Battle Report #183: Sloan vs Rasheth

:: Prologue ::

A couple of games against Circle and it was time to face Skorne. I was hoping Sloan would be able to shoot hard enough to be my main drop against Skorne as I fear Rasheth will be popular now and he is in my opinion a solid caster vs Haley (as Thorn loses so much of his power). Let's get to it :)

:: 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
Gobber Tinker - PC: 2
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12
Field Mechaniks - Crew Chief & 3 Grunts: 3

Opponent:

Dominar Rasheth - WB: +28
-    Titan Sentry - PC: 0
-    Titan Sentry - PC: 2
-    Titan Sentry - PC: 15
-    Bronzeback Titan - PC: 18
-    Titan Gladiator - PC: 14
-    Agonizer - PC: 7
Extoller Soulward - PC: 3
Mortitheurge Willbreaker - PC: 4
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 7
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Triple Sentry, perfect! In all seriousness, trying to shoot that many boxes without grievous wounds and with tons of heal is a perfect test for Sloan. This time we were playing Entrenched and this time my opponent grabbed first turn.

I yet again deployed rather symmetrically. With my opponent's complete inability to send stuff up fast I wasn't afraid of giving him a scenario opening, doubly so because he moved first. My deployment might hint of an aggressive 3-0 move but I had no intention of doing so

:: Game :: 

Beasts run up with rush. Unfortunately for my opponent he is not wary of my threat ranges...

I reply in kind with getting Fire Group up and sending shots into his front Sentry with both Hunters, both Defenders -and- Sloan. It dies, woho! Having learned from my previous games I position the Storm Lances to threaten any advance my opponent might take, taking care to not be jammable.

Skorne commits with a push.

I feat, kill 2 Heavies and leave the remaining one on ~half boxes I believe.

My opponent plays out his turn but accomplishes nothing of note and concedes the game.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

A fairly straight-forward game that played out perfectly into Sloan's hands. Skorne should definitely have kept behind the Defenders' threat range T1 and positioned all Sentries together so they could've shield guarded eachother and perhaps have benefited more from the heals. 

However, the basic problem is the insane damage output every single turn coupled with his low speed which allows the Storm Lances to zone him out. Sooner or later he has to let me charge him and they add a lot of power to the already very strong shooting. Doing the math, Sloan is dice -9 so assuming 2 hits that's an average of 10 boxes after boosts on the Sentry. Hunters and Defenders are both -6 so another 18 boxes there. A bit of spike or added damage and that's a dead Sentry. On feat turn it's even more damage, doubly so when I can target the softer heavies, and the Lances add a lot as well. 

A very good set of games for Sloan and I'm definitely a fan of the Lances and what they bring to the table for her. Having a solid melee element with a 13" threat range and eleaps like mad make them flexible in terms of dealing with anything from infantry to heavies. The 3 Sloan games today examplify their strengths and weaknesses well: If jammed up and/or kept busy in a crucial situation they are sorely missed, when I've thought ahead and positioned them properly they shore up Sloan's weaknesses exceptionally well.