The last Hurrah

My first post for some time and I thought I'd sum up my Smogcon experience.

For the past few months I have felt a bit bored by my beloved Legion. It's not that I don't love them anymore I really do but bearing in mind I have played them since they came into existence and now our local meta has seen an influx of Legionnaires of late I thought its time for a break.

I decided Smogcon was going to be my last hurrah with them for a year and stopped buying anything new (including the awesome Blight Bringer) at the end of 2015. I didn't enter any events at Smogcon as free time is limited at the moment and I have very little time for practice games so decided to just rock out the Iron arena all weekend . I packed almost all the Legion I own with the exception of the huge based stuff and some bits that were unbuilt/ partially built into my trusty Kaiser 3 bag and off I went.

Arriving later than planned Friday thanks to the British public forgetting how to use roundabouts my lift share buddy Phil and I decided to play each other 1st game. Phil is a fairly new player and he was using PKreos, I asked him who would he like to face and his Reply was Lylyth2 my list was.

Lylyth Shadow of everblight
succubus
Ravagore
Ravagore
Ravagore
Naga
Shredder
Strider Deathstalker
Strider Deathstalker
Strider Rangers +UA
Shepherd
Forsaken.

Now I have not played Lylyth 2 for 2 or 3 years and the game went how you would expect and I shot him off the board by the end of turn 2. The game reminded me why I don't play her too much any more it was very linear but it was an experience for phil.

The rest of the Friday I decided to play 2 lists Abby2 and Vayl2.
The Abby2 list was:
Absylonia Daughter of Everblight
Nephilim Bloodseer
Scythean
Scythean
Raek
Raek
Seraph
Zuriel
Shredder
Forsaken
Forsaken

I really like The Bloodseer in this list it allows me to really abuse slipstream whilst Zuriel is there for some serious infantry clearing .

The Vayl2 list was a fairly Vanilla Tier 4 Machinations of Shadow
Vayl Consul of Everblight
Angelius
Angelius
Angelius
Ravagore
Ravagore
Blighted Nyss Legionnaires
Spawning vessel
Shephers
Shepherd
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr

I played these 2 lists into a variey of opponents including Kruger2 twice,  H-Bombs Sorcha 2 tier list, Madrak 2 and Ravyn (these are the memorable games) I didn't lose a game all day. I battered my good friend Dave Munro (who had travelled from Sweden where he is based now for the event) who had underestimated the threat range of Abby 2 and felt safe with Madrak in a trench on 3 transfers not expecting a slipstreamed flying leaping Raek to get in it with him and headbutting him before having 2 flying Scytheans applied to his face.

Saturday Bought 2 new lists Vayl1 and Kallus. Kallus is one of my favourite warlocks to play and my twist on him is to take a fair bit of high def infantry mixed with Legos with Farilor to jam zones (defensive line + iron zeal + unconquerable is a thing) whilst any casualties feed the pot just behind before feating.
My lists were:
Kallus Wrath of Everblight
Nephilim Protector
Nephilim Bolt thrower
Max Hex hunters
Max Legionnaires +  Farilor and standard
Max Gatorman posse
Max spawning vessel
Strider Rangers + UA
Deathstalker
Deathstalker
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr

Vayl list was
Vayl Disciple of Everblight
Scythean
Scythean
Typhon
Ravagore
Raek
Raek
Forsaken
Forsaken
Shepherd
Sherpherd
Spawning vessel.

I only lost 2 games with these 2 lists both with Pvayl one in a mirror match and 1 into Runes of war. I had the most fun playing Kallus one game of note was vs fellow blogger Matt Best who was using EMorvanna. It was a game of real attrition where I felt I only won due to Matts inexperience with EMorv.


Sunday soon came round and I was feeling the burn by now I decided to play eThags and the twins then call it a day mid afternoon.

I've not played either of these 2 a great deal but felt most at home playing eThagrosh so played most of my games with him. I got lucky into beating a Cygnar player with Kraye (I cast manifest destiny and forgot to use it twice), Smashing poor Daves Trolls again this time with pGrimm. Only playing the twins once into a Fellew bunker member Luke's Bloody Barnabus list.

