Malifaux vassal tournament part II

Tournament ran its course, and here are the last remaining two games. 

Game 4:

Gaining Grounds 2 scenario Corrupted Ley Lines with Wedge Deployment. Scheme pool: Claim Jump, Spread Them Out, Vendetta, Let Them Bleed, Detonate Charges 

I had:

Kirai & Ikiryo (Vendetta target)
Datsue Ba
Lost Love
Rogue Necromancy (Claim Jump)
2x Seishin
Shikome + Killer Instinct
Crooligan

Pool: 7

Schemes: Claim Jump, Spread Them Out

Opponent had:

Basse (Lead Linen Coat) & Bernadette
Dr. Grimwell
Jonathan Reichart (Lead Linen Coat) (Claim Jump)
Guild Steward
Pathfinder
Austringer (Vendetta)

Pool: 8

Schemes: Claim Jump, Vendetta

Turns 1-2:

I didn't know what to expect of Basse, and when he had been parked right into the charge range of Rogue Necromancy, I decided to give it a go. I quickly learned my error and paid a heavy price for it. Basse started tossing Rogue Necromancy around like a ragdoll, and it somehow ended up in the melee range of Dr. Grimwell. Well, I suppose Rogue Necromancy at least dominated opponent's first turn by having him use Basse, Grimwell, Austringer, and Reichart to finally kill my Claim Jumper. 

Datsue Ba ran to engage Reichart in an attempt to save Rogue Necromancy, but in the end, Reichart had Bring It ability. 

Ikiryo and Bernadette claimed a strategy marker. 

Turn 2:

Dr. Grimwell and Reichart try to beat the scary granny with the lantern, and do well enough - it's just that Kirai's activation was spent on healing Datsue Ba back to full. Reichart's blasts, however, killed a scheming Drowned and a Seishin. 

Ikiryo runs to strategy another strategy marker near my table edge, and Austringer throws its bird at Ikiryo, dealing some serious damage and revealing Austringer had vendetta towards Kirai's soul. Not good. 

Bernadette tries to taunt Crooligan to attack her, but fails to Bring It the kid a second time.

Both players score strategy, and both players reveal one scheme: Spread Them Out and Vendetta.

Turn 3:

Datsue Ba receives the full activations of Reickhart and Dr. Grimwell once more and survives. Kirai heals her. Rinse & Repeat. Kirai also summons a Drowned. 

Basse shoots Kirai and Lost Love and deals some damage in, which is worrisome. My master is down to eight hit points remaining, and Lost Love takes a hit for two. 

Shikome and Crooligan just scheme around.

Bernadette takes a dive towards the middle strategy marker, and a well placed miracle happened: Drowned charged Bernadette and Dazed her away from the marker. Ikiryo then runs to middle zone.

Ressers score strategy, which is the only point from turn three.

Turn 4

Datsue Ba weighs Guild Steward's sins and judges him to death with two actions. Impressive enough, and yet she still survives Dr. Grimwell's attacks. 

Cornelius Basse ruins my plans by bringing Kirai down to one hit point remaining, and Austringer flying in for the kill. I had originally planned to summon a Seishin into contact with Bernadette, who had been removed from melee with Drowned by Pathfinder. This way she'd have been unable to toss Lodestone marker to Basse.

Ikiryo had ran towards the enemy strategy marker on top-right and lives, securing me full points from strategy. 

Reichart removes himself from melee somehow and runs to middle. Opponent scores strategy and Claim Jump, evening scores to 4-4.

Turn 5:

I manage to survive with Ikiryo and had enough scheme markers to score Spread Them Out again. Opponent was able to bring Bernadette to my top-left strategy marker and have Basse to toss the lodestone for her. 

It's a draw 6-6.

Game 5:

Apparently, this tournament was Kirai's when I picked her for the last game, too.

Strategy was Break the Line with standard deployment. Scheme pool: Claim Jump, Hidden Martyrs, Death Beds, Catch & Release, Bait & Switch.

My list was:

Kirai & Ikiryo
Datsue Ba
Lost Love
3x Seishin
2x Shikome
Night Terror with Killer Instinct (Catch & release)

Pool: 8

Schemes: Catch & Release, Bait & Switch

Opponent had:

English Ivan & Mordrake
Gibson DeWalt
Winston Finnigan (My bait)
Eva Havenhand
Tannenbaum
Intrepid Emissary

Pool: 6

Schemes: Claim Jump, Death Beds

Turns 1-3:

This game was brutal. Brocken Spectre was able to catch Ikiryo, Datsue Ba and Kirai within it's spells of certain doom, and it wasn't until third round when I finally managed to remove the spectre - after most of my forces had been decimated.

I had a Catch & Release running Night Terror and one Shikome on both sides of the map, and Seishins and Lost Love in the middle. 

Next time maybe I won't bunch up in the middle so, although that might happen anyway since Brocken Spectre bunches you up on its own. 

But it wasn't all on Spectre, no. Eva Havenhand and Mr. Mordrake were both amazingly mobile and got to toss strategy markers around before I had the chance to contest. 

At least opponent's speed gave me one easy point in the form of Catch & Release, but still... opponent was controlling all strategy markers, had revealed both of his schemes and would easily get at least one end condition. I gave up at the end of third round. 

All in all it was a nice tournament experience. I learned a couple of new tricks along the way, too, such as charging past melee range. And that it is relatively bad idea to let opponent summon a Brocken Spectre that ties up all of your important models. 

Malifaux Vassal Tournament part I

I took part in a Vassal tournament for Malifaux. It was a round robin style tournament, which means five rounds. Here are the first three games. 

 First game was Corner Deployment Symbols of Authority, and scheme pool: Breakthrough, Vendetta, Assassinate, Claim Jump, Spread Them Out.

My list:

Seamus & Copycat Killer
Bete Noire
Grave Golem
2x Crooligan
Dead Doxy
Dead Dandy
Gravedigger

Pool: 6

Schemes: Breakthrough, Spread Them Out

Opponent was playing Neverborn:

Nekima + Inhuman Reflexes & Blood Hunter
Hayreddin
2x Corrupted Hound
2x Black Blood Shaman
Mature Nephilim
+1x upgrade somewhere

Pool: 9

Schemes: ???

Turns 1-2:

An aggressive advance by Resurrectionists ensures a bloody fight ensues sooner rather than later. Turns out Bete Noire isn't holding the entire Neverborn crew all alone, and she barely survives with one health point remaining after Hayreddin says hello. 

Nekima then charges Grave Golem, who had been nearing middle field along with Dead Doxy and Seamus. Five points of damage was worrisome, since I had no idea if Nekima had any anti-demise tech available. 

Crooligans and Gravedigger score Spread Them Out on second turn. 

Seamus somehow manages to bring Nekima down to one hit point remaining. Sadly worthless minions couldn't deliver the last point, so Nekima would activate at least once more.

