Hiatus

As you've probably guessed by the title (and lack of posting), I'm putting this blog on indefinite hiatus because I am moving to another state for work. I was hoping to have a battle report or review to go with this, but unfortunately the chaos of finding a new place to live, someone to take over my lease, and the moving itself pretty much sucked up all my Warmachine time over the last month. I'm going to be looking for another place to play, but at least for the next month I'm unlikely to get any games in while I settling into my new job. Hopefully I'll be back in February, but I'd rather not make any promises.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. pMorghul

Hey all. It's been a pretty intense weekend on the Warmachine front. Like I mentioned last week, one of the stores I go to was running their Domination event this Saturday, and I took the opportunity to try out some of the new Everblight models. This game actually took place last Friday, as several players were trying out lists for Saturday's event. I decided to try out one of the most intriguing new additions to the Legion, the new character Carnivean Proteus. At 11 points, it feels like he'll be competing against the Carnivean for space in lists, so I decided to sub into my Saeryn list, which ended up looking like this:

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
-Proteus
-Scythean
-Shredder
-Shredder
Striders + UA
Blackfrost Shard
2 Spell Martyrs

There are two big downsides I see with Proteus: his most powerful attack is P+S 16, and his MAT isn't any better than the Carnivean's. I feel like this list should help address both of those problems, since the Blackfrost Shard's Kiss of Lyliss boosts his POW up to Carnivean levels, and both the Shard and Saeryn can help him hit with Ice Cage and Breathstealer respectively. Hopefully it'll also help his ranged attack connect, which I think is his best ability.

My opponent was running a beast heavy Skorne list, headed by pMorghul:

Master Tormentor Morghul
-Bronzeback Titan
-Titan Gladiator
-Rhinodon
-Cyclops Savage
-Cyclops Brute
-Basilisk Krea
Full Paingiver Beast Handlers

Wow, thats a ton of beasts for a 5 FURY Warlock! It'll be interesting going up against this list - Proteus and my Scythean should tear into his beasts, especially with the Blackfrost Shard and Saeryn's feat backing them up, but the Striders are probably going to running interferance more than anything else.

My opponent won the roll and opted to go first. Here's a quick sketch of the terrain:

Deployment
My opponent deployed his forces in the center, with the Bronzeback, Gladiator, Rhinodon and Savage forming a front line. Morghul was behind them in the middle, flanked by the Krea and Brute. The Paingivers deployed around the back, trying to set up as close to the beasts as possible.

I deployed everything on the far right, hoping to take advantage of the forest. Proteus and the Scythean deployed directly behind it, with the Shredders on either side of them and Saeryn behind them. The Spell Martyrs deployed next to the Shredders, and the Blackfrost Shard deployed close to the middle, behind the wall. Though opponent had virtually no shooting, I figured it would keep them safe from charges. The Striders advance deployed as far up as possible on the right. I figured I could run them into the back field and try to snipe out the Paingivers.

Skorne Turn 1
Rush was passed out, and all my opponent's beasts ran towards my force, stopping short of the forest.

Everblight Turn 1
My Striders ran forward, placing themselves to the right of the forest and my opponent's force. They had 2 roles: bait opposing heavies close so I could get the charge, and if they survived, push further and take a shot at the Paingivers. Unfortunately Perfect Balance made Morghul immune to Combined Range Attacks, and with the Krea's animus I was unlikely to get an assassination that way. The rest of my force ran forward, placing themselves behind the forest. Saeryn gave Respawn to Proteus, since I figured he would end up closer to the opposing force and be more likely to need it.

Skorne Turn 2
My opponent noticed that the Rhinodon had line of sight to my Scythean, and decided to go for a quick kill. He placed Rush on it and then use the Paingivers to boost its strength, then moved up Morghul so it would remain in his control radius and cast Abuse on the beast. All told, it had +4 Strength and Speed! It charged my Scythean, just barely making it into range. After a few lucky rolls, my poor beast was reduced to paste. Thats what I get for underestimating Skorne's charge range! The Titans and Savage went after the Striders, killing 3 of them as they tried to get around the forest and get LOS to Saeryn. Meanwhile, the Krea and Brute moved forward to protect Morghul with their abilities and animi.

Everblight Turn 2
Things are looking bad, but there is a silver lining: Morghul is now within Proteus' range. Decided I need to go for broke, I run my Spell Martyrs up and activate Saeryn, making sure to pop her feat before moving up and casting Hellfire on the Cyclops Brute - I couldn't have Shield Guard messing up my assassination. She then placed Breathstealer on Morghul. The Blackfrost Shard then activated, moving around the Rhinodon to place Ice Cage on Morghul (sadly only one of the two hit) and Kiss of Lyliss on the Brute. My Shredders then moved forward, immune to the Rhinodon's free strikes thanks to Saeryn's feat, and with some good rolls devoured the Brute and opening up a path for Proteus. The Cthulhu-Carnivean hybrid then moved up and used his ranged tentacle attack. Boosting to hit, I barely managed to snare Morghul and drag him close. Fortunately he was only sitting on 1 FURY, and fell under Proteus' barrage of attacks.

Aftermath
Wow, that was a nailbiter! While Proteus was clutch, upon thinking about it, I realized I was relatively unimpressed with him. Here's why: while I initially thought he would be competing with the Carnivean, I actually found he was closer to a Scythean. While the Carnivean is more of a utility beast with his spray and animus, Proteus' special ability is his drag. While it seems like a good utility ability, all it does is move one model. I can think of a better way to accomlish this: kill that model. In this respect, Proteus seems more like a beatstick than a utility beast, even more so because of his weak animus.

Ok, so he's a beatstick. He still has extra range on the Scythean thanks to his ranged attack, and an additional point of FURY on the Scythean. That makes him worth 2 more points, right? Unfortunately, Proteus has one more disadvantage: his best P+S weapon is 1 point weaker than the Scythean's. To me, this is the deal breaker. While he'll do fine against most targets, against the very heviest opponents, more often than not Proteus will fail to finish them off while a Scythean would get the kill.

It isn't all bad news though. With a damage buff, Proteus should be able to take on anything. For Warlocks who can provide one (pLylyth, pThagrosh, Kallus) or for those already including the Blackfrost Shard, he should be a solid alternative to the Scythean. In a game thats won by millimeters, having an extra inch of range can make all the difference, and between his extra FURY and attacks he's definitely a serious threat to all but the most armored opponents.

Longest Night

Long time no post! Last week I played at a Longest Night event at one of the stores I go to, and I have to say it was a lot of fun. Most of the players agreed that the scenario is the best Privateer has ever come up with, which was especially impressive because the only terrain on the tables was the festival tents. Perhaps one of the best moments was on a table next to me, where the players got so caught up in fighting each other they didn't pay attention to the thralls. As a result, by the end of turn 4 there were more thralls on the board than models controlled by both players combined, and they had managed to kill 3 light warjacks and 3 heavies! If you didn't get a chance to play, I'd highly recommend trying it out next time you have a match - you can find the rules here.

This week is the Domination release event, so hopefully I'll have some interesting Hordes vs Hordes battle reports to put up. I'm going to be pretty busy this month so I won't have much time to play, but I'll make some time to post my thoughts on the Domination releases. I know most have been spoiled already, but I'd like to take a look at the book so I don't miss any details and maybe try one or two out.

One last thing - I mentioned in my last post that I was going to work on painting, and I've actually got most of my Scythean complete. Unfortunately my camera is broken, so it'll be a little while before I'm able to show off the pictures. I'm also working on finishing my Shredders and Spell Martyrs, mainly because of the Longest Night event. There were bonus points for having a fully painted army, and I missed by just those little guys, which inspired me to finish them up!

End of September Update

Hey guys, its been a while since I've posted, so I figured I'd put up an update to let you know how things are going. After my last battle report, I got some feedback that I should find tougher opponents to play against, so I started hitting some other stores in my area in search of competition. Unfortunately, everyone is starting up the Journeyman League right now, so its probably going to be a few weeks before I can get a full 35 point game in.

I had originally planned on starting a Magnus list for my store's Journeyman league, but it ended up sneaking up on me and I didn't have time to order the models. Fortunately, the pressgangers who's running it is allowing us to use whatever Warlocks and battlegroups we wanted, I decided to use it as an opportunity to practice with Kallus, as well as get some more of my Legion painted. This week was the 15 point level, and here's what I brought:

Kallus, Wrath of Everblight
-Scythean
-Shredder
-Shredder
Full Warmongers

Dark Guidance has been serving me well, and my Scythean and Warmongers were able to carve through pDeneghra and Jarl Skuld. I'm going to try to take this time to paint up some of the models that have been waiting for a while, so stay tuned!

Battle Report: Kallus vs Kara Sloan

Hey guys, I'm back with a report featuring the newest of Everblight's Warlocks, Kallus! I picked him up at PAX a few weeks back, and finally got a chance to take him for a test run last night. This is the list I brought:

Kallus, Wrath of Everblight
-Scythean
-Nephilim Soldier
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Shredder
Blighted Nyss Striders
-Strider Officer & Musician
Full Warmongers
1 Spell Martyr

This is by no means an optimal Kallus list - I'd really like to have another melee infantry unit to take advantage of Dark Guidance, as well as turn into Incubi on feat turn. Still, I'm excited to see how the Scythean and Warmongers do.

