Iron Moot: Masters #2 (#558): Haley2 vs Reznik2

:: Prologue ::

For my second game I drew another Protectorate player! This time I was facing a Severius2/Reznik pair. I was expecting Severius2 but received Reznik. I was dropping Haley2 regardless so no big deal!

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

TimeStorm v2
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Cyclone - PC: 13
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Reznik, Jack Spam Theme
- Scourge of Heresy
- 2x Redeemer
- 2x Reckoner
- Devout
Vessel of Judgement
Solos

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Spread The Net and Reznik seized the initiative. My plan here was to play for scenario since I don't for the life of me know how he's supposed to get far enough up the table to properly contest me. I also had to be careful with my huge bases to not have them be shot down. The idea was to flank with the Strider to make it very hard to properly focus on it and play from there.

:: Game ::

Reznik's forces run up.

I have an excellent position with the Strider out on the left flank, allowing it to get a very strong position and at the same time shoot the Vessel. It deals quite a bit of damage. I am very happy with the position I got here, the only regret I have is that Thorn was a little too passive: With Evasive Action from Arlan he could easily have been placed more offensively.

In a display of crazy dice my opponent is able to take out the Strider (!). I did not expect that at all, but dice happen you know. He sung Passage (probably expecting the Strider to survive).

By killing the Vessel and TK-ing 2 jacks out of the central zone I can score 4 CP this turn, contesting Reznik with a pod. I go for the play and leave Haley feating with 2 focus camped.

While Haley could and should not have been targetable by anything here (placing her B2B with the 'wall and blocking off LoS with the Firefly), Reznik did have an angle to kill me here. Flesh is Weak twice is a <1% assassination and after contemplating the situation for a couple of minutes my opponent realized it was his only play. He needed absolutely crazy dice, didn't get them, and that was all she wrote!

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

The inability to properly push against Cygnar and thus yield table space is the main problem many Protectorate lists have with Haley2. They might look strong on paper but the way they play leaves so many scenario openings. It's worth noting that my opponent played -very- aggressively with Reznik in this game: Instead of going for scenario I could've TK'd the Devout and then Reznik, following up with a charge from the Stormwall. Even then, his position wasn't far enough up the table to truly contest me. Shielding would've helped, however had the Strider survived (as it should!), my next turn would've been absolutely brutal attrition-wise as well.

Iron Moot: Masters #1 (#557): Haley2 vs Amon

:: Prologue ::

On the second day of Iron Moot the 64-player Masters event was the big thing. Last year this was an Iron Gauntlet Qualifier event (it still yields points for the Iron Gauntlet but is now a Masters event seeing as IGQ is not a format any longer), which I won in a thrilling finals vs Karchev's Mad Dogs (link). I know that it's very, very unlikely that I'll go to the US to play next year (simply too expensive in terms of both holidays and money to be worth it for me) so this event for me was more about meeting skilled players and having good games. Iron Moot this year was a real shark tank and given Friday's SR win I had confidence that I could put up a fight against the best out there. The Masters was an excellent event to prepare me for Sunday's Nordic Championship (which I decided Friday night would be my main goal for the weekend).

For my very first game I drew another clubmate from Oslo. Seems like if you to Sweden it's hard to play Swedes! Geir was fielding Protectorate, a caster pairing of Feora3 and Amon. I expected the latter, dropped Haley2 and got what I thought I would.


:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

TimeStorm v2
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Cyclone - PC: 13
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Amon, Warjack Spam Theme
- Dervishes (13?)
- Vigilant
2x Choir
Solos

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was The Pit 2 and Amon seized the initiative. My plan here was to bide my time for as long as possible, set up favourable fights and ensure that Haley would be safe.

:: Game ::

Passage up. The Dervishes without rightly decide to hang back.

Thorn moves up, I TK a Dervish out and blast him to bits with the Stormwall. Strider moves within 10" of the objective. No jacks in charge range of Dervishes.

Amon pushes, but crucially decides to cast Shielding this time around...

