Battle Report #99: Haley3 vs Zaal2

:: Prologue ::

The last game yesterday was against Skorne and yet another caster I've never faced before: Zaal2! My opponent had to proxy a fair bit but I didn't mind (how can I, given how I always proxy with Haley2 to get Lynus + Edrea?). I usually don't mind in friendlies because the collections you have to own in this game to test everything are just huge. So anyway, I dropped Haley3 mostly because I wanted to practice with her. Against Skorne without Fist I believe I'll usually drop Haley2, but needing practice trumps that in my current position.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Prime Victoria Haley - WJ: +3
- Squire
- Charger - PC: 4
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Haley Future - PC: 0
Haley Past - PC: 0
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord - PC: 2
Captain Maxwell Finn - PC: 3
Ragman - PC: 2
Storm Lances - Leader & 4 Grunts: 11
Trencher Infantry - Leader & 5 Grunts: 6
Horgenhold Forge Guard - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Captain Jonas Murdoch - Murdoch 2
Tempest Blazers - Leader & 4 Grunts: 10

Opponent:

Zaal, the Ancestral Advocate - WB: +6
- Basilisk Krea - PC: 4
- Cyclops Shaman - PC: 5
- Titan Gladiator - PC: 8
Hakaar the Destroyer - PC: 4
Ancestral Guardian - PC: 3
Ancestral Guardian - PC: 3
Immortals - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Extoller Advocate - PC: 0
Immortals - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Extoller Advocate <! OVER FIELD ALLOWANCE !> - PC: 2
Immortals - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 3
THEME: Exalted Legions - Tier 4

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Recon again with the same map to save some time in setting things up. I went second yet again, which is fine as Haley3 needs to practice not getting a dominating position with a cloudwall far up the table in every game I play. I put Blazers on what I expected to be my possible weak flank to ensure he couldn't wrap around, Storm Lances on the other and the rest in-between.

:: Game :: 

Skorne spread out.

I put things in place, summon Past + Future and cast Temporal Flux as well as the mandatory Tac Supremacy on Trenchers. Forge Guard run up so as to ensure they have clear lanes for my next turn.

Zaal wants to get down and dirty so he jams me across the table and feats. Interesting!

So, I have a ton of ARM22 models in my face with magical weapons and reach, with the solos behind gathering souls. I figured I'll do my best to un-jam Trenchers so as to continue keeping up the cloudwall. In a moment of brainfart I forgot about Ghost Walk so I struggled getting the Forge Guard where I wanted them because of free strikes but I still got pretty decent coverage. Ragman had of course used Death Field and with Arcane Shield up on the Forge Guard, who ensured B2B across the board, I reckoned I could hit him really hard and probably survive the ensuing counter-attack. The anti-jam worked well and I got the cloudwall up effectively.

The counter-charge is real! I lose ~10 models but it's all spread out with a Blazer here, Storm Lance there, a couple of Forge Guard etc. The main thing is that overall he couldn't really significantly hurt me because of the strategical depth of my position (i.e. it was impossible for him to get far enough into my lines to take out all models from one unit), a key concept with Haley3. Temporal Flux does a lot of work for me, but Hakaar's MAT9 (!) does help him out. The souls also enable him to put a lot of work in.

This is quite obviously a feat turn and I revive a couple of models, Past really gets some good numbers in on Hakaar (many thanks to Death Field) to take him out and when the turn is over I am significantly ahead on attrition. I ensure that Prime is blocked in if he wants to go for some fancy Mage Sight runs.

I forgot a Skorne picture here but the next 2 turns were spent with him trying to use the heavy beast to get back on attrition but without reach there's just not enough it can do. In return I kill it with Past + Death Field + Forge Guard and consolidate my position with a focus on protecting Prime again.

Despite the DEF21 + physically blocked Prime, Zaal goes for it as he's out of options pretty much. He has a ton of fury (11 or 12 I believe it was) because of things basically dying all over the place so it's a few casts of Sunder Spirits. Alas, even killing the one in-between isn't enough as 14+ to hit is just too much. Haley lives and my opponent concedes.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Yet another new caster, good stuff. Zaal2 is unique in the sense that he presents a brick wall with some serious punch both in the wall itself (Transference + Vengeance really help out here) but, perhaps more importantly, also behind it. Those solos hurt a lot and with souls they are just downright scary. Defensive Strike is also a pain to deal with when every model counts.

I think Zaal's feat was spent a little too soon as he couldn't capitalize on the jam properly: I was able to remove the jam and not receive significant damage in return. My feat turn basically crippled his ability to fight, but if he had removed a larger amount of Forge Guard and Lances for example in the turn before it might not have. That said, I don't know how he should've played it differently.

Haley3 into Skorne is interesting, but I think it largely boils down to how good their anti-cloud lists are. They have the tech and the question is how often they bring it and what lists they bring it with. Without said tech I believe she's up almost regardless of what she's facing, with it however I'm not sure. Depends I suppose.

