Hybrid Warmachine

 Had a 50 point game of... Warmachine, I guess?

With the advent of Mk4, we wanted to give the new ruleset a try. However, available unit cards were few and far between, so we did a sort of a hybrid run. This means that absolutely nothing can be said about the balance of the game, only how the new ruleset feels and plays.

So, we played with the new rules but with old cards. No command cards either. Any AoE attacks would be 2, and blast damage halved rounded up +1. Max unit size 6, able to split a full ten sized unit into two units of five.

Based on this game, new core rules are okay. Game still feels familiar and Warmachiney. Unit movement was the most noticeable change. Lack of facing was the next one on the line, and that's actually the only thing that bothers me. The game has been streamlined so much in other parts that I don't see a reason why facing had to be removed. If back strike bonus was too strong it could have just been removed altogether. Two inches of melee range on a 50mm base is enormous engagement range - let alone on 80mm or 120mm.

But this was just one game with incorrect model rules. This meant that Unstoppable didn't exist at all, which is a rule that certainly mitigates the effectiveness of 360 degree engagement range. 

My list:

Cryx

Asphyxious the Hellbringer [+24]
 - Erebus [13]
 - Inflictor [11]
 - Ripjaw [6]
 - Slayer [10]
Bane Lord Tartarus [5]
Ragman [3]
Swamp Gobber River Raider [1]
Warwitch Siren [3]
Black Ogrun Boarding Party (min) [7]
Black Ogrun Ironmongers [5]
Soulhunters (min) [10]

Opponent had:

Cygnar

Major Beth Maddox [+30]
- Firefly [7]
 - Hammersmith [12]
 - Ironclad [12]
 - Ironclad [12]
 - Lancer [8]
Black 13th Strike Force [7]
Rangers [7]
Stormguard Infantry (max) [15]

Scenario was Reinforcements from the new rulebook.

Cygnar started, and formed a long front with warjacks on the left, Stormguards in the middle and rangers and Black 13th on right.

Cryx was running as a one huge blob in the middle with Soul Hunters and Black Ogrun Boarding Party positioned to flank from right. 

Firefly managed to fry Ragman with electro leap. This was first time I used Ragman in years. Not impressed with him, I must say. Entire unit of Boarding Party was shot dead. Stormguards formed a screen for Cygnaran warjacks. Behind them were the light jacks, with heavies forming the third line.

Cryx loaded all helljacks to full and started carving through Cygnaran infantry. 

Inflictor opens and Asphyxious (who uses feat) open up a charge lane for Erebus to get to Cygnaran light warjacks. Damage and attack rolls are on the poor side, but both jacks are at least stationary. Tartarus joins the fight and evens out the bad rolls of Erebus - Firefly falls to three hit boxes left, with cortex gone. Tartarus kills a Stormguard with last attack as I thought immovable 40mm base essentially acted as a protection for me.

Slayer and Vociferon kill the last Stormguards. Asphyxious received eight souls from the swans.

Soulhunters go incorporeal and charge Black 13th. Incorporeal charges seem a bit obnoxious with the new unit movement rules. People die, and the cavalry repositions to engage as many targets as possible.

Blocking enemy heavies' charge lane with stationary Firefly proved far more effective than I ever hoped for - only Erebus was destroyed, pretty much. Two Soulhunters were also removed.

Much to Asphyxious' disappointment, Cygnaran focus had only amounted to three additional souls. Only eighteen focus to use, boo hoo. So... after Tartarus, Asphyxious, Inflictor, Slayer and Iron Mongers, Cygnar was down to one Ironclad. And that was mostly because Slayer had botched its rolls. 

Asphyxious was in the front, but had a focus camp of seven. He had also cast Cloak of Ash on himself.

Although that didn't help against Ironclad. Who managed to land a knockdown hit. Next came almost fully loaded Beth Maddox raining death on Asphyxious - but thanks to his focus camp he survived with around six boxes remaining. 

Tartarus took Cygnaran warcaster down with just one hit.

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.

Harpoon contest

 Had two games of Warmachine a while ago. Both were 25 point games of Brawlmachine.

Game 1:

My list:

Cryx

Goreshade the Bastard [+29]
 - Corruptor [12]
 - Leviathan [14]
 - Stalker [8]
Necrotech [1]
Warwitch Siren [3]
Bile Thralls (min) [6]
Mechanithralls (min) [6] - Brute Thrall (2) [4]

Opponent had:

Cygnar

Commander Coleman Stryker [+30]

 - Defender [14]

 - Hammersmith [12]

 - Lancer [8]

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios [6]

Stormguard Infantry (max) [15]

Forest in the middle divided the battle, Bile Thralls and Warwitch Siren approaching from the left, warjacks and warcaster from middle and Mechanithralls from the right. Leviathan inflicted some serious damage on Defender. With a good damage roll Stalker could have removed Defender from the table, but that was not to be. But at least Stalker was contesting enemy  flag.

Cygnar had a good turn where it removed half of Bile Thralls with Stormguard and all regular Mechanithralls with the rest, while having Brute Thralls knocked down. Stalker went down with a single hit from Defender.

As Stryker didn't use his feat yet, it was Goreshade's time to cause as much havoc as possible. Feated Bane Warriors removed Hammersmith, and Bile Thralls did away with the few Stormguards that were contesting my flag. To give opponent something that required immediate answer, Corruptor charged Lancer and mostly managed just to nearly fry its own Cortex.

Opponent tried to assassinate Goreshade and knocked him down with Earthquake. A single Lancer, however, just was not enough to kill the eldritch. Cryx had gained such an upper hand in terms of points, so we just started another game.

Game 2:

Second game was against Cryx.

My list:

Cryx

Captain Aiakos [+29]

 - Harrower [13]

 - Malice [13]

 - Ripjaw [6]

Bloat Thrall [2]

Necrotech [1]

Warwitch Siren [3]

Wrong Eye [16]

Opponent had:

Cryx

Iron Lich Asphyxious [+28]

 - Defiler [7]

 - Desecrator [12]

 - Reaper [11]

Pistol Wraith [4]

Bane Warriors (min) [8]

Satyxis Blood Witches (max) [11]

Bloat Thrall attempted to control my flag, while the rest of my forces advanced to meet enemy on the right side of the forest. Wrong Eye & Snapjaw tried to protect my models from being dragged by enemy Reaper.

