps Inviolable Resolve. The Invictors retaliate, killing 2 Stormgaurd and doing 6 more points to the Lancer. The Sentinels edge forward a bit more, content to let the Invictors handle things. The Magister casts at the Lancer and does no damage, but is able to push it back 2 inches. The Griffon advances into melee range of the Thunderhead and does nothing. Vyros casts Mobility, charges the Thunderhead, and destroys it single handedly.

Turn 5

Cygnar

Nemo puts 5 focus on Ol' Rowdy. Nemo aims and shoots Vyros for 2 points of damage, then Locomotions Rowdy 3 inches. Rowdy charges Vyros but is 1/4 inch short to get into engagement range, and so his activation ends (ouch). The Lancer advances and kills an Invictor. The Stormguard retreat back. The Journeyman advances up to cast Arcane Shield on Ol' Rowdy to try and help him weather the oncoming storm.

Retribution

Vyros upkeeps Inviolable Resolve. Vyros wrecks Ol'Rowdy with solid damage rolls. The Griffon advances to screen Vyros. The Magister misses the Lancer while the Invictors kill a Stormguard. The Sentinels sense their moment and run.

Turn 6

Cygnar

Nemo moves and shoots at Vyros through the doorway, but the shot misses. He then hits Vyros with a Chain Lightning spell that bounces off the Dawnlords armour. His second Chain Lightening misses. The Journeyman shows his mettle by advancing and shooting Vyros, reducing him to 6 points of life. The Stormguard charge and wreck the Griffon. The Lancer is less effective and does nothing except tie up Invictors. The Squire advances and blocks the door.

Retribution

Vyros upkeeps Inviolable Resolve. Vyros casts Mobility, advances, and destroys the Lancer. The Invictors advance and kill a Stormguard. The Sentinels charge and kill 2 Stormguard, at which point the final survivor fails his CMD check. The Magister advances and does 3 points of damage to the Squire, dragging it 3 inches forward.

Turn 7

Cygnar

Nemo advances up the stairs, shoots at Vyros again, and again misses. He casts Chain Lightning twice but doesn't even kill anyone as it bounces off their ARM. The Journeyman makes the unwise decision to kill a Sentinel.

Retribution

The Sentinels kill the Journeyman while the Magister casts and misses Nemo. The Invictors advance. Vyros casts Mobility, charges Nemo, and one shots him.

Afterward

Defenstrator

Well that was kind of brutal. I was doing ok there for awhile. The Stormguard were stymying both the Invictors and the Sentinels and the Thunderhead was doing ok. But then I made my first big mistake in not moving the Thunderhead back far enough when shooting the Griffon. I was paranoid of giving it cover from the Thunderhead when I should have been paranoid of what Vyros could do to it. My second mistake was trying to charge Vyros with Ol' Rowdy instead of just destroying the Griffon. With the Flank bonus gone Rowdy probably would have survived Vyros beating on him. It also didn't help that I just couldn't roll above a 7 for damage with my Chain Lightnings. I figured I could cut down the Invictors with just the shear volume of fire, but with Inviolable Resolve on them that just wasn't happening. I should have recognised that as well.

Myantek

The rest of my army did a little better this time but, again, Vyros was the go to guy to get things done. He does have other spells in his list... I just haven't managed to figure out a use for anything but Invioable Resolve and Mobility. I think I have to do a bit of experimenting. On the other hand, I finally won a game! Yay!

I don't know if the Magistar really fits with this army. I'm thinking of dropping him and maybe adding in one of the Eirysses, maybe a Soulless or two. I've actually been playing at 33 points because of what I've got built but I don't think it's been making that much difference. I've got a little room to play.

Retribution of Scyra vs Cygnar: The Rematch

So Defenstrator wanted a rematch... Apparently he beat me too quickly last time and wanted to try again so that I could give him a challenge.

