Battle Report: Epic Thagrosh vs. Prime Goreshade

With the arrival of my Scythean and extra Shredders, I’ve been able to play two lists that were the major drive to get the models in the first place. While I’ve been using my Saeryn/Carnivean/Scythean list several times, I didn’t get to use my Epic Thagrosh Shredder Spam list until last Friday:

Epic Thagrosh
-Carnivean
-8 Shredders
Striders + UA
2 Spell Martyrs

I could probably fit some more Shredders in there by replacing the Carnivean with a Scythean and dropping the Strider UA, but I feel like 8 of the blighted buggers has enough punch, and I want to invest enough in taking out mobs of units that they can struggle with. The Carnivean’s breath also lets me snipe out problematic models, since if I position the assault right and boost the hit, the POW 14 spray can be pretty devestating.

My opponent also just started a few months back, though he was using the other dragon army:

Goreshade the Bastard
-Deathripper
-Defiler
-Helldiver
-Deathjack
Min Mechanithralls
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
Bane Lord Tartarus
Gorman di Wulfe
Ogrun Bokur
Pistol Wraith

I’ve read a lot of scary stuff about Cryx, and this list seems to have a lot of the scariest things. The Deathjack is a single-minded killing machine, Tartarus can churn through infantry and turn them into Bane Thralls, and the Pistol Wraith is immune to everything except Thagrosh. Add on Gorman, who many Cryx players never go without, and an Ogrun to keep the warcaster safe, and I’m not feeling great about my chances. Oddly enough my opponent feels the same way staring all my Shredders, so this should be an interesting match!

Terrain

Terrain is pretty sparse: there’s a small forest about 6" up from the right side of my deployment zone, a Larger forest in the left center of the board, closer to his side, and a large hill on far left in middle. I won the roll and decided to go first.

Setup

I deploy my shredders in a line behind the forest on my right, with Thagrosh, the Carnivean, and the Spell Martyrs behind them. He deploys his Mechanithralls, Necrosurgeon and Stitch Thralls directly across from me, and the Defiler and Pistol Wraith to their right. Goreshade, the Bokur, the Deathjack, and Helldriver are to the thrall’s left, with Tartarus and Gorman in the middle and the Ripper a bit to the right. Striders then advance deploy on the far right, to the right of the forest.

Legion Turn 1

Striders advance up, and the Shredders all run into the forest in a staggered formation. Carnivean and Thagrosh advance up behind them, Carnivean staying to Thagrosh’s left to help screen him. Thagrosh drops tenacity on all the Shredders he can see and himself, and the Spell Martyrs run up and to the right, staying behind the Striders. I’m flanking him, hoping to be able to hit the thralls and Goreshade while the Deathjack, Tartarus, Gorman and the Ripper are too far left to get into the fight.

Cryx Turn 1

The thralls all run forward, with the Necrosurgeon right behind them. Goreshade and the Bokur walk up behind them, while the Helldiver moves up and burrows. Going to have to keep an eye on that guy. The Deathjack, Tartarus, and Gorman all run forward and to the right, but are still another turn behind Goreshade. The Ripper runs left, trying to swing around the other forest and come around my flank - someone else I have to watch out for. The Pistol Wraith runs forward as far as it can, so it is within range of my Striders, and the Defiler follows but stays a bit behind.

Legion Turn 2

I debate whether its feat turn, but decide I’m not going to get the caster kill so hold off. The Striders activate first and move up, taking several shots at the thralls. I kill 2 of the stitch thralls and 2 Mechanithralls, but my opponent informs me that thanks to the Necrosurgeon, the Mechanithralls will be back next turn. I then retreat using reform, leaving enough space for a Spell Martyr to run through at the Pistol Wraith. Thagrosh then activates and arcs Scourge through the Martyr at the Wraith, boosting the hit and killing it. One legendary Cryxian horror down! He then moves up to the edge of the forest and puts Spiny Growth on one Shredder. The Shredders advance through the forest, the one with Spiny Growth taking the lead and putting himself halfway out the other side, hoping to bait a charge. The other moves up in the forest, dropping Tenacity on each other. The Carnivean follows, staying at the back edge of the forest, once again screening Thagrosh. The Spell Martyr runs up, staying to Thagrosh’s right and behind the Striders, who are now in line with the forest.

Cryx Turn 2

The Necrosurgeon bring back the Mechanithralls, who deploy up as far as possible and charge one Strider who didn’t retreat back far enough. Thankfully, with their abyssmal MAT they all miss. The Defiler moves up and tries to spray the Striders, but also fails to hit. The remaining Mechanithralls run forward, trying to engage the Striders but falling short. One breaks off and engages the lead Shredder - thats going to be annoying.The Deathjack then moves forward, finally able to get between Goreshade and my pack of beasts, then casts Hexblast at the Striders, killing 2. Goreshade hangs back and arcs Hexblast at the Striders through the Defiler, but the scatter drops in on the Mechanithralls that moved in! Luckily his damage rolls are bad and they all survive. The Bokur moves up to the right of the Deathjack, creating a wall that Gorman is all too happy to move behind. The helldiver pops up, moves up, and burrows again, getting closer to my lines. The Ripper continues to run around the forest, but still finds itself pretty far out. Tartarus runs up, managing to use his reach to engage the Strider that is surrounded by Mechanithralls.