My opponent was one of the Cygnar players I normally go up against, though she was bringing a caster she's never played before, Kara Sloan:

Captain Kara Sloan
-Defender
-Charger
-Charger
Full Long Gunner Infnatry
-Long Gunner Officer & Standard Bearer
Full Nyss Hunters
-Captain Jonas Murdoch

Ouch, this is going to be a rough list to go up against. There's so much shooting in there I don't know how much of my stuff will be able to make it up field, and I'm worried that if I bring Kallus up far enough to take advantage of Dark Guidance I'll get shot to pieces. On the plus side, if I can get my Warmongers into enemy lines under Dark Guidance, I should be able to tear all that infantry to pieces.

Terrain

My opponent won the roll and decided to go second

Everblight Deployment
Wanting to take advantage of the forest, I deployed the Scythean, Nephilim, and 2 Shredders directly behind it on the right, with Kallus behind them. The Warmongers deployed to their left, hoping to use the wall as cover, and the Spell Martyr stayed behind them, trying to stay centered while using the Ogrun as cover. The remaining 2 Shredders deployed in the middle of the board next to the Warmongers, hoping to provide support.

Cygnar Deployment
Kara Sloan and her battlegroup deployed directly across from Kallus, the Scythean and the Nephilim; I'm going to have to make sure the forest stays between us so I don't get sniped. The Nyss deploy in the middle of the board, and the Long Gunner deploy to their left.

Everblight Advance Deployment
I deploy my Striders across from the Long Gunners. With any luck they'll keep the riflemen from getting to the center and raining down CRAs.

Everblight Turn 1
The Scythean, Nephilim, and Shredders on the right all run up behind the forest, followed by Kallus after the Warlock puts Ignite on the Warmongers and burns the rest of his fury on spamming Tenacity. It ends up being a poor Ignite choice - 6 fury is so low that I drop the upkeep next turn. The Warmongers run up, deciding to move around the wall instead of behind it so they can get into combat faster, and the Spell Martyr follow close behind. I do some quick math and figure out the Striders can't get into range of anything, so they run up the large hill, with the Shredders on the left following suit.

Cygnar Turn 1
My opponent moves up cautiously, running her battle group up to the wall on her side of the board and taking a few shots at my Shredders, severely wounding one. The Nyss and Long Gunners also walk forward, and while they take a few shots are all out of range.

Everblight Turn 2
I realize that I probably was too cautous last turn - none of my models are in charge range, which means I have to get creative if I don't want to endure a turn of brutal shooting. I have the two Shredders on the right go Rabid and run to engage the Chargers, placing themselves so the Defender won't be able to attack them unless the Chargers move out of the way first. I hope this will keep my oppnent from killing the Shredders to allow the Chargers to shoot. I advance the Scythean and Nephilim Soldier into the forest, hoping they're tough enough to endure a round of shooting so they can charge. The Spell Martyr weaves through the Warmongers and Striders, and Kallus uses it to arc Eruption onto the Nyss, boosting to hit and killing 4 with the blast. I'm pretty relieved - almost half that unit is gone, and they really could have made my life difficult. The Striders then activate, those in range of the Nyss standing still for the aiming bonus while the others move closer to the Long Gunners. The end result is 2 more Nyss dead along with 3 Long Gunners, though the Nyss pass their command check. I have the wounded Shredder run up to engage two of the Nyss Hunters, hoping to keep them back as long as possible. Two of the Warmongers run forward, one managing to engage a Charger while the other is just short. I realize now that Kallus is a bit exposed to the infantry on the left, so I move the other 3 Warmongers to block line of sight to him.

Cygnar Turn 2
While I had a good turn, I'm not out of the woods yet. My opponent gives focus to the Chargers who pound the Shredders engaging them into blighted mush, and the Long Gunners who are close enough kill a Strider while the rest form up for a big CRA to kill the unengaged Warmongers. Jonas Murdoch and the remaining Nyss Hunters assault into my Striders, killing 2 while the 2 engaged by the Shredder chop the lesser warbeast up. Kara and the Defender both take shots at the Nephilim Soldier, who is badly wounded but keeps all his aspects.

Everblight Turn 3
I've manuvered into position, whethered the initial barrage, so now its time for Kallus to do his thing! The Wrath of Everblight moves up into the forest and casts Dark Guidance, saving the remaining 2 fury for transfers. The Scythean then charges the Defender, catching both the Chargers in its melee range. Thanks to the boosted attack rolls I'm able to hit the heavy warjack with ease, and after a flurry of attacks and Bloodbath, the Defender is down and both Chargers are badly wounded. The forward Warmonger charges into the Long Gunners, killing 3 thanks to boosted attack rolls and Beserk, while the 3 that were shielding Kallus move up to finish off one of the Chargers. The Striders continue taking shots at the Nyss Hunters, using CRAs to kill Jonas and two more elves. The Nephilim Soldier tries to finish off the other Charger, but just doesn't have the power to bring it down. Still, the turn feels great - its almost like a feat turn for any other Warlock!

Cygnar Turn 3
With almost nothing left, my opponent decides its do or die time and has Kara Sloan and the remaining Long Gunners open up on Kallus. Unfortunately they're only able to do minor damage, and my opponent concedes before my Scythean can tear into Kara.

Aftermath
Though the game was pretty one-sided, I feel like I learned a lot about Kallus. His spell list was as powerful as expected: Dark Guidance was a game winner, and the early Eruption was pretty great as well. I'll probably try to get another Spell Martyr in so I have the option of lobbing another one out later in the game. I think in the future I'll just drop Ignite on the Scythean and leave it there all game - +2 damage doesn't seem to make the big difference +2 MAT does when it comes to infantry, but as I've seen witht the Blackfrost Shard, it can be really helpful on a heavy.

One of the funny things about playing Kallus is I didn't take advantage of his melee prowess at all despite the fact that he has some of the best offensive stats in the Legion. I'll have to try that in future games but I'm a bit apprehensive since it seems like he'll go down to even a moderate effort. I also still need to figure out his feat; I'm really hoping for a soulless melee unit in Domination, since then I could take advantage of the +2 DEF without having to hope my opponent kills my infantry. Speaking of which, I really should grab some Hex Hunters. Battle Wizard is all but guarunteed when they charge in under Dark Guidance.

The Striders get a special mention for doing an outstanding job even though they didn't synergize too well with the rest of the list. They managed to hold back both the Long Gunners and Nyss Hunters with almost no help, allowing my battlegroup to go for the kill. On the other side of the spectrum is the Nephilim Soldier, who once again failed to prove his usefulness. I don't think the Massacre animus suits my playstyle, and if I don't use it he's just an overpriced, underpowered reach weapon. I think I'll bench him for the time being;  eventually I'll probably try to figure him out, but for now I have enough other things on my plate.

Newest Addition

Well the whole "waiting for Domination to come out" thing failed pretty miserably the first day of PAX, so here are some (sadly low-res) pictures of my newest Warlock, Kallus, Wrath of Everblight:

Haven't gotten a chance to assemble him yet and I'm busy packing for a trip, but with any luck I'll have a battle report featuring Kallus early next month!

Thoughts on Kallus

For those who don't know, the new Everblight Warlock, Kallus, Wrath of Everblight, is being sold at Gen-Con this weekend, so spoilers have started leaking out. I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on him.

Off the bat, I'm a bit disappointed. While he is the infantry supporting Warlock people originally thought Bethayne would be, there were rumors that he would be a pButcher-esque super solo type, which I was really hoping for. All of Everblight's warlocks are supporters, and it would have been nice to get a guy whose job was to run up and murder things like Epic Caine, Prime Vlad, or Kromac. Still, there's a lot to like about him.

In my mind, he's going to put up Ignite first turn, then spend most remaining turns casting Dark Guidance and supporting his army from just behind the front line. Flashing Blade and Eruption add some utility. Not only does Flashing Blade let him attack multiple models, but since its a spell, he can attack before he moves. And Eruption provides both AOE support as well as a possible defensive shield for a heavy warbeast if he target them. I really like the fact that his stats are solid. Too often games have come down to the wire, and if I'm running either Lylyth or Saeryn, its hard to tip the balance in my favor by having my Warlock get into the fight. Possibly the worst part of him is his feat. Not only does it require your opponent to help out, Kallus makes it harder for them to do so thanks to his Unyielding aura. In addition, the benefit is kind of lackluster. I can't imagine getting more than 4 or 5 Incubi out of it, and it doesn't seem like they'll get their out of activation attack. The other cool use could be Grotesques, having them fly over the front line, die to free strikes, and then spawn Incubi next to the enemy Warcaster/Warlock for assassination, but it seems like that isn't possible ("No Grotesques flying through models").

