Battle Report #236: Caine2 vs Tanith

:: Prologue ::

I doubt Caine will see a lot of action vs Circle, however some action is to be expected and as such, playing against a variety of casters is a good start. On top of that I have never played against Tanith before so I was very much looking forward to this game.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Caine 2) Captain Allister Caine [+27]
- Stormwall [39]
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Rangers [9]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Gobber Tinker [2]
Ragman [4]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]

Opponent:

Tanith the Feral Song - WB: +31
-    Druid Wilder - PC: 4
-    Feral Warpwolf - PC: 18 (Battlegroup Points Used: 18)
-    Pureblood Warpwolf - PC: 17 (Battlegroup Points Used: 13)
-    Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 19
Gallows Grove - PC: 2
Reeves of Orboros - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
-    Reeve of Orboros Chieftain & Standard - Chieftain & Standard: 4
Reeves of Orboros - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Again we were playing Entrenched and again I was moving second. Now, Caine2 projects a ton of force which Tanith has to respect so my plan here was to play a slow game early and force a scenario lead. To this end Caine deployed a little to the right with the Stormwall. I had Lances on either flank and support spread out.

:: Game ::

Reeves run up on both flanks. Two Wolves take the wall on the right and the Pureblood is on the left.

I figure I need the Rangers up a little bit. I give them concealment so that only the Mannikins can target them (Prowl + Rhupert is amazing). Lances stay behind on the left flank within 16" of the objective (so that I can electro leap from it if needed). The other Lances start flanking right with the Firefly. Caine casts Blur and moves up behind the cloud from Fuel Cache. Stormwall runs up, taking care not to let a ton of Reeves in range (affliction + 20 reeves is disastrous, potentially).

Oh Sentry Stones how I hate you with a passion. The Mannikins go wild on the left flank and together with the Pureblood assaulting, I lose 5 Rangers and a Storm Lance. I could probably have played this better, at least limited it to 3-4 Rangers and no Lances. The Reeves on the right run back, afraid of Caine.

The good news about the Mannikins is that their commitment ensures that Sentry Stones are now in range of Caine2. Retaliation ensues and they both die, alongside things here and there from Trick Shots. The right Lances move up to threaten the Stalker and anything else wishing to move closer to my zone. The scenario game is on. The left Storm Lances help clear out the Sentry Stones and deal some damage to the Pureblood. The Stormwall puts a boosted shot into the Feral for 8-10 boxes or so. 1-0

Circle is in a bit of a pickle: The scenario angle is looking pretty bad as the Reeves on the left + Pureblood are way, way out of position. Essentially he has to sacrifice a Wolf to even contest me. At least he gets an angle to take it out while doing so at least, however this requires the Reeves to pitch in with their CRAs as Tanith has to move way back to not be Caine food (and thus the Stalker cannot be forced while attacking my objective). The Fuel Cache blows up and the Stalker Sprints to the far edge of my zone.

This is another #theDream like situation: I can get the remaining Ranger (who ran away last turn) within 5" of both Wolves, have Ragman move up with Death Field, move up the Stormwall to apply Dark Shroud to the Stalker, shoot up the Feral and have the Lances deal with the Stalker and Caine feat to kill whatever would be left. The Firefly could even pitch in and I took down a number of Reeves as well.

When the dust settled Caine even had focus left to Gatecrash away. The Stormwall was not in the Pureblood's charge range.

With so many Reeves dead and Caine gatecrashing away, the game was basically over and my opponent conceded.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Although I don't expect Tanith to become super popular vs Cygnar anytime soon, I do expect Reeves to be a thing. I felt my list had tons of tools to deal with them. Having Caine be able to take on the Sentry Stones was also really, really good. God I hate those things. More than anything these were my take aways here.

Circle underestimated the scenario angle I believe. Deployment and T1 did not at all help him put pressure on me. I did lose 2-3 models more than I should have top of 2, but that also served to pull his elements away from where they could be of use so at the end of the day this was a strategic win for me.

Remembering the scenario is important. In Steamroller 2015 a similar scenario to this, Incoming, had two zones placed at 20" from the table edge instead of 18". I find that pulling the zones back two inches, as they have in Entrenched in Steamroller 2016, it's often way harder to contest. Cygnar can often capitalize on this with the shooting power, threat projections and shenanigans we can present. It's quickly becoming a favourite scenario of mine!