Battle Report #203: Haley2 vs Lylyth3

:: Prologue ::

Legion players are all wondering what on earth they are to do with about Sloan. I can empathize. My most frequent Legion opponent has gone down the route of Lylyth3. While Sloan doesn't bring a Stormwall that is a very hard counter. As such it's time to learn how to play Mk. 3 Haley2 into Legion.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
- Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight - WB: +29
-    Angelius - PC: 0
-    Naga Nightlurker - PC: 0
-    Nephilim Bolt Thrower - PC: 7
-    Ravagore - PC: 19
-    Ravagore - PC: 19
-    Nephilim Protector - PC: 10
Blighted Nyss Shepherd - PC: 1
Blighted Nyss Shepherd - PC: 1
Blighted Nyss Shepherd - PC: 1
The Forsaken - PC: 4
Strider Scouts - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
-    Strider Scout Officer & Musician - Officer & Musician: 4

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

We are playing Line Breaker and my opponent moves first. My thought here is to try and secure a flank and start scoring under feat bottom of 2.

:: Game ::

Legion moves towards the center.

I kind of want the Stormwall to not be B2B with my objective so that I can threaten multiple charge angles. However I send Haley2 behind the LOS-blocking impassable on the right flank but that leaves the poor Squire within threat range of my opponent's beasts. I try and block it off with Lances to hope that he can't get to it. On the left flank I set up for a possible flag move bottom of 2. I forget to move Lanyssa up.

Legion skews hard right and after the Striders (!) kill a Lance under Deflection, the Squire dies easily to Lylyth3.

I can't see what I can do without the Squire. Most places where I can feat and catch everything I need to catch, the Angelius can repulse me away and thus ensure that the majority of his army gets to activate as normal. It should be noted that I thought Repulsion was within 3" and not 2" as I later discovered, in which case I might've been able to block it off with Lanyssa covering Haley. However I go for a crazy play instead: Have the Ironclad throw the Firefly on the flag, Temporal the Stormwall to have it take out the objective. Run Thorn up, TK the Ravagore, reaction drive, TK Lylyth. It all goes well until I am about to TK Lylyth and I suddenly remember she can shoot in her back arc. Oh lord. With Squire gone I basically need to block her LOS to Haley2 to be safe. I camp 3 instead but realize it's a long shot regardless. At least I score 2 CPs.

Lylyth feats, shoots me and I die to the Angelius.

:: Evaluation :: 

I believe this is a matchup that should be in my favour. Lylyth3 doesn't have the shooting to effectively deal with all my armor. Assuming I can keep Haley2 safe, it's just a matter of time before he loses board space and gets pushed back on scenario. My feat is also a nightmare for him.

What I did wrong here was basically to deploy Haley in such a way that I committed her more or less to the impassable. I should and could have placed her centrally so that I could've gone behind the woods instead. Indeed, given how Legion played T1, I should've tried to accomplish this regardless with the Stormwall blocking the LOS a little more. Obviously not moving Lanyssa was a huge mistake as well: With Hunter's Mark on the objective I get the speed I need to bypass the wall (with Temporal up as well), at which point I can start looking at going for Lylyth3 herself under Shift.

As in Mk. 2 the big thing about playing Haley vs Legion is keeping her alive. If I can do that I believe this should be clearly in Cygnar's favor. I still prefer Sloan into Legion but as long as Lylyth3 is around I pretty much have to play Haley. Hopefully I've learned my lesson!