My favorite part of Kallus is he makes Warmongers spectacular. I've been a champion of Blighted Ogrun almost since I started, and he gives them some great benefits. Unyielding help make up the gap between them and Gatormen, who have been their main competition, and Dark Guidance means Berserk chains are even easier to get off with an effective MAT of 10.5! But the best thing is both those abilities affect everyone in the Battlegroup, meaning they don't have to compete with other models for upkeeps. While Ignite isn't bad on them, with their already high POW they really don't need it.

Speaking of Ignite, I'ven been trying to figure out the best way to use it. I probably want to use a unit, since that way I get more attacks to make the most of the benefit. The great part is I've been thinking about picking up a new unit soon. I've narrowed it down to 4 options:

Gatormen: These guys are getting a lot of time in this post! Ignite doesn't require faction models, so these guys are a decent target. The downside is they won't benefit from Dark Guidance, and since I'm already including Warmongers, I'm not going to have many bodies on the field. While running an army full of high arm multiwound monsters is intriguing, losing out on Dark Guidance is a BIG loss, since that seems like Kallus' thing.

Legionnaires: At first glance, these seem perfectly made for Kallus. They're a cheap tarpit-style unit, which means they really benefit from Unyielding since you can field multiple units easily, and they're already one of the best ways to get out Incubi. Tack on Reach and CMA and it seems likey they'd be great with Ignite. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, they aren't as great. Only one unit can benefit from Ignite, and with Kallus' moderate control, you'd be hard pressed to get 2 full units in it and still near the enemy. And while they are cheap, I wouldn't mind paying a point or two more for the pefect unit. Still, they're resilient and have CMA and reach, which makes them a decent choice.

Hex Hunters: Another options I like a lot. Unyielding nicely complement Stealth and high DEF, and increasing their power makes it more likely for Battle Wizard to trigger. The main downside is they're too fast. If you take Bayal and Advance Deploy them, its really likely they'll be out of Kallus' control for the first turn or two, meaning no Unyielding or Dark Guidance, and that they could go down before he can use his feat.

Ultimately, it's probably going to come down to Farilor, the Legionnaire UA slated for Domination. If he brings the right stuff to the Legionnaires, I'll probably get them; otherwise, I'll go with Hex Hunters.

Overall, I like Kallus, and think he'll be an interesting addition to the Legion. I'll probably wait until Domination is release to pick him up, mainly so I know if I'm getting Legionnaires or Hex Hunters to complement him. Still, I'm looking forward to a Warlock other than Rhyas who can run Warmongers well!

Case Version 2

A little while back I posted about my carrying case, and wanted to keep you guys updated on some of the changes. I was finding that I was running out of space in the interior portion, so I decided to buy some pluck foam and upper level with it, allowing me to put some of the small based models there. Here's how it looks now:

 And here's the interior, with much more space than before:

 The one big problem I ran into was where to keep my dice, measuring tape, cards, and markers. I came up with the idea to glue magnets to them and attach them to the sides of the case. I bought a deck box for the cards, which is also helpful for keeping them in order. You can kind of make them out above, but here are some close up pictures of the sides:

One one major problem currently is the foam is resting on a piece of cardboard since it isn't long enough to not fall into the inside of the case. Unfortunately, the cardboard is starting to bend (you can kind of see the effect in the first picture), but I'm hoping to replace it soon with something sturdier - just as soon as I find something sturdier thats easy to get and cut into the right shape!

Battle Report: Lylyth vs Gorten

Wow, over a month since my last post. Sorry its been so long - summers been eating up most of my Warmachine time, and I've also been feeling a bit burned out on the game lately. I probably won't be posting often until the end of August, but with any luck things will pick up in September. In any case, here's a battle report for a game I did manage to get in last night. Since I've been beating this opponent pretty handily lately, I decided to play my standard Primal Lylyth list, which IMHO is my weakest:

Lylyth, Herald of Everblight
-Carnivean
-Seraph
-Shredder
Blighted Nyss Striders
-Officer & Musician
Full Blighted Ogrun Warspears
1 Spell Martyr
The Forsaken

He brought a new Searforge army he's been working on, led by Gorten Groundback:

Gorten Grundback
-Ghordson Driller
-Grundback Gunner
Full Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps
Min Horgenhold Forge Guard
Min Horgenhold Forge Guard
Brun Cragback & Lug
Gudrun the Wanderer
Ogrun Bokur

I'm not liking the look of this fight - my list is build to take on either a few really tough models or lots of flimsy ones. He's got a large number of pretty tough guys, so I'm going to have to be careful and whittle him down before he can get to me. Thankfully I've got the range advantage, so I think I have a decent shot.

Terrain

A quick note: the reason his deployment zone seems bigger (and has terrain in it) is he gets +4" since he's playing Searforge Comission. He wins the roll, but decides to let me deploy first.

Everblight Deployment
As usual, I'm outnumbers, so as usual, I'm going for a refused flank. The beasts form a line directly behind the forest, with Lylyth, the Forsaken, and the Spell Martyr behind them. The Warspears deploy to their right, past the forest so they can run up and help push into the right side of my opponent's army.

Searforge Deployment
He's struggling a bit to fit all his forces into the deployment area, especially due to the hill and forest. In the end, the High Shields and Forge Guard form a block between the two terrain pieces, with Gorten and his jacks behind them. Brun and Lug deploy in the forest, hoping to flank me.

Everblight Advance Deployment
Keeping with the refused flank strategy, I put my Striders as far up on the right as possible, hoping to get behind the High Shields to deny them the Shield Wall bonus and take them apart.

Searforge Advance Deployment
Not wanting his Ogrun to get shot up, he deploys them in front of Brun and Lug. I'm going to have to be careful, since thats a reasonably fast force on the right that could flank me.

Everblight Turn 1
My beasts all run forward, and Lylyth hands out Spiny Growth, Tenacity, and Slipstream to help. The Warmongers also run forward, but the Striders just walk, and 3 CRAs later, one of the Forge Guard units is taking a morale check, which they easily pass. First blood to Everblight.

Searforge Turn 1
His massive Dwarven brick advances, but its almost comical how slow they are in comparison. Its less funny when his left flank runs down towards me, though I'm not that concerned since it doesn't look like they'll get in the action for another turn or two. The High Shields CRA the Carnivean, dealing 4 damage despite Spiny Growth, but otherwise I'm unharmed. Gorten puts Strength of Granite on the Driller.

Everblight Turn 2
The Driller is hiding behind the wall, but I can probably get to him with my Carnivean if I can clear out some of the Dwarves. So I have better odds, Lylyth feats first, but is unable to put Parasite on the Forge Guard since she kills both the ones she shoots, keeping me from using Witch Mark! The feat isn't really necessary as my army continues to whittle his down with ranged attacks, finishing off the weakend Forge Guard unit and taking out a few High Shields. In the end, I decide not to risk the Carnivean and have him aim and spray at the Dwarves, taking out 2 Forge Guard from the second unit.

Searforge Turn 2
I can tell my opponent is getting frustrated with slowly getting picked at, so most of his army runs forward in an attempt to swarm me. Two forge guard are able to charge one of the Warspears that stepped up to kill High Shields, and turn the poor Ogrun into paste. The Ogrun, Brun, and Lug all run towards me, realizing they're not going to get into the action at this rate. While most look like sitting ducks for my army, Gudrun does engage the Seraph, which is a bit annoying.

Everblight Turn 3
This turn looks like its going to be the crippling strike. Lylyth moves up and kills one Forge Guard before putting Parasite on Lug. Sadly the Striders fail to kill enough Forge Guard to keep the Carnivean from drawing a free strike, but he survives it as he charges the Driller and rips it to pieces. The Seraph engages Gudrun, killing him the first time thanks to poison (first time its ever triggered for me!). While he's alive, he's knocked down, allowing my Warspears to freely charge Lug and kill him. The Shredder then moves up and eats the Bokur. Overall, things are looking good - Lylyth may be out of Fury, but she's safe behind my lines, while all he has left is Gorten, 2 Forge Guard, most of the High Shields, the Gunner, Brun, and Gudrun. To be safe, I move my Forsaken and Spell Martyr in front of Lylyth to block line of sight, the Forsaken pulling Fury off the Seraph to avoid Frenzy next turn.

Searforge Turn 3
Unfortunately, my opponent still has one trick left up his sleave. He charges Gorten into the Carnivean, giving himself Strength of Granite to kill the beast. He then uses his feat, dragging Lylyth out from her cover and right into his lines! To make matters worse, her DEF is lowered, and after a CRA from the High Shields and an aimed shot from the Gunner, its all over.

Aftermath
I made the same mistake I've made a thousand times: I risked a more powerful model to save a much weaker one. In this case, I had Lylyth use all her fury to put Parasite on Lug so the Warspears could finish him, when in reality, even if the bear survived, he would have killed 2, maybe 3 Ogrun. The lack of Fury kept me from transferring the killing blows to my Warlock. Still, it was shocking to see how effective Gorten's feat was. Even if I had survived, I all my models would have been at -3 speed, making it difficult to reform my forces. Overall, it was a great game. I even got my opponent to complain the Warspears, widely regarded as one of the worst Everblight units, were overpowered and should cost more points!

