Battle Report #103: Haley2 vs Makeda1

:: Prologue ::

Today it was time to test out my ability to play Haley2 into Skorne again. The only Skorne-list I've ever had issues with when playing H2 is Fist. Anything else is almost trivial to handle. They simply lack control and ranged threats so the games almost always boil down to Cygnar taking apart the key pieces systematically at a distance while the Stormwall sooner or later brings home the win (in the meantime, Time Bomb, Telekinesis and Temporal Shift buys me time). Let's see if this still holds true!

:: 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:

Archdomina Makeda - WB: +5
- Aptimus Marketh
- Titan Gladiator - PC: 8
- Tiberion - PC: 11
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2
Nihilators - Leader & 9 Grunts: 8
Praetorian Karax - Leader & 9 Grunts: 6
Cataphract Cetrati - Leader & 5 Grunts: 11
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer - Tyrant and Standard: 3
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 3

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

We were playing Two Fronts and Skorne took first turn. I pre-deployed the Stormwall centrally and followed up with Haley behind my zone alongside TAC with most of the shooters going on the opposite flank.

:: Game ::

Skorne runs ahead and feats T1. A bit of a defensive move but the problem is that if he wants to run max he risks losing so much from Double Powder Rations, Temporal Acceleration etc that I can annihiliate his units to deny him his feat T2. An alternative is of course to not run max. Anyways, feat went up.

I take care not to kill stuff: I put Temporal on the Stormwall and load it with focus. It shoots the Cetratii and boosts damage while I spread it out so that nobody dies but 2 models lost a lot of boxes. I also mage storm early on and use covering fire to create a no-go zone around it.

Skorne is reluctant to push up. A bit of a catch22: He's too far away to hurt me and a significant push lets me shoot too hard. I think this turn shows that he should've ran 2-3" less in T1 and feated now.

I consolidate my position instead of going for gold here: By backing up a bit and holding my feat I can take out significant portions of his army with little-to-no risk. Stormwall shoots down 2 Cetratii.

Skorne commits the Cetratii but the beasts are too far away.

So the idea is to clear out my zone, feat and establish control. I TK out one of the Cetratii (so 2 models lose Shield Wall), Kiss them and shoot 2 to their deaths. Temporaled Stormwall takes care of the other 2 and kills a couple of infantry with boosted pod as well. TAC + Thorn + shooters kill the rest.

Skorne attempts to put one beast on either side of the Stormwall to create a trap as a last effort.

I'm up on scenario, attrition and time is irrelevant so I simply TK the beast around and shoot it to death following Kiss while the Stormwall backs off.

With basically nothing really left on the table my opponent forfeits the game.

:: Evaluation ::

The pre-mature feat hurt Makeda a lot. That said, she's basically encountering the same problem I've described with Stryker2: The closing distance is too much and when push comes to shove you can't get enough damage across the table in time. Couple that with covering fire + mage storm, temporal shift, time bomb and telekinesis and I believe this is one of Haley's better matchups.

As to the game itself: The increased quality in shooting by taking away ATGM and putting in models like Gastone and Aiyana really shows off here. Killing a heavy can often be done with minimal help from Stormwall, freeing it up to do other stuff. I'm also finding way more options to keep it safe while still getting massively ahead on attrition, see my army-wide defensive movements in T2 and T4 for example.