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]Opponent:
- 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]
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.
:: 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.
:: 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.
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