Game 77: Issyria vs Skarre2

Game 77 – Vs Stephen Briggs – Cryx – 25/08/17

My list:

Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn (Shadows of the Retribution)

-Hemera

-Sphynx

-Chimera

Arcanist Mechanik

Mage Hunter Assassin

Mage Hunter Assassin

Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios

Spears of Scyrah

-Soulless Escort

Max Mage Hunter Strike Force

-Commander

Max Mage Hunter Strike Force

Max Mage Hunter Infiltrators

-Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander

His List:

Skarre, Queen of the Broken Coast (The Ghost Fleet)

-Kraken

-Nightwretch

Wraith Engine

Captain Rengrave

Hellslinger Phantom

Machine Wraith

Min Blackbane’s Ghost Raiders

Min Revenant Crew of the Atramentous

-Rifleman

-Rifleman

-Rifleman

Min Revenant Crew of the Atramentous

-Rifleman

-Rifleman

-Rifleman

Time to actually practice Issyria into Ghost Fleet. It is all very well thinking that she will scare them off but I need to be ready for it should they actually call my bluff and drop the list. Stephen hadn’t played a lot recently but had a list ready to go, but with Skarre2 at the helm rather than the more conventional Deneghra1. I had slightly tweaked my list to put Eiryss3 on the Infiltrators, allowing them to Advance Deploy and get into the fight sooner. I won the roll to go first, and powered on.

Issyria floods the table with Mage Hunters, staying outside of any threat ranges. The Chimera flanks on the right taking cover behind the wall. Issyria casts Inviolable Resolve on the Sphinx and Admonition on Hemera, figuring that he wouldn’t be getting too close to my caster any time soon.

Stephen advances up and casts Blackspot onto the left unit of Mage Hunters. The Kraken fires into them, killing one with the first shot, triggering a second that scatters off the unit. The rest of his forces advance up, keeping the most important pieces out of my threat ranges.

Issyria’s feat turn, and it is as deadly as I could have hoped for. The Mage Hunter Assassins took a huge chunk out of the Kraken, before Mage Hunters opened up and finished it off. A Crusader’s Call powered Narn killed the Machine Wraith before sprinting over to the Hellslinger, before the other Mage Hunters managed to remove all of the left Revenant unit. On the right the Spears took out 2 of Blackbane’s unit with their magic spears and the Infiltrators started thinning out the right unit of Revenants, removing any killed from play. A very strong attrition turn leaving me in a good position.

Skarre feats in response but probably a turn too late, protecting the Wraith Engine, Arc Node, Hellslinger and Skarre herself. Stephen plans a way to get a created Machine Wraith to one of my jacks but I luckily put an end to it by having a Mage Hunter Assassin take out the movement of the Arc Node with a Free Strike. The Hellslinger is unable to remove Narn. With all zones contested, nobody scores.

Skarre’s feat makes it tricky to do much work but I work on keeping the attrition up, destroying most of his presence on the right flank. The Mage Hunters on the left attempt a CMA onto the Hellslinger but miss. I do some damage to the Wraith Engine, but don’t come close to finishing it off. I score on the right zone to lead 1-0.

Dear Readers, I promise, PROMISE, that I will learn my lesson with Admonition one day. Once again I had not switched it over to Issyria, and this leaves the Wraith Engine able to charge her. With 2 Focus camped, he would have needed to get very lucky to kill her, and doesn’t, but the 10% risk that he would kill me was unnecessary to take. With no further options, Stephen concedes the game.

VICTORY

It would be easy to think that Stephen not feating bottom of 1 cost him the game, but realistically I would have found a way to kill the Kraken anyway, between Mark the Target and Blinding Light stripping it’s Def back down to 11. After the Colossal was down it was really just a clear up. I much prefer having the Infiltrators Advance Deploy as it allows them to get work done on Feat turn instead of lagging behind.