Enemy Reaper, then, switched fronts and tried to drag my arc node from the left side of the forest. Harpoon missed, as usual. 

It's funny how badly I manage to mess up my movement next when I only had nine models to start with! Well, the thing is, I replied to enemy harpoon action with my own - and Malice delivered the required hit. Then, however, I realized how I had dragged a heavy warjack to contest my flag! Also, I had moved Necrotech to block the charge lane of Snapjaw. So it was upon Wrong Eye to remove Necrotech from the board. This succeeded, but after Star Crossed he no longer had fury points to use Submerge. Harrower charges Bane Warriors to contest enemy flag, and Ripjaw ran to contest enemy zone.

Bane Warriors and Desecrator make short work out of my Harrower, no surprises there. Satyxis Blood Witches clog up the bottleneck that is between forest and structure. Arc node runs into position, and Asphyxious charges Ripjaw, not doing anything. He uses feat to try to assassinate Aiakos, but after first Breath of Corruption leaves much to be desired, he instead launches the volley on Wrong Eye, thus removing both the warlock and the warbeast.

Grim situation for Aiakos, but I conjure a plan to assassinate. Ripjaw tries to  move into back arc of Asphyxious, but the ensuing free strike cripples Arc Node. Then I spend my activations trying to clear up a lane for Malice to move and drag Asphyxious. Aiakos has to do some acrobatics to get into position to try White Squall Asphyxious - which would throw him into completely wrong direction anyway. But that didn't bother my plans, as the spell never hit. 

It was over for Aiakos. Over.

Asteroid belt

 Had two games of Warmachine. Format was Brawlmachine, and scenario in both games was the new Asteroids.

In first game I had:

Aphyxious the Hellbringer [+24]
- Reaper [11]
- Ripjaw [6]
- Slayer [10]
General Gerlak Slaughterborn [5]
Pistol Wraith [4]
Bane Warriors (min) [8]
- Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [5]

Opponent had:

Commander Coleman Stryker [+30]

 - Hammersmith [12]

 - Ironclad [12]

 - Lancer [8]

Black 13th Strike Force [7]

Rangers [7]

Stormguard Infantry (min) [9]

With Mobility up, my both heavies enter the rectangular zone. They are greeted by Stormguard that are screening enemy warjacks. Rangers on right are opposed to Bane Warriors, and Black 13th is flanking from left. Pistol Wraith tries to relocate itself away from their magical pistols. Nothing especially fancy.

But then... it seems there are some things I never really learn.

One of them is trying to make an initial opening by pulling an enemy warjack with a harpoon drag.

Feels like that misses 75% of the time.

And now my heavy warjack had only exposed itself to enemy charges. I tried to bring Asphyxious to front and use feat in an attempt to deter opponent from wrecking Reaper, or at least pay a price for doing so.

At least Hex Blast from Vociferon did exceptional job, frying three out of six Stormguards.

Ripjaw charges Black 13th and kills their double pistol model.

Stormguards then charge Reaper, and take almost half of its hit boxes away. Ironclad who comes to assist is far less effective, and leaves Reaper standing with cortex and melee arm still functional.

Lancer tries to free Black 13th from Ripjaw, and kind of succeeds. Bonechicken loses its head, meaning it wouldn't hit with free strike even if it rolled a six. Gun mages try to shoot Vociferon, but do not hit or damage. 

Stryker uses feat, making my next turn difficult.

Asphyxious had gained exactly one (1) focus point from his feat.

Ripjaw moves a bit so that it contests cygnaran flag. Bane Warriors destroy enemy objective and bring back all dead Bane Warriors via minifeat. 

Heavy warjacks and Asphyxious deal with the remaining Stormguards. Asphyxious is left with three focus for damage mitigation.

Three focus points just wasn't enough, as Stryker got Earthquake on Asphyxious. Black 13th and even rangers dealt in enough damage to take out two focus points, so there really was no chance for the iron lich when Ironclad parked itself within melee range. Loss for Cryx.

Game 2:

My list in second game:

Lord Tyrant Hexeris [+28]

 - Agonizer [5]

 - Aradus Sentinel [12]

 - Cyclops Raider [9]

 - Titan Gladiator [13]

Mortitheurge Willbreaker [2]

Swamp Gobber River Raider [1]

Thrullg [3]

Venator Slingers (min) [8]

Opponent had:

Kaya the Wildborne [+32]

 - Feral Warpwolf [14]

 - Gnarlhorn Satyr [10]

 - Wild Argus [6]

 - Wild Argus [6]

Gallows Grove [2]

Lord of the Feast [5]

Gatorman Posse (max) [13]

Circle approached with Gatormen, Gallows Grove and Lord of the Feast on the left, and the rest coming from the middle.

My battlegroup was also nearing the rectangular zone while Slingers and Cyclops Raider were bracing against the Gatormen.

Winter Argus managed to freeze Aradus Sentinel for a while. Circle warbeasts did clump up rather nicely there, so Aradus took a walk and sprayed some respectable damage in to both arguses and Feral Warpwolf. Attack on Kaya missed even with a re-roll from Puppet Master.

Gatormen had ran closer, so I though I might try to get some mileage out of Hexeris' feat. 

It didn't turn out so well, as the one and only Gatorman the slingers succeeded to kill passed its Tough roll - no Dark Dominion for me.

Cyclops Raider takes an aimed (and thus stealth-ignoring) shot against Lord of the Feast, and removes the solo single-handedly. Dark Dominion for me. 

Swamp Gobber River Raider tries to act a hero, and harpoons itself to enemy objective, poking in a point of damage into Feral Warpwolf. Hexeris had cast Parasite on it, though.

Gladiator just tries to look menacing, and protect Agonizer that was providing strength penalty.

Turns out Winter Argus is able to spray the lesser warbeast dead, and as a result Wild Argus and Feral Warpwolf butcher Aradus Sentinel. Gatormen remove half of slingers - although only because they couldn't reach for more.

I try to pick the pieces that are left - Feral Warpwolf is left alive with one hit point remaining, despite the efforts of Thrullg and Cyclops Raider. Titan Gladiator charges Gnarlhorn Satyr dead.

Slingers shoot one Gatorman down, and Hexeris charges another. For some odd reason I try to shoot another Gatorman with Sunder Spirits... and didn't even succeed.

