Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Minions vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 24Sep2020

Marc offered a game of Warmachine / Hordes via Wartable and I was very keen to take him up. We discussed a bit about a fun match-up between my theoretical pair (Jaga-Jaga and Dr Arkadius) and his (Durst and Reznik2).

Game 25 – Invasion (scenario 4) vs Marc’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?cb201b_-2njP4cjNjNjWoPoP7FfFoNoNjDjDjD
Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Jaga-Jaga 1] Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer [+27]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Gatorman Soul Slave [0(5)]
Dhunian Archon [0(6)]
Dhunian Archon [0(6)]
Rorsh [15]
Swamp Gobber Chef [1]
Void Archon [8]
Void Archon [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]

This is the same version of the Jaga-Jaga list I’ve played for the last few games. I think that in general Dr Arkadius would be a better drop into the Protectorate but Marc felt that Reznik2 into Dr Arkadius would be a pretty rubbish game so I went for Jaga-Jaga. The Valkyries are a bit less valuable here than in some match-ups since there are no incoming shots for them to Shield Guard, but they’re still quite effective body-blockers and they’re fun too.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1peU1X1XgagagajCjC3EoLoL3r3r3r3B2_nini

Protectorate
[Theme] The Faithful Masses

[Durst 1] Anson Durst, Rock of the Faith [+28]
– Guardian [15]
– Guardian [15]
– Purifier [8]
– Purifier [8]
– Purifier [8]
Champion of the Order of the Wall [8]
Champion of the Order of the Wall [8]
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon [0(6)]
Menite Archon [8]
Menite Archon [8]
Paladin of the Order of the Wall [4]
Paladin of the Order of the Wall [4]
Paladin of the Order of the Wall [4]
Wrack [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]

Having asked me not to play Dr Arkadius into Reznik2, Marc realised that Reznik2 into Jaga-Jaga would also be a terrible game so we ended up with Durst. I’ve never played against Durst but I think that Marc has pretty much never played with him either so maybe we’re on the same level there.

Marc wins the roll-off and chooses to move first so I take the side that will allow me to do annoying tricks with Ghost Walk through that central building. I realised after set-up that I wanted the Wrastler further right to have the option of putting Rage onto Brine so Marc kindly allowed me to fix this before we actually started. I’m stacking the right side a little here as I’m hoping to clear things on that side early and then pivot round (or through) the house in the middle. Marc comes at me with a symmetrical deployment. The Menite Archons are out on the flanks where it will be hard for me to bring anything notable to bear on them.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
Durst casts Bulwark and puts Hallowed Avenger on the left Guardian. Otherwise, everything runs headlong at me.

Turn 1: Minions
I also run everything forward at top speed since I’m not at all worried about the threat range that Marc’s army projects. Rorsh casts Pig Pen since it is free to upkeep anyway, and Jaga-Jaga casts Battle Host on herself and Grave Wind on the Void Archon on the right. I took this screenshot before I remembered to move that Void Archon.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
Durst upkeeps Bulwark, casts Deceleration then moves up and uses his Feat. Everything continues to lumber towards me, the Paladins go into Stone and Mortar stance and the Choir sing Passage.

Turn 2: Minions
There isn’t much point in engaging anything near Durst as I’ll have to deal with Warjacks at ARM25 or so. I’m pretty sure that I can take out the Menite Archon on the right so I will aim to contest where possible as make the most of Marc’s short threat ranges to keep safe. Brine gets buffed up with Rage from the Wrastler and then goes into murder the Menite Archon; the overtake move keeps him facing the incoming Champion. The Void Archon on that side gets a lucky roll under Signs and Portents to kill one of the Initiates so Void Walks back behind a line of Valkyries. Over ont he left I mainly pull back, though the plucky Chef stands in the zone where I think that nothing can get to him. Neither of us score.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Durst upkeeps Bulwark and allocates nothing. The Initiates on the right charge into Brine to hurt him a little. The Champion there charges one of my Valkyries; the impact hit doesn’t kill her so the Dhunian Archon cancels the lance attack; this means that in the end the Purifier has to finish the job which causes a bit of a traffic jam on that side. The other Champion charges into my Objective and leaves it on fire on a single box. The Choir sing Passage and Durst makes a little Warjack fortress for himself and recasts Deceleration. No scoring again.

Turn 3: Minions
My objective burns to death. I don’t think that I can score anything this turn but I can probably remove both Champions and all the light Warjacks so I go for that option. Jaga-Jaga upkeeps her spells, casts Signs and Portents and puts Rage on one of the Swamp Horrors. The Wrastler puts Rage on the other one and makes a total mess of attacking the Champion, eventually leaving him on a single box, still on his horse. Brine kills both Initiates on the right the dismounts the other Champion. Rorsh aims and boosts two shots into him, resulting in two passed tough checks. The Valkyries on that side poke ineffectually at the Purifier on that side and generally gum things up; one further back aims and forces another successful tough check on the Champion. Over on the left, the Valkyries and the Void Archon miss all their attacks into the Initiates, leaving all three just standing there untouched. I make a mistake and send in both Swamp Horrors up the centre; this allows me to take out both Purifiers and the Champion but I didn’t need to get both Warjacks; I could have kept one back for a counter punch next turn. The Dhunian Archon sidles over and uses Shepherd’s Call to reduce my Fury on the board. Marc scores his point for my Objective dying; 1 – 0.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth
Vengeance moves hurt the lead Swamp Horror but the Champion amusingly misses Brine. Durst drops Bulwark and allocates two Focus to the left Guardian and one to the other. The Choir sing Battle. Vilmon and a Paladin poke the leading Swamp Horror then Durst charges in and explodes it with a massive damage roll. This is actually a bit awkward for Marc as he planned to charge it with the Guardian and then buy attacks on the other Swamp Horror but now he can’t see a target. Durst puts Boundless Charge on that Guardian. The Initiates shuffle a little to open up line of sight to a Valkyrie on the left of the cloud, then the Guardian goes in. It kills the Valkyrie with the charge attack then annoyingly finishes the Swamp Horror to the box with spear attacks. Various Paladins and the other Guardian attack Brine, also killing him to the box on the last attack. Finally, the Menite Archon shrugs off the pitiful free strike from the Valkyrie to set up a beautiful Thresher attack which kills one Valkyrie and the Chef; the Dhunian Archon cancels the hit on the last one so I still contest that zone. Neither of us score; 1 – 0 to Marc.

Turn 4: Minions
I’m pretty much out of Warbeasts and even if I can deal with both Guardians (which I doubt) Durst is still enough to take out any remaining big targets on his own. Instead, it’s time for assassination. Jaga-Jaga puts up Signs and Portents and puts Rage on the Wrastler. The Soul Slave applies Ghost Walk so I don’t have to worry about that building being in the way. The right Void Archon charges the Guardian and uses Dual Attack to spray first, killing both the Champion and the Paladin. It then Void Walks behind Durst and boosts a nice hit into him; the main point, of course, was to get Dark Shroud over there. I think that this is OK in the rules but if please correct me if not. The other Void Archon aims and puts some more damage on Durst, also killing off a couple of the intervening Paladins; it also Void Walks to Durst and hits him. Finally, the Wrastler strolls through the building, overtakes off the last Paladin and eats Durst with a single boosted bite. Even if I couldn’t have made the attack with the first Void Archon I feel that the Wrastler was enough to do the job. Minions win by assassination.

Another fun game with Marc who is always a lovely opponent. The game was an interesting mix of my mobility versus Marc’s sheer staying power. I think that perhaps Marc used Durst’s Feat a turn too early, but I might have had the firepower to pull down some of his models in the centre in turn 2 if he had held off. The threat range on the Swamp Horrors is enough that he has to Feat proactively.

Things I learned:

• I keep getting greedy and going for big plays like using both Swamp Horror when one would do. If I kept the second one back in turn 3 and just dealt with the Champion, I could have made Marc commit his left Guardian for just one Swamp Horror instead of giving him both of them.
• I was probably too conservative with the Void Archons. Especially on the right I could have made good use of Entropic Force and then body blocked with Valkyries (or just relied on Def16 under Grave Wind) rather than timidly Void Walking backwards after each attack.
• On the other hand, the mobility of the Void Archons to put Dark Shroud where I want it is truly amazing. I think that I got them where they were needed right at the end, but I have to work on getting more use out of them turn by turn.

Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Minions vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 10Sep2020

It’s a good week for playing Warmachine / Hordes via Wartable. This time Frazer was up for a game so we racked up via the magic of the internet. Frazer actually rolled up King of the Hill again but I asked for a re-roll since my previous two games used that scenario.

Game 24 – Spread The Net (scenario 3) vs Frazer’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?cb201b_-2njP4cjNjNjWoPoP7FfFoNoNjDjDjD

Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Jaga-Jaga 1] Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer [+27]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Gatorman Soul Slave [0(5)]
Dhunian Archon [0(6)]
Dhunian Archon [0(6)]
Rorsh [15]
Swamp Gobber Chef [1]
Void Archon [8]
Void Archon [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]

This iteration of my Jaga-Jaga list removes Dahlia and Skarath for another two units of Farrow Valkyries. I went back to the second Dhunian Archon instead of the Hermit as I think that there is now enough infantry to warrant coverage from them both. Finally, I added a Chef on the basis that it is just one point and I needed to fill that spot. I don’t envisage it doing anything other than standing cheekily on a flag or contesting something.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1q171q1q1ql_l_1LmelUlUoLoLlM1G3t3t3z3z3B2_2_
Protectorate
[Theme] The Creator’s Might

[Amon 1] High Allegiant Amon Ad-Raza [+29]
– Dervish [7]
– Dervish [7]
– Dervish [7]
– Indictor [14]
– Indictor [14]
– Vigilant [9]
– Hierophant [3]
Exemplar Warder [0(5)]
Exemplar Warder [5]
Menite Archon [8]
Menite Archon [8]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Redeemer [11]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Wrack [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]

Frazer randomised his Warcaster and ended up with Amon. I’ve no idea what he does so Frazer summarised him as ‘Synergy and Mobility on a stick’. Seems fair to me since I’m playing ‘Signs and Portents on a stick’ in the form of Jaga-Jaga. It’s a Protectorate list so of course it has the expected Sev0 and two Menite Archons.

I win the roll off and opt to move first so Frazer gives me the side with the slightly more annoying building. Rorsh and Brine go on the right where that forest won’t be in their way and the Wrastler makes sure to be close enough to Brine to put Rage on him if needed. The rest of my forces are spread across the front line with my battlegroup fairly central and the Valkyries sprinkled liberally throughout. Actually their Shield Guard will be close to irrelevant in this match. Frazer also deploys rather symmetrically. Both Warders take an Archon as their Client. Severius starts with Road to War up and Amon has Synergy on himself and Fortify on the right Indictor.

Turn 1: Minions
Everyone runs forward. Jaga-Jaga casts Battle Host and puts Grave Wind on the left Void Archon. Rorsh casts Pig Pen even though it is never relevant, and I’m sure that I’d forget about it if it ever came up.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
Amon casts Mobility with the assistance of the Hierophant, then everything runs an alarming distance toward me. The Vassals both Enliven the Dervishes and the Choir sing Passage but some Warjacks have outrun them so actually the ones that I would want to shoot aren’t affected. Severius casts Mystic Wards. The Redeemer lobs shells at my Void Archon in the forest, eventually shipping a couple of wound off it.

Turn 2: Minions
I don’t think that I can get enough damage out to make any kind of alpha strike worth it so my plan is to contest where I can. I’ll leave the right flag as I’ll certainly lose anything that goes over there. Otherwise I think that I can leverage the relatively long threat of the Swamp Horrors to keep Frazer’s heavies back. Jaga-Jaga upkeeps her spells and casts Signs and Portents, then the Valkyries shoot at Dervishes who both Enliven backwards. On the left, the Void Archon goes in and hurts the Menite Archon and sprays to tickle the Warder but does kill one of the Choir so I Void Walk it deep to hopefully keep one of the Dervishes out of my hair for a turn. In the centre my Warbeasts all just shuffle forward while staying out of threat range. Finally, the left Dhunian Archon sits on my flag to make Frazer commit something to contest it and the Chef makes a cheeky end run to contest the left zone.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
All spells are upkept. Two Focus are allocated to the Redeemer and one each to the Dervishes. All the support stuff gets going while Frazer decides how to play this turn out, so the Hierophant does Harmonious Exaltation, Severius runs up to keep an eye on things, the Mechanics repair Dervishes (apart from the one still in Entropic Force range on the left) and Vassals Empower some Dervishes. Amon casts Mobility and takes a Focus from the Wrack. On the right, the Choir sing Battle and on the left they use Passage. Over on the left, a Dervish charges into a Valkyrie and misses both initials so no Sidesteps; the Dhunian Archon prevents it killing off bought attacks. The left Indictor goes in and Toughs another. The Menite Archon shows that killing single individuals is rubbish for a 14 point heavy Warjack and, as an 8 point solo, it easily Threshers down three Valkyries. On the right, the Indictor backs off behind the building. The Dervish on that side comes into my zone, Sidesteps off a Valkyrie and does a bit of damage to the Void Archon. The Redeemer moves up and boosts three rockets into the Soul Slave and improbably misses all three; they scatter nowhere interesting. The last Dervish charges my Void Archon on the left, manages to land the initial and kills it off. Frazer scores his flag; 1 – 0.

