Iron Moot: Nordic Championship Finals (#564): Haley2 vs Coven

:: Prologue ::

This game was recorded by WarRoomPL, check out the video here: link.

For the Finals I was paired against another Norwegian, Sverre. Sverre had been tearing up the 'moot throughout the weekend with his Coven banes, winning the Masters on Saturday and winning all games thus far in the Nordic Championship. We play in the same club and I know that he's a very strong player. My mind was certainly in the game by now and I was eager to see if I could make some magic happen here.

:: 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, Bane Theme
- Desecrator
- 2x Arc Node
Wraith Engine
Tartarus
2x Max Riders
2x Min Warriors + UA

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Spread The Net and Sverre went first. I wanted to try and deal with the right flank first, isolate the left and then move on later, if possible. To that end I deployed Junior's Charger and the Strider on the right flank, enabling me some anti-bane moves there, with the 'wall situated in the middle.

:: Game ::

Sverre runs up very aggressively with the Wraith Engine and an Arc Node (sporting Infernal Machine) B2B with Egregore in the center.

I have a very interesting play here: Thorn is within 17" of the Arc Node, meaning I can run and TK it around, reaction drive, TK the Wraith Engine and hopefully blast the both of them for great justice. To do this I need to feat to cover my exposed models (there's no way to keep Thorn safe if I do this), but feating isn't that bad: If Haley charges the Wraith Engine she gets pretty much the entire army, forcing a number of tough decisions on Sverre's part: How does he contest the middle zone? Where do the Witches go? How long will it take Warriors to come online when they can't run now? How does he feat on the Strider? Will the Riders on the right flank be able to do their job properly? And so on. I premeasure to ensure that if Jakes' Cyclone runs up, there's no LoS to Haley for the other Arc Node and thus I can camp 0.

The plan works out decently enough. The Wraith Engine doesn't take as much damage as I had hoped but I love my position and the Arc Node is left on 2 boxes, neither of which are its node system.

Sverre is annoyed at his mistake to let me get the Arc node like that and set up so he wants to blind the Strider with Stygian Abyss (critical hit) to get back in the game. This might see his right flank make it through the day, for now. However after 2 attempts without a single crit he ends up killboxing a Witch and simply concedes the game.

Tournament Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

When in doubt, push! I live by this motto and I wholeheartedly believe it's the best way to approach this game. Pouncing on opportunities lets you completely change how this game plays. It's something I practice and pursue relentlessly. You might not think it based on my slower and more calculated games (such as the semi-finals vs Thexus), but I love to make plays like in this game.

Indeed Coven banes is a very hard matchup for Haley2 and I believe the matchup is sort of playable because Haley2 has crazy angles and plays available. They are very hard to find, but also very hard to shut down to her innate flexibility. True, the Arc Node positioning here was easily preventable, but there are a million angles to consider all the time. Slips will happen, and when they do, I'm there to look for ways to take advantage of them.

Winning the Nordic Championship felt amazing, especially considering my lack of preparation for the event. The weekend as a whole, many thanks to the community of course, has raised my motivation significantly for Warmachine & Hordes again. A big thanks to the organizers, opponents and fellow players at this year's Iron Moot. I had a blast!

I hope you enjoyed the tournament reports. If you have any feedback for me, please leave it in the comments. 

Iron Moot: Nordic Championship #2 (#562): Haley2 vs Coven

:: Prologue ::

This game was recorded by WarRoomPL, check out the video here: link

For the second game I drew Magnus and his Cryx. I first played against Magnus in the finals for this year's Swedish Masters (link), where I beat his Deneghra1 Ghost Fleet with my Haley2 Technical Death Metal list. How times have changed in the months since, this time Magnus dropped his Coven bane theme list and I had the TimeStorm configuration.

:: 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, Bane Theme
- 2x Flying, finisher-birds
- 2x Arc Node
Wraith Engine
Tartarus
Machine Wraith
Min Riders
Max Riders
Min Warriors + UA
Max Warriors + UA

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Standoff and Magnus got first turn. My plan here was to overwhelm a flank, hopefully start scoring and deal with the Banes piecemeal.

