Battle Report #106: Haley3 vs Xerxis1

:: Prologue ::

After a long game 1 where I systematically tore apart Skorne infantry with shooting, it was time to try Haley3 into this list. Going into this game I had a feeling I would be up because I think the Cloudwall largely negates the Incindiarii, while the lack of RFP and Temporal Flux really messes with the melee-aspect of things. Would I be right? Read on!

:: 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
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress - PC: 2
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire - PC: 4
Viktor Pendrake - PC: 2
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist - 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

Opponent:

Tyrant Xerxis - WB: +5
- Archidon - PC: 7
Cataphract Arcuarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Arcuarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Arcuarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Incindiarii - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Cataphract Cetrati - Leader & 5 Grunts: 10
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer - Tyrant and Standard: 3
THEME: The Fist of Halaak - Tier 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

I went first again. I put down Alexia2 on one flank and Storm Lances on another. Seeing as I've decided to give up on Blazers because I think they're too situational I believe I'll often "replace" a flank with Alexia like this because she can be hard as nails to deal with. Forge Guard went central and the Trenchers were skewed slightly to the right to take advantage of the impassable terrain pieces. 

Cloudwall moves up. Lances receive March to cross the rough terrain. Alexia flanks on the opposite side. The middle is a little crowded but not as bad as my first H3 games. Getting better at this!

Fist move up. Ward on Cetratii.

2 Lances charge out because Revive is a thing. The other shuffle with the leader in a central position. Alexia moves up with Arcane Shield to get souls. She gets 3 with Past feeding the charger. The cloudwall moves up as well and covers my army nicely. Ragman is left behind as I forget him behind the rear impassable. I put Lanyssa in the opposite zone just in case he'll struggle to get in there (I saw an opening based on his units being far away).

The 2 Lances are dealt with easily enough and a third is killed by shooting. On the right flank Alexia tanks a lot of heat but it has no effect on her because ARM22 laughs at POW13.

So this is a pretty obvious feat turn. I don't remember the exact activation order here but I took a little too long to play this turn. It all started out with deciding how to split Prime's focus. I wanted Repudiate on Cetratii, Flux for obvious reasons and a Revive to get all Lances back up. Alexia, Junior and Charger messes up the right flank. Haley activates, moves up and takes off Ward. Past and Future spread out for Flux, Prime goes into the zone. I didn't upkeep Tac. Supremacy (see above) so this was the all-or-nothing turn, by and large. The Lances utterly destroyed the left flank, impact hits, shooting, electro leaps all did tons of damage. However the big surprise was how stupidly much damage the Forge Guard did to the Cetratii. I had my lanes set up pretty nicely from the turn before so they could all (bar 1) charge in. I think only a single model survived or so (to be fair Past helped out as well, Raw Talent helps her put the hurt on).

It was without a doubt one of the most destructive H3 feat turns I've ever had. Just look at the picture below and compare it to the previous one.

My opponent took about 3 minutes to contemplate the situation before he simply conceded. Although I think he might've had a shot at coming back (seeing as I can't feat anymore) by counter-feating, I was up 3-0 as well.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Wow. Just wow. Although I've found ways and builds with Haley2 to deal with Fist, this was a complete stomp. I cannot believe how hard I hurt him on the feat turn. Not having to care about Incindiarii early on and then subsequently basically wiping out Cetratii in Shield Wall just speaks volumes to Haley3's ability to strike hard and fast with her forces intact.

I also struggle to see what Skorne could've done differently. If he doesn't give me an opening, my shooting hurts him way more than his does me. Also, Alexia2 is impossible for him to deal with effectively and if I co-ordinate her with my shooting I'll get souls (and thus Thralls) as well. By skewing or staying more defensively, I can send in 2 Lances per turn and just revive while the Cloudwall keeps me safe.

Gorman and Pendrake didn't do a whole lot this game. I'm not sure they are the best way to spend 4 points. I must admit a second Charger is tempting but I know it's likely just good on paper: While one of the Haley's often has focus to spare, there's almost never a situation where 2 of them can feed it max. A+H or B13th would be great candidates but they're obviously both taken. Alexia2 though is solid.

I wonder how this list plays into Retribution. I'll be looking to try it out as soon as I can. I believe Haley struggles with more than one of their casters. A big problem with Haley3 though is that Vyros2 completely negates one of her greatest effects: An entire battlegroup with Synergy ignoring clouds is bad news.