Hexeris' downfall was completely unnecessary. Winter Argus could slam him, and then Kaya spammed Spirit Fangs on him until he was torn to shreds - as he had only one transfer available. Loss for Skorne.

Its new and scary

I had two games of Warmachine with the most recent rules update, both with Brawlmachine format.

Lists were same in both games. My list:

Master Necrotech Mortenebra [+28]
 - Malice [13]
 - Ripjaw [6]
- Slayer [10]
Bloat Thrall [2]
Misery Cage [2]
Pistol Wraith [4]
Soulhunters (max) [16]

Opponent had:

Cygnar

Major Beth Maddox [+30]

 - Charger [9]

 - Defender [14]

 - Firefly [7]

Arcane Tempest Rifleman [3]

Black 13th Strike Force [7]

Stormguard Infantry (max) [15]

Scenario was Syzygy. 

Both games played out very similarly. Cryx scored their flag twice, Malice broke enemy objective and either middle zone or flag was scored third time again. Cygnar wasn't able to contest Cryx flag reliably while Soulhunters contested Cygnar flag.

I kind of wonder if Syzygy is a functioning scenario. It seems to boil down to "who can contest enemy flag longest", where ultra fast difficult-to-remove units naturally have advantage. Maybe Soulhunters were a "hard counter" for the entire scenario. But that's not all.

Had we played with the old rules, my list would have been a whopping 12 points less, while opponent would have played only 5 points down. That was seven "extra" points for me, which is a crazy number for this point size. Well, time will tell if the point cost adjustments were spot on but it certainly felt like cheating in these games.

2x Brawlmachine, Cryx vs Cygnar, vs Cryx

 Two games of Brawlmachine format. Scenario in both was the Binary.

Game 1:

My first list:

Master Necrotech Mortenebra [+24]
 - Harrower [16]
 - Inflictor [13]
Bane Lord Tartarus [6]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [5]
Bile Thralls (min) [9]

Opponent had:

Major Beth Maddox [+30]
- Avenger [17]
 - Charger [9]
 - Firefly [8]
Arcane Tempest Rifleman [4]
Steelhead Riflemen (min) [8]
Stormblade Infantry [9]

First game is summed up rather quickly. I thought I was the underdog in this matchup because I was woefully outnumbered. But then I jammed Inflictor sitting next to enemy warcaster in a failed assassination attempt - and this is the crux of this matter, really. I went all in, and now Mortenebra was feating in a compromised position. 

Only after I realized that I might have had a real game without the assassination attempt - arm 21 def 13 warjack needs some effort to get rid of when its engaging your shooty warjack and warcaster. But that goes on to the territory of iffing. 

Short story short: Mortenebra was shot to pieces by Cygnaran arms.

Game 2:

Goreshade the Bastard [+27]
- Desecrator [14]
 - Slayer [10]
 - Stalker [8]
Bloat Thrall [4]
General Gerlak Slaughterborn [6]
Misery Cage [2]
Cephalyx Overlords [8]

Opponent had:

Bane Witch Agathia [+29]

 - Deathripper [6]

 - Desecrator [14]

 - Reaper [13]

Pistol Wraith [5]

Bane Warriors (max) [16]

Right side of the board was between Gerlak and Bloat Thrall versus Bane Warriors. On the left side, everything else. 

Opponent ran Reaper to engage Stalker, which brought Reaper within charge range of my Slayer. There was just this wall between them. But Stalker leaped and softened up Reaper a little from back arc. Slayer charged and had no trouble of removing the ranged variant of same chassis.

Deathripper broke Stalker's cortex, and enemy Desecrator came to vivisect Slayer through the wall. It was not very successful vivisection as next to no damage was done. 

Slayer got some job done at wrecking enemy Desecrator, but it wasn't very impressive either. Well, the crabjack had essentially +2 def and +2 arm, so it wasn't completely unexpected.

My Desecrator shot some contesting Bane Warriors off the board, and I was able to leap to +2 control points over my opponent.

Unfortunately, opponent was able to bring Desecrator to contest my circular zone and my flag, thus scoring evening the scores to +1 for Cryx.

It wasn't too bad as long as I can remove already injured Desecrator with feated Bane Warriors and what was left of Slayer. But still, three Bane Warriors and the aforementioned Slayer together didn't put a dent to enemy warjack. Two Bane Warriors missed and one didn't get that many points through armor. Only cannon was broken down.

It all went downhill from there. 

Desecrator contesting my zone and Bane Warriors my flag while controlling enemy circular zone... all this meant that opponent got to +1 points. All in all, I wasn't able to get rid of that Agathia's lead. Five rounds is surprisingly short amount of time.

Brawling again

Had two games of Warmachine at the very end of February. Because of the format they were 25 point games. 

Game 1:

Cryx

Captain Aiakos [+29]

 - Corruptor [14]

 - Malice [15]

 - Stalker [8]

 - The Withershadow Combine [9]

Bloat Thrall [4]

Warwitch Siren [4]

vs

Trollbloods

Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain [+29]

 - Dire Troll Mauler [15]

 - Troll Axer [9]

 - Troll Impaler [9]

Janissa Stonetide [4]

Totem Hunter [6]

Trollkin Fennblades (min) [9]

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]

We rolled off to see which lists we'd play. Why, oh why did the dice gods decide to put Aiakos again against Trollbloods? 

And against Trollbloods with a supercharged sniper Impaler, who removes Malice's Harpoon right away on the second turn?

Oh well. Maybe there was a still game to play. 

Stalker removes Janissa Stonetide from controlling enemy flag, so at least Cryx got the scenario lead. Corruptor and Bloat thrall also were able to remove three Fennblades, so removing their circular zone controllers wasn't that far off.

Sadly I had to sacrifice Warwitch Siren in contesting rectangular zone.

Turn 3 Dire Troll Mauler kills Warwitch Siren, and Stalker is removed by Axer. Totem Hunter charges Corruptor, who has to waste its activation in removing the foreign bounty hunter. What's left of Erebus nearly kills Dire Troll Mauler. I really wanted that troll dead, so Aiakos charged in to finish the job. 

On opponent's turn scenario goes 2-2, and on my turn 2-3 for Trollbloods because Aiakos had left the flag. 

Opponent got easily to 2-5 next, so there was little point in continuing the game, as we still had second armies waiting enthusiastically.

