Longest Night

Long time no post! Last week I played at a Longest Night event at one of the stores I go to, and I have to say it was a lot of fun. Most of the players agreed that the scenario is the best Privateer has ever come up with, which was especially impressive because the only terrain on the tables was the festival tents. Perhaps one of the best moments was on a table next to me, where the players got so caught up in fighting each other they didn't pay attention to the thralls. As a result, by the end of turn 4 there were more thralls on the board than models controlled by both players combined, and they had managed to kill 3 light warjacks and 3 heavies! If you didn't get a chance to play, I'd highly recommend trying it out next time you have a match - you can find the rules here.

This week is the Domination release event, so hopefully I'll have some interesting Hordes vs Hordes battle reports to put up. I'm going to be pretty busy this month so I won't have much time to play, but I'll make some time to post my thoughts on the Domination releases. I know most have been spoiled already, but I'd like to take a look at the book so I don't miss any details and maybe try one or two out.

One last thing - I mentioned in my last post that I was going to work on painting, and I've actually got most of my Scythean complete. Unfortunately my camera is broken, so it'll be a little while before I'm able to show off the pictures. I'm also working on finishing my Shredders and Spell Martyrs, mainly because of the Longest Night event. There were bonus points for having a fully painted army, and I missed by just those little guys, which inspired me to finish them up!

End of September Update

Hey guys, its been a while since I've posted, so I figured I'd put up an update to let you know how things are going. After my last battle report, I got some feedback that I should find tougher opponents to play against, so I started hitting some other stores in my area in search of competition. Unfortunately, everyone is starting up the Journeyman League right now, so its probably going to be a few weeks before I can get a full 35 point game in.

I had originally planned on starting a Magnus list for my store's Journeyman league, but it ended up sneaking up on me and I didn't have time to order the models. Fortunately, the pressgangers who's running it is allowing us to use whatever Warlocks and battlegroups we wanted, I decided to use it as an opportunity to practice with Kallus, as well as get some more of my Legion painted. This week was the 15 point level, and here's what I brought:

Kallus, Wrath of Everblight
-Scythean
-Shredder
-Shredder
Full Warmongers

Dark Guidance has been serving me well, and my Scythean and Warmongers were able to carve through pDeneghra and Jarl Skuld. I'm going to try to take this time to paint up some of the models that have been waiting for a while, so stay tuned!

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.

Newest Addition

Well the whole "waiting for Domination to come out" thing failed pretty miserably the first day of PAX, so here are some (sadly low-res) pictures of my newest Warlock, Kallus, Wrath of Everblight:

Haven't gotten a chance to assemble him yet and I'm busy packing for a trip, but with any luck I'll have a battle report featuring Kallus early next month!

Thoughts on Kallus

For those who don't know, the new Everblight Warlock, Kallus, Wrath of Everblight, is being sold at Gen-Con this weekend, so spoilers have started leaking out. I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on him.

Off the bat, I'm a bit disappointed. While he is the infantry supporting Warlock people originally thought Bethayne would be, there were rumors that he would be a pButcher-esque super solo type, which I was really hoping for. All of Everblight's warlocks are supporters, and it would have been nice to get a guy whose job was to run up and murder things like Epic Caine, Prime Vlad, or Kromac. Still, there's a lot to like about him.

In my mind, he's going to put up Ignite first turn, then spend most remaining turns casting Dark Guidance and supporting his army from just behind the front line. Flashing Blade and Eruption add some utility. Not only does Flashing Blade let him attack multiple models, but since its a spell, he can attack before he moves. And Eruption provides both AOE support as well as a possible defensive shield for a heavy warbeast if he target them. I really like the fact that his stats are solid. Too often games have come down to the wire, and if I'm running either Lylyth or Saeryn, its hard to tip the balance in my favor by having my Warlock get into the fight. Possibly the worst part of him is his feat. Not only does it require your opponent to help out, Kallus makes it harder for them to do so thanks to his Unyielding aura. In addition, the benefit is kind of lackluster. I can't imagine getting more than 4 or 5 Incubi out of it, and it doesn't seem like they'll get their out of activation attack. The other cool use could be Grotesques, having them fly over the front line, die to free strikes, and then spawn Incubi next to the enemy Warcaster/Warlock for assassination, but it seems like that isn't possible ("No Grotesques flying through models").

My favorite part of Kallus is he makes Warmongers spectacular. I've been a champion of Blighted Ogrun almost since I started, and he gives them some great benefits. Unyielding help make up the gap between them and Gatormen, who have been their main competition, and Dark Guidance means Berserk chains are even easier to get off with an effective MAT of 10.5! But the best thing is both those abilities affect everyone in the Battlegroup, meaning they don't have to compete with other models for upkeeps. While Ignite isn't bad on them, with their already high POW they really don't need it.