:: Game ::

Stuff runs up, Riders on the left receive Occultation.

I go for a cheeky play: Pod in the center allows leaps via objective to Banes. Crap dice result in only a single Warrior dropping. Worth a shot since I had nothing to do save for setting up.

The Riders on the left consolidate and fan out. Smart. Riders on the right send one charging into the Strider while the rest form up with Warriors. Magnus intended to feat this turn but forgot to do so...

...which allows a decisive move for me! The idea is to charge ahead with the Strider into Warriors and Stormwall into Wraith Engine. Despite all of this presence dice don't cooperate with me at all and I cannot kill off the Bane Warriors UA on the left. I lose my train of thought for a moment and send Thorn to contest. Very, very dumb move. The Warrior UA toughing the Stormwall's pod made me lose my focus for a bit...

...which meant Magnus was able to put a ton of pressure on Thorn and the Strider, killing the former and leaving the latter on a single box.

I realized I had forgotten to move the Squire when I wanted to pull a focus now. I apologized to Magnus as this was an honest mistake. I believe the only piece which mattered was the Arc Node, we agreed to play on.

I had spent a ton of time up until now and thus pictures were not my top priority for the rest of the game. What happened next was a series of sad dice rolls on my part: I could not for the life of me get rid of the Riders on the left flank, despite committing all of my forces there to it. The Strider charged the Riders on my right flank and sent some bolts into Banes but Magnus had some amazing tough rolls which, with rise, essentially leaves the effort void.

Little did I know that tides were about to change! Magnus charges in with a number of Banes and Tartarus on my Stormwall and they all fluff! I survive on a ton of boxes, which I have no business doing. The Riders there try and mess with my backline but they aren't doing a whole lot of work either, luckily.

I clear up the stuff in the left zone, run the Squire to contest the rectangle and consolidate my position. Unfortunately I forget to activate the Firefly, which could well have been a big deal here.

Banes rush ahead yet again.

My shooting's really lacklustre and this leaves a ton of Banes alive in the bottom part of the table...

...however, yet again Magnus fluffs utterly and the Stormwall survives! From here on out I'm able to clear it up and win on CP bottom of 7!

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

What a batshit crazy game! I don't know where to start. This matchup is super hard and I was lucky I found an opening. I blew that my mis-positioning the Strider and giving away Thorn though, on top of a couple of turns of shit dice. Then things started turning around and Magnus had his share of shit dice (to say the least!), making the game weave back and forth multiple times.

The mistakes in this game are amateur level mistakes: Forgetting to feat, move Squire, activate Firefly, we both had our issues. More than anything I believe this is fatigue setting in, it's a tense game in a very hard matchup on day number 3 in the most important tournament of the event. When you look at it in hindsight it looks silly but in every single event I've been to, day number 3 sees considerably worse plays than days 1 and 2. It's just the way things are. With more practice games behind me this summer I believe I would have made less of these mistakes. Volume matters, you gotta make this game a habit.

I was very happy by how I managed to come back in this game. At one point I very, very nearly conceded so I could go home early (we had a 3-hour drive ahead of us) but then I thought "what the heck, it's the Nordic Championship after all and dice can happen". Dice indeed did happen and this certainly helped me.

I strongly suggest you guys check out the recorded video of this match. A lot of the finer points are missing in this report because I didn't take enough pictures. It was a super tense and enjoyable game!

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!

Battle Report #550: Haley2 vs Coven

:: Prologue ::

Coven bane theme is a thing. I had a chance to play it a while ago.

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

Haley2 TimeStorm v2

:: Opponent ::

Coven Banes

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Spread the Net and I go first. Idea? Claim table space, win a flank.

:: Game ::

I respect Stygian Abyss too much with the Strider. It's sort of a thing which is like "if it happens it happens".

Banes spread out.

