A quick note (Pillars)

A game of Pillars of the Earth with three players.

Scoreboard 54/46/37.

Trial By Toadification

First time in a great while I got to play a game of Talisman.

Sure, it was two players only, but still this is a rare, exhausting and mind-numbing 'treat.'

We used Lands of Wonder revealed ending, Cataclysm board with Harbinger. Grim Reaper and Werewolf were there too, as well as Woodlands and Dungeon extra boards. Day and night. Prophecy was Stars Align.

Initial characters were Warlord and Leprechaun.

Warlord (me) had astonishing start with +2 Strength points on second turn from those long lost relic cards. But that was the extent of my luck. Warlord had a streak of terrible luck and somehow managed to die. I got Gladiator next. Amusing, as both characters were Follower-abusers. I had the questionable honor of turning into a toad twice during the same game. First was Rain of Toads from Harbinger deck - Gladiator rolled a five. Leprechaun a six. Ribbit, ribbit. Leprechaun was in same region and rolleda six for move. Well, at least he was on maximum carrying capacity, and I had had two cursed objects around, so I didn't lose everything. Leprechaun also left Verdant Talisman for me (he wasn't in short supply on Talismans...)

Second time Gladiator was fateless and encountered Puck. Ribbir, ribbit. Leprechaun in same region rolls a six for move, robbing Gladiator again.

Still Gladiator managed to get to twelve Strength points as well as the Immortal destiny. If Gladiator wouldn't have continuously losing turn to toadification and whatnot, game would have been far closer, as Gladiator wasn't able to get the wonders for victory condition with Strength & Craft 1.

Gladiator took a run when game was nearing end - only option was to try to kill Lord of Darkness by eight or more. Four turns in a row Gladiator rolled a six for move. Nice try, but as the game ended immediately when someone reached the Crown of Command, he just wasn't quick enough.

Bane Rivalry

So a while ago I played these two 50 point games of Warmachine.

My lists were:

Game 1:

Goreshade the Bastard
- Corruptor
- Reaper
- Seether
- Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan
Bile Thralls (min)
Soulhunters (min)
Black Ogrun Boarding Party (min)
Machine Wraith
Necrotech

Game 2:

Lich Lord Venethrax
- Nightmare
- Malice
- Slayer
- Desecrator
- Ripjaw
2x Warwitch Siren
Necrotech
Machine Wraith

Opponent played this list in both games:

Bane Witch Agathia
- 2x Deathripper
- 2x Slayer

Bane Warriors (max)

Scenario was The Pit in both games.

There were some striking similarities on how the games played out.

In the first game Goreshade and Agathia had to settle it which one was more professional Bane Manager. Both players started scoring points from the flags until Goreshade seized the zone, getting my Cryx to four control points. I would win if I managed to dominate or control the zone or dominate my flag, so opponent decided to attempt an assassination. Vanish is quite a sneaky spell when it comes to that.

Charge attack missed as far as memory serves. Rest of the attacks did mediocre results. It was pretty much game over for Agathia when she left Goreshade at four or something hit boxes remaining with Deathwalker still alive. Deathwalker would have died and Goreshade would have been at one hit box, a Satyxis Blood Witch with that auto-hitting POW 6-7 would have been first legendary caster kill for my Mk3. But not this time. Victory for Goreshade.

Second game I switched to Venehthrax with heavy battlegroup emphasis. Again Agathia seized her flag, but I chose a most greedy route. I tried to conquer whole zone in the middle turn after turn.

It was a huge risk which could have paid off. I had some unlucky dice with Nightmare, when it couldn't wreck it's prey target (who, admittedly, had Hellwrought on) Malice and my Slayer wrecked second Slayer from opponent (I had had to suffer a feated, unlucky alpha strike that didn't destroy even one helljack from me. However, situation looks far better for me than it actually was - Desecrator and Malice were almost smoldering wrecks already, and Nightmare had lost at least one arm. Only Slayer was fully functional.)

So I ran out of attacks to clear the zone, all the while I had not really bothered to contest enemy flag. This was Venethrax' downfall.

Well, I would have needed to try some other kind of approach anyway, because if we consider model count, me getting random models to contest enemy flag was far more difficult than Agathia bringing models to contest mine.

One victory and one loss, good enough I guess.

Exhuming the Truth

Quite a while ago I played this 75 point game of Warmachine.

Lord Exhumator Scaverous
- Malice
- Slayer
- Corruptor
- Deathripper
Bile Thralls (min)
The Withershadow Combine
Mechanithralls (max) + Scarlock Commander

Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
Darragh Wrathe
Machine Wraith
Necrotech
Warwitch Siren
Ragman

Opponent had:

Malekus, the Burning Truth
- 2x Reckoner
- Vanquisher
- Revenger
Choir of Menoth (max)
Flame Bringers (max)
Holy Zealots (max) & Monolith Bearer
Wrack
Vassal of Menoth
Hierophant

Scenario was Entrenched and Cryx started.