...which lets my shooters wreak absolute havoc on the Dervishes: The Strider, Charger and Cyclone all light up the Protectorate jacks. Haley feats and it's now down to dice more or less: How much can I disable in time?

Geir gets next to no work done on my feat turn.

I pull back and kill a few more Dervishes. It's really close though and I'm by no means feeling confident here.

A key move I made was to disrupt Dervishes. I fluked on one with the 'wall in melee though and Geir had a disruption-remover so it's conceivable that he could've feated and gone all in for the 'wall here, which would've opened the game up wide. Instead however he played it more conservatively and that left the 'wall on plenty of boxes.

My next turn barely started before it was clear to the both of us that this was now a mop-up and we agreed to end the game.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Haley2 vs Amon has traditionally been a very good matchup for Haley2. However what I noticed this game was that the shift my lists have taken to better deal with e.g. Cryx leaves a hole against lists like this: Without a melee heavy on Jakes your ability to grind out Dervishes diminishes significantly.

I believe that had Geir sung Passage and went for the 'wall post-feat, this game could have gone either way. It certainly is the hardest game I've had against Amon with Haley2 for a long time. It's worth mentioning that I probably should have had Thorn closer to the middle, though I'm not sure how I should've dealt with contesting in that case.

A good game and a good start to the Masters for me!

Iron Moot: Steamroller ADR Finals (#556): Stryker1 vs Twins

:: Prologue ::

Poor Gustav. 

It turns out that the tournament I was in had D&C 1, meaning both lists had to be played. Guess what? I didn't know that. Having gone 4-0 and finding myself in the finals I was list-locked to Stryker1. That's.... Hardly ideal, to say the least. Ironically enough, my friend Gustav playing Legion was up against me. I've met Gustav multiple times before in Swedish tournaments. He's always struggling to find Cygnar counters and I've shown him #justHaley2Things many times before. This time he was prepared, with a list designed to deal with just that: Haley2. The irony was that he had no lists meant to take on Stryker1 and I couldn't even drop Haley2 (something I would've), so we ended up playing Stryker1 vs Twins!

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

"Jaeger Team"
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Commander Coleman Stryker - WJ: +30
- Squire - PC: 0
- Hurricane - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 30)
- Stormwall - PC: 39
- Lightning Pod
- Charger - PC: 9
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9

:: Opponent ::

Twins, Oracles
- Zuriel
- Scythean
- Naga
- Seraph
2x Throne
Blackfrost Shard
Solos

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Spread the Net and I went first. The idea was to bully up the middle with the big boys and play from there. I knew I had superior shooting and this list possesses some crazy angles. It was all about not exposing myself too badly, kiss and wraithbane make those Jaegers go down before you can say "arcane shield".

:: Game :: 

I spread the chargers out wide. Blur on Stryker, Snipe on Hurricane.

Gustav pushes to the max, Occultation on Twins.

I back off, consolidate my position and start shooting up the central Throne. I pod my flag because Gustav cannot kill it with anything without committing a vital piece.

Hellion moves in to contest my zone with her no-shooting thingy up. Rhyas in the middle means he scores. Hellion on the left runs to contest the pod. I lol a bit.

Charger on the right kills Hellion. I finish off the Throne with the Hurricane and continue on the Scythean. It nearly dies. Stryker feats and I take 2 points, meaning I'm up 1.

Gustav backs off, but Zuriel and Rhyas try to kill the Charger on the left. They fail. Remaining Throne contests the right zone, Scythean contests the middle. Nothing contests my flag so I'm up by 2.

If I can kill Rhyas and Zuriel I score in the left zone and there's nothing to threaten Stryker. If I kill the Throne as well I win outright. I go for the play (by Earthquaking to kd Zuriel + Rhyas, Stormwall clears up) and it works out, meaning I win by delta 5 CP. In hindsight it's possibly a sub-optimal play because it's so incredibly hard for my opponent to contest my flag here. A safer play is to kill the Scythean and leave the Throne on the right flank because this way fluffing dice won't matter much. In any case...