Battle Report #202: Haley2 vs Butcher3

:: Prologue ::

Finally time for some Khador again! Long time, no see. As I hoped, it would be a Butcher3 list facing me. This was an interesting matchup in Mk. 2 where I felt Haley2 had a distinct upper hand. Let's see how it is in Mk. 3.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
- Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

Kommander Zoktavir, the Butcher Unleashed - WJ: +22
-    War Argus
-    War Dog - PC: 3
-    Devastator - PC: 0
-    Devastator - PC: 6
-    Ruin - PC: 17
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich - PC: 4
Kell Bailoch - PC: 5
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor - PC: 5
Alten Ashley - PC: 5
Saxon Orrik - PC: 4
Greylord Ternion - Leader & 2 Grunts: 7
Winter Guard Rifle Corps - Leader & 9 Grunts: 13
-    Winter Guard Rocketeer - PC: 2
-    Winter Guard Rocketeer - PC: 2
-    Winter Guard Rocketeer - PC: 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The B3 list is full of support whereas mine is more about squeezing in as many models that can get some work done as possible. Khador seized the initiative and deployed everything a little skewed to the right. I replied largely the same, placing Haley across the flank where he didn't have much. He responded with Kell + Ashley there.

:: Game ::

Khador runs up, Winter Guard take it slow.

I don't want to lose Lances so I keep them far away. I get a pod down which the Firefly leaps off of, killing a couple of infantry models. Haley moves to the right and gets Deflection up. Thorn + Ironclad take a central position.

Devastators move for the central wall. Ruin takes the woods and the WGI move forward but roll snake eyes for a CRA on the Stormwall.

I kill Kell + Ashley and run Lanyssa to the flag. I simply leave the Devastators alone and save my feat. The Stormwall skews a little to the right to avoid Ruin. Probably could've found a better solution here as taking it too far away from the left opens up for Butcher to start making a move.

Butcher moves in to kill Lanyssa. A devastator bulldozes the Ironclad a little further behind. A war dog runs up with a cloud and the second devastator + Ruin move to the right flank.

I have to start moving the Stormwall over to the left side again. I also want to rid myself of the Devastator there so I decide to feat. I find an opening on Orin via pod + eleaps and the dog can safely be killed under my feat.

Although I am only 1-0 on scenario I've really come ahead on attrition and Khador isn't exactly in a fantastic position in terms of scenario. Because of this my opponent tries a move with Butcher3, moving him up with Vengeance + Energizer to take a flag. He doesn't kill the Ironclad however and saves his feat.

With such a move I only have 1 choice and that is to kill the Butcher. If he survives I lose, it's that easy. The Clad is loaded up and receives Temporal Acceleration. Thorn + Stormwall have 2 focus each so I intend to KD Butcher, shoot with Stormwall and boost damage and send in Thorn last. Haley Time Bombed him to he's down to DEF12 (doggie too far away). The Clad lands tremor and the rest is down to dice. With so many attacks it's heavily in my favor and the assassination run takes it home.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

A very interesting game. I find that the dynamics of this matchup closely resemble what they used to be in Mk. 2: Khador have to press forward and pressure Haley on scenario, otherwise they are slowly losing on attrition. I thought I had an opening here but Line Breaker is very scary because of how quickly the points start flowing in if you can get your caster up. I should perhaps have looked for ways to put Haley2 up more aggressively given Khador's T2 moves. 

The Stormwall was incredibly afraid of Ruin. The problem was that Orin was in such a hard position to get to unless I was willing to risk vengeance and spend my feat or stuff like that. No time bomb, no domination, no TK and Pathfinder on charge... A real pain and I predict this guy staying that way. This needs to be addressed from Cygnar's point of view. 

Battle Report #201: Haley2 vs Krueger2

: Prologue ::

After an exciting game one in which we learned quite a bit on both sides, it was time for a rematch. Circle had learned to protect the infantry vs e-leaps and I had learned that I needed more space. Let's take a look at the second game.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
 - Thorn [13]
 - Stormwall [39]
 - Squire [5]
 - Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
 - Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

Krueger the Stormlord - WB: +27
- Feral Warpwolf - PC: 0
- Pureblood Warpwolf - PC: 8
- Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 19
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 4
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 4
Gallows Grove - PC: 2
Bloodweaver Night Witch - PC: 4
Bloodweaver Night Witch - PC: 4
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 3
Warpborn Skinwalkers - Leader & 4 Grunts: 15
- Warpborn Skinwalker Alpha - PC: 4
Tharn Bloodweavers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 8

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

With the same map and scenario, I put Haley on the left side of the water this time, flanked by Lances. The Firefly went there as well, constrained by where I wanted junior. The rest stayed the same, the right flank worked excellently in game 1. Circle had Skinwalkers left and Tharn right this time.