Turn 3: Minions
OK, I need to clear off my flag on the left and the zone on the right. If I’m lucky I might possibly be able to score the central zone. I also need to make sure that the Menite Archon on the left goes away. Annoyingly, Jaga-Jaga is in range of the Indictor so can’t upkeep Battle Host; she backs off and casts it as I need the extra move on a Swamp Horror, she also predictably casts Signs and Portents. The Soul Slave puts Ghost Walk on the left Valkyrie and the Wrastler puts Rage on it then maxes out Fury killing the Dervish in my zone as it misses all three initials. The turbo-charged Swamp Horror does me proud, strolling through the building and killing off the Indictor, the Dervish and pulling the Archon out range of the Warder and hurting it badly. The remaining Valkyries finish it off and I breath a sigh of relief. On the right, the Valkyries charge into the Indictor, Redeemer and Warder for trivial damage on the first two but ‘killing’ the latter; the main purpose was to get in the way of course. Brine continues to stare at the Menite Archon from slightly outside of its threat range while the Void Archon moves into the centre. I score my flag and the right zone; 2 – 1 to me.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Amon drops all his spells and upkeeps nothing in anticipation of a Feat turn; Severius upkeeps Road To War and allocates two Focus to the Redeemer. Both sets of Choir sing Battle and the Hierophant does his Harmonious Exaltation. The Menite Archon kills one Valkyrie and the Dhunian Archon prevents the hit on the other one. A Vassal Mechanic runs to contest on the right and the Vassals Enliven the surviving Indictor and Dervish. Amon Feats then casts Mobility (two Focus to the Dervish), Synergy (two Focus to the Vigilant) and Fortify on the Indictor (allocating two Focus to it in the process). He also takes a Focus from the Wrack which explodes this time. The Indictor clears the Valkyries (actually if I’d been a bit more careful with positioning here I could possibly have blocked the Indictor from getting to one of them due to the position of the left one and the Redeemer) which allows the Redeemer to go into the Void Archon and kill it. Somehow I just hadn’t expected that; I just thought of the Redeemer as a gun platform; at the time I was bit annoyed with myself there but actually I was going to lose something to a fully-loaded Warjack so it might as well have been the Void Archon. The Dervish and Vigilant kill off my Swamp Horror in the centre. Frazer scores his flag and contests mine; 2 – 2.

Turn 4: Minions
I think that I can pick off the Menite Archon and all the remaining Warjacks apart from the Indictor here so if I don’t give up too much on the scenario then I can probably grind out attrition after that. Jaga-Jaga upkeeps Battle Host for free but has to cut for one. She casts Signs and Portents after shuffling to a slightly safer position, then puts Rage on the surviving Swamp Horror; the Soul Slave applies Ghost Walk to it. Rorsh uses Diversionary Tactics to move Brine forward and the Wrastler puts Rage on the pig. It also wrecks the Redeemer and Overtakes back into my zone (credit to Frazer here for letting me amend my Overtake move a couple of activations later after I realised that I put the Wrastler about 0.1” outside the right zone). Brine makes pretty hard work of it but does kill off the Menite Archon so job done there. The Valkyries knock down the Vigilant but the Dervish Enlivens into a slightly more annoying place in front of my Swam Horror. Luckily Ghost Walk lets it ignore free strikes so it just strolls round into the Dervishes back arc, kills it and pulls in the Vigilant to wreck it too. The right Dhunian Archon kills the jamming Mechanic to clear my zone on the right and the Valkyrie kills the Warder but of course he stays around long enough to contest my flag. I score the right zone, 3 – 2 to me.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth
Amon drops Synergy as it’s no longer efficient but does upkeep Fortify; he also allocates two Focus to the Indictor. The Vassal Enlivens it and the Choir on the right sing Battle. On the left, the Choir rather optimistically charge in to the Swamp Horror, doing nothing but guaranteeing that they are next on the menu. The Invictor charges into the Wrastler (I constantly forgot about Field Marshal: Parry in this game) but misses one attack to leave my Warbeast alive on a few boxes. Incidental healing from the Dhunian Archons’ Mother’s Embrace ability eventually fixes the crippled aspects. On the left, the Vassal finally deals with my Swamp Gobber Chef which allows Amon to charge into the zone there and kill a Valkyrie. Severius goes ninja and kills one of the Valkyries in the centre and Toughs the other. Frazer scores the left zone and I score the right; 4 – 3 to me.

Turn 5: Minions
I just need to deal with the Indictor and stop Jaga-Jaga from dying to some shenanigans from Amon, then I can close out the game. Brine Frenzies and eats one of the Choir on the right which is a bit annoying as I could possibly have cleared the flag there and got something onto it. Jaga-Jaga again has to drop Battle Host due to the Indictor, so she moves away then puts Rage on the Wrastler and, of course, casts Signs and Portents. The Archon on the right bops Fortify off the Indictor but sadly can’t break armour so doesn’t trigger Enliven. The Swamp Horror reaches out a tentacle to fix that (the Indictor moves such that I can’t get any back strikes on it) then eats all the Choir and Severius for good measure. Rorsh guns down another Choir member but rolls really low on damage and doesn’t get the Vassal. The Wrastler easily kills the Indictor and the left Archon kills the contesting Vassal. I score the centre zone and left flag; Frazer scores the left zone; 6 – 4 to me.

Turn 5: Protectorate of Menoth
We’re pretty much done here. Frazer moves his few remaining models to contest zones, then moves Amon to go for a wildly optimistic ranged assassination on Jaga-Jaga. It doesn’t work. Minions win (by scenario next turn, I suppose) as we don’t play out the rest since it’s already close to midnight.

I really enjoy playing against Frazer; he’s a lovely chap with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the games rules and minutiae. I think I played this one solidly if not particularly well, but it has to be said that I was definitely aided by Frazer’s frankly terrible dice. I think that I like the list change to swap Dahlia and Skarath out for the Valkyries and the Chef; this makes better use of the Dhunian Archons and I think that I prefer the improved board presence over the power of Skarath. They’re probably more useful if there is any incoming fire from the other side so that Shield Guard becomes relevant.

Things I learned:

• My positioning of things around Menite Archons continues to be rubbish. I left brilliant Thresher targets for both Archons and at least the first was very avoidable.
• The Void Archons need some more thought on when to commit them. In this list they’re by far the most mobile option and I sometimes feel that throwing something deep into an opponent can be quite useful just to keep them off balance (especially if playing on a death clock, which we were not here) but on the other hand they’re not cheap and I don’t like to lose them too easily. Perhaps this is just a case where more practice is needed.
• It’s not something that easily fits into battle reports, but the incidental healing provided by the Dhunian Archons’ Mother’s Embrace ability as I gradually get models sanded down is really helpful.

Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Minions vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 07Sep2020

It’s been a while since I put my Minions on any table, even a virtual one, for Warmachine / Hordes but I felt that there was an itch to scratch. Marc was also looking to play via Wartable so we racked up our armies together thanks to the magic of the internet.

Game 22 – King of the Hill (scenario 1) vs Marc’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?cb201b_-2njP4cjNjNjWbHoPoP7FoNoNjD

Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Jaga-Jaga 1] Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer [+27]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Gatorman Soul Slave [0(5)]
Dahlia Hallyr [17]
Dhunian Archon [0(6)]
Dhunian Archon [0(6)]
Rorsh [15]
Void Archon [8]
Void Archon [8]
Farrow Valkyries [8]

I love playing Jaga-Jaga so I started out with the list I’d used before in real-life games. Then, since I’ve been vocal about Void Archons being far too good for their points, I naturally added them at maximum FA. That cost me Boomhowler and Co which does feel a bit tough as I have no screen and a very slow, killable front line. I also reshuffled the solo load-out to remove the notably under-performing Totem Hunter and replace them with Dhunian Archons. I think that probably one Dhunian Archon would be enough and I could maybe use the Hermit instead of the other, but this way also was simple enough to be practical for playing.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1qqb1q1XeVga9xmek9oLoLlM1q3t3t3z3z3B2_3F3H

Protectorate
[Theme] The Creator’s Might

[Feora 4] Feora, the Forsaken [+28]
– Dervish [7]
– Guardian [15]
– Hand of Judgment [18]
– Purifier [8]
– Repenter [8]
– Hierophant [3]
Exemplar Warder Elias Gade [0(5)]
Menite Archon [8]
Menite Archon [8]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Dervish [7]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Wrack [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Idrian Skirmishers (min) [9]
– Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide [5]

Marc was testing out Feora4. If I understand the list here, the plan is to gum up my stuff until Feora is fully-charged up, then saunter over and explode everything she touches.
Marc wins the roll-off so I give him the side without the houses to hide behind. I stuck the lesser Warlocks out on the flanks where they can hopefully work somewhat independently and then mixed the Void Archons and Valkyries somewhat to the left so that they can Shield Guard if possible. Marc takes a fairly symmetrical approach. Those Menite Archons out on the sides really will need early attention to stop them just rolling inwards until they kill Jaga-Jaga. The Idrians pick the Wrastler as their Prey, Gade chooses Brine. Feora utilises the theme benefit to it’s maximum extent by starting with a whopping four upkeeps in play: Hellwrought on the Guardian, Death March on the Idrians, Firestarter on the Dervish and Road to War on Feora herself.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
The entire Protectorate force races up at me. The Idrians also use their mini-Feat, not that I have much in the way of shooting anyway, and Severius puts up his own Road to War.

Turn 1: Minions
All my stuff also runs up. I stay out of melee threat ranges (other than the Idrians) but I’m going to have to accept a bit of shooting unless I cede scenario entirely. The lesser Warlocks cast their upkeep spells on the basis that they’re free from now on. Jaga-Jaga casts Battle Host and puts Grave Wind on the nearer Void Archon.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
All spells are upkept but no Focus is allocated. The Guardian runs over to within Arc Node range of Brine. Gade puts a couple of bolts into him and Feora channels three Scorns into my big ninja pig. The Guardian and the left Dervish get Enliven and Hand of Judgment shoots a Valkyrie; I figure that this is basically the only shot coming in so one of the Dhunian Archons stops it. In the centre some Idrians charge in and jam up my Swamp Horrors.

Turn 2: Minions
I’m going to try to clear the flag, deal with the Guardian and take out at least one Menite Archon. All spells are upkept, then Jaga-Jaga shuffles around a bit and casts Signs and Portents. I decide to take a chance on Brine dealing with the Menite Archon without Rage and he does so on his last attack, then Overtakes to face the oncoming Dervish. The Wrastler strolls up and eats one Idrian, then puts Rage on the nearer Swamp Horror. The Void Archon clears the other jamming Idrians and teleports out of my way behind the Horrors. The Raged Swamp Horror moves up and pulls in the Guardian but it Enlivens behind the corner of the building so I can’t pull it in for a good Beak-ing. Actually, I should have used the Soul Slave to put Ghost Walk on the Swamp Horror and had it move through the building itself, thereby blocking off that route. The other one eats up almost all the infantry within 4” of the Flag but leaves the Repenter on a single box (even more annoyingly, in it’s right arm). Over on the left, Skarath wrecks the Objective but the Dervish Enlivens to safety. Many thanks to Marc letting me correct my order-of operations here and having Dahlia put Mist Walker on Skarath first so that it could actually reach the Objective in the first place. I resign myself to losing the big snake shortly. The score goes to 1 – 0 me as I did at least pick off the Objective.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Feora drops Death March from the handful of surviving Idrians and Severius gives up his Road to War. Severius’s Dervish gets allocated two Focus, as does the Guardian; Hand of Judgment gets one in anticipation of being topped up by a Vassal later. The Dervish kills Brine neatly to the box, allowing Gade to swap Prey onto Rorsh and shoot him twice. The Mechanic repair Hand of Judgmnt and, crucially, the Guardian’s spear. It then uses said spear to kill one of my Swamp Horrors and Hand of Judgment critically wounds the other. The Menite Archon almost one-shot’s Skarath and the Dervish leaves it on a couple of boxes. I wonder why Marc is obligingly leaving a load of my Warbeasts at the ‘almost dead’ stage instead of finishing them off when he explains to me about Feora’s Feat. That goes off, finishing Skarath, the Swamp Horror and two Valkyries; she kills the last one with a channelled Scorn. The ‘good’ news from all this carnage is that the Dhunian Archons have healed almost everything else back to full. Marc scores the left and centre zones; 2 – 1.

Turn 3: Minions
I’m quite far behind here, but I still have some good plays possible and I think I could possibly get back into the attrition game if I can handle both heavies and do something about the Menite Archon; a tall order but probably not out of the question. On the other hand, I have Void Archons who are glutted on souls from losing most of my army last turn and they’re just as dumb as Menite Archons, so it’s time to kill Feora instead. Jaga Jaga uses Signs and Portents, then the right Void Archon kills a handy Idrian to Void Walk up to Feora. Between the spray and three bought attacks under Signs and Portents [edit: turns out that Void Archons can’t buy attacks], Feora is down to a single box despite burning through her three Focus camp. The other Void Archon turns out to be annoyingly just out of melee range of Feora after Void Walking off another Idrian but she has only one box left so a fully boosted spray finishes the job. Minions win by assassination.

It was great to get back to playing Jaga Jaga, and it was also lovely to get in another game with Marc who is a terrifically nice opponent. I felt quite rusty with this list but Signs and Portents just makes things work so nicely and that’s always and enjoyable feeling. [edit: As pointed out by some lovely posters over on Lormahordes, Void Archons can’t actually buy attacks so clearly I cheated Marc out of a deserved win this game. I’ve apologised to him accordingly.]

Things I learned:

• Not really a ‘thing I learned’ but Void Archons are ridiculously good. It blows me away that they made it out of playtesting with these rules. One of them was a single box away from one-shotting an unhurt three-camp Warcaster who has some very nice defensive stats (admittedly, under Signs and Portents) while having to cross both of our front lines. [edit: OK, so they’re only that good if you don’t read the rules properly and cheat. Oh well.]
• I could have done more to support that assassination run. I should have had the Soul Slave cast Ghost Walk on the lead Dhunian Archon and probably got it within range of Feora to blow-up using Jaga-Jaga’s Feat. That would have nicely placed a bit more damage onto Feora and made the assassination even more of a sure thing.
• I need to get a bit more clever with my Swamp Horrors. Notwithstanding that cleverer use of Ghost Walk could have netted me the Guardian in turn 2 as mentioned above, I seem to be very good at letting them get killed for little gain. Perhaps I’m overestimating the effort that will be required to kill them each time; Impervious Flesh only goes so far with only ARM15.

Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Mercenaries vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 18Jul2020

Marc and I arranged another game of Warmachine / Hordes via Wartable. We ended up rescheduling a couple of times before finally getting online at the same moment but it was worth it. Being able to scratch my wargaming itch without even leaving the house is an unexpected upside of this global pandemic.