Tournament Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

An interesting game for sure! I love the tech's Gustav come up with, a pity he didn't get to play it vs Haley2. The Thrones are really tanky and hard to deal with. I was surprised by his decision to keep pushing despite one Throne being very low on HP. That being said I'm not sure holding it back would accomplish much. Putting Occultation on it means Rhyas and Saeryn can't play anywhere close to as aggressive as they did.

The left zone was won rather easily by me and this was a problem because not only did I score there, but I completely zoned Gustav from contesting my flag. That was a huge problem for him as the CP just kept running and running. A more balanced approached (i.e. shifting further left) probably would've delayed the game.

Another win for the Swans, this time with Stryker1 jumping in when he had to and carrying the day against the dragonspawn of Everblight.

Poor Gustav.

Iron Moot: Steamroller ADR #4 (#555): Haley2 vs Vindictus

:: Prologue ::

Having finally played against everyone I drove down there was no option left for me but to play someone else. Finally a Swede! I was up against Protectorate and that meant yet another drop for Haley2. So much for bringing Stryker1 to handle "all the mirrors"... My opponent surprised me by dropping Vindictus in return.

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

TimeStorm v2
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Cyclone - PC: 13
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Vindictus, Exemplar Theme
- 2x Dervish
- Devout
- Crusader
Gravus
Errant Solo thingy
Max Errants
- UA
2x Knights Exemplar
- UA
Max Vengers

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

So right off the bat: Vindictus is probably one of the most straight-forward casters for Haley2 to dismantle in the game. He has next to 0 tricks which she cares about and he plays exactly the type of list she loves to meet. That being said I played the worst game I possibly have in months so this turned out to be really, really interesting... The plan was easy enough: Keep shooting, keep him out of scenario domination and sooner or later attrition is life!

:: Game :: 

Stuff runs up, Errants receive Defender's Ward.

I pew pew Errants but dice don't agree so a lot more survive than I would have liked to. Strider shoots a Venger.

Vindictus pushes and feats.

I figure that the Crusader is positioned amazingly well for the 'wall to get into the thick of things, establishing itself in the middle to pod the left zone and have fun. My opponent crucially didn't sing Shielding so I could Dominate it out. Somewhere along the way I lost my train of thought, got greedy and went for TK instead. This meant the 'wall wasn't in range to pod the left zone. Adding insult to injury I had no plan to clear my own zone so I ended up feating with Haley2 and giving away a CP.

Exemplars come closer.

Having learned very little from last turn I yet against fail to contest the left zone. Attrition is going well but honestly that's pretty much a given considering these two lists.

While scenario was becoming a big, big issue for me here (I also managed to -not- have my Stormwall in the central zone), I'm not sure if my opponent doesn't see his opening or simply doesn't have the means to kill my objective: He can score 3 this turn possibly. In any case the objective isn't targeted and he forgets to contest my zone.

I believe I'm out of the woods now and start scoring while contesting properly.

One last attempt at retaliation fails to impress me and from here on out it's luckily just a mop-up.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

I know that WarRoomPL recorded this game so it should be up on their YouTube channel soon enough. When it is, I'll post the link here for those interested.

Unfortunately there isn't a lot to take away from this game. The matchup naturally boils down to nothing but target priorities for Cygnar, except when you mess up horribly like I did here. SR2017 is way faster than one might think, delta 5 can happen quickly and with the elements spread out you can find yourself strategically unable to do much about an opponent moving ahead. 

Iron Moot: Steamroller ADR #3 (#554): Haley2 vs Coven

:: Prologue ::

Wouldn't you know it, following 2 games against 2 out of the 3 players I traveled to Iron Moot with, I naturally had to draw the 3rd and last guy in our car for my third game. So much for going to Sweden to play, huh? Nicholas has recently picked up Cryx and I was eager to play Haley2 into Coven again. My practice match against another local Cryx player (see this link) taught me that this is a very difficult matchup. I had some ideas about how to approach it this time around...

