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!
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!
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