Game 6 – Bunkers (scenario 2) vs Marc’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?c6201b_-24oHnV9vpb7jplfi7AnvnvnsnsiBiB62

Mercenaries
[Theme] Soldiers of Fortune

[Fiona 1] Fiona the Black [+27]
– Blockader [33]
– Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker [4]
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire [0(7)]
Anastasia di Bray [3]
Dez [4]
Sergeant Nicolas Verendrye [4]
Stannis Brocker [0(7)]
Steelhead Arcanist [4]
Steelhead Arcanist [4]
Steelhead Cannon Crew [0(6)]
Steelhead Cannon Crew [6]
Steelhead Halberdiers (max) [11]
Steelhead Halberdiers (max) [11]
Steelhead Heavy Cavalry (max) [18]

I’ve stayed again with the same list. I feel like its biggest weakness is going to be against gunlines that can take my force apart without dealing with Fiona’s Feat and tinkering with the solo loadout here isn’t going to improve that match-up.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1q1b1q1X3ImelUlUoRoLoLlM1q3C3z3z3B2_3G3H

Protectorate
[Theme] The Creator’s Might

[Reznik 1] High Executioner Servath Reznik [+28]
– Dervish [7]
– Guardian [15]
– Scourge of Heresy [16]
– Hierophant [3]
Exemplar Warder [0(5)]
Exemplar Warder [5]
Hermit of Henge Hold [5]
Menite Archon [8]
Menite Archon [8]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Dervish [7]
The Covenant of Menoth [4]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Wrack [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Idrian Skirmishers (max) [15]
– Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide [5]

Marc’s stated goal here was to remind himself that Reznik1 is a bad Warcaster. I think I’ve only faced Reznik1 a single time before (also under Marc’s control) so I’m not in much of a position to comment, but anyway my experience with Warmachine in general has been that good players can beat me even with ‘bad’ Warcasters so it might not matter anyway.

Anastasia helps me win the roll-off and I pick to go first so that I can get my spells out and claim some board space before the Idrians get in my way. That house right in the middle of my zone makes deployment a bit awkward as I either need to leave a huge gap in my lines to pass it, or spend some of my turn 1 movement getting round it laterally. In retrospect I possibly should have had Stannis and some more Steelheads in that area so at least they wouldn’t have jammed each other up. The Halberdiers on the left are my Cultists. Both Warders have an Archon as their Client and the Idrians choose my Cavalry as their Prey. The Idrians start with Ignite.

Turn 1: Mercenaries
To no-one’s surprise, everything I have runs forward. Fiona casts Roth’s Mercy on the left Halberdiers and Occultation on the Cavalry; being able to Channel spells through my Cultists is really useful.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
Reznik Allocates two to Scourge of Heresy. Most of Marc’s force runs up fairly circumspectly and I wonder if I can jam him out of the centre entirely and just keep the Archon on the right busy by contesting that Flag all game. Severius casts Road To War. The Vassals give Enliven to the Guardian and Scourge of Heresy and the Choir sing Passage.

Turn 2: Mercenaries
The Halberdiers on the right run to get in the way of the Archon without giving away too many of themselves to a Thresher. I make sure that at least one is tucked in behind the house to contest that Flag while being annoying to remove. My Cannon shoots the Guardian, knocking it down along with Scourge of Heresy and the Dervish. I’m feeling a bit more like I can bully with the Blockader now so it gets Empowered by the Arcanists and stomps up to immolate Severius’s Dervish (leaving it on a handful of boxes) and also put some damage into the Covenant. The Halberdiers on the left run to jam and one makes sure to engage the Archon. The Cavalry go in so I can get a full Flank charge attack into the Menite Archon but it doesn’t even manage to hit. I do take out a few Idrians in the way, but this was rather half-hearted as I was originally hoping to avoid boosting the Archon’s armour until I realised that I probably couldn’t even get a single attack without killing at least one Idrian. Fiona Arcs a fully boosted Soulfire into Severius but sadly I roll low on damage and leave the old man alive. I’m feeling fairly safe in the centre and my Feat won’t really stymie the Archons as the Halberdiers are spread too wide so I decide not to use Fiona’s Feat.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
The Archon on the left kills one of my Steelhead Cavalry with Vengeance. All the Warjacks shake Knock Down. Reznik Allocates two to Scourge of Heresy and both he and Severius drop their upkeeps. The Vassals Empower Scourge and the Guardian, the Choir sing Battle and the Hierophant uses Harmonious Exaltation. The Hermit strolls forward and uses Telemetry. Reznik casts Engine of Destruction, uses his Wrack (which explodes) and boosts a Perdition into a Steelhead. I kill a different Steelhead with Roth’s Mercy and Marc realises that his plan has failed. We rewind to have the Menite Archon knock Roth’s Mercy off the Halberdiers and eventually Reznik Feats, kills the blocking models and Scourge of Heresy is launched forward toward my zone. The terrain means that it has to waste the charge attack pulverising Dez and only one attack actually hits Fiona; it’s not enough so Marc concedes as there is no way he can stop the Blockader from flattening Reznik next turn. Mercenaries win by concession; it seems that I forgot to take one final picture.

That was a fun game, if unexpectedly short. In retrospect, I think that Marc was always and only aiming to go for the jank assassination sending Scourge of Heresy across the board from downtown so once he saw his opportunity he just went for it. If I had used Fiona’s Feat in my turn 2 the assassination would have been (even more) impossible and I’m not sure if he had enough firepower to really make inroads into my force without just having the Blockader bully the centre.

Things I learned:

• Feating in turn 2 might almost always be the right play as it can stop some crazy assassinations as well as protect my army.
• Knock Down from the Cannons (and Dez) is really fun when the other army isn’t loaded down with Shield Guards, Steady, Rise etc. Just wasting a focus to shake the effect makes it worth it, even if I can’t get more attacks in.

Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Mercenaries vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 06Jul2020

Time for more Warmachine. One advantage of the Wartable system is that I can play with friends who would be awkward to reach normally; in this case Marc who is based on the opposite side of our (admittedly not very big) country.

Game 2 – Bunkers (scenario 2) vs Marc’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?c6201b_-24oHnV9vpb7jplfi7AnvnvnsnsiBiB62

Mercenaries
[Theme] Soldiers of Fortune

[Fiona 1] Fiona the Black [+27]
– Blockader [33]
– Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker [4]
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire [0(7)]
Anastasia di Bray [3]
Dez [4]
Sergeant Nicolas Verendrye [4]
Stannis Brocker [0(7)]
Steelhead Arcanist [4]
Steelhead Arcanist [4]
Steelhead Cannon Crew [0(6)]
Steelhead Cannon Crew [6]
Steelhead Halberdiers (max) [11]
Steelhead Halberdiers (max) [11]
Steelhead Heavy Cavalry (max) [18]

This is the same list as last time. There was nothing that I felt needed to be changed so I’m going to keep playing it this way until I fancy a change or some alteration suggests itself.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1plTl_3Ume2e3kjCjCoLoL3B2_3F3Hninini

Protectorate
[Theme] The Faithful Masses

[Cyrenia 1] High Exemplar Cyrenia [+28]
– Indictor [14]
– Sanctifier [14]
– Hierophant [3]
Avatar of Menoth [18]
Allegiant of the Order of the Fist [3]
Champion of the Order of the Wall [8]
Champion of the Order of the Wall [8]
Menite Archon [8]
Menite Archon [8]
Wrack [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Idrian Skirmishers (min) [9]
– Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide [5]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]

Marc isn’t playing the underpowered part of the Protectorate options. In fact, apart from the absence of a Judicator or Severius0, I think that this list has all the stuff I find most annoying to deal with in it: Allegiants, Initiates and Champions of the Order of the Wall and Menite Archons. This should be interesting.

After a couple of ties and rerolls, I eventually win the roll-off thanks to Anastasia; Marc gives me the top side presumably so that Cyrenia can hide behind that house in the middle. I end up splitting my force around my own central house though I am somewhat skewed to the right in terms of my power. The right unit of Halberdiers are Fiona’s Cultists and the Idrians choos my Cavalry as their Prey.

Turn 1: Mercenaries
Everything races forwards, though I do make a bit of an error and box my Blockader in a little bit. Fiona puts Roth’s Mercy on the right Halberdiers and Occultation on the Cavalry.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
The Heireophant starts us off with Harmonious Exaltation on Cyrenia, and will do so every turn so this will be the only time I mention it. Cyrenia casts Dash, puts Inviolable Resolve on the Avatar, sticks a Rock Wall in my way and then uses her Feat. The Choir sing Passage on the Warjacks.

Turn 2: Mercenaries
Fighting into Cyrenia’s Feat feels like a bit of a waste of time. The Cannon on the left takes a shot at the Avatar but it gets Shield Guarded away to an Initiate; needless to say he doesn’t die and can’t get knocked down either. Both units of Halberdiers run to jam as hard as I can. Fiona Befuddles the Champion on the right forward but with the dismount option I can’t do more than get my Cavalry to knock his horse out from underneath him. She uses her Feat as well to make life as hard as possible for Marc.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
Cyrenia drops the Rock Wall but upkeeps Inviolable Resolve. She casts Dash and adds Positive Charge to the Avatar. On the left, the Champion kills a couple of Steelheads and the Menite Archon gets another pair. The Champion on the right also kills one but I save that particular Halberdier using Roth’s Mercy. The Menite Archon on the right takes out a pair of Cavalry and dispels Occultation in the process. Idrians disengage and Marc manages to get a couple of them out of Fiona’s Feat to lead CRAs, dropping another two of my Cavalry. The Monk moves into a very annoying place and stands in Shifting Sands and finally the Choir sing Passage again. We both score our zones; 1 – 1.

Turn 3: Mercenaries
Anastasia comes in on the left and fails to even hurt the Champion with her throwing knives. On the plus side, she does provide Mark Target. Annoyingly, Dez and the Cannon both roll low on damage and leave the Champion on a single box, still on his horse. Fiona takes two tries but does manage to Befuddle the Allegiant out of my way. The Blockader is Empowered by both Arcanists and goes in on the Avatar. On the last swing, with the Avatar on two boxes and knocked down, I take a shot at the Menite Archon but miss. That turns out to be a big mistake; I should have just finished the Avatar. Alexia creates some Thrall Warriors who unjam the Halberdiers from the Idrians and run to get in the way a bit; the Halberdiers do at least wipe out the Idrians. Stannis goes in to Bulldoze the Archon away from the flag on the right and smacks the Champion but he Toughs so I don’t score it. Again, we both score our own zones; 2 – 2.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Cyrenia Allocates two to the Indictor; the Sanctifier has plenty of souls on it already. The Archon on the right Threshers, killing the last Cavalry but amazingly leaving Stannis and a Halberdier alive (though the former is on one box and on fire). Initiates kill the Thrall in the centre who was blocking the Indictor, which then receives Positive Charge and scraps half of the Blockader. The Allegiant and the Initiates over on the left kill more Halberdiers which lets the Avatar get stuck into the Blockader. Considering that it has only two boxes left, both in movement, it does a highly impressive amount of damage; I definitely should have finished it last turn. The Santifier leaves the Blockader on a single box which the left Archon removes neatly along with another four Halberdiers. Rather incredible for 8 points. The Champion on the left kills Anastasia and repositions back to sit on the flag. We both score our zones but Marc also gets the left flag; 4 – 3 to him.

Turn 4: Mercenaries
Stannis rather unhelpfully burns to death. Dez and the Cannon kill the left Archon at last; the right Cannon knocks down the Indictor. The Halberdiers on the left finally deal with the dismounted Champion. The Arcanists, realising that their job of fueling the Blockader is now done, run forward to jam, apply Mark Target and be channelling options. The one in the centre survives being the conduit for a Soulfire that finally kills the Allegiant and also gets an Initiate and also for a Curse of Veils onto the Sanctifier. Alexia creates even more Thralls who charge into knock plenty of boxes off the two warjacks in the centre. I score my own zone and am contesting everything else; 4 – 4.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth
The surviving Archon kills yet another Steelhead with Vengeance and Cyrenia allocates two to the Indictor. The Initiates do various combinations of CMAs and single attacks to kill a Thrall, both Arcanists and a couple of Halberdiers (how are they base MAT6 on top of all their other stuff?); the Sanctifier kills a couple more Thralls. The Avatar kills Dez and contests my zone. Marc scores the left flag and his own zone; 6 – 4 to him.

Turn 5: Mercenaries
The left Cannon bounces off the Avatar so the other one has to finish it off. Thralls continue to beat up the Warjacks in the centre; they end with only a couple of boxes between them. On the right, the Halberdiers try to contest the flag in such a way that the Archon can’t just Thresher and get the lot. Fiona gets Eyeless sight and clears the Champion and the left Initiate from the flag on the left with Soulfires but I don’t have a solo handy to run onto it. At this point we call it a night since we’ve taken ages and we’re after midnight (we would have clocked in about turn 2!); Marc thinks that I probably have enough of an attrition advantage now as I can bring Thralls into the game that I can probably close out a scenario win and I kind of agree that it is at least my game to lose from here.

Well, that was a hell of a game. It was super nice to get another game in with Marc and we played very casually, both allowing take-backs so that we can learn these rather tricky armies. It almost felt like the game could only properly start after we had both Feats out of the way as they’re very strong denial.

Things I learned:

• I need to finish off Warjacks. I keep thinking that when they have crippled systems they would be less of a threat but there is still a lot of damage potential in there. Especially for the Avatar that doesn’t need a cortex. I think that at one point I had all three of Marc’s warjacks only fewer than 5 boxes but they were still fighting.
• Steelhead Cavalry are only resistant relative to Halberdiers, they still die like flies. I need to be aware of threats to them.
• The abundance of solos (and especially disposable ones like Thrall Warriors) in this list means that I am always in with a chance of scoring a cheeky flag here or there… even if I didn’t actually do it this time.

Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Mercenaries vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 04Jul2020

I got another game of Warmachine in with Frazer, this time trying out some Mercenaries. Partly I’m keen to play them as I have had a bunch of Mercenary models sitting in my house in various states of painting for several years, and partly I keep getting trounced by them with Joe at the helm and felt like trying this out. Wartable continues to be my outlet for gaming while face-to-face is impossible so I might as well make full use of being able to try out any options that I come up with.