:: Game ::

Circle runs up.

I see an opportunity to take out both Blackclads: 1 with Thorn arcing Bolt and the other with Stormwall shooting. I go for it and take them both out. I ensure that the Stormwall is out of non-warped Speed threat range this time around, and with the Blackclads gone it's actually theoretically impossible. The Lances take care to stay out of jam range of the Skinwalkers and Thorn + Ironclad take the Trench. Junior ensures over 21" away from the Pureblood.

The Beasts shuffle a bit and the Pureblood goes Spell Ward, the Stalker Prowl. Skinwalkers move up. Krueger is super offensive but camps 4 fury.

I spend 5-10 minutes looking for Krueger2 angles. In the end I give up because the infantry keeps my jacks from going in and doing their thing. There's simply no order of activation that lets me set it up like I have to in order to ensure a kill. Instead I look for the Feral, sending in the Stormwall and covering him with Shift. I took care to stay more than 4" away from the Stalker and 3" from the Pureblood to ensure that Krueger couldn't TK any beasts into the Stormwall in return. Lances charge and make a mess of the left flank. 1-0.

Assessing the situation my opponent concludes that it's hopeless and concedes the game.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Way better than the first game. I manage to find my angles and prevent trouble like in the first game. The clue was getting space for Haley. Having 2 lights, a heavy and a colossal, all more or less wanting to get into melee, is a totally different deal from the lists I played with her in Mk. 2. 

The Ironclad keeps impressing me. It brings so much to the table for its low cost of only 12 points. I definitely needs to be played more! So many options, such a long threat range with Haley and Lanyssa (who is also great by the way) and so troublesome to deal with. After all it's pretty much the least important of Haley's 3 jacks and that is a bit of a headache as it's still dishing out PS18 attacks and KDs, whereas the other 2 have either Dodge and decent DEF or ARM22 and tons of boxes. 

A great pair of games and my conclusion is that Haley2 still likely has game into Circle. Considering my dreadful experience with Sloan vs Wurmwood and the somewhat dicey matchup vs Kromac's tanky lineup that is good to know. 

Battle Report #200: Haley2 vs Krueger2

:: Prologue ::

Haley2 vs Krueger2 was always a classic matchup in Mk. 2, one which I believe Haley held the distinct upper hand in (at least with the lists I played). Now, both casters are changed a bit and I was curious to see how this would play out.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
 - Thorn [13]
 - Stormwall [39]
 - Squire [5]
 - Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
 - Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

Krueger the Stormlord - WB: +27
- Feral Warpwolf - PC: 0
- Pureblood Warpwolf - PC: 8
- Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 19
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 4
Blackclad Wayfarer - PC: 4
Gallows Grove - PC: 2
Bloodweaver Night Witch - PC: 4
Bloodweaver Night Witch - PC: 4
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 3
Warpborn Skinwalkers - Leader & 4 Grunts: 15
- Warpborn Skinwalker Alpha - PC: 4
Tharn Bloodweavers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 8

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was The Pit and Circle seized the initiative. I deployed Haley behind my flag with the Stormwall centrally and Thorn on the opposite side. Lances flanked Haley on my left.

:: Game ::

Circle runs up.

I have a bit of a mess first turn as the activation order and activation order restrictions for T2 mean that Haley has to go between the Stormwall and the water, which pushes the Stormwall into threat range of his wolves. I made a mistake as I calculated 14" away from the Feral, forgetting its 1" melee range and thus making my Stormwall susceptible to a charge. I had tried to plan for it to have to Warp Speed to make the charge. Oh well. I kill 3 Stones and Deflection is up. I pod near the infantry and eleap with Lances + Firefly.

