Europa in flames (with family issues)

Episode 8: Rise of Fenris

As nobody had found Tesla, he emerged as a raving lunatic in the last scenario along with Militant Vesna, Patriotic Fenris, Mechanical Togawa and Industrial Albion. 

My Fenris team had a slim chance of filling one more line from campaign triump track with Power, Popularity. Enlist, Upgrade and Something. That was the initial plan at least. Even six random event choices didn't give enough of an advantage to rush whatever I needed. 

Apparently Tesla and Vesna had some family issues because Tesla attacked Vesna at least four times and however many times Vesna herself attacked Tesla, which translated into around six+ points of popularity and combat victory stars. That was already half of required victory stars to end the game.

Togawa and Albion were struggling in between the overwhelming speed of Fenris and Vesna. And Tesla was hellbent on slowing down Vesna's progress, and as a result Fenris was conquering vast swathes of land for their nefarious purposes. 

Unfortunately this was not nearly enough. Vesna would have surpassed popularity track had the rules allowed it, so it was to her benefit to shut down the game before any other player entered the last points bracket of popularity.

Game ended with Vesna having 75 points with all six stars. Fenris had 72 with only two stars. So unfairly close... except that didn't matter much when the remaining points from triumph tracks were added together. Final Rise of Fenris scoreboard:

1. Patriotic Saxonia/Mechanical Saxony/Innovative Saxony/Mechanical Vesna/Innovative Vesna/Militant Vesna/Mechanical Vesna/Militant Vesna: 225pts

2. Mechanical Nordic /Innovative Nordic /Mechanical Nordic/Agricultural Nordic/Mechanical Nordic/Mechanical Fenries/Agricultural Fenris/Patriotic Fenris: 194pts

3. Agricultural Togawa/Industrial Togawa /Industrial Togawa/Patriotic Togawa/Patriotic Togawa/Agricultural Togawa/Militant Togawa/Mechanical Togawa: 158pts

4. Engineering Rusviet/Agricultural Rusviet /Patriotic Rusviet /Industrial Albion/Militant Albion/Engineering Albion/Industrial Albion/Industrial Albion: 142pts

Rise and Fall of Empire of Pudding

 A tragedy has happened. 

I have forgotten to write about a game I played almost a month ago! I must be getting old. 

Anyway, it was then that I played a few rounds of Sushi Go. Back then I placed all my strategy on maxing out on pudding. I didn't win, but it wasn't for the lack of pudding.

Yesterday, however, I played a four-player game of Sushi Go again. This time I fared a lot better. This time I ignored puddings almost completely. I was somehow thinking that player with most scored six points, while player with least would score three points. Turned out that was actually -6 points.

If it hadn't been for those -6 points, I would've won. Curses!

So we meet again

 Oh boy. 

Yesterday it just happened so that I played a five-player game of base Carcassonne without expansions.

What an achievement, yeah? 

Well, the thing is that Carcassonne is rather nostalgic game for me. I played it a lot on 2004-2008. Way before this blog even began.

It didn't take much to remember how the game worked, although that's nothing to write into a blog about. After all the system is so simple. 

I suppose some of the Carcassonne knowledge had been slumbering in my brains for all this time, as I won the game by good margin. That was entirely thanks to a shared 24 point farm with lowest scoring player.

Martyr of sorts

A 50ss Malifaux game from almost a week ago. There is quite some proxying involved.

Strategy: Corrupted Ley Lines, Wedge deployment

Scheme pool: Assassinate, Vendetta, Hidden Martyrs, Let Them Bleed, Bait and Switch

My list:

Kirai & Ikiryo
Datsue Ba (Vendetta on Mature Nephilim)
Lost Love
Shikome
Onryo
2x Seishin
Hanged with Grave Spirit Touch

Pool: 9

Schemes: Vendetta, Hidden Martyrs (Ikiryo & Lost Love)

Opponent had:

Nekima2 & Blood Hunter
Hayreddin
Mature Nephilim with Eldritch Magic
2x Young Nephilim
Black Blood Shaman
Corrupted Hound

Pool: 6

Schemes: Hidden Martyrs (Corrupted Hound & Hayreddin), Let Them Bleed

Turn 1

Neverborn starts by doing this "Focused +1 for while team" move with Blood Hunter and Black Blood Shaman.

Ikiryo takes my bottom-left marker while Corrupted Hound takes enemy top-right. Mature Nephilim goes to hug marker in the middle while Datsue Ba makes this evil old witch laugh thing as her target closed in so nicely. Hanged plants a scheme marker in an attempt to bluff Bait and Switch. Then it tries to connect its upgrade to Nephilim, but it's been so long I don't remember if it succeeded or failed.

Kirai deals some damage in to Nephilim, summons a Gwisin to threaten mid field, and then she goes into hiding inside ruined building. Shikome hangs around bottom-right strategy marker for unknown reasons.

Young Nephilims and Nekima hang around or within wedge zone and Hayreddin, Black Bloos Shaman and the aforementioned Mature Nephilim contest middle.

Turn 2

Corrupted Hound takes enemy top-left strategy marker through a convoluted series of interact actions with the help of Young Nephilims. It's been too long to remember those in detail, but it sure was weird to see in action.

Onryo charges from inside the building on the left and declares Mature Nephilim as target. Damage was done and Mark of Vengeance was landed successfully.

Blood Hunter ties up Datsue Ba.

Then Blood Hunter dies. Black Blood Shaman dies. Gwisin dies. Onryo dies. Everything just dies!

Datsue Ba weighs Mature's sins and they are heavy indeed - the thing would have died so I needed to cheat damage to minimum to be able to score Vendetta reveal

And then Mature Nephilim dies!