Game 2:

Cryx

 Lich Lord Venethrax [+26]

 - Erebus [16]

 - Ripjaw [7]

 - Slayer [10]

 - Satyxis Blood Priestess [4]

Machine Wraith [2]

Necrotech [2]

Swamp Gobber River Raider [1]

Bile Thralls (min) [9]

vs

Cygnar

Major Beth Maddox [+30]

 - Avenger [17]

 - Cyclone [13]

Alten Ashley [6]

Black 13th Strike Force [10]

Stormblade Infantry [9]

Second game was far quicker than the first. I decided to launch a full-blown offensive against Cygnaran forces and not wait for them to start shooting my forces to bits. 

On second turn Slayer charged a Black 13th member under Terminal Velocity. Then it counter-charged both remaining members into melee with it. 

Erebus counter-charged Cyclone and hit with melee attack, causing Cygnaran warjack to become stationary. 

Opponent breaks Slayer with remaining Black 13th and Stormblades. 

Bile Thralls purge all remaining Stormblades dead, and machine wraith charges Avenger, who tries to take a swing at Alten Ashley, failing at that. But wait, there's more! Erebus finalizes Cyclone and slaps cortex off of Avenger. Who is now without cortex and stationary. 

There was very little opponent could do to prevent Cryx from winning by scenario.

Hellbringer vs Maddox

 Had a 50 point game of Warmachine a while ago.

My list:

Asphyxious the Hellbringer [+24]

 - Erebus [16]
 - 3x Helldiver [6]
 - Slayer [10]
General Gerlak Slaughterborn [6]
Machine Wraith [2]
Misery Cage [2]
Necrotech [2]
Soulhunters (max) [18]

Opponent had:

Cygnar

Major Beth Maddox [+30]

 - Ironclad [12]

 - 2x Lancer [10]

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios [7]

Journeyman Warcaster [4]

 - Cyclone [13]

Rangers [9]

Stormguard Infantry (max) [15]

Scenario was Mosh Pit from main rulebook. 

Eiryss was continuously disrupting Erebus, which was an annoying inconvenience. Opponent hadn't pushed very aggressively to the zone, and when scoring started Slayer was able to remove a contesting Lancer, and Machine Wraith walked Cyclone off from the zone. Cyclone tried to take a shot against it's controlling Journeyman Warcaster, but failed to deliver.

Soulhunters charged whatever Stormguard they could reach, and didn't do much. But at least they were targets opponent needed to deal with. Asphyxious used his feat.

Maddox used her feat, and removed most Soulhunters and Slayer, which wasn't too bad I suppose. Asphyxious got only one or maybe two extra souls from his feat. 

Focusless Erebus and Helldiver weren't exactly able to remove an Ironclad with Arcane Shield from contesting the middle zone, so Cryx scored no points next turn. Two Soulhunters and Gerlak killed a few Stormguards, but there was still oppressive number of them on board. 

Miraculously Erebus survives a mauling from Ironclad, and even Gerlak Slaughterborn proves to be a difficult piece to remove. Lancer and Helldiver finally mettle their scores, and Lancer comes out on top. 

Cyclone, having been dealt some serious damage throughout the game, fell to a Helldiver. Erebus and another Helldiver are able to nibble through the already weakened Ironclad, so I decide to try a scenario victory by removing last contestant from the zone with Asphyxious. This put Asphyxious in a vulnerable position, and opponent put every effort into killing the Cryxian warcaster. 

Asphyxious had had the foresight to cast Cloak of Ash on himself, and survived the onslaught with two hit boxes remaining. 

All that was left for Cryx to do was to mop up the zone and score third control point. 

Outgunning Caine

Played a 50 point game of Warmachine yesterday.


Dominar Rasheth [+28]
- Agonizer [6]
- Basilisk Krea [7]
- Cyclops Raider [9]
- Cyclops Shaman [8]
- Tiberion [19]
Extoller Soulward [3]
Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor [4]
Venator Dakar [4]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]
Venator Reivers (min) [9]
- Venator Reiver Officer & Standard [4]

Opponent had:

Captain Allister Caine [+27]
- Avenger [17]
- Defender [16]
- Ironclad [12]
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Black 13th Strike Force [10]
Rangers [9]
StormbladeInfantry [9]

Scenario was one from main rulebook, the one with three flags in the middle.

I was somewhat horrified of the matchup, but then on the other hand I had a shield guard against those range 16 cannon shots. But that required my troops to move in a blob formation - not ideal for a scenario like this. I was hesitant to rapidly approach, and this gave opponent a clear lead in the scenario game.

But hey, then there was an Ironclad within charging range of Tiberion, and all defensive maneuvers were promptly defenestrated. The Cygnaran warjack had a total of -4 armor, and Tiberion was swinging at P+S 20 so it was... messy.

On the right side of the board, rangers and stormblades were exchanging shots with reivers, and while both sides suffered casualties, skorne was in the difficult position where they had to dislodge point scorers.

Caine shot off the Agonizer, which had two Cygnaran heavies put a dent in Tiberion. Without it, the damage would have been next to nothing. Rasheth had used his feat, so that would've been an effective +4 arm for the character titan. But turns out even +2 is a lot, when you have arm 19 model with shield.

I did quite enjoy the combination of Cyclops Raider and Shaman. They took down most of the Black 13th, and some other inconsequential models such as Caine... whoops, did I spoil the ending? Oh my.

Anyway, fast forwarding to end, Caine looked like a possible scenario winner despite nearly devastated army. A true solo gunslinger. But, I had my chance of shooting Caine with the dynamic duo of Raider and Shaman. First, Raider scores the 12+ needed for a hit and deals nearly ten damage points in. Next Cyclops Shaman does the same. A lot hinged on those 12+ rolls, but this time luck was in my favor.

Nostalgic Annihilation

Played a 50 point game of Warmachine earlier this week. It was a 50 point game with random scenario from main rulebook. It was Annihilation.

Skorne
Lord Arbiter Hexeris [+27]
- Agonizer [6]
- Basilisk Drake [8]
- Bronzeback Titan [17]
- Tiberion [19]
- Aptimus Marketh [5]
Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor [4]
Legends of Halaak [8]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]
Venator Flayer Cannon Crew [5]

vs

Cygnar
Commander Coleman Stryker [+30]

- Ironclad [12]
- Lancer [10]
- Lancer [10]
Rorsh [15]
Rangers [9]
Steelhead Riflemen (min) [8]
Stormguard Infantry (max) [15]


Cygnar started. And I have to say Annihilation was a great change of focus. It was actually fun to play a simple scenario with no flags, objectives, zones and whatnot.