Legion Turn 3

I don’t think I’m going to get a better situation, so this turn is where I go all out. First my Striders activate, and all retreat back. The one engaged by all the Mechanithralls and Tartarus is carved up by the free strikes, but the remaining ones kill all the Stitch Thralls and all but 3 of the Mechanithralls. Thagrosh then activates, casting Manifest Destiny and activating his feat, then flying up and spraying his breath at Tartarus and the remaining Mechanithralls. Boosting the hit and damage, he manages to kill Tartarus, and lucky rolls mean I kill the Mechanithralls as well. The only one left is the one engaging the lead Shredder, but he quickly falls as one of the back Shredders walks up and chomps him. Now the chaos begins. Two of the closest Shredders run rabid and walk up to the Deathjack, but thanks to the aura of the Deathwalker behind the helljack, fail to do any damage. Another Shredder runs rabid and walks up to the Bokur, and eats it with 2 attacks. The Carnivean then charges forward and sprays at the Deathjack, clipping one of the Shredders fighting him but also getting the Deathwalker and Necrosurgeon. Though nothing happens to the beast or jack, boosting to hit on the two undead warriors kills both. 2 more Shredders charge the Deathjack, and with good rolls take on one of its arms. The remaining Shredders run up, preparing for the feat. The Spell Martyr then moves up, interposing itself between Thagrosh and the Defiler.

Thagrosh’s feat then activates. One of the Shredders moves up to try to get Gorman, but manages to miss. In spite of this, I’m able to get 3 Shredders into melee with Goreshade, dropping him to 10 health. The remaining Shredders pile on the Deathjack, shattering its other arm. Though its at 6 hp, it still has its cortex and movement.

Cryx Turn 3

My opponent is reeling. Not only is his army in shreds, his Warcaster and strongest model are badly wounded and surrounded. Deciding he has to kill Thagrosh, he comes up with a plan fit for a Cryxian. The Deathjack first tramples out of the Shredders, managing to take only 1 point from the free strike before squishing the Spell Martyr. One of the Shredders is also crushed, allowing me to reave its fury and go up to 3. Goreshade then moves up into the jacks’ place, camping most of his focus so he only takes 3 points from the 3 free strikes, and then pops his feat, creating a line of bane thralls behind the Shredders. He then burns the focus and blasts Thagrosh with a hex blast, and great rolls mean he does 6 points. This proves to be his undoing, since this spawns a Shredder that I put in base-to-base with Thagrosh, blocking the Bane Thralls from charging him! The Defiler moves up and by boost its sprays does a few points to Thagrosh, and the Helldiver finally gets into position and charges him, dropping him to 5. The bane thralls then charge in, and while 2 are able to get to Thagrosh, they both have to take free strikes from the newly spawned Shredder who promptly eats one of them. The ones that aren't able to make it to my warlock tear the poor Shredder apart, and while the last one hits Thagrosh for lethal damage, I transfer it to one of my Shredders, who promptly implodes. The Ripper runs forward, still far out of range from being able to affect the battle.

 If I wasn't about to win, I'd be finished. The Mechanithralls are actually Bane Thralls, since my opponent didn't have enough.

Legion Turn 4

I don’t even get an activation, as the Shredders surrounding Goreshade frenzy and tear him apart.

Out of focus, and surrounded by Shredders. Bad way to go.

Aftermath

Wow, that match was nail-bitingly close! I thought I had him once I used my feat and tore through his army, but he managed to get just enough space, and if not for my defensive Shredder spawning, I would’ve been done for. The Shredders were excellent, and feat turn was devastating. However, the rest of my army really helped clear the path for them. The Striders were able to harass my opponent so he closed in, I needed a Spell Martyr to take down the Pistol Wraith, Thagrosh’s spray took down Tartarus, and the Carnivean dropped the Deathwalker. I felt really good about this win, since these days when I play against my usual opponents, I can pretty accurately figure out if I’m going to win or lose even before we play. This time, I had no idea, and the game swung back and forth. In the end, I managed to scrape the win using one of my Warlock’s special rules that I almost forgot about!

I'm trying to add a few pictures to the battle reports, but keep forgetting until the end! Hopefully next time, I'll just be able to take a picture of the terrain and deployment rather than trying to explain it.

The Twins Painted

My latest painting blitz is continuing, and the latest models to feel the sting of my brush are my last two Warlocks, the twins of Everblight, Rhyas and Saeryn!

Lets take a closeup look of each of them:

These guys were tricky, since they have a lot more armor than most of the models I've been painting. This limits the amount of skin they are showing, and I really like the contrast of the bright blue with the darker silver and brown. However, both have one arm completely uncovered, which really helped get the effect I was going for.