Surprise: Feral can charge with Strength! That makes it a little more dicey than I had hoped for. Ok, whatever, half the 'wall lost. Arlan was in repair range at least. The rest of the Circle army sets up, anticipating my feat.

How to solve this? The idea is to set up the Stormwall to take out the Pureblood on the hill (which has warped Spell Ward) while the Ironclad deals with the Feral. If I can do that I'll also rid the Stalker of both Primal and Blessed. It all goes well but the Stormwall struggles to hit the Pureblood and it survives on a handful of boxes. I feat and ensure I catch Krueger. Lances run to block out potential contests so that Krueger has to feat to contest me. 1-0.

Krueger puts up Wraithbane and TKs the Pureblood into the Stormwall. He kills the pod to take a point. Pureblood hits Stormwall and Stalker sets up in the woods with Prowl. Skinwalkers jam. 2-1.

The big turn of TKs! The idea is to have Haley TK 2 Lances and the Ironclad so that I can get as many Skinwalkers as possible. I had hoped to not have to TK the Ironclad but perhaps instead the Stalker or something, which required Thorn to kill a Stone which blocked the Ironclad out. He failed to so and thus triple TK was the order of the day. By drawing the Lances out I got the all-important charges with them and that really helped clear out the Skinwalkers. On top of this the Stormwall dealt with the Pureblood on its first initial and could kill Skinwalkers as well. The Ironclad took out the rest of the models around it but I still had the blackclads + Stalker on my door. 3-1.

Krueger makes an aggressive play since he still has his feat intact: He blows away the Stormwall easily enough and then feats my army as far away as possible. 3-3.

I put Arcane on Haley and camp 1 focus. The rest goes into killing the Stalker which the Ironclad manages just fine (after I've TK'd it around and cast Hunter's Mark on it). I ensure that as many models as possible jam the zone so as to deny Krueger a possible scenario win.

Circle tries a last, ditch assassination attempt. It involves TK-ing Krueger to get behind my models (I should've seen this and angled them properly to deny him). However his first attack doesn't hit and when he doesn't trigger sustained attack it's basically down to insane dice for him. Said dice don't come through and Haley survives.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

I made life very hard for myself with a deployment that was just too crammed. The things that worked: Lances on one flank, Thorn on the opposite and the Ironclad on the "inner flank" of the Stormwall. Things that didn't: Firefly + Haley + Stormwall ending up too close to the water. Obviously killing stones isn't exactly vital but the main mistake here was letting the Feral charge without warping Speed.

I made a big mistake planning my feat turn as I completely forgot the Spell Ward on the Pureblood. I had expected to TK it and planned my focus and spells accordingly. Had I known that wouldn't work I could have looked at other options, such as sending the Ironclad into it instead and have the Stormwall handle a TK'd Feral.

The way it ended up I was nervous for a second for Krueger's scenario options here. I was relieved to be reminded that he only went to 3CP on his feat turn. 4 would've been a disaster as I was running out of options to contest his flag.

The Ironclad was very, very interesting. I intend to keep trying it out! It helped out at crucial moments in this match. The game ended up being closer than I believe it should have, but it made for a great #200 report at least.

List Musings

Lists in Mk. 3 are interesting. I find that they often fall into traps: You go overboard on something and the army ends up being too inflexible. With Haley, I tend to try and include too much support and utility and the lists end up feeling flimsy and without punch. With Sloan, I tend to want too much shooting and I've seen in practice how that lacks the ability to contest the scenario and claim board space. However, for both casters I have found lists that I consider to be stable and solid. An excellent starting position for further experimentation.