Sure, it's a poorly balanced scenario for those who want to meticulously calculate their wins at all cost - especially shooty list could have just sniped a single solo from my list and retreat for remaining rounds, in theory at least.

But at least here was a good match up.

Cygnar had a devastating start when I lost not one but two members of Legends of Halaak. I had forgotten about their no-knockdown ability and left one of them standing away from base contact. Earthquake fell, and then rangers started shooting. Def 16 didn't help against Rangers, though, and a lucky hit downed another Legend.

Hexeris used feat next, and I think it was okay turn. Six stormguards, three steelheads and four rangers fell.

Opponent got rid of Master Tormentor and the last remaining Legend and used following turn for positioning. Ironclad and Rorsh & Brine were flanking. Bronzeback Titan was looking scary enough and Brine didn't have the courage to charge him. Hexeris was caught by Ironclad, but used Repulsion to get away.

Stryker had his feat going on after losing one Lancer. Though Tiberion did fine work, even he wasn't able to wreck Lancer with +5 arm buff in one turn.

Brine finally engage with Pig Farm on. And I will probably have nightmares from those damage rolls for times to come, as they were absurd. Second last attack did only two points of damage or so, and last attack scored no damage. In all other damage rolls there was not a single die below four pips, with no shortage of fives and sixes.

Bronzeback was left with something like three hit boxes remaining.

And then Bronzeback frenzied. Well, at least he needed that Unyielding. But this fail check was a disaster.

I could have brought Tiberion to deal with Ironclad after Hexeris would destroy Lancer. Bronzeback could have killed Brine. But not when I wasn't able to activate it.

It was second last turn in game, so I decided to try assassination instead.

Hexeris destroyed Lancer but failed to drop boosted Black Spot on Blurred Stryker.

Then Basilisk Drake failed to hit, too.

Tiberion got a free charge against Stryker, but missed boosted charge attack. And all other attacks too, except for one that dealt five points in. I had three boosted POW 20 coming, hitting on 9+. One could have even had a damage boost. But only a single hit with poor damage. Oh, and obviously shield and tusk attacks missed, too.

And to rub it in, last attack that hit scored critical smite, which would have pretty much guaranteed a POW 14 spray hit from Basilisk Drake... that had already activated.

Earthquake knocked Hexeris down, and then Rorsh came to shoot Lord Arbiter very dead.

Skorne Thing

What's this?

A new player in my home town. Last weekend we had a 50 point game of Warmachine. My list was:


Void Seer Mordikaar [+29]
- Agonizer [6]
- Archidon [10]
- Bronzeback Titan [18]
- Cyclops Savage [7]
Bog Trog Trawler [3]
Thrullg [5]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]
Praetorian Swordsmen (max) [13]
- Praetorian Swordsman Officer & Standard [4]
Venator Slingers (min) [8]


Opponent had:

Commander Coleman Stryker [+30]
- Cyclone [13]
- Defender [16]
- Lancer [10]
- Reliant [14]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Charger [9]
Long Gunner Infantry (min) [10]

The list is four points short, so I suppose opponent forgot to deploy a solo or command attachment for Long Gunners.

We played a rulebook scenario to score a point from five flags. And how different it felt after having used to Steamroller scenarios.

Early on I'm a bit too greedy with the flag points - it was completely unnecessary for me to bring Bronzeback Titan to score a point from the middle flag and be pretty much there in the open, ready to be shot at.

So I lost my heavy beast. And I was against three heavy warjacks that were supported with two instances of Arcane Shield. Whoopsie.

Feats gave us both a "useless" turn. Slingers tried to give corrosion to Cygnaran models while they were under Stryker's feat. Praetorian Swordsmen used their minifeat in an attempt to do some damage to Lancer. They did some damage but did not break any systems. But at least the arc node was tied up.

Opponent, then, was mostly able to kill Praetorian Swordsmen that weren't under Mordikaar's feat.

Considering that I had no way of punching through all those warjacks, I schemed a plan to win with scenario. I had four control points thanks to Bog Trog Trawler. So all I needed was the flag Lancer was contesting.

These are the unlikely epic weird shenanigans that I so much enjoy. My plan was thus:

1) do as much damage to Lancer as was possible with Swordsmen.
2) cast Essence Blast spray, killing all the praetorian swordsmen that were not within 4" of the flag and kill the lancer
3) revive one praetorian swordsmen in base contact with the flag.

It all went fine until I failed to kill a couple of swordsmen with Essence Blast. I did not bother casting Revive, then. I saved three fury points for damage transfer instead, as Mordikaar was in a rather vulnerable position.

Stryker managed to land Earthquake on Mordikaar, so I thought game was pretty much over then. I don't remember if it was Defender or Reliant that rolled only four damage points in to Mordikaar, so I did not have to start spending transfers right away.

Mordikaar was shot to pieces, but not to death. Somehow he managed to survive Defender, Reliant, Charger, two hand cannons from both warcasters and a couple of Long Gunner shots.

I think there is a pattern here. It's not just Hexeris that pulls off these "shouldn't have" -survival situations. It's my Skorne as a whole.

There were no cygnar models contesting the last flag Skorne needed, so game was over. Sure there were swings in this game, though after losing Bronzeback so early on I continuously felt that I needed desperate measures to win.

And my desperate measure seems to be caster bait with odds stacked heavily against me.

Scourge of Tempest

About a week ago I played these two 25 point games of Warmachine.

Opponent played:

[Theme] Sons of the Tempest

Captain Victoria Haley [+27]
- Lancer [10]
- Stormclad [18]
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages [11]
- Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer [0(4)]
Tempest Blazers (min) [11]

First game I had:

Lich Lord Venethrax [+26]
- Deathripper [6]
- Erebus [16]
- Ripjaw [7]
Swamp Gobber River Raider [4]
Warwitch Siren [4]
Satyxis Raiders (min) [10]
- Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [4]

My main reason for trying this was to see if Venethrax + Erebus could be a viable combo to play outside of theme.

Unit of Satyxis Raiders took out two out of three Blazers, which had me pretty much dominating the zone on left. Warjacks were wrestling in the middle zone, with Erebus being able to neutralize enemy warjacks even if it didn't do a whole lot of damage.