The toughest part was with so much metal armor, how could I keep them from turning into a flash of silver? I ended up going over some parts of the armor with a little Thamar Black (the flat one), which managed to retain the sparkling look of armor while breaking up the silver. Otherwise I used the same paint scheme as the rest of my army, with ice blue skin, brown leather, white hair, and platinum gold cloth. This time, the cloth was in the scarves both are wearing, which, while not as big a part of the model as the capes on the Striders, still looks great. I was also really happy with how the white hair turned out on these guys. I was finally able to get it to show up well instead of blending into the ice blue of their faces.

One new addition I tried was silver eyes. Lylyth doesn't have eyes, and while I tried this with Thagrosh, he doesn't have pupils, so the results were mixed. On the twins, though, I was really happy with how it came out. I was able to get just a tiny bit of metal-silver paint on the tip of my brush, and carefully paint just the pupils silver. Though I did get a little on Saeryn's face, it was pretty easy to fix. Though its hard to see in the pictures, I'm really happy with how they turned out!

Painting these two was interesting because I got to see how the  sculptors pushed the concept of "twins". Both have lots more armor than other warlocks, both have a scarf, and both have one arm completely bare. Even the small details in the armor seemed familiar when I was painting the second one. I'm curious to see if they did something similar with other twins, such as Haley and Deneghra.

Another thing you may have noticed in the pictures is I've painted the front arcs. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but wanted to get some templates so I could get them right. I found some great ones here (middle of the top left box). Oddly enough, my brush skills turned out to be the lacking factor, and I realized after the first few I could probably have eyeballed them, since wobbly painting meant my lines weren't perfect. At this point, I've put arcs on everyone except some of the models I plan to repaint - the Shredders and Spell Martyrs.

Lastly, I've started putting the Matte Sealer on my models, to mixed results. While I haven't seen any paint chipping since I did, I have noticed that the metallics tend to look dull afterwards. You can see it a bit in the first pictures - Saeryn had the matte applied to her, and seems to sparkle less than Rhyas. I think my solution will be to only use it on the large bases, since there hasn't been any chipping on the smaller ones. For the large bases and models that I've already done, I'm going to go over the metallic portions with another coat. Hopefully this will bring the sparkle back, and if the paint does start to come off, at least the sealed, non-shiny bottom layer should remain, making it less noticeable.

Introducing the Scythean

This has been a long time in coming, so I won't delay any further. Introducing the newest addition to the Legion, the Scythean!

It was a really tough choice, but in the end, it came down to the fact that 3 of my 4 Warlocks support melee beasts much better than ranged ones. Still, the Ravagore proved to be a force to be reckoned with, and I'll probably be picking one up sooner rather than later. The poll results were pretty surprising - while I expected the Scythean and Typhon to have a lot of fans, I didn't expect the Angelius to get so much attention. I'll have to take another look at him.

There's a surprise though - the Scythean didn't show up alone. In fact, just like his big brother, the Carnivean, he's brought a full entourage with him:

The main reason I picked the extra Shredders up was they work so well with Epic Thagrosh. Between his feat and Manifest Destiny, a pack of Shredders can tear apart the opponent's army, and with a 24" threat range, they are also a serious threat to the enemy Warcaster.

I'm pretty psyched about all these new models, but I think my Carnivean was getting jealous. He brought along his posse to remind the new guy who the top dog is!

Bizarro Battle Report: Cygnar vs. Legion

Last week at my LGS, my friend Kat suggested we trade armies sometime, so this week we decided to play a Bizarro World Matchup: I’m playing Cygnar while she is using my Legion! My list was:

Prime Stryker
-Ol’ Rowdy
-Lancer
-Squire
Full Sword Knights
-Ironclad
The Black 13th

Stryker has always been a beast to play against, particularly when using the Lancer to arc Earthquake on my caster! Ol’ Rowdy’s combo of countercharge and grudge also made him too awesome to pass up, and the Black 13th really needs no explanation. The Sword Knights seemed to be a fun option, since they’re cheap, can have high ARM with defensive line without having to slow down like shield wall units, and with their flank ability, can do a pretty good amount of damage. I had them marshall an Ironclad, hoping he could flank with them and take down the heavy warbeasts Legion likes to bring! I filled out the last 2 points with a Squire, a model I’ve read great things about.

My opponent went with the following:

Saeryn
-Carnivean
-Seraph
-Nephilim Soldier
-3 Shredders
Striders + UA
Spell Martyr

Saeryn was a good choice because of all her options, and Kat has suffered too hard at the hands of the Carnivean, Striders, and Shredders to leave them out. This left enough points for the Seraph, and the Spell Martyr helped fill the last point (part of the reason I got them!)

Terrain

There was a small forest in front of the right of my DZ, and a small hill across in front of hers. A large hill took up a decent chunk of the middle of the board, centered just a little to the left of the middle. There large forest to the left in front of Kat’s deployment zone. I figured I could use the small forest in front of me to take advantage of the Black 13th’s prowl, and have the Sword Knights help screen the rest of my army. She won the roll-off and opted to go first.

Setup

Legion all deploys in middle, with the Shredders dead center, the Seraph to their left, and Saeryn and the Carnivean on the right. Cygnar deploys to the right behind the forest, with the Lancer and Rowdy directly behind it and Stryker and the Squire behind them. To their left is the Ironclad, and to its left the Sword Knights. To the Lancer’s right and also behind the forest are the Black 13th, and the Journeyman and Charger are to their right, just over the right side of the forest. Striders deploy on small hill in outside her DZ, across from Journeyman and Charger.