I find that I'm learning to play Haley3 quite well. I manage to move and attack quickly enough to not lose on the clock in a game of attrition such as this (which really is an issue with her). I also manage to place the various models so that it's very hard for an opponent to launch a crippling strike, enabling all kinds of shenanigans in return. Next time I'll try and remember Ghost Walk as well, which really is a fantastic spell. 

Battle Report #98: Haley2 vs Butcher1

:: Prologue ::

The second game yesterday was against a caster I've never met before (when it comes to Khador, there are lot of them unfortunately): Butcher1! He brought a Tier list that is supposedly hard as nails. Interesting!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +5
- Squire
- Stormwall - PC: 19
- Lightning Pod
- Thorn - PC: 8
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution - PC: 3
Gastone Crosse - PC: 3
Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile - PC: 2
Lynus Wesselbaum & Edrea Lloryrr - Lynus & Edrea: 3
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4
Tactical Arcanist Corps - Leader & 2 Grunts: 4
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Lynch, Ryan & Watts: 4

Opponent:

Orsus Zoktavir, The Butcher of Khardov - WJ: +6
- War Dog
- Devastator - PC: 9
- Devastator - PC: 9
Iron Fang Kovnik - PC: 2
Iron Fang Kovnik - PC: 2
Great Bears of Gallowswood - Volkov, Kolsk, Yarovich: 5
Iron Fang Pikemen - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Black Dragon Officer & Standard - PC: 0
Iron Fang Pikemen - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Black Dragon Officer & Standard - PC: 2
Iron Fang Pikemen - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Black Dragon Officer & Standard - PC: 2
THEME: Claws of the Dragon - Tier 4

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Recon again, I went second again. Before this game started I alerted my opponent to how hard Domination counters Devastators. Definitely worth knowing! So he deploys his 3 units spread out, in part blocked by terrain, and I skew to the flank where he's weakest. He advance moves up and we are good to go!

:: Game ::

The Pikemen all spread out. No mini-feats.

I kiss the left unit and start blasting them apart. I use Mage Storm and Covering Fire to keep him from advancing on that side. I see in hindsight that I should've pushed the covering fires further up.

The center-most and left units mini-feat and go in Shield Wall.

I feat, cast Domination on a Devastator and kill it with Stormwall. I shoot up whatever's closest to me. Thorn moves up to the flag with Eiryss going wide.

Stormwall is somewhat jammed. The right-most unit mini-feats.

I realize I feated too early (more on this later) and I struggle to both ensure that I can keep Butcher off of a scenario game -and- keep the Stormwall safe. The solution is one I'm not very happy about and I could most likely have done better here: Thorn moves over to the devastator and disrupts him, Stormwall backs out and loses ~10-15 boxes on free strikes, I put down Covering Fire and Ryan Mage Storms to block off the middle and give me some space. The problem is that I don't use this space as a safe haven for my mercs and several of them are exposed on the North side. At least I grab the flag for a point.

Thorn predictably dies for his troubles from Fury Great Bears. I lose Edrea and Holt up North and Ryan dies.

So luckily I have an opening for attrition, still. In killing Ryan the Pikemen didn't go in Shield Wall, which means their ARM is crap. I cast Temporal on Stormwall and give it 4 focus. The mercs clear up most of the threats near Haley (including TAC fire-bombing Great Bears) and I TK the Devastator around. Gastone + Dougal + B13th start working on the Pikemen on the hill and kill a couple. Stormwall activates and moves down to the edge of zone where Butcher can't reach him. He then rips loose with all his shots + pod and when the dust settles there are hardly any Pikemen left alive.

With such a firm grip on the attrition game Butcher has to make a crazy play and the plan is to kill Haley. I forgot about the Devastator's auto-hit thingy, in which case I would've carefully measured the range (as scenario points at this point in time is irrelevant given my play for attrition with the Stormwall). So Butcher feats and misses Haley with Obliteration (DEF18 from concealment) and Devastator moves up. I'm camping 0 so I'm looking at 4d6 minus 5, meaning he'll need 20+ to kill me. He fails.

I move Haley up, TK Butcher around, shoot him with what I have and Stormwall kills him in melee. 

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Interesting game and one I nearly fucked up by giving away Thorn unnecessarily. I think the matchup is largely in Haley's favour because of how hard covering fire + mage storm counters a solid push. Furthermore, Shield Wall and Iron Zeal only work together, I don't care much about only one of them because of Kiss combined with my shooting which is typically POW12 and/or boostable.

