Friday, April 29, 2011

My case

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

Its a metal toolbox I got off of Amazon. Why this box? Because I've glued magnets to the bases of most of my models, so they don't move around! Here's what the inside looks like:
All of those models are magnetized to the bottom. When I first set it up, I got a real kick out of turning it upside down and showing that everything was still in place! I also have my templates held to the side with a magnet, as well as part of a cup that I use for water when I'm painting. The other nice part about this box is there is a removable tray that fits on top that holds my other equipment:
I've got all my paints, dice, markers, cards, and measuring tapes. Its really convenient since I never have to worry about forgetting things - everything Warmachine related fits in my case!

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

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

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

Monday, April 25, 2011

End of the Month of Madness

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

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

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

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

Second round I had a bye.

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

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

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

Friday, April 22, 2011

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. Rahn

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

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

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

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

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

Terrain



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Battle Report: Saeryn vs. Epic Madrak

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

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

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

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

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

Terrain



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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






...and gets a 9!


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

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

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Month of Madness Update

Hey guys, been a while since I've gotten a chance to post. Figured I'd give you an update on how my month of Madness project is going. Right now I'm almost done stripping all the minis I want to repaint - just 1 more Shredder left, and I'll probably finish him later today. Next up, gotta fix the Scythean's arms. I ran into the problem with pinning that apparently, the pin drill will heat up the glue still stuck there and melt it, wrecking the pinning drill. Since that won't work, I'm going to try a different approach, actually recommended by a reader, Somnicide - I'm going to try to use green stuff to attach the arms while the glue dries. I've been meaning to try green stuff for a while, especially since one of the members of the Blackfrost Shard has a huge gap I need to fill. I'll throw up some pictures once I'm finished!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Battle Report: Rhyas vs. Bloody Barnabas

In spite of my goal to only play Saeryn and Thagrosh between now and the upcoming tournament, I've found myself playing a few games with Rhyas lately, and thought I'd post one up here. She's my worst Warlock by far, since with low fury and not much synergy with a lot of the models I normally take I'm having a hard time getting effective use out of her. Since my old strategies haven't worked, I decided to try something new:

Rhyas, Sigil of Everblight
-Scythean
-Seraph
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Shredder
Striders
The Forsaken

I normally bring my Carnivean since I want to use the throw something at the enemy caster/teleport next to the knocked down caster for the kill combo, but I've found either the caster is too far back or the Carnivean can't get in walking range. I decided to swap him out for a Seraph, which also helps me save on points since we're playing 25 instead of 35. I also replaced the Nephilim Soldier I usually bring with more Shredders, since I haven't gotten much use out of the Nephilim's animus while the Shredders are pretty powerful on Rhyas' feat turn. The last change was dropping the Strider UA - its mainly to make the points, and against Blindwater I don't expect I'll be able to get much shooting.

My opponent had the following:

Bloody Barnabas
-Blackhide Wrastler
-Ironback Spitter
-Bull Snapper
-Bull Snapper
Gatormen Posse
Croak Hunter

The last time I played against gators, the only beast they had was the Wrastler, so it'll be interesting to see how the Spitter and Snappers play. I win the starting roll and opt to go first.

Terrain
We decide to play a scenario, so we take turns placing pieces of terrain until we're satisfied. I go for two forests, putting them in the middle since it gives me a huge advantage. My opponent puts up a wall and obstruction on his side, then drops the two shallow water templates he gets as a Minion contract bonus in the middle. We end up with a setup like this:


We roll for scenario and get Throw Down - there are two objectives, one on each side of the board. At the end of a turn, if a warrior model is within 8" of an objective with no enemy models within 8", its owner gets a control point. 2 control points are required to win. The objectives are the black circles in the middle of the map. This is going to be rough, since all I have that can take control points are Rhyas, the Striders, and the Forsaken. Luckily my opponent is in a similar boat, so we'll both be looking for the assassination.

Legion Deployment
Wanting to take advantage of the forests, I deploy my forces on the right side, with the Seraph and Carnivean up front, flanked by the Shredders, and Rhyas and the Forsaken behind them.