Legion Turn 1

Everyone but Saeryn runs forward - the Seraph is now on the hill in the middle, and the Carnivean is in the center-right, with the Shredders spread out a bit back. Striders run up, and Journeyman is already close to their threat range. Nephilim runs up behind them, ready to provide melee support if needed. Spell Martyr runs up to the left, staying behind the Seraph. Saeryn then follows behind, putting Respawn on the Carnivean and Tenacity on herself and the Shredders.

Cygnar Turn 1

Stryker gives 1 focus to the Lancer and takes 1 from the Squire. Ironclad runs around left side of the forest, trying to draw the charge from the Carnivean. Ol’ Rowdy then runs left, hanging a little behind the hill, ready to countercharge the Carnivean if it goes after the Ironclad. Charger walks up a little to the right of the forest, and the Lancer runs right next to him, leaving the tiniest sliver between itself and the forest. The Journeyman moves up behind them and puts Arcane Shield on himself - those Striders have been his end far too many times, so I’m hoping the jack wall and extra armor will keep him alive! Stryker casts Snipe on the Black 13th, Arcane Shield on the Sword Knights, and Blur on himself before moving up so hes barely in the forest. I had no idea he had this many awesome upkeep spells! Black 13th move up to the edge of the forest to take advantage of prowl, then Ryan uses the space between the Lancer and the forest to drop Mage Storm on the Striders. Though it misses due to Stealth, 2 are still caught in the blast and killed. Squire follows Stryker into the forest, and the Sword Knights run up, two blocking the Seraph’s path to Ol’ Rowdy while the other hang back to leave his countercharge lane open.

Legion Turn 2

Saeryn goes first, upkeeping Respawn and moving up behind the Nephilim before popping her feat. My plan suddenly looks like its falling apart, since now the Carnivean is safe from Rowdy’s countercharge. Saeryn then puts Massacre on the Carnivean, Tenacity on 2 Shredders and the Nephilim and Spiny Growth on herself, wary of ranged attacks. The Carnivean then charges into the Ironclad, and I opt not to countercharge since I can’t attack it. The assault spray gets the Ironclad, Stryker and the Squire. Though it misses the first 2, she boosts to hit against the Squire it dies in a plume of fire. The Carnivean then tears the Ironclad limb from limb. This is starting off just like all our other Legion-Cygnar matches... The Seraph strafes at the Sword Knights and Ol’ Rowdy, but a combination of low RAT and high ARM keep everyone safe. The Striders move up, but can’t get LOS on the Journeyman - at least one of my plans worked. Instead they make one large CRA against the Charger, but only do 2 points of damage. The Shredders move up, unable to get close enough to engage and the Spell Martyr hangs back behind the Seraph. The Nephilim moves forward, preparing to charge and slaughter the Black 13th.

Cygnar Turn 2

Stryker upkeeps all 3 spells before sending the Lancer forward so he can channel Arcane Blast through it at the Strider leader. It misses, and though he’s caught by the scatter, the blast damage isn’t enough to kill him. Stryker then uses his feat. The Black 13th moves foward into the forest, Lynch and Watts taking brutal damage shots on the Nephilim but only doing 4 points together. Ryan has better luck, as a good deviation causes her Mage Storm to take out 2 Striders and put enough damage on the Leader to finish him off. The Striders fail their morale check, and I celebrate - I know just how vicious they are, and its great to see them out of the game. The Charger then uses all Journeyman’s focus to put 2 fully boosted shots into the Nephilim and kill it. That gun is stupidly good. The Sword Knights run forward, with a pair getting on each side of the Carnivean, blocking the path to Ol’ Rowdy, while the others move up in pairs to engage 2 of the Shredders and block my remaining heavy jack from the Seraph. Unfortunately I realize I’ve left the Carnivean with a straight path to Stryker, even if he would take 4 free strikes to do it. In desperationI run Rowdy in between, putting him in base-to-base with Stryker so at least I can take advantage of their affinity.

Legion Turn 3

After upkeeping Respawn, Saeryn puts Blightbringer on the Carnivean, but the Sword Knights’ armor is so high, she needs to boost just to have a chance to damage them. She then blows her remaining fury on putting Spiny Growth on herself again. The Shredders try to take down the Sword Knights but are unsuccessful. The Seraph however manages to take down 1 with a boosted Strafe shot, and the Carnivean follows up by eating 3 of the knights around him. The Striders fail to rally, and the Spell Martyr once again hangs back.

Cygnar Turn 3

It looks like things are wrapping up, so Stryker lets all his upkeeps fade and gives Ol’ Rowdy 3 focus, keeping the other 3 for himself. Rowdy charges in and, burning all his focus, kills the Carnivean, who Respawns closer to Stryker. The Lancer then walks towards Saeryn, and Stryker uses its arc node to cast Earthquake. Though it misses, she is still caught after the deviation and knocked down. For good measure, he then charges and kills the Carnivean. The Charger then moves up in front of the Lancer and kills Saeryn with 2 fully boosted shots. It’s as the saying goes: boosted POW 12’s kill casters!

