Battle Report #374: Sloan vs Magnus2

:: Prologue ::

Last game of the day! I had hoped to field Stryker3 today but no such play. Will have to play him tomorrow instead I guess.

My opponent was fielding Magnus2 and wanted to try out vs Sloan. I think it's an interesting matchup and happily obliged him!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Sloan 1) Captain Kara Sloan [+28]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Hunter [11]
 - Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Rangers [9]
Trencher Infantry (max) [16]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Gun Mage Captain Adept [5]
Alexia Ciannor & the Risen [10]

Opponent:

(Magnus 2) Magnus the Warlord [+28]
 - Nomad [11]
 - Nomad [11]
 - Nomad [11]
 - Talon [7]
 - Buccaneer [6]
 - Freebooter [9]
Trencher Infantry (max) [16]
 - Trencher Infantry Officer & Sniper [5]
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. (min) [11]
Croe's Cutthroats (max) [16]
Kell Bailoch [0]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [0]

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

We are now done with coverless Entrenched for the day and have moved on to Take and Hold. I win the roll-off and elect to go first. 

I want to take control of the center if possible and create a base between the two rocks. I think it will be hard to assault head-on and I have this idea that it'll be a long grind where my spread-out Hunters and Alexia can really shine. 

:: Game ::

All of Magnus' Trenchers are dug in, but I see no reason not to try so I move up and pew pew a bit. 2 of them die. My own Trenchers take up cover and I ensure that he has to assault if he wants to get work done.

Magnus spread out. Freebooter receives Bullet Dodger and occupies the central hill. Escort + Jury Rigged is pretty sick.

Well, it's go-time. I can't really care about my right flank too much. I reckon the Boomies might get there to try and overwhelm my flank but I can counter-sweep left if he elects to do so.

Anyway, Magnus will feat next turn so I have to feat this turn. Things need to die. I start off with the Bullet Dodger Freebooter on the hill. Between Rangers, aim and GMCA he goes down fast. I get a Nomad as well and do a number on the Trenchers. I cloud up a bit and use Refuge on Sloan to ensure she's not auto-killboxed under Magnus' feat.

The Boomies decide that they have to strengthen the left flank. My Risen are eagerly awaiting them! Croe's go wide on the opposite flank and a Bullet Dodger'd Talon takes the hill with a Nomad nearby. The other Nomad's busy throwing Magnus up the board, feat on and everything.

I have to keep Boomies at bay. I need to kill the Nomad on the hill. The Talon will have to live for now, just gotta jam him out. I accomplish all of this and even get some work done on Trenchers and Croe's. Not bad considering Magnus feated! A Thrall contests his flag.

Croe's continue wrapping around, Boomies kill Risen, I lose a few Trenchers.

Dead Trenchers mean more Risen so I block the Boomies again. This is fun! Hunters charge and do a number on Croe's, effectively neutralizing the threat they present.

I kill another Nomad as well. Casually, almost.

Boomies clear jam, Croe's are ineffective, Magnus is running out of models to get work done with. The Talon is the MVP of his forces but MAT6 is unforgiving (tell me about it) and he can't be everywhere.

Guess what? More Risen! I keep winning the attrition part of the game. It's all about preventing Magnus from getting to 5 CP now.

In Magnus' last turn he clears out the jam but clocks out and Sloan is victorious!

Not a lot of models left but I had better control than the picture might imply. 

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

What a game! Did you see how much Alexia did? Holy mother of undead that was some crazy shit. I lost count of the Risen I had in play. It literally must have been a total of 30-40 or something. The game went on for so many rounds and living things kept dying left, right and center. 

Magnus was unable to do two crucial things in this game: He could not establish control in the center so me having to devote resources to protecting my flanks was a non-issue. Furthermore he also failed to break through on either flank, meaning my lines were intact and could focus on the best attrition options instead of resorting to putting out fires. 

A very close game. Contesting the flag on Take and Hold can be a bitch, it's so deep. The Risen and summoned Thralls were huge here and I don't think Anastasia could've done the same for example. 

The attrition going in my favour stems from the fact that I effortlessly remove 1-2 heavies per turn, 3 if they're not careful. Bullet Dodger can only be in one place and with careful planning and positioning it is dealt with easily enough.