Tournament Preparation

On Thursday I played my 75th game of Mk. 3. It's been an interesting journey thus far and I believe even more interesting times are ahead of us. The trends and powerhouses become clearer and the meta is beginning to settle down. The more I play, the more I believe Cygnar will be a faction well suited to deal with various challenges. On top of that I believe our dynamic playstyles will end up being our most powerful ones. Possibly too early to call, but I have a hunch.

In a week I have another tournament upcoming. With Iron Moot and WTC coming up in August and September this will be a great opportunity to field my ideas for playtesting in a proper, competitive environment. I love playing casual games at the club but every once in a while, nothing beats a tournament for authentic experiences and learning points.

Since Mk. 3 decks were leaked I've painted nearly 200 points worth of models. The majority of this is warjacks, many of which I probably won't field anytime soon, but it's still an amount I'm fairly happy with. The picture above shows the models I'm taking to the tournament next weekend. Barring a borrowed Storm Lance (can you guess which model this is??) due to unforeseen delays, the models are all finished and ready for tabletop tournament action! The models on the left are models unique to my Haley2 list, the models in the center are shared by both lists and the models on the right are models unique to my Caine2 list.

The Haley2 list, shown above, has been stable for a while. I've been tinkering with alternatives for quite a while but I cannot come up with something I have more faith in. I find that it plays extremely well and has answer to every situation I've yet encountered where I need Haley2 to be my drop. The inclusion of the Ironclad has proved to be a good decision as it's been MVP in multiple games. It complements the Stormwall very well (and vice versa!).

The reason I find Haley2 working so well is primarily because her control elements and focus efficiency are better than ever. The loss of deadeye is keenly felt, as is Time Bomb not stopping charges, but between Power Up and Arlan she can get so much more work done. Her ability to control when and where the fighting happens is what enables her and makes her so powerful. It's hard to master and frequently the squishy Haley2 will die right under your nose, but when you pull it off she is just flat out amazing. Tons of fun to play, an infinitely high skill ceiling, always angles available and incredibly flexible.

The secondary list is still up for debate. Part of it depends on where the meta will settle, part of it depends on what casters and lists work well for us. I've played Sloan extensively for a while but she has her weaknesses and her one-dimensional nature probably makes it easy to tech against her. It's time to broaden my horizons. Next up is Caine2, which I'll be focusing on for some time, and I also believe Haley1, Haley3 and Nemo3 are all solid candidates. More on this matter later in a list/meta musings post.

I believe I've said it before but I don't mind repeating myself on this matter: Privateer Press has done an amazing job with this game. The new edition feels like a big step in the right direction. There are still some things which make me shake my head, but overall the game has improved massively. Kudos to everyone involved! I am as excited as ever to play more and can't wait to play all the tournaments I have lined up for the rest of the year.

Battle Report #237: Caine2 vs Exulon Thexus

:: Prologue ::

Finally a matchup where I expect Caine to have to pull his weight! Mercenaries have multiple builds where I am not comfortable dropping Haley2 at all, first and foremost the Cephalyx. A perfcct test for Caine2!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Caine 2) Captain Allister Caine [+27]
- Stormwall [39]
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Rangers [9]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Gobber Tinker [2]
Ragman [4]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]

Opponent:

Exulon Thexus - WJ: +29
- Warden - PC: 10 (Battlegroup Points Used: 10)
- Warden - PC: 10 (Battlegroup Points Used: 10)
- Wrecker - PC: 14 (Battlegroup Points Used: 9)
- Wrecker - PC: 14
Cephalyx Agitator - PC: 3
Cephalyx Agitator - PC: 3
Cephalyx Dominator - PC: 1
- Alexia Ciannor & the Risen - Alexia & 9 Risen Grunts: 10
- Thrall Warrior
Cephalyx Mind Bender & Drudges - Mind Bender & 9 Drudge Grunts: 11
Cephalyx Mind Bender & Drudges - Mind Bender & 9 Drudge Grunts: 11
Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges - Slaver & 5 Drudge Grunts: 8
Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges - Slaver & 5 Drudge Grunts: 8
Cephalyx Overlords - Leader & 2 Grunts: 0

THEME: Operating Theater

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was Recon for this game and for the first time today, I got to move first! The plan was simple: Run up the middle, flank with Lances, apply pressure to the max!

