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!
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!
Wow! That was incredible, loved reading about this, my brother is an avid Skorne player and I'm as of yet having trouble with the Xerxis block. Your battle reports are very descriptive and I felt like I was standing right next to the table as I read along, thanks for the 50 point excitement.
ReplyDeleteI was really pleased to read this report, as my collection of Skorne and Legion has recently grown to include a Rhyas Tier 4 force (from the last No Quarter) and a Zaal Tier 2 list (both 35 points...for now).
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the report, but am sorry you had to cut it short...at least nobody was hurt, and no minis were melted!
I've been really enjoying my Rhyas T4 list. It of course plays quite a bit different from what you fielded, as I can't include Striders or BFS, but I too have been consistently pleased with how much killing potential the Warmongers have! They're really a pleasure, particularly on Feat turn when they get to bounce behind!
I'm also really enjoying my Zaal force. I can't help but point out that it seemed your opponent had some bad luck with the dice. AG and Immortals are not low on the MAT, but seemed to have a hard time killing things. Also, with so little in the way of magic weapons, it seems he could have used the Kovaas a bit more aggressively to place clouds to block Strider LOS and forcing you to bring the BFS over to kill it...which is fine, because if it dies, he gets another when the next AG dies!
Although it would be too little too late, I feel confident that barring horrible luck he could have killed your Carnivean and Scythean with the AG and Haakar during his feat-turn. Haakar can pump out 5 attacks, all boosted, and the AG can turn out 4. If he's bold, he could put Last Stand on one of them to push those up to 4-dice damage rolls. It would still have left too much for Zaal and the Extollers to deal with, but not outside the realm that he could have made a fine come-back.
Anyway, sorry to disect. Thanks for another great battle report on a great blog!