Round two of Slam, playing into my age old nemesis of Circle. NOooooooooo......
Last Batrep was lazily short because I've been scratching my head at this game that took place straight after.
eKrueger - Ghetorix, Stalker, Gorax, Una + Rotterhorn, Stones + UA, Stones, Druids + UA, Gallows Grove, Wilder, Black Clad, Tharn Blood Weavers
Close Quarters, so not super live at least.
Merc Deploy: Earthbreaker took the forest side to ameliorate my relative lack of pathfinder.
Circle Deploy: The forces of evil...
Merc 1: Press Gangers fan out, Madelyn sits herself in the blob on the left side. Gorten casts Solid Grounds and charges up toward my friendly flag. The Earthbreaker runs up as far as its stumpy tracks can take it, heading toward the middle of the board.
Circle 1: The Druids move up, half cloud and half do magic spaz attacks on Press Gangers. The Gallows pops forwards, Krueger arcs a Lightning storm through it that kills another Gangers, puts in place the obligatory Storm Wrath and moves up with all the other junk. The Stones go to port positions, Una casts Watcher. I believe it was eight Press Gangers that died this turn.
Merc 2: I have a rare chance to pop both Circle Heavies, so I try to do that.
Gorten Intrigues forward and to the left, Risen join the battery.
Solid upkept, two focus to the Earthbreaker.
The few Communists remaining on the left run up, one charges the left most stone. Una triggers Watcher, the Rotterhorn moves up and misses the Marxist. The stone takes two damage.
The Smurfs on the right charge the Gallows Grove and run up into the forest. They easily kill the magic tree.
Gorten charges a Smurf and kills him, then feats to drag the Druids, Ghetorix and the Stalker forward, killing a few Druids in the process with the lightning AoE. Krueger and half the Blood Weavers also get affected but mostly don't have anywhere to go.
Piper puts tough on Alexia and the Risen, she then charges the Stalker losing a couple Risen to the lightning cloud. She burns about half a dozen Risen to kill it.
Thor Tunes up for to hit rolls.
Madelyn moves across, Seduces a Druid into going into the lightning cloud.
The Gun Mages shuffle left, shoot down the remaining blocking Druids and lightly tickle Ghetorix.
The Earthbreaker charges Ghetorix and is a few mill out.
FAIL.
Remaining solos screw around, Gorman clouds, I forget to activate Anastasia.
Circle 2: Black Clad Sprays but doesn't achieve much. Rotterhorn screaches, animus', screeches again to kill the last Commies. Una walks up, shoots Alexia twice with a bunch of boosts to maul her, she has one health and three Risen left. The Stones port the Gorax up, the Stone Keeper Rock Hammers Alexia and kills her (She had a successful tough from something but I don't recall what).
Krueger TK's Ghetorix forward, TK's Gorten and turns him around, Ghetorix gets the job done comfortably.
Mercs on the left.
Incidental crap I should have done better:
1) Measured Stormwall at the improper time in my turn two, very displeased I did that
2) Earthbreaker could have shot Ghetorix to death, but I was too attached to the preconception I had conjured at the beginning of the game; that being that my colossal's shots weren't going to be doing much.
While I screwed up my chance to live the dream, my real problem is that I had a great chance solely because of a minor placement error by James on the bottom of 1 which played perfectly into this one Merc Caster's feat.
If the Shifting Stones are placed in front of the Heavies I have to go with my original plan, which is to cop the feat on the chin, counter feat what I can to stay in the game, keep the Earthbreaker alive and leverage it's awesomeness to take out the beasts.
Original plan two for turn two:
1) Risen pop out the front edge of Alexias command, working off the assumption that Madelyn is dead
2) Anastasia runs to trigger Watcher or block the Griffins movement
3) Press Gangers get out of the way, likely duplicate the actual game by killing the Grove and flailing at a stone
4) Gun Mages ping about half the Druids
5) Alexia spawns a Thrall Warrior to go for the left stone again, Risen jam, the battery shuffles to the right out of the way
6) Earthbreaker runs on the Diagonal toward that impassable wall thing
7) Gorten goes base to base with Earthbreaker, pops a wall 2" in front of himself next to Alexia, Gorman clouds in front of them to block LoS
8) I pray fort Gorten holds.
In a live scenario I don't see it holding together, yet still being better than MacBain trying to take it on (Stupid Entropic Field....). Back to dodge Circle plan I guess?