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

TimeStorm v2
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Cyclone - PC: 13
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Coven, Dark Host
- 2x Arc Node
- Desecrator
Tartarus
2x Min warriors +UA
2x Max riders
Wraith Engine

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario is Breakdown and I go first. The idea is to try and secure a flank if possible, wheel around and put pressure on the middle. Easier said than done.

:: Game ::

Stuff runs up.

Arlan is a little too exposed for comfort. Note to self: Solos should be 100% hidden in this matchup. Kind of like playing against Vayl2 or Lylyth3. Regardless Nicholas doesn't go for it, he has to get his upkeeps up and play safe...

...however "safe" isn't always trivial. See, the Witches were all hanging out in the back. LoS to them was blocked by the Desecrator, however he was b2b with Egregore and thus Stealth. On top of that the cloud on the right was over 9" away from the Strider but within 10" so I could TK + charge. Long story short a TA'd Stormwall and a TK'd, charging Strider both got LoS to the Witches and killed 2 of them very dead. I covered my army in feat and had a very good spot.

Instead of trying to get back from this my opponent simply conceded the game as he saw no point in playing further. I can empathize.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Coven Banes is a very hard list to play against, however certain elements here are surprisingly squishy at times. As a Haley2 player it's crucial to recognize and take advantage of openings like these. It's where she shines.

I'm sure Nicholas won't make this mistake again. Lesson learned!

Iron Moot: Steamroller ADR #2 (#553): Haley2 vs Rasheth

:: Prologue ::

For my second game I drew another (!) player whom I had traveled with: Hans and his Skorne. Hans plays Makeda2/Rasheth and we've practiced both matchups extensively. Dropping Haley2 here was a no-brainer and I received Rasheth in return, which was not surprising.

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

TimeStorm v2
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Cyclone - PC: 13
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Rasheth, Winds of Death
- 2x Shamans
- Raider
- Krea
2x Soulward
2x Dakar
2x Max Reivers +UA
Siege Animantarax
Min Slingers

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Standoff is the scenario and Skorne moves first. Having learned from previous games I do not commit the Strider to an extreme flank but rather keep it more centrally to make it harder for the Reivers to completely dodge it. Haley goes on the right as there's a sexy-looking trench there and I doubt he can bully me out from the zone.

:: Game ::

My opponent makes a very solid advance on the left flank, with one exception: The derp turtle does not have Krea's animus.

This is a big deal because in keeping said derp turtle heavily wounded my opponent needs to be super careful about committing it. It's the most important piece to help Rasheth push up and gain table space. However without it being able to do so he has to yield space to me. So in a nutshell I make a somewhat unconventional bot of 1 play in this matchup: I unleash hell on the Animantarax: Jakes' Cyclone and the Stormwall both light it up as best as they can and it loses a ton of boxes. The Stormwall obviously receives Shield to do this and takes care to stay out of feat range. Haley shifts right with the Firefly and Strider. Thorn and Charger stay centrally.

The derp turtle has to back off and receive heals. This essentially leads to Skorne having to consolidate instead of pushing further...

...which is exactly what I'm looking for as it opens up the game tremendously for me: Jakes' Cyclone runs around the obstruction on the left flank to become a super-annoying contest piece, the Stormwall chills out where it cannot easily be singled out and starts shooting up the objective, a pod and leaps ensure that central Slingers are killed while a TA'd Firefly suicide-jumps in to kill a number of Reivers. Due to Haley's position being skewed I can afford to -not- feat this turn, blocking LoS to her with Thorn and the Charger.

With my CP lead Hans has got to do something but the ranges in play are so extreme that it's hard for him to really do a whole lot. The Cyclone isn't killed and my opponent only scores 1 CP.

This allows me to clear stuff out, kill his objective and win the game on scenario.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

This game shows that Hans and I have played this matchup before and both learned a number of lessons. The inherent problem for Skorne is being able to push the table without being obliterated. It feels like this was the closest game we've had and that a slight adjustment on positioning top of 1 would've allowed Hans to continue gaining table space safely, thus forcing me into a tougher spot. The way the game evolved though I got too much space which transitioned to a CP lead that broke the match.

