Game 90: Kaelyssa vs Helga

Game 90 – Vs Sean Murchie – Minions – 09/09/17

My list:

Kaelyssa, The Night’s Whisper

-Helios

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

His List:

Helga the Conqueror (Thornfall Alliance)

-Battle Boar

-Gun Boar

-Road Hog

-Road Hog

Meat Thresher

Efaarit Scout

Efaarit Scout

Max Farrow Brigands

-Warlord

Min Farrow Bone Grinders

Gobber Chef

Rorsh & Brine

Game 2 of the Nationals saw me play Sean who had come down from Scotland and his Minions. My main decision to play Kaelyssa was based on him having Arkadius in his lists, and hit threat under feat really scared me. Kaelssa’s feat completely shuts this down, and as she was the list I was leadt confident in finding a chance to drop (The tournament was D&C1) I saw this as a good an opportunity as any. I won first turn and started plodding up the board.

Kaelyssa’s usual suite of upkeeps goes out, with Refuge starting on the AFG and Blur on Helios to stop any early pot-shots. My forces run up but I have no idea where to put Eiryss, who mostly runs around on the right flank aimlessly all game.

Sean puts Defender’s Ward onto the Meat Thresher to boost it’s already impressive armour and runs everything up the table, the Brigands spreading out to protect against AOEs from the AFG.

The three heavies in Sean’s list are the only thing that can really threaten Helios, so if I can remove those then I can start bullying the table with the colossal and grind the game out. I start by knocking Brine and the left Road Hog down with the AFG, dealing some damage to both, before pulling the former in with Helios and killing it. Kaelyssa relieves the Meat Thresher of its upkeep before Feating and Refuging to safety. My Sentinels run up into threatening positions and Mini-Feat, with both units sending some tempters forward to hopefully trigger Vengeance.

Sean concentrates on the right hand unit of Sentinels, killing 4 and setting 3 more on fire. The rest of his units manoeuvre around trying to stay out of Helios’ threat as much as possible and the Gun Boar shoots a High Explosive shot at Eiryss that thankfully misses.

All 3 Sentinels that were on fire perish in flames, with the rest just using Vengeance to prepare charges into the Road Hog. The AFG cannot find lines to either heavy so just shoots 2 Brutal shots into the Battle Engine, making a start on its huge number of boxes. Helios misses 2 of its shots into the left Road Hog, so can only push it into range of the Sentinels. Both units of Sentinels charge their respective Pigs and destroy them. Eiryss runs back behind the building to contest the right zone and Helios scores the centre for a 1-0 lead.

Whilst the main threats to Helios are now gone, the threats to my Sentinels are very much still alive, and I lose a huge number this turn. The Brigands open fire into my left unit, who they had made their Prey, killing 8, whilst the Meat Thresher kills off all but one of the right unit. Helga casts a Distraction at Helios and stays more than 7” away and out of my charge arc, and some Brigands reposition in to block my movement. Nobody scores, leaving the score at 1-0 to me.

Sean has unfortunately left a Trample lane for Helios to get to Helga, who is camping 4 Fury, but with only the Gun Boar available for transfers, so I eye up an assassination. The AFG aims, knocks her down and deals some damage that is transferred to the Gun Boar, leaving it badly hurt. Kaelyssa advances up, puts Phantom Hunter on herself, steals both the remaining Fury, and finishes off Helga with her final shot. Helios was still there to trample up to finish the job, but my dice and Sean not quite understanding when to transfer against Kaelyssa meant that I got the job done an activation early.

VICTORY

A pretty textbook example of how my Kaelyssa list is supposed to work, and I can’t wait for a Dawnguard theme to possibly make the list even stronger. With only 3 heavies I could control the table pretty well and grind out the win. Had the assassination not been presented I’m sure I could have finished off the Thresher and started working on Brigands, leaving him no way back into the game. I always like getting to 2-0 in any event, from that point you know you are going to have tough games, but are in the running for the event. Bring on round 3.