:: Game ::

Well, the plan speaks for itself.

My opponent has had multiple encounters with shooty Cygnar and Caine2 in particular. His experience tells him that he has to claim the table as best as he can and simply hope for the best, accepting that there will be losses. As such it's basically full speed ahead on all fronts!

One thing I've learned to capitalize on when presented with is charging with the Lances. I could get all 6 (!) Lances onto heavy targets here. Furthermore, I could get Ragman far enough up to Death Field on both the Wreckers. Too good to pass up, I made ready for a Turn 1 feat from Caine. The Stormwall moved up and started shooting first though to soften them up and the Rangers picked out a couple of things here and there. However the Lances, rolling at dice damage with their charge attacks and dice minus 5 for their shots, rolled blazingly hot and there was no need to feat with Caine2. Instead I opted to boost damage and shoot trick shots to start thinning things out instead.

Exulon feated to group my things together and create lanes and angles. All Lances died, as predicted, and the Rangers suffered some losses. Ragman survived. The Firefly on the right survived on 2 boxes following the usual Cephalyx uber-grunt tricks. Cortex + melee weapon intact. Perfect!

At this point in time I was massively ahead, however one thing I've learned about Cephalyx is that they just keep coming. I wanted to translate my impressive lead into a scenario lead to force my opponent's hand. Caine feated to bring down the monstrosity on the right and trick shots cleared things out. A lot of Alexia's Risen were cleared this way and the objective was also killed by Mr. Caine. The Stormwall then went up to clear the rest with shooting + pods before covering fires were placed to prevent uber-grunts from killing it. 3-0.

PS14 doesn't sound like much against a Stormwall and indeed I probably underestimated the remaining Warden. Add in Instigate, Hex Blast and Alexia1 sitting on 14 Risen or so and I had one dead Stormwall. Huge mistake to move it up within 11" of the Warden (or charge range from Alexia1 for that matter), that was just not necessary at all.

The game where I was so far ahead was now looking kind of sketchy. I had to keep playing the scenario angle I had opened for myself and as such I started clearing stuff on the right. Junior's Arcane Bolt even came to good use: I rarely ever cast it but with KD targets it's basically another model dead. Trick shots and Rangers helped out but unfortunately Caine rolled a little poor both on hits (one snake eyes) and damage so I didn't have enough focus left to finish off with Bullet Dodger before I Gatecrashed to the right flank. I had Dirge of Mists at least. 4-0.

My opponent looks for assassination angles but finds none. Possibly Alexia1 could've tried to get multiple Thralls onto me or something. Anyway the Cephalyx decide to jam me as best as they can instead.

Trick shots, Rangers and Junior again getting work done with Arcane Bolt cleared out the rest and I got my 5th CP.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

A huge fuckup with the Stormwall and I glad I did that in the club instead of at an event. I probably (hopefully?) won't be making that mistake again.

My biggest take away from this game despite that obvious blunder was that I need to keep the Lances converging their threats in front of the Stormwall. In other words they should have ran even more towards the middle in my first turn. In doing this I ensure that an opponent has to either respect their charges or face an even stronger alpha than I got here. The problem from my point of view was that if the Lances hadn't done this the Wreckers would both have been in range of the Stormwall if I wanted to contest the zone. I pretty much have to do this, so.

I also learned that when I go first, Ragman needs to be placed as far up as possible with as straight a line as possible. When in a good spot, which he was here, I can utilize Death Field from my second turn already. That is pretty big!

I'm very glad to see Caine2 handle this matchup well. It might not be quite the steamroll that Sloan felt like vs Cephalyx, but all I'm asking is that Caine makes the matchups playable. His potential lies in handling matchups which Sloan cannot.