Turn 3:

Nekima activates first, shoves aside Grave Golem and attacks Copycat Killer. Killer doesn't die thanks to minimum damage, but then something happens as a bonus. Dead Doxy in same melee with Nekima had suffered a little from Black Blood already and was at one hit point remaining, too.

Boom. A zero-action killed two of my unactivated models. 

At least Seamus managed to kill Neverborn master, but it was a heavy price to pay. Black Blood Shaman grows up as a Mature Nephilim and tosses a corrupted hound at Dead Dandy.

I had grand plans of scoring strategy and breakthrough on this very same turn, but unfortunately it happened so that my opponent ran out of available time - just when things started getting interesting. Game scored as a victory for me, but it certainly doesn't feel like a victory. Oh well. Such happens, even on Vassal. 

Game 2:

Flank deployment, Public Enemies. Scheme pool: Vendetta, Catch & Release, Let Them Bleed, Leave Your Mark, Research Mission

My list was:

Seamus & Copycat
Madame Sybelle
Mortimer
Grave Golem
Bete Noire
Mourner with Grave Spirit Touch

Pool: 6

Schemes: Catch & Release. Leave Your Mark

Opponent had:

Titania & Gorar
Hinamatsu
Aeslin
Malisaurus Rex
Hooded Rider
Autumn Knight

Pool: 5

Schemes: Let Them Bleed, Research Mission

Turn 1-2:

This game had a brutal start. Resurrectionists were ambushed at the Arctic Lodge and butchered to pieces - Grave Golem went dead on the first turn, as did Mortimer thanks to Red Jokerin' Hinamatsu. Mourner died at the start of second turn and somewhere in the process Titania beat up Seamus down to four hit points remaining.

I had sent Bete Noire to flank around, which was a mistake as the situation went from bad to critical in the blink of an eye. Or maybe a few blinks. 

Madame Sybelle and Copycat Killer took on Hinamatsu together, dealing in some minor points of damage.

My best luck was in getting a Red Joker with Seamus' damage flip against Hooded Rider. This had Madame Sybelle later kill the rider with a Critical Strike damage track of 5/5/6.

At the end of second round, both players scored strategy and opponent revealed Research Mission, bringing points to 1-2 for Neverborn.

Turn 3:

Seamus disengages, teleports to shoot Hinamatsu and teleports again to relative safety. Madame Sybelle only tickles Hinamatsu before dying herself to the puppet-thing. Malisaurus Rex eats Copycat Killer, and Titania, Autumn Knight and Aislin scare off Bete Noire from trying to scramble Leave Your Mark points. 

Grave Golem pops up behind Hinamatsu and smacks it dead, bringing me another strategy point. Opponent's points for this round were on Hinamatsu, so points went 2-2.

Turn 4-5:

Rest of the game isn't much of a game any more - sure, Grave Golem stood strong (which means dying repeatedly to a wet sock)  and opponent wasn't able to score strategy easily, but he did manage to munch Seamus with Malisaurus Rex. That thing charges FAR.

But it was really Neverborn playing whack-a-mole with Bete Noire and Grave Golem constantly going up and down. 

In the end, it was a steady victory for Neverborn with 5-2, when he scored both end conditions from his schemes.

Game 3:

Scenario was Recover Evidence with standard deployment. Scheme pool was Breakthrough, Vendetta, Assassinate, Spread Them Out and Runic Binding. This time I was against fellow Resurrectionists. I thought I might as well give Kirai a go with following list:

Kirai & Ikiryo
Datsue Ba
Lost Love
2x Drowned
2x Seishin
Hanged with Grave Spirit Touch

Pool: 9

Schemes: Breakthrough, Spread Them Out

Opponent had:

Molly & Necrotic Construct
Rogue Necromancy
Archie
Forgotten Marshal
2x Crooligan
2x Night Terror

Pool: 4

Schemes: Breakthrough, Spread Them Out

Turns 1-2: 

These turns saw lots of action. I had deployed Ikiryo, Kirai, Seishin, Drowned and Lost Love around middle of the board, Datsue Ba far left and Hanged, Seishin plus another Drowned far right. Ikiryo challenged a Crooligan in mid-field right next to Rogue Necromancy, and Kirai summoned an Onryo to tie up Archie. Datsue Ba failed to startle a little kid, but did enter midline almost unchallenged.

Ikiryo brought a Crooligan down to one hit point remaining, having it drop its intel marker. Rogue Necromancy obviously bit a severely damaged Ikiryo in two halves, having her drop her intel marker. 

Night Terrors and one Crooligan bunch up on the right, and Hanged manages to put its upgrade on one of the Night Terrors and remove half of its hit points. Another Night Terror runs to a forest deep in my side of the board, which probably meant opponent had Breakthrough as his scheme. But the Night Terror did not survive a spiritual triple barrage by Kirai - who flipped two 13's with a negative flip on attack against target in concealment, and then a red joker for her last attack.

Neither player revealed any schemes yet, so points were 1-1 at the end of second round. 

Turn 3:

I waste Kirai's, re-summoned Ikiryo's and Drowned's full activations trying to take down Rogue Necromancy at 6 hit points. Only Drowned managed to do two points in. More damage was done to my models via Molly's Lethe's Caress.

Datsue Ba speeds into enemy deployment zone, hopefully getting a point of Breakthrough next turn.

I learned that Hanged are not  especially good models against Night Terrors - the attached upgrade only helps them! Had not Seishin managed to walk another Drowned twice, I'd have had bat beasts flapping in my deployment zone to whom I'd not be able to do a thing. But the Drowned came and secured another strategy point to me. 

Enemy Crooligans schemed somewhat, but nothing I considered worrisome just yet. I had my Gaki sitting next to evidence marker, most likely giving me third strategy point on turn 4, so I didn't want to commit it to remove enemy scheme markers.

Archie fails to jump but does not fail to destroy Onryo. 

Kirai scores strategy, getting ahead in points 2-1. 

Turn 4

Forgotten Marshal had been a bit of a useless model for the entire game, failing at every summon he tried to make. To make up for his deficiencies, he killed two of my models with Peacebringer. Gaki and Seishin were gone. Fortunately Gaki had already managed to pick up Evidence marker. 

Datsue Ba interacts for a scheme marker and walks as deep into enemy territory as possible. Hanged walks to enemy deployment zone on the other side of board. 

Archie leaps and smacks already injured Drowned dead with one attack, and flurried a second attack at Ikiryo, killing it too. With his final action Archie picked up evidence marker.

Kirai barrages a Crooligan dead and re-summons Ikiryo, who then positions for next round to collect that particular Crooligan's evidence or scheme marker. 

Rogue Necromancy chases Datsue Ba, but doesn't get near enough to deny Kirai a point.

Kirai scores Breakthrough and Strategy, and Molly scores Strategy for 4-2

Turn 5

Lost Love collects last evidence marker for Kirai, and Kirai collects enemy scheme marker since I was suspecting opponent had Spread Them Out. 