I play a miserable turn here. I don't get nearly enough out of my electrothingies nor shots. Coven jams me.

I feat and try to clear stuff out, but dice are miserable.

I lose Thorn and get contested on my own feat turn. Essentially gg here.

Sadly, a Loss for the Swans. 

:: Evaluation ::

So many things to protect, so many crazy angles to consider. Very hard list to play against for Haley2 (and most of Cygnar in general). Possibly the best list in the game right now. I did get a few ideas though (more on this matter later).

Internal Affairs Mk. XII Game 1 (#545): Haley2 vs Deneghra1

:: Prologue ::

I played in a tournament last Saturday. Just a small, local thing. I brought a variant of TimeStorm and the Jaeger Team with me. Game 1 saw me face a casual Cryx player, fielding a combined-arms variant with Deneghra1. Compared to the usual Ghost Fleet stereotype I considered myself lucky to draw this list!

:: 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 ::

Deneghra1
- Cankerworm
- 2x Nightwretch
- Leviathan
Repair dude
Soul Trapper
Machine Wraith
Max Nyss
Max Satyxis
- UA
Max Warriors
- UA

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Breakdown and I won the dice-off, electing to go first. My plan was to take control of a flank heavily, send the Storm Strider up there and sweep across the table slowly but surely.

:: Game ::

Stuff runs, Haley puts up Force Field.

My opponent spreads out, taking care to not leave things within 4" of other things on the right flank. His Leviathan spikes like crazy on the Stormwall: With nothing but Parasite to help him out he takes 24 boxes!

I TK Leviathan around, shoot him with both huge bases, feat and claim table space. The majority of my small guns focus on the Nyss.

Cryx have to back up, leaving me tons of table space and options.

Stormwall backs off, I kill a lot of models with shooting. I also establish a CP lead. From here on in it's basically a clean-up:

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

This was a fairly easy game: A casual list really struggles against an anti-Cryx Haley2 list. I had to avoid major mistakes, which I did. Despite some crazy rolls initially my opponent never really had an angle in this game. 

Battle Report #534: Haley2 vs Deneghra1

:: Prologue ::

From the last game I learned that I probably do indeed want my objective. I also want to carefully time my feat. Most importantly I need to deal with non-pirates stuff ASAP.

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

"TimeStorm"
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Hurricane - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Reliant - PC: 14
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Theme: The Ghost Fleet
3 / 3 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Warwitch Deneghra - WJ: +28
- Stalker - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)
- Stalker - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)
- Deathripper - PC: 6 (Battlegroup Points Used: 6)
- Deathripper - PC: 6 (Battlegroup Points Used: 6)
Wraith Engine - PC: 15
Captain Rengrave - PC: 0
Pistol Wraith - PC: 0
Hellslinger Phantom - PC: 0
Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - Blackbane & 9 Grunts: 17
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Opponent goes first again. I skew the opposite side this time around.

:: Game ::

Stuff spreads out.

I put Hurricane within range of 1 Stalker yet again. Thorn tries to hide behind it and a Firefly...

Unfortunately it's just a tiny bit too much and my opponent finds an angle where he can Grasp him. Wraith Engine moves up far on the left flank. Stalker does not commit.

I can make a decisive feat play here: Shoot the Engine with my 2 big boys, move up and claim my right flank.

Deneghra still struggles to get work done under Temporal Shift. Applying and timing the feat correctly is crucial in this matchup.

I keep blasting stuff apart. The Reliant's a real hero on the right flank this game.

My opponent tries to feat and hit back but the damage just isn't there. We keep playing for a turn or two and even with some crazy dice he just can't get back in the game following my devastating feat turn.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

There are some interesting dynamics in this matchup. Whoever starts has the initiative. However Haley2 can gain it by feating at the correct time. The game is so slow in SR2017, you can afford to chill and take pot-shots, not committing until you have a favourable position. It feels as though Deneghra needs to find patterns which deny this in order to handle this matchup. I'm not sure what they look like to be honest.

