Game 6: vs Khador

One of the awesome things about going to multiple game stores is how many games I'm getting in - I'm planning to try another one today, so maybe 3 games this week! Interestingly enough, this one was also against Khador, against another jack-heavy list:

Zerkova
Kodiak
Kodiak
Devestator
Full Man-o-War Shock Troopers
Min Winterguard w/ 2 Rocketeers

While technically he has one less jack, the Man-o-Wars have armor 21 in shield wall, making it just as tough a nut to crack. I went with my same list as before:

Epic Thagrosh
Carnivean
Seraph
3 Shredders
Striders + UA
Forsaken

I won the roll and opted to go first.

Legion Deployment
Once again, I placed all my guys in the center with Thagrosh behind them. It seems like deployment doesn't really matter that much, at least at this point level - no one gets attacked the first turn, so you'll always have a round of maneuvering before you engage.

Khador Deployment
Similarly, he places his jacks in the center, leaving the Winter Guard to the right and the Man-o-Wars in between them. Zerkova goes behind the jacks.

Legion Advanced Deployment
The Striders deploy to up on the right, hoping to take out the Winter Guard and then take back shots at the Man-o-Wars, getting around that 21 ARM.

Legion Turn 1
Everything runs forward, and I slipstream Thagrosh and the Carnivean up for extra range. Thagrosh also casts Dragon Blood on the Carnivean - I figure the extra armor will come in handy trying to plow through this many jacks. The Striders keep their run short so they still benefit from stealth, but I waste the reform move sliding them towards the center and leaving them in a close formation.

Khador Turn 1
His Kodiaks run forward, while the Devestator advances more cautiously behind along side the Man-o-Wars, who walk to preserve their shield wall. The Winter Guard move onto the hill between them and the Striders, and the two rocketeers fire. The first shot deviates really well, catching 5 Striders in the blast, but he only manages to kill 1 despite needing just a 6 or better! The second shot catches one other Strider and takes him out. Zerkova casts Typhoon at them but is well out of range, and the deviation puts the cloud on the forest. She then casts Watcher to give herself a little protection.

Legion Turn 2
This is where I threw everything away last time, so I'm gonna play it by the book and see how it turns out. I upkeep Dragon Blood and activate Thagrosh, casting Manifest Destiny and the Spiny Growth on the Carnivean before popping his feat. I then start activating my Shredders, making them Rabid and charging them into the left Kodiak and managing to do a decent amount of damage. The Seraph then moves up in front of Thagrosh, slipstreaming the Carnivean forward before unleashing a barrage of shots against the right Kodiak. Between boosting the damage rolls and Manifest Destiny, I seriously damage it, though its systems are all still intact. I Rabid the last Shredder and charge it at him before charging my Carnivean into the left Kodiak (it was in better shape than the other one), and I buy attacks until nothing is left but a smoldering wreck. The Forsaken moves up to pull the fury off the Seraph, and the Spell Martyrs run up in case they are needed. The Striders move on top of the hill and open fire on the Winter Guard, bringing them down to just 3 members. I end my main turn and move on to my feat, sending the Carnivean and one Shredder at the remaining Kodiak and taking out the legs and one arm. No more Smash & Grab! The last Shredder goes after the Devestator, hoping to slow it down. Mostly the Shredders are positioned to keep anything from getting to my Carnivean.

Khador Turn 2
Seeing his army in ruins, my opponent first moves Zerkova up and uses her feat, then casts Force Bubble to move the Shredders away from the Devestator, who moves into base-to-base with the Carnivean and two Shredders and uses Rain of Death, seriously hurting the Shredders but not even denting the Carnivean. The Man-o-Wars then move in and clean up the Shredders. They try to hurt the Carnivean, but with the Kodiak parked in the way, only one manages to hit him. The Winter Guard charge the Striders, but are unable to hit Defense 15.

Legion Turn 3
Thagrosh moves up and casts Manifest Destiny, then the Seraph casts slipstream and charges the Kodiak, pulling the Carnivean out of combat in the process. My opponent then realizes hes in walking distance of Zerkova, though for good measure I fully force the Seraph so it takes out the Kodiak first. The Carnivean then walks over to Zerkova and eats her with a few boosted attack rolls.

Aftermath
After the thrashing I received yesterday against a very similar list, winning this one felt good - it means I'm learning from my mistakes, and my list can do better if I just play better. As always, the Carnivean is an absolute beast, shredding one Kodiak and seriously injuring another. Manifest Destiny is also pretty excellent, helping even out bad die rolls and making sure random luck goes your way more often. I'm a bit sad that a monstrous warlock like Thagrosh ends up leading from the back, but I guess its comforting to know if the Carnivean ever bites the dust I have another heavy hitter who can finish the job. I'm still trying to figure the Striders out. I definitely want to keep them more spread out to keep blasts from wrecking them, and I think the easiest way to do that is using their reform movement.