Rogue Necromancy slaughters Datsue Ba, who had left a scheme marker deep into enemy deployment zone. But not deep enough - Molly was able to reach it with her marker removal ability. This meant I wouldn't gain Spread Them Out. 

Archie leaped, walked and schemed into my deployment zone. Kirai parked right next to the big boy. 

Kirai scores Strategy for a final result of 5-2 for Kirai.

Up until fourth turn it was a difficult game, and even there had its terrifying moment when Peacebringer downed two of my models, while one died to Molly's Caress and one to Archie. But as I had some success in denying Molly's scheme runners, losing that many models in a couple of activations wasn't enough to turn the tides that were favoring Kirai.

JMG Warmachine tournament V

So there was a Warmachine tournament in Jyväskylä.

With my practice games I had practiced enough that I scrapped Aiakos list for the most part and did a new one. My lists were:


Black Industries
Captain Aiakos [+29]
- Corruptor [14]
- Helldiver [6]
- Nightmare [18]
- Reaper [13]
- 2x Stalker [8]
- The Withershadow Combine [9]
Machine Wraith [2]
Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
Swamp Gobber River Raider [1]
2x Warwitch Siren [0+4]
Bile Thralls (min) [9]
Black Ogrun Ironmongers [6]
Mechanithralls (min) [6]
- Brute Thrall (3) [0(6)]


Scourge of the Broken Coast

Goreshade the Bastard [+27]
- Leviathan [16]
- Reaper [13]
- Seether [13]
- Satyxis Blood Priestess [0(4)]
Axiara Wraithblade [0(6)]
Satyxis Raider Captain [0(4)]
2x Warwitch Siren [4]
Wrong Eye [17]
Black Ogrun Ironmongers [6]
Cephalyx Overlords [8]
Satyxis Raiders (max) [16]
- Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [4]


Game 1:
First game was against Circle of Orboros, tharn theme lead by Iona. I had taken Goreshade.

I made the mistake of giving opponent free points from the zone on right by turn two. I also learned a thing or two about Ravagers - if Rapid Healing caught me by surprise earlier, now it was the Vengeance. I pretty much wasted my unit of Satyxis Raiders by charging them to few Tharn Ravagers, then using Reposition to engage them even more. Clever move, I must say.

At least Leviathan managed to shoot a tharn ravager dead who had been blocking the lane to Feral Warpwolf. Reaper then pulled Warpwolf and Snapjaw snapped it's spine.

However, opponent's game was ruined by Wrong Eye's Star Crossed. Circle had some bad rolls too on turn three. (they only butchered seven satyxis raiders and their captain, took almost half of boxes off from Reaper and one Cephalyx Overlord... on bad rolls) Me, on the other hand, had some good damage rolls. Against my own objective, that is. Sure Seether destroyed the Wolf Rider Champion, but berserk attack brought my objective down to five boxes remaining.

Second turn in a row, Star Crossed ruined the day of Tharn Ravagers. Seems like the magic with Star Crossed is when you need 6's or 7's to hit. Not when you need 4's or 3's, but I'm getting ahead of things now. Scenario game was slowly going towards Circle victory, although otherwise my position seems surprisingly secure. Especially after Bane Warriors and Seether destroyed Ghetorix.

Had there been more time in deathclock, perhaps I could have seized the zone on left and the middle zone, but when we both had only a few minutes left in the clock, we both started making hasty decisions. Iona ran to zone on right where Seether could charge her. End of Iona, and I was left with less than forty seconds on my clock.

Game 2:

Second game was against the newest faction, Infernals, lead by Zaateroth. I decided to give Aiakos2 a go, as opponent could benefit from my souls in my Goreshade list.

However, I gained nothing from stealth on Stalkers, Sirens, Withershadow Combine and Aiakos, as well as nothing from Incorporeal on Pistol Wraith and Machine Wraith, as just about all models opponent had sported magical weapons and eyeless sight.

Zaateroth was extremely cautious of my threat ranges, which gave me a jump start in scenario game. But this also put me in a vulnerable position, and casualties started piling up. I had some good options to contest, but opponent was able to zap my point scoring models off the table, so I was not able to go even near victory here.

With heavy horrors appearing left and right, I couldn't even bring them down to their starting number, although Nightmare did good job in killing one with unboosted initial attacks. Sadly three additional attacks were not enough to take a second horror down.

It was a scenario loss for me.

Game 3:

Last game was against Legion of Everblight and Absylonia2. I chose Goreshade.

Absylonia had a list with, what, nineteen shredders or so, with more to come from two spawning vessels and those minion croc pots.

It was insane list to fight against.

Again, I was unfamiliar with Absylonia's tricks and made the mistake of giving her models to kill so that it triggered extra MAT for her battlegroup.

Then sharknado happened, and lesser warbeasts were all over the map. With good rolls opponent could have scored all five points required to win on turn two.

Luckily rolls were not that good. Three Shredders shredded Reaper, and most of Satyxis died. Satyxis had made a good job in culling the herd of shredders - it's rare to use red mist ability, but here I did, along with Power Swell. Had the whole unit been able to engage Shredders, I dare say I could have removed half of them. But it was not to be.

Opponent scored "only" three points. I struggled to remove all the tiny pests. If only I could have arranged enemy to gain one less point and remembered on my turn to run a Bane Warrior to enemy rectangular zone, perhaps game I could have stood a chance. Opponent would have needed to score four points and deny my point. But like this it was far too easy for Legion to gather three points from somewhere.

Anyway. Opponent started with nineteen lesser warbeasts. During game, Cryx killed twenty. When game ended, there were still seven lessers around.

Ropecon 2019 Steamroller

Here's the games from Ropecon Steamroller tournament.

Only two days prior to the tournament the rules changed to use Oblivion update instead. It went fine as far as I can tell, but because of this I'm not even trying to put together opposing lists. The hassle of rule update in middle of event had TO to let in themes both from Oblivion and pre-Oblivion.


My lists:

[Theme] Black Industries
[Scaverous 1] Lord Exhumator Scaverous [+27]
- Corruptor [14]
- Deathripper [6]
- Deathripper [6]
- Inflictor [13]
- The Withershadow Combine [9]
Aiakos, Scourge of the Meredius [0(4)]
- Reaper [13]
Darragh Wrathe [9]
Necrotech [2]
Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
Soul Trapper [1]
Warwitch Siren [4]
Warwitch Siren [4]
Mechanithralls (min) [6]
- Brute Thrall (3) [0(6)]
Wraith Engine [15]


[Theme] Scourge of the Broken Coast
[Goreshade 1] Goreshade the Bastard [+27]
- Harrower [16]
- Helldiver [6]
- Leviathan [16]
- Reaper [13]
- Seether [13]
- Stalker [8]
- Satyxis Blood Priestess [0(4)]
Axiara Wraithblade [0(6)]

Satyxis Raider Captain [0(4)]
Warwitch Siren [4]
Black Ogrun Ironmongers [6]
Satyxis Raiders (max) [16]
- Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [4]


Game 1:
First game was against Circle Orboros. Tharn theme with Iona.