Game 1 – Recon 2 (scenario 6) vs Frazer’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?c6201b_-24oHnV9vpb7jplfi7AnvnvnsnsiBiB62

Mercenaries
[Theme] Soldiers of Fortune

[Fiona 1] Fiona the Black [+27]
– Blockader [33]
– Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker [4]
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire [0(7)]
Anastasia di Bray [3]
Dez [4]
Sergeant Nicolas Verendrye [4]
Stannis Brocker [0(7)]
Steelhead Arcanist [4]
Steelhead Arcanist [4]
Steelhead Cannon Crew [0(6)]
Steelhead Cannon Crew [6]
Steelhead Halberdiers (max) [11]
Steelhead Halberdiers (max) [11]
Steelhead Heavy Cavalry (max) [18]

I like Steelheads, and I particularly like the idea of dead Steelhead Halberdiers being recycled back into living Halberdiers plus Thrall Warriors with Mark Target so both Alexia2 and Sgt Nick go in the list. Since I have Mark Target I might as well take Steelhead Cannons, and since I have Halberdiers, I want to take some Steelhead Cavalry to actually hit hard. Having all those Steelheads means that Tactician is going to be really handy, so I took Stannis. Fiona and a Blockader are my choice of Warcaster and battlegroup since they look fun. I looked to Joe for advice on the rest of the list and went with his suggestion of Sylys, Dez and Anastasia. Time to see how this all hangs together.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1O0-3NlVoLf72_dS2P3R2K2L

Protectorate
[Theme] Guardians of the Temple
[Feora 1] Feora, Priestess of the Flame [+31]
– Blood of Martyrs [16]
– Judicator [35]
Menite Archon [8]
Pyrrhus, Flameguard Hero [0(5)]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Flame Bringers (max) [17]
Flameguard Cleansers (max) [15]
– Flameguard Cleanser Officer [0(4)]
Temple Flameguard (max) [11]
– Temple Flameguard Officer & Standard [0(4)]

So Frazer’s list came about because he couldn’t decide what to play, and asked me what I fancied. I don’t know anything much about the Protectorate so I arbitrarily picked a Warcaster and Theme and let him have it. I think that I accidentally picked the weakest of both, but again the advantage of Wartable is that there is no financial commitment to bad models. Nonetheless, both a Menite Archon and the Judicator are in the list since, as Frazer said, ‘Just because I am playing the bad theme doesn’t mean I can’t take the great models.’

Frazer wins the roll-off and chooses to move first. I give him the top side as I seem to remember slightly preferring the bottom; however now that I look at the screenshots I don’t really remember why. I put a unit of Halberdiers and Cannons on each side but I back up the right with Cavalry as I have some kind of vague idea that they might want to get stuck into the Judicator. The Blockader and Fiona are slightly more on the left, and my recursion team are in the middle along with the majority of the solos. The left unit of Halberdiers are Fiona’s Cultists.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
Everything races at me. Feora casts Ignite on the Flamebringers and the Choir sing Shielding on the Warjacks. The Judicator fires some rockets into the distance but they don’t scatter anywhere interesting.

Turn 1: Mercenaries
All my stuff runs forward too. Fiona gets Arcane Secrets from Sylys but still manages to miss a Soulfire at the lead Flamebringer. She does Chasten off Ignite but rolls low on damage and doesn’t even get the kill.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
The Judicator is Allocated two Focus. The Flameguard use Iron Zeal and kill a couple of Halberdiers; the Judicator kills a couple more. Feora reapplies Ignite to the Flamebringers and puts a Flame Wall in the right zone. The Cleansers kill another Halberdier. Two of the Flamebringers wreck the entire right side of the Blockader with some rather hot dice and the Choir put Shielding back on the Warjacks.

Turn 2: Mercenaries
The Arcanists power up what is left of the Blockader. Alexia brings a trio of Thrall Warriors into existence, they run up and stab a couple of things but mainly I’m looking to get some Mark Target out there. On the right, my Halberdiers fail to do anything useful to the Flameguard; they do try to make sure that the zone will be hard to score. The Cannon on that side does take out a Flameguard as I need to whittle them down a bit. Dez misses her shot but does at least sit on my flag. The Halberdiers on the left stab a few Flamebringers but annoyingly are unable to finish off the one engaging the Blockader; in the end Fiona has to kill her with a Soulfire channelled through one of the Cannon crew. To continue my run of good dice, she then misses a Curse of Veils into the Menite Archon (I was going to put it on Blood of Martyrs, but Frazer reminded me that the Choir said ‘no’). Fiona does at least use her Feat to make things awkward for Frazer next turn. The Blockader charges across the field and smashes the Menite Archon and slamming its corpse across three unlucky Cleansers. It punches Blood of Martyrs and pushes the heavy Warjack back out of Feora’s control range which was certainly rather lucky. Dez scores my flag; 1 – 0.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Feora upkeeps Ignite and Allocates the usual two Focus the Judicator. The remaining Flamebringers kill one of my Thrall Warriors but bounce off the Blockader. The Choir since Battle on the Warjacks this time and Judicator leaves my Blockader on two boxes; the Cleansers finish it off. It also kills a couple of Halberdiers and an unlucky Flamebringer with an amusing rocket scatter. Over on the right the Flameguard contest my flag and engage the Cannon; Feora puts up a Flame Wall to protect the second wave. Neither of us score; 1 – 0 to me.

Turn 3: Mercenaries
I’ve lost my Blockader and I am not sure that I have enough punch to deal with the Judicator any more so it’s time to focus on scenario and not getting Fiona killed. Anastasia run in from the left and kills a Flamebringer. The Arcanists run forward to apply Mark Target as needed. The Cannon on the left knocks down the Blood of Martyrs; eventually the Steelheads and a couple of Thrall Warriors finish it off. Unfortunately I need to use the last Thrall Warrior to kill the Warjack as I had hoped to run it to the flag instead. Over on the right, the Halberdiers and Cavalry clear my Flag and the Cannon, killing a handful of the Flameguard and Cleansers in the process. Dez and the Cannon take out Frazer’s Objective. Fiona walks into the now-cleared left zone and kills a few Cleansers who were standing too close to each other with Soulfires. I score my flag, the left zone and for killing the Objective; 4 – 0.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth
Feora drops her Flame Wall and, of course, Allocates two to the Judicator. Pyrrhus kills the jamming Halberdier and Cavalry. The Choir sing Battle again and contest the left zone and flag. The Judicator strolls into the right zone, finishes off the Halberdiers on that side and kills Sgt Nick with a handy scatter; however the Cannon survives the onslaught. The Cleansers use their mini-feat but there are only two left; even so they kill four Halberdiers, an Arcanist and one of my Thrall Warriors. Feora casts Engine of Destruction and sprays the Cannon to clear the right zone; she also Feats to get what’s left of the right side of my army. Finally, the Flameguard kill Dez. Frazer scores the right zone; 4 – 1 to me.

Turn 4: Mercenaries
On the one hand, Feora is right up in my face and I feel like she’s quite killable from here. But I can just clear off the left zone and one of the flags and win on scenario instead, so that is much easier. Firstly though, fire kills a Thrall and another one of my Cavalry which seems pretty uninspiring for a Feat. Stannis kills a Flameguard and repositions to score the right flag, so that is one thing down. Anastasia, the Steelheads and a Thrall clear out the left zone and I end my turn to go to 6 – 1. Mercenaries win on scenario.

I really enjoyed playing this list; many thanks to Frazer for being a fun opponent and gamely playing the terrible option that I had suggested for him. I was pleased that my strategy worked broadly as I had planned though of course there were plenty of tactical and positioning errors that I should work on. In particular, the combination of Sgt Nick and Alexia2 recycling Halberdiers into more Halberdiers plus Thrall Warriors was every bit as satisfying as I had hoped. I do recognise that, list-wise at least, this game was a pretty easy ride.

Things I learned:

• My positional play continues to be too clumped up behind the front lines which allows sprays and blast weapons to be highly effective. In particular I need to find a way to keep the Cavalry relevant while there are enough Halberdiers left alive to trigger Flank, but without just getting them killed.
• Since I can upkeep two spells for free each turn (Cultists and Sylys) I might as well have cast them on turn 1. Occultation might not have been much use in this match-up but I’m sure that I could have had some value from putting Roth’s Mercy on some Halberdiers at least.
• I’m normally terrible at recognising scenario options so I have to continue to have this in mind. Especially with the option for Bulldoze on the Cavalry and Dez’s Momentum weapon I should look to clear zones without even needing to attack many things.

Warmachine / Hordes battle report: Circle Orboros vs Protectorate of Menoth (75 points); 01Jun2020

Thanks to the magic of Wartable, I was able to get in another game of Warmachine / Hordes. This one was against Scottish WarmaHordes legend Frazer; despite seeing him at various events I’ve never had the pleasure of getting a game in.

Game 3 – King of the Hill (scenario 1) vs Frazer’s Protectorate of Menoth

https://conflictchamber.com/?c8201b_-2amXmKmJmV545imSmF5qmi5wmj5wmT

Circle
[Theme] The Devourer’s Host

[Morvahna 1] Morvahna the Autumnblade [+28]
– Ghetorix [19]
– Warpwolf Stalker [17]
Gallows Grove [2]
Tharn Ravager Shaman [4]
Tharn Ravager White Mane [0(5)]
Bríghid & Caul [7]
Tharn Bloodtrackers (max) [15]
– Nuala the Huntress [4]
Tharn Ravagers (min) [10]
– Tharn Ravager Chieftain [0(5)]
Tharn Ravagers (max) [15]
– Tharn Ravager Chieftain [0(5)]
Well of Orboros [10]

I did a bit more swapping around here; most notably getting rid of Brennos in favour of a Warpwolf Stalker as Brennos just never seemed to achieve too much. I also removed the Spirit Cauldron and swapped a couple of other items around in favour of adding a Well of Orboros; it seems to do the job of handing out corpses just as nicely as the Spirit Cauldron and increases Morvanha’s control range to boot.

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1r0JlVm0lM9x3t2_lZlS2v3F3Hm2

Protectorate
[Theme] Exemplar Interdiction

[High Reclaimer 1] The High Reclaimer [+32]
– Judicator [35]
High Exemplar Gravus [8]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Repenter [8]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Exemplar Cinerators (max) [13]
– Exemplar Cinerator Officer [0(5)]
Exemplar Vengers (max) [20]
Idrian Skirmishers (min) [9]
– Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide [0(5)]
Visgoth Juviah Rhoven & Honor Guard [9]

I don’t know anything notable about the Protectorate except that I hate to see a Judicator across the table from me. A Judicator with the option of getting Hand of Fate seems even worse.

Frazer wins the roll-off and chooses to move first, so I take the bottom side as it means that I can hope to hide behind the house a bit and make Frazer worry about all the forests. In retrospect, I wonder if I might have been better the other way around as I can just ignore those forests anyway. I deploy Brighid and Caul away on the left in the hope that they can make it to the forest over there without getting gunned down. The rest of the Tharn are deployed in the centre; I’ll work around that acid pool as required. Bloodtrackers and Idrians Prey each other; Brighid and Caul choose the Judicator.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth

Everything rushes up at me with Gravus giving the Cinerators Desperate Pace. The Judicator lobs a few rockets towards me, but they scatter off to empty spots. The High Reclaimer puts a few clouds down between the central forests.

Turn 1: Circle

My Well pops out a Blood Shaman (note that it hadn’t occurred to me that she wouldn’t get the Attached rule if I did this; in future I would shuffle my plans a bit differently) then fires an optimistic shot in the general direction of the Idrians. I get the most ludicrous scatter and kill four Idrians, though I do get a little measure of bad news by clipping a Cinerator too and triggering Vengeance. Everything else runs up as fast as their little legs will carry them. In the centre this turns into a really annoying traffic jam. Morvanha casts Harvest on herself and Restoration on the Bloodtrackers.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth

The Judicator and Repenter are allocated two Focus each. The Cinerators move up under Vengeance and then receive Desperate Pace again from Gravus. Severius puts up Road To War and strolls around in the backfield. On the right, the Vengers charge in and drop a Bloodtracker and also kill my rather poorly placed Gallows Grove; they reposition back away from my lines. The remaining Idrians kill a few Bloodtrackers before repositioning back and going to ground and the lead Cinerator kills another Bloodtracker. The High Reclaimer puts Hand of Fate on the Judicator and then puts a few clouds out; it kills a Ravager on my left and the Repenter gets another and then uses Road To War to get back to relative safety.

Turn 2: Circle

I upkeep both of Morvanha’s spells and return three Bloodtrackers. On the right, the Stalker kills the nearest Venger and Sprints back with Lightning Strike. The left Ravagers move in on the Repenter and Idrians and achieve basically nothing with some truly awful hit rolls and the Well misses a shot too. Brighid and Caul make a run for the forest. Bloodtrackers kill a Cinerator and jam up where I can. Morvanha gets a clear shot into one further back and RFPs it with Eruption of Life; I have to admit that felt quite nice. Neither of us score.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth

Both Protectorate Warjacks get fully loaded with Focus, spells are upkept and Vengeance from the Cinerators kills another couple of Bloodtrackers. Rhoven and his bodyguards charge in to clear out the lead Ravager and the Choir sing Battle for the Warjacks. The Judicator marches up and gets a line on Caul (I hadn’t moved him quite far enough behind the forest) and toasts him thoroughly with a flamethrower; Caul makes his Tough roll but is knocked down and on fire… not a great situation for the big chap. It then launches rockets, killing my Blood Shaman (saving me the awkwardness of not having the attached rule after all), the Ravager Shaman and a bunch of other infantry. Quite the effective turn. The Cinerators charge in, mini-feating back into a shield wall after killing another Ravager and Bloodtracker. The Vengers kill my Objective, the Idrians all bounce off the last Ravager in the centre due to some truly awful dice and finally the Repenter takes out the Chieftain from the left Ravager unit. Frazer scores for getting my Objective; 1 – 0.

Turn 3: Circle

Caul burns to death. Morvanha drops Restoration but upkeeps Harvest, and my Vengeance moves achieve depressingly little. Morvanha uses her Feat, puts Mortality on the Cinerators and Restoration on the larger unit of Ravagers. This all takes her to zero Fury but I figure that if I can’t kill a good chunk of Frazer’s forces here and Harvest back to a decent camp then Fury would be the least of my worries. The Well kills Rhoven and a Choirboy as well as hurting the bodyguard who inevitably Shield Guarded the shot and Brighid drops the Vassal Mechanik at the back. My Ravagers kill all of the Cinerators except the one hiding at the back, RFPing them due to the Feat. The Stalker kills a Venger and Lightning Strikes into the zone on the right; the Bloodtrackers ding up another couple of them and generally try to get in the way. Ghetorix moves to the right to threaten the Vengers a bit. No scoring so we remain at 1 – 0 to Frazer.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth

The Warjacks get two Focus each and both Road To War and Hand Of Fate are upkept. Gravus kills the second Ravager Chieftain and repositions onto the flag. The Choir put Shielding onto the Judicator which then blows up a bunch of Ravagers and a Bloodtracker. High Reclaimer Feats back a Venger, a Cinerator, Rhoven and 4 Idrians (actually we got mixed up here as Rhoven and most of the Idrians had been RFPed earlier… however, I don’t think that the end result is in doubt) then swaps Hand Of Fate onto the Vengers. At this point my centre collapses entirely as various things clear the contesting Bloodtrackers and wipe out the remaining Ravagers. It’s late and I can see that this is all over, so I concede before the Vengers probably drop my Warbeasts. Circle lose by concession.