As mentioned to earlier, I probably won't be posting much for the rest of the summer. When fall does roll around, the PG at my store is thinking of running a Slow Grow League based on official rules Privateer Press plans on releasing. It'll be a good opportunity to start that Warmachine army I was thinking about last year (wow, has it been that long already?). I think I have an idea of what I'm going to run, but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you guys. Hint: its one of the ideas I mentioned in the posts tagged "Warmachine".

Lock & Load 2011

Last weekend was Privateer Press' Lock & Load convention, and what a blast it was! There was too much cool stuff for me to describe it all here, so I'll just go over some highlights

-I played against people from Utah, Tennessee, British Columbia, and even Mexico! The player from B.C. was running a Skorne list complete with Molik Karn. This was only my second time playing against Skorne and first time against the infamous Karn. He did a lot of damage with with 14" threat range and 10" retreat, but I managed to drag him down with the power of Saeryn's feat.

-I played an awesome scenario game, this one against the player from Mexico. I had 25 points to his 50, and had to keep his army out of the back 10" of the board. To make things easier, there was a massive gate just outside my deployment zone, so his entire army was trying to get through an 8" gap! The interesting thing was he brought a Cygnar gunline as the attacker, while I had a balanced Rhyas list as the defender. It came down to the wire since though he tore my army up early, he did so while advancing slowly and realized he wouldn't make it if his Precursor Knights didn't break Shield Wall and run. In the end, he managed to knock down my Scythean so Ol' Rowdy could avoid the free strike and win.

-I got drafted into the 5 Commander tournament as part of the aptly named Ship of Fools. Each team had 5 players, and they would pair off and play. We were scrambling to get our forms done in time since the team was assembled at the last minute, but managed to get everything in thanks to a first-round bye. The two games I played were some of the best I've had: the first was against a Trollblood army, and we both spent the game dancing around each other to avoid losing our heavies to a charge from the enemy. It was definitely the most cerebral game I've had to date. The second was against another Everblight player, which was interesting since I knew his army incredibly well. He had Epic Thagrosh and lots of warbeasts, including a Carnivean and Typhon. He was no match for Saeryn's Carnivean and Scythean though, and I managed to bring him down by caster kill by hitting Thagrosh with Breath Stealer, 2 Ice Cages, and Kiss of Lyliss before trampling a Scythean over some Shredders and buying attacks to finish him. That's quickly becoming one of my favorite tricks! This also marks my first win in a tournament, so I'm pretty excited about that.

-I attended two seminars: The History of the Iron Kingdoms, and Concept to Book: A Model’s Journey Panel & Workshop. The first was Doug Seacat talking about some history of the Iron Kingdoms, which, while geeky, was a lot of fun. I've definitely spent afternoons on the forums just browsing through everything he's posted, and this was similar except in person. The second one was also amazing: after we listened to some background on the development process, we got to make our own league models. The one I really want to mention is the Strider Deathbringer, a version of the Strider Deathstalker that is a lesser warlock. I'm particularly psyched about her because it was my suggestion, and I'm really hoping she'll show up in one of the future leagues!

-I managed to snag two amazing sketch art prints, one of Garryth and one of a Satyxis Blood Witch.They don't do them justice, but here are some pictures:

-There was some amazing art of what I'm pretty certain are Epic Vayl and Hexeris. Here are some pictures of them:

Overall, the weekend was a ton of fun, and I can't wait for next year's Lock & Load!

Some assembly required

Some of you may remember that I was hoping to put up pictures of the modelling projects I was working on towards the end of last month. While I was delayed even more than expected, several of them are finally coming to fruition! First off, I'd like to present, for the second time, my Scythean!

The main problem I had with him was the arms - they were too heavy, and just wouldn't stay on, no matter what I tried. Eventually, I got help from a friend of mine at my local gaming store and pinned the arms on. I'm hoping to get him painted over the course of the next week, and I'll put up more pictures when I do.

Next is a project I've been meaning to get done for sometime. When ordering my last unit, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with Warmongers or Warspears. I really didn't like the look of the Warmonger models, so I decided to get a Warspear box and several Warmonger arms, and convert them. However, after playing for a few weeks, I discovered I preferred each type of Ogrun in different situations, so rather than just convert them, I magnetized the arms so I can swap them out. So here they are, my Warmongers/Warspears:

I greenstuffed over the magnets attached to the stumps and Warspear arms, but didn't do it for the Warmonger arms since they were too heavy for the magnets to hold with GS in the way. With any luck the paint will cover the magnets well enough that they won't be noticible.

Also coming up this week is Lock & Load, Privateer Press's first gaming convention. I'll be going, and aside from a few seminars, I plan to spend most of my time in the Iron Arena. Hope to see you guys there!

Battle Report: Epic Thagrosh vs. Rahn, 35 points

One of the major problems I've been dealing with lately has to do with Epic Thagrosh. I'm a huge fan of both the model, and he's a big part of why I got into Everblight in the first place, but when it comes to playing him, I'm running into some problems. It feels like Shredder Spam is his only good list, particularly since I like to use my feat to go after the enemy Warcaster, and Shredders are really the only beasts that can hit their high DEF due to Rabid. While this wouldn't be a huge problem on its own, Shredder Spam has some serious issues dealing with infantry, meaning more often than not I find my favorite dragon-possessed Ogrun sitting on the sidelines.

I've been thinking about new ways to use Thagrosh, and decided to seriously try using Scourge for an assassination. This can also help the problems I'm having with his feat, since even my MAT 6 heavies can hit a knocked down Warcaster with their feat attack. With that in mind, I built the following list:

Thagrosh, the Messiah
* Shredder
* Carnivean
* Scythean
Blackfrost Shard
Blighted Nyss Striders
* Officer & Musician
2 Spell Martyrs

The Striders are there to help clear problematic infantry, and the Blackfrost Shard can also help my heavies hit Warcasters without boosting thanks to Ice Cage.

I went up against one of the Retribution players at my LGS yesterday, and he brought this list:

Adeptis Rahn
* Chimera
* Phoenix
Battle Mages
Full Houseguard Halberdiers
* Officer & Standard
* Soulless Escort
Stormfall Archers
Arcanist
House Shyeel Magister
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress

Only one unit of Battle Mages, rare for Rahn, though I'm not liking Lanyssa Ryssyll. My opponent wins the roll but decides I should go first.

Terrain

Everblight Deployment
Deciding that the wall will be the best way to hide Thagrosh, I deploy most of my force on the left side, with Thagrosh on the far left, the Carnivean, Scythean, and Shredder next to him, and the Spell Martyrs behind them. I don't want the Blackfrost Shard to have to take abomination checks, so I deploy them on the right, behind the rough terrain.

Retribution Deployment
My opponent deploys his force across from Thagrosh and my beasts. The Houseguard Halberdiers form the front line, with the Stormfall Archers and Lanyssa Ryssyll next to them. Rahn, his jacks, and the Arcanist deploy in the middle, and the Battle Mages deploy on the right, across from the Blackfrost Shard.

Everblight Advance Deployment
The Striders deploy in front of the Blackfrost Shard in the terrain, hoping to contain the Battle Mages so they can't do much with Rahn's feat.

Everblight Turn 1
Everyone but Thagrosh runs forward, setting up so if my opponent moves forward, I get hit him next turn. Thagrosh moves up behind the wall and gives himself and the Carnivean Spiny Growth.

Retribution Turn 1
My opponent advances cautiously, moving his Houseguard up in shield wall and sending Lanyssa Ryssyll into the forest so she can benefit from stealth. The Chimera runs forward, and Rahn moves up behind the Halberdiers and arcs Chain Blast into my Striders, killing one. The Battle Mages move up behind the Chimera, and the Phoenix and Arcanist follow Rahn behind the Houseguard. The Archers move up and use Snipe to try to hit the Scythean, but are all out of range and the scatters fail to do any damage.

Everblight Turn 2
I don't like Lanyssa as far up as she is, so I have both my Carnivean and Thagrosh try to incinerate her with their sprays, but to no avail. I then use a Spell Martyr to arc Scourge onto her, but fail to kill her by rolling snake eyes for damage! The Striders pick off several Battle Mages, and the Blackfrost Shard moves to the center, taking a few shots at the Chimera.

Retribution Turn 2
He once again moves up slowly, bringing his Halberdiers into range of most of my force but hiding Rahn, the Phoenix, and the Stormfall Archers behind them. On the right side, the Battle Mages and Chimera take down 3 more Striders, bringing them to half their number.

Everblight Turn 3
Things aren't looking good for me, but my opponent has moved Rahn up far enough that I can take a shot at him. I run my remaining Spell Martyr onto the hill, then have Thagrosh arc Scourge onto him to knock him down. I feat, and have my Carnivean charge the Houseguard so I can catch Rahn with the assault spray. The Blackfrost Shard also steps up and take shots at the Warcaster, but he still has 5 health left. I run my Scythean over the hill to the back of his lines, and after the Striders take down most of the Battle Mages, the heavy beast uses its feat move to step up and crush Rahn under its scythes.