It was a brutal and mostly one-sided game. I probably picked the wrong list here anyway.

As I was still thinking Bloodweavers had Dispel as one of their attack options, I didn't slap Death Ward on Wraith Engine. Since it wasn't warded against death, five ambushing Bloodweavers destroyed Wraith Engine from full hit boxes down to zero. Two of them also charged a Deathripper and destroyed it. At least it eases my pain a little that when you consider how Bloodweavers were rolling the dice, it would've mattered little if Wraith Engine would've had Death Ward on.

Wolf Rider Champion single-handedly breaks Movement system off from Reaper - after it had missed twice with harpoon attack.

Another Wolf Rider Champion puts a heavy dent on Inflictor. Some system broke. It even had Death Ward on. However, having a broken system was on me. I forgot I could've decided the column.

But it's rare to see dice that are on fire like this. I suppose it's bound to happen sooner or later.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out a way to assassinate Iona. Getting node close enough to cast Telekinesis on her as well as three Brute Thralls, but the arc node I would've needed went down with two charging Bloodweavers. I measured if I'd be able to get a node via Corruptor shot, but I couldn't see that far to the forest anyway.

I just did not know what to do, so I tried to stack some souls on Scaverous and wait for a turn and hope opponent makes a small positioning mistake. But opponent scored a point with Iona on my turn, and then four from both circular zones, flag and destroying my objective.

Not my most magnificent game.

Game 2:

Second game was against Khador, Vlad2.

Table was a nightmare to all but Dark Host. Which I didn't play.

I picked Goreshade as my list, as I thought I might be able to hit Vlad's feated models with Gang Fighter.

Opponent did have Greylord Adjunct to offer Behemoth Eyeless Sight turn after turn. This mitigated my Shadowmancer quite a bit. Also Vlad being able to upkeep two spells for free made Lamentation lackluster.

I thought I had placed Helldiver to wrong side of the board. So it was by accident that I had a contestant on rectangular zone on my right.

Vlad uses his feat on five models - both Eliminator units and a lone Kayazy assassin. Eliminators on right just ran to engage my Warwitch Siren. River being rough terrain robbed them of their charge.

Another unit came to tie up Satyxis. And did they tie up Satyxis. Kayazy Assassins attacked Harrower, that had been seriously damaged by Behemoth already. But Harrower didn't die, it just lost Cortex.

Cryx managed to clear all the assassins from circular zone and contest rectangular zone on right with Helldiver that popped up.

Satyxis Raiders, Axiara and Satyxis Captain all tried to do some damage in to Eliminators on left, and succeeded. Just to deal random damage points in. Not to kill anyone.

Yuri the Axe charges from woods and kills a bunch of Satyxis Raiders. Eliminators continue to kill them. Marauder cannot charge contesting Helldiver, so it positions itself so that next turn Helldiver won't be able to contest and be outside of Marauder's threat range. Warwitch Siren dies to another unit of Eliminators and I'm left with few warjacks that are seriously damaged.

Thanks to some lucky rolls I clear the circular zone with ease. Axiara Wraithblade runs to the flag, and Goreshade with Deathwalker is on the zone. That's two points.

Stalker charges Yuri, and Satyxis finally remove one of the eliminators.

I try to position my jacks so that next turn I'd be able to go to rectangular zone on the right that was about to fall to Khador.

But a miracle happened there. Marauder did the combo-smite thing and slammed Helldiver four inches or something. This was phenomenal luck. Because Helldiver was still contesting and was outside of threat range of Kayazy Eliminators. One inch more or one inch less and I'd have lost the zone.

Vladimir tried to remove Helldiver with Razor Wind, and failed.

Devastator wrecks Stalker and a mechanic comes to contest circular zone.

After removing contestors with Reaper, Seether charges Behemoth to tie it up. Seether had only one arm and no cortex, so damage wasn't spectacular. I spent quite a bit time on deathclock trying to figure if I should try to assassinate Vladimir. I would've probably tried that if both Axiara and Harrower wouldn't have missed. But they did.

When I'm looking at the game pictures now, it's absurd that Harrower survived that long. After Marauder wrecked Helldiver, Harrower still stood contesting. Behemoth took down Seether. Kayazy Eliminators charge last remaining Iron Monger, and position themselves to contest both the flag and the zone.

Goreshade takes care of the Eliminators and Axiara positions herself to the flag. Leviathan shoots enemy objective down and Reaper runs to contest the zone.

Behemoth comes to contest zone, Vlad wrecks Harrower and Devastator bulldozes Reaper off.

Reaper comes back for more, Blood Priestess runs to contest rectangular zone and Goreshade and Bane Warriors wreck Behemoth.

It was the last round, and one of first, if not the first game in my Mk3 tournaments that had to be resolved with tiebreakers. I had lead of three control points, so a victory for Cryx.

Game 3:

Last game I was against Blindwater Congregation. First time in Mk3.

I wanted to try if Scaverous would be able to score an assassination, but I should've thought about the position of objectives. Opponent picked anchor objective, and with this 5" template of shallow water with protection from ranged attacks had Barnabas1 in a safe spot.

I managed to kill Wrastler. A big mistake was to charge Sacral Vault with ambushing Mechanithralls. I thought three Brute Thralls ought to make a dent in the battle engine - and sure they did... but I had not paid attention at all that there was Gobber Tinker around. Who repaired for six. Yay. Then the thing shot all Brutes in one turn, and what were Mecanithralls to do when their only target was protected by this soul storm thing?

I charge Wraith Engine to that Sacral Vault, and poor rolls still have the thing standing. Well. At least someone was contesting enemy rectangular zone.

I had some trouble contesting flags. Swamp Gobber River Raider scored a point for enemy, and a small bottleneck had my heavy warjacks in a difficult position to do anything other than kill a couple members of Gatormen Posse.

Hilariously enough Wraith Engine didn't... oh wait, it did die.

But it took the combined efforts of Sacral Vault, Ironback Spitter, Gatormen Posse, Bull Snapper and even a charging Mist Speaker. And since they just couldn't do it, Barnabas destroys the thing with a spell.

But losing the engine was my downfall, and slowly and steadily opponent grinded control points to victory.

Looking back now the match-up doesn't look as horrible as it felt. Game was probably playable - I just succumbed to some silly mistakes and being too fixated on assassinating Barnabas.

JMG Warmachine Tournament IV (Lord Nope Hexeris)

So there was this Warmachine Tournament.

I had two lists for this tournament, but played only one.