Gun Mages shot all my pieces off from the zone on right, but this didn't help Cygnar in the long run after Cygnar lost Stormclad.

When opponent had only Gun Mages and Haley left, we decided to start a new game.


Game 2:

This time I played with theme that I won't be able to use for a long, long time in 75 point games. If ever.


[Theme] Scourge of the Broken Coast
Lich Lord Venethrax [+26]
- Defiler [8]
- Inflictor [13]
- Slayer [10]
Axiara Wraithblade [0(6)]
Satyxis Raiders (max) [16]
- Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [4]

Again Satyxis took out the Blazers, but situation in the middle wasn't that good. Some amazing damage rolls from Gun Mages wrecked Slayer after I had engaged enemy forces. Well, I did have a full unit of Satyxis still going on, but they'd be struggling to wreck Stormclad with Arcane Shield if I lost Inflictor.

Inflictor was able to get Line of Sight to Haley, so Venethrax cast Terminal Velocity and Inflictor charged Haley. It had to take a free strike from Lancer, but either it missed or didn't break anything of consequence. Inflictor did break something of consequence, namely the opposing warcaster.

Black Oil

A couple of days ago I played this 10 point game of Warmachine.

It was to teach the game a bit more for a beginning player.

My list was:

Asphyxious the Hellbringer & Vociferon

- Malice
- Helldiver
- Defiler
Gorman diWulfe
Soul Trapper

And opponent had:
Captain Victoria Haley
- Stormclad
- Lancer
Rangers

My opening move was to harpoon Stormclad to Malice. Stormclad had Arcane Shield and Calamity on, so it was effectively Arm 20. Malice needed 7+ to punch through that armor, but even with damage boost it did not succeed. Whoopsie. To discourage retaliation Asphyxious used feat.

Stormclad charged Malice and wrecked every single system except cortex. Gorman lobbed black oil on Stormclad, and Malice took a swing at the cygnaran warjack. Attack hit even with on die, and damage was boosted to two dice.

Defiler teases rangers. Asphyxious had gained two extra focus from his feat and decided to charge Stormclad. Warjack gets wrecked.

Next Haley uses her feat which results in a dead Defiler and Helldiver.

Malice succeeds to drag Lancer to Cryx, and Asphyxious gets the job done again. With Blood Boon he casts Calamity on rangers and Vociferon kills two rangers with a Hex Blast.

Cygnar has a couple of rangers and Haley left, so there ain't many options available. Haley charges to Gorman diWulfe just for the sake of it.

Asphyxious...

Uh. So, Asphyxious nearly single-handedly destroyed Stormclad, Lancer and Haley. Rest of the army got three rangers. Well of course he had good support to do that, but still it's an amusing thought.

Next we're up for a 25 point game.

Ropecon 2018 Warmachine Tournament

I played in a Warmachine tournament during Ropecon 2018.

My lists were:

[Theme] Infernal Machines
Lord Exhumator Scaverous [+27]
- Deathripper [6]
- Erebus [16]
- Reaper [13]
- The Withershadow Combine [9]
Bloat Thrall [4]
Darragh Wrathe [9]
Necrotech [2]
Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
Ragman [4]
Soul Trapper [1]
Soul Trapper [1]
Warwitch Siren [0(4)]
Bile Thralls (min) [9]
- Skarlock Commander [3]
Mechanithralls (min) [6]
- Brute Thrall (2) [4]
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls [4]
Soulhunters (min) [11]



[Theme] Dark Host

Master Necrotech Mortenebra [+24]
- Desecrator [14]
- Kraken [36]
- Seether [13]
Bane Lord Tartarus [0(6)]
Darragh Wrathe [9]
Machine Wraith [2]
Scrap Thrall (3) [2]
Soul Trapper [1]
Soul Trapper [1]
Bane Warriors (max) [16]
- Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [5]

For the record, this was my first time using Dark Host theme.

Game 1: Master Necrotech Mortenebra & Deryliss

First game was against Trollbloods, and opponent had a list something like this. Might contain some inaccuracies:


[Theme] Band of Heroes
Kolgrima Stonetruth, Winter Witch [+28]
- Dire Troll Mauler [15]
- Earthborn Dire Troll [14]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Fell Caller Hero [0(5)]
Saxon Orrik [4]
Trollkin Champion Hero [0(5)]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Northkin Elder [3]
Trollkin Champions (max) [16]
- Skaldi Bonehammer [5]
Trollkin Champions (max) [16]
Trollkin Long Riders (max) [20]

An exciting game to say at least. Most of the game was at the brink of destruction - would Kraken hold? Would it survive charging weapon masters while at effective Arm 23?

It did, until heavy warbeasts decided to enter the battle.

Also, there was this major mistake made by me when Deryliss had used Tune Up on Kraken, who had killed some trollkin in melee and then used Kill Shot on Stone Bearers. I kept on boosting this thing, as I was thinking Tune Up. After realizing this I removed the focus points spent on boosts from Mortenebra - she was in base contact with Kraken. I would have rather spent those focus points on attacks against the trollblood in melee.

But when the Kraken fell, so did Mortenebra.


Game 2: Lord Exhumator Scaverous

Second game was such an optimized build of Haley3 and Gravediggers theme that I can't get the points right.

It was a desperate struggle. There was a glimmer of hope when I got a nice purge in that melt away Patrol Dog and an Express Team or something, and Mechanithralls got a charge in and killed a Master Gunner. The one Brute Thrall would have needed to kill Alexia, though, but this was not to be. I'm not saying I had won had that happened. I just might have stood a chance to find some kind of opening.

I did score some six scenario points, and there was a moment in the game where I actually had the lead. But once that blob of Trenchers was in middle of the field there was little to be done to contest. They had shot my warjacks dead. So I lost something like 6-11.

It was a hellish game, but an interesting new experience.



Game 3: Lord Exhumator Scaverous

Last game was against Khador, and with a list that I probably reverse-engineered incorrectly:

[Theme] Jaws of the Wolf

Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Champion [+27]
- Behemoth [25]
- Devastator [14]
- Marauder [11]
- War Dog [3]
Manhunter [0(4)]
Manhunter [4]
Saxon Orrik [4]
Yuri the Axe [0(6)]
Battle Mechaniks (max) [5]
Kayazy Assassins (min) [9]
- Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]
Kayazy Eliminators [5]
Kayazy Eliminators [5]
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt [8]
- Koldun Kapitan Valachev [4]

Early in the game Vladimir2 used his feat and launched two feated Manhunters and Kayazy Eliminators to tie up my leftmost flank. Luckily Manhunters did not wreck my warjacks, though they did take heavy damage.