Aftermath
I can't believe how well the plan worked. Running + feat gave me great threat range, and using the hill I was able to hit Rahn despite behind behind his line of Halberdiers. Pretty much everything in my list helped out: the Striders cleared enemy troops, the Spell Martyrs let me arc scourge, and my heavies gave me the killing blow. While I initially thought Typhon might be a better option than the Carnivean, I remembered why I dislike him when I checked the spray range - Rahn was 9" back from the front line, out f Typhon's range but in the Carnivean's. The one thing I'm thinking of switching out is the Blackfrost Shard. While Ice Cage and Kiss of Lyliss may help my heavies on feat turn, drawing line of sight is still pretty tough. I'm thinking of replacing them with a Nephilim Soldier, since that gives me another beast that can help with the feat assassination, especially with reach and POW 14. Overall though, I'm pretty excited, since this is the first game I've played where it felt like going for the assassination was a better idea than trying to dismantle the opposing army. Though I'm still not that comfortable risking the entire game on the assassination working, hopefully as I get more experiance I'll get more comfortable and better at it!

Rhyas vs. Zaal, 50 points

Hey guys, found the time to write up another battle report! Unfortunately, this game was incomplete, but I still enjoyed it a lot and thought it would be fun to write about. Last night I tried out a 50 point game for the first time, and was excited to discover that I could run a solid list with all my casters. I had one of the other players pick my Warlock, and he suggested Rhyas, so I put together the following list:

Rhyas, Sigil of Everblight
-Carnivean
-Scythean
-Seraph
-2 Shredders
Striders + UA
Full Warmongers
Blackfrost Shard
The Forsaken

I'm worried about keeping the 3 heavy warbeasts under control, but otherwise pretty excited since I didn't feel forced to put more stuff that wouldn't work in to make it to 50. My opponent was trying out a Zaal tier 4 list for the first time:

Supreme Aptimus Zaal & Kovaas
-Titan Cannoneer
-Titan Gladiator
-Aptimus Marketh
Min Immortals
Min Immortals
Min Praetorian Karax
Full Praetorian Karax
Ancestral Guardian
Ancestral Guardian
Extoler Soulward
Extoler Soulward
Hakaar the Destroyer

I've only played against Skorne once before, against an Epic Morghul theme list, so I was asking a lot of questions since I hadn't seen any of his models before. Eventually I just gave up and decided I'd have to figure it out on the battlefield!

Terrain

This map was interesting because there was no area terrain (forest, hills, rough terrrain) in the center. I've noticed those games play very differently than ones that have a terrain piece in or near the center. We roll for deployment and my opponent wins, electing to go first.

Skorne Deployment
The full Karax unit deploys in the center, with units of Immortals on either side. The min unit of Karax deploys just behind the max unit, and Zaal, his Kovaas, and Marketh deploy behind them. The Gladiator deploys behind the Immortals on the right, while the Cannoneer deploys behind the immortals on the left.

Everblight Deployment
Deciding I want to take advantage of terrain as much as possible, I deploy most of my force behind the forest on the right, with the Heavy Warbeasts forming a line behind it that Rhyas and the Forsaken stand behind. The Blackfrost Shard deploy on the far right next to the edge of the board, since I want to keep them out of the action until they can make a difference, especially since they're my only good way to take out the Kovaas. The Shredders deploy to the immediate left of my heavies, and the Warmongers deploy to their left, with an open field in front of them so they don't have to worry about the forest.

Skorne Advance Deployment
The Ancestral Guardians each deploy in front of one of the Immortal units, and Hakaar deploys in between them, probably to lend support to whichever side needs it.

Everblight Advance Deployment
The Striders deploy as far up as possible on the right flank, hoping to threaten the Ancestral Guardian or Immortals there so I can roll up the right side of the board and take advantage of the cover provided.

Skorne Turn 1
Both units of Immortals run up in front of the Ancestral Guardians ahead of them, and the Full Karax unit walks forward and uses Shield Wall. The min unit follows behind them and does the same, and both Titans run forward with their groups of Immortals. Zaal walks up behind the Karax and gives the full unit Inviolable Resolve, and Marketh moves up and uses Awakened Spirit on the Canoneer.

Everblight Turn 1
The Striders activate first, moving up and making 4 2-man CRAs on the Immortals in front of them, unfortunately killing only 2. They then Reform back to form a defensive line. Rhyas casts Dash and puts Rapport on the Carnivean, then uses Slipstream and moves up to the edge of the forest, slipstreaming the Carnivean up behind her. The Seraph also uses Slipstream and moves into the forest, pulling the Scythean up. The Warmongers run forward, threatening to charge the Immortals and Karax in the middle if they advance. The Carnivean and Scythean both walk up into the forest, and the Carnivean gives himself his animus. The Blackfrost Shard runs up the right side, and both Shredders run forward between
the Warmongers and forest, ready to help whoever needs it.

Skorne Turn 2
My opponent continues to advance cautiously, with the Karax and Immortals in the center just moving foward. The Immortals on the right use their Vengeance move to get in range of the Strider and charge them, but fail to hit DEF 15. I'm concerned that they'll be tied up and blocking the rest of my force, but then I remember Dash can make them immune to free strikes. The Canoneer moves up and takes a shot at one of the Warmongers, and though he rolls poorly on the initial target, thanks to boosted attack rolls he kills one and seriously wounds another with the blast. Zaal upkeeps Invioable Resolve and spends fury to fill the Ancestral Guardians with souls, and the Gladiator, Ancestral Guardian, and Kovaas on the right fall back to avoid the counterstrike from my beasts, and Hakaar moves towards them to help reinforce that side.

Everblight Turn 2
Its tempting to pop feat now and see how much damage the Warmongers can do, but since the rest of my army is out of range I decide to save it. Rhyas activates first, upkeeping Rapport and casting Dash before moving so all the Warmongers are effected by it. The Striders then move forward turning to make 2-man CRAs against the Immortals that were engaging them, leaving only 1 left. They reform even further forward, pushing his right flank back. The Warmongers then activate, charging the center Immortals and full Karax unit. In a stunning display, they kill 3 of the 6 Immortals and 8 of the 10 Karax! I'm feeling pretty good now - I'm crushing the right flank and just seriously injured th left, and my Warmongers are there keeping the bulk of my force safe from the counter attack. The Seraph stands still and shoots the last Immortal from the left group, then the Shredders move up and fill the gap between the Warmongers and Striders. The Carnivean and Scythean move up in the middle, ready to take advantage of Rhyas' feat next turn, and the Blackfrost Shard moves up and shoots down the Kovaas.

Skorne Turn 3
My opponent is reeling from the damage the Warmongers just did, and decides if he's going to get back in the game they need to go die immediately. He debates feating due to the 17 tokens he'd get, but decides not to since most of my army is still out of range. The remaining Immortals use their Vengeance move to take down the 2 Warmongers closest to them, as both had been weakened by the Canoneer's shot last turn. The remaining Karax flail uselessly at one of the remaining Warmongers, and the Ancestral Guardian charges the other...and misses! Next an Extoler tries to take one down with a shot, but flubs the damage roll and it survives. The next Extoller tries the same, but misses since my Warmonger is engaged with the Karax. Finally the Immortals charge in, but poor damage rolls mean only one of the Warmongers falls. Deciding the last one isn't worth the trouble, my opponent has the Canoneer then uses his shot to seriously wound one of the Shredders, but the tenacous little beast refuses to die. Meanwhile, the Gladiator, Ancestral Guardian, and Hakaar on the right fall back so they're partially covered by the obstacle, trying to avoid getting shot up the the Striders and Blackfrost Shard. Zaal moves up behind them, giving them Invioable Resolve and gives the remaining Immortals last stand, just in case I draw free strikes.

Everblight Turn 3
Time to bring the pain! The Striders activate first and move forward, taking several CRA shots at the Ancestral Guardian and killing him. Rhyas then moves up and Slipstreams the Carnivean into charge range of the Gladiator before using her feat. The last Warmonger takes advantage of the feat to clear out the remaining Karax and the Immortal attacking him, and the Seraph moves towards the center and Slipstreams the Scythean forward and boosts several shots to finish off the Immortals. I now have a slight problem - my Warmonger is blocking the Scythean's charge lane to the Gladiator! After a moment of debating, I have the healthy Shredder step up and finish off the Ogrun, then charge the Canoneer with my Scythean. Halfway through killing it, I smell smoke, and unfortunately we have to evacuate the store since the back room is filling with smoke from next door.

Aftermath
I was feeling pretty good about that game when we had to call it - I was about the bring down both his warbeasts, meaning he would have to cut for fury. Worse, he would then be facing down 3 of my heavies with just an Ancestral Guardian, Hakaar, Marketh, the Soulwards, and a min unit of Karax, not to mention the whole rest of my army behind them!

MVP for this game definitely goes to the Warmongers. They carved through my opponent's units like a knife through butter, and then provided a solid defense to keep me from getting overrun. They actually help fill a role I've been having problems with - taking down lots of high ARM infantry. The Striders are my standard infantry solution, but they really struggle against ARM 17 and higher. The Warmongers managed to bring down nearly a full unit of ARM 20 Karax, and had attacks left over to seriously injure some Immortals. I'm going to have to start trying out the War Chief with them, since he can boost their MAT to 9 and make hitting all but assured.

