Battle Report #318: Haley1 vs Issyria

:: Prologue ::

Next weekend I have a fun, doubles tournament coming up. I intend to play Haley1 so I need to field her a couple of games to have an idea of what models I want to bring.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 1) Captain Victoria Haley [+28]
 - Stormwall [39]
 - Squire [5]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Hunter [11]
Gun Mage Captain Adept [5]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Storm Lances (max) [20]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]

Opponent:

Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn - WJ: +29
- Hyperion - PC: 36 (Battlegroup Points Used: 29)
- Phoenix - PC: 18
Arcanist Mechanik - PC: 2
Arcanist Mechanik - PC: 2
Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber - PC: 4
- Discordia - PC: 18
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress - PC: 3
Dawnguard Invictors - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
- Dawnguard Invictor Officer & Standard - Officer & Standard: 4
- Soulless Escort - PC: 1

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario today was Line Breaker. I got to move first. In a matchup between gun lines it's hard to get an angle out of this scenario so the idea was to set up for attrition.

:: Game ::

I run stuff up, taking care to be out of the Invictors' CRA threat range. Shield up on Lances and 'wall.

The reply is a cautious advance. Phoenix is placed in front of Discordia.

I mess up a bit. I think Discordia is the jack in front for some reason since she was proxied. The TL;DR is that I decide to go for a feat alpha on what I think is Discordia and by the time I realize it's Phoenix there's too much to backtrack and we just play it from there. Phoenix dies. Lances chill.

Issyria casts velocity for 2, lands Blinding Light on Stormwall and moves 6" back. Discordia kills GMCA (which is game-breaking here, really) and moves back. Hyperion shoots 'wall.

I try and shoot Discordia up as much as I can but it's not impressive, unfortunately. Lances still chill.

Issyria feats and move to take out Hunters. One loses the cortex, the other has the damage spread out too much to matter. Hyperion shoots the Stormwall for great justice.

My last attempt to win this game is to kill Discordia, charge Hyperion so that he's forced to hit me across the wall and kill Lanyssa. I also have a lot of decent assault shots with the Lances. Haley puts up Barrier as per usual and the Stormwall goes in. It's unfortunately miserable as I roll poor for damage, miss an attack (needing 4+) and fail to kill Lanyssa. Hunters then fail to kill the few boxes Disco has left. Lances get a few Invictors but I fear it is of no importance.

Lanyssa lands Hunter's Mark on Stormwall, Hyperion charges and kills it. The game is effectively over and I concede.

Sadly, a Loss to the Swans.

:: Evaluation ::

Losing the GMCA early is a big deal here and we probably should have reset. Putting him in threat range of Discordia without being able to kill said Discordia is so big here. At least I learned that lesson! This is so crucial because Shadow Fire means Issyria has to be really careful.

In the deployment phase I committed Lances too soon, same for Stormwall. I should've deployed symmetrically so I could have had the Lances run up to the wall on the left side and had the Stormwall go right for example. The way this played out it was too easy for my opponent to simply counter-deploy me, which he did perfectly.

I considered pushing the Lances sooner but even with Arcane Shield the Invictors will do a real number on them under Issyria's feat. I should perhaps have gone for the Trench though as the loss of the GMCA early means it is hard for me really apply pressure on the table.

A good game and a lot of things for me to ponder. Issyria sure is a trial by fire for Haley1 but it was about time I got to field her in Mk. 3. Playing uphill often reveals weaknesses and mistakes better.