I opened up the game by dragging a Reckoner to Malice and then possessing it with Machine Wraith. Reckoner moved to take a shot at a choir boy. And then Corruptor and Warwitch Siren wrecked the Protectorate heavy warjack.

Malekus used his feat next. Opponent didn't want to waste any potential damage by committing to terrible overkill. Corruptor got wrecked easily enough, but knocked down Malice somehow survived with at least cortex still functional. Sure, Malice had Death Ward, but it had to make it through a couple of Reckoner shots and automatically hitting bombs from Holy Zealots.

Malekus had only one focus for damage mitigation. Malice shook itself up. Necrotech repaired it. Maelovus cast Telekinesis on Malice and Tremulus gave Puppet Master.

Scaverous activated and used his feat. He cast Telekinesis on some enemy models to move them out of way of Malice. He also cast Feast of Worms and managed to land it on a proper area where I thought it might be possible to drag Malekus. Ragman put up Death Field. Malice dragged Malekus with harpoon gun and punched the warcaster very dead. I would have had some Bile Thralls to make sure even rude dice wouldn't ruin my perfectly executed assassination - but no purge was needed.

Hellbringer vs Wrath of Ages

My list:

Asphyxious the Hellbringer & Vociferon
- Kraken
- Corruptor
- Deathripper

Maximum unit of Bane Warriors
Maximum unit of Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges
Pistol Wraith
Ogrun Bokur
Necrotech

Opponent had:

Reznik, Wrath of Ages
- 2x Reckoner
- Crusader
- Redeemer
- Devout

Maximum unit of Choir of Menoth
Maximum unit of Idrian Skirmishers + Command Attachment

Rhoven & Bodyguard
Vassal Mechanic
Wracks
+5 points of something I can't remember or find from the pictures.

Scenario was Outlast and Cryx started.

It's been almost two weeks since this game was played. So the story is going to be rather short.

Protectorate heavy warjacks took advantage of walls so that Kraken would not be able to get to them. I tried to abuse the terrain the same way and place Kraken so that heavy bases would not fit to charge the colossal, or at least not all of them. I also had a plan to get rid of whole choir, or perhaps with only one choir member remaining, so I was confident Kraken would be able to take the heavies.

However, Cassian or Gius took the Kraken's AoE shot with Shield Guard, which didn't ruin the day all by itself. Of course d3+1 shots from the throat gun rolled only two shots. Corruptor came to shoot it's own AoE to a choir member, but all in all two grunts stayed alive, which was a worrisome prospect for the survival of my colossal.

Turned out I could have pretty much have missed all of my shots against the choir unit - Reckoner missed it's shot against Kraken and then Crusader with Boundless Charge missed most of it's attacks against Kraken and whenever it landed a hit, damage was negligible.

Then opponent had left Reznik with only one focus point. All enemy heavies had been placed so that Kraken would be able to just walk to enemy warcaster.

So that's what I attempted to do.

Asphyxious charged some Idrian and cast Mobility with Blood Boon. Then he spent the rest of his focus point buying attacks against Reckoner, which was later finalized by Corruptor. Crusader was the only enemy jack that would be able to take a free strike, which missed.

Three attacks out of five hit, but rolled damage so poorly that Reznik would have been able to take in three additional attack, at least with that "good" damage rolls.

Asphyxious was dead in less than three figurative seconds.

Last Smallworld of 2016, I suppose

Over a week ago I was visiting some friends in another town.

I brought Smallworld with me and we played a four player game.

All the extra races were used, including Royal Bonus and Spider's Web.


Scoreboard:

Diplomat Orcs/Historian Skags/Catapult Ice Witches: 81

Underworld Slingmen/Seafaring Pixies/Fireball Igors: 81

Dragonmaster Homunculi/Ransacking Leprechauns/Fortified Elves: 90

Alchemist Skeletons/Lava Humans: 92

Journeyman no more

Last two games of my Journeyman League participation. League ended quite a while ago, and first game dates almost a whole month back.

Since both games were with and against the same list, I'll slap both games here though there was at least a week between the two.

My list had evolved into:

Morvahna the Dawnshadow
- Wold Guardian
- Gnarlhorn Satyr
- Winter Argus
- Gorax Rager

Shifting Stones
Maximum unit of Tharn Ravagers + Chieftain
Druids of Orboros + Overseer
Tharn Ravager Shaman
Maximus
Druid Wilder
Gallows Grove

Objective: Bunker

Both games were Recon scenarios.