Let's start with Sloan. At first, I tried to make a Stormwall work with her. However, the jack tax on junior I found was too much and I doubt it's the best choice without Arcane Shield. I switched to double Defenders and I was positively impressed. The real solution though came not when I was looking at her battlegroup but rather her support. Storm Lances are an amazing unit with her. Their speed and long-ranged threat ensure that opponents have to think twice about how they approach her lines. It essentially creates a catch22 situation: Stay still and be shot or advance and receive Lances to the face.

The list is comprised of a number of pairs: Double this, double that. I find that it's well rounded and can deal with most situations. Its main disadvantages include no pathfinder, only Sloan having magical attacks and no serious combat punch.

Cygnar Army - 75 / 75 (+28) points
(Sloan 1) Captain Kara Sloan [+28]
 - Defender [16]
 - Defender [16]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Firefly [8]
 - Firefly [8]
 - Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Gun Mage Captain Adept [5]

I intend to playtest variants of this. The GMCA has proven to be a decent addition but there are multiple other uses for his 5 points I want to try, for example upgrading a Firefly to a Cyclone. That adds a MAT7 heavy which can act as a front liner and threaten KD with various power attacks. Anti-infantry wise it sports something the list kind of lacks to an extent: POW12s. Often I find with Sloan that Hunters/Defenders are overkill while Fireflies and their POW10s are too weak. 

Moving onto Haley2! I believe the Thornwall is still the right place to start. I could be wrong, but I feel its immunity to most anti-jack tech such as disruption, knockdown, stationary, push, place, slam or whatever combined with its big guns, covering fires and power attacks make it the toolbox which Haley wants so much. With Thorn, Stormwall, Squire, Junior and an 8+ point jack there aren't a whole lot of points left to play around with. Arlan is pretty much a must-have because of the extra focus and magical attacks. From there I've tried to build various shooty lists based on what worked so well for me in Mk. 2. However it's just not the same and I am starting to doubt that Haley2 can play that way. Perhaps I am just making the wrong decisions in terms of what to include and not, I don't know. Regardless I've found a list that I believe is a solid baseline from which I can work off of:

Cygnar Army - 75 / 75 (+25) points
(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
 - Thorn [13]
 - Stormwall [39]
 - Squire [5]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
 - Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Storm Lances (max) [20]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]

Rhupert is a very solid support piece now. Pathfinder and concealment on a stick are both great abilities and can be useful for both Haley, Thorn and Storm Lances depending on the situation. I haven't played Lanyssa yet but I do believe she is very valuable for the mere 3 points she costs now, doubly so because Haley2 lost her Stormwall-bond. 

I've already had time to play quite a few Mk. 3 games. I have an upcoming tournament this Saturday and I expect to bring a pairing that is fairly close to these 2 lists. I will continue to experiment and try out extremes as that's where I believe the truly great stuff might be. 

Battle Report #199: Haley2 vs Caine2

:: Prologue ::

To round up this weekend's games, I was facing Cygnar in another civil war. We chose Haley2 vs Caine2 as the matchup, which would prove to be interesting!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Charger [9]
Gastone Crosse [4]
- Buccaneer [6]
Ragman [4]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]

Opponent:

Caine2
- Reinholdt
- Hunter
- Hunter
- Hunter
Rhupert
Ragman
Trench Buster
Trench Buster
Trenchers (max)
- UA
Rangers
Stormblades
- UA

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

I was going 2nd so I set up for the classic Haley2 2CP lead. Caine made a grave mistake by deploying way too much on his left flank, leaving fairly little to contest me with. I made a big mistake in deployment as well as I should've had Thorn on Haley's side in this case, there is no work for him to do on the left flank.

:: Game ::

Caine moves up. He casts Bullet Dodger on himself and Fire For Effect on a Trencher.

I want to see if I can cripple a Hunter. The Charger receives TK + Temporal and 3 focus (1 from Arlan). Crucially, it misses one shot and the Hunter, although having lost quite a few boxes, has all systems go still. I couldn't risk junior because Arcane Shield is huge in this matchup so he had to move more than 6" away from the Charger, unfortunately. I started running Thorn towards the right side but I should have ran him even further. I was a little too afraid of those Hunters. Haley put up Deflection and went behind the wall. I put 2 Lances on either side of said wall so they could be TK'd if needed. Also, DEF19 is a thing for them. Gastone + Buccaneer took the hill, the former taking care to stay outside of Hunters' threat ranges.