The opening was really strong and I had all my models in the right positions. Thorn far up aggressively, Stormwall anchoring my weak flank and all shooters in range of relevant targets with Eiryss wrapping around to threaten Butcher mid-game. The problem was that I feated T2. I should've let the juicy Devastators be alone and kept shooting him up: With the middle unit having spent Iron Zeal I could've blocked them out. What I did was feat and move up Stormwall to take out a devastator. What I should've done was to toe the zone with Stormwall, covering fires on either side, lightning pod in front of my objective for mage storm and time bomb on the devastators + Pikemen near the flag (to allow Thorn to stay safely near the woods). See this picture for details (red circles are covering fire positions, blue circle is mage storm):

By doing this I would've held my feat until he'd either be committed -or- I could've made a decisive play on scenario or attrition. I could definitely have solved the position I found myself in better as well, which largely boils down to "don't surrender Thorn". Disrupting the Devastator is irrelevant when I could just as well have Dominated it and moved it away.

Anyway a win is a win and I'm happy with the opening and how I managed to find an attrition opening after making a big mistake. Had I seen the Devastator assassination move as well this would've been a perfect comeback!

Battle Report #97: Haley2 vs Butcher3

:: Prologue ::

Khador is a faction I rarely get to play against, unfortunately. Yesterday I had 2 games lined up. First up was a classic matchup between Haley2 and Butcher3. Game on!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +5
- Squire
- Stormwall - PC: 19
- Lightning Pod
- Thorn - PC: 8
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution - PC: 3
Gastone Crosse - PC: 3
Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile - PC: 2
Lynus Wesselbaum & Edrea Lloryrr - Lynus & Edrea: 3
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4
Tactical Arcanist Corps - Leader & 2 Grunts: 4
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Lynch, Ryan & Watts: 4

Opponent:

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed - WJ: +4
- War Argus
- War Dog
- Ruin - PC: 10
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor - PC: 2
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire - PC: 4
Ogrun Bokur - PC: 3
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution - PC: 3
Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan - PC: 2
Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters - Cylena & 9 Grunts: 10
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. - Boomhowler and 9 Grunts: 9
Tactical Arcanist Corps - Leader & 2 Grunts: 4
- Koldun Kapitan Valachev - Valachev 2
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

We were playing Recon and Khador went first. I deployed my somewhat fragile troops opposite Boomies as Nyss were on the other flank and I didn't want them CRA-ing my solos to death. The idea was to take down Boomies, keep Thorn and Stormwall + Eiryss offensive enough to keep Butcher wary of his otherwise aggressive nature and take apart his elements first. I intended to hold my feat and play for attrition, without killbox and fairly little chance of a scenario game for anyone (given Khador deploying Butcher in the middle) I could afford to keep back and let my ranged supremacy take effect.

:: Game ::

Khador moves up with Nyss on the flank and Boomies centrally. Butcher and the rest take up positions behind a wall. His TAC are fairly far behind.

I temporal the Stormwall and start shooting Boomies. I only get 1 as the tough rolls of 4+ are all over the place. I got too eager and spent the Metal Storms as well, which should have put down covering fires because I had a building on my right side and the objective on my left flank. Eiryss guesstimates 12" to the nearest Nyss, gets it right and kills one. Gastone casts Moving Shadows. Thorn goes up a bit, I figure only a couple of nyss can reach him and with elevation + deceleration I don't fear them at all.

The lack of Covering Fire means Boomies can jam and this they do. One model runs B2B with the Stormwall and highlights my mistake from the previous turn. The rest move up as well, Ruin quite aggressively and Butcher behind Effigy with all the camp in the world.

Effigy usually isn't a problem for Haley unless you have high natural DEF. Butcher3 surely does not. While I dislike going for assassination runs, this was a fairly safe one. I put 3 focus on Stormwall, 1 on Thorn and 5 on Haley. She gets Collaboration from Lynus. Thorn runs up to within 8" of Butcher. Haley casts TK but it misses despite Collaboration and Squire. I have 3 focus left so I try again and this time it works. Phew! Dougal mini-feats and Eiryss shoots Butcher in the back to remove his camp, Aiyana + Holt move up and when B13th and Gastone have done their job as well the aggressive Butcher is dead before my Stormwall has even activated.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

One of the reasons I am comfortable playing Haley against a lot of things is that she has an ever-present assassination run that reaches quite far. It forces an opponent to play conservatively, pretty much regardless of what the caster wants to do. This game highlights really well just how powerful that threat is. Killing Butcher without even using the Stormwall speaks volumes as to what this list can accomplish in terms of sheer damage output. 

I think Khador's problem in this game was that Butcher didn't have a clear plan as to how he should approach the game. Assassination is always out of the game unless Cygnar screw up majorly so that leaves him with scenario or attrition. Deploying Butcher centrally isn't necessarily disastrous for scenario purposes since he often runs regardless, but if scenario is the goal then he has to capitalize on the weak flank on the left in the early turns, preserve Boomies and make sure he can jam my right flag. I'm not sure it's a winning play anyhow. Let's consider attrition then. To attrition successfully here, Butcher needs to do some work. To do that, he needs Nyss to pressure me and TAC to cloud him up. With Valachev and Zephyr they can get those clouds scarily far up. The Nyss were neutralized in large parts due to their deployment (which I realize is largely because Ruin is such a pain to deploy around): Since he put them down first I could counter them easily (which I did). It should also be noted that B13th with Prowl in TAC smoke is a really hard counter to Nyss. 