A Drowned is summoned and a Terrot Tot appears, only to die later on. Well, actually the Drowned doesn't die but I just added it to the list for dramatic effect.

Blood Hunter didn't die to Kirai's activation when she unleashed two Spirit Barrages over the totam. I don't quite remember if something else damaged Blood Hunter, but the final kill was made by a Seishin.

I don't remember how Gwisin or Black Blood shaman died, but when Onryo died, the vengeful spirit revealed it's true form - that of an evil babby devul. A Terror Tot.

Shikome probably charged Hayreddin or perhaps it finalized Mature Nephilim. Whatever the case, it challenged Nekima. Usually not a very wise thing to do, but this time Nekima just could land the killing blow.

Then Drowned pukes over Hayreddin, Nekima and a Young Nephilim. I must say it must have been a terrifying sight - blood and puke showering just about everywhere - yet it didn't really accomplish anything. 

Ikiryo runs to take middle marker.

Both players score strategy, and Resurrectionists did Vendetta for a score of 2-1 for Resurrectionists.

Turn 3

Lost Love uses By Your Side to move to Ikiryo and runs to engage a Young Nephilim. This did result in me getting a kind of a secured point for Hidden Martyrs, but it did have the unfortunate side effect of growing Terror Tot into a Lilitu. I suppose you can declare a screaming loony throwing itself against your blade a martyr. I don't know about these things. Do sacrifices need to have a purpose?

Hanged manages to use On Your Heels effectively, bringing itself to deny the heals of Hayreddin and Nekima. Lilitu goes to punch Seishin in the nose and made it disappear.

Datsue Ba lucks out and kills Lilitu and even calling an Onryo on board in the process. Then she gets into a more safe position as she was a victory point for me if she'd be alive in the end.

Drowned tries to do something to Hayreddin, but isn't very effective in doing anything.

Ikiryo runs to bottom-right marker and Corrupted Hound to bottom-left. 

Finally Kirai is able to summon a Goryo, which she does, which removes Corrupted Hound from the equation. I think the lodestone got transferred to Young Nephilim engaged with Onryo.

I don't quite remember what Nekima actually did this turn.

But both players score strategy, and both players score Hidden Martyrs for 3-4.

Turn 4

This turn is time for Kirai to luck out when killing... umm... something? Probably Hayreddin. Gaki appears from Spirit Barrage. 

Hanged acts again as a super nuisance by denying heals. This doesn't however, stop growing. Suddenly there is one Mature Nephilim on board again.

Ikiryo runs to top-right strategy marker with a little help from Datsue Ba.

Considering how thin Neverborn forces had become by now, getting those two lucky suits to summon two additional models started to have its toll. There just wasn't enough actions points around to get rid of the trash. And one more Young Nephilim died, but at least that brought lodestone to secure a point.

Both players score strategy for 4-5.

Turn 5

Nekima throws lodestone to Mature Nephilim with Dark Bargain and gets off a charge against Datsue Ba. Once Kirai heals her back to full we stop playing. Scoring Let Them Bleed was impossible now. 

Resurrectionists score additional strategy point and Vendetta for a score of 4-7. 

Nemorial Service

Over two weeks ago I played this 50 point game of warmachine.

Scenario was good old Moshpit, and my list was:

Cryx

 Lich Lord Asphyxious [+28]
- Defiler [7]
- 2x Slayer [20]
- Stalker [8]
Darragh Wrathe [7]
General Gerlak Slaughterborn [5]
Machine Wraith [2]
Pistol Wraith [4]
Soul Trapper [1]
Bane Warriors (max) [14]
 - Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [5]
Black Ogrun Ironmongers [5]

Opponent had;

Cygnar

General Adept Nemo [+26]

 - Hammersmith [12]

 - 2x Ironclad [24]

 - 2x Lancer [16]

Rangers [7]

Steelhead Riflemen (min) [8]

Stormguard Infantry (min) [9]

First turn for Cryx was rather standard "block line of sight to important pieces of army and run as fast as possible." In this case warjacks were screened, and Bane Warriors were moving from north, faced by Rangers and a Lancer.

It's been so long that I have forgotten which upkeep spells were on which Cygnaran models, but I think the "no crippled systems" was on Hammersmith.

Turn 2 Banes ran to engage enemy I think a few even managed to get in a charge with the aid of Darragh Wrathe, and Stalker jumped to cause a commotion because it's awesome. While Banes were dying left and right, Stalker miraculously survived as Cryxian heavies were creeping closer to front.

Turn 3 I think for the first time ever Gerlak Slaughterborn got to do his job by murdering a minimum unit of Stormguard with Killing Spree. I screwed up the placement of clouds this turn, but I really wanted Cygnaran Lancer dead. This took the full efforts of Machine Wraith and both Slayers. But the clouds left a Slayer exposed.

Banes were more than clogging enemy gears - they were doing impressive damage against enemy warjacks. But still, there was only so much they could do to a line of three buffed warjacks.

Hammersmith had no troubles in removing one of Cryxian Slayers, but failed at taking down two of them. Pretty much all of the Bane Warriors were dead, yet coming back in not-so-far future.

Because it was time for Asphyxious to use his feat, which finished Hammesmith and the unit of Steelhead Riflemen and destroyed an Ironclad. Darragh Wrathe committed towards Lancer and brought it to low hit boxes, although Bane Warriors had already softened it up.

Since it looked like Cryx was winning by attrition, Ironclad tried to assassinate Asphyxious. That didn't go as planned and in the end, it was a victory for Cryx.