The clouds push up and a CRA goes into the Stormwall from the FFE dude. Along with the Hunters I lose 12-15 boxes or so. Caine camps a single focus after trying the Stormwall himself but dice -10 is hard, as he found it.

So I start this turn off by claiming that Caine is dead. I can throw a Lance directly on him, with the new rules and pre-measuring throws are quite ridiculous. I can follow this up with 4 Arcane Bolts, one of which boosted, since Thorn can easily make it into the clouds. So we "mini-feat" a swap between Bullet Dodger and Heightened Reflexes, which is fair I think. Instead I TK both Hunters out of the zone and clear up the rest quite easily. The Lances set up to counter T3 and Haley feats, making sure to get Caine2 and most of his army. The Buccaneer moved to contest the zone.

Caine sees one opening and that is to threaten the entire zone himself. He thus moves up next to the pod I placed to take out Ragman with Busters on either side. This meant the Buccaneer lived so no CP for Caine.

I could have played this safe and put Haley behind the wall. It's irrelevant whether you move to 3 CP or 4 CP in most cases as a last turn domination puts you at the 5+ required anyway. However I was tired and wanted to finish the game so went for an assassination instead. Caine was parked next to the pod for +4 DEF, however that also meant an easy Time Bomb target. Lances + Thorn cleared the zone and path for the Stormwall, Haley Time Bombed the pod to hit Caine and remove his melee bonus, before TK-ing him around. The Buccaneer assaulted a Buster and knocked it down. Gastone had his lovely backstrike bonus but he missed one of his shots and the other was shield guarded. It was all up to the Stormwall then but his 3 focus + 2 initials proved enough as he needed 7+ to hit after Time Bomb + TK.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

I tried Haley2 into Caine2 because I was eager to see if she has game. Caine's big problem is getting a battlegroup which can do work for him. I honestly have no idea how to build lists for him and that's largely why I've temporarly re-assigned him to the shelf. 

In this game I found that Haley2 has massive scenario game but I fear that was partly because my opponent deployed his Trenchers behind the wrong zone. It is pretty much impossible for me to clear a zone with tons of Trenchers and/or clouds with stuff behind it. Since they have AD he could easily have responded to my skew.

While Caine's list definitely struggled with the Stormwall here, everything else was rather fragile. Every model lost hurts a lot for Haley. This means it's a race against the clock as I don't have the defensive tech to keep stuff alive outside of my feat. I believe that the matchup is really close if Caine can keep his Hunters safe (could easily be done by AD-ing them behind the Trenchers and thus provide them with clouds) and contest the zones. It's probably in his favor and my conclusion is thus that Sloan is probably my best bet for a mirror matchup. It depends on the pairing, of course.

A great weekend with tons of games! I learn a lot and really enjoy these quality games, but I'm also left with a lot of questions, thoughts and ideas. Expect another musing post soon. 

Battle Report #198: Haley2 vs Iron Mother

:: Prologue ::

Convergence in Mk. 3 is something I haven't looked too closely on. I'm not sure what I should play against them either for that matter. For this game I decided to go with Haley2, partly because my opponent has never played vs Cygnar before and I think Haley2 is more representative of how Cygnar plays with a few classic tricks and choices (as opposed to Sloan where the game just boils down to whether or not I shoot hard enough). True, taking Haley2 vs a player who has never played Cygnar before isn't exactly beginner friendly, but in my opinion it's better to get used to it than get a false sense of how the faction plays. Realistically I think Convergence can expect to face Haley2 more often than not. Anyways, let's get to it!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25]
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Charger [9]
Gastone Crosse [4]
- Buccaneer [6]
Ragman [4]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]

