Game 310: Garryth2 vs Morvahna2

Game 310 – Vs Paul Sheard – Circle – 22/02/19

My list:

Garryth, Eye of Vengeance (Defenders of Ios)

-Harpy

-Harpy

-Moros

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcanist Mechanik

Lys Healer

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

Heavy Rifle Team

Heavy Rifle Team

Max Ryssovass Defenders

Max House Ellowuyr Swordsmen

-House Ellowuyr Swordsman Officer & Standard

His List:

Morvanha the Dawnshadow (The Devourer’s Host)

-Argus Moonhound

-Storm Raptor

Bloodweaver Night Witch

Gallows Grove

Lord of the Feast

Tharn Ravager Shaman

Tharn Ravager Shaman

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Tharn Ravager Chieftain

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Tharn Ravager Chieftain

Max Tharn Wolf Riders

As part of my testing of Garryth2 I wanted to see whether he had decent game into Circle, as Mortailty feels like a good way to get around Tharn healing up all over the place. The terrain wasn’t particularly friendly, with a large forest on each flank to protect Paul’s advance. Given this, despite Paul winning the roll, he opts to choose sides and I get moving.

I put up Occultation onto the Ryssovass and Road to War on Garryth himself and run up the table.

Part of the reason that Circle are so punishing at the moment is that the slightest mispositioning is really punishing, and that comes into play early on here. I had moved a Harpy up about an inch too far into range of the Storm Raptor, so it moves up and shoots me around 75% dead. Morvahna puts up Fog of War and Carnivore onto the right Ravagers. One of each Ravager units run up aggressively, with the rest holding back.

Paul had used quite a few rerolls last turn trying to take out Ellowury, and so Morvahna is only on 6 boxes and a handful of transfers. I take the Eiryss shot to strip her focus, and just miss the 8 I needed, so I abandon the assassination and look at attrition instead. Garryth Feats and I shoot off what I can, triggering Vengeance on both units but keeping largely out of threat. I don’t feel good about the game state.

Paul pushes up and loses a couple of guys to Feat shots before finishing off my Harpy with the Raptor. Paul scores his own flag to lead 1-0.

I really need to get some work done this turn but so much of Paul’s army is in areas I just can’t get to. I clear out what I can, using Mage Sight to clear the left zone, allowing me to start scoring. I jam the right unit as best I can, but the pressure is really piling up and I just can’t get off the defensive. I move into a 3-1 lead.

Between a Raptor pulse and the two units of Ravagers I lose a lot of infantry this turn, as well as being pushed out of the right zone to allow Paul level the score to 3-3. He starts to do Morvanha’s Feat but I save us both some time by conceding the game.

DEFEAT

I don’t really know what to take from this game. I saw enough from my army to think that there might be something there into Circle, but Morvahna is a different beast altogether and on a table with 2 huge forests giving only a 3” and 4” gap to the central building it was always going to favour the Tharn. I’ll probably look at this matchup again, especially into casters like Iona or Wurmwood.

Game 298: Issyria vs Morvahna2

Game 298 – Vs Paul Sheard – Circle – 13/01/19

My list:

Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn (Legions of Dawn)

-Imperatus

-Phoenix

Dawnguard Trident

Dawnguard Trident

House Shyeel Artificer

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

Min Dawnguard Destors

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard Bearer

-Soulless Escort

His List:

Morvahna the Dawnshadow (Devourer's Host)

-Storm Raptor

-Wild Argus

Tharn Wolf Rider Champion

Lord of the Feast

Tharn Ravager Shaman

Tharn Ravager Shaman

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Tharn Ravager Chieftain

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Tharn Ravager Chieftain

Max Tharn Wolf Riders

The final of the Steamroller is fittingly a matchup between the two players who are 4-0 at this point. Paul is playing a terrifying circle player of Morvahna2 Tharn and Krueger2 Bones. We had spoken about our lists the night before and both knew that the matchup was going to be Issyria against Morvahna. I won the first turn and we got moving.

Admonition on Phoenix, Inviolable Resolve on the Sentinels and get up the table, being aware of the threat of Lord of the Feast.

Paul spreads out across the board with the Ravagers on the left and Wolf Riders towards the right. Morvahna put up Fog of War and Carnivore onto Lord of the Feast. He moves Lord up into an aggressive but safe position.

I can get to Lord of the Feast with the Phoenix and I try to trace out the flow of the game in my mind and decide it is a worthwhile way to start the piece trade. The |Trident Slipstreams the Phoenix sideways allowing it to see the Rider next to Lord, and after charging it with the off hand I can hit Lord with the Thermal Blade, taking him out. That allows me to push up harder on the right flank and hold back on the left a bit.