Overall, I really liked playing at 50 points. List building felt a lot less cramped, and playing didn't take that much longer since the extra models fit into my plan, so it was pretty easy to figure out what I wanted to do with them. I think my next purchase will be another unit for some variety, and then I'll try to move up to playing 50 points all the time!

Battle Report: Rhyas vs. Gunnbjorn

Hey guys, sorry its been a while since my last post - May is turning out to be a busy month! While I've been working on a bunch of stuff for my army, a lot of it is still "in progress", mostly due to the fact that I don't have much time. Hopefully I'll get more of it done by the end of the month. In the meantime, here's a battle report from the league!

One things I've noticed is that almost all of my games go the same way: I  use superior speed and range to dismantle the opponent's army piece by piece, finishing off the Warcaster last. However, many people say Everblight is an assassination army, so with that in mind, I'm trying the following list, hoping to win by caster kill:

Rhyas, Sigil of Everblight
-Scythean
-Seraph
-Shredder
Striders + UA
Full Warmongers
Warmonger War Chief
The Forsaken

I'm hoping that on Rhyas' feat turn, the Seraph will Slipstream the Scythean forward so he can charge something, teleport behind it, and then crush the enemy caster. Assuming the thing he hits is a Heavy Warbeast, thats a total of 19" threat range! (2" Slipstrem + 9" Charge + 2" Reach + 2" Enemy base + 2" Scythean base + 2" Reach)

I've been doing really well at my store's league, so the Press Ganger decided he wanted to bring me down a peg. He normally play Khador, but brought his Trolls this league:

Captain Gunnbjorn
-Earthborn Dire Troll
-Dire Troll Bomber
-Troll Impaler
Full Fennblades + UA
Fell Caller Hero
Trollblood Skinner

He won the roll, but decided I would go first.

Terrain

Everblight Deployment
I placed my Scythean and Seraph directly behind the forest, figuring they could take advantage of the blocked line of sight. The Shredder deployed directly to their left, and Rhyas and the Forsaken were placed directly behind the beasts. The Warmongers and Warchief deployed in the center of the board.

Troll Deployment
Gunnbjorn and his beasts deployed behind the hill, probably hoping to run to it on turn 1 and get the elevation bonus against my Striders. The Fennblades and Fell Caller deployed to their right, across from my beasts. I've got to be careful that I don't get tied up by them, since that'll ruin my assassination plans.

Everblight Advance Deployment
As my opponent has very little shooting and I'm going first, I deploy the Striders in a line directly across from the Fennblades, their intended target.

Troll Advance Deployment
The Skinner deploys on the far left, hoping to to avoid the Striders and getting to my beasts.

Everblight Turn 1
The Striders advance straight forward and try to shoot the Fennblades, but fall short. They reform into a scattered formation to avoid the Bomber's 4" AOEs. Rhyas activates and casts Slipstream, Dash, and Rapport on Seraph before moving forward, pulling the Seraph with her. The Warmongers and Warchief then run forward, making it about halfway up the board thanks to the speed boost from dash. The Seraph slipstreams the Scythean forward as it moves, and places itself in front of Rhyas. The Scythean ran forward to the forest and riled for 1, and the Shredder moved up, gave the Seraph Tenacity, and riled for 1.

Trolls Turn 1
The Earthborn and the Impaler ran forward onto the hill as projected. Gunnbjorn gave Snipe to the Bomber and Far Strike to himself before moving up and boosting hit and damage rolls on the Warchief to kill him. The Bomber moved up and tried to shoot the Striders and managed to bring down 1. My opponent then realized he'd forgotten to put up a rock wall, so under he had the Fell Caller give the Fennblades Pathfinder before he ran forward with them. The Fennblades positioned themselves to block the charge from my Scythean to the Earthborn, but they were in perfect position for my Warmongers...

Everblight Turn 2
Its a bit early, but I really like the potential damage the Warmongers can do and decide its worth a shot. Rhyas activates and casts Dash so she can move through the forest to Slipstream the Seraph forward before using her feat. The Striders then activate, and each manages to injure a Fennblade, though two of the seven make their tough rolls. Fortunately, they're knocked down, leaving the Officer open. Thanks to Slipstream the Seraph can stand and shoot, and rolling max shots on his breath allows me to kill off both the leader and 2 more grunts. The Warmongers then activate, most charging the Fennblades and 1 getting through to the Earthborn thanks to reach. What ensues is utter carnage. Thanks to Beserk and the extra attack from Rhyas' feat, the Warmongers carve through the 3 Fennblades before diving into the Bomber, Imapler, Earthborn, and even Gunnbjorn. By the end,  both Dire Trolls are at half health, and even Gunnbjorn has taken 6 damage. Best of all, the Bomber, Impaler, and Gunnbjorn are engaged, keeping them from shooting next turn.

Trolls Turn 2
My opponent is reeling from the damage the Warmongers did, but tries to pull his force back together. The Fennblades Vengeance move does almost nothing since most are dead or knocked down, so the Impaler first tries to kill the Warmonger engaging Gunnbjorn, but bad rolls mean the Ogrun survives. The Fell Caller then stands up the Fennblades before moving up and finishing the Ogrun off, and the rest of his team meets the same fate due to the Earthborn and Bomber. Gunnbjorn remembers Rockwall this time and puts it up in front of the Earthborn, then moves to the right and takes a shot at my Seraph, but misses due to the forest. The Fennblades then charge my forces, hoping to tie them down to keep Gunnbjorn safe.

Everblight Turn 3
I'm faced with a choice: I can have Rhyas move towards the Scythean, slipstream him forward, and finish off the Earthborn and Bomber; or I can have her move forward, slipstream the Seraph up, and go for Gunnbjorn. Curse you, 10" control range! Well, I'm supposed to be practicing assasination, and with Rapport on the Seraph and no fury on Gunnbjorn, this is as good a shot as I'll ever get! Rhyas casts Dash and Slipstream before charging the Fennblades holding down the Seraph, cutting them to ribbons as the Seraph slides forward. It charges Gunnbjorn, and I boost to hit on the charge attack, hoping for a critical. Alas, it is not to be, but even 3 dice is enough to bring the troll down to 3 health. I buy another attack and boost the hit, and though I once again fail to get a crit, it does enough to finish off Gunnbjorn, who obliges me and fails his tough check.

Aftermath
That was an exciting game, particularly since I got great use out of models that normally don't do much. My opponent was caught off guard by the Warmongers and Rhyas' feat, which allowed me to do a lot of damage and mess up his game plan pretty badly. While the Seraph was solid in melee, I was pretty annoyed that I still haven't gotten a critical with him. The last time he was in this situation he was trying to finish off Barnabas in a tournament, and a critical would've sealed the game, but the 40% refused to come up. Ah well, I guess I'll just have to keep trying!

My case

So I realized the other day that I haven't posted about my gaming case. Its mostly a surprise because I've gotten a lot of compliments on it at the stores I go to, and you guys may be interested in using the idea for yourself. A little back story: before I played Warmachine, I played Warhammer 40k, and carried my figures around in a paper bag. No dividers, no cushioning, just tossed them all in a bag. Unsurprisingly, a lot of my minis broke, and it was a pain to transport other supplies like paints. When I switched to Warmachine, I decided to figure out a better solution. I didn't like the foam-filled army cases, particularly since they wouldn't be good for storing warbeasts and other larger models, but luckily, I found this cool idea on the forums. So without further ado, here is what I use to transport all my gaming equipment:

Its a metal toolbox I got off of Amazon. Why this box? Because I've glued magnets to the bases of most of my models, so they don't move around! Here's what the inside looks like:

All of those models are magnetized to the bottom. When I first set it up, I got a real kick out of turning it upside down and showing that everything was still in place! I also have my templates held to the side with a magnet, as well as part of a cup that I use for water when I'm painting. The other nice part about this box is there is a removable tray that fits on top that holds my other equipment:

I've got all my paints, dice, markers, cards, and measuring tapes. Its really convenient since I never have to worry about forgetting things - everything Warmachine related fits in my case!

For those interested in using this idea, here are the magnets I used:

When they say "Super Strong", they mean it - sometimes when I try to pick up a model, the magnet proves stronger than the glue and stays stuck to the case! Because of that, I've started gluing a scrap of paper towel to the side of the magnet that will touch the case. Here's a picture of the bottom of a model both with and without the paper:

On the top half of the second picture, you can kind of see the circle of glue from where the magnet initially was before it came off. Keeping the magnet from touching the metal helps significantly, and I have a lot fewer instances of magnets removing themselves from a mini these days.

One problem I'm running into with this case is I'm running out of room. I currently have 4 large based models, 7 medium based models, and 31 small based models. I'm currently working on a plan to open up some more space - I'll post again when I have something new to show you!