My own plan, had Butcher played it slower, would be to just continue pounding on Boomies and Nyss. When those units are reduced his ability to jam and threaten me basically boils down to Butcher and Ruin, both of which are controlled by Time Bomb (on a pod, if need be due to Orgoth Zeal). I was set up pretty well for this and even if Butcher had been more conservative T2 I could've held my feat until T3 at the very least. 

Battle Report #96: Haley3 vs Mordikaar

:: Prologue ::

After the first game I decided to try some changes. Stormblades just do not seem to work for me. I've also been given multiple reasons to try Blazers again and lastly I feel that the Lancer just isn't worth the 6-point investment. This made for some list changes that ended up adding up very nicely and I was thrilled with the result. My opponent changed his list significantly as well as he's currently playtesting lots of different stuff. Next up then: Mordikaar!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Prime Victoria Haley - WJ: +3
- Squire
- Charger - PC: 4
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Haley Future - PC: 0
Haley Past - PC: 0
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord - PC: 2
Captain Maxwell Finn - PC: 3
Ragman - PC: 2
Storm Lances - Leader & 4 Grunts: 11
Trencher Infantry - Leader & 5 Grunts: 6
Horgenhold Forge Guard - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Captain Jonas Murdoch - Murdoch 2
Tempest Blazers - Leader & 4 Grunts: 10

Opponent:

Void Seer Mordikaar - WB: +5
- Aradus Sentinel - PC: 8
- Aradus Sentinel - PC: 8
- Cyclops Raider - PC: 5
- Basilisk Drake - PC: 4
Agonizer - PC: 2
Extoller Soulward - PC: 2
Mortitheurge Willbreaker - PC: 2
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 6
Nihilators - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
Praetorian Keltarii - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

I won't lie to you. When I saw the Sentinels, I was like "wtf?". How are they worth 8 points? SPD3 and no particularly strong abilities in combat? Ok. We'll see what this is about. We were playing the same scenario + map again and I took T1. Again. Deployment was largely the same and I opted for Blazers on the left flank. I was hoping these guys + the Charger would enable me to wipe out the Skorne flank there quickly, making it dicey for him to contest me so I could force favourable attrition fights based on an alternative trickling of points.

:: Game :: 

Remembering the Desperate Pace need for Forge Guard from last game I switched it up this time. Blazers ran far and Storm Lances took up a bit of a more aggressive position.

So about those Sentinels... Well, let's just say that one Eyeless Sight + Puppetmaster + Snipe + lucky scatter later, Haley Prime was down 9 boxes. Wow. Ok, I see the point in them now.

So I figured the best thing to do would be play as usual and hope Haley wouldn't take more punishment. I also made a mental note to counter those guys in any way I could, preferably locking them down in melee. Past assigned 3 focus to the Charger which, together with Junior and Electro Blazers, wiped out tons of infantry on the left flank. On the right flank my Lances engaged despite feeding Mordikaar tons of fury, simply because I had to start making an impact here to threaten those sentinels. Forge Guard spread out in small "boxes" to provide me with flexible charge lanes next turn and Tac Supremacy Trenchers took care not to block said lanes.

Mordikaar with 12 fury started going to work. A couple of Revives, a spray and still a lot to camp. Next the Berserk guys on the left managed to take out 2 Blazers. However disaster struck as one of the Sentinels hit Haley yet again with a partial (and here I was feeling safe on DEF21). I was left on a single box despite healing twice last turn. Well, ok. Mordikaar feated and both Sentinels used their animii. Yay DEF16 + Poltergeist...

At this point in time I should've moved Arcane Shield to Haley. I didn't. This was however a big turn as I feated, cast Temporal, healed up as much as I could for the remaining focus, ran Past into melee range of both Sentinels, hitting one of them for a little bit of damage while Future revived a Blazer and a Lance. I sent as many models as I could into the Sentinels just about but the right one was positioned awkwardly given that I wanted Past + Ragman into the mix. At the very least the left one died. I put up clouds + Trenchers B2B in front of Prime...

...only to be noted that Sentinels have arcing fire. Well, he's still engaged with multiple models, 1 of which is DEF19 past. Not to worry, DEF19 ain't no thing for Incindiarii scatters. All you have to do is get a partial and roll high enough after Mordikaar got a partial with boosted damage to leave Past on 1 box. I never should've struck the left Sentinel, with Incorporeal still up I'd be immune to a lot of his attacks, including this (plus I would be camping more focus). So the Sentinel was free to aim, thus needing 12+ to hit Prime (which couldn't stay on the hill because she needed to get Past in her CMD). He made the roll and with that, the game was over.
:: Evaluation ::

What a great game! I fell for a trick which I've never seen before and that is fine. I think that part of Warmahordes will never go away. Too many combinations, simply. However the interesting part is the fact that the Sentinel which started it all off got a 4" scatter in just the right direction T1. This should probably have set off some alarm clocks and I should've moved Arcane to Haley I believe. I wanted to play a normal attrition game and as the last picture shows I was massively up. Prime's position wasn't that crucial I think so at least I'm doing something right. Now, as for not dying while I'm ahead on attrition...

