Karchev - Black Ivan, Malakov + Spriggan/Juggernaught, 2x Press Gangers, Hawk, Gorman, eEiryss, Tinker, pAlexia
Game 1
Destruction (2014 version)
eSorscha - Conquest, Malakov + Conquest, Battle Meckaniks (Max), Silly Wishnailer, WGI + UA, Kovnik Joe
Traidor Deploy (Like Khador, but traitorous). Playing the part of traitor Malakov is an IFP Kovnik.
Malakovs Conquest goes on the left, Sorschas on the right, WGI inbetween, Mechaniks behind the Malakov Jack.
Karchev Deploy, pretty standard.
Traidor 1: Iron Flesh goes on WGI, Shatterstorm goes on Sorscha's Conquest, Redline goes on Malakovs Jack. Sorscha puts Boundless charge on her Jack as well, everything runs/charges up.
Karchev 1: Press Gangers jam as much as they can, Redline/Tow shenanigans, an aimed double boosted Ivan shot kills the UA on the WGI. Glorious. Eiryss hides behind the left obstruction.
Traidor 2: Shatterstorm drops, Redline stays. Sorcha moves up, Arcane Secrets a Freezing grip on one unit of Press Gangers (left side), Cyclones back camping zero. WGI sprays and Conquest shots devastate my infantry horde.
Karchev 2: Eiryss moves up, doesn't get within 5" of Malakovs Jack and misses shooting off Redline. Now convinced my long game is bad, I go the assassination (eyeballed at 50%). Karchev tows the jacks up, Ivan aims and kills two WGI in the Spriggans path, the Spriggan charges in, doesn't get the shield. Charge attack boosts to hit, puts Sorscha on three health. Second swing misses.
Doh.
I got greedy with Eiryss and suffered for it. I wanted to both shoot off Redline and Eiryss bomb, ended up with neither.
For the long game to work I need to one round Sorschas Conquest this turn, weather the storm of the other one then recover and kill it (Or more likely Malakov).
The proper play to my mind is to run Eiryss behind the Malakov Conquest, walk Karchev into the zone and about face, move the Jugger toward the Malakov Conquest as a suicide, Fully loaded Red Lined Spriggan + Fully Loaded Feated Unearthly Raged Ivan should dirt nap Sorschas Conquest, getting in via careful Bulldoze charges.
Without focus with feat, Malakovs Conquest will likely kill the Jugger. If not, then I extricate everything with Tow and prepare to repeat the Colossal murder trick.
Traidor 3: Sorscha feats, her fully loaded Conquest buries Karchev about 140 metres under the table.
Player Grading
Time Management: 7, I played it through quite snappily.
Scenario Awareness: 7, placed Alexia to use Asset Protection, but correctly picked that scenario wasn't going to be strong.
Spacing and Placement: 6, I had models where they should have been except for Eiryss, but her placement was bad enough to knock out the long game plan.
Target Priority: 8, the assassination run was definitely the right call at that time and the bottom of 1 killing the WGI UA was awesome.
Effectiveness: 4, I used Black Ivans shot to remove a pair of Winterguard, should have just been more careful with the Spriggan line and got a shot on Sorscha, would have been enough for the win.
Cool: 8, knew the score and had no issues. eSorscha is a brutal matchup for this Karchev.
Grade: B (40)
Game 2
Destruction (2014)
eGoreshade - Kraken, Bone Chicken, Bane Thralls + UA, Bane Riders, Bile Thralls (Min), Necrotech + Scrapthrall, 6 more Scrapthralls, Skarlock
Cryx Deploy: That feat fuel up the back will barely move the whole game.
Khador Deploy, at this point it is formulaic for this list.
Step 1: Choose which side of the centre line Alexia or the Jacks go.
Step 2: Place Solos in their places, Gorman has some variety here
Step 3: Pick a flank for Eiryss, if going first clump up the Press Gangers, if going second spread them out.
Cryx 1:Everything moves up, Riders get Occultation, Kraken gets Phantom Hunter (Notable runs instead of trying an errant shot at my blob of infantry).
Khador 1: Press Gangers run up, though I hold back somewhat to reduce the amount of Banes that charge while still having a presence in the zone. Redline/Tow go! Black Ivan has a beautiful clump of Biles to shoot at, but proves to be an inch short. The scatter still gets rid of two of them though. Eiryss moves up, shoots and disrupts the Arcnode.
Could have placed Eiryss better, I moved her up for line of sight, but had I recalled that the Riders were stealthed at the time I could have moved her to a safer, more inconvenient spot. Gorman hides behind my favourite terrain piece (For a league a while ago I cheap skated a "make a terrain piece" goal. My Pressganger has since wizened to this plan for lazy league points and kiboshed it, but I'll always have that rock).