Blindwater Deployment
My opponent deploys Barnabas and the beasts in the middle, with the Wrastler and Spitter up front and Barnabas and the Snappers behind them. The Gatormen go on the far left, looking to take the left objective.

Legion Advance Deployment
I put my Striders as far up as I can on the left, hoping I can shoot down enough of the Gatormen to take the control point for myself.

Blindwater Advance Deployment
The Croak Hunter deploys on the far right, hoping to take some pot shots at my beasts before the fighting starts.

Though the army's approach would have been silent to most ears, in the quiet of the swamp they may as well have been a herd of elephants to Barnabas' trained ears. His prey was strange smelling, almost unnatural. What passed for a slow grin crossed the aged Warlock's toothy maw. Perhaps this new food would finally be able to help him achieve his apotheosis.

Legion Turn 1
Rhyas gives one of the Shredders Occultation, puts Rapport on the Seraph, then uses Slipstream to move up, pulling the Seraph with her. The Seraph also uses Slipstream before moving up, pulling the Scythean forward. It tries to shoot the Croak Hunter but is well out of range. The Occulted Shredder goes Rabid and runs into the right forest, hoping to get in range to snack on the Croak before it can hurt anyone. The Scythean runs up as well, getting just a little bit into the forest. One of the other Shredders runs up, putting itself a bit behind the shallow water on the right, while the last Shredder just walks forward. The Forsaken runs up next to Rhyas, and the Striders run forward, getting near the objective and hoping to keep the Gatormen off it.

Blindwater Turn 1
The heavies both run forward, as does the Snapper on the right. The Snapper on the left moves towards the Gatormen and gives out of them Spiny Growth. They all run forward, putting themselves in a line so only the on with Spiny Growth can be hit with a CRA. Barnabas then moves up and puts a Swamp Pit near the Croak Hunter before giving himself Iron Flesh. The Croak Hunter moves into the swamp pit and takes a shot at the Shredder in the forest. He's just close enough to ignore Occultation, and takes about half the Shredder's health.

Rhyas whispered a soft curse as she felt her forward Shredder growl in pain. This mission kept getting more and more annoying - first the city Everblight tasked her to recover the relics from had sunk into the swamp in the eons he had been gone, and now her small scouting party was under attack. She hoped the Strider team sent to recover the other relic had managed to avoid the conflict, but over the silent swamp she her the distinct sound of bowstrings and arrows sinking into flesh. She willed her beasts forward - if the enemy would not submit, she would bring them to heel with the edge of her blade.

Legion Turn 2
I'm wounded, but feeling pretty good - the forest is providing me with some excellent cover. Rhyas activates first, dropping Occultation but keeping Rapport. She moves up and spends a point to heal the wounded Shredder for 1, then gives herself Tenacity, just in case. The newly healed Shredder then goes Rabid and moves up to the Croak Hunter, and takes him down with one bite. Mmm, tasty, tasty frog legs! The Seraph moves up and takes a shot at the Snapper in range, though it only gets 2 shots with Strafe. Even though I boost to hit on both rolls, the second one misses, so the Snapper survives. The Forsaken and other Shredder both move up, and the Scythean stays put - he's really liking the cover of the forest. On the opposite side of the board, my Striders move up and do a 6-man CRA on the lead Gatorman, who lives by 2 points. Ahhh, if only he didn't have Spiny Growth, or if I had taken the UA, he would be dead!

Blindwater Turn 2
Deciding its time for some action, my opponent upkeeps Iron Flesh and moves Barnabas up to the edge of the forest and uses his feat, knocking down Rhyas, the Forsaken, the Shredders and the Scythean (thankfully the Seraph can't be knocked down). Unfortunately for him, most of my models are safe thanks to the forest. He heals the Snapper and charges the wounded Shredder, finishing the beast off. His heavies move foward, trying to give Barnabas some protection. On the other side of the board, things don't go so well, as the Gatormen again get Spiny Growth before charging into the Striders. I positioned them too close, and 5 of the 6 are caught in melee range. Thankfully most are only caught by reach and 3 survive the turn, even passing their leadership checks for terror.