Game 88: Kaelyssa vs Sturgis2

Game 88 – Vs Gareth James – Cryx – 06/09/17

My list:

Kaelyssa, The Night’s Whisper

-Helios

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

His List:

Sturgis the Corrupted

-Skarlock Thrall

-Defiler

-Defiler

-Deathjack

Darragh Wrathe

Pistol Wraith

Pistol Wraith

Max Bane Warriors

Max Carrion Thralls

Max Soulhunters

My last practice game before the Nationals saw me play Gareth, a local Cryx play whose work had kept him away from the game for a while. He is reaching deep into the jank-tank for the Nationals and bringing Sturgis, Aiakos2 and presumably another equally left field caster. He tried out Sturgis into me, and having not positioned well with Kaelyssa last game I wanted a game to do it better. I won the roll to go first, and got running.

I deployed better than the Una game, and avoided getting myself jammed up early on. Kae cast Refuge on the AFG as usual, and put Banishing Ward on Helios to protect him against Parasite. The rest of my forces ran up, ready to see what presents itself next turn.

Gareth runs up his forces, keeping out of threat of the Sentinels and flanking hard on the right with Darragh and the Soulhunters (great jazz band name). He casts Occultation on the Bane Warriors and camps the rest of his focus, moving into the security of a trench.

I think that I can take out Deathjack and an arc node this turn, and under Feat be pretty safe from retaliation. The AFG has other ideas sadly, missing both his shots requiring 5s, meaning that Kae has to Stationary Deathjack herself. Her first shot misses, meaning she has to buy a second, and as a result I tilt and forget to Feat. I still get the 2 jacks killed by a combination of the Sentinels and Helios, but without my feat it gives Gareth a chance to retaliate.

4 Bane Warriors are able to charge into Helios, taking out around a third of his boxes. The remaining Arc Node moves around to the side of the Sentinels, spraying down them and Corroding 5 of them. 2 more are corroded by Sturgis himself but eventually a 9 is rolled for damage, triggering Vengeance. Other Bane Warriors and the Pistol Wraiths kill some Sentinels on the left, and the cavalry continue  their hard flanking manoeuvre. I score my flag and Gareth scores my zone, to move to 1-1.

Vengeance attacks and Corrosion rolls account for a lot of models before I even start my activations, and by the end of my turn the Cryx forces are looking pretty sparse. The Sentinels deal with all the Banes and one of the Pistol Wraiths, whilst the AFG shoots off the last Arc Node and one Soulhunter, with a Sentinel accounting for another. The AFG then Refuges into the zone to stop his scoring there. Eiryss remains on her flag to move me 2-1 ahead.

Sturgis gets to live the dream as his feat kills around 8 Sentinels, also pulling Eiryss off her flag. He Teleports back to the safety of his trench. The Pistol Wraith tries to shoot Eiryss but misses both shots and the Soul Hunters start attacking the AFG, but with limited impact. Nobody scores so we remain at 2-1.

It is mainly a cleanup turn for me as I am well ahead on scenario. I clear the central and left zones, scoring them with a last Sentinel and Helios respectively. I charge 3 Sentinels into Sturgis, dealing some damage and one being knocked down from Reversal. I finally remember to Feat before the AFG kills another Soulhunter and I move into a 5-1 lead.

Kaelyssa’s Feat is really good when losing her is the only way to lose the game, I’m going to pretend that I tactically held onto it for this long! Gareth knows the game is up and just tries to kill Helios. Between Parasite (I had dropped Banishing Ward once the Bane threat was gone) and Chain Attack -2 Arm Sturgis can deal a huge amount of damage and has a lot of attacks. He comes up slightly short leaving the colossal on 4 boxes. Dream crushed. I score twice more to win 7-1.

VICTORY

Not my cleanest win by any accounts, partly due to having no idea what half of the Cryx stuff did. The rep was useful with the list though and I’m feeling confident enough to use it at the Nationals. I hope Gareth does well with his lists, and will certainly catch some people out, but think he will struggle against people’s dedicated Cryx drops. Issyria for example would have torn his list to pieces.