Paul uses Jump to play around Admonition on the Phoenix, taking it out with the 4 remaining Wolf Riders. One Ravager charges the Trident, dealing some damage. Otherwise he commits a handful of Tharn to contest zones and force me to trigger Vengeance. Nobody scores so we start the scoring at 0-0.

I decide to do a big scenario push this turn to try and force Paul to be more aggressive. Under my Feat the right Trident takes out three of the Wolf Riders with the Sentinels finishing off the unit and the objective. I clear out some of the Tharn in the centre to reduce Paul's attacks for the next turn and try to position in such a way that Paul couldn't get a route around an Admonition Imperatus to shoot Issyria.

And I almost did it too. It took the judge about 5 minutes with widgets to work it out, but there was about a millimetre gap where the bird could be in range and have line of sight past Imperatus. All that was left was the Tharn Champion to kill off the blocking Sentinel and for the Bird to hit the boosted 10 on Issyria to finish the game.

VICTORY

This was a really great game, and a perfect way to close out the tournament. I was gutted that I was so close to closing out the assassination angle and with Issyria a little bit further back I'd have been ok. Paul was a great opponent and a deserving person to win the event. His reports on the game and event can be found HERE. Next up is the UK invitationals and I'm really glad that I have a list pair that I'm really happy with. Really enthused for the faction at the moment, we have so many great options.

Game 294: Issyria vs Kromac1

Game 294 – Vs James Durr – Circle Orboros – 12/01/19

My list:

Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn (Legions of Dawn)

-Imperatus

-Phoenix

Dawnguard Trident

Dawnguard Trident

House Shyeel Artificer

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

Min Dawnguard Destors

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard Bearer

-Soulless Escort

His List:

Kromac the Ravenous (Call of the Wild)

-Druid Wilder

-Ghetorix

-Pureblood Warpwolf

-Warpwolf Stalker

-Riphorn Satyr

Una the Falconer

-Storm Raptor

Lord of the Feast

Shifting Stones

2 day event this weekend in Southport. Only 12 players so being played as a standard SR on day 1 before splitting into pods of 4 for day 2. I was taking Issyria and Goreshade4, with the intention of playing them as evenly as possible. Round 1 saw me up against James with his Circle. With him winning the first turn we got moving.

James puts up Warpath on Kromac and the beasts run up the table.

I am really tentative this turn, keeping everything out of threat range of the Beasts, and only allowing the right Phoenix to be in range of Lord of the Feast. Admonition is cast on the Phoenix and Inviolable Resolve on the Sentinels.

James puts up Bestial and presses further up the table. The Storm Raptor puts three shots into the left Trident, spiking dice pretty hard to leave it on 6 boxes. Una puts up Guardian Beast up to deter me moving into the Storm Raptor.

I missed taking a picture this turn, but just imagine all the circle beasts being too close. I power up the Heavies before slamming Ghetorix over Kromac with the right Trident. I shoot off Una and the Lord before targetting Kromac a bit, transferring damage onto the Satyr, leaving it on a couple of boxes. From there the beasts and Sentinels charge in, Issyria's Feat powereing them enough to take out all the beasts but Ghetorix. I score 3CPs.

James knows he has lost, but takes out the Trident on the right with Kromac and Ghetorix to claw back some points. I score again on his turn and mine to win 5-0.

VICTORY

James and I spoke about the matchup afterwards, and there are some things that he could have done better. It is still a rough one for Circle though, as Issyria's Feat really cancels out the defence that they rely on to survive. On to round 2.

Game 285: Goreshade4 vs Kaya3

Game 285 – Vs Karl Morgan – Circle – 2/12/18

My list:

Lord Ghyrrshyld, the Forgiven (Defenders of Ios)

-Chimera

-Harpy

-Harpy

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen

Ghost Sniper

Ghost Sniper

Heavy Rifle Team

Heavy Rifle Team

Min Houseguard Halberdiers

-Houseguard Halberdier Officer & Standard Bearer

Max Houseguard Halberdiers

-Houseguard Halberdier Officer & Standard Bearer

Max Ryssovass Defenders

-Soulless Escort

Max Ryssovass Defenders

-Soulless Escort

His List:

Kaya the Wildheart (Call of the Wild)

-Druid Wilder

-Feral Warpwolf

-Feral Warpwolf

-Pureblood Warpwolf

-Wild Argus

-Wild Argus

Una the Falconer

-Storm Raptor

Shifting Stones

Shifting Stones

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

There were a lot of Circle players in this event, most of them proudly showing off their shiny new Storm Raptors. I didn’t really have a great drop into it with either Elara or Goreshade, as this event was really all about finding a pair for Vyros2. I decided to drop Goreshade and hope for the best. I won first turn, which was a good start, and we got moving.

I don’t really know how to play this game out but whatever I do I need to get up the table. Dauntless Resolve is cast on the Halberdiers on the right as Tough is my best defence against the Raptor. Everything runs.