Barnabas willed his beasts to close on their prey, his old blood quickening as he felt the aura of another Warlock nearby. The croaking death of the anura scout he sent forward pushed him over the edge into bloodthirsty ecstasy, and he charged forward, unleashing the power of the swamp to bring his enemies to their knees. His beasts followed suit, entering the damp forest where their enemy hid.

Legion Turn 3
While the left side is almost lost, I've got a pretty good assassination attempt and decide to go for it. Rhyas and the beasts all spend fury to stand up, and the Seraph activates first, standing and taking a shot at Barnabas. I roll 3 attacks total, and by boosting hit and damage rolls on the first 2, I take out about half his health. Unfortunately the third shot misses, still not bad for just one beast! Rhyas keeps the last 2 fury for herself, just in case this fails. The Scythean then walks up and takes a chunk out of the Wrastler, teleporting behind him and into melee range of Barnabas. He uses the second swing on the Wrastler as well, dropping it to half health and triggering Bloodbath. The swing on the Wrastler leaves only his mind intact, and I boost the hit on Barnabas, bringing him down to 6 HP. I then take two more swings at him with boosted attack rolls thanks to the extra attack from the feat, and he's forced to transfer both away, killing one Snapper and seriously injuring the other. He's out of fury now, so I have one of the Shredders go Rabid and walk up to the Wrastler, doing a modest 4 points to him before teleporting behind and biting Barnabas with his feat attack. I hit and manage to get enough damage to kill, but he makes his tough roll! There isn't any more space left, so I have my last Shredder go Rabid and finish off the Wrastler. The forsaken takes the fury off the Seraph so I have a transfer target just in case, and on the left side my Striders try to disengage and finish off the wounded Gator. Unfortunately he makes both his free strikes, leaving me with just 1 Strider, who fails to hurt the ARM 18 monstrosity.

Blindwater Turn 3
My opponent is reeling, desperately tries to salvage the situation. The Spitter moves up and takes swings at the Shredders, killing 1 and seriously wounding another. Barnabas then activates, and while he kills the other  Shredder, the Scythean still has half its health left. The remaining Snapper runs back towards the right side, but is unable to get in range. On the left, the Gatormen finish off the Strider and score a control point. Despite how well things are going for me, I'm actually close to losing - they'll score another control point at the end of my turn, giving them enough to win. My only hope is to finish off Barnabas now!

Rhyas pulled herself to her feet, surprised she had not noticed the presence of a Warlock in the enemy company until he unleashed a tidal wave on her forces. Though she could not see him, her beasts were well aware of his presence thanks to their heightened senses, and she focused her mind to give them a portion of her speed and skill. They used the powers effectively, tearing apart the large gator-beast protecting its master before unleashing their fury on the Warlock himself. Before they could finish him, her focus was pulled away by the dying screams of the Striders, signaling that they had failed to recover their objective.

Legion Turn 4
Fortunately its not hard. Rhyas heals the Scythean, who gives himself Bloodbath so I don't fail due to tough, and boosting the attack roll lets me finish off the Gatorman Warlock.

Barnabas awoke to find a group of gatormen carrying his battered body through the swamp, entering deeper water that their enemies would not be able to traverse. The shaman informed him that their enemy had been trying to recover some kind of artifact, and they had taken it before eating the leader. For the second time that day, a smile crossed Barnabas' face. The Worthy Prey would be back for their trinket, and when they were, he would be ready.

Aftermath
For 25 points, that was a pretty brutal game! I had a huge edge thanks to the giant forests in the middle, which kept my opponent from taking advantage of his feat and essentially kept me safe until I engaged. It was still a close match though, as if my opponent survived 1 turn longer he would have won on scenario. For the last turn, I probably would have had Barnabas kill both Shredders rather than targetting the Scythean, then had the Spitter throw the Scythean away. If he positioned it right, it would be pretty tough for me to get to Barnabas, especially if he put up a swamp pit to keep the Seraph from shooting him. It just goes to show - if you're losing badly, don't freak out and forget about the scenario, since that might be your best shot at winning!