I was distressed. I couldn't reliably kill those four pesky models, and that would give all the time Khadoran warjacks would need to get into position for scenario victory. And what was I to do to those mentioned warjacks? I had suicidal POW 12 sprays and P+S 13 combo strikes, all with defensive statistics that would fall in swathes to Behemoth bombarding.

So.

It's time to figure out a far fetched assassination plan that's bound to fail sooner or later.

Far too much time went to trying to free Reaper from melee. All the resources that I could not assign to assassination went to killing those few models.

Bile Thralls, Erebus, Soulhunters, Pistol Wraith and Scaverous (!!) later none of the four feated models were dead. One was stationary from Pistol Wraith, though.

Well, obviously Scaverous did not spend all of his focus into futile attacks against these models. He instead cast Icy Grip on Vlad, telekinesis on Vlad and a couple of telekinesis's on Manhunter. Deathripper had ran to arc position earlier. Objective had given Pathfinder for Reaper, and Tremulus cast Puppet Master on Reaper. I don't remember if it was Maelovus or feating Scaverous that cast telekinesis on Reaper.

Anyway, then MAT 7 Reaper was free to walk into melee with Vlad, who had left his dog far behind. Vlad had perhaps one focus for mitigating damage.

Four attacks later Vlad had died.

Maybe I need to play Scaverous a little more, since my awkward assassinations seem to work slightly better with him.



Great tournament, as I had never played any of these warcasters before during Mk3. And for some odd reason I had not even once played against Cygnar in this edition. As far as factions go, I'm still missing Minions and, of course, the Crucible Guard.

Lord Commander Stryker vs the Soul Weaver

Last Thursday I played a 50 point Warmachine game.

My list was:

Deneghra the Soul Weaver
- Leviathan
- Nightmare
- Deathripper
- Nightwretch

Maximum unit of Satyxis Raiders + Sea Witch

Withershadow Combine
Ogrun Bokur
Satyxis Captain
Necrotech & Scrap Thrall
Skarlock
Soul Trappers

Opponent had:

Lord Commander Stryker
- Lancer

Maximum unit of Storm Lances
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages + Officer
Maximum unit of Horgenhold Forge Guard + Murdoch
Aiyana & Holt
Archduke Runewood
Journeyman Warcaster
Maxwell Finn
Squire
Stormblade Captain
Rhupert
Harlan Versh

Scenario was Incursion and Cygnar started game. First picture is from the end of Cygnar turn two. I had left the flag on the right next to uncontested, and I had definitely not anticipated Stryker would use his feat this turn to take over flag on the left with Forge Guard, too. Rhupert had given them Tough.

I got to make a cheap trick by casting Mortality on Forge Guard with Skarlock and then killing a whole bunch of them with Satyxis. Pistol Wraith took down Murdoch. Yet again I forgot my plans when I got to kill some filthy dwarves. I had thought of controlling left flag with the Satyxis unit, but one of them just had to charge way past 4" area around the flag. Satyxis Captain was able to run to the flag, but most likely that just meant a dead Satyxis Captain.

I was afraid that Stryker would now make a suicidal charge with three Overload dice against Deneghra, so I tried to place my warjacks to threaten at least with free strikes if nothing else.

However, next tun it looked like I had (for once) placed my warcaster far enough from charges like this so Stryker ditched that plan. He cast Rebuke on Satyxis Raiders and tried to kill the Sea Witch - probably to give Gun Mages realistic chance to hit them.

Gun Mages either missed or didn't score damage for most of their activations. Storm Lances looked like a problem when they charged to Nightwretch. Or, well, one tried to and the rest just ran. Harlan Versh came to control the flag.

Though Satyxis wouldn't now charge Stryker thanks to Rebuke, I decided to go for the assassination anyway. Deathripper ran to position, and then Deneghra activated and flew on top of the hill just to look cool. She cast Mortality on Stryker, and then a boosted Scourge right after. She tried to spray Stryker with her ranged attack, but scored no damage.

Pistol Wraith took a shot at Stryker and boosted damage. Damage roll was 5,5,6 which killed the Cygnaran warcaster.

I know it isn't right, but I felt a little disappointed. I had wanted to knock Stryker down and make him Stationary.

Then I would have wanted to have Shadow Bind on him and Blind on him.

And then I would have wanted to curse him and his descendants down to seventh generation.

And then I would have even wanted to insult his dog.

And all of that wouldn't have been even remotely close to what the poster boy deserves.

Stubbornness vs Blind chance

Today I played one more game of Warmachine without the camera.

Fortunately main points of this story are easy to sum up. There is also a lesson/reminder there.

It was a 50 point game and my list was:

Lord Arbiter Hexeris
- Basilisk Krea
- Cyclops Shaman
- Bronzeback Titan
- Tiberion

Minimum unit of Beast Handlers
Minimum unit of Venator Reivers + Unit Attachment
Venator Flayer Cannon
Maximum unit of Praetorian Swordsmen + Unit Attachment
Agonizer
Mortitheurge Willbreaker

Opponent had:

ALL THE HALEYS, NOO!
- Lancer

Maximum unit of Horgenhold Forge Guard + Murdoch
Maximum unit of Stormguards
Maximum unit of Storm Lances
Rhupert
Ragman
Stormsmith Stormcaller
+ probably something I've forgotten already.

Scenario was Outflank and Skorne started.

Second turn I got a chance to shoot at Haley prime with Venator Reivers aided by Puppet Master and +2" movement from Tyrant Commander. The attack dealt ten points of damage.

I got completely fixated on getting those few damage points in. There's the lesson/reminder, really. Adjust your game as needed. You know, baskets and eggs and things like that. I got many opportunities to try a lucky shot with Cyclops Shaman, plus I threw both Tiberion and Bronzeback Titan for nothing. Poor Tiberion didn't even get within melee range, despite Bronzeback's animus. I didn't score that many infantry kills at all, though Praetorian Swordsmen did okayish job at dealing some damage to Stormguard. Tyrant Commander and what was left of Venators were trying to remove Storm Lances from the board.