That was a very enjoyable way to spend an evening; Frazer is a very fun opponent. There are a lot of individual things I did wrong here, starting with my initial deployment and unpacking. I need to find a way to move my pieces out of their initial deployment positions that doesn’t end up with an awful traffic jam in turn 2. Possibly I could be a bit less conservative with the Bloodtrackers (especially if I’m going to try to recur them anyway), or maybe I need a wider deployment. I think that my general idea with Brighid and Caul was reasonable, I just needed to start with them a bit wider and make it so that if I’m going to lose them then it really cost something to do it. Still, despite another loss I felt that I played a bit better in some regards; in particular I used Morvanha herself far more effectively and even remembered to use her Feat when it would have an impact. The Well of Orboros felt very useful considering its low cost, although I will admit that some truly heroic dice rolls might have led me to overvalue its performance.

Things I learned:

• I should practice unpacking my force out of deployment. In theory this shouldn’t be too hard since they almost all have Pathfinder but in practice it’s clear that all my units are tripping over themselves. It is also hard to place the Ravager Shaman and the Whitemane in places where their abilities are relevant since the sheer mass of bodies in the way keeps them back from affecting the front line.
• I need find a way to get work from my Warbeasts; currently I seem to have them hiding away at the back, then when I do send them to do something they just get killed too easily (admittedly in this game we didn’t actually play the part where Vengers killed them). Possibly this comes in with the ‘traffic jam’ problem above; if I can clear a lane then I should at least be able to do some work with the Stalker using Lightning Strike to come back to safety.
• I have to get better at assessing where I need Mortality. In this game on my turn 3 it would have been more useful on the Vengers as I had enough attacks to handle the Cinerators I could reach anyway; in the meantime, the Vengers just laughed at the Bloodtracker attacks.
• I need to get some kind of plan for dealing with big beasties like the Judicator. Since it can shoot so effectively long before anything of mine can get anywhere near it, I’m really struggling for how to approach this. The Choir can also stop me casting spells at it too so I can’t even use Mortality to make it easier to wreck. I would definitely appreciate advice.

Warmachine / Hordes tournament report: November Pain (75 points); 30Nov2019

I took my Minions to another Warmachine / Hordes tournament run by Allan Gibb at Common Ground Games in Stirling. There were three rounds with a possibility to extend to four based on the need to reach a clear winner. That wouldn’t be likely to apply to me and anyway I had to leave after round three anyway to go to a friend’s birthday party.

https://conflictchamber.com/?cb201b_-2n13fy0M1d1d0L0L0LbOfCjVnd4c___-2njP4cjNjNjWbM7y7F4njD7g

Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Arkadius 1] Dr. Arkadius [+32]
– Battle Boar [7]
– Gun Boar [8]
– Road Hog [15]
– Road Hog [15]
– War Hog [14]
– War Hog [14]
– War Hog [14]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0(4)]
Hutchuk, Ogrun Bounty Hunter [0(6)]
Kwaak Slickspine & Gub, Croak Sorcerers [0(4)]
Underchief Mire [4]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]

Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Jaga-Jaga 1] Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer [+27]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Gatorman Soul Slave [0(5)]
Brun Cragback [16]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [0(5)]
Rorsh [15]
Totem Hunter [0(6)]
Farrow Valkyries [8]
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. (max) [17]

This is the same pairing that I’ve been using for a while with only very minor changes. There are certainly new options available (notably the various Archons) that would probably make a better list for both Jaga Jaga and Dr Arkadius but I don’t own them and anyway I am still at the stage in my game where I will get more value out of just playing better than adding yet another different set of options to my armies. Broadly I’m looking to use Jaga Jaga into lists with a lot of infantry and Dr Arkadius to face into heavily armoured lists with a smaller model count.

Round 1 –King of the Hill vs Marc’s Protectorate of Menoth (game 16)

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1q1b1q1X1G1G3ImelUoRlM1q3z3z2_2_3G3H___-1O0T1OgSeVlVf73t3z3z3B2_2K2L

Protectorate
[Theme] The Creator’s Might

[Reznik 1] High Executioner Servath Reznik [+28]
– Dervish [7]
– Guardian [15]
– Redeemer [11]
– Redeemer [11]
– Scourge of Heresy [16]
– Hierophant [3]
Exemplar Warder [0(5)]
Hermit of Henge Hold [5]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Dervish [7]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Idrian Skirmishers (max) [15]
– Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide [5]

Protectorate
[Theme] Guardians of the Temple

[Severius 1] Grand Scrutator Severius [+28]
– Blessing of Vengeance [13]
– Eye of Truth [20]
– Hand of Judgment [18]
– Judicator [35]
Pyrrhus, Flameguard Hero [0(5)]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]
Wrack [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Temple Flameguard (max) [11]
– Temple Flameguard Officer & Standard [0(4)]

Two sets of big armoured things with a couple of relatively minor infantry options? Sounds like a job for Dr Arkadius either way. Marc chooses to play Reznik. I have a huge advantage over him in terms of threat range, so my idea is to leverage this with a few Road Hog sprays and Sprints and then Feat at some point when there is enough in range to make it worth doing so. If Marc plays very defensively then I can hope to lock him out of the scenario. It did occur to me partway through set-up that some Protectorate models are immune to fire which could be a bit of a problem, but it seems that this was not the case here.

Marc wins the roll and chooses to go first. His Idrians choose the Wrastler as Prey and they start with Ignite on them as part of the Theme benefit.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
Everything rushes at me as quickly as possible to claim some board space before I start threatening into Marc’s deployment zone. Severius casts Road To War to get a bit of additional threat range on his Dervish.

Turn 1: Minions
Most of my list has no concerns about taking meaningful damage next turn so it heads forward as far as their little legs will carry them; I’m not likely to stay out of range of the Redeemers regardless of where I go. Over on the left I realise that the Wrastler is going to have to eat a turn of shooting from the Idrians so it moves up and Mire covers it with some clouds (it is probably worth noting that I only had one cloud template of the correct size handy; the larger blast template is still being used for the 3″ ring). Kwaak casts Enliven on both Road Hogs and Dr Arkadius puts up Aggravator and casts Forced Evolution on one of the Road Hogs.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
The Redeemers get some Focus and the Vassals finish loading them up. Reznik upkeeps Ignite and Severius upkeeps Road To War and fuels up the Dervish. The Choir sing Battle on the light Warjacks and Passage on the heavies, then the Hermit moves up rather aggressively to cover the lead Road Hog with Master of Ruin. The Redeemers open up and chip some damage off my Warbeasts; the Road Hog Enlivens away from the Hermit at the first opportunity. Slightly to my surprise, the Idrians run for board position rather than shooting my Wrastler to death.

Turn 2: Minions
I drop Aggravator but upkeep Forced Evolution. Hutchuk ambushes in on the left and kills the Idrian Chief with a grenade and another in melee (sadly I couldn’t reach the Guide). The Wrastler overtakes its way through a bunch more Idrians but can’t quite make it into the zone. The Witch Doctor gives Ghost Walk to the Battle Boar which clears the Idrian jamming the left War Hog and enables it to smash the Objective and overtake into the zone. Sadly, I’ve run out of things to kill off the last jamming Idrian. Dr Arkadius stabs both Road Hogs with Adrenaline; one wrecks the Dervish and the other one gets the Hermit down to a single box and is therefore unable to Sprint back to relative safety. The Hermit is on fire though, so it’s not all bad. I score a point for the Objective; 1 – 0.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Both upkeeps are dropped. The Redeemers and Scourge of Heresy get a Focus each and the other Dervish is fully loaded up. The Choir put Battle on everything, and the Vassals top up the Redeemers. On the right, the Dervish makes short work of the Gun Boar and then chops some boxes out of my Objective. The Redeemers kill one of my Road Hogs but the other one is able to Enliven back to safety. The Guardian charges over and finishes off my Objective and Reznik goes for a desperate casting of Perdition which would allow Scourge to get into the action; luckily (for me) he misses. Scourge runs up to contest the centre instead. Marc scores the right zone and my Objective; 2 – 1 to him.

Turn 3: Minions
Well, Reznik is just right there waiting to be killed. The Wrastler clears the left zone and then I decide it is assassination time. The Battle Boar kills an Idrian and puts Primal on the left War Hog. Dr Arkadius casts Psycho Surgery to get all my Warbeasts active again, puts Primal on the right War Hog and then Feats. Feat attacks from the three Warbeasts in the centre are enough to almost wreck Scourge and the left War Hog gets across and kills one of the Choir. The Road Hog then finishes off Scourge, and the Primalled War Hog goes in and eats first the Warder and the Reznik himself. Minions win by assassination.

That went rather as expected. I think that Marc’s army just didn’t have enough of a threat to take me out of my comfort zone. I could just hang around on the edge of my zones and force him to come to me, the Feat and kill off half of his stuff. Even if he had played more defensively and kept Reznik back in a safer place I could have done so much damage that I think I would have had an insurmountable lead on attrition; I didn’t even use two of the War Hogs after Dr Arkadius’s Feat. Things I learned:

• Sometimes you just have to accept the damage from very long-ranged pieces (i.e. the Redeemers) while the rest of the army gets into position.
• Overtake on Warbeasts allows crazy assassination angles on the one hand, and also enables a surprisingly effective infantry clearing option.
• When Ambush works it is really useful. I think I’ve valued it a bit low as Joe (my main opponent) is just really good at avoiding it.

Round 2 –Recon II vs Sean’s Legion of Everblight (game 17)

https://conflictchamber.com/?ca201b_-2iewepkK2828eJbwaO29292929bebeoRcob9fTfT___-2hbskEkBcocob5kLkFkGkJkJfTfT

Legion
[Theme] Ravens of War

[Absylonia 2] Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight [+28]
– Blight Wasp [3]
– Golab [17]
– Harrier [0(3)]
– Harrier [0(3)]
– Neraph [12]
– Proteus [19]
– Seraph [14]
– Shredder [4]
– Shredder [4]
– Shredder [4]
– Shredder [4]
Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion [0(6)]
Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion [0(6)]
Hermit of Henge Hold [5]
Spell Martyr [1]
The Forsaken [4]
Hellmouth [6]
Hellmouth [6]

Legion
[Theme] Primal Terrors

[Kallus 1] Kallus, Wrath of Everblight [+30]
– Blightbringer [32]
– Ammok the Truthbearer [4]
Spell Martyr [1]
Spell Martyr [1]
Blighted Ogrun Warmongers (min) [8]
– Gorag Rotteneye [0(6)]
Blighted Rotwings (min) [7]
Blighted Rotwings (max) [12]
Chosen of Everblight (max) [20]
Chosen of Everblight (max) [20]
Hellmouth [0(6)]
Hellmouth [0(6)]

I don’t think I’ve ever played against Legion of Everblight before and certainly not against either of these Warlocks. Taking a look at both lists, I feel that Dr Arkadius is probably a slightly better bet against Kallus1 and also preferable into Absylonia2 so I go with him again. Sean selects Absylonia2 and kindly explains what she actually does. It seems that this is going to be an interesting game of threat ranges!

Sean wins the roll and picks to move first. I pick the side with houses to hide Dr Arkadius behind, though on reflection I wonder if the other side would be better as Sean’s Warbeasts can mostly just fly over the houses anyway.

Turn 1: Legion of Everblight
Absylonia casts Bracer on Proteus, Slipstreams Golab and charges up. Most of her army take the same approach of rushing headlong at me; this is probably the only opportunity they’ll have to move up without worrying about my threat ranges.

Turn 1: Minions
So now if is me who has to worry about ridiculous threat ranges. I move up mostly trying not to offer up my whole army too easily. Dr Arkadius casts Forced Evolution (on a Road Hog) and Aggravator.

Turn 2: Legion of Everblight
Bracer is upkept. The Seraph Slipstreams the Neraph forward and lights up the Wrastler with Flare Absylonia gives herself Dodge and Feats. On the right, the Neraph makes short work of the Wrastler and Sprints back to the centre. A couple of Lesser Warbeasts hurt my left War Hog quite badly.

Turn 2: Minions
That didn’t end up quite as bad as I had hoped but my poor positioning last turn has left my Warbeasts in a bit of an awkward position. I decide it’s time to Feat anyway, and am able to take out Golab, the Neraph and a few of the Lesser Warbeasts. Hutchuk appears on the right and kills one Sorceress and the Gun Boar blows up the other one. Kwaak sits on my Flag; 1 – 0 to me.

Turn 3: Legion of Everblight
The Hermit strolls into the scrum of my Warbeasts and uses Master of Ruin. Shredders start eating a War Hog and Absylonia personally finishes off a Road Hog. Proteus finishes the first War Hog and puts some tasty damage into the other Road Hog; the Seraph finishes it. No-one scores; still 1 – 0.

Turn 3: Minions
That hurt more than the Feat turn! On the other hand, Absylonia is sitting right in front of me with no transfers. Hutchuk misses a Quake grenade into her, then Kwaak misses a pair of Venoms and finally Mire does about two damage with a pair of fully boosted attacks (rolling hilariously low on four damage dice). So I guess that is off the table; I probably needed to get a bit lucky to make it work out. The lead War Hog kills the Hellmouth on the left and Dr Arkadius runs away from all the scary blighted beasties. I score the left zone; 2 – 0.

Turn 4: Legion of Everblight
The Hellmouth kills Mire, the Seraph kills Kwaak and Absylonia kills Hutchuk. Proteus takes care of my Objective. Sean also scores the right zone and flag; 3 – 2 to him.

Turn 4: Minions
I kill off the Hermit and Objective; Dr Arkadius runs to my Flag. I don’t have anything that can contest on the right. 5 – 5 as we both score one flag and one zone.

Turn 5: Legion of Everblight
The Seraph contests the left zone and kills the Witch Doctor. A Tentacle contests the flag while Sean scores on the right side; 7 – 5 to him.

Turn 5: Minions
The Gun Boar kills a couple of Tentacles that are in my way and Dr Arkadius Primal Shocks the last one. This clears the War Hog to deal with the other Hellmouth and conveniently also contest the zone. We both score our flags; 8 – 6 to Sean.

