Sloan is a wonderful caster but I struggle to find the balance with her. Today I set out to try a new list I've been contemplating for a little while and I got to face Legion 3 times. First up was Thagrosh2 in the new scenario "The Pit" from Steamroller 2016.
:: Lists ::
Cygnar:
Sloan
- Reinholdt
- Defender
- Defender
- Hunter
- Hunter
- Grenadier
- Firefly
Maxwell Finn
Trench Buster
Trench Buster
Trencher Infantry (min)
Opponent:
:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::
I got to start the game and I had a cover piece in front of me along with a forest in front of the flag. The idea was to create a cross-over with the Defenders centrally and Hunters on the left flank to make the forest impossible to go for. The rest deployed around Sloan who aimed for the wall. For this game we played with the new, rumored Sloan feat. Additionally I had to proxy a few models (I assume they are obvious).
:: Game ::
From previous experience I know that the Raeks are important to deal with. The Seraph also needs to go asap. This is a bit of an issue because there are so many things that are high-priority here. In an effort to claim the table I ended up being over-aggressive as the Hunters advanced too far: Outside of charge-range but easily inside of shoot/jam range.
Legion spread out. A Raek jams my hunter. The rest fan out and are somewhat cautious.
I decide to try an early feat to prevent him from going all-in. The idea is to kill the Raek with Sloan herself aiming and have the Hunters mop up the Seraph on that flank. That plan fails miserably as I miss 2 (!) shots and hit the Hunter on both, killing it despite not boosting. Losing parry really hurts these guys. The end result is that the Raek and Seraph die but neither of the Angelii. I also forget Finn's reposition which allows the left-most Angelius to kill him on a charge and overtake into the Hunter. Abysmal feat turn. In hindsight I should've just tanked the free strike.
It's feat turn for Thagrosh and he jams me down. Trencher take the brunt of the assault and no serious damage is done but I have a lot of problems in my next turn.
The idea is to have the rightmost Defender kill the Angelius it's in melee with together with help from a Trench Buster flanking. It has +2 ARM so it's a bit iffy but it should be doable. The central Raek has to die to the other Buster and a little support from a Trencher while Sloan has to take out the Angelius on the left flank with aim + boosted damage after the Hunter moves out. A lot of things have to go "just right" and they luckily do as the central Defender finishes off the left-most Angelius with its shot. Phew, close!
Sensing blood in the water Thagrosh sends his infantry + protector ahead to wipe out Trenchers.
I make a big mistake here as I send a Defender into charge range of Thagrosh. This should be avoided at all costs at this point in time I believe as the Hunter contests on the far side regardless.
Thagrosh goes in and kills the 2 models. This leaves a single Defender and Sloan to kill him (plus the Hunter behind him).
Luckily for me this is enough. Despite being jammed the Defender can walk up to Thagrosh without tanking a free strike and Thagrosh falls to its hammer.
:: Evaluation ::
I think I was a bit over-cautious with the central woods. In fact if I go first I think I might just be better off sending Sloan on the opposite side so that the forest cannot be used to position scary heavies for assassination angles. With the Busters for Shield Guards she's perfectly fine there. Getting shot and jammed bottom of 1 with Hunters is just unnecessary and I must take better care of them.
The game highlights the list's reliance on a good feat turn. It also shows how hard it can be to come back from a bad feat turn and doubly so if you're jammed down. Lastly Sloan ended up being very static here: In my experience thus far her survivability is often the biggest problem and she typically wants to hug a piece of terrain and camp there. Playing the Trench Busters more defensively might help alleviate this.
The mistakes on the left flank nearly cost me the game. In the end I think the Defenders' versatility was what kept me going, along with the amazing damage output of the Trench Busters. Definitely the MVPs of this game.
Thagrosh, the Messiah - WB: +25
- Angelius - PC: 0
- Angelius - PC: 9
- Raek - PC: 8
- Raek - PC: 8
- Nephilim Protector - PC: 10
- Seraph - PC: 14
Blighted Nyss Shepherd - PC: 1
The Forsaken - PC: 4
The Forsaken - PC: 4
Spell Martyr - PC: 1
Spell Martyr - PC: 1
Blighted Nyss Swordsmen - Leader & 9 Grunts: 15
:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::
I got to start the game and I had a cover piece in front of me along with a forest in front of the flag. The idea was to create a cross-over with the Defenders centrally and Hunters on the left flank to make the forest impossible to go for. The rest deployed around Sloan who aimed for the wall. For this game we played with the new, rumored Sloan feat. Additionally I had to proxy a few models (I assume they are obvious).
:: Game ::
From previous experience I know that the Raeks are important to deal with. The Seraph also needs to go asap. This is a bit of an issue because there are so many things that are high-priority here. In an effort to claim the table I ended up being over-aggressive as the Hunters advanced too far: Outside of charge-range but easily inside of shoot/jam range.
Legion spread out. A Raek jams my hunter. The rest fan out and are somewhat cautious.
I decide to try an early feat to prevent him from going all-in. The idea is to kill the Raek with Sloan herself aiming and have the Hunters mop up the Seraph on that flank. That plan fails miserably as I miss 2 (!) shots and hit the Hunter on both, killing it despite not boosting. Losing parry really hurts these guys. The end result is that the Raek and Seraph die but neither of the Angelii. I also forget Finn's reposition which allows the left-most Angelius to kill him on a charge and overtake into the Hunter. Abysmal feat turn. In hindsight I should've just tanked the free strike.
It's feat turn for Thagrosh and he jams me down. Trencher take the brunt of the assault and no serious damage is done but I have a lot of problems in my next turn.
The idea is to have the rightmost Defender kill the Angelius it's in melee with together with help from a Trench Buster flanking. It has +2 ARM so it's a bit iffy but it should be doable. The central Raek has to die to the other Buster and a little support from a Trencher while Sloan has to take out the Angelius on the left flank with aim + boosted damage after the Hunter moves out. A lot of things have to go "just right" and they luckily do as the central Defender finishes off the left-most Angelius with its shot. Phew, close!
Sensing blood in the water Thagrosh sends his infantry + protector ahead to wipe out Trenchers.
I make a big mistake here as I send a Defender into charge range of Thagrosh. This should be avoided at all costs at this point in time I believe as the Hunter contests on the far side regardless.
Thagrosh goes in and kills the 2 models. This leaves a single Defender and Sloan to kill him (plus the Hunter behind him).
Luckily for me this is enough. Despite being jammed the Defender can walk up to Thagrosh without tanking a free strike and Thagrosh falls to its hammer.
Victory to the Swans!
:: Evaluation ::
I think I was a bit over-cautious with the central woods. In fact if I go first I think I might just be better off sending Sloan on the opposite side so that the forest cannot be used to position scary heavies for assassination angles. With the Busters for Shield Guards she's perfectly fine there. Getting shot and jammed bottom of 1 with Hunters is just unnecessary and I must take better care of them.
The game highlights the list's reliance on a good feat turn. It also shows how hard it can be to come back from a bad feat turn and doubly so if you're jammed down. Lastly Sloan ended up being very static here: In my experience thus far her survivability is often the biggest problem and she typically wants to hug a piece of terrain and camp there. Playing the Trench Busters more defensively might help alleviate this.
The mistakes on the left flank nearly cost me the game. In the end I think the Defenders' versatility was what kept me going, along with the amazing damage output of the Trench Busters. Definitely the MVPs of this game.
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