Last two games of the warmachine tournament at Ropecon

So, third game was against Cryx, again.

This time I was facing epic Deneghra who had a rather big fella to back her up.

Yeah, I get to fight a real battle-engine, in flesh and blood! (Well, that may not be an apporpriate description...)

Anyway, I went with epic Krueger, because I wanted to have a full choice of lists during last round (because every list needed to be used at least once).

Scenario was the horrible Command and Control, or whatever the name is for the one where you have to control a small circle in middle of board with your troops and a flag somewhere else on the board to score points.

And this game was actually one of the most thrilling games I've had for a long while.

Opponents list was:

Wraith Witch Deneghra
- 2x Deathrippers
- Deathjack

Wraith Engine
Maximum unit of Bane Thralls + Unit Attachment
Withershadow Combine
Bane Lord Tartarus
Necrotech & Scrap Thrall
Skarlock
2x Warwitch Sirens

However, one thing became clear with the Battle Engines.

Lord of the Feasts annoyance factor goes up. This time he didn't roll all that well, he killed only Necrotech and did some random damage to two Withershadow members. You can see his horns peeking just behind the Wraith Engine. That's how far he went.

Luckily I had the druids with me. With Deathjack and epic Deneghra around I would have been rather messed up if two Hellmouths started flying around with a base Focus stat of 7. I mean, nowadays I can respect two hellmouths at fury 6...

Well, then.

Next picture is taken from the thick of action.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the turn after Deneghra's feat. First she stopped my army on its tracks and Wraith Engine moved up to beat up stuff, Megalith mostly. Then, during this turn the picture is taken, opponent cast Hellmouth on his own battle engine, dragging all nearby models closer so the huge wraith could have another round of beating up my models...

I did try to shoot it down with Krueger, but in the end it was left with just a few wounds.

Whoops. Looks like I'm talking nonsense here. Sorry people, that people was taken from the end of my round under Deneghra's feat.

And this picture:

is taken where my troops were Hellmouthed around. Sad picture indeed, no wonder I tried to forget its existence altogether.

I think I actually wanted to feat a round earlier, but forgot because I was too enthusiastic trying to get Thrullg into contact with Wraith Engine. So, as it turned out, Thrullg wasn't in range and I lost my chance to use Kruegers feat.

Well, because Krueger survived the turn, I actually got a good spot to use feat still.

And once the Wraith Engine went off, the board somehow seemed a lot more... empty.

Green AoE effect on shifting stone is a Lightning Storm from Krueger that nailed three bane thralls. Also, the unseen hero, the Blackclad Wayfarer, did a nice spray that dealt with plenty of bane thralls too.

I don't remember who or what did the final blow on the Wraith Engine, but seeing as everyone else except epic Deneghra herself was under Krueger's feat, I was fairly safe from retaliation.

My main interests besides the engine was killing off Tartarus and arc nodes. While I didn't wreck any bonejacks, if I remember right the one currently engaging ravagers lost its arc nodes and decided to go into offense.

Next round, when Gnarlhorn beat down the engaging bonejack, my other troops were ready to charge around. Thrullg disrupted the Deathjack and a couple of ravagers hurt it badly, but didn't wreck it.

However, this was a timed tournament with 59 minutes for both players. My clock was ticking, and damn it was ticking fast.

Well, opponent destroyed almost everything I had left. Overseer, all the ravagers and even the over-enthusiastic, drooling thrullg met their ultimate demise.

Reeve Hunter, on the other hand, survived about everything.

Could be that opponent didn't think of it as a too big of a threat, and judging from it's performance, I don't wonder. Early in the game it shot one scrap thrall and rest of the game it spent on charging warwitch sirens, always missing them.

So, when my turn started, I had Gnarlhorn Satyr, Reeve Hunter and epic Krueger left. And just above 5 minutes playing time.

So, I decided to try an assassination.

I tried to get Line of Sight for Krueger against Deneghra, but the small hill was in the way. First Reeve Hunter, finally getting a chance to do something useful, like killing Admonia, who had one or two hit points left. Missed.

Then I figured I had to burn fury for telekinesis.

I moved Krueger as much forward as possible and used telekinesis to place him on the hill so he'd have line of sight to Deneghra.

I was in a real hurry by then, so the picture shows Krueger behind the hill, but around three minutes playing game doesn't really leave much wiggling to try to balance a model to an unsteady slope...

I have a good record of missing the first shot with epic Krueger, but this time it wasn't so. First attack hit, and I boosted the damage. Bought another attack, boosted the damage. Deneghra was still left with some hit points, and I didn't have the fury to boost last damage roll because I had to use telekinesis to get into position. However, damage roll was enough to kill her (again?).

After that my head exploded with excitement.

Then, the last game.

Which was short.

Game 2:

Scenario was Destruction. If you see any Wurmwoods in the pictures, they're the objectives, as I was playing Mohsar there.

But... the game was all kinds of brutal. And opponent knew how to play against Mohsar and in my opinion he made no mistakes at any point of the game.

His list was:

Epic Thagrosh
- Carnivean
- Scythean
- Seraph
- Typhon
- 2x Shredders
- 1x Harrier or Stinger, don't know which

3x Spell Martyrs
2x Shepherds
The Forsaken

Now, starting the first turn, things looked "fairly" good.

However, Slipstream + 9" charge + reach proved enough to get Scythean to my first objective during second round.

Sure, it was a trade-off as there were my Bloodweavers and 2 heavy warbeasts, but given the scenario, I'd do the same trade if I had the chance.

Now, looking back at the game, I think I would've had two chances to counter that loss of first objective so early. I should've ran my warbeasts and infantry so that opponent should've charged them first, but. There is a big but, sacrificing troops that badly just for the sake of scenario feels absolutely horrible.

The other way could've been trying to place the pillar of salt so that it would have blocked any possibility of Scythean charging the objective without provoking a counter slam from Gnarlhorn, but salt pillars aren't exactly indestructible.

I honestly don't know what I could have done there differently to have a chance.

But, then. In next picture sun started shining through a nearby window.

That's why it looks a bit goofy.

But yeah. Then, on my turn, the next objective spawned. And I think opponent could hear the gulp of horror when I realised that I was looking at my last objective that was facing possibly 5x pow 14 sprays that were boostable and whatever the Seraph could do, and failing to kill the objective for some weird reason, feat would give plenty of melee attacks against it as well.

I tried to protect it with as many salt pillars as I could, to no avail.

Thagrosh and Carnivean sprayed the salt pillars away, one shepherd ran to block counter charge from Gnarlhorn and Typhon moved closer. A couple of sprays later the scenario was lost.

So, people. Pow 14 sprays are the absolute murder in Destruction scenario.

So, that was the last one of the tournament.

With my games I was exactly 10th, which is about where I have always placed in tournaments. Exactly, or very near, the absolute center.

Anyway, all games were awesome in their own way, even the last one where I couldn't do much else than raise my hands in the air and say: "gg". In its short brutality I feel I got some new insight about the expendability of the army, when you mostly need to do surgical strikes to remove objectives.