Battle Report #236: Caine2 vs Tanith

:: Prologue ::

I doubt Caine will see a lot of action vs Circle, however some action is to be expected and as such, playing against a variety of casters is a good start. On top of that I have never played against Tanith before so I was very much looking forward to this game.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Caine 2) Captain Allister Caine [+27]
- Stormwall [39]
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Rangers [9]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Gobber Tinker [2]
Ragman [4]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]

Opponent:

Tanith the Feral Song - WB: +31
-    Druid Wilder - PC: 4
-    Feral Warpwolf - PC: 18 (Battlegroup Points Used: 18)
-    Pureblood Warpwolf - PC: 17 (Battlegroup Points Used: 13)
-    Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 19
Gallows Grove - PC: 2
Reeves of Orboros - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
-    Reeve of Orboros Chieftain & Standard - Chieftain & Standard: 4
Reeves of Orboros - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Again we were playing Entrenched and again I was moving second. Now, Caine2 projects a ton of force which Tanith has to respect so my plan here was to play a slow game early and force a scenario lead. To this end Caine deployed a little to the right with the Stormwall. I had Lances on either flank and support spread out.

:: Game ::

Reeves run up on both flanks. Two Wolves take the wall on the right and the Pureblood is on the left.

I figure I need the Rangers up a little bit. I give them concealment so that only the Mannikins can target them (Prowl + Rhupert is amazing). Lances stay behind on the left flank within 16" of the objective (so that I can electro leap from it if needed). The other Lances start flanking right with the Firefly. Caine casts Blur and moves up behind the cloud from Fuel Cache. Stormwall runs up, taking care not to let a ton of Reeves in range (affliction + 20 reeves is disastrous, potentially).

Oh Sentry Stones how I hate you with a passion. The Mannikins go wild on the left flank and together with the Pureblood assaulting, I lose 5 Rangers and a Storm Lance. I could probably have played this better, at least limited it to 3-4 Rangers and no Lances. The Reeves on the right run back, afraid of Caine.

The good news about the Mannikins is that their commitment ensures that Sentry Stones are now in range of Caine2. Retaliation ensues and they both die, alongside things here and there from Trick Shots. The right Lances move up to threaten the Stalker and anything else wishing to move closer to my zone. The scenario game is on. The left Storm Lances help clear out the Sentry Stones and deal some damage to the Pureblood. The Stormwall puts a boosted shot into the Feral for 8-10 boxes or so. 1-0

Circle is in a bit of a pickle: The scenario angle is looking pretty bad as the Reeves on the left + Pureblood are way, way out of position. Essentially he has to sacrifice a Wolf to even contest me. At least he gets an angle to take it out while doing so at least, however this requires the Reeves to pitch in with their CRAs as Tanith has to move way back to not be Caine food (and thus the Stalker cannot be forced while attacking my objective). The Fuel Cache blows up and the Stalker Sprints to the far edge of my zone.

This is another #theDream like situation: I can get the remaining Ranger (who ran away last turn) within 5" of both Wolves, have Ragman move up with Death Field, move up the Stormwall to apply Dark Shroud to the Stalker, shoot up the Feral and have the Lances deal with the Stalker and Caine feat to kill whatever would be left. The Firefly could even pitch in and I took down a number of Reeves as well.

When the dust settled Caine even had focus left to Gatecrash away. The Stormwall was not in the Pureblood's charge range.

With so many Reeves dead and Caine gatecrashing away, the game was basically over and my opponent conceded.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Although I don't expect Tanith to become super popular vs Cygnar anytime soon, I do expect Reeves to be a thing. I felt my list had tons of tools to deal with them. Having Caine be able to take on the Sentry Stones was also really, really good. God I hate those things. More than anything these were my take aways here.

Circle underestimated the scenario angle I believe. Deployment and T1 did not at all help him put pressure on me. I did lose 2-3 models more than I should have top of 2, but that also served to pull his elements away from where they could be of use so at the end of the day this was a strategic win for me.

Remembering the scenario is important. In Steamroller 2015 a similar scenario to this, Incoming, had two zones placed at 20" from the table edge instead of 18". I find that pulling the zones back two inches, as they have in Entrenched in Steamroller 2016, it's often way harder to contest. Cygnar can often capitalize on this with the shooting power, threat projections and shenanigans we can present. It's quickly becoming a favourite scenario of mine!