Retribution vs Cygnar - 35 points Kill Box

Retribution

Dawnlord Vyros
Griffon
Manticore
10 x Dawnguard Invictors with Unit Attachment
10 x Dawnguard Sentinels with Unit Attachment
Magistar
Arcanist








Cygnar

Captain Victoria Haley

Charger
Charger
Squire
Centurian
Lancer
Sword Knights
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
Field Mechaniks
Captain Arlan Strangeways

Set Up

The board was set up the same as last time. Three hills made up the left hand side of the board and two copses of trees made up the right side of the board with a whole lot of nothing in between.

I learned from the last game that it was best to have Vyros stay a little further back so that was the sum of my plan going into this game. This time I won the roll to go first ('cause that'll make all the difference).

The Manticore and the Arcanist would take the left flank and the Sentinels would take the rights. The Griffon stood around to act as Vyros' personal shield and the Invictors were placed close to the middle so that I could have the possibilty to go to either side dependng on Defenstrator's deployment without a lot of repositioning. The Magistar hung back with Vyros.

On Defenstrator's side the two Chargers set up to face down the Manticore with the Mechaniks backing them up. Strangeways and the Centurian set up beside them and the Lancer stood on the far right of the zone. The Sword Knights and the Squire screened Haley in the centre of the field.

Retribution Turn 1

Vyros hung on to all his Focus this turn.

The Invictors and Sentinels both ran forward up the field with the Magistar and the Arcanist following behind them.

Vyros cast Mobility and then Inviolable Resolve on the Invictors and then moved into the Kill Box zone. The Griffon moved in front of Vyros to act as a shield and the Manticore moved up onto the hill to lay down some covering fire.

Cygnar Turn 1

Haley took 1 Focus from the Squire and then gave 3 Focus to each Charger.

Charger 1 moved forward and attempted to shoot the Manticore but was short so Charger 2 ran forward.

The Sword Knights ran forward. Haley followed behind then and cast Arcane Shield on the unit.

The Black 13th moved forward to the trees and attempted to shoot the Sentinels but were out of range. The Lancer followed behind them.

Strangeways moved forward and gave a Focus to the Centurian. The Centurian used the Focus to run up the field with the Mechaniks following behind.

Retribution Turn 2

Vyros upkept Inviolable Resolve and gave 3 Focus to the Manticore.

The Invictors moved forward and used their mini-feat to kill off the Sword Knights. The Sentinels ran through the trees to set themselves up for the next turn and Vyros moved in behind the Invictors.

The Griffon moved in front of Vryos. The Arcanist and the Magistar moved in behind them. The Manticore shot Charger 1 for 6 damage.

Cygnar Turn 2

Haley upkept Arcane Shield and took 1 Focus from the Squire. She then gave 3 Focus to the Centurian, 1 to Charger 1 and 3 to Charger 2. She then moved forward to shoot and kill one of the Invictors after using her feat.

The Black 13th moved forward to shoot the Sentinels killing 5 of them in total. The Sword Knights charged the Invictors to kill 7 of them.

Charger 1 moved forward and killed the Arcanist but missed on shooting the Invictors. The Centurian charged the Manticore and managed to do 23 points of damage. Charger 2 moved forward to shoot the Griffon for 9 points but did nothing to the Invictors.

The Mechaniks moved in front of Haley and then failed to fix Charger 1. Strangeways, the Squire and the Lancer simply moved forward.

Retribution Turn 3

The Sentinels made their move toward the Black 13th with Vengeance. Vyros dropped Inviolable Resolve and assigned 1 Focus to the Griffon. He used his Feat, cast Invioable Resolve on himself and then cast Mobility. He killed one Sword Knight and the Focus was assigned to the Manticore.

The Sentinels charged the Black 13th and the Sword Knights and... sucked? Nothing on the Black 13th and 2 dead Sword Knights (giving the Manticore 2 more Focus). The dice did not go my way. The Magister followed the Sentinels' lead and also accomplished nothing. The Invictors were able to do 7 points of damage to Charger 1.