Opponent:

Iron Mother
- Monitor
- Corollary
- Assimilator
- Prime Axiom
Optifus Directive
Steelsoul Protector
Reciprocators

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Iron Mother is a caster I've never played before. The scenario was Outlast and I had the first turn. The double pulls from Prime Axiom coupled with Field Marshal Arc Node and Domination made this a super dodgy proposition for my jacks. Some pretty extreme threat ranges on both sides of the table. After carefully going through what all my choices could do it was time to start. Deployment-wise I put down Storm Lances on my anticipated strong flank, junior + gastone with their respective jacks opposite (for contest purposes) and the Stormwall in the middle. I also put Thorn next to Haley because I wanted him up behind the central forest asap. Convergence replied as expected and we had a diagonal game ahead of us.

:: Game ::

Stuff runs up, decel is up.

Reciprocators move up pretty far on the right flank, creating a bit of a situation for me which I need to deal with. Prime Axiom starts threatening the center and Iron Mother moves so as to dominate the left zone bottom of 2.

So I want to clear the reciprocators to ensure my control of the right side of the table. With his shooting in the center I know this likely means my Lances will die if I commit them, but so be it. I could possibly save them with feat but I can't secure points because of the Axiom's servitors so I want to save it. So anyway I TK one of the infantry dudes around and throw an Arcane Bolt on him for some damage. Temporal Acceleration on Stormwall. Lances kill 2 dudes and eleap 4 boxes or so on a fifth. Stormwall with Future Sight manages to take out the remaining. On the left zone I just give up contesting and move stuff back instead for T3 action.

Lances die (forgot to remove the last model before taking the picture), Iron Mother camps 4 and move to 2-0.

My idea is to move Haley2 up to the woods, catch both jacks on the right side in feat and kill all non-warcaster models in the left zone. This means I'll move to 3-2, with an ensuing 2 more CP most likely in my next turn. To do this I have to TK the jack around so that Gastone gets his bonus and I have to unleash all the shooting I have where it's most effective. It works out in the end but it's quite close!

With the 3 CP going to me my opponent concedes the game as he can't keep contesting my right zone under Shift.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

A very interesting matchup that can definitely swing both ways. My opponent found it more playable than he had feared which is a very good thing. Mk. 3 took away a lot of Haley's ridiculous flexibility and it really shows. That is very good for the game as a whole.

The Reciprocators were positioned too far right and went too aggro T1. By going Shield Wall on the hill for example they are a lot more painful to deal with. True, my Lances don't die either but they aren't exactly easy to keep alive if I want to get any work out of them. With the Convergence going first it's hard to catch up on scenario unless I have a 3 CP opening, which truly turns the game around as it did here.

A close-fought game and I look forward to more encounters with the Convergence of Cyriss. I'm not sure if Sloan can actually shoot her way through this. Needs to be tested!

Battle Report #197: Sloan vs MacBain

:: Prologue ::

A quick first game meant that we had time for a rematch. We re-racked and rolled for sides + first turn again. This time, Mercs took the initiative.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Captain Kara Sloan - WJ: +28
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator - PC: 4
- Firefly - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 0
- Hunter - PC: 0
- Hunter - PC: 10
- Defender - PC: 16
- Defender - PC: 16
Gun Mage Captain Adept - PC: 5
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12

Opponent:

Drake MacBain - WJ: +30
-    Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker - PC: 4
-    Galleon - PC: 9
-    Rover - PC: 15
-    Nomad - PC: 11
Harlan Versh, Illuminated One - PC: 4
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 8
Kayazy Assassins - Leader & 9 Grunts: 15
-    Kayazy Assassin Underboss - PC: 4
Kayazy Eliminators - Leader & Grunt: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Going second here is something I'm curious to see how will work out. I wonder if perhaps MacBain can take a slow first turn and try and roll for a scenario victory T3. However my opponent deployed the Galleon defensively and I replied with my shooters opposite it, confident that he would be very hard pressed to pressure me on scenario.