[Theme] Masters of War
Lord Tyrant Hexeris
- Agonizer [6]
- Archidon [10]
- Tiberion [22]
- Titan Gladiator [15]
Feralgeist [2]
Cataphract Cetrati (max) [18] + Tyrant Vorkesh [0(6)]
Legends of Halaak [8]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]
Praetorian Swordsmen (max) [13] + Praetorian Swordsman Officer & Standard [4]
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [0(6)]


First game was against Circle of Orboros, Krueger1.

Primaled Ghetorix fails to take out Tiberion, which results in a dead Ghetorix. Bloodtrackers had Legends of Halaak as their prey target, and I tried to move them to other side of the board. This was when I learned about the new minifeat that allows to pick a new Prey target. Oh well. At least Bloodtrackers were rolling exceptionally low damage rolls against them.

Hexeris' feat gave me, what, two or three extra kills in this game. So yay for that. I can already give a spoiler: they were the only kills I got with Dark Dominion during whole tournament.

Then Primaled Warpwolf Stalker destroyed Tiberion and lowered Titan Gladiator down to one hit box remaining. Krueger shot that one off. I was down to Archidon in my heavy warbeast department, and it was somewhere completely off.

I had gained a good lead in scenario game, but losing both serious heavies might change that.

Time started to be short for both players, which resulted in a panicking Krueger flying to my rectangular zone. But he had Def 17 - what was I to do?

I tried to snatch the last remaining control point, but just couldn't clear the circular zone on right. And over-excited I had also brought Archidon to full Fury.

Loki took off Agonizer, so Hexeris had no transfer targets. Krueger charges in and attempts to assassinate Hexeris, but fails to do so. Hexeris had cast Parasite on Krueger, and it was this +1 ARM that saved Hexeris. Shortly after opponent ran out of clock.

A close victory for Hexeris. But little did I know, yet...


Second game was against Grymkin.

It was a good game against The Heretic.

I saw an opportunity to score two scenario points, but this relied on hitting a MAT 8 attack against DEF 13. Failed, of course. So that was only one point for me.

My single greatest mistake was bringing a shield-walled unit of Cetrati within charge range of Skin & Moans. They were obliterated, and I didn't even get the scenario point.

Tiberion survived like a champ against Cage Rattler with Fury, and against another Cage Rattler that had no Fury. Just for the sake of it, when last Cage Rattler died Feralgeist jumped in.

I lost my lead of 3 control points in one round, and that decided the game for me. I only could try to grind up some control points for tiebreakers. But Archidon failed to repeat it's performance, and did next to no damage to enemy objective.

Hexeris stood right next to Skin & Moans full on corpses, and had no Fury.

This was something even Hexeris could not endure. Lost.



Third game was against Circle of Orboros, and again against Krueger1.

I almost lost on top of 2A. Storm Raptor is a horrifying assassination tool. Saving grace here was Tiberion's Immovable Object. Krueger attempted to throw Tiberion to Hexeris with a Tornado. Otherwise those resources could have gone to killing Hexeris.

My warcaster almost died to electro leaps. And lastly Lord of the Feast threw it's bird at something, and Tiberion used shield guard. But thanks to new and improved reach of 2", Lord was easily within range of Hexeris. But miraculously Hexeris survived - with three hit boxes to boot!

This was devastating for Circle player, and he lined every warbeast at his disposal to protect Krueger.

However, thanks to Krueger's feat and such, I could only destroy two Warpwolves and Storm Raptor, and my warcaster was at two hit boxes remaining - he had cut himself to gain one fury point.

I was prepared to lose now. Tiberion was at full Fury, so was not an eligible transfer target. Archidon died, but at least gave two extra fury points for Hexeris by doing so.

Primaled Shadowhorn Satyr did it's shenanigans and came to finish off Hexeris.

This cost me Titan Gladiator, but - how can it be? Hexeris was alive.

Had Combo-Smite brought Gorax to Krueger, I would have attempted to kill him. But Gorax moved only half an inch, which was not enough to knock Circle warlock over. So I just killed the Shadowhorn Satyr and Warpwolf Stalker.

I thought I was safe, but then Krueger flies closer and casts a Tornado at Hexeris. It hits and slams Hexeris to wall, meaning POW 13 + 4d6 damage roll or something like that.

I only had Agonizer as transfer target. Opponent hoped high enough damage roll that overspill damage would kill Hexeris, but it left him standing with one hit box remaining.

I'd prefer winning where it would feel like I played well, but I have to say game was hilariously exciting. Surviving against such odds has a certain tingling sensation in it, but really. Hexeris got lucky big time here.


Fourth game was... against Circle of Orboros. I got to play against Kaya3. And what a terrifying game it was.

I had my moment on the right sided rectangular zone, where I killed a griffon or two. Praetorian Swordsmen cleared the flag scoring blackclad. But other than that, nothing else worked - and opponent had excessively high damage rolls against Tiberion. Who died.

Also, against Titan Gladiator. Who died.

Only Cataphract Cetrati were performing well - they were passing Tough roll in such a way that it probably made the average from all of these game about right. I had not been passing those rolls earlier, but here I passed more than I failed.

But hey, with only an Agonizer I was facing five heavy warbeasts. I had pretty much given up here, and left Hexeris quite there in the open. Not exactly suicidal, but not trying to protect himself either.

Kaya cleared any free strikes that a nearby Gnarlhorn Satyr would've had to take. Then Circle filled up the Synergy chain, and Gnarlhorn Satyr launched itself against Hexeris, who only had Agonizer for transfers.

Those rolls, though.

The goat missed pretty much every attack. One attack wrecked Agonizer's spirit. Another attack Hexeris took in. Hexeris had at least seven damage boxes left after MAT 9, P+S 19 or something like that Satyr had had it's moment with him. And Kaya was withing charge range of Hexeris.

Legends of Halaak combo-smited Gnarlhorn away so it wouldn't get a free strike against Hexeris. The Legend with Naginata dealt some 10 points of damage to Kaya, which were transfered away.

Then Hexeris charges in and kills Kaya.

Just.

What.

Is.

This.

And I even placed third in the tournament.

Personally, this has to be the most absurd tournament I have ever attended when it comes to probabilities.

Or maybe this was my Skorne collection's way of saying: "Please play more with us!"

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.

JMG Warmachine tournament III

At the end of last month there was a tournament held in my home city. As I had not been able to practice much, I had decided on a familiar list structure - Deneghra3 and Infernal Machines.

This time my second list was in theme, too. Which was Infernal Machines.

My lists were:
[Theme] Infernal Machines
Deneghra, the Soul Weaver [+27]
- Corruptor [14]
- Deathripper [6]
- Inflictor [13]
- Nightmare [18]
- Nightwretch [7]
- The Withershadow Combine [9]
Necrotech [2]
Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
Soul Trapper [1]
Mechanithralls (min) [6]
- Brute Thrall (2) [4]
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls [4]
Soulhunters (max) [18]


[Theme] Infernal Machines
Master Necrotech Mortenebra [+24]
- Kraken [36]
- Seether [13]
- Stalker [8]
Darragh Wrathe [9]
Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
Ragman [4]
Soul Trapper [1]
Bile Thralls (max) [15]
Mechanithralls (max) [9]
- Brute Thrall (2) [4]

Tournament waas four rounds and used steamroller 2018 rules.