Aftermath

Switching armies felt really strange - for once I knew what my opponent could do better than what I could! That really made a difference, since often I would expect the worst she could do and was prepared for it. I should try this with other armies, since I’ll start to understand what they can and can’t do better.

It was almost disgusting how good Cygnar was. Ol’ Rowdy hits almost as hard as the Carnivean, but on top of that has countercharge and Grudge, all for 2 points less! The Black 13th’s combination of Stealth and a 4” AOE reminded me why I prioritize taking out Ryan, and even the Sword Knights did great - ARM 19 under Defensive Line and Arcane Shield made them a real pain to kill, and though I didn’t get to use their flank attack, the threat of the damage they could do helped with winning psychologically. Sadly the Ironclad didn’t do much other than get ripped apart, though he did draw out Saeryn’s feat. If I ever play again, I’ll probably replace him with a Sentinel and Eiryss. The Sentinel still has ARM 18, and is just as effective as the Ironclad at running up to an enemy jack so the Sword Knights get their flank bonus! Eiryss also seems like an all around good choice, and has the advantage that when I sacrifice the Sentinel, her 3 points still stick around!

One thing that was really different was using Focus instead of Fury. I’m used to being able to run my beasts at full efficiency and cast spells every turn. With Focus, I had to choose between the two. This meant that even though Stryker’s spells were cheaper, I was struggling to cast them just like with Legion. Upkeeping 3 spells didn’t help either!

I hope you enjoyed this trip to Bizarro World as much as I did!

Nephilim Soldier Painted

So I finally got around to painted a new model: the Nephilim Soldier.

I'm pretty happy with how this guy turned out. Nephilim are a cross between elves and dragon-beasts, and I wanted that idea to carry through to the paint scheme. Its skin is ice blue and the scales are coal, just like all my warbeasts. However, he also has silver armor as well as brown straps, like my infantry. I also used the same platinum-gold for his loincloth that I used on the Striders, Lylyth, and Thagrosh, though I just realized you can't see it in the pictures.

This was actually a great model to get back into painting, since he was a much smaller project than a unit of infantry or even a heavy warbeast, but still gave me the feeling of accomplishment for finishing something. Now I've got the following left to finish:

2 Spell Martyrs
Saeryn
Rhyas
Warchief
Warspears

That's roughly the order I plan to tackle them, though that may change, particularly when my new heavy arrives! At the end, I want to go back and redo my Shredders. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while may remember that I used them as tests for various paint schemes. Now that I've figured out what I like, I want to go back and make them match the rest of my army.

At the moment, however, they're all being pushed back. The reason is I started noticing the paint chipping off my models, particularly the spines and nails of larger warbeasts. I spoke to some of my friends about it, and they told me it was because I wasn't using Matte Sealer. I picked up a can of Armory Clear Matte Sealer earlier today, and my next project will be patching up all the models I've painted and using the Sealer on them. Once thats finished, I'll be ready to move on to new models!

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. Caine

Another Battle Report in the "Choose between Heavies" saga. This one, however, has an ulterior goal. After seeing how terribly my play was with Saeryn and realizing I've probably fallen even more out of practice with her, I've decided to try playing with her a few times, both to see how the Scythean and Ravagore work with her as well as get more practice in. Since I've heard she pairs well with a Scythean, I put together the following list:

Saeryn
-Carnivean
-Scythean
-Nephilim Soldier
-Shredder
-Shredder
Striders + UA
2 Spell Martyrs

I went up against a Cygnar player - not the Haley fan I normally play against, but a more experianced player from another store. He was also trying out a new Warcaster, Prime Caine:

pCaine
-Stormclad
-Squire
Rangers
Full Stormguard
Full Storm Lances
Black 13th

Surprisingly range-light for Cygnar. We'll see how this shapes up.

Terrain
There were 2 forests on the right, one in front of my DZ, one in front of his. A small hill is in the center, and a wall and shack on the left.

Legion Deployment
Wanting to take advantage of the terrain, my army deploys to the right, behind the forests. Saeryn and the Spell Martyrs deploy behind them - I'm not really sure why. I get the first turn so its not like they can get sniped. I'm going to have to start talking to more experianced players about deployment.

Cygnar Deployment
The Black 13th and Rangers deploy across from my army, also behind forests. Caine, Stormclad, Stormguard, and Storm Lances deploy in middle, I guess hoping to get to grips with me faster by going around the forest.

Legion Advance Deployment
Striders deploy as far up as they can, just to the left of the forests.

Legion Turn 1
Striders move up and spread out, hoping to threaten anything that moves forward while also blocking the Storm Lances. Beasts move into forest, while Spell Martyrs run around it. Saeryn puts Tenacity and Respawn on the Carnivean, and Spiny Growth on herself.

Cygnar Turn 1
The Rangers move through the forest, three moving all the way out the other side while 3 stay back. Black 13th stay in back of forest, just enough in to benefit from prowl. Storm Lances run forward, 2 engaging 2 Striders while the others hang back a bit. The Stormguard follow up, the front ones getting atop the hill for the DEF bonus. Caine helps even more by giving the Stormguard Blur as he walks up behind them. The Stormclad gets focus from the Stormguard to run up with them, also onto the hill.