Game 87: Kaelyssa vs Una2

Game 87 – Vs Paul Sheard – Circle – 06/09/17

My list:

Kaelyssa, The Night’s Whisper

-Helios

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

His List:

Una the Skyhunter (The Devourer’s Host)

-Gorax Rager

-Scarsfell Griffon

-Scarsfell Griffon

-Scarsfell Griffon

-Scarsfell Griffon

-Scarsfell Griffon

Gallows Grove

Tharn Ravager Shaman

Death Wolves

Tharn Bloodweavers

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Chieftain

Max Tharn Ravagers

-Chieftain

After a whole load of indecision about my third list for the Nationals I looked through my reports and just decided to play the list that I had most experience with. When that list was Helynna Pacific Rim, a list with zero play in SR2017, I stepped down to second most, which was this Kaelyssa Sentinel list. It is by no means a perfect list. As shown in its last outing against Mark it can be jammed out of scenario if going second against a fast list, and there are plenty of things in the game that can deal single damage to Sentinels, but it is a threat that has to be dealt with, and has really strong game into non-Zerkova Khador (a prolific faction at the Nationals) so I decided to give it another shot. Despite Vyros being my circle drop I needed reps with the list so threw it down anyway, with Paul bringing his latest attempt at a Vyros answer. I won the first turn and got moving.

I did not deploy well. The AFG was on the right to move up and contest my zone, with Helios central and the Sentinels spread out to the left. Refuge was cast on the AFG and everything ran up.

Paul puts Mirage on the central unit of Ravagers and puts up Wind Wall to stop any trouble from Helios. His forces also run up, staying out of 10” of the Sentinels, with the Bloodweavers flanking on the left and the majority of the Griffons on the right.

This is going to be my feat turn but I want to get some work done as well. The AFG fires slam shots into the Ravagers in the centre, only killing one due to 3 others passing tough. Kaelyssa shoots a Dispel shot into them, stripping Mirage and killing one of the toughed guys. The AFG pushes 3 of the unit towards the Sentinels who charge and kill them. Both sentinel units Mini-Feat and prepare for the second unit of Ravagers.

Una casts Hand of Fate onto the full unit of Ravagers and they walk into the Sentinels, using their Mini-Feat granting them Overtake. Between their attacks they kill 4 out of one unit and 3 from the other. A fairly underwhelming total, but more than I was expecting. The Death Wolves run to engage the AFG, and the Griffons reposition ready to attack next turn. Paul scores his rectangular zone and flag to take a 2-0 lead.

It is my turn to tear through Paul’s units. Between Vengeance attacks and the units’ charges all but 2 of the medium based Tharn are dead, and that with Paul rolling well on tough checks. I cannot roll 7s to save my life and 4 attacks into the Bloodweavers only kills one of them. The AFG struggles to clear itself and Helios gets into place for next turn. Eiryss takes position on my flag to claw my way back to 2-1 down.

Now it is my turn to really lose some infantry. Between the remaining 2 Ravagers and the Griffons I am left with only a small handful of Sentinels fighting the Weavers. Paul clears his flag and zone and moves to a commanding 4-1 lead

With basically nothing left I am in a really bad position, so console myself by killing some Griffons. One had taken a real beating from a Sentinel and was finished off by Kaelyssa, whilst another was one-shot by Helios. The AFG continues missing the Death Wolves. We both score to 5-2.

All Paul needs to do for the win is clear 2 Sentinels out of his zone and contest my flag. He does so easily but we decide to see whether his remaining 2 Griffons can kill Helios. Turns out that with enough damage spikes they can. Paul scores twice more to win 7-2.

DEFEAT

Not a great result at all but that didn’t matter too much. The list felt good and without a super-strong second wave with a lot of attacks Paul wouldn’t have been able to come back. Whilst his list could deal with this there are plenty that can’t. A game of Vyros2 into this Una2 list would be very interesting, and I can see us playing it out some time after the WTC.

