Battle Report #116: Haley2 vs Kreoss3

:: Prologue ::

Last game of the day and this time Kreoss1 got upgraded to Kreoss3! We also changed the map to Two Fronts for variation and he got to go first. Kreoss3 is easier to handle than 1 I think: While Warpath is an issue for the jacks, the lack of big threats against the rest lets me play the game I need.

:: 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
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator - PC: 1
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Lynch, Ryan & Watts: 4
Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Pistoleers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 6
- Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer - Officer 2

Opponent:

Intercessor Kreoss - WJ: +5
- Hierophant
- Fire of Salvation - PC: 9
- Templar - PC: 8
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord - PC: 2
Vassal of Menoth - PC: 2
Wrack - PC: 1
The Covenant of Menoth - PC: 2
Idrian Skirmishers - Leader and 9 Grunts: 10
- Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide - Idrian Skirmisher Chieftain & Guide 3
Choir of Menoth - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 4
Flame Bringers - Leader & 4 Grunts: 10

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

An interesting idea: Idrians with Holy Ward can truly be a pain I suppose. I opt for the side where Haley can stand centrally and be fairly safe. I also have a hill for elevation. Kreoss deploys a bit on the aggressive side with both jacks opposite my zone.

:: Game ::

Idrians spread out and get Holy Ward + tough. The rest follow up behind them.

I go for a bit of a risky move that I probably should not: Gastone takes a shot at a Flame Bringer after casting Moving Shadows. It pays off but if I'm within 12" he gets charged if it doesn't. Keeping Gastone alive is important for my ability to carry the attrition over into mid-game. Eiryss gets Deadeye via Thorn, since they are on a direct line from Haley I can safely estimate the difference between 5" and 6". I also Deadeye ATGM. Eiryss puts down an Idrian to remove Holy Ward and ATGM follow suit by downing a few more. Stormwall puts down covering fires and a pod for Mage Storm. Deceleration is up.

Fire of Salvation uses its 5" move to move towards Eiryss. However as Idrians can't get close enough to CRA more than 3 models into ATGM he can't hit DEF17 and no Warpath means to action for said Fire of Salvation. It moves to the edge of my zone instead. Flamebringers ensure I can't go for his zone and Idrians mini-feat for insane DEF levels (Holy Ward gets put up again as well).

A stupid positioning mistake with ATGM doesn't leave room for Thorn to move past them. I deliberate forever and ever as to whether Domination or Time Bomb on the Templar is best. I end up going for Eiryss preservation, some ATGM aiming with deadeye to pot-shot Idrians and Time Bomb with boosted damage + Reinholdt's lucky charm. Thorn runs around ATGM to make this happen and reaction drive takes him back. I screw up my activation order so Aiyana forgets to put magical weapons on Stormwall which in turn means it cannot shoot the Templar as I intended. Oh well. I pod between 3 Idrians and Ryan Mage Storms said pod. 1 dies, 2 tough. ATGM have 3 aiming and they kill 2 or 3 and the rest move up and Thunderbolt the hapless SPD2 Templar away. A+H, Junior and Gastone take out the objective.

To be honest I didn't even worry about the scenario angle because in my opinion it's sheer madness for Kreoss to attempt anything here given the position and models on the board. However my opponent remarked that he probably can't remove ATGM anyway, which I believe is correct. Fire of Salvation -does- take out the objective though and uses Warpath to move into ATGM. He spent his imprint but didn't manage to roll the 8+ needed to kill a guy. Idrians with Holy Ward and Flamebringers jam me.

The jam on the right side is easy enough to deal with: Idrians have Dirge over Tough now which means a pod => mage storm auto-kills them. The ones jamming Stormwall can be dealt with by Thorn + Reaction drive. The question is: What do I do about his jacks? The Covenant is in the middle of the zone with no spells up. I decide to go for a Haley2-move and kill the book, move up and feat while Stormwall takes out a jack and stays out of the other's threat range. Eiryss disrupts Fire of Salvation too, for good measure. With the Stormwall going in and killing the Templar I am in solid control of the game. I pod and mage storm to clear the jam on the right side as well and finish off with Reinholdt, A+H running up to physically block LoS to Haley.

Under Temporal Shift it's impossible for him to significantly jam up the zone. That means I'm more or less autowinning in my next turn so he looks for an assassination opening. He does find an angle for Force Hammer but with Haley sitting on a focus for ARM15 and 11 boxes (she tanked a free strike going in) it's not enough and nothing else is in range.

Victory to the Swans!

I make a bit of a mistake at the end here as there's no reason for me to jump on scenario. I was scared of Kreoss hurting the Stormwall on his feat turn (seeing as I had to move up to the zone to reach him without blocking the Stormwall from its charge target. I could've moved Haley after Stormwall but I'd still be exposed to spells) as I've seen him to ridiculously much previously. By catching Kreoss in my feat this is taken away from the equation. Overall I guess it's an ok move because Kreoss hurts a lot on his feat turn, even with Aiyana, Holt and Vassal dying to electro leaps and thus robbing him of support elements.

I felt I had this game under control from the start and throughout pretty much. It's not an ideal Protectorate list to play into Cygnar because it lacks ranged presence and Idrians and Flame Bringers are just horribly countered by my accurate, high-powered shooting. Lastly, only 2 heavy jacks get controlled rather easily and even Warpath isn't hard to factor in with their otherwise short threat ranges.

This Haley2 list is really shaping up to be an attrition monster. While I do miss TAC, having this much shooting available is just crazy. Alexia2 would of course also be brilliant in many matchups but I keep reminding myself that she definitely has matchups where she's more or less dead weight as well, unfortunately. All in all this list is fun to play and I believe it's really strong and versatile.