Last Monday I played a 50 point game of Warmachine.
My list was:
Dominar Rasheth
- Tiberion
- Rhinodon
- Basilisk Krea
Minimum unit of Beast Handlers
Maximum unit of Venator Reivers + Unit Attachment
Maximum unit of Bog Trog Ambushers
Swamp Gobbers
Agonizer
Wrong Eye & Snapjaw
Opponent had:
Hierarch Severius
- Reckoner
- Blessing of Vengeance
Minimum unit of Choir of Menoth
Maximum unit of Temple Flameguard + Unit Attachment
Visgoth Rhoven & Honor Guard
Ayiana & Holt
Vassal Mechanik
2x Vassal of Menoth
Scenario was Fire Support and Protectorate started game. Holy Ward was cast upon Temple Flameguard. I didn't bother with Carnivore just yet, instead Rasheth filled Agonizer with four fury and put up Castigate. Krea did that too and charged Judicator, bringing it nicely to contact with Tiberion. Wrong Eye and Snapjaw were advancing under Snapjaw's animus.
Turn 2 Protectorate didn't get to make any meaningful damage just yet. Only one Beast Handler died to Judicator's blasts and Tiberion was set on fire.
Then. If I had been secretly happy about such a poor performance, I was about to receive a harsh punishment for that fleeting moment of joy.
A full unit of Venator Reivers with unit attachment, combined ranged attacks and aiming bonuses were able to kill exactly one (1) Temple Flameguard, who had shield wall order, but not Iron Zeal just yet. Quite a feat for 11 point investment!
Tiberion killed another one, which was also remarkable performance from an eleven point beast. Though that one was entirely my own mistake, as I had placed Tiberion around two or three millimetres too far from a second member of the unit. Rhinodon walked next to to block line of sight to Rasheth. Krea advanced under its animus to provide bonuses for Rhinodon and Tiberion. Rasheth advances a little and casts Breath of Corruption on Gius or Cassian. My intention was to provide a sure charge block for Temple Flameguard against Rhinodon and hopefully even to Tiberion.
Well. The first template scattered nowhere. Second went to a little better place, protecting at least Rhinodon. Then Rasheth had two fury left, and I hadn't cast Castigate. The only way that might possibly save Rasheth's greasy behind that I could figure out was to charge a Temple Flameguard with Snapjaw and engaging Judicator in the process.
I think Snapjaw dealt around four points of damage to Judicator, and failed to kill the Flameguard grunt.
That move probably prolonged the game, as opponent didn't try to go in for the assassination. And why should he, Wrong Eye was on a plate there, and I wouldn't be able to threat his valuable pieces in any meaningful way.
All things considered, Protectorate turn 3 wasn't too horrifying. Both of us had had their share of low rolls during this game. Though Gius' or Cassian's damage roll against Wrong Eye wasn't low - the voodoo croc was instantly slain the moment the Exemplar started to look his way. That took down Snapjaw, who had witnessed some of the poor rolls Aiyana & Holt had thrown in its general direction.
Judicator tried to shoot Agonizer down, but the blast damage caused only a couple points of damage. Swamp Gobbers died to scattering templates, and one additional Beast Handler, too. Admonisher attack that was channeled through Blessing of Vengeance missed it's target entirely.
So, I had my warlock still standing (or, technically I had the agonizers that were carrying my warlock still standing) and net losses had been only around eleven points.
Bog Trogs entered the game and charged to kill Aiyana & Holt, and tied up Rhoven.
Venators had much better results this turn in whittling down the Flameguard. Rhinodon and perhaps Tiberion also beat a couple of them in an attempt to open up room for Agonizer to run through. And then Agonizer ran. I wanted to catch all of the Protectorate warjacks to the "no focus allocation" agony, but that needed Agonizer to run to Blessing of Vengeance's melee range, and even then getting Judicator within 9" was uncertain.
Perfect moment to forget about things like Defensive Strike... really. Need to try to read some of the opponents cards other than the warcaster before the game begins, too. Ah well. There went the Agonizer.
Instead of trying to escape somehow, Rasheth advances forwards. I wanted to bring some of the Bog Trogs within Rasheth's control area to cast Blood Mark on Severius, but it started to look too risky, so I ended his movement behind Krea. Gius or Cassian looked too threatening. This time I remembered to cast Castigate. Rasheth was just a wee bit out of 8" to Blessing of Menoth, so he used a Venator to channel boosted Blood Mark on Blessing of Vengeance.
EXCEPT. That Venator was also out of range, even more than Rasheth. It looked like it was slightly closer... perspective is a precarious thing.
I left three fury left for transfers, brought Beast Handlers to block charges, and bit the pillow.
Then goes Protectorate. Rhoven takes a free strike from Bog Trog, but apparently free attacks against key pieces don't work both ways. Rhoven survived and took a fury point away from Rasheth, so he only had two transfers now.
Reckoner, however, somehow missed the flare shot against Rasheth. This caused one of the Judicator rockets miss Rasheth, and another one was shield guarded by Tiberion. Ancillary attacks caused a few stray points in to Rasheth. Now Blessing of Vengeance had free charge lane to Rasheth. Two transfers and whatever the latter attacks did left Rasheth at six hit boxes.
Two Temple Flameguards get a charge in to Rasheth. The first one misses.
Opponent had no more models to activate, except maybe perhaps Vassal Mechanik. Severius had spent his activation on clearing Bog Trogs with his feat, and moving Beast Handlers out of the way.
This was literally the last possible attack opponent would be able to make.
It's a hit, and Rasheth is on fire.
Damage roll is...
... something like 4,5,5.
Ah well. Though my positioning was terrible in this game and I played way too aggressively with Rasheth against Protectorate of Menoth that had powerful enough ranged weaponry to be a threat to Rasheth, I had some moments where I at least feel I could have turned the train to safer tracks. Agonizer would really have definitely kept me playing for at least one more round if I would have sufficed for the two Protectorate warjacks. I did have good tools against Severius2, as the fire stick Severius can channel wouldn't become a problem, and Carnivore definitely helps in dealing against Holy Ward. Wrong Eye and Snapjaw were also protected from most of the tricks in Protectorate's arsenal.
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