Both games were against Convergence of Cyriss:

Forge Master Syntherion
- Prime Axiom
- Cipher
- Monitor
- Galvanizer
- Diffuser
- Corollary

Optifex Directive
Attunement Servitors
Elimination Servitors
2x Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex

Both games had some similarities in how they played out.

First game I rushed to the flag on right, trying to drown opponent in meat, trusting that opponent wouldn't have enough attacks to get rid of everything.

Ravagers were pretty much struggling to destroy even one light vector, but at least they were passing their Tough rolls well enough.

Morvahna had relatively easy time to score points, when opponent got only servitors from Axiom to contest the flag. At one critical point opponent forgot about it, though, and that probably was what tipped tough game in my favor.

In the end where was Cipher contesting the flag when Circle had four control points. Wold Guardian had only Body branch still functional. Most Ravagers were facing completely wrong way. Looked like Morvahna would have to wreck the heavy vector and get back to flag with Reposition. Morvahna was quite injured, so she didn't have that much life left for various boosts and/or re-rolls. But she succeeded.

Game 2:

Second game I took a huge risk by running Morvahna to flag on the right on turn two or something. She did have seven transfers, though.

I wonder how different the game would have played if I had not charged Syntherion with Morvahna when he came a little too close.

And heck, Syntherion is a tough one to assassinate. Morvahna was uninjured and had seven fury points. And last possible attack with only one hit box remaining on Morvahna finally killed the clockwork warcaster.

How much hut would a Hutchuck chuck if a (oh come on, I'm not going there...)

Well, it must be something like three weeks or so since these games were played.

It was a caster swap week in Journeyman League, and I took Morvahna2 in.

My list was:

Morvahna the Dawnshadow
- Gnarlhorn Satyr
- Winter Argus
- Gorax Rager

Maximum unit of Tharn Ravagers + Chieftain
Druids of Orboros + Overseer
Shifting Stones
Hutchuck, Ogrun Bounty Hunter
Blackclad Wayfarer

Objective: Bunker I think... not sure any more.

Scenario in both games was Extraction.

First game was against Cryx with:

Lich Lord Venethrax
- 2x Slayer
- Reaper
- Harrower
- Deathripper

Maximum unit of Mechanithralls
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
Skarlock
Necrotech
Soul Trapper

I opened the game by bringing Hutchuck to the table and lobbing knockdown grenade on a Slayer. Then Blackclad Wayfarer had easy time landing in Hunter's Mark. Ravagers charged in, but did overall very little.

I was wondering if I would be able to start some sort of scenario play, but I was not able to bring in enough meat to block Cryxian advances. Yet again - my initial battlegroup was not very optimal for wrecking even Arm 17 targets. Not that I actually got my battlegroup into action, but that's beyond the point... I was afraid. That's the point.

Well, I nibbled at the helljacks what I could, but attrition started to look like I had already lost.

But then opponent makes a blooper by activating with Venethrax, and bringing him to a certain position. Then Reaper advanced and got counter-slammed over Venethrax.

He had not activated all of his models yet, so promptly everything that could came to block Gnarlhorn's charge lane to Venethrax. If it hadn't been for a couple of Druids and their new and de-proved Wind Bolts, Gnarlhorn would most likely have been denied it's charge.

Considering Gnarlhorn's track record at failing in absurd situations, I wasn't expecting a caster kill. But that may have been a karma of Mk2, for this time around the Primaled satyr killed enemy warcaster. Yay.

Second game was against Convergence with:
(There's quite a bit of guesswork here, since I don't have Reconstruct on opponent's army list. )

Forge Master Syntherion
- Modulator
- Cipher
- Monitor
- Corollary
- Diffuser
- Galvanizer

Optifex Directive
2x Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex
2x Elimination Servitors
Attunement Servitors

I started pretty much the same as I did last game - Hutchuck enters field and knocks stuff down, which Ravagers then charge aided by Hunter's Mark.

This time it was even worse of a move than it was last time - after all, a couple of Ravagers aren't going to wreck heavies and Syntherion has this auto-repair thingy going on for him.

However, scenario game started to look a lot more promising. Opponent didn't have that many attacks to remove so many medium base models (and the smaller ones also, of course) so I started to snatch a control point here and there. But somehow a vector always managed to sneak close to contest things when they shouldn't have.

Came the time when all Ravagers were dead (twice) and I had completely lost the western front. I did have three scenario points I think.

At least I vaguely remember counting that if I somehow destroy enemy objective and the contesting Cipher on the same turn, I would win.

It wasn't lack of effort that kept the Cipher in game. My damage rolls all over the board were terrible, and I would have needed a little bit above average ones to actually stand any kind of a chance. But no. It took almost all of Morvahna's Fury to destroy Cipher, and then there was this Corollary that a Druid had missed with a Wind Bolt. There it was, still contesting.

Morvahna died to her own re-rolls in vain attempt to remove Corollary.