:: Game ::

The heavies + colossal take care to stay outside of my non-fire group threat range, the Galleon being outside of 23" even. The Kayazy ran up though.

The problem with securing some models but not all is that I'll simply cast Fire Group and kill those that are in range. This put a pretty big blow on the Kayazy and even the Rover whom I spiked twice on.

MacBain feats but SPD6 isn't enough to really threaten counter measures here.

I knock down all Kayazy and kill the Rover. The Galleon is down to half boxes ish. The Fireflies and a Defender all stand base to base to form a "fort Sloan".

One last push is attempted by the Mercenaries however the damage is minimal.

I will let this picture speak for itself.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

I thought my opponent would go for a scenario angle here. When he didn't the game pretty much boiled down to him trying to weather my shooting which he simply doesn't have the resilience to do. From Cygnar's perspective it was just a matter of prioritizing what was in front of me but I had the firepower to deal with it all after he lost quite a few models bottom of 1.

If MacBain deploys centrally here, aiming to get into the trench with the Galleon on the right flank to pressure the scenario, I think a push can be made that will make Sloan's life hard. The key lies in keeping my T1 shooting just off the table, i.e. just go super-wide or simply stay outside of Fire Group threat ranges.

Battle Report #196: Sloan vs MacBain

:: Prologue ::

One of my main theorymachine headaches with Sloan was MacBain. A bit of a catch22 situation with Counter Measures swapping between Kayazy and Alexia1. However Alexia1 cannot be targeted by spells now so that makes it a lot more playable. Time to put it to the test!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

Captain Kara Sloan - WJ: +28
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator - PC: 4
- Firefly - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 0
- Hunter - PC: 0
- Hunter - PC: 10
- Defender - PC: 16
- Defender - PC: 16
Gun Mage Captain Adept - PC: 5
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12

Opponent:

Drake MacBain - WJ: +30
-    Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker - PC: 4
-    Galleon - PC: 9
-    Rover - PC: 15
-    Nomad - PC: 11
Harlan Versh, Illuminated One - PC: 4
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: 8
Kayazy Assassins - Leader & 9 Grunts: 15
-    Kayazy Assassin Underboss - PC: 4
Kayazy Eliminators - Leader & Grunt: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Entrenched and I went first. The idea was to get up my jacks in the center and flank with Lances on both sides.

:: Game ::

I put up Refuge on Sloan just because she has nothing better to do top of 1.

The Kayazy spread out and receive Counter Measures but MacBain elects not to feat.

I however do not intend to save my feat. The Galleon is aiming for Sloan so I have to move her a bit. I want to keep her in the trench but I reckon that's perfectly possible. The Fireflies rip apart the Kayazy and I take out roughly half the Rover and half the Galleon. Harlan dies as well.

With the situation turning desperate really quickly my opponent decides to go for Sloan, hoping for lucky scatters and/or direct hits. He aims and thus needs 13+. He puts 3 focus on it and lets loose with his AOE cannons. On Sloan's side he gets 2 attacks, they both hit with boosts (feels strangely familiar) and one boosted damage roll + one normal is enough to take her down.

:: Evaluation ::

I did everything right here I felt but I made one unnecessary mistake: If I had put the Defender next to the Firefly he couldn't have dragged said Defender in (as it's basically impossible for him to kill the Firefly) and he would not have been able to draw LOS to Sloan. Sure it's a long shot with 2 boosted 13s needing to hit and then the damage rolls at -1 have to meet or exceed 16, but as I've written about before there's just no reason to risk it.

The matchup without Counter Measures on Alexia1 or anything insanely fast feels very much in Sloan's favor. That said I don't think my opponent got that much work out of his heavies so presumably those points are better spent elsewhere.

It was a good game anyway and I'd much rather be reminded that I have to check these angles in a normal club game than in a tournament.