Again I managed to clear Blackbanes and neutralize jacks early. This meant that I got to work on the vulnerable pirates early on. Despite Thorn staying defensively and having Grasp on him the Lightning Generators and the big boys did enough: It's quite frankly very hard to keep the Pirates both relevant and have recursion alive. The nature of my list means that it reaches very far despite Thorn being gimped. That is a very valuable trait in this matchup.

I look forward to playing this more as it feels very even. I think it's a super-exciting and skill-intensive matchup. Warmachine at its best!

Battle Report #533: Haley2 vs Deneghra1

:: Prologue ::

Ghost Fleet is the name of the game. It's been a while since I faced a proper Deneghra1 list last and I wanted to see how TimeStorm would perform! Luckily more and more players are picking up on this list's power so I'm getting more opportunities.

:: Lists ::

:: Cygnar ::

"TimeStorm"
Theme: Heavy Metal
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Hurricane - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
Storm Strider - PC: 18
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 0
- Firefly - PC: 8
Lieutenant Allison Jakes - PC: 0
- Reliant - PC: 14
Captain Arlan Strangewayes - PC: 0

:: Opponent ::

Theme: The Ghost Fleet
3 / 3 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Warwitch Deneghra - WJ: +28
- Stalker - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)
- Stalker - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)
- Deathripper - PC: 6 (Battlegroup Points Used: 6)
- Deathripper - PC: 6 (Battlegroup Points Used: 6)
Wraith Engine - PC: 15
Captain Rengrave - PC: 0
Pistol Wraith - PC: 0
Hellslinger Phantom - PC: 0
Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - Blackbane & 9 Grunts: 17
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2
- Revenant Crew Rifleman - PC: 2

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

We were playing The Pit 2 and my opponent went first. I decided to skew opposite my objective. Partly because I wasn't sure I could claim it, partly because I wanted to see how not having the objective would affect me in the matchup.

:: Game ::

Wraith Engine moves towards me, Deneghra runs, the rest spread out.

I move up Hurricane within range of a Stalker. I figure it's good for me to have a Stalker commit on its own. Besides, it let me get off some good shots on Blackbanes. My jacks were all careful to stay out of threat ranges, e.g. Thorn outside of Crippling Grasp. The Strider chilled out.

Stalker goes in, no feat but Parasite and shots still combine to hurt me.

Time to push up! The idea is to kill the Arc Node which was used for Parasite and the committed Stalker with shooting, clear some space on the left flank and work from there. I took care to have the Wraith Engine outside of 16" from the Hurricane so that it couldn't run and be in melee with me. Dice worked out and I went to 2-0.

Deneghra doesn't get a whole lot of work done under my feat.

I consolidate my position and take it slow. Lightning Generators make a mess of a number of things and Domination on a Stalker ensures I take out a unit of pirates!

Opponent feats, catching only the Hurricane. It's worth it though as big boy goes down. The Stalker tries to deal with Thorn following stationary from the Wraith, but fails.

The Reliant and Thorn deal with the left flank. Lightning Generators clear the middle. I kind of like my position as I'm the last player and still up on CP.

Wraith Engine charges Strider. Parasite negates Arcane Shield basically. It's touch-n-go ish but I survive. There aren't a lot of pirates left to work with for Deneghra.

Wraith Engine dies. From here on out it's a mop-up.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

I find that the main problem with Ghost Fleet is that you have to deal with so many things at once. If you can break it up and handle one or a few elements at a time you're good. In this game I did manage just that. Coupled with Thorn which was never handled effectively I was able to carve out a crucial area on the left flank. This in turn provided me with CPs and put the pressure on my opponent.

The Pirates themselves are fairly predictable. Sure, they hurt like a ton of bricks when the stars align, but with a few games you can tell what they can and cannot do fairly easily I find. It becomes a question of clearing out the other elements quickly enough. As this game shows the Pirates die in droves once the Blackbanes, jacks and shooters are gone.

A great game and we both learned a lot. My opponent was eager for revenge so we went at it for a second game!