Game 1: Deneghra3

Opponent had

[Theme] Masters of War
Tyrant Xerxis [+28]
- Agonizer [6]
- Tiberion [22]
Extoller Soulward [3]
Mortitheurge Willbreaker [4]
Cataphract Cetrati (max) [18]
- Tyrant Vorkesh [0(6)]
Legends of Halaak [8]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]
Praetorian Ferox (max) [20]
Praetorian Swordsmen (max) [13]
- Praetorian Swordsman Officer & Standard [4]
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [0(6)]
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [0(6)]


First game against Skorne was probably the most exciting one this tournament had. Shame that it had such an ending.

I neither had the raw hitting power required to crack such a brick list, nor the attack volume. And not much of an attrition either. So I had to be exceedingly careful in this game - and even with time constraints I think I did pretty well. Game became a real struggle with control points, Skorne always being a point or two in lead. I got to commit Deneghra to danger and have her in action, which I'm somehow drawn into.

But I strongly dislike time limits, whether coming from clock or a set number of rounds. And in this game experience was ruined by both. It looked like I was winning with deathclock - opponent had three seconds left in clock. But then again it was seventh turn, which gave scenario victory for Skorne. I wouldn't have been happy had I won with deathclock, and I couldn't be happy that I lost to game being cut in a manner that I find artificial. But out of these two the latter was better here, as I believed I'd lose the game at least to attrition. So victory at least got to rightful hands.



Game 2: Deneghra3

Opponent had:

[Theme] Storm of the North
Horgle, the Anvil [+29]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Dire Troll Mauler [15]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Fell Caller Hero [0(5)]
Valka Curseborn, Chieftain of the North [0(6)]

Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Northkin Elder [3]
Trollkin Champions (max) [16]
- Skaldi Bonehammer [5]
- Trollkin Sorcerer (1) [3]
Trollkin Champions (max) [16]
Hearthgut Hooch Hauler [18]


I probably mentioned how I enjoy sending Deneghra3 into the middle of action?

Games like these are annoying. Fortunately they don't happen all that often, but still. I stole the victory from my very own mouth by making choices based on misunderstandings.

Game was good up until to the point where time started running short. Again it was a game of trying to grind control points, but this time the advantage was for me.

I either had the chance to try and assassinate Horgle or trying to get the few remaining points from control points 6-4. But my model count was already so low, not to mention the clock. So I launched Deneghra and some random mechanithralls upon Horgle.

I had given Puppet Master for Deneghra. Mortality missed, and obviously I forgot to use Mortality.

Second Mortality hit, but that was six focus points away from actual attacks for assassination. Also, every damn attempt at killing Dire Troll Mauler (that had around five boxes left) failed.

Then Mechanithralls charged, but didn't amount to much. Especially when I re-rolled an attack roll 5,5 that was slightly tilted next to scenario zones.

At some point after the game it came to my attention that opponent actually had three scenario points.

So I would've needed to kill Valka Curseborn and the nearly dead Dire Troll Mauler to score those remaining points.

Oh well. Lose & Learn.


Game 3: Deneghra3

I can't piece together the list involved in game three. It was against Khador and Sorscha1. I don't have any pictures of this match because the game was over before I realized.

I respect the bravery of my opponent. It takes some courage to attend a tournament without that much playing experience. Opponent didn't realize players scored scenario points in every turn after the second players' second turn. And Khadoran warjacks tend to be slow, unless list is specifically built to enhance that. It was a fast scenario victory for Cryx.


Game 4: Mortenebra

Opponent had a list something like this:

[Theme] The Bones of Orboros
Krueger the Stormlord [+27]
- Megalith [20]
- Wold Guardian [16]
- Woldwarden [14]
- Woldwarden [14]
- Woldwyrd [9]
- Woldwyrd [9]
Blackclad Stoneshaper [0(3)]
Blackclad Stoneshaper [3]
Blackclad Stoneshaper [3]
Blackclad Wayfarer [0(4)]
Blackclad Wayfarer [0(4)]
Gallows Grove [2]
Gallows Grove [2]
Sentry Stone & Mannikins [5]
Shifting Stones [3]
- Stone Keeper [2]

Last game was over nearly as fast as the previous one - this time to my demise. I really should've known better than to run Mortenebra that far up. But I thought she'd be kind of safe beyond the forest. After all there were no Tree Walkers or other kind of forest-sighted models. But a Gallows Grove was able to get line of sight to Mortenebra with a tiniest sliver of base tugging out from the forest. Then Krueger hit Mortenebra with a boosted Telekinesis, and remaining fury was spent on two telekinesis's on Megalith and Woldwarden. First Megalith trampled into the forest and managed to hit with Weight of Stone. Woldwarden trampled, too, and killed Mortenebra.

To make this loss even saltier was the fact that I had Seether nearby - had it's facing been even ten degrees in different position, it would have been able to counter charge Megalith - blocking the way for Woldwarden. Maybe then we might have had an interesting game.

None of the games in this tournament had a very satisfactory course. All of them seemed to be lacking in some very basic way that I find enjoyable in Warmachine and Hordes. But I suppose a game like this had to come. Trying again anyway at the end of this month.

JMG Warmachine Tournament

So here's my games in JMG Warmachine Tournament that was held last weekend.

It was a 75 point tournament with 1-2 list and D&C 0. I had a Mortenebra1 list with some satyxis in it, but none of the opposing lists allowed me to play it in even remotely secure way. So I'm listing only the Deneghra3 army.

[Theme] Infernal Machines
Deneghra, the Soul Weaver
- Corruptor
- Deathripper
- Inflictor
- Leviathan

2x Pistol Wraith
Necrotech
Scrap Thralls
2x Soul Trapper
Bile Thralls (max)
Mechanithralls (min) + 2x Brute Thrall
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
Soulhunters (max)

Game 1 was against Trollbloods.

I may have a mistake in this reconstruction of opposing list, but it should give a general idea what the list was about:

[Theme] Band of Heroes
Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain
- Dire Troll Mauler
- Earthborn Dire Troll
Fell Caller Hero
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Kriel Warriors (min) + Caber Thrower (1) + Standard & Piper
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) + Stone Scribe Elder
Trollkin Champions (min) + Skaldi Bonehammer
Trollkin Champions (min)
Trollkin Fennblades (min) + Officer and Drummer
Trollkin Warders (max)

So I couldn't pick Mortenebra list. And removing Tough is always nice against Trollbloods. So Deneghra3 it was bound to be.

