Premiere Grenadiere

Last Tuesday I played this 75 point game of Warmachine. Since I had just finished painting new Gorax Rager and Wild Argus, I wanted to give them at least one game on the tabletop. Even if I loathe the new Gorax Rager sculpt, technically it's a beauty when compared to the old metal one. I pretty much bought the new Circle Battlebox just to get rid of my old metal Gorax. Anyway, here are the lists:

Krueger the Stormlord
- Gorax Rager
- Wild Argus
- Woldwyrd
- Pureblood Warpwolf
- Rip Horn Satyr

Shifting Stones
Sentry Stone & Mannikins
Tharn Ravagers (max)
Tharn Ravager Shaman
Bloodweaver Night Witch
Blackclad Wayfarer
Gallows Grove
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew
Hutchuck, Ogrun Bounty Hunter

Objective: Effigy of Valor

Opponent had:

Agathia
- Nightwretch
- Reaper
- Slayer

Bane Warriors (max) + Command Attachment
Mechanithralls (max) + Skarlock Commander
Satyxis Blood Witches (max) + Hag
Withershadow Combine
Bane Lord Tartarus
Warwitch Siren

Objective: Bunker

Scenario was Recon and Circle started game.

Turn 1 wasn't much else other than running closer for a hug for both sides. Krueger tried to cast a couple Lightning Storms to block Mechanithralls and Blood Witches from positioning correctly, but area that was covered by the templates was rather small. Both deviated to same direction, with only 1" difference in distance.

Turn 2 Slayer had Hellwrought on it. New and improved Woldwyrd with Wraith Bane left it with only four hit boxes. Krueger cast this old Stormwall, I forget what name it has nowadays. Wind...storm? Anyway, that one which gives -5RNG for enemy models. One Lightning Storm takes a couple of Blood Witches with it.

Hutchuck made his lamest limp so far - he arrived on scene, and missed the knock down grenade with double 1's. He had tried to lob it over a Bane Warrior to knock down Nightwretch.

Tharn Ravagers charged Nightwretch anyway, I thought that two additional Bane Warriors from their minifeat might be a worthy trade for the only Cryxian arc node. Only one Ravager hit and dealt tons of damage, but to exactly wrong columns. Only systems that were left were the arc node and movement.

Then Cryx activated. Windstormwall messed the activation of Reaper, and that retaliatory spellcasting attack from Woldwyrd killed Skarlock Commander that was using Battle Wizard. Bane Thralls got three extra members from two Ravagers and Hutchuck - so the bounty hunter entered play, missed with double 1's and got turned into an extra model for enemy weapon master unit. Good use of 6 points, I must admit.

Turn 3 would have nearly clocked me out if it was a tournament. I got whole enemy army except for one Bane Warrior under Krueger's feat.

First, however, Night Witch kills two Mechanithralls and a Satyxis with a killing spree. Shifting Stones teleport Rip Horn satyr to wreck Nightwretch and assorted Bane Warriors. Ravagers kill as many Bane Warriors as they can (all the contesting ones was my main objective) and then Gorax uses Primal on Pureblood Warpwolf. Warpwolf assaults Reaper and the assault spray kills Tremulus. Reaper has lost all but cortex, so Pureblood gets extra attacks against enemy Bunker. Both damage rolls give five points of damage. I wasn't excessively happy about that.

Krueger activates, advances and uses feat. Then he attack enemy objective with his lightning bolts, and damn those last five boxes were a nasty bunch. They took all three shots, with boosts to boot. Sure it was dice -6 with two dice, but I had hoped that one bolt could have been directed against either Reaper or Slayer. Oh well. At least it was three control points.

Woldwyrd messes up big time. I had planned on it to finalize Reaper and Slayer, but even wrecking Slayer proved to be a job that it barely succeeded. I guess that's how it goes sometimes. Last turn - 24 damage in. The next turn: five was out of reach.

I was quite confident in this game now, but Cryx offered some terrifying resistance. Both Pureblood and Rip Horn were destroyed along with the Woldwyrd that was mauled beyond uselessness (lost spirit and either mind or body), and quite a few Bane Warriors had entered the zone to contest. Agathia also used her feat, so all enemy models had Stealth now.

Sweat pearls started to form up when Ravagers got ill from eating Bane hearts - every attack missed except for one - and opponent passed Tough roll.

Shifting Stones teleported Gorax to kill three Bane Thralls. I hadn't passed a single Tough roll in whole game, and looked like the only way I got through enemy Tough was knocking them down first.

Blackclad Wayfarer was a game-saver when the spray killed Warwitch Siren, plus Reaper and a Bane Warrior.

Gorax or Argus or something killed a contesting Blood Witch, and all Krueger was left to do was to charge last remaining Bane Warrior.

When I lost both of my heavy warbeasts it was quite apparent that I had no longer any chance at playing attrition game. Had Krueger not succeeded in destroying the Bunker, most likely I would have lost under the overwhelming swarm of witches and banes.