Legion Turn 2
Unengaged Striders team up into 2 3-man CRAs and kill 2 Storm Lances, while their engaged companions flail pointlessly at 2 others. One gets backup from a Shredder, which fails to kill due to poor rolls, but Saeryn drops Blightbringer on it to finish the knight off. The Nephilim charges the 3 forward Rangers, killing 2 but missing the 3rd. Carnivean and Scythean shift to the left, getting towards the action near the center.

Cygnar Turn 2
Black 13th and remaining Rangers move up to form a firing line that kill the Nephilim after the lone engaged ranger tries to retreat but eats a free strike. Shooting from the Stormguard kills the forward Shredder, and the remaining 3 Storm Lances charge in and take out 4 Striders.

Legion Turn 3
The Striders take revenge for the fallen and kill one Storm Lance with a CRA. The remaining Shredder goes Rabid and runs into the Black 13th and Rangers who killed the Nephilim, and a Spell Martyr follows, dropping a Blightbringer that kills all but 1 Ranger and the leader of the Black 13th. Saeryn also moves Respawn to the Scythean before it charges in, killing the remaining Storm Lances and one of the Storm Guard. The Carnivean assaults in, but is too far to get in range, and Blur keeps the spray from doing anything. This is where I made my crucial mistake: I didn't feat.

Cygnar Turn 3
He immediately takes advantage of my foolishness by charging the Stormclad into the Scythean, taking it apart. It Respawns out of reach, and mostly blocked from the Stormguard by the Stormclad, but then Caine gives the Stormguard snipe and the Ranger moves up to mark my Carnivean. The Stormguard assault in, the two able to shoot the Scythean killing it, while the rest barely manage to kill my Carnivean. To highlight my stupidity, the killing blow is the last one, a melee strike from the only Stormguard who could get in range. With nothing able to take out the Stormguard or Stormclad, I concede.

Aftermath
This is exactly why I need to practice with my Warlocks. Had I feated, he wouldn't have been able to kill either the Scythean or the Carnivean, who could not only have taken apart the Stormclad, but also been targets for Blightbringer to kill off the Stormguard. Overall, I was pretty happy with how the list played. The Scythean was perfect for adding cheap hitting power, and the Shredder-Spell Martyr combination never fails to impress. I'm still getting used to the Nephilim Soldier - the way I played him this game, a Raek would've done much better for 1 point less. Still, I want to test how well Massacre works, as well as see if I can get a surprise assasination while under Saeryn's feat. Depending on how he does, I may replace him with the Blackfrost Shard. They're coming out in a few weeks, and while they look like staples in all 50 point lists, I've also been reading good things about them with Saeryn at 35.

Also, I've come to a decision on my new heavy Warbeast. He's in the mail and should arrive in a week - I'll reveal my choice then! I'm leaving the poll up for a few more days to see what you guys think. In the meantime, I'm going to try to get back on track with painting my army, so look for several painting posts this month.

Battle Report: Lylyth vs. Kraye

I had a bit of time last Friday, so I stopped by one of the stores I don't normally go to and managed to get a game in against Cygnar. The guys here are much better than at my normal store, and this guy had beaten me in both our previous engagements (including once during the end of the last league). This time I'd gotten a bunch more experiance though, and felt like I had a pretty good shot.

Looking at my previous two blowout wins against Cygnar, I considered playing either my Epic Lylyth Ravagore Rain of Death list, or Epic Thagrosh and his Shredder spam, but decided to try to get more testing in with the Ravagore and went for the following:

Primal Lylyth
-Carnivean
-Ravagore
Striders + UA
Full Warspears
Forsaken
1 Spell Martyr

I figure if I'm going to buy a Ravagore then he should work with at least one of the Warlocks I already have, and pLylyth seems like she is the most likely option as eThags, Rhyas and Saeryn all prefer melee beasts.

My opponent was trying out a new Warcaster that day: Captain Jeremiah Kraye. This was the force he fielded:

Kraye
-Hunter
-Hunter
-Sentinel
-Sentinel
-Stormclad
Squire
The Black 13th
Captain Arlan Strangeways
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress

I've never played against Lanyssa before, but I knew she had a bunch of anti-Legion abilities. Combined with the Black 13th, I was starting to wish I had gone with Epic Lylyth.

Terrain
The left side of the map was pretty much covered with forests, while the right had a giant hill. I'd never played a map with this much terrain, but figured it would probably help considering I was playing Legion. He won the roll and opted to go first.

Cygnar Deployment
Kraye, his jacks, the Squire, and Strageways deployed on the right side of the map (in front of the hill), while the Black 13th and Lanyssa deployed on the left (in front of the forest).

Legion Deployment
Lylyth, the beasts, and the Forsaken deployed in the center, while the Warspears deployed on the right and the Spell Martyr behind them. The Striders advance deployed as far up as they could in the forested left, figuring they could do some damage to the infantry there while taking advantage of stealth and cover.