Karl moves up the table, putting up Fog of War to protect his beasts against my shooting. The Storm Raptor moves over towards the right to avoid getting swamped.

I can afford to hold back for another turn, so I keep out of threat of everything except the Storm Raptor’s main gun. There isn’t a lot to contest the left zone, so in preparation I start shooting at the Stones, taking out one and dealing 3 points to another.

The Storm Raptor moves up and destroys my objective in a move I frankly didn’t see coming. The rest of the Circle beasts move up the table, still under Fog. 1-0 to Karl.

There isn’t much contesting the zones so I think I can score all 3 and take a big scenario lead. My sniper package finishes off the Stones on the left. The Harpies push the Argii out of the central zone and take out the objective. Charges on the right clear out the right zone. Goreshade Feats and puts out a couple of clouds. I lead 4-1.

If any Circle players have stumbled across this blog, they will be salivating at the thought of the Storm Raptor pulse that is about to take place. It almost looks like I had set it up deliberately. Which I sort of had. I was pretty certain that Karl wasn’t going to score any points this turn, and so I would need to score 2 CPs to win next turn. This would mean clearing the left and central zones. I was pretty confident that I could deal with whatever he contested with, but would need souls on Goreshade to do so. Lots of them. The pulse went off, and as planned, I got a lot of souls. As planned, Karl didn’t score any CPs. Not as planned, Karl contested really well, in awkward spots, with 3 Warpwolves (1 stationary) and an Argus. 4-1 to me.

I don’t remember how much Focus I had this turn, but I think it was something like 7,000. Either way, enough to Ghost Walk Goreshade (not my finest bit of positioning), charge the Warpwolf in front, Armour debuff it, cast Light of Dawn on the beasts in the left zone, and cripple both beasts in the centre to such an extent that my shooting and Halberdiers could trivially remove them. There was then the very dicey issue of Halberiers taking out the Argus (pretty safe) and Ryssovass taking out the Feral (bit dodgy). Thankfully, both units did their jobs and I was able to win 6-1 on scenario.

VICTORY

Bit of a strange one this, but I was pleased with how I played it. I wasn’t predicting Karl contesting with anywhere near as much as he did, nor him using the building to make my life even more difficult. The Storm Raptor is such a problem for infantry builds, but with a more balanced pair than mine I’m sure I could have dealt with it. Onto game 3 with a 2-0 record so far.

Game 278: Goreshade4 vs Kromac1

Game 278 – Vs Paul Sheard – Circle – 28/10/18

My list:

Lord Ghyrrshyld, the Forgiven (Legions of Dawn)

-Chimera

-Harpy

-Harpy

Arcanist Mechanik

Dawnguard Sentinel Scyir

House Shyeel Artificer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinels Officer & Standard Bearer

-Soulless Escort

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinels Officer & Standard Bearer

-Soulless Escort

Max Dawnguard Invictors

-Dawnguard Invictors Officer & Standard Bearer

Min Dawnguard Destors

His List:

Kromac the Ravenous (Call of the Wild)

-Ghetorix

-Pureblood Warpwolf

-Rip Horn Satyr

-Storm Raptor

-Warpwolf Stalker

Bog Trog Mist Speaker

Blackclad Wayfarer

Blackclad Wayfarer

Lord of the Feast

Second game into the new Circle and Paul is trying out Kromac1 with the new Storm Raptor. I’m sure my infantry will do much better this time! I win the roll to go first.

Lack of Ambushers means my deployment feels a lot better than last time. Inviolable Resolve goes on the unit nearest the big bird and everything runs up.

Kromac puts up Road to War and Bestial and everything runs up, with the Raptor taking up position on the right flank.

Again I’m not completely sure how to play from this point, so I put some clouds down on the left flank and press quite aggressively. On the right I run up the Invictors and my fairly useless Arc Node and hold the Sentinels back to retaliate.

And once again I lose basically my whole army. In hindsight I should have Feated and forced Paul to come into the zones, but that’s all a learning curve. Between Road to War and sprays, jumps, the Lord of the Feast’s utter nonsense and the Storm Raptor I lose an enormous amount, including my objectve. And its all in my face. I tilt again for a couple of minutes and then get my game face on. 1-0 to Paul

Priorities are the Feasty Boy and Ghetorix, and from there anything is a bonus really. I manage to take both out before Combo Smiting down the Pureblood and taking it out with a Harpy. The Rip Horn remains alive but pretty badly hurt. I feel that I have a bit of a way back into the game. Goreshade Feats, a turn too late. 1-0

This turn it’s my Sentinels on the right that take the brunt of the Storm Raptor, reducing them to just a few left before taking the right zone. The Riphorn moves in slightly and the Stalker prepares to be the next wave. 2-0

I am really starting to feel that I can get back into this game, but need to start turning around the scenario game. I take out the objective and Riphorn, consolidating my forces on the left flank. A Harpy pushes the Stalker out of the central zone, and 3 Sentinels charge it but deal minimal damage. 3-2 to me.