 My 2 lists were:
Thagrosh the Messsiah
Typhon
Scythean
Scythean
Seraph
Legionnaires + Farilor and standard
Spawning vessel
Forsaken
Shapherd

Saeryn and Rhyas Talons of Everblight
Zuriel
Scythean
Seraph
max Hex Hunters
max Raptors
Deathstalker
Deathstalker
Min Spawning vessel.



All in all it was a great weekend but that's it. The Legion are packed away in my man cave not to be opened until March 2017.

 For the next year I am going to be on a Khador adventure starting with playing Harkevich in the Bunkers escalation league.

..this news just in folks - Hit Squad is a thing.

..and lo, did our heroes from the Imperishable Dominion blog travel, across the highest snow wreathed mountains, overcome the sandy and barren deserts, through verdant green fields, over the endless sapphire seas, and go to a local tourney hosted by our resident Press Ganger, which included the 'Theme Forces: Tier1 Required' variant. And it was pretty cool.

So initially, I should probably explain, for those uninitiated that are unfamiliar with the variant. The Theme Forces: Tier1 requirement states that all lists for the event must be theme forces taken from either No Quarter or Forces of books, and must be at least Tier1. All non theme lists are illegal. Otherwise, the Steamroller pack is the same, although interestingly, the variant also lifts the usual FA C restriction - something which most people don't realise, myself included.

Although nervous of seeing a lists filled with hordes of Banes led by Bane Lord Tartarus, I've been looking forward to this one as a first tournament testing ground for the Morghoul2 Hit Squad list I've been working on. To pair with it, after much deliberation I chose another experimental list - a Makeda1 Army of the Western Reaches list at Tier3, filled with Scarab Beast Packs. More on the latter later.

At this stage, it would probably be best to discuss list construction and the build a little.

Hit Squad, Tier4

Lord Assassin Morghoul

-Cyclops Brute

-Titan Gladiator

-Titan Gladiator

-Titan Gladiator

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor

Agoniser

Paingiver Task Master

Paingiver Task Master

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and three grunts)

Gatorman Posse (Leader and four grunts)

Gatorman Posse (Leader and four grunts)

So.. I know. There's no Archidon. No Basilisk Krea either, although that's probably less mandatory than having Sprint on a stick. Finally, there are no Paingiver Bloodrunner units. Morghoul2 doesn't do anything much for the Titans either. So what does it do? 

It plays on two fronts for the most part. Early experimentation with maximising the amount of Heavy Warbeasts that I could get out of the Tier3 bonus was a lot of fun, but ultimately a real strain on a Fury 5 Warlock. Most Warbeasts would start the turn with Fury and risk frenzy, especially once the game was into turn three and beyond where careful placement of Beast Handlers or a Bronzeback couldn't keep the rest reigned in. Additionally, due to the small Control Area I could never quite get the most out of some of the higher SPD Warbeasts. An Archidon with Rush, a Shadow Whip move and either Ghost Walk or the Feat for immunity to Free Strikes has a tremendous threat of 15.5" inches which is difficult to defend from, but typically flies straight out of control and cannot then boost or buy any additional attacks. The alternative forces you to push Morghoul too far forward to a vulnerable position, and whilst on occasion it was possible to get a long shot  assassination (the Archidon at MAT6 with one attack base isn't the best for this..) more often this would be for a piece trade, and certainly not worth the risk.

The answer I found was to instead focus on the slower Warbeasts, which were easier for Morghoul to keep control of, and with less of them, to reduce the strain. I overlapped multiple Titan Gladiators to reduce my opponents chances of sniping out Rush from my force, too often the obvious tactic to experienced opponents, and to allow for the beasts to buff each other if needed - removing the need for Morghoul to cast the animus each turn. Plus, three Titan Gladiators is an imposing sight heading down the battle field, and very tanky. With Morghoul and the Paingivers either Stealthed or immune to CRA attacks, the Warbeasts needed to be able to take a hit at reasonable power and keep going.

The second learning curve of this list was that the same small Control Area meant that the list couldn't effectively play into scenarios where the focus wasn't a central zone. Whilst it was easy for Morghoul and his zoo to clear one side of the battlefield, on the other, I'd lose to scenario. Using Bog Trog Ambushers and a unit Gatormen to contest was one approach which worked in some games but often didn't maximise the potential of either, the Bog Trogs suddenly too predictable in where they would ambush and the isolated Gatormen easy to pick off before they could close. Losing the Big Trogs and using the points from the extra Warbeasts allowed to add in a second unit, and back them both up with a Paingiver Task Master to further increase their versatility and survivabilty.

