Battle Report #223: Haley2 vs Wurmwood

:: Prologue ::

In my last game vs Wurmwood I made a couple of really poor mistake. I was now eager to try out this game again, keeping the lessons I learned in mind. Let's jump right in.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25] (Fuel Cache)
- 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:

Wurmwood, Tree of Fate & Cassius the Oathkeeper - WB: +27
- Wurmwood, Tree of Fate & Cassius the Oathkeeper (Cont.)
- Feral Warpwolf - PC: 0
- Pureblood Warpwolf - PC: 8
- Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 19
- Argus Moonhound - PC: 6
Gallows Grove - PC: 2
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress - PC: 3
Reeves of Orboros - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 3
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 3
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Farrow Bone Grinders - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Same map & scenario as last game and again, Circle moves first. I think Haley2 moving first is a huge advantage for Cygnar here because Circle will be forced to make some tough, tough choices. Anyway, for practice purposes I may as well get the shit side of the stick. So the idea is to threaten to overwhelm a flank again and force him to back out and leave me ahead on said flank. I do end up choosing the wrong flank I think as I'd rather not deal with Reeves than having to deal with them (plus the Trench there is sexy). Anyway I'm quite happy with my deployment!

:: Game ::

Circle moves up. Reeves are a little afraid of Thorn, as well they should be in my opinion. Wurmwood and Cassius are rather far behind.

So the idea now is to force Wurmwood to really, really commit if he wants to control the Stormwall. I keep it over 20" from Cassius and have the Ironclad in front. If he goes for him, I will likely have angles to make his life really, really tough. If he doesn't, I will likely be in a position to deliver a significant alpha under the cover of Shift. I hate Reeves so I spend Haley's focus taking down 2 by way of Arcane Bolts. I reaction drive + TK Thorn away (the TK was probably a little overkill) and cast Deflection.

My opponent spends forever setting his turn up. He wants to get that Stranglehold off so badly. Personally I believe that is a terrible move given my position and how risky that is, but I'm not playing Circle. So Cassius runs up, the army runs up to form a very offensive bunch of Circle nasties and Wurmie TPs to the front, casting Parasite and Strangehold on the Stormwall. He does land it but only camps a couple of fury. Feat is up, of course.

I did make one semi-significant mistake in my last turn: I didn't place a Lance close enough to the Stormwall so that I could run + throw him. That meant one "heavy hit" less on Wurmwood. Anyway, the Ironclad can move pretty far despite his feat because of TK + Temporal so the idea was to go for gold here. I also had the Firefly within 11" so I could follow up with a boosted POW12 pod from the Stormwall.

Long story short the assassination run worked and the Tree was cut down by a quake hammer.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Haley2's control elements really come into play in this matchup. I have a lot of angles to beware but Circle has even more things to be careful with. It might be uphill for Haley2, I don't know to be honest, but I think you have to be extremely skilled to shut down her angles here as the Wurmwood player. In addition to the nature of matchup being extremely complex to begin with, thinking about Haley2's options costs the Circle player a -lot- of time. There are so many things to beware and once you forget some of these things, you end up losing. For all his power, Wurmwood is exposed due to being DEF5. That is something my list can capitalize on, which is indeed what I did here to bring the game home.

The clue here lies in getting Thorn + Lances online ASAP I believe. They have to start getting work done and stay safe in your very first turn. They are the bread and butter of getting the right angles. The Ironclad is pretty crucial as well, but he is more of a piece to work with, not a piece which enables work to be done if that makes sense.

I'm looking forward to learning this matchup even better. It is extremely demanding to play, but also rewarding when you get things right. I find that the optimal plays for Haley2 differ vastly to what they usually are.