End of the Month of Madness

Last weekend was the tournament I was aiming for to end the Month of Madness, and I have to say I failed epically at my goal. All I managed to do was strip down my Shredders and Spell Martyrs, and I'm still having trouble with my Scythean. On the bright side, I do have battle summaries from the tournament. It was 25 points, 2 lists. I brought the following lists:

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
-Carnivean
-4 Shredders
-Striders + UA
-2 Spell Martyrs

Thagrosh the Messiah
-Scythean
-Seraph
-5 Shredders
-Spell Martyr

The first game was against a Retribution player, who brought Rahn, Halberdiers, Battle Mages, and a min unit of Destors, as well as a Chimera for his only jack. I brought Saeryn, and was doing ok until he almost got an assassination by knocking my Carnivean over her and feating. I realize afterwards that I should have been upkeeping Banishing Ward on her the entire time, but managed to get back into the game by using my feat and Banishing Ward to stay alive for a turn while I killed off most of his army, but I ended up losing when slammed his last Halberdier into Saeryn.

Second round I had a bye.

Third round I was against a gator player who took Barnabas, a Wrastler, a full unit of Gatormen, a pair of Bull Snappers and a pair of Croak Hunters. I brought my Thagrosh list, and was doing really well until I realized I had less than a minute left of my clock. Though I went as quickly as possible, time ran out as I was making attacks on Bloody B, and he ended up at 1 HP and I had enough fury to buy a fully boosted attack from the Seraph on him.

Both losses were annoying, but I feel like I learned a lot from my mistakes. I'm going to start timing myself in the casual games I play, since none of the other players felt like the time limit was tough, and thats a skill I'd like to perfect.

As for my painting, I've set a new goal for myself - I'm going to try to have everything I currently own painted by Lock & Load in June. Interestingly, I opened a fortune cookie yesterday that said I would accomplish my goal in two months. Coincidence? I guess we'll find out then!

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. Rahn

Hey guys, I'm back from my vacation with another battle report! This is the first one of the Thundercliff Peaks league, and I was using the terrain benefit from Kovosk Hills, so I had an extra warbeast point and could place another forest. There were also several new players that came by, and I played against one of them with my Saeryn list:

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
-Carnivean
-Scythean
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Shredder
Striders + UA
Blackfrost Shard
Spell Martyr

My opponent was bringing the Retribution of Scyrah, a faction I haven't played against much. To make matters worse, he brought Adeptis Rahn, a warcaster that I haven't played against, and who is reputed to be the best the Retribution has to offer.

Adeptis Rahn
-Phoenix
-Phoenix
Battle Mages
Battle Mages
Stormfall Archers
House Shyeel Magister
Mage Hunter Assassin
Mage Hunter Assassin

This looks like its going to hurt - those Phoenixes will be tough to bring down, and the Battle Mages can be brutal on feat turn. I also need to watch out for the Mage Hunter Assassins, since with a 4" reach and weaponmaster they can do some serious damage from long range. I lost the roll, and my opponent decided to go second.

Terrain

Both the tall hill and the wall blocked line of sight to small based models. Interestingly, this meant every piece of terrain blocked line of sight. The smaller forest on the center-left was a bonus due to controlling Kovosk Hills.

Everblight Deployment
I decided to try to take advantage of the large forest on his side of the board, so I deployed my beasts back and to the left of the obstacle on my right. Saeryn and the Spell Martyr deployed behind them, and the Blackfrost Shard deployed to the right, hoping to move around the right edge of the forest to avoid getting shot up.

Retribution Deployment
He opted for a more balanced deployment, putting Rahn and the Magister behind the Phoenixes in the center, and one group of battle mages on each side. The Stormfall Archers deployed on the left, I'm guessing with the hope that I would put my Striders there.

Everblight Advance Deployment
Wanting to avoid the barrage of AOE 3's from the archers, I deployed my Striders on the far right side fo the board, next to the obstacle. I was hoping I could bring down the right battle mage squad before the rest of his army could get to mine.

Retribution Advance Deployment
The Mage Hunter Assassins deployed as far forward as they could on the mid-left side. I'll have to be careful that they don't flank me, since they can really dish out a lot of damage.

Everblight's Omen approached the ruins cautiously. This was supposed to be a routine information pickup from one of their spies in Ios, but as she had left the main camp, a chill ran down her spine. Knowing better than to ignore such warnings, she had brought a larger escort, and was thankful she did when she saw the Iosian army in the distance. Whether the informant had been captured or was a traitor from the start no longer mattered - only that she deal with the enemies before her.

Everblight Turn 1
In short, everyone but Saeryn ran forward. The Striders hoped they could get in range of the Battle Mages for next turn, and the Blackfrost Shard followed behind them. The beasts all ran towards the forest, and Saeryn followed behind to give the Scythean Banishing Ward and the Carnivean Respawn. I've never cast Banishing Ward before, but with this many enemy casters it seems like a good plan. The Spell Martyr ran up behind the beasts, preparing for its eventual sacrifice.

Retribution Turn 1
His turn was similar to mine, though since his forces were spread out, the ones on the left ran towards the middle. Of note were the Mage Hunter Assassins, who ran behind the wall in the center, staying out of line of sight from most of my army but still in threat distance. The Myrmidons and Magister ran forward, and Rahn followed and gave the lead Phoenix Polarity Shield, ending my internal debate about whether to try to charge it. The Battle Mages on the right moved up and tried to use Force Blast on the Striders, but my opponent forgot about Stealth and they failed.

Adeptis Rahn smiled as the draconic forces entered the remains of the ancient tower. The spy's information had been accurate. Now all he had to do was bring down the blighted sorceress, and he would have a new guest for the torture chambers - this one with much more interesting information.

Everblight Turn 2
Worried about the Mage Hunters, I checked my control range and quickly devised a plan to finish them. I had one of my Shredders go Rabid and run around the wall, and he managed to get about and inch away from both of them. Next, my Spell Martyr followed, and Saeryn (after dropping both upkeeps) arced Blightbringer through it onto the Shredder. 2 boosted damage rolls later and my left flank was clear. The Carnivean then moved up to the edge of the forest, and managed to catch one of the battle mages in his breath attack. Boosting the hit roll, I killed him, and the Striders followed up by killing four more of the mages. The last one managed to stand his ground though. Without much to fear, the Striders reformed forward, around the right side of the forest and into it. The rest of my force just moved up into the forest, the Scythean preparing to get to the Phoenixes even if Polarity Shield was up again.

Retribution Turn 2
With both mage hunters and one of the battle mage units down, my opponent was facing a tough position since most of my force was protected by the forest. He moved the other unit of battle mages forward and had them all use force blast on my Scythean, pulling him closer to them. Unfortunately he got too close, and they were blocking the Phoenix's charge lane. They tried pushing him back away, but he ended up out of LOS of the Myrmidon once again. The Iosian jack ended up running up behind the battle mages, hoping next turn it could tear into my beast. The other Phoenix charged one of the Striders, but missed even with a boosted attack. Rahn then tried to arc Chain Blast onto the Striders, and two of the Nyss fell to the blasts. The Stormfall Archers then ran up to protect their warcaster, and the Magister just moved forward.

Saeryn's mind lept over the battlefield, directing her beasts to hunt down flanking opponents while dancing in and out of the trees, always keeping the enemy at arms length. Little by little she was whittling them down, and soon the warcaster foolish enough to challenge her would be at her mercy.

Everblight Turn 3
The Shredder who had run off the Blightbringer the Mage Hunter Assassins was out of control range, so it went rabid and devoured one of the Battle Mages on the left. Another Shredder moved up and ate two more of them, clearing a path for the Scythean to charge in and seriously wound the jack, unfortunately not taking out any systems. On the bright side, Bloodbath did trigger, and enough mages fell that they unit need to take a command check, which they failed. The last Shredder tried to finish off the Myrmidon, but also did little damage. To keep my expensive beast safe, Saeryn then cast Respawn on it before falling back. The Striders then moved forward past the other Phoenix, the engaged one falling to a free strike. The rest managed to bring down the remaining battle mage from the almost-destroyed group, the Magister, and two Stormfall Archers, forcing the other two to take a command check, which they failed. The Blackfrost Shard then moved up and placed two Ice Cages and Kiss of Lylyss on the Phoenix, allowing the Carnivean to charge and destroy it.

Retribution Turn 3
My opponent's situation had gotten desperate - all he had left was Rahn, a half health jack, and two units in retreat. Both units managed to rally, and my opponent formed a desperate plan. He placed two focus on the remaining Phoenix, then Telekinesis'd it 3 times to get it closer to Saeryn. It then charged my Warlock, but unfortunately missed its sword attack even on 3 dice. Ironically, it managed to hit with its fist without the boost, but I used my last fury to transfer the damage to on of my Shredders.

Everblight Turn 4
With most of my army intact, I tore apart his last Phoenix and finished off the archers and mages before running the Shredders into combat with Rahn to keep him from escaping. Out of options, my opponent conceded.

Adeptis Rahn triggered the force barrier traps behind him as he ran, keeping the dragonspawn from pursuing. Though he had hoped the contingency would not be necessary, it had once again saved his life. As he retreated toward the hidden Retribution fortress, he envisioned the battle in his mind, focusing on the motions the blighted warlock had made. Perhaps she had taught him more than expected...

