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.