Battle Report #411: Haley3 vs Ossrum

:: Prologue ::

NM is over. We've had a weekend filled with angry birds, lightning, High Reclaimer assassinations and so on. What do we do? Take a break? Nah, back to work! This is from our club last night. Game on again, no rest for the wicked:

Stryker3's back where he belongs: On the shelf. It's been a crazy ride, but it's time to get back to business. I haven't yet decided what my pairing will be but suffice is to say it will likely include at least one Haley! I know Nemo3 quite well by now so it's time to practice Haley2 and Haley3 again. I was up against Mercs which means Haley3.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 3) Major Prime Victoria Haley [+25], Bunker
 - Grenadier [9]
 - Grenadier [9]
 - Thorn [13]
 - Defender [16]
Storm Lances (max) [20]
Trencher Infantry (max) [16]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
 - Charger [9]
Ragman [4]

Opponent:

(Ossrum 1) General Ossrum [+28], Fuel Cache
 - Grundback Blaster [6]
 - Grundback Blaster [6]
 - Grundback Gunner [6]
 - Grundback Gunner [6]
 - Grundback Gunner [6]
 - Grundback Gunner [6]
 - Grundback Gunner [6]
 - Grundback Gunner [6]
 - Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Horgenhold Forge Guard (max) [16]
Horgenhold Artillery Corps [6]
Horgenhold Artillery Corps [6]
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios [7]
Kell Bailoch [5]
Anastasia di Bray [3]
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt [8]

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Recon and I won the roll-off. The ideas to get up the table here and slowly get ahead on attrition until the Mercenary forces have to commit, at which point I can evaluate whether to go for a counter-charge or consolidate my position.

:: Game ::

Long time no Haley means traffic jam's a little harder than it should be. It's far from a crisis but it shows the need for more practice.

The proxy-based bunny army is very cautious. Too afraid of Grenadiers, if they move max to shoot they won't be covered in clouds.

I edge up and keep Lances far back because I anticipate a feat-push from Ossrum.

The push never comes, yet the feat does. Spray-bunnies take out a few Trenchers.

I simply consolidate and wait out the feat.

Bunnies commit.

The counter-charge is devastating and my opponent concedes at the end of my turn:

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

A typical mistake against Haley3 is pushing too hard, too fast. Another typical mistake is to play the waiting game. Finding the right balance between these two can be very hard. In this particular game the problem for the Bunnies was that they didn't commit on feat turn. By simply consolidating my position I didn't have to care about the +3 ARM from the feat and could wait it out.

It's good to be back with Haley3. I've made a small change in the list, ditching Rhupert to get the Defender "upgrade" from the Ironclad. The idea is to get more firepower and I think Haley2 will be the designated Circle drop, meaning Tremor's not as essential as it has been (because of Una2 no longer being a Haley3 matchup). It'll be interesting to see how that goes in the games to come.