Battle Report #235: Haley2 vs Wurmwood

:: Prologue ::

Time to meet the dreaded tree yet again. This is definitely one of the top dogs now and I fully expect knowing what to do against him to be of paramount importance. Good practice!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25] (Fuel Cache)
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
- Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

Wurmwood, Tree of Fate & Cassius the Oathkeeper - WB: +27
-    Wurmwood, Tree of Fate & Cassius the Oathkeeper (Cont.)
-    Feral Warpwolf - PC: 18 (Battlegroup Points Used: 18)
-    Pureblood Warpwolf - PC: 17 (Battlegroup Points Used: 9)
-    Warpwolf Stalker - PC: 19
Hutchuk, Ogrun Bounty Hunter - PC: 6
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress - PC: 3
Gallows Grove - PC: 2
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 3
Shifting Stones - Leader & 2 Grunts: 3
Reeves of Orboros - Leader & 9 Grunts: 16
Farrow Bone Grinders - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

Yet again I move as the second player. On the bright side this is what I believe is the hardest vs Wurmwood. On the other side however I would love to see how Haley going first affects the matchup. Anyway: The scenario was Entrenched and as I had no intention to push for scenario here I simply opted for the deployment which gave Haley2 the best position: An obstruction on the right side. I put the Stormwall a little to the right of the center and had the jacks in-between.

:: Game ::

Circle runs up and a wall of trees is put up near his objective. Reeves move to the right and the Wolves spread out a bit. Traffic jam issues present themselves in the center.

I respond by putting Thorn on the left flank in cover, Ironclad behind the central obstruction with him being TK-able to the left for open paths and the Stormwall chills out. Now, Circle didn't feed any corpses to Wurmwood so I should probably have been more aggressive with the Stormwall here. I really like the rest of the positioning though, except for Lanyssa who was a little too defensive.

Wurmwood predictably tries to slow the game down by not feating and "dancing around" instead. He moves a little away from Haley, putting most of his elements in central positions. However the Stalker on the left warps Prowl and goes for the woods there.

Now, given Wurmwood's position I had a couple of interesting options. The Stalker could easily be killed: TK it out, TK the Ironclad, charge, kill. However I saw a more juicy angle: If I can TK Wurmwood out, I can charge him with the Ironclad and use Tremor to KD Cassius. By knocking him and catching him in feat I also ensure that he basically can't move at all outside of Wurmwood's spell. Wurmwood sits on 3 souls and 3 fury so killing him outright will be hard but I can't immediately see how he'll get himself out of this pickle. At best, I reason, he gets to save himself via feat without getting control of the Stormwall or even casting Curse of Shadows on it. The net result is tons of damage transferred and ~10 boxes or so remaining.

Circle finds a decent opening: By placing the Shifting Stone on the right of the Ironclad a little further down and casting Hellmouth on it, the Ironclad is drawn into the Pureblood's melee range along with 3 Storm Lances sent to jam. Ok, probably a mistake to move the Lances like that. This gets the Ironclad killed, however Wurmwood doesn't get any further and he feats. The Stormwall is unhurt.

Wurmwood spent all his fury getting work done. He did cast Curse of Shadows on the Storm Lances which was definitely a bad decision. Because of this I could load Thorn up on focus, spell him to the max and simply move up and kill Wurmwood.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

This was a strange game. I did a lot of things correct in deployment and my first turn. However the opening, which I initially thought was great, is actually way worse than I planned for. The Hellmouth pulling the Ironclad out makes it super dodgy. Furthermore I also think Wurmwood could've had the Stones port him away if he had seen it (port Wurmwood first, then follow up with Stones). At that point I've spent my feat getting no scenario presence and no heavies whereas I've lost the Ironclad in return. I might've gotten Cassius but it's still a bad trade I think.

The better play is probably to take the Stalker and perhaps look for a 2-0 lead without spending Shift (or just use Shift to secure my position, not sure what is better).

My take away is that Haley's greater threat ranges and angles will sooner or later open the game up. If you can bide your time early and just respect's Wurmwood's "shut-down range" there will be an opportunity to grab. It's a very hard dynamic to master, a ton of positioning which needs to be precise and so many threats to keep in mind. Having all this under control though I think Haley2 definitely has game here.