Turn 6: Legion of Everblight
The Seraph flies to a place that I’ll never realistically get to it. Proteus makes a real mess of dealing with the War Hog thanks to some awful dice from Sean but does eventually pull my Warbeast away from the zone where Shredders eat it. 10 – 6 to Sean as he scores on the right again while contesting on the left.

Turn 6: Minions
I’m pretty much out of options here. In the end I try to kill Proteus with the last War Hog in the hope that I can then run the Gun Boar into contesting range and hope that Sean clocks out before he can wrap up the game. I can’t even kill off Proteus, so I concede to Sean. I think that this is, strictly speaking, a scenario win for Legion of Everblight.

That was a tight game, and I think that with better positioning at the start I could have hoped to win it. Sean used his superior mobility well and I got caught up trying to work my way round the central house. For example, I had two War Hogs just slowly trudging their way round the board in the late game and I wasn’t really able to bring both of them to bear. By contrast, the threat of Proteus remained relevant in the centre for the whole game.  It would have been interesting to play this again with me going first as I feel that getting the initial board position is probably quite important in this match-up. Things I learned:

• I actually think that Guardian Beast would probably serve me better than Aggravator in this match-up now that I’ve played it out. I was initially worried that there would be a lot of long range shooting from the Seraph but actually Sean just jumped down my throat at the first opportunity.
• I used Witch Doctor poorly here; I could have probably had some good value out of Ghost Walk as I stumbled around the house in the centre.
• Despite their abject failure to kill Absylonia, I was quite pleased with the performance of Kwaak, Mire and Hutchuk. They jammed up the right on a turn I needed it, scored me a point on the flag and killed off a couple of annoying little things. The assassination was probably a long shot but it felt like it could have been achievable.

Round 3 –Bunkers vs Nick’s Skorne (game 18)

https://conflictchamber.com/?c9201b_-1sey6r4v4xm_n46Nf4ea5G5U___-2c6I6r4x6S4C6N6un2n2n2ncn3f4n9n1n9n1mBmB

Skorne
[Theme] Disciples of Agony

[Xerxis 2] Xerxis, Fury of Halaak [+28]
– Agonizer [0(6)]
– Basilisk Drake [8]
– Basilisk Krea [0(7)]
– Desert Hydra [35]
– Mammoth [35]
– Aptimus Marketh [0(5)]
Swamp Gobber River Raider [1]
Tyrant Zaadesh [4]
– Titan Gladiator [15]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]

Skorne
[Theme] The Exalted

[Rasheth 1] Dominar Rasheth [+28]
– Agonizer [6]
– Basilisk Krea [7]
– Cyclops Raider [9]
– Cyclops Shaman [8]
– Aptimus Marketh [0(5)]
Ancestral Guardian [5]
Extoller Novitiate [0(2)]
Extoller Novitiate [0(2)]
Extoller Novitiate [0(2)]
Hakaar the Destroyer [0(6)]
Immortal Vessel [3]
Swamp Gobber River Raider [1]
Immortals (max) [13]
– Extoller Advocate [3]
Immortals (max) [13]
– Extoller Advocate [3]
Supreme Guardian [16]
Supreme Guardian [16]

I’m torn here. I think I want to put Dr Arkadius against Xerxis2 but probably slightly prefer Jaga Jaga into Rasheth. In the end I select Dr Arkadius, figuring that Immortals should be as flammable as anything else and at least I’ll have the armour cracking power to deal with the Supreme Guardians. Nick chooses to play Rasheth so we’ll get to see how I play into a recursion swarm of tough, no knock-down infantry. Actually I’m pretty sure I’ve never played Skorne at all before so this should be interesting.

I win the roll off and pick to have first turn, hoping to set a high line of engagement and keep Nick out of my zone entirely.

Turn 1: Minions
I race everything forward at top speed. Mire puts Weald Secrets on the Blackhide Wrastler in case it ever becomes relevant. Dr Arkadius as usual casts Aggravator (not much shooting but it might be handy to if the Supreme Guardians fire a late-turn shot) and puts Forced Evolution on one of the Road Hogs.

Turn 1: Skorne
A swarm of statues runs towards me. Two of them position to extend the cloud wall once Rasheth zaps them in the back; one even survives. Initially Nick was going to have three of them out but realised that even with Harmonious Exaltation this would leave Rasheth sitting on zero camp so I let him take back the moves. I’m not certain that I could have got many big shots into Rasheth but it would have felt like a pretty rubbish way to finish the game.

Turn 2: Minions
Hutchuk comes on the right and blows up an Immortal Vessel. One Road Hog gets the Adrenaline needle an Assaults the Immortal in the cloud before Sprinting back to safety. A combination of low damage rolls and good tough rolls means that I only get one, so I pretty much trigger Vengeance for nothing. Mire puts a couple of clouds out and the Gun Boar ensures that I don’t have to worry too much about the left flag by blowing up the River Raider.

Turn 2: Skorne
The Immortals on the right Vengeance forward, getting a few of them into range of my Warbeasts. On the left they spread out; one hits my Gun Boar for a little damage. Rasheth uses his Feat and puts Blood Mark on the central War Hog and Carnivore on the unactivated Immortals. The Extoller Novitiates power up the lead Immortals a bit more and they all charge in and put some rather tasty damage on both Road Hogs and the Blood Marked War Hog. The Supreme Guardian on the right sets Hutchuk on fire and the Raider finishes him off. We both score our zones; 1 – 1.

Turn 3: Minions
Dr Arkadius uses his Feat. The War Hog on the left gets Primal and wrecks the Supreme Guardian over there, while the one on the right Overtakes his way to the Agoniser during his activation and the kills it with the Feat attack. The rest of the Warbeasts chew their way through a lot of Immortals but Nick has jammed me quite effectively so my board position is quite week. Kwaak runs onto my flag and we both score our own zones; 2 – 1 to me.

Turn 3: Skorne
The Novitiates turbo charge the Supreme Guardian and Hakaar. It turns out that Supreme Guardians have Thresher (which I didn’t know) and that I’ve left a whole load of my Warbeasts in perfect Thresher formation. The Supreme Guardian charges in and kills both War Hogs and Kwaak; Hakaar finishes the Road Hog. Rasheth swaps Carnivore on to the other Immortals and they kill the third War Hog. We continue to score our own zones; 3 – 2 to me.

Turn 4: Minions
The Witch Doctor comes over and puts Ghost Walk on the Wrastler, and Mire adds Rage. The Wrastler walks into the Supreme Guardian’s back arc and kills it satisfyingly. I needed Ghost Walk as I doubted it could survive the Defensive Strike. The Road Hog kills Hakaar and the Gun Boar kills a couple of Immortals (looking back, I think I forgot to activate the Battle Boar at all). We score our zones again; 4 – 3 to me.

Turn 4: Skorne
Immortals kill the Battle Boar in the middle. Nick throws all the ranged attacks he has at the Wrastler but leaves it standing on a single box. The Road Hog takes a bit of a beating from the Ancestral Guardian and the remaining Immortals on the right but stays standing. Yet again we fail to contest each other’s zones; 5 -4 to me.

Turn 5: Minions
The Wrastler gets healed and Raged by Mire. It then charges the Novitiate in the centre and Overtakes its way over to the Krea, which it also eats and finally takes a nice bite out of the Shaman. The Witch Doctor gives the Road Hog Ghost Walk and it strolls out of melee to immolate a few Immortals, admittedly to depressingly little effect. I couldn’t quite get the Wrastler into Nick’s zone so we both score again; 6 – 5 to me.

Turn 5: Skorne
At this point I notice that Nick has only about 35 seconds on his clock. In his haste last turn he forgot to drop any Fury from Rasheth so his Warbeast both Frenzy. That eats up his remaining time, though I don’t think that he could have pulled out a win even if they hadn’t Frenzied. Minions win by deathclock.

Wow, that was rather close. I feel like I could probably have held on for a victory even if Nick had been able to use his last minute or so freely instead of resolving Frenzy moves, so I guess that from his side the learning point is to be a bit more decisive. Things I learned:

• Supreme Guardians have Thresher, and I shouldn’t form a neat semi-circle of important models for them to exterminate in one go. In fairness I think that Nick probably was going to warn me about this but the last Warbeast moved into place to allow the charge as basically my last move of the turn. I suppose that this is more broadly ‘know / ask what the other army does’ although there are so many options now in WarmaHordes that it seems unlikely that any but the most dedicated players could conceivably know them all.
• Playing efficiently can be enough to win the game, even if your stuff is being pulverised every turn.
• Pay attention to what you have done each turn. I think I forgot to move the Battle Boar at all one turn, and it was only Nick pointing it out that stopped me from using the Wrastler twice early on.

In the end I’m listed as 8th place of 14 players though presumably not playing the last round might have impacted that a bit.  I had a really good time and learned a lot, even playing against two factions that are new to me.  Thanks to Marc, Sean and Nick for three fun games of WarmaHordes, and of course to Allan for running the show.

Warmachine / Hordes tournament report: Scottish GT (75 points); 03-04Aug2019

I traveled to Common Ground Games in Stirling to take part in the Warmachine / Hordes (just Warmachine from here on in) Scottish Masters. Note that, despite the name being ‘masters’ it wasn’t necessary to be some kind of expert player; just as well really as otherwise I’d never get a look in. Just like the only other Warmachine event I’ve attended, this was run by Allan Gibb and all the organisation in the lead-up was smooth. I had been really looking forward to the tournament as it’s been a long time since I took part in a competitive wargaming event.

My objective here in terms of performance is not to come last. If I can get two wins, I’ll be delighted.

https://conflictchamber.com/?cb201b_-2njP4cjNjNjWbM7y7F4njD7g___-2n13fy0M1d1d0L0L0L0YbOfCnd4c

Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Jaga-Jaga 1] Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer [+27]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Swamp Horror [15]
– Gatorman Soul Slave [0(5)]
Brun Cragback [16]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [0(5)]
Rorsh [15]
Totem Hunter [0(6)]
Farrow Valkyries [8]
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. (max) [17]

Minions
[Theme] Will Work For Food

[Arkadius 1] Dr. Arkadius [+32]
– Battle Boar [7]
– Gun Boar [8]
– Road Hog [15]
– Road Hog [15]
– War Hog [14]
– War Hog [14]
– War Hog [14]
– Targ [0(3)]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0(4)]
Hutchuk, Ogrun Bounty Hunter [0(6)]
Underchief Mire [4]
– Blackhide Wrastler [16]

My lists are the same two I’ve been using for Minions for the last few games. Dr Arkadius is there to threaten an assassination but can attrition surprisingly well against Warbeasts (because I can get a good alpha strike with Dr Arkadius’s Feat) and a limited amount of infantry (because Overtake lets me pinball around, and two Road Hog sprays can be quite effective. The Jaga Jaga list is intended to be used against infantry, and especially to use her Feat to take out annoying solos and unit attachments; it also has a bit of hit-fixing with Signs and Portents.

Round 1 – King of the Hill vs Ross’s Retribution of Scyrah (game 8)

https://conflictchamber.com/?c5201b_-1ohH1gms3y3y3A3J0w4L2wfW2zmo31___-1ndUhImx9v3y3y4141dP35363u3536hT

Retribution
[Theme] Legions of Dawn

[Goreshade 4] Lord Ghyrrshyld, the Forgiven [+28]
– Chimera [8]
– Imperatus [20]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
Dawnguard Destor Thane [7]
Dawnguard Sentinel Scyir [0(4)]
– Hydra [15]
House Shyeel Artificer [0(5)]
– Griffon [8]
Lys Healer [3]
Dawnguard Destors (max) [20]
Dawnguard Sentinels (max) [18]
– Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard [0(4)]

Retribution
[Theme] Defenders of Ios

[Issyria 1] Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn [+29]
– Hemera [16]
– Hyperion [32]
– Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker [0(4)]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
Ghost Sniper [0(3)]
Ghost Sniper [0(3)]
Houseguard Thane [0(4)]
Houseguard Halberdiers (max) [13]
– Houseguard Halberdier Officer & Standard [4]
– Soulless Escort (1) [1]
Houseguard Halberdiers (max) [13]
– Houseguard Halberdier Officer & Standard [4]
Arcantrik Force Generator [17]

I picked Dr Arkadius here as I was worried about how I would deal with the colossal in the Issyria list. Ross chose Goreshade, so that wasn’t helpful. I’m a bit worried about chewing through Dauntless Resolve, Steady, Tough Destors (or Sentinels, depending on how things go) as they seem tailor made to kill my Warbeasts. On the other hand, I think that Ross has to use his Feat early or play very cautiously with Goreshade unless he wants to risk a Feat / Overtake assassination.

Ross wins the roll and chooses the board edge so I go first. I’m aiming most of my army for that bottleneck in the centre as I think I’ll need to get through there. The Gatorman Witch Doctor seems important here to be able to get through the terrain.

Turn 1: Minions
Everyone runs forward. Dr Arkadius puts up Aggravator in case of any cheeky late-turn shooting and casts Forced Evolution on the left Road Hog. Mire casts Weald Secrets on the Blackhide Wrastler simply because it would be free later on. Some of my Warbeasts don’t run as otherwise I’ll end up with too much Fury on the board and I’m not confident about leaving Dr Arkadius on zero camp.

Turn 1: Retribution of Scyrah
Most of Ross’s list also runs full-tilt toward me. Goreshade puts a couple clouds up in between the central forests to ensure that I can’t see his army. Dauntless Resolve goes on the Destors along with the Steady aura, so I can see that I’ll have a tough time getting through them. The Sentinels form a loose screen in front of Goreshade while the Griffon goes for the left zone.

Turn 2: Minions
I think that I can use a trick with Dr Arkadius’s Feat to get the assassination this turn since Goreshade didn’t use his Feat. Hutchuk runs in from the left and fails to do much of anything to the Griffon. The Gun Boar runs into the clouds to be a Frenzy target and the Witch Doctor casts Ghost Walk on the War Hog. Mire and the Wrastler put Rage on the right-hand War Hog and Road Hog while the Battle Boar and Dr Arkadius put Primal on the left pair. Dr Arkadius then Feats, sending the left heavies into the cloud wall (and banging up the Gun Boar in the process) and the right ones round the other side of the forest. Over on the right, the War Hog makes a bit of a meal of killing the lead Destor but the Road Hog gets an amusing charge which lights Goreshade on fire with the Assault shot and then Overtakes though a handful of Sentinels. The left Road Hog puts some more damage into Goreshade with its flamethrower and clears a path through the Sentinels before eventually Overtaking out of the War Hog’s way. The Primalled War Hog has Goreshade in its sights and puts the Warcaster down in the first swing. Minions win by assassination!

