Tournament Preparation

On Thursday I played my 75th game of Mk. 3. It's been an interesting journey thus far and I believe even more interesting times are ahead of us. The trends and powerhouses become clearer and the meta is beginning to settle down. The more I play, the more I believe Cygnar will be a faction well suited to deal with various challenges. On top of that I believe our dynamic playstyles will end up being our most powerful ones. Possibly too early to call, but I have a hunch.

In a week I have another tournament upcoming. With Iron Moot and WTC coming up in August and September this will be a great opportunity to field my ideas for playtesting in a proper, competitive environment. I love playing casual games at the club but every once in a while, nothing beats a tournament for authentic experiences and learning points.

Since Mk. 3 decks were leaked I've painted nearly 200 points worth of models. The majority of this is warjacks, many of which I probably won't field anytime soon, but it's still an amount I'm fairly happy with. The picture above shows the models I'm taking to the tournament next weekend. Barring a borrowed Storm Lance (can you guess which model this is??) due to unforeseen delays, the models are all finished and ready for tabletop tournament action! The models on the left are models unique to my Haley2 list, the models in the center are shared by both lists and the models on the right are models unique to my Caine2 list.

The Haley2 list, shown above, has been stable for a while. I've been tinkering with alternatives for quite a while but I cannot come up with something I have more faith in. I find that it plays extremely well and has answer to every situation I've yet encountered where I need Haley2 to be my drop. The inclusion of the Ironclad has proved to be a good decision as it's been MVP in multiple games. It complements the Stormwall very well (and vice versa!).

The reason I find Haley2 working so well is primarily because her control elements and focus efficiency are better than ever. The loss of deadeye is keenly felt, as is Time Bomb not stopping charges, but between Power Up and Arlan she can get so much more work done. Her ability to control when and where the fighting happens is what enables her and makes her so powerful. It's hard to master and frequently the squishy Haley2 will die right under your nose, but when you pull it off she is just flat out amazing. Tons of fun to play, an infinitely high skill ceiling, always angles available and incredibly flexible.

The secondary list is still up for debate. Part of it depends on where the meta will settle, part of it depends on what casters and lists work well for us. I've played Sloan extensively for a while but she has her weaknesses and her one-dimensional nature probably makes it easy to tech against her. It's time to broaden my horizons. Next up is Caine2, which I'll be focusing on for some time, and I also believe Haley1, Haley3 and Nemo3 are all solid candidates. More on this matter later in a list/meta musings post.

I believe I've said it before but I don't mind repeating myself on this matter: Privateer Press has done an amazing job with this game. The new edition feels like a big step in the right direction. There are still some things which make me shake my head, but overall the game has improved massively. Kudos to everyone involved! I am as excited as ever to play more and can't wait to play all the tournaments I have lined up for the rest of the year.