Thanks to my Spd 9 cavalry, Madrak had to pop his feat on turn 1. Good enough. Deneghra cast Mortality on Fennblades on turn 2 and then Soulhunters walked into melee. They weren't able to do that much, especially when I didn't pay attention where unit leader was. One Soulhunter walked out of coherency, thus losing any attacks it could make.

Deneghra's feat was able to remove both warbeasts and some random trollbloods from the board. Warders with their Shield Guard messed up my game play continuously. I seemed to categorically forget that rule on them. Trolls sure took their time in chewing through Soulhunters. There was some terrible dice rolling involved, I have to admit. Staying three rounds face-to-face in melee combat against Fennblades who had their Vengeance triggered every turn, Warders and even some Champions with Guided Hand and Fell Calls was quite impressive.

But in turn they were not able to do any damage. Ambushing Mechanithralls made a dent to Fennblades, but nowhere near enough. Attrition was soon lost.

Eventually I was starting to run low on my deathclock, too, so I decided to try assassination when I had the chance.

This involved Deneghra shuffling around for what seemed like an eternity - all because I remembered Mortality cast range incorrectly. I thought it was 8" when it was 10". Opponent had accidentally put his figures so that Deneghra couldn't get a charge off against Madrak - there was no space for her base, no matter how I tried to fit a proxy. In the end Deneghra succeeded to cast Mortality on Madrak, but nothing else.

Two Bile Thralls were able to Purge Madrak. Then Leviathan walked into melee with Madrak and got a total of one attack in, with a damage boost. 13+ would have killed the warlock, but I got only 10.

Even 12 would have given a chance for Madrak to die to corrosion. Oh well. Deneghra was very dead this turn. Good game anyway.



Game 2 was against Grymkin. Both Grymkin lists were warbeast heavy, so I thought Mortenebra would struggle in every imaginable way.

Opponent had a list something like this:

[Theme] Dark Menagerie
The King of Nothing
- 2xCage Rager
- 3x Crabbit
- Rattler
- 4x Skin & Moans
4x Gremlin Swarm
Lady Karianna Rose

There were two large impassable terrains making for quite a choke-point near flag on the right. But both casters had access to ghostly, which alleviated all but problems with Line of Sight.

I did make some random damage to few of the heavy beasts - I had originally wanted to kill one Cage Rattler with ambushing Mechanithralls and Ghost Walking Soulhunters, but I didn't get as many Mechanithralls to the warbeast as I wanted, and had placed my models so that Ghost Walking Soulhunters were not able to get it within melee range.

Corruptor had taken a shot against another Cage Rattler. So when Soulhunters killed one of the Crabbits, opponent popped this arcana that nullified damage that had been done. All I managed to do with Mechanithralls was to feed Grymkin warbeasts with corpses.

Skin & Moans was able to remove Leviathan from board, and another failed to do the same against Corruptor - didn't even break one system.

Inflictor killed a Rattler and Bile Thralls managed to purge one injured Skin & Moans dead, which made opponent pop this arcana that killed quite a few bile thralls as a "thank you" for killing battlegroup member.

In the end it was a really exciting game.

I even made extra scrap thralls with Necrotech that actually were a game-changing models - they were able to contest zones and flags during my own turns.

I would have most likely lost to deathclock, had not Deneghra died first. We both had amazing number of control points, something like 8-7 or whatever.

If I would have had a little more experience against Grymkin perhaps I would have done some things differently, but still I'm quite happy how this first game versus the fairy folk turned out.



Game 3 was against Circle of Orboros.

It's difficult for me to write about this game. It stings and it pains me so much.

I was far too aggressive and made a stupid mistake of bringing Deneghra up so far that Warpwolf Stalker with Primal was able to charge one of her warjacks, that had Hunter's Mark from Lanyssa. Sure, one miss from the Warpwolf would have saved my game, but it required 9's to hit and Morvahna2 was close enough to use Scales of Fate on it.

It was somewhat intentional caster-bait sort of thing - to intimidate opponent to not knowing what to do. But yeah, obviously it was a bait gone horribly wrong when my warcaster died during second turn of the game.



Game 4 was against Cryx, and opponent had Dark Host with Asphyxious2. Asphyxious had three stalkers and an arc node. Mortenebra would have been a terrible choice here.

I made some really foolish mistakes here - forgetting to bring anyone to contest middle zone, for example, so opponent got pretty much free control points.

Anyway, two Stalkers came to wreak havoc on Bile Thralls, who in turn purged both warjacks dead. But this had cost movement for them, as well as many members of the unit. Necrotech was able to repair some of the losses, though.

I was hesitant to engage with Soulhunters, so I kept backing with them, keeping out of charge range of Bane Riders.

I did get a relatively nice feat turn with Deneghra - Mortality went on at least three units, and Corruptor was able to use his 5" AoE effectively. Ghost Walking Bile Thralls killed some stray Bane Knights and whatnot.

Ambushing Mechanithralls and Soul Hunters managed to kill three Bane Riders, so it didn't feel too bad to trigger that vengeance.

I had managed to remove enemy presence from right side of the board, but the battle was raging on the left, and I was losing there. Game was intense. I believe I would have won in the long run because I had easier time to score control points, so I didn't feel all that annoyed when opponent ran out of clock.


So three out of four games were close ones. And the one that wasn't was a completely goofed up by me, so it didn't have this "I had no chance to win against a list like that" -feeling. So it was a very nice tournament for me, despite a negative win/loss ratio.

Warmachine Tournament

There was a smallish Warmachine tournament held in Jyväskylä about a week ago. And there might be more to come, so an enormous yay for that.

My lists were:

[Theme] Infernal Machines
Deneghra, the Soul Weaver [+27]
- Corruptor [16]
- Deathripper [6]
- Inflictor [13]
- Leviathan [16]
Necrotech [2]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [5]
2x Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
2x Soul Trapper [1]
Bile Thralls (min) [9]
Mechanithralls (max) [9]
- Brute Thrall (1) [2]
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls [4]
Soulhunters (max) [18]

No theme
Lord Exhumator Scaverous
- 2x Deathripper
- Nightmare [18]
- Stalker [8]
- The Withershadow Combine [9]
Aiakos, Scourge of the Meredius [4]
- Reaper [13]
Machine Wraith [2]
Necrotech [2]
Satyxis Raider Captain [4]
2x Soul Trapper [1]
Warwitch Siren [4]
Bane Warriors (min) [10]
- Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [5]
Bile Thralls (min) [9]

Game 1:

First game was against Skorne.