Battle Report #234: Haley2 vs Father Lucant

:: Prologue ::

In Mk. 2 I usually felt comfortable into Lucant with Haley2, with the exception of the double TEP build which I struggled with. That could arguably have been due to inexperience, I don't know. In Mk. 3 however I think I'm better suited to face him because the added Ironclad and Storm Lances help a lot in putting pressure and big threat ranges on him early. Let's put the theory up with a proper test!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25] (Fuel Cache)
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
- Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

Father Lucant, The Divinity Architect - WJ: +28
-    Inverter - PC: 15
-    Diffuser - PC: 6
-    Corollary - PC: 6
-    Prime Axiom - PC: 38 (Battlegroup Points Used: 28)
Transfinite Emergence Projector - PC: 19
-    Permutation Servitors
Eradicators - Leader & 4 Grunts: 15
Optifex Directive - Leader & 2 Grunts: 4

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was The Pit and I went first. I placed Haley on the left with Lances, Stormwall centrally and Thorn + support right. Lucant skewed heavily opposite my flag. Don't know what to make of that, we'll just see I suppose.

:: Game ::

Stormwall runs up to the left of the obstruction with the Lances close by, taking care to stay over 18" away from the Prime Axiom and over 15" away from the TEP. Ironclad ran up on the right flank and Thorn went up aggressively.

Convergence's T1 says a lot about the pressure Haley2 exerts with melee threats. He basically has to be super careful to do just about anything.

Lucant cast Discontinuity over Watcher. I saw an opening to just completely dominate the field: Send Lances in behind the woods so that the Axiom couldn't see them (and preferably take with them an Eradicator or two) and send the Ironclad into the Inverter with all of Haley's shenanigans and damage help from the Stormwall's shooting. I would finish with Haley feating offensively in a classic "I go first with Haley2 on The Pit" move. The support pieces moved up after the Ironclad cleared out the Inverter and I was good to go.

TEP and Axiom walk up, Lucant casts Dissolution Bolt on Thorn and feats. Unfortunately TEP is not in feat range because the Corollary has to move over towards the Axiom.

I can't usually expect to get a lot of work done against Lucant feat but in this situation I had a few options. By killing 2 Eradicators and the TEP he'd be left with caster + axiom + support. Discontinuity + positive charge would be pretty bad as he'd get 5 attacks at dice + 4, more or less one-rounding the Stormwall, but I could simultaneously grab 3 more scenario points so as to move to 4-0. This all worked out perfectly and I made sure to stack my pieces up as much as possible to deny the Axiom an angle to drag Haley in. For good measure I also had Deflection up.

While Lucant did clear the Lances, the Axiom had to kill both Junior and Haley. He took out Junior but was left with but a single focus and that would be a long shot for taking out Haley: First hit a 15+ boosted, then make a 10+ hit and lastly roll to get a POW34 hit to one-shot me (I camped a focus). This is actually only possible if he rolls double sixes but we didn't realize it at the time: Instead he boosted the drag to hit roll and missed.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

I can see Lucant being an issue because he buys time with the feat and Discontinuity is absolutely amazing combined with Positive Charge vs Stormwall. That being said he arguably struggles more than ever against Haley's control elements. The Ironclad and Storm Lances are terrific in this matchup and caused him endless pain in this game.

I think Convergence should've had Axiom in the open and Lucant behind the woods. The way he deployed now he pretty much had no option but to take it very. very slow with the Axiom and TEP. The aggressive advance on my left flank basically shut him down and I think this more than anything broke the game.

Battle Report #233: Caine2 vs Rahn

:: Prologue ::

A list I've wanted to try out is a variation of the Caine2 list I played vs Wurmwood some time ago. To properly test alternatives to Kara I need to match them up against what they're meant to play against. Granted Retribution is probably not a Caine2 drop but Rahn should be an interesting game none the less.