Speaking of Ignite, I'ven been trying to figure out the best way to use it. I probably want to use a unit, since that way I get more attacks to make the most of the benefit. The great part is I've been thinking about picking up a new unit soon. I've narrowed it down to 4 options:

Gatormen: These guys are getting a lot of time in this post! Ignite doesn't require faction models, so these guys are a decent target. The downside is they won't benefit from Dark Guidance, and since I'm already including Warmongers, I'm not going to have many bodies on the field. While running an army full of high arm multiwound monsters is intriguing, losing out on Dark Guidance is a BIG loss, since that seems like Kallus' thing.

Legionnaires: At first glance, these seem perfectly made for Kallus. They're a cheap tarpit-style unit, which means they really benefit from Unyielding since you can field multiple units easily, and they're already one of the best ways to get out Incubi. Tack on Reach and CMA and it seems likey they'd be great with Ignite. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, they aren't as great. Only one unit can benefit from Ignite, and with Kallus' moderate control, you'd be hard pressed to get 2 full units in it and still near the enemy. And while they are cheap, I wouldn't mind paying a point or two more for the pefect unit. Still, they're resilient and have CMA and reach, which makes them a decent choice.

Hex Hunters: Another options I like a lot. Unyielding nicely complement Stealth and high DEF, and increasing their power makes it more likely for Battle Wizard to trigger. The main downside is they're too fast. If you take Bayal and Advance Deploy them, its really likely they'll be out of Kallus' control for the first turn or two, meaning no Unyielding or Dark Guidance, and that they could go down before he can use his feat.

Ultimately, it's probably going to come down to Farilor, the Legionnaire UA slated for Domination. If he brings the right stuff to the Legionnaires, I'll probably get them; otherwise, I'll go with Hex Hunters.

Overall, I like Kallus, and think he'll be an interesting addition to the Legion. I'll probably wait until Domination is release to pick him up, mainly so I know if I'm getting Legionnaires or Hex Hunters to complement him. Still, I'm looking forward to a Warlock other than Rhyas who can run Warmongers well!

Case Version 2

A little while back I posted about my carrying case, and wanted to keep you guys updated on some of the changes. I was finding that I was running out of space in the interior portion, so I decided to buy some pluck foam and upper level with it, allowing me to put some of the small based models there. Here's how it looks now:

 And here's the interior, with much more space than before:

 The one big problem I ran into was where to keep my dice, measuring tape, cards, and markers. I came up with the idea to glue magnets to them and attach them to the sides of the case. I bought a deck box for the cards, which is also helpful for keeping them in order. You can kind of make them out above, but here are some close up pictures of the sides:

One one major problem currently is the foam is resting on a piece of cardboard since it isn't long enough to not fall into the inside of the case. Unfortunately, the cardboard is starting to bend (you can kind of see the effect in the first picture), but I'm hoping to replace it soon with something sturdier - just as soon as I find something sturdier thats easy to get and cut into the right shape!

Battle Report: Lylyth vs Gorten

Wow, over a month since my last post. Sorry its been so long - summers been eating up most of my Warmachine time, and I've also been feeling a bit burned out on the game lately. I probably won't be posting often until the end of August, but with any luck things will pick up in September. In any case, here's a battle report for a game I did manage to get in last night. Since I've been beating this opponent pretty handily lately, I decided to play my standard Primal Lylyth list, which IMHO is my weakest:

Lylyth, Herald of Everblight
-Carnivean
-Seraph
-Shredder
Blighted Nyss Striders
-Officer & Musician
Full Blighted Ogrun Warspears
1 Spell Martyr
The Forsaken

He brought a new Searforge army he's been working on, led by Gorten Groundback:

Gorten Grundback
-Ghordson Driller
-Grundback Gunner
Full Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps
Min Horgenhold Forge Guard
Min Horgenhold Forge Guard
Brun Cragback & Lug
Gudrun the Wanderer
Ogrun Bokur

I'm not liking the look of this fight - my list is build to take on either a few really tough models or lots of flimsy ones. He's got a large number of pretty tough guys, so I'm going to have to be careful and whittle him down before he can get to me. Thankfully I've got the range advantage, so I think I have a decent shot.

Terrain

A quick note: the reason his deployment zone seems bigger (and has terrain in it) is he gets +4" since he's playing Searforge Comission. He wins the roll, but decides to let me deploy first.

Everblight Deployment
As usual, I'm outnumbers, so as usual, I'm going for a refused flank. The beasts form a line directly behind the forest, with Lylyth, the Forsaken, and the Spell Martyr behind them. The Warspears deploy to their right, past the forest so they can run up and help push into the right side of my opponent's army.