Cryx 2: Phantom Hunter sticks around, Occultation drops. The Bane Riders do various attacks first, but the leader is to out of range to curse Eiryss. The Kraken does some weirdly impotent shots, I don't recall but I believe it only gets a Press Ganger or two. The Skarlock puts Curse of Shadows on the right Press Ganger unit. The Thralls then get in on the action, killing three Press Gangers and adding the same amount to the unit off Goreshades Elite Cadre. Sudden Death goes on a Random Thrall on the right side of the zone (Green circle marker).
Khador 2: Spells upkept, Ivan gets two Focus, Spriggan fully loads. Gorman moves up, throws a Rust Bomb at the Kraken. Ivan aims, shoots a Bile Thrall right behind the Bane Thrall Officer, gloriously kills them both. The Press Gangers move in, they remove a number of Banes though three of them tough. Alexia and the Risen move up, she pops a Thrall. Said Thrall charges the Rider engaging Eiryss, misses. Eiryss moves up, swings impotently. Karchev moves up, tows only the Spriggan, who charges the Kraken and through some hot dice put it on one box. The Tinker moves up, is out of range for a desperation shot on the Kraken. Juggernaught lumbers forward. Malakov moves to just be in command range of the Jugger. For he will do anything for his country, accept serve anywhere near the thick of the action. Or when blood might get on him. Hawk runs up, engages a Bile and a Skarlock.
Yes, I made the same mistake, against the same opponent, with the same Spriggan doing a repeat suicide charge against the same Kraken as the pDenny game. All I had to do to make it work was Blind the Kraken, I do less damage but the Kraken gets damaged enough to be killed next turn, I also have to include the Juggernaught in the tow and run Malakov to the relevant position.
Cryx 3: No spells upkept. The Necrotech heals the Kraken for the full six, sadness. Goreshade moves in and kills Hawk. Two Biles walk up and Purge, killing a bunch of Pirates and a few Thralls. The Thralls then charge up, the Knock Downed guys feel the pain of being reduced to normal tough and do nothing, a couple of them got onto Karchev and ding him for a dozen hit points, another gets into Black Ivan and takes out his right arm. The Kraken moves up and misses Gorman, takes out a column on the Spriggan but systems are still go. The Riders kill Eiryss, but otherwise flunk around. The Arcnode moves up in holiday mode. The back line of Scrapthralls break out deck chairs, realising they are actually on an all expenses holiday and this is their crummy entertainment.
Khador 3: Tow/Redline live on, Juggernaught gets two focus. Risen pop up in front of the Arc Node. The Pressgangers remove the Thralls they are in combat with. The Spriggan hits and kills the Kraken. Gorman walks behind the Thralls engaging Karchev, throws a Corrosion bomb that kills them but fails to hurt Karchev. The Jugger moves up and kills the Thrall on Ivan. Alexia and Risen clear out the remaining Thralls, leaving just the left behind standard bearer, they also engage the Chicken. Ivan moves up, throws a long bomb that scatter one inch, hitting the Bane hiding up the back (Should have put down the flag, would have made him harder to spot) and killing him. My Thrall Warrior kills a Bane Rider. Karchev moves to be just in spray range of the last Bile Thrall, shooting and killing him. I calculate I am about 5mm outside of Goreshades charge range. Malakov moves up and moves Redline to the Juggernaught.
Cryx 4: The Scrapthralls move forward!!!!!
Goreshade feats back a Bane Rider, then charges and kills Ivan. Little else really happens.
Khador 4: Tow/Redline stay, Jugger gets fully laoded. Risen pop up, charge and explode a pair of Scrapthralls, Alexia kills a Bane Rider in the way. Karchev Arkantriks for speed, walks up, swings the Juggernaught around to face Goreshade, sprays, knocks him down, manages to do about six damage. As a what-the-hell, before I throw the Jugger in the Spriggan walks around pokes Goreshade. He explodes in a shower of lavender..
I lucked out getting the Thrall unit, but I'll take it.
Player Grading
Time Management: 7, played it relatively fast, had a plan each turn that went into action.
Scenario Awareness: 7, knew I needed to get infantry into the zone, did that early and ensured the Thralls wouldn't push me back and cause a quick loss.
Spacing and Placement: 7, picked out good matchups for my going second deploy, Eiryss could have made better use of the Occultation though.
Target Priority: 9, cleared out whole units against recursion, got Gorman into throwing distance of a colossal.
Effectiveness: 4, Gorman throwing Rust was a terrible idea.
Cool: 8, solid.
Grade: B (42)
