Game 199: Vyros2 vs Zaadesh2

Game 199 – Vs The Lazy Hase – Skorne – 20/05/18

My list:

Vryos, Incissar of the Dawnguard (Forges of War)

-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker

-Griffon

-Griffon

-Griffon

-Griffon

-Griffon      

-Griffon

-Aspis

-Manticore

-Manticore

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

House Shyeel Artificer

Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress

House Shyeel Arcanists

House Shyeel Arcanists

His List:

Lord Tyrant Zaadesh (Imperial Warhost)

-Desert Hydra

-Agonizer

-Agonizer

-Archidon

-Basilisk Krea

-Rhinodon

-Titan Gladiator

-Titan Sentry

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor

Max Paingiver Beast Handlers

For round 6 I face my 3^rd opponent from the French contingent who had made the trip over. I am currently 3-2 and really need to get 2 more wins on the table for a chance at Best in Retribution. Hase dropped an intriguing Zaadesh2 list with a Hydra, with my dropping Vyros as I always do into Skorne. I win the first turn and we get moving.

Deceleration, Fleet on the Griffons, run up the table. I’ve done this enough times now the muscle memory is getting it pretty slick. Lanyssa sits herself on the right flank behind a wall.

Hase moves up with his forces being careful not to stray into any of my threat ranges. He puts up Inviolable Resolve on the Hydra and his beasts use their respective defensive Animi. Zaadesh puts up Battle Charged and moves up behind the line.

With Zaadesh camping nothing I spend a few minutes planning out a brilliant (if I say so myself) assassination on him. I move up for step 1 of putting Hunter’s Mark on the Hydra, and Orin cancels it. Ah. So I make a new plan of threatening the zones and prepairing for next turn, putting an Aspis up to tempt him in under Vyros’ Feat.

Hase looks at killing the Aspis with the Sentry before pushing through with the Rhinodon and taking out 2 more Griffons, but after the Aspis dies I push one of the 2 forward, removing the opportunity. Hase decides that going in on one isn’t worth losing the Rhinodon so backs off instead, whilst just holding ground on the right flank. We both score our zones to start at 1-1.

Big turn. A Griffon on the left runs round to engage Counter Chargers and I build up Synergy with Griffons on the right before using a Manticore to take out the Sentry and a Concentrated Power Griffon to hit some serious dice spikes to remove the Gladiator. I feel pretty good at the end of the turn, and the score ticks over to 2-2.

This is Zaadesh’s Feat turn and after Enraging the Beasts with Pain Handlers he starts to fight back. The Hydra goes full beast mode and takes out all 3 Griffons, allowing the Archidon to move into a position of safety for a later turn. The Rhinodon takes out a Griffon and damages another, but I’m still feeling ok about the left flank. The score goes to 3-3.

The line of battle is really starting to rotate now, so I run my blue unit of Arcanists to the right of the forest to be easy contesting pieces to keep his CPs in control. My aim this turn is to clear out the left zone and score 2, and this is successful with the Manticore taking out the Rhinodon and a Griffon finishing off the Krea. Hase only really has the Hydra and Archidon left but I’m not particularly confident. I do move into a 5-3 lead though.

Zaadesh charges in and finishes off an injured Griffon before Sprinting away. The Hydra continues moving round, this time taking out my objective, whilst the Archidon moves aggressively to the centre of the table. Hase closes to 6-5.

With the Krea gone my guns are suddenly a lot more potent, and the 2 Manticores and Vyros himself reduce the Archidon to just 3 boxes. I think that he’s going to survive the turn but a Magno Bolt from the Artificer finished the job. A pretty badly injured Griffon walks up and takes out the objective. I score 2 to lead 8-5.

The Hydra moves up and kills off the Manticore and Artificer. Hase spreads his remaining units to contest as much as possible. The score moves to 9-7.

There is a chance of an assassination here, but it feels much more dicey than I would like. 3CPs will win me the game and I have the left zone locked down already. The Manticore kills 2 of the Paingivers in the right zone, before Vyros Charges and kills a Paingiver, Quick Works a shot into Orin, and removes the last contesting Paingiver with an Arcane Secrets boosted Twister. I score 3 more CPs to win 12-7.

VICTORY

This was an absolutely incredible game. It is always great to play an opponent who is taking an unusual choice but clearly knows exactly how to use it, and that was absolutely the case here. I got the dice when I needed them, and the one small mistake from Hase in not positioning the Archidon within an inch of the building for cover probably made the game. Similarly, after my stupid assassination attempt I should have run at least one of my right Griffons over to the left, as that was always where the battle was going to be won or lost. I had dragged my way to 4-2, which was the same score as the other top Ret players, so the target was still possible.