Iron Moot: Steamroller ADR #1 (#552): Haley2 vs Fyanna2

:: Prologue ::

Before I start this report, a short introduction is needed. My motivation for Warmachine & Hordes has been at an all-time low this summer. In my area it's normal for miniature gaming to sort of hibernate during the summer months, on top of this real life stuff has made me take a look at my priorities. Don't get me wrong, I love this game and it's the best when I'm in the mood for it. Sometimes other things need to get sorted out first is all.

In any case I wasn't even remotely ready to go to Iron Moot. My analysis was lacking, lists were old and not tested as well as I would have liked. On top of that I stayed up late to finish painting (I am a big fan of hardcore painting requirements as it forces people to care about the hobby, which in turn makes for a lot more enjoyable games. This time I was way behind though). I'm sad to say the Strider wasn't finished close to what I wanted it to be, a very rushed job made it tournament legal but far from the polished thing I was hoping it would be. The effort I've put into converting the Doof Strider™ deserved a proper job. I hope to be able to do that later on.

Iron Moot had an event starting 11AM on Friday. Living in Oslo which is roughly 3 hours by car away, 3 fellow gamers and I decided to leave Friday morning. This meant I had to get up at 6AM and considering I painted the Strider until 2AM that didn't leave a lot of room for sleep. Arriving at Iron Moot I had 0 expectations and just wanted to get some decent games in, meet friends from abroad and have a good time.

The very first game saw me draw one of the players I rode down with: Martin and his Legion. Martin and I have played a lot together and know each other very well. I brought Haley2 (an evolution of TimeStorm meant to better deal with Cryx and scenario plays) and Stryker1 (Jaeger Team), while Martin had Fyanna2 and Absylonia2. I expected Fyanna2 and had no second guesses about dropping Haley2 here. In my experience shooty-heavy Haley is massively favoured in this matchup. Let's get to the game!

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

TimeStorm v2
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Charger - PC: 9
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Cyclone - PC: 13
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Fyanna2, Oracles
- Seraph
- 3x Neraph
- 2x Angelius
- Naga
Various solos

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

We were playing Outlast and I went first. The idea was to get up, claim table space, get pieces into aggressive positions and force him to feat early.

:: Game ::

Just to be sure I'm 100% we go through Fyanna's spell list. Including Gallows, which I note "is the one that pulls, right?" Martin replies yes...

...somehow I still manage to place Thorn in a position where a Spell Martyr can run up. Oh well. Fyanna pulls Thorn out and he's killed by a charging Angelius. My opponent doesn't feat however...

So I take advantage of the situation and start shooting birds left, right and center. The Cyclone makes a mess of things: It's able to aim for RAT8 and rolls a lot of shots. The Charger, Stormwall, Strider and Firefly all follow up with decent shooting as well and I deal a ton of damage to the angry birds.

Fyanna feats. The Neraph on the left toes the zone, the remaining Angelius jams the Charger, Strider and Arlan, the Neraph on the right takes up a defensive position.

I TK Strider, Arlan and Charger. Haley moves back, out of threat ranges. Shooting deals with the 2 birds on the left. Stormwall tries to pummel the Neraph on the right but no such luck.

Fyanna of course has overtake so by killing the Charger she can actually reach Haley. I am camping 2 focus so it's a long shot no matter what. Dice don't agree with Martin though and he's sitting the middle of my army, camping instead. Hoping to somehow miraculously survive to get another shot...

...I'll have none of it however and kill him dead: Stormwall throws the Hellion to knock Fyanna down and all hell breaks loose as my army opens up on her.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Fyanna's feat is a nightmare for melee lists, however I've found that Cygnar shooting generally deals well with it if you have control to follow up. Haley2 is an excellent counter and this list is incidentally nearly tailor-made to deal with her. Losing Thorn was a big blow but I still came out on top in terms of attrition. Sure, maybe Martin should've feated but I'd have my own feat to cover things up in return. A horrible start for me in terms of playing, but the matchup carried this home for me.