Game 85: Helynna vs Zerkova1

Game 85 – Vs Richard Beech – Khador – 30/08/17

My list:

Magister Helynna

-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker

-Discordia

-Manticore

-Manticore

Arcanist Mechanik

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Officer & Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Officer & Standard Bearer

Spears of Scyrah

His List:

Koldun Kommande Aleksandra Zerkova (Legion of Steel)

-Marauder

-Juggernaut

-Juggernaut

Iron Fang Kovnik

Iron Fang Kovnik

Uhlan Kovnik Markov

Min Iron Fang Uhlans

Min Iron Fang Uhlans

Great Bears of the Gallowswood

Max Iron Fang Pikemen

-Officer & Standard Bearer

Min Black Dragons

-Officer & Standard Bearer

Before submitting his WTC lists Richard wanted to test his Zerkova list into some Covering Fire. I wanted to give my Helynna list another run out and, whilst it only has 2 Manticores it would still ask enough of a question of his list. I won the roll for first turn but the table was so skewed in terms of terrain that I had to take second turn. We got moving.

Zerkova casts Watcher and his forces run up. Following an Advance Move his central Iron Fang Pikemen are a very long way up the table. I guess this is how people feel when Retribution players take Halberdiers… The Uhlans flank hard on each side to put pressure on my Sentinels.

I have to feat bottom of 1. Rich is so far up the table and has such huge threat ranges that I have no choice. I put up the Covering Fires in the centre to halt his advance, and run the Spears up to reinforce the gap. My Sentinels run up on the flanks and Mini-Feat to get up to Arm23. I await my fate.

Richard clears out 2 of the Spears of Scyrah in the centre but generally holds back. The Uhlans back off out of the Sentinels’ 10” threat and a Juggernaut moves to toe the zone to prevent me scoring. Zerkova moves up and Feats, catching the vast majority of my force.

Whilst we would go to 1-1 on score at the end of my turn, I feel that this is the only point I would score over the course of the game, as I would just get jammed away from his half of the table. I move a few bits and pieces around, but quickly realise that the game is unplayable and concede.

DEFEAT

A bit of a waste of time as games go, and by far the closest that I have come to not bothering to write a report up. The combination of the terrain, the scenario and a very strong opponent made this game completely unwinnable as far as I can tell. Had I gone first I could have got up the table further but Rich would still have forced me to feat first, backed off and then destroyed me on the next turn. Zerkova has easily one of the top 5 feats in the game and I am surprised more Khador players haven’t cottoned onto her sooner. The game served its purpose as Rich got to see that Covering Fire isn’t a real issue for his list, and I took a step away from playing this Helynna list. I am sure it is a good list, and a decent theme might bring it back into play for me, but I just find it so boring to play, and in the end playing a list that you enjoy is as important as anything else. The hunt for list 3 continues…

Game 80: Kaelyssa vs Damiano

Game 80 – Vs Mark Ellis – Mercenaries – 26/08/17

My list:

Kaelyssa, The Night’s Whisper

-Helios

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

His List:

Captain Damiano (The Kingmaker’s Army)

-Nomad

-Nomad

-Buccaneer

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor

Kell Bailoch

Stannis Brocker

Min Steelhead Halberdiers

Min Steelhead Halberdiers

Max Trencher Infantry

-Officer & Sniper

-Rifle Grenadier

-Rifle Grenadier

Max Trencher Infantry

-Officer & Sniper

-Rifle Grenadier

-Rifle Grenadier

Min Boomhowlers

Time for a second shot into Mark’s Damiano Kingmakers list after a pretty desperate failure last time out with my Issyria list. It also gives me a chance to try out my Kaelyssa list again to get a feel for whether I want her to be my 3^rd list for the Nationals. Mark had slightly changed his list, dropping 4 Halberdiers, 2 Grenadiers and Dirty Meg to add some Ambushing Boomhowlers to add another dimension to his list. He won the roll to go first and got moving.