Finally, although initially I didn't include the Agoniser, I felt that the new build with its heavy armour skew could benefit from the inclusion of one to maximise the strengths of the list further - additionally, with no Fury 1 spells or animus, Morghoul often could find the Fury to drop into the solo, keeping it topped up during the game.

 

All the subtlety of the average house brick? Must be one of Sherwin's lists then.

So.. how did it do? I fielded the list in Games One, Two and Four - and won all of them. 

Game One was against the Protectorate of Menoth, and Feora2. I was helped in this game by a central forest on the table, allowing me to run my Titans forward under the cover of the trees and out of line of sight but at the same time able to draw LOS to the inevitable Judicator, which my opponent was forced to either hold away from my battlegroup, or risk the Titans wrath. On the other side of the table, the two Gatorman units were more than enough to initially wipe out the Temple Flameguard and then contest the zone, whilst Morghoul cleared out the friendly zone from enemy models to start scoring. Even so, clever placement from my opponent mean that this one came down to an assassination in the end; with my time on the Deathclock running out, a Task Master was able to use her Mancatcher attack to hold Feora in place so that a Titan could beat her into red paste.

Game Two played into a Sorcha1 Khador list, and was Recon. Going second and having seen my opponents deployment, from the first turn, I gambled that Morghoul could capture the flag on the far left, whilst the rest of my army denied my opponent the same in the middle and on the far right flank. My opponent suffered from trying to advance in a more linear manner, unable to capture the other two zones, I managed to walk away with a scenario victory from this often awkward scenario.

Game Four pitted my list against Siege Brisbane in Destruction, and this was a far more conventional Morghoul2 game, pushing aggressively up the table on the first turn, and then finding a janky assassination in the second turn after extending my threat via Apparition and Shadow Whip. 

..I came second in the event, my only loss to Dan and his Trollbloods in Game Three, Dan being the guy that won the event. This was my only non-Morghoul game, and where sadly my second experimental list failed utterly, in a very rough Runes of War Matchup. I'll keep pushing with that one, especially once the Aradius Soldier arrives, which I think is exactly what it needs to give it more punch. More on that in weeks to come.

Overall, I'm delighted with the list. It plays very well into scenario play, which is both unusual for an assassination Warlock, and not necessarily something which Skorne armies are best suited to. It can both take attrition from the opponents forces, as well as deal out significant damage, but at the same time is interestingly mobile. I might keep playing around with it and fine tuning, but in truth will probably keep it this way for some time, until I come up against a wall. 

Until next time fellow Tyrants. 

Hello to you all.

Hi all,

 

My name is Matt. I dabbled in MK1 many years ago , just myself and a friend. He gave up and I had a barren few years, with nothing but my dreams of world...or at least tabletop... domination to comfort me. I then bumped into a friendly Pressganger and came back into the game in Mk 2. 

 

As many of us do, I started one faction (Khador) before deciding it wasn't for me and so moved onto another. My true calling...the SKORNE EMPIRE! .....via the Legion starter box. I have played Skorne for the last few years and have recently decided to branch out into a Warmachine faction. I now have some Cygnar and Cryx to keep my plans of global domination in full swing. Though Skorne will remain my true calling.

 

The only downside is.....I am pretty average at the game but the important thing is that I enjoy playing the game. Also through the game  I have met some great people, such as the ugly bunch that are also writing on this blog. I do play the occasional tournament and try to play as much as I can at the local club.

 

In the blog I hope to cover general pieces about the hobby in general, Skorne and Cygnar. Hopefully I can cover some of the Skorne bits that Sherwin doesn't, such as Molik and the Fist. I have played them both, though I used the Fist later than most probably do in their Skorne careers.

 

That's enough of my ramblings for now and I hope you enjoy the content on the Blog.

 

 

 

Realistic aims in Warmachine/Hordes: Faction collecting.

Evening all,

Here is my first article and some musings I have for the benifit of newer players to the game. Realistic aims in this case faction collecting going to main and minor factions.