Cygnar Turn 1
His forces run forward, the jacks getting atop the hill while Kraye and Strangeways stay a little back. The Black 13th and Lanyssa move up so they are barely in the closest forest.

Legion Turn 1
I move my Ravagore up and, deciding to tempt fate, take a shot at one of his hunters. Its well short, but deviation causes it to hit the jack anyway, and I boost the damage for 5 points. First blood! The Warspears run up the hill with the Spell Martyr close behind, while the Carnivean and Forsaken move up into the forested middle. Lylyth follows, putting Spiny Growth on the 2 heavies, and the Striders run forward, hoping to be close enough to move and shoot at the infantry next turn.

Cygnar Turn 2
He moves up his jacks and has them start taking shots at the Warspears, killing two as well as the Spell Martyr they were shielding. He then retreats them using the cavalry move granted by Kraye - this looks like its going to be a painful fight, since he can move, shoot, and withdraw. The Striders are also in for a shock, as Kraye uses Mage Sight to make them visible and shoots 4 to shreds with help from Lanyssa and the Black 13th. Lanyssa then uses winter storm to take away pathfinder, making their lives even more difficult. Strangeways moves up and tries to heal the damaged hunter, but fails his skill check.

Legion Turn 2
I'm not liking the look of this game, as even though I've only lost a few guys, we're playing on my opponent's terms, not mine. I decide its time to feat as if I don't I may not get the chance, so I move Lylyth up and activate it, though she is too far back to hit anyone. The Warspears on the other hand are able to assault his jacks, and manage to take out the movement and arm of one of the Sentinels. The Striders move up and try to CRA Ryan, but my opponent points out they have prowl and are in a forest. I could copy the series of explatives here, but in short, those guys just have way too many abilities. Its never come up before, but I'll have to look out for it in the future. The Ravagore moves up and drops a shot on the damaged hunter, and by boosting the damage rolls I'm not only able to cripple its movement, but also kill Strangeways! The Carnivean just moves up to shield Lylyth from the Black 13th and Lanyssa, in case they get ideas about going after her, and the Forsaken just follows up.

Cygnar Turn 3
The Striders get shredded by the Black 13th, and Lanyssa moves towards Lylyth and her battlegroup and once again uses Winter Storm. Hes a bit too cautious though, and only the Carnivean is affected. The rest of his army combines shooting and finishes off the Warspears. By this point they're all on the hill, figuring if he isn't going to be able to keep out of range, he may as well get the def bonus.

Legion Turn 3
With my units gone, I have 1 shot: kill Kraye. Thankfully I have a pretty good position, with only the Stormclad blocking him, and easy angles from the side. Lylyth moves first, getting atop the hill and taking a shot at the enemy Warcaster while boosting to hit. The blow lands, and while it only does minor damage, I'm able to drop Parasite on him. I buy another attack and hit, doing much more reasonable damage. The Ravagore then activates and moves on top of the hill before dropping a fully boosted attack right on Kraye's head! With the help of Parasite, he's down to 2 hp, and my opponent is starting to regret bringing him so far forward. Last up is my Carnivean, who assaults the Stormclad to catch Kraye in the spray. He lacks pathfinder, so I'm slowed a bit by the forest I'm hiding in, and Kraye is still under the spray. Thanks to the hill I need a 12 to hit and roll...


an 11! Looking at the range, I realize that if I hadn't been affected by the forest, I would've been on the hill, and that shot would have hit. At this point, I'm ready to concede, though my opponent believes theres still a change we won't kill my unprotected Warlock with no focus...

Cygnar Turn 4
Put simply, he's wrong. The Stormclad slams the Ravagore into Lylyth, whose a sitting duck without her DEF 16. The rest of her army unloads their shots, and turn her into paste.

Aftermath
Man, I hate playing against Cygnar shooting lists. This one was particularly bad since he could move, shoot, and retreat, not to mention the damage the hunters' armor piercing shots were doing to the Warspears. Lanyssa was also brutal - in the future, she's a high priority. Really, my first reaction was correct: against Cygnar, I should bring either Epic Lylyth or Epic Thagrosh. On the bright side, I came within a hair of winning anyway, so I feel pretty good.

The Ravagore was pretty much the only reason I was in the game at all, and if I had taken another one instead of the Carnivean, I probably would have won. This doesn't actually seem like a bad plan - the main reason I'm hesitant about 2 Ravagores in my Epic Lylyth list is I lack punch, but with Parasite, Ravagores hit even harder than a Carnivean. While I definitely want to try pLylyth with 2 Ravagores, I don't think I'm going to sideline the Carnivean just yet. This was a very range heavy game, so he was not at his best. Hopefully next time there will be more melee, and I can track the damage rolls to see if the extra power of the Carnivean is significant. Actually, this also gives me an idea for my Epic Lylyth list - the Blackfrost Shard. They can improve both hit and damage rolls to bring the Ravagores up to scratch, and have stealth so they won't be the only shootable guys on the table!

Sorry that most of my recent posts have been battle reports - right now they're what I'm focusing on because of the whole deciding-which-new-heavy-to-buy question. I should have it wrapped up by the end of next week, and I'll start showing off some more painting.