Well, that went surprisingly well. Ross was a really nice chap, explained what his stuff did and took his Warcaster’s early demise with a smile on his face. I think that this was the narrowest win possible in Warmachine; I didn’t get any scenario points and the only thing I scored army point from was Goreshade himself. Things I learned:

• I need to get more value out of Ancillary Attack and the Adrenaline option on Dr Arkadius’s Needle. I’m not really using either to any great effect.
• Taking down Destors with Dauntless Resolve, Steady and Tough is really hard to do. In general, I don’t have any tech against Tough other than just spending Fury and hitting them again.
• Cloud Walls are a bit of a problem as I have no way to see through them. Luckily in this case I was able to Frenzy onto one of my own models to get through Goreshade’s clouds, but if positioning had been a bit different that could have been off the table too.

Since that took such a short amount of time, we re-racked back to end of Ross’s first turn, and applied Goreshade’s Feat. I had to back off and cede some ground and lot of damage but eventually I managed to land a fully powered-up War Hog on Goreshade again and get a second assassination. No photos or clock from that game though, we were just chatting our way through options.

Round 2 – Recon II vs Kyle’s Protectorate of Menoth (game 9)

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1qfZgS9xg9e49x9xlM9x9x2_2____-1r1l1q1rm3l-l-m03p7z2mbQ2m2jfV2jfV

Protectorate
[Theme] The Creator’s Might

[Malekus 1] Malekus, the Burning Truth [+30]
– Eye of Truth [20]
– Repenter [8]
– Revelator [37]
Initiate Tristan Durant [0(4)]
– Repenter [8]
– Repenter [8]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Repenter [8]
– Repenter [8]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
[According to my notes there should also be a couple of Vassals of Menoth in here but for some reason it isn’t working out in Conflict Chamber]

Protectorate
[Theme] Exemplar Interdiction

[Vindictus 1] Vice Scrutator Vindictus [+29]
– Dervish [7]
– Devout [9]
– Fire of Salvation [14]
Exemplar Bastion Seneschal [0(5)]
Exemplar Bastion Seneschal [0(5)]
High Exemplar Gravus [8]
Knights Exemplar Seneschal [0(5)]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]
Exemplar Errants (max) [16]
– Exemplar Errant Officer & Standard [4]
Exemplar Errants (max) [16]
Knights Exemplar [9]
– Knights Exemplar Officer [4]
Knights Exemplar [9]
– Knights Exemplar Officer [4]

My knowledge of game match-ups is only at the most basic level possible. In this case, I looked at Kyle’s pairing and mentally broke it down to ‘lots of Warjacks’ and ‘lots of infantry’. Since we were playing a scenario that didn’t have any zones that could be scored by infantry, I figured that he would go for the Warjack list and selected Dr Arkadius accordingly. It was a bit of shock when Kyle picked Vindictus and I ended up facing a huge swarm of light infantry across the table, especially as I couldn’t set them on fire with Road Hogs.

Kyle wins the roll off and chooses to go first so I pick the side with slightly less annoying terrain. His army is more or less evenly spread across the line and I do the same, except that Mire and the Dracodile are in the middle since they are Amphibious (and have Immunity: Corrosion in Mire’s case) and hence can get around that irritating corrosion swamp.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
A huge swarm of infantry races toward me, ably assisted by True Path. Defender’s Ward goes on the Errants on my right, and Rhupert makes them Tough too. Everything other than the Infantry is a bit more cautious and hangs back behind the woods.

Turn 1: Minions
Everyone runs forward as usual. I don’t want to let too much of Kyle’s infantry get into me, but on the other hand I certainly can’t afford to get jammed out of the scenario. Dr Arkadius casts Aggravator in the vain hope that I can use it to shut down some cheeky potshots without exposing myself too much, then casts Forced Evolution on the nearer Road Hog. The Road Hogs put out a few sprays to minimal effect.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
Defender’s Ward is upkept, the Vindictus strolls up and uses his Feat. The various Exemplars jam me hard, and I lose the Road Hog on the left to charging Knights Examplar.

Turn 2: Minions
We weren’t sure of whether Dr Arkadius’s Feat would allow me to charge into Vindictus’s Feat so decided to assume that I couldn’t do it. I un-jam myself as well as I can with Overtake moves, and the Battle Boar lives the dream by Primalling itself and then eating the entire unit of Knights Examplar. 1 – 0 to the Protectorate as I can’t clear my own flag and forgot to ambush Hutchuk on to contest Kyle’s.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Defender’s Ward is upkept again as Kyle judges that there are enough Errants left to be worthwhile. On the right, the infantry jam back in but I somehow don’t lose any of my Warbeasts. On the left, it’s less pretty as the War Hog is slammed out of the zone by the Bastion Seneschal (and eventually killed by Errants) and the Battle Boar is killed by the Dervish and Knights Exemplar Seneschal. Vindictus casts Admonition on Fire of Salvation. 3 – 0 to Kyle as he scores his flag again and the left zone.

Turn 3: Minions
Hutchuk makes an appearance and runs to contest Kyle’s flag. The Wrastler and Mire do some sterling work on the left, taking out the Dervish, both solos and a few more Errants. Dr Arkadius uses his Feat to get an extra few attacks out on the right and I’m feeling more comfortable about how much stuff Kyle has to come back to me with. One of the War Hogs heads for Fire of Salvation but it Admonitions away. Dr Arkadius gets on my flag; 3 – 1 to Kyle.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth
Kyle throws all he has at me. Fire of Salvation gets fully fuelled and kills the lead War Hog. On the left, the Devout manages to leave Mire on a single box. No-one scores as everything is contested.

Turn 4: Minions
Hutchuk leaves Rhupert on a single box so the Gun Boar has to kill him from range (and a high damage roll hurts Hutchuk quite badly too). Mire and the Wrastler clear the Devout from the left zone and I think Kyle is out of things to meaningfully contest it. Over on the right, the War hog and Road Hog finally finish off the last of the infantry but I can’t pin down the Fire of Salvation with Admonition. I’m reduced to trying to block his route in, and Dr Arkadius applies Crippling Grasp to hopefully keep it out of my face. I score the left zone and both flags to bring the score to 4 – 3.

Turn 5: Protectorate of Menoth
Kyle is down to almost nothing on his clock. Vindictus personally polishes off my War Hog, then Fire of Salvation gets fully fuelled and just barely makes it into Dr Arkadius. Fortunately, my Warcaster survives the round and Kyle’s clock runs out. Minions win by deathclock.

That was tight! Kyle was a really lovely man, and on discussion with him was probably about as experienced at Warmachine as I am (i.e. not very). So in that regard this was really a perfect game for both of us. Things I learned:

• Positioning of my Warlock is of paramount importance. I could have moved Dr Arkadius to various positions of safety but ended up needing the dice to save me.
• The match-up into this cloud of light infantry wasn’t as bad as I expected. The warrior models need to clump up if they’re going to do anything of note to my heavy Warbeasts and doing so leaves them really vulnerable to sprays or Overtake chains in retaliation.
• Getting the Berserk attacks off with the Battle Boar was extremely satisfying. It’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to use that ability and it felt good.

Round 3 – Spread The Net vs Billy’s Protectorate of Menoth (game 10)

https://conflictchamber.com/?c2201b_-1q0ylV7jlUk9e4lVlM1G1G3t2____-1pm11UlVme3k3k7jjCjClR3C2_3F3Hninini

Protectorate
[Theme] The Creator’s Might

[Kreoss 1] High Exemplar Kreoss [+29]
– Judicator [35]
Anastasia di Bray [3]
Exemplar Warder [0(5)]
Exemplar Warder Elias Gade [0(5)]
Initiate Tristan Durant [4]
– Judicator [35]
Scrutator Potentate Severius [0(6)]
– Redeemer [11]
– Redeemer [11]
Vassal Mechanik [1]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]

Protectorate
[Theme] The Faithful Masses

[Harbinger 1] The Harbinger of Menoth [+27]
– Crusader [10]
– Judicator [35]
– Hierophant [3]
Allegiant of the Order of the Fist [3]
Allegiant of the Order of the Fist [3]
Anastasia di Bray [3]
Champion of the Order of the Wall [8]
Champion of the Order of the Wall [8]
Hand of Silence [7]
The Covenant of Menoth [4]
Choir of Menoth (min) [4]
Idrian Skirmishers (min) [9]
– Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide [5]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]
Initiates of the Wall [0(7)]

I’m well and truly in the shark tank here; Billy is regarded as a potential winner of the whole event, plays in WTC and so on. Both his lists have Colossals in them so I figure I need the sheer damage output of Dr Arkadius again. Billy chooses to play with Harbinger. I’m just hoping for a lucky opening to get a Road Hog onto Harbinger or something.

Billy wins the roll-off and chooses to take first turn.  Neither side has much to recommend it so I take the one with a wall that I can hope to hide behind a little.  The Wrastler and two War Hogs go to the right in order to face off the Judicator; perhaps the threat of a long range attack from Raged War Hogs will make it play a bit further back.

The Idrians pick the painted Road Hog as Prey.

Turn 1: Protectorate of Menoth
Billy tuns his stuff up in a brick, making sure that Harbinger is far enough back that I can’t possibly land any assault sprays on her from the Road Hogs.

Turn 1: Minions
I move up and try to leverage my larger threat ranges. I’ve got Aggravator up in case I can get any moves out of cheeky shots from the Idrians that won’t also involve the Judicator getting an easy route into my heavies, and Forced Evolution goes on the nearby Road Hog.

Turn 2: Protectorate of Menoth
The Idrians and Judicator drop one of my War Hogs at range, and Harbinger casts Purification to clear off my upkeeps. The Champion and some Initiates are careful to block me off from the Judicator. The Allegiants move to be annoying, one of them runs to the right flag.

Turn 2: Minions
Hanging back isn’t likely to help me as I don’t have any ranged threats so I figure that I need to pull the trigger now and hope to do enough chipping away at the infantry that Harbinger will slow down on the Martyrdom. I need to get that Champion out of the way, but I seriously underestimate how tricky it is to clear a model with high armour, Tough, no-knockdown under Awe, when Harbinger can just take a bit of damage to keep him up. Now that I write it, possibly this should have been more obvious! In the end, my heavies get completely hung up on this one model and I can’t make any progress into the Judicator despite using my Feat, Primal, Rage and any thing else I could bring to bear. It didn’t help that the Champion passed his first five Tough checks before even needing to be Martyred. I do set a few things on fire but Harbinger Martyrs away any significant damage. Over on the left, I dismount the other Champion but have to Primal the Road Hog to get anything done at all. Hutchuk ambushes over to contest the right flag and Targ scores me for the left one. Billy scores for the left zone; 1 – 1.

Turn 3: Protectorate of Menoth
Harbinger loads up the Judicator and it kills the Wrastler and another War Hog. The Idrians take out the right Road Hog and Anastasia comes on the left and Toughs Targ. Billy scores his zone again; 2 – 1.

Turn 3: Minions
There isn’t much that I can do here. The Battle Boar kills Anastasia so that I can at least score another point. Just for fun I power up the last War Hog and it leaves the Judicator on a five boxes, so at least that was satisfying. Mire kills a few Idrians but I can’t get the whole unit. I score the left flag and right zone while Billy scores the left zone; 3 – 3.

Turn 4: Protectorate of Menoth
It’s just mopping up here. All but my rear-most miniatures are efficiently killed off with the Judicator and surviving Idrians doing most of the work. Minions lose on scenario (I think; from my notes I believe it was only 6 – 3 in Billy’s favour when we called it… anyway, I wasn’t coming back into this).

Overall that went more or less as I expected. Billy was a classy opponent, always polite and friendly even when he was crushing all my stuff. Spoiler alert: he did go on to win the whole event, so I don’t feel bad about being comprehensively crushed by him. Things I learned:

• Despite the result I think that I picked the right list to use here; at least, I think that Jaga Jaga would have been even worse. It seems to me that I would need to bring some very different tech to give myself a fighting chance here. But perhaps I’m wrong, and the difference here was simply the vast gulf in skill and experience between us and I could have done more by simply playing better. If you have any thoughts on how to approach this match-up then I’ll be really glad to read them.
• I need to get better at using power attacks. The Champion gummed me up completely trying to get my heavies into the Judicator. I think that it could have been possible to use one of them to throw him out of the way without messing about trying to kill him.
• As with the Destors in game 1, I don’t really have a good answer for Tough, Steady models other than hitting them lots of times. In this case, the combination of Awe and Martyrdom made it even harder to deal with.

With that, the first day ended and most of us went out of some drinks and a rather lovely Italian restaurant. It’s one thing I do really appreciate about two-day events – being able to make an evening of the tournament and get to know people outside the context of the game that brings us together.

Round 4 – Bunkers vs Sean’s Grymkin (game 11)

https://conflictchamber.com/?ce201b_-2khvh2nlnlnlnlnlnlh4h4nFhmhmhmhn___-2khth2nlnlnlh4h6h3h3hmhmhmhmhr

Grymkin
[Theme] Dark Menagerie

[King of Nothing 1] The King of Nothing [+28]
– Cage Rager [14]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Crabbits (2) [0(7)]
– Crabbits (2) [0(7)]
– Baron Tonguelick, Lord of Warts [4]
Gremlin Swarm [0(3)]
Gremlin Swarm [0(3)]
Gremlin Swarm [3]
Lady Karianna Rose [4]

Grymkin
[Theme] Dark Menagerie

[Dreamer 1] The Dreamer [+28]
– Cage Rager [14]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Clockatrice [13]
– Crabbits (2) [0(7)]
– Gorehound [6]
– Skin & Moans [15]
– Skin & Moans [15]
Gremlin Swarm [0(3)]
Gremlin Swarm [0(3)]
Gremlin Swarm [0(3)]
Gremlin Swarm [0(3)]
Death Knell [13]

I’ve literally never seen Grymkin on the table before, so Sean very kindly talks me through his lists. I see that there are nine Clockatrices between the lists so I figure that they must be The New Hotness; after Sean’s explanation I decide that Swamp Horrors are probably the tech I need to deal with them so I go with Jaga Jaga. Sean picks his Dreamer list with a mere three Clockatrices.

Sean wins the roll off and chooses to go first. I pick the side with a trench to hide Jaga Jaga in. I’m aiming to use Brun and Rorsh to get on the outside flags and then run the rest of my stuff up the middle. The Totem Hunter goes behind the forest in the hope that I’ll be able to abuse that for some cheeky charges, although there aren’t really any great targets for him here.

