Rage, Feat, Go!

It's about time I write this thing up.

I played a 50 point game of Warmachine last Thursday, and continued to toy with Skorne and Mordikaar.

My list was:

Void Seer Mordikaar
- Archidon
- Bronzeback Titan
- Basilisk Krea
- 2x Reptile Hound

Maximum unit of Cataphract Cetrati
Maximum unit of Praetorian Swordsmen + Unit Attachment
Minimum unit of Beast Handlers
Aptimus Marketh
Mortitheurge Willbreaker
Void Spirit
Saxon Orrik

Opponent was playing legion with a warlock I've never faced before:

Epic Absylonia
- Scythean
- Seraph
- 3x Ravagore

2x The Forsaken
2x Strider Deathstalker

Huh. I guess a list like that won't be losing to deathclock in tournaments.

Anyway, scenario was Outflank, and Skorne started game.

Turn 1 most models just ran forward. I think Mordikaar himself ran forward too, and parked right behind Archidon. Bad mistake. Aptimus Marketh cast Hollow on Praetorian Swordsmen. Since Absylonia has absolutely zero spells she can cast on enemy models Banishing Ward was a bit useless spell I didn't bother to cast. Opponent could also erase a spell from Absylonia's spell card - Return Fire wouldn't probably see much action, since I only got one 6" ranged attack, and one other ranged attack on Mordikaar himself.

Slipstream + 6" move + 14" range caught me by surprise when a Ravagore shot the burning blast over Archidon and set both the heavy beast and Mordikaar on fire. The blast damage dared to do six points of damage, which was transfered to Basilisk Krea.

Turn 2 Strider Deathstalkers were on the left control zone, but they're not present in the first picture any more. Looks like the first picture is from the end of Skorne turn 2. Two Praetorian Swordsmen who had been brought back with Revive charged them and managed to get kills.

I consider doing the unthinkable, and proceed to run another turn with my whole army. No matter where I'd hide, I'd be in Absylonia's threat range, so better to embrace the incoming slaughter. With Mordikaar's feat, of course.

I'm not sure if I had done that if I'd remembered Absylonia's battlegroup got +2 MAT from Conferred Rage... oh well.

Absylonia easily triggered the additional bonuses from aforementioned ability on a poor Praetorian Swordman, used her feat and teleported away.

At least Mordikaar's feat did that much that I only lost both of my heavy warbeasts and two Cetrati that turn.

I only. Lost. Both of my heavy warbeasts. Opponent had five.

I also had blundered my placements on the left zone - I hadn't brought anyone to control it, so I didn't score a control point on opponent's turn even when he brought nothing to contest it.

Turn 3 I did score that control point, and I really did try to clear two beasts from the rightmost zone, too. The things I did to accomplish that... *shudder*

And I failed.

Void Spirit killed a Forsaken that was in the zone. The Ravagore in the right zone had Fortify on it.

Saxon Orrik advanced (he had been doing reconnaissance for Cetrati the whole game) and tried to take a rifle shot at Scythean. Missed or didn't damage.

Cataphract Cetrati charge, and three go to Scythean and one who didn't get a charge bonus attacked fortified Ravagore. Scythean was left with four damage points. Damn it. Four!

Mordikaar activated here. It was a desperate course of action that was most probably rather foolish thing to do, but he cast Essence Blast on a cetrati and attacked the Scythean again with POW 12. Only a 10+ to kill on a three dice!

I rolled 9.

So Mordikaar cast another Essence Blast on another Cetrati, and thankfully rolled 7+ with three dice. Killing two of my own heavy infantry was bad enough.

Then everywhere else things failed slightly. Or in a big way, depends how you look at it. Any more warbeasts didn't die. I vaguely remember that all of them had something like 14 or 15 damage boxes left.

Rufus, the named Reptile Hound even performed "bite" trick to get the Arm 20 Ravagore down, but there's only so much P+S 8 warbeasts can do.

One Ravagore was left with full four Fury, so to my advantage it frenzied and ate a Praetorian Swordman.

I was a bit worried if I'd lose to caster kill now, but most likely ravagore to do that was the one who frenzied.

Absylonia cleared the two Swordsmen that were engaging Forsaken and then she teleported away.

Forsaken attempted to clear the gathering of Praetorian Swordsmen with that annoying POW 8 blast action. No too many died. The Ravagore in left was already full on Fury - it had succeeded in the Threshold check. But as a consequence it didn't get to trample or do any other such shenanigans to the control left zone - and three Praetorian Swordsmen had been left alive who blocked a plain advance to the zone.

Seraph and fortified Ravagore took down all of the remaining Cetrati. Yet the last few attacks by that ravagore (well, three attacks or so...) failed to kill a Reptile Hound.

Skorne scored second control point then.

Turn 3 Skorne would win if Seraph and fortified Ravagore died. A combined charge by Saxon Orrik, Void Spirit and enraged Basilisk Krea killed the Seraph. But then there was the Arm 20 Ravagore.

Now that the enraged Reptile Hounds both started in the same melee, they both got flank bonuses. It did take all the Fury they could generate, but the Ravagore finally died.

I don't know what desperate actions I would've needed to take if that Ravagore had managed to kill one of the hounds... No other option than to revive as many swordsmen as possible and hope those P+S 12 attacks would have scored some high rolls.

Anyway.

Scary warlock, that new Absylonia.