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Caine 2) Captain Allister Caine [+27]
 - Stormwall [39]
 - Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator [4]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
 - Firefly [8]
Rangers [9]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Gobber Tinker [2]
Ragman [4]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]

Opponent:

(Rahn 1) Adeptis Rahn [+26]
 - Hyperion [36]
 - Chimera [8]
 - Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker [4]
Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber [4]
 - Discordia [18]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
House Shyeel Battle Mages [10]
Mage Hunter Assassin [4]
House Shyeel Battle Mages [10]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

The scenario was The Pit and I went first. I have no faith in Caine's ability to pressure scenario vs Rahn so I deployed him and the 'wall on the right flank, intending to force Rahn away from his own scenario angle. I had a hill up there as well for Caine. Lances went on either flank and the support + Rangers took the middle.

:: Game ::

Stuff runs. I keep Caine within TK + charge range of the MHA. Between Dirge, hill and Heightened Reflexes (which I believe is a must vs Rahn) it is an extreme long-shot for Rahn to go for bottom of 1 assassination. It is crucial for me on the other hand to threaten the bord as much as possible so I think this is worth it.

Retribution do not go for Caine. Battle Mages on the left take care to stay outside of Lances' threat range. In the middle however the Battle Mages gave up on trying to get outside of all threat angles. My opponent felt he needed to claim some parts of the table at the very least. Discordia up on the right flank with imprint.

With the jacks nearby I needed to get Caine away from his hill, unfortunately. However I saw a decent angle: Shoot up Discordia with Caine and Stormwall and charge in with 2 Lances. The Lances would reposition to make a mess for the Hyperion while the third Lance would jam the MHA. Rahn would have to do some serious work to free this up. I placed the Stormwall toing the zone, outside of Lanyssa's threat range.

One thing I didn't take care to measure was to keep the Stormwall outside of 11" of Discordia. With TK he could double-whammy me. Furthermore I forgot how strong Elara is at clearing stuff up so she took out the Lance which jammed the MHA, enabling said MHA to take out another Lance, leaving only 1 for Rahn to deal with. He feated to let the mages do some work as well and this cost me the Firefly. Discordia didn't receive Power Booster because of range issues and without spikes the double whammy failed to bring down the Stormwall. I had 16 boxes left or so.

This is pretty much #TheDream: Have Caine2 in a position to fully utilize all 6 focus for shots -and- have Ragman's Death Field up -and- have 4 attacks from Stormwall. Suffice is to say I killed both the Hyperion and Discordia. The Lances + Rangers more or less eradicated the rest of the battle mages and I put stuff in position to deny the Chimera an angle to Caine2. Rhupert gave Caine Dirge, just in case.

Trying to find angles proved impossible and my opponent conceded the game.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

Turn 1 was good. Turn 2 I should've looked for openings where Discordia would be over 11" away from the Stormwall. I also forgot to move a ranger within 5" of said Discordia so the Stormwall missed a big gun shot. I was hoping the Lances would get more work done but all they managed was to cripple a weapon system.

I think forcing an opponent to go for the 'wall is the best thing I can do with this list. It is the only way to truly utilize the power of Caine's feat and boy did that work well here! Death Field makes such a huge difference and the damage output on my third turn was just through the roof.

The list worked well. I must admit I miss Lanyssa but that can be played around I think. I look forward to trying it out against lists it's actually supposed to face!

Battle Report #232: Haley2 vs Rahn

:: Prologue ::

Following an intense game 1, my opponent made a couple of changes and we were ready for round two!

:: Lists ::

Cygnar:

(Haley 2) Major Victoria Haley [+25] (Fuel Cache)
- Thorn [13]
- Stormwall [39]
- Squire [5]
- Ironclad [12]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Firefly [8]
Captain Arlan Strangewayes [4]
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]
Storm Lances (min) [12]

Opponent:

(Rahn 1) Adeptis Rahn [+26]
 - Hyperion [36]
 - Chimera [8]
 - Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker [4]
Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber [4]
 - Discordia [18]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
Arcanist Mechanik [2]
House Shyeel Battle Mages [10]
Stormfall Archers [9]
Mage Hunter Assassin [4]
Mage Hunter Assassin [4]

:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::

What I learned from Game 1: Thorn is probably better off camping out closer to Haley in this matchup. I also need a less valuable piece to contest with if needed so the Firefly likely gets flank duty. Also, Ironclad needs to be protected more.