The Stalker is cleared off by the Raptor who moves up through the right zone and then charges the Harpy, rolling poorly to not kill it, preventing it from Sprinting away. We both score “our” zones to move to 4-3.

I capitalise on my luck by taking out the Stalkers with Destors, and continue to push through. I camp loads with Goreshade which is definitely a mistake as I should have Revived a Sentinel. Its amazing how often that spell gets forgotten. 6-3 to me and Paul is rapidly running out of contesting models.

Paul kills the Scyir and runs the Raptor into my zone. Now I’m going to have to kill it. 6-4 to me.

Goreshade can finally use a spell and puts the armour debuff onto the Raptor, cancelling out Inviolable Resolve. Everything I have left charges into it apart from one Destor to contest the right zone. The last charge is from the lowly Arcaist, who rolls well, but leaves the bird on one box. Had I revived a Sentinel last turn I would have taken it out. 6-4

Paul has to back out of my left zone to get everyone in arc, pulsing to remove all the single wound infantry, but successful tough checks on the Dauntless Destors means they both live. Raptor is healed up to a handful of boxes. We both score our zones again to move to 7-5.

Top of 7 for me now, and I’m pretty confident that I win if I kill the bird. Both Destors take the shots with their guns and just about bring it down. I score all three zones to win the game 10-5.

VICTORY

Well that was certainly a game. I’m still far from being in love with Goreshade but having played a long grindy game with him I was really impressed by his ability to just keep going. My thinking is that he will probably suit me better in Defenders, so that’s something that I will be testing in the future.

Game 277: Goreshade4 vs Morvahna2

Game 277 – Vs Paul Sheard – Circle – 28/10/18

My list:

Lord Ghyrrshyld, the Forgiven (Legions of Dawn)

-Chimera

-Harpy

-Harpy

Arcanist Mechanik

Dawnguard Sentinel Scyir

House Shyeel Artificer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinels Officer & Standard Bearer

-Soulless Escort

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinels Officer & Standard Bearer

-Soulless Escort

Max Dawnguard Invictors

-Dawnguard Invictors Officer & Standard Bearer

Min Dawnguard Destors

His List:

Morvahna the Dawnshadow (Call of the Wild)

-Brennos the Elderhorn

-Pureblood Warpwolf

Lord of the Feast

Tharn Ravager Shaman

Tharn Ravager White Mane

Shifting Stones

Min Tharn Blood Pack

Min Tharn Blood Pack

Tharn Bloodweavers

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Tharn Ravager Chieftain

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Tharn Ravager Chieftain

With the Circle CID now landed Paul was keen to try out a few of the new toys in a couple of games, and I saw it as a good opportunity to get a bit more experience with goreshade4. First up was the new Tharn being run by a tweaked Morvanha 2. I won the first turn and we get moving.

Dauntless Resolve is put onto the right unit of Sentinels and everything runs up. I really do miss the +2” of deployment in this theme, I just feel that I’m playing the game from so far back.

Paul puts out Fog of War and gets running up the table, leading with the Ravagers with the Blood Pack behind. Brennos puts out his animus, meaning that I’m not going to be doing any channelling all game.

I don’t particularly know how to progress this turn, so I advance as far as I dare and throw the Soulless Escorts up to force triggering Vengeance. I decide that between shooting from the Invictors and Destors I can get enough work done into one of the Ravager units to make it worth triggering Vengeance but a combination of bad dice and good tough rolls meant I only took out one.

I made a couple of positioning errors in my last turn, and was massively punished for it. One Ravager on the left was able to Overtake off a Destor and get into my Sentinels, Berserking through about 6 of the unit. On the right the Lord of the Feast was able to fly in and take out most of a unit. The ambushing Blood Weavers came on and ran to engage me on the right flank. Ravagers on the right charged and killed my objective. Paul scores both rectangular zones to lead 3-0.

At this point I don’t have any great interest in continuing the game. The combination of Berserk (by any other name) and Overtake does tend to tilt me pretty hard, especially when it is on a full unit, as one tiny positioning error means that you lose half your army. I play on to get a feel for the list and do manage to take out a decent amount of Paul’s infantry, putting up my Feat to hopefully reduce the impact of Paul’s next turn. 3-0

Unfortunately between sprays, bows and not caring about being stationary Paul is able to clear both zones to win 5-0 on scenario.

DEFEAT

One of the most horrible matchups I’ve ever had to play into. Could be playable into something like Standoff or Spread the Net but doesn’t feel great. I’m not particularly feeling the love for Goreshade yet but hopefully that will change over the next few games. Tharn are pretty nasty.