The Griffon charged Charger 1 for an additional 8 points but wasn't able to take it down. The Manticore gave itself a boost in strength and tried to take down the Centurian but only managed 13 points of damage.

Not a stellar turn for the Retribution.

Cygnar Turn 3

Haley gave 1 Focus to the Lancer.

The Sword Knights and the Black 13th moved in to finish off the Sentinels and the Invictors killing most of them.

The Lancer moved up and Haley cast Chain Lightning through it (using a reroll from the Squire) to kill the Magistar, 2 more Sentinels and a couple of Sword Knights.

The Centurian killed the Manticore and did 14 points to the Griffon. The Mechaniks fixed pretty much all the minuscule amount of damage I'd been able to do up to this point. Strageways gave a Focus to Charger 1 who then shot and damaged the Griffon. Charger 2 actually missed.

Retribution Turn 4

So we probably should have called the game at this point. The chance of me winning were very slim. However, we'd forgotten to keep track of the amount of time we'd been playing so we decided to see just how long it would take to kill Vyros. (Or Haley... It's not impossible.)

Vyros upkept Inviolable Resolve on himself.

The Griffon was completely ineffective at this point but it could still flank things so it moved forward on the hill.

Vyros cast Mobility and charged the Centurian. The Centurian wasn't destroyed.

The Sentinel that refused to run away managed to kill a Sword Knight and the Invictors charge Charger 2 for 8 points of damage.

Cygnar Turn 4

Haley taunted Vyros with the amount of Focus she could still throw around. She gave 3 to the Centurian and 1 to each of the Chargers.

The Centurian failed to kill Vyros by only doing 7 points of damage. Charger 2 does manage to destroy the Griffon. Of course Vyros now has cover frm the wreck marker and is in melee, so Charger 1 didn't manage to kill him either.

The Mechaniks failed to repair the Centurian but returned 5 points to Charger 2. Strangeways repaired another 6 points.

Haley moved up and cast Arcane Shield on the Centurian. The Squire moved onot the hill and the Black 13th mopped up the last of the Invictors and the Sentinel.

Retribution Turn 5

Vyros upkept Inviolable Resolve and laughed at the Arcane Shield. Taking the adage, "If you want something done right, do it yourself" in mind he destroyed the Centurian since the rest of his army was gone.

Cygnar Turn 5

Haley gave 3 Focus to both Chargers.

The Mechaniks pulled back and Vyros killed 2 of them for daring to leave combat. The crew chief did manage to fix 2 points of damage to Charger 1. Strangeways pulled back as well, and Vyros murdered him also.

Charger 2 aimed and shot Vyros for 8 points, but didn't take him out. Charger 1 aimed and missed. The Black 13th moved in front of Haley to shoot at Vyros but not a single shot hit him. The Lancer moved up behind the Black 13th and the Squire moved forward to block the charge lane to Haley.

Retribution Turn 6

Vyros upkept Inviolable Resolve and walked over to Charger 1. He almost destroyed it but decided to save a couple of Focus to act as armour.

Cygnar Turn 6

Haley gave 3 Focus to Charger 2 and 1 to the Lancer.

The Squire ran forward.

Charger 1 moved out of the way so Vyros destroyed it with a free strike. Charger 2 had a clear shot and took it. It did just enough damage to finally kill the Dawnlord.

Afterword

Myantek

Apparently, the rest of his army was the only thing holding Vyros back. Things started to go a lot better for me once Defenstrator had killed most of my other models. The lack of performance from my Sentinels was a little disappointing. They should really be better than that.

Defenstrator

Wow. I was doing really well there with minimal casualties and a strong position. Little did I realise that the slaughter of his army would send Vyros into a killing frenzy so destructive that I was starting to get worried that he'd work his way over to Haley. With the Centurion down shooting was my only way to kill him, and so I had to keep exposing models to free strikes just to deny the +4 DEF bonus Vyros was getting for being in melee. Between that and the cover granted by the wreck markers of the Centurion and Griffon I had a terrible time finally putting him down.