I got 2 games against Skorne today. I faced 2 casters I've never played before and lots of new beasts + units. I got a lot of experience with Haley3 and Skorne and I also fielded Forge Guard for the first time. Successfully, I feel, given the work they put in in both games. They are terrifying for lots of enemies to face with all the buffs they get in this list. Overall, I had a great time playing. I also got away with 1 win and 1 loss based on somewhat risky caster play, which is about fair. To get a clean winning streak I need to find the balance between playing Haley sufficiently aggressive to get the most out of her while keeping her safe. This takes a lot of practice but I'm determined to get there.

So how about the list changes? The Blazers obviously performed very well in this game and I'll be trying them out more in the future. I really like the element of flexibility they bring in this list. I will make an effort to utilize their speed, because otherwise I believe ATGM are often simply better. I should also note that post-game I set up 2 Blazers B2B with 3" AOE rings around them to see if Haley could camp behind them safely within 1" (because of arcing fire). As you may have guessed/known, this is doable and would've been a good, defensive setup that leaves lucky scatters as the only way of hitting her. Lesson noted! I would also like to point out that I really liked the Charger, putting out a couple more boosted POW12s is great and, as I've experienced so many times before, taking out stuff early has a trickle effect through the ensuing turns.

Lots of experiences to consider, lots of things learned with Skorne and lastly a Haley3 list I really like playing. I also believe it has potential as an anti-arm skew list. I enjoyed playing today a lot and look forward to playing more with 2 challenging but rewarding Haley-lists as soon as possible!

Battle Report #95: Haley3 vs Hexeris1

:: Prologue ::

I don't get to play against Skorne all that much, unfortunately. Furthermore, the games I've had against them have largely been against Fist of Halaak. It's time to widen my perspective! Furthermore I need to practice Haley3 more and Skorne is a decent test for her I believe. Time to expand my knowledge! First up today was Hexeris1 Tier4.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Prime Victoria Haley - WJ: +3
- Squire
- Lancer - PC: 6
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Haley Future - PC: 0
Haley Past - PC: 0
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord - PC: 2
Captain Maxwell Finn - PC: 3
Ragman - PC: 2
Stormblade Captain - PC: 2
Stormsmith Stormcaller - PC: 1
Storm Lances - Leader & 4 Grunts: 11
Trencher Infantry - Leader & 5 Grunts: 6
Stormblade Infantry - Leader & 5 Grunts: 5
Horgenhold Forge Guard - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
- Captain Jonas Murdoch - Murdoch 2

Opponent:

Lord Tyrant Hexeris - WB: +6
- Aptimus Marketh
- Titan Gladiator - PC: 8
- Basilisk Drake - PC: 4
- Razor Worm - PC: 4
Extoller Soulward - PC: 2
Extoller Soulward - PC: 2
Agonizer - PC: 2
Ancestral Guardian - PC: 3
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 6
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 6
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2
Praetorian Swordsmen - Leader & 9 Grunts: 6
Praetorian Swordsmen - Leader & 9 Grunts: 6
- Praetorian Swordsman Officer & Standard - PC: 2
THEME: Kingdom of Shadows - Tier 4

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Okay so he has ways to give Incindiarii Eyeless Sight. At least a couple of models. That is potentially disastrous, but something I should be able to work around. The Remove from Play Feat is also nasty so I have to beware of how I commit my Lances. It also has the potential to wipe out huge portions of my army, but at least Temporal Flux helps me out greatly here.

The scenario was Two Fronts. I had no intentions of going for scenario here so when I won the roll-off I took first turn.

:: Game ::

Finn gives Desperate Pace to Trenchers so that I can push the clouds up maximum. This leaves Forge Guard quite a bit behind. Note to self: Probably rarely worth it. Lances flank right with Stormcaller.

The Skorne infantry spread out.

I decide that I likely won't need my arc node this turn. I commit 2 Lances, the Lancer and 2 Forge Guard. The effect of this is pretty much to force him to commit heavily or face a potentially devastating T3. I also used my feat to kill the Razor Worm because of its potential shenanigans. Coupled with Eyeless Sight + Feat that could be game.

Hexeris goes for the huge counter-play with feat. He doesn't get a whole lot of models through the smoke but those that do wreak a lot of havoc. I lose most of the Trenchers and a few more models. The ripple effect of this feat was pretty intense!