Steamroller 2015 has put down that all events (Aside from Iron Guanlet, played in it, recommend it) state now that they are at most 2 list events. So the critical cynic would say that collecting anything beyond 2 lists is a waste of money as its not necessary. Well no decent kleptomaniac hobbist is going to stop at 2 lists but I would say that before you spend all of your dollar you consider what you are aiming to do. I will use myself as the example.

My main faction is Cygnar. In our group no one was playing them originally and there are the good guys. Since I invented the colour blue it was a natural choice for me. It also plays to my mentality. Melee combat is messy, unsophisticated why would I want to do that and risk my precious neck when I could shot the enemy from afar and not get by lovely boots dirty? Of course I would not I hear you say. So I have the whole range of Cygnar. Everything by that merc in disguise Constance Blaize. Bonus lesson. Never play her in Cygnar. Its with my main faction I can do such things as ADR (Which is a great format and a future article). But you can't play the game seriously and never try using the other stuff, if for nothing better then to learn how to shoot it more efficiently. Most events I play in will be Cygnar either in cool Tiers or more recently non tier.

So to the other stuff what am I aiming for with it? Do I want to use the same boring power stuff other people use? No I don't. Perhaps a controversial statement but I am not a fan of people playing a new faction and doing the same warcasters/warlocks that are always used because they are considered the best. Epic Haley being the main culprit of this. I have never read the 'forums' it doesn't feature in my mind to use someone else's list. I want to use my own. Make my own mistakes and play what I think is good. Equally how far am I taking playing out of my main faction? I can't go to far without it becoming my new main faction, and I like my current one.

So recently I have gotten some Khador and very recently some Legion. I am a big fan of being that special snowflake, no one wants to play the same thing 3 times in and event. I will use Khador for my example. I did a poll to my friends of the warcasters that are never seen on the table, chose 4 of them, which I have tried and sold off down to 2, got good 50 points forces for them and stopped. That's it, its my minor faction. I won't buy more. The 2 I have is Zerkova and Prime Sorcha to play Crix. If I want something more I will seriously consider selling one of these. Epic Zerkova looks great, I will look at this new release and consider selling Prime Sorcha to buy her. Unless Epic Zerkova has no game against the Crix dude spam when I guess I am forced to have 3 lists. The Khador were gotten in 2014, when you could use 3 lists, the legion I have gotten has gone firm at 2 lists.

My next event will be Dave's Tier event at 4TK July 11th, early on I identified the aim to play Khador for it, and am painting up my forces for it.

Anyway I encourage new players to recognize the concept of 'main' and 'minor' collections idea, to take identity from it and save money. Or is you got too much sell it on! I have sold everything I have wanted to so far.

Paul the Cygnar Player

Hello all,

Just a quick introduction to start with. I am Paul Winter and have been playing Warmachine and Cygnar solidly for about 4 years roughly. I am renowned for losing my first 100 games with the boys in blue and having tried every Tier list they have. Currently I win quite a bit now. Cygnar are my main faction, I have the whole range, my minor factions are Khador and Legion which I am keeping to two lists each. I have played Ret Trollbloods and Gators in the past but sold them off.

Dirt mystics, werewolves and movement shenanigans!

Hey all! My name is Aaron, and I have played warmachine for about four years now and have been a pressganger for about three. I started with Cryx, then rotated to trolls and have settled on circle orobos. I have played only circle Orobos for about 3 years and have literally just purchased (this month) a Haley1/2, Brisbaine and Caine2 list for my self. Just to see if guns are any good or not eh? My Circle Orobos range is fully painted with the help of Fanplastic Little Men, a fantastic painting service! My cygnar will be painted by myself and I'll keep you all updated with how that goes!

In regards to the game of warmachine the reason I play more so then anything else is the amazing friends I have gained (and writing this blog with) throughout playing it. We have the best banter, trash talk and very late nights in the bar at all events we go to and without them I wouldn't bother traveling for over night events. That being said as I do go far and wide for events, I am there to play tight competitive games. This year I have been practicing a lot, I have won some local events and most recently went 4-1 on the first steamroller at the UK Games expo and qualified for the masters. Next year I plan to attend smogcon (I will be running events here) UK, Irish and Welsh nationals as well lots of local events and hope to get podium spots!

I'll be speaking about the events we attend, Circle Orobos as a faction, Hobby and the current tournament meta: how and when it changes!

Cheese for reading my little part, hope to see you all back soon.