Searforge Deployment
He's struggling a bit to fit all his forces into the deployment area, especially due to the hill and forest. In the end, the High Shields and Forge Guard form a block between the two terrain pieces, with Gorten and his jacks behind them. Brun and Lug deploy in the forest, hoping to flank me.

Everblight Advance Deployment
Keeping with the refused flank strategy, I put my Striders as far up on the right as possible, hoping to get behind the High Shields to deny them the Shield Wall bonus and take them apart.

Searforge Advance Deployment
Not wanting his Ogrun to get shot up, he deploys them in front of Brun and Lug. I'm going to have to be careful, since thats a reasonably fast force on the right that could flank me.

Everblight Turn 1
My beasts all run forward, and Lylyth hands out Spiny Growth, Tenacity, and Slipstream to help. The Warmongers also run forward, but the Striders just walk, and 3 CRAs later, one of the Forge Guard units is taking a morale check, which they easily pass. First blood to Everblight.

Searforge Turn 1
His massive Dwarven brick advances, but its almost comical how slow they are in comparison. Its less funny when his left flank runs down towards me, though I'm not that concerned since it doesn't look like they'll get in the action for another turn or two. The High Shields CRA the Carnivean, dealing 4 damage despite Spiny Growth, but otherwise I'm unharmed. Gorten puts Strength of Granite on the Driller.

Everblight Turn 2
The Driller is hiding behind the wall, but I can probably get to him with my Carnivean if I can clear out some of the Dwarves. So I have better odds, Lylyth feats first, but is unable to put Parasite on the Forge Guard since she kills both the ones she shoots, keeping me from using Witch Mark! The feat isn't really necessary as my army continues to whittle his down with ranged attacks, finishing off the weakend Forge Guard unit and taking out a few High Shields. In the end, I decide not to risk the Carnivean and have him aim and spray at the Dwarves, taking out 2 Forge Guard from the second unit.

Searforge Turn 2
I can tell my opponent is getting frustrated with slowly getting picked at, so most of his army runs forward in an attempt to swarm me. Two forge guard are able to charge one of the Warspears that stepped up to kill High Shields, and turn the poor Ogrun into paste. The Ogrun, Brun, and Lug all run towards me, realizing they're not going to get into the action at this rate. While most look like sitting ducks for my army, Gudrun does engage the Seraph, which is a bit annoying.

Everblight Turn 3
This turn looks like its going to be the crippling strike. Lylyth moves up and kills one Forge Guard before putting Parasite on Lug. Sadly the Striders fail to kill enough Forge Guard to keep the Carnivean from drawing a free strike, but he survives it as he charges the Driller and rips it to pieces. The Seraph engages Gudrun, killing him the first time thanks to poison (first time its ever triggered for me!). While he's alive, he's knocked down, allowing my Warspears to freely charge Lug and kill him. The Shredder then moves up and eats the Bokur. Overall, things are looking good - Lylyth may be out of Fury, but she's safe behind my lines, while all he has left is Gorten, 2 Forge Guard, most of the High Shields, the Gunner, Brun, and Gudrun. To be safe, I move my Forsaken and Spell Martyr in front of Lylyth to block line of sight, the Forsaken pulling Fury off the Seraph to avoid Frenzy next turn.

Searforge Turn 3
Unfortunately, my opponent still has one trick left up his sleave. He charges Gorten into the Carnivean, giving himself Strength of Granite to kill the beast. He then uses his feat, dragging Lylyth out from her cover and right into his lines! To make matters worse, her DEF is lowered, and after a CRA from the High Shields and an aimed shot from the Gunner, its all over.

Aftermath
I made the same mistake I've made a thousand times: I risked a more powerful model to save a much weaker one. In this case, I had Lylyth use all her fury to put Parasite on Lug so the Warspears could finish him, when in reality, even if the bear survived, he would have killed 2, maybe 3 Ogrun. The lack of Fury kept me from transferring the killing blows to my Warlock. Still, it was shocking to see how effective Gorten's feat was. Even if I had survived, I all my models would have been at -3 speed, making it difficult to reform my forces. Overall, it was a great game. I even got my opponent to complain the Warspears, widely regarded as one of the worst Everblight units, were overpowered and should cost more points!

As mentioned to earlier, I probably won't be posting much for the rest of the summer. When fall does roll around, the PG at my store is thinking of running a Slow Grow League based on official rules Privateer Press plans on releasing. It'll be a good opportunity to start that Warmachine army I was thinking about last year (wow, has it been that long already?). I think I have an idea of what I'm going to run, but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you guys. Hint: its one of the ideas I mentioned in the posts tagged "Warmachine".