The Arcana chosen are All Fall Down, Sacrifice and Labyrinth. I forgot to note what the Totem Hunter chose as Prey; I think it was probably the Clockatrice on the far right.

Turn 1: Grymkin
Everything just runs right at me. The Dreamer puts out an Artifice of Deviation on the right, presumably to stop any shenanigans with Rorsh. She also casts Mirage on the right Skin and Moans

Turn 1: Minions
Those Clockatrices have me out-ranged so I move up far enough to hopefully bring them into my range if they want to spray my Warbeasts. Jaga Jaga puts Grave Wind on the Totem Hunter (not that it ever saves him!) and Battle Host on herself. Brun and Rorsh cast their upkeeps since they’re free to keep in play thanks to the new theme benefit. Lug is relatively far forward in the hope that I can bait out some awkward positioning to gt round counter-charge.

Turn 2: Grymkin
Mirage is upkept and the Gremlin Swarms predictably stroll onto the flags. I have a plan to deal with the ones on the left but I can’t see myself doing more than contesting the right now. All three Clockatrices come in and apply a variety of penalties to both Swamp Horrors and Brine; the rest of the army moves up to counter punch if I can take them out. Another Artifice of Deviation appears to stop me doing anything useful with Brine.

Turn 2: Minions
I upkeep all my spells. The Soul Slave puts Ghost Walk onto the Boomhowlers and they run around and plink away a little at the front line. Jaga Jaga casts Signs and Portents and Feats, killing the left Gremlin Swarms, one of the Crabbits and otherwise clearing some of my own models out of the way. She also puts Rage on one Swamp Horror and the Wrastler does the same for the other one. The Swamp Horrors, slowed as they are, do manage to get both Clockatrices (actually the Totem Hunter has to finish the last one). Sean did good work having them Stutter to places where I couldn’t pull them in for bite attacks but eventually they went down. I’m a bit more stuck on the right and Rorsh is resigned to just taking a couple of potshots and contesting the flag. Somewhere in here Labyrinth was played. We each score our own zones; 1 – 1.

Turn 3: Grymkin
The Dreamer moves slightly and casts Manifest Destiny. The Skin and Moans on the right kills Brine but Rorsh lives on a single wound. The Cage Rager takes out the Swamp Horror on the right, saving me some worries about Fury management. The Gorehound charges across and eat Orin; I’m a bit annoyed with myself on this one as it was totally avoidable – I hadn’t realised that Gorehounds have Ghostly but more importantly Orin could easily have been a few millimetres further back and remained safe. The last Clockatrice kills the Totem Hunter and the heavies on that side start to pressure me through the forest on the right. The Crabbit contests the left flag and a Phantasm runs into my zone so only Sean scores his zone for 2 – 1 to Grymkin.

Turn 3: Minions
Battle Host is upkept for free, then Jaga Jaga kills the small Phantasm, puts Rage back on the Swamp Horror and casts Signs and Portents. Lug swats the Crabbit and Brun moves to be slightly less irrelevant while still scoring. The Soul Slave is going to need to get on the left flag so moves into range to run onto it next turn. The Swamp Horror eats both the Gorehound and Cage Rager and the Wrastler takes out the Death Knell. Boomhowlers run to contest the back zone and generally get in the way. I score the left flag and my zone; 3 – 2 to Minions.

Turn 4: Grymkin
Turns are moving quite quickly now as we run out of miniatures. The Phantasms move to contest and the Dreamer zaps the contesting Boomhowler before casting Manifest Destiny. The pair of Skin and Moans drop the Wrastler (needing to work quite hard for it) and the Clockatrice clears the right flag by killing Rorsh. Sean scores his zone and the right flag; 4 – 3 to Grymkin.

Turn 4: Minions
I need to send the Soul Slave to sit on the left flag this turn so I enjoy my last free upkeep of Battle Host. Jaga Jaga casts Signs and Portents and waves goodbye to the Soul Slave. The Valkyries and Boomhowlers contest, jam and clear Phantasms as best they can manage and the Swamp Horror takes care of a Skin and Moans. Brun and Lug both leg it to the centre flag. I score my zone and two flags, Sean gets one to bring the score to 6 – 5 to Minions.

Turn 5: Grymkin
Unfortunately, it turns out that I’ve left Jaga Jaga close enough to my objective that the Skin and Moans can charge it and buy attacks on her. So the Clockatrice takes care of the blocking Valkyrie and the Dreamer moves up to cover the landing spot with Manifest Destiny, and it does just that. Minions lose by assassination.

This was the only game a felt a little disappointed in my performance. Not because I particularly expected to win, but rather because the manner of the defeat was so avoidable; simply moving Jaga Jaga about 1” to my left would have left her safe. Of course, there were still plenty of options for Sean to win it, but I wanted to push him a little further to get the win. Oh well, just something else for me to try to think about in these games. Sean was a lovely opponent throughout. Things I learned:

• As above, I’ve got a bit of a habit of not checking for threats onto my Warlock until after I’ve finished their activation. I really need to consider positioning for them much more carefully. I guess I didn’t really learn my lesson from game 2.
• Signs and Portents showed it’s worth again and again in this match-up. On the other hand, Sean was casting Manifest Destiny for one Fury less and getting the same value out of it so maybe I should be wishing for that spell instead!
• Swamp Horrors were as good into Clockatrices as I hoped. Sean did a good job of Stuttering them round the base of another model so I couldn’t drag the Clockatrices in for a good beak attack though.

Round 5 – Anarchy vs David’s Cryx (game 12)

https://conflictchamber.com/?c4201b_-1WnUc31hkpe2kwkr2IoIkgkk1____-1U0Z19193ci2dWdWhZh_hZh_bB

Cryx
[Theme] Scourge of the Broken Coast

[Rahera 1] Captain Rahera, Terror of the Wailing Sea [+28]
– Kraken [35]
– Stalker [8]
– Satyxis Blood Priestess [4]
Aiakos, Scourge of the Meredius [4]
– Kharybdis [17]
Axiara Wraithblade [0(6)]
General Gerlak Slaughterborn [0(6)]
Ragman [4]
Blighted Trollkin Marauders (max) [15]
– Jussika Bloodtongue [0(5)]
Bloodgorgers (max) [15]

Cryx
[Theme] Dark Host

[Coven 1] The Witch Coven of Garlghast [+26]
– Deathripper [6]
– Deathripper [6]
– Desecrator [14]
Bane Lord Tartarus [0(6)]
Bane Riders (max) [20]
Bane Riders (max) [20]
Bane Warriors (min) [10]
– Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [0(5)]
Bane Warriors (min) [10]
– Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [0(5)]
Wraith Engine [15]

I had a feeling that David was going to go for the swarm of Banes here and decided that my Dr Arkadius list would want no part of that. In addition, there is no incentive for the Witch Coven to play even remotely far forward so there wasn’t even much danger of getting a cheeky assassination. Jaga Jaga came out to play and David did indeed pick Witch Coven.

David wins the roll and decides to go first. I put both lesser Warlocks on the left to try to hold that flag and stick the Boomhowlers on the right with the hope of holding that zone at some point. The battlegroup goes in the centre so that I can see where things end up, although with such a wall of warrior models coming at me I suppose that the answer is ‘everywhere’.

The Totem Hunter picks Bane Lord Tartarus as Prey; I figure it might make David play him further back at least.

Turn 1: Cryx
Everything rushes right at me. David is careful to measure out proper landing zones for the Witches and Egregore. Occultation is cast on the right Bane Riders, Infernal Machine goes on the Desecrator and a Veil of Mists is put out to extend the wall of forests and theme-benefit clouds.

Turn 1: Minions
There’s not much to do but run right at them. I try not to offer too much to the alpha next turn, but on the other hand I also want to get deep enough that I can do some work under the inevitable Coven Feat. On the left, the Valkyries stay out of range of the Bane Riders as I can shoot them next turn unless they back right off the zone. Grave Wind is on the Totem Hunter and Battle Host goes up, along with the upkeeps from the lesser Warlocks.

Turn 2: Cryx
All spells are upkept. The Coven move up and, predictably, Feat to cover much of my army. The Bane Riders on the right come in and slap through the leading Boomhowlers. One of them kills the Totem Hunter too (actually it missed the impact attack but I let David take that back as he said he wasn’t aware of the Poltergeist thing); poor Totem Hunter. Otherwise everything is surprisingly cautious. The Wraith Engine swaps sides but I’m not really sure I understand why.

Turn 2: Minions
I look to see if there is any way that I can trample anything into the Witches while they’re far forward and eventually decide that it won’t work out. Jaga Jaga, Brun and Rorsh upkeep all their spells for free. Jaga Jaga casts Signs and Portents and Rages the Wrastler, which then goes in and Overtakes its way through three Bane Riders. Boomhowlers move out to get in the way a bit more; I’m hoping that there will be enough of them left to be worth using my Feat by the time next turn comes round. Rorsh uses Diversionary Tactics to get an additional move out of Brine, who walks into the Desecrator. Frustratingly, even under Signs and Portents Brine misses half of his attacks and leaves the Warjack on a couple of boxes. On the left, I realise that I can’t give away too much to the Bane Riders so the Valkyries gun one of them down. Brun scores my flag; 1 – 0.

Turn 3: Cryx
The Coven drop all their upkeeps and load up the Desecrator; the objective also heals it back to full functionality. The Bane Warriors on the left drop Brine without any problem after the first one runs to stop Lug’s Counter Charge. The Desecrator and one Bane Rider kill Lug too, along with most of the Valkyries though helpfully the last one Toughs and contests the left zone for me. The Bane Riders and Warriors on the right plow through a bunch of the remaining Boomhowlers (clearing the zone) and gum me up in the centre; finally Tartarus remembers to sit by his flag. 2 – 1 to Cryx.

Turn 3: Minions
Right, I feel like now I can get some work done as I can actually get to the Cryx army this turn. The Soul Slave puts Ghost Walk on the few remaining Boomhowlers and they walk up to stab a few of the Bane Warriors. Jaga Jaga casts Signs and Portents and Feats on the rest of the Boomhowlers apart from the Trollblood himself, clearing a bit more of the mess on the right. The last Valkyrie sacrifices movement to take a shot at a Bane Rider, then Rorsh gets to work. He aims and starts unloading, killing the Desecrator and a Warrior. Brun kills the contesting Bane Rider to clear my flag. The Wrastler and both Swamp Horrors go on a highly entertaining Overtake rampage, wiping out the last Bane Riders on the left and seriously thinning out the remaining Bane Warriors on either side. We each score our flags; 3 – 2 to Cryx.

Turn 4: Cryx
The Bane Riders on the left clear the Valkyrie to claim that zone while the Warriors move to contest my flag and kill off my Swamp Horror. Over on the right, the Deathripper charges into Boomhowler but crucially misses him. Later Warrior attacks just force him to Tough, which he makes to stymie David’s plans. The rest of the Warriors put some fairly desultory attacks into the Wrastler. Finally, the Wraith Engine goes Incorporeal and rushes forward. Cryx score their flag and left zone; 5 – 2.

Turn 4: Minions
Orin runs to the flag and Rorsh aims again to finish the left Bane Warriors. Brun charges into the left zone to kill a Rider, but mainly to contest. Boomhowler, the Wrastler and surviving Swamp Horror do great work on the right but can’t quite polish off the Deathripper nor one Warrior that snuck behind them. The Swamp Horror does pull in Tartarus and eat him as part of another Overtake chain though, so that felt pretty good. I was actually planning to send the Swamp Horror into the Wraith Engine until David kindly reminded me that it was Incorporeal this turn. I score my flag; 5 – 3 to Cryx.

Turn 5: Cryx
David is pretty much out of clock at this point but canny observers will note that, once again, I have neglected to move my Warlock a tiny amount to safety. The Deathripper runs toward Jaga Jaga and the Coven first put Curse of Shadows on her then follow-up with a couple of Stygian Abysses (luckily none of them get a critical hit). The Wraith Engine then charges her but misses enough attacks that she survives. David has 1 second left on his clock so he concedes. Minions win by deathclock.

Another close game, though in this case I think that David had run out of things to really threaten me with once I tidied up his Wraith Engine. It was nice to play into this kind of list as I’ve not really had experience into anything like it, and David ensured that it was a fun way to play. Things I learned:

• Yet again, I failed to follow my own advice about keeping my Warlock safe. In this case, I thought that I would have the Wraith Engine in hand anyway but I had forgotten that it was Incorporeal so I couldn’t attack it. Nonetheless, I could have had Jaga Jaga playing less far forward than she was.
• Sometimes it can be worth throwing something unexpected at a player to get them out of their comfort zone. I gave away Brine in exchange for most of the Desecrator but it was probably still effective as it meant that David had to slow the Bane advance on that side to deal with him. Of course, I was hoping that I wouldn’t miss so many attacks and actually kill the Warjack but it wasn’t to be.
• The game is long enough that I can afford to back off and cede some scenario points to avoid a really bad situation (like strolling into David’s threat ranges under the Witch Coven’s Feat). No need to rush in as long as I can contest at least on my turns.

When all the scores are in, I somehow finish a remarkable 10th place out of 30ish people. Far, far better than I had expected, and actually slightly above Joe on whatever tiebreaker comes first (I think it is Strength of Schedule); more personally I surpassed even my stretch goal to win two games. Many thanks to Ross, Kyle, Billy, Sean and David for five fun games of Warmachine, and of course to Allan for running the whole show.

Painted Feora, Priestess of the Flame

Here is the mighty Feora, Priestess of the Flame (Feora1 for those keeping count at home), the last of the Protectorate of Menoth miniatures I currently own. I played most of my Protectorate games with Feora1 and in general I really enjoyed using her as my Warcaster. Her main draws from my point of view were her Feat (which sets nearby enemies on fire and is therefore highly entertaining even if far less effective in practice that I wanted it to be) and her spell Engine of Destruction (which gives a huge bonus to her combat stats and allows her to scrap things with ease). I didn’t really find the more general play from the Protectorate to be especially enjoyable as all the best abilities seemed to revolve around stopping your opponent from doing very much during their turn. Or perhaps it would be closer to the truth to say that I felt that those I played against had less fun when I played the Protectorate for that reason. Still, I do like the miniatures so I might very easily decide to dip back into the army at some point in the future.

Next on the painting table: Press Gangers.