Aftermath
This match was pretty much a blowout. By the end, I had lost 3 Striders and a Spell Martyr, compared to his entire army. Though he had an assassination attempt, I had the fury to transfer the boosted sword strike, so I wasn't terribly concerned. Once again, my strategy revolved around using a forest to shield my army while being able to strike at his. Its been a really effective strategy for me so far, though I'm concerned some opponent will catch on and force me to fight away from terrain. A Ravagore could help there, since it'll give me the range to chip away at them while hiding in the forest. On the bright side, I don't need to worry about it until after this league, since as long as Everblight holds Kovosk Hills, I can place a second forest on the other side of the board so I have protection no matter where the battle takes place.

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. Epic Madrak

I'm out of town for the next week, so I thought I'd help tide you guys over with a new battle report! This is against a troll player I haven't faced yet, and should be an interesting challenge - I still don't have much experience against Hordes. I decided to take one of my 7 fury warlocks, and since my Shredders hadn't been fully stripped down yet, I ended up using Saeryn:

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
* Carnivean
* Scythean
* Shredder
* Shredder
Blackfrost Shard
Blighted Nyss Striders
* Blighted Nyss Striders Officer & Musician
2 Spell Martyrs

It's been a while since I've played this list, but in the past it hasn't let me down. My opponent brought Epic Madrak:

Madrak Ironhide, World Ender
* Mulg the Ancient
* Troll Impaler
Full Trollkin Fennblades
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer
Min Trollkin Long Riders
Fell Caller Hero
Janissa Stonetide

Light on beasts, but heavy on power. The Fennblades will be a tarpit that can get pretty dangerous on mini-feat turn, and Mulg can easily take down either of my heavies. At least Janissa isn't as dangerous, thanks to the Scythean's reach and hunter on the Striders. He won the roll for deployment and opted to go first.

Terrain

Deployment
Trolls put everything in the middle, with Madrak and his beasts in the center, the Long Riders on the left, and the Fennblades on the right. Janissa deploys next to Madrak, and the Fell Caller hangs with the Fennblades.

I decide to deploy in the far left corner, for two reasons. First, it means I can run up behind the forest. If I can force the battle to be fought in the terrain, I'll have a huge advantage. Second, his Fennblades will have to run across the board to get to me, either slowing down the rest of his force or coming at me piecemeal. With that in mind, I put my Carnivean and Scythean on the far left, with the Shredders to their right and Saeryn and the Spell Martyrs behind them. The Blackfrost Shard deploys closer to the middle, behind the obstacle, hoping to come in late and flank once the battle is centered on the forest. The Striders advance deploy as far forward towards the forest as possible, hoping they can use it to take shots at anything that came near.

Madrak gazed out into the distance, towards the foe he could sense but not yet see. Calandra's prediction had been accurate so far, but he would rather have avoided this conflict if at all possible. Still, Doomshaper had been insistent that they hunt down this blighted witch, even sending Mulg the Ancient to assist. With a heavy sigh, Madrak shouldered Rathrok. Battle would be joined soon.

Trolls Turn 1
The Long Riders run towards the wall in front of them, while Madrak, his beasts, and Janissa follow suit after the Warlock puts up Warpath. The Fell Caller and Fennblades run down towards the hill, as they are unable to get cover without being blocked by the rest of the army next turn.

Legion Turn 1
The Striders run into the forest, hoping that anything that he'll continue to advance closer and I can take a few shots. The beasts and Spell Martyrs also run forward, still about a turn outside the forest, and Saeryn moves up and puts Respawn on the Carnivean before giving several models Tenacity so can leech all the fury next turn. The Blackfrost Shard advances up and gets Stealth, both trying to stay out of the fight and keep away from the Impaler.

In spite of the thundering steps in the distance, Saeryn urged her forces towards the safety of the trees. Whatever Warlock she had been sensing, he had clearly come to fight, and she would rather do so from relative safety.

Trolls Turn 2
The Fennblades and Fell Caller run left, forming up on the far edge of the wall, while the Long Riders move forward a bit, unable to get at the Striders because the lack line of sight. Madrak and the beasts are close behind, followed by Janissa who puts up a wall in front of the Buffalo riders. He's trying to reposition his forces so he can hit me with everything at once, though thankfully he's just a little too close...

Legion Turn 2
I make a Shredder go Rabid and run, getting close to 4 Fennblades, a Long Rider, and Madrak. A Spell Martyr runs in behind, and Saeryn arc Blightbringer onto the lesser warbeast. I boost the damage on the Long Rider, killing him, and while one of the Fennblades makes his tough check, Madrak's Grim Salvation takes him down anyway. The Striders then advance up, 4 of them nearly killing another Long Rider who succeeds at his tough roll. The others then shoot at several more Fennblades, taking out another 2 before the blighted elves reform back into the forest, out of line of sight. Saeryn and the beasts, advance up behind the forest, trying to move towards the edge of the board to avoid the Fennblades. The Blackfrost Shard is unfortunately too close to escape, but a few Ice Bolts kill enough Fennblades to force a command check, though they pass.

The little beast seemed to come out of nowhere - one moment his forces were advancing on the enemy, the next, the unnatural creature comes sprinting at them, a cloud of acid erupting from its body. One of his Fennblades stepped in front of Madrak to keep him safe, but he and his comrades were all consumed by the toxins. Ironhide did not have time to grieve for the lives his axe had taken. A flurry of arrows erupted out of the woods, cutting down even more of his forces. Gritting his teeth, Madrak let out a bloodcurling roar, pushing his forces forward to take vengeance for their fallen comrades.

Trolls Turn 3
Though he's taken some damage, there are still plenty of trolls for me to deal with. First the Fennblades use their mini-feat and getting War Cry from the Fell Caller to charge the Blackfrost Shard, taking down Rhylyss (the one who can increase damage) and reducing the leader, Sevryn, to one health. The Fell Caller then charged the Shredder, killing it but taking damage from Blightbringer. The Long Riders also charged, the wounded one going after a Strider but missing, while the leader ran into the forest, engaging 3 Striders. The beasts advanced again, staying behind a wall put up by Janissa, and Madrak then stayed back and used his feat, granting each model an attack against everyone in their melee range. The Fennblades cut down the Blackfrost Shard, and the Long Rider in the forest killing 2 of the 4 Striders he could reach, while his injured companion managed to kill the Strider he was fighting.

Legion Turn 3
All in all, his feat turn wasn't that bad - his army has taken a beating and I still have both my heavy Warbeasts. The Scythean moves up and puts up his animus to kill the Long Rider in the forest, freeing up the Striders who move right and kill all but one of the Fennblades. I debate using Saeryn to take down the last Fennblade and Long Rider, and decide that I can still block line of sight to Mulg and pull it off. For good measure, I also drop Respawn so I have the extra fury, and manage to kill the last of both units with 3 fury to spare. The last Shredder then goes Rabid and walks up to the Fell Caller, and gobbles the troll up, and the Carnivean moves around to keep things out of base contact with Saeryn. At this point, I'm feeling pretty good - my opponent is down to Madrak, Mulg, the Impaler, and Janissa, while I still have my Carnivean and Scythean, as well as half my Striders and a Shredder.

A cold smile crossed the Omen's face as her Deathspurs killed two more trolls. Her opponent had underestimated her, and was paying with the lives of his soldiers. Now all that remained was to finish off his mighty beast...

Trolls Turn 4
It's do or die time for my opponent, but he's got a plan. First, the Impaler throws a pair of spears at the Shredder, seriously injuring the beast, but not killing it. Madrak then does the same with Rathok, killing it. Foolishly I don't reave the fury, and Warpath triggers to move Mulg so he can see Saeryn. I had forgotten that he'd been upkeeping that spell this whole time, and now it may cost the game! Mulg charges Saeryn, but thankfully he has to boost to hit in order to get me. After a flurry of attacks, I'm down to 1 health and no fury! Janissa then moves up and tries to cast Rock Hammer on the Carnivean. It hits, and he needs an 8 or better to finish me off. He rolls...






...and gets a 9!


Saeryn awoke with a start, finding herself in the Carnivean's arms as they ran. Her memory was a blur - the last this she could remember was killing Trolls...and then that huge one came out of nowhere and pummelled her with its club! She shook herself and tried to look around to regain her bearings, but a sharp pain fired up her spine when she tried. Eventually they stopped, and she was able to determine that while she had been badly hurt, most of her force was intact. As the Striders began to make camp, Everblight's Omen used her own pooling blood to read the world's flow. Somehow the Trolls had known where to ambush her. Next time, they would not be so fortunate.

Aftermath
I felt really dumb after that match. I was doing really well, and hadn't even used my feat, but put my caster too far out - something I often chastise other players for doing. To his credit, my opponent played a great game. He didn't simply walk his forces into melee range and allow me the first strike, instead hanging just out of combat range most of the game. This made it much harder for me to use my feat, since there weren't obvious openings when it would be effective. Then again, I have lost many more games because I didn't feat than I have when I feated too early. In the future, I think I'll be more liberal with its use, and see if that helps!