Note: I apologise for the pictures in this report. We were playing on a sunny morning at the local club and the sun was streaming onto the table. If in doubt assume that the blind spot is filled with Halberdiers and Trenchers, you probably won’t be far wrong.

As per our last game Mark puts Sure Foot up onto one unit of Trenchers, and Death March onto a unit of Halberdiers. The Trenchers advance and Dig In and the rest of the army runs up to form a formidable battle line.

I run up in response, Feating with Kealyssa to protect my forces. Helios gets Blur cast on it and Kae puts up Refuge on herself.

Mark doesn’t feel that it is worth risking triggering Vengeance on the Sentinels, and is aware that clock management it important with this list, so just runs up his infantry to jam my lines. He moves the Buccaneer over to the rectangle zone to start scoring defensively but doesn’t get a solo over to his flag.

For me to win this game I am going to have to keep Helios alive, which means getting rid of the Nomads before Damiano’s Feat turn. My Sentinels clear a zone to make space for Helios to advance, before Kaelyssa makes the Nomad behind the building Stationary using a combination of Phantom Hunter and Stall. Helios moves up, drags it in and destroys it, setting a few infantry on fire with Flame Burst. The other Nomad is controlled by being Knocked Down and Disrupted. I deal with the infantry as well as I can but can’t get anywhere near his zone. Mark scores to lead 1-0.

Mark’s turn is Damiano’s Feat turn. He continues the strategy of jamming me out of the zones and kills 5 or so Sentinels in the left unit. Boomhowlers come on to the left side to join in the party but don’t make any meaningful attacks. Mark scores again to take a 2-0 lead.

My Vengeance moves leave Stannis on 2 boxes and I can’t find a way to kill him before activating the Sentinels, so once again I can’t get anything into Mark’s left zone. I need to start scoring in response and thankfully am able to clear my right zone to score there. My Sentinels keep trying to clear Mark’s units out but can’t get the job done quickly enough. 3-1

Operation Jam becomes Operation “Kill all the Sentinels” on the left flank, as the Trenchers open fire and leave only one alive. Boomhowlers and the Nomad run up to engage the AFG and the remaining models on the right spread to all corners of my zone. Orin Midwinter runs to his flag to score an additional point, to lead 5-1.

The game is essentially lost but there is a chance if I can clear a lot out and start scoring more in response. Kaelyssa needs to roll perfectly with her attacks to kill the Sniper, Orin and Stall the Buccaneer, but fails a couple of shots and can only take out Orin. I manage to clear my zone to score there but can’t stop Mark’s inevitable victory. We both score to make it 6-2.

Mark simply runs the light jack to contest my zone to win 7-2

DEFEAT

This is a tough list and I’m still not sure what to do against it. I didn’t play well as I was deployed back to front (AFG should have locked down my zone while Helios pushed towards his) but it doesn’t escape the fact that going second against a fast list is a deathtrap for this list, so I’m just not sure it stands up under SR2017, at least until a Dawnguard theme comes out. Mark played this game really well, and it’s great to see a clubmate gel quickly with a list as he has with this one.

Game 76: Helynna vs Zaal2

Game 76 – Vs Ryan Longthorne – Skorne – 19/08/17

My list:

Magister Helynna

-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker

-Discordia

-Manticore

-Manticore

Arcanist Mechanik

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Officer & Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Officer & Standard Bearer

Spears of Scyrah

His List:

Zaal, The Ancestral Advocate

-Basilisk Drake

-Basilisk Krea

-Cyclops Shaman

-Agonizer

Ancestral Guardian

Ancestral Guardian

Hakaar the Destroyer

Swamp Gobber Chef

Max Immortals

-Extoller Advocate

Max Immortals

-Extoller Advocate

Max Immortals

-Extoller Advocate

The final round of the 3^rd list testing Steamroller saw me drawn against Ryan, the local Skorne Tyrant, who like me was trying to find the lists to build around his Makeda double cats list. I wanted to try out Helynna with Sentinels as their armour can become pretty absurd, and Ryan dropped the Immortal spam Zaal list. High Armour, slow Vengeance troops slogging into each other. Not what you want on game 4. Ryan won first turn and the slog began.