Regardless, Skorne has spent their available momentum. I get Ragman into position with Death Field, after which Forge Guard charge in and take care of the single heavy beast easily. 1 Lance was removed prior to feat so I get a revive off on him to take out a lot of models on the right flank. Haley moves to the rear-most part of where I can stand without giving away points on killbox and casts Tactical Supremacy on her own unit.

Skorne tries to counter-clear the middle but Forge Guard with Arcane Shield + B2B are simply too hard to get rid of. Rhupert also gave them tough.

I am winning solidly on attrition so my play here is kind of stupid and uncalled for: I take out the right zone and the objective there and move Haley in for 3 points. Old habbits die hard I guess. I could've simply camped on the hill behind clouds and gone to 2 points instead of 3, it really doesn't matter all that much at this point in time. What I should be concerned about however is keeping Haley alive. With Arcane Shield and Temporal Flux (instead of the second Revive to ensure the destruction of the right zone) she's a lot better equipped to do so. Anyway, 3-0.

So my opponent goes for the last, ditch assassination run. In order to get in range of Incindiarii to Haley he has to kill 4 Forge Guard models in the middle. He manages this and Haley is promptly set on fire. Hexeris charges the Agonizer and tries to Obliterate me but he fails the 10+ boosted roll. With that, I can breath a sigh of relief as my mistake didn't end up costing me the game.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

In all the games I've had with Stormblades, be it with Stryker2 or Haley3 or whatever, I've found SPD5 and lack of reach to be a huge liability. I've often wanted to try Forge Guard but their total cost of 13 points (which is in my opinion almost a must) has put me off. Having seen them with Arcane Shield and Desperate Pace behind clouds however has definitely convinced me. They are not auto-include in the same way Storm Lances are, yet, but I really like the way they play. Even Temporal Flux helps them out, moving from DEF10 to DEF12 means that stuff misses you every once in a while. Sure it's not as great as it is with troops that start off just a bit higher (12 -> for Lances is pretty good for example), but their overall synergy with H3 is very good in my opinion.

As I feared the lack of a more flexible game (read: More shooting options) was a pain to play with. I ended up giving away too much of an opening T2 which cost me a lot of Trenchers. While I certainly came out on top regardless I believe my strength lies in wielding a combined arms force. I see so many openings and opportunities that I am unable to capitalize on. Because of this I decided to try out a slight variation of this list with a couple of different elements, check out the next report for details.

Lastly, I have to keep calm and take it slow when ahead on attrition. Unlike Haley2's shock and awe type of scenario plays where the difference between 2 and 3 points can be huge, a lead of 2 or 3 points when your opponent can't possibly come back on scenario is irrelevant in a war of attrition. I learned this game by having a very strong scenario focus and always look for openings, now I have to appreciate the subtle differences in how to go for attrition-scenario instead. This time I got lucky, next time I might not be.

Battle Report #94: Haley2 vs Krueger2

:: Prologue ::

2nd game and I'm up against a caster I fear significantly more than I do Kromac2: Krueger2's Storm Wall has completely ruined my game before and threatens to do so again. Bring it!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +5
- Squire
- Stormwall - PC: 19
- Lightning Pod
- Thorn - PC: 8
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution - PC: 3
Gastone Crosse - PC: 3
Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile - PC: 2
Lynus Wesselbaum & Edrea Lloryrr - Lynus & Edrea: 3
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4
Tactical Arcanist Corps - Leader & 2 Grunts: 4
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Lynch, Ryan & Watts: 4

Opponent:

Krueger the Stormlord - WB: +5
- Druid Wilder
- Gorax - PC: 4
- Ghetorix - PC: 11
- Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 10
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 2
Una the Falconer - PC: 3
- Rotterhorn Griffon - PC: 3
- Rotterhorn Griffon - PC: 3
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 2
Gallows Grove - PC: 1
Druids of Orboros - Leader & 5 Grunts: 7
- Druid of Orboros Overseer - Overseer 2
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 2
- Stone Keeper - Keeper 1
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Leaving ATGM at home means the list is somewhat lacking in the true sight department. Lynus & Edrea help a bit here. If I'm desperate I can Deadeye them and have Edrea shoot first, after which Lynus can follow up with Collaboration so she gets 2 shots (because of Applied Knowledge) boosted. The problem against Krueger is obviously the -5 RNG which means they'll have to get extremely close -> Not likely to happen.

Again I was first but this time I got the other side of the table. Same scenario, same map. This time I made sure to have Dougal more centrally. I estimated that Krueger would hug the trench with his center and put A+H left with B13th and Thorn, TAC + Haley right.

:: Game ::

Haley2 vs Krueger2 is all about the middle. I rushed up my Warjacks as far as I could and probably should have advanced further with the shooters as well.

Krueger takes it slow and puts up clouds with Druids in front.