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. Calaban

Hey all, I'm out of town this weekend, so I thought I'd tide you over with another battle report. This time Saeryn vs. the new Gatorman Warlock, Calaban. Well, not as new anymore, but this game was actually played last December but I never got around to fleshing out the battle report! Apologies if the details are a bit sparse and/or contradictory - my memory is hazy 2 months after the game.

Because of my time spent practicing with Lylyth, trying out Rhyas, and figuring out a good new heavy, I've been feeling like my grasp of Saeryn is slipping so I thought I'd play her for a game. I also opted to proxy my Carnivean for a Scythean, to see how them measured up. Here was my list:

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
Scythean
Seraph
2 Shredders
Max Warmongers
Striders + UA
2 Spell Martyrs

My opponent is actually the guy who sold me my first Legion models, now sporting the shiny new gators. Here's the list he was using:

Calaban the Gravewalker
2 Blackhide Wrastlers
Full Gatorman Posse
2 Croak Hunters
Victor Pendrake
Wrong Eye & Snap Jaw

We roll off and I win, deciding to go first.

Legion Deployment
Theres a large forest just in front of the left of my deployment zone, and a small hill to the right. I decide to deploy my beasts and Saeryn behind the forest, with my Warmongers to their left in the open and the Spell Martyrs behind them.

Gator Deployment
There is a forest to the center-left of his deployment zone, but otherwise generally an open field between the two of us. He deploys hie whole force in the middle, with the Gatormen to the left of Calaban and his beasts and Wrong Eye and Snapjaw to the right.

Legion Advance Deployment
The Striders deploy to the right side as far up as they can, hoping to get some shots at Wrong Eye to take him out early.

Gator Advance Deployment
The Croak Hunters deploy to the far left - looks like my opponent is coming around to flank me.

Legion Turn 1
I run everyone forward, hoping that my opponent will also close and give me the charge. Saeryn puts Rebirth on the Scythean, and Tenacity on herself and the Shredders.

Gator Turn 1
He immediately messes with my plan by moving most of his force right. Submerge keeps Wrong Eye safe from shooting, but looks like I'll be able to get Pendrake. The Croak Hunters come down the left side, threatening to flank me if I'm not careful, but at least I have Saeryn's DEF 18 vs. ranged to keep her safe.

Legion Turn 2
To counter his move, I also shift my forces right, still hoping he'll come into range and I can get the charge. We're away from the forested left side right now, but he doesn't have much shooting so I'm not that concerned. The Striders get lucky and are able to take out Pendrake, but no one else is close enough to take a shot.

Gator Turn 2
Tired of waiting, his Gatorman Posse runs up, forming a screening line that Calaban and the beasts (mostly) stay behind. The exception is Snapjaw, who he throws towards me with Wrong Eye following up. Scatter rolls mean the gatorbeast is in my lines, but also mean he's too far up for Rise.

Legion Turn 3
With his forces in range, I decide to test out the Warmongers. Three of them go after Snap Jaw and hurt him, while the other two kill 2 gatormen on the charge. I realize here that I've messed up - with the Warmongers in the way, the Scythean can't get at Snap Jaw. I move him close, thinking that my opponent will have to kill the Warmongers anyway just to get to my beast. I move the Seraph up and take a few shots, killing one of the croak hunters, then transfer Rebirth to it since he seems like he's in more danger. With the Striders unable to shoot anything, I run them back to form another defensive line, hoping to keep Saeryn and my heavies safe.

Gator Turn 3
Calaban feats, and in a flurry of hex blasts and bone shakers (backed up by the Carnivore'd Gatormen), completely wipes out the Warmongers, as well as a Spell Martyr and a few of the Striders - sadly, the ones blocking the Scythean. One Wrassler moves up and casts Rise on Snap Jaw, who tears apart the Scythean. Should've kept Rebirth on him! The other Wrassler tries to trample through Striders to get to the Seraph, but fails to get close enough.

Legion Turn 4
Time for the counter attack! The remaining Striders, a Shredder, and Blight Bringer finish off Wrong Eye, taking Snap Jaw with him. The Seraph and other Shredder kill the Wrassler that failed his charge, and Saeryn feats. I feel like I'm in good shape - next turn, the Seraph and a Shredder should be able to take out the remaining Wrassler, and I can use the other one to drop Blight Bringer on the remaining Gatormen, leaving just Calaban.

Gator Turn 4
Alas, its not to be. The remaining Wrastler throws a Gatorman at Saeryn for knockdown, followed up by Parasite from Calaban. The remaining Croak Hunter then steps up and kills her with a poisoned spear.

Aftermath
Wow, looking back on this report 2 months later, I feel so foolish. I ignored the obvious croak hunter flank, blocked my Scythean from killing Snap Jaw, moved Rebirth around unneccessarily, and completely failed to do anything useful with the Striders. On the upside, it feels good to look back and see all the mistakes I made, since it seems like I'm getting better.

Calaban is not nearly as scary as Barnabas. His feat can be devestating and he has some great buffs/debuffs, but nothing like the complete shooting immunity Barnabas has. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but doesn't shut down entire aspects of your army single handedly.