Ryan casts Vision on Zekaar and Aura of Power on Zaal, before running up all of his troops, with the Warbeasts generally getting ahead of the sea of Immortals.

I respond by running up as well, staying out of his predictable threat ranges and getting at lease something in each zone unless he tried to jam me out. I plan to use the Manticores on the right to control that flank with Covering Fire and try to win the game on the left. The single Arcanist is sat near the right flag to start scoring next turn if possible.

As I have remained out of threat there isn’t too much for Ryan to do this turn, but he gets slight tunnel vision and tries to take out some Sentinels with his guns. The Basilisk spray kills one Sentinel, triggering Vengeance on the right unit, whilst the single shot from the Shaman is Shield Guarded onto a Spear, failing to kill, but triggering Vengeance on the unit.

The extra 3” of range on 2 of my units gives me a pretty good way in to one of Ryan’s units. I know this is going to be feat turn so if I can kill most of a unit without reprisal I may be able to hold a pretty strong attrition position. A couple of Vengeance attacks followed by charges from the Spears destroys the Shaman, before the Sentinels charge into the Immortals, killing 4. The Manticores then move into position to shoot into the same unit, killing 3 more, before Rhythm of Warring back out of threat. The rest of my Sentinels run to engage the left unit. Under Iron Zeal and Helynna’s feat, the Sentinels are sat in his face at ARM23. I score my flag to lead 1-0.

Zaal feats and his Immortals begin pointlessly attacking my Sentinels, dealing no damage with early attacks and quickly concluding that it is not worth triggering Vengeance. He does finish off the Spear that previously Shield Guard, triggering Vengeance on the two remaining members. With nothing happening, I score my flag again to lead 2-0.

It is now my turn to flail ineffectively into high armour, but after considering a moment I consider a different approach. If I can stop Ryan contesting my flag in his turn I will win. If I don’t kill any models at all in my turn then his Advocate won’t be able to make the unit Incorporeal, so I may be able to jam them away from the flag. I jam as best as I can with the Sentinels, put down Covering Fire from the Manticores and use Rhythm of War to move them further in. I score again to lead 3-0.

I have made a pretty significant miscalculation in my plan, as if Ryan loses an Immortal to either Covering Fire or a Free Strike, he will still gain the Soul to fuel becoming Incorporeal. His centre unit activates and provides that Soul, though all of the unit dies to Free Strikes from a Spear of Scyrah. The full right unit advances members through to contest the flag until one survives the Covering Fire, then removes a load of my Sentinels. On the left flank Ryan is very unlucky not to remove all of my Sentinels in the zone, leaving one alive contesting both the flag and zone. Nobody scores so the score remains 3-0 to me.

My route to victory is to kill the objective and remove the single contesting Immortal. Helynna charges the Immortal, not risking a damage roll and instead just pushing it away. One Spear and 2 Immortals move into the objective, though one Sentinel dies to a Defensive Strike. They do some damage before Discordia tramples in and destroys it. I score 2 without reply to win 5-0.

VICTORY

Ryan and I both agreed that this game was not a particularly fun slog, and I did not really enjoy playing my list. I would have lost the game had the remaining Sentinel not hung on in his zone, as I was down on attrition and scenario was my only way out. We were both tired in the game which led to some bad decisions, but it was still good to see our lists in action.

I finished the Steamroller 3-1, as I have the previous 2 events. The more surprising result was the fact that out of my 3 lists, Ravyn was the one that stood out, so I have made the decision that her list will join Issyria and Vyros2 as my lists for the Nationals. I have 3 weeks to get as many games in with them as possible, and hopefully be prepared for whatever the wider British meta throws at me.