The aim of this list is to play attrition. However due to being too passive with the shooters T1 they are not in a position where they can aim. Without said aim they will be hard pressed to hit DEF18 and Storm Wall makes predicting the distances quite hard as well.

What I end up doing then is back off the Stormwall, fire off a pod and Time Bomb said pod with boosted damage rolls. Unluckily for me the second Druid survives. The Stormwall is now in a position where Ghetorix + Stalker can possibly both get into melee with it, but it's kind of a dicey move as it's close to 15" for both of them and even then it's not a given that the Blackclads are in range for Hunter's Mark.

Eiryss contemplated aiming to kill the last Druid which Time Bomb failed to take down but chose to run instead. Ghetorix could charge the objective and try for Eiryss at the same time but DEF16 is a bit risky.  

Ghetorix gets lightning strike and kills objective + eiryss before moving back. Krueger moves up, 1 druid is in the zone and the Rotterhorn moves in to make it 2-0.

I see an opportunity to give him a real headache: Take out the Druids centrally, the Rotterhorn and the objective. Put Haley behind the zone, cloud her up and feat on his entire army. I do just this but the DEF16 on the Rotterhorn is just a bit too much as my attack rolls are miserable, it survives on 2 boxes and I only score 1 point. This is a bad spot to be in and the game will be uphill from here. To add insult to injury I only got a single druid. The main mistake here was putting 4 focus on the Stormwall because I wanted a Rotterhorn behind the objective, which simply used Watcher to get away. I could've done with 1 focus to make sure the objective died and cast more Deadeyes.

Krueger counter-feats and sets up.

Ghetorix is in a stone triangle. The idea is to time bomb + telekinese him out so that he can't do much. The problem is that I fear counter-magic is blocking my access to him so yet again, I have to kill me some Druids. B13th and mercs fail spectacularly and the Stormwall has to move over to kill Druids, which kind of makes the idea moot because from that position he can be TK'd by Krueger and simply walk back in/be teleported by Stones regardless. At the very least I finally kill the Druid with the Stormwall and take out another couple of models instead. Haley Time Bombs + TKs Ghetorix. Thorn finishes a fail of a turn by not killing the DEF12 Druid who has already soaked up my entire left flank's worth of firepower (-2 DEF from Time Bomb which clipped him).

At this point in time we are both down to a few minutes left on the clock as the game has gone completely out of hand. In committing the Stormwall I know the attrition game is lost so I'm playing now for an assassination opportunity or simply have my opponent clock out before me.

Krueger TKs Ghetorix into the Triangle. Hunter's Mark lands on the Stormwall and both heavies charge in under Primal. Naturally the colossal goes down.

I spend this turn setting up for a last, ditch assassination effort. We are now both very short on time, down to a couple of minutes each. Due to Ghetorix and the Stalker auto-frenzying from Primal I can move stuff up a bit more and I get a few angles.

Circle went to 4 points by TK-ing Dougal out and clocked me over. I had 2 minutes left and Krueger was exposed: With infinite time here I probably would've found an angle but with all the stress involved I just had to throw models at him. When I clocked out he was sitting on 5 boxes and the last attack was transferred with the last fury.

So close, yet so far away.

:: Evaluation ::

What a game! This was truly intense. Those Druids absolutely refusing to die in the middle of the table really broke me. However in revisiting the early turns, we see that I could've done more to set up against them by simply playing more aggressively. While it's true that I had some miserable rolls for them, DEF18 is nothing to joke with when I lack the true sight presence of ATGM. By putting the Mercs + B13th up further T1 he has to beware my options for aiming + collaboration on Holt for example, which with Dougal mini-feat can often counter Krueger's Storm Wall.

Why is it so important to take out Druids early? Contrary to what it might look like, the clouds aren't the biggest problem in this matchup I believe. Counter Magic is. Denying Haley her usual tricks when combined with Krueger's feat, TK himself and Stones makes the matchup a lot harder than other Circle casters when it comes to the game of control. Think about the cascading effect in this game from the Druid which didn't die to a boosted Time Bomb T2: If he dies he is always down 1 Druid (assuming he wants to keep the same cover for Krueger) which means my Stormwall never commits and dies because I -can- TK + Time Bomb Ghetorix without killing any Druids (as it turned out I could anyway but the distance was -really- close and not worth gambling with). This brings me to another issue with this matchup and that is the Stones. Finding an opening for them is hard, but if it can be done it should be taken. For this reason I shall look into playing more aggressively with non-essential pieces and look for throw power attack openings to help me out.

I knew when I moved away from ATGM that this matchup in particular would be hard. Without Storm Wall I believe my list can deal with Druids decently. Lots of attacks like Fire Beacon, Mage Storm and Edrea's shots become live when they don't have -5 range. I still believe it's playable but it's harder, for sure.