:: Game ::

One MHA on either flank. Hyperion makes a curious choice to go slightly to the left, meaning it can't contest the right zone without running/trampling. Discordia is now far right but Rahn is still far left.

I'm a bit puzzled as to why my opponent is sending the majority of his army right and the Hyperion left. This essentially makes it impossible for him to create scenario pressure. At least he's put his army out of harm's way bottom of 1. Almost. The left MHA is within TA + Trample + Firefly leap range. I decide to go for it as taking out this litte bugger could be big. It fails and he's left on 2 boxes. Ironclad and Haley stay defensive on the right flank, Lances are probably a bit too cautious and Thorn is kept fairly central.

The Hyperion moves into the left zone to contest. He shoots the Stormwall for 4 boxes. The real game-changer however is his MHA rolling 4, 5, 5, 6 for its damage roll on the Stormwall. With decapitation that's 20 boxes:

The reason this is a game changer is because I simply cannot have the Hyperion charge the Stormwall now: I'll likely die. Consider the picture above though: I can TK the MHA backwards and likely pull off a charge-mha-target-hyperion like I did last game with a Battle Mage. I let my opponent know and he TKs the MHA away. On the right flank the Chimera moves to cover with 3 focus, 4 Battle Mages contest and Discordia chills out.

I make a bit of an analysis fail. A big fail. Given the current state of the board the scenario angle is dead for Retribution. As long as the Stormwall's alive Rahn won't score in the left zone. If Stormwall dies, it doesn't matter what happens as the game is over (more than likely). Rahn can't score in the right zone because he can't get there. As such, I should go for attrition myself instead of trying to force a scenario angle on him.

I don't though. I go for the scenario play. To do this I need to kill the four contesting Battle Mages. The only way to get this done is by arcing bolts via Thorn. I know this will expose Thorn but I'm hoping it'll be worth it. I do it and feat, making sure to catch Chimera, Discordia and Hyperion and the right MHA. What I should have done, given this show of aggression, was to push the Ironclad up further as well. If Rahn goes for Thorn I doubt there's enough power to get the Ironclad as well under feat and all. Anyway, it works well. The Stormwall shoots the Hyperion for a few boxes and kills the spiking MHA.

Hyperion stays still since he cannot get outside of 9" regardless unless he backs off directly north-east (which leaves him not contesting me at all this turn). It shoots up the Stormwall instead. Rahn takes out Thorn with the help of Battle Mages, SFAs and Discordia.

Losing Thorn under Shift and not even have Rhan himself feat is obviously bad. I was hoping I could get back from it as follows: Hunter's Mark the Chimera, TK one Lance (so they'd all be within 15" and assault it do death). I also needed to deal with the Hyperion who was shot up a bit from previously. The Hunter's Mark failed to connect however I I would only get one Lance on the Chimera. A second Lance combined with the Ironclad to take out Discordia. The Stormwall + Junior left Hyperion on 1 box following Haley's TA on it. I podded near the Arcanists and had the Firefly shoot the pod. Unfortunately it only bounced one so he had one Arcanist left alive.

Leaving Haley in the open on 2 focus was a risk. It basically came down to whether or not he could clear the Lances and thus get the Chimera in range. As the Hyperion survived on 1 box and he had an Arcanist left he could use its shooting as well and that proved to be -just- enough to clear them out. Chimera ran up, Rahn feats and it's down to dice. Unluckily for Rahn, the assassination fails and Haley2 lives on 8 (!) boxes. That was after 2 chain blasts, a TK, 2 force bolts and 3 SFAs with Snipe.

I clear up and win on Scenario.

Victory to the Swans!

:: Evaluation ::

This game for me largely boils down to one mistake and that mistake is sacrificing Thorn on feat turn. With one more TK I can get him to safety behind the obstruction in the middle.

Apart from that I end up more or less having to make a risky play. I could possibly have kept Haley further back but I risk losing the Stormwall without TA (The Hyperion wasn't that hurt).

Again a very interesting game and Retribution deserved to win, but when the dice disagree there's nothing you can do.