Game 59: Kaelyssa vs Sorscha2

Game 59 – Vs Chris Young – Khador – 19/07/17

My list:

Kaelyssa, The Night’s Whisper

-Helios

Arcantrik Force Generator

Arcanist Mechanik

Arcanist Mechanik

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

Max Dawnguard Sentinels

-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer

His List:

Forward Kommander Sorscha

-Marauder

-Ruin

Winter Guard Gun Carriage

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor

Man-O-War Kovnik

Lady Aiyana & Master Holt

-Koldun Kapitan Valachev

Max Man-O-War Shocktroopers

-Officer

Min Assault Kommanos

-Flame Thrower

-Flame Thrower

-Flame Thrower

I apologise to any readers bored of reading about games against Khador. I live in a Khador and Retribution heavy meta. I’m no happier about it than anyone else is. Today’s Khador fun time was presented by Chris, trying out Sorscha2 to see if she could answer other lists outside of Ghost Fleet. I dropped my dedicated Khador list Kaelyss, and Chris won the roll to go first.

Not much unusual in the first turn. Man-O-Wars gain Desperate Pace and run up with everything else following. The Marauder flanks on the right with the Gun Carriage moving hard up on the left, staying out of threat range of the AFG.

I take quite a cautious approach to my turn. I don’t want to feat, but I don’t want to get charged either, so advanced up to the edge of his threat range, with the left unit of Sentinels using Iron Zeal to protect against any blast damage that may come in from the Gun Carriage.

Chris also plays his turn cautiously. The Gun Carriage advances far up the left flank, leaving 2 AOEs of rough terrain for the Sentinels to deal with. The rest of his forced moved forward slightly and Orin moved to the flag to be ready to score next turn.

I needed to get a move on if I wasn’t going to fall behind on scenario. The AFG put 2 Brutal Shots into the Gun Carriage, taking off maybe a third of its boxes. Kaelyssa moved up, cast Phantom Hunter on herself, and shot Orin off the flag before Refuging back to her flag and Feating. The Sentinels move up out of walking threat of his models and prepare for next turn. Nobody scores.

Despite my feat being up Chris managed to do some serious work on the left unit of Sentinels, with the Gun Carriage and 3 Flame Throwers combining to kill 7 out of the unit. I had missed my shot to Disrupt the Marauder the last zone so it was able to run and engage Eiryss on the right flank. Nobody scores again.

Vengeance attacks from the Sentinels reduce the Gun Carriage to around 12 boxes. The AFG shoots it with one shot and kills 3 Kommandos with a slam. The sentinels finish off the battle engine and a couple more Kommandos. Kaelyssa casts Phantom Hunter on both herself and Helios, before Stalling Ruin. Helios charges a Man-O-War, pulling in Ruin to put 4 attacks into the jack, sadly not taking out any systems. The right Sentinels roll very well on the Marauder, killing it, and put some damage on the Man-O-Wars. Taking advantage of my good fortune, Eiryss moves round and kills Valachev. Still nobody scores.

Sorscha feats and does destroys Helios between Ruin and the Man-O-Wars, taking out all but 2 Sentinels on the left and causing 3 more deaths on the right. The table is clearing but I feel like I am in a strong position. I score the left zone but Chris scores his flag with the Kovnik. 1-1.

Between Vengeance moves and their activations the Sentinels all but clear the field, leaving only Aiyana, Holt, one Kommando and Sorscha alive. I score on my own flag and again on the left zone to lead 3-1, and Chris concedes the game.

VICTORY

This was an extremely enjoyable game. The first turns were extremely edgy and tactical with only one model being destroyed in the first 2 rounds. From there the dice went my way and I was able to pull ahead but it could as easily have gone the other way. Man-0-Wars are an extremely tough nut to crack, I am worried for what will come when they gain their upcoming theme list, and I was pretty impressed by the Flame Thrower Kommandos, but appreciate that they are an expensive unit with a perfect enemy in this game.