Lastly I'd like to note that this is the first game I've lost due to clocking out. While it's true that I was definitely down at this point, I believe an assassination opening was there when I started my last turn. My opponent was really short on time as well (around 1 minute left) so if I had a decent shot at the end that was largely due to him being stressed. Going for attrition with Haley2 I feel is inherently risky because finding the right moves with so many options takes time. It's good practice and something I can improve a lot on. Furthermore I need to have a clear mindset when to do what: In this game I wasted quite a bit of potential on my feat turn as I got greedy with the Stormwall and tried to do too much (killing objective + Rotterhorn): With more careful play I could likely have secured those 3 points, i.e. switching to scenario because the situation called for it, as killing off a Rotterhorn outside of the zone is kind of irrelevant. By not moving up so far I could probably also have gotten further left so as to boost a pod on the other Rotterhorn, which on top of another Deadeye out -probably- would've secured me the zone for 3 points.

All in all a great game where I learned tons. I like the way this list plays but making its threats come live against Krueger is hard.

Battle Report #93: Haley2 vs Kromac2

:: Prologue ::

Following a recent, brief discussion on the viability of playing Haley2 vs Kromac2 I was eager to test it out myself. I was lucky to get the matchup sooner than I thought I could and we were all set for Destruction!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +5
- Squire
- Stormwall - PC: 19
- Lightning Pod
- Thorn - PC: 8
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 3
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution - PC: 3
Gastone Crosse - PC: 3
Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile - PC: 2
Lynus Wesselbaum & Edrea Lloryrr - Lynus & Edrea: 3
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4
Tactical Arcanist Corps - Leader & 2 Grunts: 4
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Lynch, Ryan & Watts: 4

Opponent:

Kromac, Champion of the Wurm - WB: +4
- Druid Wilder
- Ghetorix - PC: 11
- Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 10
- Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 10
- Rotterhorn Griffon - PC: 4
- Gorax - PC: 4
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 2
Druids of Orboros - Leader & 5 Grunts: 7
- Druid of Orboros Overseer - Overseer 2
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

I was going first and my idea was to claim the middle as soon as possible and slowly spread out on the left flank to create a catch22 for him: Either contest me in scenario (and open up to my shooting) or leave me with points. By deploying TAC slightly to the right of my center I was intending to create a "Fort Haley" near the zone to jump in if points were available.

:: Game ::

A+H and Eiryss on the left flank. Dougal, proxied by Gorman, a little too far right. Lesson noted. Thorn behind Effigy for Cover + it makes it impossible to pull him.

Kromac's forces take refuge behind the forest.

Originally I wanted to hold my feat here but the opening was just too good: I could wade ahead on both flanks -and- the middle and wipe out tons of Druids + a Stalker. Covered by the feat he would have a very difficult decision to make with regards to presenting himself in the open for attrition or leaving me with a 3-0 opening. Dougal used Double Powder Rations and the mercs + B13th (with Deadeye) shot up the Druids. The Stormwall with Temporal and full focus moved up and killed the Stalker.

Kromac moves closer and Ghetorix contests. Interesting!

With Druids fleeing there is no counter-magic up. Stones jammed me but with Kiss + Mercs they die quick enough. I send in Thorn on suicide-duty. He pulls in the Stalker, sends Ghetorix out of the zone (both with TK) and Time Bombs Kromac to hit all 3 heavy hitters. The mercs + b13th kill the stones, Stormwall kills objective and Haley sits in the zone for 3-0. I also brought the second Stalker down to ~10 boxes or so with shooting. This list hits like a ton of bricks from a distance!

Thorn dies, Kromac feats, zone is jammed thoroughly with Ghetorix having Lightning Strike to sit on Thorn's cover.

Squire runs up. Haley charges Kromac. TK boosted on Ghetorix misses (10+ re-roll). Wow. Stalker is telekinesed out. Stormwall moves up and power strikes Ghetorix out of the zone. 5-0.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation :: 

I anticipated this matchup to be heavily in Haley's favor. Basically, I don't think Kromac has enough defensive tech to keep his army safe from all the shooting while he lacks means to work around Haley's control. The stones are, by and large, the biggest problem for Haley. They are highly predictable and I find that often you can set up for taking them out during feat turn. I did that in this game as well. If he had chosen not to jam with the stones and keep them defensive I could've shot them down and Time Bombed the hitters.

It should also be noted that the forest in the zone made things a lot harder for me than they often are. Kromac + Ghetorix could chill out there, safe from the shooters, and still threaten the Stormwall because of LoS to Colossals rules.

It is possible that Kromac can approach this differently. If so, I don't know how. The problem boils down to the simple fact that 2 heavy hitters is needed to neutralize the Stormwall. One typically goes down to feat, another is typically shot up. That leaves 1 and 1 is not enough. On top of this, Time Bomb is disastrous, Druids die like flies if they want to accomplish anything other than hanging back and Haley has the upper hand in scenario play. I am open to different Kromac2-approaches but having played this I'm confident Haley at the very least has a strong game into him.