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.