My best chance to kill Haley Prime was when she didn't cast Temporal Flux on one turn and I got Cyclops Shaman to aim a shot at her, requiring 11+ to hit and 13+ to kill, coupled with two hit boosted Hellfire attacks that would hit on 13+ and kill with 11+, on other turns the final few points would have been more difficult, but if I'd only get that one good roll... One good roll... Okay, one more try... (there is a reason why I don't play slot machines or roulette and what else)

But no, not today. And by then I had lost the attrition overwhelmingly and opponent was already scoring points from one of the zones.

Too greedy, me.

Debut of Captain Orange

Ages ago on Tuesday I played a 50 point game of Warmachine.

I played with Circle of Orboros with following list:

Cassius the Oathkeeper
- Riphorn Satyr
- Warpwolf Stalker
- Woldwatcher
- Gorax

Minimum unit of Tharn Ravagers + Chieftain
Maximum unit of Wolves of Orboros + Unit Attachment
Shifting Stones + Stone Keeper
Minimum unit of Farrow Bone Grinders
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew
2x Gallows Grove
Druid Wilder
Lanyssa Ryssyll

Opponent had:

Darius
- Stormwall
- Centurion
- Ol' Rowdy

Black 13th

2x Stormsmith Stormcaller
Journeyman Warcaster
Gorman diWulfe
Ragman
Sylys Wyshnalyrr
Epic Eiryss

Scenario was Close Quarters and Cygnar started game. There are a couple of important proxies in the pictures - huge base is obviously Stormwall. Orange medium base on the other hand represents Darius. Gobbers are storm pods.

First picture is from the end of Circle turn 1. On the other hand I tried to stay far from the Stormwall AoE's, and yet I wanted to present some sort of a threat. But I was sorely suffering from the symptom that's being called a "clustercoitus" in the internets. Well, technically that's not true. The actual term is far less... clinical. Anyway. Everyone was in the way of everyone.

Turn 2 Cygnar advanced a little bit and laid down a curtain of damaging AoE's. Stormwall had Arcane Shield.

I decided to charge with Ravagers anyway, and lost one in the process. Only one got to make any attacks, and those were against Black 13th. The Ravager killed two of the gun mages. Repair those, Darius!

The rest of my forces just gathered into a huge blob of meat and soul, and Cassius used his feat. He also cast Stranglehold on Ol' Rowdy.

I had intuitively thought that Lanyssa's Winter storm does not affect colossals, because, well, nothing affects colossals. But Winter storm does. Damn it. That would have made the game to look very different if I would have advanced more with Lanyssa and use the spell in question... but alas, I didn't.

Turn 3 Stormwall tramples right next to my heavy warbeasts. After that Darius spams Jackhammer with all of his focus points, which results in dead Riphorn Satyr. What kept me somewhat in the game was the fact that defence 14 made Warpwolf Stalker survive the onslaught.

The situation is a bit tricky now. And I guess my greatest failing as a competitive player is not making up my mind with different plans, and stick to it. I had two options: try to assassinate Darius now. There might not be another chance to do that even if I would be able to bring Stormwall down. Another one was try to beat Stormwall dead.

I made a compromise: I'd beat Stormwall with everything I got, and then decide what to do with 11 fury points Cassius would have. What happened was that Primaled Stalker, Woldwatcher, Wolves of Orboros with Power Swell and Tharn Ravager chieftain charged it. They did okay-ish... but did not destroy the colossal Arm 22 warjack. It had only a few damage points left, so I was torn between trying to assassinate Darius and finish the colossal off with Cassius.

I chose to attack the colossal. Now. If I had originally planned just to kill the colossal and bother with Darius later, I could have activated Cassius first and cast Curse of Shadows on it. This way I might have had some resources to attacks something else.

Turn 4 Darius starts scoring points from his own flag, and his warjacks just shuffled around - because they could. My warpwolf would be frenzying next turn.

I had a clear charge lane to Darius with Cassius. He was camping something like five focus points, though. So instead Cassius charged either him or Ol' Rowdy, I forget which. He casts Curse of Shadows on Darius, and jumps back to safety with Unseen path. Woldwatcher advances to contest the enemy flag. Wolves of Orboros tried to kill Gorman and perhaps tickle Centurion.

Turn 5 Gorman survives a free strike from Wolf of Orboros, and he lobs Black Oil on Warpwolf Stalker. Centurion then butchers the warbeast. I don't remember how Darius spent the rest of his focus, but an educated guess would be on Jackhammer to Ol' Rowdy. There must have been some pretty awful dice rolls involved, because Woldwatcher didn't die. However, Journeyman Warcaster cast Arcane Shield on Darius.

So now I needed to kill the orange medium base. I did have the tools for it, I just used them a little bit foolishly. First I tried to shoot Darius with everything I got - that included Arcane Bolt from the remaining Bonegrinders and Ice Bolt from Lanyssa. Lanyssa was hoping for a lucky critical hit. After the game it was pointed out that had they killed Journeyman Warcaster instead, that would have meant Arm 16 Darius for me to handle. Well. Killing the journeyman would have required at least 7+ hit from both, and 8+ to instantly kill with Ice Bolt, and 9+ with Arcane Bolt. But perhaps combined...

I see one more desperate chance to aid Cassius in his endeavour. First Woldwatcher advances so it quite doesn't leave Ol' Rowdy's melee range. Gorax then performs a two handed throw on it, and tries to throw the wold on Sylys Wyshnalyrr, who had ran to protect Darius. Initially I estimated that perhaps Gorax would clip Darius on a direct hit and if Gorax would miss, deviation still had a chance to knock Darius over. But a direct hit it was, and Darius did not get knocked down. Even Sylys had the insolence not to die to the collateral damage roll.

Well, that was all I could do.

Next Cassius and Wurmwood used cool party tricks and shenanigans to get next to Darius, and started beating. I would roll damage with -7 and Darius did have twenty two damage boxes. I decided to roll without attack boosts, because I had enough fury points for either two fully boosted attacks (and perhaps one completely unboosted), or three or four damage boosted attacks if I skipped the attack boost and rolled 7+ to hit.

Two attacks hit and made Darius go somewhere around eight hit boxes left or something. So at least the six additional damage points it would have meant for me wouldn't have made a difference... if that's of any consolation.

But it was all a phantasm, really. There was only some orange glow on the ground where Darius was supposed to be.

You can't kill what does not exist.