You Just Got Interdicted

Almost a week ago I played these two 75 point games of Warmachine.

After dabbling through summer with Skorne, now that snow has started falling it's only proper thing to switch for my winter based Cryx.

These were my two lists.

Infernal Machines
Goreshade the Bastard
- Harrower
- Reaper
- Slayer
- The Withershadow Combine
Necrotech
2x Pistol Wraith
Saxon Orrik
Warwitch Siren
Bile Thralls (min)
Mechanithralls (max) + Brute Thrall (2)
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
Soulhunters (max)



Lord Exhumator Scaverous
- Deathripper
- Nightmare
- Reaper
- The Withershadow Combine
Machine Wraith
Necrotech
Satyxis Raider Captain
Saxon Orrik
2x Soul Trapper
Warwitch Siren
Bane Warriors (min) + Bane Warrior Officer & Standard
Bile Thralls (min) + Skarlock Commander
Black Ogrun Boarding Party (max)



Opponent had the same list in both games, and it was:


[Theme] Exemplar Interdiction

Intercessor Kreoss
- Crusader
- Redeemer
- Revenger
Knights Exemplar Seneschal
Vassal of Menoth
Wrack
Choir of Menoth (min)
2x Exemplar Vengers (max)
Idrian Skirmishers (max) + Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide
Visgoth Juviah Rhoven & Honor Guard

Scenario was same in both games, and it was The Pit II.

First game I played with Goreshade. I didn't realize how difficult Kreoss3 was for Goreshade because of his easy way to get rid of Lamentation. But that's poor excuse for poor play, anyway.

Infernal Machines theme bonus for ambushing Mechanithralls was astounding once more. They tied up and pretty much wrecked Idrians.

I kind of wasted Soulhunters. I wanted to tie up Redeemer and block easy movement for other warjacks and perhaps even kill some Vengers. Well, at least I got Exemplar Seneschal. With my eighteen points of models. Well, of course I also wanted to double-up with the ambushing Mechanithralls, but Soulhunters just gave birth to flies. They didn't tie enemy long enough, so Crusader got easy charge against Harrower.

Redeemer takes a random deviation right on Admonia and rolls enough to kill her.

Deathwalker took a blast, too.

Next turn I try to play a little scenario. Bad dice rolls screw me over on Goreshade's activation. Though honestly speaking, I just wouldn't give up when I should have. I really, really wanted to kill nearby Venger with Goreshade to get a new Deathwalker as an extra insurance against assassinations. Turned out I Goreshade either missed all of his attacks or didn't do any damage at all. I think I left Goreshade with no focus at all, when originally I thought I'd have at least two and Deathwalker.

I do use Goreshade's feat, though to get make opponent's day at least a little more troublesome. But as there was this Venger around, I had to use quite a few Bane Warriors to attack him. In my mind I would have activated Reaper first, dragged Crusader somewhere and then navigating with Bane Warriors a little better than I did. But now I had to charge first with Warriors.

They did their job. But Mk2 associations still made me feel a little too secure behind Bane Warriors. They no longer had Stealth, so were easily shot off the board by Protectorate. If I remember right, it was just one Crevasse from Kreoss that killed Goreshade's only screen. Crevasse clipped Goreshade too, who took a nasty damage roll in. Did some Redeemer blast get through, too? Well I could be remembering incorrectly, after all here are two games spinning in my head when writing these.

Then a Venger charged and killed Goreshade with lance attack. I remember that with one focus point Goreshade would have survived. And Slayer had one Focus point on it that it hadn't used anywhere...

Sour taste. Bitter, almost. But some people like sour and bitter.

Next game!

Scaverous without a theme. With this era of theme lists I felt like purposefully handicapping myself especially when I just played miniatures I wanted to use for a change. I didn't have a super effective "tech" here that would have paid for the loss of theme bonuses. Annoying for sure. It starts to feel like you should have a small perk for daring to play Steamrollers without a theme force. Scale creep, here we (could) come.

Anyway.

And the effects were showing right away, when it seemed like I didn't have other choice than to sacrifice way too much to contest zones, or give a major head start on the scenario for Protectorate. I chose the latter option.

This lead to a situation that opponent would have won the game if he had rolled at least two inches of slam movement with Force Hammer. But he rolled only one.

This left me a chance for assassination, which I managed to screw up entirely because I used unnecessary complexity. I could have: used telekinesis to clear a drag path for Reaper and bring Bane Warrior so that Kreoss would suffer from Dark Shroud once dragged to Reaper. Even Nightmare might have had a charge attempt at Kreoss, though this was unsure.

But here's what I tried: clear a couple of models from the drag path with Telekinesis, and kill a couple with Feast of Worms that would lead to grand total of -4 ARM for Kreoss once dragged.

For an excruciating insult to injury, the last remaining model on the path (Visgoth Rhoven) was left alive with only one box remaining, with corrosion. Though might be I actually re-rolled that one into "no damage at all."

So opponent was able to score the last scenario points at his leisure.

So that's two losses, both mostly because of my own crude mismanagement of important moves. Well, I guess it's consolation of sorts that I did have my chance to win in both games - even in the last one that quickly looked like utter defeat.