I chose Deneghra who had to face:

[Theme] Imperial Warhost
Makeda & the Exalted Court
- Agonizer [0(6)]
- Basilisk Krea [0(7)]
- Cyclops Brute [8]
- Molik Karn [19]
- Titan Cannoneer [17]
- Titan Sentry [15]
Eilish Garrity, the Occultist [5]
Mortitheurge Willbreaker [4]
Tyrant Zaadesh [4]
- Titan Gladiator [15]
2x Paingiver Beast Handlers (min)
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew [2]

Scenario was Spread the Net. Opponent kept a keen eye on ambushing Mechanithralls, so they didn't get to do much. I played, true to my ill-advised style, rather aggressively with Deneghra, starting to score points with her from flag on my side.

Opponent forgot to bring anyone to contest the rectangular zone, so scenario game opened with 3 for Skorne and 2 for Cryx. To make it even, for some reason I forgot to activate Inflictor and Deathripper along with one Pistol Wraith. You know, the incorporeal solo. Against army that had close to zero magical attacks. Contesting the circular zone with no retaliation was a real possibility.

I tried to shoot Titan Sentry off the board, and, well. Sounds a little absurd, yes. But I did get Mortality on it (no healing) and nail it stationary with Pistol Wraith and break Spirit.

I tried rinse & repeat approach, again casting Mortality on Sentry and making it stationary, but this time there was quite a bit more planning to do, as opponent had more shield guards now. But mortified & stationary it was, but somehow I got fixated over killing the beast. It wasn't until some post-game talk where I realized it would have been more advantageous for me to leave it to block charge lanes from such inconsequential models as Molik Karn.

I got scenario to 3-4 for Cryx, and having used Deneghra's feat. Something moronic happened there. I wanted to give some trouble for opponent by casting Grave Wind on Leviathan that charged mid-field to kill one of the Exalted Guards - my idea here was to prolong Cryxian presence on the circular zone for contesting purposes.

Then Deneghra also made a spray just for giggles against nearby Swamp Gobbers. Well, there was this that I was afraid they'd run to contest my flag. Deneghra boosted both attack rolls and killed only one Gobber before repositioning herself back to flag, having two focus for damage mitigation.

So, what could have been a def 17, poltergeist, arm 16 target with four focus points for Molik Karn was def 15 and two focus points.

Yup, Mk3 Molik Karn still comes from far, far away.

To ease my pain somewhat, first two attacks Karn made would have hit Deneghra even if she would've had Grave Wind. But it was the third attack that killed her, and attack roll was eight.

Game 2:

Second game is against Legion of Everblight and I picked Deneghra list again.

Opponent has something like this:

[Theme] Primal Terrors
Vayl, Consul of Everblight [+28]
- 2x Carnivean [19]
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower [11]
- Seraph [14]
Warmonger War Chief [0(6)]
2x Blighted Ogrun Warspears (max) [15]
- Warspear Chieftan [5]
Hellmouth [0(6)]

I might be mistaken and I believe opponent forgot to deploy War Chief. Opponent started game and I did get to make acquaintances with these Hellmouth shenanigans, when Icy Grip is cast on Bile Thralls on the first turn.

Ambushing Mechanithralls got a nice charge against one of the Warspear units. I would've wanted Mechanithralls on different side of the table, but situation was too good to pass.

I forget opponent took the magical weapon granting objective, so I lost both Pistol Wraiths early in the game.

I was slowly whittling away Ogruns and even managed to shoot Nephilim Bolt Thrower off the board. But opponent had the big beasts very much alive, and gained the upper hand in scenario game. Annoying piece of terrain made Hellmouth way too survivable and the game came into point that I just didn't know what to do.

I kept Orin Midwinter hugging Deneghra at all times.

I guess it was a sort of game-opener when Hellmouth popped a tentacle behind Orin Midwinter, hit, and dealt only three points of damage. Opponent had already (at least mentally) committed to assassinate Deneghra. I had given a fair opportunity for that, as Deneghra had taken a free strike from Hellmouth tentacle earlier that dealt ten points of damage.

Anyway, Vayl cast Icy Grip on Deneghra three times, burning away Power Tokens from Orin Midwinter. Last Icy Grip resulted in a miss, so Vayl had no transfers.

Carnivean charged Deneghra. It needed 11+ to hit, so it boosted every attack roll. Twice it rolled 10, one of which was the charge attack.

I don't clearly remember what happened with last attack. I have vague memories that Deneghra had three damage boxes or something. Anyway, Deathripper ran close enough Vayl that Scourge wouldn't deviate off. The spell missed, but at least Legion warlock was knocked down. Then Denegra cast Ghost Walk on herself and charged Vayl, killing her.

I was a bit lucky at critical stages during this match. And I can't congratulate me for choosing the tactic "let's place my warcaster in dire spot and let's see what we can do if she survives." But it was Vayl2, so I suppose I'll gladly take any victories over her that I only can.

Game 3:

Last game was against Circle of Orboros. I picked Scaverous, as I wanted to play with both lists at least once.

I think I got this list wrong, but generally it was:

[Theme] The Wild Hunt
Morvahna the Dawnshadow [+27]
- Gorax Rager [7]
- Pureblood Warpwolf [17]
- Warpwolf Stalker [19]
2x Gallows Grove [2]
2x Shifting Stones [3]
- Stone Keeper [2]
2x Warpborn Skinwalkers (max) [15]
- Warpborn Skinwalker Alpha [0(4)]
Wolves of Orboros (max) [11]
- Wolves of Orboros Chieftain & Standard [4]

This last game was, uh, kind of disappointing. I felt cheesy and like I was abusing something. I guess this is the apologetic Finnish mentality. Though really game was more about opponent having never played against Scaverous.

Anyway. As opponent didn't have excessively high model count, there was not all that much screen for Morvahna.

Morvahna was far enough that I had to bring a Deathripper within melee range of a Skinwalker. I thought Stalker would be able to kill him, but no. It took three Bile Thrall purges to get through the last three damage points or so. Sadly my Deathripper was inside all of the three sprays - but to my advantage, four damage boxes that were left after the automatically hitting purges had Arc Node and Movement.

Then Scaverous could activate and used Telekinesis to move three or so Skinwalkers out of Morvahna's way. Telekinesis also turned Morvahna around, and after that Scaverous was even able to cast Icy Grip on her.

Aiakos had upkept Escort, so Reaper could advance 8" to shoot harpoon at Morvahna. Reaper had Puppet Master from Tremulus, but didn't need to use it. All the rolls were adequate enough.

Morvahna had five transfers I think, four for sure at least. But also on top of Reaper I could charge with a couple of Bane Thralls as well as the Nightmare. Too many attacks, so she suffered an assassination on the second turn of game.

So two wins and one loss. And a sad notion how pretty much every list in the tournament were theme lists. On a more positive note, death clock didn't dictate the outcome of any of my games even if I hadn't really practiced with either of these lists. Though I have used Deneghra3 in Infernal Machines before, so there's that.

But just like it was after the tournament at Ropecon, there was this slight spark of enthusiasm from a few years ago when I went into tournaments a little more frequently. So I went to two tournaments this year. Let's make it at least three next year.